Lore 276: Heads Up

Summary

Episode Summary: Lore 276 - "Heads Up"

Release Date: March 24, 2025

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Introduction

In this particularly gruesome installment of Lore, host Aaron Mahnke delves deep into the dark history surrounding decapitation, the supernatural beliefs tied to severed heads, and the eerie experiments that sought to uncover the mysteries of the human soul post-mortem. As always, Mahnke combines historical accounts, folklore, and spine-chilling narratives to reveal that sometimes, the truth is more frightening than fiction.

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The Ghost of Archbishop William Laud

Timestamp: [00:56] - [03:07]

Aaron Mahnke opens the episode with the tale of William Laud, the Archbishop of England, whose contentious reforms led to his downfall. Introduced by the strict Puritans for heresy, Laud was executed by beheading on January 10, 1645. However, his story didn't end there.

Notable Quote:

"Tales of headless ghosts are one of the most common kinds of hauntings we come across."
— Aaron Mahnke [02:48]

According to eyewitness accounts, Laud's spirit remains restless, particularly in St. John's College in Oxford. Witnesses describe his ghost as a man in old-fashioned attire, but the terror peaks when he raises his arms. At this moment, his head supposedly detaches and rolls towards the living, creating a horrifying spectacle that reinforces the belief in restless spirits tied to violent deaths.

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Dr. Duncan MacDougall and the 21-Gram Soul

Timestamp: [03:37] - [07:15]

Mahnke transitions to the early 20th century, highlighting Dr. Duncan MacDougall's controversial experiments aimed at weighing the human soul. Published in 1907, MacDougall hypothesized that if the soul had physical substance, its departure from the body might result in a measurable weight loss.

Notable Quote:

"Death, he said, produces, and I quote, a loss of substance not accounted for by known channels of loss. Is it the soul's substance? It would seem to me to be so."
— Dr. Duncan MacDougall [06:48]

MacDougall's experiments involved placing dying patients on scales to detect any weight change at the moment of death. His results consistently showed a weight loss of approximately 21 grams, leading to the enduring myth that the human soul weighs 21 grams. Despite the intriguing findings, ethical concerns and technical limitations halted further research, leaving the question of the soul's weight unanswered.

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The Guillotine: A Humane Execution or a Harbinger of Horror?

Timestamp: [09:32] - [23:31]

The episode delves into the history of the guillotine, introduced during the French Revolution as an egalitarian method of execution. Intended to provide a swift and humane death, the guillotine instead became a symbol of the Reign of Terror, where executions were carried out with alarming efficiency.

Notable Quote:

"There is no worse torture than decapitation with the machine invented by that sensitive deputy, Dr. Guillotin."
— Dr. Dassis de Lanier [22:10]

Mahnke recounts accounts suggesting that victims might have retained consciousness briefly after decapitation. Notable examples include Charlotte Corday's execution, where witnesses observed signs of life from her severed head, and Pierre Francois Lassonniere's attempted wink post-execution, which ultimately failed. These incidents fueled public fear and debate over the guillotine's humanity, leading to the eventual ban of public executions in France.

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Dr. Jean Baptiste Vincent Laborde and the Quest to Reanimate Heads

Timestamp: [16:36] - [22:02]

One of the most macabre sections of the episode covers the experiments of Dr. Jean Baptiste Vincent Laborde. Driven by the desire to prove that the soul could survive decapitation, Laborde conducted repeated attempts to reanimate severed human heads using electrified needles and live blood circulation from dogs.

Notable Quote:

"Scientists remain enthralled by the idea that maybe, just maybe, the line between life and death could be hazier than we thought."
— Aaron Mahnke [15:50]

Laborde's experiments achieved limited success in moving facial muscles, but whether true consciousness persisted remained debatable. Contemporary accounts from Dr. Dassis de Lanier suggested fleeting moments of awareness, igniting public fascination and horror. These endeavors underscore humanity's enduring obsession with the soul and the afterlife, even at the expense of ethical boundaries.

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Legends of the Headless: The Blemmies and Beyond

Timestamp: [29:49] - [35:06]

Expanding beyond Europe, Mahnke explores global folklore surrounding headless beings, particularly the Blemmies described by ancient Greek historian Herodotus. These mythical creatures were believed to inhabit regions like Libya and South America, characterized by their lack of heads and facial features situated on their torsos.

Notable Quote:

"Although most people today know him better for his work in the Lord of the Rings. That man, Saruman himself, Sir Christopher Lee."
— Narrator [25:58]

The episode traces the evolution of these legends, suggesting that explorers' encounters with different cultures and physical traits might have fueled these myths. The Blemmies became entrenched in medieval maps and stories, influencing literature and art long after the actual tribes faded from existence. Mahnke highlights the psychological and cultural factors that allow such legends to persist, captivating imaginations across centuries.

Influence on Literature: Charles Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, incorporated elements of these headless legends into his works, most notably inspiring the character Humpty Dumpty in Through the Looking-Glass. This intersection of folklore and literature demonstrates the profound impact these myths have had on cultural narratives.

