Lore 304: Cult Hero

Few groups leave a society unsettled more than the ones that buck the system and reject the mainstream path. But a few have even managed to leave the people around them more than a little terrified. Narrated and produced by Aaron Mahnke, with writing by GennaRose Nethercott, research by Cassandra de Alba, and music by Chad Lawson. ————————— PRE-ORDER EXHUMED TODAY: aaronmahnke.com/exhumed https://www.aaronmahnke.com/exhumed ————————— Lore Resources: Get Ad-Free Lore: lorepodcast.com/support https://www.lorepodcast.com/support Episode Music: lorepodcast.com/music https://www.lorepodcast.com/music Episode Sources: lorepodcast.com/sources https://www.lorepodcast.com/sources Official Lore Merchandise: lorepodcast.com/shop https://www.lorepodcast.com/shop ————————— Sponsors: BetterHelp: Lore is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at BetterHelp.com/LORE http://www.betterhelp.com/lore, and get on your way to being your best self. Squarespace: Head to Squarespace.com/lore http://squarespace.com/lore to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using the code LORE. HomeServe: Help protect your home systems – and your wallet – against covered repairs. Plans start at just $4.99 a month at HomeServe.com https://www.homeserve.com/. 1-800-Flowers: Order one dozen roses, and they'll double your bouquet to two dozen for FREE, at 1800Flowers.com/LORE https://www.1800flowers.com/lore. ————————— To report a concern regarding a radio-style, non-Aaron ad in this episode, reach out to ads @ lorepodcast.com with the name of the company or organization so we can look into it. To advertise on this podcast please email: [email protected]. Or go to: https://advertising.libsyn.com/lore —————————

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  Your joints help you keep doing what you love. Give them daily support with Ancient Nutrition Multi-Collagen Protein. Two scoops deliver 20 grams of collagen from 10 types, including clinically studied eggshell membrane. Plus, vitamin C and probiotics to support skin, hair, nails, and joint health. Visit ancientnutrition.com/protein and use code PROTEIN for $15 off. That's ancientnutrition.com code PROTEIN.

• 0:27Speaker 01

  When was the last time you felt in control of your business finances? Expenses tracked, invoices sent, taxes ready. That's where Found comes in. Found brings your banking, bookkeeping, invoicing, and taxes together in one simple app. Manage expenses, invoice clients, send payments, and prep for tax time right where you bank. Join the hundreds of thousands who have already streamlined their finances with Found. Open a Found account for free at found.com. That's F-O-U-N-D dot com. Found is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Lead Bank, Member FDIC.

• 1:06Aaron Mahnke?

  When it comes to cultural icons, it's hard to imagine a place that's seen more superstars than Madison Square Garden. Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, and Bruce Springsteen. All of these performers and more have graced that legendary stage while loyal fans worshipped at their feet. But little did those screaming fans know that even more fervent kind of worship was taking place just out of sight. And in this case, "worshipping at their feet" becomes a little more literal. Just a two-minute walk from the world's most famous arena is a church. Within that church is a shrine, and upon that shrine is a single linen sock. A sock stained with blood.

• 1:48Aaron Mahnke?

  It had once belonged to a saint known lovingly as Padre Pio, an Italian priest and mystic who passed away in 1968 at the age of 81. During his lifetime, he became known for a whole slew of holy party tricks, from reading souls and celestial visions to getting in straight-up physical brawls with Satan himself. But there was one miracle he was known for beyond all else. For years, he suffered from constantly oozing stigmata. A symptom of that would be immortalized in a dark bloodstain, smack dab on that sacred linen sock. And sure, one Vatican physician may have called Padre Pio "an ignorant and self-mutilating psychopath who exploited people's credulity."

• 2:33Aaron Mahnke?

  But that hasn't stopped true believers from flocking to his bloody sock, nor did it prevent Pope John Paul II from canonizing him in 2002 in front of 300,000 people. By comparison, Madison Square Garden fits roughly 20,000. At the end of the day, though, it doesn't matter if a person is the real deal or not. All you really need to garner a cult of followers is a bit of charisma, a hell of a story, and sometimes, a little spilled blood. I'm Aaron Mahnke, and this is Lore.

