Art is a difficult profession. You can spend decades learning the skills of drawing, draftsmanship, and composition. Still, you will be no good if you lack natural aptitude.

Of course, you can always go another way: Slap some paint on a canvas, and sell it for millions. Here are 10 artists who created works with a single color. Whether they are great works or not depends on your interpretation of their meaning.

See Also: 10 Pop Culture Versions Of Famous Paintings

10 Abstract Painting
Ad Reinhardt

Adolf “Ad” Reinhardt was an abstract painter from New York who was an early proponent of abstract expressionism—the subconscious application of colors and shapes. His early works included geometric forms and other traditional techniques. After the 1940s, however, he moved into works composed of entirely one color.

For the last 10 years of his life, he only produced a series of square canvases painted entirely black. These were described as his “ultimate paintings.” After he had painted these black squares, he believed that there would be nothing left for anyone to paint.^[1]

At first glance, they may appear entirely featureless. But there are subtle variations. To notice them demands a lot of time and effort that not everyone is willing to give. When they were first displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, one visitor canceled his membership in protest.

9 Black Square
Kazimir Malevich

In 1913, the year that Ad Reinhardt was born, Kazimir Malevich prefigured his ultimate paintings with his own black square. While Reinhardt filled his canvas with black, Malevich simply painted a black square in the center of his creation. He wrote, “In the year 1913, trying desperately to free art from the dead weight of the real world, I took refuge in the form of the square.”

Black Square was described by some as the “first time someone made a painting that wasn’t of something.” It was also called the “zero point of art” by Malevich himself to mark everything that came after it as modern.

Although the painting was once a uniform black, age has made a crazed path of cracks across the surface to reveal the white beneath.^[2]

8 White Paintings
Robert Rauschenberg

Yet another series of black paintings was produced by Robert Rauschenberg in the early years of his career. Painted over newspaper glued to canvas, they look like peeling bark. But he also produced a series of white paintings.

The five paintings in the White series are actually collections of one, two, three, four, or seven identical white canvases to be hung together. When first exhibited, they were considered a cheap trick, but they can now be found in galleries around the world. As the paint degraded with time, they had to be repainted various times by Rauschenberg’s friends to maintain them.

Rauschenberg was a friend of the composer John Cage. He famously wrote a piece of music called 4’33”, where a pianist or other instrumental performers sit silently for 4 minutes and 33 seconds. As a result, the piece is composed of sounds of the environment. Perhaps, this is an ideal accompaniment to these paintings.^[3]

7 Monochrome White Painting
Li Yuan-chia

Li Yuan-chia, one of the most noteworthy Chinese artists of the 20th century, worked in painting, sculpture, furniture, and hanging mobiles. He created Monochrome White Painting in 1963. Although casual observation presents a blank white surface, there are features which can be detected at close range.^[4]

Cardboard circles have been attached to the canvas and painted over in the same white as the background. Li described the circles as “cosmic points.” He considered the dots to be the beginning and end of all things. These points were related to the position of things within the boundless space of the universe. The painting was originally titled 2=2-2.

6 The Dylan Painting
Brice Marden

Brice Marden named The Dylan Painting after his friend Bob Dylan because Marden was creating it to help the singer’s career. However, by the time the artwork was completed, Dylan, a future Nobel Laureate, was already more famous than Marden. So the painting remained with Marden.^[5]

The canvas was painted with turpentine and beeswax, a combo to which the gray color had been added. Then the artist used a spatula to flatten the surface while leaving marks to add evidence of his work. There was also a strip of unpainted canvas left bare at the bottom of the artwork. Paint was allowed to drip there, and other marks remained to show the process of creation.

5 Achrome
Piero Manzoni

Piero Manzoni is best known for his ironic take on art. His greatest work was titled Artist’s Shit. Ninety cans were supposedly filled with the artist’s waste and sold at the price of each can’s weight in gold. However, he worked in slightly more traditional media as well.

His series of works called Achromes look white but were described by the artist as colorless. He began the series with simple white canvases. Sometimes, they were heavily painted to show the texture of the paints. Later works were gouged and crossed with lines.

Toward the end of the series, Manzoni stopped using canvas and began using cotton, acrylic resin, fiberglass, and painted bread rolls. He also started to tint his works with pigments that would change color over time.^[6]

4 Surrogate Paintings
Allan McCollum

Allan McCollum has reduced paintings to a generic form. His works are placeholders for paintings. Although his pieces look like paintings in frames, they are actually plaster casts which have been painted to look like that. There isn’t any difference between the painting inside and the frame. No two are identical. They are mass-produced yet handmade works.^[7]

The painting inside each “frame” is perfectly featureless with no trace of the artist’s hand. His studio is set up like a production line, with his assistants taking roles in each stage. The Surrogate Paintings bridge the gap between art and automation.

3 Grey
Gerhard Richter

Gerhard Richter’s paintings range from richly detailed, almost photo-realistic portraits to brightly colored abstracts. He has even designed a stained glass window for Cologne Cathedral which is formed of squares of vibrant glass. In addition to these works, he has created a series of “grey paintings.”

In varying shades of gray, the paintings run from featureless matte works to complex patterns. The majority were created in the 1960s and ’70s. Richter considers “grey” to be the perfect color to represent nothingness. He explained, “It does not trigger off feelings or associations, it is actually neither visible nor invisible.”^[8]

2 Veil
Shirazeh Houshiary

Shirazeh Houshiary is an Iranian artist and former nominee for the prestigious Turner Prize. Her works in conceptual art hang in the New York Museum of Modern Art and the Tate Collection.

Her 1999 painting Veil appears to be a simple painted black square. She considers Veil to be a self-portrait. The artist wrote Sufi phrases in Arabic on the black painted canvas in graphite. Even at close range, these are almost impossible to see. Houshiary considers her works as somewhere between painting and drawing.^[9]

1 IKB 79
Yves Klein

Traditionally, blue was a rare color in art. The sources for blue paint were often expensive because it was hard to produce. Lapis lazuli, the pigment in ultramarine, had to be imported from Afghanistan. Yves Klein decided that blue would be the medium of his life.^[10]

In 1946, while lying on a beach with his friends, Klein stared up at the blue sky. He took his hand and signed his name on the sky, claiming it as his own. As he described the event:

“That day, as I lay stretched upon the beach of Nice, I began to feel hatred for birds which flew back and forth across my blue sky, cloudless sky, because they tried to bore holes in my greatest and most beautiful work.”

Working with a pigment maker, he created—and trademarked—his own version of ultramarine called “International Klein Blue.”

Mystery doesn’t always mean murder. From strange creatures to mysterious visitors and tales of reincarnation; there is something out there for everyone. On this list are 10 such mysteries to boggle the mind and ignite the imagination.

See Also: 10 Mysteries Unlikely To Ever Be Solved

10 The Presence

On 20 May 1916, three weary figures stumbled up to a whaling station on the north coast of South Georgia. Ernest Shackleton, Frank Worsley and Tom Crean had walked for one and a half days non-stop to find help to rescue their crew who were stuck on the other side of the island as well as Elephant Island. The journey was treacherous, as they had to cross mountainous regions with only a rope and axe as aid. Their bravery was rewarded when they eventually found help at Stromness and all the stranded men were rescued.

