The Why Files: Operation Podcast - THREE STORIES: The Most Mysterious Children in History

Episode Date: August 18, 2022

In 12th century England, two children were found lost in a forest. They spoke only gibberish, wore strange clothing and had bright green skin. When the children finally learned to speak English, they described where they were from. And that's why, after almost 1,000 years, people still talk about The Green Children of Woolpit.   In 1828, a teenage boy was shuffling through a public square in Nuremburg. He seemed confused and disoriented. He had trouble walking and speaking. When police finally approached him, he was holding an envelope containing two letters. And those letters sparked the mystery of Kaspar Hauser.   In April 1922, in Brittany, France, 2-year-old Pauline Picard went missing. A massive search turned up nothing. The family was losing hope.   A month later, Pauline was found wandering around a village over 200 miles away. Though her parents were overjoyed to have her back, they soon realized something wasn't quite right with their daughter.   These are three unsolved cases of the most mysterious children in history. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thewhyfiles/support

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Right, and Hecklefish. We just wanted to tell you that if you want to start a podcast, Spotify makes it easy. It'd have to be easy for humans to understand it. Will you stop that? I'm just saying. Spotify for Podcasters lets you record and edit podcasts from your computer. I don't have a computer. Do you have a phone? Of course

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I got a packed calendar today. I'm sorry about him. Anyway, check out Spotify for Podcasters. It's free, no catch, and a packed calendar today. I'm sorry about him. Anyway, check out Spotify for podcasters. It's free, no catch, and you could start today. Are we done? We're done, but you need to check your attitude. Excuse me, but I don't have all day to sit here and talk about Spotify. This would go a lot faster if you would just let me get through it. In 12th century England, two children were found lost in a forest. They spoke only gibberish, wore strange clothing, and had bright green skin.

When the children finally learned to speak English, they described where they were from. And that's why, after almost a thousand years, people still talk about the green children of Woolpin. In 1828, a teenage boy was shuffling through a public square in Nuremberg. He seemed confused and disoriented. He had trouble walking and speaking. When police finally approached him, he was holding an envelope containing two letters, and those letters sparked the mystery of Caspar Hauser. In April 1922, in Brittany, France, two-year-old Pauline Picard went missing. A massive search turned up nothing. The family was losing hope.

A month later, Pauline was found wandering around a village over 200 miles away. Though her parents were overjoyed to have her back, they soon realized something wasn't quite right about their daughter. These are three unsolved cases of the most mysterious children in history. In the 12th century, Woolpit was a densely populated area in England's Suffolk County. One day, a local farmer discovered two frightened children, a boy and a girl, who seemed lost in the forest. As the farmer approached, he noticed a few unusual details about the children. They wore clothing of a style and color that had never been seen before, but what was most unsettling, the children had bright green skin. Martians! I'm not even one minute into this thing

yet. Hey, I can smell Martian babies a mile away. Can I just, can I just give you the information before you jump to a conclusion? Go ahead. I don't mind telling you I told you so. When the farmer tried to speak to the children, they couldn't understand him. They spoke only gibberish. Martian. The children were brought to the home of Sir Richard de Calne, a local wealthy landowner who agreed to take them in. And though the green children were clearly starving, they refused to eat. Oh, they didn't have any Martian food in the pantry. After eating nothing for several days, Sir Richard's cook brought in a bundle of beanstalks. The children got excited at the sight of these and ate green beans and nothing but green beans

raw for months. And gradually, Sir Richard introduced a greater variety of food into their diet and their health improved. Even the green tint of their skin went away. The boy became depressed, ill, and soon passed away, but the girl stayed healthy and strong. Sir Richard and his family continued looking after the mysterious girl and started to teach her English. Finally able to communicate, Sir Richard set out to unravel the mystery of the green children of Wolpit. When Sir Richard asked the girl who she was and where she was from, it didn't sound like any place on earth. The young girl who took the name Agnes learned to speak English and told Sir Richard her story. The young boy traveling with her was her brother. They were looking after their father's flock when they found a cave. That's when they heard the sound of bells

