Original subtitles

*

Narrator: a secret allied base Deep in enemy territory.

So, this place not only has A history of the guerrilla camp,

But, also, as a waypoint For people escaping capture.

*

Narrator: A notorious haunted asylum That enforced brutal treatment

On a terrifying scale.

Surgeons would literally go into The brain and experiment

With damaging or severing Certain parts of the brain.

With damaging or severing Certain parts of the brain.

Narrator: the subterranean home Of a secret society

With an american founding father Amongst its ranks.

This is a strange, spooky place, But it has an incredible history

Of glamour, celebrity, Scandal, and debauchery.

*

Narrator: decaying relics.

Ruins of lost worlds.

Forged through years of toil.

Forged through years of toil.

Now haunted by the past,

Their secrets Waiting to be revealed.

-- captions by vitac -- Www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by Discovery communications

*

On the balkan peninsula Of europe

Is what's known As the land of the eagle.

Deep in the hills Of southern albania

Are the dramatic remnants Of a secretive history.

Are the dramatic remnants Of a secretive history.

Corum: Albania's a mountainous

And, in some ways, beautiful And desolate region.

This is a mysterious place.

For much of the last century,

It was hidden away Behind closed doors.

Isolated, and it retains A certain mystique even today.

There's still a lot of things To be explored in this area.

A lot of secrets to be uncovered From those decades.

A lot of secrets to be uncovered From those decades.

Narrator: this isolation Was born out of a conflict

That touched Every corner of europe.

Clinging to the hillside Overlooking the bay of vlore

Is a relic Of this troubled time.

This village produced 45 of what Albanians called martyrs --

Heroes of world war ii.

This tiny village has A phenomenal tale to tell.

This tiny village has A phenomenal tale to tell.

Narrator: a few miles away Is a mysterious cave

Linked to this village

And connected To a remarkable escape story.

That is a machine-gun tripod.

That's the smoking gun.

This is their guerrilla home.

This is their cathedral.

Narrator: but what were british And american secret agents

Doing in this remote backwater?

This is A classic world war ii story.

You've got spies, resistance, Smugglers, heroes, villains.

You've got spies, resistance, Smugglers, heroes, villains.

This has got it all.

*

Narrator: this humble-looking Settlement would play a key role

In secret operations Led by british s.O.E.

And american o.S.S. Agents During world war ii.

They chose this village

As a base from which To wage a guerrilla war.

Ex-special forces operative Klint janulis

Wants to understand why.

Wants to understand why.

I served in iraq In the special forces,

And the u.S. Special forces are Guerrilla warfare specialists.

I'm here to understand Why the precursors

To the modern spec ops units

Decided to choose this Abandoned, destroyed village

As a base of operations,

Because it was those groups Like the o.S.S. And s.O.E.

That basically wrote the Playbook on guerrilla warfare

That we still use today.

Narrator: set up during the war, These organizations

Coordinated espionage activities Behind enemy lines,

Coordinated espionage activities Behind enemy lines,

But to take a closer look At this former base

In such rugged terrain Requires some serious wheels.

Driving up here, I was trying To put myself in the position

Of an attacking soldier,

And I realized just How terrifying that would be

Because getting up here, You see the fortified positions.

*

Wow.

This place looks like it Was designed to be a fortress.

This place looks like it Was designed to be a fortress.

This is a sniper point, Sniper point.

You could even have Small artillery pieces up here

And be protected and secure,

And you have a view Of the entire valley

From this exact location.

This is where I would want To fight a guerrilla battle

Against an invading force Down that valley.

*

Narrator: up close, the village Displays all the hallmarks

Of a battleground.

Janulis: it's obvious that There's been combat here.

The mortar on these walls here Have these pockmarks in them.

The mortar on these walls here Have these pockmarks in them.

Some of them look like The pockmarks

You'd see from the impact Of a bullet.

Some look like the ones You'd see from artillery,

Which are gonna be More dispersed

And sort of chaotic-looking.

The other Really important question for me

Is, who attacked?

