There is a mountain range in the middle of the desert in Arizona that's called the Superstition Mountains. And for decades, adventurers have been going into these mountains to try to find a secret treasure. But many of those adventurers have died trying to do this, and many more have come running out of those mountains, claiming that unseen predators are lurking all around, stalking you as you move through these mountains. And so today's story is going to be about one of those adventurers who goes into the and he comes face to face with something. But before we get into that story, if you're a fan of The Strange, Dark and mysterious, deliberate and story format, then you've come to the right place because that's all we do, and we upload once a week. So if that's of interest to you, the next time you're at the like button's house, please replace their favorite cologne with tuna juice. Also, please subscribe to our channel and turn on all notifications so you don't miss any of our weekly uploads. Okay, let's get into today's story. Late on the afternoon of June 14th, 1931, a 59-year-old man named Dr. Adolf Ruth, climbed off his donkey that he'd been riding on for hours through the Superstition Mountains in Arizona.

Once he was off the animal, the doctor shook his legs to work out the cramps, and then he just took in the scenery all around him. And as he did, he smiled. Now to the average person, what Dr. Ruth was seeing in front of him would look very impressive. There were all these jagged peaks on either side of him that juttered straight up into the sky that almost looked so steep they couldn't even be climbed. And this mountain range was cut through all over with all these twisting and turning canyons that almost seemed like a maze. Also, high up in these mountains were all these caves where people used to live, but now they were abandoned. In fact, today, if you were to travel through the superstition mountains, you could go days without seeing another person. And that was true back in 1931, when Dr. Ruth was there. But Dr. Ruth knew that where he was standing right now between two towering rock walls was not just a regular desert canyon. This particular stretch of desert was about to make Dr. Ruth a very rich man. He was going to be the very first person to actually find the lost Dutchman Goldmine, the same lost Dutchman gold mine that had claimed the lives of hundreds of other treasure seekers who had come into the Superstition Mountains and not come out again.

But Dr. Ruth knew he had a special advantage that nobody else who had come out here looking had had. He had a treasure map that was going to show him where this treasure was, and he knew it was right nearby. And without even thinking, he reached into his pack that was slung over his shoulder, and he felt the edges of the treasure map, which was folded up and tucked inside of his notebook. But as Dr. Ruth was daydreaming about finding this treasure, he heard someone grunt from behind him. And suddenly, Dr. Ruth pulled his hand out of his pack, and he whipped his head around. And he looked at the two cowboy guides who had brought him out here. And Dr. Ruth just said, What? In Dr. Ruth's daily life, he was a retired veterinarian and a government employee who worked in Washington, D. C. He was a small guy with glasses, and he walked with a limp. And he knew these two cowboy guides of his just thought he was some frail old man. And this deeply offended Dr. Ruth. And so because the doctor totally resented these cowboys, he had told them that, Yes, I need your help getting me to a particular spot in the desert.

But once I get there, you guys are done. You can leave. I'll pay you, and you can just go away. I'll be fine on my own. And as it happened, they had reached this particular spot. And now Dr. Ruth is looking at these guys like, all right, let's go. Get out of here. You don't need to be here anymore. But the cowboys, now that they were at this spot where they're supposed to go back home, they hesitated before they left because they looked at Dr. Ruth, and they did think he was a frail old man, and they knew all about how all these people had died going into this canyon to look for this treasure. And so the cowboy who had cleared his throat and made a noise to get Dr. Ruth to turn around, he chimed in and said, Doctor, I don't know if this is a good idea for you to go in there on your own. And Dr. Ruth, again, is super offended. And he just says to the cowboy, I'm fine. Just go. I'm going to set up camp. I'm good. Get out of here. And then Dr. Ruth pulled out his wallet.

He handed some money to the cowboys. The cowboys took the money. They looked at each other and just shrugged. And then, the cowboys turned around and began galloping away. And as they did, Dr. Ruth was standing there, feeling proud of himself for getting rid of these guys. But as they faded into the distance, Dr. Ruth turned back around and he looked out at the landscape. And suddenly, now that he was actually all alone, a lot of his bravery was now gone. Now he was feeling maybe a little apprehensive. But Dr. Ruth reminded himself that he knew what he was doing. He was not a frail old man, despite the way he looked. He could handle himself. And he certainly knew this area well. He had a map. He'd be in and out. He would get that treasure. And then he'd be rich and famous. And so with that mind, Dr. Ruth grabbed his things off the ground. He hopped back on his donkey, and he began slowly marching his way deeper into the canyon. A little while later, as the sun was starting to set, Dr. Ruth decided it was time to stop. And so he stopped his donkey, he hopped off.

