All language subtitles for Beyond.the.Unknown.S03E05.Gulf.Breeze.and.Blood.Falls.WEB.h264-ROBOTS_track3_eng

Wildman:
A waterfall of blood.

They were baffled.
No one knew what this was.

Wildman:
A haunted tale of sorcery.

These people were convinced
that they had seen a ghost.

Wildman: And a magic stone
to sail the sea.

Green: This seems like
a fantastical object

ripped from "game of thrones."

wildman: But first,
an out-of-this-world discovery.

Anderson:
They're some of the best photos

that have ever been taken
of a ufo that up close.

Wildman:
Amazing mysteries,

bizarre phenomena,
and chilling secrets.

I'm don wildman.

Join me on a journey
beyond the unknown.

♪♪

roswell, new mexico,
became famous in 1947,

when rumors surfaced that
an unidentified flying object

had crashed
just outside of town.

It sparked
a host of wild theories

that aliens had landed on earth.

♪♪

today this out-of-this-world
reputation is celebrated

at the international ufo museum
and research center.

♪♪

here, tucked among
metal fragments

from the alleged 1947 crash site

and artistic models
of extraterrestrial life-forms

is a mysterious set of documents
marked classified.

Anderson:
The artifact contains magazines,

photographs, and articles,
all in a brown folder.

The most prominent piece
is actually the photograph

of an unidentified flying object
floating in the night sky.

♪♪

wildman:
The images in this file

recall a mind-bending series
of events

that could prove the existence
of extraterrestrial life.

This is one of the strangest
close-encounter stories ever.

♪♪

wildman: November 1987,
gulf breeze, florida.

Duane cook is the editor
of the gulf breeze sentinel,

a newspaper that charts everyday
life in this small coastal town.

Anderson:
The gulf breeze sentinel

basically runs stories like the
latest football game winnings,

the council meetings,
and changes on the bus service.

♪♪

wildman:
But one evening,

something happens
that will alter life

in gulf breeze forever.

On November 17th,

a man named ed walters
walks into the sentinel's office

and makes
an extraordinary claim.

Walters says
that about a week earlier,

he saw a strange, disk-like
object hovering above his home.

He grabbed his camera
and snapped five pictures.

♪♪

one of those prints
is on display

at the international ufo museum
and research center.

Walters is convinced
the unidentified flying object

was in fact an alien spacecraft.

Now he wants duane cook
to publish the photos

in the sentinel.

At first, cook thinks walters
is making the story up.

But when he looks at the images,
he starts to wonder.

Anderson:
He's in complete awe

because they're
some of the best photos

that have ever been taken
of a ufo that up close.

Wildman: But without
any supporting evidence

of a sighting,
the seasoned journalist

is reluctant to publish
walters' account.

Anderson: He can't just print
these pictures

based off of one person's story.

Wildman:
Then, later that evening,

two other locals contact cook.

They claim that they also saw
a strange object

flying over the town.

With these other reports
in hand,

cook publishes the account and
walters' photographs of the ufo.

The article sparks a frenzy of
interest in the tiny community.

This turned into a sensation
for gulf breeze.

♪♪

wildman:
Over the next few weeks,

more than 100
gulf breeze residents

report seeing a strange craft
flying in the sky.

Anderson:
People like politicians,

a retired air force officer,
doctors,

all saying that they'd seen
ufos.

Wildman: So, are there really
alien spaceships

flying above florida?

♪♪

some skeptics suggest that
what the residents actually saw

was a series of meteor showers

that could have been mistaken
for ufos.

But the national weather service
has no record

of any meteors in the sky
at that time.

Others theorize that
the sightings might be connected

to some kind of top-secret
military project.

Anderson: There was a local
air force base nearby.

Some people thought there was

some special military training
happening.

Wildman:
Air force officials, however,

deny that the reports are linked
to any military activity.

♪♪

with authorities unable to
provide a rational explanation

for the sightings,

speculation as to what it was
that people saw

only intensifies.

So what's the truth
behind the gulf breeze ufos?

♪♪

for years, the reports
from gulf breeze are heralded

as among the most credible
accounts of ufo appearances

in recent history.

Then, in 1990, something happens

that turns the entire story
on its head.

Ed walters, the man
who took the first photos

of the strange craft,

sells his house
and moves away from gulf breeze.

