1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,437 [MUSIC PLAYING] 2 00:00:04,437 --> 00:00:18,750 3 00:00:18,750 --> 00:00:20,820 NARRATOR: Has this weeping stone brought 4 00:00:20,820 --> 00:00:26,360 misery and misfortune to the owners of this Scottish castle? 5 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:30,300 Can this American baseball team blame 50 years of defeats 6 00:00:30,300 --> 00:00:32,120 on the malevolent influence of the goat 7 00:00:32,120 --> 00:00:33,120 they banned from the ballpark? 8 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:37,400 9 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:41,830 When archaeologists descended to the sacred tomb of Tutankhamun, 10 00:00:41,830 --> 00:00:44,230 did they unleash the curse of the pharaohs? 11 00:00:44,230 --> 00:00:47,580 12 00:00:47,580 --> 00:00:50,380 Mysteries from the files of Arthur C. Clarke, 13 00:00:50,380 --> 00:00:55,220 author of "2001" and inventor of the communications satellite. 14 00:00:55,220 --> 00:00:58,250 Now in retreat in Sri Lanka, he ponders the riddles 15 00:00:58,250 --> 00:01:01,519 of this and other worlds. 16 00:01:01,519 --> 00:01:05,463 [MUSIC PLAYING] 17 00:01:05,463 --> 00:01:28,690 18 00:01:28,690 --> 00:01:32,300 Elephants are now protected here in Sri Lanka, 19 00:01:32,300 --> 00:01:34,670 but that wasn't always the case. 20 00:01:34,670 --> 00:01:38,900 In the 19th century they were hunted almost to extinction. 21 00:01:38,900 --> 00:01:42,400 The greatest bag of all was claimed by colonial surveyor, 22 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:44,650 Major Thomas Rogers. 23 00:01:44,650 --> 00:01:50,050 He boasted that he'd shot more than 1,300 before losing count. 24 00:01:50,050 --> 00:01:54,300 One day in 1845, an old Buddhist priest sickened 25 00:01:54,300 --> 00:01:58,340 by the slaughter pronounced this curse, white sahib, 26 00:01:58,340 --> 00:02:00,500 thine hour is drawing near. 27 00:02:00,500 --> 00:02:04,100 Thou shalt be consumed by the lightning of heaven 28 00:02:04,100 --> 00:02:08,759 before thou canst raise thine cursed weapon again. 29 00:02:08,759 --> 00:02:11,139 Terrified, the major gave up hunting, 30 00:02:11,139 --> 00:02:14,850 but he couldn't contain his bloodlust for long. 31 00:02:14,850 --> 00:02:17,120 On the way to shoot one more elephant 32 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:20,420 he was struck by lightning and killed instantly. 33 00:02:20,420 --> 00:02:23,020 The priest's curse was even said to have 34 00:02:23,020 --> 00:02:25,340 blighted the major's tomb. 35 00:02:25,340 --> 00:02:28,230 Over the years, it was the only one in the cemetery 36 00:02:28,230 --> 00:02:31,660 repeatedly struck by lightning. 37 00:02:31,660 --> 00:02:34,600 But do curses placed on buildings and things 38 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:36,320 really work? 39 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:40,420 Do they have the power to harm and even to kill? 40 00:02:40,420 --> 00:02:43,260 NARRATOR: Generations of owners of Fyvie Castle in Scotland 41 00:02:43,260 --> 00:02:44,910 believe they do. 42 00:02:44,910 --> 00:02:48,180 In the 13th century, they lived in fear of a prophet of doom 43 00:02:48,180 --> 00:02:49,820 called Thomas the Rhymer. 44 00:02:49,820 --> 00:02:54,020 He traveled the country casting curses on houses and families. 45 00:02:54,020 --> 00:02:56,710 For a year before his arrival, Fyvie's gates 46 00:02:56,710 --> 00:03:00,260 were left open in a misplaced gesture of welcome. 47 00:03:00,260 --> 00:03:01,800 CHRISTOPHER HARTLEY: He arrived on the lawns 48 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:02,780 outside the castle. 49 00:03:02,780 --> 00:03:06,680 And as soon as he got there, a tremendous storm blew up. 50 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:08,440 The trees began to sort of bend. 51 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:09,640 The bows creaked. 52 00:03:09,640 --> 00:03:11,030 Twigs snapped. 53 00:03:11,030 --> 00:03:13,630 But Thomas was in the very center of the storm. 54 00:03:13,630 --> 00:03:17,420 And not one breath of wind caught his hair or whisker 55 00:03:17,420 --> 00:03:19,380 of his beard was moved. 56 00:03:19,380 --> 00:03:21,110 And then as the wind was hounding 57 00:03:21,110 --> 00:03:23,300 around the turrets of Fyvie, the great gate 58 00:03:23,300 --> 00:03:25,870 went slam in his face. 59 00:03:25,870 --> 00:03:28,580 And so angry was he by this ill reception 60 00:03:28,580 --> 00:03:31,800 that he placed the curse on the house. 61 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:33,270 NARRATOR: To lift his curse, Thomas 62 00:03:33,270 --> 00:03:36,080 decreased that three stones must be collected together 63 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:38,130 and thrown off the property. 