One of the most baffling mysteries in human history has been trying to explain the incredible feat of engineering that resulted in the Great Pyramids of Egypt. For thousands of years, historians, architects, and scientists have tried to come up with their best explanations for these massive constructions.

To this day, the mystery is still not fully solved. No one truly knows just how it was done. But there have been plenty of explanations given, and we will examine the top 10 most plausible construction theories of the Great Pyramids.

10 Ancient Machines/Cranes

Naturally, the first thought that pops into our minds when we think of constructing a building is the use of cranes to lift and carry heavy pieces of metal or stone. The first pyramids were step pyramids with large flat surfaces on which heavy cranes could stand and operate.

Certainly, ancient cultures were aware of levers and pulley systems, and they likely used something like this to construct the first pyramids. However, cranes have almost no plausibility when it comes to explaining the Great Pyramids of Egypt given such small surfaces on which to stand.

More advanced building techniques are needed to explain how to build the geometric pyramids found at Giza.^[1]

9 The Pyramids Were Originally Hills

An interesting yet bizarre explanation behind the pyramids is that they began originally as natural mountainous formations, and then the rocks were laid over these hills top-down rather than bottom-up. This idea was first proposed in an 1884 article in The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette by a conference of scientists.^[2]

Perhaps this is what Herodotus meant when he said the pyramids were built “top down.” Hey, at least it’s an imaginative proposal despite being ridiculous and implausible.

8 Smoothing/Flattening By Hand

One of the most challenging feats involved in building the pyramids seems to be the way in which the Egyptians were able to cut the rocks with such extreme precision so as to stack them with almost no space at all in between. Not even a piece of paper can fit where two stones touch.

How did the Egyptians achieve such tightness and perfection? We can’t even recreate this today with our most powerful diamond-tipped blades. Well, it may surprise you to know that they may have been able to achieve this with basic hand tools and some ingenuity. It’s not that they had better tools then we do now. They were just much better at using what they had.^[3]

They achieved this smoothness to the rocks by using two poles of equal height connected with tight rope, under which the rocks were placed. This allowed them to see whether the rocks could just barely slide in and out from under these ropes.

If they found a point at which the rope made obvious contact with the surface of the rock, they could simply mark it using red ocher and then scrape away the high spot using a flint scraper or a sunstone rubber. It is possible to chip away at granite rock, one of the hardest materials on Earth.

7 Limestone Concrete

Perhaps an even better and more plausible way to achieve the perfectly smooth surfaces of the rocks was that the stones were made by pouring liquid limestone concrete, which was then encased to easily form a perfect geometric shape. There seems to be some evidence to support this theory.

Under a microscope, Egyptologist Jean-Philippe Lauer detected what appears to be air bubbles on the surface of the stones, signifying that air may have become trapped under liquid concrete. According to the Journal of the American Ceramic Society, it also appears that the elements inside the stones were formed in a process that happened very quickly, which suggests that this is evidence of cement.^[4]

6 Zigzagging Ramp

Here is the first of the various ramp theories that made the list. The flat ramp theory is not here because such a ramp would have had to be bigger than the pyramid itself. A flat ramp would have to extend outward 1.6 kilometers (1 mi) from the pyramid, given an estimated 7-degree slope. Quickly realizing this problem, researchers devised other types of ramp theories.

In order for a ramp to make sense, it would have needed to be constructed throughout the process of building the pyramid. Though a zigzagging ramp would require less material than a straight ramp, it is nearly as implausible because it would have required constant adjustment as the pyramid structure was built higher and higher.

A single zigzagging ramp alone would be another mystery. How could this type of ramp make its way up the pyramid? Ramp theories such as this have been widely discredited.^[5]

5 Wetting Sand

Today, some advocates still believe that the pyramid stones were moved over piles of sand that were made wet so as to much more easily drag the stones without causing friction. This theory would explain the transportation of the stones from quarries hundreds of miles away from the building site as well as how the workers moved the stones upward using some type of ramp.^[6]

But would a wet ramp provide enough stability for stones to be elevated upward when some of the stones weighed up to 20 tons each? And what about the men who would pull these stones up a wet ramp? Wouldn’t they have a hard time grounding their feet on this type of surface?

At best, this theory can only explain the transportation of the rocks. As a method of lifting the rocks, it fails.

4 The Spiral Ramp Theory

Here’s the first theory on this list that starts to make a bit of sense. When trying to devise a plausible ramp theory, people eventually began to realize that a spiral ramp could be constructed simultaneously with the pyramid.

It would run along the outside of the pyramid and would continually rise upward as the pyramid was built. Proponents of this outer spiral ramp theory include Mark Lehner, an archaeologist with a Yale doctorate.

The main problem in using a spiral ramp is maneuvering the stones around the corners. It’s hard enough hauling huge stones up a ramp, but also having to turn the stones creates another difficulty. This is where the outer spiral ramp theory breaks down, and more plausible methods are required.^[7]

3 Water Shaft Theory

What about constructing a long water causeway underground from a local water source within reasonable distance from the quarry and then using water shafts to float the stones upward? This theory suggests that a water causeway was used to transport the stones and that the stones were cut and shaped in the water.

After a stone was cut to precision, light pieces of flotation material were attached to the stone. That way, it would float upward and its surface would be protected from bumping against other stones.

There is some evidence to suggest that these types of water shafts were used to aid in constructions from other parts of the world. For example, it is believed that canals were used to build Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

However, if such a canal were used to build the Great Pyramid of Giza, where did it go? Why was it torn down?

