← Twisted Tales with Heidi Wong
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- [00:02]
Heidi Wong
Hi, listeners, it's Heidi Wong.
- [00:03]
Katie Ring
Real quick, before today's episode of Twisted Tales, I wanted to tell you about another show from Crime House that I know you'll love. America's Most Infamous Crimes. Hosted by Katie Ring. Each week, Katie takes on one of the most notorious criminal cases in American history. Serial killers who terrorize cities, unsolved mysteries that keep detectives up at night, and investigations that change the way we think about justice. Listen to and follow America's most infamous crimes Tuesday through Thursday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. This is crime house, An exclusive retreat full of mysterious rituals, women who thought they were living a fairy tale, and a king who was willing to do whatever it took to get an heir. From the outside, marrying into power might seem like a dream, but as we'll learn today, it can be a nightmare. Welcome to Twisted, a Crime House original. I'm Heidi Wong. Every week I'll take you deep into humanity's darkest stories and how they influence some of the world's biggest horror movies. If you've ever had a haunted moment or a twisted tale of your own, I want to hear it. Drop it in the comments. The creepier the better. And for early access and ad free listening, subscribe to our Crime House plus community on Apple Podcasts. Today, I'm diving into the dark reality behind some of the world's most powerful institutions. Stories of people who married into wealth and power only to discover what it would cost them. And in these cases, the answer was everything. First, I'll tell you about the exclusive gatherings deep in the California woods where the world's most powerful people participate in rituals that we still don't understand. Then the more personal stories about women who married into royalty just to discover their fairytale endings were living nightmares. And finally, how these all come together into a darkly funny horror movie that gives Eat the Rich a whole new meaning.
- [02:13]
Heidi Wong
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- [03:23]
Katie Ring
you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy. Just drop in some details about yourself and see if you're eligible to save money. When you bundle your home and auto policies. The process only takes minutes and it could mean hundreds more in your pocket. Visit progressive.com after this episode to see if you could save Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states. Let's start by talking about a place called Bohemian grove. It's a 2,700acre campground in northern California. And it's one of the most exclusive gatherings in the world. Since the late 1800s, politicians, business leaders and media executives have met at Bohemian Grove for two weeks every summer. We're talking presidents, CEOs, some of the most powerful people on the planet. No press, no outsiders. Just the rich and powerful. And historically, no women. What a shock. The Bohemian Grove's location is kept deliberately private. It's surrounded by towering redwood trees, completely cut off from the outside world because Soho House was not enough. And every year, they perform a ritual. It's called the Cremation of care. A massive 40 foot stone owl statue looms over a clearing in the woods. The owl is supposed to represent wisdom, but if you ask me, it's all also extremely ominous. Members dressed in robes gather around while an effigy representing care, or worldly worries is burned in a theatrical ceremony. Completed with music, dramatic lighting and scripted dialogue, the ritual is meant to symbolize leaving behind worldly concerns and embracing freedom. It's theatrical, almost like a play. Okay, see, I get that. But the giant burning of the statue is a little interesting. You know what I mean? For two weeks, these men are supposed to forget about business, politics and responsibility. They can relax, network and bond without the pressures of the outside world. I take it back. It's like Burning Man. It's literally Burning Man. It's dramatic and definitely more than a little weird. Now, there isn't any evidence of anything sinister happening at Bohemian Grove. But these over the top rituals do show how the ultra wealthy maintain their influence. Membership is generational, allegedly including people like Clint Eastwood, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. Fathers pass it down to their sons. If you're not born into the right circles, you're not getting in. And what happens in Bohemian Grove stays in Bohemian Grove. That exclusivity is part of the point. These aren't just social gatherings. They're about maintaining a network of power that spans hundreds of years. The existence of places like the Bohemian Grove reminds us that the ultra rich operate by different rules. They have access to spaces, rituals and networks that the rest of us will never get anywhere close to. It's a world built on secrecy, tradition and exclusion. And when you marry into that world, you're not just joining a family. You're entering an institution with its own codes and expectations. Ones that existed long before you and will continue long after you're gone. Sometimes that pressure can be suffocating. You're expected to conform, to follow traditions that you don't understand or. And maintain appearances at all costs. And in the worst cases, they can be deadly. Which brings me to the women who learned this the hard way. Let's start with Hope Cooke. In 1959, Hope was a college freshman from New York City. She came from a regular American family. Nothing royal about her background. She was studying at Sarah Lawrence College when she met a man named Paulden during a summer vacation in India. He was charming, educated, and happened to be the crown prince of Sikkim, a small Himalayan kingdom