64 00:03:38,130 --> 00:03:42,430 One lay underwater and the other two in the castle itself. 65 00:03:42,430 --> 00:03:45,130 The stones were said to weep, but only one 66 00:03:45,130 --> 00:03:46,620 has ever been found. 67 00:03:46,620 --> 00:03:49,070 And it's carefully preserved in a bowl. 68 00:03:49,070 --> 00:03:51,340 CHRISTOPHER HARTLEY: The curse is, in a sense, unbreakable. 69 00:03:51,340 --> 00:03:54,240 And Thomas himself said of the three stones, 70 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:57,020 one is in the oldest tower unidentified. 71 00:03:57,020 --> 00:04:00,350 One is in my lady's bow, which in the 17th century, 72 00:04:00,350 --> 00:04:01,700 a room above her. 73 00:04:01,700 --> 00:04:03,570 And then for the last 100 years or more, 74 00:04:03,570 --> 00:04:06,140 the stone has actually resided in this room, the charter room. 75 00:04:06,140 --> 00:04:08,190 And here it is next to me. 76 00:04:08,190 --> 00:04:10,960 And the third stone is in the bottom 77 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:14,040 of the River Ithan, which is a boulder strewn riverbed. 78 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:16,470 And, as Thomas says, it is impossible to get. 79 00:04:16,470 --> 00:04:17,649 We can't find it. 80 00:04:17,649 --> 00:04:19,010 So they can never be brought together 81 00:04:19,010 --> 00:04:21,740 and thrown off the property. 82 00:04:21,740 --> 00:04:24,250 And the interpretation is difficult 83 00:04:24,250 --> 00:04:28,250 and the popular belief is that the eldest son of the family 84 00:04:28,250 --> 00:04:31,320 will not inherit. 85 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:34,140 The Forbes-Leith family, who owned this house, 86 00:04:34,140 --> 00:04:36,770 it's curious that within their ownership of the house, 87 00:04:36,770 --> 00:04:40,800 every single generation has been affected by this. 88 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:45,120 Lord Leith, he had two children, a son and a daughter. 89 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:49,650 And the son died of enteric fever in the Boer War in 1900 90 00:04:49,650 --> 00:04:51,780 so that the daughter inherited. 91 00:04:51,780 --> 00:04:54,900 And she had two sons, and the eldest one, 92 00:04:54,900 --> 00:04:58,770 Arthur Forbes-Leith, was claimed in the 1914 in the First War 93 00:04:58,770 --> 00:05:01,340 so that the second son inherited. 94 00:05:01,340 --> 00:05:03,400 And that second son, Sir Ian, had 95 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:10,980 two sons of which the eldest died in Milan campaign in 1949. 96 00:05:10,980 --> 00:05:13,920 The owner of Fyvie is the one who is supposed 97 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:15,600 to be under this curse. 98 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:18,780 But the house is no longer owned by a single life. 99 00:05:18,780 --> 00:05:21,660 It's, in fact, owned by a National Trust of Scotland, 100 00:05:21,660 --> 00:05:25,740 and therefore there is no elder son or any such thing. 101 00:05:25,740 --> 00:05:27,770 So one wonders whether this has in fact turned 102 00:05:27,770 --> 00:05:31,555 the tables on Thomas himself. 103 00:05:31,555 --> 00:05:34,453 [WHISTLES] 104 00:05:34,453 --> 00:05:37,360 105 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:39,260 NARRATOR: At Wrigley Field baseball ground, 106 00:05:39,260 --> 00:05:42,830 the home team, the Chicago Cubs, has no such luck. 107 00:05:42,830 --> 00:05:45,300 In fact, they've no luck at all. 108 00:05:45,300 --> 00:05:48,070 For 50 years they've suffered the effects of a curse 109 00:05:48,070 --> 00:05:49,545 imposed by a disgruntled fan. 110 00:05:49,545 --> 00:05:54,790 111 00:05:54,790 --> 00:05:57,772 [CHEERING] 112 00:05:57,772 --> 00:05:59,280 113 00:05:59,280 --> 00:06:01,965 The Cubs have consistently failed to get to the final 114 00:06:01,965 --> 00:06:03,690 of the World Series. 115 00:06:03,690 --> 00:06:07,620 In Major League Baseball there is no worse fate. 116 00:06:07,620 --> 00:06:10,950 The curse began in 1945 during the World 117 00:06:10,950 --> 00:06:13,450 Series between the Cubs and the Detroit Tigers. 118 00:06:13,450 --> 00:06:17,090 William "Billy Goat" Sianis, a tavern owner in Chicago 119 00:06:17,090 --> 00:06:18,750 had a mascot goat. 120 00:06:18,750 --> 00:06:20,830 And he bought tickets for both himself and the goat 121 00:06:20,830 --> 00:06:22,660 to attend the World Series. 122 00:06:22,660 --> 00:06:24,750 And once he got to the ballpark the ushers 123 00:06:24,750 --> 00:06:27,260 would not let in this so-called smelly goat 124 00:06:27,260 --> 00:06:30,150 and offend the sensibilities of the well heeled fans. 125 00:06:30,150 --> 00:06:34,670 So William "Billy Goat" Sianis put a curse on the Cubs 126 00:06:34,670 --> 00:06:39,490 that they would not win until they let his goat in. 127 00:06:39,490 --> 00:06:42,570 The Cubs then ended up losing the World Series to the Detroit 128 00:06:42,570 --> 00:06:47,360 Tigers and have not been back to the World Series ever since. 