You’ve heard of the Grand Canyon, the Galapagos Islands, and Venezuela’s Angel Falls; you’ve probably even heard of more obscure natural wonders, like the needle-like rock forests at Tsingy de Bemaraha. But no matter how much of the Earth we cover, there’s always something breathtaking just around the bend.

SEE ALSO: Top 10 Photos Of Incredibly Surreal Places on Earth

10Kirkjufell

Kirkjufell Mountain is best known for the stunning pictures brought back by tourists. Located on the Snaefellsnes Peninsula in Iceland, there isn’t anything impressively significant about the mountain itself. It’s not the biggest mountain in Iceland, or the deadliest, and it can’t even claim to be one of the many volcanoes that have given Iceland the reputation of producing a third of all the basaltic lava in the history of the world.

But if there’s one thing that makes Kirkjufell stand out from the pack, it’s how all the elements of the scenery fall together. This is a photogenic mountain. From the Middle-earth landscape to the trio of waterfalls feeding a crystal clear stream at the mountain’s foot, it all creates a perfect portrait of idyllic Iceland. Even the weather pitches in. And, as the picture above shows, Kirkjufell is smack dab in the center of one of the best places to view the stunning Northern Lights.

9Cano Cristales

Known to the locals as the “River of Five Colors,” Cano Cristales is truly a hidden paradise. Tucked away in the mountains of Colombia, there are only two ways to reach the river, and both of them are by plane. The colors of the river come from a combination of algae, the natural hue of the river rocks, and the blue of the water itself. In particular, the red comes from an aquatic plant called Macarenia clavigera.

Because the coloration comes from living creatures, the effect shifts constantly, like a living watercolor painted by God’s own hand. The most spectacular time to see Cano Cristales is in the summer, when the heat brings out the most vibrant shades of red. In addition to the striking colors and the incredible biodiversity of the region, Cano Cristales also flows over some of the oldest rocks in the world—the Guiana Shield, which formed about 1.2 billion years ago.

8Taylor Glacier Blood Falls

Antarctica isn’t usually the first place that comes to mind when you picture a paradise, but as harsh and unforgiving as the weather may be, the landscape can be equally beautiful. We’ve only begun to really explore this frozen continent, but we’re finding more and more wonders hidden beneath the ice.

One striking example of Antarctica’s uniqueness can be found at the Taylor Glacier, which vomits a continuous stream of iron-rich hypersaline water onto the surrounding snow. The glacier was discovered in 1911 by an explorer named Thomas Griffith Taylor, who surmised that the reddish tint was caused by an unknown form of bacteria. It wasn’t until much later that we found the real reason for the spring of blood-colored water—an ancient underground pool of saltwater about 400 meters (1,300 ft) below the surface of the ice.

During the Miocene period, about five million years ago, water levels around Antarctica rose enough to leave a lake of saltwater on the previously dry land. When the ocean receded, it stranded the lake, which was then slowly covered by a string of glaciers until it was completely cut off from the surface. With no oxygen, the lake was left in almost the exact same state as when it was covered—it became a five-million-year-old time capsule. There are microbes down there that have remained unchanged since the Miocene period, and they’re responsible for breaking down iron deposits in the salty water. Once that iron-rich water squeezes its way up through a fissure to the surface and comes in contact with oxygen for the first time, the iron hydroxide reacts instantly, giving us a waterfall of rust—the Blood Falls.

7Beppu Hot Springs

Beppu, Japan is one of the world’s hot spring hot spots; there are more than 2,500 springs in the area—the second largest such cluster in the world. The springs are colloquially known as the “Eight Hells,” since there are eight main areas, each producing a unique type of spring. Blood Pond Hell, pictured above, is saturated with iron, giving both the water and the steam a dark reddish tint.

Some of the other Hells include Demon Mountain Hell, which houses about 80 crocodiles; White Pond Hell, which contains boric acid that gives the water a milky consistency; and Oniishi Shaven Head Hell, which is a mass of bubbling mud that—supposedly—resembles the shaven heads of monks rising to the surface. Entire commerce systems have arisen around the springs, letting you buy vegetables cooked in the Hells’ steam or eggs boiled right in the multicolored water. There are also smaller springs that are cool enough for a foot bath, although the main springs are peppered with “Do not swim” signs—the water in some of the Hells can reach a blistering 150 degrees Celsius (300 °F).

6Spotted Lake

The Okanagan Valley lies at the extreme southern border of British Columbia. For thousands of years, aboriginal tribes have lived and battled in the valley, and their legends remain to this day. One of their most prominent legends told of a battle that occurred in the hills around Spotted Lake—then known as Khiluk to the First Nations of the region. During the battle, both sides called a truce and allowed their men to bathe together in the mineral-rich waters of Spotted Lake.

The alleged healing properties of the lake are still advertised today. There are high concentrations of 11 different minerals, including calcium and magnesium sulfate, and some trace amounts of titanium and silver. In the summer, when the lake partially evaporates, the minerals precipitate into rounded “holes.” Each hole takes on a different color, depending on which minerals are more concentrated in that particular spot.

5Panjin Red Beach

This gorgeous crimson landscape is located in China, near the city of Panjin. It’s situated in the middle of an immense, sprawling wetland area in the Liaohe River Delta, but it’s the only part of the wetland that takes on this vibrant coloration. Rather than sand, the beach is covered with a highly alkaline soil, which is too basic for most plants to live on. That leaves little competition for the Suaeda salsa, a species of seaweed that has completely taken over the 1.4 million acres that make up Red Beach.

In the summer, the seaweed is a dark green color—pretty but not exactly breathtaking. But in autumn, the mature plants take on a fiery red color that turns the beach into a one-of-a-kind spectacle. Most of the beach is closed to visitors in an effort to protect the delicate ecosystem, but there’s a small section that’s open to tourists.

4Pamukkale’s Travertine Pools

One of the most unique sights in the world is, without a doubt, the cliffside travertine pools in Pamukkale, Turkey. Travertine is a type of limestone that’s found in a lot of the world’s hot springs. When the spring reaches the surface, the travertine solidifies into stepped structures that hold the spring water. The fairy-tale result usually looks like something out of a Dr. Seuss book—layers of crystal clear pools stacked on top of each other. No matter where they form, they’re usually beautiful.

Pamukkale was the ancient site of the Greek city of Hierapolis, and the name itself means “cotton castle.” From a distance, that’s absolutely what it looks like. The pools are initially formed from soft calcium carbonate that later solidifies into travertine. Because of the high calcium content, the end result is a hillside that’s white as snow.

3Zhangye Danxia

The Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park is located in southwest China and contains more than a few unusual features. Probably the most startling are the multicolored mountains known as Danxia landforms. The surreal coloration comes from red sandstone and natural mineral deposits that have formed over the course of 24 million years. Each “stripe” constitutes a different mineral, and over the ages, they’ve formed layer upon layer, resulting in a rainbow pattern. Erosion from wind and rain has further polished the surfaces of the mountains.

China is the only place in the world with this type of mineral formation, and a few of the landforms have become UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The town of Zhangye has capitalized on the international interest in the Danxia landforms, and there are dozens of separate tour companies leading groups into the rainbow mountains.

2Lake Retba

There are a handful of names that have been given to this lake, some by locals and some by visitors, but they all essentially mean the same thing: “The Pink Lake.” And while that may not be the most creative moniker, it’s definitely the most accurate. Lake Retba is located in Senegal, and it’s only separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a thin strip of sand dunes. Because of that slight geographic separation, a species of algae called Dunaliella salina has been able to proliferate in the lake’s warm waters.

Found only in a few places in the world, Dunaliella algae are salt lovers—which is good, because Lake Retba is as salty as the Dead Sea. In order to survive such salty conditions, Dunaliella produce a red pigment that allows them to absorb more sunlight and produce beta carotene, which acts as a buffer against the salt. The saltier the lake gets (particularly in the dry season), the deeper the red gets. During particularly dry seasons, the lake will take on a hue that can only be described as “bloody.”

1Lencois Maranhenses

An oasis in the middle of the desert makes a pretty picture, but they’re few and far between in most of the world’s arid regions. Lencois Maranhenses National Park, on the other hand, is absolutely peppered with them. Located in northeastern Brazil, this sand-covered, 155,000-acre park isn’t actually a desert, even though it looks like one. It’s located right outside the Amazon jungle and receives the same amount of rainfall you’d expect to see in a tropical rainforest. When the rainwater collects between the dunes, it forms thousands upon thousands of separate lagoons that stretch as far as the eye can see.

Each lagoon functions as a completely unique ecosystem. Despite the lack of inlets or outlets, many of the standalone lagoons are filled with fish that were carried to the pools as eggs by seabirds. But since the sandy ground is largely devoid of nutrients, very little vegetation grows in Maranhenses, turning it into sort of a combination of two worlds, like oil and water stirred into the same bowl.

When the world ends, our cities will crumble and be reclaimed by nature. At least, that’s the popular image. But you don’t need to wait for the apocalypse to see how things will crumble. You don’t even need to leave civilization—there are plenty of glimpses of the post-apocalyptic world hidden right among us.

10Public School 186

It would be impossible for Manhattan’s Public School 186 to be any more in the middle of civilization. Businesses are open across the street, there isn’t a free parking space in sight, and people stroll by nonchalantly. It’s boarded up, but it’s the trees growing out of the windows which give away the fact that no one has used the building for over 40 years. Inside, piles of rubble and scattered animal corpses complete the look.

The school was opened in 1903 but ran into problems in the early 1970s. Its floor plan didn’t meet fire safety codes and the ground floor doors had to remain open at all times to ensure that children couldn’t be trapped. Those open doors soon led to problems. Criminals robbed parents at knifepoint and a teacher’s aide was raped in a classroom. When fire inspectors found that the fire alarm didn’t work in 1972, the school was marked for closure. It shut down in 1975.

The building was due to be renovated in the 1980s, but the Boys and Girls Club of Harlem that bought it decided to demolish the building and start again. Residents petitioned to save the building, but the owners say that it would be too expensive. While they battle it out, the building continues to look increasingly like a set from I Am Legend.

9North Brother Island

Located just half a kilometer (.3 mi) from Manhattan in New York’s East River is a bird sanctuary known as North Brother Island. In the 1880s, people with infectious diseases were quarantined there at the Riverside Hospital. Its most famous resident was Typhoid Mary, who died on the island in 1938. The island later housed veterans from World War II and was the base of a drug treatment center. In 1964, the last people left and it was closed to the public.

A few people have been let back onto the island between September and March when the birds aren’t nesting. Among the thick vegetation that now covers the island are huge brick buildings, bungalows, and a chapel. One classroom still has dozens of old books scattered across the floor. The buildings are all slowly being hidden by trees and ivy.

Christopher Payne, a photographer who was given permission to visit the island, described it as “what would happen if people left the planet.” He described the atmosphere as a sense of being disconnected from the rest of the world, though it turned out to be impossible to forget how close the rest of New York City was. “I could hear the Mister Softee truck sometimes,” he said.

8Miami Marine Stadium

Naumachia were mock naval battles that took place in flooded coliseums in ancient Rome. Gladiatorial combat is a staple of post-apocalyptic fiction (you can thank Mad Max 3). So if you want to host your own dystopian naumachia, Miami’s Marine Stadium is the perfect venue.

The 6,600 seat arena was opened in the 1960s as a venue for speedboat racing. It was closed in 1992 after Hurricane Andrew and has since become a haven for graffiti artists and freerunners. It’s an imposing, poured-concrete structure. The stadium’s designer said that he had intended to create “a piece of sculpture on the water reflecting on what nature was providing us.”

There’s debate over what to do with the stadium. The Friends of Miami Marine Stadium want to see it cleaned up and returned to use. Others believe it should be left as it is, a monument to the graffiti artists who have adopted it over the decades.

