In 1927, the Cecil Hotel (currently known as Stay on Main) opened with initially 700 rooms decorated in Art Deco style, intended to attract and entertain businessmen. Located at 640 S. Main Street in Downtown Los Angeles, it wasn’t long before the hotel fell victim to the hard times that hit during the beginning of the Great Depression. Situated close to the nearby Skid Row, the surrounding area became populated with more than 10,000 homeless people living within a 6.4-kilometer (4 mi) radius.

The local homeless situation was not the only problem the hotel would face. Stories of suicides, murders, and serial killers checking in for the night all turned this 19-story building into a place talked about more for its creepy history than hospitality. In its 90-year history, the Cecil Hotel gained a reputation for being one of the creepiest places to stay in the US—for very valid reasons.

10 The Death of Elisa Lam

In 2013, 21-year-old college student Elisa Lam was found dead and naked in a water tank on the rooftop of the Cecil Hotel.^[1] Her clothes were found nearby. The gruesome discovery was made after guests complained about low water pressure. The coroner listed Lam’s death as an accidental drowning, but the events surrounding her final hours were so mysterious that they led many to speculate that something more sinister was at work.

Lam had traveled alone from Vancouver to Los Angeles and went missing not long after she checked into the hotel. CCTV footage of Lam in the hotel’s elevator was released by the police, and her behavior was quite disturbing. She appears to be panicked as she pushes the buttons for several floors at a time and then leans her head out through the doors, looking for something unknown. She then hides in the corner of the elevator and even at one point appears to be talking to someone off-camera. When the doors fail to close, she exits the elevator and does not reappear. Theories surrounding her death range from Lam being chased by a potential killer to her suffering a manic bipolar episode.

9 Elizabeth “The Black Dahlia” Short

In 1947, a mother and her young child came across the naked body of 22-year-old aspiring actress Elizabeth Short in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Short’s body was so badly mutilated that at first, it was believed to be a mannequin. She was cut completely in half at the waist, and her face had been cut from the mouth to her ears, creating an effect known as the Glasgow smile. The corpse had been thoroughly washed, drained of all blood, and “posed,” with her hands over her head and the legs spread apart. Despite this brutal mutilation, there was not a spot of blood at the scene, and the killer was never caught.

It is believed that Elizabeth was seen at the Cecil Hotel not long before she was murdered.^[2] She wanted her big break in Hollywood and was well-known for frequenting bars where she met with producers who could secure her a movie. Instead, she became famous for very different and sinister reasons.

8 Richard ‘The Night Stalker’ Ramirez

Richard “The Night Stalker” Ramirez earned his nickname by stalking the streets of Los Angeles and San Francisco from 1984 to 1985, looking for innocent victims to butcher. A known Satanist, he used handguns, knives, a machete, a tire iron, and a hammer to murder his victims. His crimes were so sinister that the judge described the murders as “cruelty, callousness, and viciousness beyond any human understanding.”

During his sadistic killing spree, Ramirez reportedly often stayed at the Cecil Hotel.^[3] Rooms were just $14 a night back then, and the area around the hotel was known for being a popular hangout for junkies, so Ramirez stalking the streets late at night would not have caused too much suspicion. He died on death row at San Quentin Prison aged 53 years old in 2013.

7 Jack Unterweger

Austrian serial killer and journalist Jack Unterweger was a guest at the Cecil Hotel in the early 1990s. Unterweger murdered 11 prostitutes in Vienna, Prague, and Los Angeles, often by strangling them to death with their own lingerie, between 1990 and 1992. His first murder was in 1974, but he was released as a successfully “resocialized” prisoner. Unterweger stayed at the Cecil Hotel while working for an Austrian magazine writing stories about crime in LA. He could use his status as a reporter to secure rides with the LAPD and drive around areas that would soon become crime scenes of his own making.

The method in which Unterweger strangled his victims—using a distinct ligature—tied him as a prime suspect to three homicides in the LA area, and he was eventually arrested in Miami. In 1994, in Austria, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. On the night of his sentencing, he hanged himself behind bars, applying the same knot that he used to strangle his victims.^[4]

6 Pigeon Goldie

The unsolved murder of “Pigeon Goldie” Osgood still haunts the Cecil Hotel to date. Retired telephone operator Pigeon Goldie was a recognizable face around the hotel, as she protected and fed the local pigeons at nearby Pershing Square. In 1964, she was found dead in her room at the hotel—she had been assaulted, stabbed, and strangled. Police found her Los Angeles Dodgers cap and a paper bag full of birdseed in the ransacked room.

One suspect was arrested, 29-year-old Jacques B. Ehlinger, who was seen walking through Pershing Square wearing bloodstained clothes. He was charged for the murder, but later, his name was cleared. This was the last widely reported death at the hotel until the body of Elisa Lam was discovered in 2013.^[5]

5 George Gianinni

One of the strangest deaths at the Cecil Hotel was that of 65-year-old George Gianinni. In 1962, 27-year-old Pauline Otton was arguing with her estranged husband in a room on the hotel’s ninth floor. After Otton’s husband left, she wrote a suicide note and jumped from the window to the pavement below. Unluckily, Gianinni was walking directly below, and Otton landed on him. They were both killed instantly.^[6]

When the police first arrived at the crime scene, they initially thought this a double suicide case. However, Giannini still had his hands in his pockets, which was inconsistent with a nine-story fall. After much police work, the truth was discovered that this was in fact a suicide that had caused an accidental death.

4 Baby out the Window

Tragically in 1944, one of the youngest victims at Cecil Hotel had their life taken from them. Dorothy Jean Purcell, 19 years old, was staying as a guest at the hotel when she threw her newborn son out a window. Purcell did not know she was pregnant and woke in the middle of the night with stomach pains when she was sleeping next to her partner, 38-year-old shoe salesman Ben Levine. Not wanting to wake Levine, she went to the bathroom and delivered the baby herself.

Purcell believed the boy was dead, and that’s when she got rid of the body from a great height. The lifeless baby was found on a roof adjacent to the building. Purcell was arrested, but after psychologists determined she was “mentally confused,” she was eventually found not guilty by reason of insanity.^[7]

3 Suicides in the 1930s

In 1931, a guest, W.K. Norton, 46, was found dead in his room after eating poison capsules. Although this was the earliest case of suicide at the Cecil, it would not be the last for that decade. The following year, 25-year-old Benjamin Dodich was found by a maid in a room, dead by a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. In 1934, former Army Medical Corps sergeant Louis D. Borden was found with his throat slashed—he had written several notes about suicide while in the room.

In 1937, the body of Grace E. Magro was discovered wrapped in the telephone wires after she jumped from a ninth-floor window. A year later, the body of 35-year-old US Marine Roy Thompson was found on the skylight of a nearby building after he also jumped from his room. In 1939, Navy officer Erwin C. Neblett was found dead after ingesting poison; he was 39 years old.

The deaths were just a few of the suicides that occurred during the Great Depression. Tens of thousands of Americans took their own lives during the late 1930s, creating the highest-recorded level ever—more than 150 per one million annually in 1937 and 1938.^[8]

2 High-Profile Arrests

In 1976, 26-year-old Jeffrey Thomas Paley purchased a rifle, climbed to the rooftop of the Cecil Hotel, and fired 15 rounds at the street below. Shortly after the shots were fired, Paley was arrested. Luckily, nobody was injured by the gunshots. After his arrest, the former mental patient claimed he never intended to harm anyone; he just wanted to prove how easy it would be for someone—even a person with mental health issues—to purchase a firearm.^[9]

This would not be the first time police had to respond to a potential killer at the Cecil Hotel. In 1988, 28-year-old salesman Robert Sullivan was arrested at the hotel when the body of 32-year-old nurse Teri Francis Craig was found at the home she had shared with Sullivan for seven years. Sullivan was just another name added to the last of cold-blooded killers who have checked in at the hotel.

1 Paranormal Activity

One of the more recent creepy events at the Cecil Hotel was when a young boy from California captured a ghostly apparition on camera in 2014. The picture shows a transparent figure standing on the ledge outside a window on the fourth floor of the building. Several news outlets soon picked up the photo, the possible ghost being quickly linked to the gruesome past of the Cecil Hotel. The young photographer told reporters, “When I looked at that window, it just looked kind of creepy to me, and then I showed my friend, and he kind of freaked out. It just creeps me out still.” He also claimed that the photo was causing him many a restless night.^[10]

The hotel has long been considered one of the most haunted in Los Angeles, which attracts ghost hunters and morbid seekers all throughout the year. Many of the hauntings are believed to be linked to the high number of suicides that have taken place within the Cecil’s walls, as the souls of the spirits have been unable to move on.

Cheish Merryweather is a true crime fan and an oddities fanatic. Can either be found at house parties telling everyone Charles Manson was only 5’2″ or at home reading true crime magazines.
Twitter: @thecheish

History is littered with stories and anecdotes about how seemingly insignificant details changed the world. While many of these stories are just apocryphal, strange circumstances and coincides cannot be discounted. Because in the face of extraordinary events, anything could be possible.

10Joan of Arc’s Epilepsy

Joan of Arc is famous today for using divine guidance to fight against invading English armies during the Hundred Years War. However, the fact that Joan claimed that heavenly voices inspired her actions has caused many modern researchers to suggest more organic causes. Namely, epilepsy.

Joan of Arc may have suffered from a particular type of epilepsy called idiopathic partial epilepsy with auditory features, or IPEAF. She claimed to have heard and occasionally saw saints like St. Catherine and St. Margaret, which is the sort of episode common in epileptics with IPEAF. Joan also said that many of her experiences were preceded by the “sound of bells,” which is similar to other epileptics who say that certain noises trigger episodes.

Unfortunately, this diagnosis can’t be affirmatively diagnosed. Tests could be done on Joan’s DNA, but there are currently no DNA samples from Joan known to exist.

9Moses’s Burning Bush

Moses remains one of the most important figures of all time, but the Moses of tradition may actually be quite different from the historical Moses. The acacia tree, frequently mentioned by Moses throughout the Old Testament, contains the powerful hallucinogen dimethyltriptamine, or DMT, which is used in a concoction known as ayahuasca. This could mean that Moses’s famous “burning bush” may have fueled his religious experiences through hallucinogenic drugs.

During the events at Mt. Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments, he may have been high on DMT, which causes flashes of light similar to the account described in the Bible. Ayahuasca’s effects have been studied extensively in the Amazon region, where it is used as part of religious ceremonies, and most data suggests that Moses may have been tripping the whole time.

8The Hatfield And McCoy Anger Disorder

The Hatfield and McCoy family feud is so famous that it has almost permanently become part of American folklore. While the violence between the two clans has long since ended, one of its causes has lived on in the form of Von Hippel-Lindau disease.

Von Hippel-Lindau disease is a rare disorder which can cause tumors on the adrenal gland. Because of the stress on the adrenal glands, those who suffer from the disease have symptoms including high blood pressure, severe headaches, and excessive production of the “fight or flight” hormones. All of this combines to make a short temper and aggression. It is found in three-fourths of the McCoy family, and past ancestors are also textbook cases.

Could this rare disorder have caused the ferocity that fueled the Hatfield-McCoy feud? It seems likely, because many of the McCoys today display similar symptoms, even down to the tumors.

7Anthony Eden’s Sickness And The Suez Crisis

Soon after Winston Churchill’s resignation as Prime Minister of England in 1955, a crisis erupted in Egypt when Abdul Nassar seized the Suez Canal, the most important route by which oil was shipped to Europe. Anthony Eden, Churchill’s successor, was forced to take on the situation, but a lingering illness could have compromised his leadership.

In 1953, Eden had undergone an operation on his gallbladder, but there was a complication when a knife cut his bile duct. This left Eden with long-term pain that he used painkillers, barbiturates, and amphetamines to deal with. Eden’s behavior was extremely erratic during much of the Suez crisis, and he made a series of poor decisions that ultimately caused Great Britain’s decline as a world power. He was eventually forced to resign in shame in 1957.

6Fashion And Tuberculosis

During the Victorian era, attractiveness and fashion were linked to many bizarre trends, but one fad was influenced by a curious factor—tuberculosis. Tuberculosis was so romanticized during the time that many considered it the standard for feminine beauty. From 1780 to 1850, cosmetics and clothing were actually made to emulate the appearance of someone dying from the dreaded disease. Things changed after Robert Koch isolated the tuberculosis bacteria in 1881 and the germ theory began to gain traction.

Widespread hysteria took over and many trends began to radically change. The iconic flowing gowns and hoop skirts worn by women in the 19th century changed to become less regal, because it was believed that the extra fabric could hold tuberculosis microbes. The bushy beards and facial hair kept by men of the time were also said to aid the spread of tuberculosis, so by the 20th century most facial hair had all but disappeared. Whether these measures actually worked is anyone’s guess.

5The Seven Day War And Divine Intervention

When Arab forces announced their intentions to invade Israel in 1967, it was widely believed that the Israelis didn’t have a chance. Through amazing coincidences—which most Israelis attribute to spiritual influence—the war was flipped on the Arabs with Israel eventually gaining three times the territory it had possessed previously.

Before the invasion was even set to begin, the commander of the Egyptian forces in Sinai was ordered to change officers, but the replacements knew next to nothing about Israel’s terrain. Three hours before the Israeli air strike that would cripple the Egyptian Air Force, Egyptian intelligence actually tried to notify forces on the ground of the attack, but for some unknown reason, no one informed the commanding officer.