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Conclusion

In "Heads Up," Aaron Mahnke masterfully intertwines historical events, scientific experiments, and folklore to explore humanity's enduring fascination with the soul, death, and the supernatural. From ghostly apparitions to the chilling efficiency of the guillotine, and the mythical Blemmies to the audacious experiments of reanimating heads, the episode underscores the thin veil between reality and legend. Mahnke leaves listeners pondering the mysteries of existence and the lengths to which humans will go to understand the unknown.

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Notable Quotes Summary

1. Aaron Mahnke on Headless Ghosts:

   "Tales of headless ghosts are one of the most common kinds of hauntings we come across."
   [02:48]

2. Dr. Duncan MacDougall on Soul Weight:

   "Death, he said, produces, and I quote, a loss of substance not accounted for by known channels of loss. Is it the soul's substance? It would seem to me to be so."
   [06:48]

3. Dr. Dassis de Lanier on the Guillotine:

   "There is no worse torture than decapitation with the machine invented by that sensitive deputy, Dr. Guillotin."
   [22:10]

4. Aaron Mahnke on Scientific Fascination:

   "Scientists remain enthralled by the idea that maybe, just maybe, the line between life and death could be hazier than we thought."
   [15:50]

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Final Thoughts

"Lore 276: Heads Up" serves as a compelling exploration into the macabre intersection of history, science, and legend. By dissecting tales of decapitation and the soul's journey, Aaron Mahnke invites listeners to reflect on the profound and often unsettling questions that have intrigued humanity for centuries. This episode is a testament to Lore's ability to uncover the eerie truths that lie beneath the surface of our past.

Transcript

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[Narrator]

Before we begin, this is a particularly.

[Aaron Manke]

Gruesome episode, including descriptions of decapitation and.

[Narrator]

Some very, very icky experiments.

[Aaron Manke]

Listener Discretion Adv.

[Researcher]

William had made more.

[Aaron Manke]

Than a few enemies.

[Researcher]

Having risen through the ranks of the.

[Aaron Manke]

Religious clergy, he'd become the ceremonial head of England's Anglican Church. And, well, he wasn't exactly popular. You see, Archbishop William Laud had begun to introduce innovations. Nothing crazy, mind you, just a few changes to increase the splendor of the.

[Researcher]

Anglican services, you know, to jazz things up a bit. But to the strict puritans, this wasn't going to fly.

[Aaron Manke]

To them, all of the new pomp.

[Researcher]

And circumstance felt a little too Catholic for their taste.

[Aaron Manke]

And so they charged the Archbishop with high treason and sent him to the Tower of London.

[Researcher]

On January 10th of 1645, they lopped.

[Aaron Manke]

Off William Laud's head. His body was buried at St John's College in Oxford.

[Researcher]

But according to the stories, it's not.

[Aaron Manke]

Just his flesh and bones that found their way there. No, allegedly his spirit arrived there, too.

[Researcher]

And that spirit was not exactly in one piece.

[Narrator]

At first.

[Researcher]

Witnesses say the ghost looked like any.

[Aaron Manke]

Other a man in old fashioned clothes wandering the St. John's Library. It's only when he raises his arms.

[Researcher]

That things get, well, terrifying. Because that's when the Archbishop lifts his head from his shoulders, leans over and rolls that head toward the living witness.

[Aaron Manke]

Like a bowling ball.

[Researcher]

Tales of headless ghosts are one of.

[Aaron Manke]

The most common kinds of hauntings we come across. And it makes sense.

[Researcher]

After all, seeing a figure without an arm Or a leg leaves room for interpretation, but without its head, there is.

[Aaron Manke]

No doubt that you're looking at something that is very, very dead.

[Researcher]

At least that's how it should be.

[Aaron Manke]

Unfortunately, though, if history is any indication, that wasn't always the case. I'm Aaron Manke, and this is Lore. Indian philosophers called it the Atman.

[Researcher]

Greeks, the Psyche, Romans, the Anima. But no matter what word each culture.

[Aaron Manke]

Used, they all seemed to agree on one this mysterious entity absolutely existed. What was it? Well, that would be the human soul. Now, whether you believe in the spiritual, the biological, or some combination of the.

[Researcher]

Two, we can all agree that something.

[Aaron Manke]

In us thinks, feels and drives our actions.

[Researcher]

It's what makes me me, and what makes you you.

[Aaron Manke]

And just about every community in history.

[Researcher]

Has had its own theories about what it is and what happens to it after we die.

[Aaron Manke]

Not only that, but almost every religion.

[Researcher]

Has a different idea about when exactly.

[Aaron Manke]

The soul makes its great escape. In fact, very few traditions believe that the soul leaves us right at the moment of death. No, it tends to hang around for a while, like that last lingering party guest who hasn't quite gotten the hint, even as all the lights go on.

[Researcher]

And the DJ packs up.

[Aaron Manke]

Now, Orthodox Christians believe that the soul.

[Researcher]

Ascends to heaven after three days, while.

[Aaron Manke]

In Judaism, it takes seven.

[Researcher]

For Hindus, a ceremony is performed between.

[Aaron Manke]

10 and 12 days after death, allowing.

[Researcher]

The soul to rise, while Buddhist souls.

[Aaron Manke]

Can take anywhere from seven to a whopping 49 days to make an exit. And in the early 1900s, one scientist considered all of this and had an idea. If the soul had material substance and was located in the body, then theoretically, he should be able to weigh a.

