The Temple on Epstein Island: History, Secrets, and Factual Lore
Musings from under the golden dome
I. The Crown of Gold: Little Saint James Island
The island of Little Saint James sits in the US Virgin Islands off the southeast coast of St. Thomas. Made up of a jut of mountainous peak rising from the Caribbean ocean floor, Little Saint James, as its name suggests, is small, as far as private islands go. Visitors can see from any one peak to the other on a clear enough day.
Totaling 78 acres, the island was acquired in 1998 for $7.95 million by a company called L.S.J. LLC. The sole shareholder in L.S.J., according to documents, was Jeffrey Edward Epstein.
When Jeffrey Epstein bought the island in 1998, he wasn’t widely known. The New York Magazine profile that would elevate his social mythos by casting him as “a money manager exclusively for billionaires” was still two years away. Within a decade he’d plead guilty to soliciting a minor and serve thirteen months of an infamously lenient sentence, but in 1998, Epstein had not yet earned the supervillain notoriety that his suspicious death would cement in the worlds of true crime, conspiracy theory, and the feverish hallways in-between.
At 45, Epstein was a multi-millionaire of murky origin—fit, graying, and secretive, spending his fortune (on the surface, at least) on the more banal luxuries of the ultra-rich: a personal chef, monogrammed clothing, trophy homes across the globe, a fleet of cars and airplanes, and, maybe less common, his own private island.
In 1998, when Epstein moved in, Little Saint James was modestly developed. It contained a main house, three guest cottages, a caretaker's cottage, a private desalination system, a helipad, and a dock.
In the decades that followed, Epstein would expand the original residence into a luxury estate, containing revamped bedrooms, offices, a telecom tower for high-speed internet access, and a library with enough shelf space for 9,000 books. He took care to clear away the native vegetation, which he deemed unsightly, replacing it with 40-foot palm trees that cost $20,000 a pop.
A Look at Jeffrey Epstein’s Island: Little Saint James
There were cottages, beach houses, infinity pools, utility buildings, a cabana for guests, a lagoon with flamingoes, and lodging for the island’s 70 year-round staff members who maintained it between Epstein’s visits. On average, Epstein would visit his island once a month and stay three or four nights.
Guests drove golf carts from place to place, but Epstein preferred his ATV.
There was a sundial in the center of the island big enough to walk on. Thirteen colorful benches were set around it in a circle.
There were fountains and gardens meant to evoke meditation and calm.
Benches were placed at strategic points on the island, offering incredible views of the ocean, sky, and horizon.
A berm, or raised embankment, was erected on what was previously a tennis court. This was to protect the compound’s service vehicles during hurricane season. Among the vehicles was an ambulance with LSJ written on the back.
There was even a “Smokestacks” style bathtub in a clearing to allow guests to bathe in the great outdoors.
This was in line with the island’s other outdoor tubs.
Of course, there were also massage rooms. In Epstein’s perverted world, a massage was code for sex. It was how he trapped many of his victims. On his island, he made sure to include massage tables right off the main beach.
There were statues. Epstein was famous for his vast collection of erotic art, but these statues were animals. Sometimes, as a joke, Epstein would have his maintenance workers rotate the position of his large all-weather cow statue, to give the impression that it was grazing all over the island and who knew where it might show up next?
There were sculptures of birds that appeared to be cockatoos, judging by their distincctive crests.
And then, of course, there was the temple.
The temple was Epstein’s most controversial addition to the island. Built on a cliff at the southwest tip, it was, during its owner’s lifetime, a small building with blue and white stripes, set on a paved stone platform covered in red markings.
On the roof was a golden dome as well as two gold statues showing what appear to be more cockatoos, although one visitor who saw it in person claimed they were gargoyles. The gold dome is said to have blown off in 2019 during the hurricane season.
The entrance to the temple showed an arched wooden door equipped with a black metal bar lock, although this was later determined to be painted on.