When the actual presence of an Israeli fighter jet was detected by intelligence in northern Jordan, a red alert was sent to Cairo but, again for some unknown reason, the message couldn’t be decoded. Finally, when the Israeli air strikes actually occurred, no senior officers were around to do anything about it because they had spent the previous night watching a belly dancing show.

4Charles Whitman Was Influenced By A Tumor

On August 1, 1966, ex-marine Charles Whitman climbed to the top of the clock tower at the University of Texas campus in Austin. He proceeded to kill 13 people and wounded 32 others. In addition, he killed his mother and his wife. What led Whitman to commit such a senseless, destructive act? During an autopsy on his brain, a possible explanation was found.

A type of tumor called a glioblastoma the size of a nickel was found growing from his thalamus, impinged on his hypothalamus and compressing his amygdala. The amygdala is responsible for regulating emotion, and his tumor no doubt played a role in Whitman’s mental deterioration. While his actions were completely reprehensible, the finding does shine some light on how biological factors could play a role in criminal actions.

3Henry VIII’s Insanity And CTE

For much of Henry VIII’s early reign, he was a highly intelligent and capable leader, but his mental state eventually fell apart and he became paranoid, tempestuous, and deranged. Henry VIII was a well-known sportsman, and this could have led to his own demise.

In 1524, Henry received a head injury during a jousting tournament that left him with migraines. In 1536, Henry was knocked unconscious for two hours after his armored horse fell on him. It was after these accidents that he began experiencing symptoms of mental instability. While there is no way to test him any longer, the recently discovered illness Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) matches many of Henry VIII’s symptoms.

CTE, common in athletes who experience repeated head injuries, cause symptoms similar to dementia and Parkinson’s. Henry became forgetful and was prone to mood swings which could explain his infamous poor treatment of his wives, along with his inability to perform sexually despite being a womanizer in his youth.

2Sir Thomas Bludworth And The Great Fire Of London

In 1666, a massive fire destroyed much of old London. At the time, Sir Thomas Bludworth was the mayor of the city, and his desire to sleep could have caused an easily preventable tragedy.

At 2:00 AM on September 2, the house of the royal baker on Pudding Lane caught fire. Located on a narrow street and surrounded by crowded wooden buildings, the fire quickly spread. When Sir Bludworth was woken up and informed of the fire, he brushed it off and went back to sleep, reportedly saying, “A woman might piss it out.” He ignored the warnings to knock down surrounding buildings until it was too late, and by the time the fire ended, London was entirely up in smoke.

Samuel Pepys was unimpressed by Bludworth, and there are even suggestions that the mayor had been drinking the night the fire broke out. Bludworth, however, remained in government positions until his death.

1The French Revolution And Ergot Mold

In 1789, word began to spread around France that brigands were hiding in the woods, causing many peasants to take up arms. This event became known as The Great Fear and served as one of the catalysts for the French Revolution. However, the reason for the Great Fear remains mostly unexplained.

In the 1980s, Mary Kilbourne Matossian of the University of Maryland proposed that a bad crop could have been the cause of the paranoia. Earlier, in 1974, a historian announced that the rye grown throughout the late 1700s was afflicted with ergot. Ergot, a mold that grows on rye, is known to cause symptoms like paranoia and hallucinations and contains the chemical by which LSD is synthesized. Around one-twelfth of all rye crops were affected due to cold winters and wet springs, so widespread ergot poisoning could have been behind the beginning of the French Revolution.

Gordon Gora is a struggling author who is desperately trying to make it. He is working on several projects but until he finishes one, he will write for for his bread and butter. You can write him at [email protected].

School is much more than just a place of learning—it’s a central part of childhood and a nurturing environment where memories are made, friendships are forged, and both academic and social growth is fostered. Whether it’s the carefree laughter at recess, the thrill of field trips, the magical moments that unfold at school dances, or the organized structure of classroom assignments and projects, these everyday moments shape the school experience as a whole. They are an integral part of growing up.

However, within the familiar routines that school days provide, students, teachers, and parents alike can often forget the delicate nature of everyday moments and the sense of normalcy we take for granted.

In this list, we will explore how even the most ordinary aspects of school life can set the stage for unexpected tragedy and sorrow. From a fatal accident on a playground slide to a teacher’s tragic death in the parent pick-up line to a mother’s devastating final act at her daughter’s graduation, this list explores ten common school events and activities that were transformed into heartbreaking, tragic events no one could have expected.

Related: 10 Bizarre (and Tragic) Food-Related Deaths

10 Recess

Recess is a cherished part of the school day, giving children a much-needed break from their academic routines and an opportunity to engage in free play and interact with their peers. Unfortunately, this much-anticipated part of the school day was marred by a tragic accident, leaving a Utah community in mourning.

Shortly before 10:30 a.m. on February 6, 2023, the Tooele County Sheriff’s Department responded to an injury report at Rose Springs Elementary School in Erda, Utah. Upon arrival, deputies discovered that as eight-year-old Dallin Cunningham came down a corkscrew slide on the school’s playground, he “flew out” 7 feet (2.1 meters) above ground, landing on his head in an area of “frozen rock-hard” ground.

When the recess monitors initially found Cunningham, he was unconscious but breathing. However, Cunningham later stopped breathing, prompting the recess monitors to perform CPR until a patrol officer arrived on the scene and took over. Cunningham was rushed to a local hospital but, sadly, never regained consciousness. He died on February 7, 2023, due to blunt force trauma to his head.

While the slide was removed from the playground, Cunningham’s parents, Kathryn and Timothy, also went on to sue the Tooele County School District for negligence, seeking $90,000 for their son’s medical expenses. Cunningham’s parents stated that the school district not only failed to properly supervise the use of the playground equipment but also allowed “unreasonably dangerous” conditions on the playground.

Aside from the circular slide being “excessively fast and steep,” the structure also had an excessive slope, lacked guardrails on the side, and lacked high banking “to keep children inside the slide instead of flying out.” In addition to the safety standards not being met on the slide, the playground also contained an inadequate amount of playground mulch to cushion Cunningham’s fall—just 1 inch (2.5 cm)—and was frozen solid underneath. Per standards, there should have been 12 inches (30 cm) of mulch filling the area below the slide.^[1]

9 Lunch

The Mid-Day Meal program was first introduced for poor and disadvantaged children in Chennai, India (formerly Madras) in 1925. It has since become one of the world’s largest school nutrition programs, reaching 120 million children in 1.2 million schools across the country. While the program was intended to put a dent in India’s chronic malnutrition problem by providing an incentive to poor families to send their children to school, nearly two dozen children lost their lives after consuming food served through the national campaign.

On July 16, 2023, two cooks, Manju Devi and Pano Devi, began preparing a meal of rice, lentils, soybeans, and potatoes for children at the Dharmasati-Gandaman Primary School in the eastern Indian state of Bihar. Devi, however, noticed that the mustard oil used to prepare the food looked and smelled bad, but when she raised concerns with the school’s principal, Meena Kumari, Devi was told to use it anyway.

Soon after their first bite of lunch, the students began fainting and vomiting, and within hours, they began dying. In total, 23 children between the ages of 5 and 12 died, and more than two dozen others became sick as a result of eating the free meal. Both Kumari and her husband—the owner of the grocery store where the ingredients were sourced—fled as soon as the students became sick.

Naturally, with dozens of innocent children dead and dozens of others hospitalized from a school meal, angry allegations of blame and violent protests throughout the region became widespread, with many refusing to eat food from the program.

Scientific tests later revealed “very toxic” levels of monocrotophos—an organophosphorus compound used as an insecticide—in the meals, specifically high contamination in the vegetable oil used to prepare the food. Investigators also later discovered that Kumari’s husband, Arjun Rai, stored pesticide at the school for use at his farm and that the chefs had cooked with it by mistake.

On July 24, 2023, 36-year-old Kumari was on the way to turn herself in when she was arrested. Both Kumari and Rai were charged with murder. However, they both denied any deliberate act on their part in harming the children. Kumari’s husband was later acquitted by the court, but on August 29, 2016, she was sentenced to a total of 17 years in jail for culpable homicide and negligence. She was also ordered to pay a $4,476.69 (Rs. 3.75 lakh) fine.^[2]

8 Parent Pick-Up Line

Parent pick-up lines are a common feature at most schools and are designed as a way to not only streamline the dismissal process but also keep children safe. These lines offer the convenience of remaining in your vehicle during pick-up, shielding parents from inclement weather and eliminating the need to navigate crowded hallways in search of students. However, these lines also bring their own set of challenges—long waits, traffic congestion, and, at times, frustration for both parents and staff alike.

Despite such a well-intentioned system, one kindergarten teacher in Missouri lost her life in a tragic incident while assisting with the school’s parent pick-up line. On September 5, 2018, 48-year-old Angel Hayes was guiding students and cars as rain fell in the parent pick-up line at Benton Elementary School in Neosho, Missouri. Eighty-eight-year-old Erwin Parker was in line that day, waiting to pick up his 12-year-old granddaughter from school.

Unfortunately, Parker’s foot became caught between the gas and brake pedals of his SUV, causing the vehicle to lurch forward and hit Hayes. The SUV continued moving through the parking lot, dragging Hayes an estimated 20 to 25 yards (18 to 22 meters) before striking another vehicle and finally coming to a stop.

Neosho Police officers were called to the school, where emergency personnel used an airbag inflation device to raise the vehicle and free Hayes from under the front right wheel well. Despite their efforts, it was sadly too late, and Hayes was pronounced dead at the scene. No charges were filed against Parker.^[3]

7 Physical Fitness Testing

For many students, physical fitness tests are the ultimate schoolyard nemesis—a rite of passage filled with push-ups, sit-ups, and the dreaded mile run. Although these tests are designed to gauge endurance, strength, and overall fitness, they often strike fear into the hearts of even the most athletic students.

However, for one young boy in Singapore, a physical fitness test proved to be much more than just adaunting school activity when it tragically claimed his life.

On May 2, 2024, 14-year-old Lu Xuanzheng was participating in a 1.5 mile (2.4 km) run as part of a physical fitness test at Woodlands Secondary School when he collapsed. Xuanzheng was rushed to the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, where he fell into a deep coma. Xuanzheng remained in a coma for 24 days, and on May 25, 2024, doctors declared him brain dead. After losing her husband to liver cancer in 2022, 52-year-old Su Yanfen had to make the difficult decision to say goodbye to her youngest son.

While Yanfen claimed there was no family history of heart conditions, it is believed that Xuanzheng experienced cardiac failure due to the intense exercise, leading to arrhythmia and then a coma.

Despite another family tragedy and the grief of Xuanzheng’s death, Yanfen stated that “her son’s greatest dream was to help others.” Therefore, given the hundreds of hospital patients waiting for organ transplants, Yanfen decided the best way to make Xuanzheng’s dream a reality was to donate his organs.^[4]

6 Graduation

On May 5, 2024, 53-year-old Larissa R. Brady, her husband, and their 12-year-old son went to The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio to attend the graduation ceremony. Brady’s daughter was one of the 12,555 Buckeyes set to graduate that day, earning her bachelor’s degree.

As her daughter entered the stadium, Brady told her “that she loved her and would always be her mother.” Little did Brady’s daughter know that this would be the last time she would speak to her mother and that a day meant for celebration would be filled with mourning instead.

From there, Brady proceeded into the stadium with her family to watch the ceremony. Once they were seated, Brady claimed she wanted to move higher in the stadium, but eventually, her family lost sight of her. Brady, however, made her way to the last row of benches, and shortly after the ceremony began, she climbed over the stadium’s concrete wall, falling 136 feet (41 meters) to the pavement below.

Brady, who had a history of bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and anxiety, was said to have been non-compliant with her medications. At 12:25 p.m., she was pronounced dead by medics who arrived on the scene. Her death was ruled a suicide.

The graduation ceremony carried on as planned following Brady’s death without any mention of what happened. The university later contacted all graduates and staff who volunteered at graduation to offer counseling services.^[5]

5 Field Trip

Field trips play a crucial role in the educational experience, offering students a unique opportunity to engage with the world outside of a traditional classroom setting. These excursions allow for hands-on learning, where students can explore, discover, and connect what they’ve learned in the classroom to real-world experiences. While these school trips offer endless opportunities for learning, one field trip in England led to a heartbreaking disaster.

On May 22, 2024, 10-year-old Leah Harrison was taking part in an outdoor education forest walk as part of a school trip at Carlton Adventure in North Yorkshire when a mudslide occurred.

Emergency services flooded the scene, with police paramedics and the Cleveland Mountain Rescue Team dispatching 30 volunteers in a desperate attempt to save Harrison. Sadly, the “happy, bubbly little girl” who dreamed of playing soccer for the Lionesses did not survive the tragic incident.

All outdoor activities in the area, which had been under a Met Office yellow weather warning for heavy rain, were temporarily suspended while the North Yorkshire Police and the Health and Safety Executive began a joint investigation into the incident.

After hearing the devastating news of Harrison’s death, the Lionesses paid tribute to the young girl on their Instagram page, stating, “To Leah, you will forever be a Lioness.” They also asked their fans to come together in the 10th minute of their game against France on May 31, 2024, in recognition of Harrison’s life and in support of her family.^[6]

4 School Concert

The Monster Concert has been a tradition at Austin High School in Austin, Texas, since 1987. The concert, which is held every October, features the school’s own various orchestras as well as orchestras from various elementary and middle schools in the area. In addition to the Halloween-themed concert, the annual community event and fundraiser also includes games, contests, food and beverages, and a haunted house.

