After a rough first winter in the New World, the Pilgrims came together in 1621 to give thanks for a successful harvest. The local Wampanoag tribe came to join them and the two groups celebrated together for several days. Nearly 400 years after the first American Thanksgiving, we hope that everyone remembers how it all started. At the very least, being thankful with family and friends around a table of food is a proper enough way to continue the tradition. In this list, we will take a look at ten other countries with special times of the year for giving thanks.

Top 10 Thanksgiving Lies You Believe

10 Kadazan Harvest Festival – Malaysia

On the west coast of Malaysia, in the city of Sabah, the month of May culminates with a grand Harvest Festival Celebration. The Kadazan people started celebrating harvest festivals in the 1950s to promote identification with their rice farming background. Rice is a main food in the Kadazan diet; they believe a spirit called a ‘Bambaazon’ is present in each grain of rice. The festival is a time to give thanks to ‘Bambaazon’ for the previous year’s rice harvest.

On the 30th of May, traditional sports competitions like buffalo racing, bamboo stilt racing, and arm wrestling are held. There are also dance, wine, and singing competitions. On the 31st, several different cultures of people from around the area meet at the Hongkod Koisaan building. The day concludes with a crowning of the Unduk Ngadau, or Harvest Festival Queen.^[1]

9 Erntedankfest – Germany

Germany celebrates Erntedankfest on the first Sunday of October. It translates to “thanks for the harvest festival.” Erntedankfest is a way to thank God for the gifts of the harvest. Both the Catholic and Protestant churches mark it on their calendar, decorating altars with wheat and fruits.

Several communities elect a Harvest Queen, presenting her with a wreath of wheat during the Harvest parade. Erntekkrone, the Harvest Crown, is a wreath built on a pole; the base is decorated with paper flowers and ribbon. One of the oldest traditions says that to keep the ‘Grain Demon’ away from the crops, the last few must be weaved together and kept in the house for good fortune. For meals on Erntedankfest, fresh produce harvested from local crops is plentiful. Large-roasted birds are often served, with turkey recently becoming more popular.^[2]

8 Sukkot – Israel

A weeklong Jewish holiday that starts five days after Yom Kippur, Sukkot celebrates not only the harvest gathering, but the protection God gave the children of Israel when they left Egypt.

The taking of the Four Kinds is a major observance during Sukkot. Etrog (citron), lulav (palm frond), three hadassim (myrtle twigs), and two aravot (willow twigs) make up the Four Kinds. The Four Kinds symbolize four types of Jews, with various levels of knowledge of the Torah. Bringing the Four Kinds together helps represent the unity as a nation despite differences.

Sukkot is divided into three parts: yom tov comprises the first two days when work is prohibited, candles are lit in the evening, and Kiddush (kosher wine) comes before meals. Chol Hamoed (intermediate days) finds rules a little more lax, leading to time for families to go on excursions. The first of the final two days, Shemini Atzeret, finds people spending time in their sukkah without a blessing. Simchat Torah is the final day. Dancing and singing with the Torah scrolls is followed by nightly candle lighting and a festive meal. In Israel, the final days are combined into one day rather than 2.^[3]

7 Pongol – India

Celebrated in South India, Pongol takes place in mid-January and lasts four days. Its name translates to ‘spilling over’ and has been named as such due to a tradition of letting a boiling pot of rice overflow.

Pongol dates back about 2000 years, originating as a Dravidian Harvest festival. It is linked to the Thai Niradal, a major festival during the Pallava dynasty circa 300-900 A.D. During this festival, young girls prayed for rain and prosperity, avoided milk products, did not oil their hair, and refrained from bad language.

In Hindu mythology, the start of Pongol is when the day of the gods begins after a six-month long night. On the first day, known as Bogi Pongol, farmers worship the earth and sun by consecrating their tools and then using them to cut the freshly-harvested rice. Surya Pongol, the second day, is dedicated to the Sun God. The third day, Mattu Pongol, is dedicated to cattle. They are given a day of rest, washed, painted, and decorated as a way of saying thanks for all their hard work. Kaanum Pongal wraps everything up by devoting another day to celebrating the Sun God.^[4]

6 Harvest Moon Festival – China

The Harvest Moon Festival, or Mid-Autumn Festival, became an official celebration in China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). It is believed the holiday was first mentioned in Confucius’s “Book of Rites” more than 2,400 years ago. It was portrayed as a day for emperors to celebrate the harvest by giving offerings to the moon and hosting a giant feast. For thousands of years, it has been a time for families and communities to come together and feast to give thanks for the harvest of crops. The Harvest Moon Festival today is a time for family gathering, a chance for the “people and the moon to reunite and form a full circle.”

Mooncakes are as synonymous with The Harvest Moon Festival as turkey is with American Thanksgiving. The most common kind of mooncake is comprised of lotus seed paste, salted egg yolk, and lard. A palm-sized cake packs close to 1,000 calories! Recently, some believe mooncakes have become more of a gluttonous, commercialized aspect of the holiday. Extravagant mooncake gifts often end up in landfills, pushing them to their limits.^[5]

10 Unsolved Thanksgiving Mysteries

5 Kinro Kansha no Hi (Labor Thanksgiving Day) – Japan

Since 1948, Japan has officially observed Labor Thanksgiving on November 23rd. From as early as the year 678 up until the Meiji Era (1868-1912), the day was a time to say thanks for the great harvests of rice and hard work of the farmers. During the post-WWII American occupation of Japan, Shinto celebrations were abolished and religious aspects of the day were forced into secrecy.

Today, Labor Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful to workers and for their production. Young schoolchildren make cards and gifts for municipal workers. It is also a time to connect with family and friends, enjoying good food and company.