The design incorporated optical illusions, making the windows and doors appear set within carved flanges, like the JE above, creating an impression of depth.
The purpose of the temple is unclear, as it deviates from the plans for a music pavilion that Epstein's architects submitted for approval in 2010.
The original building in the plans was octagonal, rectangular in cross-section, with a pair of side rooms. The structure that was eventually built, sometime between 2010 and 2012, was much taller, box-shaped, and without any side rooms. It was also not constructed out of stone, the material listed in the plans.
According to those who set foot inside the temple, the structure contained a grand piano and an elevated platform meant to be a small stage. It had wood floors covered with a large Oriental rug, a gray couch, a long desk, and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.
The temple’s purpose remains unclear. But that hasn’t stopped people in recent years from sneaking onto the island to explore the temple and its mysteries.
II. Two YouTubers: Filming Epstein’s Temple
Since Epstein’s death in August 2019, several independent filmmakers have crashed the island in order to record their findings.
Two videos are especially noteworthy for what they capture.
The first was uploaded on October 2019, two months after Epstein’s death. At some point earlier that month (they don’t give a date for their visit), YouTubers Luke Rudkowski and Jeff Berwick snuck onto the island.
Their video shows them in the immediate aftermath of breaching the island, once they’re safe back on St. Thomas. It cuts between shots of them rambling excitedly about their trip with the footage of them on the island.
The pair spent thirty minutes wandering around before spotting a security guard in a golf cart, at which point they sprinted back to their boat.
They walked around the temple and confirmed that the door is painted on.
The second video flips between archival footage of Epstein and original footage captured by urban explorer Andy Bracco.
Bracco’s footage, which he filmed in August 2020, shows him and a friend visiting Little Saint James twice in twelve hours. They check out the temple and film through its large windows, which were boarded up during Rudkowski and Berwick’s visit almost a year earlier.
Bracco’s video is important because it provides the first-ever glimpse into the temple. (From the ground, at least—drone footage of the temple’s interior exists from January 2020.) He told Newsweek that "between my two visits to the island I did peer into the temple from the outside and noticed the staircase descending downwards,"but he didn’t provide footage to back up this explosive claim.
Interestingly, his video shows him entering a small shack near the temple, which some believe contains an entrance to a tunnel, but all he found were electric panels.
Although innocuous at first, several elements about these panels raise questions. This will be addressed in an upcoming post.
III. How to Sneak Onto Epstein Island: A Guide
The following is a step-by-step guide to access the island of Little Saint James from a starting point of 9 East Seventy First Street in Manhattan. Also known as the Herbert N. Straus House, this forty room, 19,000 square foot seven-story townhouse was ground zero for the New York City arm of Jeffrey Epstein’s operation.
There are different methods a traveler can take from Manhattan to the Virgin Islands, depending on whether or not one is Jeffrey Epstein. This tutorial offers instructions in both cases.
1) TO VISIT LITTLE SAINT JAMES, you have to first fly into the Cyril E. King Airport in St. Thomas. If you’re Jeffrey Epstein, you do this by calling your pilot or telling your assistant to call your pilot. Just let them know where you want to go and the rest wheels itself like marbles on stone.
If you’re not Jeffrey Epstein, you’ll need to book your trip online. American Airlines, Delta, and JetBlue offer direct flights. Depending on the season, a round-trip ticket costs $400–$700. Charge your credit card and keep the receipts.
2) ON THE DAY OF YOUR TRIP, leave the Herbert N. Straus House. If you’re Jeffrey Epstein, exit your property like a king, everywhere your feet touches a red carpet. A car will be waiting at the curb to take you to Teterboro Airport, your preferred launch spot. The car will be large and sleek, shiny and silver, with tinted windows. A girl will be waiting inside to accompany you for the ride. It’s at your discretion if she comes along on the private jet or if you leave her in New York until your return.