Unfortunately, halfway through the event, on October 21, 2023, a fire started after a gas-powered generator got too close to a propane tank while it was being refueled, causing an accidental flash fire. Three people were hurt and taken to the hospital—Sam Herrera, the husband of orchestra director Ana Solis-Herrera, her son Gabriel, and Paco Guajardo, the father of two orchestra students.

Guajardo was later released from the hospital, and Solis-Herrera’s son, Gabriel, was also expected to make a full recovery. Herrera, however, suffered burns on 60% of his body, and sadly, on November 8, 2023, he died as a result of his injuries.^[]

3 Sports Practice

School sports provide students with a wide range of opportunities- physical exercise, personal growth, and learning the value of teamwork. However, beyond the physical benefits, these athletic programs also provide a sense of community and belonging among students, which also becomes an integral part of their identities. The thrill of competition and the camaraderie with their teammates often defines a student’s high school experience.

Sadly, the promising future of one high school baseball player in Gainesville, Georgia, was cut short due to a devastating accident during practice.

On November 20, 2023, Jeremy Medina, a senior at Gainesville High School who played both pitcher and catcher on the school’s baseball team, was attending a routine practice session at the school’s on-campus batting cages. However, as another player followed through on his swing, Medina leaned into the net and was struck in the head by a baseball bat.

Medina lost consciousness and was rushed to the Northeast Georgia Medical Center, where he was diagnosed with a subarachnoid hemorrhage involving the left temporal lobe, a depressed skull fracture, and other trauma-related injuries. Medina remained in a coma, and on December 6, 2023, he was declared brain dead. Medina was later taken off life support and was pronounced dead on December 11, 2023.

Medina’s parents, David and Yasmira, went on to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the school system and the coaches, seeking a sum of $722,208 and a jury trial for the school officials’ negligence.

The lawsuit, which names the high school principal, assistant principal, athletic director, and multiple baseball coaches, stated that the baseball season did not officially start until January 15, 2024, but the coaches decided to call a mandatory practice. Medina’s parents described the practice as “illegal,” arguing that it violated the Georgia High School Association’s code.

Medina’s parents also claimed that no adults or school employees were present during the practice, leading to a slow response. The filing alleges that it took three minutes for an adult to arrive at the batting cages after the accident, seven minutes to call 911, and over seven minutes for the school’s athletic trainer to begin CPR. The lawsuit also claims that the athletic trainer did not have keys to access the AED, which was located in the school’s softball concession stand.^[8]

2 Back to School

Each new school year brings with it a sense of excitement and anticipation for both teachers and students alike. Teachers spend countless hours preparing their classrooms, ensuring every detail is perfect to welcome their new students. However, behind the scenes of such meticulous work lies the story of a devoted teacher whose preparations for the new school year took a tragic turn.

On September 1, 2026, 41-year-old Lynsey Haycock, a “much-loved” science and health teacher at Valley Forge High School in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, was putting up a display in her classroom in preparation for the return of her students when she fell and broke her leg. Haycock was taken to the hospital but sadly died on September 2, 2026, as a result of medical complications.^[9]

1 P.E. Class

Physical education is a cherished part of the school day for many students, offering a chance to engage in physical activity and enjoy a break from academic pressures. For those passionate about sports and fitness, P.E. class is often one of the best parts of the school day.

However, for some students, particularly those who are not as confident in their athletic abilities, P.E. can be a much more daunting and less enjoyable part of the day, filled with challenges and anxieties that overshadow the fun of physical activity. Tragically, a P.E. class that was a routine part of the school day became the setting for a gruesome freak accident.

On April 27, 2023, 16-year-old Brayden Bahme, a sophomore at Cheney High School in Cheney, Washington, was running during his 4th-period P.E. class when he fell into a goal post and was impaled through the eye.

First responders arrived at the school within one minute, and Bahme was transported to Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital but later died from his injuries.^[10]

Human history is filled with dark, depressing stretches of misery and suffering. It should be treated with reverence and awe. Yet, most of it is hilarious.

Plenty of historical and cultural milestones only began when one joke spun out of control. The lives of millions of people were shaped just because one person wanted to try his hand at comedy. That might be the funniest joke of it all.

10 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Was Meant To Be A One-Off Parody

In the early 1980s, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird were bored. They had met a year earlier in hopes of becoming comic book cartoonists. Nothing was coming to them. While Laird was watching television, Eastman absentmindedly doodled. He drew a humorous sketch of a turtle with nunchucks and a mask. The image was so ridiculous that he showed it to Laird.

Laird thought it was so hilarious that he tried his hand at drawing one himself. The duo kept one-upping each other until they had four distinct vigilante turtles. Upon finishing the first sketches, Laird said, “This is the dumbest thing ever.” That might have been true, but Eastman and Laird wanted to turn the nonsensical idea of sword-wielding reptiles into a real thing.

The first issue of a Ninja Turtles comic book needed a plot as absurd as its characters. They settled on a parody of other popular comics in the early 1980s. It was the laziest parody they could think of.

Each of the titular adjectives of the newly dubbed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles coincided with a favorite trait from one of other popular superheroes. The “teenage” described Jack Kirby’s canon. The “mutant” was a nod to the X-Men franchise.

“Ninja” was borrowed from Frank Miller’s samurai series Ronin. But this was not the only Frank Miller property from which Eastman and Laird borrowed. Daredevil gained his powers in the same toxic spill that created the Turtles. As the Daredevil main nemesis was “The Hand,” it only made sense that the Turtles fight the Foot clan.

Eastman invested $1,000 of his uncle’s money into self-publishing this bit. They turned a simple night of goofing around into a 42-page comic. From there, the TMNT franchise of TV series, video games, movies, and toys was born.^[1]

9 The Duck That Laid The Golden Egg

In 1983, George Lucas was coming off the heels of one of the most impressive streaks in movie history. He had just made American Graffiti, the Star Wars franchise, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. It looked like he could do no wrong.

But anybody who has been alive for the past three decades knows how much wrong he can do. Given carte blanche to create his vision, Lucas wanted to make a live-action version of one of his favorite comic book characters. For the first time in his career, Lucas stumbled. And what a stumble it was. The resulting movie, Howard the Duck, is now considered one of the worst comedies of all time.

As it was the first feature film adaption of a Marvel story, Lucas was assured that the movie was going to be a huge success. To fulfill his dream, he hired Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck, the screenwriting team with whom he had worked on his big break, American Graffiti.

With the talent and intellectual property, everything looked like it was going to be great. It was not. Infamous scenes of interspecific love, endless duck puns, and rampant sexism led to a commercial and critical flop. In the US, Howard the Duck only earned back $16 million of its $37 million budget.

George Lucas had bet that the box office would fish him out of debt. With lackluster sales, he had to start selling his assets. One of those sales included the computer animation division of his production company.

His friend Steve Jobs bought the project. Jobs turned that investment into Pixar Studios. With movies as diverse as Toy Story, Up, and Finding Nemo, Pixar has produced movies that turned out far better than Howard the Duck.^[2]

8 ‘The Ostrich’ Stuck Its Head In The Underground

Lou Reed was the personification of leather-clad coolness. For a generation, he represented the epitome of New York swagger. Reed made his name on freaked-out records about taboos like heroin abuse, sadomasochism, and transsexualism. His best-selling song may have invited listeners to take a “walk on the wild side,” but his origins could not have tamer. One of rock’s great rebels started off as a pure corporate shill.

In the mid ‘60s, Reed was the in-house songwriter for Pickwick Records label. Pickwick was as minor as a record label could be. Without much success on their own, they had to try to fool people into buying their records.

Reed’s job was to write cheap knockoff singles that rode the popularity of fads of the time. When songs about hot rods were big, he invested a lot of mental power on a record called “Hot Rod Song.” “Johnny Can’t Surf No More” was a similarly obvious way to cash in on the surfing crazy.

Reed’s talent for mimicry eventually gave way to gimmicky absurdism. “I’ve Got a Tiger in My Tank” parodied car songs by adding giant cat roars on top. His attempt at a dance craze was the equally ridiculous “The Ostrich.”

This may not be Lou Reed’s best song, but it was certainly one of his most important. To record it, Pickwick hired a young Welsh musician named John Cale. Reed and Cale’s partnership began there. The duo blossomed three years later with The Velvet Underground, one of the most influential groups of all time.^[3]

7 The Novelty Record That Launched Gangsta Rap

In the 1980s, the California Raisin Advisory Board began airing a Claymation commercial for raisins. They could not have imagined how popular this was about to become. The basic plot of the commercial is that a man awakens to see a line of Claymation raisins dancing and singing to a parody of the Motown classic “I Heard It Through The Grapevine.”

The incredibly unfunny joke is that raisins come from grapes. Despite the simplicity of the punch line, the commercial became a cultural phenomenon. People could not get enough of the idea of dried fruit covering Marvin Gaye. The California Raisins released toys, a Saturday morning cartoon, a line of video games, and, of course, albums.

This inexplicable success was good news for Priority Records, a small independent LA label that hadn’t had a hit in years. All of a sudden, they were making millions off this silly fad.

Flush with this extra revenue, they could hire more interesting acts. The next artist signed by Priority was N.W.A., the opposite of the California Raisins in a lot of ways.

Weeks later, Priority became a rap powerhouse off the success of Straight Outta Compton. The album and Priority exploded gangsta rap into the public, changing music forever.^[4]

6 Susanna Salter Won An Election On A Prank

Decades before US women could vote nationally, Susanna Salter had already held public office. In 1887, the tiny Quaker town of Argonia, Kansas, elected the first woman mayor in US history. The election was a turning point in women’s suffrage.

Though she had a rather uneventful administration, Salter’s victory helped usher in a wave of other woman mayors in the West following the Civil War. However, Salter only got her position because a prank backfired.

She was a good choice for a mayoral candidate. Salter had political experience in her blood. Her father, Oliver Kinsey, had been Argonia’s first mayor. Her husband was city clerk.

With her own legal background, she prepared a local attorney for the bar. Salter wrote the ordinances of the town. She presided at the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) caucus. Under her leadership, the caucus selected men deemed worthy of office.

A group of 20 men did not like the idea that a woman had so much say in local politics. They devised a plan. They made a ticket with a set of candidates identical to the ones supported by the WCTU. The only difference is that they substituted Salter’s name in the mayor position. They assumed that no man would vote for a woman.^[5]

They also expected that Salter would be embarrassed and leave politics with presumably such few votes. When Salter voted that afternoon, she was shocked to find that she was listed as a candidate. She was even more amazed that she had received a two-thirds majority of the vote.

5 A Sexist Joke Discovered The Cosmos

Edward C. Pickering was going over the calculations from his researchers’ latest observations. When the researchers could not understand the calculations, he joked that they were so easy that his “Scotch maid could do better.”

This line may not have been meant as a joke, but it was interpreted as one. Pickering had been aware that his maid, Williamina Paton Stevens Fleming, was a mathematical genius. None of the other male researchers believed that.

The researchers called Pickering’s bluff and brought Fleming in. Very quickly, the researchers became the butt of the joke. Fleming’s calculations were incredibly precise. Impressed by her skill, Pickering started hiring only female researchers. There was also the additional incentive to save money by providing cheaper wages.

No matter the motive, that decision actually changed the universe. These women, known dismissively as “Pickering’s Harem,” conducted groundbreaking research. Fleming finally broke out of Pickering’s shadow when she discovered the Horsehead Nebula.

Other notable members included Annie Jump Cannon, whose system for identifying stars is still applied today, and Henrietta Swan Leavitt, who supplied the data that Edwin Hubble used to measure galactic distances.^[6]

4 Wristwatches Started Out As A ‘Silly-Ass Fad’

Businessmen and rappers like to flaunt their latest Rolexes as the height of class. To anybody from the turn of the 20th century, they would look ridiculous. It would be like bragging about bejeweled fidget spinners. Instead of flashy displays of wealth, wristwatches were originally chintzy novelty tricks.

Before wristwatches, men generally kept their watches in their pockets. It was seen as effeminate to wear your watch on your wrist. When men in Europe picked up on it, The New York Times called it a “silly-ass fad” in 1916.

Wristwatches then became popular among vaudeville stars as “more or less of a joke” or a “funmaker.” As far as jokes go, watching a dial spin around a clock is fairly tame. Wristwatches really took off in the US because of something not funny at all—World War I.

It was the first war to feature sophisticated aerial attacks. Soldiers on the ground needed to move as a unit. Timing was essential. When dodging gunfire and bombs, the delay from retrieving one’s watch from a pocket was an actual matter of life and death. To shave off extra seconds, soldiers wrapped their pocket watches to leather straps on their wrists.^[7]

Following the war, the soldiers brought this practice home with them. Companies like Cartier began modeling their products from these military designs. No longer a joke, they became an iconic status symbol.

3 A Prank Might Have Killed Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh is as famous for his death as his life. His suicide perfectly fits the model of a rejected genius so shunned by the world that he would rather kill himself than go on.

Generations after his untimely death, van Gogh was recognized as a true genius, making his death all the more tragic. This narrative is poetic, but according to Pulitzer Prize–winning researchers Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, it is dead wrong. They are convinced that van Gogh was accidentally shot to death in a joke gone wrong.

