Spiritualism, the belief that the living can commune with the dead, turned into a lucrative hustle for many charlatans. The top 10 fake spiritualists on this list proved that anyone with a little showmanship could cash in, whether on a traveling stage or in a modest parlor. Below we walk you through each notorious fraud, complete with the dramatic moments when their deceptions finally fell apart.

Unmasking the Illusions: The Top 10 Fake Spiritualists

10 An American In Paris

How could a woman in the late 1800s afford a round‑the‑world adventure? She did it by masquerading as a spiritualist, convincing crowds that she could summon the dead. Mrs. Mary Williams, a wildly popular American medium, decided in 1894 to take her act to Europe, penciling stops in Berlin, The Hague and St. Petersburg, with Paris as her opening night.

French authorities, suspecting a swindle, set a trap. During her inaugural Paris séance, a participant seized what was thought to be the summoned spirit—only to discover a doll. The crowd’s candles were lit, the illusion shattered, and the truth exposed.

Williams was also found wearing men’s clothing to pull off the stunt of impersonating a Swedish spirit. She attempted to flee, was forced to refund every patron, and warned that any repeat would land her in jail. She escaped to England, never to return to the French stage.

9 Naughty Parrot

Many spiritualists employed hidden helpers to produce eerie sounds, but a Spanish medium took the gimmick to a new level with a trained parrot. In Osuna, the medium spent countless hours teaching the bird a repertoire of phrases, using it as the voice of a long‑dead nun during séances.

When the parrot was cued, it would speak from behind heavy drapes, adding a feathered layer of authenticity to the proceedings. The bird’s uncanny timing convinced many that a genuine spirit was communicating.

During a 1913 session, the parrot had enough and fluttered out onto the séance table, causing chaos. The startled audience turned on the medium, leaving her severely injured and her feathered accomplice the unlikely star of the scandal.

8 Spirits Reading The Mail

We all know the classic trick: a sealed note, a mysterious whisper, and a “spirit” that reads the hidden message. Dr. Walter E. Reid ran a very similar con in Grand Rapids, Michigan, starting in 1890. He advertised that anyone could write a question, seal it in an envelope, and send it to him with a dollar for a spirit’s answer.

Clients could add extra security by sealing the envelope with wax or stitching it shut, paying a few extra dollars for the added “protection.” Reid promised that even the most tightly sealed letters would be opened by a spirit and answered faithfully.

Unfortunately for Reid, who also headed the Michigan Spiritualists’ Association, the postmaster grew suspicious. He was charged with mail fraud, and the scam collapsed under the weight of legal scrutiny.

7 The Flower Medium Of Berlin

Frau Rothe’s séances were famous for the sudden appearance of fresh flowers and fruit, which she claimed were gifts from the other side. The novelty made her a sensation in Berlin, drawing crowds eager to witness the botanical miracles.

In 1903, however, the truth blossomed: police infiltrated her circle with a female detective and later a male officer. During a session, they caught Rothe in the act, seizing her while she pretended to be in a trance.

A search of her garments revealed bouquets and fruit hidden in her petticoats. Rothe argued that the spirits had placed them there, but investigators traced the items to a local florist. After a six‑day trial, she was sentenced to 18 months for fraud.

6 A Medium Of Many Clothes

Mrs. Elsie Reynolds staged her séances at the Grand Pacific Hotel in California. Anticipating a potential expose in 1906, she hired a guard to watch over the cabinet where she claimed spirits would manifest.

When Selma Savoy arrived, seeking contact with her deceased sister, Reynolds slipped into a spirit guise. Savoy, however, lunged forward and grabbed the “sister.” A frantic struggle erupted, with Reynolds and her guard fleeing into an adjoining room where police were waiting.

The officers discovered that Reynolds concealed numerous white, filmy costumes beneath her dress, each representing a different spirit. The charade was exposed, and she faced legal action for fraud, with police gathering complaints for court proceedings.

5 Wardrobe Problem

London’s 1920 spiritualist scene was bustling, and Mr. Chambers capitalized on the craze with a series of séances. Unbeknownst to his audience, he relied on a clever costume trick: a muslin shroud and boots hidden beneath a fake “spirit” form.

During an earlier session, an observant gentleman felt the muslin fabric and noted the booted feet, yet he kept quiet, waiting for a better moment. In the final séance, a sitter switched on a flashlight, illuminating the entire ruse.

Everyone saw Chambers stripped of his coat and waistcoat, his boots removed, trousers rolled up, and a white cloth hanging from his waist. The illusion collapsed, and he was forced to sign a public confession of guilt, which appeared in newspapers across the city.

4 Grabbed In The Spirit Form

F.W. Courtney billed himself as a “full‑form materializer,” claiming he could summon entire spirits to appear onstage. Originally from California, he set up shop in Detroit, conducting nightly séances for about a month.

In 1893, during a session where he purported to bring forth a deceased wife, participant William Cox decided to take matters into his own hands. He leapt from his chair and seized the “spirit,” only to discover Courtney himself. Pandemonium broke out as lights were switched on, revealing Courtney in his underpants, scrambling to escape.

Desperate, Courtney shouted a name, prompting a woman to rush in with a revolver, which she soon dropped. Courtney negotiated a quick exit: he would pack up and leave Detroit, returning all the money, on the condition that the police be kept out of the affair. He obeyed, fleeing with his costumes, wigs, and makeup, while other spiritualists threatened him for ever returning.

3 Kissing Spirits

To outshine rivals, some mediums invented bizarre gimmicks. One Detroit performer in 1885 used a long‑handled paddle wrapped in flannel, delivering gentle kisses to sitters’ cheeks while the lights were out, claiming the contact came from a spirit.

When the lights flickered back, a skeptical man grabbed the paddle, exposing the ruse. A struggle ensued, but the medium quickly slipped his hands back into the loops on his chair, escaping detection.

The audience erupted. A nearby policeman arrested the charlatan on fraud charges. Only one woman in the crowd defended the act, saying, “I know enough about kissing to know the difference between a bathing swab and a genuine salute. I was kissed.” Her comment was drowned out by laughter.

2 Spirit Land Photographs

S.W. Fallis of Chicago claimed he could produce photographs that showed the departed as they appeared in “spirit land.” He marketed these images as priceless windows into the afterlife, charging clients handsomely for each portrait.

In 1905, Mrs. Louisa Reed commissioned Fallis to see what her deceased child looked like in the other world. He delivered a beautiful picture of a five‑year‑old child, which she promptly took to another photographer for enlargement.

The second photographer recognized the image as a duplicate, revealing that Fallis had been re‑using the same photograph for multiple clients. The deception was exposed, and his reputation crumbled.

1 Never Shake Hands With The Living

In 1877 Portland, Maine, a medium insisted on a strict rule: no physical contact with the living. She set up a screen in a corner of the room, claiming spirits would emerge from behind it to interact with the audience.

