January 2, 2024 • 24 mins
The investigators discover why Calder Evans sought to retrieve his diary from the First World War from Phillip Steeples’ room—it contains his ghostly encounter with an ancient Christian Martyr on the battlefield. https://linktr.ee/nocturnehall
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(00:00):
Nocturne Hall presents an original audio drama intended only for an adult audience.
Devils walk among us.
Some just a mile north of the White House.
Whether conjured or elected, they prey on the innocent all the same.
(00:23):
Most won't even listen, so folks knock on the one door in the district of crime who
will.
Dupont Investigations.
[Music (00:36):
I never thought my heart would mend]
You taught me how to love again]
It's you and me until the end]
Oh, we?ll paint this whole town red]
Just the devils, the devils of Dupont]
Just the devils, the devils of Dupont]
(01:02):
This is The Scourge from Carthage Part 4.
[THUNDER AND HEAVY RAIN.]
There's a cab with its lights on.
I think we caught his eye.
[CURB SPLASH.]
[VEHICLE SLOWING TO CURB.]
Get in, fellas. [THE CAR DOOR OPENS.]
(01:22):
Evening, pal.
Thanks for saving us.
We'd be drowned rats soon.
Let's see; we're headed to 1350 Connecticut Avenue Northwest.
Umm, hmm.
Your office?
Yeah, we forgot to stop for hooch.
But the office could double as a distillery.
Plus, Calder's journal is there.
Oh, it's not much use to us, but my gal Rowena left us an old tome, which should
(01:45):
really light up your life.
You're about the first person I've met excited by an old tome.
Nige, I tell you, you ought to get out more.
Nothing's better than an old tome on ancient Rome.
Those fools were getting into all sorts of trouble.
We haven't seen anything comparable.
At least not since they paved over Murder Bay to make room for those new Goliath
(02:06):
federal buildings.
So, the ghost Calder encountered is Roman?
Carthaginian.
Which, at the time, was part of Rome.
C'mon. It's been a while since I read the Aeneid, so where the heck is Carthage?
French Tunisia.
But you've seen the amphitheater in your dreams.
I saw some old ruins.
In a round shape.
And the kicker's the column crowned with a cross erected near the southern entrance.
(02:28):
Why's that important?
It corroborates the identity of your ladyfriend from your dream last night.
Alright, walk me through it then.
After Armistice Day, Calder enrolls in theAmerican Expeditionary Force's University
in Beaune.
He stays a few weeks until he has just one remaining bindle of morphine.
Wait.
What's a bindle?
(02:48):
It's a small envelope of dope.
Sorry.
No, don't apologize.
Must not spend much time around hopheads in ol' Zeugma.
Well, not that I knew of.
Anyway.
Calder's fear of losing his stash drives him to desertion.
He books it to Lyon, where he loots a druggist.
But the resulting heat causes him to flee to Nice.
He decides it's safer to risk lesser crimesand acquire morphine off the black market.
(03:12):
So, he acquaints himself with some low-level pirates and winds up in the city of Tunis.
That's where Carthage is located?
Right.
One early morning, Calder's high begins wearing off as he wanders around the old ruins.
He's been drinking, too, so he's in roughshape.
Two hours before dawn, he rests at the amphitheater ruins.
At that moment, he wishes more than anything to be able to kick his dope habit.
(03:35):
He didn't seem to be on anything when we saw him.
No, I doubt he was.
Just like those wraith visitors of Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge, the Roman ghost that visited Calder
made quite an impression.
I thought an hour ago you were making fun of Mr. Dicken's ghost stories.
Never.
I was poking at the minds of those who failto grasp the possible truth in them.
(03:56):
The Bible's got ghosts.
The Bible's got elves and giants too.
Even Christ's a ghost for a minute there.
Look, I get it.
Paranormal apparitions are a hard sell.
Well, they're easy to sell enough in the papers.
Everyone wants to believe, but when you get down to brass tax, most harbor some doubt.
A ghost is like an amusing wooden nickel.
Or a clever tongue chiseling snake oil.
(04:17):
I bet Ms. Krause lives on snake oil.
And Gin.
Though my point exactly, and I'm sure shebelieves in specters--a deep, profound,
albeit naive belief.
Overzealous to a fault, I'm sure.
Why I'd wager she'd pay a pretty penny to have a paranormal experience but lacks the
depth to evaluate a genuine ghost from a fraud.
(04:39):
Come now.
Maybe she's got a better sixth sense than you think.
Anybody hanging on to every word of Ms. Blavatsky lacks objectivity.
[CAR SLOWS.]
All right, thanks, pal.
Keep the change.
Thank you kindly, sirs.
[THE CAR DOORS OPEN.]
(05:01):
You should have let me get it.
Oh, that's going down in my expenses ledger.
You'll be getting it, don't you worry.
[THUNDER. CLOCK TICKING.]
[A GLASS TUMBLER SETS DOWN ON THE DESK.]
You about done with the tome?
It's proving about as interesting as I imagined, and you still haven't explained
(05:22):
one bit about the ghost Calder saw.
Oh, Nige.
I was right.
Gosh darn it, I was right.
What are you bumping gums about?
I should preface.
I can't say for sure Calder's apparition was the same, but the facts are uncanny.
Uncanny, I tell you.
Out with it.
We've got to rewind our clocks to the turn of the second century.
(05:44):
But, I thought this would have been 1918 or 19?
Sure, Calder saw her around then, but if itwas her, she's been wandering the site for
seventeen hundred years or more.
Her name's Perpetua, and she's no ordinary ghost.
