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Showing posts with label mysteries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mysteries. Show all posts

Friday, 9 June 2017

6 Serial Killers That Have Never Been Caught

June 09, 2017 0
Jack the Ripper and The Zodiac Killer; infamous serial killers that still hold a certain fascination for people years later. Everyone knows them, especially because these notorious killers had never been caught. But they aren’t the only ones out there – and considering how far investigative techniques have come, it’s a little scary how many serial killers still manage to avoid police. Worse still, not all of them are actually that good – but they are brutal, ruthless and, in some cases, just really lucky. Here are:

6 Serial Killers That Have Never Been Caught



1. Edmonton Serial Killer, Canada

This is one serial killer – if he is a serial killer – who still has so many questions surrounding him that he doesn’t even have an official name. It all started in 1975, when the first body was discovered. Since then there have been at least 30 bodies of women discovered, all dumped in the fields around Edmonton in Alberta, Canada – many of them burned to death. So why is there no real interest? Unfortunately for the victims – and potential victims – they are mostly indigenous people, and prostitutes to boot. Neither of these things rank the poor victims high up on the priority list.

In 2003 Project KARE was established – a task force that is meant to be dedicated to solving these crimes and catching the killer (or killers) responsible. So far they’ve managed to establish a DNA database of the local sex workers – so that, you know, they can identify the bodies of more victims.

Believe it or not, they actually have a voice recording of the alleged serial killer. In 2010 Amber Tuccaro, one of the victims, made a call to her brother and it just so happened that the killer yacked on a bit himself. Eager to solve the case, the police released the tape… 2 years later. Reports indicate that women have actually come forward to identify the voice – but if the police have made any progress, they haven’t indicated anything.

The fact is this; until someone starts to take this spree of murders seriously, though, this is one killer that’s just going to keep on killing.


2. Highway of Tears Murderer, Canada

Another Canadian culprit, this murderer has been responsible for over 40 estimated female victims. All of the women were thought to be taken along a 720km stretch of Highway 16 between Prince George and Prince Rupert, starting in 1969. The latest reports of missing women are from as recently as 2011. There are 23 First Nations communities along the stretch, and the region Is plagued by poverty and lack of public transportation – which is ideal for this killer, as it forces his victims to resort to hitchhiking.

Naturally, there are many critics that blame systemic racism on the lack of results from the investigation. See, there's a little detail that is often overlooked... many of the victims are, in fact, First Nation women, and these critics claim that less value are placed on their lives. Their claims do seem to hold some water – Project E-Pana (another ‘project’, who woulda thunk?), responsible for looking into the murders, was only established in 2005. That’s 36 years since the first reported victims. To top it off, the victim that received the most attention (from both the media and police) was Nicole Hoar – a Caucasian woman who disappeared in 2002.

To date, no other progress has really been made. It does make one wonder, in this day and age, why it seems that less value is still placed on the lives of indigenous peoples. Aren’t we all flesh and blood people, damn it?


3. The Rainbow Maniac, Brazil

Between February 2007 and August 2008, 13 men were murdered in Paturis Park, Carapicuiba. The victims were aged 20-40 years old, with the first victim being beaten to death. The rest of the victims were all shot in the head, the last victim in the spree being shot twelve times. So… why these victims, and why the name ‘Rainbow Maniac’? Well, some insensitive asshole of a cop must have come up with the name while laughing it up with his buddies – the name refers to the gay pride flag. All of the victims were gay men.

It’s interesting to note that officials from the State Public Safety Department did actually announce that the killer could be a cop. They set out to prove it too, testing for the weapon used in the murder. Considering that they’ve been doing this since 2008, though, doesn’t inspire much confidence.

A retired state police sergeant was arrested in December of 2008, believe it or not. A witness took the risk and came forward which implicated the sergeant in the final murder. Another witness also claimed that the sergeant was no stranger to the park, looking for gay men. So, what happened to him? Oh, he had a trial. Not sure how surprising it was, though, when he was declared not guilty by a jury, with 4 votes to 2.

Whether he was guilty or not, the Rainbow Maniac is still out there.


4. The Doodler, California

According to reports, The Doodler (or The Black Doodler, as he was also known) was a serial killer in San Francisco. Between 1974 and 1975, the Doodler was responsible for 3 assaults and the deaths of 14 gay men. His nickname came from the fact that he first sketched his victims before sleeping with and then stabbing them to death. Here’s what makes this particular case so sad: Remember the 3 assaults? The police did arrest a suspect, and all three victims could have testified against him in court. They chose not to, for fear of persecution by their families, friends and employers for being homosexual - especially since one was a well-known entertainer, and another a diplomat.