Where did they come from?

Because just behind these Two massive fortifications

Is a funnel of death for anybody Trying to get into that village.

Narrator: klint's meeting Sofokli daupaj

Whose family lived here

Before they were displaced By this carnage.

Before they were displaced By this carnage.

Interpreter: This tile carries the names

Of my great-grandfather

And of My great-great-grandfather.

[ reading In foreign language ]

[ speaking native language ]

*

[ speaking native language ]

They had three rooms -- One here,

A second here, and a third here.

We are at the house Of my ancestors --

The house of my grandfather, Great-grandfather,

And of my Great-great-grandfather.

And of my Great-great-grandfather.

As you see, what remains Is only the ruins.

This is because of The second world war.

Narrator: This is tragjas, a settlement

That dates back To the 6th century b.C.

And once home to hundreds of Albanian families

Just like sofokli's

With a proud tradition Of resisting foreign invaders.

This is a place that has been A center of conflict

This is a place that has been A center of conflict

And on the border Of conflict for centuries.

These are people who have not Had a large connection

To the outside world, So they're very insular.

They don't like A heavy-handed foreign rule.

Narrator: For centuries, these villagers

Were fending off Turkish raiders.

In 1847, As part of a rural rebellion,

The people of tragjas Distinguished themselves,

Beating back men Of the ottoman empire.

So, did turkey's military forces Take revenge on tragjas?

So, did turkey's military forces Take revenge on tragjas?

To get to the bottom Of the conflict

That left sofokli's Family displaced,

Klint is heading out To vlore bay,

An area littered With the wreckage of war.

For me, I want to understand

Both sides of the equation -- The guerrilla warfare,

Why a little tiny village Like tragjas

Had so much investment in Special operations activities

And out here in this bay,

Where we had large Maritime things going on.

Where we had large Maritime things going on.

And I want to check out This shipwreck

Because that's gonna Help me understand

The conventional side.

*

As you move through The murky waters

Emerging into different parts Of the ship,

You can almost imagine The people

Walking around, Going about their business.

Holy cow.

That was amazing.

That was absolutely incredible.

You could see all the holes In the ship.

You could see the outline.

You can see Where the engine was --

Or looked like an engine.

Man.

It was Perfectly crystal clear.

That was fantastic.

That's the best shipwreck I've ever, ever had

The opportunity to check out.

Narrator: Yet exploring the wreckage

Further throws up Some surprises.

Which high-profile passenger Was this ship carrying?

Which high-profile passenger Was this ship carrying?

And how is it linked To the attack on tragjas?

*

*

Narrator: ex-special forces Operative klint janulis

Is investigating the decimated Village of tragjas

In southern albania.

It shows evidence of attack By a mechanized force.

Klint has traveled a few miles Down to the bay

To explore a wreck

Which he hopes will shed light On the invader's identity.

This ship has been the victim Of a devastating attack.

This ship has been the victim Of a devastating attack.

But this doesn't look Like a warship.

There's no sign of guns Or turrets.

So what happened?

Narrator: this ship is testament To a time

Before world war ii broke out,

When dictator benito mussolini Caught the world by surprise,

Targeting the main ports, Including vlore bay,

Which sits Just beneath tragjas.

Corum: mussolini was looking at Expanding this italian empire.

Corum: mussolini was looking at Expanding this italian empire.

Albania was an easy grab For the italians.

Mussolini wanted This piece of territory

That was just across The adriatic from italy.

Narrator: When mussolini's forces

Crossed albania's Southern border into greece,

Great britain stepped in And began

Targeting italian ships In the region.

In march 1941, the 135-meter-long po

Became the victim of a raid By torpedo bombers.

Became the victim of a raid By torpedo bombers.

Bell: in the darkness And with its lights off,

The british airmen believed this Was a legitimate wartime target.

They had no idea What this ship actually was

And who was on board.

narrator: the po was, in fact, a hospital ship

Evacuating wounded Italian soldiers

From the greek-albanian front.