129 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:48,510 NARRATOR: Every time the Cubs get 130 00:06:48,510 --> 00:06:50,690 close, something goes wrong. 131 00:06:50,690 --> 00:06:53,760 A pitcher gives up a home run for the wrong batter. 132 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:55,590 A fielder makes an error. 133 00:06:55,590 --> 00:06:59,760 Once the entire pitching staff got injured at the same time. 134 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:01,580 Well every time a player come on the field, 135 00:07:01,580 --> 00:07:03,750 he wants to give his best, he wants to give 100%. 136 00:07:03,750 --> 00:07:06,380 But I think that deep down within their mind 137 00:07:06,380 --> 00:07:09,400 they know that not winning a World Series, 138 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:12,150 not playing good baseball here at times 139 00:07:12,150 --> 00:07:13,580 it's because of the goat. 140 00:07:13,580 --> 00:07:16,237 141 00:07:16,237 --> 00:07:17,970 GEORGE CASTLE: Well the odds on a team like the Cubs 142 00:07:17,970 --> 00:07:23,150 somehow avoiding a World Series for the better part of 50 years 143 00:07:23,150 --> 00:07:24,260 are just astronomical. 144 00:07:24,260 --> 00:07:26,660 No Las Vegas odds maker would post them. 145 00:07:26,660 --> 00:07:28,650 I did talk to one of the top odds makers 146 00:07:28,650 --> 00:07:30,620 in Las Vegas two years ago. 147 00:07:30,620 --> 00:07:33,400 And he said the odds are a million to one. 148 00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:34,420 One million to one. 149 00:07:34,420 --> 00:07:35,410 Unbelievable. 150 00:07:35,410 --> 00:07:38,480 Something should have happened during that period of time 151 00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:41,030 to have allowed the Cubs to get a lucky break 152 00:07:41,030 --> 00:07:44,060 and get in to a World Series. 153 00:07:44,060 --> 00:07:45,470 NARRATOR: Whenever things get desperate, 154 00:07:45,470 --> 00:07:48,640 the Cubs invite a goat to Wrigley Field. 155 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:51,630 The first year they tried it, they won the division. 156 00:07:51,630 --> 00:07:54,240 When they lost 13 home games in a row, 157 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:56,350 the goat was persuaded back. 158 00:07:56,350 --> 00:08:00,680 The team won that day, but it didn't last. 159 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:05,050 If we're about 10 games from winning the division 160 00:08:05,050 --> 00:08:06,260 we are going to bring the goat out 161 00:08:06,260 --> 00:08:09,960 because we don't like to think about if the goats not here we 162 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:13,580 won't win a World Series. 163 00:08:13,580 --> 00:08:16,460 So if we're that close, we're going to make sure, 164 00:08:16,460 --> 00:08:18,650 because everybody knows we can't want 165 00:08:18,650 --> 00:08:21,160 win a World Series unless we let the goat in the ballpark. 166 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:23,580 We're going to have that goat right here eating the grass out 167 00:08:23,580 --> 00:08:26,150 here in Wrigley Field. 168 00:08:26,150 --> 00:08:28,550 NARRATOR: The Cubs loyal fans like to drown their sorrows 169 00:08:28,550 --> 00:08:30,370 whenever they lose a game. 170 00:08:30,370 --> 00:08:32,159 It was from this bar that William "Billy 171 00:08:32,159 --> 00:08:34,490 Goat" Sianis set out for Wrigley Field 172 00:08:34,490 --> 00:08:37,100 on that fateful day in 1945. 173 00:08:37,100 --> 00:08:41,460 The rejected goat's baleful eye keeps a watch on proceedings. 174 00:08:41,460 --> 00:08:43,710 Chicago Cubs, you couldn't buy worse luck. 175 00:08:43,710 --> 00:08:48,420 Ever since the curse in 1945, they haven't had a decent team. 176 00:08:48,420 --> 00:08:50,340 In fact, I could pitch better than some of the people 177 00:08:50,340 --> 00:08:51,890 they put on the team right now. 178 00:08:51,890 --> 00:08:54,460 They're never going to lift the curse because the goat is dead. 179 00:08:54,460 --> 00:08:58,520 There's only one goat and they blew it. 180 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:00,580 I'll support them forever. 181 00:09:00,580 --> 00:09:03,491 But it's kind of like cheering for a horse with a bad leg 182 00:09:03,491 --> 00:09:04,190 right now. 183 00:09:04,190 --> 00:09:11,260 184 00:09:11,260 --> 00:09:13,120 NARRATOR: There is no more glorious landscape 185 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:15,465 in northern England then these roving acres. 