7Box Hill Brickworks

Melbourne’s Box Hill Brickworks adds a steampunk theme to its derelict charm. The brick-making plant was built in 1884 and operated for a century. It was closed in 1988, but its brick chimney still towers over the local landscape.

The real charm is hidden inside. Mazes of walkways hover above masses of rusting machinery. There are even hand-written sales records scattered in an old office. The site is a time capsule of technologies. A tramway and blacksmith’s shop are essentially unchanged from the 1880s.

The world-gone-to-hell atmosphere is completed by the landfill on the same grounds. It looks like a normal grassy field—except for the plumes of flame that occasionally burst from the ground. When methane from the buried waste isn’t exploding by itself, local youngsters have been known to drop matches into sinkholes to trigger blasts underground. This all takes place very close to people—the barbed-wire fence for the brickworks borders a park that is usually full of playing children.

6Bloomingdale Railway

If you’ve ever wondered what urban hiking will be like once the end comes, Chicago’s Bloomgindale Railway will give you a fairly good idea. This three-mile-long abandoned railway is elevated above the busy city. After it was abandoned by Canadian Pacific Railway in 2001, its overgrown tracks became popular as a route for joggers and cyclists. In winter, it also offers the unique experience of cross-country skiing through the middle of a busy city where every street is plowed.

The feel of an unattended city isn’t going to be around for much longer, however. Search for Bloomingdale Railway and half the pictures show a train track being reclaimed by nature. The others are artists’ impressions of the mass restoration project that will soon turn the track into a modern park and walkway. While undoubtedly good for Chicago, those who have come to love the railway over the last decade have said that they expect to be nostalgic for the post-apocalyptic landscape.

5Tower Of David

Centro Financiero Confinanzas is an unfinished skyscraper in Caracas, Venezuela. Construction began in 1990, but a 1994 banking crisis left it incomplete. The 45-story building has a heliport but lacks elevators, utilities, windows, and railings. Since the 1990s, 3,000 squatters have made their home in the unfinished shell. The “Tower of David,” nicknamed after its chief backer who died in 1993, is now the world’s tallest slum.

Motorcycles are used as taxis to carry people up the first 10 floors, and it’s on foot from there to the 28th. No one lives any higher than that, but it is possible to get to the top. There’s makeshift plumbing and electricity in some areas, but it’s the economy that’s sprung up inside that makes it feel like a set from a dystopian movie. Stores, beauty parlors, daycare centers, and even a dentist cater to the residents. Some apartments look cozy, even if the corridors that lead to them are faded and cracked from disuse.

People salvage metal from the higher floors. Others lift weights just feet away from a dizzying drop with no safety rail. Teenagers use the lights from their cellphones to navigate pitch-black stairways. The community has a bad reputation and the people are wary of outsiders. Yet right outside this little world, the surrounding streets look like a typical modern city.

4Insurgentes 300

Mexico City’s Insurgentes 300 is a building that went to war with the forces of nature. While it’s technically still upright, you couldn’t really say it won the fight. It’s nicknamed the “Canada” building for the 30-meter (100 ft) word that once ran down the side in giant letters. From the outside, it looks like a deteriorating shell, but behind the broken glass there are all sorts of professions that put the building to some sort of use. Every type of criminal—from lawyers and accountants to drug dealers and prostitutes—use Insurgentes 300 alongside dance teachers and screen printers.

It was once home to 420 offices, but half of these have since been converted for use as housing. The building has a 10-degree inclination due to structural damage from an earthquake in 1985. The authorities ordered it evacuated, but the occupants declined and have been fighting to have the structure repaired for 30 years. Instead of maintenance, they’ve received only lawsuits as the building slowly decays around them.

3Red Hook Grain Terminal

The closest thing New York City has to a fortress is perhaps The New York Port Authority Grain Terminal in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Its concrete walls are 20 centimeters (8 in) thick, 12 stories high, and sheer. It’s a behemoth that looks perfect for fending off a hoard of zombies. In fact, a rag-tag bunch of survivors is pretty much all the building is missing to complete its post-apocalyptic look.

Inside, it looks like a cross between a factory, a prison, and a temple. It’s eerie from a distance, and in fog it looks downright sinister. Several pieces have collapsed into the river, and others look destined to follow. New York’s grain economy was already on the decline before the building opened in 1922. It shut down in the 1960s and is known as the “Magnificent Mistake.”

The building is extremely popular with urban explorers, though it’s difficult to get to. One explorer says that it requires research, persistence, and creativity, but mostly nerve, “since you don’t know what you’ll find inside or who might stop you before you make it in, and the repercussions that come with that.” Even if you’re not interested in the building, the journey may be worth it purely for the amazing sunset you can watch from one of the many shattered windows.

2The UK’s Cold War Tunnels

England doesn’t have an official second city, but Manchester and Birmingham are the most commonly suggested candidates. That’s perhaps why each of them is home to miles of underground tunnels built during the Cold War. They’re very literally a glimpse of the apocalypse, since that’s exactly what they were built to withstand. They were also built in secret.

The bunkers under Manchester were tunneled by Polish workers who couldn’t speak English so that they wouldn’t be able to tell anyone what they were doing. It once housed several months’ worth of tinned food designed to keep VIPs alive in case of an attack. In Birmingham, many of the entrances to their system remain classified.

1A Lot Of Meatpacking Plants

Founded in 1867, Armour & Company was once one of the United State’s largest meatpacking companies. It fell into decline in the late 20th century, and in its wake it left abandoned plants all over the country. One is a skeletal brick building in Fort Worth, Texas, which was ravaged by fires in the 1970s. Demolition was attempted and there’s a section of wall missing.

It turned out that the building’s steel structure was so strong that it was cheaper to just leave the rest standing. Today, it looks like a prison. Guard towers were added in 2007 to make the plant look like a South American prison for the show Prison Break. The words Penitenciaría Federal De Sona were left above one of the doors.

Another meatpacking plant in Navassa, North Carolina was only open for a few years. Rumors began in the 1920s that the plant’s owner was found hanged in the middle of the factory. The building earned a reputation as haunted. Several people committed suicide there in the 1980s, cementing its supernatural foothold in local folklore.

Yet perhaps the most famous abandoned meatpacking plant is in East St. Louis, Illinois. It’s not far from downtown and has the added bonus of still being filled with old machinery. That includes its once cutting-edge refrigeration system. The plant once employed nearly 5,000 people and became a hotbed of racial tension due its segregated workforce. Since it was closed in 1959, it’s become an infamous beacon for those fascinated with the way the world crumbles.

Alan is tempted to take up urban exploration as it’s the only hobby that’s going to get better should the world end.

When someone dies, the legacy writers begin their work. Biopics and reams of books appear, all extolling the virtues of the heroes of our past. However, we sometimes forget that our heroes were also flawed people, and history often neglects the more unpleasant parts of famous legacies.

10Abraham Lincoln Allowed Seances And Suspended Constitutional Rights

Abraham Lincoln is one of the most famous leaders in world history, known for presiding over the United States during the Civil War. He is also credited with playing a part in bringing down the institution of slavery. However, what many people don’t realize is that during the extremely tense days leading up to the Civil War, Lincoln became convinced that keeping the Union together was more important than anything. He suspended many constitutional rights, taking a very dark path, believing that anything and everything that could be done must be done.

He was also extremely depressed, suffered from horrible dreams about death and suicide, and along with his wife went half insane from the death of their son. He even went so far as to allow her to conduct seances in the White House in the hopes of speaking with him.

9John. F. Kennedy Cheated On His Wife And Didn’t Care About How It Affected Her

JFK was the closest thing to a rock star president that the United States ever had. He was known for his looks, his charm, and a certain ability to get almost any lady he wanted. Many people know that JFK was quite a hound, but some people don’t know the extent of his philandering. Some stories claim he tried to have sex with a different woman every day if he could and would claim this desire was partly the fault of the medications he took for Addison’s disease.

Many people assume that this was one of those open relationships and his wife was okay with it, but many people believe she was truly hurt by his behavior. Rumors suggest she not only threatened divorce but was once bought out by his father to the tune of $1 million, so she wouldn’t put the family through an embarrassing divorce.

8Benjamin Franklin Constantly Tried To Ruin Other People For Petty Reasons

Benjamin Franklin is known for being one of the fathers of the American revolution. He acted mainly as a diplomat, forging connections across the pond to help the fledgling colonies in their revolt. He was also an inventor, coming up with the lightning rod, bifocals and several other seemingly unrelated ideas.

However, while he is often celebrated for his genius, he was not a very nice guy. He had a very harsh upbringing and would use his newspapers in an attempt to ruin the lives of rivals. He once went so far as to convince everyone his biggest rival was dead—despite the man’s insistence otherwise.

7Margaret Sanger Was A Huge Fan Of Eugenics

Margaret Sanger was an avowed feminist in the early 1900s and at one point faced prosecution for her rather controversial writings and speeches. She opened the first birth control clinic in the United States of America, which went on to become what Planned Parenthood is today. While people with a certain viewpoint may not appreciate birth control in any form, there was a more insidious issue lurking behind her interest in birth control.

Sanger was a big supporter of eugenics, the idea that only the healthy and fit should continue to reproduce or live, and the others should be weeded out. Some people have even suggested that the first birth control clinics were set up near black neighborhoods, proving her racist intentions as a eugenicist. Her actual intentions on this particular matter are hard to prove.

6Lemmy Kilmister Was A Huge Fan Of Nazi Memorabilia

Lemmy Kilmister was the leader of the metal band Motorhead and lived quite a long life for someone who abused substances as much as he did. He was known for loving his drink to an absolutely insane degree—he reportedly drank at least a fifth of whiskey every day for years. He was also known for having a very poor diet in general, but for the most part, he was a likeable guy.

However, many people don’t know that Kilmister was a huge fan of collecting Nazi memorabilia. While he claimed that he had no interest in actual Nazi ideas, many people found it extremely insensitive and felt the way he plastered it on his walls went beyond collecting history.

5Patrick Stewart Is Alleged To Be Incredibly Overbearing And Arrogant In Person

Patrick Stewart is famous for starring in Star Trek: The Next Generation and playing Professor Charles Xavier of the X-Men. In recent years he has been the subject of many memes and has become a beloved pop culture icon. However, memes make people out to be somewhat larger than life, but in the end, we are all human.

On stage during a presentation recently at an award ceremony, he started criticizing and insulting the presenter, James Corden. Corden would later state that he felt weird arguing back against such a respected voice, but he was taken aback by the criticism and felt the need to defend himself.

4Peter Sellers Was Infamous For Being Almost Impossible To Work With

Peter Sellers is famous for movies like the Pink Panther series and for playing multiple parts in the Stanley Kubrick classic Dr. Strangelove. He was able to perform a variety of accents and dialects flawlessly, and his attention to detail as an actor was second to none.

This was also his greatest flaw, as he drove everyone he worked with crazy. His family told of him being a very depressed man who was never happy with any of his work. Some producers, despite his star power, wanted nothing to do with him after working with him just once. The man’s perfectionism sometimes blinded him so much that he didn’t realize no one could stand being around him.

3Steve Jobs Cheated His Best Friend Wozniak With No Remorse

Steve Jobs left a legacy behind as the founder of Apple and the promoter of various doodads like the iPhone and the iPod. Many people remember Steve Jobs as a genius at marketing—the man could build hype like nothing else. Biopics were made about the man almost as soon as he died, and many people still extol his virtues.

However, Jobs was not a very nice guy. He had a standing policy that Apple will never donate to charity, to make as much money as possible. He consistently had his engineers do all the work and then personally took credit, and he once cheated his friend Steve Wozniak out of money back when they were first working together. It wasn’t even that much money, but Jobs did it out of petty greed. Wozniak was hurt later when he found out, never understanding why his once friend would be so awful to others.

2Henry Ford Was A Nazi Sympathizer And A Loony Vegan

Henry Ford is known for being the namesake of the Ford automobile company—still the first and longest running major automobile manufacturer in the country. Even more importantly, Ford revolutionized assembly line technology, in a way that changed production the world over forever.