Meigs: by coincidence,

One of the nurses Aboard this hospital ship

One of the nurses Aboard this hospital ship

Was mussolini's own daughter.

Narrator: edda ciano, Mussolini's daughter, survived,

But the sinking was part Of a campaign

That was soon escalating Out of italy's control.

The italians are losing On every front.

The equipment, leadership, Morale is breaking down.

They're trying to maintain Their control of key areas

And certainly the coastal region In albania

Is considered By the italians as a key area.

Is considered By the italians as a key area.

Narrator: The albanian resistance

Sensed an opportunity,

And tragjas became both a base

And supply point For local guerrillas

Taking the fight To the italians.

Corum: the guerrillas decide To make a fight of it.

And in this case, They do very, very well,

And they cause Very heavy casualties

Because, in this terrain,

It's ideally suited For guerrilla-style defense.

Narrator: klint has returned To tragjas to investigate

Narrator: klint has returned To tragjas to investigate

Why it became a focal point Of this resistance movement.

Essentially I'm making a sort

Of logistical reconnaissance Of this village.

The tactical advantages Of this village

Are pretty obvious right away --

Thick walls; rough terrain; Good, strong buildings.

But, really, what I'm interested In is the logistics.

Armies win and lose Based on logistics.

In the logistics war, Water is crucial,

In the logistics war, Water is crucial,

And this isn't just a well.

This is a natural spring,

Which means hydrostatic Pressure's pushing water out.

They've got water year-round.

Anybody attacking From up the hill,

They'd have to haul Their water up.

Now, this is cool.

This reminds me a lot Of greek villages I've been in

That were designed to be windy And mazy

Basically to defend Against pirates,

Which meant anybody that Was trying to come in and attack

By foot Would get run through quarters

By foot Would get run through quarters

And mazes and funnel points, Which we call funnels of death.

Narrator: With these advantages,

Guerrillas were making life For italy's occupying forces

A nightmare,

Picking off troops And harassing infantry columns

With hit-and-run raids.

Soon the constant Skirmishing came to a head

As italian colonel Franco clementi

Brought in a division to Re-establish control of tragjas

And four other villages In the area.

And four other villages In the area.

On new year's day, 1943, there Was a massive pitched battle,

Where 2,000 Very well-equipped italians

Were beaten by the local Albanian guerrilla forces.

This david-versus-goliath battle Ended in victory

For the albanians.

Narrator: despite bolstering his Numbers to well over 5,000 men,

Outnumbering The albanians 3 to 1,

Colonel clementi was killed,

Colonel clementi was killed,

And his forces suffered A humiliating defeat.

But repercussions soon followed For tragjas.

Mussolini's forces returned To take their revenge --

This time on civilians.

[ speaking native language ]

Interpreter: Italians came here first.

And it is said they even hit The village with mortar fire

From the mountain peak of shapu Above the village of orikum.

Then, when they burned The village,

They alienated The villagers even further.

They alienated The villagers even further.

Narrator: despite these Reprisals, the italian presence

Was disintegrating.

So the allies sent covert units

To support These local resistance fighters

Against mussolini's Crumbling occupation...

But, also, the nazis, Who were closing in on albania.

British agent gerry field Based his team here in tragjas.

Gerry field was this very Daring operative for the s.O.E.,

Gerry field was this very Daring operative for the s.O.E.,

And he came in With a small group of men

And initially set up shop Right in tragjas

And worked with The local partisans,

Relayed information back To the british,

Tried to supply local partisans Who were fighting the nazis,

And basically trying To figure out

How to do as much damage To the germans as possible.

Narrator: his principal task was To smuggle arms in from italy,

Which had now been invaded By the allies.

Which had now been invaded By the allies.

Once the americans And british land in 1943

And occupy southern italy,

It's only a very short hop from A major italian port like bari

Across the adriatic Into albania.

It's very easy To supply guerrillas by boat.

Narrator: Yet klint has discovered

That british secret agents Suddenly abandoned tragjas.