One of the largest events held on November 23rd is the Nagano Labor Festival. It is sponsored by labor organizations and encourages people to think about the environment, peace, and human rights. Hundreds of thousands of Japanese gather at the end of the day to watch the Nagano Ebisuko Fireworks Festival as the last part of their Labor Thanksgiving.^[6]

4 Thanksgiving – Grenada

Grenada has only been officially celebrating their Thanksgiving since 1983. In 1979, Grenada’s government was overthrown in a coup. In mid-October 1983, there were multiple changes in leadership causing mass unrest, leading the U.S. to ultimately invade. Grenadians mark their calendars on October 25 to remember when the U.S. helped restore order to their country.

Today, they use their Thanksgiving as a chance to spend time with family, remember Grenadians who are gone, and pay homage to their service in the interest of nation-building.^[7]

3 Crop Over Festival – Barbados

Tracing back to the late 18th century, the Crop Over Festival comes from a time when Barbados was the one of the largest producers of sugar in the world. The festival celebrated a successful sugar cane harvest. Eventually, the sugar industry in Barbados waned, and the festival along with it. In the 1940s, it was eliminated altogether. Happily, the festival was brought back in 1974.

In today’s Crop Over Festival, a King and Queen are crowned during the Ceremonial Delivery of the Last Canes. They are honored for being the most productive male and female cane cutters of the season. Cohobblopot is a carnival of sorts where bands dressed in elaborate costumes perform. Kids also put on costumes in the Kiddies Kadooment, parading before judges in a competition.

Kadooment Day, signifying the end of the six-week festival, is a national holiday on the first Monday of August. The finale is known as the Grand Kadooment, a carnival parade where bands dress up to represent various themes. Calypso music blares as people reach Spring Garden, an opportunity for food, drink and even a swim at the beach.^[8]

2 Homowo – Ghana

The Homowo Festival is a month-long celebration by the Ga people of the Greater Accra area in Ghana. It is a celebration of the harvest starting in May. In pre-colonial times, a lack of rain caused a poor harvest and a terrible famine began. When the rains finally returned, the Ga celebrated by creating the festival.

The festival kicks off with the planting of maize. During the entire month of celebration, city officials enforce a ban on all loud music and noise.) Homowo is closely translated as ‘hoot at hunger’. Loudly denouncing hunger is encouraged.

Many events transpire over the course of the festival. On Twins Day, all twins dress in white calico. Another event is a boat race between warriors known as Asafo groups. A dance called a kpanlogo is also performed during the festival. Other celebrations include marching down roads, beating drums, chanting, face painting, and singing.

Families get together to resolve issues and disputes. They consume Kpokpoi a special meal made from maize and served with palm nut soup. Drink is poured for the spirits and ancestors, while hooting at hunger continues.^[9]

1 Thanksgiving – The Netherlands

The most closely related to American Thanksgiving on the list, The Netherlands celebrates the holiday with respect to the Pilgrims who resided there before leaving for the New World.

Starting near the end of 1607, they began to immigrate to the Dutch Republic where they could practice their religion in peace. Eventually, many of them made their way to the city of Leiden. While their congregation flourished, the lack of education for many Pilgrims made finding work tough. Harsh working conditions, the libertine ways of the Dutch, a potential war with the inquisitional Spanish, and the fact that Pilgrim children were growing up in a different way than their parents meant it was time to move yet again. They decided on the New World, and the rest, as they say, is history.

While the Pilgrims’ time in the Netherlands was barely a blip in American history, the city of Leiden uses Thanksgiving as a time to reconnect with the Pilgrim forefathers. There is an annual Thanksgiving celebration at the Pieterskerk, a Gothic church where one of the Pilgrim leaders, John Robinson, is buried. The mayor of Leiden attends the non-denominational ceremony and addresses the congregation. If you go, be sure to visit the Mayflower Escaperoom nearby!^[10]

10 Offbeat Facts About The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade

Movie props play a crucial role in the art of filmmaking. Some might even say the starring role. Once an actor touches these infamous objects, and the film itself is a smash hit, makeshift items of everyday materials can become prized possessions.

Nowadays, many movie props are barcoded and cataloged into a database at the beginning of production so that props don’t get lost throughout filming. But it wasn’t always that way. Many movie props would go home with cast and crew members, and then they were never seen again. Even now, very few props are released from film studios and become available to the public. But when they do, collectors, fans, and film fanatics alike compete for these coveted items.

Created by talented, passionate, and sometimes dark artists, here are 10 movie props that will give you chills.

Related: 10 Famous Props And The Actors Who Stole Them

10 Newspapers from Back to the Future II

Kicking off our list is a lesser-known prop from a wacky and wild trip from Universal Studios, Back to the Future. The second film in this timeless franchise follows the McFly family’s archnemesis, Biff, stealing the Delorean time machine and altering history, resulting in Marty McFly having to…well. You know the rest.

The film’s screenwriter, Bob Gale, kept some of the USA Today newspaper props from the film along with their gory headlines, all of which he wrote himself. The newspaper from the future includes an article that talks about thumb bandits cutting off and stealing thumbs! Gale explains that if you were using your thumb to pay for things, robbers would cut and steal the thumbs off of people in the future. Talk about a gruesome detail to include and a nightmare to keep us awake in our ever digital times.

9 The Slytherin Locket from Harry Potter

Looking for a spell-binding movie prop? Well, look no further than Warner Brothers Studios’ Harry Potter. As seen in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Parts 1 and 2, the Slytherin locket is a grave artifact that the main characters—Harry, Ron, and Hermoine—desperately try to destroy. Head of the prop-making department, Pierre Bohanna, revealed that sixty Slytherin lockets were made of all sorts of different materials. Since both the actors and special effects coordinators continually tried to destroy them, quite a few were actually destroyed. Unfortunately, it didn’t stop You-Know-Who.

Bohanna explains that a handful of repeat lockets were forged from pewter, a metal of mostly tin and some copper so that the Gryffindor sword could split the locket in half on screen. When a special effect could have easily been added to the locket through CGI, the props department went all-in with creating some on-screen magic.

