WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.200 You are now listening to cryptid cocktail party 00:00:42.990 --> 00:00:46.829 Welcome to Cryptid Cocktail Party. My name is 00:00:46.829 --> 00:00:50.289 Sarge, and unfortunately Dave cannot make it 00:00:50.289 --> 00:00:53.530 today. He definitely doesn't have explosive diarrhea. 00:00:53.829 --> 00:00:57.469 However, I am joined by Maynard. Who also does 00:00:57.469 --> 00:01:00.170 not have explosive diarrhea. But you are extremely 00:01:00.170 --> 00:01:02.250 close to the camera, which is interesting. As 00:01:02.250 --> 00:01:04.109 of when we're recording this. I mean, my goal, 00:01:04.290 --> 00:01:06.150 you know, anytime I come on this show is to just 00:01:06.150 --> 00:01:08.870 get as close to the camera as I possibly can. 00:01:09.730 --> 00:01:13.150 And... You know, with this little fisheye lens, 00:01:13.209 --> 00:01:16.250 I think I'm there. I can see inside your nose. 00:01:16.310 --> 00:01:19.150 I can almost see your brain. You're going to 00:01:19.150 --> 00:01:22.609 have to look harder than that. Anyway. How much 00:01:22.609 --> 00:01:25.489 up there? Welcome to Cryptid Cocktail Party, 00:01:25.590 --> 00:01:27.810 a show where we have a few drinks, share a few 00:01:27.810 --> 00:01:31.549 laughs, take a dive into the unknown. Welcome. 00:01:31.790 --> 00:01:35.689 We've got a fun episode. This one's local, buddy. 00:01:36.129 --> 00:01:38.569 Take your guesses to where this episode is going 00:01:38.569 --> 00:01:45.290 to take place. Oh, boy. Boston? Somewhere? Yes. 00:01:45.670 --> 00:01:47.569 I was actually worried that you might say Quincy 00:01:47.569 --> 00:01:51.370 sent a T. No, I mean, let's not get crazy. I 00:01:51.370 --> 00:01:53.629 mean, you know, I thought it sounded a bit more 00:01:53.629 --> 00:01:55.650 broad than that. You know, I figured I'd be right 00:01:55.650 --> 00:01:58.549 if I said Boston. Yeah, well, you were right. 00:01:59.189 --> 00:02:01.349 Because, of course, it's two boys from Quincy. 00:02:01.370 --> 00:02:03.549 Why wouldn't we do an episode about Boston, which 00:02:03.549 --> 00:02:07.530 is not Quincy? Yeah, dude. How familiar are you 00:02:07.530 --> 00:02:11.990 with Castle Island? At the brewery or the place? 00:02:12.949 --> 00:02:16.090 Well, isn't the brewery on Castle Island? I believe 00:02:16.090 --> 00:02:17.830 so. There's one a little bit closer to where 00:02:17.830 --> 00:02:21.129 we live, too. But yes, the brewery is obviously 00:02:21.129 --> 00:02:24.949 started about, you know. Nice. Well, this one, 00:02:25.050 --> 00:02:28.349 this story takes place on Castle Island. It's 00:02:28.349 --> 00:02:31.370 a bit of a detour from what we normally do. But 00:02:31.370 --> 00:02:36.250 I thought it would be a cool story to tell. And 00:02:36.250 --> 00:02:39.860 it inspired a famous writer. But we're going 00:02:39.860 --> 00:02:44.520 to get to that. All right. So I think I'm just 00:02:44.520 --> 00:02:47.099 going to read the script I wrote. I'm going to 00:02:47.099 --> 00:02:51.699 try not to go off topic too much because there's 00:02:51.699 --> 00:02:53.699 so much to talk about with this. So I'm just 00:02:53.699 --> 00:02:55.000 going to get right into it. I'm going to tell 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:57.580 you a little story, Maynard. All right. It better 00:02:57.580 --> 00:03:00.879 end with Sullivan's hot dogs or something. Fuck. 00:03:00.979 --> 00:03:03.419 I left that out. Shit. All right. All right. 00:03:04.479 --> 00:03:09.870 No time to fix that now. Here we go. Lieutenant 00:03:09.870 --> 00:03:13.169 Robert Massey was a kind, compassionate man. 00:03:13.550 --> 00:03:16.270 His calm, quiet leadership set him apart from 00:03:16.270 --> 00:03:19.949 his fellow officers on Fort Independence. The 00:03:19.949 --> 00:03:21.770 soldiers under his command and nearly everyone 00:03:21.770 --> 00:03:24.990 else on the frigid, windswept shores of Castle 00:03:24.990 --> 00:03:29.009 Island admired and respected him. Conversely, 00:03:29.009 --> 00:03:32.650 the same could not be said for Lieutenant Gustavus 00:03:32.650 --> 00:03:36.669 Drain. Drain was brash, arrogant, and utterly 00:03:36.669 --> 00:03:39.370 repellent in almost every way. He spent his days 00:03:39.370 --> 00:03:41.689 singling out soldiers for relentless bullying. 00:03:42.689 --> 00:03:45.409 If he took a particular dislike to someone, Drain, 00:03:45.550 --> 00:03:48.650 an accomplished swordsman, would invent some 00:03:48.650 --> 00:03:52.050 unforgivable offense and demand immediate satisfaction. 