He's been given coordinates For a location

That will help him Understand why.

That will help him Understand why.

Even today, It's really hard to find.

It's not on the map.

And most locals Don't know where it is

Or that it even exists.

*

I didn't expect to find this,

And this tells quite a lot

Because this is A british machine-gun mount,

And it says right here, "Mark iv, 1942."

And then you have the ability To mount

A really heavy machine gun On this,

And anybody coming up that hill Would have faced

And anybody coming up that hill Would have faced

A barrage of gunfire.

But, also, this thing is heavy.

I've carried Machine-gun mounts before.

We can't be too far from The cave. We're getting close.

Okay.

This isn't just a rock overhang.

This goes really deep.

*

Oh, this has got to be The place.

That is a machine-gun tripod.

That is a machine-gun tripod.

That's the smoking gun.

This is their guerilla home.

This is their cathedral.

Narrator: But how is this cave

Linked to a remarkable American escape story?

And who brought their wrath On tragjas?

*

Narrator: klint janulis Has discovered a secret cave

Used by british agents During world war ii.

Just looking at this Makes me really think,

"Yeah, it's a great Guerrilla hideout,

But this is potentially A really horrible death trap.

A couple hand grenades Thrown down in here,

And look at all these.

These are gonna just -- You'll just die

Under a massive stalactite.

Under a massive stalactite.

And that is something I'm sure They thought about constantly.

It could have just even been As simple as a bomb

Landing just overhead the cave.

Imagine being right here, And a 500-pound bomb lands.

[ imitates explosion ]

*

Narrator: agent field led His team down from the mountains

Above tragjas To this seaview cave...

A perfectly camouflaged hideaway Near a dogleg cove

A perfectly camouflaged hideaway Near a dogleg cove

Used to smuggle arms And supplies into albania.

For months on end, field And his team survived here

On mule meat and rainwater.

I can't imagine how surreal It would have been

To live here every day

And then go fight, pick up Illicit supplies from the coast,

Go sabotage the enemy, And then come back to this,

And have a meal of hot mule.

Narrator: forced out of tragjas In september 1943,

Narrator: forced out of tragjas In september 1943,

When the nazis Rolled into albania,

They now had To coordinate resistance

From this extraordinary cave.

But it would soon prove More than just a secret base,

Playing a key role In an incredible escape story.

An american plane that was Carrying 13 american nurses

Ran low on fuel And got lost in bad weather.

They crash-landed in a field In the middle of albania

In the middle of winter.

Narrator: trapped in Nazi-occupied territory

Narrator: trapped in Nazi-occupied territory

With no food or supplies,

Local partisans smuggled them Out of the albanian interior,

Across the snowy mountains Towards the coast.

They had to dodge German patrols.

At one point, they got caught up

When the germans were invading A particular town,

Or the group got split up, But they all survived

And were able to keep moving on.

Narrator: eventually connecting With the s.O.E.,

They brought the nurses To this cave.

And klint, Himself a combat medic,

Believes he may have found Evidence of their stay here.

Believes he may have found Evidence of their stay here.

This is world war ii Medical gauze.

It looks just like The medical gauze we use today.

From a med kit From 76 years ago.

Wow.

You can even see the cotton Stitching in it still.

That's pretty cool.

Narrator: the following day,

Agents led the nurses To their secret cove,

Agents led the nurses To their secret cove,

Where an american boat Was waiting to extract them

To allied-controlled italy.

So, after walking hundreds Of miles, middle of winter,

Through some of the roughest Terrain I can imagine,

The nurses managed to hook up With the s.O.E.

And were fortunate enough

To be able to have arranged Transportation that day.

So they came down this Crazy ravine and valley

That I just walked.

And the first thing they see

Is this gorgeous Smuggler's cove,

And that's their ticket home.

So, in the end, They wound up traveling

So, in the end, They wound up traveling

Between 600 and 800 miles

On this incredible Survival escape march.

It's one of the great Survival stories

Of world war ii.