To reassure skeptics, she invited the sitters to pin her skirts to the floor before the lights were dimmed. Once darkness fell, the séance began, and the supposed spirits moved about.

One bold participant asked the spirit to shake his hand. The “spirit” obliged, and the man grasped a hand—only to discover it was the medium herself, who had slipped out of her pinned skirts. The lights snapped back, exposing the fraud for all to see.

10 fake artworks have slipped into the world’s most respected museums, baffling curators and scholars alike. Art forgery is a genuine menace that institutions must constantly wrestle with, and every so often a bogus artifact ends up on display for years before the truth emerges. For the crafty forgers, the lure of sky‑high price tags is often enough motivation to keep churning out convincing fakes.

10 Fake Artworks Unveiled

10 The Three Etruscan Warriors

Back in 1933, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York welcomed three newly acquired sculptures that were said to represent ancient Etruscan warriors. The pieces were supplied by art dealer Pietro Stettiner, who swore they dated to the fifth century BC.

Italian archaeologists were the first to voice doubts, suggesting the statues might be modern fabrications. Yet the museum’s curators dismissed the warnings, confident they had secured a bargain and reluctant to lose the works to a rival institution.

Further scholarly scrutiny revealed oddities: the statues displayed atypical proportions and shapes not consistent with known Etruscan art of that era. Their bodily parts were unevenly scaled, and the collection showed an unexpected lack of wear.

The deception was finally exposed in 1960 when archaeologist Joseph V. Noble recreated experimental statues using authentic Etruscan techniques and demonstrated that the Met’s pieces could not have been produced in antiquity.

Investigations uncovered that Stettiner was part of an organized forgery ring. The conspirators duplicated the sculptures from existing museum collections, even borrowing images from the Berlin Museum’s catalog for one warrior and a drawing on an authentic Etruscan vase for another.

The forgers also struggled with studio constraints, leading to mismatched body parts and even a missing arm on one figure because they could not decide on a suitable pose.

9 The Persian Mummy

In the year 2000, a diplomatic tug‑of‑war threatened to erupt among Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan over a mummy and its ornate coffin said to belong to a 2,600‑year‑old princess. The remains were uncovered after Pakistani police raided a residence in Kharan, acting on a tip that its owner was attempting to peddle illegal antiquities.

The proprietor, Sardar Wali Reeki, claimed to have stumbled upon the mummy following an earthquake and tried to sell the whole assemblage to an unnamed buyer for £35 million. Iran immediately laid claim, arguing the find lay within its cultural sphere, while the ruling Taliban of Afghanistan also entered the fray.

After being placed on display in Pakistan’s National Museum, scholars noted that parts of the coffin were unmistakably modern. Moreover, none of the regional peoples—Iranians, Pakistanis, or Afghans—had a tradition of mummifying their dead. Subsequent forensic analysis identified the skeleton as that of a 21‑year‑old woman, likely a murder victim, and the remains were transferred to a morgue. Reeki and his family were arrested, ending the scandal.

8 Dead Sea Scroll Fragments

The Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of ancient Jewish manuscripts dating back roughly two millennia, are primarily housed at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, with some pieces residing in private hands. Among the most high‑profile holders was the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., which displayed five fragments purported to be genuine scroll pieces.

In 2018, the museum’s confidence shattered when the fragments were declared forgeries. The revelation came after the museum sent the items to a German laboratory for scientific testing, following earlier expert suspicions.

The controversy erupted months before the museum’s grand opening in November 2017. While speculation swirled that the institution had spent millions acquiring the bogus fragments, the museum has remained tight‑lipped about the exact financial details.

7 Several Artworks At The Brooklyn Museum

In 1932, the Brooklyn Museum inherited a massive bequest of 926 works from the estate of Colonel Michael Friedsam, who had passed away the previous year. The collection spanned paintings, jewelry, woodwork, and pottery from ancient Rome, China’s Qing dynasty, and the European Renaissance.

The donation came with a stipulation: the museum could not sell or de‑accession any piece without permission from the Friedsam estate. Decades later, the museum faced a startling discovery—229 of those works were counterfeit.

Because the last surviving Friedsam descendant died half a century ago, the museum was legally barred from disposing of the forgeries. Additionally, the Association of American Museums enforces strict guidelines on how member institutions may handle, store, or discard artworks.

In 2010, the Brooklyn Museum petitioned a court for permission to de‑accession the fraudulent pieces. The petition revealed that if denied, the museum would need to spend $403,000 to set up a warehouse for storage, plus $286,000 annually for rent and staff to care for the fakes.

6 The Henlein Pocket Watch

Peter Henlein, a German locksmith and inventor who lived from 1485 to 1542, is celebrated as the creator of the modern watch, having replaced bulky clock weights with a compact mainspring. Although Henlein’s name is widely known, many are unaware that a supposed early example of his work resides in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum.

The tiny tin‑shaped pocket watch, which fits comfortably in the palm of a hand, entered the museum’s collection in 1897. However, controversy erupted shortly thereafter as historians began to challenge its authenticity, despite an interior signature proclaiming a 1510 creation date by Henlein himself.

A 1930 investigation noted that the signature was superimposed over, rather than beneath, the scratch marks inside the back cover. More recent scientific testing indicated that most components of the watch were manufactured in the 19th century, suggesting a later forgery. Some scholars argue the parts may have been added during a restoration attempt.

5 Almost Everything At San Francisco’s Mexican Museum

In 2012, San Francisco’s Mexican Museum earned affiliate status with the Smithsonian Institution, granting it the ability to borrow and loan artworks from over 200 partner museums. The Smithsonian, however, requires member institutions to rigorously authenticate their collections before any exchange.

By 2017, the museum uncovered a staggering truth: of the first 2,000 objects it examined, only 83 were genuine. Given that the museum’s total holdings number around 16,000 pieces, experts estimate that roughly half of the entire inventory may be counterfeit.

The forgeries fell into several categories—some were deliberately fabricated to pass as originals, others were merely decorative reproductions, and a few bore no connection to Mexican culture whatsoever. The prevalence of fakes is largely attributed to the museum’s reliance on donor‑provided items without thorough provenance checks.

4 The Amarna Princess

In 2003, Bolton’s city council in Manchester decided to enrich its local museum’s collection by acquiring a statue touted as a 3,300‑year‑old “Amarna Princess,” supposedly depicting a relative of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.

The sellers asserted the sculpture had been excavated from an Egyptian archaeological site, a claim bolstered by the British Museum’s assessment, which found no immediate signs of fraud. Satisfied, the council paid £440,000, and the statue was prominently displayed.

Several years later, Bolton Museum officials discovered that the British Museum’s endorsement had been misplaced—the statue was, in fact, a masterful forgery crafted by Shaun Greenhalgh, a notorious forger who operated out of Bolton itself.

Greenhalgh’s parents, George and Olive, acted as his sales agents, marketing the counterfeit works to museums worldwide. In 2007, Shaun received a sentence of four years and eight months for his crimes, while his parents were handed suspended sentences for their participation.