Allegedly, it took 10 years to build and would have had to be 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) long as that is the distance from the Nile River to the Giza site.^[8] Furthermore, even if this theory is true, it still doesn’t explain some other details within the pyramid, such as the quarry blocks used to build the King’s Chamber.

2 Extraterrestrial Intervention

The more time spent trying to figure out how the pyramids were built by man, the more it seems as though the answer points elsewhere. Although extraterrestrial intervention is generally rejected by mainstream scholars, a healthy number of Egyptologists and historians believe that the pyramids were built by aliens.

Upon hearing this theory, many will immediately scoff at it. However, extraterrestrial intervention is a completely natural theory. Given everything we know about the pyramids, it may be rational to conclude that ancient cultures could not have built these incredible structures on their own.

Even with all our advanced technology today, we are wholly incapable of constructing pyramids like the ones in Egypt. Therefore, it seems unfathomable that an ancient primitive civilization possessed both the technology and the ingenuity to construct the pyramids with such extreme precision.^[9]

The Great Pyramid of Giza faces almost exactly true north, with a variance of just 3/60th of a degree. This is even more precise than the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, which points off true north by 9/60th of a degree.

Another remarkable mathematical feature of the Great Pyramid is that the perimeter divided by the height is equal to 2π, varying by only a minor amount. A whole slew of other precise mathematical figures surround the pyramids, but most importantly, we must consider the rate at which they were built.

Given 2.3 million stones weighing on average 2.5 tons each, it is estimated that one stone would have been put in place every two minutes. This includes all the time needed to perfectly cut the rocks, have them transported miles across the desert, haul them up the ramp of the pyramid, and then lay them perfectly in place. It’s very hard to believe that primitive human beings did all of this.

1 Jean-Pierre Houdin’s Internal Ramp Theory

In recent times, one man stands apart from all others who have attempted to solve the mystery of how the pyramids were built. He is a French architect named Jean-Pierre Houdin. Since the 1990s, he has devoted all his time to studying the Great Pyramid and has been able to design the most brilliant pyramid construction theory ever conceived.

According to Houdin, the Great Pyramid was constructed with the use of two separate spiral ramps. The first one was an outer spiral ramp ascending about 30 percent of the way up, and the second was an internal spiral ramp through which the heavy stones were dragged the rest of the way to the top.

Houdin calculated that this internal ramp had a slope of 7 degrees. This spiral ramp also included open sections on the corners for the workers to turn the blocks. This is where it is thought that cranes were used.

In addition to the internal ramp, Houdin has also been able to explain how the King’s Chamber was built as well as the most mysterious room within the Great Pyramid—the Grand Gallery. The massive granite blocks above the King’s Chamber were pulled up through the Grand Gallery with a long pulley system.

Thus, the Grand Gallery exists for a practical purpose. Inside are signs that support this theory, such as holes that have been wedged into the rocks. They are believed to have been used to support the pulley system.

Houdin’s theory has a lot going for it. Using digital technology, a team of computer programmers was able to test the idea. They have been able to confirm that Houdin’s blueprints for the pyramid measure up mathematically and that the internal ramp is plausible.

Most astonishing, however, is that they were able find evidence for the actual existence of a ramp using a low-density scan of the pyramid, which revealed a spiral-shaped image. This could very well be the remains of an internal ramp. By far, this theory gives us the most plausible explanation for how the pyramids were built.^[10]

Kevin can be found at https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~01a70ceb8a21ec2d67.

Between 1276 and 1178 BC, a confederation of pirates known collectively as the Sea Peoples terrorized the coastal cities and civilizations of the eastern Mediterranean. For the most part, these pirates, who were the Bronze Age precursors to the Vikings of Scandinavia, preyed upon Egypt, which at that time was in its New Kingdom period.

What followed was a series of destructive raids that culminated in two major battles—the Battle of Djahy and the Battle of the Delta. The former, a land battle, was won by the army of Pharaoh Ramses III. The latter, a naval battle, not only repulsed one of the last major invasions by the Sea Peoples but may very well have saved ancient Egyptian civilization.

Despite their important role in history and the widely held notion that they were responsible for the Late Bronze Age Collapse, a near-catastrophic decline in civilization throughout the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean, the Sea Peoples remain the subject of controversy.

Although there are many areas of consensus, some historians and archaeologists continue to discover new interpretations. The following 10 theories present a spectrum of the many different theories regarding the Sea Peoples.

10 The Philistines

Depicted as the archvillains of the ancient Israelites in the Old Testament, the Philistines settled the southern coast of Israel (which today includes the Gaza Strip). After establishing settlements, the Philistines formed a confederation of city-states that included Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron.

The Philistines came into conflict with the Israelites once they started expanding their power beyond their coastal domains. Because of this conflict, the Israelites not only demonized the Philistines but made actual demons out of their gods, including the fish god Dagon. Elsewhere in the Bible, the Philistines were synthesized in the form of the giant Goliath, a proud, loutish warrior who is bested by the small and humble fighter David.

Outside of the Bible, the Philistines are mentioned in several Syrian, Phoenician, and Egyptian letters. While it is generally considered that the Philistines were a group of Sea Peoples who settled the area, not everyone agrees on their exact origins.

One of the more common theories is that the Philistines were originally from the Aegean Sea region, with many more people claiming that the Philistines were Mycenaean Greeks. Archaeological digs near the ancient Philistine city of Gath uncovered pieces of pottery that bear close similarities to ancient Greek objects. Furthermore, a red-and-black ceramic bear taken from one of the excavations almost certainly points to the influence of the Mycenaean culture.