If you’re not Jeffrey Epstein, admire the weight of the towering double doors on East 71st street from the outside. These separate the low shufflers from the high rollers, America with the right numbers in your account. Feel the warmth of the heated sidewalks, depending on the season. You can either call a car or take the subway to LaGuardia or JFK, the two airports closest to where you stand.
3) IT’S TIME TO ENJOY THE FLIGHT. If you’re Jeffrey Epstein, this can mean holding business calls on white leather chairs, or dining on world-class gourmet food (cooked by your private plane chef), or, if you’re tired, taking a nap on the plane’s full-sized bed. You’ve installed foamy soft floors on the floor for the girls to sleep on. This is to remind them that while they all may be jet-worthy, only one person in the sky with them is bed-worthy.
If you’re not Jeffrey Epstein, statistically speaking you’re probably in coach. You can either watch the TV in front of you, read a book, or try to nap in the upright seats. The free internet will likely be spotty, so you’ll only have access to pre-downloaded music and videos on your phone. There is no private bedroom. Snacks cost money.
4) NEXT YOU’LL NEED GROUND TRANSPORTATION. In St. Thomas, you can call a taxi or rideshare. Outside the airport, the fares are standardized. You can also rent a car from one of the airport providers, although this all depends on how long you plan to stay. There are also plenty of public buses and shared taxis.
Of course, this is only if you’re not Jeffrey Epstein. If you are Jeffrey Epstein, there’s no reason to step anywhere near the the airport. After landing, your pilot will roll the jet to a private area separated from the main runway, where your helicopter awaits. This area of the hangar is reserved for your plane, and it’ll stay there until you decide to fly some place else.
5) IF YOU’RE NOT JEFFREY EPSTEIN, your next step will be to rent jet skis. Your best options is Cruz Bay Water Sports, where they’re priced between $110 and $315, depending on the length of your ride. You’re going to want them for at least three hours for your trip, factoring in time for you to get the hang of them before setting out for the island.
If you’re Jeffrey Epstein, all this is irrelevant: you were helicoptered into your landing spot ten minutes after stepping off your plane and are currently either set up in the library, with its floor-to-ceiling shelves stocked with books (you’ve read exactly six cover-to-cover), or else eating a gourmet meal on the pool-facing patio of your main residence. You could be doing other things, too—it depends which guests are around, which girls are around, and if the the temple is stocked and ready. Some things can only be done under a roof of gold. You smile for the moment: you know that when the dome’s gone it means you’re gone
6) STAND ON THE COWPET BAY BEACH where you rented the jet skis and look into the ocean. You’re going to the island behind the island in front of you.
Before setting out, take steps to ensure your safety. Review the safety rules, wear a life jacket, and secure any personal items. A waterproof bag is important for cameras, notebooks, pens, and other materials you don’t want to get wet. Secure either a map or GPS device to guide your route.
7) APPROACH LITTLE SAINT JAMES BY SEA. Get on the jet skis and head south toward the piece of green land floating in your view point. Take your time and don’t extend yourself on the jet ski any more than you feel comfortable.
You’ll want to take the St. James Cut, a channel between Great Saint James and Little Saint James. It has depths of 18 to 30 feet and is suitable for small vessels. Be aware of submerged rocks and reefs as you near the island.
You’ll know when you’re close to Little Saint James because of the ambience that’ll settle. No matter the beauty and sunshine of the day, paired so paradisaically with the pristine blue of the waters and the same-colored endless spread of sky, you’ll feel it. It’s the feeling of menace, of threats to everyone except for the most elite. The feeling of a world with seventy, maybe eighty, people in it.
From your jet skis, there are a few points of access. The most obvious and above-board is the island's dock, but you’ll want to avoid that so that the security on the island stays unaware of your presence. Eventually, they’ll discover you, but you want to give yourself as much time as possible. There are other points along the coast where you can bring your jet ski ashore for a more covert landing. In order to visit the temple, which is on the least patrolled part of the island, you’ll want to dock to the southwest.
