Unsolved Mysteries... what are the creepiest unsolved cases you've heard of
- Thread starter Ol’Otis
- Start date
by The Lineup Staff
So, you’re well aware of history’s biggest enigmas. You know all about Amelia Earhart. You have your own theories about D.B. Cooper. You figured out what happened to all those missing socks. But do you know about these lesser-known yet equally creepy unsolved mysteries?
1. The Ghost Blimp
Pilots Ernest Cody and Charles Adams
Photo Credit: Unsolved Mysteries Wiki
In the summer doldrums of 1942, the people of a small town outside of San Francisco saw something strange in the skies. A sagging, broken-looking blimp was falling out of the sky. On its way down, the blimp stopped on a rooftop then ran into a group of powerlines. The blimp’s weight was enough to take down the powerlines, causing a huge amount of damage to the surrounding area. Nearby citizens rushed to assist the crew of the blimp—only to discover there was none.
Related: That Time a Navy Blimp Crew Mysteriously Disappeared
Everything within the blimp’s cab looked normal, with radio and engine functioning perfectly. Perhaps even more oddly, none of the parachutes or lifeboats were missing. So where did the crew go? When the blimp had left a Naval station that morning, it had been crewed by two men, Lieutenant Ernest Cody and Ensign Charles Adams. The men were never seen again, although the blimp was repaired and used for another 40 years.
2. The Flannan Isles Lighthouse
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
On a beautifully gloomy island off the coast of Scotland, you’ll find a small, 75-foot lighthouse, built in the 1880s. The picturesque lighthouse will likely look like any other to the average tourist. But the Flannan Isles Lighthouse has a strange history.
In 1900, a steamer passed by the island. The weather was poor, so they were in need of a lighthouse to help them navigate safely. However, there was no light to be found. The steamer ran aground, not far after passing where the lighthouse should have been. A few days later, after the ship was saved, the captain sent a crewman to the shore to find out what had happened.
Related: The Phantoms of St. Augustine's Haunted Lighthouse
The man discovered that all the doors were closed, but not locked. The beds in the lighthouse had been left unmade, a clock unwound, a chair knocked over by the kitchen table, and one of the keepers’ raincoat left behind. But there was no sign of any of the three men supposed to be there.
Their fates have never been discovered.
3. Ourang Medan
Photo Credit: Stephen Gore / Flickr (CC)
In 1947, American vessels were navigating through the strait between Malaysia and Singapore when they received a distress call unlike anything they had heard before. It said “S.O.S. from Ourang Medan. We float. All officers including the Captain, dead in chartroom and on the bridge. Probably whole of crew dead. I die.”
One of the nearby ships found and boarded the Ourang Medan. When the crew entered, they discovered a multitude of corpses, with their eyes and mouths gaping open. Before the crew was able to explore further, a fire broke out on the doomed ship. After the American crew left, they watched the Ourang Medan explode and sink.
Related: Secrets and Lies: Lost at Sea or Murdered in Cold Blood?
Few records confirming this mystery's occurrence still exist, but the story has been repeated over the years. Some people believe that the ship was transporting chemical weapons, and therefore was undocumented by its government. The chemical weapons could have leaked, causing the deaths on board, and hastening the sinking of the Ourang Medan. Others maintain the chilling tale is a seafaring legend, shared among sailors on those long nights at sea. Either way, it makes for a spooky story.
4. The Phantom Barber
Photo Credit: Ronny Robinson / Flickr (CC)
This incredibly strange rash of crimes occurred over two months in 1942 in the small town of Pascagoula, Mississippi. Someone was creeping into people’s homes and cutting off locks of hair from the sleeping residents.
The Phantom Barber never hurt or killed his victims and didn’t steal anything except the hair. Regardless, and understandably, citizens were on edge. Eventually, a man named William Dolan was arrested. He was convicted for attempted murder in another case, but never for the Phantom Barber’s crimes—which a lie detector test cleared him of in 1951. Today, it’s unclear if Dolan committed any of the crimes, let alone the Phantom Barber's. The shearing sneak could still be out there.
5. The Devil's Footprints
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Snow fell on the night of February 8, 1855 in county of Dover in England. When the residents awoke the next morning, they discovered sets of hoof-like footprints surrounding their homes. The marks were about four inches long and three inches across and covered somewhere between 40 and 100 miles of tracks.
The hoof marks were all in a single line—which a four-legged creature could not produce. Terrified citizens believed that the devil had come to Dover. Some locals had the footprints leading straight to their front door, leaving them especially spooked. There have been many theories about what caused these prints, but none of them have ever been confirmed.
So, you’re well aware of history’s biggest enigmas. You know all about Amelia Earhart. You have your own theories about D.B. Cooper. You figured out what happened to all those missing socks. But do you know about these lesser-known yet equally creepy unsolved mysteries?
1. The Ghost Blimp
Pilots Ernest Cody and Charles Adams
Photo Credit: Unsolved Mysteries Wiki
In the summer doldrums of 1942, the people of a small town outside of San Francisco saw something strange in the skies. A sagging, broken-looking blimp was falling out of the sky. On its way down, the blimp stopped on a rooftop then ran into a group of powerlines. The blimp’s weight was enough to take down the powerlines, causing a huge amount of damage to the surrounding area. Nearby citizens rushed to assist the crew of the blimp—only to discover there was none.
Related: That Time a Navy Blimp Crew Mysteriously Disappeared
Everything within the blimp’s cab looked normal, with radio and engine functioning perfectly. Perhaps even more oddly, none of the parachutes or lifeboats were missing. So where did the crew go? When the blimp had left a Naval station that morning, it had been crewed by two men, Lieutenant Ernest Cody and Ensign Charles Adams. The men were never seen again, although the blimp was repaired and used for another 40 years.