[Researcher]

Person before and after death, subtract for the difference, and determine the exact weight.

[Aaron Manke]

Of a human spirit.

[Researcher]

You may have heard the popular idea.

[Aaron Manke]

That the soul weighs 21 grams.

[Researcher]

Well, this is the study conducted by Dr. Duncan MacDougall and published in 1907.

[Aaron Manke]

Where that idea originated. Basically, the good doctor built a massive.

[Researcher]

Scale, big enough to hold a cot.

[Aaron Manke]

With a dying patient on it. And then he started rounding up people.

[Researcher]

With tuberculosis, six of them, to be.

[Aaron Manke]

Exact, all on the brink of death.

[Researcher]

And he chose tuberculosis patients because they.

[Aaron Manke]

Laid very still with very little activity. And I'll be honest, while I know.

[Researcher]

That each of these dying folks gave.

[Aaron Manke]

Their consent to be part of a madman's science experiment in their final moments, I'm still not fully convinced that it was ethical.

[Researcher]

Either way, on April 10th of 1901, the first of MacDougall's test subjects passed away. And when they did, their weight immediately dropped three quarters of an ounce or 21.2 grams.

[Aaron Manke]

After that, the second patient died, losing 14 grams 15 minutes after they stopped breathing.

[Researcher]

And the third 28.3 grams. And yes, the doctor did account for.

[Aaron Manke]

Weight loss due to moisture evaporating air, leaving the lungs and other dying related symptoms that might sully the results.

[Researcher]

Life after life, soul after soul.

[Aaron Manke]

MacDougall studied his death scales like a modern day anubis. And in every single case, when the patient died, the number on the scale went down.

[Researcher]

By the end of his studies, Dr.

[Aaron Manke]

MacDougall had come to a powerful conclusion.

[Researcher]

Death, he said, produces, and I quote, a loss of substance not accounted for.

[Aaron Manke]

By known channels of loss.

[Researcher]

Is it the sole substance? It would seem to me to be so. Now to be fair, even Dr. McDougall.

[Aaron Manke]

Himself acknowledged that many more tests would.

[Researcher]

Be necessary to be sure that his results meant anything. After all, three of his six tests.

[Aaron Manke]

Actually ran into technical issues with the scale, causing him to toss two results out altogether. There simply weren't enough case studies to be sure. And yet there never would be.

[Researcher]

You see, between ethical concerns and the.

[Aaron Manke]

Slightly wacky nature of the whole concept, no one ever followed up on MacDougall's study. No further tests were ever performed.

[Researcher]

Like so much about the human spirit, its weight remains a mystery.

[Aaron Manke]

Now, if you're like me, I'm sure you're left with more than a few questions.

[Researcher]

And one of those might be if.

[Aaron Manke]

The soul does in fact have the.

[Researcher]

Ability to physically leave the body, then.

[Aaron Manke]

Where exactly in the body does it live in the first place?

[Researcher]

Does it flow through us like blood?

[Aaron Manke]

Does it reside in a specific organ or a limb? Well, the answer to that depends on who you ask.

[Researcher]

The ancient Egyptians believed the soul was.

[Aaron Manke]

Composed of nine different entities, the most vital of which being the ab, which despite how it's sounds, was not located.

[Researcher]

In the ABS but in the heart. Hippocrates believed that the soul was tied.

[Aaron Manke]

To our breath, while Plato divided the.

[Researcher]

Soul into three Appetite, which was located in the stomach, spirit, which was in.

[Aaron Manke]

The chest, and reason, which was in the brain.

[Researcher]

After that, Leonardo da Vinci, everyone's favorite.

[Aaron Manke]

Renaissance inventor, took that brain idea one step further. He claimed that the soul specifically sat above the optic chiasm in the brain, in the region of the anterior inferior third ventricle. Rather specific, I know.

[Researcher]

Rene Descartes insisted it was in the.

[Aaron Manke]

Pineal gland, while the Italian physician Giovanni Maria Lances located the soul even deeper in the brain, within the corpus callosum. These Philosophers lived in a time when science and religion were deeply intertwined, so it makes sense that the spirit and the mind would have been seen as intrinsically linked.

[Researcher]

As Descartes famously wrote, I think, therefore I am.

[Aaron Manke]

And I get it. Our heads, which not only house our.

[Researcher]

Thoughts, but allow us to taste and.

[Aaron Manke]

Smell and see and hear the world around us, seem like a reasonable top contender for where the soul would sit.

[Researcher]

But if that's the case, it all.

[Aaron Manke]

Leads us to a very chilling. If the essence of our humanity is tucked deep inside our heads, what happens when that head is chopped off?

[Researcher]

The mechanism, he wrote, falls like lightning. The head flies off, the blood spurts.

[Aaron Manke]

The man no longer exists. These are the words of a Frenchman.

[Researcher]

Named Dr. Josephine Guillotine, speaking about the.

[Aaron Manke]

Invention that would make his name synonymous with bloodshed and revolution for centuries to come.

[Researcher]

I'm referring, of course, to the guillotine.

[Aaron Manke]

It was the late 18th century, and the French Revolution was brewing.

[Researcher]

The revolutionaries dreamt of a more liberated.

