Welcome to Erin Mankie's Cabinet of Curiosity's, a production of I Heart Radio and Grimm

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 Curiosity's.

Sometimes, all it takes for a fresh perspective is a change in scenery, and it doesn't have

to be a cross-country migration to gain that enlightenment, either.

It can be as simple as stepping into a warm shower, or going for a drive around town

that unlocks our subconscious.

For John Batterson, though, he did need to get out of state.

Far from the hustle and bustle of the city to the much quieter countryside.

But he had a good reason.

He thought he was dying.

John was born in Orange, New Jersey in 1830.

He was one of 12 children, and his father made a living as a hatmaker.

He apprenticed under his dad, who started teaching him everything that he knew, until his son

got some troubling news.

He had been diagnosed with tuberculosis.

Now back then, tuberculosis was a death sentence for many, and John's doctor even predicted

that he would die quickly from the disease.

He had seen in his 20s, and seen the writing on the wall he decided to leave his family

...