All language subtitles for oracles.and.prophets.s01e05.1080p.web.h264-cbfm_track3_[eng]

(intense music)

- [Narrator] In medieval China,

a scholar predicts events
hundreds of years in the future

with startling accuracy.

- Liu Bowen is a near mythic
figure in Chinese history.

He exercised enormous influence
over an entire dynasty,

but the question is whether

he could actually
predict the future,

including predicting
events in our own lifetime.

- [Narrator] In ancient Rome,
a soothsayer warns Caesar,

"Beware the Ides of March."

- Whether you believe that
Caesar learned of his death

through the power of
prophecy or pure politics,

the question still remains:

Why didn't he protect himself?

- [Narrator] And in
16th century Scotland,

a generational curse
torments a family.

- The Doom of Mar is this curse

on one of the most influential
families in Scotland.

- But what could a family have
done to deserve such a curse?

(intense music continues)

(intense music)

- [Narrator] March 2020.

As COVID-19 spreads, the
world goes into lockdown.

Haunting images of empty streets
are seen around the globe

as businesses shutter
their windows,

schools close their doors,

and people shelter
in their homes

to protect themselves
from the virus.

(intense music continues)

It is one of the most
unprecedented events of our time

that seemingly no
one saw coming.

(patient coughing)

And, yet, a story emerges

of a Chinese prophet
named Liu Bowen,

who reportedly foresaw
these over 700 years ago.

(intense music continues)

"The Earth will be in turmoil.

The streets will be devoid
of people and activity.

If you ask when the
epidemic will happen,

look to the winter between
the eighth and ninth months.

The pig and rat years
will be difficult."

- News stories spread on
social media that Liu Bowen

has predicted a global pandemic
that will occur in 2019,

for the year of the pig,

and 2020, during
the year of the rat.

- Liu Bowen is seen as
the Chinese Nostradamus.

He was a prophesier
who lived in the 1300s,

some 700 years ago,
and is believed

to have predicted things that
have happened in our own time.

- These prophecies
are widely published

in compendiums of
Chinese prophecies,

and they are said by
some to predict events

with frightening accuracy.

(intense music)

- [Narrator] Liu Bowen,
also known as Liu Ji,

is born in 1311,
in Qingtian County

near present day Wenzhou.

(intense music continues)

China is under the
brutal occupation

of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty,

established over 30 years prior

after the conquest of
China by Kublai Khan,

the grandson of Genghis Khan.

- Liu was living in a time

when the Mongols have become
the elite of Chinese society.

They are completely in control.

China is part of
their vast empire

that stretches all
the way to Europe.

- Despite Liu Bowen's
remarkable talents,

he finds himself unsuccessful

within the Yuan government
and unable to advance.

He finds that his honesty
becomes a barrier for him.

Also, the fact that he
is Chinese and not Mongol

puts him at a disadvantage
for advancement.

- You can imagine
how devastating

and frustrating this
must feel for Liu Bowen.

For a man with such
great intellect,

integrity and potential,

it must feel like his career

is over before it even
has a chance to get going.

(intense music)

- [Narrator] Meanwhile, China

is becoming
increasingly chaotic.

After a severe
famine and drought,

resentment towards the
Mongols intensifies.

(intense music continues)

Rebel factions pop
up across the country

and wage violent insurrection
against the Mongols

while simultaneously
fight against each other

for control over the
revolutionary movement.

1360.

With his impressive intellect
and reputation for strategy,

49 year old Liu Bowen

becomes acquainted with
32 year old Zhu Yuanzhang,

a leader of one of the
anti-Yuan rebel factions.

- There's this other
figure, Zhu Yuanzhang,

who is originally a peasant.

He becomes a Buddhist monk,

and as a young man
he becomes involved

in an emergent organized
rebellion against the Mongols.

(intense music continues)

In his involvement
in the rebellion,

Zhu rises up the
ranks pretty quickly,

and he becomes an important
leader in the movement.

Part of his success
in this movement

is that he really approaches
this as a learning opportunity,

and this means that
he's very eager

to consult with learned people

who have a developed
understanding of philosophy,

political ideology, history,

all of the elements
of understanding

what's happening in the world.