What makes her so special?
Has any Methodist minister ever mentioned her to you?
(06:05):
Not that I can recall.
She ain't in the Bible, so you don't feellike you skipped a Sunday School lesson.
So, about a century after the authorship of the New Testament?
Very good.
I bet your preach would be proud of you.
Cut the chatter. It's late.
Geez. Okay.
So, Roman Emperor Septimius Severus supposedly issues an edict against folks
converting to Judaism or Christianity.
(06:28):
At some point, the early Christian historian Eusebius compares the wrath of Severus's
persecutions against the Christians to the coming of the antichrist.
Sounds awful.
Not a great time to be caught a catechumen.
A what?
A young convert receiving religious instruction, gearing up to be baptized.
(06:48):
So this Perpetua's one of them?
Yup, and she's got some friends.
They all get rounded up together.
Perpetua's twenty-two years old and just gave birth to a son.
However, she's a noble Roman, lawfully wed.
Two other prisoners are also free men, Saturninus and Saturus.
And the last of those locked up are enslaved, Revocatus and Felicity, but the
(07:13):
kicker is Felicity's pregnant.
Wait, they'd kill a pregnant gal?
No, but she gives birth in the slammer, so she's not off yet.
Perpetua nurses her newborn son in the pen and arranges for her family to care for
him if she's slain.
Bananas.
Oh, we haven't even got to the bananas part.
It seems Perpetua achieved a level of serenity on the inside.
(07:36):
She even claims the pokey's like a palaceto her.
Some palace.
One night, she spots a bronze ladder reaching from her jail cell to heaven.
The narrow structure is lined with swords, knives, and spears, and at its base,
a serpent or dragon waits, deterring her ascent.
(07:58):
Perpetua's pal Saturus is with her, and he's the first climb.
Once he gets up, he shouts for Perpetua to follow suit but warns her not to get bitten
by the beast.
She hollers back; it ain't biting her in thename of Jesus Christ.
The beast trembles at her will and bows itshead, so she uses it as the first rung.
(08:22):
Nice trick.
I never met such a cooperative creature inall my life.
So, she gets up to the top and enters a vastgarden.
A white-headed shepherd is milking sheep,surrounded by thousands of folks in white
garb.
He welcomes her with cheese.
The masses say, "Amen," and she awakens, still tasting the sweet taste of the cheesy
(08:45):
morsel back in the Carthage slammer.
Bananas.
Yeah, that part is pretty bananas.
It should also sound familiar.
To Calder's war story, sure.
Even down to the shepherd.
But he didn't get any cheese.
Yeah, but his head was full of cheese at the time.
The dope kind.
So what happened to her after Perpetua awoke back in the pokey?
(09:07):
Her father arrives and begs her to drop the martyr path.
What do you mean by martyr path?
Fair question.
Perpetua and her pals are willing to sacrifice their lives to stay true to Christian teachings.
They believe God will reward their bravery, and the living will take notice and help
spread Christianity.
So, I take it she refuses her father.
(09:28):
Correct.
She is taken to the forum and, before a great crowd, defies her father's pleas to
offer a sacrifice to the Roman Emperor and renounce her faith.
Upon her confession, her father makes a final plea, and the Roman official orders
him beaten with a rod.
Yikes.
She gets sentenced to death and is back in the dungeon when she dreams of her
(09:50):
deceased brother, who died from illness as a boy.
In her dream, he lives in perpetual frustration, straining to quench his thirst by
reaching a water vessel higher than he can attain.
For eternity?
So it would seem.
Bad way to go.
But Perpetua believes she can still rescuehim through martyrdom.
(10:11):
When they bring Perpetua to the stocks, she envisions the boy drinking from a
golden chalice and running away to play.
Martyrs were a bit full of themselves. Weren't they?
Oh, sure.
They threatened the whole enterprise.
What if you or I could sign up to get slain and see new visions?
What good is reading the good book?
(10:32):
We could become prophets ourselves.
Not to mention, this is a woman's story.
It's important to remember that the unknown editor claims Perpetua authored
her account until the martyrdom itself.
If true, Perpetua's story would be one of,if not the oldest, historical accounts of
a woman in her own words.
(10:52):
You can see the danger there.
So did the clergy.
Oh, the whole martyrdom movement caused quite a stir.
One of her contemporaries, Tertullian, claimed martyr blood seeded the church.
How do you come up with all this stuff?
Told you I'm proficient with the ancients.
That's why I don't bother with Ms. Blavatsky's booshwash.
(11:13):
Anyhow, you fast forward two centuries and some change; Saint Augustine
prescribes people ought to persist rather than lie down to perish.
It's the only way to keep the whole outfit operational.
Back to Perpetua.
Right.
So, all the martyrs are still in their pokey palace.
Meanwhile, everyone who's anyone gathers in Carthage for the feast and games held in
(11:36):
honor of the emperor's late father's birthday.
Rumor is even old emp Septimius Severus attends himself.
Perpetua then dreams of one of the deacons visiting her and bringing her
into the arena.
Attendants strip her naked, and she transforms into a man.
I didn't see that twist coming.
She faces off against a great Egyptian warrior.
(11:58):
I thought you said she transformed into aman?
Good point.
Okay, they whoop the Egyptian warrior good and receive a ceremonial branch from the
master of gladiators.
He kisses Perpetua, who's back to her female form again, and she proceeds in
glory through the amphitheater's Gate of Life.
(12:18):
She understands this to mean she will fightagainst the devil and be victorious.
Awfully cheerful for a gal headed to the gallows.