2. The Flannan Isles Lighthouse
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
On a beautifully gloomy island off the coast of Scotland, you’ll find a small, 75-foot lighthouse, built in the 1880s. The picturesque lighthouse will likely look like any other to the average tourist. But the Flannan Isles Lighthouse has a strange history.
In 1900, a steamer passed by the island. The weather was poor, so they were in need of a lighthouse to help them navigate safely. However, there was no light to be found. The steamer ran aground, not far after passing where the lighthouse should have been. A few days later, after the ship was saved, the captain sent a crewman to the shore to find out what had happened.
Related: The Phantoms of St. Augustine's Haunted Lighthouse
The man discovered that all the doors were closed, but not locked. The beds in the lighthouse had been left unmade, a clock unwound, a chair knocked over by the kitchen table, and one of the keepers’ raincoat left behind. But there was no sign of any of the three men supposed to be there.
Their fates have never been discovered.
3. Ourang Medan
Photo Credit: Stephen Gore / Flickr (CC)
In 1947, American vessels were navigating through the strait between Malaysia and Singapore when they received a distress call unlike anything they had heard before. It said “S.O.S. from Ourang Medan. We float. All officers including the Captain, dead in chartroom and on the bridge. Probably whole of crew dead. I die.”
One of the nearby ships found and boarded the Ourang Medan. When the crew entered, they discovered a multitude of corpses, with their eyes and mouths gaping open. Before the crew was able to explore further, a fire broke out on the doomed ship. After the American crew left, they watched the Ourang Medan explode and sink.
Related: Secrets and Lies: Lost at Sea or Murdered in Cold Blood?
Few records confirming this mystery's occurrence still exist, but the story has been repeated over the years. Some people believe that the ship was transporting chemical weapons, and therefore was undocumented by its government. The chemical weapons could have leaked, causing the deaths on board, and hastening the sinking of the Ourang Medan. Others maintain the chilling tale is a seafaring legend, shared among sailors on those long nights at sea. Either way, it makes for a spooky story.
4. The Phantom Barber
Photo Credit: Ronny Robinson / Flickr (CC)
This incredibly strange rash of crimes occurred over two months in 1942 in the small town of Pascagoula, Mississippi. Someone was creeping into people’s homes and cutting off locks of hair from the sleeping residents.
The Phantom Barber never hurt or killed his victims and didn’t steal anything except the hair. Regardless, and understandably, citizens were on edge. Eventually, a man named William Dolan was arrested. He was convicted for attempted murder in another case, but never for the Phantom Barber’s crimes—which a lie detector test cleared him of in 1951. Today, it’s unclear if Dolan committed any of the crimes, let alone the Phantom Barber's. The shearing sneak could still be out there.
5. The Devil's Footprints
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Snow fell on the night of February 8, 1855 in county of Dover in England. When the residents awoke the next morning, they discovered sets of hoof-like footprints surrounding their homes. The marks were about four inches long and three inches across and covered somewhere between 40 and 100 miles of tracks.
The hoof marks were all in a single line—which a four-legged creature could not produce. Terrified citizens believed that the devil had come to Dover. Some locals had the footprints leading straight to their front door, leaving them especially spooked. There have been many theories about what caused these prints, but none of them have ever been confirmed.
The Mysterious Death of Rebecca Zahau
Rebecca Zahau, aged 32, was found dead and hanging from a balcony at roughly 6:45 AM on the morning of July 13th, 2011. She was nude, with her wrists and ankles bound. This occurred just two days after the death of her boyfriend’s son, Max.
Zahau was found gagged with a blue long sleeve T-shirt, it was wrapped around her head with the sleeves double knotted and stuffed into her mouth. Medics attempted to revive her, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
A black message had been painted on the door of the room leading to the balcony where police found her body. It read, “She saved him, can he save her.”
The police initiated forensic and toxicology testing on her body as part of an autopsy to determine the cause of death. On September 2nd, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department ruled her death a suicide.
Many people, including Zahau’s family, do not believe she committed suicide. They question how she could have hung herself when her wrists and ankles were bound, and why four instances of head trauma were discovered during her autopsy.
In 2013 her family filed a $10 million dollar wrongful death lawsuit, claiming that Zahau’s boyfriend’s brother Adam Shacknai was the killer. The lawsuit alleges that Shacknai beat Zahau unconscious, stripped off her clothes, bound her hands and feet, gagged her and hanged her from the balcony. The case is still ongoing, and as of now (August 2017), remains unsolved.
Oh ok!! Thanks....ill read it through.
Death of Mitrice Richardson - Wikipedia
Her name was mentioned in this thread but I haven't seen this info posted. The most chilling part abt this story to me is her mom calling the precinct where she was arrested and said she'd hate to wake up n hear her daughter was found w her head chopped off. months later she was found mummified w her head upside down
Watch the video it goes really in depth
OGBobbyJohnson
Veteran
Death of Mitrice Richardson - Wikipedia
Her name was mentioned in this thread but I haven't seen this info posted. The most chilling part abt this story to me is her mom calling the precinct where she was arrested and said she'd hate to wake up n hear her daughter was found w her head chopped off. months later she was found mummified w her head upside down
I remember watching her story on Disappeared on ID Discovery
I remember they broke this, this year. He was an incel.
He was married with daughters.
I believe he had been divorced or at least estranged according to the reports.
sage and salt.
Good question.