The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson tells the story of several people in one of the most haunted houses in the country. The novel has recently been reworked as a hit series on Netflix; reports of viewers passing out with fear from watching the show have circulated.

SEE ALSO: 10 Truly Creepy Demonic Hauntings

The horror Jackson’s characters witnessed is a work of fiction. However, the following families all experienced something that felt very much real to them. These families were driven from their own homes, leaving behind a legacy of pure fear.

10 The Smurl Family

When Janet and Jack Smurl first moved into their family home on Chase Street in West Pittson, Pennsylvania, they knew it was a fixer-upper. The property needed repainting and refixing, but what they didn’t know was that the renovations would be the least of their problems.

Over a period of 13 years, they were tormented by the ghosts that haunted the place. Janet also believed she was molested in her sleep by a demon, and Jack said he was sexually attacked by an unknown force as he watched a baseball game on TV. They also witnessed the family dog being thrown violently against the wall.

Demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren identified four ghosts at the property—a harmless old lady, a violent young girl, a man who had died in the home, and a demon who controlled the other three spirits. In 1987, the Smurl family had had enough of the attacks, and they fled their home with no intention to return.^[1]

9 The Perron Family

The real-life haunting of the Perron family was so terrifying it inspired the 2013 horror film The Conjuring. In 1970, Carolyn and Roger Perron, along with their five young children, moved into a farmhouse in Rhode Island known as the Old Arnold Estate, built in 1736. The previous occupant issued them a cold warning: “For the sake of your family, leave the lights on at night!”

The disturbances began almost immediately. Carolyn was awoken in the middle of the night by the ghost of an old, gray lady named Bathsheba, whose head hung loosely. The apparition warned the family to leave. The children also bonded with the spirit of a little boy they affectionately named “Manny,” who watched them through the windows as they played outside. Then there were the malevolent spirits that tossed them out of bed, pulled at their legs, and filled the house with the smell of rotting flesh many mornings at 5:15 AM.

To this day, the Perron family struggle to talk about what happened. Andrea Perron, now a grown woman, said, “Let’s just say there was a very bad male spirit in the home—with five little girls.”^[2]

8 The Enfield Poltergeist

Between 1977 and 1979, there was one ghost story that gripped the world—the Enfield Poltergeist. At 284 Green Street in Enfield, England, sat a suburban family home on a quiet street. Within this home, single mother Peggy Hodgson and her two young daughters were tormented by a violent poltergeist.

Sisters 13-year-old Margaret and 11-year-old Janet complained of menacing voices, loud banging, and chairs being overturned in the house. Janet would also become possessed and speak in a deep, demon-like voice belonging to 72-year-old Bill Wilkins, who had previously died at the house.

Press photographer Graham Morris, who was asked to report on the disturbances, recalled, “I thought it was an ordinary job until I walked into the house.” Morris managed to capture a famous photograph of young Janet purportedly levitating out of her bed as her face twists in horror.^[3]

7 The Lemp Family Curse

Built in 1868, the Lemp Mansion in Benton Park, St. Louis, Missouri, boasted a cave where the Lamp family brewed their own beer. In 1901, William J. Lemp was left devastated when his fourth son Frederick Lemp died of ill health. In 1904, William committed suicide by gunshot, and William J. “Billy” Lemp, Jr. took over the family business.

In 1920, Elsa Lemp Wright, the youngest Lemp child, shot herself following her divorce. As a result of Prohibition, the family brewery was sold at auction after hitting hard times, and Billy Jr. also shot himself in 1922. Years later, in 1949, Charles Lemp, the third son, shot himself in the head after killing the dog. The only surviving son, Edwin Lemp, died of natural causes, and his dying wish was for every family heirloom to be destroyed.

Not surprisingly, the Lemp Mansion, now a restaurant and inn, is said to be haunted.^[4] One legend is that there was another Lemp son who was born deformed and hidden away in the attic—his spirit is believed to haunt and torment the house.

6 The Snedeker Family

The Snedeker House inspired the book and horror film The Haunting in Connecticut due to its chilling legacy. In 1986, the Snedeker family—Allen and Carmen, their three sons and daughter, and two nieces—moved into the house on Meriden Avenue, Southington, Connecticut. While exploring their new home, Carmen found mortician’s tools in the basement, and she soon discovered that the property was once a funeral home.

It wasn’t long before their eldest son experienced visions of evil spirits, and both parents claimed to have been sexually attacked by demons. Demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren agreed that the Snedeker house was infested with demons. Since the family moved from the home, there have been no further reports of any paranormal activity; it is believed that the evil within was drawn to the family rather than the house itself.^[5]

5 The McPike Mansion

Alton in Madison County, Illinois, is considered one of the most haunted places in the United States, as many ghost stories plague this town. However, one building stands out among the rest—the McPike Mansion. Businessman Henry McPike built the 16-bedroom mansion on Alby Street for his family in 1869.

In the 1900s, the mansion was sold to Paul Laichinger, who rented the rooms to boarders. However, those who did stay here soon began to hear strange noises, including children talking and laughing together, although children weren’t on the grounds.

Following the death of Laichinger in 1945, the mansion sat vacant until 1994, when Sharyn and George Luedke purchased the property as a restoration project. Sharyn soon noticed that a ghost-like man would stare at her from the window as she was gardening. Other disturbances included orbs being caught on camera and heavy metal doors opening on their own. Ghost hunters have confirmed that the most paranormally active room in the house is the wine cellar.^[6]

4 The Sprague Mansion

In the mid-1800s, Lucy Chase Sprague lost her fortune and died penniless at the Sprague Mansion on Cranston Street in Cranston, Rhode Island. The property has stood with a dark cloud over it ever since. In 1967, Robert and Viola Lynch moved into the 28-bedrooom mansion that featured its very own creepy Doll Room.

In the late 1960s, night watchman Bob Lynch Jr. and a few of his friends had the blankets thrown off their beds. Using a makeshift Ouija board, they contacted a ghost that spelled out: “Tell my story!” Another entity that haunts the place is a ghost by the name of Amasa Sprague, whose body was discovered bludgeoned to death close to the house in 1843.

Since the Lynch family moved away, paranormal experts who have visited the mansion captured the dolls’ eyes in the Doll Room moving on camera. The wine cellar is also a place of much paranormal activity, including orbs and unexplained lights.^[7]

3 The Danny LaPlante Killings

In January 1987, teenagers Annie and Jessica Andrews heard loud knocking sounds coming from their bedroom walls. They also found blood-red writing on the walls: “I’m back. Find me if you can.” The girls had recently lost their mother and believed there was a spirit trying to make contact. When the girl’s father found a young boy standing in the house wearing a dress belonging to his deceased wife and holding a hatchet, he chased him from the house. Police later found a crawl space in the house and that the “ghost” was 17-year-old Daniel LaPlante.

Following a short sentence in a juvenile detention center, La Plante was released, and he turned his attention to a different family. On December 1, 1987, he assaulted and shot 33-year-old Priscilla Gustafson and then drowned her children, seven-year-old Abigail and five-year-old William, in their family home in Townsend, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. He was sentenced to life behind bars for his horrendous, deplorable actions.^[8]

2 The Lutz Family

On November 13, 1974, at 112 Ocean Drive, Amityville, Long Island, Ronald “Butch” DeFeo Jr. murdered his parents, two brothers, and two sisters with a .35-caliber rifle while they slept peacefully in their beds. Butch claimed he was tormented by voices that ordered him to kill his family.

A year later, George and Kathleen Lutz moved into the Amityville house with their three children after purchasing the five-bedroom property for a low price. George reportedly then began to awaken at 3:15 AM every day—around the time Butch was known to have massacred his family. They also saw a pig-like creature with red eyes staring from the windows of the house, and the young children would levitate from their beds.

Both George and Kathleen passed lie detector tests about what they experienced in the home, and eventually, they fled from the property. 112 Ocean Drive is still known as one of the most haunted houses in America.^[9]

1 The Winchester Mystery House

Located at 525 South Winchester Boulevard in San Jose, California, is the Winchester House, which was first built in 1884. Following the death of her husband, William Wirt Winchester, and with a $1,000-a-day inheritance at hand (the average daily wage at the time was $1.50), Sarah Winchester sought the help of a spiritualist to deal with her grief. Sarah had also lost her only daughter when she was just six weeks old.