00:03:52.990 --> 00:03:55.810 Drain killed many men within the cold, imposing 00:03:55.810 --> 00:03:59.270 granite walls of the Stronghold. I'm kind of 00:03:59.270 --> 00:04:02.050 glad we don't do duels anymore. Not to get off 00:04:02.050 --> 00:04:05.280 on a side quest here, but... Yeah, yeah, that 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:09.020 could get ugly. Yeah, like, I was looking up 00:04:09.020 --> 00:04:12.419 duels. I wanted to look up how they worked. And 00:04:12.419 --> 00:04:15.819 apparently, when you challenge someone to a duel, 00:04:15.879 --> 00:04:18.579 they get to pick the weapon. And that feels kind 00:04:18.579 --> 00:04:20.839 of fucked up. Yeah, yeah, because you could be 00:04:20.839 --> 00:04:22.779 all ready and, you know, you know how to use 00:04:22.779 --> 00:04:24.439 nine out of ten weapons, but then they choose 00:04:24.439 --> 00:04:26.759 the one you don't know how to use. Right. Like, 00:04:27.399 --> 00:04:29.180 what if I challenged a guy who was really good 00:04:29.180 --> 00:04:33.779 at fighting with yo -yos? Screwed. Absolutely 00:04:33.779 --> 00:04:36.800 screwed. I can do the cat's cradle, that's about 00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:43.240 it. Anyway, on December 25th, 1817, the soldiers 00:04:43.240 --> 00:04:45.180 of Fort Independence took shelter from the cutting 00:04:45.180 --> 00:04:48.220 breeze sweeping in off Boston Harbor across the 00:04:48.220 --> 00:04:51.759 frozen seawater built up on the shore. Gray clouds 00:04:51.759 --> 00:04:53.959 stretched out from across the winter sky, denying 00:04:53.959 --> 00:04:56.699 the garrison of even the hope of warmth from 00:04:56.699 --> 00:05:00.089 the sunlight. Within the weathered ramparts, 00:05:00.149 --> 00:05:01.850 men were sitting around a wooden table playing 00:05:01.850 --> 00:05:05.230 cards while warming up by the fire. Lieutenants 00:05:05.230 --> 00:05:07.470 Massey and Drain sat across from each other. 00:05:08.069 --> 00:05:12.110 Their dog -eared cards trembled from the unshakable 00:05:12.110 --> 00:05:15.649 chill of the damp, freezing air. The flames cast 00:05:15.649 --> 00:05:18.370 dancing shadows throughout the room. Massey laid 00:05:18.370 --> 00:05:21.389 down his hand. The other men laughed as Massey 00:05:21.389 --> 00:05:23.209 reached out to claim the pile of coins in the 00:05:23.209 --> 00:05:25.829 center of the table for the game that he'd just 00:05:25.829 --> 00:05:29.089 won. Drain shot up from his stool and slammed 00:05:29.089 --> 00:05:31.050 his hand down on Massey's winnings. The laughter 00:05:31.050 --> 00:05:32.990 stopped as the mood in the room turned dark. 00:05:33.949 --> 00:05:37.889 Hold fast, sir, Drain growled. You're a cheat. 00:05:39.050 --> 00:05:41.029 Massey looked confused at the accusation. He 00:05:41.029 --> 00:05:43.050 could not have possibly cheated. The other soldiers 00:05:43.050 --> 00:05:45.990 were equally confused. But with the consequences 00:05:45.990 --> 00:05:48.470 of challenging Drain, he had killed men for less. 00:05:49.829 --> 00:05:53.730 Massey calmly pushed back from the table. I did 00:05:53.730 --> 00:05:57.720 not cheat, sir. You dealt the hand. Drain's anger 00:05:57.720 --> 00:06:00.000 grew even more intense. His voice became quieter. 00:06:00.779 --> 00:06:05.040 Are you questioning my honor, sir? He nearly 00:06:05.040 --> 00:06:08.939 spit the words out between clenched teeth. The 00:06:08.939 --> 00:06:11.019 room was silent in shocked fear. There was no 00:06:11.019 --> 00:06:13.279 question where this conversation was heading. 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:16.379 Massey rose from his seat. He straightened his 00:06:16.379 --> 00:06:19.759 waistcoat and met Drain's intense gaze. Drain 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:21.939 appeared confused at first, not expecting Massey 00:06:21.939 --> 00:06:26.269 to remain firm. Massey smiled. You were mistaken, 00:06:26.449 --> 00:06:28.509 sir. Perhaps the cold has clouded your judgment. 00:06:28.629 --> 00:06:30.509 In a flash, Drain flipped the table, sending 00:06:30.509 --> 00:06:33.029 tin cups, cards, and coins scattered across the 00:06:33.029 --> 00:06:36.970 room. I demand immediate satisfaction, Massey. 00:06:38.709 --> 00:06:40.649 Massey rolled his eyes in contempt. Very well, 00:06:40.689 --> 00:06:44.810 Drain. Swords. West parapet. One hour. Massey 00:06:44.810 --> 00:06:49.810 turned and left. Drain kicked - Excuse me. I 00:06:49.810 --> 00:06:52.290 was choked by my own words that I just wrote. 00:06:55.760 --> 00:06:57.660 Massey turned and left. Drain kicked the pewter 00:06:57.660 --> 00:06:59.579 flag in across the room and stormed out behind 00:06:59.579 --> 00:07:01.699 him. Massey entered his quarters, followed by 00:07:01.699 --> 00:07:04.500 his second, a man named Master Sergeant Franklin. 00:07:04.720 --> 00:07:06.439 He opened a chest at the foot of his bed and 00:07:06.439 --> 00:07:09.339 drew his blade. Sir, please do not fight, Lieutenant 00:07:09.339 --> 00:07:12.920 Drain, Franklin said. He has not lost a duel. 00:07:14.139 --> 00:07:16.800 Massey paused, took a deep breath, then he turned 00:07:16.800 --> 00:07:18.680 and faced the worried sergeant. I cannot abide 00:07:18.680 --> 00:07:20.779 that man's accusation, sergeant. If I do not 00:07:20.779 --> 00:07:24.610 answer, I will be labeled a coward. Master Sergeant 00:07:24.610 --> 00:07:28.589 nodded. Aye, but a living coward, sir. Massey 00:07:28.589 --> 00:07:31.129 smiled. That's no kind of life, Sergeant. A man 00:07:31.129 --> 00:07:35.050 is only as good as his honor. Down the hall, 00:07:35.189 --> 00:07:37.670 Drain had retrieved his saber. He shook his head 00:07:37.670 --> 00:07:39.769 and wondered why Massey had accepted the challenge 00:07:39.769 --> 00:07:43.170 so readily. What is his aim? Drain muttered to 00:07:43.170 --> 00:07:45.990 himself. No matter. He'll die as confidently 00:07:45.990 --> 00:07:49.410 as he lived. He chuckled. The tremble of his 00:07:49.410 --> 00:07:52.610 hand betrayed his laughter. Massey was very confident. 