Narrator: but while the nurses Were heading home, the villagers

And partisans Were left in a war zone.

This was home. There was no escape.

Klint wants to find out What happened to them

After field's unit left tragjas.

How did the nazis respond When they found out

How did the nazis respond When they found out

About the heavy Resistance movement

Going on right here In this village?

[ speaking Native language ]

Interpreter: They came in, and they burned.

They've ruined everything.

You can see -- Only ruins remain here.

That's why the population Abandoned the village

And resettled elsewhere.

They were left with nothing here But bare walls and ruins.

The germans decided to raze This village to the ground,

While the british And american agents

That have been working With villagers

Were sitting on these hillsides,

Were sitting on these hillsides,

Watching as this group that they Had known, cared about,

Lost every single thing They had in one fell swoop.

Narrator: the nazis left the Settlement engulfed in flames.

Sofo explains how this spurred His family to take action.

Interpreter: my eldest uncle Joined the partisans --

The 5th brigade.

He even went with them to fight The germans up to yugoslavia.

I really loved hearing Sofo's story

I really loved hearing Sofo's story

Because it reminds me

That in little tiny villages all Over europe just like this one,

Everyday people had To make decisions

About whether or not they were Gonna resist and fight.

They were working With the s.O.E.

And the office Of strategic services,

And doing so at great risk To their families' life,

Their lives, And their communities' lives.

*

Narrator: today, a memorial To the partisans

Narrator: today, a memorial To the partisans

Stands amongst the rubble.

A monument To their brave resistance

Against fascist invaders.

*

Deep in the heart Of west virginia

On the banks of the fork river

Sits an enormous structure With a horrifying story to tell.

It's an incredibly Imposing building,

Like something From the colonial era.

Like something From the colonial era.

It looks like it was laid out For some vast civic purpose.

Then there's a whole lot Of other buildings around it,

Almost like it's some kind Of a college campus.

You can see that it was A major project in its day.

Narrator: inside are clues That paint a confusing picture

Of this strange site's purpose.

There's something a bit eerie About the juxtaposition

Between the children's toys

And the serious Medical instruments.

When you look inside, It's a mess.

When you look inside, It's a mess.

I mean, clearly It's abandoned, neglected.

There's peeling paint.

There's bars Over some windows and doors.

It has a forbidding quality.

Narrator: this was clearly A site designed to contain,

But not for those Convicted of a crime.

Mitchell: this place emerged out Of an enlightened view.

It was meant to be a haven

For people who were Cast out from the world.

Meigs: well, what started As a really noble experiment

Quickly degenerated

Quickly degenerated

Into a real horror show Of abuse.

Narrator: what turned this dream Into a nightmare?

And who were the inhabitants

That were forced To call this place home?

*

*

Narrator: construction here Began in the mid-1800s.

In time, the halls would witness Atrocities that left their mark

On the building And the surrounding community.

Its purpose was The management

Of the clinically insane.

And nearly two centuries ago,

Mental illness was viewed With disturbing suspicion.

Those exhibiting its signs

Those exhibiting its signs

Were considered To be possessed by demons.

The treatment of mental health Back in the early 19th century

Was almost worse Than a death sentence.

Families with members

Who had mental-health problems Often hid them away.

Those who weren't lucky enough To be able to do that

Had their relatives Simply carted off and locked up.

Mental health was never Really understood,

And there were a lot Of supernatural explanations.

I mean, even the word "Lunatic" Comes from an idea

That it was Somehow inspired by the moon.

That it was Somehow inspired by the moon.

*

Narrator: but one Forward-thinking doctor

Would stand As a beacon of hope.

His name Was dr. Thomas kirkbride.

Selwood: dr. Kirkbride Was one of those rare reformers.

He saw a new way, a new world

In which people could be treated And cared for and cured.

And key to that was

The provision of a healthy, Open, normal environment.

The provision of a healthy, Open, normal environment.

This place was gonna be His masterpiece.

Narrator: this is the Trans-allegheny lunatic asylum.