3 A Golden Crown At The Louvre

During the 1800s, two entrepreneurs approached goldsmith Israel Rouchomovsky in Odessa, Ukraine, requesting a Greek‑style golden crown as a gift for a supposed archaeologist friend. In reality, the duo had no such colleague and intended to market the crown as an authentic ancient Greek artifact.

One of the schemers, Schapschelle Hochmann, claimed the crown was a third‑century BC offering from a Greek king to a Scythian ruler. While British and Austrian museums declined the purchase, Hochmann succeeded in persuading the Louvre to acquire the piece for 200,000 francs.

Archaeologists raised early concerns that the crown might be spurious, but their warnings fell on deaf ears, allegedly dismissed as French jealousy. The Louvre proceeded to exhibit the crown, ignoring the dissenting voices.

The truth emerged in 1903 when a man named Lifschitz, who had witnessed Rouchomovsky crafting the crown, informed him that his creation was being presented as an ancient original at the Louvre. Rouchomovsky traveled to France with a replica to prove his authorship, exposing the deception.

The incident tarnished the Louvre’s reputation but catapulted Rouchomovsky to fame. A century later, the Israel Museum borrowed the crown from the Louvre, showcasing it as an authentic work by Rouchomovsky.

2 Over Half Of The Paintings At Etienne Terrus Museum

The modest Etienne Terrus Museum in Elne, France, dedicated to the works of local painter Etienne Terrus (1857‑1922), expanded its holdings in 2018 by adding 80 new paintings. Shortly thereafter, a historian hired to catalogue the new acquisitions made a shocking discovery: roughly 60 percent of the museum’s entire collection consisted of forgeries.

The historian’s investigation was swift and decisive; with a single gloved swipe, he erased a fraudulent signature from a canvas, instantly exposing its inauthenticity. Further analysis revealed that several paintings depicted architectural landmarks that had not yet been erected during Terrus’s lifetime.

In total, 82 of the museum’s 140 paintings were identified as counterfeit. Most of these pieces had been purchased by the city council between 1990 and 2010. The forgeries were subsequently moved to a local police station while authorities launched a formal investigation.

1 Everything At The Museum Of Art Fakes

The Museum of Art Fakes, located in Vienna, Austria, is a genuine museum devoted exclusively to collecting forged artifacts and artworks. Its holdings include, among other curiosities, pages from a diary purportedly belonging to Adolf Hitler—later proven to be the work of forger Konrad Kujau.

The museum organizes its collection into three primary categories: forgeries that imitate the style of a famous artist, pieces fabricated to appear as newly discovered works by a renowned creator, and outright copies presented as original masterpieces.

In addition to outright forgeries, the museum displays replicas—artworks produced after an original artist’s death, clearly labeled as such and never intended to deceive as originals.

The institution also dedicates exhibition space to infamous forgers such as Tom Keating, who produced over 2,000 counterfeit artworks, deliberately inserting “time‑bomb” errors so the fakes would be exposed long after he was paid. Another featured forger is Edgar Mrugalla, responsible for more than 3,500 fake pieces sold as originals before receiving a two‑year prison sentence and subsequently agreeing to assist authorities in identifying bogus artworks.

Welcome to the world of the top 10 dirty tactics that fake psychics love to pull on unsuspecting clients. While there is some scientific evidence suggesting genuine psychic phenomena – such as Daryl Bem’s precognition experiments involving over a thousand participants – the majority of self‑styled seers are simply masters of deception, using a toolbox of psychological tricks to keep you talking, paying, and ultimately believing they have supernatural powers.

10 They Keep You Talking

One of the most effective ploys in a charlatan’s repertoire is to keep the conversation flowing nonstop. The longer you gab, the more breadcrumbs of personal detail you unintentionally drop, and the easier it becomes for the fraudster to spin a convincing “reading.”

In practice this means the bill climbs higher – especially with phone‑based psychics who often charge $3.99 per minute or more – and you may end up paying for time you never intended to spend, not to mention the emotional toll of feeling trapped in a never‑ending dialogue.

Why This Is One of the Top 10 Dirty Tricks

The relentless chatter is a classic confidence‑building technique: the more you talk, the more you invest, and the harder it becomes to walk away.

9 They Ask For Personal Information

After establishing a comfortable rapport, many impostors suddenly request your name, birth date, and home address, claiming these details are essential for a “proper” reading. This veneer of professionalism masks a far more sinister motive.

In reality, the data is harvested to flood you with alarming messages – think “you’re in danger, call immediately” or “I sense a curse; you must contact me now!” – all designed to coerce you into further calls or an in‑person visit where the scammer can milk every minute of your time for cash.

If the practitioner truly possessed psychic abilities, such personal identifiers would be unnecessary. Their demand for your private information is a red flag that the whole operation is a money‑making scheme.

8 Flattery And False Claims

The hallmark of a fake psychic is the relentless use of flattery paired with fabricated assertions. By complimenting your aura or character, the con artist builds a false sense of friendship and trust, laying the groundwork for deeper manipulation.

Once you feel validated, the charlatan drops a “special” claim – for example, “Your aura is unusually vibrant; I’d love to schedule an advanced reading next Tuesday.” This creates urgency and the illusion of exclusivity, nudging you toward a higher‑priced session.

If the psychic can keep you returning for these premium readings, they’ve successfully turned you into a recurring source of income, all while you remain blissfully unaware of the deception.

7 Past Lives As Famous People

Another favorite ruse is to tell you that you once lived as a renowned historical figure—perhaps Cleopatra, Abraham Lincoln, Alexander the Great, or Helen of Troy. While the notion sounds glamorous, it’s virtually always a fabricated compliment designed to inflate your ego.

These claims are rarely genuine; most fraudsters recycle the same famous personas across dozens of clients. By flattering you with a “great‑person” past life, they keep you hooked, hoping you’ll pay extra for “regression” sessions or other pricey add‑ons that supposedly uncover deeper memories.

6 They Make A Claim And Then Wait

A classic maneuver is to make an ambiguous statement and then fall silent, waiting for you to react. This pause lets the pretender read your body language, facial expressions, or nervous ticks, using any reaction as “evidence” of their accuracy.

If you respond—whether with a gasp, a nod, or a puzzled look—the fake psychic seizes that cue to claim, “I see you’re startled; I sensed something about your health.” The deliberate silence is a psychological trap that makes you feel validated, even though the claim was intentionally vague.

5 They Give You Information That Might Be True For Anyone

Fake psychics excel at delivering statements that could apply to virtually anyone. A typical example is, “I sense you have suffered a recent loss.” Since most people have experienced some form of loss—be it a financial setback, a loved one’s passing, or even a misplaced pet—such a remark feels eerily personal.

The genius of this approach lies in its universality. Because the comment is so broad, you’re likely to fill in the blanks with your own recent grief, convincing yourself that the psychic has tapped into your hidden world.

