Original subtitles

WILDMAN: A Hollywood star.

Was she duped by a sinister curse?

He said that Jayne Mansfield would be dead within a year.

WILDMAN: An out‐of‐this‐world relic hidden in King Tut’s tomb.

COX: No one could explain how the ancient Egyptians could have

possibly gotten this glass.

WILDMAN: And the strange tale of a murderous shark.

MILLIGAN: This is one of the most gory and disgusting things

that you could think to see at an aquarium.

WILDMAN: But first, a red‐hot theory

behind the sinking of the Titanic.

He may have just discovered a 100‐year‐old secret

that could rewrite history.

WILDMAN: Amazing mysteries,

bizarre phenomena,

and chilling secrets.

I’m Don Wildman.

Join me on a journey beyond the unknown.

♪

April 15, 1912.

The world wakes up to astounding news ‐‐

the Titanic, a luxurious ocean‐liner

bound from Southampton, England, to New York,

has sunk.

♪

Newspapers report that 4 days into her maiden voyage,

the Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic.

The iceberg ripped a 300‐foot gash across her hull.

And 2 hours and 40 minutes later,

the mighty ship sank.

In all, more than 1,500 people died.

It’s the greatest disaster in the history of ocean travel.

SNYDER: It was a hard pill to swallow.

How could this amazing vessel sink so easily

just after bumping into an iceberg?

WILDMAN: In the years that follow,

Historians pore over every detail of the tragedy.

And eventually, in 2012, a new piece of evidence emerges

that turns the story of the famous shipwreck on its head.

♪

Wiltshire, England.

49‐year‐old historian Senan Molony

is researching the Titanic for an upcoming book

when something catches his attention.

It’s a photograph of the ship

taken when it was still in port in Southampton, England,

before it set off on its fateful voyage.

When Molony looks closer, he spots something unusual.

There appears to be a 30‐foot long black mark across the hull.

The streak is located in the exact same spot

where the Titanic would later be pierced by the iceberg.

♪

Molony suspects that the strange mark in the photograph

might be connected to the sinking of the Titanic.

Molony had to rush off and get to the experts immediately.

♪

WILDMAN: Molony shares the photographs for professional analysis

with engineers at the Imperial College London.

They determine that the black mark

lines up with an area in the Titanic called a coal bunker.

This 3‐story‐tall room was used to store coal

for the ship’s engines.

SNYDER: The Titanic was a steam ship,

which meant that basically, this coal

was used to fuel the ship.

They had over 6 tons of coal onboard the ship.

♪

WILDMAN: Intrigued, Molony digs into the history

of the Titanic’s coal bunker.

And what he discovers is incredible.

He finds a report in which several surviving crew members

claim that a fire had broken out

in the coal bunker of the Titanic

before the ship set sail for America.

The report goes on to claim that the ship’s crew

was unable to extinguish the blaze.

But to keep the voyage on schedule,

the ship’s owners covered it up,

and the liner set off as planned.

SNYDER: Molony was shocked and appalled at the fact

that they would set sail with a fire

that was continuing to burn.

♪

WILDMAN: Based on this information,

Molony formulates a new theory about the infamous disaster.

The heat from the raging inferno

weakened a specific section of the Titanic’s steel hull,

the same section that was hit and ripped open by the iceberg.

Molony argues that if not for the fire,

the Titanic might have withstood the fateful impact.

Molony may have just discovered a 100‐year‐old secret

that could rewrite history.

♪

WILDMAN: On December 31, 2016,

Molony reports his story to the British newspaper The Times.

It makes headlines across the world.

Many experts back up Molony’s theory,

but not everyone is convinced.

Critics maintain that the force of the immense iceberg

was too much for any ship to resist.

They point to evidence that suggests the Titanic’s rivets

were made of weak wrought iron,

causing them to become extremely brittle in cold water.

But until more proof comes to light,

historians will remain divided.

♪

SNYDER: We may never know for sure if this coal fire

had anything to do with Titanic’s sinking,

but Senan Molony’s research shed new light

on an age‐old tale of a disaster at sea.

♪

WILDMAN: In the meantime, this piece of the historic ship’s hull

is on display at Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition

in Las Vegas, Nevada.

It recalls the incendiary new theory

that might just be the tip of the iceberg.

♪

This crumpled car is a chilling reminder of a horrific tragedy

that haunts Tinseltown to this day.

