Castle Houska: Gateway to Hell Part 2

Astonishing Legends

Scott Philbrook

History, Society & Culture

4.6 • 9.8K Ratings

🗓️ 24 September 2017

⏱️ 132 minutes

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Summary

There are two connected, yet distinct traditions of weirdness concerning Houska Castle: its mysterious, violent and spotty history of purpose and ownership, and the reported sightings of horrific creatures and terrifying specters since its founding. Regarding the castle's originally intended design; whether it was really built to keep something from escaping rather than defense from outside forces, the lack of any definitive or comprehensive historical records will only lead to debate and speculation. However, those that have been inside the walls of this fortress and others in the region will tell you that Houska's architecture clearly doesn't seem to fit with the standard intentions. Regarding the encounters with frightening phantoms, if you believe places can be haunted, Houska Castle seems to be just that.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This week's episode of Estonishing Legends is brought to you by Blue Apron, the Great
0:04.0	Courses Plus and our contributors at Patreon.com.
0:08.2	On March 15, 1939, after the signing of the Munich Pact, Germany was offered the keys
0:14.0	to the kingdom, to the majority of what is the modern-day Czech Republic.
0:18.5	As a result, Hitler marched troops into Bohemia and Moravia and established a protectorate
0:23.7	over Slovakia without having to fire a single shot.
0:27.4	The Munich Pact was meant to appease Hitler by handing over the part of the country that
0:31.8	3 million ethnic Germans lived in.
0:34.3	However, what Hitler got was more land and three-quarters of the country's coal, iron,
0:40.8	steel, and power, which could be put to good use for the Nazi war machine.
0:46.5	In the middle of that newly acquired land, the Nazis commandeered four ancient castles
0:51.9	in Sudetenland and proceeded to fill them with half a million confiscated books on the
0:58.0	occult, witchcraft, and mysticism.
1:01.6	The castles were known by their code names, Bergen D'1, Bergen D'2, Bergen D'3, and
1:09.1	Bergen D'4.
1:11.2	This code name came from the SS Ambition to turn the Bergen D'Region of France into a
1:15.8	federal state and part of the German Empire, because they believed it to be a home of
1:20.8	science and art before becoming simply a wine-producing area.
1:24.8	However, Bergen D'2 could also provide strategic access to the Mediterranean for Germany.
1:31.6	Bergen D'2 was none other than Castle Hoska, and it housed 98,356 volumes of occult books
1:40.8	alone.
1:42.6	Why were they collecting them?
	...

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