- We don't know exactly how
their meeting first takes place,

but you can imagine
that for Liu Bowen

this must feel like the
lifeline he's been looking for

and an opportunity to
make a real difference

against a government
he believes is corrupt.

For Zhu, Liu is an
intellectual mastermind

who can give him an edge
against all of his enemies.

It seems like a
match made in heaven,

and it's a partnership
that will prove

to be incredibly successful
for both of them.

(intense music continues)

- [Narrator] Liu Bowen provides
crucial strategic advice

and military insight

to help Zhu Yuanzhang
combat rival rebel factions.

Yet tales are told that
Liu Bowen's abilities

go far beyond merely
a talent for strategy.

- When Liu Bowen becomes
involved in the rebellion,

one of the things that he
brings with him is the I Ching.

The I Ching, it's something
like a reference book,

but it's not full
of information.

It's full of interpretable
signs, these 64 hexagrams.

- [Narrator] The I Ching is
one of the most common forms

of divination in
China at this time.

The goal is to create
eight hexagrams.

Each hexagram
consists of six lines,

which are either
broken to represent yin

or solid to represent yang.

Each line of each hexagram

is determined by ritualistically
shuffling and dividing

50 yarrow stalks into piles.

A yarrow stalk is the dried
stem of the yarrow plant.

The number of stalks
in the piles determines

whether you have a broken
line or a solid line.

After doing this six times,

you have one hexagram

that consists of six
broken or solid lines.

You then consult the I Ching,

which provides a reading

for each of the 64
possible hexagrams.

After creating eight hexagrams,

you are left with a
series of eight readings.

You can then interpret how
those readings work together

to create your final divination.

- You are then able to
take the pattern created

and consult the book of I Ching,

and then basically discover
what is going to happen

in the future.

- Liu Bowen's system
for divination

is reportedly even
more complicated,

and combines the I
Ching with Wu Xing,

which is the idea that
the five elements,

water, wood, fire,
earth, and metal,

are continually moving and
interacting with each other.

(intense music continues)

- Liu is going to be responsible
for using the I Ching

to provide advice on matters

ranging from weather predictions

to strategic approaches
and formations.

- [Narrator] 1363.

Zhu Yuanzhang faces
a rival rebel leader

in a naval battle
on Poyang Lake.

He sails out on a
ship to join the fight

with Liu Bowen by his side

as the battle rages around them.

- Liu observes a
comet flying overhead.

- In Chinese astrology,

comets have long been viewed

as an omen of
impending calamity,

especially for leaders.

- Liu interprets
it as a warning,

and grabs his friend
Zhu off of this boat,

and says something
awful is happening.

Immediately after that,

the ship is destroyed by fire,

and so Liu saved
his friend's life.

And of course,
this will turn out

to have momentous consequences,

not just for the success
of this rebellion,

but for the history of China.

- [Narrator] In
1368, Zhu Yuanzhang

successfully defeats the
Mongol controlled Yuan dynasty

and becomes the first
emperor of the Ming dynasty.

Liu Bowen is given a
prominent role in his court

as Zhu's Eminent Chief Advisor.

- With the triumph
of the Ming dynasty,

China now is independent.

It can carve its own path,

decide its own destiny,

and Liu becomes a major
statesman and a philosopher

in the administration
of this new dynasty.

He is going to play a major
role in deciding its direction,

its shape, its future.

- He crafts some of the
first government legislation.

Yet, at the same time,

his blunt honesty doesn't
win him any friends.

Yet the Emperor still
appreciates that aspect of him

most of the time.

(inspiring music)

- According to legend,

it's during this
time that Liu Bowen

produces his greatest work.

- [Narrator] Liu Bowen
is most famous in China

for a series of prophecies
known as the Shaobing Song.

- One day, the emperor

has a rather curious
meeting with Liu,

where the emperor is
tucking into a delicacy

called a Shaobing.

It's a bit like a
pastry or a pancake.

And as Lui approaches,

he covers it up and asks Liu

to guess what he's
just been eating.

Liu guesses correctly.

Maybe the aroma gives it away.

Who knows?

But he then gets into a
discussion with the Emperor

about the future of
the Ming dynasty,

and he warns of
barbarian invasions.