Unfortunately, Ford was also a huge Nazi sympathizer. He was one of those on the side of Hitler before we got involved, and he remained a supporter of the ideals after the war was over. While some businesses would not work with Germany during those years, Ford was all too happy to help. He also believed that he could subsist eating random weeds—a theory he designed based on the idea that humans were like cars and just needed basic fuel of any kind at all.

1Carnegie The Philanthropist Was A Cruel Despot

Carnegie Hall, Carnegie Mellon, the Carnegie Institute—his name can also be seen on libraries and random concert halls all over the United States of America. Many people think of Andrew Carnegie as a great philanthropist, but his real history shows a much different picture.

Carnegie made his fortune on massive worker exploitation, to a point that even the most fervent anti-union person today would have thought his employees needed a good union. He would even call in the army and just force people to work for a pittance if he had to. Carnegie ran work camps, with whole families and generations controlled by his evil, helping him earn more fortune to enjoy.

In his later life, Carnegie felt guilty about what a horrible person he had been, and started massively donating money to charitable causes—all while many people toiled away in his camps, making him enjoy a rich life, still slaves.

+ Further Reading

History favors the victor and sometimes it conveniently forgets the darker side. Here are a few more lists than prove this:

10 Shameful Ways People Cheapened Important Legacies
10 Successful People Trapped In Their Parents’ Shadow
10 People Who Were Erased From History
Top 10 Legacies of the Middle Ages

Here we are again at the intersection of open-world video games and reality, ready to exploit some glitches, make our way into some seemingly unmapped areas, and find the inside jokes left for us by over-caffeinated programmers. In case you missed it, we’ve done this a few times before—but since the stimulant-addled coders of the real world sleep just as infrequently as those who make our games, we’ve had no trouble rounding up 10 more for your amusement and utter befuddlement.

10Standin’ On A Corner

“Well I’m standin’ on a corner in Winslow, Arizona / Such a fine sight to see / It’s a girl, my lord, in a flatbed Ford / Slowin’ down to take a look at me.” So goes the middle verse of the Eagles’ 1972 classic “Take It Easy”—and though the song’s author, Jackson Browne, likely picked the town and state for the sake of meter (and for rhyming somewhat poorly with “corner”), the small town has managed to kindle a respectable little tourism industry centered around the statue and mural installation pictured above.

The statue, which many have noted looks nothing like either Browne or Glenn Frey (who sang the Eagles tune), gazes eternally at the fine sight depicted in the mural as if it were a reflection in a window. The installation wasn’t built until 1999, the result of a push by the cleverly named Standin’ On a Corner Foundation, who saw opportunity in the fact that practically everyone who passed through the town would stop to take selfies on random street corners.

Today, the statue draws hundreds of visitors daily to this tiny town of around 10,000 citizens, many of whom owe their livelihoods to a long-ago name check by that other guy who was in the Eagles, Glenn Frey. There’s also a memorabilia stand where you can purchase T-shirts and mugs and listen to an endless loop of Eagles songs; alternatively, you could just tune to any classic rock station.

9Busted Plug Plaza

Artist Blue Sky, a Columbia native, was commissioned to create this piece by a local bank in honor of its 75th anniversary. This four-story concrete, steel, and aluminum rendering of a fire hydrant is called “Busted Plug Plaza.”

According to the artist’s website, it was conceived as a different project called “Downtown Fountain,” a cement structure that kind of looked like a hydrant, with plugs analogous to various parts of the downtown area. At any rate, this enormous, 306-metric-ton (337 ton) fire hydrant was kept completely under tarps during construction, willed into existence by the combined efforts of architects, engineers, and city planners before finally being unveiled to the wondering, stupefied eyes of Columbia’s residents in 2001.

Strangely, there are a couple of other towns in America that once laid claim to the title of World’s Biggest Hydrant, but Busted Plug Plaza’s behemoth dwarfs them both. Says the artist of his work: “There’s one thing about all my public works. And that is, if anybody looks at it and thinks it’s art then I’ve failed because it’s not meant to look like art. I want it to look like something bizarre and something they’ve never seen before. And the last thing I want them to think is that it’s art.” Bingo.

8Easter Egg Island

Ever wanted to find an actual deserted, tropical island that you could have to yourself for a day or two? Near Petit St. Vincent in the Caribbean, there’s a tiny little island where that fantasy can easily come true.

Looking like nothing so much as a deserted island straight out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon, Mopion Island is all of 30 meters (100 ft) across and completely unadorned by anything except for a picturesque thatched umbrella. As one might imagine, it’s been photographed six ways from Sunday for all manner of travel brochures, posters, and postcards, and probably painted about as many times. Visitors scrawl their names on the umbrella’s post, which we’re surprised isn’t completely inked over—as of this writing, the little shovelful of sand in the middle of all that clear, blue water is Trip Advisor’s third-highest-ranked attraction in St. Vincent.

7UFO Welcome Center

We already know from a previous entry in this series that space aliens occasionally deliver mail to and/or pick up mail from the middle of nowhere, because someone built a mailbox to accommodate that purpose. One South Carolina man, Jody Pendarvis, has taken this one step further by turning his house into a large flying saucer that he calls the UFO Welcome Center.

Mr. Pendarvis is pretty serious about the whole thing: “Seriously, I am here to welcome the aliens from out of space.” He claims to have had several such visits since building the Center in the 1990s, and he has some definite theories as to what they’re up to: “I don’t believe they actually want to land. I think they’d just rather fly around, live on their own ship and maybe come visit, maybe not.” And if they do land, what then? “Aliens can fly from the north or the south and just land in the parking lot and come and chit chat with me.”

At any rate, the extremely small, 1,200-person town of Bowman with its one blinking stoplight has thus far tolerated Jody and the small amount of tourism his labor of love generates. At least they can all agree that it’s the town’s most noteworthy aspect: “Since this is the only attraction in Bowman, I think I’ll run for mayor and maybe I’ll get it,” said Mr. Pendarvis, a completely reasonable man.

6Hidden Solar System

In 1971, sculptor Ivan Kozaric gifted the city of Zagreb, Croatia with his latest work, entitled The Grounded Sun. It is pretty much exactly what it sounds like—a 2-meter (6.5 ft) bronze model of the Sun. That is to say, a huge bronze ball that sits on the ground in the middle of the city square. Interesting as that may or may not be, it’s not exactly Easter egg material. No, that would be the installation that artist Davor Preis created in 2004—since the Sun sits in the middle of the city, he envisioned the rest of it as the Solar System, and distributed the planets throughout the city.

Of course, the planets closest to the Sun—Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mar—are all contained within the square, but the outliers are a little more difficult to find and require some hiking. The installation was never advertised to the public, and it wasn’t until their location was revealed by students at Zagreb University that most residents became aware of it at all. The planet sculptures are built to the same scale as Kozaric’s original work, and of course, their distances from the original sculpture are accurate to the same scale. And for the astronomically nostalgic, the installation does include Pluto, whose planetary status was revoked in 2006.

5The Monster Pad

Here we have the second entry to ever appear in this series from Boulder, Colorado, home to some famously odd people (there’s a reason Mork and Mindy was set there). Tucked in a cozy neighborhood up close to the Flatirons, this neatly kept ’80s-modern house does not have any particularly fascinating features. The owner evidently decided that that would not do, and that the best way to remedy the situation was to place lifelike, life-size statues of Mike and Sulley from Monsters, Inc. in his living room window.

The statues hold their position year-round, delighting children and scaring the hippies, and one has to wonder if the owner is just a huge fan or was somehow able to secure these statues for less than the cost of a snazzy paint job. They wear ghost sheets on Halloween, Santa hats on Christmas, and generally just seem way more like something Jeffrey Katzenberg would have in his den than the centerpiece of some guy’s living room in Boulder. Nobody seems to know who lives in the house or whether they work for Pixar.

4The Lil’ Desert

The Desert of Maine has been attracting visitors for almost a century, and it certainly looks and feels like a desert—heat reflected by the sand dunes pushes temperatures up 20 degrees or so from the surrounding areas, and the little region can reach over 32 degrees Celsius (90 °F) during the summer.

The 47-acre geological oddity was created by a one-two punch of natural erosion and sloppy farming: Ice-age glaciers pulverized the rocks in the area into sand, which was buried deep beneath the topsoil. Said topsoil was slowly eroded by a farming family in the 1700s over generations, eventually exposing a small patch of sand that grew . . . and grew. Throughout the 1800s, the family tried to fight the encroaching drifts, but gave up in the early 1900s. They eventually sold it off for $300 to a Mr. Henry Goldrup, who turned it into the tourist attraction it remains today.

If you visit, you can go on tram tours, guided hikes, and play Frisbee golf. Just don’t ride the camel statues—they’ve been there since the ’50s as a replacement for the real camel they used to have.

3The Lil’ Post Office

Tourists to southern Florida often stop to take photos of the world’s smallest post office, pictured above, in the town of Ochopee. Inside, they find all the things you might expect—trinkets, keychains, postcards—and one thing you might not: a postal worker. Yes, the Ochopee post office actually functions as a post office, even if only two or three people pick up their mail there.

If the building just looks like a little shed, that’s because it used to be exactly that. In 1953, the original post office/general store burned to the ground, and instead of rebuilding it, well, you get the idea. For awhile, the little shed served as both the post office and bus stop for Trailways bus lines. When the decision was made to move the building, the job probably only took around half a day—a couple local residents plopped it onto a wheelbarrow and hauled it off to its current location.

In case you were wondering, the building has all the modern conveniences—a computer, a phone, even air conditioning. Oh, except a bathroom. We suppose that keeping things bottled up is something of a postal worker stereotype, but it still seems like a pretty glaring oversight.

2Homeless Jesus

If, at first glance, the art installation pictured above looks like an actual homeless man, perhaps that is the point. The work has had the police called on it at least once, and a bronze likeness of a hobo sleeping on a park bench seems an odd choice for a public artwork—until you consider the affluent neighborhood in which it resides, and the crucifixion marks on its feet.

Yes, the statue—a $22,000 gift to the Episcopalian Church from a parishioner—is meant to depict Jesus as a lowly vagrant, which may help explain why it was rejected by two other cathedrals before finding a home in Davidson, North Carolina. To their credit, the church that ended up accepting the statue seems to recognize the value of the artist’s intent—Reverend David Buck said, “It gives authenticity to our church . . . this is a relatively affluent church, to be honest, and we need to be reminded ourselves that our faith expresses itself in active concern for the marginalized of society.”

Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz, the statue’s creator, has brought a miniature to the Vatican and received the blessing of Pope Francis; he hopes to get a Homeless Jesus installed in Vatican City one day soon. Parishioners of the Davidson church, meanwhile, have warmed up to their version and have even been seen praying in front of it occasionally.

1E.T.’s Final Resting Place

Finally, we have the actual intersection of real-world Easter eggs and video games. That is to say, an Easter egg consisting of a video game in the real world.

It had long been a sort of urban legend that, after the infamous video game crash of 1983, Atari took a whole bunch of copies of its famously crappy E.T. The Extra Terrestrial video game and dumped them in a public landfill in Alamagordo, New Mexico. Atari never really confirmed nor denied this, and as it sounded just too awesomely fitting to be true, most assumed that it was at the very least a wild exaggeration. Turns out, it was not.

In April 2014, garbage company owner Joe Lewandoski, along with archaeologist Andrew Reinhard and, for some reason, film director Zak Penn, got together to hunt for the biggest Easter egg of all—Atari’s lost E.T. dump. The games had been dumped in a 12-meter-wide (40 ft) hole in a 300-acre landfill over 30 years prior, yet they hit pay dirt the same afternoon they started digging, also coming up with a few Missile Command and Centipede games for good measure.