This car wreck recalls

one of the most notorious deaths in Hollywood history.

♪

WILDMAN: From Marilyn Monroe...

to Natalie Wood...

James Dean...

to Paul Walker ‐‐

Hollywood lore is filled with the tragic tales

of stars who met untimely and mysterious endings.

But perhaps the most perplexing death of them all

was that of actress Jayne Mansfield.

In the ’50s, Jayne Mansfield was the top of the game.

She had a successful movie career.

She was a genius at self promotion

long before that became a thing.

She is iconic.

WILDMAN: Mansfield has acted in dozens of films,

including "The Girl Can’t Help It,"

"The Wayward Bus,"

and "Kiss Them for Me."

♪

But by the 1960s,

her star had dimmed,

and the actress was forced to make a living

by crisscrossing the country

to appear in nightclubs and other attractions.

One such trip would prove fatal.

It’s June 29, 1967, in Slidell, Louisiana.

[ Tires squeal, crash ]

Local police come upon the scene

of a grisly traffic accident.

In the wreck are a semi truck and a 1966 Buick Electra,

the same one on display at this Hollywood museum.

The top section of the sedan has been ripped away,

and inside the twisted remains

are the lifeless bodies of two men and a woman.

They’re identified as 34‐year‐old Jayne Mansfield,

her 41‐year‐old boyfriend Sam Brody,

and their driver.

It was a shocking, shocking scene.

WILDMAN: Police believe the car slammed

into the back of the semi at high speed.

[ Horn honks, crash ]

And with its lower profile,

the Buick slid underneath the rig

and had its passenger cabin sheared off.

But what prompted the accident is a mystery.

The highway is dead straight,

and the weather that night was crystal‐clear.

How could this have happened?

How could this guy have gone under a truck

with a clear night?

WILDMAN: Initially, the police suspect

that the Buick’s brakes must have malfunctioned.

But there’s no evidence of any faulty parts.

Next, investigators turn to Jayne Mansfield’s driver

to see if he was intoxicated at the time of the crash.

But witnesses testify to his sobriety.

MICHAELS: There was no alcohol involved.

He was sober. He was well rested.

WILDMAN: It seems the investigation has reached a dead end.

♪

But then, there’s a bizarre break in the case.

Investigators learn that in the months before her death,

Jayne Mansfield was involved

with an infamous and outspoken cult leader ‐‐

the high priest of the Church of Satan...

Anton LaVey.

LaVey’s anti‐Christian teachings and bizarre rituals

have garnered him thousands of followers

and plenty of media coverage.

MICHAELS: Anton LaVey, very much like Jayne,

was a genius at self‐promotion.

He courted the famous,

and they embraced him because he was so unusual.

♪

WILDMAN: LaVey and Mansfield first met on the set of a publicity shoot.

Soon, they began a torrid affair.

But when the initial attraction dimmed

and the actress started a new tryst with her lawyer,

a man named Sam Brody,

the Satanist flew into a jealous rage.

And according to legend,

LaVey found a diabolical way to get revenge.

MICHAELS: Anton cursed them all,

and he said that Sam Brody would be dead within a year.

WILDMAN: Just weeks later,

Brody and Mansfield were killed in the horrific car crash.

So was Jayne Mansfield really the victim of a satanic curse?

♪

For weeks after the crash,

rumors swirl that Mansfield’s devilish dalliance

may have brought her demise.

But then investigators finally cracked the case,

and it has nothing to do with Lucifer at all.

♪

The night of the wreck,

officials from the town of Slidell, Louisiana,

were spraying mosquito repellent along the highway.

As a result, a thick, chemical cloud hung in the air.

Police conclude that Mansfield’s driver

became disoriented in the heavy mist

and didn’t see the semi.

[ Horn honks, tires squealing ]

They never saw it coming.

They never touched their brakes.

Full‐speed right under the truck.

WILDMAN: There is some lasting good

that comes from the sudden and tragic death of Jayne Mansfield.

As a result of the crash,

the government requires that all semi‐truck trailers

be equipped with a protective bar

to prevent cars from sliding underneath them

in rear‐end collisions.

MICHAELS: It’s about 18 inches off the road

attached to the back of the truck,

and everyone knows it as the Mansfield Bar.

