Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar | Mesmerized at the Moment of Death

0:01 Speaker 1: When you sleep, you enter into another world. Beyond that world lies the doorway to nightmare.

0:14 Speaker 2: Come in. Welcome.

0:31 Speaker 1: I'm Artemis Black. There have been many cases of strange occurrences within the medical community, many of which have been well documented and are easily available. And then, there are the true facts in the case of Mr. Valdemar.

0:51 Speaker 3: For God's sakes, Edgar. This is abominable. Let the man die.

0:57 Speaker 1: Are you insane?

0:58 Speaker 4: This is one of the greatest scientific experiments ever conducted.

1:01 Speaker 3: But at what cost?

1:07 Speaker 1: Our mystery drama, The Facts and the Case of M. Balbemar, was adapted from the classic by Edgar Allan Poe and written especially for Your Way to Nightmare by Winslow Swan and edited by Crimson McKenzie. Stars include Nick Davis... Winslow Swan, Raven Adams, and Crimson McKenzie. I'll return shortly with Act One.

1:49 Speaker 1: Horror that will live in your dreams well past the story's end. No, really. A story that even to this day still haunts many readers, as it may you. I must warn you, in all good conscience, that the terror you will feel will haunt you, as it does Dr. Francis Bernard.

2:21 Speaker 3: Of course, I shall not pretend to consider it any matter for wonder. That the extraordinary case of Mr. Valdemar has excited discussion. It would have been a miracle had it not, especially under the circumstances, a rather garbled and exaggerated account made its way into the public. It became the source of many unpleasant misrepresentations. And, very naturally... much disbelief. It is now rendered necessary that I give the facts as far as I comprehend them myself. It began in the summer when I met with my friend and colleague, Dr. Edgar Pike, for dinner one evening.

3:15 Speaker 4: So good of you to meet me.

3:16 Speaker 3: How could I have said no? You are looking well. We have missed you at the hospital.

3:22 Speaker 4: Thank you, Frank. There are days that I miss it myself.

3:26 Speaker 3: So what have you been doing with yourself these past three years?

3:29 Speaker 4: If I told you, you wouldn't believe me.

3:33 Speaker 3: Why don't you try, Meek?

3:35 Speaker 4: For the past three years, I've been studying.

3:39 Speaker 6: Mesmerism.

3:41 Speaker 3: You're putting me on.

3:43 Speaker 4: Specifically, what I've found in my studies is that at no time has anyone been hypnotized.

3:49 Speaker 7: Articulo mortis.

3:52 Speaker 3: At the point of death?

3:54 Speaker 4: That's just sick. But think about it, Francis.

3:58 Speaker 3: Well, I must admit to a rather morbid curiosity. The only problem I see with this experiment is finding someone who is close to death. And then being able to hypnotize them.

4:13 Speaker 4: I've already found a subject. Are you familiar with Valdemar?

4:18 Speaker 8: Oh, yes.

4:20 Speaker 3: Didn't he write the Bibliotheca Forensica?

4:23 Speaker 4: As well as several other books. I found him living on the Upper East Side. He has no family to speak of, and is more willing to go along with the venture.

4:32 Speaker 3: Then the question remains as to whether you can actually hypnotize him.

4:36 Speaker 4: Why don't you come and see for yourself? I wouldn't mind having a witness, and I can think of no one better suited than you.

4:53 Speaker 5: Ah, Dr. Pike. So good of you to come around.

4:58 Speaker 8: Mr.

4:59 Speaker 4: Valdemar, I would like to introduce Dr. Francis Bernard. If you have no objections, he would like to see one of our sessions.

5:06 Speaker 5: Of course, of course. Please, gentlemen, do come in.

5:13 Speaker 3: Thank you, Mr. Valdemar, for being so accommodating.

5:18 Speaker 5: No trouble at all. And I am grateful for you, Dr. Pike.

5:28 Speaker 4: I must say, you are looking well.