9 The Sardinian Connection

In the Medinet Habu, a mortuary temple dedicated to Ramses III, there is carved into the stone the most famous depiction of the Sea Peoples. Showing several battles, the relief closely identifies the Sea Peoples with several different types of headwear.

The most striking group is depicted wearing horned helmets. It is commonly believed that these fighters belong to the Sherden, one of nine groups named by Egyptian records. Again, because the ancient Egyptians were mostly interested in fighting and defeating the Sea Peoples, they did not keep detailed records concerning their origins.

However, several researchers have concluded that the Sherden people were from Sardinia. Specifically, the Sherden are considered part of the island’s Nuragic civilization, a little-known civilization that left behind numerous stone sites, including towers, houses, and burial complexes. The Nuragic people (so named because of their stone structures, or “nuraghe”) also left behind statues, including Bronze Age figurines showing Sardinian warriors wearing horned helmets.

8 The Sicilian Connection

Following the age of the Sea Peoples, the island of Sicily was divided between three major tribes—the Elymians, the Sicani, and the Siculi (sometimes referred to as the Sicels). While the Sicani were indigenous to the island, the Elymians are believed to have originally come from Asia Minor and had deep connections to the Greek city-states of the Aegean Sea.

The Sicels, on the other hand, were likely an Italic tribe from the mainland. All three tribes may have connections to the Sea Peoples, but it is believed that marauders from Sicily were part of the invasions by the Sea Peoples. Specifically, these Sicilian pirates were called the Shekelesh by the Egyptians.

For their part, the later Greek conquerors of ancient Sicily believed that the Sicels had fled to Troy after being defeated by the Egyptians. From there, they traveled to southern Italy and finally to Sicily. Modern historians seem to corroborate this belief that the Sicels and the Elymians were both defeated members of the Sea Peoples confederation who found shelter in Sicily.

7 The Etruscans

Few European civilizations remain as mysterious as the Etruscans. These inhabitants of northern and central Italy left behind a still mostly indecipherable alphabet and language, thereby forcing historians to rely for further information on Roman records as well as the colorful tombs that the Etruscans built for one another. The question of Etruscan origins is far from new because the ancient Greeks pondered the issue themselves.

While some ancient Greeks believed that the Etruscans were related to the Pelasgians, an Aegean tribe who spoke a dialect of Mycenaean Greek, Dionysius of Halicarnassus claimed that the Etruscans were in fact the native inhabitants of Italy. The most often repeated assertion comes from Herodotus, however. Herodotus (and later Virgil) believed that the Etruscans came from the Anatolian region of Lydia and were led to Italy by King Tyrrhenus.

Interestingly enough, one of the Sea Peoples were the Teresh, whom some ancient historians also called the Tyrrhenians. According to this theory, the forefathers of the Etruscans were originally Greek pirates who sacked and settled Lydia before being pushed out of Anatolia by a famine. This origin might explain the similarities between Etruscan and Greek religions.

6 Connection To The Balkans

While most of the Sea Peoples came from either the Aegean or the wider Mediterranean, many historians argue that groups from the Adriatic Sea also joined the migration. Specifically, Austrian historian Fritz Schachermeyr asserted in 1982 that the Sherden and Shekelesh were originally from the Adriatic and had connections to the ancient Illyrians.

Today, little is known about the Illyrians besides the fact that they were a tribal confederation that ruled much of modern-day Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Serbia, and Albania. Furthermore, it is also believed that certain Illyrian tribes settled the Italian peninsula and intermixed with local Italic tribes. Recently, two researchers with Vienna University dispelled another notion about the Illyrians—that their language directly influenced modern Albanian.

Although Schachermeyr’s theory is not commonly held among students of the Sea Peoples, there are those who continue to believe that a famine in the Balkans drove several tribes, including the Illyrians, to migrate over land and over water.

5 The Battle Of Troy

The Battle of Troy is the heart of The Iliad, one of the Western world’s oldest works of literature. The epic poem describes the protracted siege of Troy by several armies representing the many different tribes of Greece. Three of these tribes—the Danoi, the Teucrians, and the Achaeans—may have participated in the Sea Peoples invasions.

In the Great Karnak Inscription and the Merneptah Stele, these Greek tribes are called the Denyen, the Tjeker, and the Ekwesh, respectively. However, none of this is set in stone, even though the Aegean region certainly provided a majority of the pirates involved in the Sea Peoples confederation.

Insofar as the Trojan War is concerned, many believed that Homer’s poem was a fictional rendering of a real confrontation between a Greek confederation and the native inhabitants of Troy (who may be the ancestors of the Etruscans). Tantalizingly, the Tawagalawa letter, which was written by an unnamed Hittite king (generally believed to be Hattusili III) to the king of Ahhiyawa (an ancient Anatolia kingdom just south of Troy), speaks of an incident involving Wilusa.

Specifically, the letter tells of a recent war between the Hittites and Ahhiyawa over Wilusa. Many believe that Wilusa, which belonged to the kingdom of Arzawa, was the Hittite name for Troy while Ahhiyawa was the name the Hittites gave to the Mycenaean Greek civilization of Asia Minor. This isn’t mere speculation because archaeological evidence recovered from western Turkey certainly points to the fact that Bronze Age Greeks developed city-states not far from lands claimed by the Hittites.