If I may say so… people suck.

Harvey Milk publicly sympathised with the victims and their fear to come forward due to the persecution of gay men at the time. The fact that this serial killer was never brought to justice can, perhaps, be blamed on the fear of three men… but, in this writer’s personal opinion, the judgemental dickwads responsible for that atmosphere of fear and rejection is just as much to blame.


5. Charlie Chop-off, New York

This bastard – and I refuse to call him anything else – was active in Manhattan between 1972 and 1974. He was responsible for the deaths of five children, while leaving another child for dead. At one point a man did come forward and admit to one of the murders but, in the end, he was sent back to a mental institution – which leaves you to wonder if he was responsible for these killings or not.

The police still think that the mental patient, Soto, was responsible for the murders – and even the mental institute claims that he ‘could have’ escaped (excuse me, say WHAT?!) several times to commit the murders – and sneak back into the institute afterwards. But no, he’s not sane enough to know what he’s doing. Besides, you know, child murdering serial killers have ‘rights’.

The victims, generally between the ages of 8-10, were abducted and stabbed – not once, but up to thirty-eight times. The killer didn’t stop there. As if abducting and stabbing the young boys weren’t enough, Charlie also mutilated them. If you can’t figure out how this particular sicko did that, let me put it to you this way: if he’d been called Chop-off John, it wouldn’t have been inaccurate.


6. The Babysitter, Michigan

The name given to this particular killer is very apt, considering his M.O. Between 1976 and 1977, this killer abducted, and murdered, four children – that are known, but more are suspected. The victims that are known include two boys and two girls; Mark Stebbins (12), Kristine Mihelich (10), Timothy King (11) and Jill Robinson (12). Before he would kill them, the murderer would keep them for anything from 4 to 19 days – hence the name ‘Babysitter’.

Although the bodies tended to be arranged neatly, hands folded and clothed, their appearance belied the horrors they’d been subjected to. Both Mark and Timothy had been sexually assaulted by an object before being murdered. Mark was strangled, Jill shot in the face with a shotgun, Kristine was smothered and Timothy had been suffocated. In an emotional appeal for the safe return of their son, Tim’s mother said she wanted to serve him KFC – his favourite food.

Maybe it was a sign of emotion from the killer, or maybe he just to prove that he was aware of the suffering he caused. Either way, Timothy’s post-mortem showed that he’d recently had KFC to eat. Despite tips, a specialized task force and a $100,000 reward… the killer was never caught.




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Thursday, 25 May 2017

6 Weird and Terrifying Illnesses That Are Still a Mystery

May 25, 2017 0
The world is filled with mysteries… but when you visit the local doctor’s office, you really don’t want to hear “I’ve never seen this before,” or any variation thereof. There’s nothing as terrifying as hearing that whatever you’ve got making you sick is something the professionals can’t explain or cure. And when it’s a really strange illness… well, that certainly doesn’t help the situation one bit. Here are:

6 Weird and Terrifying Illnesses That Are Still a Mystery



1. The Dancing Plague

In 1518, in a lovely little town called Strasbourg, a woman named Mrs. Troffea decided it was a good day to dance. Over time she was joined by more and more people; 34 people joined her within the week, and a month later a crowd of over 400 people was participating in the "merriment".

No one is sure how it started, or why Mrs. Troffea took the streets to do her little jig. But the dancers wouldn’t stop; many of them danced themselves to death. One of the surviving documents claimed that the "dancing plague" killed around fifteen people per day; not surprisingly, mainly from strokes, exhaustion and heart attacks.

Doctors and priests became more and more concerned; they claimed everything from astrological causes to “hot blood”. The nobles finally decided that the only way to cure the dancers from their illness was to help them along – stages and bands were set up so that the dancers could continue dancing, night and day. In fact, the nobles went so far as to pay the musicians to keep the people dancing to their deaths.

A lot of theories have been developed as to what might have caused the “Dancing Plague”, with explanations ranging from stress-induced psychosis, to a very persistent foot fungus – but no one knows for sure what caused the sporadic medieval outbreaks.

You’ve got to give it to those old timers though – according to one historian, not even modern marathon runners would have been able to keep up with this medieval fatal foxtrot.

2. Brainerd Diarrhea

First recorded in 1983, Brainerd Diarrhea was named for Brainerd, Minnesota. It was both the location of the first reported outbreak and is still the location of the largest case. A hundred and twenty-two people found themselves very suddenly semi-confined to the porcelain long-drop for months.