This technique is a win‑win for the scammer: they never risk being proven wrong, and you walk away convinced of their uncanny insight.

4 Positive Claims With Just A Few Negatives

To keep clients coming back, fraudsters pepper their readings with mostly upbeat predictions, sprinkling in a handful of negative details to lend credibility. If every statement were rosy, you’d suspect a sham; a few “you lost something important” bits make the reading seem balanced.

For instance, a fake psychic might say, “You recently misplaced a treasured object.” That could be anything from a set of keys to a family heirloom, and you’ll likely recall a recent instance that fits, reinforcing the illusion of accuracy.

3 They Look You Up Online

In the digital age, many impostors scour social media platforms to gather personal tidbits about you before a session. Whether you’ve announced a forthcoming book or posted vacation photos, they harvest these clues to weave into a seemingly “psychic” narrative.

During the reading, you might hear, “I see you’re on the brink of becoming a bestseller,” which feels startlingly precise but is merely a reflection of publicly available information.

The internet is a goldmine of data, and fake psychics exploit it to fabricate the illusion of supernatural insight.

2 They Ask You Questions

A genuine psychic wouldn’t need to interrogate you; they’d simply reveal facts that the client has no way of knowing. In contrast, a charlatan bombards you with a barrage of questions, coaxing details you never intended to share.

When you’re caught off‑guard by a sudden “yes or no” query, you may answer without thinking, inadvertently handing the fraudster the very information they need to craft a convincing reading.

By extracting these unsolicited details, the fake psychic builds a façade of accuracy while simultaneously setting the stage for future, higher‑priced sessions.

1 They Use Props

A true psychic doesn’t need flamboyant accessories to convey their gifts. If you step into a dimly lit room filled with crystal balls, oversized scarves, glimmering bracelets, and walls adorned with natal charts, you’re likely in the lair of a professional con artist.

These visual cues—large crystals, esoteric books, or an elaborate tarot spread—serve to reinforce the illusion that something mystical is happening, when in fact the entire performance hinges on suggestion and showmanship.

Even the most minimalist fraudsters may keep a simple deck of cards on a table, using it as a prop to lend credibility to their act without appearing overly theatrical.

Regardless of the level of ornamentation, the use of props is a hallmark of deception; a genuine psychic would rely solely on their innate ability, not on external objects, to convey insights.

10 Savage Psychic Slayings

About The Author: Regina Paul is an author and artist who lives in Seattle, Washington. Visit her website at https://www.reginapaul.com.

The existence of the paranormal remains one of the most hot‑button debates out there. No credible scientific study has ever delivered solid proof of ghosts, demons or any other supernatural force, which pushes a sizable chunk of the public to label every haunting claim as a tall tale. Yet a fervent community of believers pushes back, pointing to alleged missed investigations, a mountain of personal anecdotes, and millennia‑old spiritual traditions as evidence that something unseen is at work.

10 Allegedly Haunted Places Overview

Below you’ll find a countdown of the ten most famous locations that, despite their terrifying reputations, have been called into question by skeptics, historians and even former witnesses. From movie‑inspired mansions to eerie natural phenomena, each spot carries a story that sounds spooky—until you dig a little deeper.

10 1677 Round Top Road, Harrisville

For most people, the address 1677 Round Top Road in Harrisville doesn’t instantly conjure images of terror. Its fame, however, stems largely from a popular horror film and the infamy of Ed and Lorraine Warren, two of the most celebrated—and, to some, most controversial—paranormal investigators ever.

At first glance the home appears quaint, yet it served as the real‑life inspiration for The Conjuring, allegedly haunted by the violent specter of a witch called Bathsheba Sherman. The narrative suggests a demonic presence that tormented the occupants.

All of that sounds chilling, but a closer look reveals numerous inconsistencies that hint the tale may be more fairy‑tale than fact. The Warrens’ credibility has been questioned, Bathsheba Sherman never actually lived on the property (only nearby), and there’s no record of her ever being a witch or committing evil deeds. Moreover, the claim that a demon possessed the house appears to be a story the Warrens themselves concocted, lacking any independent verification.

Adding to the doubts, the original family occupied the house for many years, reporting experiences that hardly match the dramatic accounts given by the Warrens. Recent owners have also reported no frightening incidents, further casting suspicion on the legend.

9 Native American Burial Grounds

Rather than a single spot, this entry refers to a whole class of locations—or, more accurately, a myth that many treat as a place.

The “Indian burial ground” cliché became a staple of horror cinema after it was popularized by the infamous Amityville Horror. It even showed up as a supposed source of terror in Poltergeist, despite being a misattribution.

The core idea is that any structure built atop a destroyed Native American burial site will become a hotspot for vengeful spirits or demons, intent on punishing those who disturbed the dead.

Beyond being a Hollywood trope, the notion has seeped into popular consciousness, but it’s riddled with problems. Many Native peoples argue that singling out their spirits as uniquely malevolent is both inaccurate and subtly hostile. Crucially, there is no universal “Indian burial ground” concept; Indigenous cultures are incredibly diverse, each with its own customs surrounding death, and none share a single, blanket belief that the dead will haunt modern builders.

8 Skinwalker Ranch

The name Skinwalker Ranch instantly rings bells for UFO and paranormal enthusiasts, touted as one of the United States’ most active hotspots for weirdness. Allegations range from sightings of the eponymous skinwalker—a shapeshifting witch from Navajo lore—to ghostly apparitions, UFOs, secret government projects, cattle mutilations, crop circles and more.

Located in Utah and also known as the Sherman Ranch, the property has become a legend among skeptics. Even many believers find the breadth of claims hard to swallow.

Evidence for the skepticism comes from decades of monitoring. The family that lived there before the Shermans occupied the land for about sixty years and reported no unusual activity. Later, the ranch was sold to Robert Bigelow, a billionaire with a keen interest in UFO research, who owned it until 2016. Critics argue the Shermans capitalized on Bigelow’s enthusiasm, inflating or fabricating stories to boost the ranch’s notoriety.

7 Swamps

Swamps, bogs and marshes have long been associated with an eerie, otherworldly atmosphere. Legends speak of ghostly figures, strange lights and even extraterrestrial encounters lurking in the mist.

One of the most iconic swamp phenomena is the will‑o‑the‑wisp, also known as ignis fatuus. These “ghost lights” have been recorded in folklore across Europe for centuries, especially in England, though they appear under many local names.

Scientists now favor a natural explanation: the lights are caused by phosphorescent gases—mainly methane and phosphine—released by decaying organic matter. These gases can ignite spontaneously, creating fleeting, flickering flames that look supernatural. Even with this explanation, documented sightings are surprisingly rare compared to the flood of historic accounts, leaving researchers to wonder why the legend persists so strongly.

6 Anson Highway

The “Anson Light” once captivated paranormal circles, describing a mysterious glowing orb that appeared along a stretch of highway in Anson, Texas. The phenomenon garnered local news coverage and sparked endless online speculation.