5:30 Speaker 5: For a dying man? Please don't be embarrassed. Now, shall we begin?

5:39 Speaker 9: Valdemar?

5:44 Speaker 4: Do you.

5:47 Speaker 1: Hear me?

5:50 Speaker 8: Are you asleep?

5:52 Speaker 1: Yes. I.

5:54 Speaker 10: am.

5:54 Speaker 2: asleep.

5:56 Speaker 10: Are you in any.

5:58 Speaker 2: pain?

5:58 Speaker 10: No. I.

6:00 Speaker 2: feel....

6:25 Speaker 4: When I count to three, you will awaken.

6:29 Speaker 1: One.

6:31 Speaker 2: Two.

6:33 Speaker 1: Three.

6:35 Speaker 4: Valdemar! Wake up!

6:39 Speaker 7: Incredible.

6:41 Speaker 3: Simply incredible.

6:45 Speaker 5: Thank you, Dr.

6:46 Speaker 2: Bike.

6:48 Speaker 4: What have your doctors said?

6:50 Speaker 5: I have Possibly only weeks, if not days.

6:58 Speaker 9: I wish that you would stay, but I completely understand why you are not able to. I shall call upon you when it is time.

7:09 Speaker 3: Are you absolutely sure that you wish to go through with this experiment?

7:13 Speaker 5: Oh, absolutely!

7:14 Speaker 3: Then who am I to stand in the way of the wishes of a dying man?

7:23 Speaker 1: Marcus Aurelius is quoted as saying, Death smiles at all of us. All we can do is smile back. I'll return shortly with Act 2. Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, Our death is not an end if we can live on in our children and the younger generation. For they are us. Our bodies are only wilted leaves on the tree of life.

8:15 Speaker 3: Hello?

8:15 Speaker 8: Francis, meet me at Valdemar's place as soon as possible.

8:19 Speaker 3: What's happened?

8:19 Speaker 8: I received a note from him by messenger only ten minutes ago. It reads, You may as well come now. The doctors are agreed that I cannot hold out by tomorrow midnight, and I think that they have hit the time very nearly. Valdemar, I'm heading over there now.

8:38 Speaker 11: I just want you to know, Dr. Pike, that I do not approve of what you are doing.

8:43 Speaker 4: Francis, this is Velda Hopkins, the nurse who has been attending Valdemar. Velda, this is Dr. Francis Bernard.

8:49 Speaker 3: How is he doing, Miss Hopkins?

8:51 Speaker 11: The man is dying. How do you think he should be doing?

8:55 Speaker 3: I only meant.

8:56 Speaker 4: It's all right, Francis. Need I remind you, Nurse Hopkins of Valdemars agreed to this experiment. He practically insisted on it.

9:04 Speaker 11: I just want you to know that I will not be held responsible for anything that happens.

9:10 Speaker 1: Understood.

9:10 Speaker 4: I think we should go in.

9:12 Speaker 3: Oh, my God.

9:20 Speaker 1: He looks.

9:21 Speaker 4: There doesn't seem to be any color in his eyes. He's so emaciated that the cheekbones have broken through the skin.

9:28 Speaker 11: He barely has a pulse.

9:33 Speaker 5: Gentlemen, please come in.

9:37 Speaker 1: Well, Mr.

9:38 Speaker 4: Valdemar, you seem to be in good spirits.

9:42 Speaker 5: Yes, it is all. that I have left.

9:48 Speaker 3: Exactly what are the symptoms of his illness, Dr.

9:51 Speaker 10: Pike?

9:51 Speaker 1: As it was.

9:52 Speaker 4: Explained to me, his lungs are virtually useless. There is a suspected aneurysm of the aorta, but the other symptoms makes this... impossible to diagnose.

10:03 Speaker 9: And they say that I shall not last past midnight.

10:10 Speaker 4: Valdemar, are you absolutely sure that you wish to continue with the experiment?

10:16 Speaker 2: Oh, Dr.