People who have Brainerd Diarrhea experience random, sudden bouts of “explosive diarrhea”, ten to twenty times a day. Symptoms also include cramping, gas, fatigue and vomiting – which can cause some problems as different body orifices compete for use of the toilet bowl… if you’re not sleeping at the time.

Brainerd is a bit of a mystery – the cause has never been confirmed without a doubt, and it doesn’t respond to any antibiotics. There have been various searches conducted to find the cause, but no bacterial, parasitic or viral pathogens have turned up as the culprit so far – but the CDC is still looking. Unfortunately, that also means that there is no way to accurately diagnose Brainerd.

The only solution, at the moment, is to wait it out. It’s a process which can take years – an argument for a comfortable, cushioned crapper if there ever was one.

3. Encephalitis Lethargica

Also known as “Sleepy Sickness”, this one is a sneaky bugger that will hit you before you have time to figure out what it is. It was first discovered in 1917 by Constantin von Economo and Jean-René Cruchet, and attacks the brain of its victims.

It starts out with flu-like symptoms – high fever, sore throat, headache, lethargy, etc. – before it knocks you out for a coma-like sleep as it feasts on your little grey cells.

The original epidemic spread out across the world, affecting nearly five million people – a third of which died. The survivors weren’t much luckier. According to the recordings of von Economo and Cruchet, many of the people were “as insubstantial as ghosts, and as passive as zombies.”. The disease would render them pretty much catatonic. Other recorded symptoms included Parkinson’s-like symptoms, twitchiness or psychosis – one woman went as far as trying to claw her own eyes out.

As of yet, there’s no cure for Encephalitis Lethargica. You’re going to end up one of two ways – Walking Dead, or the Exorcist.


4. Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome

CVS typically starts during the ages of 3 and 7, although it has been heard of remaining into adulthood. Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome is pretty much exactly what it sounds like – it causes a person to throw up from six to twelve times an hour. This can go on for months before a nice break that lasts anything from a few days to a few months, before it starts all over again.

Along with the discomfort of continual vomit, victims can also experience heightened sensitivity to light, smell, sound and pressure. Although most people are lucky enough to get a bit of a heads up to run for the bile bucket, some aren’t so fortunate.

No cause for CVS has been found yet, and there are no ways to effectively diagnose it either. For the most part, saline solutions are pumped into victims intravenously – this is to keep patients hydrated and their salt levels balanced. Other medications are showing promise, but nothing has been specifically identified as effective – especially since treatment is very dependent on the person being treated.

Look on the bright side – if you’ve got a chatterbox in the family, this’ll shut them up.

5. Exploding Head Syndrome

EHS has been classified as a sleep associated disorder, and is a kind of auditory hallucination that usually happens when a person is falling asleep or waking up. Usually it involves a person hearing loud imaginary noises; gunshots, explosions, general Christopher Nolan style movie effects – although they don’t last quite as long.

Studies haven’t been able to find a specific age or sex group that’s inclined to suffer from EHS, or conclusive correlate EHS to any other sleep related disorder. Cases go back all the way to 1876, although the name itself was coined by a psychiatrist in 1920 – his patients claimed that the noises made it sound as if their heads wanted to burst open.

People who suffer from EHS also report fear, confusion, sweating and flashes of light as syndromes, with attacks occurring two to four times – in general – before stopping. No need to stop the presses, though – claims of alien abductions being responsible is a complete fabrication.

6. Stiff Person Syndrome

SPS might appear mild to some of the lethal diseases on this list, but it is one of the most debilitating. The cause isn’t certain yet, although research seems to indicate that it has some kind of immunity anomaly to do with GAD antibodies – something related to diabetes.

It starts with spasms, before the abdomen and lumbar muscles starts contracting constantly. It continues to get worse, until the victim’s posture starts changing. Chronic pain and impaired mobility follow as the muscles become tighter and tighter. Although those muscle groups are mainly affected, some patients also experience tightening in facial muscles, hands and feet, and even their eyes.

In the end, patients become completely debilitated and dependent. It can also cause psychological conditions, including increased fear, anxiety, depression and agoraphobia – this makes some researchers believe that SPS can be psychosomatic. There is no sure way to diagnose SPS, and the most promising treatment research is the much debated stem cell research.

There are bad ways to go, but ending up a living statue with no cure anywhere close in sight isn’t something a sane person would wish on their worst enemy.