Van Gogh had as much success making friends as he did wearing earmuffs. He was often the target of a gang of teenagers who liked to get drunk and mess with him. Van Gogh took particular interest in Gaston Secretan, but it was Gaston’s brother who proved to be the most consequential for van Gogh.

Whereas Gaston was quiet, Rene Secretan was a young prankster. Rene pulled harmless practical jokes on van Gogh—like putting salt in his coffee or hiding a garden snake in his paint box.

Much to van Gogh’s chagrin, Rene also had a habit of waving around a malfunctioning pistol while dressed as the pioneer Buffalo Bill. Naifeh and Smith believe that Rene’s comedy became tragic one fateful night when the gun accidentally went off. The discharged bullet lodged in van Gogh’s abdomen. He died 29 hours later.

The theory has been met with serious backlash from other historians, but there is some evidence to support the claim. Despite his mental anguish, van Gogh did not leave behind a suicide note. In 1956, following the release of the highly acclaimed van Gogh biopic Lust for Life, Rene admitted to torturing the artist.

In 2014, doctors noted that van Gogh would have held the gun in an unnatural and awkward position to shoot the bullet from the angle suggested by the entry wound. This configuration would have caused black powder burns on his hands. At the time, no doctors noted any burns.

Dr. Vincent Di Maio, a leading handgun forensic expert, concluded in 2014: “It is my opinion that, in all medical probability, the wound incurred by van Gogh was not self-inflicted. In other words, he did not shoot himself.”^[8]

2 The Butt That Killed Thousands

Mooning is asinine, particularly the first syllable. For something so stupid, it sure is a simple joke. Everything one needs to make the joke is already attached to them. Throw in a fart for good measure, and one has reached the pinnacle of bathroom humor. Jewish historian Titus Flavius Josephus recorded how one fart was not silent, but it still was deadly.

AD 66 was not the best time to be devoutly Jewish. The Roman government ostracized the religion and caused deep divides. Tensions were at their highest around religious holidays. One unnamed soldier widened this rift when he exposed a crack of his own.

The mooned Jewish pilgrims did not like being the actual butt of the joke, especially during Passover. The insulted pilgrims threw rocks at the soldiers, who deployed reinforcements. The resulting stampede left more than 10,000 people dead. The riot marked one of the more seismic events in the lead-up to the First Jewish–Roman War.^[9]

1 The Party Was Lit At Le Bal Des Ardents

For some historical events, comedy is tragedy plus time. For others, comedy plus time is tragedy. Few events capture that better than Le Bal des Ardents (“The Ball of the Burning Men”).

In the 1300s, third weddings were light affairs where pranks were common. King Charles VI of France thought it would be funny to prank the wedding of his queen’s lady-in-waiting Catherine de Fastaverin. Instead of having a fun time, Charles VI committed the ultimate party faux pas when he ruined the dance floor.

His prank was less a witticism and more a display of stupidity. The joke amounted to having some attendees dress up as wild apes while howling and shouting obscenities. To look like beasts, their costumes were covered in hair consisting of hemp, linen, and tar.^[10]

For a short while, their antics were the life of the party. That quickly changed when Charles VI’s brother showed up late and drunk. He stumbled in with a torch in hand. The embers from the torch set the men on fire.

Four of them died as their costumes burned. The heat so scalded their genitals that their testicles fell to the ground. The king barely survived by jumping into his aunt’s skirt.

Charles VI was already mentally unstable, but this event pushed him over the edge. The tragedy also revealed how fragile he was. Concerns about the stability of the throne led to sectarian violence. Charles was now perceived as a failure. His Valois bloodline was seriously defamed, eventually leading to two decades of civil war over the throne.

If you enjoyed the article, you can write to the author at [email protected]. If you want to see what the author thinks is funny, you can follow him on Twitter @NateYungman. Hopefully, his jokes don’t cause any civil wars.

While most of us are familiar with, and enjoy watching, the summer and winter Olympics, fewer people are familiar with an event held by the Aleut and Inuit people of Canada and Alaska. For generations, various organizations made up of these northern tribes have held competitions, such as the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics (WEIO), where contestants engage in various athletic activities, many of which might seem quite bizarre to outsiders.

10The Ear Pull

Think of a game of tug-of-war—except, in this version, the cord that goes between you and your opponent is attached to your ears.

Specifically, the two athletes must be seated and facing each other with legs intertwined. After a thick loop of string is lassoed around both sets of ears, they must wait for a signal. Then, they must lean backward in an effort to make the other competitor experience such excruciating pain that they give up. With each pull, however, the string becomes tighter and tighter around each of the athletes’ ears, resulting in distressed expressions, discolored ears, visits to the hospital for stitches, and, in some cases, ears being pulled clear off.

While this game is no doubt fascinating (and painful to watch), the roots of the ear pull are based on skills that men and women in such brutal climates would need, as a balance of strength, control, and endurance is required in order to win. When asked about the purpose of the game, the chairman of the WEIO noted, “To endure pain. Some of the stuff that we do when you’re trying to survive out in the wild, or out in the ice, and you’re a long way from home and you hurt yourself, you have to be able to endure that pain until help comes.”

9The Two-Footed High Kick

Combining athletic prowess and grace, an athlete in this competition must leap from a standing or running position (depending on the rules of the particular competition) and, keeping feet parallel, jump as high as he or she can muster to kick a sealskin ball held up by string, usually suspended up to 2.5 meters (8 ft) in the air. If that sounds hard, keep in mind that they must also land back on their feet with each foot touching the ground simultaneously. This game is a variation of the similar one-foot high kick event, albeit harder.

Based in Alaskan tradition, this game is rooted in the age-old practice of a hunter returning to the coastal whaling village from an excursion and jumping in the air in sight of the villagers. According to the head official for the WEIO, the type of jump would alert the village as to the success that the hunting party had enjoyed and, if fruitful, to come help with the catch.

In 1965, Nicole Johnston set the unbroken record of 198 centimeters (6 ft, 6 in) for the women’s competition. The men’s competition record, astonishingly, is a whopping 264 centimeters (8 ft, 8 in).

8The Blanket Toss

If you want to play this game, here is what you have to do: Gather up some teammates, buy a blanket made from walrus skins, have them repeatedly fling you into the air from the blanket, and show off your athletic skills by performing gymnastic maneuvers while airborne.

While it is easy to miss the blanket and crash onto the ground when engaging in this game, many Inuits and Aleuts have mastered the skill, but none so prominently as Reggie Joule. The winner of 10 gold medals at the WEIO, he perfected the art, even performing back flips while propelled into the air. It was he who brought the game to public awareness, as he went on the road and ended up demonstrating the blanket toss on The Tonight Show, The Today Show, and even at the Smithsonian Institute.

The origins of this gymnastic event are believed by some to have been a technique hunters used to spot game, as one with good eyesight would be thrown into the air—sometimes up to 10 meters (33 ft)—in an effort to spot an animal on the flat terrain.

7The Knuckle (Seal) Hop

In another game that tests the strength and endurance of contestants, the participant must get in a push-up position. With his back straight, elbows bent, and supporting himself on only his toes and knuckles, he must then lunge forward—careful to hold that position. With wrists and ankles locked, the goal of the game is to propel oneself into the air while making sure to lift the hands and feet simultaneously off the ground.

Repeatedly springing forward mere inches off the floor, the rules in this hop for glory prohibit any body part from touching the ground other than the toes and knuckles. The competitor’s back also must not fall lower than the plane of their elbows. The winner in this difficult competition is the athlete who has hopped the greatest distance.

While completing this game is hard enough on the arena floor where it is commonly held, traditionally, it was played inside a rudimentary hut or community center and even outside at times.

6The Four-Man Carry

People generally get carried away when engaging in this event—literally. In what ends up being a sort of levitating group hug, four men must wrap their bodies over the fifth, the competitor, who must then walk as far as he can. With each man generally weighing in around 70 kilograms (150 lb), that means that the athlete carries around 270 kilograms (600 lb) during the game.

In a game that tests your muscles, joints, back, and spine like no other, the previous world record of 57 meters (187 ft) set in 1997 was crushed during the WEIO held at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks in July 2014, when Matthew Sido Evans reached a whopping 73.6 meters (241 ft, 8 in) before finally buckling under the tremendous weight.

This practical event has its origins in the common Alaskan task of carrying meat, ice, or wood long distances back to the village.

5The Indian Stick Pull

In the life of an Inuit or Aleut fisherman, having the strength, balance, and grip to catch a fish was a prized skill.

With roots based in this ancient practice, the Indian stick pull was developed, although the object in this event is not a fish, but a stick 30.5 centimeters (1 ft) long and 3.8 centimeters (1.5 in) wide tapered on both ends. To make it trickier to hold, the stick is greased. To make it even trickier than that, another contestant has his grip on the other end of the stick, using all his strength to pull it out of your hand. Thus are the complexities of this entertaining game, where no jerks or twists are allowed, and the winner is the one who wins two out of three matches.

In a similar event, the Eskimo stick pull, two athletes must also attempt to win the stick, although this is done in a sitting position with their feet pressed together and knees bent.

4The Arm Pull

In this full contact wrestle of sorts, two contestants must face each other and cross their legs over their opponent’s opposite leg. With arms locked at the elbows, the two athletes must then begin pulling on each other, using their legs, arms, and core muscles to weaken their opponent and collapse them.

Pushing down on the opposing contestant’s foot is just one of the techniques used in this game of brute strength. Describing what it takes to win, former men’s title holder Chris Jerue says, “You’re trying to get it done as quick as you can; it’s very stressful. The longer it takes, the more chance you have of pulling your arm muscle. You try to keep it locked, lean back, and use a lot of back if you can.” The winner is the athlete who wins two out of three matches.

With roots in Alaskan fishing methods, the game simulates the effort, strength, and stamina needed to bring a seal or other quarry out of a hole cut in the ice.

3Drop The Bomb

When someone drops the bomb at a WEIO event, the connotations are a little different than if the same phrase is spoken elsewhere.

The bomb, in this game, is the contestant, who must lie rigidly on the floor with his arms straight out. Three spotters must hold him by his wrists and ankles and lift him 30 centimeters (1 ft) above the ground before proceeding to walk at a speed decided on by an official on the floor. The goal of this game is for the athlete to keep his body as tense and rigid as possible, for at the moment that his body sags, he is said to have dropped the bomb, and his run is over.

Participants in this strength testing event are awarded if they refrain from sagging for the longest time and distance. Many athletes can commonly be carried over 30 meters (100 ft) before dropping the bomb, such as 2013 men’s champion Mikkel Andersen from Greenland, who endured for 33.2 meters (109 ft).

2The One-Hand Reach

You have to admire the athletes who compete in this difficult, yet fascinating, event that requires total concentration, balance, coordination, and muscular strength.

Balancing yourself on only your hands, with one elbow underneath your abdomen, you must keep your entire body above the floor while reaching one hand up to touch an object that’s been suspended, and then placing it back down on the ground without falling over. The higher you can reach to touch the target, all without tumbling off your palms or fingertips, the better your chances of winning the competition.

But be careful—upon establishing the height of the target during the first round, it will be raised 2.5 centimeters (1 in) per round, until you can’t reach it anymore. Also, you only have three shots at striking the target; after three tries, you are eliminated from the competition, even if you’ve kept yourself perfectly balanced and parallel to the floor.

1The Ear Weight

If you think the ear pull is hard, just picture this: Attach a weight or sack of flour weighing from 7–11 kilograms (16–25 lb) to a piece of twine, and then tie the twine around your ear. One of the rules is that you can’t use your cheek. So, lifting your head straight up, walk as far as you can. That’s right—walk until the tension in your neck is too horrible to bear, or the pain in your face is so intense that you can barely breathe, or just until your ear rips off. Believe it or not, quite a few competitors have managed distances of over 600 meters (2,000 ft) while competing in the ear weight.

While events like the ear weight certainly rank near the top of our list of games with the highest pain index, many events combine a need for agility, coordination, strength, and athletic prowess, and thus also deserve to be on our list as honorable mentions. Games like the back push (wrestling using only your back), the caribou fight (wrestling caribou-style), the seal-skinning competition (self-explanatory), the finger pull (tug-of-war using only fingers), and many others are also featured in the fascinating and difficult athletic games of the North.

I am an up-and-coming author that has written poems, screenplays, magazine articles, scripts for videos, and a comedy-adventure novel for kids.

In recent days, the dodgy human rights record of international football (soccer) has been dragged into the limelight, including serious concerns about the upcoming World Cups in Russia and Qatar. But human rights abuses in sport aren’t as rare as you’d think—and soccer isn’t the only sport with a problem.

10The Rumble In The Jungle

The Rumble in the Jungle is one of the greatest sporting events of all time, featuring an unstoppable Muhammad Ali in a triumphant knockout victory over his rival, George Foreman. In fact, the fight is so legendary that people tend to forget that the whole thing took place under the auspices of one of the 20th century’s most notorious dictators: Mobutu Sese Seko. Zaire’s kleptomaniac ruler was so eager to stage the fight that he even put up a $10 million purse. The money was all stolen from the people of Zaire, but Mobutu was a close US ally and reporters covering the fight “did not ask many questions.”

To make sure the event went swimmingly, the story goes, Mobutu even had all the known pickpockets and criminals of Kinshasa executed. Meanwhile, conflict raged elsewhere in the country and the fight took place with armed soldiers looking on. Even the stadium where the fight took place had been used as a makeshift prison camp/torture chamber, and it was rumored that they had to scrub it clean of blood before the fight.