00:07:53.829 --> 00:07:57.509 How are we doing so far? I'm ready. I need to 00:07:57.509 --> 00:08:02.629 know what happens next. I was writing this with 00:08:02.629 --> 00:08:05.069 Edgar Allan Poe in mind, but then I remembered 00:08:05.069 --> 00:08:07.050 he's a much better writer than I am, so I stopped 00:08:07.050 --> 00:08:10.529 doing that. He was a poet, wasn't he? He was 00:08:10.529 --> 00:08:15.910 a poet. I did write a couple of rap songs, but 00:08:15.910 --> 00:08:20.050 that's about it. None of them were good, so don't 00:08:20.050 --> 00:08:28.810 look them up. Spotify? Soundcloud. Skrt! Massey 00:08:28.810 --> 00:08:30.610 and Drain met in the shadows of the fort's bare 00:08:30.610 --> 00:08:34.370 cellar under the west parapet. Each second carried 00:08:34.370 --> 00:08:36.889 a lantern. The men drew their swords, prepared 00:08:36.889 --> 00:08:41.570 to engage. Drain charged forward and swung wildly. 00:08:41.769 --> 00:08:44.730 Massey stepped aside and Drain spun around. Massey 00:08:44.730 --> 00:08:47.429 thrust his sword at Drain's chest. Drain parried. 00:08:48.169 --> 00:08:50.210 But he left his face open for a jab from the 00:08:50.210 --> 00:08:52.629 hilt of Massey's saber. Blood gushed from Drain's 00:08:52.629 --> 00:08:55.730 torn lip. Drain wiped away the blood with his 00:08:55.730 --> 00:08:57.509 handkerchief. He threw it on the floor and once 00:08:57.509 --> 00:08:59.830 again lunged towards Massey. Again, Massey stepped 00:08:59.830 --> 00:09:02.690 aside. As Drain passed, Massey tripped Drain, 00:09:02.789 --> 00:09:05.950 who fell hard on the dusty cellar floor. Massey 00:09:05.950 --> 00:09:09.330 walked to his side. Satisfied? Massey said calmly. 00:09:10.649 --> 00:09:13.970 Drain nodded. His blood fell in drops on the 00:09:13.970 --> 00:09:16.870 dry floor. Grains of sand glistened in the lamplight. 00:09:17.939 --> 00:09:19.980 Massey returned his sword to its scabbard and 00:09:19.980 --> 00:09:22.759 reached out his hand to help Drain up. Drain's 00:09:22.759 --> 00:09:25.039 fingers extended and then contracted into a fist. 00:09:25.519 --> 00:09:28.440 In one swift motion, Drain threw sand into Massey's 00:09:28.440 --> 00:09:30.419 face. As Massey stumbled backward, Drain thrust 00:09:30.419 --> 00:09:33.460 his sword into Massey's chest. Massey fell to 00:09:33.460 --> 00:09:36.419 his knees. Drain placed his boot on Massey's 00:09:36.419 --> 00:09:38.320 shoulder and kicked him backward as he drew his 00:09:38.320 --> 00:09:41.960 sword from between Massey's ribs. Quite satisfied, 00:09:42.299 --> 00:09:44.500 Drain hissed through a ghoulish, bloody smile. 00:09:45.759 --> 00:09:47.799 Massey fought for air as he breathed his last 00:09:47.799 --> 00:09:53.559 on the cold ground. Oof. Yeah. Doesn't seem like 00:09:53.559 --> 00:09:58.299 a fair play. Yeah, Drain's a fucking dick. Everything 00:09:58.299 --> 00:10:00.480 that I read about this guy, which is one paragraph 00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:03.080 from a blog some Boston guy wrote, sounds like 00:10:03.080 --> 00:10:07.899 he's a jerk. Terrible human. Okay, back to the 00:10:07.899 --> 00:10:11.580 story. The winter of 1817 reluctantly gave way 00:10:11.580 --> 00:10:14.240 to the warm, softer air of spring. Lieutenant 00:10:14.240 --> 00:10:16.379 Massey's fresh grave was covered with the small 00:10:16.379 --> 00:10:19.120 blue flowers that sprung up in response to the 00:10:19.120 --> 00:10:22.039 welcome April sunlight. Drain escaped justice 00:10:22.039 --> 00:10:24.000 for the murder, though word spread quickly about 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:26.639 his underhanded attack. The metaphor of independence 00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:31.019 largely avoided him, except for Master Sergeant 00:10:31.019 --> 00:10:34.399 Franklin. Though the rest of the winter, through 00:10:34.399 --> 00:10:37.059 the rest of the winter, Drain and Franklin became 00:10:37.059 --> 00:10:39.799 friends. They shared a love of local rum made 00:10:39.799 --> 00:10:44.159 in Boston's North End. Call back to the... Yeah, 00:10:44.200 --> 00:10:46.899 yeah. What happened like a hundred years later? 00:10:48.840 --> 00:10:51.740 Are they still making rum? I wish they were, 00:10:51.820 --> 00:10:53.700 but I don't think they are. And I can't imagine 00:10:53.700 --> 00:10:56.639 it's very good. From time to time, Franklin would 00:10:56.639 --> 00:10:58.960 bring a bottle to Drain, smuggled by a passing 00:10:58.960 --> 00:11:02.000 fishing vessel. Drain seemed unaffected by the 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:03.700 murder of Massey. In fact, he was soon to be 00:11:03.700 --> 00:11:05.419 married to a woman from Beacon Hill, so things 00:11:05.419 --> 00:11:09.500 were looking up for him. In celebration, Master 00:11:09.500 --> 00:11:14.220 Sergeant Franklin convinced him to celebrate 00:11:14.220 --> 00:11:16.240 the night before the wedding. Drain agreed on 00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:17.879 the condition that Franklin secure some more 00:11:17.879 --> 00:11:21.179 rum. As the night began, a band of soldiers played 00:11:21.179 --> 00:11:23.320 music while others danced and sang. Drain's cup 00:11:23.320 --> 00:11:26.440 was never fully