The spiritualist warned Sarah that she was cursed and advised her to “build a home for [herself] and for the spirits.” The spirits in question were said to be those killed by Winchester rifles. Sarah sold her home in New Haven, Connecticut, and began work on the Winchester House. “If you continue building, you will live. Stop and you will die,” advised the spiritualist.

Every day for 38 years, Sarah continued building.^[10] The property ended up with 160 rooms, 47 fireplaces, trap doors, secret passages, and staircases that lead to nowhere. The labyrinth-like mansion attracts paranormal experts from all around the world.

Cheish Merryweather is a true crime fan and an oddities fanatic. Can either be found at house parties telling everyone Charles Manson was only 5’2″ or at home reading true crime magazines.
Twitter: @thecheish

Most of us think of human corpses as disgusting, creepy things that we would do everything in our power to keep away from. They remind us of our own inevitable mortality as they stare back at us with blank, gazing eyes. But under certain circumstances, people have shown an incredible ability to overcome this fear. Medical examiners and forensic pathologists, for example, are trained professionals who have learned to look beyond their initial squeamishness for a good cause.

While those people are professionals doing a job they’ve been hired and trained to do, others have less understandable, much weirder reasons for hanging around dead bodies—some can’t let go of a person they lost, while others might even actually enjoy being around corpses, as is the case with necrophiliacs. The line of distinction between the two is both one of purpose and legality. Here are ten people who actually lived with corpses for a while, usually under some pretty bizarre circumstances.

10 Robert Calvin Mark

The first corpse cohabitant on our list is a Tennessee man who recently received a knock at his door. Officers had shown up to arrest him for living with a dead body in his home without notifying authorities. (Yes, that’s illegal in Tennessee.) The arrest took place on December 3, 2018, after the police received a call asking to do a welfare check.

Agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation went into the home and found 72-year-old Dorris Ann Braithwaite dead on the floor.^[1] The man who lived there, Robert Calvin Mark, age 64, was arrested on the spot and is held on $750,000 bail for the crime of abusing a corpse. Doris, Robert’s girlfriend, had been dead for weeks or months, say authorities, judging by her state of decomposition.

Neighbors say they rarely saw Robert, and he largely kept to himself. They mentioned that they only really saw Robert when he came out to smoke a cigarette. Creepy.

9 Robert James Kuefler

Minnesota man Robert James Kuefler was open and honest about what he’d done, which was live with a corpse. He lived with two of them, actually, for over a year. The corpses in question were the bodies of his mother and his twin brother.^[2]

How Kuefler covered this up would have been a mystery if he hadn’t been so forthcoming. He explained to authorities and reporters that he wrote Christmas cards to other family members explaining that both were in poor health and that they couldn’t speak on the phone, and somehow, the family bought it. The man mentioned that his mother died in August 2015 and that his brother died a few months before that, and he just couldn’t let go. Traumatized, he kept both bodies until he was found out in September 2016.

Police say that the brother’s body was mummified and that the mother’s body was basically a skeleton by the time they got there, as revealed by court documents. It took several weeks to identify the bodies, but the medical examiner said that, while they couldn’t find an exact cause of death, the deceased did, in fact, die from natural causes, and murder was ruled out.

8 Matthew Schmarr

In 2017, when the authorities were finally able to open the door of the residence of a New Jersey man named Matthew Schmarr, they had no idea of the shocking scene they were about to uncover. There, they found two beds across from one another, one with Mattehew Schmarr, 35, and another with the dead body of a 52-year-old woman. She had been dead for three days.^[3]

The story turns out to be rather tragic. On March 18, Schmarr was babysitting for a friend when he decided to drive to another town to buy various drugs, including crack and heroin, leaving the child in the home in the care of the 52-year-old. The woman was alive when he returned, but by the time the child’s mother picked the youngster up, Schmarr had discovered that the woman was dead.

Afterward, he tried to manipulate the scene, arranging it to make it look like a suicide, and sold the woman’s laptop to get rid of evidence (and probably make a little cash). When police first showed up at the door, no one answered. They retrieved a key from Matthew’s neighbor and were able to gain access to uncover their terrifying find.

7 Doris Kirby

People who live with dead bodies aren’t always men, and they don’t always do it intentionally, or even consciously. Sometimes, the elderly end up doing so completely incidentally and tragically can’t help it. Such is the case with Doris Kirby, whose husband died in 2014 after suffering from numerous health problems.^[4] The couple lived in poor health in Alabama, and she stayed by her husband until the end.

But Doris Kirby suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, and her husband took care of her at home. When he died, Doris was already so far gone that she lived with her husband’s corpse for months before the police did a wellness check. When they peered through a window into the house, they saw the dead man inside. They also found two dogs that had starved to death. Poor Doris Kirby had progressed hopelessly far in her Alzheimer’s disease and simply couldn’t make it without him. But they stayed together as long as they could, and that counts for something special, I think.

6 Rhode Island Man

Then, in a twisted case of events, 1,900 kilometers (1,200 mi) away, the same thing would happen again only a few days later, when a 71-year-old man called the fire department. He was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease, and the reason he called was unreported, but upon their arrival, the fire department discovered his wife’s dead body, which had been in the basement for at least two days. He was living with her corpse and completely unaware of it, tragically.

Yet again, the authorities found a dead dog in the basement, but they saw no signs of foul play and expected that both the dog and the 67-year-old woman had died of natural causes, after which the man just stayed with them.^[5]

5 David Hall

A man in Monroe County, Michigan, was arrested for living with the body of his deceased girlfriend for a month. The man, David Hall, was 49 years old, and his girlfriend, Kandance Simmons, was 56 when she died there in December 2017, but police wouldn’t make the discovery until January 2018. Simmons had a history of health issues, and the police saw no signs of violence or foul play, yet again, but David just decided to keep her corpse tightly locked up in his bedroom.

When the police entered the apartment, they found Kandace’s corpse on the bed. Hall was, of course, arrested and brought up on charges of concealing a death. Authorities say that David Hall had absolutely no explanation for why the corpse of his girlfriend had been in his home just lying there for a whole month.^[6]

4 Alfred Guerrero

In October 2015, the police responded to a call about a terribly foul and rancid odor coming from a hotel room in Ontario, California. When they arrived and knocked on the door, the man who had lived there for over two years, Alfred Guerrero, opened the door, and they asked him about the smell, noticing flies everywhere in the room. The man refused to answer any of their questions, so they took him outside and performed a check on the hotel room.

Inside, they stumbled upon a dead body somewhere in the room and phoned for detectives to investigate the scene. The corpse had been there for several days. There were no obvious signs of a cause of death, even though it was extremely suspicious that he was not at all forthcoming and would not talk to police. Even with this, the police let Guerrero go and released him without charges.^[7]

3 Michael Eugene Sticken

The date was May 13, 2015, and the police were called to the residence of Joyce Willis, who lived with her son, Michael Eugene Sticken, a Florida man. As they approached the door, they were immediately hit with a pungent odor that immediately appalled them. They instantly knew something was wrong.^[8] The officers walked in to find the 81-year-old Joyce dead, just sitting there on the couch. It was straight out of the movie Psycho.

As it turns out, Michael kept her there so that he could survive off her Social Security checks. The medical examiner did an autopsy and concluded that she had been dead at least a month and no more than four months. Michael Eugene Sticken was placed under arrest and taken to the county jail.

2 Dennis McCauley

In April 2013, yet another Michigan man was surprised by a knock at the door when the police showed up to ask questions. The 64-year-old, Dennis McCauley, would be arrested and brought up on charges for failure to report a death when police discovered he had been living with his deceased girlfriend for months.^[9] He was also charged with larceny, uttering and publishing (which is basically a bit like forgery), and identity theft, as he was collecting and using her Social Security checks.

When a friend noticed that the dead woman, Ann Marquis, hadn’t been around for months, she started to fear that her friend might be dead, so she asked Dennis McCauley, the man she lived with, where she’d been. McCauley told the woman that Ann had moved out. After Ann died, McCauley fell behind on the bills and went on that way for months with her dead inside the trailer. A court officer finally showed up to knock on the door to serve an eviction notice, and no one answered, but when he peered inside the window, he saw her corpse sitting inside, decomposing.