186 00:09:15,465 --> 00:09:18,450 187 00:09:18,450 --> 00:09:20,820 Yet the Bagot family of Levens Hall 188 00:09:20,820 --> 00:09:23,230 lived for generations under a shadow cast 189 00:09:23,230 --> 00:09:26,165 by an unthinking act of cruelty against a needy visitor. 190 00:09:26,165 --> 00:09:29,830 191 00:09:29,830 --> 00:09:30,930 HAL BAGOT (VOICEOVER): A lady who 192 00:09:30,930 --> 00:09:34,890 was destitute came to the front door of the house 193 00:09:34,890 --> 00:09:37,590 and she begged for food. 194 00:09:37,590 --> 00:09:40,505 And she was told that people of her station 195 00:09:40,505 --> 00:09:43,660 should go around to the back door where she would be fed. 196 00:09:43,660 --> 00:09:46,440 She went and did as she was instructed 197 00:09:46,440 --> 00:09:51,270 and she went down the back drive around towards the back door 198 00:09:51,270 --> 00:09:55,380 and expired on the back drive of hunger. 199 00:09:55,380 --> 00:09:58,915 And she said in her dying breath, 200 00:09:58,915 --> 00:10:04,510 presumably, that the house would never have a male heir. 201 00:10:04,510 --> 00:10:08,540 Not until a white fawn is born in the park. 202 00:10:08,540 --> 00:10:12,300 And we have black fallow deer, so that's unusual. 203 00:10:12,300 --> 00:10:15,590 And also that the River Kent at the bottom of the garden 204 00:10:15,590 --> 00:10:17,110 would freeze. 205 00:10:17,110 --> 00:10:21,970 And neither of those things happened for 200 years. 206 00:10:21,970 --> 00:10:25,230 NARRATOR: The house in Levens passed down the female line. 207 00:10:25,230 --> 00:10:27,330 The ladies of Levens were not empowered 208 00:10:27,330 --> 00:10:31,050 to improve the estate, so it languished in limbo. 209 00:10:31,050 --> 00:10:34,100 Amazing coincidences finally broke the curse. 210 00:10:34,100 --> 00:10:37,530 The family have always kept scrapbooks since a long way 211 00:10:37,530 --> 00:10:38,330 back. 212 00:10:38,330 --> 00:10:42,880 The cuttings are here, which go on about the great frost 213 00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:45,500 which happened in 1895. 214 00:10:45,500 --> 00:10:50,050 And the photographs of the gardens under snow. 215 00:10:50,050 --> 00:10:52,070 NARRATOR: Records confirm this was the coldest 216 00:10:52,070 --> 00:10:53,730 year for half a century. 217 00:10:53,730 --> 00:10:56,430 Locals were able to skate on Lake Windermere. 218 00:10:56,430 --> 00:10:59,040 For the Bagots, the great freeze brought a miracle. 219 00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:01,700 The River Kent froze over. 220 00:11:01,700 --> 00:11:04,710 That same year, the herd of black fallow deer in the park 221 00:11:04,710 --> 00:11:07,520 produced a single white fawn. 222 00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:09,860 The proof is glued firmly into the pages 223 00:11:09,860 --> 00:11:11,940 of the Bagot's scrapbook. 224 00:11:11,940 --> 00:11:15,320 They were so excited that, in fact, they shot it. 225 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:17,630 It says, "the woods of Levens hail 226 00:11:17,630 --> 00:11:22,700 the white fawn's birth, herald and symbol of the gift of God." 227 00:11:22,700 --> 00:11:25,460 NARRATOR: The gift of God duly appeared in the shape 228 00:11:25,460 --> 00:11:27,980 of the longed for son and heir. 229 00:11:27,980 --> 00:11:31,750 Alan Desmond Bagot was born in that year. 230 00:11:31,750 --> 00:11:33,910 And his picture eventually features 231 00:11:33,910 --> 00:11:38,351 in this scrapbook with his mother and a little dog. 232 00:11:38,351 --> 00:11:39,050 There it is. 233 00:11:39,050 --> 00:11:43,090 234 00:11:43,090 --> 00:11:45,570 NARRATOR: Ancient Egyptians use curses to protect 235 00:11:45,570 --> 00:11:47,570 their departed loved ones. 236 00:11:47,570 --> 00:11:49,150 As a matter of course, tombs were 237 00:11:49,150 --> 00:11:51,530 inscribed with dire warnings. 238 00:11:51,530 --> 00:11:54,510 The oldest curse of all is being cleaned. 239 00:11:54,510 --> 00:12:00,810 We can see the first curse inscription ever occurred. 240 00:12:00,810 --> 00:12:04,270 And it occurred by someone who was a draftsman, someone 241 00:12:04,270 --> 00:12:05,822 who did the technical work. 242 00:12:05,822 --> 00:12:12,250 And if you look here, now we can see the whole inscription. 243 00:12:12,250 --> 00:12:15,730 The man is saying here, listen, all of you, 244 00:12:15,730 --> 00:12:18,840 I never did anything wrong in my life. 245 00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:20,690 Everything I do was perfect. 246 00:12:20,690 --> 00:12:22,830 This is why the gods like me. 247 00:12:22,830 --> 00:12:27,860 If anyone will disturb my tomb, what's going to happen to him, 248 00:12:27,860 --> 00:12:31,950 the [INAUDIBLE], the hippopotamus, and the lion 249 00:12:31,950 --> 00:12:33,300 will eat you. 250 00:12:33,300 --> 00:12:36,340 But on the other side, his wife left 251 00:12:36,340 --> 00:12:39,230 the same inscription exactly. 