The night before the games begin, her palFelicity gives birth and sends the child to
her sister to raise.
So, she's delighted since this means she can participate in martyrdom like
(12:39):
the others.
You'd think she'd want to live and raise her child.
Oh, the zeal of martyrs is really something.
Whoever wrote about their final day says they entered the amphitheater as if they
were entering heaven.
Courageous fools.
Revocatus gets thrashed by a bear and leopard, but Saturus has better luck.
The gladiator who sicks a boar on him endsup getting gored himself.
(13:03):
Then the bear refuses to touch Revocatus.
So the gladiators recall him unharmed.
Next, the Romans bring out the women, throwing them center stage to face off
against some angry cow.
They survive this trial and stumble to their feet.
Then, as he'd foreseen, Saturus is killedwith one bite from a leopard.
What a circus.
(13:24):
Finally, the remaining Christians are huddled together to be cut down by soldiers.
And you can imagine how it ends, apart from one odd detail about Perpetua's
demise.
Odd?
The novice soldier sent to cut her down maims her instead of cutting her throat,
piercing her between bones. She shrieks out in pain, and as he hesitates
(13:45):
to finish the kill, she brings down the blade upon her own neck.
What?
That's what this reads.
Isn't that suicide?
Not precisely, but maybe.
Martyrs were supposed to get fast-trackedto heaven.
Don't all good Christians go to heaven?
Oh, no.
Not at this time, at least.
(14:05):
In the third century, Tertullian explained,Christians believed they would enter Hades
deep inside Earth's crust upon death.
There, they'll await the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
So, seventeen hundred years later, they stillhang out in Hades?
With the only exception being martyrs.
But no one knows what happens when we kick off, so they may have been wrong
(14:27):
and have to wait it out like everyone else.
Or maybe she's considered a suicide?
Well, sure. Who knows?
Perhaps she's stuck in Hades but gets bored and decides to visit her old stomping
grounds in Carthage.
So, you think Perpetua's also the same one from my dream?
Yup.
If the setting of Carthage's old amphitheater weren't enough,
it jives with Calder's tale.
Which is what?
(14:48):
Calder's down on his luck, the crumb. Feeling blue.
Before him, he spots a beauty in Roman rags.
It takes him a moment to realize she's a specter.
Her sudden appearance was enough to startle him.
She speaks, but her language is foreign to him.
Then she approaches and displays the fresh cut above her breasts.
(15:11):
He about falls over in horror, but her eyesconvey some universal semblance of hope.
Whatever words she speaks, he understands their meaning without a
translator. He's to kick the dope and live a good life.
Apparently, meeting a martyr can have suchan effect on a man.
That's quite a tale.
That's how he told it.
(15:32):
However, it doesn't appear Calder stumbledonto her story.
He never mentions her by name.
Instead, one of his last entries is aboutchecking out literature on speaking with the
dead or getting in touch with one's past lives.
So, that's why he attended the Theosophists, just like Ms. Krause told us.
Sure.
And my money's on Phillip.
(15:53):
I bet he discovered the connection between Calder's tale and Perpetua.
Say, why don't we go over and checkhis collection?
Too late.
Lilah had them all donated to the library.
Which one?
We'd have to ask her.
Rats. Well, there's one person who could answer this real quick.
Calder Evans.
Let's see, I've still got his number here. [SHUFFLING PAPERS.]
(16:14):
[THE PHONE RECEIVER PICKED UP. SIX ROTARY DIALS.]
Come on. Come on. Pick up you crumb.
Ah, heck.
He's not answering?
(16:36):
You think he's dodging our calls?
I dunno. It's late.
Maybe he's out with a new fella?
Well, let's hope he didn't skip town.
It's late, alright. Is that the end of Calder's ghost story?
Sure, but you know what it means, don't you?
I'm not that dense.
Calder got spooked straight by Perpetua.
Yeah, but the troubling part is there's nothing in Calder's journal about
seeing old Perpetua stateside. So, why would Phillip think she'd cross the
(17:01):
pond to help him?
I don't know, doesn't she dwell deep in the Earth?
Can't she just pop up anywhere she likes?
Most hauntings are tied to a particular place.
I thought some believe they get haunted wherever they go.
That the spirit stays with them.
That's possible, but then we ain't talking no ordinary spirit.
What do you mean?
(17:21):
I'm hesitant to say.
You walk down this path, and you start flirting with mortal peril.
But I know for certain you shouldn't be seeingher in your dreams.
Something's not right there.
What if she visited me to set me on the straight and narrow?
The ghost of a martyr may work differently.
Hmm. That's a novel angle.
I thought you didn't believe in all this?
(17:42):
Oh, I'm a believer.
Bet your two c notes, I believe.
It's just I wouldn't pretend to have all the answers.
I know a human being is only breath and shadow.
Sophocles again?
You're a quick study, Nige.
We're close on this one.
So very close.
Close to what, knowing that Phillip was out of his gourd on morphine chasing ghosts?
(18:03):
Nah. There's more to it than that.
We'll have to see what his manuscript says.
It might confirm my new theory.
What theory?
Oh, don't you know it's poor form for onegumshoe to spill a half-baked theory.
I don't want to taint your process.
We're just a day or two away from calling it quits.
Soon Lilah and I will be hauling Phillip back to Zeugma.
(18:25):
That's inevitable, I suppose.
But, at the moment, his spirit's tormented.
I think he sought to climb that ladder tofree himself from dope.
Instead, he fell to his death.
Now you sound like a Holy Roller.
Ha.