[Aaron Manke]

Egalitarian world, where all classes and peoples.

[Researcher]

Could be treated as equals, not only.

[Aaron Manke]

In their lives, but also in their deaths.

[Researcher]

In 1789, Dr. Guillotin lobbied the national.

[Aaron Manke]

Assembly to implement an equitable form of.

[Researcher]

Capital punishment, in which the rich and the poor would all be treated the same. Two years later, France implemented his proposal.

[Aaron Manke]

Under this new law, there would be only one legal way to execute a criminal, regardless of how much they had in the bank.

[Researcher]

Decapitation. Enter the guillotine.

[Aaron Manke]

Not only were laborers and kings alike made equal beneath that falling blade, but it was also intended to be a more humane means of execution than previous methods.

[Researcher]

In a way, despite its gruesomeness, the guillotine was a physical symbol of the.

[Aaron Manke]

Equality the revolutionaries fought for.

[Researcher]

But there was a strange side effect.

[Aaron Manke]

To this new invention. For the first time in history, executions could be carried out with a slaughterhouse like efficiency.

[Researcher]

During France's Reign of Terror, which began.

[Aaron Manke]

In June of 1793, heads were rolling at the staggering rate of one decapitation every minute. And even decades later, the guillotine remained in action.

[Researcher]

Between the years 1825 and 1827 alone, nearly 400 people lost their lives to it. But with numbers like that, I think.

[Aaron Manke]

You know what comes next.

[Researcher]

That's right. The stories, horrifying tales, began to circulate.

[Aaron Manke]

Among those who had witnessed these beheadings.

[Researcher]

Tales that suggested the guillotine's victims may.

[Aaron Manke]

Not die so quickly after all. In fact, some began to wonder whether the head remained, even if for just a little while, fully alive.

[Researcher]

It all began with the execution of Charlotte corday. Charlotte was 21 years old when the.

[Aaron Manke]

Revolution began, and despite coming from a loyalist family, she found herself siding with the revolutionaries. She was inspired by their push for reform and their humanist ideas. But as the fighting escalated and mob violence took hold, she started to find the bloodshed sickening. Soon the revolution split into two factions.

[Researcher]

The Gironda, who, like Charlotte, wanted to.

[Aaron Manke]

Rein in the mob violence, and the Jacobins, who wanted to amp the violence up even more.

[Researcher]

Charlotte watched as her country teetered on.

[Aaron Manke]

The brink of civil war. And let's just say she wasn't the kind of person to simply stand by and watch. No, instead she came to a conclusion. The only way to avoid unimaginable civilian.

[Researcher]

Deaths would be to get prominent Jacobin.

[Aaron Manke]

Leader Jean Paul Murat out of the picture. One life in exchange for the lives of thousands.

[Researcher]

And she was going to be the.

[Aaron Manke]

One to kill him.

[Researcher]

Charlotte Corday was only 24 years old.

[Aaron Manke]

When she entered the man's home, a wood handled kitchen knife hidden under her dress, and murdered Jean Paul Marat while.

[Researcher]

He took a bath.

[Aaron Manke]

She was immediately arrested, just as she.

[Researcher]

Knew she would be. She made no attempt to escape, only.

[Aaron Manke]

To explain calmly why she had chosen to take Marat's life and sacrifice her.

[Researcher]

Own for the sake of her country.

[Aaron Manke]

On the evening of July 17th of.

[Researcher]

1793, ten days before her 25th birthday, Charlotte met the guillotine.

[Aaron Manke]

In the immediate moment after her head.

[Researcher]

Fell, the executioner lifted it in front.

[Aaron Manke]

Of the crowd and then he slapped her across the face. And to the absolute shock of the Assembly, Charlotte Corday blushed. Now, this wasn't a cheek going red from a slap. No.

[Researcher]

According to witnesses, both of Charlotte's cheeks.

[Aaron Manke]

Reddened and her face bore an unmistakable look of. Of fury.

[Researcher]

And okay, to be fair, it's a bit scientifically questionable how she could blush without, well, a circulatory system.

[Aaron Manke]

But the audience saw what they saw. And suddenly a brand new question rocketed through the aghast populace. What if the guillotine wasn't as humane as they had been led to believe? What if, for just a few moments after beheading, the victim remained brutally and repulsively? Now, Charlotte's head may have been the first to show signs of lingering life, but it wouldn't be the last. Famed executioner Charles Henri Sasson insisted that once the severed heads of two rival members of the national assembly were placed together in a bag and one bit the other so hard it was impossible to separate them, doctor and philosopher Melchior.

[Researcher]

A vicard claimed to have seen one head's lips move, while a mid 20th.

[Aaron Manke]

Century chaplain named Father Daviod reported that.

[Researcher]

He could, and I quote, the condemned man's eyes fix on me with a.

[Aaron Manke]

Look of supplication, as if asking forgiveness. Instinctively, we made the sign of the cross to bless the head. And then the lids blinked. In 1836, infamous murderer Pierre Francois Lassonniere agreed to help prove once and for all that human consciousness did in fact continue after decapitation.

[Researcher]

He was to be executed by guillotine.

[Aaron Manke]

On the morning of January 9th.