252 00:12:39,230 --> 00:12:43,580 But she added here more, and she said the snake 253 00:12:43,580 --> 00:12:48,080 and this scorpion will eat you. 254 00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:52,070 The curse of Tutankhamun is the most famous of all. 255 00:12:52,070 --> 00:12:53,950 It was said to have caused a whole spate 256 00:12:53,950 --> 00:12:56,660 of sudden and inexplicable deaths 257 00:12:56,660 --> 00:13:08,990 after the young king's tomb was discovered in the 1920s. 258 00:13:08,990 --> 00:13:11,200 NARRATOR: At this theme park near Cairo, 259 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:14,260 tourists can do ancient Egypt in one day. 260 00:13:14,260 --> 00:13:19,510 261 00:13:19,510 --> 00:13:21,530 The high spot is a visit to a replica 262 00:13:21,530 --> 00:13:24,150 of King Tutankhamun's tomb. 263 00:13:24,150 --> 00:13:29,460 It's laid out just like the real one on the day it was opened. 264 00:13:29,460 --> 00:13:33,840 And here we have the great sarcophagus of Tutankhamun. 265 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:39,890 The splendor that was 3,500 years ago. 266 00:13:39,890 --> 00:13:43,050 One of the things that is a legend about the tomb 267 00:13:43,050 --> 00:13:46,025 of Tutankhamun is the fact that it 268 00:13:46,025 --> 00:13:48,810 was said that whoever went into the tomb 269 00:13:48,810 --> 00:13:52,330 or touched this tomb would die. 270 00:13:52,330 --> 00:13:54,530 And there was nothing that was found 271 00:13:54,530 --> 00:13:59,580 in the tomb that would say that, but that was the legend. 272 00:13:59,580 --> 00:14:01,270 NARRATOR: King Tutankhamen's tomb 273 00:14:01,270 --> 00:14:05,300 was founded in 1922 by archaeologist, Howard Carter. 274 00:14:05,300 --> 00:14:08,120 He told his sponsor in England, Lord Carnarvon, 275 00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:10,260 of his wonderful discovery. 276 00:14:10,260 --> 00:14:14,130 Carnarvon rushed to Egypt at once to examine the treasure. 277 00:14:14,130 --> 00:14:16,320 But warning voices sounded. 278 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:19,420 Arthur Weigel, who was covering the story for the Daily Mail, 279 00:14:19,420 --> 00:14:24,930 told Carnarvon he will be dead within six weeks. 280 00:14:24,930 --> 00:14:28,570 Just over six weeks later, Carnarvon was indeed dead. 281 00:14:28,570 --> 00:14:30,920 He had long suffered from ill health. 282 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:33,860 But the curse story took a firm hold. 283 00:14:33,860 --> 00:14:37,060 The family seat of Highclere is now lived in by his grandson. 284 00:14:37,060 --> 00:14:40,000 285 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:45,620 My grandfather died in Cairo as a result of cutting 286 00:14:45,620 --> 00:14:47,920 himself with a razor. 287 00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:50,380 The wound became infected. 288 00:14:50,380 --> 00:14:54,080 He got septicemia and, alas, died at about 3 o'clock 289 00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:55,500 in the morning. 290 00:14:55,500 --> 00:14:57,710 All the lights in Cairo went out, 291 00:14:57,710 --> 00:15:01,240 which was a strange phenomenon because when my father went 292 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:06,250 next morning to see Lord Allenby, 293 00:15:06,250 --> 00:15:10,520 Lord Allenby apologized for all the lights going out in Cairo. 294 00:15:10,520 --> 00:15:14,140 And he'd asked the chief engineer to investigate it. 295 00:15:14,140 --> 00:15:15,990 But they never got to the bottom of that problem. 296 00:15:15,990 --> 00:15:17,870 So that was one of the things. 297 00:15:17,870 --> 00:15:22,090 And then at the same time as my grandfather died in Cairo, 298 00:15:22,090 --> 00:15:24,470 allowing for the time difference, 299 00:15:24,470 --> 00:15:29,420 his Jack Russell terrier gave a short growl 300 00:15:29,420 --> 00:15:33,420 and died in the housekeeper's room in this house. 301 00:15:33,420 --> 00:15:35,915 NARRATOR: Lord Carnarvon was not the only one said to have 302 00:15:35,915 --> 00:15:37,870 been killed by the curse. 303 00:15:37,870 --> 00:15:40,250 American railroad tycoon, Jay Gould, 304 00:15:40,250 --> 00:15:43,480 died of pneumonia shortly after visiting the tomb. 305 00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:45,770 And only months after seeing the find, 306 00:15:45,770 --> 00:15:48,920 this Egyptian prince was shot dead by his wife. 307 00:15:48,920 --> 00:15:51,570 But the most likely candidates were unscathed. 308 00:15:51,570 --> 00:15:55,500 Howard Carter was first into the tomb and lived to 64. 