Scary Spooky Stuff - Crazy creepy shit that's happened in this world

[Rabidcolombian]

There are many creepy cases in this world that many Kiwis may not be aware of, whether it's Epstein Island, Elisa Lam, or The Villisca Axe Murders. Post about weird, scary, unnatural cases that have happened.

No personal stories.

Post information about a creepy case you've discovered that we can learn about further if we're interested. Here's mine to start:

 

[Easterling]

The Phenomena known as Stigmata is when a person suffers the wounds of Christ inexplicably without actual bodily harm. This includes profuse bleeding from hands and the feet on both sides (in the similar manner in which a nail was hammered through). There is also bleeding from the head as if a crown of thorns was placed there and finally there is bleeding from the side of the torso (as if pierced by a spear). These symptoms do not always occur at the same time although the hands and feet are paired so a stigmatic may not have bleeding feet but both their hands will be bleeding. There have been at least 406 recorded cases of stigmata, the backgrounds of these people vary with some not being christian at all, although the majority of them have been overwhelmingly female, around 87% in fact.

Spoiler: Padre Pio bearing the wounds of Christ

 

[Judge Holden]

Problem for me is that a lot of the more notorious mysteries regarding deaths/rapes/disappearances/abductions are built around horrifically sad and evil shit done to the least deserving people, and are thus not exactly super scary since the creepy factor is outweighed by just how much of a buzzkill it is to think about them and how remote the chance the victims seeing justice/closure is.

On the other hand, I have always had a bit of a weakness for historical shit, and have always found things like ancient mystery pandemics/massacres/other such incidents to be engagingly creepy since the veil of history leaves behind tantalising clues but nothing concrete, thus allowing ones mind to fill in the blanks which is what creates the best spoopy mysteries

Take the Bronze Age collapse and the Sea Peoples.

TLDR back around about 1200BC there was quite literally a fucking apocalypse level event that effectively destroyed human civilisation in the mediterranian area which contained the most advanced cultures of the time period

Archaeological analysis of both physical evidence and records from the time period suggest a sudden and violent collapse of civilisations en-masse, with most populations being wiped out almost entirely as evidenced by up to 90% of settlements being completely abandoned, and with economy, culture, society, traditions and such all pretty much vanishing and having to be rebuilt from scratch. The only nations which vaguely survived were the most united and powerful like Egypt and Assyria, but the collapse left them dangerously weakened and in near permanent decline afterwards.

What caused it? Nobody fucking knows.

The level of destruction was so extensive and the length of time since the event means there exists very few reliable sources that offer any clues. It is likely that natural disasters played some part in what happened given how it has been found that there was a major volcanic eruption in Iceland at the time which likely fucked with the climate enough to screw over harvests. There is also evidence of a fairly severe drought at the time which likely exacerbated the bad harvests, and some have suggested the collapse was merely these factors combined with the general decline and collapse seen in civilisations like the Maya or Olmecs where advanced civilisations gradually run out of steam and peter out.

However what makes this unlikely to be the true cause, is the fact that archaeological digs of various cities all over the Mediterranean at the time show overwhelming evidence of these areas being violently destroyed and set ablaze, and what fragments of historical records from the period do make clear from all over the Mediterranean from Egypt to Greece to the Levant to Anatolia is that during this time period, pretty much all civilisations in the area were coming under devastating attack by a mysterious unknown force known only as "the sea peoples".

All that is known or at least suspected is that this mysterious confederacy of sea borne raiders began rapidly sacking cities and settlements along the Mediterranean coastline around about the same time the aforementioned environmental disasters occurred, which given how utterly dependant these ancient economies/societies were on the sea for travel and trade would have been legitimately apocalyptic catastrophe, especially given how apparently unstoppable these invaders were, with only the relative superpowers of the era of Egypt and Assyria seemingly able to resist them successfully.

Indeed it is possible given their apparently extreme military might compared to these relatively advanced civilisations that they may have even been among the earliest groups to use Iron weapons en masse since this time period also saw the regions north of the Mediterranean in modern day Bulgaria/Romania produce the first examples of ironwork.

Who were they? Again, nobody fucking knows.

The egyptians assumed they were greeks, and some historians have speculated that the greek kingdoms of the time had destroyed eachother in a series of catastrophic wars with the winners/survivors then turning to mass piracy and raiding. Others have suggested civilisations like the Phillistines or the Trojans given circumstantial evidence. Others still have suggested that the environmental disasters had caused a mass movement of refugees and migrants who would form a semi-confederation and start raiding any settlement they could find in order to survive. There is even hypothesis that this may have been an extremely early example of the the barbarian migrations from north/central europe and asia that would one day help bring down the Roman Empire.