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Thursday, 18 May 2017

6 Real Treasures That Still Haven't Been Found

May 18, 2017 0
Whether we want to admit it or not, there’s a little treasure hunter in all of us. We don’t listen to him all that often, but whenever the opportunity to find some money pops up, we know he’s still there. Unfortunately, he’s lead a lot of people around by the nose through the years. Treasure hunters are known to go for broke as they attempt to solve this or that mystery and lay claim to some shiny loot. Want to get in on the action? Here are:

6 Real Treasures That Still Haven't Been Found



1. Golden Owl of France

Why not start with one of the longest running and well known treasure hunts of modern history? There’s not a treasure hunter or cryptographer worth his salt who hasn’t heard of the hunt for the Golden Owl. The madness of this particular hunt started in April 1993 when Régis Hauser published “On The Trail of the Golden Owl” under the pseudonym Max Valentin. The book contains several puzzles and riddles that points to a golden owl hidden somewhere in the French countryside, and the 1 million francs that goes with its discovery.

As the story goes, Hauser had expected the treasure to be found within the year; it seems the communications expert and author had very, very high expectations of his readers. Hauser died in 2009, but before his death he’d confirmed that the owl was still hidden away. He did say that it’d looked like treasure hunters had been nearby, but that the owl itself had remained hidden.

The hunt is still ongoing, despite having been at risk at one point – some treasure hunters got a little too eager, burning down a chapel. One of the ‘custodians’ of the treasure hunt apparently didn’t want to protect the treasure or wait for someone to find it anymore either, and came very close to making off with the owl. Thanks to the efforts of the treasure hunting association A2CO, however, the owl is still hidden and waiting for the lucky treasure hunter who finally solves all the clues to find it.


2. The Dead Sea Copper Scrolls

In 1952, deep within a system of Jordanian caves, a pair of copper scrolls were found. Scrolls that, as it turned out, was a treasure map that had been broken up into two pieces. And what a find it was indeed, pointing out the locations of 64 different treasures that had been scattered around Israel. What luck, wouldn’t you say?

Unfortunately, the scroll is probably the most frustrating treasure hunter’s map ever found. Not only is it written in a unique derivation of Hebrew, making it a bitch for the average hunter to read, but the directions are about as clear as mud. Not on purpose, of course, but the map was written for someone who would actually know the places mentioned. Sadly, no such person has been alive in well over two thousand years.

Want to give it a try? Here are the instructions for “Item 3”: “In the funeral shrine, in the 3rd row of stones: One hundred gold ingots.” Because, naturally, we all know about that funeral shrine. There’s just no way anyone has moved the third row of stones. And then there’s the “staircase of refuge” mentioned by Item 5. We know that one, too; it’s two streets over from the Staircase of Ambiguity, opposite the Pit of Hopelessness. The treasure is as good as ours.


3. The Fenn Treasure

Everyone wants to know that when they die they’ll be leaving some kind of mark on the world. For some people, that’s more important than for most. So important that, when told of their impending death due to cancer, they gather up all their treasure and bury it for the world to find. That person was Forrest Fenn, and in 1988 he was diagnosed with cancer. In response, Fenn created a bronze chest and filled it with gold, rare coins, jewels and gems – he’d been quite the treasure hunter himself, you see, so what better way to leave a legacy behind?

As it turned out, the doctor that diagnosed Fenn was a few years off and it was only much later that he finally hid his treasure, and he published his memoire, “The Thrill of the Chase”, in 2010. The memoire contains a poem with clues that lead to his treasure, and over the years Fenn has continued to leave clues behind for eager treasure hunters. In 2013 he published a second book, “Too Far to Walk”, that contained a map which revealed the treasure to be hidden somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. Despite further clues, such as “The treasure is not in a graveyard.” and “The treasure chest is wet.”, the bronze chest still eludes treasure hunters.

But somewhere 5’000 feet up on those mountains near Santa Fe there lies a $3 million treasure, just waiting for someone to finally stumble over it…


4. $63 Million In Bedford County, Beale Ciphers

Thomas Beale was either paranoid, or one cruel sonofabitch. As the story goes, Beale and his fellows just so happened to find a pretty hefty treasure while they were mining in the Rocky Mountains. The treasure itself is estimated to be worth around $63 million today, so it’s only natural that Beale and his friends wanted to make sure that the money found their families – just in case they didn’t make it themselves.