emptied. With every sip, someone 00:11:26.440 --> 00:11:28.980 would pour more into his flagon. As the moon 00:11:28.980 --> 00:11:31.000 rose above the fort, the men of Fort Independence 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:35.000 celebrated Lieutenant Drain. Drink up, sir. We've 00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:36.860 got a surprise for you, Franklin shouted above 00:11:36.860 --> 00:11:40.039 the celebration. Drain nodded, fully incoherent, 00:11:40.039 --> 00:11:43.159 as the strong molasses rum had sunk deep into 00:11:43.159 --> 00:11:45.139 his veins. The drinking, the singing, the dancing, 00:11:45.220 --> 00:11:49.539 it all carried on long into the night. Drain's 00:11:49.539 --> 00:11:52.879 eyes blinked slower and longer until he eventually 00:11:52.879 --> 00:11:58.299 fell asleep. A cold breeze and hushed, imperceptible 00:11:58.299 --> 00:12:01.279 talking drew Drain out of his slumber. His head 00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:03.279 throbbed. Though still dark, the faint light 00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:05.779 of the lamp made his eyes water. He attempted 00:12:05.779 --> 00:12:07.460 to roll away from the light when he felt the 00:12:07.460 --> 00:12:10.100 rough shackles around his wrists. His eyes widened. 00:12:10.120 --> 00:12:11.919 He looked up to find his hand suspended over 00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:15.220 his head. All right, boys, enough games. I'm 00:12:15.220 --> 00:12:19.120 through. Take me to bed. Drain grumbled. In the 00:12:19.120 --> 00:12:21.139 darkness, Master Sergeant Franklin called out 00:12:21.139 --> 00:12:24.639 to Drain. Aye, sir, enough games. I assume you're 00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:28.000 satisfied now. Drain lifted his head to find 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:30.539 Franklin's voice. To his shock, he found a fresh 00:12:30.539 --> 00:12:33.399 stone wall with a small hole in it. Franklin 00:12:33.399 --> 00:12:36.779 held out a lamp through the hole. You would be 00:12:36.779 --> 00:12:38.539 impressed, sir. The boys and I managed to build 00:12:38.539 --> 00:12:41.179 this wall while you slept. She's sturdy, Franklin 00:12:41.179 --> 00:12:44.299 laughed. Drain tried to stand up, but his hands 00:12:44.299 --> 00:12:46.100 were stuck fast to the shackles, and the shackles 00:12:46.100 --> 00:12:49.220 were securely fastened to the wall. I'm not amused, 00:12:49.220 --> 00:12:52.570 Franklin. Free me at once, Drain shouted. Franklin 00:12:52.570 --> 00:12:54.490 pulled the lamp through the wall, allowing the 00:12:54.490 --> 00:12:57.269 shadows to consume every inch of Drain's new 00:12:57.269 --> 00:13:00.830 tomb. Lieutenant Massey sends his congratulations 00:13:00.830 --> 00:13:03.570 on your wedding, sir, though I think you might 00:13:03.570 --> 00:13:06.830 be late. Franklin carefully spread mortar on 00:13:06.830 --> 00:13:09.389 the opening. Drain began shouting for help. Panic 00:13:09.389 --> 00:13:12.509 rose in his voice and cracked with fear. Franklin 00:13:12.509 --> 00:13:14.870 lifted the heavy granite stone and fit it snugly 00:13:14.870 --> 00:13:18.899 into the hole. Drain's screams faded. Muffled 00:13:18.899 --> 00:13:21.220 by the thick granite walls, a heavy silence fell 00:13:21.220 --> 00:13:24.039 on the cellar of Fort Independence. Lieutenant 00:13:24.039 --> 00:13:28.460 Drain was never seen again. Ooh. What do you 00:13:28.460 --> 00:13:32.559 think? So, does that mean he's like, he's still 00:13:32.559 --> 00:13:36.399 there? Walled up. Walled up? In the basement 00:13:36.399 --> 00:13:42.360 of Fort Independence. Dang. So, this story is 00:13:42.360 --> 00:13:46.000 crazy. It's wild. It's so wild, in fact, that 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:49.700 just a few years later, Someone else was completely 00:13:49.700 --> 00:13:52.259 blown away by it. A hard -charging go -getter 00:13:52.259 --> 00:13:55.379 by the name of Edgar Allan Poe. I know that guy. 00:13:55.740 --> 00:13:59.639 Yeah, right? He wrote The Raven. And a lot of 00:13:59.639 --> 00:14:02.379 poems about a woman who did not have any interest 00:14:02.379 --> 00:14:09.399 in him. Now, he was from Baltimore, right? No, 00:14:09.399 --> 00:14:11.440 sir. He was born and raised here in Boston, Massachusetts. 00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:15.830 Was he local? He lived in Baltimore. Okay. All 00:14:15.830 --> 00:14:18.950 right. So you were right. You were right. I was 00:14:18.950 --> 00:14:22.809 just being facetious. But he was born here. Yeah, 00:14:22.870 --> 00:14:25.289 he was born here. And then as a child, he moved 00:14:25.289 --> 00:14:28.610 down to Virginia. Gotcha. Where he became a huge 00:14:28.610 --> 00:14:31.129 dick. He got drunk all the time, was constantly 00:14:31.129 --> 00:14:35.149 getting into fights. Just total hellraiser. And 00:14:35.149 --> 00:14:37.090 his father was completely fucking done with him. 00:14:37.830 --> 00:14:41.570 And eventually, Poe had accumulated a shit ton 00:14:41.570 --> 00:14:46.259 of debt. And he never paid out. And so in order 00:14:46.259 --> 00:14:50.259 to escape, he briefly changed his name and joined 00:14:50.259 --> 00:14:55.899 the military to do a five -year bid. Dang. The 00:14:55.899 --> 00:14:59.039 funny thing is, that sent him to Boston Harbor, 00:14:59.240 --> 00:15:02.899 which in the 1820s is a fate worse than death 00:15:02.899 --> 00:15:04.879 because that shit is cold as hell in the wintertime. 