Game designer Howard Warshaw, creator of E.T., was on hand for the excavation. While alluding to his brutal production schedule for the game (“It is the fastest video game developed in video game history as far as I know”), he also managed to wax philosophical about his supposed role in destroying his industry: “Thirty-two years ago I did a game that people called ‘the worst game of all time’ that toppled a billion dollar industry. Maybe it is true; maybe it is not. The fact is I did something 30 years ago that is still getting people gathered together, enjoying it, getting some excitement.”

The shifting sands of the Sahara have swallowed animals, people, and entire cities over eons. It is the largest hot desert in the world, and those who become lost in its endless sandy plains are likely to never be seen again. In the ancient world, whole armies were known to march off across it, never to be seen again.

Only now, with modern technology, are we beginning to penetrate all of the Sahara’s mysteries—and there are quite a few of them. Here are ten amazing discoveries that the Sahara Desert has been hiding from us.

10 Lost Fortresses

Satellites have allowed explorers to peer beneath the canopies of the densest jungles and pierce the heart of the most inhospitable deserts—all without the bother of even leaving one’s chair. In 2010, satellites detected the remains of more than 100 fortresses belonging to the Garamantes people of Libya.^[1] The area had been well-mapped by the oil industry searching for places to drill, so archaeologists were able to scan their satellite pictures for the telltale signs of walls. Later, researchers on the ground were able to confirm that the structures were indeed built by the Garamantes, though their expeditions were cut short by the revolution in Libya which toppled Colonel Gadhafi.

At the time the Garamantes flourished (approximately the second century BC to the seventh century AD), the area they lived in was already incredibly arid. To farm their land, they constructed underground channels that provided water from ancient reservoirs. When this water source failed, the fields withered, and the Sahara covered over the remains of the fortresses and villages.

9 Meteorites And Craters

The Earth has always been bombarded by rocks and meteorites from outer space. Most burn up harmlessly in the atmosphere, leaving nothing more than a streak of light across the sky. Others reach the ground and have devastating impacts. Because most happened in the distant past, the craters left behind by such impacts are often overlooked because erosion or plant growth covers them up. In deserts, however, the scars can still be seen. The 45-meter-wide (148 ft) Kamil Crater in Southwestern Egypt still obviously indicates where an iron meteorite struck around 5,000 years ago.^[2]

It is not just the craters left by meteorites that can be found, however. Around the Kamil Crater, fragments of the meteorite itself have been discovered from where the impact shattered it and scattered it across the sand. This is not an isolated discovery. Almost a fifth of all meteorites that have been recovered have come from the Sahara. This is because on the sands, meteorites stand out, often just waiting to be picked up. Only the snows of Antarctica provide a better place to go meteorite-hunting.

8 Libyan Desert Glass

Even when the remains of meteorites and their craters have vanished, other traces of cosmic collisions can remain. Around 29 million years ago, a meteorite struck the Earth with enough energy to melt a vast region of the Libyan desert into sheets of delicate green glass.^[3] The crater left by this explosion has yet to be found, but plenty of the desert glass still exists—and in some unexpected places.

When Howard Carter opened the tomb of Tutankhamun, he discovered among the treasures a jeweled breastplate (also referred to as a pectoral) belonging to the dead king. At its center was a sacred scarab beetle carved from green glass. The Egyptians probably had no idea of the origin of the glass they used, but intriguingly, there was another artifact made from otherworldly material. One of the daggers in the tomb was created from iron that came from a meteorite.

7 Nabta Stones

Wherever water can be found in a desert, you will find life clinging on. When people lived near Nabta Playa in Southern Egypt 9,000 to 6,000 years ago, the area was subject to annual flooding, which created a lake. Neolithic tribes came there to feed and water their animals.^[4] These people not only survived there, but they developed a culture of sacrifice. Cows, sheep, and goats have all been found ritually buried there.

Around 6,000 years ago, the people at Nabta set up large stone blocks in a circle, with more slabs of rock radiating outward. (A mock-up is pictured above.) It has been claimed that this stone circle, which predates Stonehenge by 1,000 years, is the earliest known astronomically aligned structure. There is still debate as to what exactly the circle points to, but one researcher claims that it lines up with the position of Orion’s Belt, as it would have appeared in the sky 6,000 years ago.

6 Lost River

The Sahara Desert has not always existed. As the climate changed over millions of years, the borders of the sands have shifted. Just as scientists can search for ancient evidence of water on Mars, so have they turned their attention to the history of the Sahara. Research has revealed that what would once have been the world’s 12th-largest drainage basin flowed from within the Sahara.

The remains of the river in Mauritania were noticed when an undersea canyon off the coast was discovered that had been carved by the river. River sediments also turned up in unexpected places. The final confirmation of the presence of a lost river was made by satellite.^[5] The lost river is now called the Tamanrasett River, and research is continuing to discover more about a body of water that may have dried up just 5,000 years ago.

5 Whales

It’s not just rivers that have disappeared under the Sahara. Over geological time, what was once an ocean has become one of the driest places on Earth. In Wadi Al-Hitan in Egypt, evidence of the lost Tethys Ocean can be found. Known as Whale Valley, it is one of the best, if unlikely, sites for discovering whale fossils.^[6] The fossils here give insights into how whales evolved from land-dwelling creatures to ones that spent their entire lives at sea.

When the ancestors of modern whales died in the sea 37 million years ago, their bodies were covered with sediment. As the crust of the Earth rose, their former home was turned to land. Today, the 15-meter-long (50 ft) skeletons are being studied by paleontologists, as are the creatures they shared the sea with. Beside the whale bones, the teeth of large and vicious sharks have been found.

4 Machimosaurus Rex

The seas have always been home to monsters. Some 120 million years ago, a 9-meter-long (30 ft) crocodile, Machimosaurus rex, called what is now the Sahara Desert its home. M. rex is the largest ocean-dwelling crocodile known to have existed. The area where M. rex once lived was probably a vast lagoon which stretched to the Tethys Ocean. There, it used its huge head, incredible bite strength, and short, brutal teeth to crack the shells of ocean turtles and snatch fish.^[7] It may also have scavenged on the carcasses of the large creatures which also shared its home.

If it seems ironic that so much marine life is being uncovered in the Sahara, it’s really because the desert is so inhospitable to life that paleontologists are making so many discoveries there. Without plants and soil getting between them and the rocks beneath, scientists are often able to simply stroll through eroding areas to pick up amazing findings.

3 Spinosaurus

Continuing the theme of nautical discoveries made in a desert, Spinosaurus is the largest carnivorous dinosaur ever discovered. Living 95 million years ago, Spinosaurus (aka Spinosaurus aegyptiacus) stood around 7 meters (23 ft) tall and measured 16 meters (52 ft) long, exceeding the better-known T. rex. Spinosaurus looked, and lived, nothing like its better-known rival. Spinosaurus had a huge sail of bones sticking up from its back and a number of other adaptations that have baffled scientists. Now, it is thought that Spinosaurus is the only known truly semiaquatic dinosaur.

Since the bones of the originally discovered Spinosaurus were destroyed in World War II, it was not until another set of fossils were discovered in Morocco that researchers were really able to study Spinosaurus. Among the evidence pointing to Spinosaurus living partly in the water are its long, flat feet for paddling, as well as the nostrils placed high on its snout to allow it to breathe even when mostly submerged.^[8] Seeing the huge sail on its back approaching must have chilled inhabitants of ancient waterways in much the same way a shark’s fin does for us today.

2 World War II P-40 Kittyhawk P-40

On June 28, 1942, Flight Sergeant Dennis Copping was flying a damaged P-40 Kittyhawk to a British base in the desert for repairs. Somewhere on the journey, both the aircraft and its young pilot disappeared.^[9] Only in 2012 were the remains of the plane discovered when an oil worker stumbled across them. The aircraft was mostly intact, having never been disturbed, and there was still evidence of a parachute having been used to create a shelter.

The plane was later taken to El Alamein Museum and restored—not to everyone’s satisfaction. Some felt the aircraft should have remained where it was as a memorial to its young pilot. Others thought that the restoration job the museum did made it look like poorly painted model. While the plane was recovered, no signs of Dennis Copping were found. His exact fate is another mystery that the Sahara is holding.

1 Gobero Skeletons

Paul Sereno has already featured on this list, as he was part of the team which found more fossils of Spinosaurus. It was during one of his dinosaur-hunting trips that he accidentally found the largest human graveyard in the Sahara. The site at Gobero in Niger was inhabited as early as around 10,000 years ago and shows that it was once a more green and lush environment. The remains of fish, crocodiles, and other animals are mixed in among the humans.^[10] Many of the discoveries were simply poking out of the sand. Two years of excavation revealed around 200 human burials and pointed to two separate periods of habitation separated by more than 1,000 years.

The Kiffians and the Tenerians both left traces of their lives behind. Bone jewelry and arrowheads were discovered alongside harpoons that would have been used to hunt in the nearby waters. Many of the burials were strikingly unusual. One man was buried with his head in a pot, while another rested on the remains of a turtle shell. Perhaps we will never know exactly how these people lived and died. The Sahara is not giving up all its secrets.

You can follow Ben on Twitter @BenTheEpicure.

Music and mythology seem to be many worlds apart. Yet, fascinating stories have emerged to prove that music is an art laced with mysteries. From satanic messages in “Hotel California” to Robert Johnson’s alleged pact with the devil, it seems that urban legends are an inherent part of fame.

Some songs, however, have more horrifying tales to tell. Here are some lesser-known myths hidden in 10 of the most cryptic songs ever written.

10 Famous Urban Legends Come To Life

10 The Forest Ogre
“The Erlking”

In 1782, young German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote a ballad that soon launched a terrifying urban legend. Entitled “The Erlking,” the musical piece tells the story of a sinister creature who preys on travelers and children.

Also known as the “King of Alders,” this forest monster is said to be a mistranslation of the original Danish “elf king.” Still, it has remained a haunting reminder of our childhood fears and the dark underworld hiding in the jungles.

Legend has it that a man was riding on a horse with his young son one eerie night. As they passed through the dark corners of the forest, the young boy suddenly heard whispers from the unknown. Terrified, he told his father about the ominous sign. However, the father reassured his child that it was just the wind “rustling with the dead leaves.”

The voice grew louder. But with his father ignoring him, the boy had no other choice. As they finally reached home, the father got the shock of his life. He found his poor son lifeless, with his soul allegedly consumed by the Erlking.^[1]

The story of the malevolent creature soon found its way into different communities and folk legends. In Dartmoor, for instance, a demon huntsman named Dewer is known to kill innocent children, hide them in sacks, and deliver the corpses straight to their parents. Another Erlking-inspired child killer is Ireland’s Tuatha De Danann, an evil creature known for leaving changelings in cradles to replace the poor infant victims.

9 Devil’s Dance
“Asereje” (“The Ketchup Song”)

In 2002, Spanish girl trio Las Ketchup conquered the international music scene with an unexpected hit. The song “Asereje” (“The Ketchup Song”), accompanied by awkward dance steps, became one of the best-selling singles of all time. But not long after it became an overnight sensation, rumors of backmasking and satanic references began to emerge.

It all started when an email message—allegedly from a newspaper in Chihuahua, Mexico—exposed hidden messages behind the song’s lyrics. The controversy focused on two major areas: the title and the song’s lead character named Diego.

If broken down and translated into English, “Asereje” also means “a being of heresy.” On the other hand, the alternative title, “Ketchup,” can be divided into two parts: “Up” (meaning “heaven”), and “chet” (loosely translated as “dung” or “sh–t”).

When combined, the resulting word can mean “heaven is sh–t” or a direct attack on the sky. Backmasking also applies to the rest of the lyrics—allegedly to conceal clues which describe Diego as Satan’s messenger.^[2]

The singers denied the rumors and repeatedly said that the song was based on the 1979 rap hit “Rapper’s Delight” by Sugarhill Gang. Turns out, Asereje is an example of mondegreen, in which a foreign song is reinvented due to a linguistic difference.

