All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S07E11.Ghosts.of.the.Cursed.Castle.1080p.DISC.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-DoGSO_track3_[eng]

[Kasper] A decaying facility
first designed
to tame the Wild West.

[music playing]

[Klint Janulis]
There are a lot of
strange contraptions here.

I've seen prisons.

I've seen torture chambers.

This reminds me
a little bit of both.

[Kasper] A stately home
once embroiled
in an audacious plot.

[Prof. Geoff Wawro]
Just kind of walking around.

You're always in danger
of stepping on a
rotted plank or something

and plunging to your death.

[Kasper] And a resort
on the banks of the Dead Sea

[Kasper] And a resort
on the banks of the Dead Sea

collapsing into the abyss.

It opened up, just caved in.

We've got many more.

They're all over the place.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Kasper] Decaying relics.

[music playing]

[Kasper]
Ruins of lost worlds.

Sites haunted
by the past.

Their secrets
waiting to be revealed.

Their secrets
waiting to be revealed.

[music playing]

[Theme music playing]

[Kasper] In Scotland's
Loch Lomond
is the setting

for one
of the strangest stories
of the Second World War.

[serene music playing]

[Prof. Geoff Wawro]
What makes this castle
so bewitching is

how it is almost merged
with nature,
over the years.

how it is almost merged
with nature,
over the years.

It's been basically
encroached upon
by the surrounding woods.

[Fran Scott]
Just to get to it

you've got to climb over
a barbed wire fence

and fight your way
through thorny bushes.

[Kasper] Trespassers
have been beguiled
by the castle ruins,

but it's a place
of hidden dangers.

[Fran Scott]
This is a grand place,

and it's been consumed
by this jungle of a forest.

and it's been consumed
by this jungle of a forest.

It's a bit like
a fairy tale in there.

It's all rather beautiful.

[Dominic Selwood]
But don't let
that beauty fool you.

This place is derelict
and seriously dangerous.

[Dominic Selwood]
There's falling stone
from walls in all directions,

and that is just the danger
that's above you.

Below, you can see
these holes in the floor,

and in some parts
it's caved in completely.

[Kasper] Layers of dirt,
obscure, deadly booby traps,

[Kasper] Layers of dirt,
obscure, deadly booby traps,

a side effect
of being open to the elements.

[Dominic Selwood] Most places
you stand in the building,
you can see the sky.

There are three or four floors
above you,
but they're just gone.

[Prof. Geoff Wawro] And one
of the most striking features
is as you walk in

there's this massive beam,
presumably from the roof,

that is just toppled down
into the interior,
into the keep of this castle.

It's just kind of
stuck in the ground.

[Kasper] A historic castle
on the edge of collapse,

[Kasper] A historic castle
on the edge of collapse,

still standing
to tell its story.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Kasper] Today,
visitors aren't welcome
in the castle ruins,

but 80 years ago
it was safe haven
for hundreds of people.

During the Second World War,
this was used
as a military hospital,

but the building
is much older than that.

[Kasper] John Carruthers
preserves the history of the
Loch Lomond region.

[Kasper] John Carruthers
preserves the history of the
Loch Lomond region.

This is the first time
he's been allowed
inside the grounds.

[Dominic Selwood]
It has these beautiful,
almost gothic stone walls

and spiral staircases.

And scattered on the floor

are these Victorian looking
metal brackets

are these Victorian looking
metal brackets

that were once used
for holding up the ceiling.

[John Carruthers speaking]

[Fran Scott] Then we find
the old entrance room.

It's a huge base
with a beautiful
grand fireplace.

This wasn't only built
as a place for sick people.

This wasn't only built
as a place for sick people.

[Kasper]
This is Buchanan Castle.

It's a name that reverberates
in local folklore.

Because Buchanan is the name
of one of Scotland's
proud clan families.

[Prof. Geoff Wawro] Clans
themselves were
more like tribes.

[Prof. Geoff Wawro] Clans
themselves were
more like tribes.

And to be a member
of a clan like to
Buchanan clan,

you could be Buchanan
by blood.

Or you could be Buchanan
by alliance and affiliation.

[John speaking]

[John laughs]

[Narrator] The clan chiefs
were de facto kings of
their lands.

They built these castles
to rule from.

[Wawro] The Buchanans have
a very active history in
Scotland,

dating back to the
1400s.

when they make a
very risky move

to ally with the French
against the English,

which you know,
was fraught with peril

because the English
were closer to hand,

they had bigger armies,

they were always agitating
on the frontier,

they were always agitating
on the frontier,

so this could have meant
disaster for the
Buchanan clan.

