Before the age of SMS, email, and social media, the quickest way for distant folks to chat was penning a letter. Most correspondence was meant for private eyes, so it’s no wonder we stumble upon jaw‑dropping revelations when we dig into these archives. Below are 10 important historical letters that nearly slipped into oblivion.

10 Important Historical Letters Overview

10 Fidel Castro To President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Fidel Castro managed to outlive roughly ten U.S. presidents, most of whom would have loved to see him gone – some even tried. Yet his very first brush with an American president was surprisingly cordial.

Back in 1940, a 12‑year‑old pupil at Colegio de Dolores in Santiago, Cuba, penned a note to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He opened with the familiar, “My good friend Roosevelt,” then expressed delight at hearing Roosevelt’s re‑election on the radio. The youngster also asked for a ten‑dollar bill, having never laid eyes on one before. That eager boy was none other than Fidel Castro.

Casting himself as a bright, albeit English‑limited, student, he wrote, “I am a boy, but I think very much.” The letter arrived at the State Department on November 27, 1940, yet never reached Roosevelt, who died never knowing the future Cuban leader.

9 Queen Elizabeth II To President Eisenhower

In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower earned the distinction of being the first U.S. president to host the British monarch. The Queen enjoyed the visit so much that she later invited the Eisenhowers to Balmoral, Scotland, two years afterward.

During that Scottish sojourn, Eisenhower seemed unable to shake the memory of the Queen’s famous drop scones. Five months later, on January 24, 1960, the monarch sent him a handwritten letter that included her personal recipe for those very scones.

The note, inspired by a newspaper photo of Eisenhower barbecuing a quail, detailed a recipe sufficient for sixteen diners, with guidance on scaling down ingredients for smaller gatherings. The Queen concluded by expressing how much she and her family had treasured his visit.

8 Hitler’s Letter Of Leave

On March 1, 1932, Adolf Hitler drafted a request to the State of Brunswick, asking for a leave of absence so he could campaign in the upcoming presidential election for the Reich. This missive arrived just four days after Hitler secured German citizenship, having previously been an Austrian.

Hitler’s bid ultimately fell short, losing to incumbent Paul von Hindenburg. Nevertheless, a year later Hindenburg appointed him chancellor. The letter itself is riddled with grammatical slips and centers on Hitler’s plea for time off until “the end of the time for the selection of the next President of the Reich.”

Only surfacing a few years ago, the document was expected to fetch over £5,000 at auction, underscoring its rarity among 10 important historical correspondences.

7 Albert Einstein To President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Albert Einstein’s 1939 letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt stands among the most consequential 10 important historical letters of the modern era. In it, Einstein warned that German scientists might be on the brink of creating a devastating weapon.

Later, Einstein himself called the letter one of the greatest errors of his life. Scholars suspect that physicist Leo Szilard actually drafted the note, with Einstein merely affixing his signature.

Besides this famous missive, Einstein penned three additional letters to Roosevelt. While the first two offered counsel and suggestions, the third—undelivered before Roosevelt’s death—sought a personal meeting between the president’s cabinet and Szilard’s team to discuss the nuclear threat.

6 Mahatma Gandhi To Adolf Hitler

Between 1939 and 1940, Mahatma Gandhi dispatched two letters to Adolf Hitler. The better‑known “Dear Friend” missive, written in July 1939, argued that World War II could only be averted by Hitler’s intervention, urging him to adopt Gandhi’s non‑violent principles.

The second, more obscure letter arrived in December 1940, after hostilities had begun. It stripped away the friendly salutation, reminding Hitler that addressing him as a “friend” was merely a formality. Gandhi likened Nazism to the British imperialism India was resisting, warning that another world power would eventually out‑maneuver Hitler with his own weapons.

He concluded this stern warning by extending the same cautionary note to Mussolini, emphasizing the universal need for peace.

5 Leonardo Da Vinci’s Job Application

Long before his fame as a painter, Leonardo da Vinci was a jack‑of‑all‑trades seeking patronage. In 1482, at age thirty, he wrote directly to the Duke of Milan, offering his services in a surprisingly modern job application.

Da Vinci catalogued an impressive arsenal of talents: from designing naval artillery, armored wagons, catapults, and mangonels to proposing siege‑engine tactics. He also boasted capabilities in civil engineering—planning bridges, constructing edifices, and sculpting in clay, bronze, and marble.

To dispel any doubts about his martial focus, he emphasized his architectural and artistic skills, ending the letter with a bold invitation for the Duke to summon him for a trial if any of his claims seemed exaggerated.

4 Malcolm X To Martin Luther King Jr.

Although Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought for the same cause, they were hardly friends. King championed non‑violence, while Malcolm X advocated a more militant stance, even dubbing King “Reverend Doctor Chicken‑wing.”

Malcolm X sent two letters to King—one in 1963 and another in 1964. The first urged King to attend an outdoor rally, arguing that if President John F. Kennedy (a capitalist) and Soviet leader Khrushchev (a communist) could find common ground, so could they. He suggested that if King could not appear personally, he should dispatch a representative.

The second, dated June 30, 1964, took a harsher tone. It highlighted the plight of St. Augustine’s residents and warned that, should the government fail to intervene, his brothers might be compelled to give the Ku Klux Klan “a taste of their own medicine.”

3 Oscar Wilde’s “De Profundis”

The strained relationship between the Marquess of Queensberry and his son, Lord Alfred Douglas, is usually blamed on the relationship Douglas, or “Bosie,” had with Oscar Wilde, who subsequently endured two years in prison after he was convicted of gross indecency. While still in prison at Reading Gaol, Wilde penned a letter to Douglas. The letter was published as an essay and entitled “De Profundis,” which means “from the depths.” It was a reflection of the betrayal of Douglas and Wilde’s regrets.

Wilde stated in the letter that he felt forsaken by Douglas, who published the personal letters and poems Wilde wrote to him. He also wrote that Douglas pushed him to his doom by exploiting his weakness. He blamed himself for not being able to say no to Douglas. He also gave advice to Douglas: “Most people live for love and admiration. But it is by love and admiration that we should live.”

2 Benjamin Franklin To William Strahan

Before America entered the Revolutionary War, one of its most celebrated founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, enjoyed a close friendship with William Strahan, a prominent printer, publisher, and member of the British Parliament.

Even after the war began, the two remained on friendly terms—until Franklin learned that Strahan had voted alongside his colleagues to label the American colonists as rebels. In response, Franklin penned a scathing letter to his former confidant.

The missive opened formally, addressing Strahan as “Mr. Strahan,” then accused him and his parliamentary peers of orchestrating the chaos consuming the United States. Franklin called them murderers, urging Strahan to look at his own hands for the bloodstains of his relatives. He concluded by declaring their friendship terminated, labeling them enemies from that moment forward.

1 Grace Bedell To Abraham Lincoln

We once talked about how Abraham Lincoln began keeping his iconic beard after receiving a letter from a young girl named Grace Bedell, who was 11 at the time. In Bedell’s letter dated October 15, 1860, she suggested that Lincoln should grow a beard because his face was thin and he would look better with it. Bedell claimed that women loved beards and would even coax their husbands to vote for him in the elections. Sensing he might be busy, Bedell suggested that Lincoln let any of his daughters reply on his behalf.

Abraham Lincoln personally replied to the missive four days later. He acknowledged getting her letter and told her he didn’t have any daughters—just three sons. He also added that growing a beard might be seen as a senseless affectation. Grace Bedell would later meet the newly elected—and bearded—president when he came to Westfield in 1861.

Welcome to a deep dive into 10 revealing letters that peel back the public façades of some of history’s most iconic personalities. From scandalous advice to heartfelt confessions, these letters let us eavesdrop on private moments that reshape our understanding of these famous figures.

10 Benjamin Franklin’s Advice To A Young Man On The Choice Of A Mistress

Benjamin Franklin, the ever‑curious polymath, was not shy about tackling oddball topics. One recently unearthed letter finds him counseling a young gentleman on the perils of youthful passion. He opens with the conventional line, “Marriage is the proper remedy. It is the most natural State of Man…” but quickly pivots to a startling recommendation: if the young man refuses to wed, he should favor older women. Franklin then enumerates a litany of reasons. First, he claims older women offer superior conversation due to their broader learning. Second, he praises their temperance, noting they are less likely to act on impulse. Third, he points out the practical benefit of avoiding children, which he calls “an inconvenience” if produced irregularly. Fourth, he argues that older women possess more sexual experience and are more readily forgiven if an affair becomes public. Fifth, he delivers a blunt physical observation, suggesting that beneath the girdle, age does not betray a woman’s allure. Sixth and seventh, he notes that the moral weight of the sin is lighter because an older woman is no longer a virgin, and the relationship brings her happiness. Finally, he caps his list with an unexpected gratitude, declaring older women are “so grateful!”