Instead of just taking their damn treasure and going on with their lives, Beale decided that the treasure needed to be kept a secret, and that they would only come back for it in ten years. To protect it, they hid money and Beale wrote three ciphers – one to describe the location of the treasure, one for the contents, and one that contained the names of the men and their next of kin. In a brilliant move, Beale then gave an innkeeper in Virginia, Robert Morriss, the ciphers along with very specific instructions. Morriss was to wait for ten years, and then open the box. Beale would either come back then, or mail Morriss a key to the cipher.

Neither event occurred, cruelly leaving Morriss with half a puzzle. He spent years trying to decode the ciphers but, in a cruel twist of fate, the only cipher Morriss and his friend could figure out was the one that described the contents of the treasure. At least they know exactly what they’re missing while they try to figure out where to find it.


5. $200 Million of Silver in Key West

No list of treasures is complete without some mention of a Spanish treasure fleet (there seems to be so many, after all), and this one is no different. For this particular list, we’re going with the galleon Nuestra Senora de Atocha and its accompanying fleet. Over $1.2 billion in treasure has already been found, so it’s pretty safe to believe that this isn’t just another yarn of an over-eager Spanish captain setting sail when he shouldn’t.

In 1622, the fleet that set sail to Spain found themselves caught in a hurricane off the coast of Key west. All the ships – and their cargo of gold, silver and gems – was send to Davey Jones’ for their efforts. Aside from the treasure of the fleet, treasure hunter Mel Fisher found another $500 million in treasure less than 160km off the coast of Key West. Considering how much treasure has been found, one would think that this golden goose is nearing its end.

Not so, says experts. According to the original manifest – compared with what has been found – there’s still 17 tons of silver, 128,000 coins of different values, 27 kilos of emeralds, and 35 boxes of gold just waiting to be found. 


6. Lake Guatavita and the El Dorado Gold

Yes, I know what you’re thinking. El Dorado is a myth, and there is no city of gold. And if there ever was a city of gold, it’s long gone now. Don’t fret, I agree with you. But that doesn’t change the fact that the area around Lake Guatavita was inhabitant by native Colombians who had a very particular custom – one that left evidence behind.

When a new tribal chief was initiated, they would cover him in gold dust and send him sailing on the lake with a treasure filled raft. The purpose was simple – once deep into the lake, the chief would throw the treasure into the water, thus gifting it to some very greedy gods. What they’d need all that treasure at the bottom of a lake for is anyone’s guess, but there you go.

Over the years the lake has been partially drained many times as excavators attempted to retrieve these sunken treasures, and reportedly over 40 tons of treasure has been found. One American company succeeded in draining the entire lake… and trapping the gold in rock hard mud. But some of the efforts have been fruitful, with large amounts of gold already recovered from Lake Guatavita.

However, it is the belief of many that the bulk of the treasure is still deep in the lake, waiting to be found. Unfortunately, the Columbian government is, understandably, quite pissed off that people keep destroying their lake. The – full – lake is now protected by law. Too bad.




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Tuesday, 16 May 2017

6 Bizarre and Amazing Mysteries that Remain Unsolved

May 16, 2017 0
The world is full of mysteries – places, crimes, acts… and some turn out to be pretty easy to solve. Others have experts and police tugging their hair out in frustration as they try to explain the unexplainable. But while they struggle to find the answers, we get to wonder and speculate as we wait for someone to find the right answers. Here are:

6 Bizarre and Amazing Mysteries that Remain Unsolved



1. The Sleepy Hollow of Kazakhstan; Kalachi, Kazakhstan

Welcome to Kalachi. Come for the hallucinations and week-long nap, stay for the month long boner. And no, I’m not making that up. In the small town of Kalachi in Kazakhstan, that’s exactly what the population is going through.

The “Sleeping Epidemic” was reported to have started in 2013, seemingly affecting at least one in ten people. Those affected complain of hallucinations and nausea before falling asleep, and have memory loss when waking up. The patients sleep anywhere from several hours, to over a week long. One ambulance worker reported that, during one winter, they had over sixty people struck down all at once. And it’s not just the adults – several of the kids in the town have been affected as well.

The local men also report an interesting, and very uncomfortable, side effect – an arousal and desperate need for sex that can last up to a month. This has been reportedly confirmed by many of the doctors and nurses treating the patients. One of the local women claimed that her husband demanded she return home at once to tend to his… ahem… need.

Other reported symptoms include swearing, giving the Nazi salute and speaking German, and rooster crows accompanied by flapping arms.

The townspeople blame the nearby uranium mine that was closed two decades ago. Many tests were done of the area and, although the mines themselves still contain high levels of radiation, the town itself, it’s water, soil and vegetation show no abnormal signs at all. A town closer to the mine also claimed that none of their people were affected by the sleeping illness.