• 3:24Aaron Mahnke?

  Defining a cult is harder than you might think. After all, most of the telltale elements—the belief in a Messiah, charismatic leaders, religious fervor—could also describe just about any mainstream theology. So when scholars refer to "cults," what exactly does it mean? Well, when it comes down to it, it's all really about popularity. A religion is a belief system accepted and practiced by the mainstream. A cult, on the other hand, rejects the mainstream. They are fringe groups, usually reliant on an "us versus them" mentality. You know, "only we have the truth and no one else does," that sort of thing. In other words, it's less about what a group believes and more about how many people believe it.

• 4:09Aaron Mahnke?

  Now, it's a wiggly distinction, to be sure. That kind of shape-shifts depending on the society's opinions, too. Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists, Pentecostals, Christian Scientists. In the 20th century, these were all categorized as "cults." But when they got trendy, well, voila: a cult became an accepted religion. By the way, the word "cult" has actually been used to describe a fringe religious movement since the 1890s. But the concept, well, let's just say that people have been making up their own kooky religious sects for a very long time. Take the Atomites, all the way back in 1421, led by a Czech guy named Peter Canis. He and his 200 to 300 followers were notorious for

• 4:53Aaron Mahnke?

  practicing nudism and what might today be called "free love." They believed God lived in everyone, a heretical idea for the 1400s, and that they existed in a state of perfect innocence. Alas, the mainstream church disagreed. Around 75 Atomites were burned as heretics before the year was out, including Canis himself. And then there were the cultish attempts of a fellow named Jan van Luyden. It was 1534 in Germany when van Luyden attempted to make the city of Munster into a polygamous commune that he deemed a "new Jerusalem." How did he plan to achieve this? Well, by burning books, dealing violently with opposition, and running naked through the streets in wild states of religious ecstasy,

• 5:38Aaron Mahnke?

  of course. Suffice to say, the existing church wasn't a huge fan of this, and the bishop's army put a stop to van Luyden's mission pretty dang quick. And then there was the breakaway Quaker James Naylor, who in 1656 imitated Jesus by entering Bristol, England on a donkey while flanked by faithful female followers who flung branches while crying "Hosanna to the Son of David." You know, the kind of behavior that would get a person tortured in 1656, which is exactly what befell poor Naylor. Now, European cults were one thing, but it's the good old US of A that took the art of cult building to the next level. And it makes sense, right? After all, this nation was first

• 6:19Aaron Mahnke?

  settled by an extremist religious sect, a little cult called the Pilgrims. From the moment they arrived at Plymouth Rock, America became a land of fanatics. The cults came in waves, too. In the mid-1800s, pre-Civil War era, revivalist religious movements and spiritualism swept through the States. Another swell between 1910 and 1935 saw cults focused on reincarnation, symbolic mysticism, and communal living.

• 6:47Aaron Mahnke?

  As one writer put it in the late 1920s, "America had become," and I quote, "overrun with messiahs." Heck, during those early decades of the 20th century, you could even join a mail-order cult. Simply stuff some cash into an envelope and address it to institutions with names like Psycheenna, the arcane school, or the Mayan temple. And then mystical teachings would arrive right on your own doorstep, like an analog Patreon membership. And then, of course, there was the notorious cult boom of the 1960s and 70s. And I can't help but wonder, what exactly prompts these waves of increased cult activity? Well, one scholar named Philip Jenkins has a theory. He believes that these waves are brought on by the later stages of a baby boom.

• 7:32Aaron Mahnke?

  Basically, young people tend to be more open to cultural innovation. Thus, eras with more young people than usual means a stronger push toward that innovation, like hot new religions, for example. Speaking of which, when Jenkins wrote about this phenomenon in 2000, he foresaw another boom beginning around 2010. And I hate to say it, but I think he nailed it. Whether seeking a sense of belonging, answers to the big questions of the universe, or innovative truths unavailable in the mainstream, people join cults for all sorts of reasons. And as it turns out, the same goes for the people who start them.

• 8:25Aaron Mahnke?