Enjoy your plush room at the Mayflower, and give me a ring at home when it arrives.
(18:46):
The manuscript?
What else?
All I know is Ms. Krause better hold up herend of the bargain.
Or what? You can't be serious about turning her over to the press?
That goes against my client's interests.
Don't worry, I won't offer more red meat tothose sharks at the Star.
Good night, Nige.
Night Torsten.
Oh, and Torsten.
One more thing.
You're not my type, either.
(19:07):
Ha. Good cause I ain't got the strength to show you a good time.
Why don't you take a spin around the circle?
Maybe you'll find someone more to you're liking.
I might just take your advice.
Get out of here, ya bum.
[MELLOW MUSIC.]
(19:29):
[HOTEL LOBBY NOISES.]
Morning, sir.
Have any deliveries come for me, Nigel Clemmons in 302, or for the Barrs?
Yes, good morning, Mr. Clemmons.
A courier just came by with a parcel.
Wait one moment, please.
[Footsteps].
Sorry to trouble you, sir, but I overheardyou mention the Barrs.
I'm trying to reach Mrs. Lilah Barr, but this gentleman informed me she already
(19:52):
checked out.
I don't believe they've left.
I'm an associate of Mrs. Barr.
May I ask what this concerns?
Her brother, sir.
I read he passed away on Wednesday morning.
Read? Read where?
That story wasn't in any of the papers.
Maybe not the fancy papers white folk read,but the Washington Daily ran a story about
Phillip's passing on Thursday.
Geez, I wasn't aware.
(20:13):
I don't want to cause any trouble for him,but my cousin's a bellman.
He said he delivered a bottle of champagneto Mrs. Barr's suite Thursday night.
Here you are, sir.
Excuse me, is this man troubling you?
No trouble at all.
Is something the matter, sir?
Oh, no.
I suppose not.
It's just I anticipated a larger package, is all.
(20:36):
[UNSEALING OF PARCEL.]
What the devil is this?
What's wrong?
You ever been double-crossed?
All the damn time.
Is it something I can help you with?
I don't think so.
Sorry, I didn't catch your name.
Abe Rhodes, sir.
Nigel Clemmons.
And you wanted to see Mrs. Barr about herbrother?
That's correct, sir.
Any more specifics than that?
I'd rather not say, sir.
(20:56):
It's a personal matter.
Excuse me, sir.
Would you call up to the Barrs' suite?
Room number 1010--
Yes, sir. Right away.
Mr. Rhodes, you'll have to give me more togo on if you want to visit Mrs. Barr.
I understand.
But I'd prefer not to speak of such thingsin the lobby.
Sure, I've got a room here.
You can come on up and spill it there.
(21:16):
Well, any luck?
They're not answering, sir.
Perhaps they stepped out?
Fine.
Thanks.
Mr. Rhodes, could you give me a minute?
I've got a call to make, and then I'll meetyou right back here.
Alright.
[FOOTSTEPS.]
[PICK UP THE RECEIVER AND INSERT COINS.]
[SIX ROTARY DIALS.]
(21:45):
Hi, Torsten.
You won't believe it, but she reneged on herdeal.
Sent us a cease and desist order instead.
I'm reading mine right now.
Yours?
Oh, she served us both, buster.
Some joker buzzed in at my apartment.
I stopped my Maine Coon Griffin from clawin'his eyes out and grabbed him, he scurried
halfway up the fella's torso.
(22:05):
Should have let him do it.
At least she sent the manuscript, just notto us.
What are you talking about?
To whom did she send it?
Lilah.
You mustn't have reached the last paragraph.
No, I was a bit distracted by another problem.
There's a strapping gentleman named Abe Rhodes here to see Lilah.
He claims it's personal regarding her deceasedbrother.
Said he read about it in the Washington Daily.
(22:26):
What?
Did the Daily get the scoop before the Postor the Star?
Well, good for them.
The only thing I can figure is maybe Phillipowed him some money.
I knew an Abe Wheeler once.
He was a hophead dealer.
We called him Wheeler the Dealer.
He seems mighty polite to be a dope pusher.
I'd reckon more of an honest Abe type.
We'll just have to trust your judgment. But if you're wrong--
(22:48):
Hold it.
I told him to wait for me in the lobby tosee what he has to say--Christ.
I lost sight of him.
Heck, I gotta scram.
He must have overheard me mention Lilah'sroom number to the desk clerk.
Get here soon, will you--[THE RECEIVER HANGS UP.]
[HEELS RUN ON MARBLE.]
Excuse me, that man waiting here.
Did you see which way he went?
Toward to rear, sir.
(23:08):
He either ventured to the elevators orexited onto Seventeenth Street.
Ah, heck.
Do you require any assistance, sir?
Let's hope not.
[OUTRO MUSIC.]
Dupont Investigations is written by Marc Benjamin Langston and directed, edited, and sound-designed by Bryce Bowyn.
Keep your ears in the 1930s by becoming aDUPONT INVESTIGATOR.
(23:30):
Access our private discord server "The InsideScoop" or explore Torsten Somersby's recovered
case file by visiting nocturnehall.com/investigator
Dupont Investigations (23:42):
The Scourge from Carthage Part 4 features
Marc Benjamin Langston as TORSTEN SOMERSBY
Jacob Lowman as NIGEL CLEMMONS
Bryan Langston as DRIVER 1 and CLERK and
Claxton Rabb the Third as ABE RHODES
The Original theme song, "Devils of Dupont,"written and performed by Bryce Bowyn, is available
(24:05):
wherever you stream music.