00:15:05.320 --> 00:15:10.240 Just a little bit. So this was in 1827. He was 00:15:10.240 --> 00:15:13.080 then stationed at Fort Independence in Boston 00:15:13.080 --> 00:15:15.320 Harbor, which is located directly across from 00:15:15.320 --> 00:15:18.259 Logan Airport. So anybody who has flown into 00:15:18.259 --> 00:15:22.820 Boston has flown over Fort Independence. And 00:15:22.820 --> 00:15:24.940 by then, the story of Drayton and Massey had 00:15:24.940 --> 00:15:30.100 become somewhat of a local legend. Poe saw the 00:15:30.100 --> 00:15:33.559 name of Lieutenant Massey on the wall in a memorial. 00:15:35.269 --> 00:15:37.769 Lieutenant Massey's grave can be found in Massachusetts. 00:15:37.769 --> 00:15:42.330 He was actually relocated. So his body is now 00:15:42.330 --> 00:15:46.830 at Fort Devens out in Massachusetts. I've spent 00:15:46.830 --> 00:15:50.909 a lot of time at Fort Devens. It's mostly mosquitoes 00:15:50.909 --> 00:15:58.789 or snow. It's one or the other. But Poe decided 00:15:58.789 --> 00:16:02.330 that this would be a good story. And so he took 00:16:02.330 --> 00:16:06.950 the story of... the duel between Massey and Drain, 00:16:07.049 --> 00:16:10.690 which apparently did happen. And he wrote The 00:16:10.690 --> 00:16:14.789 Cask of Amontillado. Have you ever heard of it? 00:16:15.070 --> 00:16:17.470 No, I don't think so. All right, so this is a 00:16:17.470 --> 00:16:19.970 great revenge story. It's actually, it was one 00:16:19.970 --> 00:16:22.809 of my favorite stories of Poe's, this one in 00:16:22.809 --> 00:16:24.450 the Telltale Heart, which is also an amazing 00:16:24.450 --> 00:16:28.889 story. So in this version of the story, a nobleman 00:16:28.889 --> 00:16:34.700 named Montresser, was being bullied by a fellow 00:16:34.700 --> 00:16:38.480 nobleman named Fortunato, which sounds like a 00:16:38.480 --> 00:16:40.220 dick name. It sounds like Fortunato should be 00:16:40.220 --> 00:16:43.960 wearing affliction jeans, driving a Cybertruck. 00:16:44.179 --> 00:16:49.480 You know the guy. And so I guess Fortunato was 00:16:49.480 --> 00:16:52.159 just constantly picking on Montresor and being 00:16:52.159 --> 00:16:55.500 just an absolute dickhead to him. And so in order 00:16:55.500 --> 00:16:59.039 to get revenge, Montresor decided to tell Fortunato 00:16:59.039 --> 00:17:00.899 that he had this cask of Amontillado that... 00:17:01.429 --> 00:17:04.369 only someone as refined as Fortunato could verify 00:17:04.369 --> 00:17:08.309 that it was actually a Montiato wine. And so 00:17:08.309 --> 00:17:11.589 Fortunato came over, Montresor got them wasted, 00:17:11.769 --> 00:17:14.509 and I could be saying these names wrong, but 00:17:14.509 --> 00:17:16.470 I feel good about it, so if you've got a problem, 00:17:16.569 --> 00:17:21.529 tell your congressman. So they got shit -faced 00:17:21.529 --> 00:17:25.670 drunk, and then... Montresor was like, okay, 00:17:25.730 --> 00:17:28.029 let's go get the wine in my wine cellar. So they 00:17:28.029 --> 00:17:30.009 start going down to the cellar and Fortunato 00:17:30.009 --> 00:17:32.609 starts getting a cough because of the damp, gross 00:17:32.609 --> 00:17:37.869 cellar air. And so Montresor was like, hey, we 00:17:37.869 --> 00:17:41.569 can go back. But Fortunato was so greedy, he 00:17:41.569 --> 00:17:45.930 wanted the Monteato wine. And so he's like, no, 00:17:45.950 --> 00:17:48.029 no, no, that's okay. So they get down to the 00:17:48.029 --> 00:17:52.190 basement and Montresor starts talking about being 00:17:52.190 --> 00:17:55.519 a mason. And Fortunato thinks that he means a 00:17:55.519 --> 00:17:58.700 Freemason. But Montresor shows him a spade and 00:17:58.700 --> 00:18:01.339 he's like, no, just a Mason. Just like a regular 00:18:01.339 --> 00:18:04.660 Mason. They do have a back and forth. They have 00:18:04.660 --> 00:18:08.359 a good one where Montresor talks about his family 00:18:08.359 --> 00:18:12.559 crests. And the family's motto is basically, 00:18:12.700 --> 00:18:17.880 no slight will go unpunished. And then he, much 00:18:17.880 --> 00:18:22.970 like in the Boston story, he chains up. puts 00:18:22.970 --> 00:18:26.250 Fortunato to the wall and then bricks him up 00:18:26.250 --> 00:18:29.930 into the wall. So instead of giving him the Amontillado, 00:18:30.049 --> 00:18:32.890 he walls him up in the wine cellar. And the interesting 00:18:32.890 --> 00:18:37.910 thing about the story also is that Poe, as the 00:18:37.910 --> 00:18:41.130 narrator, Montresor, is talking about this 50 00:18:41.130 --> 00:18:44.650 years later and he says, oh, you know, I started 00:18:44.650 --> 00:18:47.710 to feel sick about the whole situation, but I 00:18:47.710 --> 00:18:49.670 just chalked that up to the air in the cellar. 