10:17 Speaker 9: Pike, I have never been more sure of anything in my life.

10:24 Speaker 10: I wish.

10:26 Speaker 9: I wish to be hypnotized, but I fear that you have waited far too long.

10:34 Speaker 11: I still think it is a bad idea, but you probably know best. Here, let me help you with those pillows.

10:43 Speaker 5: Thank you, Vilda. You have been... Very kind.

10:49 Speaker 4: It's almost eight o'clock. Bernard, you brought your notebook?

10:53 Speaker 3: Yes, right here.

10:54 Speaker 1: Good.

10:55 Speaker 4: Please note that Valdemar has given his consent and also who's present. Valdemar, are you ready?

11:01 Speaker 10: Indeed I am, Dr. Pike.

11:05 Speaker 4: Then let us begin. Valdemar, are you asleep?

11:20 Speaker 10: Ah, yes. Asleep now. Do not awaken me. Let me in.

11:47 Speaker 9: Die this way.

11:54 Speaker 4: Do you still feel pain in your chest?

12:01 Speaker 10: No pain. I am dying.

12:18 Speaker 11: You should let the poor man die.

12:21 Speaker 3: Pike, look at his skin. It's turned white, like a cadaver.

12:27 Speaker 11: Dear Lord, his eyes. It rolled back into his head. His jaw just dropped open.

12:36 Speaker 4: Yes, yes, but look at his tongue.

12:38 Speaker 7: It's moving as if he was speaking.

12:40 Speaker 4: There's no pulse.

12:42 Speaker 3: His skin is ice cold.

12:45 Speaker 1: Valdemar.

12:47 Speaker 4: Valdemar, can you hear me?

12:50 Speaker 1: Yes.

12:55 Speaker 10: I can hear you.

13:02 Speaker 7: Are you asleep?

13:06 Speaker 1: Yes.

13:10 Speaker 10: No. I was Asleep.

13:21 Speaker 2: And now....

13:24 Speaker 10: Now.

13:25 Speaker 5: I.

13:27 Speaker 10: Am.

13:32 Speaker 1: Dead.

13:39 Speaker 8: This.

13:40 Speaker 12: This is.

13:41 Speaker 11: It's monstrous!

13:43 Speaker 3: I'm beginning to agree with Miss Hopkins. You should end this.

13:47 Speaker 4: Now, have you both gone completely insane? Imagine what Valdemar could tell us.

13:52 Speaker 8: What?

13:53 Speaker 11: That he is dead? All you have to do is look at him to know that.

13:57 Speaker 4: Come here, both of you.

14:03 Speaker 12: His tongue is still moving.

14:06 Speaker 4: Valdemar, can you hear me?

14:13 Speaker 10: Yes. I can hear you.

14:24 Speaker 4: Valdemar, what do you see?

14:31 Speaker 9: Darkness all around me.

14:43 Speaker 10: Shadows floating near me.

14:52 Speaker 4: What sort of shadows?

14:56 Speaker 10: They whisper to me, please keep me.

15:12 Speaker 7: Asleep.

15:12 Speaker 10: Lord, Awaken me. I am.

15:28 Speaker 5: Dead.

15:41 Speaker 1: Jose Saramago once said that death doesn't take her eyes off us for a minute, so much so that even those who were not yet due to die feel her gaze pursuing them constantly. I'll return with Act 3. Act 3 It has been almost seven months since Mr. Valdemar was hypnotized at the point of death. Many physicians have come to witness the... experiment.

16:29 Speaker 3: Does he still talk about the... the shadows?

16:33 Speaker 1: Yes.

16:33 Speaker 4: He can't describe them at all. Only shadows that lie in darkness surrounding him.

16:38 Speaker 11: Don't you think it is time to end this? I can't find a pulse. He isn't breathing.

16:43 Speaker 12: There is no heartbeat! What you've put him in is a living hell.