For individuals and families facing mentalhealth or substance use disorders in the United
States, listeners can call the free, confidentialNational Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
That?s 1-800-662-H-E-L-P.
Nocturne Hall presents an original audio drama intended only for an adult audience.
Devils walk among us.
Some just a mile north of the White House.
Whether conjured or elected, they prey on the innocent all the same.
(00:23):
Most won't even listen, so folks knock on the one door in the district of crime who
will.
Dupont Investigations.
[Music (00:36):
I never thought my heart would mend]
You taught me how to love again]
It's you and me until the end]
Oh, we?ll paint this whole town red]
Just the devils, the devils of Dupont]
Just the devils, the devils of Dupont]
(01:02):
This is The Scourge from Carthage Part 4.
[THUNDER AND HEAVY RAIN.]
There's a cab with its lights on.
I think we caught his eye.
[CURB SPLASH.]
[VEHICLE SLOWING TO CURB.]
Get in, fellas. [THE CAR DOOR OPENS.]
(01:22):
Evening, pal.
Thanks for saving us.
We'd be drowned rats soon.
Let's see; we're headed to 1350 Connecticut Avenue Northwest.
Umm, hmm.
Your office?
Yeah, we forgot to stop for hooch.
But the office could double as a distillery.
Plus, Calder's journal is there.
Oh, it's not much use to us, but my gal Rowena left us an old tome, which should
(01:45):
really light up your life.
You're about the first person I've met excited by an old tome.
Nige, I tell you, you ought to get out more.
Nothing's better than an old tome on ancient Rome.
Those fools were getting into all sorts of trouble.
We haven't seen anything comparable.
At least not since they paved over Murder Bay to make room for those new Goliath
(02:06):
federal buildings.
So, the ghost Calder encountered is Roman?
Carthaginian.
Which, at the time, was part of Rome.
C'mon. It's been a while since I read the Aeneid, so where the heck is Carthage?
French Tunisia.
But you've seen the amphitheater in your dreams.
I saw some old ruins.
In a round shape.
And the kicker's the column crowned with a cross erected near the southern entrance.
(02:28):
Why's that important?
It corroborates the identity of your ladyfriend from your dream last night.
Alright, walk me through it then.
After Armistice Day, Calder enrolls in theAmerican Expeditionary Force's University
in Beaune.
He stays a few weeks until he has just one remaining bindle of morphine.
Wait.
What's a bindle?
(02:48):
It's a small envelope of dope.
Sorry.
No, don't apologize.
Must not spend much time around hopheads in ol' Zeugma.
Well, not that I knew of.
Anyway.
Calder's fear of losing his stash drives him to desertion.
He books it to Lyon, where he loots a druggist.
But the resulting heat causes him to flee to Nice.
He decides it's safer to risk lesser crimesand acquire morphine off the black market.
(03:12):
So, he acquaints himself with some low-level pirates and winds up in the city of Tunis.
That's where Carthage is located?
Right.
One early morning, Calder's high begins wearing off as he wanders around the old ruins.
He's been drinking, too, so he's in roughshape.
Two hours before dawn, he rests at the amphitheater ruins.
At that moment, he wishes more than anything to be able to kick his dope habit.
(03:35):
He didn't seem to be on anything when we saw him.
No, I doubt he was.
Just like those wraith visitors of Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge, the Roman ghost that visited Calder
made quite an impression.
I thought an hour ago you were making fun of Mr. Dicken's ghost stories.
Never.
I was poking at the minds of those who failto grasp the possible truth in them.
(03:56):
The Bible's got ghosts.
The Bible's got elves and giants too.
Even Christ's a ghost for a minute there.
Look, I get it.
Paranormal apparitions are a hard sell.
Well, they're easy to sell enough in the papers.
Everyone wants to believe, but when you get down to brass tax, most harbor some doubt.
A ghost is like an amusing wooden nickel.
Or a clever tongue chiseling snake oil.
(04:17):
I bet Ms. Krause lives on snake oil.
And Gin.
Though my point exactly, and I'm sure shebelieves in specters--a deep, profound,
albeit naive belief.
Overzealous to a fault, I'm sure.
Why I'd wager she'd pay a pretty penny to have a paranormal experience but lacks the
depth to evaluate a genuine ghost from a fraud.
(04:39):
Come now.
Maybe she's got a better sixth sense than you think.
Anybody hanging on to every word of Ms. Blavatsky lacks objectivity.
[CAR SLOWS.]
All right, thanks, pal.
Keep the change.
Thank you kindly, sirs.
[THE CAR DOORS OPEN.]
(05:01):
You should have let me get it.
Oh, that's going down in my expenses ledger.
You'll be getting it, don't you worry.
[THUNDER. CLOCK TICKING.]
[A GLASS TUMBLER SETS DOWN ON THE DESK.]
You about done with the tome?
It's proving about as interesting as I imagined, and you still haven't explained
(05:22):
one bit about the ghost Calder saw.
Oh, Nige.
I was right.
Gosh darn it, I was right.
What are you bumping gums about?
I should preface.
I can't say for sure Calder's apparition was the same, but the facts are uncanny.
Uncanny, I tell you.
Out with it.
We've got to rewind our clocks to the turn of the second century.
(05:44):
But, I thought this would have been 1918 or 19?
Sure, Calder saw her around then, but if itwas her, she's been wandering the site for
seventeen hundred years or more.
Her name's Perpetua, and she's no ordinary ghost.
What makes her so special?
Has any Methodist minister ever mentioned her to you?
(06:05):
Not that I can recall.
