History is littered with strange figures and proponents of the mysterious inner-machinations
of society.
Some of civilizations greatest intrigues owe their infamy, thanks to the strange, perplexing
characters that seemingly pulled the strings behind the curtain, safely shrouded behind
the public eye.
The vast majority of them are tied in with layers upon layers of conspiracy and theories
that have permeated their way across the ages - beginning as merely a whisper, or an unfounded
rumour - but becoming much more than that, as the ancient winds of historical mystery
give life to their legend.
Well, let’s take a look - shall we?
Hello horror fans, what’s going on - and once again, welcome back to the scariest channel
on YouTube - Top 5 Scary Videos.
As per usual, I’ll be your horror host Jack Finch - as today, we curiously take a look
at the Top 5 Most Mysterious People In History.
Roll the clip.
Damn it - I get chills every time.
For the curious amongst you, that clip was from perhaps my favourite BBC series of all
time, Taboo - starring Tom Hardy, which on a heartwarming note - was actually co-written
by him and his father, Chips Hardy.
It tells the tale of James Keziah Delaney - perhaps the most awesome fictional 18th
century humbug of anything, ever - and if you haven’t seen the show, I implore you
to watch it.
You won’t be disappointed.
Anyway, on with the show.
Kicking off at Number 5 - Madame Blavatsky
And it also leads us to an important opening point - because as is the case with pretty
much every entry on this list, history can only ever lead us so far when it comes to
these mysterious figures.
On the one hand, they may have been genuinely tied to powers beyond our understanding - but
on the other, they could have merely been charlatans with interesting tales to tell.
As is the case with Madame Blavatsky, otherwise known as Helena Petrovna von Hahn - a Russian
occultist and philosopher born in 1831 to an aristocratic Russian-Germanic family.
Now, like many figures throughout history that have been tied to the occult, Aleister
Crowley, Francis Dashwood and Rasputin to name a few - the case is still out as to whether
any factual credence was given to the life and styles of Madame Blavatsky - but - perhaps
more than anyone, her tale has much farther reaching implications.
Widely self educated during her teenage years, Blavatsky quickly garnered an interest in
theosophy and 19th-century philosophy - where she embarked on a series of world travels
- that led her from Europe, to America - then India, and later the Himalayas.
Here, she claimed to have encountered a group of spiritual adepts, who referred to themselves
as The Masters of the Ancient Wisdom, a sect of followers of an ancient civilization that
hid in the shadows of time.
They sent her to Shigatse, deep in the Mountains of Tibet - where they painstakingly trained
her to develop a deeper understanding between the synthesis of religion, philosophy and
science.
Blavatsky claimed that her new found knowledge was an attempt to revive an Ancient Wisdom,
which underpinned every religion across the planet - and back in Europe, her claims kick
started a spiritual revolution across the wider aristocracy.
Whether you believe her, that’s down to you - but nonetheless, Madame Blavatsky led
an incredibly intriguing life.
Next up at Number 4 - Francois Sauniere
And what if I told you that Dan Brown’s the Da Vinci Code was actually based on a
very real historical figure - who was famously referred to in the 1982 book, The Holy Blood
and the Holy Grail - but may have been tied up in an ancient mystery that potentially
predates the Great Pyramids of Giza.
Let me introduce you to Francois-Berenger Sauniere - a Roman Catholic priest who served
the vast majority of his adult life in the small French village of Rennes-le-Château
- up until 1885, where he was forced to resign from the Church.
Now, Sauniere would probably be virtually unknown in modern times, if it wasn’t for
the fact that he is believed to be the last known gatekeeper of one of the oldest conspiracies
of recorded history.
The claim is that way back in 1891, whilst serving at his parish in Rennes-le-Château
- Sauniere discovered a series of ancient parchments hidden in a hollow pillar of his
Altar.
As the conspiracy goes, those parchments documented evidence that Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene
were married - and produced offspring that eventually became the Merovingian Dynasty
- leading to an ancient line of Frankish kings, that allegedly still survives to this day.
Sauniere’s mystery goes even further though, because it is alleged that he was never banished
from the church, but instead acted as a secret operative for the Priory of Sion - a secret
society that was publically founded as part of a hoax in 1956 by Pierre Plantard, but
allegedly defended the Merovingian line throughout history.
The mystery is murky, and it’s important to note that the vast majority of this is
mired speculation - but nevertheless, it’s food for thought, right?
Swinging in at Number 3 - The Man In The Iron Mask
Now - the stark reality of this particular entry, is that we may never known the true
identity of the infamous Man In The Iron Mask - a historical figure that has since given
rise to some of the wildest claims and speculations across the ages.
There is one thing for certain though, The Man In The Iron Mask was an unidentified prisoner
that was arrested in either 1669 or 1670 - and subsequently held in a variety of French prisoners
for a period of 34 years.
He died in 1703 - and his true identity has all the trappings of a legendary historical
mystery.