1 Belgian Woman

The Belgian authorities didn’t release the name of the woman who committed the act, but the dead man’s name was Marcel H., and he was found as mummified as she was bereaved. The unnamed woman was Marcel’s wife when he died in November 2012 and simply could not handle the loss at 69 years old. Marcel was gone, and there was nothing she could do about it. But that didn’t mean she had to let him go—so she kept him . . . for a year. The unnamed Belgian woman decided to keep her husband as if he had never died. She let him “sleep” in the bed with her as if nothing had happened, as if he was still there, still present, still a thinking, living person.^[10]

But she hadn’t paid the rent in over a year. The man mummified during that time, and the body didn’t smell anymore. His corpse was found dressed and laid in the bed, where she slept. She simply didn’t care. She just wanted her husband to still be there, and that’s all that mattered to her. Marcel H. would end up spending both his life and death with his living wife.

I like to write about weird, dark stuff, and history.

For many adults, the adventure and excitement of playing in the treetops is a romantic notion of childhood. People remember climbing trees and building secret tree forts high up in the branches during their youth, but only a special few live this reality into adulthood.

The motives for living in a tree may vary, but it’s scientific fact that trees provide incredible health benefits. Trees not only give us the essential oxygen we need to breathe, but recent studies show that they actively remove deadly pollution from the air.

Also, being in a natural environment surrounded by trees improves psychological well-being. It makes people feel less rage, exhaustion, and depression. In Japan, they even have a word for this: shinrin-yoku (“forest bathing”). It’s the practice of being in nature to restore energy and improve one’s mood.

It’s not always fairy-tale castles in the sky, however. A lucky few build luxury tree houses to be sure, but others live in trees because of desperation, tradition, or a sacrifice to further a valiant cause.

10 Activist Julia Butterfly Hill

In 1997, Julia Butterfly Hill climbed to the top of a 1,000-year-old redwood tree that was 55 meters tall (180 ft). She climbed that treacherous height to tree-sit for one week to protest the clear-cutting of an ancient redwood forest.

It ended up being 738 days before she touched ground again. She remained in that tree despite terrifying storms and constant harassment from helicopters, loggers, and security guards sent by the Pacific Lumber Company.

For two years, she watched in horror as the forest surrounding her treetop dwelling was destroyed. Clear-cutting is the fastest and cheapest way to harvest timber. Once a tree is chopped down, the area is burned with napalm and sprayed with herbicides. Afterward, the tree is replanted, but environmental scientists agree that this practice permanently damages the area.

Hill said, “It’s like sitting there and watching your family killed. You listen for hours . . . a high-pitched screaming that goes right through your body. And when they stop the chainsaws and pound the wedges, you can feel it.”

Many people do not know that the ancient redwoods are not protected. Through her civil disobedience, Julia Butterfly Hill inspired activists around the world.

Hill finally came down after the Pacific Lumber Company agreed to preserve 61 meters (200 ft) of the old-growth forest around the tree’s perimeter. In exchange, the logging company received $50,000 that had been raised by Hill’s supporters.^[1]

9 The Korowai People

In Papua, Indonesia, there is a treetop community that existed in total isolation until missionaries intruded in the 1970s. While they reportedly don’t practice cannibalism anymore, they are notorious for being one of the last active cannibalistic tribes.

Unfortunately, the Korowai are lesser known for continuing the wondrous architectural traditions of their ancestors. They build their unique homes in the shelter of the jungle’s thick canopy.

The average height of a home is about 10 meters (33 ft) off the ground, but some are as high as 35 meters (115 ft). The Korowai construct the floors to be incredibly sturdy, so each home can hold about a dozen people. Family groups live together, along with their pets and other domestic animals like livestock.

There are many possible reasons why the Korowai live in the trees. It could be to avoid their bothersome neighbors, evil spirits, flooding, or just the hordes of malaria-carrying mosquitoes that terrorize them below.

The biggest threat to the Korowai’s treetop residences is fire. Each home has its own fire pit. To avoid having their tree houses go up in flames, they design a cutaway floor around each fire pit for emergencies.^[2]

8 95-Year-Old Njuguna Ng’ang’a

For four years, Njuguna Ng’ang’a of Kenya lived his days in the shelter of a tree trunk because he had nowhere else to go. He said, “Life drove me here.”

Without identification, he was not able to receive a living stipend from the government. When asked his name or where he was from, he often gave conflicting statements. It seems that he couldn’t remember the details of his life anymore. After all, he was 95 years old.

While living inside the Eucalyptus tree, he was discovered by a young schoolboy who brought news of his whereabouts to the nearby village. The kindhearted villagers began to take care of him to the best of their ability. They brought him food, blankets, and other supplies.

On Kenya’s international holiday celebrating the elderly, the popular Kenyan entertainment channel NTV picked up Ng’ang’a’s story. They were shocked to find that the area surrounding his tree was infested with snakes. It was a miracle that he had survived without being bitten.

Two weeks later, social services was able to place him in a new home that was sponsored by the county government. Ng’ang’a said, “I don’t have many days left to live, maybe five years, and this will be my resting place when my days are over.”^[3]

7 Luxurious Tree House Community

In the heart of the Costa Rican rain forest lies 600 pristine acres with 40 solar-powered tree houses. Finca Bellavista is Shangri-La suspended in the trees.

It began with Matt Hogan and Erica Andrews saving that plot of land from being harvested for its timber. From there, an eco-conscious community was born for the young at heart. Hogan sa, “You’re completely immersed in nature, you go to bed listening to the bugs and the frogs, and you wake up with birdsong.”

The homes are all built among the trees. Some exist on stilts of locally grown teak, and others use the trees as anchors. The most impressive, however, are fully arboreal homes built above the oldest trees with the deepest root systems. The on-site botanist needs to approve these, of course. El Castillo Mastate was approved, and now it stands 27 meters (90 ft) aboveground.^[4]

Finca Bellavista prides itself on being “the world’s first planned, sustainable tree house development.” The tree houses are only accessible through an intricate series of zip lines, suspension bridges, and a lengthy system of hiking trails. While some may complain about the mosquitoes and the difficulties of being off the grid, others are intrigued by this rapidly growing industry of luxury tree house living.

6 Self-Reliant Nick Weston

By 2050, 66 percent of the world’s population is predicted to reside in cities. For some, city life just isn’t a fulfilling way to live. Nick Weston wrote, “I took stock of my London lifestyle and decided a change was in order.”

He was fed up working at a job he despised and paying sky-high prices for food and rent. He had the wild dream of being self-reliant and living more in tandem with nature. So he began work on a project that was more closely aligned with his values.

Weston resided in the woods of Ashdown Forrest for six months. His survival depended on gathering some staple herbs and hunting rabbit, pigeon, and eel. Atop an English oak, he constructed a one-bedroom tree house complete with all-natural, recycled materials (most of which he found dumpster-diving).

He even had a wood-burning stove that he made from a 208-liter (55 gal) steel drum. Weston said, “The tree house was a symbol for rekindling the spirit of the child within, recapturing the days when there were few worries, and anything seemed possible.”^[5]

Weston’s tiny tree house living may be part of a larger movement of youth that is renouncing material success and looking toward experiences for fulfillment.

5 Tree House Villages In The Forests Of Germany

For six consecutive years, there’s been a small tree house village in the Hambach Forest near the German-Belgian border. The forest is 12,000 years old, and it’s being eradicated because of coal mining.

The forest was bought by RWE, a powerful energy company, in the late 1970s. Since then, 90 percent of the Hambach Forest has been cut down. It used to be the size of Manhattan.

Activists have been trying to fight RWE. Their protest camp consists of dozens of connected tree house villages with affectionate names like “Lazytown” and “Cozytown.” The tree houses may appear rudimentary. But they are actually very effective and provide a communal atmosphere.

Most of the tree houses run on solar electricity and even have Internet. Furthermore, they are only accessible by rope and ladder so that RWE cannot cut down the trees. They have occupied the treetops since 2012 and use the tree houses as “living barricades.”^[6]

Sadly, in September 2018, the camp began to be forcibly dismantled and people were evicted from their beloved tree homes. Eviction was halted, however, when journalist Steffen Meyn fell from a suspension bridge and died. The fate of the tree-sitters and the Hambach Forest hangs precariously in the balance.