She ain't in the Bible, so you don't feellike you skipped a Sunday School lesson.
So, about a century after the authorship of the New Testament?
Very good.
I bet your preach would be proud of you.
Cut the chatter. It's late.
Geez. Okay.
So, Roman Emperor Septimius Severus supposedly issues an edict against folks
converting to Judaism or Christianity.
(06:28):
At some point, the early Christian historian Eusebius compares the wrath of Severus's
persecutions against the Christians to the coming of the antichrist.
Sounds awful.
Not a great time to be caught a catechumen.
A what?
A young convert receiving religious instruction, gearing up to be baptized.
(06:48):
So this Perpetua's one of them?
Yup, and she's got some friends.
They all get rounded up together.
Perpetua's twenty-two years old and just gave birth to a son.
However, she's a noble Roman, lawfully wed.
Two other prisoners are also free men, Saturninus and Saturus.
And the last of those locked up are enslaved, Revocatus and Felicity, but the
(07:13):
kicker is Felicity's pregnant.
Wait, they'd kill a pregnant gal?
No, but she gives birth in the slammer, so she's not off yet.
Perpetua nurses her newborn son in the pen and arranges for her family to care for
him if she's slain.
Bananas.
Oh, we haven't even got to the bananas part.
It seems Perpetua achieved a level of serenity on the inside.
(07:36):
She even claims the pokey's like a palaceto her.
Some palace.
One night, she spots a bronze ladder reaching from her jail cell to heaven.
The narrow structure is lined with swords, knives, and spears, and at its base,
a serpent or dragon waits, deterring her ascent.
(07:58):
Perpetua's pal Saturus is with her, and he's the first climb.
Once he gets up, he shouts for Perpetua to follow suit but warns her not to get bitten
by the beast.
She hollers back; it ain't biting her in thename of Jesus Christ.
The beast trembles at her will and bows itshead, so she uses it as the first rung.
(08:22):
Nice trick.
I never met such a cooperative creature inall my life.
So, she gets up to the top and enters a vastgarden.
A white-headed shepherd is milking sheep,surrounded by thousands of folks in white
garb.
He welcomes her with cheese.
The masses say, "Amen," and she awakens, still tasting the sweet taste of the cheesy
(08:45):
morsel back in the Carthage slammer.
Bananas.
Yeah, that part is pretty bananas.
It should also sound familiar.
To Calder's war story, sure.
Even down to the shepherd.
But he didn't get any cheese.
Yeah, but his head was full of cheese at the time.
The dope kind.
So what happened to her after Perpetua awoke back in the pokey?
(09:07):
Her father arrives and begs her to drop the martyr path.
What do you mean by martyr path?
Fair question.
Perpetua and her pals are willing to sacrifice their lives to stay true to Christian teachings.
They believe God will reward their bravery, and the living will take notice and help
spread Christianity.
So, I take it she refuses her father.
(09:28):
Correct.
She is taken to the forum and, before a great crowd, defies her father's pleas to
offer a sacrifice to the Roman Emperor and renounce her faith.
Upon her confession, her father makes a final plea, and the Roman official orders
him beaten with a rod.
Yikes.
She gets sentenced to death and is back in the dungeon when she dreams of her
(09:50):
deceased brother, who died from illness as a boy.
In her dream, he lives in perpetual frustration, straining to quench his thirst by
reaching a water vessel higher than he can attain.
For eternity?
So it would seem.
Bad way to go.
But Perpetua believes she can still rescuehim through martyrdom.
(10:11):
When they bring Perpetua to the stocks, she envisions the boy drinking from a
golden chalice and running away to play.
Martyrs were a bit full of themselves. Weren't they?
Oh, sure.
They threatened the whole enterprise.
What if you or I could sign up to get slain and see new visions?
What good is reading the good book?
(10:32):
We could become prophets ourselves.
Not to mention, this is a woman's story.
It's important to remember that the unknown editor claims Perpetua authored
her account until the martyrdom itself.
If true, Perpetua's story would be one of,if not the oldest, historical accounts of
a woman in her own words.
(10:52):
You can see the danger there.
So did the clergy.
Oh, the whole martyrdom movement caused quite a stir.
One of her contemporaries, Tertullian, claimed martyr blood seeded the church.
How do you come up with all this stuff?
Told you I'm proficient with the ancients.
That's why I don't bother with Ms. Blavatsky's booshwash.
(11:13):
Anyhow, you fast forward two centuries and some change; Saint Augustine
prescribes people ought to persist rather than lie down to perish.
It's the only way to keep the whole outfit operational.
Back to Perpetua.
Right.
So, all the martyrs are still in their pokey palace.
Meanwhile, everyone who's anyone gathers in Carthage for the feast and games held in
(11:36):
honor of the emperor's late father's birthday.
Rumor is even old emp Septimius Severus attends himself.
Perpetua then dreams of one of the deacons visiting her and bringing her
into the arena.
Attendants strip her naked, and she transforms into a man.
I didn't see that twist coming.
She faces off against a great Egyptian warrior.
(11:58):
I thought you said she transformed into aman?
Good point.
Okay, they whoop the Egyptian warrior good and receive a ceremonial branch from the
master of gladiators.
He kisses Perpetua, who's back to her female form again, and she proceeds in
glory through the amphitheater's Gate of Life.
(12:18):
She understands this to mean she will fightagainst the devil and be victorious.
Awfully cheerful for a gal headed to the gallows.
The night before the games begin, her palFelicity gives birth and sends the child to
her sister to raise.
So, she's delighted since this means she can participate in martyrdom like
(12:39):
the others.