In 2015 a theory was proposed – and generally accepted – that unusually high levels of carbon monoxide, coming from the mine, was the cause for the outbreak. These gasses would rise from the mines – so goes the claim – and accumulate in the cellars of the townspeople. As a result of the findings, both Kalachi and the mining town of Krasnogorsky are being evacuated.

Curiously, though, no explanation has been given as to why only certain people were affected with the sleeping illness, or why it would happen in various places – including outside – and not just in the affected homes or cellars. But hey, at least the people are finally being evacuated and relocated to safety. That property developers have, according to residents, shown interested in the area is just purely coincidental… right?


2. The Baigong Pipes; Qinghai Province, China

Although discovered earlier, the Baigong pipes really gained public attention after a news report in the Henan Great River News in 2002. The pipes are located mainly in Baigong Mountain, although they seem to spread out from there – traces of the pipes, or similar pipes, have been found around the nearby Tuoso Lake. They have been dubbed ‘out of place artefacts’ and, according to scientific dating, the pipes could be as old as 150’000 years. If they are indeed man-made as opposed to natural formations, the history of the area would have to be re-evaluated.

A smelter was employed to do a thorough analysis of the pipes. About 30% of the pipes consist of oxidized iron but, according to the report, 8% of the material remains unidentified. Even more interesting is that, according to geologist Zheng Jiandong, many pipes were discovered to be highly radioactive.

Theories about the origin of the Baigong pipes abound. Some hold that they could have been formed by magma pushing to the surface, while others hold that they could have been iron sediments washed into the caves during floods, or even that the pipes are fossilized tree roots. None of these theories have been proven conclusively - the origin and purpose of the pipes continue to elude scientists and geologists.

Yang Ji, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, was even presented with a theory that the pipes were not man made but rather extra-terrestrial. He responded by saying that the theory is “understandable and worth looking into … but scientific means must be employed to prove whether or not it is true.” Whether or not he was serious in his response also remains a mystery.


3. The Lead Masks Case; Vintém Hill, Brazil

What do you get when you take two dead bodies, add lead sunglasses, and mix in a weird note with horrible grammar? Simple. A fifty-one-year-old unsolved mystery.

On August 17th, 1966, Manoel Pereira da Cruz and Miguel José Viana, electronic technicians, left their home town to travel 200km’s to Rio de Janeiro. They were reported to have a significant amount of money on them, but all they bought before arriving at their destination – as far as the evidence goes – were raincoats to wear over their suits, and a bottle of water. The clerk who sold them the water was also the last person who could be confirmed as seeing them alive.

Their bodies were found on Vintém hill on the 20th of August. Most of the money was gone and, aside from their blinding metal eyewear, they had an empty water bottle, two towels and a notebook. That’s where things get really interesting – aside from parts numbers for their business, there was a single note:

“16:30 be at agreed place, 18:30 swallow capsules, after effect protect metals wait for mask signal.”

There were no obvious indications as to cause of death, and by the time the autopsy was done the organs were too decomposed to do proper toxicology testing – if they took any kind of poison capsule, there’s no way to know.

It gets better. They weren’t the first technicians to die this way. Four years before Cruz and Viana died, another electronics technician bit the dust on top of a hill with a similar mask. Turns out that all the men were part of a group that called themselves “scientific spiritualists” and they were trying to contact Mars – the masks were made to protect their eyes against the “intense luminosity” generated by these Martian spirits.

Two theories, both unproved, still circulate. A “professor of yoga” in the area proposed that this specific spiritualist community often took psychedelic drugs, and that the two men probably died due to an overdose. While it seems likely, the theory cannot be confirmed due to lack of a proper autopsy. Another was proposed by a Brazilian tabloid after a woman came forward and claimed to have seen UFO lights that night. So, the mystery remains – was it accidental overdose, or accidental death by extra-terrestrial hitchhike? You decide.


4. The Longyou Caves; Zhejiang, China

The discovery of the Longyou Caves was a happy accident, and one that makes us thankful for the curiosity of human beings. The ponds of Longyou were always thought of as “bottomless” and were used for fishing and daily chores. But Wu Anai wasn’t satisfied with “bottomless”, and in 1992, he decided to drain the pond to find out just how deep it was. What was revealed was the first of many amazing man-made caves.

Since 1992 a total of twenty-four caves have been discovered, and are estimated to be over 2’000 years old. These grottos are massive, up to thirty meters high, and cover an area over 30’000 square meters – quite a feat, considering that they are all built closely together. In some places the rock walls between the caves are barely fifty centimetres thick.