  Way out in the Utah desert sits a ghost town called Home of Truth. Rotting slatboard buildings sag against the parched earth. A stone church rests in half-crumbled ruins while wind whistles through creaking metal gates. But the place wasn't always empty. No, once upon a time, this town held none other than the secrets to the end of the world. And it all started with a regular, middle-aged woman from New Jersey. Her name was Marie Ogden, and up until 1929, she lived a totally normal life. Her days were filled with music foundation meetings, athletic club luncheons, charity projects, you know, normal activities for a regular American housewife a century ago. But then, everything changed.

• 9:10Aaron Mahnke?

  You see, in November of 1928, Marie's beloved husband of 26 years was diagnosed with cancer. Despite exhausting rounds of treatment, he died just months later. And suddenly Marie's life was turned entirely upside down. Grief overtook her. She tried to turn to her Protestant upbringing for comfort, but faced with real tragedy, the church's explanation of life after death seemed impossibly flimsy. Here was this man that she shared a quarter of a century of her life with, joys and sorrows, good days and bad, and then suddenly he just ceased to exist. It didn't make any sense. And so, desperate to find order in an orderless world, the 45-year-old widow became a spiritual

• 9:54Aaron Mahnke?

  seeker and embarked on a journey to find the truth. Unfortunately, she found something else instead, a man named William Dudley Pelley. And when it came to the truth, this guy was basically the polar opposite. Pelley was a former Hollywood screenwriter, including penning two Lon Chaney movies, and then claimed to have a near-death experience that gave him supernatural powers. And so, he started publishing books and giving lectures on various fun facts that he had learned while he was dead. For example, did you know that humanity evolved on a distant planet and migrated to Earth as proto-human spirits? Or that, under the guidance of ancient master spirits, these earthly spirits develop self-awareness

• 10:38Aaron Mahnke?

  and divide it into males and females? Pelley would be happy to tell you all about it, for a tidy fee, of course. As if that weren't promising enough, Pelley would later come to believe that Hitler's ascent to power was prophesied by the spirit world, which is probably why he also eventually started a violent, pro-Nazi, white supremacist group known as the Silver Shirts, so-called for their snake... ...uniforms. Oh, and he'd also get super into UFOs on top of all of that. So yeah, quite a fellow, right? And it was this questionable specimen that the venerable widow Marie Ogden would eventually go to in her search for truth. She quickly went from attending his lectures to loaning

• 11:18Aaron Mahnke?

  him up to $14,000 in bonds and then opening an entire school dedicated to the study of Pelly's teachings. Talk about escalating quickly. In 1932, Ogden and Pelly parted ways, likely over that $14,000, which, to be fair, was the equivalent of about $200,000 today. But even though she was no longer a Pelly purist, he had clearly rubbed off on her because soon enough, she was giving lectures of her own. She even opened a new school, but not one to parrot Pelly's teachings. No, the "School of Truth," as she named it, was all Ogden. And it turns out she had plenty to say, too, because she had started to receive her own spirit messages. And boy, did they have some hot gossip to report.

• 12:03Aaron Mahnke?

  According to her, the reincarnated forms of Jesus's disciples were starting to remember their true identities, and soon those disciples would lead a new age and usher in the kingdom of God. And wouldn't you know it, Marie Ogden herself happened to be one of them. Now granted, before this shiny new world could arrive, some stuff had to go down, namely mass governmental collapse, the destruction of all the world's cities, and tidal waves overtaking the coastlines. But it would all be worth it when Jesus returned to Earth, right? It simply needed a little nudge from the disciples to get the ball rolling. And so Marie Ogden began to form a plan to end the world. First things first, she and her followers were going to need a proper headquarters,

• 12:48Aaron Mahnke?

  not just a single school, mind you, but a whole community tucked away from society where they could practice proper spiritual discipline. The question, though, was where to put it? Well, one night, one of Ogden's followers had a strange dream. This woman saw a valley, and written on that valley was a single giant word: Utah. And that was all Ogden needed to hear. In the fall of 1933, rounded up her cohort of twenty men, women, and children, and together they hit the road for the Beehive State. They set up camp in a sparsely populated part of southeastern Utah aptly named Dry Valley. There they tried and failed to farm. They tried and failed to mine for gold. They lived in flimsy tents in the blistering desert.