Ignore the signs reading “Private Property - No Trespassing” as you approach.
There are a few points along the rocky beach where you can drag your jet ski ashore and keep it safe. From there, it’s a climb up the rockface, which is steep but manageable. At the top you will come face to face with the temple.
If you’re not Jeffrey Epstein, you’ll admire the façade and the strange designs on the stone landing and wonder what they symbolize.
If you are Jeffrey Epstein, after riding your all terrain vehicle up familiar roads, you’ll come to a stop in front of your temple. You’ll get off and walk to the little shed a bit down the hill. There’s a switch on the wall. You’ll hit it and it will unlatch the mechanism. The rest is in you. The rest is you. And that’s how it will be.
Author’s note: The above guide is meant to be a tutorial for journalists, investigators, and seekers of theoretical truths — it should not be used by practical employists, bad actors, or unredeemable trespassers.
IV. What’s the Temple For? Six Possibilities
It’s a matter of public record what went on at Epstein’s island.
According to the Virgin Islands attorney general’s office, “Between 2001 and 2019 the Epstein Enterprise transported underage girls and young women to the Virgin Islands, who were then taken via helicopter or private vessel to Little St James where they were deceptively subjected to sexual servitude, forced to engage in sexual acts and coerced into commercial sexual activity and forced labour.”
But what went on in the temple?
There are many theories, ranging from the mundane and plausible to the absurd and bizzare, and yet also plausible. Below are the six most common theories.
1. Exercise Room
In July 2019, shortly after Epstein’s arrest, an IT technician named Steve Scully told ABC News that he visited the island over one hundred times to set up a communications network. He claimed that the temple was an exercise room filled with martial arts videos.
Epstein was reportedly a fitness fanatic and worked out up to two hours a day.
2. Music Pavilion (for Dank Brains)
Scully’s claim that the temple was for exercise clashes with comments made by a piano tuner named Patrick Baron to Business Insider in 2019. Baron said he was contacted about tuning a grand piano on the island nearly a decade earlier. During his visit, he was driven on a golf cart to a small box-like structure on the southwest side.
He was led into the temple, where he tuned a Rudolph Wurlitzer Company grand piano.
Supporting this theory is an NBC news report that provides the below plans that Epstein’s architects originally submitted to the Virgin Islands’ Department of Planning and Natural Resources.
Some people have suggested that a music room is an interesting choice, since it would likely be soundproofed.
Of course, there are other reasons why someone like Epstein might soundproof a room, even if said room is on an island miles away from other people, an island purchased specifically for its remoteness and solitude.
It’s important to always have a place you can go further, even when you’re already furthest off.
A portal room in a New Mexico ranch. A secret alcove behind a fake bathroom in Manhattan’s largest private residence. A pool beneath the pool in a Parisian mansion. Or, in this case, a soundproof room on a private island.
Supporters call it the “Dank Brain Theory.” This is in reference to a note left in chalk in Epstein’s island library. The below picture shows the sketches with the words “dank brain” clearly visible in a of formula including music, time, and power.
3. Holding Cell / Training Room
While some former staff describe the temple as little more than an exercise room or music pavilion, darker theories suggest it functioned as something far more sinister.
Both Baron and Scully indicated that during the temple’s construction there was a door attached to the structure. It’s unclear at what point the real door was removed and the fake door was painted on.
Because of the finished temple’s lack of door, its size (larger and taller than the plans called for—see above, section 1), and remote location, some people suggest it wasn’t a music pavilion at all. They speculate that it was a holding cell for trafficking victims—a secret soundproof prison where people could be kept out of sight, possibly even underground “beneath the music.”
Supporters of this theory believe Epstein used music to subdue his victims and make it easier to traffic them. The idea was that he would condition them for abuse using certain hypnotic sounds he would play on piano. These songs, it’s believed, were composed by a man simply called “The Songwriter.”