When the new owners of the house
set about cleaning the property,

in the attic, they make
an astonishing discovery.

There they find a small,
disk-like object

made of styrofoam, cardboard,
and plastic.

It looks strangely like the ufo
that ed walters saw

flying over his house
all those years ago.

When the model is brought
into the offices

of the gulf breeze sentinel,

reporters compare it
to walters' pictures,

and their suspicions
are confirmed.

♪♪

it seems that the photographs
taken by ed walters

were nothing
but an elaborate hoax.

Anderson:
People were shocked.

I think they were
pretty disappointed.

Wildman: Residents theorize
walters built the model

and hung it up in a tree.

Then he took pictures of it

to make it look
like a flying saucer.

But even if walters' images
were indeed faked,

one question remains.

Anderson: How do you disclaim
135 other key witnesses?

These were upright citizens
in the community.

Wildman: Many of the original
witnesses stand by their stories

and contend that back in 1987,

gulf breeze was indeed visited
by extraterrestrials.

Anderson: Even to this day,
people are still saying

that they were there,
and they claim that they saw it.

♪♪

wildman:
And this dossier,

containing detailed accounts
of the ufo sightings

and a copy of one of ed
walters's original photographs,

is stored in the archives
at the international ufo museum

and research center
in roswell, new mexico.

It recalls the otherworldly tale

that had a small florida
community staring at the skies.

♪♪

a bizarre phenomenon
of biblical proportions

and a decades-long search
for the truth.

Yuko: A terrifying sight
that mystified the world

for more than a century.

♪♪

wildman:
1910.

Respected geologist
thomas griffith taylor

is on the journey of a lifetime.

He has joined an expedition
to the coldest place on earth --

antarctica.

Yuko: Taylor is the type
of guy you went to

if you had any questions
about the planet,

and his work was known
throughout the world.

Wildman:
Under the command

of the famed british explorer
captain robert falcon scott,

taylor will be among the first
to conduct a thorough study

of the frozen continent's
geology.

Yuko:
This was really his shot

to do more than just spend time
in a lab.

He was gonna make it count.

Wildman:
After six months at sea,

the expedition party
finally reaches antarctica.

Taylor begins the process
of analyzing

the geological features
of the harsh landscape.

Yuko: Taylor would take notes
on things he was noticing,

especially glaciers.

♪♪

wildman: In September,
taylor heads out on his own

to study a glacier
not far from camp.

And as he approaches,

he sees something that stops him
dead in his tracks.

Flowing from the top
of the glacier

is a five-story-high waterfall.

But this is no ordinary cascade.

The water appears to be...
Blood red.

♪♪

yuko: It was as if there was
a giant gash in the glacier

and it was gushing blood.

He couldn't believe what he saw.

Wildman: So the perplexed
geologist brings his colleagues

to see the scarlet waterfall.

Yuko:
They were baffled, too.

No one knew what this was.

Wildman: Some suggest
that the discoloration is caused

by red algae in the water.

But when the team examines
the liquid further,

there is no trace
of the tiny organisms.

People were just shocked,
and they didn't know what to do,

because this was
the logical explanation,

and it wasn't true.

Wildman: In 1912, after more
than a year in antarctica,

taylor returns to England.

There, news of his discovery
spreads like wildfire.

Yuko: When the world heard
about the waterfall,

no one really knew
what to make of it.

The scientific community
was pretty stumped.

Wildman:
With no plausible explanation,

some seek an answer
in the bible,

suggesting the phenomenon
must be a sign from god.

Since ancient times,

there have been accounts
of water running red.

According to the old testament,
blood rained down

upon the egyptians
as a form of divine punishment.

And in the new testament,
a river of blood is described

as a harbinger
of the apocalypse.

Yuko:
The book of revelation tells us

that when the world ends, blood
will run through the rivers

and the oceans and waterfalls,
so people thought

that the waterfall was a sign
of the end of times.

Wildman: So, what's the secret
of antarctica's blood falls?

Wildman: In 1911, geologist
thomas taylor was in antarctica

when he made
a sinister discovery --

a waterfall that appeared
to be blood red.

When scientists of the day
fail to offer

a plausible explanation,

some suggest
that the ominous cascade

could be a sign
of an impending apocalypse.

So, what's the chilling truth
behind the blood falls?