He talks about
dragons and ghosts

and other evil portents
that are on the horizon,

and this series of
very doomy prophecies

becomes known as
the Shaobing Song

after the pastry that
the emperor was eating.

(ominous music)

- [Narrator] One of
the Shaobing Song's

terrifying prophecies predicts:

"When the eunuchs are
used to protect the altars

of the earth and grain,

8,000 female ghosts
shall disturb the
country's stability."

Strangely, over 250
years later in 1624,

a eunuch named Wei Zhongxian

takes control of the government.

For the next three years,

he ruthlessly terrorizes
the civilian population

and ruling class.

- What's remarkable
about this prophecy

is that Wei Zhongxian
is actually referenced
in it by name.

In the text of the prophecy
there appear the words

for eight, thousand,
female, and ghosts,

and when you combine them,

you get the character
for the surname Wei,

which is the same as the
surname of Wei Zhongxian.

- [Narrator] Through this
method of cryptic verses

and mysterious wordplay,

the Shaobing Song alludes to

and seemingly predicts a number
of events in Chinese history

hundreds of years after
Liu Bowen's death,

including the 1449
Mongol invasion,

the 1894 Sino-Japanese War,

and the founding of the
Republic of China in 1911.

- With such staggering
specificity,

it's not hard to
see how Liu Bowen

is revered as one of China's
greatest prognosticators.

But you have to wonder
how is it possible

he is able to prophesize
with such precision?

- [Narrator] In 1371, Liu
Bowen receives permission

from the Emperor to retire.

Three years later, he passes
away at the age of 64,

officially due to
complications from a cold.

Yet there are rumors
that Liu Bowen's demise

comes not from a health
condition, but murder.

(ominous music continues)

And it is said he issues
one final prophecy

as a warning before
his untimely death.

- It was said that his
insistence on honesty

would ultimately be
Liu Bowen's undoing.

A man named Hu Weiyong

was angling to become
prime minister.

However, Liu Bowen did not think

he was suitable for the job,

and he told the Emperor as such.

Hu Weiyong, however,
was furious.

He told the Emperor
that Liu Bowen

was plotting against
him in vengeance.

As a result, Liu Bowen was
stripped of all of his titles.

He shortly died thereafter.

(ominous music continues)

- Several years
after Liu's death,

Hu is discovered to
have been plotting

against the Emperor and the
Emperor has him executed,

along with 30,000 people
that the Emperor believes

are involved in the conspiracy.

- [Narrator] It is said
that before he dies,

Liu Bowen warns
the emperor that Hu

is not to be trusted

and prophesies that he
is like a chariot horse

about to break out
of its harness.

- Is this Liu Bowen's
final prophecy,

or perhaps a final
political analysis offered

from a brilliant strategic mind?

Or is there a third possibility?

Is it possible that
some of the stories

surrounding Liu Bowen have
taken on a life of their own?

- [Narrator] To modern ears,

one of the most
chilling prophecies
attributed to Liu Bowen

is a prediction that seems
to be about COVID-19.

"The earth will be in turmoil.

The streets will be devoid
of people and activity.

If you ask when the
epidemic will happen,

look to the winter between
the eighth and ninth months.

The pig and rat years
will be difficult."

- You can see how people have
taken that and construed it

as a prophecy of
the COVID pandemic,

seven, eight centuries
before it happened.

- This story is not
actually a prophecy

from the Shaobing Song,

but some say is
actually from a tablet

that was only uncovered
about 30 years ago,

but actually originates from a
leaflet printed in the 1920s.

- There are also questions
about the validity

of the Shaobing Song,

in large part because the
earliest written version

that we have of these prophecies
is actually from the 1800s.

(intense music)

- [Narrator] 1860.

The Second Opium War.

China is under siege by
English and French troops,

who want increased
trading rights in China

and are willing to
take them by force.

In October, Western
troops capture Beijing

and burn down the
Emperor's Summer Palace.

(fire crackling)

According to legend, one
of these soldiers emerges

from the burning building
carrying a mysterious box.

- One of the proposed
places of discovery

of the Shaobing Song

actually comes from
a European soldier

stumbling on a box of
ancient Chinese writings,

and the Shaobing Song
was supposedly in there.

Now, evidently it was
said that this writing

was hidden by the
emperors at the time,

because if it were
to be released,

it would create chaos
within the public.