[Narrator] But it wasn't
the English who left
this place in ruin.

[Narrator] The Buchanan
dynasty was over

and their family home
would share its fate.

A neighboring clan
purchased the land

and built a new castle,
which still stands in ruins.

[John speaking]

[Narrator] The Newcastle
became a house of leisure.

But in the second World War
it would be repurposed as
a field hospital.

And on one evening
in 1941,

a doctor serving here
received an unusual patient.

[Selwood] On May 12,
Dr. J. Gibson-Graham

was stationed
at Buchanan Castle,

now called
the Drymen Military Hospital.

A pilot was brought to him,
going by the name of
Alfred Horn,

A pilot was brought to him,
going by the name of
Alfred Horn,

who'd injured himself when
bailing out of his aircraft
over a wheat field.

[narrator] The Doctor noted
in his memoir

that his patient was
a sallow man of good physique,

and he spoke good English.

[narrator] Alfred Horn's
real name was

Rudolf Hess,
deputy leader of Nazi Germany,

and he'd come here
to meet on old friend.

[narrator] In 1941,
Buchanan Castle was in use
as a field hospital.

Its newest patient
was a German pilot
who landed in a wheat field.

He said his name was
Alfred Horn.

[John speaking]

[narrator] After his injuries
were seen to,

Horn was taken
for questioning.

There, he revealed
his true identity.

His name was
Rudolf Walter Richard Hess,

second in command of
the Third Reich.

[John speaking]

[Selwood] Dr. Gibson-Graham
was put in charge
of Hess' case,

and it appears the two
formed something of a bond.

As Hess told the Doctor
his entire story.

[Scott] Hess joined
the Nazi party very early on.

And formed a close friendship
with a young Adolf Hitler.

And formed a close friendship
with a young Adolf Hitler.

Some people have called him
Hitler's most loyal follower.

[narrator] But after the Nazis
came to power,

Hess's influence on the Fuhrer
had diminished.

[Wawro]
He was a very weak man,

and he was being pushed up
by more aggressive Nazis

like Goring, like Himmler,
like Bormann.

And so it's been speculated
that he flew to Scotland

basically to try to win
favor with Hitler.

[narrator] Hess's plan
was to meet someone

[narrator] Hess's plan
was to meet someone

who had influence over
the British prime minister.

He was looking
for the Duke of Hamilton,

[Wawro]
The Dukes of Hamilton,

they are one of the ancient
Scottish noble families.

He's met the Duke of Hamilton
and receptions in the past.

But as it turns out,

the Duke of Hamilton
has no interest

in helping Rudolf Hess.

When informed
of this plan,

he's doesn't want
to get his hands dirty,

refuses to be helpful.

[Selwood] This was a huge
blow to Hess.

[Selwood] This was a huge
blow to Hess.

He'd come all this way,
risked his life,

disobeyed his Fuhrer,

only to be given
the cold shoulder by the Duke.

[narrator] With or without
the help of the Duke.

Word reached Churchill
that Hess was in Britain,

but the deputies offer
for peace was ignored.

[Wawro] Churchill says,
I don't want
to hear from Rudolf Hess.

That would look bad.
I've committed to fighting
these people on the beaches,

on the landing grounds,
never surrendering.

Why do I want to negotiate
with this sort of fallen Nazi.

[narrator]
Hess's plan had failed.

[Wawro] When the mission
is revealed to Hitler.

He's aghast,
ashamed, baffled.

He's aghast,
ashamed, baffled.

Tries to cover it up
as long as possible.

But the British
advertised the news

that they have this head of
the Nazi Party in captivity.

And so, predictably,
Dr. Joseph Goebbels,

the head
of Nazi propaganda,

comes out
and totally disowns Hess.

He says, he's crazy,
he says, we have no idea
how this happened.

[narrator]
With his mission of failure

and his career
in ruin,

the disgraced
Rudolf Hess

could only confide
in one friend.

[Selwood] So on May, 17th,
Hess and Dr. Gibson Graham

left Buchanan House

and started
a new journey

to the Tower of London.

[birds chirping]

[birds chirping]

[narrator] Rudolf Hess
spent the rest of his life
in prison.

After the war
Drymen Military Hospital
was decommissioned

and the castle
fell into disrepair.

[narrator] Now all that's left
of Buchanan Castle

is an empty shell
waiting to collapse.

Set back from the shores
of the Dead Sea.

Decaying structures
create a chilling scene.

[Meigs] This place looks like
the set of a disaster movie.