00:18:50.609 --> 00:18:55.220 May Fortunato rest in peace. Wildly messed up. 00:18:55.299 --> 00:18:57.359 Imagine pissing somebody off so much that they 00:18:57.359 --> 00:19:02.000 wall you up in the basement of their house. That's 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:05.819 crazy. You'd break them right in. Wait, now that 00:19:05.819 --> 00:19:07.460 I think about it, you have a dungeon, don't you? 00:19:08.700 --> 00:19:12.579 Kind of, yeah, yeah. You have what you'd call 00:19:12.579 --> 00:19:15.019 a basement under a cement garage, so yeah, that 00:19:15.019 --> 00:19:16.960 could qualify as one. If I ever wanted to fill 00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:19.079 that in, I could, you know. Yeah, you could just 00:19:19.079 --> 00:19:20.759 wall it up and nobody would notice. Oh yeah, 00:19:20.859 --> 00:19:22.359 no. Nobody would know that was there. Because 00:19:22.359 --> 00:19:24.279 nobody has a basement under their garage. Oh, 00:19:24.299 --> 00:19:27.880 no. No. All right, so you might be asking. I 00:19:27.880 --> 00:19:29.740 don't either, technically. You know, I wouldn't 00:19:29.740 --> 00:19:34.059 either. You just have a room where you keep the 00:19:34.059 --> 00:19:36.839 mailman. You know, if somebody just, you know, 00:19:36.880 --> 00:19:39.400 you show up on the ring cam one day and I catch 00:19:39.400 --> 00:19:41.799 you, you know, you're in deep shit. Game over, 00:19:41.859 --> 00:19:44.079 buddy. Game over. If you see me buying bricks, 00:19:44.339 --> 00:19:46.859 don't come knocking at the door for a couple 00:19:46.859 --> 00:19:49.140 hours at least. All right, so you might be asking, 00:19:49.259 --> 00:19:54.059 how true is this story? Well, Lieutenant Drain 00:19:54.059 --> 00:19:57.299 did not die in 1817. In fact, he would go on 00:19:57.299 --> 00:20:01.839 to become Captain Drain and die in 1846 or 1847. 00:20:02.160 --> 00:20:05.380 Oh. And so for a while, people sort of chalked 00:20:05.380 --> 00:20:08.619 this story up to an urban legend. That is until 00:20:08.619 --> 00:20:13.480 1905. So to give you a little history of Fort 00:20:13.480 --> 00:20:16.470 Independence, Fort Independence was built. In 00:20:16.470 --> 00:20:19.349 the early 1800s, right around the time of the 00:20:19.349 --> 00:20:26.349 1812 war. The American Revolution II electric 00:20:26.349 --> 00:20:31.230 boogaloo. Britain's back for revenge. This time, 00:20:31.309 --> 00:20:34.950 they didn't bring tea. But Fort Independence 00:20:34.950 --> 00:20:39.609 is located right across from Logan Airport. It's 00:20:39.609 --> 00:20:42.549 a granite fort made of granite from Rockport. 00:20:44.259 --> 00:20:46.880 and it was under construction on and off from 00:20:46.880 --> 00:20:49.700 1814 to 1850. Talk about a long -ass time to 00:20:49.700 --> 00:20:52.859 build in the fort. I mean, it is Boston. I mean, 00:20:52.880 --> 00:20:55.279 it was basically the first big dig. Exactly. 00:20:55.279 --> 00:20:58.160 And this is why nobody was going to notice if, 00:20:58.259 --> 00:21:01.519 like, a room just disappeared or guys were, like, 00:21:01.519 --> 00:21:03.799 building a wall because the fort was constantly 00:21:03.799 --> 00:21:07.299 under construction. Interesting fact, former 00:21:07.299 --> 00:21:09.680 President John Adams actually named Fort Independence. 00:21:10.220 --> 00:21:15.920 Oh. Yeah. So anyway, in 1905, the fort was in 00:21:15.920 --> 00:21:17.920 desperate need of some repairs. It's on Boston 00:21:17.920 --> 00:21:20.859 Harbor, saltwater, not the best friend of mortar. 00:21:20.980 --> 00:21:23.440 So it's kind of chewing up the fort, screwing 00:21:23.440 --> 00:21:26.339 it up. So workers were checking the original 00:21:26.339 --> 00:21:27.960 plans for the fort, and they found that there 00:21:27.960 --> 00:21:29.839 was a wall that wasn't in the original design. 00:21:29.900 --> 00:21:32.740 In fact, there should have been a dungeon in 00:21:32.740 --> 00:21:35.539 its place. So after some back and forth, the 00:21:35.539 --> 00:21:38.880 workers decided to tear down the wall. Behind 00:21:38.880 --> 00:21:41.200 it, they found a skeleton wearing the tattered 00:21:41.200 --> 00:21:44.559 remains of an army uniform. Worse yet, the skeleton 00:21:44.559 --> 00:21:49.339 was chained to the wall. Ooh. Now, I couldn't 00:21:49.339 --> 00:21:52.119 find a ton of collaborating evidence here. However, 00:21:52.420 --> 00:21:55.380 a number of sources local to Boston claim it's 00:21:55.380 --> 00:21:58.359 true. And much like the escaped monkey in the 00:21:58.359 --> 00:22:01.700 Boston Garden, I'm willing to accept this one. 00:22:02.559 --> 00:22:05.539 Yeah, yeah. And then right after, they opened 00:22:05.539 --> 00:22:11.859 Sullivan's. Now you kind of wonder where they 00:22:11.859 --> 00:22:15.819 got the hot dogs from. Ah, you know, geez. So 00:22:15.819 --> 00:22:16.880 what do you think, man? Do you think this is 00:22:16.880 --> 00:22:20.779 true? I mean, it sounds like it could be true. 00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:25.680 I feel like it's true. So I couldn't find any 00:22:25.680 --> 00:22:28.099 news sources, but we're also talking about 1905. 