In the end, Mobutu’s attempt to use the fight to drum up good publicity for Zaire didn’t go quite as he’d hoped. Reportedly, his officials were infuriated by Ali’s televised boast that: “All you boys who don’t take me seriously, who think Foreman is going to whup me; when you get to Africa Mobutu’s people are going to put you in a pot, cook you, and eat you.”

9The 1968 Summer Olympics

In 1968, Mexico City was abuzz with preparations for the 1968 Summer Olympic Games. But beneath the surface, all was not well. Young Mexicans were fed up with poverty, corruption, and a repressive government. The decision to spend $150 million on the Olympics brought things to a head and protests soon broke out, mostly calling for the repeal of laws allowing the arrest of anyone who attended a meeting of more than two people. On October 2, just 10 days before the Olympics were due to start, 10,000 students gathered in Tlatelolco Square, chanting “We Don’t Want Olympics, We Want A Revolution!”

The government response was immediate and brutal. The military surrounded the square and opened fire, while armored cars rumbled into the mass of students. A subsequent cover-up means the exact death toll remains uncertain, but it’s clear that it was a slaughter, with as many as 300 deaths. Hundreds more were rounded up, imprisoned, and tortured in the aftermath. At the time, the military insisted they had only fired after being shot at from the crowd, but this is now considered unlikely.

Despite the bloodbath occurring just across town, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) declined to move or postpone the games, noting that the violence wasn’t aimed at the Olympics themselves. As IOC head Avery Brundage had earlier explained: “If our Games are to be stopped every time the politicians violate the laws of humanity, there will never be any international contests.” Brundage, nicknamed “Slavery Avery” for his known racist views, wasn’t quite so sanguine when Tommy Smith and John Carlos famously gave the Black Power salute on the podium later on in the games, threatening to ban the entire US team if they weren’t sent home immediately.

8Equatorial Guinea’s African Cups Of Nations

Under the brutal rule of Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Equatorial Guinea has one of the worst human rights records on the planet, with opponents of the regime regularly tortured and murdered. An oil boom has theoretically made the country rich—GDP per capita is around $25,900—yet the vast majority of the population lives on less than $2 a day. The rest of the money is stolen by the ruling family and their cronies. Obiang’s son is estimated to have bought at least $3.2 million worth of Michael Jackson memorabilia alone. He also recently considered buying a yacht for $380 million, almost three times Equatorial Guinea’s yearly health and education budgets.

Some of the money also went to co-hosting the 2012 African Cup of Nations, one of the most prestigious tournaments in world football. To prepare for the tournament, the regime spent millions of dollars building and refurbishing stadiums (the exact cost was not released). It also cracked down even further on civil liberties and openly harassed foreign reporters who tried to cover anything other than the tournament itself.

Amazingly, Equatorial Guinea was chosen to host the tournament again in 2015, after Morocco pulled out at the last minute due to Ebola concerns. (Although the Equatoguinean team was technically banned from football for cheating at the time, this was politely overlooked.) This required spending tens of millions building two further stadiums. It also apparently required arresting opposition activists. Despite the growing condemnation of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, there has been little international outrage about holding the Cup of Nations in a country with an even worse record on human rights.

7The 1982 African Cup Of Nations

Of course, the Cup of Nations does have something of a track record when it comes to letting monstrous dictatorships host. Take the 1982 tournament, which was held in Muammar Gadhafi’s Libya, already a something of a regional pariah for its military intervention in Chad. Ironically, Gadhafi hated football and had even closed the Libyan league down from 1979–1982. (In one version of the story, the dictator became insanely jealous after seeing the names of popular footballers written on a wall in Tripoli.) He agreed to host the 1982 Cup to further his diplomatic goals but still insisted on opening the tournament with the stirring words: “All you stupid spectators, have your stupid game.”

Sadly, not everyone in Gadhafi’s family felt the same way. His son Al-Saadi actually loved football so much he decided to become a professional player. He wasn’t talented enough, but you don’t need talent when you’re a rich maniac with your dad’s army to back you up. Soon Al-Saadi was the star striker in a Libyan league so heavily rigged in his favor that announcers were forbidden from saying the names of any other players. If a team tried to protest the obvious cheating, they would be forced to keep playing at gunpoint. Al-Saadi’s glittering career only took a nose-dive when he leveraged Libya’s oil money to engineer a hilariously corrupt move to the Italian top division, where he played for less than half an hour over three years, failed a drug test, and was voted the league’s worst player ever. He is currently on trial in Libya for murdering a rival footballer.

6The 33rd Chess Olympiad

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, president of the Russian Republic of Kalmykia, loved chess. He loved it so much he built a gleaming multimillion-dollar facility known as Chess City and inaugurated it with the 33rd Chess Olympiad in 1998. (Shown above is the official mascot of the event.) How impoverished Kalmykia could afford this isn’t clear, and a local journalist named Larisa Yudina was stabbed to death shortly after opening an investigation into the matter. Local activists were beaten for protesting the expense, with one leader briefly thrown into a mental hospital and then forced to flee Kalmykia.

None of this was allowed to put a dampener on the tournament, with over 1,000 top international chess players ignoring calls for a boycott to enjoy the luxurious hospitality and the offer of a thoroughbred Kalmyk horse for every winner. The luxury came at a price, with Ilyumzhinov reportedly diverting child welfare money to finish Chess City in time. Kalmykia’s crumbling highways were ignored in order to pave the roads leading to the venue, which ordinary Kalmyks were banned from driving on.

Meanwhile, every Kalmyk organization had to sponsor a team, which effectively meant emptying government buildings to furnish the players’ quarters. Experiences varied: “The Statistics Committee got Peru. The apartment had been used by the construction workers, and it was a huge job fixing it up. As for the local publishing house, they got Tajikistan, and they were happy. The Tajiks weren’t used to much comfort, and it was easy to take care of them.” Ilyumzhinov is still president of the World Chess Federation and is best known for his belief in aliens and his bizarre attempts to bring peace to conflict zones through the medium of chess.

5The 1978 World Cup

After a military coup in 1976, Argentina was ruled by a brutal right-wing junta which murdered thousands of opponents during the so-called “Dirty War” that followed. Argentineans suspected of left-wing leanings were regularly kidnapped, tortured, and thrown out of planes into the ocean. But that didn’t stop FIFA from allowing Argentina to host the 1978 World Cup, giving the junta a valuable shot at some good publicity.

They seized it with both hands, hiring a pricy PR agency and even building special walls so that visitors wouldn’t be able to see the impoverished slums of Buenos Aires. In the buildup to the tournament, any remaining dissidents and potential troublemakers were kidnapped or murdered. Even the tournament’s head organizer, General Omar Actis, was assassinated, allegedly for opposing the government’s wild spending.

The tournament itself was not a classic, with the junta widely alleged to have rigged games—35,000 tons of grain and $50 million in credit supposedly got them a 6–0 win over Peru. Despite the junta’s crimes, only one player, West German hero Paul Breitner, declined to play on moral grounds. As Argentina’s star striker, Leopoldo Luque, put it years later: “With what I know now, I can’t say I’m proud of my victory.”

4Dennis Rodman’s All-Stars

At this stage, there’s almost no point in listing the monstrous crimes of the North Korean government. The state has become a such a byword for drab cruelty and oppression that it’s easy to forget just how genuinely nauseating life there can be. At least, that’s the charitable interpretation of former NBA star Dennis Rodman’s actions. Rodman, who is on the record with his belief that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is “an awesome guy,” has made several trips to North Korea and actually organized a team of retired NBA stars to play a game there as a “birthday present” for Kim.

Needless to say, the game attracted a fair amount of controversy. The NBA distanced itself, arguing that while “sports in many instances can be helpful in bridging cultural divides, this is not one of them.” Meanwhile, Congressman Eliot Engel pleaded for the “bizarre and grotesque” tour to be called off. For his part, Rodman apparently had no worries about organizing a PR stunt for the dictatorship, explaining: “I’m not a president, I’m not a politician, I’m not an ambassador. I’m just an athlete and the reason for me to go is to bring peace to the world, that’s it.” The North Koreans apparently won the game. Peace has yet to break out.

3The Rebel Tour Of South Africa

By the early 1980s, South African cricket was in a crisis of its own making. Under apartheid, the country’s cricket team had long refused to play against non-white teams. In 1969, England’s attempt to field a non-white player, Basil d’Oliveira, caused such a dispute that the whole tour had to be abandoned. Meanwhile, opponents of apartheid called for a sporting boycott of the brutal regime. In 1970, South Africa was officially banned from international cricket. As their beloved team stagnated without quality opponents, the South Africans changed their tune, desperately trying to lure anyone who was willing to play them. An unlicensed English team toured in 1982, followed by a “rebel” Sri Lankan squad a year later.

Over in the Caribbean, things couldn’t have been more different. The West Indies were unquestionably the best team in the world, partnering devastating fast bowlers like Joel Garner and Michael Holding with such formidable batsmen as Desmond Haynes, Gordon Greenidge, and the sublime Viv Richards. The world had never seen such a combination of pace, power, and talent. In fact, the West Indies team was so good that many world-class players never even made it onto the team. To make matters worse, there was little money in cricket in those days, and many players struggled to make a living in the off-season. When the South Africans began offering players $120,000 for a single tour, many found it hard to resist.

In 1983, 18 West Indian cricketers agreed to a tour of South Africa. Many were players frustrated by their inability to break into the West Indian first team, but the squad included such big-name players as fast-bowler Colin Croft, wicketkeeper Alvin Kallicharran, and 1979 World Cup hero Collis King. All were given “honorary white” status for the duration of the tour. It was a decision they would regret for the rest of their lives.

Although the rebel cricketers insisted that their tour had helped break down racial barriers, all 18 immediately became pariahs in the Caribbean. West Indians were outraged that their cricketing heroes would collaborate with apartheid South Africa for money. The entire team was banned for life (the ban was eventually lifted in 1989) and most never played cricket at a high level again. Shunned wherever they went, most of the rebels had to leave the region and at least three had major mental breakdowns. Richard Austin, one of the most versatile players of his generation, currently begs on the streets of Kingston. The West Indies team continued to dominate world cricket until the 1990s, by which time apartheid had ended and South Africa had rejoined the cricketing world.

2The 2015 European Games

This week, the inaugural European Games will be hosted in Azerbaijan. The multi-sport event, including swimming, gymnastics, and athletics, will essentially be a mini-Olympics, along the line of the older Asian Games. It should be a wonderful event, with just one hitch—Azerbaijan is a deeply repressive crypto-dictatorship, ranked 126 in the world for corruption and 162 for press freedoms. Another report estimates that Azerbaijan is the fifth-worst country in the world when it comes to censorship.

As you’d expect, the buildup to the games, which will cost Azerbaijan over $1 billion (the full cost hasn’t been revealed, but the stadium alone is at least $600 million), has been marred by widespread repression. More than 40 people have been arrested for investigating corruption surrounding the games, while an activist who called for a boycott is now facing up to 12 years in prison on obviously faked charges. The day before the tournament started, critical media outlets like The Guardian and Radio France International were told they would not be allowed to enter Azerbaijan. As Amnesty International put it: “Azerbaijan wants to have these games in a criticism-free zone. It has already wiped out everybody who is critical of the government inside the country, and now it’s a closed-down state for international human rights groups as well.”

1The 2022 Qatar World Cup

The recent arrests and scandal surrounding FIFA, while no surprise to anyone familiar with the organization, have helped focus global attention on the growing scandal of the 2022 World Cup, which, for reasons that remain unclear, was awarded to the tiny and immensely wealthy nation of Qatar.

While this raised some obvious logistical problems (the tournament will likely have to be played during the winter to avoid blistering heat) the real issue surrounds the treatment of the migrant workers building the World Cup’s infrastructure. In 2013, Qatar had a population of two million, of which just 10 percent were actually citizens of Qatar. Most of the rest were migrant workers from the Indian subcontinent. Lured by the promise of higher wages, the unfortunate workers find themselves effectively bound to one employer, forbidden to change jobs or even leave the country without their boss’s permission. They also can’t unionize. It should already be clear why this system of indentured servitude might be open to abuse.

Not only are many workers forced to live in cramped, unsanitary conditions, but an investigation by The Guardian recently turned up a suspiciously high rate of death by “cardiac arrest” among Nepalese construction workers—likely the result of heatstroke caused by working long hours in the desert. Meanwhile, Qatar has actually detained human rights researchers investigating the situation. The additional publicity means some progress has been made, but there’s still a long way to go before conditions for Qatar’s migrant workers are anywhere near acceptable.

With a couple of recent exceptions, cosmic phenomena (often hyped up in the media) tend to be underwhelming. Which, to be fair, is probably a good thing. But history has recorded plenty of genuinely spectacular events in the centuries and millennia before modern astronomy.

10. The Julian Star

Caesar’s Comet, aka the Julian Star, appeared after Julius Caesar was stabbed to death in the Senate. It was visible after sunset for seven days during the Ludi Victoriae Caesaris (games held to honor the ruler). Naturally, it became an object of worship. From the Roman writer Pliny the Elder we also learn that Augustus, Caesar’s heir, the first Roman Emperor, saw the comet as a sign that his rule had begun. 