8 Bella’s Rings from The Twilight Saga

Published in 2007, author Stephanie Meyer’s Eclipse from The Twilight Saga swept the romance world off its feet. Including Kristen Stewart, who played Bella Swan. In several interviews, the actress admits to keeping the engagement ring given to her by on- and off-screen partner Robert Pattinson, who played Edward Cullen. Stewart also revealed she kept two other rings: the wedding ring and the moon ring, gifted to Bella by her mother at the beginning of the series.

The prop department’s jeweler consulted with Meyer several times about the engagement ring, as it has a particular description in the novel. The jeweler knew fans would be furious if it wasn’t accurate. But jewelers were puzzled about the type, cut, and shape the ring was to take. The ring itself has 69 diamonds in an oval pave setting with an engraved “14k RF” inside the band, meaning it’s fourteen karat gold with a rhodium finish to prevent tarnishing. Fans have been dreaming, swooning, and throwing inadequate engagement rings away ever since.

7 The Meat Grinder from Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Still don’t have chills yet? Okay, so maybe you’re more into the gory type of chills.

Remember the meat grinder hidden away under quiet Fleet Street? It’s still around. And Warner Brothers Studios keeps it fully stocked. Okay, so it’s not real! But the props department had no problem handing over the literal ton of foam, gel, and wax body parts made for the 2007 film.

Oh, and the worst pies in London? They’re paper mache, foam pool noodles, and wax that’s been through an actual meat grinder. The Warner Brothers archive was established in 1992, and each item that enters the warehouse is stored with a tag listing the title, the actor who used it, and the date of the film.

6 HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey

If you thought HAL’s circuits got disconnected, think again. The 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey follows astronauts traveling to Jupiter with the sentient computer, HAL, after discovering an alien monolith. However, things take a turn when the machine starts interfering and claiming to be more capable of completing the mission than the humans, including setting astronauts adrift by severing oxygen hoses and turning off life support systems.

Director and film fanatic Peter Jackson has the original wide-angle, Nikon, 8mm fisheye lens in his collection. Jackson acquired the prop about 15 years ago and noticed that the props department added a separate lens along the back to channel the red light that gives HAL that eerie, evil glow.

5 Orcs from The Hobbit

Speaking of Peter Jackson, The Hobbit franchise has so many props from over the years that every available space was valuable, including storing orc corpses in the kitchen. That’s right. Imagine sitting around at lunchtime with gruesome Orcs staring at you.

Between the production of each film, props were stored in huge warehouses only to be brought out for a few months of filming in 2012, 2013, and 2014. The hardest part? Finding what you needed when you needed it. Costumes, swords, sets, staffs, sculptures, boats, bows, and arrows all lived in off-site storage facilities in New Zealand. Over 2,000 props were made for one armory scene alone. Just, maybe don’t eat in the warehouse kitchens.

4 St. Paul’s Cathedral Globe from Mary Poppins

Dan Lanigan from Disney+’s Prop Culture hunts down artifacts from the 1964 film Mary Poppins and even visits the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank to find the original prop. Only three St. Paul Cathedral globes exist, and two are replicas. The original snow globe was found in a trash bin by a janitor and was tucked away in a closet on the Disney lot until the studio’s archive started up. Back in ’64, items weren’t kept from productions like they are today, and while the original globe may not have birds swirling around inside anymore, the glass and cathedral are still intact.

Walt Disney had a deep connection to the song “Feed the Birds,” and when the film’s songwriter Richard Sherman of the Sherman Brothers would enter his office, Walt would simply say, “Play it for me.” And Richard knew which song to sing. To this day, Richard Sherman is the only person allowed to play the piano in Walt’s office preserved as carefully as the St. Paul’s Cathedral prop.

3 Chewbacca Skin from Star Wars

Though Star Wars consultant Adam Savage, commonly known from the show Mythbusters, isn’t sure which Star Wars film this prop is from. However, it is most certainly from the originals. The foam latex mask was thin enough for actor Peter Mayhew to portray facial expressions without any help from armature such as puppeteering or animatronics, which are techniques commonly used today. It is all Peter Mayhew.

Even creator and director George Lucas didn’t realize how much Mayhew contributed to the role. In a scene where Lucas didn’t believe Mayhew needed to be called to set, the costume and mask were given to a stand-in for the role, and Lucas immediately had Mayhew called to set to be in the scene.

2 Skeletons from Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl

It makes sense to film Pirates of the Caribbean in the Caribbean, right? How about including real islanders? Filmed just off the coast of St. Vincent island, Pirates of the Caribbean props can still be found all around the island, from plaster cannons to the original sinking boat mast Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow docks and walks away from at the beginning of the film.

But the creepiest prop that no one knows what happened to is the infamous “Pirates ye be warned” sign hanging next to two prop skeletons. The production crew left the sign after filming was completed as an homage to the island, but soon after, the sign was no longer there when boats went past. Many speculate that a local took it down to have a piece of the movie with them.

1 Dorothy’s Slippers from The Wizard of Oz

And finally, the most highly sought-after movie prop, the infamous red ruby slippers from MGM’s 1939 The Wizard of Oz. These slippers are so famous that they earned a spot in the Smithsonian Institution. Though they are mismatched, with one shoe showing more wear than another, they were donated anonymously in 1979.

Dorothy’s slippers, worn by Judy Garland, are so famous that they were stolen. Well, not the ones from the Smithsonian. A pair of original slippers at the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids was stolen in 2005. Thirteen years later, the police found them through an attempted extortion plot. Since only four pairs of these shoes survived production nearly a century ago, recovering the props symbolized the belief and a persevering hope for that special somewhere over the rainbow.