nestled between India and Tibet. They fell in love, and in 1963, Hope became his wife and the queen consort of Sikkim. Hope thought she was in a whirlwind romance. But instead she found herself at the center of a geopolitical firestorm. She had to give up her American citizenship to marry Pauldin. That was the first sacrifice, leaving behind her country, her identity and everything she knew. And soon she realized she was way in over her head. As Sikkim faced mounting pressures from India, which wanted to absorb the small kingdom, Hope tried to adapt. She learned the language, studied the culture, and took on her role as queen. But the political situation got worse. And a lot of people blamed her, an American outsider, for encouraging the king's resistance to India. Some even accused her of being a CIA agent. By July of 1973, Hope couldn't take it anymore. She fled to New York with her children, abandoning her husband and her throne. Paulden stayed behind, but the situation was too far gone. In April of 1975, Indian troops stormed the royal palace and placed him under house arrest. Shortly after, Sikkim became India's 22nd state and Paldan was stripped of his crown. Hope officially divorced him in 1980. She later said that marrying into royalty meant entering a world she didn't fully understand until it was too late. The institution consumed her life, and when it collapsed, she was left with nothing. Another woman who knows this well is Masako Owada. Before she became the Empress of Japan in 1993, Masako was a Harvard educated diplomat with a promising career. She spoke multiple languages, worked for the Japanese Foreign Ministry, and had a bright future ahead of her. And in 1986, she met Crown Prince Naruhito at an official function. Naruhito was immediately taken by Masako's intelligence and confidence, but she turned him down twice. She knew what royal life would demand. The Imperial household of Japan is one of the most restrictive royal institutions in the world. Tradition means everything. Being Emperor of Japan is mostly a symbolic role, a lot like the British royal family. Imperial family members participate in hundreds of formal events each year, representing Japan in diplomatic functions and supporting charitable causes. But they can't vote, run for office, or choose their jobs freely. Every aspect of their lives is controlled by the Imperial Household Agency. So it's not hard to see why Masako wasn't interested. But Naruhito didn't give up. And in 1992, Masako finally said yes. Naruhito promised her to, quote, protect you for my entire life. She gave up her career, her independence and her freedom to become Crown Princess. And the pressure was immediate. The Imperial Household expected her to produce a male heir. In Japan's royal system, only men can inherit the throne. So Masako's entire worth became tied to whether she could give birth to a son. In 2001, she did give birth to a daughter. The criticism was relentless from all sides. The media scrutinized her. Palace officials made it clear that she had failed. Masako was crushed. She experienced a severe mental health crisis and was diagnosed with adjustment disorder, which is essentially a breakdown caused by stress. For years, she barely appeared in public. She was isolated, trapped in a gilded cage that she couldn't escape. And she never had a son. The succession issue was only resolved in 2006, when Naruhito's younger brother had a boy. Masako did go on to become empress in 2019, and still is today. But her experience shows that she wasn't valued as a person, only as a symbol. And then of course, there's Meghan Markle. Meghan was an American actress. She was independent, confident and unique for the British royal family in that she was biracial. She seemed like a breath of fresh air. When she married Prince Harry In 2018, the wedding was a global event. It was beautiful, romantic and historic. But behind the glamour ceremony, Meghan was dealing with relentless heart hostility from the British media. The tabloids attacked her constantly. They criticized everything from her clothes to her family to her body language. She and Harry tried to make royal life work, but eventually it was too much. In 2020, they withdrew as senior royals and left the UK entirely. They moved to California, stepping away from the institution that made their lives unbearable. Meghan later spoke openly about how damaging the experience experience was. She struggled with her mental health. She felt trapped and unsupported. These women all learned that marrying into powerful families meant sacrificing parts of themselves their freedom, their identity, their careers, sometimes even their mental health. The truth is, these institutions don't really care about the individuals who enter them. They care about preserving their brands. If you can't conform, can't produce what's expected of you, or can't maintain the image that they demand, you're expendable. And history is full of darker examples like the wives of Henry viii. Instacart is more than a grocery technology platform. It's really designed to make everyday life a little easier. It connects you to thousands of stores across the country so you can spend less time running around and more time focusing on everything else you've got going on. Lately, it's been taking so much off my plate. Normally I'd have to carve out a chunk of time to go to the store, walk every aisle, and wait in line. But now I can build my cart exactly how I want, whether it's fresh produce, pantry samples, or specific brands I always buy. I also like that there's an option to leave notes or chat. So I always feel like I'm in control of the quality that I'm getting. But the convenience is really what keeps me coming back, especially when I'm juggling work all the time. Instead of having to drop everything, I can just order through the app and get whatever I need on my schedule. Sometimes it even shows up in as fast as 30 minutes. Instacart brings convenience, quality and ease right to your door so you can focus on what matters most. Download the Instacart app now and get