4 The Minoan Connection

Although a majority of the Sea Peoples may have come from the Greek mainland, it has been speculated that the island of Crete, which was then home to the powerful Minoan civilization, also produced raiders who participated in the conquests of the Sea Peoples. At times, Crete has been connected to the Tjeker and Peleset peoples, both of whom were lumped in with the Sea Peoples confederation by ancient Egyptian authors.

Prior to the Late Bronze Age Collapse, the Minoans traded widely with the Egyptians and the civilizations of the Levant. Furthermore, in the Amarna Letters, Crete, which is called Caphtor, is included as one of the great regional powers that suffered under the constant attacks of the Sea Peoples. That being said, Minoan pirates, along with Mycenaean colonists who had settled both Crete and Cyprus, may have joined the Sea Peoples to capture livestock, booty, and slaves.

3 The Dorian Invasion

Although it has been argued that the Sea Peoples undertook their voyages for plunder, some historians have claimed that the Sea Peoples were fleeing from invasions in their own homelands.

Regarding Mycenaean Greece, Carl Blegen of the University of Cincinnati proposed the idea that the Greek people of the central coast were forced to flee their homes due to the Dorian invasion from the mountainous south. While most contend that the various Mycenaean city-states collapsed due to natural disasters, there are many who still contend that Mycenaean Greeks fled burning city-states and joined the Sea Peoples confederation to find new homes.

The entire concept of the Dorian invasion comes from ancient Greek legend, specifically the Heracleidae, or the sons of Hercules. In the story, the exiled descendants of Hercules, who had been promised all of Greece, started a war to recapture their father’s lost land.

From this, certain historians proposed a theory concerning the successful conquest of Mycenaean Greece by Greek-speaking tribes from Laconia. Accordingly, Doric Greek, which was spoken by the inhabitants of Sparta and Pylos, became the ruling language of post-Mycenaean Greece, better known as the Greek Dark Age.

There are many problems with this theory, especially considering the dearth of archaeological evidence supporting it. But it does offer an interesting answer as to why the once-powerful city-states of Mycenaean Greece collapsed.

2 A Greater Indo-European East

Considering that most of the Sea Peoples came from Europe, it has been proposed that their incursions into the eastern Mediterranean form a sort of Indo-European migration period. Although it is not certain, it is likely that most of the Sea Peoples spoke different Indo-European languages, from Mycenaean Greek to the various Italic languages of Italy and Sicily.

Similarly, the degree to which the Sea Peoples created permanent settlements in the eastern Mediterranean is in dispute, but they were likely joined by a concurrent land migration coming from both Europe and Asia Minor. Some have proposed the dubious theory that “Land Peoples” from as far north as the Carpathian Mountains joined this migration, while others have noticed that the Lukka, one of the named Sea Peoples, seem similar to the Lydians or Luwians, two Indo-European peoples from western and central Asia Minor.

Indeed, the Anatolian kingdom of Kizzuwatna, which is today located in southwestern Turkey, may have included settlers from both Phoenicia and Mycenaean Greece. Furthermore, Hittite records may point to some Indo-European migrations predating the Sea Peoples, such as the conquests of Attarsiya, a Mycenaean Greek general who not only helped to establish the Greek kingdom of Ahhiya but also invaded Cyprus and various Hittite vassal states, including Arzawa.

1 Outsized Influence On Greek Mythology

As previously mentioned, some scholars believe that The Iliad recalls an ancient war between the Mycenaean Greek state of Ahhiyawa and the Hittite Empire. Similarly, The Odyssey details the attempts of the Greek general Odysseus to return to the island of Ithaca after serving in the Trojan War. Although these are the most famous examples of Greek legends dealing with the eastern Mediterranean, other legends point to a possible Greek memory of settlement in the Near East.

For instance, the story of Zeus, the chief god of the Olympians, and his battle with the monster Typhon likely comes from Cilicia, a kingdom in southern Anatolia controlled by the Hittites. Before the collapse of Mycenae, Greeks settled Cilicia in large numbers. From there, the Greeks absorbed Hittite and Cilician legends, including the story of a sea dragon defeated by a thunder god.

The Greek story of Teucer, one of the heroes of the Trojan War, similarly showcases a familiarity with the ancient Near East. It is said that Teucer and his men settled Crete and Cyprus and then set out on many voyages that took them through Canaan and Phoenician cities such as Sidon. It is possible that the story of Teucer, as well as other stories concerning the travels of Greek heroes following the Trojan War, may be parables about Mycenaean Greek settlement in the Near East during the age of the Sea Peoples.

Benjamin Welton is a freelance writer based in Boston. His work has appeared in The Weekly Standard, The Atlantic, , Metal Injection, and other publications. He currently blogs at literarytrebuchet.blogspot.com.

Throughout history, the world—particularly the the United States—has seen its fair share of conspiracy theories come and go. From reptilians disguised as humans to chemtrails, it’s fair to say that most of these theories are entirely absurd.

From time to time, though, a conspiracy theory that many thought to be ridiculous is shown, in fact, to be correct. In such cases, the truth can prove to be much more terrifying than fiction. The following are ten examples of such real-life conspiracies.

10 Project SUNSHINE

Despite its cheery name, Project SUNSHINE was by far one of the darkest conspiracies ever conceived and the most horrifying to be proven real. The project was commissioned by the US Atomic Energy Committee and the US Air Force.