[Researcher]

And in cahoots with a physician named Dr. Le Lou had schemed a plan. What was the plan, exactly? Well, he was going to wink. That's right. Lasonire had promised Dr. Leloux that as soon as the blade fell, he would.

[Aaron Manke]

Close his left eye and leave his right eye open. Now, before you add the image of a winking severed head to your arsenal.

[Researcher]

Of nightmares, don't get too excited. It didn't work.

[Aaron Manke]

Dr. Laloux observed the murderer's head for.

[Researcher]

Quite some time after the execution, but.

[Aaron Manke]

That gruesome wink never occurred.

[Researcher]

Oh, and by the way, while Pierre.

[Aaron Manke]

Francois la senire may not have shown signs of life after his beheading, he did achieve a different kind of life after death. He became the inspiration for the main character in none other than Dostoevsky's novel crime and punishment.

[Researcher]

Dr. Laloux's experiment may have failed, but.

[Aaron Manke]

Scientists remain enthralled by the idea that maybe, just maybe, the line between life and death could be hazier than we thought. Enthralled enough, in fact, that a few scientists even took that question a step further? What if, they wondered, the head could survive more than a few moments? What if, with proper assistance, science could.

[Researcher]

Allow a head to keep on living.

[Aaron Manke]

Without its body indefinitely? It looked like something right out of a horror movie.

[Researcher]

The makeshift laboratory scattered with drills and.

[Aaron Manke]

Scalpels, the bloody floor, the animals rattling in filthy cages, the frenzied doctor inserting needle after needle into his precious, terrible experiment. And then the centerpiece of it all balanced carefully on a low a lone human head.

[Researcher]

It's a scene that makes me really wish that it was nothing more than a movie.

[Aaron Manke]

But unfortunately, I'm describing the very real experiments of Dr. Jean Baptiste Vincent Laborde.

[Researcher]

Call him a mad scientist, call him.

[Aaron Manke]

A real life Dr. Frankenstein, call him whatever you want.

[Researcher]

Just don't call him an amateur.

[Aaron Manke]

Dr. Laborde was serious about his attempts to resurrect severed human heads. Serious enough that he attempted it again and again and again.

[Researcher]

By the late 1880s, when Dr. Laborde.

[Aaron Manke]

First began his research, Numerous other scientists in the field of reanimation had already made major headway. No pun intended, I swear.

[Researcher]

Take, for example, the work of Dr.

[Aaron Manke]

Jean Cesaire La Gallois, who attempted to revive headless torsos.

[Researcher]

And French physician Brown Secard, who conducted research that, well, let's just say, would.

[Aaron Manke]

Not be viewed favorably on didthedogdie.com, research that actually had successful results when it came to reanimating facial muscles.

[Researcher]

But the thing is, no one had ever attempted to reanimate a human head.

[Aaron Manke]

No. For that, Laborde was eager to be the first. And hey, everyone needs a hobby, right? Of course, in order to do his.

[Researcher]

Work, Laborde would have to acquire a.

[Aaron Manke]

Reliable supply of good ol human heads. Which you would think would be easier said than done.

[Researcher]

At least you would hope so. But apparently, the French authorities were all just as stoked as Laborde was to.

[Aaron Manke]

See the abomination that would be a living severed head.

[Researcher]

And so they happily agreed to supply.

[Aaron Manke]

The doctor with a steady flow of prisoners. Guillotined remains. The first head Dr. Laborde attempted to reanimate belonged to a convicted murderer named Kempe. However, due to some bureaucratic red tape, it ended up taking an hour and 20 minutes for the remains to be delivered to the laboratory.

[Researcher]

By which point, the brain had been dead far too long to be of any use. At any rate, Dr. Laborde came up with a plan. He and his lab assistants outfitted a.

[Aaron Manke]

Horse drawn van into a makeshift traveling laboratory.

[Researcher]

Equipped with an exam table, five stools, candles for lighting. And all the equipment needed to, well.

[Aaron Manke]

Resurrect a human head. Then he planned to station himself right outside the cemetery gates, ready to greet the next head as soon as it fell. And conduct his experiments right there in the street.

[Researcher]

And so, on the day a prisoner.

[Aaron Manke]

Named Gamut was to be executed, Laborde.

[Researcher]

Saddled up the horses, leapt into his.

[Aaron Manke]

Necromancy mobile and received his test subject without delay.

[Researcher]

Within minutes, Laborde's team was hard at work.

[Aaron Manke]

And this is how it went. First, holes were drilled into the dead man's skull. Then the scientists inserted electrified needles through those holes and into the brain.

[Researcher]

Essentially trying to trigger the nervous system.

[Aaron Manke]

Into a physical response. And amazingly, it worked. With the lips and jaw twitching.

[Researcher]

And then, in the words of Mary Roach, author of the Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, the prisoner slowly opened one eye. As if with great and understandable trepidation, he sought to figure out where he was. And what sort of strange locality Hell.

[Aaron Manke]

Had turned out to be.

[Researcher]

Yeah, I hate it, too.

[Aaron Manke]

By the time the third head rolled around, so to speak, Laborde was an old pro. This time he was determined to receive the remains even faster.

[Researcher]

And so, naturally, he bribed the authorities. This third subject, by the way, came from a prisoner named Gagny.