Only several weeks after the incident, did the three men realise they all had the same weird experience in common. All of them had felt a strange ‘presence’ during their journey; almost as though another person had joined their rescue effort. All three men recounted how they felt this presence ‘walking’ alongside them right up until they reached Stromness, whereafter it disappeared. Shackleton, in particular, was very rattled by the experience and did not like speaking of it.

Many theories have been presented for what the three men encountered, such as a shared hallucination, neurological disorders and side effects of high doses of prescribed medicine. However, just what happened while they were on their trip and who or what accompanied them on it, remains a mystery.^[1]

9Druid of Colchester

In 1996, researchers discovered a unique grave near Colchester, Essex. It was estimated that the man inside the grave would have most likely died during the Roman invasion or between 40 – 60AD. The burial chamber was constructed entirely out of wood, and contained a cloak hung with medical tools including scalpels, needles and retractors.

In addition to this, metal poles, a jet bead and herbs including Mugwort were found. There was even a chess board alongside the remains. It is unknown, however, who the man may have been, although experts believe he could have either been an ancient Druid, or a doctor. There is only one Roman account on the Druids of Britain, provided by Tacitus and it remains very difficult to correctly identify Druid artefacts and remains here. Therefore, the true identity of the man in the burial chamber will most likely never be known.^[2]

8Skull helmets

Archaeologists excavating burials at Salango in Ecuador between 2014 and 2016 made a puzzling discovery that they have yet to find an explanation for. Among the burials were the remains of two infants sporting ‘helmets’ made from children’s skulls.

It was found that the skulls were likely placed over the infants’ heads while there was still flesh on them; with one of them having their face pointing through the cranial vault. There was also a small bone lodged between the infant’s head and the skull covering it.

The archaeologists have no explanation for the skulls covering the heads of the infants although one theory suggests it may have been for protection according to ancient ritual. While is it also not known what led to the deaths of the infants and children, their bones reflected malnourishment. This is thought to have been caused by a volcanic eruption in the area that may have led to a shortage of food. These findings have only very recently been published and more evidence is needed for any of the theories to be proven as correct.^[3]

7 Wailing house

Alan and Christine Tait loved their Ammanford house in Wales right up until June 2018. Christine was making coffee late one night, when she became aware of strange noises emanating from the house. She called her husband and they both tried to establish where the noises were coming from. They heard flushing noises, running machines, a motorcycle and disembodied screams.

Eventually they realised the sounds were coming from the basement located underneath the kitchen. Alan dug into the walls and inserted recorders to try and find out what could be causing the noises. The equipment recorded police sirens, a female screaming, barking dogs and a car horn.

Christine is of the belief that there are people living down in the basement and that the sounds may be linked to human trafficking or even a drug lab. However, police have not found any evidence of this. In the meantime, Christine and Alan are too scared to return to their home and are travelling the UK trying to find someone who can help them solve the mystery.^[4]

6 Van Meter Visitor

U.G. Griffith was on his way to his house in Van Meter, Iowa on 29 September 1903 when he noticed a spotlight on top of a building which he had never seen before. Walking towards the building, the light jumped to another roof, before disappearing into the darkness. Telling the story the next day, people were all ears because Griffith had been a respected citizen of Van Meter.

On 30 September the town’s doctor, Dr Alcott, woke up to a beam of light shining into his face in the early hours of the morning. Running outside with his firearm, thinking there were intruders on his property, Dr Alcott froze to the spot when he saw in front of him a large humanoid creature with massive wings and a horn on its head. The horn was beaming a stream of bright light into his house. Dr Alcott shot the creature 5 times, but the monster didn’t even blink. The doctor then ran back inside and when he looked back, the creature had disappeared.

On 1 October, also in the early hours, bank manager Clarence Dunn walked to the bank where he worked with the uneasy feeling that the recent ‘monster’ sightings may have been robbers trying to distract the townsfolk while planning the rob the place. He locked himself inside the building, clutching a shotgun for protection. Just after midnight, Dunn heard a strange gasping noise. Then a bright light shone into the bank and Dunn could see a figure outside. He fired the shotgun at the figure, and it fled. Later, he would find footprints with only 3 toe prints outside the bank.

More people witnessed the creature, including J.L. Platt Jr. who encountered it at the entrance to an abandoned coal mine. He also saw a smaller similar-looking creature standing next to the large one. Shooting at them once again had no effect. The community then decided to board up the entrance to the mine and the creatures were never seen again.

Was this just a scary story that had the whole town on edge or did Van Meter’s residents see something supernatural more than 100 years ago?^[5]

5 Krishna’s Butter Ball

On a 45-degree slope (base less than 4 feet) in Mahabalipuram, India, rests a huge boulder (over 250 tons) named Krishna’s Butter Ball. The way the boulder is perched makes it look as though it rolled down the hill and somehow stopped right before plunging all the way down. Gravity has not been able to move it; neither has the shoves of tourists who try to get it to roll further down.

It is thought that the boulder is a glacier erratic, but it is unknown why it stopped where it did. According to Hindu mythology however, the great god Krishna was extremely fond of eating butter when he was just an infant and because the boulder has an orangey tint, it is believed by some that it is in fact a dollop of butter dropped by Krishna. Hence the name: Krishna’s Butter Ball.^[6]

4 Shrieks of Forest Grove

In 2016, a shrill shrieking sound in Forest Grove started keeping people up at night and causing dogs to bark incessantly. Residents described the sound as car brakes screeching, a siren going off and even a banshee howling into the wind.

Some recorded the sounds to replay later and try figure out what the cause may be. Theories ranged from a leak in a pipeline, a fire alarm, or a train screeching to a halt. None of these theories panned out. The noise continued and was heard at several locations in Forest Grove. A physics professor at the local university tried to track down the source of the sound by pinning all the locations on a Google Map of the area. There was no pattern however, and the mystery remained.

Residents started getting freaked out and theories started including ghosts, Bigfoot, aliens and more. The story circulated on news channels and the sound continued. Then, one night the sound was noticeably absent and never returned. It remains unknown what caused the high-pitched noise and why it ceased just as abruptly as it started.^[7]

3 Hanan Monsour / Suzanne Ghanem

Hanan Monsour was born in the 30s in Lebanon. She married Farouk Monsour when she was only 20 years old and went on to have two daughters, Leila and Galareh. Soon after the birth of her second child, Hanan was diagnosed with heart disease and was warned to not have any more children. Despite this, she had a son in 1962. Her brother died in 1963 and soon after, Hanan started getting ill. She spoke a lot of dying and told her husband she would come back after death.

Hanan was 36 when she died after having heart surgery. She tried unsuccessfully to telephone her daughter, Leila, before the operation.

Suzanne Ghanem was born ten days after Hanan’s death. Her mother claimed to have had a dream, before Suzanne was born, in which a woman told her she was going ‘to come to her’. Much later, Suzanne’s mother saw a picture of Hanan Monsour and claimed it looked like the woman from her dream.

Suzanne was only 16 months old when she started tugging at the landline phone in her parent’s home and repeating the words: ‘Hello, Leila?” Her family was astonished by this as they did not know anyone called Leila. As Suzanne grew older, she told her parents that Leila was one of her children from a past life. At the age of two, she mentioned all three of Hanan’s children’s names as well as Farouk, her parents and brothers.