There are several mysteries surrounding the caves, the foremost being… how? The excavation of the caves would have resulted in over 1’000’000 cubic meters of rock needing to be moved; a task which, according to professional estimates, would have taken a thousand people, working day and night, nearly six years to complete – and that’s not even taking the finer detail work into account.

There are also no traces to be found of the excavated rock itself, nor of any tools used to do the work. On top of that, every cave seems to contain rooms, bridges, gutters and pools. The structures are also perfectly preserved – there have been no evidence of collapse or structural degradation discovered as yet.

All the walls in the caves are also chiselled. Although some of the walls contain large carvings of animals, every single surface contains near perfect symmetrical lines chiselled at a sixty-degree angle. Why? No one knows. Even the close proximity of the caves and the precision with which they were made baffle archaeologists, who believe that the methods required far exceed the abilities of the people known to have existed at the time.

Here’s the biggest mystery of all: a project of this scale couldn’t have been attempted by any random Joe living in the region. Historians believe that it must have been commanded at a much higher level – by the emperor, for example. But, despite this, not a single historical trace of the caves has yet been found. There are no records, no documents, no mention of them anywhere. It has left archaeologists and historians scratching their heads. Who built these amazing structures… and why?


5. The Screaming Mummy (Unknown Man E); Deir El Bahri, Egypt

In 1881 archaeologists made an amazing discovery; a hidden tomb they marked DB320. Inside was discovered some of the most legendary rulers of Egypt, including Ramses II, Seti I and Thutose III. The standing theory was that the high priests wanted to prevent the mummies of their beloved pharaohs from being damaged by looters, and so many rulers were spirited away to this new secret burial site. Although stripped of all their material valuables, these mummies retained the most valuable thing of all – their names. It was their names that allowed them to enter the afterlife.

Amidst all the excitement, one particular mummy was overlooked – named only Unknown Man E. What made him stand out was the nature of his burial, but also the way his body seemed frozen in contorted, painful agony. Before a proper investigation into his identity was opened, theories about his identity abounded – everything from him being a foreign dignitary or prince to being a royal who fell out of favour.

See, Mr. E is a bit of an enigma. His sarcophagus was given no name, and his body covered with the skins of unclean animals. Despite this burial cursing him to an eternity in hell, he was still found amongst the royals. This has both lent credence to the theory that he was a royal but also indicated that the disrespectful nature of his burial was deliberate.

Many tests were conducted that confirmed the mummy was indeed Egyptian, and shared many traits with the royals, but it still lent no clue as to his identity. Then came along a new theory…

According to surviving papyrus documents, Tiye, a wife of Ramses III, conspired to murder her husband – a plot in which she involved her son, Prince Pentawer. The plot was discovered, and Tiye and her co-conspirators were all executed. Pentawer, being a royal son, was given the option to commit suicide by poison for his crime. If Unknown Man E was indeed Pentawer, it would explain why he was both mummified – albeit quite hastily, with neither brain nor viscera removed – but also condemned in the process.

Archaeologists finally decided to test that theory, and a genetic analysis was done to compare Ramses and Mr. E’s DNA. Dr. Zink, one of the scientists who conducted the analysis, believes that the results prove that, at the very least, the two were related. This seems to lend a bit more credence to the theory that the mummy belongs to the prince. Unfortunately, that causes a bit of a problem…

A study conducted on the remains seems to indicate that Mr. E was strangled or hanged. Furthermore, it also indicates that the person was only around eighteen years old at his time of death. Prince Pentawer was believed to be significantly older.

And so the question remains, who is Unknown Man E? Is he truly patricidal Prince Pentawer? Or is he some unknown relative of Ramses III, and just what did he do to deserve eternal damnation?


6. The Somerton Man; Somerton, Australia

On December 1st, 1948, the body of a well-dressed man was found sitting on Somerton Beach. There was no indication of his identity, and even his clothing had the tags removed. He had a packet of Army Club cigarettes on him, but the actual cigarettes were Kensitas – a very expensive (British) brand compared to the affordable Army Club. Several other items belonging to the man (including a later discovered suitcase) all seemed to contain or indicate that he was British, aside from a single coat. Based on the unique stitching, it was decided that the man had to have traveled to the United States in procuring it.

The most interesting discovery was a small scrap of paper, hidden inside a concealed pocket. It read “Tamám shud” – a simple phrase from the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam that means “finished”. What followed was, and is still, called “one of Australia’s most profound mysteries”. Interestingly, the identity and cause of death of the Somerton man has never been confirmed.