Not all structures are built equal. Some are bland and serve a basic purpose, while others are extraordinarily elaborate and boast incredible features. The exterior of any structure, whether a house, building, bridge, or monument, is arguably what grabs the attention most. The architects and builders of the structures on this list made sure that their designs were quite unforgettable and, you know, creepy.

Related: 10 Awe-Inspiring Buildings You Won’t Believe We Tore Down

10 Luna Park Sydney Entrance

Amusement parks are meant to provide hours of fun and entertainment in the form of rides and games. Going to such a park usually doesn’t warrant a second look at the exterior because the inside is where the fun awaits. However, when it comes to Luna Park in Australia, you’d probably be applauded if you made it through the entrance in the first place. Here, a giant grinning clown face beckons you (or dares you) to enter.

There have been eight different faces over the years, each more terrifying than the last, with the current one—installed in 1995— based on the 1950 “Old King Cole” version.

In 2011, asbestos was discovered in one of the towers that support the face and was immediately removed while the park was closed to the public.^[1]

9 Cabin in the Woods

A small cabin without running water and several locks? Sounds like something from a nightmare, right? This cabin is downright creepy, and once you realize it’s the Unabomber’s cabin, it becomes even more terrifying.

It was inside this tiny structure that Ted Kaczynski constricted sixteen bombs which he used to kill three people and injure a further 23 across America. He built the cabin himself and lived there for 25 years, and it is infamous for being one of the most diabolical-looking structures in the world.

Today, the cabin is on display as part of the FBI Experience in Washington D.C., still looking every bit as creepy as it ever did.^[2]

8 Wat Samphran Temple

In Khlong Mai, Thailand, stands the 17-story Wat Samphran Temple, a massive pink building with a huge snarling dragon literally encircling it. It is located 25 miles from Bangkok, and its origins remain unknown.

Some visitors don’t find the exterior of the building scary at all and have explored it to the point of allegedly discovering a religious group inhabiting the top floors of the tower. The building complex consists of smaller temples and monuments, and there is a bronze giant Buddha statue inside.

The dragon has been constructed from iron and glass fiber and while it’s completely dark inside, some have navigated the hollow parts of it by foot.^[3]

7 Wedding Palace—Turkmenistan

The ball inside the eight-pointed star and cube on top of the Wedding Palace in Turkmenistan is meant to symbolize Earth and the four entrances to the building represent the four directions. Inside you will find various stores where you can shop for wedding accessories, including dresses, to your heart’s content. It is a civil registry building, and many couples have chosen it as the location for their wedding, as they can conveniently register their union after having the ceremony in one of the three wedding halls.
The strange exterior of the building, however, has caused many a visitor to stop and stare, especially at night when it’s lit up in red. In that state, it resembles the home of an angry supervillain.^[4]

6 Villa de Vecchi

Villa de Vecchi is also known as the “House of Witches” and was originally built to be a summer house for Count Felix De Vecchi. The villa is located near Lake Como, Italy, and looks as if it could be used to house a myriad of horror movie killers, especially since it now lies abandoned against the mountains of Cortenova.

Its backstory adds to the eerie atmosphere of the house: The architect died only a year after construction, and Count De Vecchi came home one day in 1862 only to find that his wife had been brutally murdered and his daughter had vanished. He couldn’t find his daughter anywhere and committed suicide a year later. The count’s brother moved into the villa shortly after, and it was finally abandoned in the 1960s.

Then, during an avalanche in 2002 all the houses in the surrounding area were destroyed. Only Villa de Vecchi remained standing.^[5]

5 Clermont-Ferrand Cathedral

Cathedrals are usually imposing structures with high spires, marble statues, unique facades, and stained-glass windows. They serve as magnificent backdrops for elaborate wedding ceremonies, and thousands of beautiful cathedrals have been built worldwide over hundreds of years. Some cathedrals have been branded as creepy or eerie because of tragic events that have occurred within their intricately decorated walls.

The Clermont-Ferrand Cathedral takes the concept of eerie to another level, however. Built entirely from black volcanic rocks, this cathedral makes for a forbidding spectacle on a hill in the center of Clermont-Ferrand, France. The building material makes sense considering the largest chain of dormant volcanoes in the whole of Europe surrounds this French town, and plenty of other old buildings here have been built from volcanic stone as well.

When it comes to building a church with black stone though, it certainly comes across more creepy than charming.^[6]

4 Oakley’s Headquarters

Oakley, Inc. is well known for its sunglasses, watches, backpacks, and a whole lot more. Its headquarters, located in Foothill Ranch, California, is well known for resembling a dystopian house of horrors.

The building has been tagged on several forums under the words evil, scary, and of course, Illuminati. Some have likened the structure to something you’d find on Stargate or Game of Thrones. It has since been confirmed that the architecture was inspired by Blade Runner and Mad Max.

Inside, however, things run like clockwork with 35,000 sets of sunglasses manufactured every day. The premises also include a functioning military tank, a torpedo, and a bike track.^[7]

3 Gazprom Arena

The Gazprom Arena in St. Petersburg, Russia, is truly a sight to behold. You know, mostly for normal reasons. These include its retractable roof and retractable pitch and its overall design, which is modeled on Japan’s Toyota Stadium.

Everything is truly normal until the day turns foggy, or the early-morning mist builds up around the arena until only the top part sticks out, pointing toward the sky. Then, suddenly, the structure is transformed into a massive UFO that seems just about to beam back up to where it came from and take you with it…^[8]

2 Mask of Sorrow

While the Mask of Sorrow monument commemorates the prisoners who died in Gulag prison camps over three decades, it isn’t something you want to stand in front of at night, alone. The concrete statue depicts a face with tears falling from the left eye in small masks. The right eye is a barred window, while the back of the monument includes a weeping woman and a crucified man. The inside of the stark structure holds a prison cell replica.