(intense music continues)

- The question is were
they really generated

in the 14th century,

or are they an invention
of the 19th century

and purported to have derived

from several centuries earlier?

And if they are a 19th
century invention,

what does that mean
for Liu's legacy,

for the meaning of
the Shaobing Song?

- By crafting your propaganda

so that you're showing
that some predictions

which have already
happened were proven right,

it also makes your
future predictions
seem more legitimate.

You're saying to people

that we are living
in prophetic times.

You are living in
an important time.

Liu Bowen, the famous
Chinese prophet,

has said that our
time is important.

This is the greatest
propaganda of all.

(intense music)

- [Narrator] Although
there are questions

over who exactly wrote
the Shaobing Song,

Liu Bowen continues to be
revered throughout China,

even to this day.

But where does the man
end and the myth begin?

- Liu Bowen clearly was
a legitimate statesman,

somebody who was very
important in shaping China

as it became independent
of Mongol rule,

somebody who has inspired other
political figures in China

down the centuries.

But at the same time,

he's become a kind of
a cult esoteric figure,

a kind of soothsayer.

And so what we have
to ask, looking back,

is who is the real Liu Bowen?

Was he statesman
and philosopher,

or was he prophesier
and soothsayer?

Or was he both?

(intense music continues)

- He's a popular hero

who has transcended his
own historical moment

and even the details
of his historical life

and has achieved something
almost like a superhero status

in the Chinese imagination.

- Regardless of whether Liu
Bowen wrote the Shaobing Song,

whether it was written in the
14th century or much later,

it's important not
to underestimate

the cultural
significance of this text

for China's culture and history.

- [Narrator] Liu
Bowen, still revered

as one of China's
greatest divinators,

wielded prophesies meant
to illuminate the path

of wisdom for an emperor.

Yet prophecy is a
double-edged sword

capable of revealing
both triumph and tragedy.

(intense music)

Half a world away
in ancient Rome,

another seer would peer
through the veil of time

to glimpse a fate
far more foreboding

and would utilize
his power not merely

to guide but to save a
dictator from impending doom.

(intense music continues)

March 15th, 44 BCE.

Julius Caesar arrives in a
meeting of the Roman Senate.

A group of senators
approach him,

seemingly to speak with
him about a petition.

Suddenly, a senator's
hand shoots out.

He grabs Caesar's toga.

He rips it from his neck.

A dagger is thrust
at his throat.

The other senators
descend upon him,

stabbing him 23 times

until Caesar lies dead
on the Senate floor.

Amongst the murderous senators

are Caesar's political rivals,

but also his friends.

The betrayal is so
profound that even today,

it is considered one of the
ultimate tales of treachery.

(intense music continues)

And yet, should Caesar have
really been so surprised?

According to some accounts,

Caesar did not enter the
Senate without warning.

It is said he was told,
"Beware the Ides of March."

- In Shakespeare's tragic
play, "Julius Caesar,"

we see a soothsayer,

a prophesier who
shouts from the crowd,

"Beware the Ides of March."

And what this is saying is
that at this particular date,

something terrible is going to
happen to you, Julius Caesar.

But he doesn't heed the warning.

He goes to the Senate
regardless and meets his fate.

(intense music continues)

- But did Caesar's death really
occur the way he was warned?

Or was it the way that
Shakespeare depicted?

Or was it even more mysterious?

(intense music continues)

- [Narrator] In the
first century BCE,

Rome is a democracy and has
been for almost 500 years.

One of the most important
elements of that democracy

is the Senate.

- The Senate in
Rome is a largely
aristocratic institution.

- These men were part of a body

that had ruled for centuries.

They were in charge
of the treasury,

in charge of the military.

- The Roman Republic,
as it then was,

not the Roman Empire,

had become the most powerful
political force in Europe.

It had basically invaded
all its neighbors.

And it really was emerging

as the superpower of
the Mediterranean.

But as that happened,

power was becoming
concentrated in Rome

into fewer and fewer hands.

And the democracy that
had once been the hallmark

of the Roman Republic
was being eroded.

(intense music)

- [Narrator] Born into an
aristocratic family in 100 BCE,

Julius Caesar quickly
establishes himself

as both a statesman and a
general of the Roman army.