309 00:15:55,500 --> 00:15:58,960 Of the other experts who even ate lunch in pharaoh's tombs, 310 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:01,980 only one died young of natural causes. 311 00:16:01,980 --> 00:16:04,060 So much for King Tut. 312 00:16:04,060 --> 00:16:07,030 In fact, a recent studies suggests that the people who 313 00:16:07,030 --> 00:16:09,530 visited the tomb actually had a greater 314 00:16:09,530 --> 00:16:11,970 life expectancy than normal. 315 00:16:11,970 --> 00:16:15,580 I hope that's true because I've been there myself. 316 00:16:15,580 --> 00:16:19,200 However scientists have discovered that some tombs do 317 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:22,180 indeed harbor a threat to life which has nothing 318 00:16:22,180 --> 00:16:23,980 to do with paranormal powers. 319 00:16:23,980 --> 00:16:31,620 320 00:16:31,620 --> 00:16:33,590 NARRATOR: Dr. Nazri Iskander is curator 321 00:16:33,590 --> 00:16:37,000 of mummies at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. 322 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:40,690 Study methods to preserve them has given him unique insights 323 00:16:40,690 --> 00:16:41,950 into the legendary curses. 324 00:16:41,950 --> 00:16:58,040 325 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:01,280 DR. NAZRI ISKANDER: I myself, when I enter any tomb, 326 00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:05,579 I prefer to wait for some time outside tomb 327 00:17:05,579 --> 00:17:09,250 after just opening the door slowly. 328 00:17:09,250 --> 00:17:14,260 And then I prefer to check with small instruments 329 00:17:14,260 --> 00:17:18,915 the percentage of oxygen inside the tomb before I enter 330 00:17:18,915 --> 00:17:23,089 and work in it and to monitor all the time 331 00:17:23,089 --> 00:17:26,085 during our working in it and to be all 332 00:17:26,085 --> 00:17:28,490 the time on the safe readings. 333 00:17:28,490 --> 00:17:31,460 This is very important. 334 00:17:31,460 --> 00:17:36,470 This mummy is 4,500 years old. 335 00:17:36,470 --> 00:17:41,490 And this is the oldest mummy in our Egyptian history now. 336 00:17:41,490 --> 00:17:43,360 And this one preserved. 337 00:17:43,360 --> 00:17:46,380 You can see here the features of the face 338 00:17:46,380 --> 00:17:51,600 in very good condition and also all of his organs. 339 00:17:51,600 --> 00:17:53,970 During the years of closing there 340 00:17:53,970 --> 00:17:58,640 is always a reduction of the percentage of oxygen in it. 341 00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:00,930 And this is also responsible of stopping 342 00:18:00,930 --> 00:18:05,470 or of reducing the activation of the microbes and bacteria 343 00:18:05,470 --> 00:18:06,690 and viruses. 344 00:18:06,690 --> 00:18:10,220 And when you just open it for the first time, 345 00:18:10,220 --> 00:18:12,560 always who will enter first they are 346 00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:16,420 going to breath all of the air without oxygen 347 00:18:16,420 --> 00:18:19,945 but with the microbes and bacteria and viruses. 348 00:18:19,945 --> 00:18:23,640 These viruses will start to activate directly 349 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:27,480 and immediately in the lungs of the first one who 350 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:28,924 enters the tombs. 351 00:18:28,924 --> 00:18:40,240 352 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:43,230 NARRATOR: The picture postcard English village of Tichborne 353 00:18:43,230 --> 00:18:45,600 kept a curse at bay for 600 years. 354 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:48,740 355 00:18:48,740 --> 00:18:51,040 But one slip up cost the lords of the manor 356 00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:54,750 their original mansion and also their family name. 357 00:18:54,750 --> 00:18:56,510 The curse has blighted the Tichborne 358 00:18:56,510 --> 00:18:58,650 family because one of their ancestors 359 00:18:58,650 --> 00:19:00,335 was cruel to his dying wife. 360 00:19:00,335 --> 00:19:09,790 361 00:19:09,790 --> 00:19:12,410 DENISE HENDRIE: This is the field around which, Mabella 362 00:19:12,410 --> 00:19:17,900 Tichborne, my ancestor crawled just before she died in about 363 00:19:17,900 --> 00:19:25,070 1188 when her husband refused her dying request to give 364 00:19:25,070 --> 00:19:28,441 out bread to the poorer of the parish, which 365 00:19:28,441 --> 00:19:29,140 was a long time ago. 366 00:19:29,140 --> 00:19:31,920 So they were quite poor in those days. 367 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:36,020 And he said that he would give the produce of as much land 368 00:19:36,020 --> 00:19:37,530 as she could crawl around while a burning 369 00:19:37,530 --> 00:19:39,840 torch still glowed in her hand. 370 00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:42,490 So she got up off her deathbed and crawled 371 00:19:42,490 --> 00:19:46,120 around this I think 23 acres. 