The theory goes that when Epstein trafficked his girls throughout the world, he told his customers to play the music (in an accompanying CD) prior to partaking. Hearing the music, and its various conditionings, would render the victims docile and compliant, ready to obey the commands of the man above them, their master as long as the song lasted.
4. Mock Temple Built as a Joke to Throw People Off
Some believe that the temple was not a functioning religious or secretive site at all. It was simply a music room with aesthetic stylings inspired by Epstein’s eccentric taste. However, one former island employee said it was made deliberately weird just to mess with people, feeding off Epstein’s enjoyment of misdirection and inducing discomfort.
The fact that the locked door was merely painted on reinforces this theory, as do the red patterns surrounding the temple.
Of course, others have much broader theories about these patterns.
5. A Place for █████████
As asserted by Jane Doe #8. See below.
6. Heaven and Earth Room
Some have posited that the structure is a specialized room designed for immersive, naturally-induced sensory experiences. They call this kind of room, typically built by a breed of wealthy individual intent on sober living, a “Heaven and Earth Room.”
This is due to the ability of the room to project a calming feeling containing elements of transcendence. A nearly psychedelic experience, without the use of drugs. For Epstein, a teetotaler his entire adult life, such a room would have its draws.
During use, the ceilings of “Heaven and earth rooms” reportedly slide open to let in the sky. Guests lie down on soft cushions, staring up, and listen to ambient music. When successful, the carefully curated environment evokes a feeling of floating through the cosmos. The doors are locked from the outside as a reminder that even if you escape our planet you can never escape space
Similar rooms exist in West Palm Beach, the Hollywood Hills, and Bandar Seri Begawan, according to contractors who helped build them. This theory suggests the temple was not for rituals or storage—but for escape, illusion, and the dark belief that an individual human being might go on forever.
IV. The Testimony of Jane Doe #8
[IMAGE REDACTED]
Speaking to U.S. News World and Report in early 2025, an anonymous woman who has been designated as “Jane Doe #8” in the latest batch of Epstein filings, stated that she was in attendance for at least twenty two late-night gatherings on St. Little James over the course of nearly fifteen years. Her final visit, involving the temple, ended abruptly. The following is a redacted excerpt of her testimony, given at a deposition sought by the U.S. Lower District Court of Virginia in 2017. The information contained in the heavily redacted files has not been previously released and was accessed by utilizing the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552).
CONFIDENTIAL DEPOSITION TRANSCRIPT
CASE FILE #R-███-204
DATE: [REDACTED] 2017
LOCATION: [REDACTED]
ATTORNEY: Ms. ███████, thank you for being here today and agreeing to provide testimony about your experiences on the private island owned by ██████. For the record, how did you first come into contact with ███?
WITNESS: I met him through a friend in the city. She told me that—
ATTORNEY: Sorry, which city are you referring to?
WITNESS: Oh, New York. I met him in New York. It was at a party hosted by ███ ████. The idea was for ███████, although that never happened. My friend ███████ told me that ███████ was looking for assistants — girls with ████ ███ and ██ ██ ███, but most importantly, girls who wanted to make easy money and could keep their mouths shut. She said it was mostly help with travel and setting up events.
ATTORNEY: Did ██████ mention anything about massaging or massages?
WITNESS: No. I was twenty at the time, which I didn’t learn until later was too old and █████ █████ ████ to act as ███████ masseuse. In that way, at least, I was lucky. But I was also strapped and ████ ███. So in that way, I was unlucky. I needed the money. I didn’t ask too many questions.
ATTORNEY: When did you first travel to the island?
WITNESS: That would have to be... late summer of ██ ██. I remember because it was right after Hurricane ███ ███. There was still debris in the water around the dock.
ATTORNEY: Can you describe the activities on the island?
WITNESS: █ ██ ██ ██ ███ ██ ███ ███ █ ███ ███.
ATTORNEY: That’s fine, but to clarify, there is no possibility of █ ██ █ ████ because of ██ ██ ████ ████████. Please describe the activities you witnessed, as well as those you participated in.