He found a clearing by the side of the trail, and he began setting up his campsite. And then finally, once the canvas tent was all set up and his campsite was good to go, Dr. Ruth started a small fire, and then he rolled a small boulder in front of the fire, and he sat down on it. And then he reached into his pack and he pulled out that notebook. And from inside the notebook, he pulled out the old fragile treasure map. Dr. Ruth's son had acquired this treasure map from a man in Mexico. And this man in Mexico apparently got it from a family that used to do mining in the Superstition Mountains, and they had drawn out this map before apparently they were all massacred inside of the superstitions. But somehow or another, their map they had drawn about where they thought this treasure was had survived. And so Dr. Ruth's son had gotten this map and given it to Dr. Ruth. And so Dr. Ruth held the map up, and he stare at it for a second. And as he did, he couldn't help but be drawn to this huge rock formation way off in the distance.

So not on the map, but actually in real life, basically far down the canyon, there was just this massive rock formation. And for a second, Dr. Ruth was looking at it, thinking it looked like a huge, oversized gravestone. And in a way, it freaked him out. But he looked back at the map, and he realized there actually was a drawing on this map that clearly represented this big rock formation. And on the map, it had an arrow pointing to this little drawing, and it said this thing, this big rock formation was called Weaver's Needle. And according to the map, apparently the treasure was right near Weaver's Needle. And so Dr. Ruth was like, great, tomorrow I'll head straight for Weaver's Needle. I'll find the treasure, and I'll be rich and famous. And on that note, Dr. Ruth folded the map up. He tucked it back into his notebook, put it back in his pack, and then he took his beans and meat off the fire, and he began to eat. And as he did, he whistled periodically to fill the silence that was filling the entire canyon. Back when I first started Mr. Ballin, so early 2020, I was doing all my work out of this room in the back of my house in Pennsylvania.

It was basically like a shed. It definitely was not up to code. Whoever had owned the house before us had built this ramshackle room off the back of the house, and that became my studio. And I remember, since there was no heat in there at night, I would have to turn on my space heater as hot as it would get and let the room heat up. But then I would have to turn off the space heater because it was so noisy, I couldn't record with it on, and then rush through my recording before it got so cold that I was shivering in the recording. And so really, there is a very humble beginning to the whole Mr. Ballin' thing. But now, I mean, we have blossom into a full-blown studio, Ballin' Studios, with nearly 40 full-time employees. And I only say this because I want you to know that it's really only because of you that any of this has happened. And so I do not take that for granted. I want you to know that as we grow, I want to continue to bring you the best possible immersive storytelling I possibly can. And that brings me to why I'm here today.

Well, we have been very lucky to secure a partnership with a masterful storyteller named Rodney Barnes. Rodney Barnes is an award-winning writer, director, producer, comic book creator, and he's made all these genre defining horror stories about vampires and demons and the Occult. And now Rodney Barnes and Ballin' Studios are partnering up to make a brand new show hosted by the iconic Rodney Barnes. The show is called RunFool, and the trailer has already been released. So please, right now, go to wherever you get your podcasts and look up RunFool and listen to the trailer and get ready for us to drop the first couple of episodes. And those first two episodes of RunFool will drop on Tuesday, November 14th, and then every Tuesday there on out, you will get a brand new RunFool episode. Thank you all so much, and I can't wait for you to experience the masterful storytelling of the one and only Rodney Barnes. Again, his new show is called RunFool. By the time Dr. Ruth was done eating his food, it was totally dark inside of this canyon, completely pitch black and silent. And as the doctor was taking in this moment of absolute darkness and silence, he was startled by a sudden sound coming from high up one of the canyon walls.