One of the leading theories of his identity comes from the legendary French philosopher,
Voltaire - who claimed that the man was in fact the older, illegitimate brother of the
King of France, Louis the 14th.
Other claims point toward him actually being the King’s twin brother - and was imprisoned
to avoid any dispute over the throne.
Many of these theories lack any historical evidence, and rely heavily on speculation
as to the motivations of the key players in the French court at the time.
However, there is one theory that perhaps has the clout to back it up.
In 1890 - Louis Gendron, a French military history - came across a series of cryptic,
coded messages - later revealed to be the Great Cipher of Louis the 14th.
In them, it referred to a prisoner - identified as General Vivien de Bulonde - who had committed
a cowardly retreat during battle, and thus angered a furious King Louis.
In the cipher, his imprisonment is denoted as being - avec un masque - which in the 17th-century,
would have directly meant - in a mask.
Whichever the speculation, there’s one thing for certain - the Man In The Iron Mask remains
one of history's most intriguing mysteries.
Next up at Number 2 - The Count of St. Germain
And I absolutely adore this guy - because there are either two truths to his claim.
Either he’d made a complete and utter laughing stock out of European high-society during
the mid-1700s - or he actually was an immortal entity that flitted between the centuries.
Or both, actually - which is awesome.
Born in either 1691 or 1712 - depending on which version he told, the Count of St. Germain
was an incredibly capable adventurer with a fervent passion for science and the arts.
He went by many names and titles - the Marquis de Montferrat, Count Bellamarra and Chevalier
Schoening to name a few - and in order to deflect inquiries about his origins, he would
often claim that he was over 500 years old.
The thing is though, unlike many grifters and schemers of the era - the Count of St.
Germain actually had the clout to back up his claims.
Prince Charles of Denmark considered him to be one of the greatest philosophers who had
ever lived, and he was also pretty much best friends with the previously mentioned Voltaire.
He was a natural born composer, and reportedly played the violin more beautifully than any
of his contemporaries - despite not being a dedicated musician.
Later on in his strange life - he claimed to be the son of Francis Rakoczi - the Prince
of Transylvania - but it is also often thought that his social subterfuge was a scheme to
safeguard his true identity - the last line of the persecuted Habsburg Dynasty.
Through his adult life, he intentionally spun a web of lies and intrigue that served to
hide his true identity - but personally, I’d like to think that the Count of St. Germain
was merely a commoner - albeit with a few tricks up his sleeve.
And finally - coming in at our Number 1 spot - Nikola Tesla
And of course - perhaps one of the most underappreciated, enigmatic and brilliant minds that humanity
has ever known - the legendary inventor, thinker and engineer responsible for some of the most
monolithic breakthroughs in electricity and energy - and a figure whose life has constantly
been the figure of mystery and wild speculation.
First off, we can’t discredit the fact that Tesla doesn’t receive the honors that he
deserves - and was the recipient of countless smear campaigns and controversy throughout
his life, mainly from the proponents of big business throughout the United States, where
he was naturalized as a citizen in 1891 - the same year that he patented his legendary Tesla
coil.
Despite being a widely recorded public figure, the one event that underpins the mystery of
Tesla is the controversial fire that destroyed his New York laboratory in 1895.
The event completely devastated Tesla’s laboratory, fully consuming the Fifth Avenue
building - and subsequently destroyed all of Tesla’s ongoing projects, as well as
his thousands of research notes, material and models that were set to shape the course
of our future.
It is widely believed that Tesla was on the brink of creating a fully realized and workable
model of wireless energy, hallmarked by the infamous Wardenclyffe Tower, financed by the
renowned J.P Morgan - which is held up as one of the most notorious failures in modern
history.
Now, there are countless rumours as to what caused the fire at Tesla’s laboratory - many
of which we won’t go in to, as they are rarely backed up with any kind of credible
evidence.
Sadly, Tesla never truly recovered mentally from the disaster - and spent the rest of
his life in deteriorating health - strangely obsessed with the number 3, which became the
centerpoint to his final years.
Whatever the truth, Tesla had many groundbreaking notions - the majority of which are yet to
be fully explored today.
Who knows, maybe someone will find something lurking in his old records - and well, don’t
even get me started on Tesla’s Death-Ray.
That’s a whole different story.
Well, there we have it folks - our list for the Top 5 Most Mysterious People In History.
What did you guys think?
Agree?
Have any more to add of your own?
Why don’t you let us know your thoughts down in the comment section below, as well
as any choice picks for your viewing enjoyment.
Before we depart from today’s video though - let’s first take a quick look at some
of your more resounding remarks from over the past few days.
First up - Nope Nadda says --
Could we get a Q&A video?
We ask you guys questions about your favourite horror games, movies, books etc?
-- Well - that sounds like a mighty fine idea.
You know what?
I’ll see what we can do, and make that happy.
Cheers buddy.
On that note - we better get busy!
Unfortunately, that’s all we’ve got time for in today’s video - cheers for sticking
around all the way until the end.
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As per usual, I’ve been your horror host Jack Finch - you’ve been watching Top 5
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