WITNESS: During the height, visitors to the island broke into four main categories, at least from what I saw. There was of course ████ ███ and his entourage, there were custodians and maintenance people and island staff, there were guests, and then there were girls. It really seemed like the whole point of it was the girls.
ATTORNEY: Can you tell us about the ███ █████ involving the girls?
WITNESS: There were straightforward orgies, often conducted in the ████ ████ without regard for anything. Twice I saw ████ ████ ███ █████ there and I remember once that ████ ████ made an appearance at the December dustbowl, in the middle of what was usually a parking lot. There were other people, too, lots of them, but I didn’t keep notes at the time and very much bought into their overall “discretion is king” philosophy, which ████ ████ drilled into me over and over.
ATTORNEY: What were some of the other activities?
WITNESS: There was one. I remember it because of how ████ ██. They called it slip ‘n slide, you know like the kids game? It had the same kind of ████ ████. They would line all the girls up and get them, um ready.
ATTORNEY: Ready? Can you clarify?
WITNESS: Ready for intercourse. Legs open. ██ ███ on the ████ and ████. And sometimes ████ ████. You’d have eight or nine girls ███ spread wide, and then ████ and the guests would, uhhh, go down the slide.
ATTORNEY: Just to make sure I fully understand, you’re saying that the defendant █████ █ ██ ████████ ███ and then ██████ on the range of █████ and its ████.
WITNESS: Yes, that’s correct.
ATTORNEY: Did you witness other activities of a similar nature?
WITNESS: There was something else about ████ ████ ████. They called it the Peacock Ball. Except the costumes were closer to cockatoo, not peacock, which only encouraged ████ to make the dumbest stupidest jokes imaginable. He’s always joking and he’s rarely funny. He makes all these crass comments and everyone laughs because of who he is, not because of what he said.
ATTORNEY: Can you tell us about the Peacock Ball?
WITNESS: I remember that ████████ was very upset when ███ ████ and ████ ███ did the ██████ █████████ in order to ████████. However, there were enough girls still willing to ████████ that when ████████ tried to spin it in his favor ██ ██████ ███████ █████████████ ████████ ██████████. And then ████████ tried to ████████, but that also didn’t take. It was bizarre. But they looked like they were having fun, To this day I’m forever gratetful I stayed on the sidelines. I know one girl who participated. She died like three weeks after. They said it was ████████ but I’m sure that her ████ ████ ████████ played a part.
ATTORNEY: Are there similar activities you’d like to report?
WITNESS: Um, I’m trying to think. Well, there were the bed warmers.
ATTORNEY: What are the bed warmers?
WITNESS: We called them bed warmers, because that was less crass than the men’s name for it.
ATTORNEY: What was the men’s name for it?
WITNESS: Tag-ins.
ATTORNEY: What are tag-ins? Or, as you prefer it, bed warmers?
WITNESS: It was when two or three girls would stay in a bed for a long period of time. A few hours, maybe a whole night. The girls in the bed were the same, but the men who ████ ███ changed. It would start with ████ of course, and when he finished, he would climb out of the bed and someone else would take his place. Tag him in, so to speak. Just climb into ████ ███ and enjoy the girls, their ████████ and their ████████. I’m pretty sure there were a few girls hired exclusively to be bed warmers.
ATTORNEY: Anything else?
WITNESS: Well, this isn’t sexual. Just kind of weird. ███ ██ ███, if you want to hear it?
ATTORNEY: Yes. Please proceed.
WITNESS: ████ loved living on his island for many reasons, including the ████ ████ and the ███████ ████ █████, like I mentioned. But there were other draws, too. Like the birds that gathered there in autumn and the feeling of island life generally, but also… ████ really liked to shit outdoors. He kept a few toilets in the great open, in parts of his villa, where he could shit in nature while having a great view of it. I used his outdoor toilet once, when I was there for the run-up.