In fact, the comet’s appearance was pivotal for Augustus and by extension the world. As Caesar’s grand-nephew, his legitimacy to rule was debated—not least by Caesar’s general Mark Antony, who accused the boy of having sex with his grand-uncle to get his will. For Augustus, the comet was a gift from above. Taking advantage of Roman gullibility, he declared the “new star” the soul of Caesar on its way to join the gods—which, neatly, affirmed his own divine status in the process.

It was so spectacularly timely, in fact, that some wonder if Augustus made it up. They point to unusual discrepancies like the 26-year gap between its alleged appearance and depiction on coins. However, ancient Roman sources are corroborated by Chinese records. Also, comets were seen as bad omens by Romans. Augustus was cunning enough to spin it as auspicious, but it wouldn’t have been his own choice.

9. The Supernova of 1054

In 1054, a supernova bright enough to be visible in daylight was recorded by astronomers worldwide. Ancient Chinese called it a “guest star” and compared it to Venus, the “morning star”, since both were best seen before dawn. Unlike Venus, though, “it had pointed rays on all sides”. Meanwhile, in the Levant, the appearance of this exploding star was linked to an epidemic that killed 14,000 people in Constantinople before spreading southwards to Cairo.

The light hung around for 23 days before it finally fizzled out and dispersed, although it remained visible for 21 months at night. Today, we know it as the Crab Nebula—the brightest remnant of any supernova we can see. However, up until recently, we didn’t know exactly what caused it. We just knew it was unlike any other supernova on record. That is, it wasn’t an iron-core collapse (whereby the mass of a huge star flows into its core causing it to collapse and explode) nor a thermonuclear supernova (whereby a small white dwarf siphons so much mass from another that it explodes). It wasn’t until 2018 that a new type of supernova was discovered: electron capture. Previously only theoretical, it more closely resembled the supernova of 1054. Electron-capture supernovae occur in stars 8-10 times the mass of the Sun when internal pressures force electrons to merge with the nuclei of atoms. This causes the core to collapse and explode. 

We didn’t see the supernova of 2018 because it happened 30-40 million lightyears away in the galaxy NGC 2146, whereas the supernova of 1054 happened in our own galaxy, just 6,500 lightyears away.

8. The Total Solar Eclipse of 585 BC

The total solar eclipse of May 28, 585 BC was among the earliest predicted cosmic events. It was foreseen by the Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus, who studied patterns in earlier records.

But it’s remembered for another reason too. On the day of the eclipse, two kingdoms, the Medes and Lydians, were engaged in a brutal battle. But as the moon passed in front of the sun, blocking it out and turning day into night, the fighting suddenly stopped. Both armies interpreted the darkness as an omen—a sign of the gods’ displeasure. They didn’t just stop fighting; they came to a hastily brokered peace agreement that included the marriage of a Median prince to a Lydian princess.

Fittingly, the same eclipse that stopped the savagery on the field (albeit through superstition) ushered in the dawn of rational astronomy. Thales’ prediction showed celestial events follow the laws of nature and not the whim of the gods. It laid the groundwork for future inquiry and marked a shift from superstition to science.

7. Halley’s Comet (1066)

Easily the most culturally significant object of its kind, Halley’s Comet is a part of the human story. One of its most famous appearances was in 1066, shortly before the Battle of Hastings, which imposed on the English a Norman aristocracy that remains in power today—almost 1,000 years later. 

The comet was seen as an omen at the time. The Bayeux Tapestry, an 11th-century embroidery, is thought to have been the earliest depiction, showing not only the comet but also men looking up in fear. But not everyone was afraid. Whereas the English saw it as a sign of their doom, the Normans under William the Conqueror took it as a sign of God’s blessing. He wanted them to enslave the English and steal all their land. 

Halley’s Comet’s 1066 visit is a classic example of how celestial events have been perceived as harbingers of change. Its appearance not only influenced medieval beliefs and actions but also left a lasting legacy in art and history, symbolizing the intertwining of cosmic phenomena with human destiny.

6. The Great Fireball of 1783

On the night of August 18, 1783, a lone fireball set the skies of Britain ablaze. This bright, slow-moving meteor appeared to be roughly the size of the disk of the moon and was estimated to be half a mile across and traveling at 20 miles per second. It was only visible for a minute before it broke into pieces, leaving only its core continuing on its path.

This so-called Great Fireball, which sailed across the sky just 50 or 60 miles off the ground, inspired awe and curiosity worldwide. Astronomers like Charles Blagden gathered reports, hoping to identify its origin. At the time, however, meteors were seen not as rocks but as electrical phenomena in the upper atmosphere. Hence it didn’t seem to cross anyone’s mind that, given the size and speed of the object, the world had just narrowly avoided a catastrophic impact.

Nevertheless, the fireball’s appearance and subsequent studies marked a shift from this old view to one of meteors as extraterrestrial objects. 

5. The Great Comet of 1744

Also known as de Chéseaux’s Comet, the Great Comet of 1744 dazzled observers on November 29, 1743. Although initially quite dim it brightened as it got near the sun. By mid-January the following year, the comet had a tail seven degrees long (roughly four finger widths at arm’s length). By February 1, it rivaled Sirius in brightness, with a curved tail extending 15 degrees (which is roughly the distance between the tip of your index finger and pinky spread apart at arm’s length). Still, though, the comet continued to intensify. By February 18, it was as bright as Venus and had two tails. It peaked on February 27 at a brightness of -7 apparent magnitude. The full moon is -11 and Sirius is 1.5. It was visible even in daylight, despite being just 12 degrees from the sun.

The Great Comet reached its perihelion on March 1. But the show wasn’t over just yet. When it reappeared in the morning sky on March 6, it appeared to have six brilliant tails fanned out like a Japanese hand fan across 60 degrees of the sky (four times the distance between the tip of your index finger and pinky spread apart at arm’s length!). Interestingly, these six tails were really just the most visible parts of a single, enormous curved dust tail.

4. The Great September Comet of 1882

Often said to be the brightest comet on record, the Great September Comet of 1882 was first seen by Italian sailors. By the middle of the month, near the Sun, it was bright enough to see in broad daylight. It was only 264,000 miles from the Sun’s surface, which, although it sounds a lot, is actually just a tiny fraction of Mercury’s distance of 28.5 million miles. It’s also not far off the distance between the Earth and the Moon. Hence the Great September Comet’s classification as a Kreutz Sungrazer—a comet that passes close to the Sun. 

Spectacularly, this incredibly close approach illuminated the comet 1,000 times brighter than the full moon. Observers called it a “blazing star” or “super comet” and watched in awe as its nucleus broke up into fragments. It was visible in the sky for weeks and was witnessed around the world.

3. The Great Meteor Procession of 1913

The Great Meteor Procession of February 9, 1913, remains both rare and unexplained to this day. Unlike normal meteor showers, where meteors zip across the sky at blink-and-you’ll-miss-it speeds, this procession moved slowly with the meteors crawling across the sky in formation. Also, because of their nearly horizontal trajectory, they were visible for much longer than usual: up to a minute for individual meteors and several minutes for the whole procession. There was no radiant point from which they emerged, as with meteor showers.

Witnesses across North America, the North Atlantic, and even down to Brazil reported seeing the phenomenon. Some even reported rumbling sounds suggesting the meteors might have been close to Earth when they finally broke up and disappeared. Canadian astronomer Clarence Chant, who gathered more than 100 eyewitness reports, described the meteors as two bars of flaming material trailing sparks, followed by a bright, star-like ball of fire.

Theories about the procession’s cause vary. Some think the meteors may have been fragments of a temporary second moon—a small, short-lived, natural satellite of Earth. Despite extensive study, though, the Great Meteor Procession remains a mystery to science.

2. The 1833 Leonid Meteor Storm

Ever stayed up late for a meteor shower, only to be disappointed? The term—a favorite of the media—is misleading. Even “meteor drip” would overstate it. In most cases, you’ll be lucky to see 50 in an hour, which isn’t even one every minute. It’s nothing like what people imagine. That would be a meteor storm, which is worth staying up for.

On November 13, 1833, the skies of America were utterly transformed by as many as 20 meteors per second, or 72,000 meteors per hour. It was so intense that the region of the sky around Leo looked like an umbrella of falling lights. Of course, in those days, very few knew what it was and the phenomenon caused widespread panic. People described the lights as falling “thick as snow in a snowstorm”. Fearing the end of the world, many fell to their knees and prayed. Others ran into churches to manically ring the bells. The spectacle didn’t end until dawn, fading with the first light of day. 

Today, it’s remembered as the most stunning meteor storm on record. It was also the beginning of meteor astronomy. Before this, “shooting stars” were not considered worthy of study. Hence astronomers later identified the phenomenon as caused by the comet Tempel-Tuttle and predicted its return 33 years later. Right on cue, 1866 brought another spectacular Leonid meteor storm—this time over Europe.

1. The Carrington Event

The Carrington Event of September 1-2, 1859, remains the most powerful geomagnetic storm on record. It was caused by a coronal mass ejection, a cloud of superheated plasma flying out of the Sun toward Earth. Basically, the Sun shot a magnet at our planet. And when it collided with the Earth’s magnetic field, auroras usually only visible in the far north (like Iceland and Greenland) were seen as far south as the Caribbean. 

This geomagnetic storm also caused telegraph systems right around the world to malfunction, giving electric shocks to operators, sending sparks flying, setting paper alight, and even sending telegrams without a power source. The distortion of the Earth’s magnetic field by the charged solar particles was so great that it electrified the air around us. If an event of this magnitude happened today, in our hyperconnected world, the fallout would be catastrophic. And there’s no reason not to expect one. In fact, there was a near miss in 2012 that, had it hit, would have caused trillions of dollars in damage.

Most of us enjoy a good scary film, but there is something about those movies that claim to be “Based on True Events” that always creep us out just a bit more.

Here is a list of 10 films that are said to be based in reality, and the true events that inspired them.

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10 A Nightmare on Elm Street

In 1984 the film A Nightmare on Elm Street was released. The film, which features the iconic villain Freddy Krueger, who hunts the children of Elm Street and slaughters them in their dreams, is eerie enough on its own, but hearing there might be some truth to this urban legend was almost too much!

The real events, while creepy, are not as inspired as the claw handed killer the film depicts. Film creator, Wes Craven, said he conceived the idea for the script after reading an article in the L.A. Times, about a Hmong family who fled the Cambodian Killing Fields and migrated to America. The family’s youngest son began having vivid nightmares, often staying awake for days on end. He was afraid that if he slept the things in his dreams would kill him.

Eventually sleep overtook the boy and his fears came to fruition as he did in fact pass away.

Throughout the 70’s and 80’s there were a rash of unexplained deaths amongst the Asian community, all taking place while they slept. Add to that the memory of a childhood bully and what you have is a movie that cemented its place in American horror culture.

9 The Strangers

Secluded home, late night knock on the door. That is where the similarities between real-life and the 2008 film The Strangers, ends.

In the movie, a couple is tormented, hunted, and eventually (spoilers) murdered by a group of Doll faced killer. According to the trailer it was based on true events. This is a good example of how far imagination can take one with just the seed of an idea.

Bryan Bertino, the writerof the film, said he came up with the script based off a childhood memory. He said his family home sat out on a street far from his closest neighbor. One night, while his parents were out, someone knocked on their door. The uninvited guests inquired about someone but Bertino or his sister recognized the name and so the visitors left. It was later discovered that the couple was going house to house and when they found homes where no one answered they were breaking in. No one was killed, but the idea lingered for years and eventually morphed into the story on the big screen.

8 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

In 1974 Tobe Hooper deliver a film so shocking it left some questioning his sanity so imagine the shock when it was announced that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was inspired by real life!

The film, which depicts a family of cannibals who abduct and torture a group of young travelers, was a hit, partly due to the “true story” hype, but similarities to real life events were minor.

In the film, the character Leatherface, wears a mask of human flesh. Hooper claimed Leatherface, as well as a few other small details, were based on serial killer Ed Gein. Gein made lamp shades and other household items from skin and bones and also created a “Woman suit” that he wore to pretend to be his mother.

The rest of the story came from a rogue thought one holiday season as Hooper stood in a crowded Montgomery Ward. As his eye caught a display of chainsaws it crossed his mind that he could get through the crowd swiftly if he just cranked over one of the machines. The tale of Gein, along with that disturbing thought, merged.

Not surprisingly Ed Gein was the ispiration for other Hollywood characters including Norman Bates in Psycho, and Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs.

7 Return of the Living Dead

In 1968 the film Night of the Living Dead would forever change the way we saw zombies, creating a new genre that, years later, is still going strong. The genre has forked into various directions and it all started with 1985’s Return of the Living Dead.

Return of the Living Dead came from a disagreement between George Romero and John Russo on how to handle sequels to the Night of The Living Dead franchise. It gets confusing, but at the start of Return of the Living Dead, we see the words “Based on True Events”.

Wait? Are they saying zombies are real?

There are two stories why this message graces the screen. The first is more fun, although likely nothing more than urban legend. It says a chemical truck spilled in a graveyard and, as they were hauling away contaminated soil, they uncovered a grave where a body was found to be moving.

The real reason is more Hollywood than Halloween. In the film they refer to the events of Night of the Living Dead as real making that a legend and this the true story.

Misleading? Sure, but wouldn’t we much rather it be a hoax than an actual zombie apocalypse?