It sounded like hoves marching on stone, and it echoed through the whole canyon. And for a second, Dr. Ruth felt relieved, even though he had been adamant, especially to the two cowboy guides that he wanted to go into this canyon by himself. Now that he was here by himself and it's so dark and quiet and spooky, he was glad to hear hoops because it meant that must be a person riding a horse, and so I'm not alone anymore. But when Dr. Ruth called out and said, Who's there? There was no response, and there were no more hood sounds. It just went totally quiet again. And then from all over the canyon, all Dr. Ruth heard was the yipping and howling of coyotes everywhere. By this point, Dr. Ruth couldn't help him. He felt terrified. And suddenly, all he was thinking about were all the stories he had heard about unseen predators lurking in the shadows, stalking people who come into this canyon. And so Dr. Ruth decided, you know what? I'm just going to bed. And so he extinguished his fire. He packed up his things, and he went inside of his tent, and laid down inside of his bed roll.

And even though he knew, he really wasn't actually safer in here. All he had was canvas tent material protecting him from the outside world. But mentally, being inside the tent, he just felt safer. And so Dr. Ruth would lay in his tent in the total darkness, on edge for a while, wide awake, listening intently for more hookbeats or something out there. But there were no more sounds. The night remained silent and dark, and eventually, Dr. Ruth fell asleep. But in the middle of the night, Dr. Ruth suddenly woke up, and it was totally dark and silent. And he sat up and he looked out of his tent. The flap was open. And at first, he couldn't see anything. It just seemed like darkness out there. But then he realized moving around very slightly pretty far away from his tent, but not that far away, were two eyes staring at him, unblinking, just staring directly into his tent. And Dr. Ruth, I mean, his heart started to raise, and he's realizing that an animal, a person, something is right there. And so Dr. Ruth, he was about to yell out when suddenly the eyes blinked and vanished.

Dr. Ruth fumbled for his gun, and he threw it and he aimed it out of the tent, and he yelled, I'll shoot if you come back. I'll shoot. But there was nothing. Dr. Ruth would stay awake for at least a couple more hours, just anxiously staring out of his tent, wondering if this thing, this person, whatever it was, was nearby, but he never saw the eyes again, and there were no more sounds outside. And so eventually, Dr. Ruth did lay back down inside of his bed roll, and he went to sleep. When he woke up in the morning, Dr. Ruth immediately went outside and began walking out in the direction where he saw those eyes to see if he could find some tracks on the ground. In his head, he was hoping he would find a bunch of coyote tracks, and that would explain what these eyes were. Even though in the back of his head, he's thinking, That didn't look like a coyote. And so as Dr. Ruth began walking in that direction, he did begin to see loads of coyote tracks all over the place. And so he's thinking, there it is. It was a coyote.

My brain is just playing tricks on me. But he got maybe 15 or 20 feet away from his tent, and he noticed there was another set of tracks that were not coyote tracks. They were human tracks or what appeared to be human tracks, like barefoot feet tracks, except the size of them were really small, like a child's foot. Now, Dr. Ruth was a really small guy and wore a men's size six, so he had very small feet. And for a second, Dr. Ruth thought, Oh, maybe these are my footprints. But he was like, I wasn't over here and I wasn't walking around barefoot. So whose tracks were these? And then making it worse, Dr. Ruth noticed these little prints, these little human looking prints, they walked all the way over to the side of his tent, and they appeared to circle his tent over and over again. But then the Prince didn't wander off and disappear. It's almost like the Prince just continued in a circle, and then whatever this was making the Prince just stopped where it was and vanished. At this point, Dr. Ruth was terrified, and he decided, Let's just go towards Weaver's Needle.

Let's find this treasure and get out of here. And so he rushed back to his tent. He gathered up his things. He hopped back on his donkey, and he began heading towards Weaver's Needle, the thing that looked like a big gravestone. After riding for a couple of hours, Dr. Ruth was close enough to this huge formation that he was actually inside of the shadow cast by this weaver's needle. And when Dr. Ruth consulted his map, he saw that where the treasure was supposedly located was actually within the shadow of Weaver's needle. And so he knew he was close. And so Dr. Ruth continued following the map as best he could. He turned this corner behind a rock formation, and then right up ahead, he saw this big wall of cacti that all had these axheads lodged into their flesh, like someone had taken an ax and smacked the axehead in and then broken off the handle, but like dozens of times. And so Dr. Ruth stopped and he's looking at these cacti. And then he looked at the map and he realized on the map was actually a drawing that resembled these cacti with the axheads in them.

