The Twisted Secrets of Eugene Butler | SERIOUSLY STRANGE #137

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: Niagara, Eugene Butler, Larimore
2. 3:00 – 6:00: Eugene Butler, Jamestown North Dakota
3. 6:00 – 9:00: sib dicks
4. 9:00 – 12:00: Eugene Butler, John Urbansky, Niagara, Larimore
5. 12:00 – 15:00: Eugene Butler

Notable quotes from "The Twisted Secrets of Eugene Butler | SERIOUSLY STRANGE #137"

• Marry him especially in a leap year eventually these odd behaviors and assertions landed him in the state insane asylum at Jamestown North Dakota in 1904. back in these days…

  about Jamestown North Dakota · at 3:51

• Bizarre figure was only just about to begin to unfold I'd like to give a very special shout out to this episode's sponsor sib dicks for helping me to bring this fresh video to…

  about sib dicks · at 6:05

• Other and another five more bodies pulled from beneath where Eugene Butler spent so much of his time isolated away from the outside world early newspaper reports described all six bodies discovered as adult males.

  about Eugene Butler · at 9:28

• Had gone missing let alone a family of five the only lead ever suggested was an inquiry from Leo orbansky about his younger brother John urbansky John had written home last in…

  about John Urbansky · at 11:23

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Eugene Butler — Person · Primary subject (historical figure / alleged perpetrator) · 6 mentions · first at 1:26
  Central figure of the episode: a reclusive North Dakota farmer later linked (posthumously) to six bodies found under his home, and previously committed to the Jamestown state insane asylum.
• John Urbansky — Person · Referenced missing person (possible victim) · 1 mention · first at 11:34
  Presented as the only concrete lead on victim identity: last wrote home in 1902 saying he worked for a bachelor on a farm in Niagara; never heard from again.
• Leo Orbansky — Person · Referenced family member / inquirer · 1 mention · first at 11:30
  Mentioned as the person who inquired about his missing younger brother John, providing the episode’s only named external lead potentially connecting the victims to Eugene Butler’s farm.
  One in the community knew of a man who had gone missing let alone a family of five the only lead ever suggested was an inquiry from Leo orbansky about his younger brother John…

Places & events

• Niagara — Place · Setting · 3 mentions · first at 2:04
  Mentioned as the birthplace of Eugene Butler and a small settlement near Larimore.
  Younger brother John urbansky John had written home last in 1902 saying he was working for a bachelor on a farm in Niagara the letter had been mailed from Larimore it was the…
• Larimore — Place · Setting · 2 mentions · first at 2:25
  Mentioned as a town near where Eugene Butler owned land and hired farm hands.
  One in the community knew of a man who had gone missing let alone a family of five the only lead ever suggested was an inquiry from Leo orbansky about his younger brother John…
• Jamestown North Dakota — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at 4:00
  Location of the state insane asylum where Eugene Butler was committed.

Sponsors

• sib dicks — Product · Sponsor · 2 mentions · first at 6:14
  Primary sponsor of the episode, promoting their gummy candies and related products.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 how well do we really know our neighbors not like whether they have a birthmark or if they like brussels sprouts but who they are ethically morally it's a topic of conversation when someone new moves into a neighborhood have you met the new neighbors what are they like conversations take place at the dinner table in the driveway at shared fences over beer while Manning the grill eventually the conversation dies down the main questions have been answered and we go on with our lives feeling satisfied that the newcomer has been cataloged labeled Quantified in the late 1880s news and people traveled at roughly the same rate letting your loved ones know you arrived at your new property to set up housekeeping and establish your family in a new place could take days unimaginable by today's standards of Wireless immediate communication meeting new neighbors might also be a slow process over Seasons especially in

1:08 farming communities where there's no shortage of work to occupy your time is your neighbor at the next parcel of land just shy poor social skills maybe they're just really private or just a little odd Eugene Butler was one such neighbor and he proved to be more than just a little quiet or a tad bit strange he proved to Harbor a dark secret within his very home a secret that would shock his community and Beyond thank you

2:04 foreign in Niagara New York in 1849 the third of six children he worked as a farm laborer in his early adulthood before setting out for the Dakota territory in 1882 a Bachelor Farmer he purchased several Parcels of land Northwest of Larimore near a small settlement named Niagara by the time North Dakota officially became a state in 1889 he owned and worked 480 Acres hiring Farm hands in Larimore for each growing season and hunkering down for each bitter Northern winter alone he lived as a miser and recluse for several years following the same seasonal patterns of only hiring workers on for the growing season and choosing to do all the house chores himself rather than hire a housekeeper he was reported to be popular enough and well liked though he preferred a more solitary lifestyle as the years passed he began to exhibit unusual habits such as riding his horse at Breakneck speed around the town in

3:26 the middle of the night sometimes also yelling at the top of his lungs he began to claim that men had been coming to visit him late at night insisting he get out of bed get dressed and go for long walks or horseback rides another claim he put forward was that all of the widows and old maids around wanted to marry him especially in a leap year eventually these odd behaviors and assertions landed him in the state insane asylum at Jamestown North Dakota in 1904. back in these days mental illness were only described and classified in A Primitive way as were treatments at the time of Eugene Butler's entry into the Asylum there were seven conditions listed as cause for involuntary commitment Mania which could come from Euphoria delusions and hyperactivity Melancholia monomania which is simply Mania with an obsession over one specific thing paresis otherwise known as partial paralysis dementia dipsomania defined as