- [13:28]
Heidi Wong
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- [14:46]
Katie Ring
Henry VIII is one of history's most notorious kings, for good reason. He had six wives, and things didn't end well for any of them. In 1509, Henry married Catherine of Aragon, his first wife. She was a Spanish princess, well educated and deeply religious. She gave Henry a daughter, Mary, but no surviving sons. You know what that means? No sons means the beginning of the end. So around 1526, Henry became interested in one of Catherine's ladies in waiting, Anne Boleyn. Anne was intelligent, charismatic and ambitious. Henry was obsessed with her. But when Henry asked Anne to become his mistress, she refused. She would only become his wife. That only made Henry want her more, especially when she left court for her family's estate. Just out of Henry's reach, he wrote passionate, desperate love letters to Anne that survive to this day. The courtship lasted seven years. That whole time, Henry was trying to get his marriage to Catherine annulled, but he needed permission from the Pope himself and he wouldn't give it. So Henry did the only logical he broke away from the Catholic Church and founded the Church of England just so he could get a divorce. And he didn't just divorce Catherine, he exiled her. Not only that, but she wasn't allowed to ever see their daughter again. With her out of the picture, Henry and Anne got married and went to work in the bedroom. But when Anne gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth, instead of a son, Henry turned on her, too. And this time he didn't bother with divorce. He had Anne arrested on trumped up charges of adultery, incest and treason. It was clearly a sham, but it didn't matter. Anne was beheaded in 1536. After that, Jane Seymour was lucky wife number three. She was quiet, obedient, and finally gave Henry what he wanted, a son, Edward. But the birth was hard on Jane and she died 12 days later. Anne of Cleves was the next wife up. Henry was sold the moment that he saw her portrait. And when he finally met her in person, the expectation didn't really match reality. As the story goes, Henry called her a Flanders mare, meaning she looked like a plain horse. Their marriage was never consummated. Henry had it annulled within months. But Anne was smart. She didn't complain about it. And in return, Henry gave her a generous settlement and allowed her to live independently in England. She was one of the lucky ones. They got divorced, but at least she made it out alive. Catherine Howard was Henry's fifth wife. She was young, maybe just 16, when she married Henry, who was, at this point, in his late 40s. To nobody's surprise, this wasn't a happy marriage and Catherine was accused of adultery. Unlike Anne Boleyn, these charges may have had some truth to them. Either way, the punishment was the same. Same? Catherine was beheaded in 1542. Finally, Catherine Parr was 6. By this point, Henry was old, sick and basically on his deathbed. Thankfully, Catherine Parr outlived him, but barely. She was almost arrested on charges of heresy before Henry died. If he'd lived even a few months longer, she might have met the same fate as Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. Two beheaded, one dead from childbirth, two divorced, and one who narrowly escaped. These women didn't marry for love. They married into a dynasty. And the dynasty consumed them. Marriage to Henry wasn't about partnership. It was about producing a male heir and maintaining his bloodline. If a wife couldn't deliver, she was expendable. And the institution supported this. No one said maybe we shouldn't execute women for. For failing to meet your expectations. Because the institution's survival mattered more than the women themselves. So you can see how this idea of shadowy power players and dangerous traditions would make the perfect subject for a horror movie. And that's exactly what happened with Ready or Not. It's about marriage, wealth and expectations with a deadly twist. If you haven't seen Ready or Not, here's what you need to know. The main character, Grace, is a woman from a modest background who falls in love with Alex Le Domas, heir to a massive board game empire. Grace grew up in foster care, bouncing between families, never really belonging anywhere. So When Alex proposes, it's not just about love. It's about finally having a family of her own, too. The wedding takes place at the Le Domas family estate, a sprawling Gothic mansion that looks like something out of a different century. And Alex's family? They're loaded. We're talking generational wealth, the kind of money that comes with expectations and traditions. And one of those traditions comes on their wedding night. After the ceremony and the reception, the family tells Grace that every new member has to play a game at midnight. It's a part of the family's history, a ritual passed down over the years. Sounds harmless enough, right? The Le Domas family matriarch, Becky, brings out this ornate wooden box covered in strange symbols. Grace has to draw a card that determines which game she'll play. Most of the options are harmlesschess Old Maid checkers, but Grace draws hide and seek. The room goes silent. The family exchanges terrified looks. The rules seem simple enough. Grace hides anywhere in the mansion until dawn. If they don't find her by sunrise, she wins. But once the clock strikes midnight and the hunt begins, Grace realizes this isn't just a game. Her new in laws are hunting her with crossbows, rifles and axes. And if they find her before sunrise, they're going to kill her. See, generations ago, the Le Domas family made a pact with a mysterious figure named Mr.