And so he's thinking, Oh, my goodness, this map is accurate. I've found another landmark. I must be near the treasure. And so now all he had to do was back up and orient this cacti with the axheads in it with Weaver's Needle and its shadow. And if you could just orient it correctly, he would know exactly where to go. And after backing up and moving the map around a couple of times, he finally had it totally oriented, and he realized there was a path straight up ahead that would go right to the base of Weaver's needle. And he thought, That's it. That's where I dig. There's the treasure. And so feeling excited, Dr. Ruth hopped off the donkey. He grabbed his pickaxe, and he began moving in the direction of where he was going to dig. But before he got there, he heard something behind him. He turned to look, but by the time he saw whatever was behind him, it was already too late. An explosion rang out, and then everything went dark. Ten days later, those two cowboy guides who had brought Dr. Ruth into the Superstition Mountains, they came back out to check on him to make sure he was okay.

And they found his campsite, and it was abandoned. And they searched the entire area all the way down to Weaver's Needle and back, and there was no trace of Dr. Ruth. Over the next 45 days, a much larger search party was launched in this area to try to find Dr. Ruth. But at the end of those 45 days, there still was no sign of Dr. Ruth. And so the search was called off, and it was assumed that Dr. Ruth was dead. Three and a half months after that big search ended, so in December of 1931, another set of explorers were in the Superstition Mountains near Weaver's Needle, the big gravestone-looking rock formation, and they would discover a human skull on the ground. It was Dr. Ruth's skull, and it had two gaping holes in the side of it. A month after that, another set of explorers who were in the Superstition Mountains would find the rest of Dr. Ruth's skeleton, located approximately one mile away from where his head had been found. But while the discovery of Dr. Ruth's body did provide some closure for his family, it actually only deepened the mystery of what the heck is going on in the Superstition Mountains.

Because one, despite the fact that Dr. Ruth's skull had been found with two holes in it, and the fact that his skull was found one mile away from the rest of his skeleton, authorities who investigated his death quickly said, Dr. Ruth died of natural causes, and they closed the the case. And the second weird thing that only deepened the mystery was when they were searching Dr. Ruth's campsite, they would find his checkbook. And inside of his checkbook, there was all this writing that was clearly from Dr. Ruth, writing his checks. And then towards the back of this book, there was a relatively fresh-looking message, and the handwriting looked totally different than Dr. Ruth's handwriting that just said, Vene Viti Viti, which in Latin means, I came, I saw, I conquered. Now, we don't know who wrote this message, but the running theory is whoever very likely killed Dr. Ruth wrote this note inside of his checkbook, but we don't know why they wrote this note. Now, eventually, people began to think that because of this note that was in his checkbook, that that suggests that maybe Dr. Ruth really was on the precipice of actually finally finding this treasure, and maybe the stories were right about the superstition mountains, that something lurks in the canyon protecting this treasure.

And when it saw, Dr. Ruth was about to take the treasure, this thing killed Dr. Ruth to stop him, i. E, they came, saw, and conquered Dr. Ruth. Also, adding to the strangeness of this entire story, in 1945, so 13 years after Dr. Ruth's skeleton was discovered, an adventurer named Barry Storm published a book about his journey to try to figure out what actually happened to Dr. Ruth. And he would say in this book that when he went into the Superstition Mountains, somebody started firing a gun at him from off in the distance. And after taking cover and looking, he couldn't see anybody. And then when he began taking steps farther into the canyon to continue to explore the shots rang out again. And so Barry Storm ultimately fled the Superstition Mountains, and he would tell people that whoever was out there shooting at him, it seemed like they were shooting warning shots at him. Like, if you come any closer, I'll kill you. To this day, no one has ever actually found any hidden treasure in the Superstition Mountains, but about 9,000 people will go out there looking for the treasure every year. During the late 1970s, the inhabitants of Scotland's largest city was subjected to a series of terrifying encounters with a hideous nocturnal entity whose incessant twitching and animalistic grunting put the fear of God into those who encountered him.

This week, we take a look at The Gurning Man of Glasgow. That's going to do it. If you enjoyed today's story, be sure to check out our podcast called the Mr. Ballin' Podcast, where we have literally hundreds more stories just like this one that are available for you to listen to right now. Again, it's called the Mr. Ballin' Podcast, and it's available exclusively on Amazon Music.