Hocus Pocus

that later. Pacade, born Francois Pierre Pacade, had been a shoemaker from Nemez, France, before he was thrust into life of intrigue and deception. He had everything going on for him. He had a good job, the love of a beautiful, rich woman named Marguerite Vigoro, and hardly a care in sight. By eighteen oh seven, Pierre had proposed a Vigoro and the two were engaged to be married, but their happiness was not meant to last. Matthew Loupain, one of Pierre's friends,

was besotted with Vigaro and mad with jealousy. He wanted her for himself, but rather than let his friend be happy. He fueled that jealousy into something sinister. Lupienne, with assistance from his compatriots Solari and Shubar, conspired to take down the captivated cobbler by any means necessary. They reported Pierre to the authorities, accusing him of being a spy for England. Allu was aware of the false nature of the accusation, but did not participate in its spread, nor did he

refute it to help Pierre. So Pierre was arrested on his wedding day no less, and whisked off to Fenistrelli, a fort in northern Italy that had been turned into a prison by the French. Seven years passed, during which time Pierre started digging, but not to freedom, rather to the adjacent cell. Inside was an Italian priest named Father Tory.

The two inmates sparked up a strong friendship, and one year after they had met, Tory informed his companion of a hidden treasure that he had left behind in Milan. The priest died shortly after the confession. Pierre finally got his first taste of freedom when he was released in eighteen fourteen. The first stop on his journey back to society Milan to recover the treasure Father Tory had told

him about. It was all there, and it was enough to buy him a new identity and get him back to France to pull off a revenge scheme like no other. But he didn't jump right in. Pierre took his time

ten years in fact, to perfect the plan. His first course of action was to seek out Alu and get the names of the men who had had him arrested, and Alu gave Pierre all the information he needed, including the juicy tidbit that Lupien, the ringleader of the whole plot, had married Pierre's former fiance two years after the arrest. With anger coursing through his veins, Pierre picked off each

member of the offending party one by one. He stabbed Shobar to death with a dagger before poisoning Solari, but the piece to resistance he saved for Lupien and his family. First, he tricked Lupien's daughter into marrying a criminal, and once they were wed, Picat had the groom arrested, which made

the daughter so distraught that she died of shock. Lupien's name had been tarnished now, but there was still more work to be done, Pierre set his sights next on Lupien's son, whom he convinced to steal a bit of gold jewelry. The theft was found out and the Sun was incarcerated, And as if that wasn't enough, he then said his former friends restaurant ablaze his penultimate act of revenge,

before finally stabbing the man to death. That shouldn't bend the end of it all, but Alou found out what Pierre had been up to and kidnapped him for his money. When Pierre refused to pony up, however, a Lou mortally wounded him and left him for dead. By the time the French police arrived, Pierre was close to death. He told the officers everything, the whole story of his revenge,

before he succumbed to his injuries and died. Lu ran off to London, where he hid an obscurity until his death in eighteen twenty eight, but not before he told his side of the story to a French priest. Allegedly, parts of the epic tail he had not been privy too had been relayed to him by the ghost of Father Tory, the priest who had befriended Pierre in prison. And here's where I have to point out that if this murderous and intricate revenge plot sounds familiar, it's for

a very good reason. It was published by an archivist with the Paris Police in eighteen thirty eight. His name was Jacques Pouchet, and he had put a series of books out called Memoirs of the Paris Police. But they aren't the reason we know the story today, because another author happened to come across it and adapted it for his own purposes. The character of Pierre became Edmund Dantes, who was arrested on false charges on his wedding day.

He spent fourteen years in prison for a crime he did commit, where he met an Italian priest who told him of a buried treasure that had been hidden away. But it wasn't buried in Milan like Father Tory's treasure. This one was on the island of Monte Cristo. The Counts of Monte Cristo became one of Alexander Duma's most famous works, and inspired by the supposedly true experiences of the world's unluckiest shoemaker. Do Ma put it best when he wrote all human wisdom is contained in these two words,

wait and hope. In the end, Pierre Piccad got his revenge, and all he had to do was just that wait and hope. Once out of nature, I shall never take my bodily form from any natural thing, but such a form as Grecian gold smiths make of hammered gold and gold enameline. Those words come from a poem called Sailing to Byzantium, written in nineteen six by William Butler Yates. The poem is about growing old and letting go of the physical realm as we prepare our bodies for something more.