♪♪

for more than a century,

the mysterious waterfall
leaves scientists baffled.

Then, in 2017,

erin pettit, a glaciologist
from the university of alaska

in fairbanks, takes up the case.

Pettit leads a team of
researchers to the blood falls,

located on what's now known
as taylor glacier,

after the geologist who studied
it a century earlier.

Yuko:
The researchers were fascinated,

like everyone else,
with the blood falls.

This was something that they
really wanted to solve.

Wildman:
The group scans the ice

with a portable
ground radar machine.

It allows them to see
what lies beneath the ice.

The results reveal
something surprising.

Taylor glacier sits atop
a giant lake.

And the lake's bottom
is made up of rock

that's rich in iron.

The researchers thought this was
a remarkable discovery.

Wildman:
With this observation,

pettit and her team
are finally able to explain

the secret of the blood falls.

As the glacier slowly moves,

it presses down
on the lake below.

This pressure forces the water
through fissures in the ice.

When the fluid flows
to the surface,

it carries iron sediment up
from the lake bottom.

Yuko: The sediment in the water
was oxidized

when it hit the air, and it
turned a deep blood-red color,

kind of like when you leave
metal out in the rain

and it rusts.

Wildman:
In April 2017,

pettit's team publishes
their findings to great acclaim.

Not only have they proven
that liquid water can persist

inside a frozen glacier,
but they finally shed light

on the secret
behind the blood falls.

Yuko:
The researchers were thrilled.

They'd finally solved the puzzle

people had been trying to solve
for 100 years.

♪♪

wildman: Buffalo, new york,
has a unique claim to fame.

It's here
that theodore roosevelt

took the oath of office

to become the nation's
26th president.

And in the charming suburb
of west seneca is an institution

that celebrates
the region's rich history --

the west seneca
historical society and museum.

♪♪

the collection includes

a harley-davidson
police motorcycle from 1950,

purple hearts awarded
to local men

who were injured or killed
in service,

and one of the first pacemakers,

invented by a buffalo doctor
in 1956.

But hidden among these pristine
treasures is a well-worn item.

Winfield: This rectangular
artifact is mottled,

weathered by age.

The writing inside
is in old german,

and it's in a type of print

that most of us don't even
recognize as letters anymore.

Wildman: This tattered tome
recounts the real-life story

of an epic battle
between good and evil.

It's a tale of witchcraft
and cold-blooded murder.

♪♪

wildman:
It's 1843.

Upheavals in europe

have prompted a new wave
of immigrants

to leave the old world behind

and seek out a new life
in the united states.

Among them is a young man
named christian metz.

Winfield:
Metz was charismatic.

He was dramatic.

He had an unflinching belief
in himself.

♪♪

wildman: Metz had come
to the u.S. From germany,

where he had been persecuted
for leading a religious order

known as the ebenezer society,

a group of pacifists
who believe in communal living.

Now he has purchased a piece
of property outside of buffalo,

where he hopes to establish
his new spiritual community.

The land, located on
a seneca indian reservation,

comes with simple wooden cabins
for the members to live in.

Winfield:
Although any of these cabins

would have been modest
by contemporary standards,

it beat the heck
out of living in the woods.

Wildman:
Metz and his companions

hope to find peace and
tranquility in this new land.

But a chilling incident

is about to turn their dream
into a nightmare.

As the story goes,
several members of the community

are sleeping in their cabin
one night

when they are awoken
by a terrible wailing sound.

It sounded like a pack of demons
had moved in with them.

Wildman: The source of the
harrowing noise is a mystery.

And then something happens
that makes their blood run cold.

Before their eyes,
a figure appears in the cabin.

It's a native american woman
wearing a white dress

wrapped in chains
who seems to be floating.

Horrified, the ill-fated
pioneers flee into the forest.

These people were completely
spooked in that cabin.

Wildman: When they tell metz
about their experience,

the religious leader
is dumbfounded.

The encampment is miles
from any other human habitation.

So metz and his companions reach
a frightening conclusion --

the cabin is haunted.

These people were convinced
that they had seen a ghost.

Wildman:
So who or what is the source

of this spirited sighting?

In search of answers,
christian metz turns

to the people who previously
lived in the cabins --

the seneca.

And they tell
the religious leader

what is behind
the ghostly sighting.