Leading up to the site where it sits on a hill above Magadan, Russia, several large stones guard the walkway, many with religious symbols carved into them.^[9]

1 Nakagin Capsule Tower

The Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo was built in just one month in 1972 and consists of two concrete towers which hold 140 self-contained capsules that are 2.5 meters by four meters. These capsules are either office or living spaces and are definitely not an option for those who suffer from claustrophobia.

On the outside, the capsules make for an “irregular stacked” look, and the windows are reminiscent of those found on submarines or ships.

The building was slated for demolition in 2007, but this hasn’t happened because the international architecture community sees the structure as a masterpiece and does not want it to be destroyed.^[10]

+ Salem Witch Museum

The Salem Witch Museum offers a fascinating look into the intrigue and tragedy of the Salem Witch trials of 1692. The museum houses thirteen life-size stage sets complete with lighting, figures, and narration that tell the story of those turbulent times, which saw over two hundred people accused of witchcraft. Thirty were found guilty and nineteen executed.

A second exhibit focuses on the European Witch trials and witch-hunting, as well as modern witches.

The museum opened in 1972, but the building was a church, hosting several congregations from 1718 until 1956 when a fire damaged the church. Then, it housed a car museum that saw its own fire ten years later before being sold to eventually become the witch museum. The original property belonged to Reverend John Higginson in 1692. It looks like a small chapel from the outside, but it lives up to its witchy name at night when the windows are lit up in red. ^[11]

The visual arts have gotten a bad rap of late. A tradition starting with Duchamp’s graffitied urinal has led to a procession of “What is art?” pieces that litter galleries all over the world. This “art” is fawned over by people who, were they alive in the mid-19th century, would have invested more in monocles and beaver fur stoles than time learning about the natural world, art, and literature. Once upon a time, this was not the case—art was inspired, and it inspired. In some unexamined corners of today’s cultural landscape, this trend remains. Waiting.

But art was not always the joyous, primary-color explosions of a Van Gogh or the blissfully serene pastel hues of a Monet. Nor was it always the heroic subjects of Greek and Roman marble sculptors or the study of beauty painted by Klimt, Botticelli, or Michelangelo. The darker side of existence has a place too…

“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance” – Aristotle; read this list with that quote in mind, and you’ll never sleep again.

Related: 10 Shocking Pieces Of Erotic Art From The Ancient World

10 Mad Kate
Heinrich Füssli (1806, Oil)

The unexpected, the uncanny, or, to be more academic, an image that displays “situational ugliness” is foundational in engendering a fear response in people. Famed author and medievalist Umberto Eco wrote of this phenomenon in his book On Ugliness: “The governing principle behind every story about ghosts or other supernatural events, in which we are frightened or horrified by something that isn’t going the way it should…”

Look at her. Things certainly aren’t going the way they should here.

If you look from the bottom of the portrait upward, slowly, one could be forgiven for expecting a rather nice, gentle-looking lady, perhaps waiting for loved ones to join her for a picnic. Look at the periphery—a blue sky, a bit of brush/hedgerow, a sweeping mountainside, and sun rays glinting. Now her face. The wild stare, pupils pointing in directions we don’t expect, wild hair, and a wilder cape flowing upward to a (suddenly, jarringly) jet-black sky. Plus, the title—Mad Kate. She certainly looks it.

This painting exemplifies two core fears we all have—a loss of sanity (autonomy of mind) and coming face-to-face with the unexpected. Who amongst us can claim that they would like to be alone in the wilderness with Mad Kate?^[1]

9 Drawings by Abused Children
(Tragically) Ongoing, Mixed Media

The innocence of children is a miracle. When such innocence is exploited, roughly dragged from the child by the predations of an adult, we can all agree that it is among the most heinous of crimes mankind can commit. Objectively evil.

Many children express elements of their trauma via art—the stereotype of kids drawing silly little pictures of stickmen and women standing outside a boxy-looking house with a smiling sun in the top corner is given a tragic bent when the child in question has suffered abuse. Houses are drawn without doors and windows, showing there’s no escape. Pictures of a parent may show them smiling, but their mouth tends to be full of huge, sharp teeth. Sometimes, instead of normal arms, an abusive adult gets depicted with elongated grasping arms or fingers. The child often draws themselves without arms.

When a child is suspected of having been abused, sometimes it is only prominently evident in their drawings. This is, in a way, a good thing—these subtle indicators can lead to authorities or unwitting parents to uncover the perpetrators and have them brought to justice. In another way, it is utterly tragic—a blank piece of paper and a box of crayons should be a chance for kids to express their imagination, bringing their colorful alternate worlds to ours. When their minds are full of unspeakable horrors, it isn’t surprising that’s all they can draw. These “works of art”‘ are the hardest to view but perhaps the most necessary in avoiding further evil.^[2]

8 Untitled
Zdzislaw Beksinski (1975, Oil)

Commentators have referred to Polish artist Zdzislaw Bekinski as “The Nightmare Artist.” Can’t argue with that! The work that has been selected here—Untitled (the same “title” that most of his work bares), is one of the hundreds of twisted, spine-gnawing works that plumb the depths of our collective psyche. It’s simply horrific.

Otherworldly, eldritch horrors stalk around madness-inducing landscapes, causing the viewer to thank the Lord that these creations are just paint dragged across the canvas. Having said that, who would hang this on their wall without expecting that one night, if the planets are aligned just right (or, for the owner, wrong), these creatures, twisted agonized humans, and demonic wraiths may begin to slip into our reality?^[3]

Sweet dreams are not made of this.

7 Gas
Edward Hopper (1940, Oil)

Artist Charles Burchfield once commented that American painter Edward Hopper’s work was an “honest presentation of the American scene…Hopper does not insist upon what the beholder shall feel.” Well, Charlie boy, we cannot say what exactly Hopper meant for the viewer when he painted Gas, but once you consider the statement:

“This is Purgatory!”