He rises in power through
strategic political alliances

and a series of military
victories abroad.

(intense music continues)

In 49 BCE, the Senate, wary
of his increasing power,

orders him to step
down from his command.

Caesar refuses and
marches his army to Rome.

This leads to a brutal civil war

that will last for four years.

Ultimately, Caesar prevails

and seizes control
of the government,

declaring himself dictator
for the next ten years.

- Caesar, his
successful campaigns,

his great propagandizing,

his erection of
statues as himself,

to the senators, they see
him as a potential despot,

someone that they can't control.

- [Narrator] Caesar's enemies'
fears seem to prove true

when, in 44 BCE, he proclaims
himself dictator for life.

- The senators were
convinced that the only way

to stop Caesar's
assumption of power

was to assassinate him.

- Looking at it now, through
the lens of 2,000 years,

it's not that difficult to
predict the death of Caesar.

But at the time,

was it really possible
for a soothsayer

to predict his death?

(ominous music)

- [Narrator] Predictions
about the future are common

in ancient Rome,

and the ability to
influence and interpret

the will of the gods

is an important part of
their religious beliefs.

- The difference between Roman
religion and, for example,

the Abrahamic religions,

Judaism, Christianity, Islam,

is that the Roman religion
was more transactional

in its relationship
with the gods.

This wasn't about
what you believe.

It wasn't about a moral system.

It was more about negotiating

with the gods to get something:

Sacrifice an animal,
will I win this battle?

- The ancient Romans
believed in the human ability

to interpret the gods' will

through certain
interpretive practices.

(ominous music continues)

In the time of Julius Caesar,

there are 16 state-employed
augurs whose job it is

to interpret the
will of the gods

based on interpretation of signs

such as lightning
and weather events

or the behavior of birds.

(birds chirping)

- [Narrator] It
is not the augurs

who will predict Caesar's death.

(ominous music)

Caesar's death is
well documented

by several classical writers,

including someone
who knew him in life,

the Roman scholar and
politician Cicero.

These accounts state that
Caesar is issued a warning

by a mysterious
divinator named Spurinna.

(ominous music continues)

- The soothsayer who
warns Julius Caesar

of his impending doom

is a man called Spurinna

who we believe was Etruscan.

- The Etruscans are a
people from a region

just north of Rome,

in what is today Tuscany.

This region was
conquered by the Romans

in the 3rd century BCE,

and there is a certain
level of cultural exchange.

- Now, Rome had once been
ruled by the Etruscans,

and they had a kind
of certain suspicion,

wariness of the
Etruscan culture,

Etruscan religious system,

even though they were
also influenced by it.

And there's this idea
that the Etruscans

have a kind of knowledge that
is a little bit dangerous.

(ominous music)

- Etruscan religion
is heavily reliant

on divination practices,

and this is because
the Etruscans believed

that the divine is everywhere,

from the tiniest leaf to
the clouds in the sky.

And divination is the practice
of being in conversation

with the divine as it manifests

in every material
aspect of human life.

- Although Rome had
its own state augurs,

Etruscans were especially
well known for haruspicy.

Haruspicy becomes
a specialization

that the Romans respect
among the Etruscan people.

(ominous music continues)

- [Narrator] The
practice of haruspicy

is an ancient and mysterious
form of divination

that dates back
thousands of years.

It is a practice not well
suited for the faint of heart

or the weak of stomach,

as it involves
reading the organs

of sacrificial animals
like sheep and oxen.

- So haruspicy is
this particular

specialization of
prognostication,

and this is when a haruspex
performs a ritual on an animal

and reads the entrails.

(ominous music continues)

- [Narrator] For the Etruscans,

haruspicy is not just an art.

It is almost a science.

It is a well-established
discipline,

with protocols handed down
from generation to generation

through a series
of Etruscan texts

the Romans called the
Etrusca Disciplina.

(ominous music continues)

- Once the offering was made,

the entrails were
kept, set aside,

and then they would be
examined as a predictive tool.

So whether the
entrails are clean,

whether there are any marks,

the location of said markings,

all of that would be used
to interpret the result

of the divination.

(ominous music)

- [Narrator] During
Caesar's time,

haruspicy plays
an important role

in the affairs of ancient Rome.