According to legend,
20 years earlier,

the tribe had a medicine woman
named kau-qua-tau.

She was known to be
a powerful healer.

One day, kau-qua-tau was
treating a patient

for a minor illness
when the man died unexpectedly.

Some of the dead man's friends
accused kau-qua-tau

of having used dark magic
to murder the man.

The medicine woman professed
her innocence, but to no avail.

Kau-qua-tau was arrested
and charged with witchcraft.

Winfield:
If you had the power to heal,

you probably also had the power
to hurt.

Wildman: Kau-qua-tau
was convicted by a tribal court

and given
the ultimate punishment.

Winfield: If you're convicted
of witchcraft,

there was only one
possible sentence -- death.

Wildman:
After her execution,

kau-qua-tau's body
was wrapped in chains

and buried beneath her home --
the very same cabin

where members
of the ebenezer society

experienced their ghostly
encounter.

For the seneca people,
when a witch was buried,

the bones could still
have power.

They could radiate negativity
for generations afterward.

Wildman: Hoping to put an end
to the hauntings,

metz and his followers burned
the dwelling to the ground.

♪♪

eventually, the ebenezer society
outgrows their commune

and moves west, to iowa.

But the legend of kau-qua-tau
and her restless spirit remains.

Winfield: Over 170 years later,
there's still an open space

where the cabin of kau-qua-tau
may once have stood,

and people that live
very near there

think their houses are haunted.

♪♪

wildman:
Today the diary

of ebenezer society leader
christian metz

is kept in the west seneca
historical society and museum

in west seneca, new york.

It recalls a spiritual group's
terrifying encounter

with a vengeful force
from beyond the veil.

A seance, an unsettled spirit,

and the creation
of a creepy new sensation.

Bensch:
This is a surprising story

behind one of the most popular
board games in american history.

♪♪

wildman:
In the mid-1800s,

around the time
of the civil war,

a new religious movement swept
the united states --

spiritualism.

The practice claimed to give
people the chance to communicate

with the spirits of deceased
relatives and other loved ones.

We're talking about the period
of the civil war,

when there were
huge losses of life.

It was a time
when children died young,

adults died in midlife.

People wanted the comfort
of being in touch

with their dead ancestors.

♪♪

wildman: While many adherents
of spiritualism

chose to participate in seances
or work with mediums,

the most popular way to contact
those beyond the grave

was a simple
homemade contraption

called a talking board.

Often fashioned out of paper,

the crude device was marked
with a hand-scrawled alphabet

and featured a pointing device.

Groups gathered around
such boards,

placed their hands
on the pointer,

and asked questions of the dead.

Then they waited for the pointer
to glide across the paper

and spell out the answers.

Some people believe that
the spirits on the other side

are moving it across the board.

Wildman:
But in 1890 in baltimore,

one entrepreneur decides

to capitalize
on spiritualism's popularity

and takes the talking boards
from rustic to refined.

His name is elijah bond.

This civil war veteran
and law-school graduate

designs his own talking board,

this one made of polished wood
with finally printed letters.

As the story goes,
bond's sister-in-law,

an adherent of spiritualism
herself,

allegedly has a mysterious
vision in which she sees

the name of this new kind
of spectral transmitter.

Using her vision,
bond calls it the ouija board.

Bensch: Elijah bond saw
this spiritual trend

and decided to tap into
this fierce demand

in the american public.

Wildman: Bond wants to
mass-produce ouija boards

and sell them across the nation.

But before he can do so,
he must patent the device.

On February 10th,

bond arrives at the patent
office in washington, d.C.,

along with a spiritualist medium
named helen peters.

Bond presents the ouija board
to a patent officer

and explains what it does.

Bensch:
Bond was essentially telling him

that this is a spiritual tool

to be in touch with forces
beyond our world.

Wildman: But the patent officer
is skeptical.

Bensch: The patent officer
was used to seeing inventions

that had engineering, gears,
levers, electrical current.

This was so beyond
his usual field

that he had a tough time
judging how this worked.

Wildman: The officer
tells bond and peters

that the only way
the patent can be approved

is if they can demonstrate
that the device actually works.

The patent officer proposes
a simple test.

Since neither bond nor peters
knows his name,

he wants them to ask the board
to spell it out.