Then it’s hard not to see that in the work. So too with the sentences “A murder is about to occur” or “A natural disaster is moments away.” The overwhelming sense of foreboding in this particular piece is impressive, given that Hopper often relied on a darker palette and hefty use of shadow, bland/dank interior settings, or night-time city scenes. Not in Gas—here, we’re outside. It’s bright daytime. It’s just a gas station. But, as though Hopper had infused the oil paints themselves with creeping dread, there’s something very wrong with this scene. Or it’s just an old gas station. Well, every slasher flick has one…^[4]

6This Is Worse
Francisco Goya (1815, Drypoint)

There are many visual artists who have attempted to capture the essence of unfettered warfare throughout the centuries—Otto Dix’s stylized depictions of wounded soldiers after WWI, J.M.W. Turner’s Battle of Trafalgar captures naval warfare during the Napoleonic era, and, of course, Pablo Picasso’s cubist nightmare Guernica, heralding a new age of war in the skies. But Francisco Goya’s seminal series of drypoint drawings, The Disasters of War, are perhaps the most visceral, the most shocking snapshots of what a war on the home front, coupled with corruption and an immiserated populace, can look like.

Most of the scenes are clearly things that Goya himself witnessed (or at least heard about)—the piece titled For a Clasp Knife, for instance, shows a garroted priest with a note pinned to his chest, describing the nature of his crime, referenced in the title. Almost every piece in this series, minus a few more allegorical/fantastical pieces, are artistically rendered acts of war correspondence.

This is Worse is the goriest picture in the series, and the most affecting—a massacred Spaniard has been placed on a gnarled tree stump, his anus and shoulder pierced by broken branches, pinning him in place like a side of meat in a butcher’s window. The dead man’s head is turned toward the viewer, mouth open as though wailing yet not detracting from the stark realism in the piece. Behind this foreground scene, French troops conduct further atrocities.

The scene is based on an event in 1808 near Chinchón, Spain—French troops retaliated for the killing of two of their number by local rebels by massacring the men of Chinchón. If you ever wanted to know the true horrors that can occur in war without witnessing it yourself, this series, and this picture, in particular, can get you close. Be warned.^[5]

5 The Various Paintings Concerning John the Baptist’s Beheading—Caravaggio (1607-1610, Oils)

For those of you who prefer your Bible stories acted out by animated fruit and veg, don’t seek out these paintings…or go on the internet ever, for that matter!

Caravaggio, that crazy murderous Italian who just so happened to be one of the most transcendently talented artists ever to have put brush to canvas, knew how to work a miracle. To be able to simultaneously horrify and delight in one work is a skill far beyond most artists. These works, all depicting one Biblical scene, are stunningly beautiful. And chillingly gruesome.

Violence and the divine go hand-in-hand in these works, bringing the tale to life in a way words simply cannot. Also, one shouldn’t be surprised when learning of the artist’s penchant for brawling, dueling, murdering, and throwing plates of artichokes in tavern owners’ faces. Okay, he only did that once.^[6]

4 Lucifer
Franz Von Stuck (1891, Oil)

The idea of the devil has become sanitized in pop culture over the last 100-or-so years. From corporate mascot for cigarette companies to sympathetic lead character in TV shows and name-checked in thousands of pop songs, Old Nick has become rather cool. Or even kitsch.

Franz Von Stuck’s hypnotizingly stark portrait of Lucifer forces the viewer to really think of the original character himself. Or, rather, the central figure himself demands so, with his bright, staring eyes amongst the painting’s gloom. Imagine being Lucifer, cast down from Heaven, never accepting or understanding his own nature, doomed to be the losing adversary for eternity. The longer you look, the longer you consider this, the more that older concept of the devil begins to re-emerge. This fallen angel is forced to wonder how his fate could be what it is. That is what those eyes portray—madness and futility.^[7]

Or is it that he is tempting you to join him in perpetual wonder as to the injustice of existence.

Those eyes.

3 Head of Medusa
Peter Paul Reubens (1617–1618, Oil)

The aforementioned Caravaggio is often considered to have painted the seminal, most horrific depiction of this mythological Gorgon’s severed head.

Wrong, it’s Reubens.

Look at all those damned snakes. You don’t have to be afraid of these bitey little buggers to squirm at the sight of the dripping blood forming into new baby snakes. You don’t have to fear wild animals to be confused about why there are two random spiders and a salamander in the bottom corner. The horrific scene brings new drama to this classic myth—Perseus had to bundle this gruesome, venomous pile of no-thank-you-very-much into a sack. Would you put your hands anywhere near this?^[8]

2 Gin Lane
William Hogarth (1751, Etching and Engraving)

If the history of the early 20th century U.S. taught us anything, it is that alcohol prohibition doesn’t work. But earlier works that demonized hard alcohol like Gin Lane made a powerful point about the devil’s mouthwash—it can be ruinous. But far from being a puritanical, preachy song or poem, the etching titled Gin Lane depicts a harrowing scene of degradation and abandon that, if everyone planning a drinking binge was forced to stare at for five minutes before hitting the town, would make you think twice about ordering shots.

It’s a companion piece to another etching called Beer Street; this other print shows happy and hale Londoners enjoying life and working hard. The propagandistic message here is that English ale is nourishing and pure, unlike that corrupting foreign gin.

Gin Lane depicts a terrible scene—death, decay, and debauchery are all acted out by devilish-looking gin-quaffing denizens of London’s St. Giles district. The central image is of a syphilitic prostitute, addled on gin, who lets her screaming baby drop to its inevitable death. The image echoes many real examples recorded during the era—a case from 1734 reported that one Judith Dufour strangled her daughter to death using some newly acquired clothes given to the girl at a workhouse. Dufour stripped her murdered child and sold the clothes for 1s. 4d. (1 shilling, 4 pennies).^[9]

To buy gin.