People were baffled by the recurring bright lights that seemed to hover in the distance. Some treated the sighting as an omen, while others simply found it unsettling.

The mystery unraveled when a group of college students used their smartphones to triangulate the source. Their investigation revealed that the “ghostly lantern” was nothing more than ordinary car headlights from a neighboring road, debunking the supernatural claim.

5 Devil’s Tramping Ground

The name Devil’s Tramping Ground evokes images of the Prince of Darkness pacing in a circle, and local folklore indeed claims the Devil walks this spot nightly.

Beyond the folklore, the area—about 40 feet across—has been noted for its barren soil, avoidance by wildlife, and reports of objects disappearing or moving on their own after being placed there.

The most plausible explanation points to a natural salt lick. The ground is a receding deposit of salt, now roughly 20 feet in diameter, which inhibits plant growth and deters many animals due to the high mineral concentration.

4 Excelsior Hotel

Jefferson’s Excelsior Hotel has become a regional tourist draw, largely because of rumors of a terrifying haunting and the claim that Steven Spielberg spent a night there, allegedly so frightened that it inspired Poltergeist.

While the building’s vintage charm can feel a bit spooky, the majority of its reputation stems from its status as a tourist attraction rather than any verified supernatural activity.

Spielberg’s alleged experience is anecdotal at best and may have been embellished for publicity. The hotel continues to leverage the haunting narrative to attract visitors from beyond the state, fueling the legend further.

3 Frankenstein Castle

Crossing the Atlantic, Frankenstein Castle in Germany stands as one of the nation’s most renowned “haunted” sites. The crumbling fortress is linked to Johann Konrad Dippel, an alleged alchemist said to have performed macabre experiments.

The popular story claims Dippel’s gruesome work inspired Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, suggesting the castle’s dark past birthed the iconic monster.

However, historical records on Dippel are thin, and the castle’s fame as a paranormal hotspot only surged after Shelley’s novel achieved fame, implying that the haunting legend may be more about literary romance than factual terror.

2 Annabelle House

Annabelle the doll achieved celebrity status through the Conjuring film franchise, spawning its own spin‑off movies. The real doll resides with the infamous Warren family, who claim it is possessed.

The cinematic version of Annabelle diverges dramatically from reality, and the Warrens’ accounts have never been independently verified.

The original owners described only mild, unsettling experiences—not the violent demonic assault portrayed on screen. Their decision to hand the doll over to the Warrens was at the investigators’ request, and the terrifying narrative appears to be a creation of the Warrens rather than a documented haunting.

1 Amityville Horror House

The Amityville Horror began as a book by Jay Anson, purporting to chronicle the Lutz family’s supernatural ordeal in a Long Island home. The work quickly became a cultural phenomenon, but its veracity has been fiercely contested.

The Lutz family occupied the house for just four weeks, claiming encounters with violent spirits and a demonic presence. The story was linked to the 1974 murders of the DeFeo family, who were killed by their son Ronald.

Many who knew the Lutzes, including former relatives, describe the whole episode as a calculated hoax. George Lutz is often labeled a showman who monetized the tale through books, movies and endless publicity. Former resident Christopher Quarantino alleges his stepfather exaggerated the events for personal gain, turning a tragic murder site into a commercial ghost story.

When you hear the phrase 10 fake paintings, you probably picture forgeries lurking in dusty vaults. Yet the art world loves a good twist: works dismissed as copies can later emerge as genuine masterpieces. Below we unveil ten dazzling cases where experts, technology, and a dash of luck turned fakes into bona fide treasures.

Why These 10 Fake Paintings Matter

Each of these revelations reshapes our understanding of provenance, valuation, and the very definition of authenticity. From centuries‑old canvases to a hidden sculptural bust, the stories showcase how meticulous research can rewrite history.

10 Rembrandt’s Self Portrait

Rembrandt, the Dutch maestro famed for his countless self‑portraits, has a new addition to his selfie collection. A portrait owned by the United Kingdom’s National Trust, long relegated to storage as a mere copy, was thrust into the spotlight when Rembrandt specialist Ernst van de Wetering examined it in 2013. The painting had been overlooked for decades, gathering dust while experts debated its origin.

Months of painstaking testing, analysis, and restoration at the Hamilton Kerr Institute finally tipped the scales. Conservators stripped away layers of yellowed varnish, unveiling colors and brushwork that matched Rembrandt’s unmistakable style. Detailed scrutiny also confirmed that the signature was executed contemporaneously with the painting, erasing doubts about its authenticity.

9 Rembrandt’s Portrait of a Young Woman

The Allentown Art Museum in Pennsylvania had long displayed the Portrait of a Young Woman under the assumption it was a replica by one of Rembrandt’s assistants. Acquired in 1961, the work was declared a copy in the 1970s, consigning it to the ranks of lesser‑known Dutch school pieces. Yet recent conservation work sparked a dramatic reversal.

In 2018, NYU conservators removed a dense varnish layer, exposing delicate brushwork and a palette consistent with Rembrandt’s hand. Advanced X‑ray imaging and other modern techniques corroborated the painting’s authenticity, and external experts affirmed the findings, overturning decades of mistaken classification.

8 Van Gogh’s Sunset at Montmajour

For nearly a century, a Van Gogh masterpiece languished in a Norwegian collector’s attic, dismissed as a fake. The painting, bought in the early 1900s, was re‑examined by the Van Gogh Museum in 1991 and labeled counterfeit. However, a breakthrough in analytical technology prompted a reassessment in 2013.

Scientists matched the pigments and canvas to other Van Gogh works from the same period, while the canvas’s back‑side bore a number aligning with the artist’s inventory. Moreover, Vincent Van Gogh’s correspondence with his brother Theo referenced this very scene, sealing the case that Sunset at Montmajour is a genuine 1888 Van Gogh, created during his Arles period.

7 Botticelli’s Madonna of the Pomegranate

In 2019, English Heritage experts announced that a small circular painting previously thought to be a copy of Botticelli’s famed Madonna of the Pomegranate was, in fact, authentic. The work portrays the Virgin cradling the infant Christ and a pomegranate, surrounded by cherubs, echoing the larger Uffizi masterpiece.

Conservators employed a suite of techniques—removing thick varnish, X‑ray, and infrared imaging—to reveal a painting consistent with the Florentine master’s workshop. Material analysis confirmed the canvas and pigments matched the early 16th‑century standards, and consultations with the Victoria and Albert Museum and the National Gallery supported the attribution to Botticelli’s studio.

While the piece’s exact authorship—whether Botticelli himself or an assistant—remains debated, the consensus affirms its origin within the master’s prolific workshop.

6 Monet’s A Haystack in the Evening Sun

Finland’s Gösta Serlachius Fine Arts Foundation had guarded a luminous canvas titled A Haystack in the Evening Sun for over six decades, suspecting it to be a Monet but lacking proof due to the absence of a visible signature. Recent advances in scientific analysis finally unlocked its secret.