- [20:44]
Heidi Wong
Le Bail.
- [20:45]
Katie Ring
Wealth and power in exchange for blood sacrifice. And they've been honoring that deal ever since. Whenever a new family member joins the family through marriage, they have to draw a card. Most cards are harmless, but if you pick hide and seek, you become the sacrifice. And before I go through the rest of the movie, I want to talk about Mr. Le Bael for a second, because here's the the name Le Bael sounds a lot like Belial. And Belial, yeah, that's a demon. The filmmakers never confirmed whether this was intentional, but the parallels are hard to ignore. If you are the filmmakers, please comment below and tell us what the truth is. Just throwing it out there. Let me break down who Belial actually is. In ancient Hebrew text, Belial started as a concept, not a character. The word meant worthlessness or lawlessness. In the Old Testament, people described as sons of Belial were corrupt and wicked. It was basically calling someone morally bankruptcy. But over time, Belial evolved from a concept into an actual entity. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were written by a Jewish sect around the 1st century BCE, Belial appears as a leader of evil forces. He commands the sons of darkness in opposition to God's people. He's not just an idea anymore. He's a supernatural being, a force of corruption and chaos. By the time the early Christians were writing, around 55 CE, Belial was being used as another name for Satan. And in occult handbooks from the 1600s, Belial became a ranked demon with specific powers. In a text called the Lesser Key of Solomon, Belial is listed as the 68th spirit out of the 72 demons. He's described as a powerful king who appears in a chariot of fire. According to the book, Belial can give demonic servants to those who summon him, but they're not free. You have to provide a sacrifice. And if it's not good enough, you'll have to deal with the 50 legions of spirits under his command. Another text written in 1577 describes Belial as a king created next after Lucifer himself. He's beautiful in appearance and deeply deceptive. Unless he's held back by divine power, he'll lead his summoners astray. The themes here are clear. Belial grants wealth and power in exchange for offerings, usually souls. He's beautiful and seductive, making deals that seem too good to be true because they are. The family's fortune didn't come from hard work or innovation. It came from a pact with a demonic force that demands sacrifice to maintain their prosperity. And that's part of what makes Ready or Not. See so effective. It takes old fears about deals with the Devil, fears that have existed for centuries and transplants them into a modern setting. It's not people gathering at midnight in some medieval village. It's wealthy elites in designer suits hunting a woman through their mansion. But the underlying horror is the power gained through darkness. Wealth that demands a price in blood. And that's why why the Belial connection matters. Even if it's never explicitly stated in the film, it taps into something primal and ancient. So when the Le Domas family made their deal with Mr. Le Bail, they were entering a deadly bargain. And there was no escape. At least not until Grace shows up.
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Heidi Wong
Girl, winter is so last season. And now spring's got you looking at pictures of tank tops with hungry eyes. Your algorithm is feeding you cutoffs. You're thirsty for the sun on your shoulders that perfect hang on the patio sundress. Those sandals you can wear all day and all night. And you've had enough of shopping from your couch. Done. Hoping it looks anything like the picture when you tear open that envelope. It's time for a little in person spring treat. It's time for a trip to Ross. Work your magic.
- [24:46]
Katie Ring
What they did to Your family. You're lucky to make it out alive. Streaming on Peacock. These men are going to come after me. Taking them out. It's my only chance. Put a bullet in her head. From the co creator of Ozark.
- [24:59]
Heidi Wong
Looks like a family was running drugs. Execution style killing.
- [25:03]
Katie Ring
It's rare for the Keys. Any leads on who they might have been running for? The cartel killed my family. I'm gonna kill them. All of them. Mia streaming now only on Peacock.
- [25:15]
Heidi Wong
Jacqueline Furlan Smith, a 40 year old former Canadian military trainer, moves to Costa Rica to follow her dreams. But in the summer of 2021, vanishes without a trace.
- [25:27]
Katie Ring
How can a woman just go missing and us put out all that effort to find her and she's still missing?