16:50 Speaker 3: I think Velda is right. It's been seven months. Whatever you were going to try to do, I think that you have accomplished.

16:59 Speaker 4: Both of you are simply being myopic. This is the greatest experiment of the entire science of mesmerism.

17:06 Speaker 12: I see it now.

17:08 Speaker 10: You, Dr.

17:08 Speaker 12: Pike, are simply a cruel and inhuman monster. Valdemar is suffering.

17:15 Speaker 1: Yes.

17:16 Speaker 3: Edgar, you must end this. Immediately.

17:20 Speaker 8: All right.

17:22 Speaker 4: I suppose that you are both correct. Valdemar.

17:29 Speaker 5: Valdemar.

17:31 Speaker 4: Can you hear me?

17:34 Speaker 10: Yes. I can hear you.

17:45 Speaker 4: I'm going to count to three, at which time you will awaken from your sleep. Do you understand?

17:52 Speaker 8: No.

17:55 Speaker 2: One.

17:55 Speaker 10: Do not awaken me.

18:03 Speaker 1: Three.

18:04 Speaker 4: Valdemar, wake up.

18:07 Speaker 2: No.

18:10 Speaker 12: Oh, my God. He's sleeping.

18:15 Speaker 3: Getting out of the bed?

18:17 Speaker 4: Valdemar, I command you to wake up.

18:21 Speaker 1: No.

18:24 Speaker 10: You put me in this living hell.

18:37 Speaker 8: No.

18:38 Speaker 4: Valdemar, stay back.

18:40 Speaker 8: Stay back.

18:41 Speaker 3: Dear lord in heaven, Valdemar is is walking towards Pike.

18:49 Speaker 4: Valdemar, stay back, I say.

18:52 Speaker 7: What do you see, Doctor?

19:03 Speaker 5: Valdemar!

19:07 Speaker 8: Valdemar!

19:10 Speaker 1: I am.

19:14 Speaker 4: Stay back!

19:30 Speaker 2: No!

19:35 Speaker 3: I watched in utmost terror as the decayed figure of Valdemar reached his hand out toward Dr.

19:41 Speaker 1: Pyke.

19:42 Speaker 3: The skeletal fingers clenching around his throat. For a brief moment, Pike screeched out the word, Awaken! And as he did, Voldemort fell on him, crushing him. Within a moment, amid his voice screaming, Dead!

19:58 Speaker 8: Dead!

19:59 Speaker 1: Dead!

20:01 Speaker 3: Bursting from the tongue and not the lips, his whole body at once crumbled, rotting away.

20:07 Speaker 2: Pike was indeed dead.

20:10 Speaker 3: And the corpse of Mr. Valdemar was nothing more than a liquid mass of decaying flesh and bone.

20:29 Speaker 1: As Dr. Francis Bernard finishes the account, he slowly closes the notebook and wonders... Will anyone believe the true facts in the case of Mr. Valdemar? I'll return shortly with a final word. When the story was first published in 1845, many believed it to be a true account. Poe admitted in letters to friends that it was inspired by an operation on a mesmerized patient, but the facts in the case of M. Valdemar were purely fictional. Our cast included Mick Davis, Winslow Swann, Raven Adams, and Crimson McKenzie.

21:36 Speaker 1: The story was edited by Crimson McKenzie and directed by Winslow Swann. And now, a preview of our next tale.

21:47 Speaker 6: I'm telling you, Russell, no one came off that plane.

21:51 Speaker 5: Look, Tom, someone flew that thing, landed it, and somehow.

21:58 Speaker 1: Then walked away.

22:00 Speaker 5: How else could it have gotten here?

22:02 Speaker 6: But I kept my eyes on it the whole time. We even looked at the security footage. Admit it. Flight 282 landed by itself.

22:15 Speaker 1: This is Artemis Black, inviting you to return with us through the doorway to nightmare for another adventure into the terrifying world of your imaginations. Until next time, slumber peacefully. Epilogue. The butler did it.