1 The Dead Lovers (aka The Rotting Pair)
Unnamed Master from Swabia/Upper Rhine (c. 1470, Oil)

For centuries, Memento Mori—Latin for “remember that you have to die”—has been a mainstay in European art. Little symbols like skulls or hourglasses found obscured in paintings or on sculptures remind the viewer that while alive, we all await death. This reminder of the ever-presence of our own mortality is also present in this piece.

A bit on the nose, don’t you think?

As opposed to the artfully obscured skull that can only be viewed from a certain angle in Hans Holbein’s famous The Ambassadors, this piece by an unnamed German master slaps you in the eyes. The painting was once an obverse depiction of a handsome young married couple (this painting now resides in the Cleveland Museum of Art in Ohio, U.S.), showing the young pair as rotting corpses, their cadaverous forms getting ravaged by snakes, frogs, and all manner of scavenging beasties. The couple still shows a closeness, even in their decrepit form, highlighting that, as much as we do all eventually die, love is eternal. Could’ve suggested this without painting a wedding gift showing the couple as zombies, mind you. Different strokes, I guess.^[10]

Hate and fear aren’t just terrible because of the effect they have on our society—they’re easy, natural even. They’re deeply coded in every one of us, little switches saving us from coiled snakes on branches and the possible diseases brought to our camp by a foreign tribe. In this day and age, however, these once-necessary instincts often cause more trouble than they prevent. Still, it seems that suspicion, animus, and coercive control are an adjacent pandemic running amok all over the globe.

There are examples that, when learned about and kept in mind, offer a different point of view—an inoculation against hate, apathy, and nihilism, if you will. Here are 10 such stories: two jabs and 8 boosters against the darkness.

Happy New Year, Listversians—let’s hope 2022 gives us many more stories like the ones listed here.

Related: 10 Heartwarming Stories To Restore Your Faith In Humanity

10 The Lichfield Legend

“No good deed goes unpunished.” Sardonic cynicism aside, there is a practical method to overcome this possibility—just keep doing the good deed. This seems to be what one absolute gem of a young man in the Midlands of England has decided to do.

Eighteen-year-old Sebbie Hall from Lichfield, Staffordshire, found that the thought of people being unable to communicate during lockdown due to a lack of available tech really bummed him out. His first act of kindness was to donate his iPad to a close friend of his so they could communicate online. This selfless act snowballed, and to date, Sebbie has helped raise around $53,000 for good causes and directly helped around 2,000 people.

There has been an upside for Sebbie, too, aside from the warm glow of helping others; Sebbie has a rare chromosomal alteration that causes physical and learning disabilities—his daily random acts of kindness have boosted his confidence and helped with his verbal communication.^[1]

Some people are just good—and thank goodness for people like Sebbie.

9 Mind-Changer In Chief

People often feel as though they are their opinions, weaving their experience, rationalizations, and second-hand takes into their identity. Extreme, socially gauche/transgressive, and hateful ideologies are often the hardest positions to get away from when one becomes entrenched in such a lifestyle. Such positions, given the social pressure (and even legal status), will create circular logic around the core beliefs to keep individuals “on a side,” so to speak. Cults, for instance, work in a very similar way. That’s what makes Daryl Davis such an exceptional person.

Over the course of the last few decades, Davis has helped reform over 200 KKK members—simply by acknowledging their humanity and showing them that he, in fact, shares that humanity too. And playing a mean piano.

From convincing a “Grand Cyclops” to hand over his robes to working closely with the decentralized social media platform Minds as a consultant on “deradicalization” (as opposed to Twitter, which seems to rely on their executives’ super worldly “experience” in Silicon Valley and Ivy League schools), Davis has dedicated a huge chunk of his life to effecting actual change, not merely virtue signaling.^[2]

8 Lazy Teens? Not So Much

A group of high school kids stop jerking around and band together to do a good deed for someone in need—seems to be a plot from a mid-season episode of an early 1990’s teen sitcom. Thankfully, this kind of stuff does happen IRL…minus the laugh track and attractive 28-year-old woman pretending to be “the nerdy girl” in school.

Students in Bradford, Rhode Island, couldn’t abide the thought of 5-year-old Ryder Killam getting soaked through every school day. You see, little Ryder had to spend about 15 minutes exposed to the elements every morning as he waited for the bus. His dad hitched a patio umbrella at his bus stop, an accouterment that did little to protect Ryder from snow, hail, and rain. Local teens noticed the boy sitting in his wheelchair at the stop every morning (Ryder has spina bifida) and decided to build him a shelter. Ryder now gets to school without sodden clothes and a runny nose, allowing him to focus fully on his studies, really knuckle down, and truly listen to whatever his teacher is droning on about. Well, every story has a downside, I guess.^[3]

7 Generating Not Degradation

This is a nice, short, uplifting entry. Iconic red telephone boxes (and the far less iconic 1980s grey metallic ones) covering the length and breadth of Britain are quickly being repurposed instead of being let to slowly rust and decompose. Some have been turned into comfy little reading rooms for one, mini nightclubs, and even coffee bars. The main repurposing job seems to be defibrillator machine stations, a service that will hopefully save as many lives as the phone boxes did in the pre-cell phone days.

Now, some teens are intent on destroying them before they get reused (not-the-nice ones-from-Rhode-Island-who-build-bus-shelter-types). Who will win? Do-gooders who enrich our lives, or the memester sprogs who will fill the boxes with expanding builder’s foam or inflatable penises (whose exploits enrich some of our lives)? Let the games begin.^[4]

6 Prayers Answered…Very Quickly

One can understand (and obviously condemn) ideologically possessed asshats who burn down churches and cathedrals. One can even understand a group of edgy goths vandalizing a parish church with some black paint daubing of some sub-Hammer-Horror-movie slogans and symbols.

For lulz.

But who in their right mind would desecrate this charming little chapel in rural West Wales? That’s the thing—nobody with a “right mind” could do such an awful thing.