Researchers at a Finnish university employed a specialized elemental‑composition device, which not only confirmed the pigments matched Monet’s late‑19th‑century palette but also uncovered a concealed signature and the date “1891” beneath an overpaint layer. This discovery cemented the work’s place among Monet’s celebrated hay‑stack series, marking the first Monet held by a public Finnish collection.

5 Rubens’s Portrait of a Young Girl, Possibly Clara Serena Rubens

In 2013, the Metropolitan Museum of Art sold a painting titled Portrait of a Young Girl, believed to be the work of a Rubens follower, to fund new acquisitions. Yet subsequent scholarly scrutiny suggested the piece might be an authentic Rubens.

Prominent Rubens specialists, including the director of the Rubenshuis museum in Antwerp, examined the canvas and affirmed its attribution to the Flemish master. The Rubenshuis now showcases the work in a special exhibition, highlighting its potential significance.

Nevertheless, the Met and noted Rubens authority David Jaffe have voiced reservations, underscoring that scholarly consensus remains divided over the painting’s true authorship.

4 Raphael’s Young Woman

For four decades, an elegant portrait known as Raphael’s Young Woman languished in the basement of an Italian palace, dismissed as a post‑Renaissance copy and considered virtually worthless. In 2010, art detective Mario Scalini, sifting through the palace’s extensive holdings, spotted the painting framed in an ornate setting and sensed something extraordinary.

Scalini dispatched the work to a research institute in Pisa, where experts wielded infrared and ultraviolet imaging to peer beneath the surface layers. Their analysis confirmed the painting’s authenticity, revealing techniques and underdrawings unmistakably Raphael’s.

Today, the piece stands as a testament to the hidden gems that can surface when curiosity meets cutting‑edge technology.

3 Constable’s Early The Hay Wain

Art dealer and historian Philip Mould long believed that an early version of The Hay Wain in his possession was painted by John Constable himself. Unable to substantiate his claim, he sold the work in 2000 for £35,000, a modest sum for what he suspected was a masterpiece.

In 2017, Mould partnered with the BBC series Fake or Fortune?, sending the canvas to Los Angeles specialists. Using sophisticated imaging and pigment analysis, the team verified the painting’s authenticity, dating it to the same period as Constable’s celebrated river scene. Provenance research traced its lineage back to a sale by the artist’s own son, further bolstering the attribution.

Although Mould missed the financial windfall, the validation of his intuition provided priceless professional satisfaction.

2 Three of Turner’s Works

Philip Mould and the BBC’s Fake or Fortune? turned their investigative spotlight onto three works by the British landscape virtuoso J.M.W. Turner: The Beacon Light, Off Margate, and Margate Jetty. These pieces had been bequeathed to the National Museum Wales in 1951, only to be labeled fakes and removed from display in the following decades.

Repeated re‑examinations in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s upheld the fake verdict. However, the latest wave of scientific tools—ranging from hyperspectral imaging to advanced provenance research—allowed experts to overturn the longstanding judgment. The paintings now enjoy confirmed status as genuine Turners, celebrated for their luminous treatment of light and atmosphere.

The revival of these works underscores how evolving technology can revive an artist’s legacy and restore lost cultural treasures to the public eye.

1 Rodin’s Bust of Napoleon

For years, a modest bust of Napoleon occupied a corner of a New Jersey borough council meeting room, its origins unremarkable. In 2014, a diligent college art‑history student named Mallory Mortillaro was tasked with cataloguing the council’s artwork and noticed a faint signature on the marble.

Mortillaro reached out to the Comité Auguste Rodin in Paris, seeking expert validation. Jerome Le Blay, the committee’s head, traveled to New Jersey, examined the bust, and confirmed its authenticity as a work by the legendary French sculptor Auguste Rodin.

Historical photographs reveal Rodin himself posing with the very bust, suggesting it had vanished from public view only to reappear in an unassuming municipal room. The discovery highlights how even humble settings can conceal world‑class art.

There’s a saying that goes “fake it till you make it” which basically means if you can’t do something or don’t know something, you can still have success by at least lying about it convincingly. It’s oddly optimistic and pessimistic at the same time. And there are real world examples of it apparently working out. But just as often there are cases of people faking it and not making it at all because they really forgot that “convincingly” part. Let’s take a look at some of the worst examples.

10. There Was Once an Attempt to Pass Of Molasses in Haiti as Crude Oil

The world still runs on fossil fuels, despite how bad they are for the environment and the fact the supply is finite. The world uses over 90 million barrels of crude oil every day. Some predictions suggest we have enough crude oil to meet demands until 2050 and then things start getting tight. So it makes sense that we’d want to make use of any new sources we could find, right?

Back in the 1960s, Egyptian-born businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed had managed to convince some British business associates, and those in Haiti, that he was a sheik from Kuwait. He had been contracted by Haitian President Papa Doc to help rebuild Port-au-Prince and, as part of that effort, he tried to convince the British that Haiti had oil reserves.

The British, before willingly investing in Haiti or its oil, needed it analyzed, so they asked Al-Fayed for a sample. The oil they received was not crude of usable quality or even pool quality because it wasn’t crude at all. They tried to pass off low-grade molasses from French plantations as crude oil. The only thing more remarkable than that weak attempt at fraud was the fact it happened in the 60s and Al-Fayed still went on to have a long and prominent career. His current fortune is estimated at just shy of $2 billion.

9. Zoos Have a Bad Habit of Poorly Faking Animals

Many zoos in the world operate on the idea that they can help educate the public about animals and also engage in conservation and protection. Many species would be far worse off than they are if not for zoo-backed breeding programs. So there’s something to temper the ire of things who feel zoos are exploitative and that the animals should be free in the wild. If not for zoos, many of those animals would no longer exist. But that doesn’t mean every zoo is noble all the time. 

In 2013, a Chinese zoo made headlines when a lion was easily identified as having a serious issue. Namely, it wasn’t a lion at all, but a dog. The fake lion was a Tibetan mastiff with a furry mane-like haircut. Apparently it was one of several dogs in the park being passed off as other animals. The zoo itself said that the real animals were removed for breeding programs and they just put in the substitutes temporarily, as one does.

This is far from the only case of animal swap fraud, too. An Italian circus that claimed to have pandas was caught out with a pair of chow chow dogs that were dyed black and white. 

In Egypt, another zoo was caught trying to pass off a donkey painted black and white as a zebra. Despite the fact that there are pictures of the color smudging on the animal’s face, the director of the zoo refused to admit it was fake.

8. Chinese Media Tried to Pass Off Top Gun as Real Military Footage

The sad truth of the world is that every country needs a military to defend itself because war is a reality and always has been. So many countries take pride in their military might and that includes innovations. New technologies and new weapons to ensure their dominance on the battlefield. 

Oftentimes the military will show off new tech as part of propaganda programs meant to either boost morale at home or maybe even subtly intimidate potential enemies. But it only works if it’s legit. Otherwise, it backfires badly, like it did for China in 2011.