[Aaron Manke]

And only seven minutes passed between the moment when the guillotine dropped. And Laborde began his experiment.

[Researcher]

And this time, Laborde was trying something new.

[Aaron Manke]

The head would be fed a steady flow of blood. On one side, he injected the arteries with oxygenated cow's blood.

[Researcher]

And on the other, he connected those.

[Aaron Manke]

Arteries to a tube that was attached to a living animal.

[Researcher]

Specifically a dog.

[Aaron Manke]

Which basically served as a live blood donor. And then Dr. Laborde and his team.

[Researcher]

Watched as the executed man's head began.

[Aaron Manke]

To show terrible signs of life.

[Researcher]

His muscles contracted, his eyelids and forehead moved. At one point, his jaw loudly snapped shut. And the tongue, in Laborde's words, seemed to boil.

[Aaron Manke]

Laborde had proven something impossible. Human heads could indeed be reanimated. And yet the biggest mystery still remained. Sure, the dead man's head might be able to move.

[Researcher]

But could it think?

[Narrator]

Could it feel?

[Researcher]

In other words, was Laborde seen mere reflexes or an ungodly form of consciousness?

[Aaron Manke]

In the end, Dr. Laborde himself may not have made a conclusive call on this matter. But a contemporary of his did.

[Researcher]

A man named Dr. Dassis de Lanier.

[Aaron Manke]

He, too, hooked a head up to a living dog. And as he watched, as the color.

[Researcher]

Returned to the executed man's face, Dr. Lanier recoiled.

[Aaron Manke]

He later would go on to describe.

[Researcher]

How, and I quote, the whole face.

[Aaron Manke]

Wakened into an expression of shocked amazement.

[Researcher]

I affirm that during two seconds, the brain thought.

[Aaron Manke]

And that was that. The public had their answer.

[Researcher]

If only for a moment, the human.

[Aaron Manke]

Brain, and perhaps the soul with it, could continue to live even without the body.

[Researcher]

And as for that humane, elegant means of execution, the guillotine. Well, I'll let Dr. Lanier say the.

[Aaron Manke]

Final words on that.

[Researcher]

There is no worse torture, he wrote.

[Aaron Manke]

Than decapitation with the machine invented by that sensitive deputy, Dr. Guillotin.

[Researcher]

When the knife has done its work, has fallen with that sinister noise which.

[Aaron Manke]

You know, when the head has rolled into the sawdust.

[Researcher]

This head, separated from its body, hears.

[Aaron Manke]

The voices of the crowd. The decapitated victim feels himself dying in the basket. He sees the guillotine and the light of the day. Since the date of its inception in.

[Narrator]

1792, the guillotine had Sparked a heated debate. Was the device a painless and immediate way to meet death? Or was it just the opposite? Despite the gruesome research conducted by physicians over the years, doctors remain split on that most essential question of whether or not a head remained conscious after removal. In the end, though, science didn't matter.

[Aaron Manke]

Public opinion did.

[Narrator]

You see, the tales of moving heads were enough to thoroughly freak everyone out and convince the public that if a.

[Researcher]

Head could move, it could probably think.

[Aaron Manke]

And feel as well. The situation came to a head, so.

[Narrator]

To speak, during the execution of murderer.

[Aaron Manke]

Eugene Videman of Versailles at what would.

[Narrator]

Be France's final public execution by guillotine. And amazingly, we have a first hand account from a 17 year old eyewitness describing what happened.

[Researcher]

The noise of trams and cars stopped, the boy reported, and every other sort of noise began.

[Narrator]

A great wave of howling and screams engulfed the square.

[Aaron Manke]

They rushed vitamin to that extraordinary structure so that his bound feet came off.

[Narrator]

The ground, his hands were tied behind him and his head was held back. They set him down by the plank and punched him in the stomach so that he fell forwards onto it. A strap went over his back, the plank tilted forward and the man they.

[Aaron Manke]

Called the photographer adjusted his head.

[Narrator]

In that instant, the knife fell and I thought I would die myself.

[Researcher]

What followed was nothing short of pandemonium. Some spectators even rushed the scaffold to.

[Aaron Manke]

Dip their handkerchiefs in the slain man's blood.

[Narrator]

And finally the authorities realized the mistake they had made. Public beheadings did not deter disorder, it encouraged it. Enough was enough.

[Researcher]

The French president himself announced that from.

[Narrator]

Then on, public executions would be officially banned.

[Researcher]

Oh, and by the way, this didn't.

[Aaron Manke]

Take place in the wake of the revolution. No, France's final public execution was actually held on June 17th of 1939.

[Researcher]

And that eyewitness, well, he would grow up to become an actor who got his start in the genre of horror. Although most people today know him better for his work in the Lord of the Rings. That man, Saruman himself, Sir Christopher Lee.

[Narrator]

Unless you're a clam or a jellyfish.

[Researcher]

It'S safe to assume that you probably have a head.

[Aaron Manke]

After all, as much as we differ.

[Researcher]

From cats, parrots, giraffes and more, when.

[Narrator]

It comes down to it, most animals have one thing in common, that is.

[Researcher]

A place to put a hat. If the legends are true, though, there.

