CLASSIC: Philadelphia's Transylvanian Doomsday Cult: The Cave of Kelpius

Ridiculous History

iHeartPodcasts

History, Society & Culture

4.3 • 4.4K Ratings

🗓️ 22 February 2025

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

There's a nifty bit of hidden history tucked away in Philadelphia's Wissahickon Valley Park -- a cave that, legend has it, was home to a doomsday cult. In today's episode, the guys follow the strange journey of Johannes Kelpius and his followers from Europe to North America as they prepared for the end of days (first in 1694, then in 1700). Tune in to learn what motivated the group, how they influenced American history, and what happened to them after the world kept spinning in today's Classic episode.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	fellow ridiculous historians, we return to you with a classic episode. It turns out that back
0:07.5	in 2018, Noel and I and our guy Gabe, remember Gabe Luzier? Oh, yeah, Gabe Lusier,
0:16.8	of course. Yeah, we got super into a doomsday cult over there in Pennsylvania.
0:23.2	It's true.
0:23.8	It's a super cool bit of hidden history tucked away in Philly in Wissahickon Valley Park.
0:29.6	Gosh, I hope I'm saying that.
0:30.4	Some of those things are hard to pronounce.
0:32.1	Nailed it.
0:32.2	It's a cave where legend has it, a doomsday cult once made their home, their HQ, whatever you want to call, where a cult hangs out and does their culting.
0:43.6	Let's roll it.
0:45.9	What would you do if mysterious drones appeared over your hometown?
0:50.8	I started asking questions.
0:52.9	What do you remember happening on that night of December 16th?
0:56.7	It actually rotated around our house,
0:59.0	looking as if it was peering in each window of our home.
1:02.3	I'm Gabe Lenners.
1:03.8	From Imagine IHeart Podcasts in Lenners Entertainment,
1:08.9	listen to Obscure them.
1:12.2	Invasion of the Drones.
1:15.2	Wherever you get your favorite podcast.
1:18.0	Hey, Brooklyn Nine-Niners.
1:18.9	It's a reunion.
	...

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