You'd think she'd want to live and raise her child.
Oh, the zeal of martyrs is really something.
Whoever wrote about their final day says they entered the amphitheater as if they
were entering heaven.
Courageous fools.
Revocatus gets thrashed by a bear and leopard, but Saturus has better luck.
The gladiator who sicks a boar on him endsup getting gored himself.
(13:03):
Then the bear refuses to touch Revocatus.
So the gladiators recall him unharmed.
Next, the Romans bring out the women, throwing them center stage to face off
against some angry cow.
They survive this trial and stumble to their feet.
Then, as he'd foreseen, Saturus is killedwith one bite from a leopard.
What a circus.
(13:24):
Finally, the remaining Christians are huddled together to be cut down by soldiers.
And you can imagine how it ends, apart from one odd detail about Perpetua's
demise.
Odd?
The novice soldier sent to cut her down maims her instead of cutting her throat,
piercing her between bones. She shrieks out in pain, and as he hesitates
(13:45):
to finish the kill, she brings down the blade upon her own neck.
What?
That's what this reads.
Isn't that suicide?
Not precisely, but maybe.
Martyrs were supposed to get fast-trackedto heaven.
Don't all good Christians go to heaven?
Oh, no.
Not at this time, at least.
(14:05):
In the third century, Tertullian explained,Christians believed they would enter Hades
deep inside Earth's crust upon death.
There, they'll await the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
So, seventeen hundred years later, they stillhang out in Hades?
With the only exception being martyrs.
But no one knows what happens when we kick off, so they may have been wrong
(14:27):
and have to wait it out like everyone else.
Or maybe she's considered a suicide?
Well, sure. Who knows?
Perhaps she's stuck in Hades but gets bored and decides to visit her old stomping
grounds in Carthage.
So, you think Perpetua's also the same one from my dream?
Yup.
If the setting of Carthage's old amphitheater weren't enough,
it jives with Calder's tale.
Which is what?
(14:48):
Calder's down on his luck, the crumb. Feeling blue.
Before him, he spots a beauty in Roman rags.
It takes him a moment to realize she's a specter.
Her sudden appearance was enough to startle him.
She speaks, but her language is foreign to him.
Then she approaches and displays the fresh cut above her breasts.
(15:11):
He about falls over in horror, but her eyesconvey some universal semblance of hope.
Whatever words she speaks, he understands their meaning without a
translator. He's to kick the dope and live a good life.
Apparently, meeting a martyr can have suchan effect on a man.
That's quite a tale.
That's how he told it.
(15:32):
However, it doesn't appear Calder stumbledonto her story.
He never mentions her by name.
Instead, one of his last entries is aboutchecking out literature on speaking with the
dead or getting in touch with one's past lives.
So, that's why he attended the Theosophists, just like Ms. Krause told us.
Sure.
And my money's on Phillip.
(15:53):
I bet he discovered the connection between Calder's tale and Perpetua.
Say, why don't we go over and checkhis collection?
Too late.
Lilah had them all donated to the library.
Which one?
We'd have to ask her.
Rats. Well, there's one person who could answer this real quick.
Calder Evans.
Let's see, I've still got his number here. [SHUFFLING PAPERS.]
(16:14):
[THE PHONE RECEIVER PICKED UP. SIX ROTARY DIALS.]
Come on. Come on. Pick up you crumb.
Ah, heck.
He's not answering?
(16:36):
You think he's dodging our calls?
I dunno. It's late.
Maybe he's out with a new fella?
Well, let's hope he didn't skip town.
It's late, alright. Is that the end of Calder's ghost story?
Sure, but you know what it means, don't you?
I'm not that dense.
Calder got spooked straight by Perpetua.
Yeah, but the troubling part is there's nothing in Calder's journal about
seeing old Perpetua stateside. So, why would Phillip think she'd cross the
(17:01):
pond to help him?
I don't know, doesn't she dwell deep in the Earth?
Can't she just pop up anywhere she likes?
Most hauntings are tied to a particular place.
I thought some believe they get haunted wherever they go.
That the spirit stays with them.
That's possible, but then we ain't talking no ordinary spirit.
What do you mean?
(17:21):
I'm hesitant to say.
You walk down this path, and you start flirting with mortal peril.
But I know for certain you shouldn't be seeingher in your dreams.
Something's not right there.
What if she visited me to set me on the straight and narrow?
The ghost of a martyr may work differently.
Hmm. That's a novel angle.
I thought you didn't believe in all this?
(17:42):
Oh, I'm a believer.
Bet your two c notes, I believe.
It's just I wouldn't pretend to have all the answers.
I know a human being is only breath and shadow.
Sophocles again?
You're a quick study, Nige.
We're close on this one.
So very close.
Close to what, knowing that Phillip was out of his gourd on morphine chasing ghosts?
(18:03):
Nah. There's more to it than that.
We'll have to see what his manuscript says.
It might confirm my new theory.
What theory?
Oh, don't you know it's poor form for onegumshoe to spill a half-baked theory.
I don't want to taint your process.
We're just a day or two away from calling it quits.
Soon Lilah and I will be hauling Phillip back to Zeugma.
(18:25):
That's inevitable, I suppose.
But, at the moment, his spirit's tormented.
I think he sought to climb that ladder tofree himself from dope.
Instead, he fell to his death.
Now you sound like a Holy Roller.
Ha.
Enjoy your plush room at the Mayflower, and give me a ring at home when it arrives.
(18:46):
The manuscript?
What else?
All I know is Ms. Krause better hold up herend of the bargain.