Upon hearing this, the Monsours set off to visit Suzanne. While they were together, Suzanne identified all Hanan’s relatives and told Farouk that she remembered giving jewels to her brother Hercule before she had had her surgery. No one other than the Monsour family had known about this.
By the time she was five, Suzanne called Farouk multiple times a day. This continued until she was twenty-five years old. Farouk accepted that Suzanne was the reincarnation of Hanan and believed the physical resemblance between the two women was further proof.

Naturally, most believe this to be merely a coincidence or a hoax. But what truly transpired remains shrouded in mystery.^[8]

2 Nunavut ping

A strange pinging sound emanating from the ocean in Nunavut, have caused serious headaches for hunters in the area as it seems to be scaring away the sea mammals they usually hunt for food. In 2017 it became apparent that the Fury and Hecla Strait was near empty when it should have been teeming with seals and whales.

Naturally, theories abound on what could be causing the mysterious pinging, including a Greenpeace effort to save seals from being hunted and sonar surveys, but none of them have been conclusively proven. A military plane has even been sent to fly over the area, but it picked up nothing other than whales and walruses. Canadian Forces at the time were going to send acoustic specialists to converse with residents of nearby Igloolik, to try and gather more information about the ping.

To date however, the source of the ping remains unknown.^[9]

1 What happened to Cecil Grace?

Cecil Grace was an aviator who decided to enter a flying competition in 1910; the prize being £2,000 to the first Englishman who could successfully fly over the English Channel and the furthest into Europe. On 22 December 1910, the competition was on and Cecil flew from Swingate Downs to Calais in France. Unfortunately, this was not far enough to win, so he turned back to England to start over. It should have taken around 40 minutes. However, by mid-afternoon, Cecil’s plane was nowhere to be seen.

Cecil never returned. On 6 January 1911, a pair of aviator goggles and a cap washed up on a Belgium beach. A couple of weeks later, a body washed up as well. The body was never identified due to its advanced state of decomposition, but Cecil’s friends had serious doubts whether it was the aviator’s remains. Even after Cecil was officially declared dead, his closest friends refused to believe that the remains were those of their fellow pilot’s.

Considering that the last sighting of Cecil’s plane was near Kent, they believed it was too far from the Belgium beach for the remains to have been Cecil’s. To date, Cecil’s plane has never been found. What exactly happened to the pilot, remains a mystery.^[10]

It probably comes as no surprise that working in the White House can be stressful. The tight security, endless media scrutiny, and, in some cases, internal strife can drain even the most hardened professionals.

One of the more strenuous positions in the White House is being the personal physician to the president. While living in the shadows, these doctors’ priority is the health and well-being of the commander in chief. The following ten stories delve into fascinating little-known facts, horrendous mishaps, and scandalous particulars pertaining to the prestigious yet arduous responsibility that, more often than not, goes unrecognized.

10 The Kill Zone

The challenges that face the physician to the president of the United States range widely and sometimes cause conflict. Due to the fact that military doctors are outranked by their commander in chief, patient-doctor relationship is often strained, with physicians conflicted about breaking their Hippocratic Oath while simultaneously appeasing their boss’s demands. Despite the honor and prestige, serving as a member of the White House medical staff is often thought of as a thankless job with rigorous hours.

It can also be dangerous at times. Staff members are instructed to work as invisibly as possible yet remain beside the president at all times in case of an unforeseen medical emergency. This has sometimes instilled fear among physicians, who worry about attempts made on the president’s life and the possibility of catching a stray bullet. Nonetheless, medical staff members are taught to stay out of the “kill zone” and often wear civilian clothes as opposed to military uniforms in order to reduce the chance of becoming targets themselves. According to Dr. Eleanor Mariano, who served as White House physician under Bill Clinton, “You can’t treat the president if you are dead.”^[1]

9 An Unrewarding Position

According to Dr. Daniel Ruge, Ronald Reagan’s personal physician during his first term in office, the position he held was anything but glamorous. Being a member of the White House medical staff may seem like a dream job for most doctors, but Dr. Ruge described his role as “vastly overrated, boring and not medically challenging.”^[2] This was only one of the factors that led to Dr. Ruge’s resignation in 1985. That year, a Congressional Directory staff ranking for the White House office put Dr. Ruge’s name at 80th of the 82 positions, just ahead of the curator and chief usher.

Such an apparent lack of appreciation, although perhaps unintentional, occurred on more than one occasion. Case in point, Dr. Ruge was rarely invited to state dinners but was required to be dressed in a tuxedo in case of a medical emergency. More often than not, the doctor spent his nights alone in his office reading journals, solving crossword puzzles, and contemplating his future private medical practice.

8 Exoneration

For nearly a century, historians believed that the physicians treating Andrew Jackson were responsible for his ailments and eventual death. For a man who survived the War of 1812 as well as the Native American campaigns, Jackson was plagued with decades of poor health, including excruciating abdominal cramps, constipation, mood swings, paranoia, and kidney failure. Without fail, scholars have adamantly argued that Jackson’s personal physicians were unknowingly overdosing him with the mercury-containing medication calomel.

In 1999, those who tended to him were finally vindicated of any wrongdoing, or at the very least exonerated for causing his actual death. According to The Journal of the American Medical Association, analysis of two samples of Jackson’s hair, clipped in 1815 and 1839, rule out mercury as the cause of his chronic health problems.^[3] Instead, scientists concluded that his ailments were brought on by lead poisoning. In 1813, Jackson was shot in the left shoulder, where the bullet remained lodged for nearly 20 years. According to Dr. Deppisch, who has extensively researched Jackson’s medical history, “We can explain many of Jackson’s intestinal problems on the basis of lead colic.”

7 Disclosure And Cover-Ups

In recent years, it has become standard for presidential candidates to disclose their health records. However, such was not the case prior to the 1980s, when the majority of the public deemed such acts as an invasion of privacy, unconscionably intrusive for the highest office. Over the years, White House physicians kept many serious illnesses that plagued presidents hidden from public knowledge.

Case in point, when Grover Cleveland was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his jaw in 1893, his physicians operated on him aboard a ship off New York City in order to keep the diagnosis as secretive as possible.^[4] The public was also kept in the dark when Woodrow Wilson suffered a paralyzing stroke, causing his wife to unofficially run the country. In 1944, US citizens were told that Franklin D. Roosevelt was in excellent condition when, in reality, he was on death’s doorstep, suffering from severe high blood pressure and a weakened heart muscle. Even Lyndon B. Johnson went to great lengths to hide the fact that he had a secret operation to remove skin cancer, specifically basal cell carcinoma.

6 HRC

Dr. Burton J. Lee, who served as President George H.W. Bush’s personal physician, was fired days after Bill Clinton was sworn into office. On the day of his firing, Dr. Lee—who was overseeing the transition of the White House medical unit—was given an order by a staff member with no medical qualifications to administer an “allergy” shot to President Clinton.

Dr. Lee was reluctant to comply, given that the mystery serum wasn’t marked. Within an hour of his request to see President Clinton’s medical records prior to treating him, he was informed that he needed to clear out of the White House within two hours. Speaking to the New York Post in September 1996, Dr. Lee made it clear that his request for Clinton’s medical history was referred to the first lady, Hillary, which led to his abrupt and unwarranted dismissal. According to Dr. Lee, “There isn’t any question in my mind that the person who fired me was Hillary.”^[5] Perhaps the real question we should be asking is, “Why?”