9 Theodore Roosevelt To His Son

Theodore Roosevelt, celebrated as a towering president and vigorous outdoorsman, also wore the hat of a devoted dad. When his son, Theodore Jr., entered college in 1905, the press began to stalk the younger Roosevelt with exaggerated rumors. In two surviving letters, Roosevelt chastises the journalists—calling them “idiots”—and urges his son to keep a low profile. He writes, “The thing to do is to go on just as you have evidently been doing, attract as little attention as possible, do not make a fuss about the newspaper men, camera creatures, and idiots generally…” He stresses that the son should not let the press derail his pursuits, whether on the football field or elsewhere. Throughout the correspondence, Roosevelt’s disdain for the press is evident, yet he balances it with reassurance, warning his son not to let the media “drive you one hair’s breadth from the line you had marked out” in any endeavor.

8 James Joyce’s Correspondence With Nora Barnacle

James Joyce, the literary titan behind Ulysses, was equally fervent in his private life. While living in Trieste in 1909, he penned explicit letters to his beloved Nora Barnacle during a brief business trip to Dublin. These missives oscillate between tender affection and vivid sexual description. Joyce’s prose brims with raw desire, as he calls Nora “my faithful darling, my seet‑eyed blackguard schoolgirl, be my whore, my mistress…” He lavishes her with florid metaphors, dubbing her a “beautiful wild flower of the hedges” and a “dark‑blue rain‑drenched flower,” showcasing a side of Joyce that few readers encounter in his published works.

7 Ernest Hemingway To Marlene Dietrich

Ernest Hemingway, famed for his terse prose, surprised auction houses when a 1955 letter to Hollywood legend Marlene Dietrich surfaced. The note is a bizarre blend of flirtation and theatrical fantasy. Hemingway opens with the affectionate, if oddly phrased, “my dear Kraut” and proceeds to outline a fantastical Broadway act: Dietrich “foaming at the mouth” and the pair breaking into the abortion scene from the opera Lakmé. He even mentions a “giant rubber whale” and describes a ludicrous stage entrance involving a self‑propelled “minnenwerfer” that would roll over patrons as Dietrich lands drunk and naked. While the letter later settles into more conventional romantic language, the initial extravagance reveals Hemingway’s playful imagination. Ultimately, the two never consummated their liaison, citing “unsynchronized passions.”

6 Mary Todd Lincoln After Abraham Lincoln’s Death

First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln endured a cascade of tragedies: the loss of several children, chronic illness, and the horrifying assassination of her husband. Letters she penned in the decade following the 1865 tragedy expose a soul teetering on the edge of despair. In one missive, she confides that the prospect of reuniting with Abraham in a happier realm is the sole beacon sustaining her through “four weary years.” Another letter to her physician reveals a desperate plea for “powders”—likely chloroform—to combat relentless insomnia, writing, “Please oblige me by sending about 4 more powders. I had a miserable night last night & took the 5 you left.” The most haunting correspondence outlines her explicit funeral instructions, a testament to her preoccupation with death and legacy, drafted seven years before her own passing.

5 Franz Kafka’s Odd Love Letters

Franz Kafka, the master of surreal, bureaucratic nightmares, also left a trail of peculiar love letters. To his fiancée Felice Bauer, he confessed an almost clinical self‑assessment: “I’m the thinnest person I know,” and described a solitary lifestyle, insisting he must “sleep alone” and cannot endure close company. He imagined his ideal refuge as “the innermost room of a spacious locked cellar” lit only by a lamp. Kafka’s idiosyncrasies surface when he comments on Bauer’s gold‑capped teeth, noting the “hellish luster” that made him lower his eyes. In a later note to Milena Jesenska, he dramatizes his own anxiety by repeatedly crossing out his name and signature, finally penning, “nothing more, calm, deep forest,” offering a glimpse into his obsessive self‑scrutiny.

4 John Adams’s Letter About George Washington

John Adams, often eclipsed by his more flamboyant contemporaries, penned a sharply critical 1807 letter to his friend Dr. Benjamin Rush regarding the late George Washington. While Washington was lionized as a national hero after his 1799 death, Adams dismissed the adulation as undeserved. He catalogued Washington’s attributes—”handsome face,” “tall stature,” “elegant form,” and “graceful attitudes and movement”—as mere gifts of birth, not earned virtues. Adams conceded only two genuine qualities: “the gift of silence” and “great self‑command.” He concluded with a speculative jab, suggesting that had Washington lived longer, he might have secured a third presidential term, underscoring Adams’ lingering resentment toward the revered first president.

3 Thomas Jefferson On Religion

Thomas Jefferson, a key architect of American secular thought, wrote a candid 1787 letter to his nephew Peter Carr, urging him to question religious doctrine. Jefferson implores, “shake off all the fears and servile prejudices under which weak minds are servilely crouched,” encouraging bold inquiry into the Bible. He goes further, stating, “Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because, if there be one, he must approve of the homage of reason, rather than that of blindfolded fear.” Jefferson’s stance frames religion as an intellectual constraint, positioning reason above reverence, and challenges the notion that the founding fathers were uniformly devout.

2 Jacqueline Kennedy To Father Joseph Leonard

In 1950, a young Jacqueline “Jackie” Bouvier traveled to Ireland and formed a deep, decades‑long correspondence with the 73‑year‑old priest Father Joseph Leonard. Their letters, spanning fourteen years, reveal a side of the future First Lady rarely seen. After President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, Jackie wrote, “I am so bitter against God,” then rationalized that perhaps divine intent required the tragedy to demonstrate the nation’s loss. She also confessed suspicions of her husband’s infidelity, describing his “chase” for conquest and his need for validation even after marriage. Jackie’s critique extended to Kennedy’s mother, Rose, whom she dismissed as “not too bright” and more inclined toward rosary recitation than books. In a poignant passage, she muses, “It seems to me you know everything and from all you’ve read and learned you can pick and choose the most lovely things for me. Does it give you a sense of power to think you’re molding someone else’s mind and taste? I hope it does and certainly no one ever had a more willing piece of putty to work with.”

1 Queen Victoria And John Brown

Queen Victoria, the emblem of Victorian restraint, shared a surprisingly intimate bond with her Scottish servant John Brown. Historians have long debated the nature of their relationship, but a recently examined letter suggests genuine affection. In it, Victoria writes, “Perhaps never in history was there so strong and true an attachment, so warm and loving a friendship between the sovereign and servant…” She extols Brown’s qualities, painting a picture of deep emotional reliance that rivals the devotion she felt for her late husband, Prince Albert. This correspondence underscores that even the most stoic monarchs craved companionship beyond the ceremonial, revealing a softer, more vulnerable side to the iconic queen.

These ten letters, each a window into the private thoughts of celebrated figures, remind us that fame rarely shields the human heart. Whether it’s Franklin’s cheeky counsel, Roosevelt’s paternal protectiveness, or Victoria’s whispered devotion, the written word continues to unravel the mysteries behind the legends.

When we talk about the 10 fascinating last correspondences ever recorded, we’re stepping into a world of raw emotion, last‑minute revelations, and the occasional dash of drama. These letters, written in the twilight of their authors’ lives, give us a rare, intimate glimpse into the minds of people who shaped our world.

10 Fascinating Last Letters: A Glimpse Into Final Thoughts

10 Harry Houdini

On August 6, 1926, the legendary escapist Harry Houdini stepped into a metal casket, let it plunge to the bottom of a pool, and resurfaced after a nerve‑wracking 91 minutes underwater. The stunt was designed to debunk Rahman Bey, an Egyptian performer who claimed a similar feat was pure magic. After the spectacle, Houdini penned a detailed letter to Dr. W.J. McConnell of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, who had witnessed the event.

In his typed missive, Houdini opened by describing the dimensions of the casket used for the act. He recounted two prior trial runs—one of which omitted the submersion component—detailing the hiccups, minor errors, and outcomes of each. He then highlighted the day’s performance, labeling it his “third test,” and boasted that his decades of escapology experience allowed him to execute the trick flawlessly. Less than three months later, the 52‑year‑old magician would succumb to a fatal infection, sealing his place in legend.

9 Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.

On the fateful morning of August 21, 1983, Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. was assassinated at Manila International Airport moments after returning from exile in the United States. As the most outspoken critic of Ferdinand Marcos, Aquino feared that his arrival would trigger imprisonment—or worse. In the hours before his plane touched down, he wrote a heartfelt letter to his beloved wife, Corazon “Cory” Aquino, who would later become the Philippines’ first female president.

The missive reveals Aquino’s trembling uncertainty about the journey’s outcome, his deep affection for Cory, and his gratitude for her unwavering support. He asks forgiveness for taking her for granted, declares that his public service will be his enduring legacy, and stresses that true wealth lies beyond material possessions. Anticipating possible detention, he urges Cory to take the children on a European trip, and he promises to call that night if circumstances allow.