Chinese state media aired footage supposedly of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force in an air combat exercise. In reality, they were scenes from Tom Cruise’s Top Gun (the original from 1986). In fairness, decades later those scenes are still amazing. But they’re also not Chinese combat exercises. One source claimed that this happens sometimes if an editor is being lazy or if the footage is just too good not to use, but the channel never made any statement that the footage was taken from a movie and not real. 

7. Russia Has Called Video Game Footage Real More Than Once

You can decide for yourself if this is better or worse than trying to use footage from a movie as combat footage. In 2018, Russia was called out for reporting on the war in Syria using footage not from the actual war and not even from movie war but from virtual war. In covering the story they included a scene from first-person shooter Arma 3.

More embarrassing for Russia is that this was not the first time it happened. In 2017, they posted an image from AC-130 Gunship Simulator: Special Ops Squadron claiming it was proof that the US was aiding the Islamic State in Syria. In both instances, Russia claimed it was simply a mistake that the footage was included. 

6. A Woman Tried to Use a $1 Million Bill to Shop at Walmart.

There probably aren’t too many people who couldn’t find a good use for a million dollars. Whether you use it to help others or help yourself, there’s always a way to make money do some good. The key to this is making sure it’s real money.

In 2004, a woman in Georgia tried to go shopping at Walmart with a $1,000,000 bill. She attempted to purchase just under $2,000 worth of stuff and fully expected her $998,000 in change. She had two more of the bills on her when police picked her up. 

The woman said her estranged husband, who collects coins, gave her the bills and that you “can’t keep up with the US Treasury,” in regards to why she may have thought they were real. She said she never tried to pass it off as real at all, despite the cashier saying the woman asked for change. She ended up being charged with forgery.

5. A New Hampshire Drive Tried to Pass Off a Cigarette Box as a State Inspection Sticker

In New Hampshire your vehicle needs to pass a state safety and emissions inspection to be legal on the road. You get a sticker to put in your window that proves you’ve been inspected. However, some people either forget to do this or maybe they just don’t pass inspection. It’s unclear which was the case with a driver who tried to pass off a fraud as the real deal back in 2019.

Making a fake sticker may not be that hard to do if you put in some effort but this driver did not. Instead, he wrote some numbers on a box of Camel cigarettes and put that on the car, maybe hoping no one would notice the whole Camel background. 

Regardless of their expectations, police did notice, and the driver was cited for it.

4. Would-Be Pot Dealers Tried to Pretend Vegetables Were Marijuana

Now that marijuana is legal in a number of places you don’t hear quite as much about crimes related to sale and use of it, but they do still happen. It’s unlikely many like this story from 2016 will happen again, but you never know.

In this case, a pair of men selling pot were involved in an assault after their would-be customer realized he wasn’t buying weed from them at all. They were trying to pass off shredded vegetables as marijuana. When the cat, or maybe cabbage, was out of the bag they hit the buyer with a BB gun and stole his money. 

3. Scammers Tried to Commit Insurance Fraud with iPad Made of Ice

Fraud is a dicey game to play and there are many systems in place to detect it at pretty much every level. Committing postal fraud, for instance, is not an easy task at all. And if you were to pull it off, you’d have to do a much better job than the guy who tried to defraud the UK Postal Service in an iPad scam.

The plan was simple and not very good. The scammer filled a box with ice that weighed as much as an iPad. They’d take it to the post office and have it insured as an iPad with the weight of the packaging backing up the claim. Then the ice would melt, and when the empty package was received later, they could claim it was stolen in transit and claim the $4,000 the packages had been insured for.

There were several issues with this scam. First, the guy showed up wet from the already melting ice. He said it was rain, but it wasn’t raining. Then he claimed he couldn’t remember his return address. An hour later, postal employees noticed water pooling around the package and investigated, discovering it was just a box of ice. 

The package was delivered knowing full well what was going on and as soon as an insurance claim was filed, the man and an accomplice were charged with fraud.

2. Chinese Media Posted a Story About Aircraft Carriers That Included Battlestar Galactica Imagery

We already saw Chinese state media play with Top Gun footage claiming it was real, but things didn’t end there. And give that earlier one credit for at least using footage from a highly regarded film that used real pilots and real jets to make convincing action sequences. This story has less going for it.

In 2013, the Japanese language version of a Chinese media site ran a story about trends in the design of aircraft carriers showing off what the future had in store. While the article covered a variety of aspects on technology and advances, the images that were included made use of a design schematic from Battlestar Galactica. Another image was just a concept piece for a floating city by a Dutch designer. There was no reason given this time around or whether or not this was also just chalked up to a mistake.

1. A Man Sold Crack to An Undercover Cop That Turned Out to Be Crushed Pop Tarts

Dealing drugs is a risky business at the best of times, but especially when you get caught up by undercover cops who can use the evidence of the deal to get you prosecuted. So what happens if the evidence isn’t technically of a drug deal?

A North Carolina man was arrested in 2014 after arranging to sell crack to an undercover officer. Instead, he smashed a Pop Tart in a bag and sold that to the cop. The cop tested it and found no traces of drugs but they did arrest him two months after the deal.

Turns out selling fake crack, even if it’s tasty, is still illegal and he was charged with both selling and creating a counterfeit controlled substance. 

As the story goes, in 1787, Catherine the Great embarked on a trip to view her newly conquered land of Crimea. Catherine’s lover, and the guy responsible for bringing Crimea into the Russian Empire, Grigory Potemkin, wanted to impress his mistress. But the land was in poverty and ruin. According to legend, Grigory, not wanting to disappoint Catherine, decided to build attractive-looking, yet fake, villages all along her route.

Grigory ordered freshly painted building facades erected. One herd of animals was transported along the way to make it appear the countryside was teeming with livestock, bags of wheat actually filled with sand were presented, and peasants were told to stand along the road with smiles plastered on their faces.

Supposedly Catherine passed by the show without any idea she was being duped, and the term “Potemkin village” was born. Historians have since debunked the myth as an over-exaggeration. However, the term stuck, and Potemkin villages are what we call these fake cities designed to look like real places.

Let’s take a look at ten of the most fascinating Potemkin villages in history.

10 Kijong-dong

Viewed from afar, the North Korean village of Kijong-dong looks like any other town. Built in the 1950s in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates North from South Korea, it appears to be a regular town filled with well-kept residential buildings. However, a closer look reveals the windows have no glass, lights are on timers, and the only people around are maintenance workers.

The village is a complete fake. Nobody lives there. It exists solely for propaganda. Its purpose is to make North Korea appear to be a charming and prosperous place to live. And if anyone had any doubts, the city blasts anti-Western hype (along with Communist operas and marching music) on speakers loud enough to reach the nearby South Korean town of Daesong-dong. The propaganda is played 20 hours per day in the hope villagers from South Korea will defect to the north. So far, the method hasn’t worked.^[1]

9 Doom Town in Nevada

It’s a good thing Doom Town is a fake place because who would want to live in a city named Doom? In the 1950s, during the Cold War, Nevada was an extremely popular place to test nuclear weapons. It’s estimated the U.S. government tested nearly a thousand atomic weapons in the desert so close to Las Vegas that the mushroom clouds could be spotted from the Vegas strip and became an unlikely tourist attraction for people who were blissfully unaware of radiation poisoning.