which Agnes described as the most beautiful and unusual sound she'd ever heard. They followed the sound of the bells through the cavern. When they exited the other side, Agnes said they felt transported to another world that was nothing like their own. Agnes said she came from an underground

village called St. Martin's Land. St. Martian's Land? St. Martin's Land. St. Martian's League? St. Martin's. She said all the inhabitants of St. Martin's Land lived underground and had green skin. Above ground, the land existed in perpetual twilight. Though lacking strong daylight, the landscape in her world was lush and green. And there have been a few theories as to where the children came from. The villagers thought they were from a fairyland.

Entrances to fairyland were often in densely wooded areas, so many of the villagers truly believed this theory. Another more modern theory is that the children somehow slipped into an alternate universe, where the world on their side has a much different climate than ours. This explains the strange clothes, the strange language, and the difficulty eating our food. And the most current theory is... Aliens. Yep.

Obviously aliens. Yes, that is one of the more popular theories. Agnes was able to adapt to life on Earth, but her brother couldn't. Even though the story of the children of Woolpit is considered folklore, we do have details about them from credible sources. Ralph of Coggeshall interviewed Sir Richard himself, and he wrote long passages about the green children, how they were tending their flock, heard the bells, and wandered into a cavern. When they emerged, they were struck by the brightness of the sun and the warmth of the

air. When they heard the villagers coming toward them, they tried to flee, but they couldn't find the entrance to the cave. Another source is historian William of Newburgh, and though he lived on the opposite side of the country, his telling is remarkably similar to Ralph's. Now, Ralph's writing style is colorful and exaggerated. He includes stories of pirates and zombies, so he highlights the supernatural elements of the legend. But William of Newburgh's writing is more grounded. William wrote like a journalist, just the facts, no flair.

Oh, so you have to go back a thousand years to find journalists who actually report facts, huh? It would seem so. The stories differ on what happened to Agnes later in life. In one account, she stays in the service of Sir Richard for many years. In another version of the story, she marries an English diplomat. Now, unsurprisingly, every time the story is told, details are changed and added.

But the original works by Ralph of Coggeshall and William of Newburgh are considered the most reliable. So, no debunking? Maybe. I'm going to give you as many facts as I can,

but remember, these three cases are technically still unsolved. On May 26th, 1828, in what is now Nuremberg, Germany, a teenage boy was shuffling around town. He walked like a toddler and was mumbling nonsense. When police finally approached him, the picture didn't add up. The boy was dressed like he'd been living on the street. His shoes were so worn that he had trouble walking. But he also had an expensive silk handkerchief with the initials KH embroidered on it. And he wore an expensive silk necktie.

Necktie? That looks more like an ascot. What's an ascot? Two cheeks and a hole. You like that, huh? At first, the boy didn't say much to the police. Smart kid. But he carried an envelope containing two letters.

The first was addressed to a cavalry captain. The letter said the author was not related to the boy, though he had raised him as a son. The letter also said that since the day he was born, he had never left the house, so that nobody would know where he was from. The letter went on to say that the boy could read and write and wanted to be a horseman like his father. So the captain could take him on or hang him, whichever he wished.

The letter ended rather ominously with the author saying he had to send the boy to Nuremberg alone, that if he went with him, it would have cost him his life. At the police station, the boy wrote down his name, Casper Hauser. Observers noticed that despite being 16 years old, he behaved like a young child.

He walked like a toddler taking his first steps. And when someone spoke to him, he would usually just speak the same words back. And despite his weird behavior, people soon realized that Casper Hauser had normal intelligence. And once he calmed down, he was able to talk about where he was from and how he arrived in the city. Hauser said he had spent his entire life alone in a cell. He was fed nothing but bread and water. He was provided with a blanket and a couple of wooden toys. He had never seen his captor.