However, some international groups didn’t buy these explanations. In Dominican Republic, Mango TV banned all Asereje video clips. Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), an influential Christian sect in the Philippines, followed suit by preventing all its members from listening to the controversial song.

8 Texas Serial Killer
“Possum Kingdom”

Possum Kingdom Lake is a man-made body of water near the Dallas-Fort Worth area. It had remained an uneventful fishing spot until alternative rock band Toadies put a bizarre twist on its name.

In the mid-1990s, the band hit it big with their single “Possum Kingdom,” inspired by a string of creepy events linked to the lake. Lead vocalist Vaden Todd Lewis, the son of a preacher, wrote the song in a way that opens it up to various interpretations.

One theory suggests that “Possum Kingdom” recounts the story of a serial killer who lured young girls into his boathouse. Legend has it that he would rape and murder his victims inside the boathouse which supposedly still exists within the lake.

Another account revealed that the song was loosely based on a kidnapping and killing spree that happened near the Possum Kingdom Lake during the early 1980s. Local authorities allegedly hid all evidence of the past crimes to avoid turning off the tourists who frequented the lake.

In 1995, RIP Magazine interviewed the band to further explore the urban legends surrounding their song. Although the story was a mishmash of true events and folk legends, Lewis admitted that the lake holds a certain enigma.^[3]

He also shared the true story of a local stalker who had a strange habit of peeping into windows and breaking into people’s houses. The lake is also home to a popular spot—aptly named “Hell’s Gate”—where some tourists either went missing or died from drowning.

7 Ester’s Last Scream
“Love Rollercoaster”

The Ohio Players’ 1975 album, Honey, gained notoriety for two reasons: its provocative cover art and a creepy story hidden underneath. Legend has it that a woman was viciously murdered while the group was recording the album. As the story goes, the victim’s hair-raising scream can be heard between the first and second verses of the song “Love Rollercoaster.”

Several versions of the urban legend came out afterward. One story revealed that the scream actually came from the album’s cover model, Ester Cordet.

Rumor has it that she was required to wear an acrylic substance that looked like real honey during the photo shoot. However, some of the staff removed the paint rather hastily, tearing off Ester’s skin. She screamed—and eventually died—from the agonizing pain caused by the injury.

Other stories, however, claimed that Ester was raped and murdered while the group was busy recording the album. There were also other sources suggesting that the victim was a cleaning woman stabbed to death by a stranger outside the recording studio.^[4]

But members of the band denied the rumors once and for all. Turns out, keyboardist Billy Beck just wanted the listeners to relive the thrilling experience of a rollercoaster ride. So he belted out a diva-like scream (yes, it came from a dude), hitting the high notes the way Minnie Riperton did.

6 The Blood Libel
“Sir Hugh” (aka “The Jew’s Daughter”)
(Child Ballad No. 155)

“Sir Hugh” (aka “The Jew’s Daughter”) is a traditional British folk song dating back to a legend from the 12th century. It is a fine example of a ballad in which the lyrics tell a story of the song’s origin. But in this case, the background story falls between disturbing and macabre.

The song originated from a dark blood ritual considered to be a common practice among ancient Jews. To celebrate the Easter holiday, they allegedly murdered Christian infants and mixed the blood with unleavened bread (aka “matzo”). This bloody murder was also mentioned in an English variation of the song where a child named “Hugh of Lincoln” was purportedly killed by Jews in 1255.^[5]

Later, “Sir Hugh” (aka “The Jew’s Daughter”) began to popularize the legend in other countries, including the US. In fact, the song, without its anti-Semitic references, is said to have inspired another recurring legend called “The Mutilated Boy.”

In this story, young boys were allegedly castrated and left bleeding to death inside the comfort rooms of shopping malls. The culprits belonged either to a homosexual gang or a certain minority group who committed the crimes as part of their initiation rites.

10 Creepy And Outrageous Urban Legends That Turned Out To Be Completely True

5 Ode To The Black Plague
“Ring Around The Rosie”

Most people remember “Ring Around the Rosie” as a simple playground nursery rhyme. But according to legends, this song contains direct references to one of humanity’s darkest periods. Its origin dates to 1347–1350, when an estimated 25 million people died from bubonic plague.

Critics disagree, indicating that it was only in 1881 that “Ring Around the Rosie” first appeared in print. Still, the words from the song are strikingly relevant if put in the context of the Black Plague.^[6]

The “ring around the rosy” refers to one of the first signs of the bubonic plague: a reddish ring surrounding a rosy bump in the skin. At that time, people believed that the epidemic was airborne and that putting posies (flowers), incense, or scented oils into someone’s pocket would help neutralize the “foul air.”

The third line “ashes, ashes” is said to be an imitation of the sneezing sound. Again, this is strangely accurate as sneezing and coughing are two of the fatal final symptoms of bubonic plague. The final statement obviously refers to the massive death toll caused by the epidemic.

So, is it really an ode to the Black Plague?

Turns out, there are a gazillion versions of the song existing today. Some of them—including William Wells Newell’s 1883 version—even lack the last two phrases linking to the Black Plague. Whether or not the creepy version of the song predates the rest is still unknown.

4 The Kleenex Curse
“It’s A Fine Day”

Released in 1983, “It’s a Fine Day” is a classic song written by Edward Barton in collaboration with his then-girlfriend Jane Lancaster. It’s basically a feel-good song popularized by a Kleenex commercial that aired in Japan in the mid-1980s.

Looking back, the ad was something you wouldn’t expect from a company selling tissues. It featured a red baby demon sitting alongside a beautiful actress, later identified as Keiko Matsuzaka. They played the English (and probably the creepiest) version of “It’s a Fine Day” in the background—something that only some Japanese audience members could understand.

Soon enough, a very dark urban legend was born.

Rumor has it that local TV stations received multiple complaints from people who found the commercial too disturbing. Some even claimed that “It’s a Fine Day” originated from a German folk song and possessed a demonic curse.

Other stories are even more unforgiving. Supposedly, by nighttime, the voice in the commercial would suddenly change into a raspy version of an older woman and bring bad luck to anyone who heard it.

The people directly involved in the commercial were not spared, either. After the initial airing, all the staff and actors purportedly met unfortunate fates one by one.

For instance, the actor who portrayed the baby ogre died from a sudden organ failure. Depending on the version of the story, Keiko Matsuzaka either ended up in a mental institution or hanged herself. Other stories claim that Matsuzaka is still alive today but gave birth to a strange, demonic infant.^[7]

3 Hungarian Suicide Song
“Gloomy Sunday”

We’re all familiar with depressing songs driving some people crazy. The premise is the same for “Gloomy Sunday” except that it is deadlier than all other melancholy songs combined.

Its original Hungarian version, “Szomoru Vasarnap,” was written by composer Rezso Seress and lyricist Laszlo Javor. The song tells the story of a depressed woman who is thinking of ending her life after the loss of her lover. Upon release, the song was moderately successful. It wasn’t until 1936 that it gained sudden notoriety.

The Budapest police department reported at least 18 suicides directly linked to “Gloomy Sunday.” One of the fatalities was shoemaker Joseph Keller. According to reports, his suicide note included the lyrics of the song. Other victims listened to the song either from a recording or a Gypsy band before taking their own lives.

Although no known suicide related to “Gloomy Sunday” has been recorded in the US, as many as 200 cases worldwide were linked to the song’s disturbing contents. Most of the victims were young jazz fans who allegedly went into deep depression after listening to Billie Holiday’s 1941 rendition.

Another story tells of how Javor’s breakup with his girlfriend inspired him to write the song. Sadly, the girl ended up poisoning herself and left a note with only two words: “Gloomy Sunday.”

Reszo Seress was not spared from the curse. In 1968, he jumped to his death from his Budapest apartment allegedly due to his failing career. He was 68 years old.^[8]

2 Game Of Death
“Kagome, Kagome” (“Circle You, Circle You”)

“Kagome, Kagome” is a nursery rhyme usually sung in a popular Japanese children’s game. By simply looking at the lyrics, one can conclude that “Kagome, Kagome” is one of the most cryptic songs ever written for children. Several interpretations were made to explain its origin. Most involve grim details ranging from murder to a bloody treasure hunt.

In one story, the “bird in a cage” is seen as a direct reference to a prisoner waiting to be executed. The “evening of the dawn” has been interpreted as “the dawn patrol,” a person assigned to escort convicted prisoners on their final walk.

Another version claims that “kagome” is derived from kagomi (“pregnant woman”). Legend has it that during the time the song was written, an unborn child (i.e., the “bird in a cage”) was seen as a threat to in-laws greedy for an inheritance. So they either pushed the mother down the stairs or used other methods to forcibly abort the baby.

One of the most compelling interpretations, however, reveals that “Kagome, Kagome” holds the clues to finding a lost Tokugawa treasure. In February 1867, Prince Mutsuhito replaced the Tokugawa clan to become the new emperor of Japan. However, for the new empire to rebuild, it had to depend on the gold reserves stored in the government’s vault. Too late, they discovered that all the treasure was gone.

Oguri Tadamasa, a former finance governor of the Tokugawa clan, purportedly buried the treasure. Unfortunately, he was beheaded during the fall of Edo, taking all the secrets to his grave.^[9]

“Kagome, Kagome” suggests that the treasure might be buried somewhere in Nikko Toshogu Shrine. Despite excavation attempts, no link to the Tokugawa treasure has been found yet.

1 The Michigan Dogman
“The Legend”

As part of a 1987 April Fools’ Day celebration, deejay Steve Cook of WTCM-FM radio wrote a song called “The Legend.” As the goal was to intrigue his listeners, he wrote the lyrics by fabricating a story of a half-man, half-dog monster roaming the Michigan forests. He even added fascinating details such as the seven-year interval between reported “Dogman” sightings.

Written in a traditional Native American style, the ballad hit the airwaves just in time for the holiday. However, Cook later found out that the joke was really on him.

After playing the song, the WTCM-FM radio station received an overwhelming number of phone calls. The majority of the callers shared their own chilling tales of encountering a real “Dogman.”

Although most eyewitnesses didn’t know what to call it at first, the bizarre creature they had once encountered shared the same description as that of Cook’s fictional Dogman.

Such was the case with Robert Fortney, a resident of Cadillac, Michigan, whose first and last Dogman encounter dated back to the late 1930s. Fortney described the humanoid creature as a huge, black canid with “slanted, evil eyes and the hint of a grin.”^[10]

Another notable encounter happened in Big Rapids, Michigan, during summer 1961. One night, a man was sitting on a porch across from the manufacturing plant where he worked as a night watchman. At exactly 3:00 AM, he saw the frightening figure of a tall, brown-haired creature walking toward the driveway.

It alternated between walking on its four legs and standing up on two. A photography buff, the man instinctively took his Kodak Signet 35mm camera and captured a few shots of the mysterious creature. At that point, the Dogman rushed toward the woods, leaving no trail behind. To this day, the photo remains the strongest evidence yet that could prove the Dogman’s existence.

10 Bone-Chilling Urban Legends

In cities the majority of space is off-limits. Parks and streets may account for up to half the total area, but when you factor in the vertical axis—the floors inside buildings (many of them empty)—you get a different picture. And that’s just the space that we know about. Often there’s a lot more underground.

In order of size, here are 10 of the most spectacular subterranean sights you’re forbidden from seeing or, in some cases, even from knowing they exist…

10. Mumbai’s imperial underworld

When an occupying force takes over your country, it tends to cut you out of the loop. Hence, whenever Indian construction workers find structures under cities once controlled by the British, they don’t know what they were built for. The vault beneath Kolkata’s National Library, for instance, might have been anything from a treasury to a torture chamber—or, as it eventually turned out, just part of the building’s foundations. 

Mumbai has a veritable underworld of abandoned imperial structures, from the 13-room bunker under Raj Bhavan (the seat of city government) to the kilometer-long tunnel under the old General Post Office.