Designed to investigate the effects of nuclear radiation on humans and the environment, Project SUNSHINE saw the US government harvest and use, often without the permission of parents, the body parts of dead children and babies. Younger children typically have higher amounts of strontium in their bones, meaning that their tissues are more susceptible to radiation damage. Thus, they made better test subjects for the project.^[1]

9 Project MKULTRA

MKULTRA is one of the better-known conspiracies. The general premise—now proven to be true—was that the US government was testing psychedelics and hallucinogenic drugs on unsuspecting American citizens and military personnel, in order to investigate the viability of behavior modification programs. Essentially, the US government was testing mind control techniques on its own populace and left many of its “participants” with trauma and even brain damage.

There are plenty of cases of MKULTRA subjects acting violently or dangerously, and the fact that the US government was so willing to endanger the lives of its own citizens without their consent is perhaps the most chilling part of the whole conspiracy.^[2]

8 The US Government’s Alcohol Poisoning

This conspiracy doesn’t have a particular name, but it’s one that has been the subject of much discussion over the years, particularly recently. During Prohibition, the US government tainted industrial alcohol with methanol—a commonly used antifreeze—in an attempt to curb the drinking of it. Reports differ on just how much methanol was added, though most agree that it wasn’t enough to be lethal and was intended more as a deterrent than a punishment.

On the other hand, it has also been reported that there were around 10,000 deaths during this period as a result of the poisoning, so perhaps the intention was darker than we think.^[3]

7 US Government Spying

In June 2013, intelligence contractor Edward Snowden released thousands of top-secret documents to various journalists, which detailed the sophisticated intelligence network the US, in conjunction with several other Western countries, had been using to spy on civilian populations around the world. Much of this spying was done through social networking companies; for instance, in 2016, US government agencies sent approximately 50,000 requests for user data to Facebook, roughly 28,000 to Google, and about 9,000 to Apple.

Perhaps the most disturbing part of this story is how the National Security Agency conducted multiple espionage operations on US-allied governments, such as Germany, Belgium, France, and Spain. Creepy stuff.^[4]

6 Gulf Of Tonkin Incident

On August 2, 1964, in the midst of the Vietnam War, the USS Maddox, on an intelligence mission along North Vietnam’s coast, allegedly fired upon and damaged several North Vietnamese torpedo boats that had been stalking it in the Gulf of Tonkin. The Maddox was also reportedly attacked by North Vietnamese vessels on August 4.

In 2005, an undated NSA publication was declassified, revealing that there was no attack on the Maddox on August 4.^[5]

Since the NSA’s disclosure, many have accused the US government of intentionally faking the incident to increase support for the US war in Vietnam and to justify further military action in the region. In fact, on August 10, the US congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, a bill that authorized President Johnson to do whatever was necessary to assist “any member or protocol state of the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty.”

This technique was also seen in the early 2000s, when the government administrations of President Bush of the US and Prime Minister Tony Blair of the UK asserted that the Iraqi government was actively constructing and stockpiling weapons of mass destruction, prompting the Iraq War. Later, US-led inspections found that Iraq had in fact not been stockpiling or producing WMDs to begin with.

5 The First Lady Who Ran The Country

In October 1919, President Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke that rendered him incapable of governing. Some of us probably know that part. What you might not know, however, is that after his stroke, his wife, First Lady Edith Wilson, decided what matters were important enough to bring to Woodrow’s attention, essentially giving her the unofficial role of president until Warren Harding took over in 1921. Because Woodrow never technically resigned, the vice president at the time, Thomas Marshall, could not take over, and Wilson instead decided to allow his wife to govern for some time.^[6]

Perhaps the scariest thing about this whole story is that the US government didn’t inform the public of this. (The people only learned of Wilson’s stroke in February 1920, and even then, the full details weren’t known.) It’s events like these that are the framework of the relatively modern and widely believed Deep State conspiracy theory, which posits that there is an unknown party in the government, independent of changing administrations, that makes most of the decisions.

4 The US Government’s Weather Manipulation

In 1993, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the US military, and the University of Alaska created the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program, otherwise known as HAARP. Since then, numerous conspiracy theories have sprung up surrounding the mysterious project, everything from satellites that can cause earthquakes to huge transmitters that can create tornadoes and tsunamis. However, what most people don’t know is that there actually was documented weather manipulation project during the Vietnam War—decades before the creation of HAARP.

Operation Popeye was an five-year project in which the US government used the age-old technique of cloud seeding to increase precipitation during the rainy seasons over North Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh Trail in order to disrupt the NVA’s moving of vehicles, weapons, and rations across the trail. The general idea of cloud seeding is to send an airborne object, typically an airplane, flying through a cloud while releasing small particulates that give water vapor something to cling to so that it can condense and become rain.^[7]

What’s scary about this is if the military has done it in the past (and given the length of the operation, it must have been at least partly successful), what’s to stop them from doing it again?

3 The Canadian Fruit Machine

Despite being one of the strongest proponents of the LGBT community today, Canada’s history isn’t as clean as one would think. In the 1960s, the Canadian government hired a university professor to create a “gaydar,” what it called the “Fruit Machine” at the time. The university professor, Frank Robert Wake of Carleton University, went about this by forcing subjects to look at same-sex erotic imagery while he measured pupil dilation, perspiration levels, and changes in pulse to gauge just how “fruity” they were.^[8]

The program was part of a long-term effort to remove homosexuals from positions of civil service. In the late 1960s, funding was cut off—but not before the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had collected files on over 9,000 suspected homosexuals.