Even while walking to Nuremberg, he was told to look down. He only knew the sound of the man's voice. With nowhere to go, the local schoolmaster, George Daumer, agreed to take Hauser in and continue teaching him. Hauser certainly acted like he was confined his whole life. The first time he saw a mirror, he looked behind it, trying to find the other boy.

When someone brought him a candle, he burned himself trying to touch the flame. And even though he could eat anything he wanted, the only food that didn't repulse him was bread and water. As his communication skills improved, Hauser gave more details about his life. He spoke of a recurring dream he had, where he was in an enormous castle.

He saw a tall man with a sword dressed all in black and a woman wearing an elegant dress. He wondered if this was actually a memory. Over time, Casper Hauser became a local celebrity. A favorite pastime for people in the city of Nuremberg was to try and figure out the true origin of the mysterious boy. Some people thought he was just a con man, addicted to the attention that he was receiving.

But there was a rumor going around that he was a lost prince, possibly the son of Grand Duke Carvan Baden and his wife Stephanie de Bournay. But whether Hauser's story was a lie or the truth, eventually his past would catch up with him. or you need a new wheel, wherever you go, you can get a pro at Tread Experts. Toyo's open country family of tires will get you through tough weather in a variety of terrains. Until May 31st, save up to $100 in rebates on select Toyo tires.

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scrubbed from every map. You battled krakens and navigated through storms. Your spade struck the lid of a long-lost treasure chest. While you cooked a lasagna. There's more to imagine when you listen. Discover best-selling adventure stories on Audible. You searched for your informant

who disappeared without a trace. You knew there were witnesses, but lips were sealed. You swept the city, driving closer to the truth. While curled up on the couch with your cat.

There's more to imagine when you listen. Discover heart-pounding thrillers on Audible. One day in 1829, Hauser was found in the basement bleeding from a head wound. Hauser claimed his attacker was his captor, the man that had brought him to Nuremberg. The man wore a hood, but he recognized the voice that had said, You still have to die ere you leave the city of Nuremberg. Another incident happened a few months later when Hauser was living with a different family. Hauser was shot by an attacker who he didn't see, but he later said he was climbing on a chair to

reach a book on a high shelf. He accidentally knocked a gun off the wall when it just went off. And Hauser started bouncing from home to home, and everyone who took him in said the same thing. He seems like a gentle boy, but he's a liar. In 1833, Caspar Hauser was staying with yet another family. On December 14th, he burst through the doors of his home with a massive wound in his chest. Blood was everywhere. He claimed he met a stranger in a park who had given him a purse, stabbed him, and ran off. He said the purse was still there. By now, everyone was suspicious of how Hauser became injured. Reluctantly, police went to the scene, and sure enough, there was a small purse. And in the purse, there was a note written in reverse handwriting.

Hauser will be able to tell you quite precisely how I look and from where I am. To save Hauser the effort, I want to tell you myself from where I come. Dash, dash. I come from dash, dash, dash. The Bavarian border dash, dash. On the river dash, dash, dash, dash, dash. I will even tell you the name. M-L-O. Not very helpful. It's not. And there were a few suspicious details about this attack.

It was snowing that day, but there were only one set of footprints found. Hauser's. And the letter was folded corner to corner, which is an unusual way to fold a letter. But Hauser was known for doing this. The letter also contained grammatical errors that Hauser was known to make. It was thought that Hauser attacked himself again, but thrust the knife in too far. He died of his wound three days later. Even after his death, people tried to unravel the mystery of Caspar Hauser. Some thought that Caspar Hauser was actually the Prince of Baden, who was born in 1812. It was alleged that he had been switched with a