Another mystery was unearthed as recently as 2022: a 200-meter tunnel under Mumbai’s JJ Hospital, a building whose foundations were laid by the British governor. Appearing on no maps, it was only discovered in a water leak survey. And it was blocked at one end so it wasn’t clear where it once led. While it’s thought to have been to a neighboring hospital, it remains something of a mystery for now—as does the number of underground structures that remain to be found in Mumbai.

9. LA’s prohibition partyways

While the rest of America endured its first War on Drugs—the doomed-to-fail prohibition of alcohol—the mayor of LA kept the hooch flowing through a network of underground service tunnels. These were also the routes by which the flappers and dapper gents of the city’s roaring party scene got from one bar to the next without hassle. Originally built as service tunnels, and for a subway to ease traffic on the surface, they ran for more than 17 kilometers connecting basements converted to speakeasies.

One such bar was the King Eddy Saloon. Established almost 20 years before Prohibition, it moved underground to survive—transforming its above-ground premises into a piano store. Others include the Edison, in the basement of the city’s first privately owned power plant, and Cole’s, under the Pacific Electric building. Patrons of all these establishments, armed with a password, stumbled around wasted, completely unseen by police and paparazzi.

Despite their historic significance, the passages and basements are now closed to the public and even largely unmapped. Many are flooded and crumbling. Just like in the old days, however, those in the know can find their way in—as evidenced by the tunnels’ graffiti. According to Atlas Obscura, there’s an “easy-to-miss elevator” on Temple Street. And there’s also, apparently, an entrance off the subway from Downtown to Hollywood.

8. Havana’s secret chambers

In the early 1990s, the Cuban government was reported to have secretly built more than 33 kilometers of tunnels under Havana. These were to serve as bomb shelters amid escalating threats of invasion by the United States.

Known as the Popular Tunnels, they were manually dug by hundreds of laborers and their entrances carefully hidden. But these were just the latest of a long tradition of tunneling under Cuba. All the way back in 1929, the New York Times reported on the discovery of five secret chambers under Havana’s City Hall.

7. Tokyo’s hidden network

From rivers and forgotten canals to the world’s largest sewer system, there’s plenty below Tokyo that we know about. But there may a lot more. When journalist Shun Akiba compared an old map to a new one, he found differences suggesting not only unknown tunnels but an effort to cover them up. Whereas the new map showed subway tunnels crossing in Nagata-cho, for instance, close to the National Diet building (the seat of government), the old map showed them as parallel. Shun also found evidence of an underground complex between the National Diet and the prime minister’s residence. He also remarked on the mysterious tunnels leading off the Ginza Line.

Official enquiries got him nowhere, he said, lips were “zipped tight” despite his respectable professional background as a war correspondent for Asahi TV. From what he’s seen, Shun believes there must be close to 2,000 km of tunnels beneath the city—eight times the stated 250 km. And many of them (the Namboku, Hanzomon, and O-Edo lines, for instance) were built long before their conversion for trains. That the Chiyoda line platform at Kokkai-gijidomae, the National Diet station, is the deepest in Tokyo, suggests it was built as a bomb shelter. Yet old blueprints show another level even deeper. There’s also the mystery of the Yurakucho line, which, with its high ceilings and military facilities on route, is rumored to be a secret road used by the military. Although the network dates back to World War Two and the Cold War era, the continued silence from officials suggests they may still be in use.

6. Washington’s whack-a-mole hidey-holes

The two main parties of the military-industrial regime based out of Washington have plenty in common, but one thing stands out: they’re both afraid of the public. Hence their underground tunnels to get from one building to another—tunnels they’re advised to make use of. Some of these famously served as evacuation routes during the 2021 Capitol siege, but they are in fact used every day just to avoid going outside.

According to The Drive, there’s “a labyrinth of at least 19 underground passages on Capitol Hill”,  not only for people but vehicles as well. The oldest date back to the 1800s, when they were built for water and ventilation, as well as to transport books by electrical conveyor belt between the Capitol and Library of Congress. When the Russell building was finished in the early 1900s, it came complete with a subway car system in a tunnel so fortified that it was, many years later, designated as a fallout shelter. As other buildings followed, the tunnel network grew. And nowadays the Cannon Tunnel, between the Cannon building and the Capitol, is more like an underground town with “a shoe repair store, post office, credit union, and cafeteria.”

Among the most recent major works was a 54,000-square-meter expansion of the Capitol building’s underground complex. This added three underground stories to the existing network with links to nearby offices and a 305-meter tunnel to the northwest, officially built for screening garbage trucks for explosives. That was in the 2000s, amid growing secrecy regarding Washington’s underworld—not to mention the tunnels and bunkers that lie deep under the White House.

5. Moscow’s many secrets

The largest of Europe’s old fortresses, the Kremlin sits atop a labyrinth of secret passageways. There’s the haunted Neglinnaya river tunnel, for example, the Syani stone mines where the city sourced limestone for construction, and, although it’s yet to be found, the library of Ivan the Terrible. Excavations for the latter have all turned up nothing but tunnels: “endless tunnels, buried, stoned in, heading in unknown directions”. While the search was called off, however—in part because of damage to foundations—the library’s still thought to be down there, along with its priceless collection. 

What has been found are the dungeons under two of the Kremlin’s towers, in one of which Ivan the Terrible imprisoned Prince Andrei Khovansky. Those condemned to torture were kept gagged and chained to the wall, allowed to speak only when addressed by their captors. The nearby dungeons of the Cathedral of the Archangel kept prisoners of the church, people who owed it money, on painful posts known as “penitence chairs”. Just next door are the cathedral’s stone treasuries, built to withstand both fires and theft.

Much more recently constructed was the Metro-2, a parallel subway system built, in secret, around the same time as the main one. Intended to evacuate the government, it runs as deep as 250 meters in places. And not much is known about it, either, except that it does exist; Moscow’s first post-Soviet mayor confirmed that in 2006. 

4. New York’s abandoned subways

There are numerous disused rail tunnels under New York City. Track 61 beneath the Waldorf Astoria is among the most storied, having once carried presidents and generals like Roosevelt and MacArthur. In 2003, it was even considered as an escape route for George Bush. It has also hosted a fashion show and an Andy Warhol event. Other subways were constructed for the mail, such as the Farley-Morgan Postal Tunnel under 9th Avenue. Although it’s sealed off now, it was briefly used in 2004 to sneak guests between venues for the Republican National Convention. 

The Atlantic Avenue Tunnel under Brooklyn, meanwhile, has been abandoned since 1861—less than 20 years after it was built in 1844. It’s the oldest subway in the world and was only briefly reopened in 1918 to look for Germans.

But there’s a lot more under New York besides subways. One of the most interesting and unique tunnels is the 66-kilometer underground aqueduct between Bryant Park and the Croton River in Westchester. Disused since the 1950s, this “perfectly preserved” tunnel—the 1842 Croton Aqueduct—once carried millions of gallons of water to the city. It was all stored at the Distributing Reservoir in Bryant Park, a vast, 16,000-square-meter structure resembling an ancient Egyptian temple. It was actually thanks to this place, the solution to Manhattan’s disgusting sanitation problems, that the city is still there today.

3. Rome’s ancient quarries

So extensive are the ancient tunnels and quarries under Rome, dating back to the founding of the city, that it’s common for sinkholes to form and for buildings on the surface to collapse. It was only in 2013 that geologists mapped the network, amid an increasing number of such incidents. There were 44 collapses in 2011, followed by 77 in 2012, and 83 by December 2013. Residents have usually patched up the damage themselves using big plastic bags of cement.

The original Ancient Roman tunnelers actually tried to guard against this happening (in their own day, at least) by keeping the passageways narrow. This ensured the surface was still largely supported. Over time, however, the exposed rock has weathered. Not only that but later generations have widened the original tunnels and kept building more.

Although they’re not open to the public, they’ve been used by Romans down the ages as catacombs, sewers, and mushroom farms, as well as shelters in the Second World War.

2. London’s tunnels of intrigue

With its dungeons, crypts, and catacombs, 13 underground rivers, and plague pits from the mid-1300s, the history of London lies just below the surface. More recently, however, officials confirmed what urban explorers have known for decades: the existence of a sprawling network of underground tunnels connecting government buildings with secret chambers. According to the Land Registry in 2017, most of them were built by the Post Office, British Telecom, and the Ministry of Defence.

One of the more interesting parts of the network, the Postmaster General’s tunnel, runs from the East End of London to what used to be the War Office at 57 Whitehall (now an overpriced hotel). At various points along the way, elevator shafts connect it to government departments and telephone exchanges. Deep under High Holborn Street, not far from Whitehall, one such exchange was built as a government bomb shelter, complete with a restaurant, games rooms, and two bars (one for tea and one for booze).

The tunnels have, officially, been out of use since the Cold War era, but they were never opened up to the public. While those who’ve managed to sneak down there do say it’s like a time capsule, untouched in decades, they’ve only seen parts. Access to the deeper levels is suspiciously bricked off, the lights are kept on, and trespassers are disproportionately punished.

1. Beijing’s underground city

Built to hold 40% of citizens in the event of a war with Russia, Beijing’s dixia cheng (“underground city”) covers a remarkable 85 square kilometers—all hand-dug by citizens during the Cold War. It’s also known as the “underground Great Wall of China”, for its massive scale. But you’re not allowed to see it. 

The official guided tour takes in only a small, looping, and commercialized fraction of the whole. The rest of the corridors, tunnels and bunkers are said to be inhabited by up to one million homeless—the so-called Rat Tribe (who presumably stand to inherit the Earth). But that sounds too good to be true. While some of dixia cheng has been converted to low-cost, sub-standard apartments, it’s hard to imagine the CCP leaving all of it to poor people and tramps when there are hundreds of more selfish uses. With 90 entrances across the city, for example, its potential for “disappearing” citizens is obvious.

In any case, whatever’s really down there, it was built for long-term habitation, with storage for grain and space for mushroom farming, as well as restaurants, barber shops, a cinema, classrooms and anything else to help persuade citizens that things were still normal.

Ah, Disney. We all know it, we grew up with it, we all love it, and we all watch in horror as it monopolizes entertainment by gradually consuming every studio and franchise we’ve ever loved. Disney is everywhere and even scarier- it’s all connected. Like one big, tangled web that has slowly covered every bit of our lives. At this point, it’s best if we all stop struggling and let the spider… wow, this intro got out of hand. Easter eggs are fun! It’s always a blast to see creators give nods to their other projects and peers, and Disney is especially full of these little winks. Here are 10 of the best easter eggs hidden in Disney films.

10 Hawaii Loves “Mulan”

In “Lilo & Stitch,” two easter eggs make it clear that Mulan is a movie in this universe, and Hawaii loves it. In one scene, Lilo and Stitch enter the room of Lilo’s sister Nani. On Nani’s wall is a poster of “Mulan.” Not a fake, alternate-universe poster, but the actual Earth-you’re-on-right-now theatrical release poster. So even in this world of Disney, Disney exists. And at least Nani is a fan.

But Nani is not alone. When Lilo and Nani are out driving, we get to see some local businesses. Most of them are nondescript, but one stands out: Mulan Wok. The sign is even written in a font used in the movie. In this universe, “Mulan” is even popular enough to inspire cash-in, knock-off restaurants. How do we know it’s a ripoff? An officially licensed Disney product would have one thousand percent more branding. A huge neon Mushu would spit flames into the air, metaphorically screaming,” Disney wins at everything!”

9 Beast’s Talking Tea Set is Trashed

In “Tarzan,” there is a scene where the gorilla Terk and friends trash the explorers’ camp. Over the smooth scat and beatboxing of both Phil Collins and N*SYNC (no, really), the animals play with and/or utterly destroy a plethora of tools and equipment- globes, telescopes, dishes, chemist’s tools, and even the dear old Union Jack. The whole scene is like the cast of Stomp went to a rage room. But in the middle of that jazzy, swinging ditty, one set of items stands out.