4:43 alcoholism with obsessive cravings and epilepsy common practice for the time was the quote-unquote insanity board where a panel of doctors evaluated cases submitted to them for review family members could recommend someone be reviewed or neighbors or other Witnesses may also submit complaints and give testimony based on Eugene's reported behaviors it's likely he was diagnosed with Mania on the strength of his neighbor's testimony to reinforce his miserly reputation he was reported to have had forty six hundred dollars in cash on him when the board committed him that's just over 151 thousand dollars today he was committed in 1904 and by all reports was a pleasant and agreeable patient he even developed a rather passionate affection for one nurse which was unrequited and resulted in a bit of teasing from her fellow staff members Eugene Butler Only Had but a handful of years remaining in his life and passed away on October 22nd

6:01 1911 but the true mystery of this bizarre figure was only just about to begin to unfold I'd like to give a very special shout out to this episode's sponsor sib dicks for helping me to bring this fresh video to all of you you want to know what really grinds my grape nuts overpriced adult-only gummy candies loaded with a subpar psychoactive constituent that tastes like a dung Beetle's ass thank goodness for sib dicks because Civic sells the best gummy candies and other related products available on the market and it's all federally legal to be shipped right to your door I've been using subjects for a couple years myself and they're the brand I trust and they work better than countless other brands I've tried over the years you're going to be so blown away you won't believe it's legal but it is the best quality the best effects and no hassle pick up some products for yourself or for a friend or a loved one and first-time

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7:53 you directly make it possible for me to create more for all of you and now back to the episode gay loving um a law firm from Buffalo at the direction of his siblings had been administering his farm Holdings renting the farm and hiring laborers until other arrangements became necessary upon his death his siblings divided the proceeds of the sale of his farm and that should have been the quiet end of this story but it's not it took a few years to sell such a large plot of land worth roughly one million dollars today when excavation began in 1915 for a new homes Foundation at the old home site workers were astonished to find human bones buried three feet down in the clay soil the old house had a hidden trap door opening into the crawl space underneath the bones were a complete skeleton of a male buried naked since no traces of shoe material clothing or even buttons were found in the surrounding soil after

9:10 this shocking Discovery the rest of the old homes Foundation was inspected for any other anomalies along one side they discovered the foundation had been Disturbed and another set of remains were discovered followed by another other and another and another and another five more bodies pulled from beneath where Eugene Butler spent so much of his time isolated away from the outside world early newspaper reports described all six bodies discovered as adult males but more careful investigation revealed the grouping of five bodies all discovered together was likely a family adult male and female with three juveniles all five were buried at a slanted angle and both adults had their legs broken in order to fit in the allotted space as with the first male body no traces of shoes clothes or buttons were found in the soil each of the six victims had a sharp clearly defined hole in the left side of the

10:25 skull made by a sharp instrument analysis of the soil layers and patterns of disturbance concluded the bodies had been under the house for approximately 15 to 20 years after the initial shock of the discovery the questions began who were they where did they come from why did Eugene kill them did he just snap did he catch potential thieves trying to steal his money he was known to be tight with the dollar did he overreact to the Natural Curiosity of children snooping around on his land did one of his hallucinations suggest the idea none of the neighbors reported any suspicions he mentioned aside from the assertion that widows and old maids pursued his hand in marriage but also no one in the community knew of a man who had gone missing let alone a family of five the only lead ever suggested was an inquiry from Leo orbansky about his younger brother John urbansky John had written home last in 1902 saying he was

11:41 working for a bachelor on a farm in Niagara the letter had been mailed from Larimore it was the last communication Leo had from his brother forensic investigation has changed a lot in the last century now crime scenes are cordoned off during evidence collection to prevent tampering or outright destruction of evidence by onlookers whether intentional or by accident in 1915 by contrast once the neighbors found out the shocking turn of events and it was printed in the newspapers people began coming to take a look some took more than a look however a local news station reported in 2016 that the bones of the six victims weren't stored at the Grand Forks County Sheriff's Office as had been originally reported but had been looted by townsfolk during the investigation of the home site unless some of those bones are located and returned it's extremely unlikely we will ever know the identities of the victims but

12:54 considering it's been so long hope has more than dwindled had the Mania begun before the murders or was it guilt that fractured his mind did his sanity slowly slip away during the bitter North Dakota Winters where the murders Crimes of Passion precipitated by suspected theft triggering rage was paranoia about being stolen from the reason he was carrying a fortune in his pockets when he was committed did Eugene act alone had he had any hand in it at all it's highly unlikely that any of these questions will ever be answered but the only way to keep hope alive is to talk about these kinds of cases such as Eugene Butler and to occasionally ask ourselves an important question are you sure you really know your neighbors that's all for this time remember you may not believe it but anything is possible in a world so seriously strange if you're into dark and mysterious content like this be sure to check out

14:13 my other videos as I've got tons more in store for you and be sure to subscribe to my channel and turn on notifications because you won't want to miss what's next and don't forget to give our sponsor a try it's one of the best possible ways to help me create more for all of you and if you're looking for some more scares my analog horror series Greylock is linked in the description below a warning however it's not for the faint of heart so thanks again for watching I'm Rob gavigan and I'll see you next time

14:57 it's not faster

Questions about this episode

What is discussed in "The Twisted Secrets of Eugene Butler | SERIOUSLY STRANGE #137"?

In order: 0:00 Niagara, Eugene Butler, Larimore; 3:00 Eugene Butler, Jamestown North Dakota; 6:00 sib dicks; 9:00 Eugene Butler, John Urbansky, Niagara, Larimore; 12:00 Eugene Butler.

What is mentioned in this Rob Gavagan episode?

7 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Eugene Butler, John Urbansky, Niagara, Larimore, Jamestown North Dakota, Leo Orbansky. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "The Twisted Secrets of Eugene Butler | SERIOUSLY STRANGE #137"?

The episode runs 15 min; the transcript is about 1,973 words in 14 timestamped sections.

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