5 First Female Physician To Serve

In 1961, Dr. Janet Travell became one of the few civilians and first woman to be personal physician to a president.^[6] Despite the praise from President John F. Kennedy, Dr. Travell’s position caused a stir among the military, which had been providing medical care to presidents since the 1920s. This culminated in political infighting, causing Dr. Travell to approach Kennedy about whether or not she should resign, to which he adamantly replied; “I don’t want you to leave. If I do, I will let you know.”

In her short years with President Kennedy, Dr. Travell alleviated his chronic back pain by injecting Novocain in his spinal muscles as well as suggesting that he wear custom-made shoes after she discovered that his left leg was shorter than his right. Her lasting contribution, however, was that she helped revive the old-fashioned rocking chair, which had fallen out of popularity. Kennedy’s oak rocker alleviated the tension in his lower back and became a familiar sight to White House photographers and the public. Dr. Travell remained at the White House following Kennedy’s assassination and went on to treat President Lyndon B. Johnson. She died in 1997 at the age of 95.

4 Chainsaw Accident

During Ronald Reagan’s second term in office, Dr. John E. Hutton Jr. oversaw several medical procedures, including minor prostate surgery, excision of skin cancer, and the removal of cancerous tissue in Reagan’s intestines. In October 1987, Dr. Hutton personally delivered the news to the president that Nancy had breast cancer. He, along with a team of 12 physicians, went on to perform a mastectomy on the first lady’s left breast.

Of all the White House maladies Dr. Hutton cared for, one in particular escaped public notice: a chainsaw accident on Reagan’s California ranch. While tending to his landscape, Reagan accidentally sliced open his thigh, missing a major artery by only 2.5 centimeters (1 in). Dr. Hutton would recall, “I noticed he had a big hole in his dungarees and there was blood all around it.” The doctor compressed the gaping wound and immediately sutured it, saving the president’s life. Dr. Hutton retired from the military in 1992 and went on to teach surgery at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. In 2004, he served as a pallbearer at Reagan’s funeral. Dr. Hutton died at the age of 83 in December 2014.^[7]

3 Ignorance Is Bliss

One of the greatest tragedies in US history is the fact that the death of President James A. Garfield was undoubtedly avoidable, even after being shot. President for less than four months, Garfield was shot in the arm and back by Charles Guiteau at a DC train station on July 2, 1881. The bullets didn’t hit any vital organs, and if only physicians hadn’t subscribed to the miasma theory (“bad air causes disease and illness, not germs”), Garfield would have lived. Instead, 12 physicians inserted their unsterilized fingers in Garfield’s back, probing for the bullet on the dirty train station floor.

Matters only got worse when Dr. D. Willard Bliss, an arrogant and ambitious man who accepted no second opinions, took charge of Garfield’s care at the White House. For an excruciating 80 days, Garfield’s condition worsened. His body became riddled with abscesses due to infection. Unable to eat, Garfield was starving to death, with his weight plunging from 95 kilograms (210 lb) to 59 kilograms (130 lb). It is without question that Dr. Bliss’s refusal of other physicians’ input sealed the fate of Garfield, who finally died on September 19, 1881. Prior to his hanging, Garfield’s assassin Charles Guiteau made an ironically sane remark for an insane man: “Yes, I shot him, but his doctors killed him.” In the end, ignorance is bliss.^[8]

2 Top Secret Mission

An unlikely and unusual request to the State Department by the king of Saudi Arabia set off a series of events that undoubtedly drew the two nations closer together. In April 1950, a top secret trip by President Harry Truman’s personal physician was organized following an urgent plea for assistance from King Ibn Saud, who was suffering a great deal of pain due to chronic osteoarthritis, confining the ruler to a wheelchair. The request came at a complicated time for the two nations due to an uneasy relationship based on regional security, oil drilling, and America’s recognition of Israel. Nonetheless, President Truman sent his personal physician, Brigadier General Wallace H. Graham, “as a gift to the King.”

Prior to Dr. Graham’s arrival, the Saudi government sent an emergency telegram asking Truman “not to permit any news either press or radio concerning medical team coming here” given their fear that a medical emergency would fuel rumors of the king’s abdication. In the end, Saud’s pain was exceptionally relieved, allowing the king to take back responsibilities previously assigned to his son. The secretive trip by Dr. Graham was not only “deeply appreciated” by Ibn Saud but allowed for future US-Saudi Arabia agreements and unity.^[9]

1 Torture

Although the White House was completed after George Washington’s passing, the details of the dreadful hours leading to his death at the hands of his trusted physicians would be a sin to neglect. On December 12, 1799, America’s first president rode on horseback in snow, hail, and rain. The harsh weather caused Washington to develop a sore throat that increasingly worsened. As difficulty breathing and fever began to set in, Dr. James Craik (Washington’s physician of 40 years), Dr. Gustavus Brown, and Dr. Elisha Dick provided medical care that in today’s society would be deemed synonymous with torture.

Over a 12-hour period, Washington was bled four times; given a mixture of molasses, butter, and vinegar that induced convulsions, nearly suffocating him; had blisters administered to his throat, feet, and legs; was subjected to an emetic to induce vomiting; and, last but not least, given an enema. To the bewilderment of the three physicians, their medical knowledge led to no beneficial results. Between 10:00 PM and 11:00 PM on December 14, George Washington passed away. His last request was to be “decently buried” and to “not let my body be put into the Vault in less than three days after I am dead.” All his wishes were respectfully honored.^[10]

Adam is just a hubcap trying to hold on in the fast lane.

Few buildings are more recognizable than the White House. 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has epitomized US democracy since 1800, when President John Adams moved in. From the days of unceasingly trying wars to global turmoil, the walls of the White House have undoubtedly witnessed unprecedented moments in history.

Something you may not have thought about is the fact that a number of people have died inside the White House (although perhaps you’ve heard the claims that it’s haunted). The following ten entries delve into the little-known facts of those whose lives ended inside the presidential mansion as well as the aftermath and the loved ones they left behind.

10 Rebecca Van Buren

Eighteen years before Martin Van Buren became the eighth president of the United States, he lost his 35-year-old wife, Hannah, in 1819 to tuberculosis. Never to remarry, Van Buren’s daughter-in-law, Angelica, began performing the duties of first lady following her marriage to his son, Abraham. Almost immediately, the wealthy Southern belle was adored by Washington’s elite, who admired her charm, her graciousness, and her marriage, which became a romantic inspiration to America’s youth.

Much to the president’s delight, by 1839, Angelica and Abraham were living in the White House. Unlike Van Buren’s youngest son John, a notorious playboy whose extravagant and luxurious lifestyle consistently provoked the press, Abraham and his wife were the epitome of Van Buren’s envisioned picturesque first family. The jubilation within the mansion came full circle with the birth of Abraham’s first child, Rebecca, in March 1840. Sadly, Rebecca fell ill immediately after birth and never recovered, passing away six months later and becoming the first to die inside the White House.