4 Lumberjack Jim Allen

In the 1930s, Jim Allen, a lumberjack by trade, found himself alone in the redwood forest of California during a turbulent storm. He managed to take refuge by hiding in the burned-out trunk of a giant redwood.

He was overwhelmed with gratitude for the tree’s protection. He figured that no house could be as good as the genuine thing. So he purchased a fallen tree from the local lumber company and set out to carve out his home from the source.

The tree was 4 meters (14 ft) wide at the stump and 81 meters (267 ft) tall. With the help of one other man, Allen hand-carved a three-room home and lived there for seven years.

From the outside, it looks just like a felled tree. Inside, it’s as cozy as can be. They sanded down the interior walls by hand and used a clear varnish to emphasize the redwood’s natural grain. Power was even installed in the 1940s, and a fridge was added.^[7]

Allen’s Original Redwood Log House is much the same as it always was. It resides along the highway as a tourist attraction in the small town of Garberville in Northern California. For a small fee, you can walk through Jim Allen’s masterpiece.

3 Barefoot Nomad Mick Dodge

Mick Dodge has been living off the grid for almost 30 years in the Hoh Rain Forest of the Pacific Northwest. Dodge lives inside a variety of mossy tree stumps as he wanders around. He says, “There’s not a better bedroom in the world!” And he never dreams of a normal life.

He wakes up every morning and forages for his breakfast. He’s also a scavenger. So he’ll eat roadkill or an elk killed by a mountain lion, for example. A lot of his free time is spent reading. If he likes the book, he’ll plant a tree and share the book. If he doesn’t believe in its value, he’ll plant a tree anyway. But he’ll use the book as toilet paper or fire starter.

He calls himself a “barefoot nomad” because he doesn’t wear shoes. His feet are covered in intricate tattoos of a root system. He says, “My feet became my map. My feet became my compass. [ . . . ] When you step out of your shoes, your senses come more online. You’ve got over 200,000 nerves in the feet.”

Although it took a lot of convincing, he agreed to have his lifestyle filmed for National Geographic in a show called “The Legend of Mick Dodge.” When he’s asked what people will think of him after the show airs, he replies, “I have no idea and don’t give a s—t.”^[8]

2 Claustrophobic Shawnee Chasser

Shawnee Chasser is a purple-haired grandma with claustrophobia who adores the feeling of being mid-air. Since 1992, she had been happily living in a tree house in her own backyard. Her sanctuary in the sky was on a half-acre of wooded land. There was a man-made pond and even a waterfall.

Sadly, Miami-Dade County demanded that she demolish her home. They claimed that it was an unsafe structure (despite having survived Hurricane Andrew). South Florida is prone to hurricanes, and the building codes are rigid. Ricardo Roig of Miami-Dade’s code enforcement division said, “This has got to be my first time ever of somebody living in a tree house.”

Roig insisted that she could live in a tree house if she wanted to, but it had to be a legal tree house that was up to code. Of course, she needed to apply to the zoning department so she could get the permission to inhabit a structure on the land that is not her main home.

Chasser is in her late sixties and sells bags of organic popcorn to Whole Foods to make her living. So she couldn’t afford to hire the engineers and architects that the county required. She said, “I’m not taking down anything. I’ll chain myself to that tree house.”^[9]

Although we couldn’t find confirmation of the final outcome, a 2018 YouTube video said that Chasser was being forced to demolish her tree house.

1 Early Settlers In The Wild West

After loggers swept over the old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest in the late 1800s, many pioneers were just coming across on wagon trains to settle down with their families. To their surprise, these early settlers discovered a mauled landscape dotted with enormous, towering tree stumps that the lumber companies had left behind.

Some of these sturdy stumps were 3 meters (10 ft) tall. These old logging sites that had cleared the forest seemed perfect for farmland. So some of the thriftiest pioneers had the wise idea to homestead these areas. They settled in what became known as “stump homes.”^[10]

Basically, all the settlers had to do was put a roof on top of the stumps and attach a door. While some lived in these homes with their families, others used them for storage or chicken coops.

For some stumps that remained on the property, the pioneers came up with other creative uses. Some were leveled off at the top into flat platforms where the people would have social gatherings, like “stump dances” to folk music. One of these stump homes became the first US Post Office in the remote Olympic Peninsula, and it still stands today as a historic landmark.

When we think of squatters, we usually think of people living in boarded-up sheds or hiding in the ruins of old buildings. But, once in a while, squatters get a ticket to the high life even if it’s only for a little while. Here are ten times squatters lived the high life.

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10 Boca Raton Mansion Takeover

In December of 2013, a man moved into a $2.5 million mansion. That’s a pretty cool thing to happen in most cases and definitely comes with bragging rights. But in this case, the mansion was foreclosed and that man who moved in, Andre “Loki Boy” Barbosa, never really owned it in the first place.

Barbosa was a squatter. He took over the mansion for almost two months while trying to claim the property under Florida’s adverse possession law (squatter’s rights). To Barbosa, this was the start of a movement to reclaim vacant properties, but just a start since he was evicted in February of 2014. He failed to claim the building as his own, but he did succeed in gaining some momentum for the movement as adverse possession claims began to pile up once his story went public.^[1]

9 Piccadilly Mansion Renamed “Hippydilly” After Squatters Move-In

During the height of hippy culture, when dirt and grime, free love, and vagrancy were at a high in London, several hundred of these long-haired ganja-smokers found themselves a home at 144 Piccadilly street. You know, the sort of vacant 100-room mansion everyone hopes to live in for free someday.

As a counterculture movement and under fear of eviction, the group of hippies (legit 1960s, “free love” type hippies) organized under the name “London Street Commune” and occupied the mansion for three weeks during September of 1969. The group built a sort of drawbridge for an entryway that went over the dry mote to a ground-floor window, which is the kind of thing you have to do when you barricade the doors. Thanks to the hundreds of “street folk” and drug dealers occupying the residence, the house earned the popular name “Hippydilly.”^[2]

8 How One Australian Became a Landlord Squatter

A property developer named Bill Gertos was walking along one day, doing normal Bill Gertos stuff, when he discovered an empty house in Sydney, Australia. Being a rational man, Gertos did what any other property developer would do: he stole it.

Gertos couldn’t exactly find tenants for his new rental property if he left it in shambles, so he changed the locks and fixed up the property. When the rightful owners discovered what had come of the house, it was too late. Gertos had applied for ownership. The previous owners didn’t know the property existed since they inherited it through a deceased relative, but at this point, Gertos had dropped $150,000 into the project and had been renting it to tenants for twenty years. Ultimately, he won the property due to squatters’ rights under the Real Property Act. Did I mention the property was worth $1.6 million?^[3]

7 Determined Squatters Hop from One London Mansion to Another

Why live in one mansion when you could potentially live in all of them? We assume that’s what a group of London squatters was wondering after they had taken over a £15m Belgravia mansion in London that was owned by a Russian Oligarch. It wasn’t the longest run, lasting only a week, but that’s fine if you’re just sampling. By the time they were kicked from this high-end squat, the group had become accustomed to certain standards and wouldn’t take “no” for an answer.

Only hours after being removed from the Eaton Square mansion, they’d moved into a seven-story property in Grosvenor Gardens, five-minutes down the road. They told reporters that if they were removed from this one, they’d “just find another place.” Now, that’s what I call “determination.”^[4]

6 A Squatter Wins a Free Victorian Flat in London but Can’t Use the Stairs

Jack Blackburn moved into his home back in 2001, when the building was still derelict and completely owned by somebody else. That owner was the Lambeth council.

Blackburn lived there for thirteen years, making repairs and fighting a drawn-out court battle, before legally winning ownership rights to the Victorian Flat. But, thanks to an anomaly in British law, Blackburn was denied the right to access his new property by way of the stairs . . . for eight years. The pad is worth a pretty penny at £175,000 ($225,000), even if Ol’ Jack couldn’t get to his front door, when you consider he never had to pay for the place.^[5]

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5 Squatters target pubs in Chelsea

In 2012, squatters took over the Black Bull, a members-only club that had closed three months earlier, by crawling through the women’s bathroom window. Which is not the way you should enter a club, unless, of course, that club is vacant and you’re a squatter. The Black Bull squatters claimed they’d only planned to stay a short while, but since the leaseholder had called the police on them, they changed their minds and decided to ride out the court process until eviction. Because petty vengeance is fun for everyone.