Yates had a passion for exploring the metaphysical, which is probably why he joined a secret society devoted to study in it. It was called the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, formed in eighteen eighties seven around a collection of texts known as the Cipher Manuscripts. These manuscripts outlined a series of teachings and rituals centered on the four main elements of nature, earth, water, air, and fire. Those who studied the rituals learned about all kinds of occult subjects,

including astrology and alchemy. Among the Hermetic Orders, alleged members were some of the greatest literary and artistic minds that would ever live. Sir Arthur Conan, Doyle, Brahms Stoker and British poet Charles Williams all belonged to the Order at one point, as did another guy, Alistair Crawley. Crawley, born in Warwickshire, England, in eighteen seventy five, was more than

just a writer. He dabbled in several interesting hobbies, such as painting and even mounting climbing, but he was also an occultist. Crowley founded a religion known as Felima, meaning will in classical Greek. He relied on a text written himself called The Book of the Law, which was something of a bible for his religion. He had written it while on his honeymoon in Egypt, and its words had allegedly been dictated to him by the disembodied voice of

his guardian angel named Iwas. Crawley's beliefs ran deep. To him. Magic was real and not the kind of magic one might encounter at a holiday work party or on a Las Vegas stage. Magic, which he spelled with a c K at the end, was the bridge between science and religion, change was possible through the power of sheer will. Meanwhile, Yates was being courted magically speaking by a Russian journalist

named Helena Blovotsky. She was the dubious head of the Theosophical Society, an organization that sought to join the mysticisms of the East and the West together, and she wanted Yates to become a member, but the poet was just two out there for them. He chose to spend his time performing magical experiments, a passion that he referred to as the most important pursuit of my life. One such experiment had Yates burning a flower until it was nothing

but ash. Then he placed those ashes underneath a bell jar and left them in the moonlight for several nights, after which time the ghost of the flower was supposed to visibly float above the ashes. But the Society didn't take kindly to yates experiments and asked him to leave in eight But that didn't matter. He had already found a group much more amenimal to his brand of studies,

the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. It's leader, McGregor Mathers, had wowed him with a demonstration of his magical powers, forcing him to see strange visions in his mind, and Yates possessed an infair actious enthusiasm for the Order and its goals, and enthusiasm not shared by one of its other members, Alistair Crawley. Yates believed that Crawley didn't hold

the same values as everyone else. In fact, he thought his rival might be trying to use the Order's teachings to commit heinous acts of evil, so he tried to have Crawley expelled from their inner circle. In reality, Crowley might have just been a bit too socially progressive for yates taste, and that just didn't mesh with the orders more conservative beliefs. But he wasn't about to go down without a fight, so Yates traveled to Paris, where he

consulted with McGregor Mathers and asked to be deputized. Crawley's goal, he told them, was to take over the London Temple on blythe Road, the one being watched over by Yates and a few others. So Mathers agreed and equipped him with several exorcism spells and various charms to aid him in his quest. Once back in England, Crawley made it to the temple and ascended the stairs. He started casting spells,

but Yates and his two magical companion were ready. They waited until he was close enough and encountered Crowley with something even more powerful, a swift kick down the stairs. The disgraced Crowley took a tumble and then fled the temple, hoping to eventually coax others towards his cause. He wanted revenge against Yates and everyone else in the order who had wronged him. He even met the artist Althea Giles and tried to persuade her to help him, but she

quickly turned the tables. She cut off a lock of Crawley's hair and gave it to Yates so that he could cast his own spells with it and keep Crowley at bay. William Butler Yates may be revered today as a poet, but to those with a more magical bent, he'll be fondly remembered as the victor against Alistair Crawley at the Battle of blythe Road. 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 come. The show was created by me, Aaron Mankey 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. Yeah,