[Meigs] This place looks like
the set of a disaster movie.

The roads and bridges
are falling down.

You see the carcasses
of buildings,

dead trees,
empty swimming pools.

[Janulis] There's empty
abandoned shops,

roads with holes in them
that look like craters,

and IED or bombs.

Everything's just
falling apart here.

[Scott]
There are security fences,
warning signs,

whole areas of the town,
which are off limits.

[Meigs] It's not clear
what happened here,

[Meigs] It's not clear
what happened here,

but it's keeping
all the people away.

[narrator] Has this site
in the famously troubled
West Bank

been caught up
in conflict?

It becomes apparent
the creators

extend well beyond
the roadside.

And then here
and there you see

strings of weird holes
in the ground.

[Scott] There are huge
craters in the ground,

some of them even
in the middle of the beach.

[Meigs] Your first instinct
is to think

[Meigs] Your first instinct
is to think

these must be manmade,
they're so regular.

[narrator]
But the warning signs

and the cordoned off
nature of the site

clearly indicates
that the danger isn't over.

[Scott] To go beyond
those fences

would be like
entering a minefield.

You just don't know
what you'll be stepping onto.

[Meigs] This whole area
is in the grip

of some
powerful forces,

but what are they?

[narrator]
Despite the warning signs
and eerily quiet air,

the empty
remains display

an infrastructure built
for crowds of people.

You can clearly see
the logistics of this place

are set up for tourism.

There's restaurants,
pools, bars,

Everything you'd want
in a nice seaside resort.

[Trotsky]
We have no electricity today,

so the fence
is a closed.

I will have to go around
the receptions area

I will have to go around
the receptions area

to go into the beach
and pool area.

So why don't you follow me?
We'll go in.

[narrator] Dr. Arthur Trotsky
is part owner

of the Mineral beach resort
in the occupied West Bank.

This is what's left
of the office.

This used to be
a beautiful, modern,
air conditioned office.

Okay, let's take
a look over here,

you'll see
the restaurant.

This was an amphitheater

and we step musical
performances on the stage.

We'd actually have
the whole theater filled up

and chairs
and we'd have those.

Quite good
for the evenings

Dead sea, stars, the wind,
the breeze, beautiful.

[narrator] But the fact
that all this infrastructure

is empty
and disintegrating

is empty
and disintegrating

isn't the only thing
that's wrong here.

It appears to be
strangely setback

several hundred feet
from the beach.

Okay,
this was the water line,

right end of the bridge here,
this was a lifeguard tower.

And these umbrellas
were right on the beach.

That's how high
the water was.

[narrator] The water line
has dropped so much

that some resort owners

have physically
moved infrastructure

to try and stay
close to the water.

But in 2014,

Arthur's resort
was struck

by an entirely
different catastrophe.

[Scott] These dropping
water levels

kicked off
a chain reaction.

Nobody saw coming.

[narrator]
December 29th, 2014.

Arthur Trotsky is relaxing
at his resort Mineral beach

on the banks
of the Dead Sea

when the peace
is suddenly shattered.

[Trotsky]
I was sitting in a cafe.

I heard this loud crash,

so I ran out here
and I saw this huge sinkhole.

[narrator]
Resorts along the coast

had been dealing
with a dropping water level

for many years.

Now, a new phenomenon

was threatening
their lively hoods.

[Trotsky]
You see this in the middle
of the parking lot?

We've got many more
over there.

The massage rooms
went down into sinkholes.

The beach has sinkholes.

They're all over
the place.

[narrator]
The receding water line

and sinkholes
are connected.

But the root cause
of both phenomena

But the root cause
of both phenomena

is neither simple
nor obvious.

[Scott] The fast dropping
water level alone

isn't why these places
are abandoned,

but it is part
of the story.

From here on,
you must follow me

exactly to walk
on my footprints.

Okay?

Because there are a lot
of hazards here.

And that's why
you must follow me, okay?

[narrator] With around
400 sinkholes

appearing along
the western coast every year,

this area south
of Mineral Beach in Israel

is out of bounds
to all but a few experts.

[Eli] It's happened to me
to find myself

in the bottom
of the sinkhole.

Covered by a pile
of avalanche above me.

[narrator]
Eli Raz is a geologist

and has spent decades

studying the causes
of these collapses.

studying the causes
of these collapses.

The very reason
for the sinkholes appearance

is the drop in the level
of the Dead sea

which is a man-made problem.

Now beneath there
is a subterranean salt layer.

[narrator] The problem here
lies with this layer of salt.

And it's a byproduct

of the Dead Sea's
remarkable geology.