The Black Bull wasn’t the first club this group had taken over. They had been living in The Charlie Butler before deciding to call Black Bull home. Other pubs, such as Cross Keys, had also been occupied by squatters. Thanks to a recent British law, squatting had been prohibited in residential settings, but this law had a loophole that allowed squatting in commercial buildings, turning pubs into targets. According to the lease owner of the Black Bull, the squatters had illegally reconnected the electricity and dipped into the bar’s stock. Party time is the only time if you’ve taken over a pub.^[6]

4 A Squatter Called “Jesus” Moved into Borris Becker’s Mansion

A man by the name of Georg Berres, who calls himself “Jesus,” moved into Borris Becker’s mansion back in May of 2018. Berres claimed he didn’t know it was the tennis legend’s residential palace until the German media informed him when they showed up for an interview with the squatter. Borris Becker hadn’t been seen at the mansion in years.

Berres wasn’t trying to keep quiet about this takeover either. He posted a Facebook status saying “The new time begins now,” shared video tours he made, did several news interviews, and everything. According to Express, Berres had lived in several other properties in the area.^[7]

3 One of the Most Famous Squats in the World

C-Squat is famous among squatters worldwide. In 1989 a rundown tenement building on the lower East-side of NYC, lacking stairs and landings, where apartments were connected by a series of ladders, was taken over by a group of squatters. The squatters repaired the building, including making an open venue for punk shows in the basement after the floor above collapsed. C-Squat even had an indoor skatepark by the time squatters got done with it.

In 2002, squatters started the process of making them legal owners of C-Squat, and in 2015, C-squat became a legal living co-op. This was one big step for squatters everywhere, one small step for . . . um . . . rundown buildings in New York City?^[8]

2 A Squatter Took Over a San Francisco Mansion Because He Was Obsessed with Taylor Swift

Everyone wants to live in a mansion at some point in their lives, and several of these squatters have gotten a taste of the mansion-life by camping out in these oversized houses, but few have used these mansions to make a buck.

A man by the name of Jeremiah Kaylor moved into a historic Presidio Heights mansion back in 2015. He lived there for weeks, claiming “To me, I owned the house.” Thinking he owned the $22 million Koshland House is probably what lead Kaylor to believe it was totally cool to sell off the paintings within for a quick buck. It turned out this was just a bonus. The real reason the man took over this particular mansion was his obsession with Taylor Swift who he heard was thinking about buying the place. He was arrested for trespassing and burglary. And, in case you were wondering, he never did become president of the T-Swift Fanclub.^[9]

1 Squatters Turn Mansion into Party House While Millionaire-Owner is Out of Town

Where’s the party at, you ask? Well, in May of this year, it was located at a $6 million mansion in Sydney, Australia, where five guys took over the home while the owner was in Hong Kong on business. News reports say the house was filled with booze and drug paraphernalia, through the bedrooms and bathrooms, and out to the pool. A lone bong sat in one room, probably used for smoking “the drugs.”

The squatters stayed at the mansion for nearly three weeks or, in party terms, a “wild ride,” before being driven out by some plumbers who showed up for maintenance reasons. Party poopers. The group of men claimed to know the owner, but when asked his name, they gave the wrong one. They then ran off when the plumbers tried to take their pictures. One of the men was caught and charged with trespassing. That means, there are probably four guys out there throwing one crazy party right now.^[10]

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We have done numerous lists of people and things that have had a great influence on man and they are always popular, so today we are presenting another list of influential people – but this time, they are people who never existed. There were hundreds of people to choose from, so this has been a fun list to compile. We hope you agree with our choices, but if you don’t, feel free to use the comments to tell us who you would have put here instead.

SEE ALSO: Top 10 Things That Don’t Actually Exist

10 Santa Claus

What child has not been frightened into behaving thanks to the ever-present youthful fear of Santa not providing come Christmas? Almost all western children were told by their parents that Santa would leave them nothing if they misbehaved. I speak from experience when I say that it was one of the most effective methods of stopping tantrums! Funnily enough, though, the fear always dissipates on Christmas Eve as you just know that Santa will be coming – even if you did slip up a few times.

9 Barbie

As Barbie has progressed from a pretty young woman to whom all girls could aspire, to something often verging on the likeness of a harlot, one can wonder whether it was Barbie influencing children, or children influencing Barbie. There are certainly many similarities. Barbie has depicted almost every possible female lifestyle choice and I think there can be no doubt that she has been at the start of the path many women have taken in life.

8 Robin Hood

This could potentially lead to a debate about whether Hood existed or not, but I am of the opinion that he did not. Therefore, he is listed as my number eight on the list. I am sure we have all heard someone justifying theft because the victim is wealthy – and where did this justification come from? Not just the principles of redistribution of wealth that many of us live under in Western Society (read envy taxes) but the fact that to this day, we are all raised believing Robin Hood was a hero – when, in fact, he was a thief. Stealing is almost always wrong, and just because Robin Hood gave the proceeds of his crimes to poor people, it is not a valid justification. As for the previously mentioned taxes, there is every reason for us to believe that the majority of people accept these taxes because of their prior belief in the false morality of the Robin Hood story.

7 Cowboys

This is one for the boys obviously! Even in remote New Zealand where I grew up, all the boys played “Cowboys and Indians”. The cowboy was a great hero with a shining gun who represented the morality of Western ideals: manliness, defense of justice, protection of women and children. No doubt many now cringe at the lack of political correctness involved in the game and stereotype, but kids aren’t politically correct (thank God) and certainly won’t be hindered because of it. The influence of the Cowboy movie genre is indisputable an immense one. Oh – and for those who say “but cowboys are real!” – yes – but this is about the concept – not about a specific person – just as we might say Santa existed as St Nicholas, the concept is bigger than any one person.

6 The Marlboro Man

How many men reading this list who smoke, are smoking cigarettes with filters? Venturing a guess I would say all of them. Before the Marlboro Man campaign began, “real men” didn’t smoke cigarettes with filters – they were for women. The aim of the Marlboro Man campaign was primarily to get men smoking filtered marlboro cigarettes. The influence of the campaign is abundantly clear today. The campaign is considered to be one of the best in all history. According to Wikipedia, it transformed a feminine campaign, with the slogan ‘Mild as May’, into one that was masculine, in a matter of months.

5 Rosie the Riveter

And now another for the girls! Rosie the Riveter may not be a familiar name, but her picture certainly is. Rosie the Riveter told women that they can do anything – and they did! Rosie managed to motivate an entire generation of working-age women to get out of the home and in to factories to help the war effort. This is probably one of the most influential events of the Second World War. Once the floodgates of women working were open, they would never be closed again. All women working in traditional male jobs have Rosie to thank.

4 Daedalus and Icarus

In a short 24 hours, you can fly from one side of the planet to another. This (one of man’s greatest achievements) may never have happened if it had not been for the mythological characters Daedalus and Icarus. The story tells of Daedalus building mechanical wings for his son Icarus and ever since the tale was told, man has lusted after the ability to take the sky and fly. This eventually came true and the entire planet is a changed place as a consequence of it.

3 The Little Engine That Could

The moral of this children’s tale is that self-belief, optimism, and hard work result in achievement – of even the most difficult tasks. The book first appeared in a slightly different version to today, in 1906. It has been regarded by many as a metaphor for the “American Dream”. The popularity of this book may also be a contributing factor to the huge number of self-help and “positive thinking” seminars and books that we see today.

2 Big Brother

A relatively modern addition to this list, Big Brother has been a influence in so many social protests that he has to be included here. His name comes up every time a government passes a restrictive law or a law which seems to remove aspects of our eternal freedoms. Everyone recognizes his face, everyone knows what he stands for, and everyone is terrified of the potential for our own lives to be governed by our own version of the fictional character. Big Brother was, of course, created by George Orwell for his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.

1 Romeo and Juliet

Not only can Romeo and Juliet be blamed for much of our ideas of the “perfect relationship” – I think it can also be blamed for a high percentage of divorces. Couples going in to marriage seek the ideal of a relationship based entirely on passion and romance, and when that romance dims (as so often is the case) they feel cheated and believe the marriage has failed. When in reality, passionate romance is not required for a healthy marriage – while respect, love, and charity is. Romeo and Juliet have much to answer for!