6 Poltergeist

In 1958, Seaford N.Y., the Hermann family made national news after reporting strange occurrences in their home. Odd noises, objects being moved and bottles suddenly popping their tops and spilling their contents.

At first the family suspected a prank by one of the kids, but after several more incidents, authorities were called in. They too believed it to be a hoax perpetrated by the family until they too began to witness bizarre activity.

Psychics were called and investigations performed. Theories were presented and quickly debunked. Something seemed to be happening inside the Hermann home and what it was no one knew.

Eventually the family moved but the story had found its way into popular culture. In 1982, the film Poltergeist hit theaters and, while the film plays out much different than actual events, the creators have claimed that the tale of “Popper the Poltergeist”, was the basis for the screenplay.

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5 When a Stranger Calls

We’ve all heard the story of the babysitter who keeps receiving phone calls from someone asking if she has checked on the children. As the campfire yarn goes, the call comes in so frequently that the girl, understandably concerned, calls the police. When the next call rings through they trace it only to discover “The call is coming from inside the house”! It is a truly terrifying twist, and the basis for the 1979 movie, When a Stranger Calls, but did you know there is some truth to this legend?

The first 20 minutes of the film are said to be some of the most thrilling in cinema history, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats. The movie was a success, spurring a sequel, When A Stranger Calls Back, as well as a remake in 2006. However, the real-life events were much more tragic.

One night in 1950, the Columbia Police Department received a disturbing call from 13-year-old Janett Christman. The call just a scream and the words, “come quick” and then the line went dead. With nothing to go on the police had no idea from where, or whom, the call had been made. At the time, Janett was babysitting 3-year-old Greg Romack. When Greg’s parents returned home, they found Janett’s body. She had been assaulted, beaten and strangled to death.

An investigation ensued and, while the killer was never found, it was deemed that whoever it had been knew the layout of the house and they suspected it had been an “inside job”.

4 Scream

The 1996 film Scream was not only influenced by a true to life serial killer, but also the aforementioned When A Stranger Calls.

The opening scene of Scream has a young girl at home alone when the phone rings and a voice on the other end begins asking her about scary movies. As it turns out the call is from a killer who is in the house.

The movie depicts a small town where local youth are stalked and tormented by a cell phone wielding killer in a mask in the likeness of The Scream by painter Edvard Munch. To say the film was “based on true events” may be a bit of a stretch, but reality did help play a part in its creation.

Written by Kevin Williamson, the idea began after hearing a news story regarding a man named Danny Rolling who murdered five college students. Then one night Williamson came home to find a window inexplicably open. That planted a seed and he penned an 18 page short story that would later form the foundation for the film.

It took years for Scream, originally titled Scary Movie, to reach fruition but, once it did, box office returns and numerous sequels proved that adding a little realism to your story goes a long way.

3 The Blob

First released in 1958 and then a remake in 1980, The Blob tells the tale of a meteor that crashes to earth and releases a gelatinous creature that absorbs any living thing it comes in contact with. As it absorbs it also grows until eventually it reaches gargantuan proportions and attacks the town.

Was there any truth behind it?

Philadelphia, 1950, two police officers report seeing something float down from the sky and land in a field. Upon investigation they discovered an odd, purplish substance with a similar consistency to soap that dissolved when touched. Half an hour later the space jelly had completely melted away.

The Air Force was called but, as there was nothing left to examine, nothing came of it. Still the idea was out there, and it worked was the foundation for the story written by Kay Linaker and Theodore Simonson.

The movie went on to earn over $4,000,000.00 from a $110,000.00 budget! Not bad for a creature inspired by space slime.

2 Annabelle

This one starts in 1970 after a nursing student received an antique Raggedy Ann doll as a birthday gift from her mother. Almost immediately she, and her roommate, noticed odd things happening in their apartment. They would find the doll in different positions than what they left it, and odd, cryptic notes began to appear with messages like “Help me”.

A psychic was called, and informed them that the doll was possessed by a young girl named Annabelle. The roommates tried to let the spirit reside with them; however, as time went by things began to take a dark turn. Scratches began to appear on them, reports of blood oozing from the doll, and one even claimed they were attacked.

That is when Ed and Lorraine Warren were called in. They examined the doll and determined that the spirit was actually demonic in nature. They cleansed the apartment and took the doll back to their occult museum where it remains locked up to this day.

Parts of the actual story of Annabelle made their way into the 2013 film The Conjuring, although the style of doll was changed. This portion of the film became so popular that eventually it spurred a spin off film, Annabelle, in 2014, an two sequels, Annabelle Creation, 2017 and Annabelle Comes Home, 2019. Aside from the inclusion of the doll and the name Annabelle, the films have relatively little in common with the original story; still, they make for a creepy good time at the movies!

1 JAWS

Considered one of the scariest films of all times, JAWS, is the one that made everyone afraid to get in the water. Released in 1975, the movie is actually adapted from the novel written by Peter Benchley.

JAWS tells the tale of a 25 Foot Great White shark that goes on a man-eating spree in the tourist town of Amity over a fourth of July weekend. After a number of attacks three men, Sheriff Martin Brady, Oceanographer Matt Hooper and self-proclaimed shark hunter Quint, are sent out to dispatch the beast

Most people speculated the novel was based off a string of shark attacks that took place in New Jersey in 1916 but Benchley has refuted this assumption. The attacks were briefly mentioned in the book, but Benchley himself has stated he was fascinated with the idea of a killer shark after reading the story of a 4,500 pound Great White that had been harpooned by fisherman Frank Mundus off the coast of Long Island in 1964. Benchley said Mundus became the inspiration for the character Quint and the rest just fell into place.

No matter where the idea came from, JAWS is a movie that holds a special place in the hearts horror fans. It has spun off several sequels and is still a staple at local drive ins over 45 years later.

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About The Author: Jason has been an avid writer since the age of twelve. He was first published after winning the Young Authors award with Breakaway Magazine at the age of 16 and has since gone on to write numerous articles, short stories, and his first novel, LYRIC.

Normal history is already barbaric enough. Behind the wars, disease, and murders that everyone knows, are tales that find a way to be even more awful. Some of these terror-inspiring stories can only be compared to those in Halloween movies. But unlike horror movie monsters that can be defeated by saying “it’s just a movie,” the savage tales on this list are very real.

SEE ALSO: 10 Beloved Stories Based On Horrible True Events

10 The Astronaut’s Mysterious Visitor

In 2003, Yang Liwei was floating in his capsule. He had just made history as China’s first man in space. He was alone in a void. Then came a knock.

In space, nobody can hear you scream. But apparently you can hear tapping. Back on Earth, Liwei described the event to reporters. The sound reminded him of “someone knocking the body of the spaceship just as knocking an iron bucket with a wooden hammer.” He could not place the source of the sound. He said, “it neither came from outside nor inside the spaceship.” He set out to explore the shuttle for any hints. Starring out his porthole, he saw nothing noticeable on the side. There was nothing faulty inside either. No one could explain the eerie knock.

Scientist have had little success uncovering the sound’s mysterious origins when it came back. Theories about friendly aliens greeting Liwei to the neighborhood were quickly ruled out. Returning to Earth, Liwei inspected the capsule again. He and his coworkers were still stymied. The crew attempted to recreate the sound. Nothing came close. Because sound needs a medium, the most likely reason was an object physically hitting the spacecraft. No marks indicated outside contact. The most accepted theory is the metallic surface of the exterior contracted while exposed to the cold vacuum of space. Other astronauts have reported similar sounds in 2005 and 2008, lending credence that it has to do with the temperature. The truth is out there, but it’s probably just thermal change.^[1]

9 The British Zombie Invasion

A virus breaks out. The shambling remains of the victims wander the city. The government tries to suppress them, but they escape. Armed locals have to take matters in to their own hands and execute them. This is the story of many zombie movies from REC to Resident Evil. For Black Plague victims in England, it was a reality.

As a burgeoning metropolitan center, London had reason to be particularly cautious about the spread of the disease. The ill were imprisoned in their own houses. To prevent visitors, the doors were padlocked. Any house holding the infected was marked with a red cross on the door to warn others to stay away. Armed guards were stationed to stop anyone from trying to help.

With minimal food and medicine, conditions broke down inside the house. Like George Romero’s Land of the Dead, the infected fought back. Families murdered the guards to escape. One common practice was to sneak a noose through a window and lower it until it hanged around the guard’s neck. With a quick jerk, the guard was hoisted up until he promised to let them go. Blankets were placed on top of murdered guards to trick plague carts in to dragging them off along with the dead. When whole streets were quarantined, neighbors rioted and massacred all the guards, with one crazed victim going so far as to manufacture homemade explosives.

Freedom was not worth all the bloodshed. The plague refugees wandered with no resources. As they fled London, many of the smaller villages barred entry. Locals threw stones and manure at the infirm. Some let the sick in, only to rob them.^[2]

8 Waterloo Soldiers Were Ground Up To Fertilizer

Between Napoleon Bonaparte and ABBA, Waterloo is synonymous with historical calamities. 60,000 soldiers died on that Belgian field. What those soldiers never would have guessed is that they would become a crucial part of English gardening.

A year after Waterloo, the fields were cleared. Companies collected all of the exposed soldier and horse bones. To maximize the space, they converted the bones into a powder. This practice was common on many of Napoleon’s other battlegrounds like Leipzig and Austerlitz.

Newspapers at the time report that in total they hauled, “more than a million bushels of human and inhuman bones.” The fallen French army were ground up in Yorkshire factories, marking their second defeat to the English. Putting the man in “manure”, the remains were mixed together as an additive in fertilizers. The oil from the marrow proved to be especially helpful, rivaling “almost any other substance.” With a positive spin on this wide-scale grave robbing, contemporary newspapers said “a dead soldier is a most valuable article of commerce.”

Sent in mass to Doncaster, the compound helped grow the plants in England’s agriculture center. Local farmers could buy it to help grow their own crops. A generation of Europeans ate food made with the help of dead bodies. Hannibal Lecter would have been proud . . . and satiated.^[3]

7 Venerable Pope Pius XII’s Climatic Death

Venerable Pope Pius XII had one simple request. He did not want to be embalmed. He wanted his body to be interred as God had made it. Presumably, His Holiness did not want to explode either.

By his death in 1958, Pope Pius XII’s tenure had proven to be particularly controversial outside Catholic circles. Serving as the Pontiff in the buildup to and aftermath of World War II, historians have debated the merits of the Pope’s leadership. But those debates aside, the pontiff’s history suffered a final and disturbing blow. Papal Court doctor Galeazzi-Lisi got his position purely through nepotism. Friends with Pius XII (whilst still Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli) before he ascended to the papacy, Galeazzi-Lisi was woefully unqualified to be appointed as the Pope’s personal physician.

A quack with minimal medical training, Galeazzi-Lisi developed his own system of embalming. Evoking the oil rituals of early Christian leaders, Galeazzi-Lisi’s process of “aromatic osmosis” soaked the body in natural oils. For 24 hours, the body laid, wrapped in cellophane. There is a reason scientists abandoned this practice as it allows internal gases in the organs to build as the body decays. Stewing in the Mediterranean heat, the corpse burst open while being carried in procession.

After the corpse exploded, Galeazzi-Lisi was forced to re-embalm Pius overnight. It was too late. Pius XII’s nose and fingers had already flown off. Decomposition discolored the body. Displayed in St. Peter’s Basilica, mourners grieved over an “emerald green” corpse. Nearby guards fainted from the odor. Pius XII’s and Galeazzi-Lisi’s career were laid to rest the same day. Through ineptitude, he earned himself a place in history. He is the only person to have ever been banished from Vatican City.^[4]

6 George Washington Comes Back From The Dead

Before Dr. Victor Frankenstein, there was Dr. William Thornton. Frankenstein scrounged through the graves of recently executed criminals to create his unnatural monster. Thornton settled for more refined clientele, the Founding Father of the United States of America.

Martha Washington promised her husband George, that he would live to see the year 1800. George Washington died on Saturday night, December 14, 1799. Apparently unwilling to dishonor her promise, Martha contacted Dr. William Thornton.

George Washington was terrified of being buried alive. Terrible tales of coffins with scratch marks inside horrified him. With his secretary, Tobias Lear, Washington arranged to “not let his body be put into the Vault in less than three days” after confirming his death. During that window, his grieving family would sit around and wait to see if he moved. Thornton had another idea.

William Thornton was one of the most prestigious physicians of his time. Educated at Europe’s best schools, Thornton swore that he could cure everything wrong with Washington. Washington died before he arrived. That was no obstacle for Thornton. The plan was simple. Like a Thanksgiving turkey, Thornton would lower Washington’s body in cold water. To thaw him out, Thornton would swaddle the president in layers of blankets,. As Washington’s body temperature steadily increases, Thornton would pump air in his lungs to stimulate breath. To restart his heart, Thornton would inject the President with sheep’s blood. Eventually, the Washington would come back to life like nothing had ever happened. Surprisingly, the proposal was rejected. Grudgingly, Thornton believed for 20 years his experiment could have saved the President’s life. Science suggests otherwise.^[5]

5 Ivan Pavlov experimented on homeless orphans too

The mad Russian scientist’s mind control experiments on helpless victims is as classic a horror trope as they come. Those mad scientists do not usually get the Nobel Prize though. Ivan Pavlov is the exception that proves the rule.

Though Pavlov is most famous for conditioning dogs, that is not where his experiments were destined to end. A pupil of Pavlov, Nikolai Krasnogorsky, extended his experiments to humans. Acquiring subjects from the local orphanage, he had a group of young children he could easily manipulate without the burden of getting any clearance from their parents.