This is a rift valley

similar to Death Valley
in the U.S.

or the Great Rift Valley
in Africa.

It's a place
where tectonic plates

It's a place
where tectonic plates

are pulling apart

and the earth
is dropping away.

In some cases,
even below sea level.

This is the lowest place
you can stand on earth

and yet underwater it goes
down another thousand feet.

[narrator]
Gravity, then does the rest.

[Meigs] All the water
that flows in here

carries with it some minerals
and salts that it's picked up

as it trickled through
the rocks and desert.

But then the sun
beats down on the water.

The water starts
to evaporate,

The water starts
to evaporate,

the minerals and salts
stay behind.

That's the reason
the ocean is salty.

Things flow into it,
but they can't flow out.

But this dead sea
is ten times

as salty as the oceans.

[narrator] Crystals
and chunks of salt

found at places
like Mineral Beach

reflect this high
salt level.

It's what gives the Dead Sea
it's fame.

[Meigs] This area
has been believed
to have healing properties

for thousands of years.

Cleopatra actually was said
to have set up a resort here,

Cleopatra actually was said
to have set up a resort here,

so she could visit the healing
waters of the Dead Sea.

[narrator]
But the sinkholes

are a relatively
new phenomenon.

So why has this
high salt content

and dropping
water level

only recently
become so dangerous?

[Eli] As long as
the Dead Sea water

was high enough

they penetrated to the area
and protected the salt player.

The problem
for the Dead Sea

The problem
for the Dead Sea

is that it depends
on a source of water,

and that main source of water
is the River Jordan.

All along the way,
water is being taken out

for drinking water
for farming.

Farms in Jordan
farms in Israel,

and the occupied
West Bank.

[Eli] The Jordan River
is blocked now.

There are dams
on the Jordan River

and other tributaries.

And water continuously
evaporating back.

There is no water
coming anymore.

[Meigs] So now,
instead of having the water

[Meigs] So now,
instead of having the water

in some
kind of balance,

we have more
water evaporating

every year
than is coming in,

and the difference
is dramatic.

The Dead Sea
is sinking at a rate

of almost a meter
a year.

[narrator]
As the sea water disappears,

groundwater
takes its place.

This has
a devastating impact

on the layer of salt
under the ground.

When the Dead Sea
level is high,

that stops
fresh ground water

that stops
fresh ground water

getting to this
layer of salt

but when the levels
of the Dead Sea receded,

this fresh water
could now get to the salt

and cause
it to dissolve.

As it dissolved it left huge
hollows in the ground

and it was only
a matter of time

before the ground
above collapsed.

[Eli] The first
sinkhole that I saw

appear in 1981.

appear in 1981.

But since then the rate
of sinkholes appearance

accelerated very much.

There is no other place
upon the earth

where this formation
of sinkholes is so rapid.

[narrator] They have almost
cost Eli his life.

But the real cost has come
to the tourism industry,

The most
remarkable damage

is the damage
to tourism.

The Dead Sea invoked here
a lot of tourists,

and now
they are prevented.

We cannot access
the sea shore.

[narrator] Ironically,
it is the very salt

that causes sinkholes
to open up

that will also save
the Dead Sea from drying up.

[Scott] What's interesting
here is the Dead Sea

won't ever
disappear completely

won't ever
disappear completely

because as the level
gets lower,

the salt concentration
gets higher.

And so the water becomes
less likely to evaporate.

But the damage
has already been done

to people's homes
and livelihoods.

[intense music playing]

[narrator]
In the United Kingdom

is a city concealing a true
engineering mystery.

is a city concealing a true
engineering mystery.

[Jerram] This is one
of the iconic
cities of the world.

Liverpool.

A completely urbanized,
built up area.

It would be
really surprised

at what you can find
under your seat.

[Polly] Just off the center
of Liverpool

is this facade
that's still standing

that's missing the rest
of its building.

[narrator] This'll facade
is the gateway

to an underground maze

to an underground maze

where the clues
don't seem to add up.

[Auerbach]
These are very complex,

convoluted passages.

It really feels
like a labyrinth,

you know,
like one of those dreams.

That you just keep
running down.

There's another corridor,
another corridor,

and you never
get to the end of it.

[Jerram] You look up
and you see that
there's ornate structures.

There's brick work
that's been finely designed.

There's arches.

There's something quite
grandeur about these,

even though it seems
dark and dingy at first look.

even though it seems
dark and dingy at first look.

[narrator] The dirt and rubble
lay in contrast

to the elaborate
architecture,

but artifacts on display

could give a clue
to these tunnels pasts.