372 00:19:46,120 --> 00:19:51,820 And then I suppose the torch went out and she died. 373 00:19:51,820 --> 00:19:53,550 DENISE HENDRIE: She said that she wished 374 00:19:53,550 --> 00:19:56,260 the bread of the land to be given to the people 375 00:19:56,260 --> 00:20:00,660 every year in her memory on Lady Day, the 25th of March, 376 00:20:00,660 --> 00:20:04,650 the day she died, and that this must go on. 377 00:20:04,650 --> 00:20:07,140 If there was ever a break and the Tichbornes 378 00:20:07,140 --> 00:20:11,530 stopped giving out this bread she laid a curse on the family. 379 00:20:11,530 --> 00:20:15,410 She said that there would be a generation of seven sons 380 00:20:15,410 --> 00:20:17,130 followed by seven daughters. 381 00:20:17,130 --> 00:20:19,490 The house would fall down and the name would die out. 382 00:20:19,490 --> 00:20:22,640 383 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:25,600 NARRATOR: In 1794 one reckless Tichborne 384 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:27,600 stopped the dole for a year. 385 00:20:27,600 --> 00:20:29,350 Since then, his descendants have done 386 00:20:29,350 --> 00:20:32,060 their best to repair the damage by faithfully 387 00:20:32,060 --> 00:20:33,030 performing the ceremony. 388 00:20:33,030 --> 00:20:36,720 389 00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:39,420 During the Second World War, anonymous friends 390 00:20:39,420 --> 00:20:42,740 kept the dole going by donating their flour coupons. 391 00:20:42,740 --> 00:20:45,250 The head of the family was so relieved that he wrote 392 00:20:45,250 --> 00:20:46,870 to the Times to thank them. 393 00:20:46,870 --> 00:20:49,804 But it was all to no avail. 394 00:20:49,804 --> 00:20:50,970 DENISE HENDRIE: I think you do have 395 00:20:50,970 --> 00:20:52,680 to believe in the curse in the face 396 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:54,820 of the evidence that's been presented 397 00:20:54,820 --> 00:20:56,580 even over all these years. 398 00:20:56,580 --> 00:20:57,800 The house did fall down. 399 00:20:57,800 --> 00:20:59,330 There were seven sons. 400 00:20:59,330 --> 00:21:00,840 There were seven daughters. 401 00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:01,740 And there are now no heirs. 402 00:21:01,740 --> 00:21:06,360 403 00:21:06,360 --> 00:21:08,250 NARRATOR: In New England, the dark deeds 404 00:21:08,250 --> 00:21:11,920 ascribed to the witches of Salem are now history. 405 00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:14,380 But behind the town's cheerful facade, 406 00:21:14,380 --> 00:21:19,320 an ancient evil may still weave a sinister spell. 407 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:21,800 This man believes it nearly cost him his life. 408 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:24,992 409 00:21:24,992 --> 00:21:29,530 Here lies the remains of George Corwin Esquire. 410 00:21:29,530 --> 00:21:32,920 Born in England AD 1610. 411 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:37,940 Died in Salem AD 1665. 412 00:21:37,940 --> 00:21:40,780 Other descendants of the Corwin are buried here, 413 00:21:40,780 --> 00:21:45,290 including George Corwin, Jr. Who was the old sheriff of Essex 414 00:21:45,290 --> 00:21:47,430 County during witch times. 415 00:21:47,430 --> 00:21:50,260 The fellow that caused me all my problems here in Salem, as 416 00:21:50,260 --> 00:21:53,010 well, many years later. 417 00:21:53,010 --> 00:21:54,860 NARRATOR: Rob Cahill was proud to be elected 418 00:21:54,860 --> 00:21:56,740 Sheriff of Essex County. 419 00:21:56,740 --> 00:21:59,320 He headed a team of dedicated law men 420 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:03,610 until he was forced from office by a mysterious disease. 421 00:22:03,610 --> 00:22:07,110 While I was in the hospital I had a long time to think. 422 00:22:07,110 --> 00:22:10,210 And I of course thought about where on earth 423 00:22:10,210 --> 00:22:12,490 could this terrible disease have come from? 424 00:22:12,490 --> 00:22:14,370 Why me? 425 00:22:14,370 --> 00:22:16,520 Even the doctors didn't know what it was. 426 00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:20,580 And so I did think certainly of a curse and a curse that could 427 00:22:20,580 --> 00:22:24,130 very well have gone back to the original curse of Sheriff 428 00:22:24,130 --> 00:22:26,480 George Corwin. 429 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:28,960 NARRATOR: During the trials in 1692, 430 00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:31,630 many innocent people were done to death. 431 00:22:31,630 --> 00:22:34,060 One victim was Giles Corey. 432 00:22:34,060 --> 00:22:36,310 For defending his wife from the witch hunt, 433 00:22:36,310 --> 00:22:38,350 he himself was accused. 