• 13:32Aaron Mahnke?

  But still Ogden insisted this was the spot. Why? Because right next to their encampment towered a very important cone-shaped butte. They dubbed it Church Rock, and according to Ogden it would be right there atop the butte that Jesus Christ Himself would make His grand re-entrance. And, living conditions aside, no one wanted to miss that. And so it was official. Marie Ogden and her truth-seekers had a permanent place to call their own. And so she changed the group's name. The School of Truth became the Home of Truth. Within a year their settlement had over one hundred residents. They pooled their property communally and they shared all their riches together. In return, they were provided with housing and provisions.

• 14:14Aaron Mahnke?

  Only provisions that Ogden herself approved of, of course. Red meat, alcohol, and tobacco were completely forbidden, but it was enough to survive on. By the way, Ogden wasn't just preaching to her compound. She actually bought a nearby theater, plus the only newspaper in the county called the San Juan Record. And there she slipped her own philosophies and "Home of Truth" activities in among the normal local news. But despite its growth, life was still very tricky at the Home of Truth. There was little water or arable land, the high elevation made for sweltering summers and frigid winters, and mind you, everyone was still living in tents or tar-paper shacks.

• 14:55Aaron Mahnke?

  But once again, Ogden reassured them that it would all be worth it. Once the new world arrived, she promised, the climate would become nearly tropical. All kinds of fruits and vegetables would grow right there. No one would go hungry, and Church Rock would become a bubbling fountain. And there was one last, very important, promise that Marie Ogden made to her flock. A promise good enough to brush all complaints aside. In her new No one would ever die. It was a bold promise, but one I assume that offered those people an extra bit of hope. Little did they know, however, that death would show up at the home of truth long before their new age ever had a chance to arrive.

• 15:57Aaron Mahnke?

  There was no doubt about it. Edith was sick. Her cancer, in fact, was terminal. Her doctors said that time was running out, but Edith didn't mind because she knew something those doctors did not, that out in the Utah desert lived a mystical woman with the power to heal her. And yeah, I think you know who she meant. Now, in Marie Ogden's defense, she had never once made such a dramatic claim. But when the 50-something-year-old Edith Pieschak and her family arrived at the home of truth begging for a miracle cure, Marie sure did give it the old college try. She would meditate for hours, asking healing spirits for help. She held Edith's hands, trying to absorb the sick woman's spiritual impurities, which

• 16:42Aaron Mahnke?

  Ogden saw as the real root of the problem. She even advised Edith to, and I quote, "cure herself by ignoring her pain and by focusing her faith on removing negative thought matter," which I have to go on record to say here, I do not recommend as a course for cancer treatments, or I guess, any treatment. And it very much did not work. On February 11th of 1935, Edith Pieschak passed away, which should have concluded her tale. But buckle up, folks, because it is only the beginning. You see, if there's one thing that cult leaders hate, it's seeing their teachings proven wrong. And for Ogden to have applied all of her spiritual powers to save Edith, only for it to fail, well, she couldn't have that.

• 17:26Aaron Mahnke?

  But don't worry, Ogden had a solution. She would simply declare to all of her followers that Edith... Despite all evidence to the contrary, wasn't really dead. According to Ogden, Edith was having an out-of-body experience, sort of like astral projecting. Her spirit had taken a little vacation to go receive instruction from the spirits, but was still tethered to her body via a silver life cord. And as for that pesky corpse that she left behind, well, it wasn't a corpse at all. Sure, Edith wasn't exactly using it right now, but she would plop back into it eventually. All that said, Edith's earthly body still needed to be taken care of until the soul was ready to return. Taken care of how? I am so glad you asked.

• 18:11Aaron Mahnke?

  First, Marie Ogden laid hands on it often. Yeah, lots of corpse-touching right out the gate. And then it was given frequent saline sponge baths. And the cherry on top? That would be the twice-daily milk-and-raw-egg enemas to keep the body fed. Please, don't try to visualize that, just trust me. And let's be clear here, this situation was not a big secret. Remember, Marie Ogden literally owned her own newspaper, which was distributed far beyond the compound. A newspaper in which she fully described the entire situation. Suffice to say, the wider community wasn't too stoked to learn that the weirdos out in the desert were doting on a pet corpse.