The patent officer thought
this would be a good test

because this would be something

that only supernatural powers
could help with.

Wildman: So, will
the ouija board pass the test?

♪♪

wildman:
It's 1890 in washington, d.C.

Businessman elijah bond
is trying to secure a patent

for a new supernatural novelty
called the ouija board.

But first he has to demonstrate
that it works.

What happens next may prove that
there's more to the ouija board

than mere child's play.

Bond, his spiritualist friend
helen peters,

and the patent clerk place
their hands on the pointer

and ask the spirits to spell out
the officer's name.

Then, after a few moments,
the pointer begins to move.

The trio watches as it glides
from one letter to another

until finally
the full answer appears.

It spelled out the name
of the patent officer --

charles mitchell.

Wildman: The patent officer
is astonished.

It seemed like the board could
actually do what it claimed to.

Wildman:
He wastes no time

issuing a patent
for the ouija board.

Bond must have been jubilant.

Wildman: Bond is quick
to cash in on the ouija board.

Soon he's mass-producing
the product

and selling it
from coast to coast.

It became a phenomenal success
for more than a century.

Wildman: Today believers
and enthusiasts

can see one of the earliest
ouija boards,

from the turn
of the 20th century,

at the strong national museum
of play.

It stands as a testament
to one of the most intriguing

and mysterious board games
in history.

A mysterious skeleton

and the chilling tale
of a fabled beast.

This is a story
of two strangers,

a community in panic,
and a mythical monster.

Wildman: What is
this astonishing set of bones?

And is it proof of the existence
of an amazing creature?

♪♪

northern ohio.

For as long
as anyone can remember,

tales of a strange colossus
skulking in the depths

of the state's largest body
of water have abounded.

The name of this legendary
leviathan --

the lake erie monster.

The earliest sightings date back
to the 19th century.

Sailors reported seeing
a fierce behemoth thrashing

on the water's surface.

Greenberg:
They claimed it stretched

more than 16 feet long,

with a pointy head
and large, treacherous jaws.

♪♪

wildman: Over the years,
word of the serpent spread.

Greenberg:
People were scared.

There was the wave of fear
that everybody felt.

♪♪

wildman: But the strangest tale
of the lake erie monster

comes from July 1931.

As the story goes, two men,

cliff wilson
and francis bagenstos,

were out fishing
in their rowboat at night...

...When the beast rose
from the depths.

Terrified, the men attacked.

Greenberg: They disabled it
by battering it with an oar.

And then they managed
to pull it onto their vessel.

♪♪

wildman: They bring
the unconscious creature onshore

for all the locals to see.

Led by the town sheriff,

a throng of residents gathers
to witness this historic moment.

Greenberg:
It was a giant creature --

about 20 feet long,
a about a foot in thickness,

with scales all over its body.

When the sheriff looked at it,
he said,

"yep. Sure looks like a monster
to me."

wildman: So, is this
the lake erie monster?

Wildman:
It's 1931 in sandusky, ohio.

For decades, residents have told
of a giant sea serpent

lurking in nearby lake erie.

Then two men claim
they've captured

the legendary leviathan.

So what's the truth
behind the lake erie monster?

♪♪

the announcement that
the serpent has been caught

sends shock waves
throughout the community.

Greenberg:
People freaked out.

They wanted to see it
with their own eyes.

Wildman: The fervor attracts
the attention of harold madison,

a zoologist at the museum
of natural history in cleveland.

Intrigued, he heads to the lake.

But when he lays eyes
on the creature,

madison recognizes it
immediately.

It's a massive, slithering
animal not native to the region.

But it's no mythical beast.

The monster
was a 20-foot python from asia.

Greenberg: The residents of
sandusky were truly bewildered.

It looked nothing
like the animals

they were accustomed to seeing.

Wildman:
But the question remains --

how did a python
from the other side of the world

end up in lake erie?

♪♪

local officials have to look
no further than the two men

who brought the slippery snake
forward in the first place --

wilson and bagenstos.

They discover that the duo
worked at a traveling carnival

that had entertained locals with
a menagerie of exotic animals.

And the cunning con men

were hoping to exhibit
the dead creature in their show

as being the real
lake erie monster.

Greenberg:
Authorities in sandusky

began to connect the dots.

The tale started to make sense.

