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[Remarkable Coincidences: The Man Who Saved His Savior and the Miracle of the Unhangable Man]-[Divine Intervention]

MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories · B2 · 2026-07-02

True crime
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📋 Summary

The Twisted Threads of Fate: Two Extraordinary Tales

This podcast episode explores two chilling, true-crime narratives that defy simple statistical probability, suggesting that unseen forces—or perhaps cosmic irony—play a role in human survival.

Bleeding Out: A Cycle of Salvation

The first story centers on Captain Alan Falby, an El Paso police officer in 1934. While in pursuit of a speeding truck, Falby suffered a catastrophic motorcycle accident. Trapped under his 500-pound motorcycle with a severe leg wound, he faced certain death from blood loss. Two strangers appeared, utilizing a makeshift tourniquet crafted from a necktie and a stick to stem the bleeding.

Four years later, the roles were reversed. Falby, responding to a car accident, discovered a man trapped in a wreckage with an identical, life-threatening leg wound. Using the exact same method—a necktie and a stick—Falby saved the victim. Upon identifying the man, he realized it was Alfred Smith, the very person who had saved him four years prior. Their reunion, highlighted by Falby’s poignant remark, "one good tourniquet deserves another," serves as a profound example of how life’s paths can intersect in life-saving, cyclical patterns.

Three Hangings: The Man Who Could Not Die

The second story is a haunting tale from 1884 England, involving a butler named John Lee, employed at a manor called "The Glen." Following a horrific murder of his employer, Emma Case, John was wrongfully accused. Despite the lack of forensic evidence, the police relied on "intuition" and circumstantial clues—such as his proximity to the scene and the presence of oil in his pantry—to secure a guilty verdict.

John’s legal defense was handled by Reginald Templer, a prominent lawyer and close friend of the victim. However, Templer’s behavior grew increasingly erratic, sabotaging the case and leading to John’s death sentence. The climax of this tragedy occurred at the gallows. Three times, the executioner attempted to hang John, and three times, the trapdoor failed to function while he stood upon it, though it worked perfectly otherwise.

This "divine intervention" resulted in his sentence being commuted to 22 years in prison. Years later, it was revealed that Reginald Templer was the true murderer. Driven by a scandalous secret involving an illicit affair with a pregnant staff member, Templer had killed Emma in a rage. His subsequent descent into madness and deathbed confession confirmed the horrific truth. John Lee, famously known as "the man who could not be hanged," survived to live a quiet life, his story remaining one of the most compelling cases of survival against impossible odds.

🎯Key Sentences

1
They had gone separate ways.
2
I'm not going to screw this up.
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📝Key Phrases

1
come full circle
2
slam on the brakes
3
adding insult to injury
4
keep one's composure
5
cut off circulation
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📖 Transcript

Today's podcast will feature two stories that are about events that simply couldn't have happened by chance alone.
The audio from both of these stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel and has been remastered for today's episode.
The links to the original YouTube videos are in the description.
The first story you'll hear is called Bleeding Out, and this story comes full circle in the most unbelievable way.
And the second and final story you'll hear today is called Three Hangings, and it might be one of the strongest examples of unseen forces shaping an outcome.
But before we get into today's stories, if you're a fan of the Strange, Dark and Mysterious delivered in story format, then you've come to the right place, because that's all we do.

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