♪

WILDMAN: Today, this 1966 Buick Electra,

the same one in which Jayne Mansfield was killed,

is on display

at the Dearly Departed Tours and Artifact Museum

in Los Angeles, California.

It’s a grim reminder of the terrible crash

that doomed a star of the silver screen.

♪

Some believe this time‐worn item is from another world.

COX: This artifact recalls the Egyptian ruler

and a visitor from beyond the stars.

♪

WILDMAN: For centuries, rumors have swirled about a possible link

between ancient Egypt and extraterrestrial beings.

As the theory goes,

an advanced civilization from beyond the stars

visited Earth thousands of years ago

and gifted their technology to the pharaohs.

As proof, alien enthusiasts point

to the massive pyramids of Giza.

They say the Egyptians ‐‐ lacking basic tools

like cranes, compasses, and even wheels ‐‐

could not have built the soaring structures alone.

People wondered how they moved those incredibly large stones

to make the pyramids.

WILDMAN: And that’s not all.

Proponents of the idea also cite hieroglyphs,

unearthed by archeologists,

that appear to depict flying machines ‐‐

many in the shape of saucers.

But perhaps the ultimate evidence for this far‐out idea

was found during the world’s most famous excavation.

November 4, 1922.

In Egypt’s Valley of the Kings,

British archeologist Howard Carter

has just made an astounding discovery ‐‐

the ancient lost tomb of a pharaoh named Tutankhamen,

better known as King Tut.

At 9 years old, King Tut took the throne

and reigned for nearly a decade,

but the king’s life was cut tragically short

when he died suddenly around the age of 19.

During his burial, royal attendants

filled his final resting place with opulent objects

intended for use in the afterlife.

The treasure hoard is nothing short of spectacular.

The tomb was amazing,

because whereas previous tombs

usually had been raided centuries prior

and were almost empty,

this one was filled with jewels, precious stones,

couches, and chairs that were made of gold, golden statues.

♪

WILDMAN: But amid these treasures is something strange.

It’s a decorative breastplate

that seems to celebrate the Egyptian sun god Ra.

In the center is the likeness of a sacred beetle,

known as a scarab.

COX: There were scarabs all over ancient Egypt.

They were usually made out of precious stones.

WILDMAN: But this one appears to be fashioned

from some kind of yellow glass.

While there were other pieces of glass in King Tut’s tomb,

this stands apart.

It’s unlike any other manmade glass

that was created at the time.

So where did the ancient artisans

get the amber‐colored material?

In the following years,

a number of intriguing theories emerge.

Some argue that hoaxers may have placed the glass

into Tutankhamen’s tomb.

But it’s clear the main chamber of the vault

had never been opened.

COX: The Pharaonic tombs were usually raided by people

pretty soon after the person was buried.

But this one was filled to the brim with riches.

WILDMAN: With no logical explanation,

an extraordinary possibility emerges.

And the theory was that the ancient Egyptians

had gotten this glass...

from aliens.

WILDMAN: So is this proof

that aliens really visited the land of the pharaohs?

WILDMAN: For decades, historians have puzzled over a bizarre relic

found in King Tut’s tomb ‐‐

an ornate piece of jewelry adorned with polished glass.

What’s weird is that the object

is unlike any manmade glass from that era.

So where did this baffling bauble come from?

♪

In recent years,

a number of scientists and historians

have looked into the case.

And when the scarab itself is carefully analyzed,

it throws up a tantalizing clue,

something that seems almost inexplicable.

Whereas most glass is forged in furnaces

that reach around 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit,

this one was done at temperatures

between 3,000 and 4,000 degrees.

So, I mean, this is unimaginably hot.

We’re talking nuclear‐explosion hot.

♪

WILDMAN: It’s a telling clue.

During the 1940s, the Manhattan Project

exploded several nuclear devices in the New Mexico desert.

Afterwards, scientists found that large quantities of sand

near the blast sites had been turned to glass.

But since this technology didn’t exist in ancient Egypt,

another likely culprit emerges...

one that did indeed come from outer space,

but had nothing to do with aliens.

A meteor came down, which is incredibly hot,

hit this huge area of sand, and pretty much melted the sand,

and when it was done, it left behind glass.

♪

WILDMAN: In fact, this phenomenon has been documented

in the North African region before.

A naturally formed yellow glass,

now known as Libyan Desert glass,

has been found throughout the Sahara Desert.