Overcome with grief, President Van Buren immersed himself in his work. He became noticeably more stringent, and those around him claimed that the death of his granddaughter had morphed a once blissful and optimistic president into a tyrant.^[1]

9 Madge Wallace

Madge Wallace was your stereotypical mother-in-law, and her demeaning and bitter ways undoubtedly contributed to President Harry S. Truman’s personal discontent. Despite becoming the 33rd president of the United States, Truman was seen as nothing more than a simple dirt farmer and failed haberdasher in the eyes of Wallace, who considered him unworthy to be wed to her daughter, Bess. Her unwavering sullenness perhaps originated in 1903, when her husband, David Wallace, shot himself in the head, leaving the family deeply scarred with an abiding sense of shame. Nonetheless, Mrs. Wallace’s belittling of her son-in-law was unfounded, even more so after he successfully guided a nation through a time of world peril.

According to historian Alan L. Berger, Wallace, “a confirmed anti-Semite,” consistently badgered Truman about his positive stance on Israel in addition to questioning his qualifications as president. Addressing him only as “Mr. Truman,” Wallace wasn’t shy about supporting Truman’s opponents, such as Governor Thomas Dewey of New York.^[2] In light of the vile treatment at the hands of his wife’s mother, Truman ironically spoke well of Mrs. Wallace upon her passing in her White House bedroom on December 5, 1952, stating, “She was a grand lady. When I hear these mother-in-law jokes I don’t laugh.”

8 Letitia Tyler

Letitia Tyler was a socially engaged member of Washington’s elite society. Sadly, in 1839, the mother of seven would suffer a stroke, leaving her partially paralyzed. As luck would have it, her husband, John, would soon be chosen as the vice presidential candidate for William Henry Harrison. Nonetheless, his days of attending to Letitia’s needs at their home in Williamsburg would soon come to an end in April 1841, when he succeeded to the presidency upon the sudden death of President Harrison. Given her physical limitations, Mrs. Tyler was not present at her husband’s swearing-in. Nevertheless, she went on to manage all of the family and public social affairs from the confines of her bedroom. Spending the majority of her days in her room beside her Bible and prayer books, she directed many charitable contributions from her own personal wealth to the poor of Washington.

After political turmoil plagued the Tyler administration, First Lady Letitia suffered a second stroke. For days, she wrote her children, pleading for their return to Washington, DC. It is said that on the night of her death, Letitia, holding a rose in her hand, turned toward the door, searching for her son who would never arrive. On the evening of September 10, 1842, Letitia Tyler became the first of three first ladies to die during their incumbency. As the city bells tolled in her honor, her casket lay in state in the East Room while crowds gathered outside “sobbing, wringing their hands, and every now and then crying out, ‘Oh, the poor have lost a friend.’ “^[3]

7 Ellen Wilson

During the first three months of her husband’s administration, First Lady Ellen Wilson hosted over 40 White House receptions, musicals, and recitals. Her love for the arts proved comedic to the press, who often criticized her fashion sense—or lack thereof. Ironically, it would be her artistic eye that left an enduring contribution to the presidential mansion, including the creation of the Rose Garden.

Ellen suffered in private, sparing her loved ones the knowledge that she was dying from a kidney ailment known as Bright’s disease. On July 23, 1914, Dr. Cary Grayson moved into the White House, only to pack up 13 days later following the death of Mrs. Wilson. President Wilson was given the unexpected news of his wife’s grave condition merely 48 hours before her passing. He later stated that on her deathbed, Ellen uttered that she could “go away more cheerfully” if she knew that the alley clearance bill would pass. Word of this was sent to Capitol Hill, and her request was immediately granted.

On August 6, 1914, Ellen became the third presidential wife to die in the White House. Her remains were rested on her bed in the mansion before a private funeral four days later in the East Room. Her grave would go unmarked (albeit with a headstone) for a full year, drawing attention to the fact that the widower president had already publicly moved on with Edith Bolling Galt, whom he’d marry in December 1915.^[4]

6 Charles G. Ross

Charles G. Ross, press secretary under President Harry Truman, was often publicly flagged by the members of the press corps, who claimed that he lacked much-needed administrative experience. It became increasingly evident that Ross was not always aware of everything that was going on in the presidency, nor did the man, who was a poor public speaker, coordinate news releases with government departments and agencies in a timely fashion.

Nevertheless, Ross’s position in the White House was secure, given his close friendship with the president. The two men had known one another since their childhood in Independence, Missouri, where they both graduated, along with Truman’s wife Bess, from Independence High School in 1901. When Ross was called upon by Truman to be his press secretary in 1945, it would be a position he would hold until his unexpected death five years later.^[5]

After giving a press conference on the morning of December 5, 1950, Ross returned to his office in the White House to prepare for his upcoming televised news statements scheduled for that afternoon. Moments later, White House staff received a summons that Ross had collapsed at his desk, dying of a heart attack. President Truman said of his friend, “We all knew that he was working far beyond his strength. But he would have it so. He fell at his post, a casualty of his fidelity to duty and his determination that our people should know the truth, and all the truth, in these critical times.”

5 Frederick Dent

Before becoming the 18th president of the United States on March 4, 1869, Ulysses S. Grant and his wife Julia faced grave financial hardships for well over a decade. Struggling to produce an income from the 60-acre farmland he inherited from Julia’s father, Frederick Dent, the bleak future Grant foresaw for him and his family was becoming an incessant and debilitating mental strain. Grant’s hardships were only made worse by the unremitting belittling of his father-in-law, who openly chastised him as a failure, sending him falling into deeper despondency.

Frederick Dent’s relentless disparaging of his son-in-law continued even into Grant’s presidency. On the cold winter evening of December 15, 1873, Grant found a respite from the struggles of office and his insufferable in-law by dining out with his wife and son, Fred. The three returned to the White House close to midnight only to discover that a physician had been summoned to Dent’s bedside. Dent was found to be in a “quiet slumber.”

At 11:45 PM, Dent passed away, relieving Grant of the heavy burden he had fruitlessly carried for all those years trying to please an impossibly difficult man. Following his funeral in the Blue Room of the mansion, Dent’s remains were shipped back to St. Louis for burial. Grant, along with his son, accompanied the casket, while his distraught wife remained in Washington, DC.^[6]

4 Caroline Harrison

Caroline Harrison, wife of the 23rd president of the United States, Benjamin Harrison, was instrumental in extensively remodeling the White House, including the installation of electricity. In addition, the first lady used her exceptional painting skills to design new formal presidential china, which, to date, remains one of the main public attractions of the mansion.

Her social obligations and enthusiastic involvement in the expansion and renovation of the White House would come to a sudden halt in the winter of 1891, after she suffered numerous bouts of debilitating bronchial infections. When her condition deteriorated in the summer of 1892, Caroline was officially diagnosed with tuberculosis, with little hope of recovery. Despite frequent attempts at a cure, including various operations to drain fluids from the pleural cavities of her lungs, Caroline died after a painful struggle at 1:40 AM on October 25, 1892, with President Harrison by her side.

Her private funeral in the East Room of the mansion two days later required an invitation to attend. Her Spanish red cedar casket, adorned with wreaths from dignitaries around the world, was then accompanied by her family to Indianapolis for burial.^[7] Just one month after her death, Caroline’s father, Reverend John Witherspoon Scott, passed away in the White House at the age of 92.