• 18:53Aaron Mahnke?

  And more so, neither was Edith's adult son Frank, who wanted to give his mother a proper burial. And so the sheriff tried to sort things out, but the cult wouldn't let him in. Which, honestly, he seemed perfectly fine with, as corpse-worshipping was very much above his pay grade. Eventually, though, they did let a doctor visit, and spoiler alert, he confirmed that Edith was, in fact, dead. Now, as a quick aside here, have you ever had a conversation with someone in your life who has veered way off into crazy territory? They won't listen to reason, and no amount of documented evidence can convince them that they have been led astray? Well, that frustration that you feel right there, that's how the doctor must have felt. Because rather than trust his medical training and expertise, the people of the Home of

• 19:38Aaron Mahnke?

  Truth doubled down. They explained that they and they- ...alone had a magical sixth sense that the doctor somehow lacked, which allowed them to feel Edith's still beating pulse. Fearing more trouble, Ogden tucked Edith's body away somewhere secret, far from the eyes of the law. But as for the eyes of reporters, well, let's just say that Marie Ogden, steward of the second coming, wasn't one to turn down a media opportunity. In November of 1935, she let a reporter from the Salt Lake Tribune visit Edith's body. By this time, Edith was basically mummified. The saline wash had shriveled her skin into parchment, and she wasn't decaying.

• 20:18Aaron Mahnke?

  "The body," the reporter wrote, "lies in graceful repose on the table, suaved in holy garments. The room is filled with a faint light which seeps in around the edges of a curtain over a sun-filled window. The woman's face wears the peaceful expression of eternal sleep." And with that, it wasn't just Utah paying attention anymore, but the whole nation. In December, another article headlined "Cult awaiting resurrection of woman dead nearly a year" was serialized all across the country. There, Marie Ogden herself explained, "There is a physical body, an astral body, and a spiritual body. There are definite signs that Mrs. Peschak is returning to life.

• 21:00Aaron Mahnke?

  The astral and spiritual bodies have been completed, and the recreation of the flesh is now in progress." Which leaves the question, what happened when this resurrection didn't come to pass? Well, see, that's the problem. No one knows. Because not long after Marie Ogden spoke those words, Edith Peschak's corpse vanished forever. Now, there are two conflicting stories here, both of which hit the media in 1937. One came from former Home of Truther, Thomas Robertson. He claimed to have told Ogden, and I swear this is an actual quote, "Gee whiz, Marie, we can't keep this body forever." Which must have landed because Ogden apparently responded by saying, "You know what?

• 21:43Aaron Mahnke?

  The spirits just called, and they want us to dispose of Edith's body in secret." Convenient, I know. And ultimately, Thomas said that he and Ogden had quietly cremated Edith out in the desert. But there's a problem with this story. Because, you see, Thomas insisted the cremation took place in August of 1935. But that was three months before the Salt Lake Tribune reporter saw Edith's body laid out on the table in "graceful repose." Which brings us to story number two. In May of 1937, a reporter named Jack DeWitt visited the home of truth. While there, Marie Ogden explained how, about nine months after Edith's death, her spirit had swung by for a visit.

• 22:27Aaron Mahnke?

  In Ogden's words, "She had occupied a new form. She told me she was finished with the old form and directed me in its disposal." Disposal how, you might ask? Well, by sealing her away in a small cave in some nearby cliffs. A cave that, later that night, under cover of darkness, Jack DeWitt snuck into. In true biblical style, a boulder sealed the entrance, which he rolled aside. Within lay the partially charred, fully mummified body of Edith Peshak. Jack lifted his camera, snapped a photo, and as he did, something bizarre occurred. But I'll let Jack tell you the rest himself. As my eyes accustomed themselves to the darkness again, as the acrid smell of the flash powder

• 23:12Aaron Mahnke?

  thinned and was replaced by the musty odor of the long-dead, a blurred gray shadow hovered over the mummy's bire. I bundled up the camera and backed away towards the entrance of the cave. The shadow became the form of a woman, a beautiful woman with flowing hair. She seemed to look down sadly upon the hideous form of the mummy. Then I distinctly saw her face turn to me, and the thought flashed that she was smiling sweetly, as a gentle woman would to a non-understanding child. Was it a trick of the moonlight from without? Was it imagination combined with the floating smoke from the flashlight powder? I do not know.