434 00:22:38,350 --> 00:22:40,190 Sheriff Corwin personally imposed 435 00:22:40,190 --> 00:22:41,900 the cruelest punishment. 436 00:22:41,900 --> 00:22:46,360 Corey was pressed to death beneath enormous rocks. 437 00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:47,680 At one point his tongue came out 438 00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:50,610 of his mouth and the cruel Sheriff of Essex County, 439 00:22:50,610 --> 00:22:55,610 George Corwin, took his cane and poked the tongue back in again. 440 00:22:55,610 --> 00:22:58,270 And these are from eye witnesses who were at the scene. 441 00:22:58,270 --> 00:23:03,490 Finally as he was dying under the pressure of the rocks, 442 00:23:03,490 --> 00:23:06,520 Giles Corey spit out a curse. 443 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:08,230 And he cursed the Sheriff himself. 444 00:23:08,230 --> 00:23:11,590 And he said, I curse Salem and I curse you, Sheriff Corwin. 445 00:23:11,590 --> 00:23:13,870 And he died. 446 00:23:13,870 --> 00:23:16,740 NARRATOR: Sheriff Corwin got his just desserts. 447 00:23:16,740 --> 00:23:20,286 Shortly after the curse was laid, he died an early death. 448 00:23:20,286 --> 00:23:22,790 The disease that killed him has plagued 449 00:23:22,790 --> 00:23:26,120 his successors ever since. 450 00:23:26,120 --> 00:23:29,570 NARRATOR: The Sheriff before me really died of a blood disease. 451 00:23:29,570 --> 00:23:31,841 The Sheriff before him, his father died of a heart attack 452 00:23:31,841 --> 00:23:32,540 in office. 453 00:23:32,540 --> 00:23:35,090 The Sheriff before him died of a heart attack, 454 00:23:35,090 --> 00:23:38,720 not in office but shortly thereafter. 455 00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:41,190 There's something to the curse and nobody knows 456 00:23:41,190 --> 00:23:43,490 that any better than I do. 457 00:23:43,490 --> 00:23:45,870 ROBERT CAHILL: I survived, which I think is terrific. 458 00:23:45,870 --> 00:23:47,790 But I went to a lot of hell and still do. 459 00:23:47,790 --> 00:23:50,720 When I was at death's door, one of the valves in my heart 460 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:54,090 is replaced every 10 years with a pig's valve. 461 00:23:54,090 --> 00:23:57,030 The present Sheriff, he looks kind of askance at me. 462 00:23:57,030 --> 00:23:58,770 We joke about the curse sometimes, 463 00:23:58,770 --> 00:24:00,590 but it was very real to me. 464 00:24:00,590 --> 00:24:04,290 465 00:24:04,290 --> 00:24:07,200 NARRATOR: Rob's wife, Sandy, is glad that his time as Sheriff 466 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:10,934 of Essex County is now over. 467 00:24:10,934 --> 00:24:13,330 SANDY: I strongly believe in the curse. 468 00:24:13,330 --> 00:24:16,160 I've seen it happen. 469 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:18,880 I don't want it to happen again. 470 00:24:18,880 --> 00:24:21,780 If one of my family were to even think 471 00:24:21,780 --> 00:24:25,640 about running for the office of Sheriff of Essex County, 472 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:27,980 I would do everything in my power 473 00:24:27,980 --> 00:24:29,910 to convince them not to run. 474 00:24:29,910 --> 00:24:33,970 Even a friend of mine, especially family members. 475 00:24:33,970 --> 00:24:36,580 I believe that strongly in the curse. 476 00:24:36,580 --> 00:24:38,460 I'm usually not very superstitious, 477 00:24:38,460 --> 00:24:42,230 but I've gone through a lot of hell and a lot of sickness 478 00:24:42,230 --> 00:24:45,840 and there's no explanation to the sickness. 479 00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:49,430 I would not want to see any member of my family 480 00:24:49,430 --> 00:24:54,510 or any good friend of mine go through what I went through. 481 00:24:54,510 --> 00:24:56,200 And I would just say no, don't run. 482 00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:59,380 Stay away from it. 483 00:24:59,380 --> 00:25:02,170 As much as I enjoy these spooky tales, 484 00:25:02,170 --> 00:25:05,520 they don't really bear serious investigation. 485 00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:09,630 Proclaiming that there's a curse on a tomb to keep robbers away 486 00:25:09,630 --> 00:25:12,740 might seem a good idea, though it certainly didn't 487 00:25:12,740 --> 00:25:15,780 work for most of the pharaohs. 488 00:25:15,780 --> 00:25:19,130 I suspect that coincidence and imaginative revision 489 00:25:19,130 --> 00:25:22,250 of the facts by later storytellers 490 00:25:22,250 --> 00:25:24,700 accounts for the other cases. 491 00:25:24,700 --> 00:25:29,100 But if you ever do find yourself in a place with a curse on it, 492 00:25:29,100 --> 00:25:31,070 don't hang around. 493 00:25:31,070 --> 00:25:35,320 [MUSIC PLAYING] 494 00:25:35,320 --> 00:26:03,100