3 William Henry Harrison

On March 4, 1841, William Henry Harrison was sworn in as America’s first Whig president. The day was bitterly cold, and a stubborn 68-year-old Harrison declined to wear a jacket, hat, or gloves in what would become the longest Inaugural Address in US history. Just 31 days later, the ninth president of the United States would take his last breath inside the White House.^[8]

In the weeks leading to his death, a bedridden Harrison was thought to be suffering from pneumonia, as originally diagnosed by his physician, Dr. Thomas Miller. In recent years, however, the untimely death of America’s shortest-serving president is best explained by enteric fever contracted by pathogens in the White House water supply. A mere seven blocks from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was the city’s depository for “night soil,” a field of stagnated human excrement that became a breeding ground for deadly bacteria, including Salmonella typhi and S. paratyphi. This would explain Harrison’s sinking pulse and cold, blue extremities prior to his death, classic manifestations of septic shock.

The standard treatment that Dr. Miller administered only exacerbated the president’s condition. The opium Harrison was given facilitated pathogenic bacteria into the bloodstream by retarding the intestines’ motility, and repeated enemas potentially resulted in ulcer perforation, causing sepsis.

2 Zachary Taylor

For four long, agonizing days, President Zachary Taylor was bedridden inside the White House, suffering from severe cramps, diarrhea, nausea, and dehydration. Taylor ultimately succumbed to his acute illness on July 9, 1850, just 16 months into his term. The exact cause of death has always been disputed by historians, many of whom have claimed that the 12th president contracted cholera, while others hinted at possible foul play due to arsenic poisoning.

This theory led to the exhumation of Taylor’s remains at the National Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky, on June 17, 1991. Given that 141 years had passed since his death, a team of medical examiners found no organs or skin on Taylor and, thus, had to rely on bone, eyebrows, and pubic hair in order to test for traces of arsenic. They found only small amounts of the chemical consistent with any human being on planet Earth. In addition, no traces of mercury, lead, or other toxic metals were found, indicating that the president was not poisoned. In fact, the only thing that stood out to the medical examiners was Taylor’s “unusually good set of teeth,” especially for a 65-year-old man living in pre-fluoride days. As for the cause of his unexpected and sudden demise, historians continue to cite gastroenteritis as the fatal culprit.^[9]

1 Willie Lincoln

On the cold winter day of February 20, 1862, 11-year-old Willie Lincoln took his last breath, casting a pall over the White House that would linger for the remainder of his father’s presidency. The child, who is believed to have contracted typhoid fever from the mansion’s contaminated water supply, was clothed in usual everyday attire and placed in a plain metallic coffin in the East Room of the White House.

The weeks prior to his death were an agonizing stretch for the president and first lady, who, on the inside, died along with their son, plunging the couple into insurmountable sorrow. According to Elizabeth Keckley, a former slave who had become Mrs. Lincoln’s seamstress and confidante, President Lincoln’s grief “unnerved him, and made him a weak, passive child. I did not dream that his rugged nature could be so moved.” Mrs. Lincoln was inconsolable to the point that the president led her to a window and pointed toward St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, an insane asylum, stating, “Mother, do you see that large white building on the hill yonder? Try and control your grief, or it will drive you mad, and we may have to send you there.”

Following a long procession through unpaved streets, Willie’s remains were placed in a marble vault in Oak Hill Cemetery as a temporary resting place until the Lincoln family returned to Illinois. Even as he tried to hold the country together, the president consistently visited his son’s tomb until his assassination on April 15, 1865. In the end, the caskets of father and son were placed beside one another aboard the presidential funeral train for their journey home.^[10]

Adam is just a hubcap trying to hold on in the fast lane.

Founded in 1955, the Waffle House restaurant chain has long been a staple of the fast-food scene. In fact, the franchise claims to have served nearly one billion waffles to breakfast enthusiasts across the United States. But sumptuous, fluffy waffles aren’t the only things the chain is known for; over the years, it has garnered a more sinister reputation as well.

Perhaps it’s the late-night hours of operation, or maybe it’s the fact that a disproportionate number of Waffle House locations happen to be in high-crime areas—whatever the case, the restaurant chain seems to be a magnet for strange or even violent events. Just google “Waffle House crime,” and you’ll find thousands of articles detailing the many criminal capers and illegal exploits that have captured the internet’s attention. Of the countless Waffle House mishaps, these 10 deaths are some of the most disturbing.

10 The Antioch Waffle House Shooting

In 2018, tragedy struck an unsuspecting neighborhood in Nashville, Tennessee. At 3:19 am on the morning of Sunday, April 22, a young man pulled into a Waffle House parking lot. His name was Travis Reinking, and he was completely nude except for an oversized green jacket. Armed with an assault-style rifle, Reinking approached the restaurant, shooting and killing two bystanders in the parking lot before entering the building.

Inside the restaurant, Reinking opened fire again, killing two customers and injuring others. After another customer tackled Reinking and wrestled the gun away from him, he fled the scene, sparking a massive manhunt that ended just 34 hours after the shooting when police found Reinking, now completely naked, hiding in the woods behind the Waffle House. Although forensic psychologists found that Reinking suffered from severe schizophrenia, he was eventually sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.^[1]

9 The South Florida Waffle House Executions

In 2002, former Waffle House employee Jimmy Mickel and his roommate Gerhard Hojan set out to rob the restaurant where Mickel used to work. Only one employee working during the attempted robbery lived to tell the tale. According to Barbara Nunn, Mickel and Hojan herded the Waffle House employees into the kitchen freezer and then shot them at close range.

The two deceased employees had each been shot once in the head and once in the throat; Nunn was shot in the head and left for dead along with the others but survived and was able to walk to a nearby gas station where the clerk called police. Another employee at the Waffle House—not present for the robbery—said that he hadn’t noticed any hostility from Mickel leading up to the crime. It seems that this brutal robbery-gone-wrong came out of nowhere.^[2]

8 The Biloxi Waffle House Murder

An unsuspecting Waffle House employee met her killer in the early morning hours of November 27, 2015. A customer, later identified as Johnny Max Mount, apparently wanted to smoke, which was against Waffle House policy. When his hostess told him that smoking wasn’t allowed, an argument ensued. The argument ended almost as quickly as it had begun when Mount pulled out a pistol and shot the hostess in the head.

Mount didn’t try to evade arrest. Police found him sitting in the same spot where he had gunned down an innocent woman. Inexplicably, Mount would go on to plead “not guilty” to the charge of first-degree murder.^[3]

7 Toddler Killed at Florida Waffle House

This tragedy doesn’t qualify as a murder, but the details are just as horrific as any homicide. On March 14, 2019, three-year-old Jeremiah Rios was killed when his father, Guillermo Montoya Rios, ran him over. The Rios family was about to drive out of a Waffle House parking lot. Both parents believed that Jeremiah was buckled safely inside the family vehicle with his six siblings. Unfortunately, they were mistaken.

According to the local Sheriff’s office, Jeremiah’s death was quickly ruled accidental, and it was ascertained that Mr. Rios was not intoxicated or under the influence of drugs. Horrifically, less than a month later, another one of the Rios’s children died in an unrelated drowning incident.^[4]

6 The Gainesville Waffle House Slaying

Craig Brewer was, by all accounts, a generous and well-liked man, popular among his family and friends. That’s why it came as a surprise when he was mercilessly slain during a petty argument at a Waffle House in Gainesville, Florida. Brewer had been paying for other customers’ meals, handing out cash, and giving generous tips to the restaurant staff when he encountered a woman who wasn’t very pleased by Brewer not paying for her meal.