• 24:11Aaron Mahnke?

  Grief makes people do strange things. It can lead us to believe in impossible lies rather than accept a painful truth. It can make us susceptible to charlatans, like Marie was when she got mixed up with William Dudley Pelley. And in some rather extreme cases, it can make us start a doomsday cult and then keep a woman's corpse around like a horrible life-sized Barbie. But you have to remember how this all began. Before the spirits, before the desert compound and the end of the world, way back when Marie Ogden was simply a regular lady from New Jersey who experienced a personal apocalypse of her own: the death of her husband. That was it. That grief was the starting gun.

• 24:54Aaron Mahnke?

  And we also can't forget how he died: from cancer, the very thing that took Edith Peshak's life as well. Could it be that, having failed to save her husband from the disease, Marie Ogden saw Edith as her opportunity at redemption? A second chance? And this time, she would not let death win, no matter what, even if it meant ignoring the laws of morality altogether. In the end, media scrutiny over Edith's death, combined with dwindling faith in Ogden's teachings, all took a toll on the Home of Truth. By the summer of 1937, only 12 true believers remained. And believe it or not, one of those people was Edith Peshak's husband, Elmer, who still didn't consider himself a widower.

• 25:37Aaron Mahnke?

  Remember what I said about grief? Marie Ogden herself lived out her final years in a rest home. She died in 1975 at the age of 91. Or well, died according to medical science, that is. And she took her secrets to the grave. In the wake of Ogden's death, one of her few remaining followers burned all her papers, including an entire unpublished manuscript. Today, the Home of Truth's crumbling remains still sits out there in the Utah desert, slowly being reclaimed by the elements. Driving through, you might even miss it, if not for a single hand-carved wooden sign. Hung by the new property owners, that sign simply reads: "Marie's Place."

• 26:37Aaron Mahnke?

  Folks, thank you so much for joining me on this whirlwind visit to the site of a doomsday that never happened. Looking back, these are tales filled with drama and weirdness. In the moment, though, they must have been terrifying to watch unfold. Now that said, while cults are famous for their creepy going-ons, they are far from the only collectives known for dabbling in the mysteries of the universe. In fact, I have one last story for you that proves they're not even the only groups hanging out with dead bodies. Stick around through this brief sponsor break to hear all about it.

• 27:09Speaker 03

  OnDeck is built to back small businesses like yours. Whether you're buying equipment, expanding your team, or bridging cash flow gaps, OnDeck's loans up to $400,000 help make it happen fast. Rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau and earning thousands of five-star TrustPilot reviews, OnDeck delivers funding you can count on. Apply in minutes at ondeck.com. Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by OnDeck or Celtic Bank. OnDeck does not lend in North Dakota. All loans and amounts subject to lender approval.

• 27:39Speaker 04

  Breathe in and reset with Lincoln Rejuvenate, an available multisensory feature in the 2027 Lincoln Navigator SUV. Experience the luxurious massage, visuals, and sense to help you relax in the driver's seat. It's your time for a reset. Visit lincoln.com to learn more. Lincoln Rejuvenate does not operate unless the vehicle is in park. When the vehicle is off or if any doors open, do not use the feature in a closed garage or in other enclosed areas. See owner's manual for important operating instructions. Lincoln and Navigator are trademarks of Ford or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

• 28:09Speaker 05

  Wait, have you heard about these yet? Hershey's just came out with something new, and I'm kind of obsessed. Hershey's Creme Bars. A new treat featuring the classic Hershey's Milk Chocolate everyone loves with rich layers of salted caramel or affogato creme. Two bold flavors made to match your taste, your vibe, and whatever you're into for a more textured, more flavorful, more elevated eating experience. Try the new Hershey's Salted Caramel and Affogato Creme Bars. Available wherever you shop for snacks.