Meigs: In the mid-19th century,

Ideas about mental illness Were finally changing,

And the asylum was designed

As a place for the most Progressive scientific

And humane treatment Of the mentally ill.

Kirkbride wanted to move away From the prevailing model

Kirkbride wanted to move away From the prevailing model

In which the mentally ill Might be chained in city jails,

And so, instead, one of the main Buildings is this huge structure

That was designed So that sunlight and air

Could easily come in, as opposed To sort of damp, dank cells.

Narrator: originally intended To house 250 people,

Patients were given the freedom

To walk the long, Bright corridors

And enjoy the lovingly Manicured grounds.

And enjoy the lovingly Manicured grounds.

But before long, Kirkbride's idealistic vision

Would be twisted beyond All recognition.

Understanding of mental illness

Was still Very much in its infancy.

Patients were being referred With conditions like fits

Or superstition, or loss Of limbs, or even asthma.

This is a time period In which women

Who behave In unconventional ways

Could be deemed insane And sent away.

A whole range of people Who did not necessarily conform

A whole range of people Who did not necessarily conform

To societal expectations Might be considered

As having a nervous condition That required treatment.

Narrator: At its height, the asylum

Was overrun With 2,600 patients --

Over 10 times its capacity.

As the number increased, So did the depths of depravity,

As rebecca gleeson, Who manages the site,

Has discovered.

Gleeson: unfortunately because Of all the different people

That were coming in And not able to leave,

That were coming in And not able to leave,

They weren't getting fixed,

It became like warehousing.

Mitchell: not only did such Overcrowding lead to people

Sleeping on the floors --

But it completely worked against The therapeutic atmosphere

That the asylum Was meant to engender.

Narrator: Yet worse was still to come.

Soon the hospital was flooded

With dangerous criminally insane Inmates from nearby prisons.

We have to remember that there Are so many different types

Of patients that were here.

Of patients that were here.

You've got mentally Challenged patients.

You've got someone suffering From depression,

Bipolar disorder, major Depression, schizophrenia --

All different types Of aspects of mental illness.

And then you have The criminal predator

That was added. To the situation, as well.

It sounds like it became A hellish place to be.

There were actually murders, There were assaults,

And I can imagine just an Atmosphere of fear all the time.

And I can imagine just an Atmosphere of fear all the time.

Narrator: but the extreme Violence and terrible conditions

Were just the tip Of the iceberg.

Understanding of the brain And mental disorders --

It was still very rudimentary, And treatments

Were experimental And often brutal.

And in the 1950s, the treatments Would become even more grotesque

When the center became the home

Of the west virginia Lobotomy project.

Narrator: the man behind it was A doctor named walter freeman,

Narrator: the man behind it was A doctor named walter freeman,

Also known as the father Of lobotomy.

Gleeson: To perform an ice pick lobotomy,

They would take This long, sharp piece,

And they would point it towards The corner of your eye.

They would ting it once To break through your skull,

And the second time to basically Get into your prefrontal lobe,

And they'd go back and forth

Something like a windshield Wiper does in your vehicle.

Something like a windshield Wiper does in your vehicle.

The belief was that patients Who suffered

From obsessive behaviors had Fixed circuits in their brains.

Surgeons would sweep the rods From side to side

And physically cut The connections.

Narrator: a barbaric practice To modern eyes,

Back then, even the relative Of a u.S. President

Would have the procedure.

But how would it end?

*

*

Narrator: at the trans-allegheny Lunatic asylum in west virginia,

Gruesome lobotomies were once The chosen treatment

For its inmates.

Considered cutting edge At the time,

Even the sister of former American president jfk

Endured this treatment.

Gleeson: rosemary kennedy had Her operation by freeman,

And she was lobotomized.

And she was lobotomized.

She ended up spending The rest of her life --

50-plus years -- In a mental hospital

Only being able to mumble A couple words

And not anything Comprehensively.

Had this procedure Not been done to her brain,

She might not necessarily Have had been institutionalized.