8 Princess Diana

The final official correspondence from Princess Diana dates back to August 11, 1997—just two weeks before her tragic death. Addressed to Dilys Cheetham, a staunch anti‑land‑mine activist, the letter followed Diana’s three‑day mission to Bosnia, where she met survivors of land‑mine devastation.

Diana opened by expressing sincere gratitude for Cheetham’s charitable work with victims, especially children in the Mostar refugee camps. Though she could not personally verify Cheetham’s claims, Diana praised the initiative and conveyed how profoundly the stories of land‑mine victims had moved her. She pledged to amplify their plight on the global stage, ensuring they would not be forgotten.

In 1999, Cheetham auctioned the letter for a charitable cause; photographer Jason Fraser later sold it to an anonymous buyer for £2,976 in 2007, preserving a tangible piece of Diana’s compassion.

7 Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway, the rugged American novelist famed for his larger‑than‑life persona, left behind a surprisingly tender final letter. Dated June 15, 1961, the note was dispatched from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, to Fritz, the nine‑year‑old son of Hemingway’s close friend, Dr. George B. Saviers.

In the letter, Hemingway attempts to lift Fritz’s spirits. He acknowledges the boy’s recent transfer from Idaho to a Denver hospital for a heart condition, shares vivid descriptions of Minnesota’s crisp weather and the Mississippi River’s scenic beauty, and expresses optimism that both he and Fritz would soon leave their respective hospitals. He signs off with a hopeful tone, insisting he feels “quite positive about life.”

Tragically, just 17 days later, Hemingway took his own life, casting a somber shadow over the upbeat words he had penned for a child.

6 Albert Einstein

In April 1955, Albert Einstein sent a brief reply to fellow Nobel laureate Bertrand Russell, agreeing to support what would become the “Russell‑Einstein Manifesto,” a plea for global leaders to curb the menace of war. This concise note turned out to be the last correspondence Einstein ever wrote before his death a few days later.

Yet a year prior, Einstein authored a far more provocative letter addressed to Erik Gutkind after reading the book Choose Life: The Biblical Call to Revolt, recommended by their mutual friend L.E.J. Brouwer. In this German‑language missive, Einstein sharply critiqued organized religion, describing God as a “product of human weakness” and dismissing religious belief as childish superstition. He also argued that the Jewish people were not a divinely chosen race, asserting they were no different from any other group. Despite these disagreements, Einstein concluded by acknowledging shared humanity and common ground between himself and Gutkind.

5 Marie Antoinette

Just hours before the guillotine’s blade fell on her neck, Marie Antoinette composed a poignant letter to her sister‑in‑law, Princess Elisabeth Philippine Marie Helene. The queen’s words reveal a woman confronting mortality with dignity and maternal concern.

She writes that death will reunite her with her late husband, Louis XVI, and maintains their innocence regarding the crimes for which they were condemned. While sorrowful about leaving her children, she expresses confidence in Elisabeth’s ability to nurture them and steer them toward virtue. Marie implores her son not to seek vengeance, pleading for forgiveness for his youthful missteps, and asks Elisabeth to convey her farewells to relatives and friends.

The letter closes with a solemn appeal for divine forgiveness, a request for absolution from anyone she may have wronged, and a generous offer of forgiveness toward her enemies.

4 Sir Thomas More

Sir Thomas More, the 16th‑century English statesman, faced execution on July 5, 1535 for refusing King Henry VIII’s demand to sanction the king’s marriage annulment. While awaiting his fate, More crafted a heartfelt letter to his daughter, Margaret, using a charcoal stick on a cloth—a necessity after Henry confiscated all his writing tools.

In his moving epistle, More begins with a prayer, wishing blessings upon Margaret, his other children, and close friends. He mentions sending small gifts—a handkerchief for his youngest daughter Cecily and an algorism stone (a calculating device) for a relative. He also urges his son John not to defy his will concerning his sister Daunce. The letter ends on a hopeful note, expressing anticipation of reuniting with loved ones in Heaven.

3 Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn’s marriage to Henry VIII quickly soured when she failed to produce a male heir, prompting the king to covet Jane Seymour. Accused of witchcraft and adultery, Anne was sentenced to death and, while awaiting execution, drafted a desperate final plea to the king.

The undelivered letter fervently declares her innocence, insisting that the notion of her alleged crimes never crossed her mind. She implores Henry to grant her a fair trial before an unbiased panel of judges, rather than a tribunal composed of his enemies. Anne hopes to convince the judges of her innocence, thereby sparing Henry further humiliation. She concludes by stating that if the false accusations bring Henry pleasure, she will accept God’s judgment, trusting that divine justice will vindicate her, and she wishes forgiveness for both Henry and her accusers.

2 Mary, Queen Of Scots

After enduring nineteen years of captivity, Mary, Queen of Scots, faced execution on February 8, 1587 by order of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. Mere hours before her death, Mary penned a French‑language letter to Henry III of France, her former husband’s brother, entrusting its delivery to her physician.

In the missive, Mary informs Henry of her impending death sentence, lamenting that Elizabeth’s officials denied her the chance to draft a will or arrange her burial. She claims persecution for her claim to the throne and her Catholic faith. Mary requests that Henry settle her servants’ unpaid wages, tend to her son’s welfare, and accept two precious stones and a talisman she sent for his health. She also asks that any remaining funds after settling debts be used to fund a memorial mass and proper funeral rites.

1 Adolf Eichmann

Infamously dubbed the “Architect of the Holocaust,” Adolf Eichmann orchestrated the systematic extermination of Jews during World War II. After fleeing to Argentina post‑war, he was captured by Mossad in 1960, tried, convicted, and sentenced to death by hanging.

Two days before his execution, Eichmann wrote a handwritten plea to Israeli President Yitzhak Ben‑Zvi, begging for clemency. Sent on the same day the Israeli Supreme Court denied his final appeal, the German‑language letter argues that he was merely following orders, claiming none of the atrocities were personally his. While acknowledging the trials of major war criminals, Eichmann contended that lower‑level officials like himself should not face the death penalty, pleading for a pardon he deemed just.

When you think of fan mail, you probably picture adoring celebrities, not the chilling correspondence that lands in the hands of some of the most infamous killers. Yet, the phenomenon of the 10 creepy fan letters is real, and it shows how a twisted form of admiration can bloom around those who have committed the worst crimes. Below we dive into ten of the most disturbing examples, complete with the letters, the fans, and the eerie back‑and‑forth that followed.

10 Creepy Fan Letters Overview

This overview introduces the unsettling trend of women writing love letters to men who have become symbols of terror. From Ted Bundy to Kenneth Bianchi, each entry reveals how these fans expressed devotion, sometimes even attempting to emulate or assist the killers.

10 The Woman Who Creeped Out Ted Bundy

Ted Bundy, the notorious serial killer and rapist responsible for at least thirty deaths, was inundated with fan mail while incarcerated. One particular admirer, a woman named Janet, took her obsession to a fever pitch. She wrote a deeply emotional letter, proclaiming, “I got the letter you sent me and read it again. I kissed it all over and held it to me. I don’t mind telling you I am crying. I just don’t see how I can stand it anymore. I love you so very much, Ted.”

Bundy replied only once, but Janet’s reaction was nothing short of ecstatic. She treated the reply as the pinnacle of her existence. When she began appearing at his trials, Bundy grew uneasy. He even penned a note to his wife, Carole, pleading, “Stop letting Janet sit near her so that I wouldn’t have to look at her. There she sits contemplating me with her mad eyes like a deranged seagull studying a clam. I can feel her spreading hot sauce on me already.”

9 Dylann Roof’s Roofies

After white supremacist Dylann Roof opened fire on a Charleston church in 2016, a peculiar fan base of women emerged, dubbing themselves “roofies.” These admirers confessed a bizarre attraction, with one writing, “I feel so bad that I find Dylann handsome, but wtf can I do about it.”

Some fans took it further, tattooing Roof’s name beneath their breasts and maintaining blogs that bragged about the love letters they’d sent. Within this subculture, a hierarchy formed: veteran “roofies” scorned newcomers they called “newfies,” boasting about their deeper knowledge of Roof’s life and case details.

8 James Holmes’s Fangirls

“I hope you’re okay James,” a fan began in a letter to James Holmes, the 2012 Colorado theater shooter. The correspondence continued, “You’re all I think about. I actually had a dream about you, haha. I gave you a hand massage!” Holmes reportedly received thousands of such cards, each accompanied by personal photos, creating a wall of admiring portraits inside his prison cell.

The letters often praised his looks, with one admirer noting, “I can’t believe your curls are gone. I like them. You’re handsome, you have strong hands and facial hair, and really nice eyes.” Many concluded with a pledge of assistance, offering to do anything at his request.