The reign of the dinosaurs on Earth was a lengthy one. For about 165 million years, they dominated every continent, and today they have conquered our imaginations. But they were far from the only animals on Earth. They shared their world with many species just as weird and wonderful as they were, a few you may not be aware of.

And with that, there will be no Archosaurs on this list. The term “Archosaur” refers to the clade in which dinosaurs belong, alongside their modern counterparts, birds and crocodilians. But they used to be even more diverse, including the likes of the flying pterosaurs and some ancient marine reptiles. Everything else is fair game.

It’s hard to say when exactly the first dinosaurs appeared, with estimates ranging from 250 to 235 million years ago. The first true non-avian dinosaurs appeared around 243 million years ago and went extinct 66 million years ago. Any species that could have reasonably existed within this time frame has a chance of being included.

Now, let us take a trip through time to look at some very weird critters!

Related: Top 10 Dinosaur Fossils Frozen In Time

10 The Sort-of Turtle

Sinosaurosphargis yunguiensis lived in what is now southwestern China 243 million years ago. And it looks just like any turtle should, complete with the broadened ribcage. However, unlike many modern turtles, which are protected by very large hardened scales along their back, ancient turtle “shells” often consisted of a multitude of smaller osteoderms—scale-like bony deposits on the skin.

Except Sinosaurosphargis was notably not a turtle. It shared the turtle’s common ancestor, certainly. But it had split off from that lineage millions of years before the first “true” turtles began to appear.

Interestingly, those same bony coverings in this species threw a bit of a wrench into the ideas about turtle shell evolution, as it was something that the actual ancestral turtles notably lacked.^[1]

9 The Not-Quite-First Mammal

Skittering about the arid ground of Late-Triassic France 200 million years ago, the tiny Megazostrodon could be mistaken for a weird rat or shrew. But this little critter holds a lot of significance for many paleontologists.

This little guy is considered a transitional form between the mammal-ish cynodonts and the true mammals, making it one of the most significant discoveries in the study of mammal evolution. Even so, where exactly it fits into the mammalian family tree remains somewhat controversial, as does the debate surrounding when exactly mammals truly became mammals.

Megazostrodon was probably much too busy eating bugs to consider its rather convoluted place in the world, however.^[2]

8 The Tuatara

Okay, okay, I know I’m technically cheating on this one. I’m not actually referring to the modern tuatara—Sphenodon punctatus—but rather the whole Order of Sphenodontia. Because I couldn’t bring myself to choose just one species.

The Sphenodontids were well established by the early Jurassic, just under 200 million years ago, and were once very a very diverse group. They were part of a larger group called the Rhynchocephalians, the sister group to the Squamates (modern lizards and snakes). They were essentially a diverse group of not-quite-lizards, very similar in design but distinct enough to be classed separately.

Unfortunately, though, all the Rhynchocephalians except for just one genus—Sphenodon—ultimately declined and went extinct millions of years ago. Only the tuatara remains, now threatened by human activity.^[3]

7 The Fish Lizard

The ichthyosaurs (literally “fish lizard”) were a very diverse group of marine reptiles that emerged some 250 million years ago.

For the purposes of this list, though, I am including the dolphin-like Stenopterygius, which lived roughly 180 million years ago. The reason for this choice is a particularly well-preserved specimen that shows just how weird these creatures were.

This specimen not only preserved traces of pigment in the skin but also a layer of blubber underneath. While not conclusively warm-blooded, the find is further evidence that these creatures did regulate their own body temperatures to some degree, an important trait for a reptile that regularly dove to the ocean’s depths.

At one point, the ichthyosaurs may have been some of the apex predators of the Mesozoic seas. But, ultimately, they went extinct around 90 million years ago, 25 million years before the non-avian dinosaurs did.^[4]

6 The Beaver-Otter

Castorocauda lutrasimilis is one example of how nature tends to just use the same design motif over and over again. Much of its body was really quite similar to that of the modern beaver, from the flattened, scaly tail to its little webbed feet.

This was no primordial rodent, however. Instead, its narrow skull was fitted with many needle-sharp teeth well-suited for catching fish, not unlike modern otters. Interestingly, the fur of this 164-million-year-old critter is also remarkably similar to that of modern aquatic mammals, replete with guard hairs and a thick undercoat.

Unlike most modern mammals, Castorocauda likely laid eggs, leading some to suggest its lifestyle may have resembled that of the modern platypus.^[5]

5 The Long Lizard

The origin of snakes and the loss of their limbs remains one of the most contentious debates within the paleontological community. So when a fossil of a Brazilian serpentine reptile somehow emerged in Germany under questionable circumstances (considering that it’s been illegal to export fossils from the country since 1942) and was examined, many were understandably ecstatic.

See, most primitive snakes known to science were generally already partially transitioned to limblessness, possessing no more than one set of limbs. This was different. So finally finding a four-limbed snake truly would have been earth-shattering.

But it was not to be. This was Tetrapodophis amplectus, which lived during the Early Cretaceous some 120 million years ago. And it really was just a very long lizard, not a snake at all.

That’s not to say that this critter added nothing to the debate, though. Tetrapodophis was a burrower, and the structure of its tiny limbs has often been compared to those of known primitive snakes. It is now thought that snakes ultimately lost their limbs to become more adept burrowers as this little lizard did.^[6]

4 Ancient Platypus

Yes, they get even weirder.

Modern monotremes descend from a very old lineage, though it’s not very clearly known how old. Estimates for the timing of the split from other modern mammal lineages vary anywhere from the Early Triassic to Jurassic periods. Still, the oldest-known platypus relative, Teinolophos trusleri, can be placed comfortably into the Early Cretaceous about 120 million years ago. After that, many other related species were quick to follow.

Unfortunately, most of these fossils are incomplete. Even so, it has been suggested that the traits that make the modern platypus so dang weird found their start here. Though only one species of platypus remains today, they were once a very diverse group whose reach even extended beyond Australia, as it did with the South American Monotrematum sudamericanum.

Also, one fun fact! Another very strange critter, the echidna, actually split off from a platypus relative anywhere from 20 to 50 million years ago (or even before that).^[7]

3 The Antarctic Sea Dragon

Recently featured in BBC’s Prehistoric Planet, Kaikaifilu hervei was the king of the Late Cretaceous Antarctic seas 66 million years ago.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667116303123
Kaikaifilu was a mosasaur, a marine reptile most closely related to modern lizards and snakes. More specifically, Kaikaifilu was a kind of tylosaurine mosasaur, which meant it had a longer, more serpentine body than the comparatively bulky mosasaurine mosasaurs.

Its estimated length was an impressive 33 feet (10 meters) long, the largest from the South Pole, and it was likely the apex predator of the region. Its reign would not last long, however, as the mosasaurs all died out at the end of the Cretaceous.^[8]

2 The “Crazy Beast”

Adalatherium hui certainly had to have made a strong impression on its discoverers to be given its name. And I assure you, it did.

Using the words of lead researcher David Krause: “Knowing what we know about the skeletal anatomy of all living and extinct mammals, it is difficult to imagine that a mammal-like Adalatherium could have evolved; it bends and even breaks a lot of rules.”

This is all to say that this Madagascan critter from 66 million years ago was really, really weird.

For starters, it had more holes in its skull than any other mammal. It had strange teeth unlike those of any other mammal. It had more vertebrae than any contemporary mammal. Also, researchers had one heck of a time trying to figure out how it walked because “the front half… doesn’t match the back half.”

And this seven-pound (3-kilogram) weirdo was probably still a baby!^[9]

1 Primates

Okay, I might be cheating a little again.

Technically, one of the earliest primates (or perhaps one of the earliest direct predecessors), Purgatorius janisae, is known only from fossils dating to just after the Cretaceous extinction event. However, studies have suggested that the genus is likely much older, perhaps dating back to roughly 81 million years ago. So I feel no guilt.

Purgatorius, to put it lightly, looked like someone mixed up a ferret and a squirrel. But it also possessed the flexible ankle and wrist joints that would become a staple in later primates, allowing it to thrive in the treetops and far above most predators.