Either way this mysterious civilisation caused the literal apocalypse and then vanished out the pages of history, and to me that qualifies as a deliciously creepy historical mystery

 

[Niggernerd]

Anyone remember that CCTV footage of the chink bus and car lifting for no reason and if something was under them?
No indication of power cables and no other cars were effected. As couldn't be a earthquake because the people walking were fine.

 

[General Disarray]

Anyone remember that CCTV footage of the chink bus and car lifting for no reason and if something was under them?
No indication of power cables and no other cars were effected. As couldn't be a earthquake because the people walking were fine.

I remember that! Here is some more info on it.
SOLVED (so they say)

 

[Rancid Flid]

Russian Investigators Are Reopening the Dyatlov Pass Case. But What Is It?
Sixty years after a group of hikers mysteriously died in the Ural Mountains, police are breathing new life into the notorious cold case.

The group's tent was found abandoned in the snow; cut open from the inside.

Britain has Jack the Ripper, the United States has the Zodiac Killer and Russia has the Dyatlov Pass Incident. On Feb. 1, Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office announced that it was reopening an investigation into a cold case that has stumped Russians for more than 60 years.

What happened?
On Jan. 23, 1959, nine students from the Ural Polytechnic Institute set off on a hike through the northern Ural Mountains. They were led by Igor Dyatlov, an engineering student, after whom the mountain pass where the group hiked was posthumously named.
After the students failed to return home several days later, rescue workers began a search. They eventually came across a tent which had been cut open from the inside. The hikers’ possessions, including clothing and shoes, were still inside.
More days of searching the area led to the bodies being found. They lay in clusters of two or three, miles away from where had they set up camp.

Investigators were stumped. The hikers were inadequately dressed for the subzero temperatures. Some wore a single shoe, some wore only socks and some were barefoot. The inquest concluded that six had died of hypothermia, while the other three died of major external injuries.
In May that same year, the investigation was called off. To this day, the official cause of death on file is described only as a “compelling natural force.”
But the Soviet authorities’ hastiness to discontinue the investigation from its onset inspired conspiracy theories. Most of these theories center on the idea that the Dyatlov group saw something they weren’t supposed to see, such as a secret weapon being tested in the secluded mountains, but there are many other, more outlandish, theories.

In May that same year, the investigation was called off. To this day, the official cause of death on file is described only as a “compelling natural force.”
But the Soviet authorities’ hastiness to discontinue the investigation from its onset inspired conspiracy theories. Most of these theories center on the idea that the Dyatlov group saw something they weren’t supposed to see, such as a secret weapon being tested in the secluded mountains, but there are many other, more outlandish, theories.

Why is the investigation being reopened?
Sixty years after the incident, new life is being breathed into the case.
Firstly, it is being moved from the regional branch of the Investigative Committee to the federal branch.
Andrei Kuryakov, an official at the Sverdlovsk region prosecutor’s office, said at a press conference on Feb. 4 that the state prosecutor’s office has requested all documents relating directly or indirectly to the case. Beginning next month, investigators will return to the scene to carry out nine separate examinations, according to the state-run RIANovosti news agency.

The investigation will only be considering three theories, Kuryakov said. These include a hurricane, snow slab or avalanche. These possibilities have been narrowed down from an official list of 75 theories, ranging from government conspiracy to supernatural events.

The dominant theories
The avalanche or hurricane hypothesis still leaves holes, according to theorists. There is little to no physical evidence that an event of such magnitude occurred. Moreover, this does not account for why the hikers would have cut their way out of the tent only partially dressed.
So what force drew the Dyatlov group out of their tent that night?

Here are some of the most popular versions of the events:
Infrasound frequency
The infrasound panic theory was popularized by American writer Donnie Eichar in his 2013 book “Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident.” After consulting physicists, Eichar concluded that a combination of high winds and the curvature of the mountains surrounding the campsite had produced an infrasound frequency, a sound too low for human ears to register. Infrasound frequencies can induce a state of panic in human beings.
According to this theory, the hikers cut their way out of their tent and fled into the night.
By the time the group was far enough away to regain their senses, it was too late. Unable to make their way back to safety, they succumbed to hypothermia. Others obtained injuries by falling into the ravines where they were found.

Foul play
The Dyatlov Pass Incident has also sparked suspicions of foul play. When investigators first started looking into the case in the spring of 1959, they suspected that the indigenous Mansi people may have harmed the hikers for trespassing onto sacred land, Eichar said in his book. No evidence was found to support this theory and it was consequently dismissed.

Some even believe that the hikers had connections to the authorities themselves. The head of the Dyatlov Group Memory Public Fund, Yury Kuntsevich, told the state-run TASS news agency in 2016 that he believed the hikers were on a secret mission for the KGB to take photos of a mysterious “technology-induced moment” that backfired, causing their deaths.