7 Richard Ramirez’s Secret Admirer In The Jury

Serial killer Richard Ramirez, known as the “Night Stalker,” amassed a flood of fan mail, even commissioning custom stationery emblazoned with his moniker. Among the many admirers, a juror named Cindy Haden stood out. While serving on his jury, she delivered a plate of cupcakes inscribed with “I love you” directly to Ramirez.

Despite her affection, Haden ultimately voted guilty. Yet she remained convinced she had found her soulmate, visiting Ramirez in prison, proclaiming her love, and even introducing her parents to the man she believed was her true love.

6 Josef Fritzl’s Fangirls

Josef Fritzl infamously imprisoned his own daughter for 24 years, abusing her and fathering seven children. After his crimes surfaced, a surprising number of women sent him love letters, insisting he was “good at heart.” One fan even claimed she believed his horrific actions were a twisted form of protection for his daughter.

Fritzl’s cellmate recounted receiving dozens of such letters. One particularly unsettling image was sent by a female fan who posed beside a masked man, acting out a rape fantasy, then forwarded the photo to Fritzl. The fan’s perspective: “The fans saw him as the chief monster. They respected him.”

5 Ian Brady’s Eulogizers

When Ian Brady, the “Moors Murderer,” died of cancer in prison in 2017, a wave of women flooded the internet with mournful tributes, treating his death as a personal loss. One wrote, “Oh my God, I just heard about Ian. This is the worst day ever. I hope he’s at peace wherever he is. I love you Ian, and I will never forget how incredibly generous it was of you to reply to me. I’ll love you forever and I’ve got your name on me for the rest of my life.”

She displayed tattoos bearing the names “Ian,” “Myra,” “Jeff,” and “Ted” on her arms. Other fans expressed similar grief, crying over his death and praising his “interesting, fascinating brains and thoughts,” claiming he introduced a whole new perspective to them.

4 Anders Breivik’s Fan Club Has Tips On How To Write Him Love Letters

Anders Breivik, the Norwegian extremist responsible for the 2011 massacre of 77 people, receives roughly 800 letters each year, predominantly from female admirers. During his trial, a 16‑year‑old begged him to marry her, while a Swedish woman named Victoria publicly declared him her one true love, saying, “I really wouldn’t want to live a life without him.”

Online fan clubs even publish guides on how to craft the perfect love letter to Breivik, encouraging women to declare their admiration publicly, especially if they’re “cute.” The ultimate aim, according to the guide, is to inspire other men, proving that women admire militant nationalists and potentially encouraging copycat attacks.

3 Jeffrey Dahmer’s Loving Donors

Jeffrey Dahmer, the cannibalistic serial killer of 17 boys, oddly attracted a cadre of female donors. In 1993 alone, admirers sent him $12,000 to purchase cigarettes, books, and other necessities while he was incarcerated. A single London fan contributed $5,920, fascinated by the grisly details of his crimes.

When asked why she sent money to a monster, one woman admitted, “He did awful things, but deep down he isn’t a mean kid.” This paradoxical affection underscores the bizarre allure some killers hold over certain admirers.

2 Nikolas Cruz’s Facebook Community

A Facebook group of roughly 300 members, titled “Nikolas Cruz — the First Victim,” consists primarily of women who profess love for the Parkland shooter. They share collages with hearts around his image and exchange ideas on how to support him.

One 18‑year‑old member wrote, “When I saw your picture on television, something attracted me to you,” attaching a photo of herself, noting she was skinny with 34C breasts. Others posted similar explicit images, ranging from bikini shots to close‑up selfies. Their public defender, Howard Finklestein, noted he would not allow Cruz to see the letters, refusing to reward his crimes with fan mail.

1 Kenneth Bianchi’s Copycat Admirer

Veronica Compton, enamored with the Hillside Strangler Kenneth Bianchi, penned a play titled The Mutilated Cutter and mailed it to him, hoping to capture his attention. She wrote, “I hope you received my letter and could spare a moment during your busy schedule to look over my play. I really think you will find the plot quite fascinating. After all, it was you who inspired it.”

Her obsession escalated to a dangerous level. In 1980, after sending suggestive photos to Bianchi, she attempted a copycat murder, smuggling his semen out of jail in a plastic glove to plant on a victim’s body. The plan failed; the victim escaped, police were alerted, and Compton was arrested.

Ironically, while incarcerated, she received love letters herself. A man named James Wallace abandoned his 37‑year marriage to write to her, all in the name of his devotion to a monster.

When you think of serial killers, you probably picture them wielding knives or guns, but the pen can be just as terrifying. The 10 creepiest letters penned by some of history’s most infamous murderers prove that ink can also spill blood.

10 Creepiest Letters Overview

The letters became tools to taunt the police, make demands, hurt the victims’ families, or make chilling confessions. Each one was likely written with the same hand that the killer used to slay his victims.

10 Albert Fish

Creepy serial killer Albert Fish was known as “The Boogeyman” as he preyed on small children and was a suspect in at least five brutal child murders. In 1928, he kidnapped 10-year‑old Grace Budd. Then he murdered her and cannibalized her remains at an abandoned house in Westchester County, New York.

Afterward, Fish sent a letter to Budd’s mother describing in horrifying detail how he murdered the young girl. He wrote:

When all was ready, I went to the window and called her. Then I hid in a closet until she was in the room. When she saw me all naked, she began to cry and tried to run downstairs. I grabbed her, and she said she would tell her mama. How she did kick, bite, and scratch. I (then) cut her in small pieces so I could take my meat to my rooms, cook and eat it.

The letter became the downfall of Fish as police were able to trace the killer from the unique branding on the envelope he had sent.

9 Donald Harvey

Donald Harvey was a former orderly in hospitals in Ohio and Kentucky during the 1970s and 1980s. During this time, he killed an estimated 37 patients. However, the real victim count is believed to be much higher as Harvey claimed the figure is closer to 70. His killing spree “began by accident” after hooking up a patient to an empty oxygen tank, and then he just couldn’t stop.

The cold‑blooded killer never showed any remorse for his crimes. In one interview, he said, “Some of those (patients) might have lasted a few more hours or a few more days, but they were all going to die. I know you think I played God, and I did.”

In a chilling letter that he wrote behind bars, the serial killer joked, “Lord, Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, change the things I can, and the wisdom to hide the bodies of those people I had to kill because they pissed me off.”

8 Dr. H.H. Holmes

Dr. H.H. Holmes was a twisted serial killer who built a “Murder Castle” in Chicago with the intention to kill as many victims as possible. The 100‑room building had long, winding corridors that would disorient victims. It also had trapdoors, false walls, and gas chambers. Holmes then sold the cadavers to medical research institutions, and the organs were traded on the black market.

On April 11, 1896, he wrote a full letter of confession to the Philadelphia North American newspaper:

I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the poet can help the inspiration to sing. I was born with the “Evil One” standing as my sponsor beside the bed where I was ushered into the world, and he has been with me since.

One month later, he was hanged at Moyamensing Prison for his crimes.

7 Gary Ridgway

Gary Ridgway became known as the “Green River Killer” after he confessed to murdering 48 sex workers and runaways in the state of Washington during the 1980s and 1990s. Ridgway said, “I picked prostitutes because I thought I could kill as many of them as I wanted without getting caught.”

In 1984, he wrote a letter about the murders titled “what you need to know about the green river man” and sent it to the Seattle Post‑Intelligencer. In disturbing detail, the killer wrote about necrophilia and cutting off the fingernails of victims before signing off as “callmefred.”

Police claimed that it was a “brazen attempt to throw off investigators.” At the time, they did not follow up on this key evidence. Ridgway’s game of playing cat and mouse with the police finally came to an end in 2001 when DNA evidence connected him to the murders. He was spared the death penalty as part of a plea bargain where he disclosed the locations of the missing bodies. His plea bargain raised his murder convictions to 49.

6 Ian Brady

The “Moors Murderers,” Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, killed five children between 10 and 17 years old in the early 1960s. Three graves were discovered on Saddleworth Moor in Manchester, England, but the killers never revealed the final resting place of their other victims. Hindley claimed that she was under Brady’s spell and that she took part in the crimes against her will. However, he tells a different story.

In one letter that he wrote from prison to a journalist, Brady explained:

Hindley has crafted a Victorian melodrama in which she portrays herself as being forced to murder serially. We both habitually carried revolvers and went for target practice on the moors. If I were mistreating her, she could have shot me dead at any time. For 30 years, she said she was acting out of love for me; now she maintains she killed because she hated me—a completely irrational hypothesis. In character, she is essentially a chameleon, adopting whatever camouflage will suit and voicing whatever she believes the individual wishes to hear. She can kill, both in cold blood or in a rage.

5 The Axeman Of New Orleans

The Axeman of New Orleans is an unidentified serial killer who butchered six victims and injured 12 others in 1918 and 1919. A letter believed to be from the killer was published in newspapers and claimed that he would spare anyone who was playing jazz music.

