0:00.0	The Gates of Hell. I'm Jason Horton. I'm Rebecca Leib. And this is Ghost Town.
0:19.8	Listeners, I just visited France and have done a lot of weird history deep dives there,
0:24.2	which is why after the Paris morgue were back in France, for another tale that I learned
0:29.3	from a Parisian believer. When I doubt you'll hear many other places, at least I hope so.
0:35.7	We all know Notre Dame, the iconic cathedral made famous by the hunchback of Notre Dame,
0:40.8	and just being a super fucking famous Gothic cathedral in the heart of Paris.
0:45.7	But did you realize the cathedral is cursed by the devil himself? I know, right? Well,
0:52.0	keep listening. Construction on Notre Dame began in 1163 during the reign of King Louis VII,
0:58.5	and was completed almost 200 years later in 1345. It is a classic example of medieval Gothic
1:05.1	architecture, and during its creation the church officials wanted it to be the biggest, the best,
1:11.5	the most opulent church in Europe hands down. Expectations were high, hence the centuries-long
1:18.3	construction, I suppose. One of the last things to be done on the near finished Notre Dame cathedral
1:23.9	was the metalwork, specifically the facades and entryways. France is known for having incredibly
1:29.6	beautiful, detailed doorways. I just saw a bunch, and they were, well, let's just say LA has a lot
1:35.6	of work to do. Anyway, when it came to Notre Dame's front doors, the church officials wanted it
1:40.6	to be the best. They hired an up-and-coming metal smith named Biscornet to do it for them. He was
1:46.5	young, hot, sure of himself, very chic for the metallurgist of the time, or anytime, I'm sure,
1:52.5	and he was ready to make some banger doorways to rival the beauty of the church's interior,
1:58.2	or was he? The project seemed simple, craft and incredibly beautiful doorway for what was to be
2:05.1	the best church in Europe. Make it look better than any door had ever been made before. No pressure,
2:11.7	right? Let's take a break. As you might imagine, it was immediately a lot of pressure.
2:17.3	Biscornet stressed himself out with this doorway, working day and night trying to make
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