Terk drums on a tea set that is clearly the fine, frilly set owned by Beast of “Beauty & the Beast” fame, complete with Mrs. Potts and Chip, identifiable by his cup’s rim, which has a… chip. The scary thing is that particular tea set were all members of Beast’s staff who were cursed to live as talking drink-ware. At the end of Beast’s story, the whole staff turned back into humans when Beast became a handsome bro again. Considering “Tarzan” takes place after “Beauty & the Beast,” we can only assume the staff has been re-cursed. When will handsome princes stop insulting secret enchantresses? It’s a tale as old as time.

8 Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder in “Frozen”

Some Easter eggs are simple and cute. Some imply a deep interconnectedness and launch connected universes. This easter egg is both. When Arendelle opens its doors for the first time in forever to celebrate Elsa’s coronation, “Tangled” stars Rapunzel and Flynn Rider can be spotted in the crowd of visiting dignitaries. It’s quick and cute and simple, and there’s nothing else to it.

Except there is a ton more to it. The bullet points are: Anna and Elsa’s parents’ ship sank on the way to Flynn and Rapunzel’s wedding. Ariel loots their ship for thingamabobs and sings about feet. The couple lands in Africa and gives birth to Tarzan. That makes him a Disney prince. It’s all connected. Or it’s all crazy. I want to be part of a world where things can be both.

7 Genie is a Street Peddler

“Aladdin” opens with a really weird scene if you think about it. Yeah, “Arabian Nights” is playing, and that song rocks, but also the scene is just following some nameless street vendor as he talks directly to the camera and tries to sell it/us a hookah. Go watch it; it’s nuts. But this scene hides a secret that, before some last-minute editing, was pretty crucial.

See, the peddler only has four fingers per hand like Genie, wears blue with a red belt à la Genie, and is voiced by Robin Williams like Genie. I bet you can finish this on your own. In the original script, the peddler was Genie in disguise, and he uses the peddler’s guise to tell us the story of Aladdin. In a scene which was cut before the final version, the peddler reappears at the end of the movie, reveals himself to be Genie, and- we can only assume- improvs for twenty minutes about Madonna and Jack Nicholson.

6 Mickey is a Powerline Fan

“A Goofy Movie” is great, and you know it. I didn’t cry when Bambi’s mom died, but I sure as heck did when Max stormed out of Lester’s Possum Park and said to Goofy, “call me when the trip is over.” It’s an excellent story and one that notably only features Disney’s dog-people. Not the dog-style dogs from “Lady & the Tramp,” “101 Dalmatians,” “Oliver & Company,” etc., only the humanoid dog-monsters from which Goofy was spawned.

That’s why it’s notable when Max and Goofy get to the Powerline concert, and in the crowd, you can spot a very obvious mouse. His name is Mickey Mouse. Even in the post-human dog-monster hellscape in which “A Goofy Movie” is set, Mickey has enough name recognition to get into a sold-out concert. We have to assume the mice have their own territory, and thanks to “Duck Tales,” we know the ducks do, too. But Mickey is so famous he can cross the borders established by the Dog-Duck-Mouse Accords of 3027 and go where he pleases.

5 “A Bug’s Life” is Both Real and a Story?

“Toy Story” is especially egg-laden, but a couple “A Bug’s Life” mentions stand out because of the existential nightmare they imply. In “Toy Story 2,” Mrs. Potato head reads a children’s book to some baby toys. That book is “A Bug’s Life”; it shows a frame and actual dialogue from the movie. So in the “Toy Story” universe, “A Bug’s Life” is a story. Presumably a movie like the one in our world, which was made into a children’s book.

Except in that same movie, Heimlich and Flik hang out on a branch, talking, existing as real people in the real “Toy Story” world. Buzz passes by them, proving their real, tangible existence. Weirder, on the branch, they discuss filming “A Bug’s Life 2,” meaning they are certainly actors who filmed “A Bug’s Life.” So in the “Toy Story” universe, not only are toys secretly alive, but bugs have their own movie industry—that humans and toys also enjoy watching? Or do regular human film crews use tiny cameras to film bug actors? Do people not squash bugs anymore because now they know that all bugs are sentient, feeling beings? Or worse, do humans still kill bugs even though they know the bugs have the capacity to talk and make hit films? Do toys know about bug sentience? Do bugs know about toy sentience? Wait. Was that whole incident with the grasshoppers not real?!

4 Scar is a Nice, Warm Jacket

Man, Scar had it tough. Okay, he killed Mufasa and ate the Pride Lands dry, but… wait, no, that’s pretty bad. Still, everything before and after that is pretty rough. He grew up unloved, second best, shunned, and had his eyeball cut. Then after that whole murder business, he was beaten, dethroned, burned, and eaten alive to hyenas. And it doesn’t stop there.

After Scar’s death, some industrious human managed to find him, skin him, turn him into a cloak, transport him up to Greece, and gift him to the country’s greatest hero. That’s right, Hercules ends up in possession of Scar’s skin. He wears it while posing for a triumphant and heroic portrait, in what has to be a major insult to Scar’s ghost. Incorporeal and floating above that scene, Scar had to have asked the world, ‘How much more must I pay?!’

3 Hans: The Immortal Jerk

If you’ve seen “Frozen,” you know that Hans is a jerk. Everything about him is jerky, and even I—the guy who just empathized with Mufasa’s murderer—can’t find a single thing to like about this human popped collar. You won’t be happy, then, to find out that he survives the Frozen franchise. In fact, he’s immortal and unstoppable. At the end of “Frozen,” Hans’s dastardly plans are foiled and he’s is taken away to prison. In “Frozen Fever,” we see him living out his punishment, spending his days shoveling horse manure. But that’s not the true end for this human “Entourage” episode.

In “Big Hero 6,” a wanted photo for Hans can be seen in the San Fransokyo police department. In addition, Baymax at one point flies past a statue of Hans, which the robot’s database identifies as “Prince Hans.” This human cellphone holster is still alive, still a prince, and still eluding legal justice. Sorry, Anna. Hopefully, he finally dies in the Human-Dog-Duck-Mouse War of 3026.

2 Mickey & Co. are Gods

I know, I already mentioned that Mickey Mouse knows no borders. But those are just political boundaries. He also exists beyond the constraints of time, space, and death. Yeah, you heard me. Through phenomenal cosmic powers, which we can assume he learned while apprenticed to a sorcerer, Mickey manages to take himself, Donald, and Goofy to King Triton’s kingdom, Atlantica. A neat trick, considering “The Little Mermaid” takes place a century or two before Mickey was born, and Atlantica is entirely underwater. The mouse is so powerful that time, space, and air are meaningless concepts to him. This easter egg proves that he is beyond us all now. His visits to our movies take only a fraction of his consciousness, while the bulk of his brain creates and maintains universes. And clearly, his favorite universe is…

1 Cars are the Biggest Pixar Fans

…The “Cars” universe. It is the single scariest genocidal dystopian nightmare ever put on film. Clearly, humans used to exist in the “Cars” universe, but all mysteriously vanished. It’s not hard to guess how, seeing as their killers still use human-built roads and buildings to go about their sickening robot-Frankenstein lives. What’s worse is that, even though they wiped the humans out, the Cars have a deep love for human culture, especially Disney. There’s no single easter egg to list here because the Cars have covered every square inch of themselves and their surroundings with Disney references.

There are car versions of Mike and Sulley, tires named after Buzz Lightyear, car versions of Merida from Brave and her family, but what is truly disgraceful to human civilization’s memory is that the Cars create twisted car parodies of human movies, just to assert their dominance. There’s “A Bug’s Life” starring a VW Bug, the Incredimobiles, and worst of all because it took no thought whatsoever, Toy Car Story. I’m offended as both an extinct human and as a writer.

Scientists are constantly making new discoveries about ancient tombs and monuments, usually to the effect of what they were used for. Some of those discoveries, however, involve secret passageways that hide secrets about the ancient world. Here are ten hidden passages that were found beneath ancient monuments and heritage sites you never knew existed!

Related: Top 10 Jaw-Dropping Hidden Spaces In Paris

10 Tunnel in the Great Pyramid of Giza

Most people are aware that the pyramids are home to networks of tunnels that take you between the various chambers. However, that’ s not to say that all the tunnels have been discovered or even that scientists know what they were all used for.

One of the more recent underground tunnel discoveries relating to the ancient world was an underground tunnel found not inside but underneath the Great Pyramid of Giza. The tunnel was discovered in March 2023 and is about 30 feet (9 meters) long. It sits close to the main entrance of the pyramid and was picked up using ultrasonic and radar testing.

As of now, scientists still aren’t sure what the tunnel was used for. However, one theory is that it may have been built to help distribute the weight of the pyramid more evenly. More testing will be needed to see if they can solve the mystery.^[1]

9 Teotihuacan

The Great Pyramid of Giza isn’t the only pyramid with a hidden tunnel beneath it. Another pyramid that holds secrets buried deep underground is Teotihuacan’s Pyramid of the Moon.

This pyramid is thought to mirror the great monuments of Teotuhuacan and perhaps represent the underworld. The tunnel is about 33 feet (10 meters) deep and runs from the Plaza de La Luna, the square near the pyramid, to below the pyramid itself.

Although scientists still aren’t sure what the tunnel was used for, they do know that the Pyramid of the Moon was a temple where human sacrifice was performed. So perhaps the tunnel had a similar sinister purpose. It will take more digging and testing to find out for sure.^[2]

8 Talatal Ghar

Talatal Ghar is an old military base and palace dating back to the 18th century. It’s located near Assam, India, and was built during the Ahom period in the country.

At first glance, Talatal Ghar is just another army base and 18th-century palace. However, looking a little closer, you’ll quickly unearth the base’s secrets. You see, Talatal Ghar has two secret tunnels that are built around three stories underground.

One tunnel is nearly 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) long, while the other tunnel is almost 10 miles (16 kilometers) in length. The shorter tunnel connects Talatal Ghar to the Dhikow River, while the longer tunnel leads to the nearby Garhgaon Palace.

Unlike some of the other secret tunnels hidden beneath historical sites, scientists actually know the purposes of these passages. The Ahom period was a period of war, and as a result, these tunnels were used as escape routes from the palace during the Ahom wars.^[3]

7 Chand Baori

Another Indian heritage site that’s home to secret tunnels is Chand Baori. Chand Baori is a stepwell, or a well or pond with a series of steps leading down to the water, located in the state of Rajasthan.

This type of stepwell was actually pretty common throughout India and was used as a place to gather water, cool down on hot summer days, or hold religious rituals. Many stepwells were built near forts and palaces to make them easy for people to access. The stepwells were popular from around the 7th century until the 18th century.

What’s really interesting about these stepwells, however, is that there was often more to them than meets the eye. Many of them actually provided secret access to an underground tunnel network throughout the Rajasthan state, used to serve as a transportation system in case of an emergency.

Chand Baori is one of these stepwells and grants access to the tunnel network, which extends to various other local monuments and heritage sites, including Amber Fort.

Despite all the intrigue of the stepwell tunnels, there’s some debate as to whether they really do date back to the 8th century. Some historians argue that these may have been built more recently, in the 20th century, in order to draw tourists to the area. It’s up to you to decide which story you believe.^[4]

6 The Colosseum

The Colosseum draws thousands of visitors each year, providing a glimpse into ancient Roman culture and some of their more brutal customs and traditions. While tourists have long been free to wander through the Colosseum and get a feel for what it might have been like to watch a game in this ancient monument, they haven’t always been able to go beneath the Colosseum.

The Colosseum had a network of tunnels and passageways hidden underground where gladiators would prepare for their fights. These passengers were invisible to spectators and have remained invisible to tourists for a long time as well.

In 2021, however, several of these hidden underground passageways were restored, making it possible for tourists and scientists alike to learn more about them. So perhaps it’s time to plan a trip to Rome to explore some of the ancient world’s hidden passageways.^[5]

5 Manzana de las Luces

Manzana de las Luces is an old Jesuit religious complex that sits in San Telma, Argentina. The complex was built in the late 1500s and was part of a mission to promote Christianity in the New World.