00:22:28.460 --> 00:22:33.549 So what's up with the discrepancy of grain? Dying 00:22:33.549 --> 00:22:36.430 years later, though. So I think whatever happened 00:22:36.430 --> 00:22:38.890 to this guy who got walled up in there, he was 00:22:38.890 --> 00:22:40.589 probably just a piece of shit that everybody 00:22:40.589 --> 00:22:44.869 hated. Back then when they played pranks on people, 00:22:45.009 --> 00:22:48.569 it wasn't exactly like nice. It was like, I really 00:22:48.569 --> 00:22:50.950 do hate you and I want to do terrible things 00:22:50.950 --> 00:22:56.869 to you. So I think with Lieutenant Drain. I, 00:22:56.970 --> 00:22:58.930 he may not have been an asshole. He may have 00:22:58.930 --> 00:23:01.410 just been a guy who was good at dueling and maybe 00:23:01.410 --> 00:23:04.230 Massey really did, you know, piss him off. And 00:23:04.230 --> 00:23:06.869 maybe Massey did cheat at cards. Who knows? The 00:23:06.869 --> 00:23:10.069 story is that Massey was like this super good 00:23:10.069 --> 00:23:13.289 guy, superhero, and Drain was this terrible braggart 00:23:13.289 --> 00:23:17.450 piece of shit that everyone hated. And so that's 00:23:17.450 --> 00:23:19.430 what carried the story on. But this was also 00:23:19.430 --> 00:23:23.690 being told in 1827, you know, 10 years after 00:23:23.690 --> 00:23:26.130 this duel supposedly happened. Yeah, one of those 00:23:26.130 --> 00:23:27.690 things where the story just changes over the 00:23:27.690 --> 00:23:30.289 years. Yeah, and the internet didn't exist, so 00:23:30.289 --> 00:23:33.829 nobody would be able to argue that Drain was 00:23:33.829 --> 00:23:37.470 actually happily living somewhere else. He got 00:23:37.470 --> 00:23:40.109 switched to a new fort. The whole nine yards. 00:23:41.609 --> 00:23:44.009 I added a little color commentary. I don't know 00:23:44.009 --> 00:23:45.650 if he was actually getting married. I think the 00:23:45.650 --> 00:23:50.210 story was supposed to end with them getting him 00:23:50.210 --> 00:23:52.549 drunk. I was just putting some flair in there. 00:23:53.710 --> 00:23:56.039 Because... I felt comfortable doing that because 00:23:56.039 --> 00:23:59.579 Poe did it. And also, nobody knows what actually 00:23:59.579 --> 00:24:02.240 happened. Right. So, I mean, does it matter? 00:24:02.380 --> 00:24:05.000 I mean, no. Yeah, exactly. The interesting thing 00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:07.559 about this story is that I actually first heard 00:24:07.559 --> 00:24:09.819 this story as a boy. My father used to tell this 00:24:09.819 --> 00:24:16.859 story around the campfire. Hmm. Yeah. And he 00:24:16.859 --> 00:24:19.000 also, you know, would attribute Edgar Allan Poe, 00:24:19.059 --> 00:24:20.859 you know, and say that, you know, Edgar Allan 00:24:20.859 --> 00:24:23.980 Poe kind of... wrote the story, the whole nine 00:24:23.980 --> 00:24:27.119 yards. But yeah, I thought it was an interesting 00:24:27.119 --> 00:24:30.539 little piece of Boston history. And so did the 00:24:30.539 --> 00:24:33.299 people of Bethesda Video Games, because when 00:24:33.299 --> 00:24:37.900 they made Fallout 4 in 2015, which takes place 00:24:37.900 --> 00:24:40.400 in Boston, you actually have a bunch of missions 00:24:40.400 --> 00:24:44.359 at Fort Independence. And when you're exploring 00:24:44.359 --> 00:24:47.700 Fort Independence, you can find a skeleton walled 00:24:47.700 --> 00:24:51.759 up in the fort. Yeah, and there's actually a 00:24:51.759 --> 00:24:53.380 whole Reddit thread of people trying to figure 00:24:53.380 --> 00:24:56.380 out who this skeleton was and why he's relevant, 00:24:56.640 --> 00:24:59.319 why they put him in there, because it's such 00:24:59.319 --> 00:25:03.660 a local story. And then they stumble upon the 00:25:03.660 --> 00:25:05.339 story somewhere else, and they're like, oh, it's 00:25:05.339 --> 00:25:07.920 like a little Easter egg thing. Yeah, and Fallout's 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:09.160 kind of famous for that. They have a bunch of 00:25:09.160 --> 00:25:12.980 Easter eggs. But I thought this was a great story. 00:25:13.059 --> 00:25:15.460 I thought it was a lot of fun. There's a whole 00:25:15.460 --> 00:25:17.519 bunch of cool stories about Boston Harbor, so 00:25:17.519 --> 00:25:19.359 maybe we'll get to the Lady in Black at some 00:25:19.359 --> 00:25:23.799 point. Have you heard that one? I think so, yeah. 00:25:24.200 --> 00:25:26.400 Yeah, I'm pretty sure that was on Georgia's Island, 00:25:26.519 --> 00:25:29.319 but I could be wrong. I don't know. It might 00:25:29.319 --> 00:25:31.220 have been Fort Independence. My dad used to tell 00:25:31.220 --> 00:25:32.920 that one as a ghost story, too, and it turned 00:25:32.920 --> 00:25:34.440 out there was some truth to that story as well. 00:25:34.519 --> 00:25:38.819 So a whole bunch of fun stuff. But I thought, 00:25:38.839 --> 00:25:43.339 who better to appreciate this story? than a guy 00:25:43.339 --> 00:25:45.339 who goes to Castle Island Brewery all the time. 00:25:45.839 --> 00:25:47.980 Yeah, exactly. And I mean, I've been to the, 00:25:48.079 --> 00:25:50.380 you know, Ford Independence and the Castle Island 00:25:50.380 --> 00:25:52.700 plenty of times too. I mean, you know, grew up 00:25:52.700 --> 00:25:54.940 just south of there, so. Yeah, I did a harbor 00:25:54.940 --> 00:25:59.819 tour recently and the narrator of the tour, the 00:25:59.819 --> 00:26:01.380 person talking about all the sites that we were 00:26:01.380 --> 00:26:03.839 seeing actually touched on this story. That's 00:26:03.839 --> 00:26:06.119 why I thought it'd be fun to talk about. If you 00:26:06.119 --> 00:26:09.500 want more information, good luck. I couldn't 00:26:09.500 --> 00:26:12.579 find a lot. So that's why I had to