2 The Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama is the designated spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. Those carrying the title are generally seen as embodying the tenets of Buddhism: inner peace, enlightenment, and virtuousness. However, CIA documents published by the State Department in 1998 indicated otherwise: For much of the 1960s and some of the 1970s, the current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatzo, along with many other prominent Tibetan figures, were funneled millions of dollars by the CIA. This funding was part of a concerted effort by US intelligence to undermine Communist China, and global communist presence, by propping up Tibetan guerrillas in their fight against the communist state. According to the report, the CIA funded approximately 2,100 Tibetan guerrillas with $500,000 annually and gave the Dalai Lama himself an annual $180,000 subsidy.

The funding ended in the early 1970s, after President Nixon began to open up more to China in efforts to improve crumbling relations. The official CIA report stated that the purpose of the program was to “keep the political concept of an autonomous Tibet alive within Tibet and among foreign nations, principally India, and to build a capability for resistance against possible political developments inside Communist China.” The Dalai Lama wrote in his autobiography that he saw the cutting off of the funding as “a reflection of their anti-Communist policies rather than genuine support for the restoration of Tibetan independence.”^[9]

1 Operation Mockingbird

Operation Mockingbird was a 1950s program in which the CIA recruited and propped up various media organizations to influence public opinion. In April 1976, the Church Committee, a US senate task force, conducted an investigation into the CIA’s influence over both foreign and national news organizations and stated that the CIA maintained a huge global network that provided intel for the organization and “at times” attempted to influence opinion through the use of covert propaganda.^[10]

The damning report also stated that these same individuals gave the CIA direct access to a large number of “newspapers and periodicals, scores of press services and news agencies, radio and television stations, commercial book publishers, and other foreign media outlets” and claimed that approximately 50 of the CIA’s assets were individual American journalists or employees of US media organizations.

I’m a freelance writer and student who loves writing.

Working with the limited scientific knowledge they had, the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations came up with a number of theories about the human body. While some were correct, most were not. As a matter of fact, some doctors, philosophers, and thinkers got it hilariously wrong.

10 Food Was Changed Into Blood By The Liver
Originator: Galen

Perhaps the greatest Roman (though, he was of Greek ethnicity) doctor ever, Galen published a vast number of writings on the human body and proposed many correct theories. One of the incorrect ones that he believed was that food was digested by the stomach and taken to the liver, where it was turned into blood. The biggest reason for many of Galen’s errors was that he’d never dissected a human body; in his time, it was outlawed by the Roman Empire. His theories were widely followed—practically blindly—until the 16th century, when Flemish doctor Andreas Vesalius began to question Galen’s findings.

9 Lambs Grew From Trees
Originator: Megasthenes

Megasthenes was a Greek explorer who returned from a trip he took to India and wrote a book about his travels. He referred to cotton plants that he saw as “trees on which grew wool,” which led to the misconception that lambs grew on trees. From that incorrect assumption, a number of other ancient thinkers, including Theophrastus and Pliny the Elder, mentioned “wool-bearing trees” in their writings, perpetuating the myth. As late as the 18th or 19th centuries, this was still a commonly believed theory, with books published on the subject and a number of expeditions undertaken in search of the mythical plant.

8 Light Came From The Eye
Originator: Plato

Plato, one of the greatest Greek philosophers, contributed greatly to medical knowledge—erroneously in a number of cases. Perhaps his worst error was the idea that “a stream of light or fire” emanated from the eye, rebounded off of an object, and combined with sunlight, allowing it to be seen by the eye. An object’s color was said to be “flame particles” that were let off its body. This was a commonly held notion until the 11th century, when Persian scientist Ibn al-Haytham developed his theory that the eye was merely an optical instrument in his writing The Book of Optics.

7 Veins Carried Blood, Arteries Carried Air
Originator: Praxagoras

An ancient Greek physician whose writings have been lost to humanity, Praxagoras is perhaps best known for being the first to realize that veins and arteries are different. However, he believed that air traveled through the arteries (probably due to the fact that blood tends to leave the arteries upon death and accumulates in the veins). Praxagoras explained away bleeding by saying the arteries attracted blood from the neighboring tissue when exposed to air. This theory was widely believed for hundreds of years.

6 Sleep Occurs When Blood Flows Away From The Surface
Originator: Alcmaeon

Another ancient Greek philosopher and doctor, Alcmaeon of Croton was the holder of a number of medical firsts, including the idea that the brain was the seat of understanding, rather than the heart. He also theorized that sensory organs are attached to the brain. However, he wasn’t always correct. He believed that sleep came to humans when their blood flowed from the surface of their bodies to the blood vessels farther in. Alcmaeon also believed that death occurred if all of the blood went deep into the body.

5 The Brain Was Just A Cooling Device
Originator: Aristotle

Aristotle believed the heart was the center of knowledge and the source of the sensations in the human body, rather than the brain, and he had an interesting theory about the brain. He felt that the brain was merely a cooling organ for the heart and an area for “spirit” to pool. Even though earlier Greeks, including Alcmaeon and Plato, had put forth a neuro-centric model of the human body, Aristotle ridiculed them for their “fallacious” views. In addition, he also thought women’s brains were smaller than men’s, another of his errors that persisted for a number of years.

4 Hemorrhoids Could Be Cured In Weird Ways
Originator: Pliny The Elder

Pliny the Elder was one of the greatest Roman authors and published Naturalis Historia, one of the earliest examples of an encyclopedia. Apparently, hemorrhoids were quite the problem for the ancient Romans, because there were a number of cures. Using an onion as a suppository was supposed to help, and eating garlic with wine but vomiting it back up was said to be beneficial to hemorrhoid sufferers as well. Using a fresh root of rosemary and rubbing it on the anus was also very effective (it also helped if you had a prolapsed rectum). Perhaps the strangest cure was a cream made from the lard of a pig and the rust of a chariot’s wheels.