♪♪

wildman: Since this beast wasn't
the lake erie monster after all,

many residents continue
to believe in the legend.

Greenberg: Just because wilson
and bagenstos didn't capture

the lake erie monster

doesn't mean that the
lake erie monster doesn't exist.

♪♪

wildman:
This ancient ship symbolizes

the vikings' mastery
of the open ocean.

But few know that their success

depended on a seemingly
supernatural talisman.

Green:
This story recalls a time

when all it took to rule
the seas was the right tool.

Wildman: Of all the explorers
and adventurers

that fill the annals of history,

perhaps none capture
the imagination

like the famous warriors
of the north -- the vikings.

From the 8th century
to the 11th century,

their longships sailed
over a vast swath of ocean

that stretched from scandinavia
to the mediterranean

and even north america.

The vikings ruled the seas.

Wildman:
Most impressive of all,

the vikings built
this maritime network

400 years before the compass
was introduced to europe.

So how did they do it?

What was the secret
of the vikings?

Green: It's been something
of a historical dilemma

why the vikings were so much
better at dominating the seas

than other maritime nations.

Wildman: Many believe
that without a compass,

vikings navigated by the sun
or the stars.

But the skies in the
north atlantic are too overcast

to reliably use either
as a guide.

Northern europe is incredibly
cloudy and gloomy.

Wildman: Others argue
that vikings used landmarks

along the shore
to find their way.

But this doesn't explain
their unprecedented prowess

in traversing expanses of open
sea where no land can be seen.

♪♪

still others believe the answer
lies in viking lore.

Ancient texts claim
the norsemen were aided

by a magical object
called a sunstone.

According to legend,
a sunstone is a mystical gem

with the ability to reveal
the position of the sun

even before dawn, after sunset,

or when it's behind
thick clouds.

The very idea seems
preposterous.

Green: This seems like
a fantastical object

ripped straight from
"game of thrones."

wildman: Could this seafaring
stone be for real?

Wildman: The vikings
have long been regarded

as among history's
greatest seafarers.

But at a time before compasses
were used in europe

and with the skies
over the north atlantic

frequently too cloudy
to navigate by the stars,

how did they do it?

According to viking legend,

they used a seemingly
magical tool called a sunstone.

But is this sunstone fact
or fiction?

♪♪

in 2002, a team of archeologists
off the coast of northern France

excavates a medieval shipwreck.

They find swords, armor,
and other common tools.

But deep within the ship, they
come across something unusual --

a small, chiseled crystal
of translucent stone.

Green:
The stone was not something

that divers had come across
before.

Wildman: The archeologists
identify the object

as a nonprecious stone.
Called iceland spar.

Iceland spar is found naturally

across iceland, scandinavia,
and in England.

But the archeologists have
no idea

why this one has been carved,
nor what purpose it served.

They're very keen to find out

what on earth
it could possibly have been.

Wildman:
News of the curious discovery

reaches a french physicist
named dr. Guy ropars.

And he has a theory
as to what this thing is.

Ropars suspects that it might be
a sunstone.

Wildman:
To prove it,

ropars acquires a fresh slab
of iceland spar.

He performs a series of tests

and discovers the crystal has
a unique property.

When light passes through
the rock,

it splits into
two separate beams.

Green:
When he holds it up to the sky,

you see two prisms.

Wildman: Usually when the
crystal is held up to the sky,

one of the rays is much brighter
than the other.

But the two beams of light
become equally bright

when the top of the crystal is
perfectly aligned with the sun.

♪♪

according to ropars,

this is the key to viking
prowess on the high seas.

Green:
That allows you to pinpoint

where the sun is hiding
behind the clouds.

Wildman: Guy ropars publishes
his findings to great acclaim.

This was guy ropars' big moment.

His theories seemed to prove
that these translucent cubes

were used by the vikings
to achieve maritime supremacy.

♪♪

wildman: A supreme leader
and his supernatural demise.

Alcock: This is a story
about ancient times,

a great leader,
and a potential assassination.

♪♪

wildman:
It's 323 b.C.

32-year-old king alexander iii

oversees a vast empire
stretching from egypt to india.

His victories on the field
of battle

have earned him the title
alexander the great.

Alcock: People were in awe
of alexander the great.

Nobody had ever achieved
such domination

really of the known world
at that time.