[Polly] There's a whole
collection of trinkets

that have been
found down here

that date back
over a hundred years.

Bits of China, bottles.

All these signs of a life
that was once lived.

[narrator]
A subterranean network

undisturbed for over
a century,

a time capsule
on a grand scale.

a time capsule
on a grand scale.

[Jerram] This is one
of the best kept secrets

in Britain, really.

I actually studied
in this town

and knew nothing about it
in the late '90s.

It's a secret that was kept
for over one hundred years.

[narrator] The stories
of this place

are bloody and dark.

but the search
for the truth

would lead somewhere
nobody could have predicted.

[narrator] In Liverpool
is a tunnel system

that history
nearly forgot.

In the 1800s,

international trade
had put the city on the map,

but not everyone
here was prospering.

[Polly] Liverpool
is rapidly expanding

and is one of England's
largest port cities.

It's very bourgeoisie
business is booming,

It's very bourgeoisie
business is booming,

and the population
is expanding.

[Auerbach] Edge Hill was one
of the poorest of these areas,

but it had at least
one resident

that was doing well
for himself,

and his name
was Joseph Williamson.

[narrator] Joseph Williamson
was the son of a glass maker.

At eleven years old,

he came to the city
of Liverpool
to find his fortune.

[Auerbach] Joseph Williamson
had worked his way up

the business ladder largely
through the tobacco trade,

the business ladder largely
through the tobacco trade,

and by 1803 he was a very
wealthy man.

He saw the poverty
and suffering of Edge Hill,

and he decided
to do something about it.

[keys jingle]

[narrator] Tom Stapleton
is part of a group

who have been unraveling

the history of these tunnels
for 20 years.

[Stapleton]
Williamson appears to have

perhaps become
a philanthropist by default.

perhaps become
a philanthropist by default.

He was always happy
to give a man a day's pay

after they've done
a day's work,

but he would not
give handouts.

He was not in the business
of handouts to charity.

[Jerram]
One of the early theories

about how these
tunnels came to be

was that he wanted
to give people the chance

to work for that money,
not a freebie.

And so he paid people
hands on labor

to come
and make these tunnels.

[narrator] Stories
of Williamson's philanthropy

[narrator] Stories
of Williamson's philanthropy

are legendary,

But some think
this could be a cover

to hide the real purpose
of his underground chambers.

During Williamson's time,
Liverpool was a hot bed

of Christian sectarianism
and even extremism.

[narrator]
While religious unrest
swept Liverpool streets.

Williamson,
himself a Protestant,
continued digging.

[Auerbach]
What's strange about
these excavations, though,

[Auerbach]
What's strange about
these excavations, though,

is they're not
in some remote location.

The tunnels all lead directly
to Williamson's house.

[Stapleton]
We're now in what we

are calling
a sunken back yard

at the back
of Williamson's house.

And through this bay
window here,

We're looking into
a very large kitchen area,

um, in the basements
of what was

his three-story Georgian house
above here.

his three-story Georgian house
above here.

[Jerram] He lived alone
with his wife.

So, why would you need to have
such a big kitchen area
just beneath your house?

What was the need for that?

[Stapleton] It's quite
an enormous space,
really, for a kitchen,

and it contains this
wonderful array
of four cooking ranges,

which really was, I suppose,
I have to say,
a complete mystery

and a surprise to us
when we uncovered it.

[Auerbach] It became a bit
of a local legend

[Auerbach] It became a bit
of a local legend

that Williamson had some type
of end-of-days cult going,

that he and his followers
were seeking to prepare
themselves for Armageddon.

And the story ran
that all this
underground construction

was that so
they'd have a refuge.

[narrator] Williamson's
secrecy invited speculation,

but rumors of the occult
were never proven.

[Auerbach] We may not know
what they were for,

[Auerbach] We may not know
what they were for,

but we know that Williamson
wanted to keep them a secret.

One of his friends
even threatened
to sue a writer

who was gonna publish
a story about them.

And that report remained
unpublished for years.

[narrator] Joseph Williamson
took the secret of his tunnels
to the grave.

[Jerram] Williamson was busy
beavering away

with these tunnels
until his wife died.

with these tunnels
until his wife died.

And then, he started
to do less and less,

and then, himself,
he died in 1840,

and that's when
the tunneling stopped.

And so, it's from
that point onwards

that the tunnels sort of
disappeared into folklore.

[narrator] For 150 years,
the tunnels lay forgotten

under the streets
of Liverpool.

But in 1999,
they would be rediscovered

and their true purpose
finally revealed.