3 Light Traveled Through The Ether
Originator: Aristotle

While Aristotle influenced civilization for thousands of years, it doesn’t give him a pass on some of his wilder theories. Chief among them was his idea that the entire universe was filled with an unknown substance called “the ether.” Aristotle proposed the theory because he believed light would be unable to move through an empty universe. Like many of his ideas, this one persisted, and the best and brightest of the scientific community failed to contradict it. It was widely believed until 1910, when Albert Einstein proved light didn’t need the ether with his theory of special relativity.

2 The Testicles Determined A Person’s Voice
Originator: Aristotle

Aristotle certainly had his fair share of incorrect theories. Not the least of these was that the testicles were a key factor in determining a person’s vocal pitch. Aristotle’s reasoning was that a boy’s voice tended to deepen during puberty, when his testicles dropped (a lot of this theory was dependent on his observations in animals as well). In addition, he noticed that men who were castrated before puberty maintained their “ladylike” voice, as well as a number of other traits. Obviously, we now know the larynx and the mucus membrane within it control the voice’s pitch.

1 The Womb Roamed Around A Woman’s Body
Originator: Hippocrates

Recognized as the father of Western medicine, Hippocrates had a number of incorrect theories, most notably his theory of humorism, which stated that the human body was made up of four elements that caused illnesses when out of balance. However, his craziest theory was the idea of a “wandering womb.” Hippocrates believed that a woman’s body craved warmth and moisture, so they needed to get laid often. If not, their womb would get bored and start to migrate around their body. In addition, an excess of “male activities,” could also cause the womb to wander. Depending on where it finally attached itself, various disorders could result, including hysteria. This was still a widely held theory until the Middle Ages.

The events that occurred in the Ural Mountains at the beginning of February 1959, what would become known as the Dyatlov Pass incident, remain one of the 20th century’s most mysterious encounters—not least because we still don’t have a satisfactory or widely accepted explanation for why nine experienced hikers lost their lives in brutal ways.

Their tent was found in ruins, cut from the inside. Several of the hikers were discovered barefoot and almost naked near the original campsite around a month after their disappearance. What is interesting is that a trail of footprints—some barefoot—led from the tent and then simply stopped. The rest were discovered almost three months later, buried under snow in a ravine.

Just what happened to them? Why did they leave their tent, some barefoot, in the middle of the night in brutally cold temperatures, an act that would certainly guarantee their deaths? Here are ten theories as to just what happened.

10 It Was An Avalanche, Right?

The most obvious explanation would be that the group, for all their experience, were the unfortunate victims of a freak avalanche. Case solved, right? Well, not quite. First of all, the area has absolutely no history of avalanches, certainly none that would cause outright death.^[1] Secondly, even if this was a freak occurrence that just happened to hit on the night when hikers just happened to be on that part of the mountainside, there was simply no evidence of an avalanche when searchers eventually combed the area in search of the missing hikers.

Aside from there being no evidence of an avalanche, the injuries eventually discovered on the recovered bodies didn’t line up with such an incident. Although this explanation was very much promoted at one time—and even now, some people insist this is what happened—it simply does not add up. Furthermore, such insistence, against the obvious facts, could be argued to suggest a cover-up of sorts.

9 It Was A UFO

Okay, let’s get this one out of way. It was a UFO! That is certainly the theory of some researchers.^[2] And while there is no evidence to suggest they are correct, there are some interesting details to examine that might suggest involvement of a highly advanced craft from another world.

For example, where two of the hikers were discovered, next to the burned-out remains of a campfire, there was substantial damage to the trees that overlooked their makeshift base. The damage was around 4.6 meters (15 ft) high. Some researchers have theorized that this was the result of a UFO hovering just above the treetops.

Furthermore, some of the group who would be discovered months after they disappeared were found with pieces of skin, lips, and eyes apparently surgically removed. While some claim these “injuries” were merely the result of decomposition, others say the seemingly precise cuts suggest intelligent action.

8 The Yeti Claims

Perhaps one of the most interesting claims is that the group met their grisly end at the hands—or should that be claws—of a Yeti or Bigfoot-like creature that inhabits the remote regions of the Ural Mountains.^[3] The local Mansi tribe has legends of a Yeti-like creature called the Menk, and furthermore, it is said to roam the area of the incident.

There is a famous picture recovered from the belongings of the group on Nikolai Thibeaux-Brignolle’s camera. On a shot known as “Frame 17,” there is a strange picture that seems to show a figure that bears a resemblance to a Bigfoot-type creature.

Some people believe that this “figure” was actually one of the hikers returning from a raised piece of land, probably looking to get their bearings. The fact that it was the last picture Thibeaux-Brignolle took, though, leads to some people perhaps reading more into what there actually is. Or perhaps it wasn’t a Bigfoot or one of the group? Perhaps, as our next entry looks at, it was something potentially more menacing.

7 Escaped Prisoners

Less talked-about is the claim that the hikers were the unfortunate victims of escaped prisoners from the gulags in the region.^[4] Many such prisoners, who very well may have been incarcerated since World War II and wouldn’t be at all up to speed with world events, would have been imprisoned in these facilities. To them, the conflict could very much have still been taking place unless they had other, inside knowledge.

Furthermore, being spotted by strangers could result in an attack from these desperate people—themselves potentially hardened from the war and untold time behind bars with no freedom whatsoever. They would, one would imagine, weigh up the options of attacking a (relatively) small group against the risk of being reported to the Soviet authorities, which would lead to many years back in the brutal gulags.