Dated March 13, 1919, the anonymous killer wrote:

I am very fond of jazz music, and I swear by all the devils in the nether regions that every person shall be spared in whose home a jazz band is in full swing at the time I have just mentioned. If everyone has a jazz band going, well, then, so much the better for you people. One thing is certain and that is that some of your people who do not jazz it out on that specific Tuesday night (if there be any) will get the axe.

Then the murders suddenly stopped as quickly as they had started. The crimes remain unsolved to this day.

4 The Beltway Snipers

Over a three‑week span in 2002, the “Beltway snipers” killed 10 people in the states of Maryland and Virginia. (Another seven individuals were murdered elsewhere.) John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo shot each victim with a single bullet fired from a distance. Then the killers vanished.

They wrote down their demands in a three‑page letter with a cover note that read, “For you, Mr. Police. Call Me God.” They demanded $10 million in “unlimited withdrawals” or the lives of children in the area would be threatened. The letter was left pinned to a tree outside a restaurant where the snipers had shot and wounded a man who was out to dinner with his wife.

They were eventually caught when one of the snipers mentioned an unsolved murder in Montgomery, Alabama, in a traced phone call. Authorities were able to link both of the murders with fingerprints and make an arrest. Muhammad was put to death by lethal injection, and Malvo received a life sentence.

3 Dennis Rader

Dennis Rader gave himself the title “BTK” after his chilling murder method of “Bind, Torture, Kill.” Between 1974 and 1991, Rader killed 10 people in Sedgwick County, Kansas, with gaps in between to dedicate more of his time to being a family man. Rader believed that he could outwit the police, so he sent them taunting letters.

One of his poorly written letters read:

When this monster enter my brain, I will never know. But, it here to stay. Society can be thankfull (sic) that there are ways for people like me to relieve myself at time by daydreams of some victim being torture and being mine. It a big compicated (sic) game my friend of the monster play putting victims number down, follow them, checking up on them waiting in the dark, waiting, waiting. Maybe you can stop him. I can’t. He has areadly (sic) chosen his next victim.

He signed it, “Yours, Truly Guiltily, BTK.” He was caught after he upgraded his technology and sent his letters on a floppy disc, which was immediately traced to him.

2 Jack The Ripper

The terrifying case of Jack the Ripper still haunts London today. In 1888, the chilling serial killer targeted impoverished areas around Whitechapel. The bodies of his victims were discovered with their throats cut open and with abdominal mutilations.

On September 27, 1888, the Central News Agency received this letter (which they believed was a hoax):

The next job I do, I shall clip the lady’s ears off and send to the police officers just for jolly, wouldn’t you. Keep this letter back till I do a bit more work, then give it out straight. My knife’s so nice and sharp I want to get to work right away if I get a chance. Good Luck. Yours truly, Jack the Ripper.

Three days later, a double murder took place. True to his word, the ripper cut a portion of the earlobe off his victims. The case has never been solved.

1 The Zodiac Killer

In the late 1960s, the Zodiac Killer targeted four men and three women between the ages of 16 and 29 in Benicia, Vallejo, Lake Berryessa, and San Francisco. Five victims were killed during his reign of terror. He sent several letters, including four cryptograms, to the local Bay Area press. It’s believed that his true identity will be revealed if the ciphers can be decoded.

Only one of the ciphers has ever been solved. Schoolteacher Donald Harden and his wife, Bettye, cracked the code which reads:

I LIKE KILLING PEOPLE BECAUSE IT IS SO MUCH FUN IT IS MORE FUN THAN KILLING WILD GAME IN THE FORREST BECAUSE MAN IS THE MOST DANGEROUE ANAMAL OF ALL TO KILL SOMETHING GIVES ME THE MOST THRILLING EXPERENCE IT IS EVEN BETTER THAN GETTING YOUR ROCKS OFF WITH A GIRL THE BEST PART OF IT IS THAE WHEN I DIE I WILL BE REBORN IN PARADICE AND ALL THEI HAVE KILLED WILL BECOME MY SLAVES I WILL NOT GIVE YOU MY NAME BECAUSE YOU WILL TRY TO SLOI DOWN OR ATOP MY COLLECTIOG OF SLAVES FOR MY AFTERLIFE. EBEORIETEMETHHPITI.

The unsolved ciphers still frustrate the FBI.

When the final moments of a life loom, words become a bridge between the living and the lost. In the chaos of World War II, many brave souls managed to put pen to paper, leaving behind messages that echo across decades. Below you will find ten of the most poignant last letters from that global conflict, each revealing a unique blend of courage, love, and reflection. These letters remind us that even in the darkest hour, the human spirit can still speak with clarity and heart. 10 poignant last letters illuminate the personal side of history that statistics often hide.

10 Poignant Last Letters From World War Two

1 Year-Old’s Thank You

Zalman Levinson was barely nine when the war turned his family’s life upside down in Riga, Latvia. Living with his mother Frieda and father Zelik, the Levinson household kept a lively correspondence with Frieda’s sister Agnes, who lived in what would become Israel, sending gifts that brightened the boy’s days.

In April 1941, Frieda mailed a postcard to Agnes, the last piece of mail that would ever leave Riga. Soon after, the German occupation authorities began compiling a list of the city’s Jewish residents, and the Levinsons’ names appeared among the 30,000 Jews forced into the Riga ghetto. By the end of that year, the Nazis announced a plan to deport the ghetto’s inhabitants further east.

Between November 30 and December 9, 1941, a harrowing massacre took place along the Riga‑Dvinsk railway, where at least 26,000 Jews, including the Levinson family, were executed. The final communication from Zalman arrived in the form of a colorful drawing of his house, accompanied by a brief note addressed to his aunt. He signed the letter simply: “Thank you for the present.” That innocent expression of gratitude stands as a heartbreaking reminder of a life cut short.

2 Another Witness Refuses To Kill

Wolfgang Kusserow grew up under the watchful eye of the Nazi secret police because his family practiced the Jehovah’s Witness faith. Defiant to a fault, Wolfgang refused to bow to Hitler’s demands, believing that true loyalty belonged only to God.

Even after his parents were arrested, Wolfgang continued to host clandestine Bible study gatherings in his home. In December 1941, his refusal to serve in the German military led to his own arrest, trial, and death sentence. On the night before his execution, he wrote a heartfelt letter to his family.

He began, “My dear parents and my dear brothers and sisters!” and went on to assure them that his death would not be the end of their reunion, promising that those who sow with tears will reap joy. He cited Romans 8:38‑39, emphasizing that no power could separate them from God’s love. He closed with a tender farewell: “A last greeting from this old world in the hope of seeing you again soon in a new world. Your son and brother, Wolfgang.” Wolfgang was executed on March 28, 1942, at the age of twenty. Across the Nazi era, roughly ten thousand Jehovah’s Witnesses faced persecution, with over three thousand sent to concentration camps and many meeting the same tragic fate.

3 Letter From Jehovah’s Witness Before The Guillotine

At only seventeen, Gerhard Steinacher embraced the Jehovah’s Witness faith, a decision that would ultimately cost him his life. Arrested on September 15, 1939, for refusing military service and declining to swear loyalty to Adolf Hitler, he endured six weeks in a Viennese prison before transfer to Berlin.

Charged with subverting the war effort, Steinacher faced a death sentence from the Reich Military Court. Hours before his execution, he was permitted to draft a letter to his parents. He wrote that he had been informed at 7:00 p.m. that he would be executed the next morning at 5:50 a.m., and described the cold, snowy night as he sat in his cell, surrounded by two other men.

His words expressed a deep spiritual resolve: he asked for strength, confessed his inability to shoot, and urged his family to remain steadfast in faith. Three lines of his letter were censored by the Nazis, but he still managed to convey love, request that his belongings be sent to relatives, and promise continual prayers. He concluded with a million kisses before being beheaded on March 30, 1940, at nineteen years old.

4 An Unknown Holocaust Victim’s Letters

In the once‑thriving city of Tarnopol, home to roughly 18,000 Jews before the war, only about 150 survived the Holocaust. The identity of the writer of these two letters remains unknown, but the words she left behind speak volumes about the horror she endured.

In a letter dated 7 April 1943, she warned her loved ones that her death was imminent, describing how the Nazis had already executed countless defenseless Jews. She recounted the murder of her husband in June 1941, the desperate search for his body, and the crushing grief that followed.

A second letter, written on 26 April 1943, detailed the systematic liquidation of the Tarnopol ghetto, explaining how victims were forced to strip, kneel, and await execution. She described the grim efficiency of the process, the billing of the Jewish council for bullets, and the unbearable question of why they could not defend themselves. Her words end with a desperate plea for self‑preservation and an indomitable will to live, even as death closed in.