And things would only get crazier for primates from here.^[10]

Tens of thousands of bands have taken up the moniker of “punk.” From Sting to Avril Lavigne, thousands of artists have taken up the legacy of “punk.” But not all of them fit the bill. While punk as an idea is rooted in fighting back against toxic societal norms, not every single artist is willing to do so. But others are, and this is reflected by the ten incredible, iconic, and influential bands on this list. Let’s take a look at some incredible punk rock.

Related: 10 Rocking Facts About Bands From The Golden Age Of Music

10 Black Flag

Black Flag was one of the first, biggest, and best hardcore punk bands in the United States. For decades since their formation in 1976, they’ve been a punk rock institution, creating countless songs that are perfect for moshing, partying, or blaring out your car speakers after a particularly awful day at work. They were the blueprint for DIY punk bands all across the States, building their own record label out of nothing and touring the country while sleeping, eating, and living in a single van.

It’s because of these brutal tours that we have many of the grunge bands from the ’90s, as Black Flag inspired thousands to make their own band when they went to places that most artists would never even dream of. They took on the world, demonstrated by their all-time classic album Damaged, which was nearly not printed because it was too “anti-parent.”. Black Flag was self-made, self-distributed, and self-evident; they left a footprint on rock ‘n’ roll that’s still visible to this day, and nothing’s more punk than leaving your mark.^[1]

9 The Stooges

The Stooges are one of the bands that created a movement through sheer force of will. After forming in 1967, their unique and powerful blend of speed, noise, and personality laid the ground for all the punk rock that was to come. Only lasting about seven years, The Stooges were plagued with substance issues, inter-band squabbles, and all the rest; however, they made their mark in a way most bands can only dream of.

Not only was their music fast-paced and raw in the way of punk albums coming after, but Iggy Pop’s relentless on-stage confrontation laid the groundwork for punk singers to do the same for years to come. While they may not be “punk” in the traditional sense (finishing their troubled initial run 3 years before the Sex Pistols), they were punk in attitude and in effect. They didn’t see much initial success in the seventies, but they did start a punk tradition of being the band that made everyone listening want to start one too.^[2]

8 Crass

Crass is one of the lesser-known entries on this list, but they are no less deserving. They got their start in England in 1977, and from the get-go, Crass was different from most other bands. For one, they were formed in an anarchist commune by a few residents living there. Their commitment to their anarchist values was strong, and throughout their career, they constantly organized political actions and protests and rallied citizens for causes such as environmentalism.

While they were a heavily politicized band, they delivered on the music front as well. Crass self-released classic songs such as “Banned from the Roxy,” which was recorded after the band got kicked out of the famous Roxy music club in London for being too rowdy. Crass stuck to their ideals relentlessly for years despite the UK government trying to take them down. Sounds pretty punk to me.^[3]

7 Butthole Surfers

The Butthole Surfers’ ethos can be assumed just by looking at their name. They were irreverent, weird, loud, and just a little bit immature. All these things are true, as well as the fact that the Butthole Surfers (whose name was decided upon after an announcement forgot what the band was called) made some of the weirdest, most challenging music ever. They self-recorded and released many classic punk tracks during the ’80s and are still alive today.

Their shows were notable for their relentless and gross onstage antics, the often horrifying imagery that was played on a projector behind them, and the music itself, a combination of punk insanity and the experimental weirdness of Musique Concrete. They were notable for never being able to keep a bassist for long because of the brutality of their off-stage lifestyle and also for their relentless commitment to doing whatever they wanted to do. At the end of the day, the Butthole Surfers were punk distilled to its purest form—raw chaos in the form of a singer, guitar, bass, and drums.^[4]

6 Minor Threat

Minor Threat was a hardcore punk band formed in D.C by a few 17-year-olds guys in 1980. However, just because they were young doesn’t mean they didn’t have a major impact on music as a whole. Their blend of lightning-fast guitar work and pissed-off-at-everything vocals set the stage for hardcore punk, and their influence doesn’t stop there.

They started the infamous and divisive “straight edge” movement, and they set the example for ’80s indie bands that you could self-distribute your own music. Because no major label would take them, lead singer Ian Mackaye phoned up a record plant and hand-packaged the first Minor Threat EP himself. Minor Threat taught millions that all you needed was a few instruments and a lot of anger to get your voice heard, and what’s more punk than that.^[5]

5 Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth is about as cool as bands get. They got their start in the dark and gritty New York “No Wave” scene and only ascended from there. Known for their oddly tuned guitars, poetic lyricism, and beautiful soundscapes, Sonic Youth seems the opposite of what most people would consider to be punk. The truth is quite the opposite of this, however.

Sonic Youth embodies punk to its core; artistic expression, not compromising yourself for other people, and finding new ways to do things that no one thought possible. Sonic Youth was artsy, yes, but they showed the wider rock scene and the world what was possible with the music they were making. Without them, the world would be much less interesting and diverse, which is punk to a T.^[6]

4 Bad Brains

Bad Brains was a supremely interesting punk band that formed in D.C. in 1976. They stood out for several reasons, one being that they were an all-black band in a majority-white late-1970s D.C. music scene. Another was their insistence on including reggae in their music, which persisted until their eventual demise. Another was their lightning-quick insane playing.

Bad Brains might have the claim to be America’s first hardcore band, as they had challenged themselves to get through their songs as fast as humanly possible. No matter what, Bad Brains was an iconic and incredible punk band, and their contribution to hardcore punk is innumerable. From the aforementioned Minor Threat to the Beastie Boys, tons of bands trace their lineage back to Bad Brains. They were true originals, creating their own style out of many little pieces and managing to make it great.^[7]

3 Minutemen

The Minutemen always did things on their own terms. Whether that was the way they organized their band, the way they executed their tours, or the way they played their songs, the San Pedro band took what “being a band” meant completely into their own hands. From their genesis in 1980 by two best friends who just wanted to be heard to their untimely demise (along with guitarist D Boon, the Minutemen did what they wanted to do.

Creating hundreds of short, smart, considered punk songs over the years, they amassed a truly impressive body of work during their all too short time as a band. They represented the idea that two normal guys with some ideas could pick up some instruments and inspire people. They never had any illusions of becoming rock stars; they just wanted to play, and play they did. The Minutemen’s musical abilities still touch and inspire as much as they did 40 years ago.^[8]

2 Dead Kennedys

The Dead Kennedys were another California punk band that changed America. Led by their eccentric and instantly recognizable vocalist Jello Biafra, the Dead Kennedys are perhaps the most popular hardcore punk band. Their distinctive logo graces many a T-shirt around the world, and it’s not hard to see why that would be the case. The Dead Kennedys took on the world and sounded great while doing it.

Whether they were getting sued for the content of their songs or outputting anti-government messaging, they made themselves known all around the country. Their sound was also iconic, blending almost Beach Boys-esque surf rock with the blistering hardcore punk of Black Flag. All this means that the Dead Kennedys were a singular band, iconic in every way. They perfected the punk rock art of standing out from the crowd and looking good while doing so.^[9]

1 Fugazi

Fugazi is widely revered by pretty much anyone who cares about punk. It’s not hard to see why. They were formed by underground punk legend Ian Mackaye (of Minor Threat fame), and they played some of the most groundbreaking and best punk rock of all time. Their biggest claim to fame, though, might be how they stuck to their ideals. Fugazi never let go of their ethics amid major label deals, overzealous fans, and near worship by everyone who was in the know.

But despite it all, they stayed down to earth and chose money over art. They stuck to their guns so hard that Fugazi is surrounded by myths, such as the one that claimed they lived together in a house without heat and ate nothing but rice. While this isn’t true, Fugazi is the type of band that collects these kinds of rumors like darts on a dartboard. Fugazi might as well be the definitive punk band, and it’s obvious why. Throughout the years, they still refuse to compromise.^[10]

One’s place of residence is generally fairly predictable. You might live in a house or an apartment in most parts of the Western world. Some people live in trailers, some in tents, and there are people who live in caves and trees out there as well. Still, you can count most of the places you’d consider an actual home on your fingers. But then there are a few people who opted to think outside the box and live in some much more unexpected places.