• 28:38Speaker 06

  Car insurance is way too expensive. That's why Hugo lets you break up your insurance bill so you can pay for it a little bit at a time. Start small, buy just seven days of coverage, then pay daily or weekly to stay insured. Cancel anytime without talking to anyone. Hugo is car insurance that fits your life and keeps more money in your pocket. See why thousands of drivers rate Hugo 4.8 out of 5 stars. Give it a try and cancel anytime. No termination fees. WithHugo.com.

• 29:18Aaron Mahnke?

  In 2001, an electrician in northern Virginia discovered something strange in the building where he'd been hired to work. It was a tiny door, hidden between two walls. Naturally, curiosity took over and he opened it, which is when he found a soft bundle wedged into the opening. A white shroud had been wrapped around a collection of candles. But that's not all. Nestled among the fabric and the wax was also a pile of human bones. "It was like a Dracula movie," he later recalled. "The top of the skull was covered, but you could see the rib cage and the sinew." It was a shocking encounter for sure, but even more shocking, the fact that this had happened before. But let's rewind.

• 30:01Aaron Mahnke?

  Before I explain, you should know more about the owners of that building. Because it was just one of many lodges belonging to a fraternal organization called The Oddfellows. Fraternal organizations, for what it's worth, are groups typically aligned around trades and charity work. You know, people like the Freemasons, the Elks Lodge, the VFWs, that kind of thing. And in general, they typically enjoy more positive press than cults might. But there are certain things that cults and fraternal organizations have in common. Namely, both are known to closely guard secret information. Information only their members can know. And The Oddfellows are no exception. Now while the official Oddfellows website claims a legacy that goes back to 587 B.C.,

• 30:46Aaron Mahnke?

  most agree that the current organization has its roots somewhere in the 17th or 18th century. Meanwhile, the first American branch popped up in Baltimore in 1819. And granted, the name alone makes the group sound pretty mysterious, right? Some say the Oddfellows were so-called due to being made up of craftsmen whose small crafts didn't have their own guild. These guildless men were thus "odd." Others believe the name refers to the "odd" nature of a group dedicated to charity in the first place. Honestly, no one's really sure. But wherever the Oddfellows and their name came from, they were wildly popular. Some estimate that in the early 20th century, there were 3.4 million members in the United States alone.

• 31:29Aaron Mahnke?

  And with all those members, they were going to need plenty of places to meet up, hence acquiring lodges all over the country. Today, only around 25,000 American Oddfellows are left, meaning a ton of their properties are now being sold and rented out. With several million fewer members than there were a century ago, that is a lot of vacant buildings. And sometimes, the former owners leave a little "treat" behind. You see, while the Oddfellows' official motto is "Friendship, Love, and Truth," they might want to add a fourth word to that: skeletons. Because in a frankly insane number of cases, people have stumbled upon human skeletons on former Oddfellows' properties.

• 32:11Aaron Mahnke?

  Now, give me a second here to go through a brief highlight reel of Oddfellows-related skeleton discoveries, but I want to be clear: these are just a sampling. I truly cannot express how many times this has happened. There was the case in 1999, when a "petite skeleton" in a homemade coffin was discovered in the drawer of a built-in wardrobe. When asked about it, a 92-year-old lodge member told a reporter that the skeleton was from a, and I quote, "Chinese person who drowned in the river back in the 1880s." He said that birds had picked the bones clean, and that someone in the Chinese community either sold it or gave it to the Oddfellows. And then there's the episode from 2004 involving Odd Fellows, skeletons, and cheerleaders.

• 32:56Aaron Mahnke?