[Narrator]

May have once been a group of people who had no heads at all. But don't worry, we're done with the gross stuff.

[Researcher]

Consider this last story a palate cleanser.

[Narrator]

Stick around through this brief sponsor break.

[Aaron Manke]

To hear all about it.

[Narrator]

This episode of Lore was sponsored by Herobred. I care about what I put in my body. I feel better when I eat better, and even when it comes to something as simple and foundational as bread, I try to be smarter. With Herobred you can focus on your health goals and still indulge in the soft, fluffy experience you love guilt free. Their baked goods, things like bagels, white bread and dinner rolls are delicious and flavorful but also have ultra low net carbs, zero grams of sugar and are high in fiber. I love bread, so in the past few weeks I've had their tortillas, white bread, dinner rolls and bagels and everything has been delicious. My meals got healthier without complex compromises and you would never know it's low net carb and high fiber bread from the texture. No compromises, just FL something that makes sticking to my health goals a lot easier.

[Researcher]

All your favorite recipes are covered with.

[Narrator]

Herobreads, sliced bread loaves, tortillas, bagels and dinner rolls. Monthly small batch drops include indulgent favorites like the popular 2 gram net carb, Hero Croissant and new surprises coming each month. This year Herobred is offering 10% off your order. Go to Hero Co and use the code Lore at checkout. That's offer Code Lore at Hero Co. This episode was also made possible by Quince. Just this week the weather turned. You know that moment right when you go from bundling up to easing out.

[Aaron Manke]

Of winter and it makes me want to travel.

[Narrator]

Vacation season is nearly upon us and this year I am treating myself to the luxe upgrades I deserve with Quince's high quality travel essentials at fair prices like lightweight shirts and shorts from $30 pants for any occasion and comfortable lounge sets with premium luggage options and durable duffel bags to carry it all in. And the best part is all Quint's Items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quint's cuts out the cost of the middleman and passes the savings on to us. And Quints only works with factories that use safe, ethical and responsible manufacturing practices along with premium fabrics and finishes. And I love that every single day when I get dressed, I put on one of their 100% merino wool short sleeve T shirts, usually in black, but I've also got some gray. The fabric is incredible and it's the perfect travel shirt whether I'm on tour or on vacation. For your next trip, treat yourself to the luxe upgrades you deserve from quince go to quint.com lore for 365 day returns plus free shipping on your order. That's Q U I n c e.com lore to get free shipping and 365 day returns.

[Researcher]

Quince.com lore and finally, this episode was.

[Aaron Manke]

Sponsored by Tax Network USA.

[Researcher]

The April 15th tax deadline is approaching.

[Aaron Manke]

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[Researcher]

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[Researcher]

The team at Tax Network USA has experienced attorneys and negotiators specializing in helping.

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[Researcher]

With a direct line to key IRS departments, they understand how to communicate effectively and explore options that work in your favor. Every tax solution is uni, and there.

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Are solutions available, whether you owe 10,000 or 10 million.

[Researcher]

Tax Network USA has already helped clients resolve over 1 billion in tax debt through structured settlements, negotiations and proven strategies. A free consultation with their experts can provide clarity on your options and set.

[Aaron Manke]

You on the right path. Avoid unnecessary penalties and gain peace of mind knowing you have professionals on your side.

[Researcher]

Call 1-800-958-1000 or visit tnusa.com lore Taking proactive steps before April 15, you move forward with confidence. Contact Tax Network USA for the right solution.

[Narrator]

It is the largest medieval map in existence. At over a meter and a half long and nearly as wide, the Mappa mundi features over 500 ink drawings on.

[Aaron Manke]

A single calf skin.

[Narrator]

It depicts the known world in intricate detail. Castles and cities, oceans and exotic animals on distant shores.

[Aaron Manke]

And then there are the headless men with faces in the middle of their chests. And maybe you've seen them medieval illustrations.

[Narrator]

Of naked headless humanoids with faces not.

[Researcher]

Above their necks but on their torsos.

[Aaron Manke]

And as it turns out, there are versions of this creature found in folklore from all over the world. The Indian Ramayana describes a headless demon.

[Narrator]

With an eye in its stomach. The Japanese yokai called the Danutsura literally translates to torso face.

[Aaron Manke]

But while these virgins are supernatural beings.

[Narrator]

The headless men depicted on the Mappa.

[Aaron Manke]

Mundi are just that, men.

[Researcher]

That is, for centuries, Europeans believed them.

[Narrator]

To be a real race of humans.

[Aaron Manke]

The first documentation of headless men that we know of came from the Greek.

[Narrator]

Historian Herodotus, who a whopping 2,500 years.

[Researcher]

Ago described, and I quote, headless creatures.

[Narrator]

With eyes in their chests inhabiting what is now Libya.

[Aaron Manke]

Later, a 1st century Greek geographer wrote of a Nubian Tribe called the Blemmies, who had you guessed it, no heads and faces on their torsos.

[Researcher]

Even Pliny the Elder backed up this claim.

[Aaron Manke]

Now here's the thing. The Blemmies were a real African tribe, a nomadic kingdom. They lived between 600 B.C. and 300 A.D. and despite having significant.

[Researcher]

Cultural and military power, they were mostly known for the rumors that they were indeed headless.

