He was a 34-year-old Scottish soldier, but his adventures had taken him all over South

and Central America, where he'd become friends with King George Frederick Augustus of the

Mosquito Coast, and this ruler had gifted him with a kingdom of his own. In the summer of 1821,

Gregor McGregor traveled to England to get help. He said his kingdom was rich with resources,

the rivers teamed with gold, and the soil was so fertile that farmers could bring in multiple

harvests each year. It was beautiful and exotic and bigger than whales. He just needed investors to

help him develop those resources and settlers to make it happen, and people signed up.

In September of 1822, seven ships left for the kingdom of Poyas. There were hundreds of settlers

on board and hundreds of thousands of pounds in McGregor's pocket. But when they arrived two months

later, they found nothing that McGregor had promised them. There was no one waiting for them,

no buildings, no crops, not even a port for their ships. Hundreds of settlers got off the

ships and tried to make the best of it, but two-thirds of them died in the process. Eventually,

a passing ship saw the survivors and rescued them, but McGregor escaped to France. He had never

been who he claimed to be, and when he got caught, he ran. Humans are idealistic. We look for the

best in the people around us, and are quick to trust most of those we encounter. Perhaps this is

by design. Were creatures of community, after all, isolation is something we try to avoid,

aiming instead for the opposite. We join clubs, go to concerts, and build relationships. We seem

ready and willing to let down our guard. But history should serve as a warning against too much trust.

Just flipping through those dusty pages were confronted with tale after tale of people who were

just a bit too trusting and the price they paid for that mistake. Because not everyone is who they

appear to be. Sometimes they are much, much worse. I'm Aaron Manke, and this is lore.

They called them praying towns. They were an invention of a man named John Elliott,

...