[narrator] Buried in Liverpool
is a 200-year-old
subterranean palace

that had been lost to time.

But in 1999,
workers on a building site

discovered a hole
in the ground.

[Stapleton] Under
this car park,

that area under these two
parking bays, 14 and 15,

is roughly where this big hole
in the ground was.

is roughly where this big hole
in the ground was.

It was just big enough
to drop a ladder through,

and for a fairly slim man

to squeeze his way
through the hole,

and realize that he was
into something important.

[Ha] So, when they
actually found the tunnels,

it was like
stumbling across Atlantis.

It opened up
a whole underground world,

and that was just
the tip of the iceberg.

[Stapleton] I remember
when I arrived here

before any excavation started,

before any excavation started,

I could say there was
a pile of rubble
from there to there.

Uh, you could sort of
clamber over the top of it
for a few yards here.

And then beyond that,
to the far end,
it was exactly up to there.

You could look along it
and maybe see the end,
but you couldn't.

You couldn't get over it.

[narrator] The team
of amateur archaeologists

began removing hundreds
of tons of dirt by hand.

[Ha] After chipping away,
they finally found
the tunnel floor.

[Ha] After chipping away,
they finally found
the tunnel floor.

But that was
just the first level.

They found another.

This was a multi-leveled
tunneling system.

[Stapleton] At that time,
it was absolutely impossible

for anybody to judge
just how deep

this cellar system
might end up being.

And it was years
and years later,

before we finally
emptied it out,

and realized the full depths
of what we'd discovered.

[narrator] As the team
dug deeper,

the true origin story
of these tunnels
was becoming clear.

the true origin story
of these tunnels
was becoming clear.

[Stapleton] As we lowered
to this level,

bit by bit in this chamber,

it became apparent
for the very first time to us

what he was doing.

He was going to vault
over here in these
brick arches,

and then, pop two layers
of [indistinct] above,

and then, four-story buildings
on top of that.

[narrator] They discovered
stone buttresses
strong enough,

to stop the ground
from falling in.

to stop the ground
from falling in.

But that didn't explain
how the tunnels got there
in the first place.

However, the team still
hadn't reached the bottom.

It's only when they went
a bit deeper

that the purpose
was finally revealed.

[Stapleton] We discovered
this floor here,

which consists of three
large blocks of stone.

One over there,
the one we're standing on
and one behind.

One over there,
the one we're standing on
and one behind.

They're not
real rock formations,

they've clearly been
carved out of the rock.

[narrator] Beneath Edge Hill
is a material

prized for its malleability
and fine finish.

That material is sandstone.

It appears that Williamson
was extracting the stone

to extend his own estates.

Not only for himself,
but for the whole community.

[Stapleton] We don't know
how much of this went on,

but we do know for sure
that he donated

all of the stone
that was needed

all of the stone
that was needed

to build one
of the local churches.

That's St. Jude's Church,

which was just a few
hundred yards down the road.

[narrator] The secret
of the Williamsons' tunnels
appeared to be solved.

But some mysteries
about this place
might never be explained.

[Stapleton] One thing that
really intrigues me

is this this appeared to be
a process that was going on
in full-swing.

They were obviously working
on three blocks of stone

or four blocks of stone
all at once,

or four blocks of stone
all at once,

and then, suddenly stopped.

And I found that
a very intriguing question.

We'd like to know answers.

But I'm afraid we never will.

[narrator] After
Joseph Williamson's death,

the digging stopped
and the tunnels would
disappear from memory.

Nearly two centuries after
Joseph Williamson's death,

the legend of his tunnels

still captures the imagination
of Liverpudlians,

still captures the imagination
of Liverpudlians,

and the search
for the truth continues.

[Stapleton] We believe
that there are other spaces
which are a lot bigger.

There's a great tunnel,
which we know of,

and we hope it still exists,

and we're having great trouble
trying to find it.

And we haven't been able
to find a way into yet,

but we're determined
to find it.

[narrator] On the southern
plains of Wyoming,

lies a sinister building
designed to tame
the untamable.

[Jim Meigs] We're really out
in the middle of nowhere.

It's a beautiful country,
the Wild West.

But here, in the midst
of all this natural beauty,

we also see an outpost
of barbed wire
and guard towers.

[Klint Janulis]
We're looking at a building

that sticks out of the prairie
like a sore thumb.

that sticks out of the prairie
like a sore thumb.

The walls of this place
are built of stone slabs

that were quarried
from the local bedrock.

Very strong,
almost impenetrable.