dying infant to prevent him from inheriting the title. His parents were rumored to be Karl, Grand Duke of Baden, and Stéphanie de Beauharnais, the adopted daughter of Napoleon. And since Hauser died with no male heir, whether he was a real prince or not, it no longer mattered. In 1876, historian Otto Middlestadt researched the case and found no evidence that Hauser was the prince. Another historian, Fritz Trautz, confirmed Mittelstadt's findings and said any claim that Hauser was a prince is a silly fairy tale. In 1951, letters of the Grand Duke's mother were published, and the letters gave detailed accounts of the child's birth, illness, and death. So the Hauser as a prince theory was finally put to rest. Hauser was buried in a local cemetery

where his headstone reads, here lies Caspar Hauser, riddle of his time. His birth was unknown, his death mysterious, 1833. And there's even a statue of him in the old city center at the very place where Hauser first appeared. His life was a mystery for a hundred years. And now the statue of Caspar Hauser can fuel the imagination of others for hundreds of years

to come. The Picards lived on a farm in Brittany, France. Two-year-old Pauline was one of nine children. One day in April 1922, Pauline was playing outside with her brothers and sisters, something the kids did every day. When they were summoned for dinner, Pauline wasn't among them.

Within a few hours, 150 people combed every inch of the farm and the surrounding area. There was no sign of her. As time went on, rumors began to circulate. Maybe a wild boar had attacked an eatner. There was a suspicious chimney cleaner in town who, a few weeks earlier, tried to give Pauline candy. Neighbors said they saw two strangers hanging around the farm about the same time Pauline disappeared. But even in the best possible scenario that none of the rumors were true, there was no way a two-year-old could survive in the elements for this long.

Well, soon the pain and loss set in. The Picards would never see their daughter again. Then about a month later, the family would get a miracle. A young girl was found wandering around the town of Cherbourg, about 200 miles from Brittany. The girl was scared, alone, and on foot.

The police showed a photo to the Picards. They couldn't believe it. It was Pauline. Pauline's parents went to retrieve her, but when they finally saw her, Pauline didn't seem to react. The Picards sat with her, they talked to her, but she seemed distant. The Picards were worried Pauline was in shock, but doctors said that aside from being malnourished, she was perfectly healthy. Then they started to wonder if this actually was their daughter. She looked like her, same hair, same blue eyes,

same features, but there was this kernel of doubt in her parents' minds. Still, they took her home, hoping that familiar surroundings would spark her memory. Pauline's sisters immediately recognized her, which was a huge relief for her parents. Pauline's family figured it would just take time before life would get back to normal. Would life get back to normal? Not even close. You sailed beyond the horizon in search of an island scrubbed from every map. You battled krakens and navigated through storms. Your spade struck the lid of a long-lost treasure chest.

While you cooked a lasagna. There's more to imagine when you listen. Discover best-selling adventure stories on Audible. A few weeks later, a farmer crossing a field about a mile from the Picard's farm found the body of a young girl. Near the body, neatly folded, were Pauline's clothes. The same clothes she was wearing the day she went missing. And also nearby was a skull of a grown man. Now it seems there were two murders to solve.

The field where Pauline was found had been searched when she went missing. So police believe the body was placed there more recently. The neatly folded clothes implied a murder, but the autopsy was inconclusive. Doctors thought dying of cold was just as likely as murder. There were two suspects that police

seriously considered. The first was one of the Picard's farmhands named Caramon. The day Pauline disappeared, he had been invited for breakfast. He was said to have cuddled her a little too much, and someone heard him telling Pauline on more than one occasion that he would find her a good home in a different town.

And at 1 p.m. that day, he was alone with Pauline, and someone overheard him telling her that she was going with him. Police followed the path he would have taken, but ultimately decided the timing just didn't match up. Then a local farmer named Eves Martin stopped by the Picards. He said he'd heard Pauline had been found.

They told him she had. He then blurted out, God forgive me, I am guilty, and ran from the farm screaming and laughing. The next day, he was taken to a lunatic asylum. Although he confessed to the murder, no other evidence has ever been found. No other clues or suspects emerged, and Pauline's death remains a mystery.