ATTORNEY: Run-up?
WITNESS: That’s what we called it when we arrived early, before ████ and his guests. We got there early to try to arrange the place for him. Not the general upkeep the staff kept it in, but the ████ █████ ███████ and the ████ ████.
ATTORNEY: I’d like to go back to your first visit to the island. In 2002.
WITNESS: Sure.
ATTORNEY: Was the structure commonly referred to as “the temple” present at that time?
WITNESS: No. Not yet. But even then ████ was talking about it. He talked about it a lot with ███ █████ and ████, who was a frequent guest. He would talk about it at night, before the great bonfires, which he made maybe half the nights he was on the island, weather permitting. This was usually once the activities had wound down. When the stars in the sky were so big it made you feel like an insect. Or ███ ██ ███. I used to dream that.
ATTORNEY: What did ████ say about the temple?
WITNESS: He called it his sanctuary. A simple structure with a █████ ███ layout. And of course there was the ████ ████ which was accessed through ████ ████ in a really cool feat of engineering. I saw it, the opening and the █████ ███ and it was really something. Fucked up and absolutely evil, but kind of ingenious.
ATTORNEY: ███ █ ███ █ ██ ██ ██ ████ ████ ████ ██ ██████?
WITNESS: ████ ███ █ ██ ██ ███ ███ ████ ████ ████ ████ ███ █ ██ ██ ██████ ████ ████ █ ██ ████████ █ ██ ██ ██████ ████ ████ ███ █████ ███ █ ██ ██ ███ ███ ████ ████ ███ ██ ███.
ATTORNEY: Did ███ ever mention the purpose of the temple?
WITNESS: Well, like I said, he called it his sanctuary. He said it was a space where he could unfold himself.
ATTORNEY: Unfold himself?
WITNESS: That’s what he said. He was obsessed with the idea of ██ ████ ██. █████ ███ once told ███ he got it from a spy movie from the 70s and never let it go. He honed it, I’m pretty sure, later on with ██████, who I saw once at the ranch but never on the island. In his temple, he figured he would finally be able to do the ██████. He sincerely believed that if he was able to convince the ████ ████ then there was no way that ███ ██████ ███. I remember his face when he told us that. We all just smiled and nodded. It was nonsense, a cartoon idea. But he was serious. You could tell. ████ ██ ██ █████ ███.
ATTORNEY: How long did ████ speak of the temple before building it?
WITNESS: I’m pretty sure construction began in ████ ████, and he spoke about it for at least five years before then. His enthusiasm really grew in the last two years leading up to it. As early as ████, ████ spoke of wanting what he called “the gold crown on the land.”
ATTORNEY: Did ████ or ████ ever ████ █████ ███ ?
WITNESS: Not directly. Although, of ourse it became obvious, but not until later. I do remember he said once that in order for ██████ to ████████, you need access to both heaven and hell. And in his temple, that’s what he got.
ATTORNEY: Did you witness the structure in use?
WITNESS: At night, you mean? Or during the day?
ATTORNEY: Both.
WITNESS: Yes, I did. Sometimes during the day they would do some ███ █████ and ████████ there, but those were holdovers. I didn’t hate it. The music was okay. But it was not the temple’s real purpose. Nothing like ████ ███ ██ ████ ███ or ████ ████. I only saw this at night. And just once.
ATTORNEY: Is this the night of █████ 2018?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: Please describe what you saw, to the best of your recollection.
WITNESS: Well, like I said, it was night. I was with ███ ██ and █████—we were staying in a guest cottage, but I couldn’t sleep. The island can be so peaceful at night, and that night I assumed it was. I walked onto the patio of my █████ and saw lights up the hill. Coming from the temple. Gold lights. Not flickering like candles — more like those UV bug zappers. Pulsing, you know? Like bugs were getting zapped. I even thought of ███ ███████, but that didn’t make sense, obviously, with ████ ██████ █████ doing the █████ during ████ █████.