[Narrator]

And some people believe that this was a natural trait.

[Researcher]

In the words of Isidore of Seville, people believe that in Libya, Blumaea are.

[Aaron Manke]

Born as trunks without heads and have.

[Narrator]

Their mouth and eyes on their chest. Others born without necks have their eyes on their shoulders.

[Researcher]

In more upsetting theories, though, the body was thought to be deliberately augmented, by which I mean that their heads were removed at birth and their facial features.

[Aaron Manke]

Grafted onto their chests.

[Researcher]

And look, folks didn't have a great.

[Aaron Manke]

Understanding of how biology worked back then.

[Researcher]

But science aside, the mysterious, evocative concept of the Blamies remained in the cultural.

[Aaron Manke]

Imagination for centuries, long after the actual Blamy kingdom fell.

[Researcher]

By the time of the Middle Ages.

[Aaron Manke]

They'D become a full blown legend.

[Researcher]

In some descriptions, they weren't just headless.

[Aaron Manke]

But giants as well, reaching up to 12ft tall and 7ft wide.

[Researcher]

Others insisted that they were covered in, and I quote, coarse hair like wild animals. Centuries passed by.

[Aaron Manke]

European explorers pushed farther and farther across the globe. And as they did, rumors of these smiling torsos popped up in more and more locations.

[Researcher]

Maps and reports from the late medieval period show Blamys living on an Asian island in India, off the coast of.

[Aaron Manke]

Brazil, and many, many more.

[Researcher]

In 1596, famous Elizabethan explorer Sir Walter.

[Narrator]

Reilly placed them in South America.

[Aaron Manke]

It seemed everywhere on the map, another headless man appeared.

[Researcher]

Except for one tiny none of these.

[Aaron Manke]

Writers had ever seen such a thing.

[Researcher]

Herodotus, Pliny, Raleigh, they had all just.

[Aaron Manke]

Heard about it through the grapevine.

[Researcher]

According to Raleigh, he fully believed that the stories were true because all children.

[Aaron Manke]

Local to the region spoke about the beans. And as we know, children never believe folktales in urban legends, right?

[Researcher]

Which makes it totally legit. Today it's pretty well accepted that no.

[Aaron Manke]

Such thing as a headless race of people ever existed.

[Researcher]

Yet I'll be honest, to this day we aren't sure exactly where the idea came from, but there are of course, some theories. Perhaps, as Raleigh's contemporary Johannes Dilet believed.

[Aaron Manke]

Along with a number of modern theorists, the description was merely an exaggeration of.

[Researcher]

The local people's very short necks and.

[Aaron Manke]

Low set heads, a common genetic trait for certain regions.

[Researcher]

Another possibility is that blamy soldiers carried.

[Aaron Manke]

Shields with faces painted on them. Or perhaps a particular style of headgear made the people look like they had no heads at all.

[Researcher]

Perhaps it was actually crouching apes the explorers had seen. After all, bonobos often sit with their.

[Aaron Manke]

Shoulders above their heads.

[Researcher]

Heck, maybe it was just aliens. What we do know for sure is.

[Aaron Manke]

That blemys continue to impact art and.

[Researcher]

Culture to this very day. Take, for example, the work of one English writer who I will call Charles. Not only was he famously a fan of Sir Walter Reilly, but as a.

[Aaron Manke]

Child he spent many an hour at.

[Researcher]

His father's place of work, Ripon Church, where descriptions of blamys ornamented the walls. And while we can't be certain, it's possible that these influences moved Charles Pen as he reimagined a classic English nursery.

[Aaron Manke]

Rhyme in one of his books for children.

[Researcher]

This rhyme was originally about a king.

[Aaron Manke]

Cannon that fell off a tall wall.

[Researcher]

But Charles had a different idea. He soon found himself instead describing an egg shaped being with no head and a face right in the middle of its body.

[Aaron Manke]

Charles, by the way, was Charles Dodgson.

[Researcher]

But you probably know him better by.

[Aaron Manke]

His pen name, Lewis Carroll.

[Researcher]

And that Blamey like egg that appeared in his book through the Looking Glass.

[Aaron Manke]

Well, that of course is none other.

[Researcher]

Than Humpty D. This episode of Lore.

[Aaron Manke]

Was produced by me, Aaron Manke, with.

[Researcher]

Writing by Jenna Rose Nethercott, research by.

[Aaron Manke]

Jamie Vargas, and music by Chad Lawson.

[Researcher]

Don't like the ads? I've got a solution for you.

[Aaron Manke]

There is a paid version of Lore on Apple Podcasts and patreon that is 100% ad free.

[Researcher]

Plus subscribers get weekly mini episodes called Lore Bytes. It's a bargain for all of that.

[Aaron Manke]

Ad free storytelling and a great way to support this show and the team behind it. Lore is much more than just a podcast though. There's the book series available in bookstores and online, and two seasons of the television show on Amazon Prime. Information about all of that and more is available [e-mail] youm can also follow.

[Researcher]

This show on YouTube threads, Facebook and Instagram.

[Aaron Manke]

Just search for Lore Podcast all one.

[Researcher]

Word and then click that follow button. And when you do, say hi. I like it when people say hi.

[Aaron Manke]

And as always, thanks for listening.

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