5 POW’s Letter

Lieutenant Tommie Kennedy, only twenty‑one, spent nearly three years as a prisoner of war under the Japanese. Starvation and disease gnawed at his strength, but he managed to inscribe a farewell on the backs of two cherished family photographs.

His letter began, “Momie & Dad:” and conveyed a stark acceptance of his fate, noting that he was not afraid to die yet despised the thought of never seeing them again. He urged his family to purchase a ranch with his money, to think of him often, and to ensure his siblings received proper support, including a new car for a brother named Gary.

Tommie also mentioned sending medals belonging to a fellow soldier named Walt to Walt’s mother, and asked his family to hold a proper service and erect a headstone. He signed off with a loving promise to wait for them in the world beyond. The letter survived a perilous journey, passed from one POW to another before finally reaching his parents four years after his deployment.

6 Canadian Paratrooper’s Letter Before D‑Day

Leslie Abram Neufeld, a twenty‑one‑year‑old from a sprawling Saskatchewan farm, grew up alongside eight siblings. In 1942, he and two brothers enlisted, with Leslie serving in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps alongside his brother Leonard.

When the army called for volunteers for the 1st Parachute Battalion, Leslie leapt at the chance, undergoing grueling training for the upcoming Operation Overlord. Anticipating the invasion of France, he penned a brief yet heartfelt note to his family, thanking them for cigarettes, parcels, and letters, and apologizing for his limited time to reply.

He reassured his parents that he would be among the first hundred Canadians to parachute into France, emphasizing his resolve and faith in God. He asked that if anything happened to him, they should remember his sacrifice rather than mourn, and he expressed confidence that divine guidance would see him through the peril. Tragically, Leslie’s company was hit by a high‑explosive shell after landing in Varaville, killing him instantly. His family later recalled his letter as the only moment they saw their father weep.

7 Michael Andrew Scott’s Letter To His Father

Michael Andrew Scott, one of eight children, left a respectable teaching career to join the Royal Air Force’s Bomber Command, serving with the 110 Squadron. Throughout the war he kept a diary that reflected on the futility of conflict, his sense of duty, and his love for music.

He composed a moving letter to his father, intended for delivery after his death. In it, Michael reflected on the transient nature of life, describing death as a mere stage in humanity’s development. He assured his father that he was at peace, and paid tribute to the courage his parents displayed during those trying times.

He warned of unseen enemies—hardship, anxiety, and despair—while praising his father’s steadfastness. Michael concluded with a hopeful note, expressing faith that the war would end in victory and that his father would enjoy many more years of ordinary life. He was killed over the English Channel while flying with a fighter escort; his diary’s final entry, added by his sister Flora, simply read, “Missing. Believed Killed.”

8 Private Harry Schiraldi’s Last Words Home

Harry Schiraldi served as a medic with the 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division, during the fateful Normandy landings. The night before the assault, he wrote a comforting letter to his mother, sharing snippets of his everyday life.

He opened with a warm greeting, “Dear Ma,” and went on to tell her he was in good health, had just played baseball, taken a shower, and felt refreshed. He reminded her not to worry about his finances, suggesting she could cash his war bonds if needed. He also mentioned attending church that afternoon and receiving Holy Communion, ending with a light‑hearted comment about feeling “holy.”

Harry signed off with love, promising to hear from his family soon. Tragically, he was killed by enemy gunfire on the morning of D‑Day. He now rests in Calvary Cemetery in New York, his brief but heartfelt words forever preserved.

9 Toshihiro Oura’s Last Diary Entries

Probational Officer Toshihiro Oura found himself stationed on the far‑south tip of New Georgia during the summer of 1943. As United States forces launched a campaign to seize the island, Oura kept a meticulous diary that recorded the grim reality of his situation.

On July 22, his second‑to‑last entry painted a vivid picture of misery: he had not washed for a month, a front tooth had broken, and he likened his own scent to that of a wild dog. He described a dugout riddled with holes, a shrapnel wound to his back, and a desperate plea for friendly forces to intervene. He lamented the lack of naval support, the overwhelming artillery fire, and the feeling of being like a child pitted against an adult.

The following day, July 23, his final entry grew even more bleak. He wrote that the battle situation amounted to nothing but annihilation, criticizing the absence of cooperation from the navy and comparing the enemy’s coordinated artillery to a child’s toy. He expressed bitter frustration toward the Imperial staff, accusing them of abandoning their troops, and confessed a deep hatred for the operational command. He concluded with a stark statement about his worsening malaria symptoms, a grim foreshadowing of his likely fate. After his last entry, Japanese forces withdrew, and the airfield he defended fell to U.S. troops on August 5.

10 Thoughts Before A Kamikaze Attack

On May 11, 1945, twenty‑two‑year‑old Ryoji Uehara met his end as a member of Japan’s Army Special Attack Unit, commonly known as the kamikaze pilots, during the ferocious Battle of Okinawa. The night before his planned suicide mission, he composed a reflective letter that laid bare his conflicted thoughts.

Uehara opened by acknowledging the immense honor he felt in being chosen for the elite Special Attack Corps, praising his nation’s “glorious fatherland.” Yet, he quickly shifted to a broader philosophical stance, asserting that authoritarian regimes—no matter how temporarily successful—are destined to crumble. He cited the defeats of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany as evidence, emphasizing that the universal love of liberty endures beyond the collapse of tyrannical foundations.

When describing the role of a kamikaze pilot, Uehara likened himself to a mere component of a machine, a filament within a magnet destined to be drawn into an enemy carrier. He noted the rational absurdity of such a mission, describing it as something only a suicidal disposition could accept. He concluded with a humble apology for any breach of etiquette and a simple farewell, “Well, then.”

When you think about love letters, you probably picture roses, ink‑stained parchment, and heartfelt vows. But the reality for many of history’s most famous personalities is far stranger. In fact, the 10 weird love letters we’re about to unveil show a side of these icons that is equal parts bizarre, hilarious, and sometimes downright unsettling. These private missives were never meant for public eyes, yet they have survived to give us a glimpse into the oddball intimacy of the world’s most recognizable names.

It’s one thing to craft a public speech or a masterpiece; it’s another to whisper—or type—your deepest, most peculiar cravings onto paper for a single, private recipient. Whether it’s a quirky obsession, a scandalous nickname, or a confession that borders on the absurd, each of these letters tells a story that is as revealing as it is unexpected.

So buckle up and prepare to dive into a collection of love letters that are as weird as they are wonderful, showcasing the strange, the erotic, and the downright odd side of history’s most famous people.

10 Weird Love Letters Unveiled

10 Mozart’s Weird Poop Letters To His Cousin

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, celebrated for his symphonies and operas, also left behind a surprisingly risqué correspondence with his younger cousin, Maria Anna Thekla. While the relationship itself raises eyebrows, the truly bizarre element is Mozart’s fixation on all things… excrement‑related.

In one of his letters, Mozart signs off a seemingly ordinary good‑night wish, only to add an unsettling line: “Shit in your bed with all your might, sleep with peace on your mind and try to kiss your own behind.” The casual insertion of such crude imagery suggests he believed that a preoccupation with poop could somehow be tantalizing.

Another missive reads, “Oh my ass burns like fire!” followed by a bewildering query about the meaning of this sensation, concluding with, “Maybe muck wants to come out? Yes, yes, muck.” The language is both vivid and oddly poetic, showcasing Mozart’s willingness to blend eroticism with bodily functions.

The flirtatious tone never strays far from the theme of feces. When urging his cousin to visit, he writes, “Come for a bit or else I’ll shit.” He then promises a bizarre mix of affection and aggression: “Kiss your hands, my dear, shoot off a gun in the rear.” Such oddities hint at a belief that explicit, even vulgar, references might ignite desire.

Curiously, Mozart’s mother appears to have passed down this peculiar style. In a letter addressed to her husband, she mirrors his language: “Keep well, my love. Into your mouth your arse you’ll shove. I wish you goodnight, my dear, but first shit in your bed and make it burst.” The familial echo suggests a shared, albeit eccentric, approach to intimate communication.

9 Warren G. Harding’s Letters About His Penis

Before his ascent to the presidency, Warren G. Harding engaged in a passionate affair with Carrie Fulton Phillips. Their correspondence, laden with secrecy, reveals how Harding resorted to cryptic nicknames to discuss his most intimate parts, especially his penis, which he affectionately dubbed “Jerry.”

In a particularly daring line, he writes, “Wish I could take you to Mount Jerry, wonderful spot,” turning a personal organ into a whimsical destination. Another missive declares, “Jerry came and will not go,” underscoring his preoccupation with this nickname.

Harding didn’t limit his playful monikers to himself. He referred to Carrie’s genitals as “Mrs. Pouterson,” further illustrating his penchant for humorously disguising sexual references in political correspondence.