Aliens, Yetis and star-crossed lovers
No cold case is complete without rumors of the supernatural or alien.
One theory on the official list of 75 blames extraterrestrial interference. This theory was fairly popular during the Soviet era, spreading after locals reportedly told investigators that they had seen a mysterious flying object in the sky that night.
Local monsters were given as another explanation. A 2014 Discovery Channel documentary used the case as evidence that the Yeti stalks the Ural Mountains. This theory attempts to explain the severe nature of the fractures found on the three externally injured hikers’ bodies, claiming that only superhuman force could have caused such damage.
For the romantics out there, another theory boils the bizarre events down to affairs of the heart. The theory goes that a tryst left some of the parties partially clothed, leading to a violent argument that culminated in tragedy.
There really is a theory out there for everyone.

Nine students participated in the ill-fated expedition. All of them were later found dead.

Russian Investigators Are Reopening the Dyatlov Pass Case. But What Is It? - The Moscow Times

Nine hikers died in the mysterious Dyatlov Pass incident in 1959.

www.themoscowtimes.com

All of the bodies were discovered weeks later - some of them were wearing the others’ clothes, soaked in high doses of radiation.
Where it gets really bizarre is that some of the bodies had shown only signs of hypothermia (hence the theory on why they were naked), while others found deeper in the woods had shown signs of massive internal trauma: bleeding, fractures, and broken skulls. One member of the group, Lyudmila Dubinina, was missing her tongue.

 

[saisegeha]

Either way this mysterious civilisation caused the literal apocalypse and then vanished out the pages of history, and to me that qualifies as a deliciously creepy historical mystery

Actually, there's an archeologist/professor/writer named Klaus Dona who is actively researching those lost civilizations and their downfall, which also includes enormous fucking human skeletons apparently.

Don't know if this is gonna be interesting, but it ties in nicely with the events you mentioned and may give you more insight since a lot about it has been cleared up (and is even more frightening than everything conspiracy theorists came up with).

Spoiler: some things they found from before our recorded history/ten thousands of years ago

 

[Madam Nekromantik]

That Missing 411 stuff like in OPs post is pretty weird. There's stories of kids that get found alive and they talk about being taken by the hairy man or the wolf gave me berries. There's a lot of stories about retarded people getting taken too. I need to get the books.

 

[Rancid Flid]

Actually, there's an archeologist/professor/writer named Klaus Dona who is actively researching those lost civilizations and their downfall, which also includes enormous fucking human skeletons apparently.

Don't know if this is gonna be interesting, but it ties in nicely with the events you mentioned and may give you more insight since a lot about it has been cleared up (and is even more frightening than everything conspiracy theorists came up with).

Spoiler: some things they found from before our recorded history/ten thousands of years ago

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The elongated skulls, generally found in Peru are supposed to be a result of high-caste people binding their children's heads to distinguish them from the lower classes.

The plane is from India I think, where they have famous tales of flying objects from thousands of years ago. There's quite a lot of stuff about like this, some of which can be explained, some can't though. The Antikythera mechanism, which was found in the sea is an interesting object. The original looks a bit crappy due to corrosion after being in the sea for 2000 years but the reproduction gives us an idea of what some of the ancients were capable of.

This thing is supposed to be the first ever computer.

After 2,000 years under the sea, three flat, misshapen pieces of bronze at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens are all shades of green, from emerald to forest. From a distance, they look like rocks with patches of mold. Get closer, though, and the sight is stunning. Crammed inside, obscured by corrosion, are traces of technology that appear utterly modern: gears with neat triangular teeth (just like the inside of a clock) and a ring divided into degrees (like the protractor you used in school). Nothing else like this has ever been discovered from antiquity. Nothing as sophisticated, or even close, appears again for more than a thousand years.

Decoding the Antikythera Mechanism, the First Computer

Hidden inscriptions offer new clues to the origins of a mysterious astronomical mechanism

www.smithsonianmag.com

 

[Rancid Flid]

I've no idea if any of you from the USA were taught anything about the Roanoke Colony when you were at school ? It was the first English colony in the US but they all disappeared without trace.

What happened to the Roanoke colony?
The Roanoke Colony was the first English settlement in America. It vanished. The mystery of the lost colony of Roanoke Island has baffled society for hundreds of years. A group of settlers disappeared into North America with hardly a trace and no one has seen concrete evidence of their existence in centuries. Many theories have arisen over the years as to the fate of these settlers, but nothing is certain. Today, there is only speculation about the Roanoke Colony mystery.

Roanoke Colony Disappearance is Still a Puzzling Mystery

The Roanoke Colony was the first English settlement in America. It vanished. The mystery of the lost colony of Roanoke has baffled society for centuries.

www.historicmysteries.com

Spontaneous human combustion used to be mentioned quite often in the past but I've not heard about any cases since the '80's.

One of the most puzzling things about the entire process is how little external damage the fire would leave. Other than the victim, not a lot of damage is often found at the scene of a SHC fire. In order for a human body to burn beyond just ashes, temperatures have to be extreme to an Nth degree, yet much of the scene is often untouched.