According to witnesses, the conversation between Brewer and the woman grew heated. Ezekiel Hicks, who was sitting with the woman, left the restaurant and returned carrying a 9mm handgun. Hicks fired multiple rounds at Brewer’s head, turning what had been an act of generosity into a deadly encounter.^[5]

5 Family Found Dead at Georgia Waffle House

Early one morning in November of 2020, first responders found a man and his infant child deceased in a Waffle House parking lot. A woman, unconscious but alive, was also pulled from the car the father and son were found in; all three had apparently been victims of carbon monoxide poisoning.

According to authorities, the man and woman found in the car were both employees of the Waffle House. The man, Christopher McKinzie, had finished his shift at 12:30 am. His girlfriend wasn’t set to finish work until 2:30, so McKinzie decided to sleep in his car while he and his baby waited for the girlfriend. When the girlfriend joined them, the car had already been running for two hours and was filled with toxic fumes.^[6]

4 Body Dumped Behind a Georgia Waffle House

In late 2017, Fulton County police received a call about an abandoned vehicle behind a local Waffle House. When they arrived at the scene, officers made a grim discovery: the body of 58-year-old Toni Abad was found in the vehicle’s trunk.

Abad, who worked at a Publix grocery store, agreed to give one of her young coworkers a lift home. The coworker, De’Asia Page, instructed Abad to drive to a remote location where Page’s boyfriend was waiting. The boyfriend, Jared Kemp, beat Abad to death with a baseball bat. Page and Kemp then stashed Abad’s body in the trunk of her own car and drove to a nearby Waffle House, where they left the car and Abad’s mangled body. As if this heinous crime couldn’t get any more macabre, it was later revealed that the motive for Abad’s killing had been petty theft.^[7]

3 The Waffle House Killers

Greenville County, South Carolina, is the state’s largest county, with over 500,000 residents. Of all those people, two shared a chilling connection—one that involved Waffle House as well. Todd Kohlhepp, a cold-blooded killer who was eventually arrested when police discovered a woman held captive on his property, had met one of his earlier victims at a Waffle House near his home. Her body was found buried in Kohlhepp’s backyard.

Around the same time, in the same area, a monster named Markius Yeargin attacked and killed Henrietta Crawford. He set her body on fire to conceal his crime and then discarded her remains behind another Waffle House location in Greenville County. Though Crawford was the first victim that Yeargin was known to have killed, he had previously been arrested for two separate instances of violent rape.

Yeargin and Kohlhepp’s atrocities are not connected. Still, the fact that one of their victims made contact with her killer at a Waffle House and another was hidden behind a Waffle House remains eerie, if nothing else.^[8]

2 The Columbia Waffle House Gang Fight

Gang violence is a pervasive problem, affecting many communities across the United States, so it’s no surprise that a Waffle House in Columbia, South Carolina, played host to a bloody altercation between opposing gang members. What makes this occasion so disturbing is that one of the victims of the gang dispute was a 15-year-old boy named Brian Wright.

According to investigators, Wright knew that the men he was with were gang members. Like any teenager, Wright had likely made a number of impulsive decisions leading up to the gun battle that took his life, but no child deserves to have their life cut short by a bullet to the head. Brian Wright is just one of many minors who have been affected by gang violence and one of many who have met their end in a Waffle House parking lot.^[9]

1 The Raleigh Waffle House Murder-Suicide

On December 15, 2018, Jason Griffith killed his wife’s lover, his mother-in-law, and then himself. The first of three shootings took place in front of a Waffle House in Raleigh, North Carolina. Griffin pulled up alongside his wife, Emma, and her lover, John Wright, and shot into their vehicle. Both John and Emma were hit, but Emma survived the attack. Jason raced away from the scene and was later found dead in his and Emma’s home, killed by a self-inflicted gunshot.

Five days later, Jason Griffith’s mother-in-law was found dead, and further investigation revealed that she, too, had been a victim of Jason’s rage. What started as a cut-and-dry crime of passion at a Waffle House spiraled into a confusing web of family feuds, a disputed inheritance, and a love triangle.^[10]

Halloween haunted houses bring out the inner child for many enthralled with the spooky, candy-filled holiday. Though scary—with all good intentions—often, the dangers that come with such frightening attractions are overlooked or forgotten. The following ten experiences explore scenarios never anticipated yet, injurious to one’s psyche.

10 Zero Decency

Sadly, the only thing scarier than walking through a haunted house is working for one. Frequently, “scare actors” are confronted by intoxicated belligerents who can assault them with impunity. “You pretty much name it, and people have experienced it,” said William Gailit, an actor who was kicked in the face at Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights. Actresses face harsher treatment, including groping of breasts and genitals to threats of rape and actual physical assault.

Universal actor, John Deen, had to be rushed to the hospital with a concussion and skull fracture after being ambushed by a group of brazen drunkards. Actors also have a history of being kicked off their stilts, punched in the chest, repeatedly stomped on, and sometimes sexually assaulted. Catching assailants is usually impossible as they merely disappear into the crowd. More infuriating is that those caught are frequently told to merely “not return to that area of the park.” Keep in mind that a majority of actors outside of big-name attractions such as Universal Orlando tend to be teenagers simply trying to earn a buck in an environment they assumed would be fun. Truth is, it’s a crude and sad awakening of what some people in the world feel they have the right to do.^[1]

9 PTSD

Sarah Lelonek, a haunted house enthusiast, got more than she bargained for when she and her boyfriend, Ryan Carr, visited the Akron Fright Fest in Ohio. While walking through the spine-chilling rooms, a tall man who looked like “Leatherface” emerged from the shadows, grabbed her boyfriend, forcefully shoved him onto a plywood bed, and began to simulate a mock rape. “That’s my boyfriend!” said the 31-year-old, “Please stop!” Her demands fell on deaf ears as the mystery man continued to vigorously thrust away while stating, “He’s not your boyfriend anymore. I’m going to rape him.”

Eventually, the masked seducer freed Ryan, leaving him sore and feeling less of a man. The couple immediately left the premises, but the experience stayed with her, given countless friends who had experienced sexual assault: “It was a PTSD situation,” Sarah said. The following day she took to social media, stating, “If you are a victim of sexual assault, do not go to the attached haunted houses. This is a non-waiver house. Nothing was signed. I repeat. Not one thing was signed. Kids go in this.” The park fired back, claiming that their haunted houses are all “professional,” “safe,” and “in a controlled environment.” It is unknown whether the Halloween fanatic will ever return to her favorite pastime of frights.^[2]

8 Colorful Toys and Teddy Bears

Clowns have a tendency to unnerve certain people, and they did just that on the night of October 11, 2014, in Montgomery, Illinois. Upon arriving at the “Massacre Haunted House,” Regina Janito—along with her four children—was confronted by two employees who worked at the spooky attraction. Without warning, the men—both dressed as clowns and armed with sex toys—began accosting the 38-year-old and her teenage daughter. Specifically, one of the charming jokers, identified as Robert Keller, 23, was “holding a vibrating, purple sex toy” while the other unidentified character held a teddy bear with a “vibrator attached to the stuffed animal’s groin area.”