The police at the time reached out to the general public in an attempt to find the copy of the Rubaiyat from where the man’s scrap of paper came. A man came forward with the copy – it’s still unclear where he found it – and in the back was found a local telephone number, an unidentified number and a few lines of text which looked to be written in code (below). The code, if it is one, has also never been solved.

WRGOABABD

MLIAOI (scratched out)

WTBIMPANETP

MLIABOAIAQC

ITTMTSAMSTGAB

Public interest in the case was, and remains, significant – the death occurred at the beginning of the cold war, and with bits of information that had surfaced over time the case still remains open. In an attempt to find out who the man was, the police reached out to the FBI and Scotland Yard, but neither law enforcement agency was able to help in identifying the Somerset Man.

Traces, evidence and theories have since abounded.

One of the earliest theories was that he had committed suicide by poison. The type of poison has never been definitively agreed on, and the fact that there were no signs of poisoning (such as vomit or loss of bladder control) where the body was found, it was quickly put aside for other avenues of investigation.

The most popular theory is a convoluted mess that snowballs into the conspiracy theorists wet dream. It’s the perfect movie plot – star-crossed lovers meets Cold War espionage. Try to keep up.

The telephone number found in the Rubaiyat led police to a nurse named Jessica Ellen “Jo” Thomson, who lived about 400 meters away from where the body was found. When interviewed, Jessica denied knowing the Somerton Man, but the cops weren’t so sure she was telling the truth. One detective claimed that she seemed completely taken aback and looked ready to faint when shown a cast of the man’s face, while the technician who made the cast said that she looked away immediately after seeing it, and refused to look again. One went so far as to straight out say that she was being evasive in her answers.

Her daughter, Kate, did an interview in 2014 in which she revealed that her mother had, in fact, lied. Jessica had even gone so far as to say that the man’s identity was also "known to a level higher than the police force". Kate also claimed that she believed her mother was a spy – Jessica apparently spoke fluent Russian, and refused to explain when or why she learned it. So we have one possible spy, but why stop there? Kate went on to say that she suspected that the Somerton Man was also a spy, and that the two had possibly worked together.

Things get more complicated. Apparently Jessica Thomson had also owned a copy of the Rubaiyat – a copy which she had given to ex-army (and former intelligence) lieutenant Alf Boxall. At the time Boxall was confirmed to be alive, with his copy of the Rubaiyat intact – but he, too, proved evasive during questioning. His copy also contained a personal inscription from Jessica, quoting a verse of poetry from the book.

If things weren’t twisted enough, enter Maciej Henneberg, a professor of anatomy in Adelaide. He conducted a study that proved that the Somerset Man had a distinct ear feature that was only seen in 1-2% of Caucasian men. Derek Abbot took it one step further and, working with dental experts, also concluded that the man suffered from hypodontia – a genetic disorder of the incisors that is also only present in about 2% of the general population. Why is this significant? Because Jessica’s son, Robin, had both features. The chance of this being coincidental has been estimated to be about… oh, one in 20’000’000. And sister Kate? She refuses to have her brother exhumed for genetic testing to confirm, or deny, the possible father-son relation between Robin and the Somerset Man.

Okay, so maybe it all seems a little far-fetched – a desperate attempt by the masses to explain one of the longest enduring mysteries and open unsolved cases. But here’s one final kicker for you to mull over:

In 1945, three years before the Somerton Man died, a 34-year-old Singaporean man named George Marshall was found dead in a park in Sydney. His death was believed to be suicide by poisoning and, in our timeline, occurred just about two months before Jessica gave Alf Boxall her copy of the Rubaiyat. George Marshall was the brother of David Marshall, the man who became Singapore’s first Chief Minister. A woman named Gwenneth Dorothy Graham testified in regards to the death of George Marshall, and was found dead thirteen days later – face down, wrists slit.

What does the Marshall case have to do with the Somerset Man? When he was found, George also had one of that specific rare edition Rubaiyat copies… lying open on his chest.

But it’s all just speculation and theory. What’s the real story of the Somerset Man? We might never know. In the meantime, we’ll be waiting for the movie – we suggest Sam Worthington, Phoebe Tonkin and James McAvoy in the lead roles.




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I am a lover of crazy little interesting facts, player of many games (PC, not console. DAMN YOU CONSOLE!), and creator of words, stories, and poems. Most importantly, I am a lover of my happy purple life!