Historians now believe that some of the material

found its way into King Tutankhamen’s scarab.

Someone went out into the desert,

saw this beautiful glass,

and decided to take it, sculpt it into a scarab,

and give it to King Tut as a gift.

WILDMAN: Still, some believe the bejeweled breastplate

may have come from beyond the stars.

COX: People who want to find a connection

between ancient Egypt and aliens

will continue to find that connection

and do so to this day.

WILDMAN: Today, a piece of Libyan Desert glass

is on display at the Corning Museum of Glass

in Corning, New York.

It recalls the explosive truth

behind a mysterious piece of Egyptian treasure.

♪

The Bennington Museum in Bennington, Vermont,

is home to one of the state’s most impressive collections

of antiques and art.

But hidden among the 19th‐century instruments

and beautiful paintings

is a drab looking folder that belies a haunting tale.

FITZGERALD: The artifact is made of paper.

Sticking out are old documents that seem to be part of a case.

Prominently displayed are the words "Missing Person."

WILDMAN: The clippings in this file

recall a series of baffling disappearances

and the possibility of visitors from another planet.

FITZGERALD: This is the story of ordinary people

who vanished from the face of the earth.

♪

WILDMAN: It’s November 12, 1945, in Bennington, Vermont.

In the mountains above town,

a group of friends are enjoying

an afternoon hike through the woods.

A few hours into the trip, one of them wanders ahead.

♪

But when the rest of the party steps into the open space,

their friend is nowhere to be found.

FITZGERALD: They were surprised.

He was from the area.

To disappear like that was unthinkable.

♪

WILDMAN: The hikers scour the area for their missing comrade,

but to no avail.

It’s as if he vanished into thin air.

There are no footprints to where he might have gone.

There was nothing ‐‐ no trace.

♪

WILDMAN: The hikers report the disappearance

to the authorities.

Search parties are sent into the woods,

but they, too, come up empty.

And as it turns out, this is only the beginning.

♪

The following winter, an 18‐year‐old college student

goes for a late afternoon walk in the same woods.

According to witnesses, she rounded a bend on the trail

and then was simply gone.

Once more, the police search the area,

but never find the young coed.

♪

4 years later,

a woman is dressing after a bracing swim in a creek

when she, too, vanishes without a trace.

The following year, 2 more people go missing

from the peaks above Bennington.

The strange events leave the townsfolk on edge.

FITZGERALD: No one really could explain it,

and people were growing really scared about this.

It was like a bad dream or a science fiction story.

WILDMAN: The forest soon acquires a fitting nickname,

one based on another region

known for baffling disappearances.

They dubbed it the Bennington Triangle,

due to the similarities to the Bermuda Triangle,

where ships and planes had gone missing.

WILDMAN: Over the years, different theories emerge

to explain the bizarre episodes.

Some suggest that the missing people

must have been killed by wild animals,

such as bears or wolves.

But no traces of any human remains are ever found.

Police had scoured the area and came up with nothing.

♪

WILDMAN: Others say the departed

were victims of a serial killer.

But this theory also has its flaws.

FITZGERALD: They had no evidence of any struggle

or anything left behind by any kind of violent incident.

♪

WILDMAN: So if the culprit is neither man nor beast,

what sinister force is behind the disturbing disappearances?

People were desperate for an explanation,

but completely unprepared for the answer.

♪

♪

WILDMAN: In the 1950s, the forests above Bennington, Vermont,

bore witness to a set of strange disappearances.

In the aftermath,

the region was dubbed the Bennington Triangle.

♪

With no other viable explanation at hand,

locals offer an otherworldly possibility.

FITZGERALD: They believed that there was something really sinister

in the Bennington Triangle.

WILDMAN: Many town residents say they’ve seen strange lights

descending from the sky,

right over the area where the vanishings occurred.

And that’s not all.

Loggers say they’ve witnessed weird beings

moving along mountain paths.

The loggers claimed that they had seen

large dark humanoid figures lurking in the woods.

♪

WILDMAN: Then in 1987,

more than 40 years after the disappearances began,

an author named Joseph Citro publishes a novel.

In it, he theorizes that the region has long been

a landing spot for alien aircraft.

Citro believed that this served as some kind of base

for alien activity here on Earth.

If it were aliens,

it seems like they got what they wanted...

and they left.