So what can we unravel from these three stories? First, the green children of Woolpit. You mean the green Martian children of planet Mars? Unlikely. Given what was going on in that area of England during the 12th century, I think we could put together what really happened. In 1173, King Henry faced the Great Revolt, an uprising by his eldest sons supported by France, Scotland, and Flanders.

I diddly-doo, neighbor. Flanders is the northern part of Belgium where Flemish is spoken. And there were a lot of Flemish immigrants in England. During the Great Revolt, the Battle of Fornham was fought just a few miles from Woolpit. Eventually, an uneasy peace was reached,

but King Henry, angry at the Flemish mercenaries, was persecuting Flemish settlers. All of this was going on at the exact time the Green Children were found. It's most likely that the children were refugees from a battle or simply fleeing English soldiers who were harassing the settlement. The Flemish language, which is a dialect of Dutch, would have sounded like gibberish to English farmers, and the Flemish were known for wearing clothes that were very different than English. As for the green skin, there's a condition called chlorosis,

or hypochromic anemia, which is a type of iron deficiency. It even had a nickname back then, the green sickness. If the children were refugees fleeing a battle, they were most likely living off of whatever they can scrounge from the land. Lack of meat would explain the lack of iron, and also why they would eat nothing but raw green beans for months. But as the children ate a more diverse diet, their green skin returned to normal. Why the boy died is not entirely clear.

Some speculate it could have been arsenic poisoning, though arsenic typically acts faster. Nobody really knows. The caves the children spoke of do exist in the area. Flint and chalk mines are everywhere, and a cave would be a good place to hide from a battle or from soldiers. In fact, there are large caves between Woolpit and the small village of Fornham, the site of several battles during the Great Revolt, and the church of Fornham was called St. Martin's Church. When the girl said she was from St. Martin's Land, this is likely what she meant. All of these details, mixed with the fuzzy memories of a terrified child, it's easy

to see how this legend was born. Still, these are just best guesses. Nobody really knows who the children were or where they were from. Now Caspar Hauser, the real mystery is, who was he? Remember, several historians debunked the idea that he was a prince. They used public records and private letters to prove this. The problem with public records and private letters? People lie.

Right. People lie. But DNA doesn't. After a couple of hit-and-miss tests in the 90s, a DNA test in 2002 yielded an astonishing result. Hair and skin samples from Hauser's clothes were tested. They proved with 95% accuracy that he was related to Princess Josephine of Baden,

whose mother was Stéphanie de Beauharnais von Baden. He actually was a prince? Well, there's a 95% chance he was. The only way to know with 100% certainty is to test the DNA of his alleged mother

and the DNA of the child buried as her son. But the House of Baden has declined to participate. Of course. Our final mystery is the case of Pauline Picard. Unfortunately, there's not much else to report. It was assumed that the killer was Yves Martin, the farmer committed to an asylum,

but no physical evidence was ever found that could link him to the murder. So who was the girl living with them this whole time? Nobody knows. She barely spoke. After learning the true fate of Pauline, the Picards didn't know what to do with the girl. They sent her to an orphanage where she died a few months later of measles. Her name has been lost to history.

No fun. But the stories of the Green Children of Woolpit, Casper Hauser, and Pauline Picard have not been lost to history. They're now part of it. And who knows, with enough time, we may finally get the answers to these mysteries. But until then, they remain unsolved. Thank you so much for hanging out with me today. My name is AJ, that's Hecklefish. This has been the Y-Files. If you had fun or learned anything, do me a favor and like, subscribe, comment, and share.

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be kind, and know that you are appreciated. you sailed beyond the horizon in search of an island scrubbed from every map. You battled krakens and navigated through storms. Your spade struck the lid of a long-lost treasure chest. While you cooked a lasagna. There's more to imagine when you listen. Discover best-selling adventure stories on Audible.