To see what would happen to a real town if an atomic bomb were dropped on it, scientists created fake towns to drop the test bombs. They built real houses, furnished them, stocked them with actual food, parked cars along streets, and populated the area with clothed mannequins. The idea was to find out what might survive a nuclear blast. The answer turned out to be… not very much.^[2]

8 WWII Airplane Camoflauge Town

During World War II, the U.S. government created a fake town on the West Coast over the top of a Boeing warplane factory. Boeing Plant 2, otherwise known as Boeing Wonderland, was built to disguise the factory from potential Japanese bombers. The Seattle factory was not the only one. Numerous fake towns were built, including one in Burbank, California, that protected the Lockheed plant.

Because these SoCal plants were near Hollywood and the country was full of patriotism for the war effort, the government had no trouble obtaining the best movie set designers and large-scale painters to create fake houses, sidewalks, fences, trees, and cars. From the sky, it appeared to be a real neighborhood. But in reality, the buildings were four to six feet tall, the trees were made from burlap and chicken wire, and greenery was painted on actual runways. The designers were so detailed they even painted some of the “yards” brown to make it appear the grass hadn’t been watered.^[3]

7 Theresienstadt, Czech Republic

This next entry is a terribly dark and sad one. Theresienstadt was a concentration camp run by the Germans during World War II. Designed to hold Jews as they waited to be deported to other killing centers and forced labor camps, the living conditions were terrible, and the people lived in constant fear of deportation.

Under pressure, the Nazis allowed the International Red Cross to pay a visit to the camp in June 1944. However, similar to Grigory’s legendary fake towns put on for Catherine the Great, a facade was created to disguise the dreadful ghetto conditions that lay underneath. Before the visit, thousands were deported to Auschwitz to reduce overcrowding, houses were painted, and gardens were planted. Once the visit was over, the good times ended, and conditions resumed as they had been.

In perhaps the most deplorable propaganda of all, the Nazis used a film of the dressing up of Theresienstadt to describe it as a “spa town” where elderly Jews could safely “retire.”^[4]

6 Apix, Florida

In the 1950s, the U.S. government researched liquid hydrogen as a means of fueling aircraft. This was during the Cold War with the USSR, and the U.S. wanted to keep their projects top secret, especially from the Soviets. Project Suntan was the code name given for the super secret mission of building a spy plane powered by liquid hydrogen.

But how to hide such a massive project as building liquid hydrogen-operated planes? You guessed it. Build a Potemkin village. The government made up a phony town named Apix, an acronym for “Air Products Incorporated, Experimental,” and chose a remote and swampy area in Palm Beach County. They even gave the town a fake population and plotted the land for residential development. Today, there is little information about the fictional town of Apix, although it occasionally appears on a map. Only a railroad signal box remains with the name Apix on it.^[5]

5 Fake Paris

During World War I, France wanted to create a phony version of Paris to fool German bombers. Paris was a prime target for Germany, and Zeppelins were regularly sent to bomb the city. French officials decided the best defense was to divert the Zeppelin pilots flying overhead at night by offering up a faux city to trick the pilots.

Though radar existed, it wasn’t advanced enough to be useful. All the French had to do was create a pretend city near Paris that looked like the real thing from above. The French designed the phony version just north of the real deal, complete with electric lights, replica buildings, and a train station. There was even a bogus Champs-Elysées.

We will never know if France’s Potemkin village would have worked to save Parisian lives. The war ended before it was complete, and now, only photos remain of the pretend city of lights.^[6]

4 Holland Town in Shanghai

Tourists visiting Shanghai might be surprised to learn there is a replica Dutch town complete with a windmill sitting in the middle of an industrial area in Shanghai. The town was designed to appear as if someone is walking along quaint cobblestone streets in a charming Dutch village—even though it’s located in Shanghai.

Holland Town was part of Shanghai’s One City, Nine Towns initiative. Each town was given a theme and designed to look like a city from a different foreign country. The goal of the project was to develop suburban districts throughout Shanghai to ease overcrowding.

However, these towns did not all prove to be popular living areas for the locals, and tourists visiting Shanghai tended to want to see Asian-themed architecture, restaurants, and attractions, not replicas of cities they may have come from. Only six of the planned villages were built, and like Holland Village, they sat mostly empty, used mainly for couples stopping by for wedding photo shoots. Fortunately, Holland Village has gained some traction and now houses many locals.^[7]

3 Mcity, Ann Arbor, Michigan

How do you test a driverless car? Self-driving cars need to be prepared for all kinds of unpredictable situations, like icy roads, pedestrians crossing the street, and other drivers. Yet, testing autonomous cars in the populated areas they are meant to be driving in could be dangerous. How else do you determine how the cars will perform in real-life situations?

The auto industry has come up with a solution. Build a fake town that recreates a regular American city. Mcity is a testing ground in Michigan used by car companies such as Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Ford, and General Motors to test self-driving cars. It’s a fake city built with real streets, intersections, traffic lights, road signs, parking meters, and even a railroad crossing. And though we know it exists, and we know car companies use it for testing, it’s still pretty secretive as public demonstrations and visits are generally not allowed.^[8]

2 Ertebat Shar, the Fake Afghan Village in California

Fort Irwin is an army base located in the Mojave Desert. It’s a very large army base, about the size of Rhode Island, and it’s where U.S. soldiers spend a 21-day rotation at the National Training Center. While there, soldiers will visit the fake village of Ertebat Shar to get familiar with what it’s like to operate in an Afghan village.

The pretend village is a replica of an Afghan town populated with actors selling fake bread and meat along the streets. The town was designed using satellite imagery of Baghdad to get the accuracy of the width of actual streets. Though it may look real while you’re walking around in it, from above, it’s plain to see the village is an illusion. A view from the sky shows the buildings are facades held up by wooden frames.^[9]

1 Agloe, New York

The final entry is not a replica town or test site, nor does it exist for propaganda. It’s a paper town or trap town, and it was designed by map makers to catch plagiarists in the act of copying maps.

The city of Agloe was invented by map makers from America’s General Drafting Company to catch competitors who copied their maps. The imaginary town later showed up on a map by Rand McNally. Of course, General Drafting cried plagiarism. But McNally declared Agloe must exist, as there was a business located on the spot bearing the name, Agloe.

Sure enough, the Agloe General Store had been built at the fake location of the made-up town. The owner had seen Agloe on the map and decided to set up shop, despite the complete absence of houses or businesses in the area. Hence, a completely fabricated city became somewhat real, at least for a little while.^[10]