[ Warbling ]

♪

WILDMAN: While many are skeptical of this explanation,

others are convinced

the missing were abducted by extraterrestrials.

The cases remain unsolved, and it’s really considered

one of the greatest mysteries of this century.

WILDMAN: And to date, these newspaper clippings

detailing the unusual events

are in the archives of the Bennington Museum in Vermont.

They’re a reminder of the chilling disappearances

that haunt the town to this very day.

♪

These menacing mandibles recall a baffling mystery

that came straight from the belly of a beast.

This artifact belonged to a terrifying predator

that unlocked a shocking murder.

♪

WILDMAN: April 25, 1936 ‐‐ Australia.

A crowd has gathered at Sydney’s Coogee Aquarium

for a glimpse of its newest acquisition ‐‐

a tiger shark.

The creature had been captured just days earlier off the coast,

but as they peer into the tank,

visitors notice something shocking.

Floating in the water is a human arm.

MILLIGAN: People were freaked out.

This was one of the most gory and disgusting things

that you could think to see at an aquarium.

WILDMAN: Not only that, but some say

the arm was actually regurgitated

by the shark itself.

To get to the bottom of this bizarre mystery,

the limb is taken to a forensic pathologist

named Dr. Sidney Smith.

MILLIGAN: He was highly renowned, well‐respected,

and known to uncover the truth with very little to work with.

WILDMAN: Upon examining the severed appendage,

Dr. Smith determines that the limb belonged to a man

and that it had been inside the shark for at least 8 days.

Initially, the pathologist suspects that the arm,

which was severed at the shoulder,

was likely bitten off during a shark attack.

But as his examination continues,

he notices something peculiar.

Shark teeth typically leave jagged wounds,

but this arm appears to have been cut straight off,

as if by a knife.

This leads Dr. Smith to a shocking conclusion.

The man was not the victim of a shark attack, but murder.

MILLIGAN: This was a stunning turn of events.

This may be an actual murder he came upon.

WILDMAN: Despite the decomposing state of the severed limb,

Dr. Smith manages to take a set of fingerprints from the hand.

Investigators run the prints through a police database

and match them to a 40‐year‐old crook named James Smith.

The victim, who has no relation to Dr. Smith,

was a small‐time thief and scam artist

who had been reported missing 2 weeks earlier.

But despite this discovery, the question of how he died

and who fed him to a shark remains a mystery.

MILLIGAN: This must have been a strange case for authorities,

and the story was about to get even stranger.

♪

WILDMAN: It’s 1935 in Sydney, Australia.

Visitors to the city’s aquarium

have just witnessed a disturbing sight ‐‐

a recently captured shark has regurgitated a human arm.

Fingerprints reveal that the limb

belonged to a small‐time criminal named James Smith.

Police dig into Smith’s criminal associates

and zero in on one man ‐‐

a small‐time crook named Patrick Brady.

They learn that Brady and Smith were partners in a forgery scam,

but it seems things had turned sour.

Shortly before Smith disappeared,

he and Brady were seen having a heated argument.

Investigators believe that the confrontation

escalated into murder.

♪

And having killed his partner,

Brady was faced with the problem of how to dispose of the body.

Officials believe that Brady dismembered Smith,

threw his body parts into the ocean.

He probably figured it was the best way

to keep James Smith from ever being found.

♪

WILDMAN: But Brady didn’t count on a shark

coughing up a key piece of evidence.

MILLIGAN: Brady thought it was the perfect crime,

but what he didn’t account for

was this freak accident would come back to bite him.

♪

WILDMAN: On May 16th, 3 weeks after the arm was discovered,

police arrest Patrick Brady

and charge him with the murder of James Smith.

the authorities had done this amazing job

connecting all the dots.

They figured out everything about it.

WILDMAN: Despite their detective work, the case founders.

The prosecution is missing one thing ‐‐

an eyewitness who can definitively tie Brady

to the murder.

♪

MILLIGAN: The authorities had to be so frustrated.

They came so close,

but in the end, they didn’t have enough.

♪

WILDMAN: Today, this Tiger shark jaw is on display

at the Academy of Natural Sciences

of Drexel University in Philadelphia.

It recalls a bizarre murder

and the attempt to hide evidence that could hardly be stomached.

♪

Windham, Connecticut, boasts 4 bronze bullfrogs

on a bridge that spans the Willimantic River.