Spontaneous Human Combustion | Historic Mysteries

There have been several recorded cases of Spontaneous Human Combustion that have achieved notoriety. Here are some examples of this mysterious condition.

www.historicmysteries.com

 

[Recoil]

This thing is supposed to be the first ever computer.

It's an astronomical calculator, IIRC. It's likely a more elegant version of what stonehenge is suspected to be.

 

[Rancid Flid]

It's an astronomical calculator, IIRC. It's likely a more elegant version of what stonehenge is suspected to be.

Yes, that's right but many academics seem to call it our first computer & as we know, they're always right. I don't really see anything mechanical as a computer myself, so I agree with you but technically, this relic did compute, so I get why some would call it a computer. I've got an old synth which is described as a computing device on a label but I can't get any BBW porn on it, so idk.

Stonehenge was rebuilt constantly in the 20th century, right up until the mid-60's. All stones have been moved & realigned which probably ruined any chance of us finding out what it was really for. There's even a slim chance that the whole thing is a fake. (It's nearly impossible to find early paintings of Stonehenge)

 

[Smaug's Smokey Hole]

Back in the mid 90's or so people that researched wild macaques in Japan used to throw potatoes at a beach, from a boat/dingy if I'm remembering it right. The monkeys wanted the potatoes and darted out to grab them from the sand before retreating. One day a female macaque, I think, accidentally fumbled a potato and flung it into the water, she retrieved it and now had a sand free potato which is obviously way better than a sandy raw potato. It shouldn't be all that surprising to learn that all the monkeys suddenly learned to wash their food, but it was at the time a scientific novelty to observe that change in behavior happen in real time.

That's not the strange part though. Roughly at the same time other groups doing research on macaques in other parts of Asia, remember that Japan is an island, reported that they had seen a remarkable change in behavior, the monkeys were suddenly washing their food. Where did that come from? Group A realized that they had seen the cause of the behavior and how it emerged but when they heard from other groups that the behavior emerged there as well, for no apparent reason, no one knew what to make of it.

 

[Casey0714]

Long time ago, folks thought the first person to die and get buried in the graveyard never truly passed over but instead stayed behind to guide others across to the afterlife. Well, you can imagine that folks didn't want their loved ones damned to such a fate so usually, they'd just bury a dog first and those dogs became known as church grims. The thing is there wasn't always a dead dog just waiting to be buried...

 

[Coldgrip]

I've no idea if any of you from the USA were taught anything about the Roanoke Colony when you were at school ? It was the first English colony in the US but they all disappeared without trace.

It gets a mention and that's about it. Most teachers will tell you either angry natives killed them off, disease killed them off, or poor harvests caused them to abandon the colony.

 

[JektheDumbass]

What's even more mysterious is the fact that 20 years later they found a bunch of half Indians in the tribe the next island over. The same island they found carved in a tree in Roanoke.

 

[PL 001]

He doesn't get talked about much in true crime circles, but Nathaniel Bar Jonah always gave me the creeps. Child molester and suspected child murderer and cannibal. He reminded me a bit of Albert Fish.

Nathaniel Bar-Jonah - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[R.A.E.L.]

The case of Joshua Maddux really creeps me out. Missing teen's body is found inside the chimney of an abandoned cabin wearing nothing but a shirt. The chimney was blocked from both ends, making it seemingly impossible to get inside.

r/UnresolvedMysteries - 18 year old Joshua Maddux missing since 2008 is found dead in a chimney in 2015 and it was ruled an accident. Circumstances would beg to differ.

7,293 votes and 583 comments so far on Reddit

www.reddit.com

 

[Saint Kelly]

Stuff like the Bronze Age Collapse and Stigmata really gets my noggin thonkin about our place in the world. Granted I think most of Stigmata is a bunch of lies and deception. As for Roanoke isn't it a common theory that they interbred with the injuns after being on their own from the home country for so long?

 

[Spunt]

As for Stigmata, an important fact is that when the Romans carried out crucifixion, they drove the nails through the victim's wrists, not their hands. There's a gap in the bone where you can drive a nail straight through without shattering any bone, so that it can hold the weight of the body. If you drove nails through the palm of the hand, it would just rip out if you tried to get it to bear any weight.

However, medieval painters didn't know this, and the Bible itself isn't specific in the original Hebrew. So having the nails driven through the palm of Jesus's hands became an important part of Christian iconography, even though the historical Jesus, assuming there was one, would have had wounds to his wrists, not his palms.

So whatever is happening with Stigmata is informed by the sufferer's incorrect understanding of the mechanics of crucifixion. If it was supernatural, surely God would get the details right. Imo that means that people with stigmata are either suffering from an extreme psychosomatic illness, or they're just munchies.