Keller then proceeded to use his colorful vibrator to poke at Janito’s daughter in a sexual and aggressive manner while repeating lewd and offensive remarks. Meanwhile, the other maniac was busy simulating a sex act with the poor defenseless teddy bear. Understandably, Janito and her girls fled as fast as they could from the haunted attraction. Keller was later arrested and charged with battery and disorderly conduct. Within days, Janito filed a lawsuit against the company that stated, “The acts committed by Keller and John Doe were beyond the standards of civilized decency and beyond the scope of what society is willing to tolerate.”^[3]

7 “You Call That A Knife?”

An overzealous actor at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds in Ohio took his performance quite seriously when he chose to use a real Bowie knife instead of a prop knife provided by the haunted house. In doing so, the 22-year-old turned the “7 Floors of Hell” into a real-life slasher flick. Wielding the weapon to elicit screams of terror, the unidentified “actor” found his weapon entering the foot of an 11-year-old boy who was accompanied by his mother. Surely, the family duo got their money’s worth in terms of panic.

Following a brief investigation, the performer agreed with police that using a real hunting knife “was not a good idea.” With paramedics on the scene, the boy was treated and, surprisingly, chose to re-enter the Halloween attraction yet again. Apparently, nothing—not even a 12-inch blade to the foot, let alone a haunted house—can scare this kid. In the end, police confiscated the bloody knife, and the actor was later fired.^[4]

6 Fading Fast

In 2011, Jessica Rue took a job at “Creepyworld” in Fenton, Missouri scaring guests as they walked through a bathroom drenched in fake blood. The scene included a bathtub, a mangled mannequin, and a noose. On Jessica’s second day, the 17-year-old slipped off the edge of the tub, causing her neck to become caught in the noose. She would hang there for up to 10 minutes as visitors passed by, thinking she was a dummy.

Jessica would remain in a coma and hooked up to a ventilator for the next three days due to a severe lack of oxygen to the brain. Miraculously, the high school senior pulled through, albeit with lasting side effects. A year following what could have been a catastrophe, Jessica was left with zero recollection of the accident or the weeks leading up to it. In addition, she suffered—and perhaps still does—from blackouts, short-term memory loss, change in personality, and heart flutters; nevertheless, she’s alive.^[5]

5 Scared to Death

On a Friday evening in 2014, 16-year-old Christian Faith Benge arrived at the “Land of Illusion Haunted Scream Park” in Middletown, Ohio. The teenager attended with her family to watch her father’s band perform at the festival. Following the performance, Christian and her mother entered the theme park’s haunted house; minutes later, the girl was dead. Despite efforts from her mother performing CPR, Christian succumbed to a heart attack. Autopsy results revealed that the teen had a pre-existing medical condition where the walls of her heart were unusually thick, causing the heart to be four times bigger than normal.

When questioned if fear had led to a fatal exacerbation, Coroner Doyle Burke could not provide a definite conclusion. “I guess that’s the million dollar question, we’re going to attempt to answer that, but I don’t know if we will ever be able to,” Burke said. “It did occur inside this haunted attraction, is there a connection? Maybe.”^[6]

4 The Full Experience

Always abide by the rules, especially around dangerous mechanical equipment that can turn you into pieces within a blink of an eye. Such was the case for a 21-year-old man at an attraction at Hong Kong’s Ocean Park in 2017. While visiting the fairgrounds with friends, a man by the name of Cheung decided to depart from his group inside the haunted house “Buried Alive.” Five minutes later, Cheung’s lifeless, shattered body was discovered.

For unknown reasons, the young man decided to enter a restricted area that housed mechanical machinery, according to the Hong Kong government. During his sightseeing shenanigans, the thrill seeker was crushed after being struck by the theme parks moving coffin-turned-slide. Part of the adventure of the haunted house places visitors inside a sliding coffin where one undergoes being “buried alive alone, before fighting their way out of their dark and eerie grave.” Apparently, Cheung wanted the full experience and, for that, ruined everyone else’s day at the fairground, given that the government ordered the closure of the haunted house in its entirety.^[7]

3 Kimberly Kitrinos

“The Nightmare at Floydville Road” in Connecticut saw hundreds of visitors on the evening of October 24, 1997. As they passed to make their way into the haunted house, many found it odd to see a Halloween mannequin lying in the road, not realizing it was Kimberly Kitrinos, 40, a victim of a hit-and-run. One passerby, Gale Fulton, even saw Kimberly reaching up for help but dismissed it, believing it was part of a Halloween act. When they realized it was not part of the performance, Kimberly was already dead.

As days passed with no suspects, detectives gathered evidence—a car mirror and red paint chips—and, with the help of automotive parts dealers, narrowed down the make and model. With a list of 250 vehicles registered in the surrounding area, police were closing in. The first door detectives knocked on was that of 54-year-old Bruce Imbt. Not at his residence at the time, police issued a warrant for his arrest.

The following day, the killer turned himself in. He had been drinking that evening and, in the days following, did everything he could to conceal the crime. Infuriatingly, Impt only received a sentence of two years imprisonment in August 2000 for the fatal hit-and-run that he so desperately tried to evade. Justice denied, yet again.^[8]

2 Halloween Spirit of 1957

In September 1957, in Utica, Kansas, high school English teacher Betty Stevens wanted to create a fun, wholesome, and above all, safe pre-Halloween experience for students to enjoy. The idea was to keep kids out of trouble one evening by arranging a trip through an abandoned farmhouse turned “haunted house.” Seniors helped arrange the scenery by setting up spooky decorations—steer bones, toy rattlesnakes and skulls, etc.—hoping the freshmen class would get a fun, memorable scare.

Even Principal William Hobert Sallee, 60, became part of the festivities by donning clothes splattered in ketchup and greasepaint. Principal Salle took it a step further, however, by creating a mock hanging of himself. At some point during the tour, Salle’s feet—which were initially barely touching the ground—slipped from beneath him, causing the rope to tighten around his neck, strangling him. As students filed past, he was noted moaning softly in a limp posture. When the tour was over, and Salle had yet to emerge from the barn, Mrs. Stevens found his corpse. She most definitely succeeded in making a memorable evening the students would never forget.^[9]

1 Lost

On the evening of May 11, 1984, smoke billowed over Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey. A blaze had broken out in the amusement park’s haunted house attraction, “Haunted Castle,” a building constructed of 14 aluminum trailers measuring 70 by 100 feet (21m x 30m). Inside the attraction was a long, corridor-like maze of “spires and turrets and arches and walls that looked like they were made of yellow stucco” with the intention of someone surely becoming lost. When the fire was extinguished more than an hour later, authorities prematurely assumed that everyone had escaped with their lives.

After combing through the rubble later that night, eight bodies in a group were discovered in the rear of the building, only 25 feet (7.6 meters) from a fire exit. Authorities on the scene—surrounded by the nauseating smoke of seared and blackened melted aluminum—were puzzled as to how the teenage victims failed to make it out. After all, the design was intended for one to become disoriented like a rat in a maze. Unfortunately, in this case, that played into the deaths of all eight youths by smoke inhalation with no direction or knowledge of an escape route.^[10]