These beguiling statues speak of a harrowing incident

that left the people of Windham hopping with fright.

It was a tale of terror that left a peaceful community

convinced that they were on the brink of destruction.

♪

WILDMAN: Windham, Connecticut ‐‐ 1754.

This agrarian community of 1,000 English settlers

has fallen on hard times.

It is in the throes of a parching drought,

and the people live in constant fear of being attacked

by neighboring Native Americans.

If Windham had been attacked at this time period,

they wouldn’t have survived.

WILDMAN: To protect the town from this grim fate,

local lawyer Colonel Eliphalet Dyer

forms a plan.

Dyer was very aware

that the town was vulnerable to a possible attack.

So he started recruiting for militia

out of the farmers and the other workers

in his community at the time.

WILDMAN: And the rag‐tag group will be called into action

sooner than they think.

One night in June, the settlers are asleep

when a strange chorus pierces the night.

This sound comes out of nowhere.

[ Shrieking ]

It was thunderous.

It was shrieking and screaming and roaring.

It woke everyone up in town.

They think, "The Indians must be massed outside our village,

and this is a huge battle cry

just before they come and kill us all in our beds."

WILDMAN: The villagers descend into all‐out panic.

Women were screaming, and little kids started crying.

People were huddling in their beds.

They were diving for cover.

WILDMAN: As the townsfolk cry out in terror,

Dyer quickly assembles his men.

The militia are grabbing

any kind of weapon they can get their hands on ‐‐

pitchforks, guns, rolling pins,

whatever they can get.

WILDMAN: They brace for the onslaught.

But the attack never comes.

They’re exhausted from terror, and nothing’s happened.

WILDMAN: By morning, the horrific cries have died down,

but the villagers still don’t know if they’re safe.

So Colonel Dyer forms a posse

and sets off into the woods to investigate.

SCHLOSSER: They’re looking behind every rock,

every tree, and every shrub,

expecting to find warriors waiting to attack,

and there’s no one there.

They are totally baffled.

What in the world is going on?

Where’s the enemy?

WILDMAN: But a few miles out of town,

as the men near the crest of a hill,

the bizarre cries return.

[ Shrieking ]

They think they’re about to be attacked.

They’re terrified.

♪

WILDMAN: It’s 1754 in Connecticut.

The villagers of Windham

are searching for a tribe of Native Americans

who they believe were shouting battle cries during the night.

As Dyer and his men creep up the hill

towards the source of the noise,

they brace themselves for battle.

[ Shrieking ]

But when they reach the peak, they encounter an eerie sight.

SCHLOSSER: They get to the top.

There’s nothing there ‐‐ no enemy.

WILDMAN: Instead, all they see is a half‐empty pond.

As they’re walking towards the pond,

they look down and look around.

They see hundreds and hundreds of dead bullfrogs

all over the ground.

And the frogs that are still alive

are making a kind of roaring sound at each other.

[ Soft roar ]

WILDMAN: The embarrassed militiamen breathe a sigh of relief.

♪

But the question remains ‐‐

why are there so many dead frogs?

SCHLOSSER: The theory is that because of the drought,

many colonies of frogs from several areas

all decided that night

to migrate to the only source of water

that was left in the area, which was this mill pond.

WILDMAN: Windhamites believe that when there wasn’t enough water

to satisfy the frenzied mob,

a massive and deadly battle ensued.

SCHLOSSER: Their battle cries multiplied

by hundreds and hundreds of frogs

coming from many directions

were what caused this huge sound

that seemed to surround the town.

WILDMAN: 260 years later, the legacy of a bullfrog battle endures

as a piece of local folklore.

They actually put the frog on their town seal.

When they were minting their own money,

they had pictures of the babbling frogs

on their 1 dollar bill,

and they’ve even created monuments to the frogs

at each corner of the bridge.

WILDMAN: And so today,

these whimsical frog sculptures greet visitors to Windham ‐‐

a reminder of the case of mistaken identity

that terrified an entire town.

♪

Steaming hot springs,

sprawling glaciers,

and fiery volcanic craters are just some of the natural marvels

that give Iceland its nickname ‐‐

the land of fire and ice.

♪

And set amid this majestic landscape

in the town of Stokkseyri

is a magical institution ‐‐

the Icelandic Elves Museum.

This quirky establishment

is devoted to the mythical creatures

that are believed to roam the surrounding countryside.