It just left Many of these patients

A shell of their former selves.

They sat around passively.

So, maybe they weren't raging, You know, in hallucinations,

So, maybe they weren't raging, You know, in hallucinations,

But they also weren't anything Like a healthy person

With an intact mind.

How any surgeon, Let alone a brain surgeon,

Could have thought that sticking A metal rod through the eye

And rummaging it around In the brain indiscriminately

Was helpful is beyond belief.

Narrator: For many of the patients

That entered this asylum, Most would never leave.

The only area That was ever expanded

The only area That was ever expanded

To accommodate the people Was the graveyard.

Gleeson: We're in our morgue.

Unfortunately thousands of People died at the asylum

Over the last 130 years.

Now, this freezer here, Basically two bodies

Would lay in there And be able to stay cool.

Now, at one point in time,

The walls were lined With these refrigerators.

Narrator: but in 1994, its doors Were finally closed,

The years of neglect Having finally taken their toll.

The years of neglect Having finally taken their toll.

You can only imagine How horrified dr. Kirkbride

Would have been If he'd seen what became

Of his visionary asylum That he had so many hopes for,

And it turned into Really such a hellhole

That didn't help patients

And, in many cases, Made them worse.

*

Narrator: today, the hospital Still lies abandoned

As a disturbing Reminder of the pain

As a disturbing Reminder of the pain

And suffering contained Within these walls.

Mitchell: It's an eerie place to visit.

Some of those horrors Just don't go away.

They live on in the space In some way, shape, or form.

*

Narrator: 30 miles west of London is a scene typical

Of the english countryside.

But here, set amongst The rolling hills,

Is an opening To a subterranean world.

*

*

There's this incredible Gothic entrance,

But then, when you enter, You go deeper underground,

And you end up in These sinister-looking caves.

*

Selwood: dark chambers With heavy metal gates

Almost like cells Are hidden away.

Gough: this is a strange And spooky place,

Gough: this is a strange And spooky place,

But yet it has this Incredible history of glamour

And celebrities and dignitaries,

But, above all, debauchery.

Narrator: what stories would Make these caves infamous?

And how would one Of america's founding fathers

Become embroiled In the controversy?

*

The origins of these Subterranean passageways date

The origins of these Subterranean passageways date

To the mid-1700s.

Concealed within are tales Of pagan ritual, the dark arts,

And scandalous depravity.

Jack orr is a historian At the site.

Orr: these caves go A quarter of a mile underground.

And the thing that's So incredible about it

Is that it's not at all natural In any way.

It's completely, 100% man-made,

Which 250 years ago,

Which 250 years ago,

That's just an incredible feat Of human engineering.

Selwood: the elaborate network Excavated to provide the chalk

That would help to build The great west road

To link this area and london.

What these caves became Is actually shocking.

It sounds like a thing of myth And legend,

But this is real life.

So, we're about to go into The heart of the caves,

So, we're about to go into The heart of the caves,

And this is where The very mundane story

Becomes slightly more macabre.

Narrator: These are the hellfire caves,

Home to one of the most Secretive societies

In british history.

The hellfire club was made up Of some of the most famous

And respected men of the age.

At its forefront Was the owner of the caves,

Sir francis dashwood.

Sir francis dashwood Was a rather wealthy man.

Sir francis dashwood Was a rather wealthy man.

He was born into landed gentry.

And just like other men Of his status at that time,

He spent his final years Of education

Visiting the royal courts Of europe,

Sampling the intellectual arts

And all of the treasures That the continent had to offer.

Selwood: it was in italy That he found his true passion,

And it was here That sir francis dashwood

Began to revel in the study Of the forbidden arts,

Particularly The eleusinian mysteries,

Particularly The eleusinian mysteries,

Which were the most famous

Secret ancient greek Initiation cults.

Narrator: Inspired by what he had learned,

Dashwood returned home

And set up the exclusive club On his family estate.

What happened inside Was shrouded in mystery.

*

Narrator: outside london Are the hellfire caves,

Once home to a secret society.