One of his letters chastises Carrie for a perceived lack of affection, noting, “When I saw Mrs. Pouterson a month ago, she persuaded me you still loved. I had a really happy day with her.” This blend of personal intimacy and political intrigue paints a vivid portrait of a man balancing public ambition with private desire.

8 Albert Einstein’s Letters About His Mistresses

Albert Einstein, the iconic physicist, was equally prolific in his romantic escapades. His letters reveal a candid, unapologetic attitude toward numerous mistresses, despite being married not once but twice.

When his first marriage to Mileva Maric began to fray, Einstein penned a proposal that was strikingly pragmatic: he would stay with her provided she ensured his clothes and laundry remained orderly. The transactional tone suggests a focus on convenience over romance.

After remarrying, Einstein continued his extramarital pursuits. He reached out to his stepdaughter, Margot, to act as a messenger, explaining that his second wife was “too crazy” for direct dialogue. This indirect approach underscores his desire to avoid confrontation while maintaining his affairs.

Einstein’s letters to Margot also disclose his rationalizations: “It is true that M. followed me and her chasing after me is getting out of control,” he admitted, yet claimed he could not prevent the situation. He seemed more concerned with preserving his reputation than with any moral qualms.

Even as he expressed concern for his wife’s feelings, he promised to limit his indiscretions to women who could “keep their mouths shut.” He identified a particular mistress, “Mrs. L.,” as “absolutely harmless and decent,” attempting to portray his affairs as controlled and discreet.

7 Jimmy Savile’s Love Letter To Margaret Thatcher

Jimmy Savile, a once‑celebrated radio DJ, is now infamous for his predatory behavior. Among his many unsettling communications is a love letter addressed to then‑Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, which reveals a chilling blend of political flattery and grotesque exploitation.

In the letter, Savile thanks Thatcher for a lunch meeting and bizarrely claims that his “girl patients” – a euphemism for the young girls he was assaulting – were “madly jealous” and curious about her attire and meals. He writes, “They all love you, me, too!!” creating a disturbingly possessive tone.

The correspondence didn’t end there. After a subsequent lunch, Thatcher’s secretary, alarmed by the content, wrote to the Prime Minister demanding clarification: “Can you kindly let me know if you made any promises to Jimmy Savile when he lunched with you yesterday? Did you offer him any money?” This internal memo underscores the unease within the Prime Minister’s office.

Thatcher’s terse reply, simply noted as “Will tell you in detail. MT,” hints at a possible awareness of the impropriety, yet leaves the full extent of any promises or concessions shrouded in mystery.

6 Herman Melville’s Love Letters To Nathaniel Hawthorne

American literary giants Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne shared a bond that may have extended beyond friendship. Their letters, brimming with evocative language, suggest a deep, possibly romantic, connection.

Melville writes, “Your heart beat in my ribs and mine in yours,” and asks, “Whence come you, Hawthorne? By what right do you drink from my flagon of life? And when I put it to my lips—lo, they are yours and not mine.” Such phrasing blurs the line between platonic admiration and intimate yearning.

In a separate letter to a friend, Melville gushes about Hawthorne, describing how “Hawthorne has dropped germinous seeds into my soul.” He marvels at the way Hawthorne’s influence “expands and deepens down, the more I contemplate him; and further and further, shoots his strong New England roots in the hot soil of my Southern soul.” The metaphorical language is lush and suggestive.

Scholars interpret these exchanges as evidence of unrequited affection. Arlin Turner notes that “through the remaining 40 years of Melville’s life, he thought he had been rebuffed by Hawthorne,” indicating a lingering sense of longing that colored his later years.

5 Peter Abelard’s Rapey Letters To Heloise

Peter Abelard, a medieval philosopher famed for his theological writings, is perhaps better remembered for his torrid affair with Heloise d’Argenteuil. Their correspondence, however, reveals a darker, coercive side to their relationship.

Abelard’s letters admit to forcing Heloise’s consent: “Even when you were unwilling, resisted as much as you could, and tried to dissuade me, since your nature was weaker, I often forced you to consent with threats and blows.” This stark admission paints a picture of dominance and abuse rather than mutual affection.

When their secret liaison was exposed, Heloise denied any involvement. In retaliation, Abelard sent her to a convent, a move that only intensified the conflict. Heloise’s uncle responded violently, leading to a gang of men breaking into Abelard’s home and castrating him—a brutal retribution for his transgressions.

Even after this, Abelard seemed to accept his fate, writing, “It was wholly just and merciful, although by means of the supreme treachery of your uncle, for me to be diminished in that part of my body where the power of lust resided.” His resignation underscores the tragic and violent dimensions of their story.

4 Benjamin Franklin’s Call For Free Love

Benjamin Franklin, the quintessential American polymath, was also a proponent of open relationships. After the death of his wife, he entered into a series of affairs, and his letters reflect a candid demand for sexual freedom.

In a letter to one of his mistresses, Franklin scolds her, “You find innumerable faults with me, whereas I see only one fault in you.” He identifies that sole fault as her refusal to “seek monopoly on all my affection and not allow me any for the agreeable ladies of your country.” This phrasing reveals his expectation that she should tolerate his numerous romantic pursuits.

Franklin’s honesty, however, is tinged with self‑interest. He admits the “fault” also includes her reluctance to be physically intimate, stating, “You renounce and totally exclude all that might be of the flesh in our affection, allowing me only some kisses.” He questions why she would deny him the same freedoms he grants others.

The letter underscores Franklin’s belief in a consensual, albeit unbalanced, arrangement where he could indulge in multiple romances while demanding that his partner refrain from monopolizing his affection.

3 Marlon Brando’s Letter To A Stewardess He Didn’t Know

Marlon Brando, the iconic actor and sex symbol, once penned a love letter to a stewardess he never actually spoke to during a 1966 flight. Addressed simply as “Dear Lady,” the note reveals his tendency to romanticize strangers.

Brando writes, “There is something not quite definable in your face. You have something graceful and tender and feminine.” He continues, describing her as “a woman who has been loved in her childhood, or else somehow by the mystery of genetic phenomena, you have been visited by the gifts of refinement, dignity, and poise.” The language is poetic, yet distant.

Despite the compliments, Brando inserts a dose of realism, noting she is “not pretty in a conventionally thought of way,” yet still leaves an impression “irrespective of your gothic aspects.” This juxtaposition of admiration and critique highlights his complex perception of beauty.

The letter, while flattering, also serves as a reminder of Brando’s penchant for idealizing strangers without truly knowing them.

2 Kafka’s Kafkaesque Love Letter

Franz Kafka, the master of existential dread, penned a love letter to Milena Jesenská that reads like a short, unsettling story. He opens with a seemingly ordinary declaration, “Last night, I dreamed about you,” only to plunge into surreal imagery.

Kafka continues, “We kept merging into one another. I was you, you were me.” The intimacy quickly turns eerie as he adds, “Finally, you somehow caught fire.” He then describes a disturbing scene where he beats the woman with his coat, only to realize he himself is on fire, beating himself in a futile attempt to extinguish the flames.

He concludes with a dramatic rescue: “In the meantime, however, the fire brigade arrived and somehow you were saved, but you were different from before, spectral, as though drawn with chalk against the dark.” Ultimately, Kafka ends the relationship with a cold observation, “I can only love what I can place so high above me that I cannot reach it.” This haunting letter encapsulates his characteristic blend of love and existential terror.

1 Sigmund Freud’s Cocaine‑Fueled Love Note

Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, wrote a fervent love note to his fiancée, Martha Bernays, that intertwined romance with his then‑obsession with cocaine. At the time, Freud championed cocaine as a panacea for various ailments, even sexual performance.

In his letter, he declares, “Woe to you, my Princess, when I come. I will kiss you quite red and feed you till you are plump.” He then threatens, “If you are forward, you shall see who is the stronger, a gentle little girl who doesn’t eat enough or a big wild man who has cocaine in his body.” The note blends erotic imagery with a blatant endorsement of his drug enthusiasm.

Freud’s correspondence showcases how his professional zeal for cocaine seeped into his personal life, urging his beloved to partake in the stimulant as part of their intimate connection.

History isn’t a static ledger; it reshapes the past with every new perspective. While textbooks often paint whole nations with broad strokes of villainy or heroism, the reality is that each conflict was carried out by ordinary individuals, each with their own hopes, doubts, and personal stories. The phrase “10 letters everyday” invites us to peer into the private words of those who stood on the opposing side of famous wars, revealing the human heartbeat behind the headlines.

10 Letters Everyday: A Glimpse Into Hidden Perspectives

10 The Last Letter Of A Japanese Kamikaze Pilot

Before the Japanese kamikaze squadrons launched their fatal sorties, many of the pilots penned farewell letters to the families they would soon leave behind. These missives served as their final opportunity to express love, resolve, and the dread of the looming sacrifice.