You can imagine
cattle and cowboys

roaming around
on these plains.

But this building tells us
a whole other story.

[narrator] H ow dark
that story is starts
to become clear

once you walk inside.

[Ha] There's a chamber
that looks like

[Ha] There's a chamber
that looks like

some kind of human-size
pressure cooker.

And there's all these other
strange sorts of contraptions.

[Meigs] One room is
particularly creepy.

There's not much left in it.

There's kind of
an ominous hook
hanging from the ceiling.

A square on the floor.

And then a window
looking out across
the beautiful countryside.

[Janulis] As a soldier
in the invasion of Iraq,

I saw a lot of prisons
and torture chambers.

And this place reminds me
a little bit of both.

I would hate to be
inside this thing.

I would hate to be
inside this thing.

[narrator] So, who was
locked up in here?

And what horror did
these walls bear witness to?

In the middle
of the 19th century,

the northern frontier
of America

was a land of opportunity,

but it wasn't
for the faint-hearted.

[Janulis] When
the frontier was opened,

the only people
that would go out there

were the people
who were foolhardy, brave

were the people
who were foolhardy, brave

or trying to escape
from something.

The criminals were going
out there because
there was no law.

[narrator] It was
these people that gave
the Wild West its name.

[Ha] They're used to taking
the law into their own hands.

With quick draws, lynchings
and cash rewards for killings.

But there's change
on the horizon.

[narrator] As the
20th century approached,

the territory's government
hoped to join the Union,

and the population
was growing weary

and the population
was growing weary

of Wyoming's wild side.

[Janulis] The problem
was that you still had
your criminal element.

And these people
didn't wanna live

amongst a bunch
of lawless criminals.

[Ha] This is
a turning point in history.

We're at a crossroads.

The West was known
for being wild for a reason,

but it needed to be tamed.

[narrator] For their
plan to work,

something dramatic
had to be done,

and this site
was at the heart of it all.

The Wyoming
State Penitentiary.

The Wyoming
State Penitentiary.

[Janulis] This building
was meant to lock up

the wild elements
of the American West,

making it safe
for merchants and farmers
to come settle the area.

[narrator] Tina Hill
is an expert in the
history of the building.

[Hill] Now,
we're in Cell Block A.

It's our original cell block.

All of our cells could be
locked and unlocked

by the bar called
the Johnson bar.

-When the bar is up,
all the cells are locked.
-[door rattles]

Pull the bar down,
all the cells are unlocked.

Pull the bar down,
all the cells are unlocked.

The cells are five-by-seven.

We would have two to a cell.

We did not have hot water.

It was very cold in A block.

We're the only
state penitentiary in Wyoming,

so we had everyone.

This was a minimum, medium,
maximum security penitentiary.

We had people here
for forgery.

We had people here
for first-degree murder.

[narrator] And mixed in
amongst these ranks

were some colorful characters.

One of our most infamous
inmates was Bill Carlisle.

One of our most infamous
inmates was Bill Carlisle.

He was a train robber.

He robbed
the Union Pacific Railroad
four different times.

He wound up
escaping from here.

Got put in a shirt crate.

They put the crate
on the train,

which is right
down the street.

He popped out of the crate,
robbed the train
and escaped.

[narrator] Trying to civilize
Wyoming's wild element
was never going to be easy.

Escape attempts
were common occurrences.

[Hill] We had
a mass escape in 1912.

[Hill] We had
a mass escape in 1912.

At the time,
our penitentiary

was surrounded
by a wooden stockade.

Twenty inmates
escaped through a hole

that they had broken
through on the stockade.

People were out
on the streets,

shooting at anyone
they didn't recognize

because they just assumed
they were escaped inmates.

[narrator] Most of the inmates
were soon captured,

but a few managed
to flee the town
after a violent encounter.

[Hill] One resident was shot
and killed by the inmates.

Four inmates escaped.

Two of 'em came back deceased.

Two of 'em came back deceased.

The other two
they never found again.

[narrator] A stone wall
was soon built to replace
the old wooden stockade.

But for some, it was clear
that simply locking up

violent criminals
wasn't enough.

[Ha] So, the prison
needed something else
to deal with these cowboys,

and why not churn something
from the past into the future?

[narrator] Torture
and execution

[narrator] Torture
and execution

were about to become
this prison's calling card.

[narrator] In Southern Wyoming
stands the old state prison.

Built to tame
the wilder elements
of the population,

soon after the turn
of the 20th century,

a decision was made
to upgrade the facility.

[Meigs] In 1916,
the prison expanded.