ATTORNEY: Then what happened?
WITNESS: I walked slowly to the temple, careful to wear shoes because man those rocks can cut. And even with the stars above, it’s hard at night to see the ground. It must have been 3 am and the whole island was usually quiet. Like ████ in the ██████ was ██████ █████████.
I got close, ████ ███ ███. Not shouting. ████ ██████. Low and rhythmic. There was this... smell, like ████ and █████ in the air. Or maybe █████, but I only smelled that once and I was pretty ████, so I’m not sure.
ATTORNEY: What did you see when you reached the structure?
WITNESS: ████ ███ at the ████████ ████ ███ █████ ███ ████ of ██. Inside, everything was draped in dark cloth, floor to ceiling. Candles in the corners, but they were behind red glass, so the room ████ ███ like there was █████ ████████. In the center was... something like █████ ████. Stone. Polished. Too smooth.
You know, as I think about it now, it’s a lot like something ████ once told me at the bonfire. He said something like there are really only four experiences in life. Except for his temple. His temple gave a fifth experience. I don’t know what he meant, but I just remembered that.
ATTORNEY: Can you get back to the █████ ███ of █████?
WITNESS: Sure. █████ was there, as was █████ ███, ████ ██████, and █████, who I’d never seen on the island before. I’ll never forget the way they ████ █████ █████ █ ██████ in ████. They moved slowly, like a procession. I saw what they were gathered around, but I don’t fully have the words for it.
ATTORNEY: Please, try.
WITNESS:█████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ and also █████████ ████████████████ because of the ████████████ ███████████████████████████████████ █████████████████████████████████████████████████████ so disturbing it felt violent.
ATTORNEY: Did anyone see you?
WITNESS: I don’t think so. I left as quietly as I could. I went back to my room and locked the door. ███ came by but I didn’t say a word to her. I just lay on my bed for an hour, more awake than I’ve ever been. I left the next morning on the first boat, which I caught thanks to ██ ████ and ████████.
ATTORNEY: And you never returned to the island?
WITNESS: No. I ignored ████’s calls after that. ███ █████ called too, nonstop, but I didn’t pick up for her, either. There were a number of threatening voicemails, left by people I didn’t know, but after a few months █████ stopped trying to reach me.
ATTORNEY: Thank you, Ms. ███████. We’re going to take a brief recess before proceeding with the next section.
[REDACTED — 17 MINUTES]
END OF EXCERPT.
DOCUMENT CLASSIFICATION: SEALED
V. The Temple Today
Today, the temple has been whitewashed—nothing to see here.
It, along with Greater Saint James, was purchased in 2023 for $60 million by a billionaire named Stephen Deckoff. His stated plans are to turn the island into a luxury retreat. One of his first orders was to bleach the temple and its grounds white.
Deckoff claimed he never met Epstein, although it seems that they both worked at Bear Stearns at the same time.
So where does this leave us?
Like everything Epstein adjacent, we have far more questions than answers. Which is par for the course. We can just add it to the growing list of questions we still need answered:
-How did Epstein make his money?
-Why was he given such a lenient plea deal in 2008?
-Who are the unnamed individuals in his black book and flight logs?
-Why were the surveillance cameras shut off during his death? Why didn’t the guards properly monitor his cell that night?
-Why did so many powerful people continue associating with Epstein after his conviction?
-Was he the heart of the operation or just an arm?
And finally, if Epstein was part of some worldwide nefarious (((conspiracy))), does his death mean that the world order has been defeated? Would (((they))) even let the truth reach the press which (((they))) control? It must be a front for something bigger and far more sinister.
Of course, there’s also the possibility that all of this is fiction. I’ll let you decide.
The "Testimony of Jane Doe #8" link is dead, I cannot find it through google/wayback machine, and the transcript contains a reference to the date 2018 while the deposition was ostensibly from 2017. Can you explain these discrepancies?