Wildman:
But not everyone is enamored

with the all-powerful ruler.

Alcock: Alexander at this point
in his life was becoming

increasingly unpopular
with his generals.

They felt that he was pushing
the boundaries of his empire

at a rate that was too fast
and inevitably unsustainable.

Their patience with their king
is beginning to wear thin.

Wildman:
It's among these rising tensions

that one day in early June,

alexander attends
a lavish feast.

He spends the evening drinking
and carousing.

But as the night wears on,
the king complains

that he does not feel well
and excuses himself.

The next day,
alexander develops a high fever,

intense joint pain,

and as his condition
steadily worsens,

he eventually loses the ability
to speak.

Physicians of the utmost fame
are summoned

to the monarch's bedside.

But there is little they can do.

Ten days after falling ill,

alexander the great breathes
his last.

The iconic ruler's death
sends shock waves

throughout the empire.

Alcock: He was incredibly fit
and healthy.

He's 32.
He's a peak physical specimen.

People wanted to know what had
happened to this young man

and what caused
his untimely death.

Wildman:
The doctors suspect

that the king had too much
to drink at the feast

and died of alcohol poisoning.

But his subjects find this
difficult to believe.

After all, the great man
was known for his strength

and fortitude.

Alcock: The idea that alexander
could have died

from consuming too much alcohol

was something that people
didn't really believe.

♪♪

wildman: So in the absence
of an obvious cause of death,

a more sinister theory
is proposed --

that alexander the great
was assassinated.

Alcock:
The obvious suspects, of course,

in any assassination
with alexander the great

would have been his generals.

Wildman: Perhaps on the night
of the feast,

one of alexander's enemies
slipped poison into his drink.

♪♪

at the time,
the poison of choice

was a highly toxic plant
called hemlock.

But hemlock causes
respiratory failure,

nausea, and tremors,

effects inconsistent
with alexander's symptoms.

And while alexander suffered
for 10 agonizing days,

hemlock kills its victims
almost instantly.

So perhaps a different poison
that springs

from an otherworldly source
killed alexander.

A rumor emerges that he was
poisoned by drinking water

from the mythical river styx.

According to legend,

the river connects the earth
with the underworld

and its waters are deadly.

Alcock: Although there was
a huge amount of theory

and debate at the time,
really nothing could be proved,

and there was no definitive
evidence of any foul play.

And so history moved on.

Wildman:
As the years go on,

the death of alexander the great

becomes one of the biggest
mysteries of the world.

Then, 2,000 years later,
evidence emerges

that could solve the mystery
once and for all.

So, what really killed
alexander the great?

Wildman: For centuries,
historians and scientists

have debated over what killed
alexander the great.

Some say he died
from alcohol poisoning.

Others say a lethal substance
was slipped into his drink.

So will the mysterious death
of alexander the great

ever be solved?

♪♪

it's 2010.

32-year-old american
toxicologist antoinette hayes

is investigating
whether the ancient legend

of the river styx has any basis
in truth.

Hayes not only believes
that the river styx was real,

but that it's actually a river
that she could pinpoint today.

Wildman: One day she reads a
report about a peculiar waterway

in the mountains of greece
called the mavroneri river.

According to locals,

the waters are said to have
unusual properties

that erode crystal, pottery,
and even bronze.

After studying the waters,

hayes identifies the source
of the river's strange powers.

The waterway
is a breeding ground

for a deadly bacterial compound
called calicheamicin.

Alcock: Calicheamicin
is produced by bacteria

which are sometimes found
on limestone rock.

It's an incredibly toxic
substance.

Wildman:
When hayes studies the effects

the compound has on the body,
she makes a striking connection

to one of the biggest mysteries
of the ancient world.

Alcock: The symptoms
of ingesting calicheamicin

are a very high fever,
joint pain,

and gradually, over time,
the inability to speak --

exactly the same symptoms
suffered by alexander the great.

Wildman: Hayes theorizes that
on the night alexander fell ill,

one of his enemies may have
secretly given him water

from the mavroneri river

and it was that
bacteria-laden drink

that ultimately killed the king.

Here, with the work of hayes,
we have this tiny insight,

a tiny glimmer,
a new possibility,

a little window of insight
into an ancient world.

Wildman: As for who killed
the legendary ruler,

the mystery remains.

♪♪