Repeating the set-up from his mentor’s famous dog experiments would have been impossible. Human beings are less willing than dogs to eat on cue. Bound with leather straps and metal head gear, the children’s mouths were locked open. Devices hooked inside the mouth measured their pooled saliva. An electronic pad hit their wrist whenever food was about to be distributed. The kids were force-fed both cookies and foul food. Their reactions to the different samples were recorded.

Though highly unethical, the research furthered the scientific understanding of conditioning on humans. Unlike Pavlov’s dogs, humans were less susceptible to slight changes in the stimuli. Through their suffering Kransngorsky’s children laid the groundwork for the modern theory of cognitive behavioral therapy.^[6]

4 Minik Wallace’s Museum of Horrors

Robert Peary is best known today for his excursions to the North Pole in 1909. By that time, Peary and his crew had already spent years researching the Arctic. In September 1897, he sailed to New York accompanied, likely unwillingly, by six Eskimos from Greenland. The American Museum of Natural History was scheduled to perform physicals on them. Among the six were Minik, a 7-year-old boy, and his father, Qisuk.

Living as an attraction, visitors gawked at Minik and Qisuk in the Arctic exhibit. Unaccustomed to the germs in New York, four, including Qisuk, promptly died. Another left for the Arctic shortly after. Hundreds of miles from home, Minik Wallace was left alone. The museum threw Qisuk a funeral. Minik watched as his father was put to rest in the museum’s garden. In reality, the museum just buried a log wrapped with fur. Qisuk’s real body, along with the three other Eskimos, were dissected and bleached at Bellevue Hospital. Just a few feet away from Minik’s own exhibit, his father’s corpse was put on display.

This was Peary’s common practice. He robbed Eskimo graves for their bones and property. The Museum would buy it. For years, Minik campaigned for the return of his father’s body. His requests were refused until Minik finally got Peary to listen by threatening to reveal that Peary had fathered two Eskimo children. Peary let Minik return to the Arctic.

Minik’s return was bitter sweet. He relearned his native language and married a fellow Eskimo. However, as the only country he ever truly knew, he longed for the United States and returned. In 1916, working as a lumberjack in Pittsburg, N.H. Minik died in the Spanish Flu epidemic. He was 28.^[7]

3 John Scott Harrison’s Cadaver Chop Shop

John Scott Harrison has the rare distinction of being the only person to be the son of a past United States president (William Henry Harrison) and the father of a future president (Benjamin Harrison). He also has the rare distinction of being a victim of a Leatherface-like dissection chamber.

As a onetime Ohio congressman, John Scott Harrison’s own tenure in politics was very successful, which explains why so many people attended his funeral on May 25, 1878. During the ceremony, mourners noticed that somebody had robbed the nearby grave of Augustus Devin. Worried that John Harrison might have the same fate, his sons placed three large stones bound with cement on the casket. It took 16 men to lift the stones. As a further precaution, a guard was hired to stand watch for a month.

Curious as to the fate of Mr Devin and suspicious of the nearby medical school’s need for corpses to study, a search warrant was obtained for the Medical College of Ohio. Their search uncovered multiple macabre finds including a box of mangled body parts and the splayed corpse of a six month old baby. But more revolting still was a masked naked corpse hanging from a rope. They removed the mask revealing the face of John Scott Harrison. His body had been robbed less than 24 hours after his burial . . . despite all of the precautions.

But what of Augustus Devin? He was later discovered pickling in a barrel at the University of Michigan.^[8]

2 The Serial Killer in the London Blitz

The London Blitz was a time when England boldly stood against the steady march of Nazism. Daily life in bomb-rattled London was a constant struggle. Gordon Frederick Cummins only made it worse.

In the cover of compulsory darkness, Gordon Frederick Cummins terrorized London in a six-day spree of murder and assault. A total of seven women were attacked. Four of them died. Cummins, who had enlisted in the Royal Air Force, was stationed at the Aircraft Reception Centre in northern London. Mainly attacking prostitutes, the city became his hunting ground for a week.

His first victim Evelyn Hamilton was sexually assaulted, robbed, strangled, and discarded in a gutter. Barely twenty-four hours later, Evelyn Oately’s slashed body was discovered. Next to her disfigured corpse was a can opener used in the attack. A fingerprint on the can opener’s handle was recovered. The next day, Margaret Florence Lowe’s body was found with her organs ripped out of her abdomen. And then, for the fourth day in a row, police found another dead prostitute, Doris Jouannet.

To become a horror cliché, Cummins waited a day to attack on Friday the 13th. Unlike Jason Voorhees, Cummins did not kill anyone that night. 32-year-old Mary Haywood was saved when a night porter shone his flashlight on Cummins in the middle of an attack. During the scuffle, Cummins left his service respirator behind as he fled. The police traced the serial number back to Cummins. Matching Cummins’ prints to the one on the can opener, Cummins was sentenced to death. The newly dubbed “Blackout Ripper” was executed on the 25th of June, 1942.^[9]

1 The Lincoln Assassination’s Forgotten Victim

The Lincoln assassination was one of the saddest events in United States history. High-ranking members of the American government including Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward were targeted that night by Booth’s co-conspirators. One unintended victim intended was not: Clara Harris. A tangential involvement with the Lincoln assassination led to her death too.

Clara Harris was not even supposed to be at Ford’s Theatre that April night in 1865. She and her then beau major Henry Rathbone attended at First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln’s request. Following the recent victory of the Civil War, the theatre-goers were in a celebratory mood. But, as history well knows, the celebration was cut short when John Wilkes Booth barged into the president’s box and shot him in the head. Trying to apprehend the assassin, Rathbone grabbed Boothe’s arm but Booth stabbed him. With the bloody dagger still in hand, Booth escaped.

Years later, Clara Harris and Henry Rathbone married. Unable to part with her blood-stained dress, Clara had preserved it behind a walled off closet. She believed it might summon Lincoln’s ghost. Spirits talked to Rathbone too. Guilt driven for not stopping the tragedy, Rathbone heard voices in the walls. They blamed him for Lincoln’s death and ordered him to avenge the fallen president. With a murder straight out of The Shining, Rathbone recreated the assassination on Christmas Eve in 1883. He shot Clara and stabbed himself with a knife. Clara died. He then attempted to attack his children before groundskeepers could pull him off. Henry spent the rest of his life in an asylum.^[10]

Disney attracts hundreds of millions of guests to their world-famous resorts each year, and they rarely close the doors to one of their parks. They are one of the few places around the world that is open 365 days per year to guests, but there have been a handful of events that have sucked the magic right out of the parks. Here are ten rare instances where Disney was forced to close their doors.

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10 September 11th, Disneyland & Disney World, 2001

Every American will always remember the terrible attacks to their nation on September 11, 2001. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives that day, and 25,000 more were injured. A sudden urge of panic swept across the U.S. after the attacks, and nobody could plan for what might happen next. Disney made the quick decision to close their parks in Florida and California in concern that the resorts were on the terrorists’ target list.

Disney employees said they were told about what happened and that the park would be closing. An announcement was made over the public address system at the parks saying, “Due to circumstances beyond our control, the park is now closed.” The restaurants, snack bars, attractions, and shops shut down forcing the guests into the streets. The employees were then guided to lead the guests towards the nearest exits, and they were advised to not tell guests the reasoning unless they asked. The parks opened as normal the next morning.^[1]

9 Hurricane Frances, Disney World, 2004

Less than a month after Hurricane Charley hit Florida, Hurricane Frances caused more destruction for the state. Frances caused damage to Florida’s citrus crop, closed several schools, airports, and businesses, and cancelled college football games. Frances ultimately caused 50 deaths and more than $10 billion in damages.

Disney World resorts in Orlando were forced to close their doors Saturday and Sunday and open back Monday with a limited schedule. Closing for an entire weekend is costly for a place like Disney, and Frances even occurred during Labor Day weekend. This would normally be one of their busiest weekends of the year, but instead the resort missed out on valuable tourism dollars. Disney World fully opened back on Tuesday and only saw minimal damage.^[2]

8 Yippies Protest, Disneyland, 1970

The Youth International Party was a radical counter-culture free speech and anti-war group, which were better known as the Yippies for short. In 1970, the group planned a takeover of Disneyland and handed out leaflets for the event. The Anaheim police prepared for the group by undergoing riot training, and every city in the county sent police to help inside the park that day. Disneyland employees were given certain tasks for the day, and managers periodically walked around telling groups of Yippies to be respectful of other guests in the park.

The day was mostly calm besides a couple of incidents, and Disneyland employees began to relax after realizing they may have overestimated the threat to the park. Around 5 p.m., a couple of groups of Yippies headed towards Tom Sawyer’s Island where they invaded Fort Wilderness. After causing trouble in the park, Disneyland announced to their guests that the park would be closing. The police then began pushing the loud group down main street towards the exit. Heated words were exchanged, an American flag was pulled down, and several Yippies were arrested. Disney experienced some minor property damage, but the outcome was not as crazy as they expected.^[3]

7 Hurricane Matthew, Disney World, 2016

In 2016, Walt Disney World closed it’s four major theme parks, Epcot, the Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom due to Hurricane Matthew battering the Atlantic Coast. Disney also closed Disney Springs, the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, miniature golf courses, and their two water parks, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. They all closed Thursday night and did not reopen until Saturday morning.

It is a rare occurrence that Disney closes a park, but Hurricane Matthew had already devastated Haiti and other areas before making landfall in Florida with winds of more than 100 mph. Matthew ripped through the Caribbean killing hundreds of people, mostly in Haiti. Florida saw 12 deaths from the strong hurricane and more than $2 billion in damages.^[4]

6 Hurricane Charley, Disney World, 2004

The arrival of Hurricane Charley on Florida’s coast caused several area theme parks to close their doors early for the day, including Walt Disney World. Disney’s Animal Kingdom never even opened for the day. This marked only the third time that Disney World had closed the park to the public, and they quickly reopened their doors the next day.

Hurricane Charley was the first of four separate hurricanes to strike Florida in 2004. It was the strongest hurricane to hit the United states since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Florida was heavily impacted by the hurricane with nine direct fatalities, 20 indirect fatalities, and several injuries.

Property damage in Florida from Hurricane Charley exceeded $5 billion. Disney World saw minor damage from the hurricane, and crews worked through the night in order to have the park ready for guests to enjoy a magical vacations with their friends and family.^[5]

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5 Earthquake, Tokyo Disney, 2011

In March of 2011, a devastating 8.9-magnitude earthquake rocked Japan causing damage to the Northern part of the country. When the earthquake first happened, guests of Tokyo Disney and Tokyo DisneySea were told to shelter in place at the park. All guests were evacuated from buildings and were given shelter in the park’s restaurants.

Tokyo Disney ended up closing for five weeks due to a power shortage that was caused by issues at Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant. The first day that the theme park opened back up, 10,000 guests were lined up early to be the first in the park. They still closed early at 6 p.m. to conserve power, and DisneySea still remained closed for a short time.^[6]

4 Terrorist Attacks, Disneyland Paris, 2015

Terrorists attacks across Paris took the lives of more than 130 people on November 13, 2015. Suicide bombers struck outside of a football match, several mass shootings took place at restaurants, and shooters carried out an attack at a concert. Ultimately more than 400 people were injured from the terrorist attacks.

Disneyland Paris closed following the attacks. They initially closed due to security concerns and to show some solidarity. Two parks at Disneyland Paris, Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park, remained closed from November 14th to November 17th as part of a national three-day mourning period. The theme parks reopened on November 18th with normal business hours.^[7]

3 Pres. John F. Kennedy Assassination, Disneyland, 1963

America lost its 35th President on November 22, 1963. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas while riding in a presidential motorcade with his wife Jackie Kennedy, Texas Governor John Connally, and Nellie Connally. Kennedy was shot that day by Lee Harvey Oswald from a nearby building. Disneyland in California closed the park the following day in observance of national mourning. Kennedy is known to have visited Disneyland one time as a Senator in 1959.^[8]

2 Hurricane Irma, Disney World, 2017

Hurricane Irma made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane and passed just West of Orlando. Florida saw more than 80 deaths related to the hurricane and billions of dollars in damages. Disney World didn’t take a major hit from the hurricane, but the parks did close for a couple of days.

The park didn’t lose power, but high wind and rain hit the park causing several trees to fall. Some buildings at the resort also reported leaks following the storm, and several transformers exploded near Disney’s Contemporary Resort. The parking areas at Disney World served as a staging area for utility crews working to restore power to the area. All four parks at Disney World and Disney Springs reopened to the public the following Tuesday.^[9]

1 COVID-19, All Parks, 2020

The world was surprised by the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, that has now turned into a pandemic. As of June 2020, more than 7 million people have contracted the virus and more than 400,000 people have died worldwide as the numbers continue to rise. Several countries enforced some type of stay-at-home laws causing most of the world to quarantine at home.

Disney was forced to shut the doors to their parks all around the world. Tokyo Disneyland closed at the end of February, Disney World and Disneyland Paris closed on March 15, and Disneyland closed on March 16. Shanghai Disney Resort and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort closed earlier in the year, but Shanghai Disney has partially reopened and is opening different areas of the park in phases. The other Disney parks are working on plans to reopen the resorts in phases with limited guests and workers.^[10]

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