Forbidden Island

land floating above the water. The latter is called the Fata Morgana and was named after Morgan le Fay, the powerful sorceress from our theory and legend. It was believed that her powers had caused fairy castles to sprout above the waves. For apps, Morgan le Fay was behind another mysterious ocean mass, one that has confounded explorers and cartographers for hundreds of years. What was nothing more than a speck on a map became the legend that launched a

thousand ships. One of those ships belonged to John Nesbitt. Nesbitt was a soldier after fighting in the Thirty Years War during the seventeenth century. He probably should have settled down with his wife and family back in Scotland, but Nesbitt couldn't shake his sense of duty. He continued to serve in battles between sixteen sixty six and sixteen seventy nine before being labeled an outlaw for his extreme religious views. However, while captaining his own ship one day in sixteen seventy four,

he noticed something in the water. His map showed it as nothing more than a tiny circle an island. It had appeared on maps since the mid fourteenth century, yet no one had ever stepped foot on it before. On this day, John Nesbitt would be the first. He and his crew headed toward it. They dropped anchor once they had gotten close enough and went out in rowboats to investigate. Once they came ashore, the men lit a fire and

observed the local wildlife. Enormous black rabbits hopped around everywhere. There was also a large castle made of stone. It's only occupant, a man believed to be a wizard. As they explored the island, the crew met another old man who would lived there for quite a long time. He gave them gold and silver to take back to their ship. When Nesbitt told others back on land about his expedition.

He was met with one of two reactions, either laughter at his expense or more questions than he had answers to. Another captain, who heard Nesbitt's stories decided to see for himself. He and his crew sailed to the island and surprisingly had the same experience. They saw the castle, the rabbits, and met the old man, who bestowed them with gold and silver, just like Nesbit. After that, as sightings of the island shrunk, so would its appearance on nautical maps.

No and saw it for two hundred years, and then in eighteen seventy two, explorers Robert o'flairti and T. J. Westdrop claimed to have spotted it from their ship. West Drop allegedly visited on his own three separate times, before bringing his family along on the voyage. There, the west Drops said the island appeared and then disappeared without a trace. According to the legends, the island only appears once every seven years, when the fog that normally surrounds it lifts,

allowing sailors to catch a glimpse. And the name of this mythical land they called it Brazil. No, not that Brazil. It was also known as High Brazil, named for Brazil, the Celtic name for the high King of the world. Maps dating from thirty five all the way up to the eighteen hundreds positioned it about two hundred miles off

the coast of Ireland, out in the Atlantic Ocean. There's a long history of mythology and folklore surrounding the island, aside from the rabbits and the magic, and it's been said that Brazil is also the Irish version of Mount Olympus, home to the gods of old. No one has seen it since and you won't find it on any modern map, but some say it's still out there waiting to be found. An island shrouded and missed as well as mystery. When

we die, we leave behind more than we realize. There are often grieving family members, perhaps a beloved pet now without its owner, And in far too many cases we have debts that have gone unpaid. Most debts will be forgiven or collected by the banks through various means. Other debts, however, aren't waived so easily. They need more than a signature to dismiss them. These debts require a unique kind of payment in the ledge of Rattling Hope, England, Richard Munslow

made himself a reputation for collecting those debts. He was unlike a lot of folks in his trade, which favored the poor. He was far from it, in fact, having been born to a wealthy family and his farm was quite successful. But Munslow loved his neighbors and wanted to do something for them at one of the saddest points in their lives. So whenever one of them died, Munslow would venture to the graveyard and eat over the body.

You see, a person who died suddenly didn't have the time to confess their sins to a priest or to God, thus leaving their souls impure. An impure soul was unable to move on to heaven. However, there was a way for the soul to be cleansed after the fact. It was believed that consuming a meal over the dead would absolve them of their sins, which would then pass on to the sin eater, instead allowing the soul to move on. The practice of sin eating had existed for thousands of

years in various forms. In early Mesoamerica, a dying person could confess their sins to the Aztec goddess of fertility and motherhood, who would consume them and purify the soul that specific term. Though sin eater originated in Wales as a practice, it gained popularity in specific parts of England throughout the fifteenth century all the way up until the

eighteen hundreds. Aside from helping the dead move on, the act of eating one sins would also prevent restless spirits from tormenting the living, which was a good benefit if you ask me. Sin eating was originally a paid job performed by the poor. No one of any wealth or status would take on the sins of others, which brought with it the stigma of being a pawn to the devil himself. Sin Eaters were thought to be blasphemers and practitioners of black magic. They also became targets for the

Catholic Church, who had cornered the market on absolution. Anyone caught practicing sin eating could be sentenced to death. The same was true for folks who hire senators in the first place, as they had gone against God's will. But Mounslow didn't mind any of that. He tended to his farm and occasionally stopped by the graveyard to break bread with the recently deceased, and his neighbors loved him for it. He wasn't shunned by them for cavorting with spirits or

working with the devil. He performed a necessary service and was beloved for it. Sin eating as a practice started to die out in the mid nineteenth century, but carried on in some of the smaller towns. The locals found it an important part of the greeting process. Richard Munslow, though did not die out until the nineteenth century. Some believed that he continued the practice out of respect for his deceased children, who had passed away of scarlet fever

when they were very young. Munslow lived until nineteen oh six, becoming the last living senator in England. The village of Rattling Hope erected a memorial for their hometown hero, which had fallen into disrepair over the years. In two thousand ten, the town got together to restore it to its former glory, a lasting homage to the man who sacrificed his mortal soul for his friends and neighbors. And while they had no qualms about bringing Manslow's grave site back from the dead,

they apparently drew the line at resurrecting his occupation. Some leftovers, it seems, just aren't worth saving. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Manky in partnership with how Stuff Works.

I make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can learn all about it over at the World of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious. Ye