Despite their lofty mission, the Jesuits weren’t welcome in Argentina, with indigenous groups threatening them with armed conflict. To protect themselves, the Jesuits at the Mazana de las Luces mission began to create a network of tunnels beneath the church that extended out to other churches around the city. The idea was to give them an escape plan in the event that the natives launched a serious attack.

Interestingly enough, these tunnels were never properly documented, making it challenging for scientists to uncover the true extent or purpose of the tunnels. The tunnels were originally found in the 1900s during a construction project, and other tunnels suspected to have been part of the network have been found over the years during other construction projects.

Sadly, many of these tunnels have since been lost to time. However, tourists can still check out a short section directly under the Manzana de las Luces mission.^[6]

4 Chauvin de Huantar

Chavin de Huantar is an ancient archaeological site located in the highlands of Peru. It is believed to have been built by the Chavin culture, which flourished between 900 BC and 200 BC. The site is known for its impressive architectural features, including a complex network of underground tunnels that were used for ceremonial purposes.

The hidden tunnels of Chavin de Huantar are an important part of the site’s history and significance. The tunnels were built using sophisticated engineering techniques and were designed to channel water and connect different parts of the site. They also played a role in the religious practices of the Chavin culture, as they were used for ceremonies and possibly as a way to communicate with the gods.

The passageways were discovered in the 1940s by Peruvian archaeologist Julio C. Tello. Since then, they have been extensively studied and explored by archaeologists and other experts. Today, Chavin de Huantar is considered one of Peru’s most important archaeological sites and a popular tourist destination. Visitors can explore the underground tunnels and other architectural features of the site, including the Temple of Chavin, a massive stone structure decorated with intricate carvings and sculptures.^[7]

3 Red Fort

The Red Fort is a Mughal Empire-era fort that sits in the Old City in Delhi, India. This fort is a UNESCO World Heritage site and attracts many visitors each year looking to learn a bit more about the country’s history.

Recently, however, scientists discovered that there was a secret hiding beneath the Red Fort. The tunnel, which connects to the Delhi Legislative Assembly, was discovered in 2021. It seems to have once been a tunnel used by the British to move freedom fighters around the city. Still, the exact history and purpose are up for much debate, and historians haven’t been able to find detailed records about it.

What’s more, much of the tunnel has been destroyed in recent years. Thanks to the construction of the Delhi Metro and sewer system, the full tunnel no longer remains intact. Despite this, Delhi officials have hopes of restoring at least a small section of the tunnel and making it available to the public to check out.^[8]

2 Taposiris Magna

The Taposiris Magna is an ancient Egyptian city that sits outside modern-day Alexandria. This ancient city is home to ruins, temples, and unique historical sites. However, it’s also home to a recently discovered network of tunnels that sits below one of the temples in the village.

The tunnel network is more than 13,770 feet (4,200 meters) long and is about 6.5 feet (2 meters) tall. The tunnel is hidden about 65 feet (20 meters) underground and seems to be an exact replica of the Eupalinos Tunnel in Samos, Greece, which was used to move water.

This is most likely due to the fact that the tunnel dates back to the Ptolemaic period when Egypt was ruled by Greece. Scientists are still excavating at the tunnel to learn more about it, but as of now, it’s also thought to have been built to move water around the ancient city.^[9]

1 Royal Palace of Naples

The Royal Palace is a palace in Naples, Italy, that was owned by Ferdinand II of Bourbon during the 18th century. However, beyond the riches and treasures hidden within the castle’s walls are far more secrets beneath the Palazzo itself.

You see, beneath the palace lies a network of tunnels built by King Ferdinand II in the 1800s due to fear of a revolutionary uprising. The tunnels are huge, designed to fit military troops and horses and lead them from the barracks to the Royal Palace.

Interestingly enough, the tunnels are home to much more modern artifacts than you might think based on when they were built. During World War II, they were used as bomb shelters as well as a place to smuggle contraband vehicles before they were closed off in the 1950s. As a result, many of the artifacts within the tunnels date back to this more modern period.

The tunnels were rediscovered by accident when scientists conducted seismic testing on the area. Today, the tunnels can be visited by tourists, often as part of a tour of the Royal Palace of Naples.^[10]

Video games. As long as they’ve existed there have been easter eggs (video game secrets). In fact, the earliest known video game secret—in the 1979 Atari game “Adventure”—is what gave us the phrase “easter egg” in the first place. 

It shouldn’t be any surprise. Games are built on millions of lines of computer language which the average player will never see. That’s millions of chances for developers to secretly sign their name, whether literally or metaphorically. Sometimes they sign their name in big ways, like whole-other-level big. Whether put in as rewards for masterful gamers or just as jokes, there is no shortage of hidden levels in video games, and here are ten of the best.

10 Rogue Leader: Vader’s Vengeance

The “Rogue Squadron” series was a short-lived but much-loved trilogy of flight simulators set in the Star Wars universe. The games are known for fun, challenging, lore-respecting space battles set above dozens of beloved Star Wars planets and space stations—and for including an insane amount of easter eggs and secret codes. Though the first installment, just titled “Rogue Squadron,” had a pair of short hidden levels, it’s the second game, “Rogue Leader,” where the best-hidden levels lie.

The pair of levels put you in the seat of Darth Vader’s TIE Advanced as you rewrite history and crush the rebel scum. In “Triumph of the Empire,” you repel the rebel assault on the first Death Star, saving the massive station by systematically killing Rogue Squadron—including Luke Skywalker. Then in “Revenge on Yavin,” you (as Darth again) get to take the fight to the rebel base, bombing the secret Rebellion headquarters, cementing the Empire’s total galactic victory.

9 Borderlands 2: Mysterious Minecraft

With its comic book-inspired cell-shaded visuals, love affair with extensive gun arsenals, and irreverent humor, “Borderlands” is essentially the Deadpool of video games. Even more so than the actual Deadpool game because “Borderlands” is actually enjoyable. And like Deadpool, Borderlands does not shy away from pop-culture references. In “Borderlands 2,” one takes the form of a hidden level homage to “Minecraft.”

In the toxic landfill area known as Caustic Caverns, you can find a set of tracks with mining carts on them. Past these is a set of oddly low-res brown blocks, which can be broken. Moving past this makeshift barrier, you’ll enter a cave that is all “Minecraft.” Suddenly stones are pixelated cubes and “Minecraft”’s famous Creepers greet you with their awkward attacks. You’ll even find similarly pixelated skins for yourself and a gun inside.

8 Star Fox: Secret Slots

The original SNES “Starfox” was an amazing experience. On a home console in 1993, players got to experience fast-paced flight simulation in space, which was unique enough in itself. Crazier still was that the game used the Super FX processor to create actual, polygonal graphics, which meant real(ish) 3D in your home—a first for most of us. Another first for everyone was its insane floating slot machine dimension.

It is accessed by shooting one particular asteroid, which causes a giant origami bird to appear in space. You can then fly straight into the bird, which will teleport you into the “Out Of This Dimension” level. The level is a warped, mutating acid trip of a stage, with creepy carnival music and giant moons with faces. And it gets weirder. The boss, a giant slot machine, appears and suddenly the music changes to ‘When the Saints Go Marching In’ on a loop. You have to shoot triple 7’s into the slot machine to defeat it, and your reward: you’re trapped in the nightmare dimension forever.

7 Super Mario Bros. 3: Golden Galleon

When I was little, a friend told me “Super Mario Bros. 3” had a secret level which was just one giant flying treasure ship, known as the Coin Ship. I didn’t believe them and never saw it once. Until 20 years later when I discovered that the ship was completely real, just hidden in the most ridiculous of ways.

To reach the Treasure Ship (the official name, apparently), you have to be in one of four specific levels, find a wandering hammer brother, beat the level with “a coin total that ends in a multiple of 11,” “the tens digit of the player’s score must match the multiple of 11,” and mathematically that means the timer must end in an even number. Like I said: ridiculous. The ship itself is coin after coin, as well as other rewards, so you can only imagine how cool it would be to randomly discover it on your own.

6 Dying Light: Mario Mention

Speaking of Mario, the light-hearted franchise is mentioned in the most unexpected of places: the parkour-zombie-shooter game “Dying Light.” On a roof in the game’s open city is a familiar-looking green pipe, which you can use to teleport downward.

You enter a hidden, linear map comprised of cubes and pipes, clearly a crude recreation of a Mario level. There are even ‘goombas,’ really just oddly-flattened zombies. The level ends—in true Mario fashion—when you reach and slide down a flag pole and pipe out.

5 Sands of Time: Obscured Original

The 2003 gaming masterpiece “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” has a hidden reference to the original 1989 “Prince of Persia” game right at the beginning. From the main menu, hitting ‘start new game’ puts the player on a balcony (seamlessly, by the way) from which they are expected to enter the first stage.

Instead, staying on the balcony and entering a string of buttons teleports the players to a side-scrolling underground tomb. The tomb is a near-exact replica of the first level from the 1989 “Prince of Persia,” but with a few fun inclusions. At its end, players can find a secret scimitar, some cases of beer, and a picture of the entire dev team.

4 Sonic Adventure 2: Hidden Hills

Sonic Adventure 2 has a fun shoutout to the very first Sonic game. The only problem, it takes a lot of effort, skill, and worse, tons of hours sunk into a post-Genesis Sonic game. In order to access the hidden level, players have to beat every level of SA2, obtain A ranks (the highest possible score) on everyone, and collect all 180 emblems (in-game trophies).

For all that work, players gain access to a 3D recreation of the Green Hill Zone. The GHZ is the most famous level in Sonic history, appearing in most of its titles, and is usually the first level of the game. The 3D recreation level in SA2 is a pretty cool easter egg if you have the patience and energy to go for it (and if you love Chao farming that much).

3 Doom: Retro References

The 2016 “Doom” game is a model for developers looking to recapture the spirit and success of a stagnant franchise. The game is a blast and truly feels like playing a classic “Doom” game, albeit an order of magnitude more gorgeous. Not to cut any corners, it went all out for its hidden levels, as well. All 13 of them.

In every level of the 2016 “Doom,” there is a hidden lever that opens a hidden door. Crossing through the door’s threshold, players enter a ‘classic level.’ Every classic level is a trip back in time to the first days of “Doom”: maze-like corridors of low-res blocks guide the player to enemy after enemy, with the same endless browns and grays of yore. And again—there is one in every single level.

2 Red Alert: Concealed Colony

This is one of the greatest hidden levels ever. Four of them, actually. In the Counterstrike expansion to the classic (and still fun) “Command and Conquer: Red Alert,” there is a hidden sequence of missions in which your Allied Forces take on a colony of giant bloodthirsty ants. For a game which had been solely (human) Allies vs (also human) Soviets throughout the entire experience until that point, this was a wild surprise. Even more surprising is how it’s accessed.

At the main menu, players have to hold shift and click on the speaker icon, which is normally the audio settings. Doing so brings up a series of fun, campy, classic-horror-homaging levels in which you have to fight off giant ants and eventually exterminate their queen. It is great fun, totally out of left field for the franchise, fairly lengthy for a hidden stage, and would clearly be a paid DLC these days.

1 Diablo 2: Moo Moo Monsters

The Secret Cow Level in “Diablo II” might just be the most famous hidden level of all time. Back in the day, fan-favorite games inevitably spawned internet rumors about hidden secrets, glitches, and hacks. Most were untrue (though somehow MissingNo. actually existed) and the rumored secret cow level in the first “Diablo” was no exception. It was completely fake, and no matter what weird gymnastics you went through, it was never going to appear. Until it did.

As a nod to the rumors, developers put the Secret Cow Level in “Diablo II” for real (as well as in the Hellfire expansion to the first game). The level is chock full of slow-moving cow-people with halberds, as well as the boss monster: Cow King. It was good fun and showed that the developers A) listened to the community and B) had a good sense of humor.