Or what? You can't be serious about turning her over to the press?
That goes against my client's interests.
Don't worry, I won't offer more red meat tothose sharks at the Star.
Good night, Nige.
Night Torsten.
Oh, and Torsten.
One more thing.
You're not my type, either.
(19:07):
Ha. Good cause I ain't got the strength to show you a good time.
Why don't you take a spin around the circle?
Maybe you'll find someone more to you're liking.
I might just take your advice.
Get out of here, ya bum.
[MELLOW MUSIC.]
(19:29):
[HOTEL LOBBY NOISES.]
Morning, sir.
Have any deliveries come for me, Nigel Clemmons in 302, or for the Barrs?
Yes, good morning, Mr. Clemmons.
A courier just came by with a parcel.
Wait one moment, please.
[Footsteps].
Sorry to trouble you, sir, but I overheardyou mention the Barrs.
I'm trying to reach Mrs. Lilah Barr, but this gentleman informed me she already
(19:52):
checked out.
I don't believe they've left.
I'm an associate of Mrs. Barr.
May I ask what this concerns?
Her brother, sir.
I read he passed away on Wednesday morning.
Read? Read where?
That story wasn't in any of the papers.
Maybe not the fancy papers white folk read,but the Washington Daily ran a story about
Phillip's passing on Thursday.
Geez, I wasn't aware.
(20:13):
I don't want to cause any trouble for him,but my cousin's a bellman.
He said he delivered a bottle of champagneto Mrs. Barr's suite Thursday night.
Here you are, sir.
Excuse me, is this man troubling you?
No trouble at all.
Is something the matter, sir?
Oh, no.
I suppose not.
It's just I anticipated a larger package, is all.
(20:36):
[UNSEALING OF PARCEL.]
What the devil is this?
What's wrong?
You ever been double-crossed?
All the damn time.
Is it something I can help you with?
I don't think so.
Sorry, I didn't catch your name.
Abe Rhodes, sir.
Nigel Clemmons.
And you wanted to see Mrs. Barr about herbrother?
That's correct, sir.
Any more specifics than that?
I'd rather not say, sir.
(20:56):
It's a personal matter.
Excuse me, sir.
Would you call up to the Barrs' suite?
Room number 1010--
Yes, sir. Right away.
Mr. Rhodes, you'll have to give me more togo on if you want to visit Mrs. Barr.
I understand.
But I'd prefer not to speak of such thingsin the lobby.
Sure, I've got a room here.
You can come on up and spill it there.
(21:16):
Well, any luck?
They're not answering, sir.
Perhaps they stepped out?
Fine.
Thanks.
Mr. Rhodes, could you give me a minute?
I've got a call to make, and then I'll meetyou right back here.
Alright.
[FOOTSTEPS.]
[PICK UP THE RECEIVER AND INSERT COINS.]
[SIX ROTARY DIALS.]
(21:45):
Hi, Torsten.
You won't believe it, but she reneged on herdeal.
Sent us a cease and desist order instead.
I'm reading mine right now.
Yours?
Oh, she served us both, buster.
Some joker buzzed in at my apartment.
I stopped my Maine Coon Griffin from clawin'his eyes out and grabbed him, he scurried
halfway up the fella's torso.
(22:05):
Should have let him do it.
At least she sent the manuscript, just notto us.
What are you talking about?
To whom did she send it?
Lilah.
You mustn't have reached the last paragraph.
No, I was a bit distracted by another problem.
There's a strapping gentleman named Abe Rhodes here to see Lilah.
He claims it's personal regarding her deceasedbrother.
Said he read about it in the Washington Daily.
(22:26):
What?
Did the Daily get the scoop before the Postor the Star?
Well, good for them.
The only thing I can figure is maybe Phillipowed him some money.
I knew an Abe Wheeler once.
He was a hophead dealer.
We called him Wheeler the Dealer.
He seems mighty polite to be a dope pusher.
I'd reckon more of an honest Abe type.
We'll just have to trust your judgment. But if you're wrong--
(22:48):
Hold it.
I told him to wait for me in the lobby tosee what he has to say--Christ.
I lost sight of him.
Heck, I gotta scram.
He must have overheard me mention Lilah'sroom number to the desk clerk.
Get here soon, will you--[THE RECEIVER HANGS UP.]
[HEELS RUN ON MARBLE.]
Excuse me, that man waiting here.
Did you see which way he went?
Toward to rear, sir.
(23:08):
He either ventured to the elevators orexited onto Seventeenth Street.
Ah, heck.
Do you require any assistance, sir?
Let's hope not.
[OUTRO MUSIC.]
Dupont Investigations is written by Marc Benjamin Langston and directed, edited, and sound-designed by Bryce Bowyn.
Keep your ears in the 1930s by becoming aDUPONT INVESTIGATOR.
(23:30):
Access our private discord server "The InsideScoop" or explore Torsten Somersby's recovered
case file by visiting nocturnehall.com/investigator
Dupont Investigations (23:42):
The Scourge from Carthage Part 4 features
Marc Benjamin Langston as TORSTEN SOMERSBY
Jacob Lowman as NIGEL CLEMMONS
Bryan Langston as DRIVER 1 and CLERK and
Claxton Rabb the Third as ABE RHODES
The Original theme song, "Devils of Dupont,"written and performed by Bryce Bowyn, is available
(24:05):
wherever you stream music.
For individuals and families facing mentalhealth or substance use disorders in the United
States, listeners can call the free, confidentialNational Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
That?s 1-800-662-H-E-L-P.
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