  Yes, you heard me right. This one comes to us from Missouri where a youth cheerleading squad called the Show Me Spirit All-Stars rented a former Odd Fellows Hall for practice. Among other fraternal relics left in the building, their coaches found three coffins, two containing fake skeletons, and one with the very real dirt-covered bones of an old man. Although they tried to keep it a secret from the kids, the 10- to 12-year-old girls soon found out and, well, being kids, demanded to see the bones, and chaos ensued. And as I said, the list goes on and on. A list that includes, of course, that unfortunate electrician's unhappy discovery. Other Odd Fellows skeletons have been inadvertently

• 33:38Aaron Mahnke?

  donated to local community theaters, found by a teenage girl while cleaning, and even ended up with a cameo role in the original movie for Dawn of the Dead. So, why on earth did the Odd Fellows have so many skeletons? Come to think of it, why did they have any skeletons? Well, there's an easy answer for that. They're part of the initiation ritual, of course. Imagine you're a new member of the IOOF, and tonight, it becomes official. First, you and your fellow initiates are blindfolded and chained up. It's dark, you hear rustling, and the sound of objects being shuffled closer. Suddenly, your blindfold is removed, and there, illuminated by glaring torchlight, is a skeleton. All around you, the established members begin to chant,

• 34:23Aaron Mahnke?

  "What thou art, he was; what he is, thou wilt surely be." The exact phrasing changes case by case, but the sentiment remains the same: "Memento Mori. You are mortal, and don't forget it." According to one Odd Fellows member, the ritual is intended to "show new members the value of life and mortality of man." And hey, what better way to drive the message home than while staring into the bleached face of an actual cadaver? Now you might think acquiring real skeletons would have been a bit of a hassle. But no, you could simply order one from the Odd Fellows catalog. Seriously, one 1900s buyer's guide offers a, and I quote, "genuine, full-sized, selected specimen,

• 35:07Aaron Mahnke?

  set up and wired, fully deodorized." But then again, given the dirt-covered bones in Missouri and the supposedly drowned man in Idaho, it seems some odd fellows may have taken acquisition into their own hands. By the way, you may be wondering what kind of charity work these guys were getting up to. And honestly, the answer is, well, pretty much everything. They helped orphans and widows, provided disaster relief and distributed mutual aid. They even funded hospitals. All in all, these guys have done some genuinely positive work over the years. But I should probably mention one last thing. Because one of the Odd Fellows' most widespread early initiatives? They helped people bury their dead.

• 36:04Aaron Mahnke?

  This episode of Lore was produced by me, Aaron Mahnke, with writing by Jenna Rose Nethercott, research by Cassandra DeAlba, and music by Chad Lawson. Just a reminder, folks, I have a brand-new history book that's coming out on August 4th. It's called Exhumed, and it explores the roots of the New England vampire panic through the lens of centuries of folklore, medical advancements, and pseudoscience. It's available for preorder right now, and if you preorder the hardcover edition, my publisher has a webpage set up where you can submit your receipts and get a free gorgeous tote bag. Head over to aaronmahnke.com/exhumed to see the gorgeous cover and lock in your copy today. Don't like hearing the ads? Well, there is a paid version of Lore on Apple Podcasts and Patreon that is 100% ad-free.

• 36:47Aaron Mahnke?

  Learn more about that over at lorepodcast.com/support. And you can follow the show on social media platforms like Blue Sky, Threads, YouTube, and Instagram. Just search for Lore Podcast, all one word, and then click that follow button. And when you do, say hi. I like it when people say hi. And as always, thanks for listening.

• 37:18Speaker 07

  This is Jason Timp from Hoops Tonight with Jason Timp. Buy smart, drive for less, and trade for more. That's Toyota affordability. And it starts with a great deal on an off-road ready Tacoma or half-ton Tundra, two of Toyota's longest-lasting trucks combining power for work, tech for adventures, and style in between. Built on a reputation for quality and reliability, Toyota trucks are known for holding their value, which can mean big savings when it's time for your next Toyota. So get a great deal today and great value tomorrow. Shop toyota.com for more. Toyota, let's go places.

• 37:49Speaker 08

  Cash flow crunch? OnDeck's small business line of credit gives your business immediate access to funds, up to $200,000, right when you need it. Cover seasonal dips, manage payroll, restock inventory, or tackle unexpected expenses without missing a beat. With flexible draws, transparent pricing, and control over repayment, get funded quickly and confidently. Apply today at ondeck.com. Funds could be available as soon as tomorrow. Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by OnDeck or Celtic Bank. OnDeck does not lend in North Dakota. All loans and amounts subject to lender approval.