While most of those notes tried to flaunt courage—emphasizing fearlessness and devotion to the empire—a particular new father, Furukawa Takao, allowed his usual bravado to slip away, exposing a tender, human side.

“I find my thoughts returning continually to you and our soon‑to‑be‑born child,” Furukawa wrote to his wife. “Every day, as I await my first, and last, attack, I reread the letter you sent the day you made the jelly and gazed at the photos of you and Sister Etchan.”

At the time of writing, Furukawa had already been assigned to a kamikaze mission but had not yet taken off. He described his return from a previous sortie as “without doing anything especially heroic,” yet the pressure to volunteer himself for the ultimate sacrifice was mounting.

He confessed a deep reluctance to die. “Now, more than ever, the fleetingness of human life astonishes me,” he told his spouse. “Wait for me. I will return without fail. Until you have safely given birth to our child, I have no intention of dying easily.”

Tragically, on 21 April 1945, Furukawa Takao launched his final attack and perished. The war would end only a few months later, leaving his wife and newborn son to navigate a world without his presence.

9 A Letter From A Black Slaveowner

William Ellison is a difficult figure to pin down. Born into slavery, he labored his entire life to secure his freedom, only to purchase his own plantation and a workforce of sixty‑three enslaved people once liberty was finally his.

Imagining how a man who once endured bondage could rationalize owning other human beings is a challenge, yet a single letter addressed to his son offers a revealing glimpse.

The correspondence is starkly business‑like. Ellison updates his son on overdue payments, noting that Mr. Ledinham claims “has not the money,” Mr. Turner admits “it was his fault that the account was not paid,” and Mr. Van Buren refuses to settle without a third‑party certification. He also lists tools he wishes his son to acquire—tools that his enslaved laborers would later operate.

While the letter may appear mundane, it speaks volumes about the man’s mindset. Even as a slaveowner, Ellison wrestled with being treated as an equal. Clients went out of their way to deny him compensation, yet he never complained, displaying a relentless drive to amass wealth.

For Ellison, the broader inequality surrounding him seemed secondary; what mattered most was the personal gain he could extract from the system.

8 An Auschwitz Guard’s Letter To His Wife

“From the very beginning I was completely absorbed, in fact obsessed, by my work,” Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Hoss told his wife in a 1940 letter. “All I thought about was my work.”

This obsessive focus was a common thread among SS officers stationed at concentration camps. Their duties became a mechanized routine that dulled any moral alarm.

A guard named Hugo Behncke wrote home, describing his attempts to shave off the monotony of his long shifts. “I’ll be able to cut a few corners,” he wrote, “I can sit down and that makes the work fairly easy.” He also noted the relief of winter, explaining that the cold kept prisoners from “traveling,” a euphemism for escaping.

Behncke’s empathy was virtually nonexistent. He characterized the inmates as “sick, dirty and thin as skeletons,” dismissing them as “stupid, primitive people” whose only value was to be burned in the Neuengamme crematorium.

Beyond contempt, the dominant emotion in his letter was exhaustion. He concluded with a bleak outlook on the war and a yearning to return home to his children.

7 The Diary Of A Viet Cong Doctor

Dr. Dang Thuy Tram met a fiery end when American forces stormed the field hospital where she tended Viet Cong fighters. Refusing to surrender, she seized an old rifle and fought until a bullet ended her life.

After her death, soldiers recovered a diary that laid bare the inner world of a doctor caught in a brutal conflict.

“How hateful it is!” she wrote, condemning the American presence. “We are all humans, but some are so cruel as to want the blood of others to water their gold tree.”

In another entry, she described witnessing a twenty‑one‑year‑old soldier’s desperate plea for help. “A badly wounded soldier called out my name, hoping I could help him,” she recorded. “I could not, and my tears fell as I watched him die in my useless hands.”

Her final notes were drenched in loneliness. “Why do I want so much a mother’s hand to care for me?” she asked. “Please come to me and hold my hand when I am so lonely, love me and give me strength to travel all the hard sections of the road ahead.”

6 A Letter Home From A Confederate Soldier

The Confederate cause was often presented as a fight for honor, but the letters of ordinary soldiers reveal a more nuanced picture. While some officers, like James Griffin, declared they would die rather than become “slaves” to Yankee masters, many rank‑and‑file men expressed weariness.

One particularly moving missive came from O.D. Chester, a Confederate soldier writing to his sister in 1864. By that stage, both sides were exhausted by the endless bloodshed.

“We go down to the edge of the river on our side and the Yankees come down on their side and talk to each other,” Chester wrote. “The men on picket opposite are from Ohio, and seem very tired of the war.”

Despite official prohibitions, soldiers from opposing armies would sometimes slip across the river to barter food and supplies, later sitting together to share stories.

Chester even asked his sister about the political leanings of the Union men. “One of them said ‘Old Abe,’ but most of them said they were for McLellan.” The conversation was casual, yet the ever‑present threat of combat loomed over every exchange.

5 The Diary Of A Gulag Guard

“Minus 45 degrees,” Ivan Chistyakov recorded on December 10, 1935. “The train runs slowly. Only the moon, with a superior air, glides serenely through the sky. I stay indoors all day, wearing outer clothing.”

These words come from the diary of a Soviet gulag guard, a man tasked with compelling political prisoners to endure forced labor under Stalin’s iron grip.

Throughout his entries, Chistyakov never truly expressed empathy for the detainees, yet a thin thread of pity flickered through his reflections on the bitter cold that seemed to sap his own humanity.

He confessed a creeping despondency: “My heart is desolate, it alarms me. I’m beginning to have that mark on my face, the stamp of stupidity, narrowness, a kind of moronic expression.”

His daily routine forced him to suppress any compassion. After breaking up a knife fight and thwarting an escape plan, he noted with a bitter edge, “To hell with the lot of them!” revealing the hardened cruelty that the gulag system cultivated.

4 A Brit During The American Revolutionary War

“I have read somewhere, and I begin to think it possible, that a whole country as well as an individual may be struck with lunacy,” Henry Strachey wrote, reflecting on the burgeoning United States.

To Strachey, the American fight for independence was sheer madness, a rebellion against the rightful authority of King George.

“The people are beyond nature as well as reason,” he asserted. “They might at this moment have peace and happiness, but they insist upon having their brains knocked out first.”

In his view, the colonists’ desire for self‑governance was a fabricated oppression, a trick designed to convince them they were victims of English tyranny.

He lamented, “Alas! … They still continue obstinate,” expressing bewilderment at their stubborn refusal to surrender.

3 Black Police Officers During South African Apartheid

While Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress rallied against oppression, a contingent of black South Africans chose to serve as police officers for the apartheid regime, becoming the armed arm of a government that systematically denied them basic rights.

In a 1990 New York Times interview, officer Franz Nikelo explained his reasoning: “I thought in order to help society, I should become a policeman.” He argued that crime, especially within black communities, required a direct response.

These officers did not view themselves as collaborators. Colonel Zwane emphasized, “It’s stupid to think that black policemen are collaborators. I don’t think we can be a police force if only whites are policemen. We need blacks to investigate. We understand our own people better so it’s important that we be there.”

Nikelo echoed this sentiment, stating that once crime rates fell, the nation could turn its focus to dismantling apartheid.

2 An Abolitionist Who Learned To Embrace Slavery

Sarah Hicks Williams, a staunch Northern abolitionist, fell in love with Benjamin, a Southern slaveowner. Her early letters to family revealed stark conflict.

“There are but two things I know of to dislike in the man,” she wrote. “One is his owning slaves… The other is not being a professing Christian.”

Over the following months, her correspondence softened. She began to portray the enslaved as “treated with more familiarity than many northern servants,” suggesting a gradual acceptance of the institution.

Nevertheless, the enslaved resisted. Several attempts at escape and acts of defiance surfaced, forcing Sarah to describe them as “an ungrateful race” that compelled her to become “tight and ‘stingy’ with them.”

Her letters chronicle a heartbreaking transformation from idealistic abolitionist to a harsh plantation mistress, underscoring how personal relationships can warp moral convictions.

1 A Wounded Knee War Criminal’s Letters To His Lover

Sergeant Michael Conners faced a court‑martial for his role in the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre, where his cavalry unit slaughtered approximately three hundred Lakota men, women, and children.

In letters to his wife Lillie, Conners wrote with the calm of a devoted husband. Before the attack he reassured, “Don’t be alarmed… there are enough soldiers here to do up all the Indians here.”

After the carnage, he boasted, “The men behaved very good and done splendid… We made a break, and we shot them down. We followed them for miles and killed them all quick.” He even promised further extermination, stating, “We will exterminate all the Indians in the country.”

Conners dismissed contemporary criticism, noting, “Some of the eastern papers give us the Devil for killing the poor Indians. I wish they were out here for a while. I think they would change their opinion.”

His letters serve as a chilling confession, revealing how a participant rationalized mass murder as a matter of duty and honor.