But among these whimsical displays is an item

that suggests these fanciful beings might actually be real.

ALCOCK: The artifact is very brightly colored,

it’s made of smooth plastic,

and it says "Watch out for the Elves."

♪

WILDMAN: For some, this unusual sign

is proof that elves really do exist.

This is a story about a political leader, a big problem,

and a band of magical elves.

♪

WILDMAN: Of all the fantastical beings

that fill the annals of mythology,

perhaps none gripped the imagination

more than a group of diminutive creatures ‐‐

elves.

ALCOCK: Elves are humanoid,

but they are supposedly invisible,

so people cannot see them.

[ High‐pitched laughter ]

♪

WILDMAN: In Northern European cultures,

elves are largely regarded as friendly species.

ALCOCK: Almost anyone you speak to today will have heard of elves.

It’s become a part of mainstream culture.

♪

WILDMAN: But the fabled creatures are about to step

out of the storybooks...

and into the headlines.

It’s 1980 in Iceland.

The people of this small nation have just made history

by electing the world’s first female president ‐‐

50‐year‐old Vigdís Finnbogadóttir.

ALCOCK: Finnbogadóttir was really a groundbreaking woman.

She was very keen to introduce new public works

that would help to bolster the economy of Iceland.

♪

WILDMAN: One of Finnbogadóttir’s first plans

is the building of a new highway

between Iceland’s two biggest cities

Reykjavík and Kopavogur.

It would allow the much faster transition

of goods and services between the two.

WILDMAN: Later that year, construction launches on the project.

But from the outset,

the work hits a series of unexpected setbacks.

First, several of the drill bits used by the crew break.

It seems the rocky ground is harder than they anticipated,

so they send for more durable replacement parts.

♪

But when the new parts arrive, the same thing happens again.

ALCOCK: Drills were breaking not just once,

but twice, three, four times.

WILDMAN: And it’s not just their drills that are beset by problems.

The heavy machines used to clear the earth

also start to malfunction.

Tools seemed to vanish into thin air.

ALCOCK: They hit problem after problem, and this began to spook

the workers who were working on the project.

WILDMAN: For their part, the workers have their own theory

as to what is behind the incessant delays ‐‐

elves.

In Iceland, it turns out elves are a serious business.

Over 50 percent of people said that they believed in elves.

♪

WILDMAN: Unlike other northern cultures where elves are regarded

as predominantly friendly,

Icelandic lore represents them as mischievous creatures.

ALCOCK: The elves of Iceland are considered to be

rather troublesome when provoked.

WILDMAN: And it seems the elves have good reason to be annoyed.

The proposed roadway is to run through a part of Iceland

known as Elf Hill.

Elf Hill was considered to be the home of the elves.

WILDMAN: It seems there is only one solution to the problem ‐‐

all construction on the new road must halt.

The word got out, "The elves were angered,

the curse was upon us."

♪

WILDMAN: For the new Icelandic president,

the entire affair has become a monumental headache.

ALCOCK: She understands the elves are something

that actually matters to people.

She also knew that this road was imperative

to the economic success of the country.

WILDMAN: So who will win?

The Icelanders...

or the elves?

♪

WILDMAN: Elves.

These tiny mythical beings

have captured the imagination for centuries,

but an extraordinary event in Iceland

could prove these magical creatures...

are real.

Although construction of a roadway has been

supposedly stalled by mettlesome elves,

President Finnbogadóttir remains determined

to move forward with her project.

So the savvy politician concocts an audacious scheme.

She unveiled plans to take the road around the hill

rather than cut straight through it.

WILDMAN: And that’s not all.

She also announced plans to establish Elf Hill

as a protected landmark.

The solution paid respect to the locals’ belief in elves

and their cultural heritage.

WILDMAN: And when construction of the roadway resumes,

there are no more reports

of missing tools or broken equipment.

Upon its completion,

the roadway becomes a vital conduit

between Iceland’s two biggest metropolitan areas.

Today, Elf Hill is a popular tourist attraction.

Visitors head there every year to look for the elves

and learn more about their mysterious ways.

♪

WILDMAN: And this sign that warns travelers

to watch out for the elves

is on display at the Icelandic Elves Museum

in Stokkseyri, Iceland,

it serves as a reminder of tiny creatures

who once created a giant roadblock.