This wanton vandalism to the beautiful Capel y Grog in Mwnt, Ceredigion, in late 2021 shocked the local community. They quickly went about setting up a fundraising goal of £20k online, hoping they could restore their place of worship.

They hit their target after just three days. Senseless hate will never win against kindness and charity.^[5]

5 One Hell of a Tip

An often-overlooked positive facet of everyday life is good service from those who are paid to provide it. So when you encounter a person in a shop or a restaurant who treats you less like a guest or a customer and more like a friend or a family member, really caring that you “have a nice day,” it can be amazing.

That’s what Dunkin’ Donuts server Ebony Johnson did every single day. In a job that can, if seen as just a means to earn money to live, be a repetitive, unfulfilling drudge, Ebony used her time to spread kindness and enquire and learn about the people she served. To care. And one customer reciprocated in a big way.

Suzanne Burke placed an order at the drive-thru with Ebony every morning. They chatted and became friendly over a three-year period. When Ebony fell on hard times, getting evicted from her home in Mount Healthy, Ohio, Suzanne took the chance to pay her back for the years of friendliness, kindness, and joy that Ebony had provided her. She gave her a tip for the ages. Suzanne organized for Ebony to move into a new, fully furnished home with her three kids in time for Christmas.^[6]

4 Spreading the Luck

Playing the lottery is dumb. Unless you win the jackpot, of course. Unbelievable wealth, however, is often a dangerous thing to foist upon an unwitting individual. Almost nobody strategizes and conducts some financial planning while standing in the queue at the grocery store, ready to buy a ticket. Thus, many winners fall into a cycle of excess and squandering, leaving their mental and physical health in tatters.

You’ve probably heard the story before—young man from rough background wins lottery, spends it all on drugs, parties, and gambling, and *enter terrible outcome to end a sad tale*. You may also think it’s unreasonable to expect that a random, normal person should be expected to become a financial whizz simply because they could find themselves in the 1% (or even in the 1% of the 1%).

Hey, there’s always charity.

In 2018, Barbara Wragg of Sheffield, England, passed away. Nearly two decades earlier, she had won the National Lottery, a jackpot of £7.6 million. Over the period of this sudden wealth, she and her husband gave away around 70% of the winnings. She maintained a humble lifestyle (save a bigger house and a nicer car), using the cash as a buffer rather than a means of buying shiny, fast, or intoxicating things. The rest went to numerous charities.

Among many other causes, Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice, the Make-a-Wish Foundation, Whirlow Hall Farm Trust, the Meningitis Trust, and Help the Aged all benefited from Barbara’s windfall. She also paid for 250 kids from Sheffield’s impoverished inner city to attend the local Christmas pantomime every year. When a group of WWII veterans couldn’t afford to visit Monte Cassino in 2004 for the 60th anniversary of the battle, in came Barbara.

Good things happening to good people will make goodness proliferate: “Winning the lottery changed our lives but not our persons.” May she rest in peace; God knows she deserves it.^[7]

3 The Life Ranger

“I’m the chotto matte man,” retired police officer Yukio Shige told Japan Today in 2014. “Chotto matte” means (roughly) “please wait a moment.” When you consider that this septuagenarian patrols a suicide hotspot on Japan’s coast, this simple, courteous phrase gains a huge weight.

“Please, wait a moment” saves lives. Yukio Shige saves lives.

But it’s more than that; he goes on to extrapolate as to his method in the article. “There’s only one way to deal with this,” Shige emphasizes to Shukan Shincho. “You yourself must help them get back on their feet, work with them to solve their problems. If they’re in debt, I take them to legal aid people; if they’re out of work, I take them to the Hello Work employment agency; if they’re homeless, I take them home with me.” If it’s trouble at work, he goes to the person’s workplace and tries to sort things out.

It’s not just about taking the time to consider waiting for a moment; Shige himself takes the time to actively help desperate individuals. Yukio Shige himself practices what he preaches—”Chotto Matte.” He’s willing to take the time too. He has a team of volunteers that patrol the Tojinbo Cliffs and runs a small hostel nearby. By 2017, it was estimated that 500 lives had been saved by his efforts. By now, many more will have been saved.^[8]

This is a man who holds that life is precious despite the inevitable suffering that occurs during its course.

Arigato gozaimasu, Shige-san

2 Olympic Silver, Kindness Gold

When Olympic athlete Maria Anrejczyk heard of a family who was struggling to raise funds to save their baby, she knew what to do. The Polish javelin chucker grew worried that the family of baby Milosz Malysa wouldn’t hit their goal of 1.5 million zlotych, the amount needed to get the infant life-saving heart surgery in Barcelona, Spain.

In an act of sheer selflessness, the athlete auctioned her Olympic silver medal. Half of the total goal had been reached already, and time was running out for baby Milosz. At the last moment, Polish supermarket chain Zabka offered the outlying amount for the medal. Milosz went on to get his surgery and, moreover, Maria got to keep her medal after all!^[9]

Maria added: “I will be eternally grateful. I have no words to express how happy I am.”

1 Mending Deep Scars

A man who spent a year in prison on a false charge proved himself a hero in 2020. After a jury finally acquitted Daylan McLee of pointing a gun at an officer during a traffic stop in Pennsylvania, he harbored some animus for law enforcement. Who could blame him? This didn’t stop McLee from saving a police officer’s life by pulling him from a burning squad car.

He could have stood and watched; he could have filmed it and posted it online. He could have just called for the emergency services and gone about his day. But Daylan stepped up, put his past experiences aside, and did as good a deed a person can do. Daylan McLee shows us that when we are willing to recognize the basic humanity inherent in all our fellow men, hate cannot prevail.

“I want people to start looking at people as Americans, and not, you know, ‘he’s white, he’s black, he’s Asian’—we’re people, and when we start realizing that, things should get better”—Daylan McLee, 2020. ^[10]