- Haruspicy was not
state-sanctioned
in ancient Rome,

unlike the augurs who were
part of the priesthood,

but it was a very
popular practice,

even if it was controversial.

- Who is Spurinna in the
context of Caesar's prophecy?

Some have suggested
that Spurinna

was the haruspex or
soothsayer of Rome itself,

or perhaps the personal
haruspex of Caesar.

- [Narrator] Although
Spurinna's exact identity

has been lost to time,

he will deliver a prophecy

that will reverberate
through the ages.

It is a few weeks
before his death.

Caesar performs the rituals
of a votive sacrifice.

He offers prayers, wine, and
incense, and sacrifices an ox.

Spurinna examines the results

and is shocked by
what he discovers.

He reports to Caesar that
it is a very bad omen.

The bull has no heart.

- Spurinna says to Caesar,

"This is an appalling augury.

This is a terrible portent
of what's going to happen."

Well, Caesar decides to
go for another attempt,

another sacrifice,

but this one has a very
badly deformed liver.

And the same person,
Spurinna, says,

"Look, Caesar, this is not good.

By the Ides of March,

something terrible is
going to happen to you."

(ominous music continues)

- The Shakespearean
version of the prophecy

has Spurinna warned Caesar
of the Ides of March,

which means the middle of March,

and in particular
the 15th of March.

(ominous music continues)

- [Narrator] While
sources differ

on some of the specifics
of how or when Caesar

receives the prophecy
from Spurinna,

many seem to agree
that it did occur.

- Was he relying
truly on prophecy,

or was he reading the political
temperature of the time?

We know that rumors were
swirling throughout Rome

that Caesar was in
danger of assassination,

and the fact that Caesar
was leaving March 18th

in order to go on another
military expedition,

the rumors were that
the assassination

would have to happen soon.

- [Narrator] Whether it is a
prophecy deduced by divination

or a warning based on
shifting political tides,

Caesar dismisses
Spurinna's words.

(ominous music continues)

- On the morning of
the 15th of March,

Caesar goes to the Senate,

and he's going there in a
mood of grim determination.

He's going to defy
this prophecy.

Nothing bad is going
to happen to him.

- It's often
mentioned that Brutus

was a key conspirator in
the assassination of Caesar,

but it was actually his
closest friend, Decimus,

who encouraged him on that
day to go to the Senate.

- This is a trap, a death trap.

The senators are there,
armed underneath their togas,

waiting for him, ready to
plunge their knives in.

Caesar begins to speak,

and they choose their
moment to assassinate him.

(ominous music continues)

(Caesar grunting)

(intense music)

- One would have to
wonder why Caesar

would walk into the
Senate that day,

with all these rumors swirling

about a potential assassination.

Perhaps he trusted his
friend Decimus enough

and didn't believe them.

Perhaps he was very arrogant
and felt the senators

would never rise against him
because he was so powerful.

(intense music continues)

- [Narrator] After
Caesar's death,

the men responsible
for his assassination

are hunted down and executed.

The bloodshed continues

and Rome erupts into a
series of civil wars.

The Republic is
never fully restored.

- The period following
Caesar's death is chaos.

Rome essentially
erupts into civil war,

which lasts years.

It involves notable figures
such as Mark Antony,

and the Egyptian
queen Cleopatra,

and, of course, Caesar's
adopted son, Octavian.

In the end, it would be
Octavian that would triumph.

He will become Rome's
first emperor, Augustus.

- [Narrator] The life and
death of Julius Caesar

changes the course of history.

(intense music continues)

But if he had
heeded the warnings,

could it have been prevented?

- Whether you
believe that Caesar

was forewarned of his death
through the power of prophecy

or through politics,

the question still remains

why he didn't seek
to protect his life.

- [Narrator] Julius Caesar's
response, or lack thereof,

to a dire warning will
alter the course of history.

(ominous music)

Centuries later, there
exists another prophecy

that's far more sinister and
entirely absent of choice,

one that does not
announce itself

through a concerned messenger,

but, instead, runs like a
poison through a bloodline.

(ominous music continues)

- [Narrator] 1800. Scotland.

A fire rages, engulfing
a stately mansion

called Alloa House.

