Welcome to Aaron Manky's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of I Heart Radio and

Grim and Mild. Our world is full of the unexplainable.

And if history is an open book,

all of these amazing tales are right there on display,

just waiting for us to explore.

Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. A trip to a major theme park is a time honored tradition enjoyed by families all over the world.

Whether it's Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom, or Universal Studios,

Vacationers waits in excruciating lines and shell out wads of cash

to visit resorts filled with talking animatronics, light shows, and themed rides.

But there's one place that you may not have heard of that offered a bit of a twist on that formula.

It's closed now, but in its day, it was unparalleled in the world of amusement parks.

Located near the village of Hesden in northern France, it was once home to a breathtaking

collection of animatronic prank machines worthy of Home Alone's Kevin McAllister.

Unlike the booby traps from that movie,

these machines were not intended to maim or injure intruders,

but to shock, startle, and delight the estate's guests.

They still came at you pretty hard though.

Pipes in the floors would spurt visitors with jets of water from below, while opening the wrong

book could get you a face full of flower or soot. One animatronic statue instructed you to rush to the next room.

If you did as you were told, you encountered a large machine that would start beating you with sticks.

There was also larger walk-through experiences,

similar to the ones that you might find today around the Sleeping Beauty castle at

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