10. A Teen Lived at AOL Headquarters For Months 

We’re going to go back in time to a distant place called AOL. Remember them? Once upon a time, America Online was a big deal on the internet and they sent unwanted CDs to everyone all the time. They also had a big, fancy headquarters in Palo Alto, California. Since tech companies like to cram their offices full of amenities, this place had a gym, a laundromat, sofas, and a cafeteria. Basically, everything you need to survive in a fairly comfortable manner if you chose to live in the building, which is what Eric Simons did. 

Simons was 19 when he shacked up at AOL for two entire months in 2011. He ate their food, slept on couches, and spent his days using their resources to start his own company since he wasn’t actually an employee there. Instead, he had enrolled in something called a “start-up incubator program” that was based in the building and allowed him access. When the program ended, he just stuck around.

He managed to cut his living expenses for one month down to $30, and that was just because he went out to get McDonald’s at some point after getting sick of AOL’s cereal and ramen. It was only after a security guard caught him by chance that his living situation came to an end.

9. A Man Trying to Avoid Covid Lived at O’Hare for 3 Months

The Covid-19 pandemic shook up the living conditions of a lot of people. Shelter in place, work from home, you name it, people did it. Tons of us got to be a lot more familiar with our own homes as a result of that fear of going out into the world. But it didn’t exactly work that way for Aditya Singh. At the height of the pandemic, Singh was desperately afraid of catching the virus, so he stayed right where he was. But he was at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. 

For three months Singh managed to stay relatively hidden away in a restricted part of the airport. He had arrived on a flight in October 2020 and wasn’t caught until midway through January.

He was moving around with a purloined security badge and, with the aid of a face mask, presumably no one noticed that he wasn’t the man he was claiming to be. Other passengers gave him food while he was there.

Singh had no criminal record and had been in America getting a master’s degree. He was meant to be returning to India when he was caught. In October 2021, a judge found him not guilty of any felony charges since he was only in the secure area because he had gotten off his original flight there, and had not really violated any rules beyond using an ID that wasn’t his thanks to his fear of leaving. 

8. A Man Lived in his Office for 500 Days

You know that old saying “you should work to live, not live to work?” Somehow, a man known only as Terry K. got that mixed up in his head and ended up living at work. And he did it for 500 days. 

Writing his story for Salon, the man detailed how he rented out his actual Venice Beach apartment and then took up residence under his desk in an office building. He’d wake up before anyone arrived, then go to the gym and shower. Sometimes he’d even come back a little late to make it look like he’d genuinely been commuting. 

Why would anyone do such a thing? Money. Terry was working 60 hours a week and never at his apartment, anyway. He had student loans and hospital bills and was getting nowhere. So he saved money by renting his place out and just living in his cubicle. 

With average rent in the area at the time costing $1,300 a month, he was able to save $20,000. Also, hundreds of hours of commuting time. So why did he stop? The company went under and he was laid off. 

7. A Squatter Lived in a Church Attic for 3 Years

In horror movies, it’s not unheard of for something or someone to be creeping around in an attic and it’s entirely believable when you think about it. Most people rarely go to their attic. There’s often easy access to it and potentially a lot of furnishings and other items to keep you busy. That’s potentially part of the reason William Baker took up residence in the attic of St. Ann Roman Catholic Church in Arlington, Virginia. And because it was a church attic and not the attic of a home, it was even less well-trafficked, which allowed Baker to live there for a remarkable three years.

Baker was homeless and had managed to set up a nice space for himself with clothes, a guitar and a cooler that he stocked with food he stole from the church. In fact, it seemed like missing food was the only clue anyone had that something was wrong for those three years, but it certainly wasn’t enough to convince anyone that they had a squatter. 

Baker accessed the attic through ceiling tiles. He’d use a ladder to climb up, then pull the ladder up after so no one knew. It wasn’t until a repairman visited at an unexpected hour and heard noises upstairs that anyone was clued in. Police were called and Baker was charged with trespassing.

6. The People Living in Walmarts 

Despite their history of questionable business practices, there’s no denying that Walmart is a big deal in the retail world. They made over $141 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2022. It’s no wonder since the stores sell basically everything you could ever need. For that reason, maybe it’s no surprise that more than one person has tried to live in one. 

In 2013, a 14-year-old took up residence in a Texas Walmart, though he only managed to stay there for a few days. He built hiding places behind things like strollers and stacks of toilet paper so people in the store couldn’t see him when they closed up shop for the night. He also changed his clothes day to day to avoid looking suspicious. 

As you might expect, he was eating food taken from the grocery section of the story and, in a touch of gross ingenuity, he chose to wear diapers so no one would catch him going to the bathroom.

Elsewhere in Texas a man was found living in Walmart’s ducts, though no word was given on how long he’d been there. Suffice it to say that a Texas Walmart must be a very homey place. 

5. A Woman Secretly Lived in a Stranger’s Closet for a Year

What do you have in your closet right now? Apparently, a lot of people have hundreds of dollars worth of unworn clothing in there. Maybe you have some shoes or sentimental items as well. But can you say with 100% certainty that you do not have a stranger living in there? And before you say “of course,” know that at least one person has found a stranger living in their closet in the past.

In 2008, a woman in Japan was arrested after living for an entire year in a stranger’s closet. He was suspicious when food began to go missing, so he installed some security cameras to monitor his place while he was out. 

Police came and found all the doors and windows locked, then searched around and found her curled up on a shelf in the closet. She said she sneaked in a year earlier when he’d left the place unlocked and had been there ever since.

4. A Student Spent a Year Living in a Yale Ventilation Shaft

Let’s go way back to 1964 for this one when it seems like student housing was as much of a hassle as it is today. In this case, a student at Yale had been living for seven whole months in a ventilation shaft at the school. 

Allan Kornfeld used brick-patterned wallpaper to hide his entrance. He kept warm in the winter with an electric blanket. His living space was an air shaft that supplied ventilation to squash courts and was only four feet wide, but 40 feet long with a 10 foot ceiling.

He ate on campus because his tuition covered meals; it just didn’t cover housing, and he didn’t have enough to rent a place on his own. He had an off campus mailing address and had friends take any phone calls for him. 

3. A Redditor posted a Tutorial on Living in a Storage Unit

Storage units have been around for ages but got a big boost in the early 2010s with shows like Storage Wars. Suddenly, they were a big deal and for more than just finding treasures. People started using them as homes. 

Back in 2017, a Reddit user known as 007craft detailed how he made a storage unit a home for a couple of months. The monthly fee was just $200, so it was clearly better than rent and it already had all of his possessions in it.

He had a bed, a TV, toaster oven and hot plate, as well as a fridge. He ran power cables and even an antenna to boost his cell signal, then just had to worry about keeping it down so no one would notice him.

One version of the story has the man moving out on his own once he found a real apartment, but U-Haul says they actually caught him and kicked him out. 

2. A Man Lived in Veterans Stadium for 3 Years

Once upon a time, Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia was one of the most famous pro sports stadiums in America. It had been home to both the Philadelphia Phillies and the Philadelphia Eagles. According to Tom Garvey, it was also home to him. 

Garvey was a parking lot supervisor at the stadium in 1979. Unmarried and with few responsibilities beyond word, he started sleeping in an unused concession stand and converted it into an apartment in which he lived for about three years. Since he was always at work anyway, no one questioned why he stuck around so much.

He made him home on the 200 level by Gate D. If anyone opened the door, all they would see were boxes. But if you walked down a passageway to his 60 foot by 30 foot place upholstered in Astroturf, you’d find a fridge, bed, sink, stereo and more amenities that made it liveable. 

1. A Man Built a Secret Room in a Rhode Island Mall

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSd8oLUKjXU

Taking the record for the longest run in a place where no one should be able to live is Michael Townsend, who racked up four years inside a shopping mall, though he shared duties with several friends. 

The actual process is as fascinating as it is unbelievable. They built an actual room with cinder-block walls and a utility door for access. Inside, they made a 750-square foot apartment. It even had a china cabinet. The only thing missing was running water since they couldn’t install plumbing, but since it was in a mall, they were never far from a bathroom.

The space they used had basically been a design flaw. The floor plan of the mall used all the surrounding space, so the apartment was built in empty space.The crew had plans to install wood floors and build a second bedroom, among others, but mall security figured it out and busted them.

Townsend was charged with trespassing, and the mall banned him for life.