Read Online Haunted Objects: Stories of Ghosts on Your Shelf by Christopher Balzano, Tim Weisberg - Free Book Online
Authors: Christopher Balzano, Tim Weisberg
Ads: Link
and used as a moneymaker and cautionary tale. According to Snopes.com and several other online sources, the vehicle was then bought by car customizer George Barris, whose mechanic suffered a severe injury as it was unloaded from the truck.
Barris allegedly stripped the car and sold off the parts. Troy McHenry and William Eschrid, two doctors living in the Beverley Hills area, got into an accident with each other immediately after using some of those parts to repair their own cars. McHenry died, as did another man who bought the tires from the doomed Spyder—they exploded the first time he took the car out.
Where are the car and its parts now? No one seems to know. One legend tells of it being transported by 18-wheeler to serve another stint as an example of how not to drive. On the way to its destination, the truck got into an accident, killing the driver, and the car was stolen. Another tells of it being transported but never arriving at its destination, even though the truck arrived late but in one piece.
Of course, none of this can be faithfully tracked to any reputable source. Barris spoke publicly about it, but was never able to have his version verified. Troy McHenry did die in a car accident, but in an actual car race, not racing a fellow doctor who also had parts from Dean’s car. Instead, the circumstances of the crash and the legends of the cursed car feed one another, and while there may be no proof that either is true, they stand as an example that Hollywood stories are always made from a little bit of truth and a little bit of imagination.
The Confirmed Curse
Decades before Dean’s crash, the hunt was already in full swing to reclaim another cursed car. This one was never as glamorous as Dean’s car, but it saw more history than the Porsche. When some people look at its most infamous moment, they think the car might have had something to do with the death of more than nine million people. All this from a second-hand limousine, a questionable driver, and a curse no one can quite explain. Just like World War I was not “the war to end all wars,” the car that sparked it continued to live past its prime.
The car was a 1911 open-topped Gräf & Stift Bois de Boulogne tourer owned by Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. Although he was the heir to the throne of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, he had gained his titles and prestige more by accident and through family mishaps than through leadership and proving his worth. He married outside of his station (and was shunned by some of his own family for it), and seems to have played things close to the vest. This might have been one of the reasons he died on that fateful day in June 1914.
Ferdinand’s country had annexed Bosnia, and while visiting there, several attempts were made on his life. Then on June 28, 1914, his new limo took center stage. A grenade was thrown at the car, but the device was poorly timed and ended up exploding behind the car. The Archduke and his wife drove on, eventually making a wrong turn. They were ambushed as they tried to back up and straighten out. A shot in the neck killed Ferdinand and forced Austria-Hungary to declare war. A short time later, ties and pacts threw most of the Western world into battle.
The tourer was too nice to get rid of, so it continued to be driven during the war. General Oskar Potiorek, who was also in the limo the day Ferdinand was shot, inherited the car—but maybe he should have just bought a new one. He was beaten back in several battles by inferior troops, something outside of the highly decorated officer’s usual modus operandi. He returned to Austria shamed and was stripped of his command. There are several stories of what happened to him upon his return, but according to Snopes.com , the most prevalent is that he lost his honor, money, and maybe even his sanity. He also lost the car, which went to his captain, who died a short time later: He killed two bystanders on a country road before hitting a
Barris allegedly stripped the car and sold off the parts. Troy McHenry and William Eschrid, two doctors living in the Beverley Hills area, got into an accident with each other immediately after using some of those parts to repair their own cars. McHenry died, as did another man who bought the tires from the doomed Spyder—they exploded the first time he took the car out.
Where are the car and its parts now? No one seems to know. One legend tells of it being transported by 18-wheeler to serve another stint as an example of how not to drive. On the way to its destination, the truck got into an accident, killing the driver, and the car was stolen. Another tells of it being transported but never arriving at its destination, even though the truck arrived late but in one piece.
Of course, none of this can be faithfully tracked to any reputable source. Barris spoke publicly about it, but was never able to have his version verified. Troy McHenry did die in a car accident, but in an actual car race, not racing a fellow doctor who also had parts from Dean’s car. Instead, the circumstances of the crash and the legends of the cursed car feed one another, and while there may be no proof that either is true, they stand as an example that Hollywood stories are always made from a little bit of truth and a little bit of imagination.
The Confirmed Curse
Decades before Dean’s crash, the hunt was already in full swing to reclaim another cursed car. This one was never as glamorous as Dean’s car, but it saw more history than the Porsche. When some people look at its most infamous moment, they think the car might have had something to do with the death of more than nine million people. All this from a second-hand limousine, a questionable driver, and a curse no one can quite explain. Just like World War I was not “the war to end all wars,” the car that sparked it continued to live past its prime.
The car was a 1911 open-topped Gräf & Stift Bois de Boulogne tourer owned by Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. Although he was the heir to the throne of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, he had gained his titles and prestige more by accident and through family mishaps than through leadership and proving his worth. He married outside of his station (and was shunned by some of his own family for it), and seems to have played things close to the vest. This might have been one of the reasons he died on that fateful day in June 1914.
Ferdinand’s country had annexed Bosnia, and while visiting there, several attempts were made on his life. Then on June 28, 1914, his new limo took center stage. A grenade was thrown at the car, but the device was poorly timed and ended up exploding behind the car. The Archduke and his wife drove on, eventually making a wrong turn. They were ambushed as they tried to back up and straighten out. A shot in the neck killed Ferdinand and forced Austria-Hungary to declare war. A short time later, ties and pacts threw most of the Western world into battle.
The tourer was too nice to get rid of, so it continued to be driven during the war. General Oskar Potiorek, who was also in the limo the day Ferdinand was shot, inherited the car—but maybe he should have just bought a new one. He was beaten back in several battles by inferior troops, something outside of the highly decorated officer’s usual modus operandi. He returned to Austria shamed and was stripped of his command. There are several stories of what happened to him upon his return, but according to Snopes.com , the most prevalent is that he lost his honor, money, and maybe even his sanity. He also lost the car, which went to his captain, who died a short time later: He killed two bystanders on a country road before hitting a
Similar Books