There were lots of rumors of Nefarious deeds.

It was whispered That men practiced

All manner of black magic

And satanic rites In these caves.

Scott: it wasn't just Dark satanic worship

That the members liked to do.

They also knew how to party.

They also knew how to party.

*

Selwood: women were brought in From london

To join the frolics dressed As nuns, and comely local nymphs

Were hired And allegedly laid out on altars

So men could lick holy wine From their navels.

In the hellfire club's days, There would have been curtains

Across beds inside this chamber.

If you look at the back wall,

We still have The original tally marks

We still have The original tally marks

From where the men Were keeping score

When they took Their prostitutes inside here.

Narrator: Incredibly, the shocking antics

Of this sinful society Were carried out

By some of the most Prestigious men of the day.

In time, that would include

One of the most Influential figures

Of the fledgling united states.

Some of the members of the Hellfire club were very famous,

Some of the members of the Hellfire club were very famous,

But one of the most Famous members

Was william hogarth, the artist.

And some of his art Is actually down our caves.

But the odd thing is, is The most devilish figure

Who matched dashwood In debauchery

Was actually an american.

Scott: benjamin franklin,

One of the founding fathers Of the united states,

Was a good friend Of the dashwoods,

And he would frequently Visit the u.K.,

And he would frequently Visit the u.K.,

And when he did, he would attend These scandalous parties

Deep underground.

Franklin loved the fun, prankish Nature of the club

That he found here.

He often wrote home To his friends in philadelphia

About dashwood and his friends.

One of the letters even said, "Dashwood's genius

Is just as apparent Above the earth

As it is below the earth."

Narrator: with much to lose,

The powerful men Went to great lengths

The powerful men Went to great lengths

To make certain word Of their nefarious activities

Stayed hidden.

To try And protect their reputations,

Members of the hellfire club Took assumed identities.

Orr: your reputation Was everything in those days.

You say the wrong thing, And you're out.

And devil worshipping, Keeping anything

About black magic, Any of those sort of books --

That was still illegal.

That was still a crime.

Gough: much of what happened There is unknown,

And a lot of the documentation Has been burnt or destroyed

And a lot of the documentation Has been burnt or destroyed

In order to cover up The scandal.

Narrator: yet even though The members of the hellfire club

Were sworn to secrecy,

Word soon got out.

It seems the antics Of the hellfire club

Was somehow leaked To the public.

Rumor has it that it was An old member of the club

That exposed it For what it really was.

Selwood: the public outrage Took its toll.

Selwood: the public outrage Took its toll.

So, in 1766, the club Was closed down.

Narrator: with the doors To this sordid den of depravity

Now closed, dashwood

Was said to have lived a more Wholesome life until his death

In 1781.

Orr: This incredible flint structure

Is another creation Of dashwood.

It's the mausoleum For his family.

But like everything, there is A darker side to this creation.

But like everything, there is A darker side to this creation.

Narrator: dashwood and his four Wives were all buried here,

But, strangely, so was one other Member of the hellfire club.

Scott: There used to be an urn

In the middle Of this mausoleum,

And in that urn Was the heart of paul whitehead.

And he was a former poet

And the head steward Of the hellfire club.

Narrator: paul's heart laid here Peacefully for nearly a century

Narrator: paul's heart laid here Peacefully for nearly a century

Until the victorian era.

Orr: now, the victorians Were weird.

They loved death. They loved gore.

So they made this A tourist attraction.

Selwood: It's rumored that his heart

Was stolen By australian visitors

Around 100 years ago, And ever since, people say

They've seen him wandering The caves and the hills,

Holding the place where His heart should have been,

Looking for it in the grounds.

*

*

Narrator: Today, the hellfire caves Are still open to the public,

And for those wanting to channel The spirit of dashwood,

They can even be hired For private parties.

Orr: because of the dark, Debaucherous history

Of the hellfire club,

They have left this lingering Legacy behind,

And now we are meant to be One of the most haunted sites

In all of england.

*