write a story 00:26:12.579 --> 00:26:15.880 myself, kind of loosely based on the facts that 00:26:15.880 --> 00:26:18.000 were available to me. But again, we don't even 00:26:18.000 --> 00:26:20.019 know if the duel actually happened. We do know 00:26:20.019 --> 00:26:21.680 that there was a Lieutenant Massey and there 00:26:21.680 --> 00:26:26.140 was a Lieutenant Drain. They did exist. There's 00:26:26.140 --> 00:26:28.799 arguably enough evidence to say that the duel 00:26:28.799 --> 00:26:32.299 also happened. We just, you know, we're guessing 00:26:32.299 --> 00:26:35.680 that Massey died in the duel and that Drain went 00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:37.319 on to be the victor and then get promoted to 00:26:37.319 --> 00:26:41.859 captain. I'm sure the BPL has some other stuff 00:26:41.859 --> 00:26:44.240 or if you really wanted to do a deep. Oh yeah. 00:26:44.339 --> 00:26:46.700 Yeah. I was actually like, I got real deep. I 00:26:46.700 --> 00:26:48.599 started looking up maps. I wanted to see like 00:26:48.599 --> 00:26:50.240 kind of what everything looked like back then. 00:26:51.160 --> 00:26:54.480 Castle Island, uh, was in fact an island, but 00:26:54.480 --> 00:26:56.940 then they turned it into a peninsula. Yeah. And 00:26:56.940 --> 00:26:58.880 the interesting thing I learned on the tour on 00:26:58.880 --> 00:27:00.660 the Harbor tour is that a lot of the islands 00:27:00.660 --> 00:27:05.960 on, um, a lot of Boston is just filled in islands. 00:27:06.400 --> 00:27:09.369 Oh yeah. Yeah, I mean, Back Bay was literally 00:27:09.369 --> 00:27:13.549 a bay. And it's not now. It's land. And the interesting 00:27:13.549 --> 00:27:17.089 thing is, in Fallout, Spectacle Island was actually 00:27:17.089 --> 00:27:21.650 a landfill. And when you play the game, it's 00:27:21.650 --> 00:27:23.470 just this big grassy island that you can build 00:27:23.470 --> 00:27:25.789 a settlement on. Logan Airport, I think, was 00:27:25.789 --> 00:27:27.589 made up of three islands. One of them was actually 00:27:27.589 --> 00:27:30.029 a gallows. It was an island where they would 00:27:30.029 --> 00:27:34.400 hang pirates. That makes sense. Be the first 00:27:34.400 --> 00:27:36.700 buyer to see when they come in. Yeah, exactly. 00:27:37.019 --> 00:27:40.480 Exactly. That's exactly why they did it. So it's 00:27:40.480 --> 00:27:42.259 really fascinating. There's a lot of crazy history 00:27:42.259 --> 00:27:44.599 of Boston Harbor if you're all interested to 00:27:44.599 --> 00:27:47.079 check it out. But that's all I got. That's our 00:27:47.079 --> 00:27:51.400 story for today. Nice. Maynard, thank you for 00:27:51.400 --> 00:27:54.140 coming in and hanging out with me. Do you have 00:27:54.140 --> 00:27:55.259 anything you want to plug? You want to talk about 00:27:55.259 --> 00:27:57.839 your Instagram or anything like that? Um, I mean, 00:27:57.839 --> 00:28:00.200 you could visit, um, my Instagram and Twitter, 00:28:00.240 --> 00:28:03.339 both at, uh, Maynard rules and threads and all 00:28:03.339 --> 00:28:05.319 that, all that good stuff. There's all, there's 00:28:05.319 --> 00:28:06.960 all sorts of stuff going on in the world and 00:28:06.960 --> 00:28:09.200 you're probably going to hear about it in spurts. 00:28:09.400 --> 00:28:12.200 And that's about it. Yeah. I don't know. I don't 00:28:12.200 --> 00:28:14.000 know. These spurting all over the place. Well, 00:28:14.119 --> 00:28:16.400 you know, maybe not that kind of, you know, I 00:28:16.400 --> 00:28:18.880 don't need to sit here on there every day, but 00:28:18.880 --> 00:28:20.319 then, you know, you'll give it a good run and 00:28:20.319 --> 00:28:22.319 just get your thoughts out there. And that's 00:28:22.319 --> 00:28:25.079 kind of what I do. I try go do something else. 00:28:25.420 --> 00:28:27.619 I try with social media, but it's all fits and 00:28:27.619 --> 00:28:29.660 starts with me. I'll have like a good period 00:28:29.660 --> 00:28:31.279 where I'm posting all the time and then a period 00:28:31.279 --> 00:28:33.380 where I'm not posting at all. Yeah, exactly. 00:28:33.799 --> 00:28:35.960 But if you do want to follow the show, we post 00:28:35.960 --> 00:28:39.640 very regularly. So we're at Cryptid Cocktail 00:28:39.640 --> 00:28:42.220 on Instagram, Cryptid Cocktail Party on TikTok. 00:28:42.299 --> 00:28:46.440 If you want to follow me or find any more information 00:28:46.440 --> 00:28:49.339 about us, you can go to our Instagram. There's 00:28:49.339 --> 00:28:52.380 a link on our Instagram page where you can find 00:28:52.380 --> 00:28:55.400 all my stuff. I'm Sarge the Destroyer on everything. 00:28:56.539 --> 00:28:58.740 Honestly, not to sound like a dick, but if you 00:28:58.740 --> 00:29:00.619 just Google Sarge the Destroyer, you'll find 00:29:00.619 --> 00:29:02.559 something with me in it. And then you can just 00:29:02.559 --> 00:29:05.140 follow the link from there. There you go. That's 00:29:05.140 --> 00:29:07.539 easy enough. Now, normally I'm the one who says 00:29:07.539 --> 00:29:10.240 goodbye and I love you to the audience. But Maynard, 00:29:10.279 --> 00:29:13.599 I thought maybe you wouldn't mind doing that. 00:29:13.700 --> 00:29:16.059 So would you like to say goodbye and I love you 00:29:16.059 --> 00:29:19.619 to the audience? Goodbye and I love you. Perfect.