- [25:34]
Heidi Wong
I'm David Ridgeon and this is Someone knows something. Season 10, the Jacqueline Furlan Smith case. Available now on CBC Live. Listen and wherever you get your podcasts
- [25:47]
Katie Ring
in. Ready or not, Grace spends the night running through secret passageways, hiding in dumbwaiters, and crawling through the mansion's maze like corridors. She's dodging bullets, setting traps, and fighting back against people who were toasting her happiness just hours earlier. The Le Domas mansion itself becomes a kind of trap. And that was intentional. The movie's cinematographer said that every aspect of the house was designed to make Grace feel like she was caught in a labyrinth. The mansion is this sprawling gothic estate with hidden passages, secret rooms and corridors that seem to go on forever. It's beautiful on the surface, but also deeply oppressive. Grace thinks that she can hide, but the house itself is working against her. Every room has another door, another passage, another way for the family to track her down. There's no escape. The walls close in. The house is a part of the family's machine just as much as the weapons they're carrying. And then there's Grace's wedding dress at the start of the night. It's pristine, beautiful, a symbol of her new life and her hope for the future. But as the hunt goes on, the dress gets torn and stained with blood. Hers and others. By the end, it's almost unrecognizable. And so is Grace. The dress represents her transformation. She enters the Le Domas family as an innocent bride, full of hope and excitement. She believed Alex's family would become her family, that she'd finally belong somewhere. Instead, she's betrayed, hunted, and forced to fight for her life. By the time the sun rises, she's not the same person. She's a survivor who's been through hell. Someone who's seen the true Face of the institution she thought she was joining. The wedding dress becomes armor proof that she survived what was meant to kill her. And that's what makes the movie more than just a slasher film. It's about a woman discovering her own strength in the face of an institution designed to destroy her. The Le Domas family underestimated Grace. They saw her as weak, disposable, and an easy sacrifice. But Grace proved them wrong. And that ending, without saying spoiling too much, is deeply satisfying because it's about Grace taking back her power from people who tried to take everything from her. As one critic put it, the movie belongs to a long tradition of horror where elites exploit and hunt the powerless. It's a theme that goes back decades and it resonates because there's truth in it. The ultra wealthy operate in a different world. They have access to resources, spaces and networks that regular people don't. And sometimes that power comes with a darkness that outsiders can't see until they're already trapped inside. Ready or not takes a lot of creative liberties, obviously, but strip away the crossbows and demonic pacts and you're left with something that's actually happened to real people, as we've seen today. So what does Ready or Not really tell us? At its core, the movie is about power. Who has it and who doesn't. And what happens when someone from the outside tries to enter a world built to exclude them. The Le Domas family isn't just wealthy, they're a dynasty. The money comes from history, tradition and secrets passed down through generations. They've built their empire on a foundation of blood and rituals, and they'll do anything to protect it. Grace, an orphan with no family of her own, sought marrying. Alex would give her the belongings she always wanted. She thought she was getting love and security, a ready made family who would accept her. Instead, she got a nightmare. Because in systems built on power and exclusivity, outsiders are expendable. Of course, most people don't face murderous in laws on their wedding night. But the anxiety in Ready or Not is something women have felt for centuries. The fear that people you trusted would don't have your best interests at heart. That the institution cares more about preserving itself than protecting you. That you've entered into something bigger and more powerful than you are and it will crush you if you don't fit the mold. Ready or not takes that fear and turns it into a brutal, darkly funny thriller. It's entertaining and satisfying to watch Grace fight back, but it's effective because it's rooted in truth, throughout history, powerful families have maintained their status through secrecy and control, through rituals outsiders don't understand, and networks that span generations. And the people who marry into those families often pay a price. Their freedom, their identity, their mental health. And in the darkest cases, their lives. Grace survives her wedding night. Sure, she's bloodied and traumatized, but she's alive. And she makes sure that the Le Domas family pays for what they do tried to do to her. But the movie leaves you with a haunting. How many people in real life didn't survive? How many women married into power and wells only to discover that they'd entered a trap? How many were sacrificed, literally or figuratively, to maintain a dynasty's power? The answer is probably more than we'll ever know. Because these institutions thrive on secrecy, on closed doors and private rituals, on making sure outsiders never see what really happens inside. And once they do, there's no getting out. Thanks so much for joining me on this episode of Twisted, a Crime House original. I'd love to hear from you. What did you think about today's story? Anything you're dying for me to COVID Leave a comment or review wherever you're tuning in. And be sure to follow Twisted Hail so we can keep building this community together. I'll be back next week with another unbelievable true story. Until then, stay curious and remember, there's no reason to fear the dark unless you try to hide from it. I'm Katie Ring, host of America's Most Infamous Crimes. Each week I take on one of the most notorious criminal cases in American history. Listen to and follow America's Most Infamous Crimes, available now wherever you get your podcasts.
- [31:56]
Heidi Wong
Looking for your next listen? Check out hidden history with Dr. Harumi Bhatt every Monday. Dr. Bhat goes where history gets mysterious vanished civilizations, doomsday prophecies, and events that science still can't fully explain. Follow Hidden History now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.