It is the home of one

of the great Scottish noble
families, the Erskines.

The family mercifully
escapes with their lives,

but their home is
completely destroyed.

By morning, the only
thing still standing

is the medieval fortification

the mansion was built
around, Alloa Tower.

(ominous music continues)

- [Narrator] This is
a devastating loss

for the Erskine family,

but perhaps to some
it is not a surprise.

According to local legend,

200 years ago, an abbot
stood at Alloa Tower

and laid a curse upon the family

that would haunt them
for centuries to come,

the Doom of Mar.

- The Doom of Mar is
this generational curse

on one of the most influential
families in Scotland.

(ominous music continues)

- [Narrator] Alloa was a
small town in Scotland,

located in the
Scottish Lowlands.

It is surrounded by lush green
rolling hills and valleys.

One of the most striking
features on the landscape

is Alloa Tower.

Built during the 1300s,

the tower stands at an
imposing 68 feet tall

and 40 feet wide.

- Alloa Tower is
a typical medieval
defensive fortification.

It's incredibly strong.

Its walls are thick.

It has a dungeon,

and it is one of Scotland's
best preserved medieval keeps.

- [Narrator] The Erskines live

at Alloa Tower for generations.

But there's one member of
the family in particular

who will soon attract the
wrath of the Doom of Mar.

- The origins of the
story of the curse

are rooted in the 16th century,

in an act of profound
betrayal when John Erskine,

who had been a staunch supporter
of Mary, Queen of Scots,

eventually switched sides as
her popularity began to wane.

(ominous music)

- John Erskine, in fact,
had been Mary's guardian

when she was a child,

and she had spent time at Alloa
Castle as a child as well.

He had supported her
through thick and thin,

and he was rewarded as a result,

finally, with the
Earldom of Mar.

(ominous music continues)

- [Narrator] 1567.

Mary, Queen of Scots,
also known as Mary Stuart,

has been deposed in favor
of her infant son James.

- When Mary's son James was
born at Edinburgh Castle,

he became James'
guardian and protector,

and Mary entrusted
him into his care.

As Mary's unpopularity grew,

John Erskine's
loyalties shifted.

When she tried to take her
son James back, John refuses,

and he leads a group
of nobles to depose her

in favor of her son,

who becomes James
VI of Scotland,

king at just 13 months old.

(ominous music)

- [Narrator] 1571.

John Erskine sends his men
to Cambuskenneth Abbey,

a church built in the 1100s,

which he's been
granted control over.

According to legend,

he orders his men to
dismantle the abbey

so they can use the
stones to build himself

a luxurious new mansion
house in a nearby town.

The abbot is furious,

outraged that a man
would choose extravagance

over a sacred and holy space.

Despite his fury, the abbot
cannot stop John Erskine,

but perhaps he can
find retribution.

(ominous music continues)

Reportedly, the
abbot dresses in rags

and arrives at Alloa Tower,

where he speaks aloud the curse

that will haunt the Erskine
family for generations.

(ominous music continues)

"Proud Chief of Mar,

thou shalt be raised still
higher until thou sittest

in the place of the king.

Then shall come thy fall.

Thy lands shall be
given to the stranger.

And thy titles shall
be among the dead.

The branch that
springs from thee

shall see his dwelling
burnt, his children numerous,

but of little honor, until
an ash sapling shall spring

from its utmost stone.

Then shall thy
sorrows be ended."

(ominous music)

- The first part of
the abbot's curse

is actually
surprisingly positive.

It says that John Erskine
will rise higher in ranks

and actually sit in
the place of the king.

(ominous music continues)

- [Narrator] In 1571, John
Erskine becomes regent ruler

of Scotland on behalf of James,

the five year old King.

(ominous music continues)

30 years later, James will unite

the Scottish and English thrones

and become King
James 1st of England.

- Acting as regent, John Erskine

does actually end up sitting
in the place of the king,

but he doesn't actually get
to enjoy it for very long

and dies a year later
of natural causes.

- Although the first part
of the prophecy comes true,

it's his descendants who
will suffer for his sins.

The worst is still to come.

(ominous music continues)

- [Narrator] 1715.

150 years after John Erskine
incurs the Doom of Mar,

the monarchy is once
again in crisis.

