Original subtitles

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.

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?

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?

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.

It is one of the most unprecedented events of our time

that seemingly no one saw coming.

And, yet, a story emerges

of a Chinese prophet named Liu Bowen,

who reportedly foresaw these over 700 years ago.

"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.

Liu Bowen, also known as Liu Ji,

is born in 1311, in Qingtian County

near present day Wenzhou.

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.

Meanwhile, China

is becoming increasingly chaotic.

After a severe famine and drought,

resentment towards the Mongols intensifies.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

According to legend,

it's during this time that Liu Bowen

produces his greatest work.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

It is not the augurs

who will predict Caesar's death.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

Whether it is a prophecy deduced by divination

or a warning based on shifting political tides,

Caesar dismisses Spurinna's words.

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.

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.

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.

The life and death of Julius Caesar

changes the course of history.

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.

Julius Caesar's response, or lack thereof,

to a dire warning will alter the course of history.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

"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."

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.

In 1571, John Erskine becomes regent ruler

of Scotland on behalf of James,

the five year old King.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Except this time it will come for James' grandson,

another John Erskine.

1800.

John Erskine watches his family home envelop in flames.

Alloa Tower is the only structure

that could endure the blaze.

As John Erskine watched his home burn,

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

who invoked the curse.

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.

With their family home destroyed,

the Erskines abandon Alloa Tower.

The property becomes derelict.

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.

Fortunately, for the Erskines,

the curse also predicted an end to their suffering.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.