You're listening to an I-Heart podcast.

Are you prepared to venture to the darkest, most haunted locations in the world?

It was all solid, black, like shadow.

As your host, Amy Bruny, I'm ready to take you on a spine-tingling journey through the unknown.

There was a man sitting in a corner, she saw him, and then it was gone.

Listen to new episodes of Haunted Road on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of IHeart Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Manky.

Listener discretion advised.

Crowds of nobles, workers, families all poured in from the Royal Palace and the streets of Stockholm,

eager to finally see their king's pride and joy in all her

splendor. She was supposed to be beautiful. King Gustavus Adolphus himself was off fighting in Poland,

but his presence was readily felt in that day's festivities, speeches, and down at the waterfront in the beautiful visage of his beloved

Vasa. August 10th, 1628 was a bright day, and the sun's rays illuminated her every feature,

from her meticulously carved beakhead to her godly painted stern castle.

Yes, the Vasa was, in fact, a ship.

But not just any ship.

The Vasa was a hulking warship, the pinnacle of Swedish naval ambitions,

a floating tribute to the country's bold ruler.

This was the vessel that would make the Swedish Empire the masters of the Baltic Sea.

But the Vasa's departure from harbor was far from majestic.

With little wind to help the ship move through Stockholm Harbor, Captain Sofring Hansen ordered his crew to use ropes,

posts along the shore, and their vertical man-powered winch, known as a capstan,

...