King James I's
great-grandson, James II,

has been deposed.

The Erskine family now works

to restore his
great-great grandson,

James Stuart, to the throne.

John Erskine's
great-great-great-grandson,

also named John Erskine,

leads what is known as the
Jacobite Rebellion in Scotland

in support of James Stuart.

(ominous music continues)

The Doom of Mar predicts
that the Erskines

will be true to their
sovereign and raise his banner

in a field of blood

but also predicts that it
will lead to their fall.

The Jacobite rebellion

with John Erskine at helm will
not have a favorable outcome.

At Sheriffmuir,
hundreds of rebels

are killed by British forces.

- The location became known
as the Field of Blood.

- After this time, the
family falls into disgrace.

He's forced to flee.

He's deprived of his title.

The family loses their
lands, including Alloa Tower.

- We can imagine how
devastating this must be

for the Erskine family.

They've now lost
their ancestral home.

They've lost their
title of Earl,

which meant so much for them.

And at this point,

the Erskine family
must truly feel cursed.

They've gone through
so much heartbreak.

- It's easy to think that
since the rebellion was over

and Alloa Tower no longer
belonged to the Erskines

that the curse was over.

However, there was more to come.

(ominous music continues)

John had a brother, James,

who hadn't been involved
in the rebellion,

and he managed to
buy Alloa Tower back,

and it became part of
the family once more.

(ominous music continues)

- This, perhaps, is what allows
the curse to strike again.

Except this time it will
come for James' grandson,

another John Erskine.

(ominous music continues)

- [Narrator] 1800.

John Erskine watches his
family home envelop in flames.

Alloa Tower is
the only structure

that could endure the blaze.

(ominous music continues)

- As John Erskine
watched his home burn,

he must have thought about
the last words of the abbot,

who invoked the curse.

- [Narrator] The Doom
of Mar also predicts

that he will have
numerous children,

some of little honor and
of three born and grown,

who will never see
the light of day.

- In fact, John Erskine did
have children, nine in fact.

And just like the prophecy said,

one was dishonored
and disinherited

and three were born blind.

(intense music)

- [Narrator] With their
family home destroyed,

the Erskines
abandon Alloa Tower.

The property becomes derelict.

(ominous music continues)

- At this point, the Erskines
must have been wondering

if they would ever
be free of the curse,

because it had been

devastating their
family for generations.

(intense music continues)

Fortunately, for the Erskines,

the curse also predicted
an end to their suffering.

- [Narrator] The
abbot's curse predicts

that the Erskines'
sorrow shall not be ended

until an ash sapling
springs from the tower.

- According to legend,

the people who live nearby
continued to visit the tower,

looking for any sign
that the Doom of Mar

had come to an end.

(ominous music)

- [Narrator] 1824.

An ash tree sapling
is seen sprouting

from the top of the tower.

From that one tiny seed,

the curse laid 250
years ago is broken

and the Erskines' days
of peace are restored.

- In 1824, the family managed
to regain their earldom,

and at this point they went

and rebuilt their house
right beside Alloa Tower.

- [Narrator] The Doom of
Mar is a fantastical story

spanning centuries of
Scottish and English history.

It centers on an incredibly
influential family

that bears witness to changing
tides and shifting dynasties

that they both prosper
and suffer from.

(fire crackling)

- Is there any
truth to the curse?

Well, the curse may
have emerged in response

to the many tragedies
that the family

had experienced over
the generations.

There's also evidence
that the story

that John Erskine stole
the stones from the abbey

is also untrue.

It's very clear from the
archeological records

that it was in ruins
by the time he decided

to use that stone to
build his manor house.

(intense music)

- Meanwhile, Alloa
Tower now belongs

to the National
Trust of Scotland

and is a really popular
tourist attraction.

This continuing legacy and
interest in Alloa Tower

really speaks to the
enduring power of the macabre

on people's psyche.

(ominous music)

- [Narrator] From the
tragedies that befell

the House of Mar,

to the prophecies that
trace the rise and fall

of Chinese dynasties,

and the urgent warnings issued
to a doomed Roman dictator,

these accounts
obscure the bounds

between true foretelling
and the fantasies

that often prosper in its wake.

(ominous music continues)

(intense music)

(intense music fades out)