They added a death house

where they could house
the worst prisoners,

those with death sentences,

those with death sentences,

and they could
carry out executions.

It was a time in US history
when executions
were on the rise.

[narrator] While execution
was an accepted punishment,

the method of killing
was open to interpretation.

One of the stranger ways
of executing somebody

in the American West
was the Julian Gallows.

It was basically
a sort of mousetrap
self-execution platform.

[narrator] Designed so that
the condemned inmate

would start their own
execution process,

would start their own
execution process,

only a few features
of the elaborate
system remain.

They would slip a noose
around their neck

and step onto a trap door

knowing that they would
fall through that door,

and hopefully snap their neck.

[narrator] By stepping
on the platform,

a chain reaction
was started in the room below,

using water, weights
and pulleys.

Ultimately, it would
end in the collapse

of the support structure
beneath the trap door.

His weight would start
a bucket of water underneath

His weight would start
a bucket of water underneath

to start draining out.

It would take about a minute
to a minute-and-a-half

for the bucket of water
to empty out.

The trapdoor
would spring open,

the man would fall through
and down he would go.

[Meigs] The Julian Gallows
that they installed
in the prison

was poorly designed.

There wasn't much distance
for the prisoners to drop.

More than once,
prisoners experienced

the hell of not having
their neck broken,

and slowly strangling
at the end of the noose.

[narrator] In total,
nine men were killed
using this device.

[narrator] In total,
nine men were killed
using this device.

But soon deemed too inhumane,

a unique contraption
nearby shows how

the business of execution
was being modernized.

[Ha] Just as the
foundations of the prison
are being laid down,

eugenics is
starting to catch on.

This is the idea
that we should select

who is genetically
superior and inferior,

and eliminate the undesirables
to improve the human race.

Unfortunately, that
dangerous idea

coincided with
the development

of chemical warfare
in the First World War.

of chemical warfare
in the First World War.

All of this set the context
for the development
of the gas chamber.

It was an attempt
to be more scientific,
more clinical.

If anything, it was
worse than hanging.

[narrator] Installed
in the 1930s,

this gas chamber
was meant to provide

a more humane system
of execution.

But did it?

[Hill] The inmates
were brought in,

strapped down by their chest,
arms and legs.

strapped down by their chest,
arms and legs.

Underneath the chair
was a pan of sulfuric acid
mixed with water.

When it was time,
the warden would
pull this lever

and a cheesecloth sack
of cyanide towels

would drop down
into the acid.

Hydrocyanic acid gas
would then be formed.

In about 30 seconds,
a man was unconscious.

Two-and-a-half
to three minutes,
he was dead.

[Janulis] The other aspect
of this gas chamber

was it had a window
for public viewing.

If you can imagine the scene,

a bunch of people
sitting in chairs

a bunch of people
sitting in chairs

watching a single person
in that room

as it slowly fills with gas.

And they clutch
at their own throats

as they convulse
and defecate and urinate.

That was a public execution
in 1936.

[narrator] Use of
the gas chamber
continued until 1965.

And all those
encountering that fate
spent their final days here.

Right now,
we're in the bullpen
for death row.

This is where you would be
waiting for your execution.

This is where you would be
waiting for your execution.

You're in your cell
24 hours a day.

If you were behaving,
they would allow you

to come out here
to the bullpen

to exercise for an hour.

Inmates were up here
between three months

and a year-and-a-half
waiting for their execution.

[Janulis] Imagine living
that psychological burden,

of knowing your death
is on the horizon,

the exact date,
and there's nothing
you can do about it.

[narrator] In 1981,
the frontier prison
was deemed outdated,

[narrator] In 1981,
the frontier prison
was deemed outdated,

and its doors were closed
for the final time.

Throughout its life,
thousands had been
incarcerated here,

and an unlucky few
had paid the ultimate price.

While the prison story
ended years ago,

the death penalty
still remains.

[Hill] As long as Wyoming
has been able to decide

whether or not
we were gonna have
capital punishment,

whether or not
we were gonna have
capital punishment,

the state of Wyoming has
always had capital punishment.

[narrator] Wyoming
is now in the minority.

[Janulis] Death sentences
are decided on state-by-state.

And most of the United States
have abolished them.

As a result,
they've fallen 85%

over the last 25 years.

[Ha] We still
have so far to go.

Liberty and justice for all.

It's an aspiration.
It's an ideal.

What's so frightening for me

is that what
horrifies us today

is that what
horrifies us today

was seen
as perfectly acceptable,

even progressive,
in the past.

But what progress
have we made

when we give anyone
the legal right

to take the life of another?