6 The Gulag Authorities Killed Them By Mistake

In addition to the potential threats from escaped gulag prisoners, the gulag authorities themselves were likely to shoot first and ask questions later, particularly in the region the hikers were.^[5] We should bear in mind that they were off-course and somewhere they had not planned to be.

Might the gulag authorities, perhaps conducting a standard patrol of the area or maybe looking for an escaped prisoner, have been a little eager for a potential apprehension and killed the hikers in error? Imagine the anger from the local population if this was to become known. Perhaps, then, a cover-up was decided upon? Note, however, that a potential hole in this theory and the one above is that the nearest gulag was reportedly about 100 kilometers (60 mi) from where the incident took place.

While there is no proof that gulag guards killed the hikers and covered it up, there is certainly enough murkiness around the incident for people to be suspicious. Also, it was the Cold War, a time when distrust, even among a country’s citizens, ran deep. In fact, the notion that the Cold War played a major part in this mysterious incident carries over into our next entry.

5 American Intelligence Involvement

There are some claims that the incident was a result of a CIA/KGB meeting involving the handing over of radioactive materials which ultimately resulted in the deaths of nine Soviet citizens.^[6] There is no real proof to these claims, and they rely heavily on the simple fact that the Cold War was in its heyday at the time. And, if there was any chance at all that the United States could have been placed in a negative light, the Soviets would have taken it.

However, there is reason to believe there could have been a type of “entrapment” scenario unfolding. For example, there were considerable indications of radiation, both in the area itself and on some of the dead hikers.

Rumors would surface that the incident was an attempt to plant radioactive materials on CIA agents “caught” behind Soviet lines. Somehow, the operation went wrong, and the hikers were killed. If this theory was true, then that would mean that at least one of the hikers was a KGB operative. And that is the subject of our next entry. What’s more, there is sufficient reason to believe that there really could have been a KGB presence in the Ural Mountains.

4 A KGB Plant?

There are several theories that the “hike” into the mountains was secretly, and against the majority of the hikers’ knowledge, a KGB operation.^[7] Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of these claims is the fact that the oldest member of the group, 37-year-old Semyon (aka Alexander) Zolotaryov (second from right above), was not only a last-minute addition but also reportedly had extensive military and combat training. Why, exactly, was he there?

Perhaps the tattoo on his body is worth paying more attention to by researchers into this most mysterious case? The tattoo read “DAERMMUAZUAYA.” According to those who have researched the word, there is no translation in any known language. Many assume it to be either a secret military tag or some kind of secret society moniker.

If there is any truth to Zolotaryov, or any of the Dyatlov crew, being KGB agents, what their mission might have been is still anyone’s guess.

3 Local Tribes

Some theories would persist that the deaths were the result of attacks from local tribes in the area, most notably the Mansi tribe.^[8] There is no real evidence of this; the Mansi were largely peaceful and uninterested in the outside world.

Furthermore, much like the details already mentioned when examining the apparent “escape” from their tent, there was no evidence in the surrounding snow—which was largely undisturbed—of such an approach by a tribe, who wouldn’t have been thinking at all of covering their tracks, certainly not after an attack. And for an attack to happen at night in the middle of an apparent blizzard is even more unlikely.

While they certainly make a convenient scapegoat, there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that the Mansi, or any other tribe in the area, were responsible for these most sudden and strange deaths. It perhaps should be noted, tough, that the local tribes did refer to the mountain where the incident took place as the “Mountain of the Dead.”

2 The Gravity Fluctuation Theory

Perhaps one of the most bizarre theories, albeit one that is grounded in scientific thought, is the gravity fluctuation theory.^[9] What this theory essentially argues is that there was a sudden drop in gravity in a “corridor” that the hikers were unfortunately camped in. This is a little-known (and unproven) phenomenon, but it does, at least in theory, explain the eventual location of the campers’ bodies.

For example, it is argued that those who first rushed outside the camp were essentially placed into a non-gravitational situation where they died instantly—as if they were in a vacuum. The others were dragged from the tent, which would explain the “tears from the inside.” They were literally ripped from the tent due to the sudden and dramatic drop in gravity. It is argued that this unusual phenomenon occurs more than people realize but rarely results in such a drastic situation, as people aren’t usually caught in the event. Some researchers even claim that if the hikers had simply kept their tent shut, they would have survived the rare incident.

1 Secret Weapon Tests

This theory could explain the mysterious deaths, reports of strange lights, and the air of secrecy with which the Soviet authorities handled the incident.

Many rumors persisted in the area that the Soviets would regularly test secret weapons. Some have even claimed that “neutron weapons” were in use.^[10] The injuries of some of the campers—who had severe internal trauma but little external damage—would certainly suggest some sort of advanced and secretive technology.

Might it be possible that the Soviet military were testing weapons designed to “scare” the United States, for example, only to kill nine of its own citizens? Much like the gulag theories, this scenario would result in an instant and deep cover-up.

+ The One That Got Away

Perhaps one of the most intriguing aspects of the whole dire and terrible situation is that of Yuri Yudin.^[11] Only 24 hours into the ill-fated excursion, Yudin (pictured above being hugged) would come down with an illness, severe enough that he had to return to their set-off point. Knowing what we now know of the group’s situation, it was perhaps the most well-timed illness in the entirety of the 20th century.

Whatever the sickness was, it ultimately saved his life. Indeed, it perhaps makes one ponder the precariousness of our existence, where one circumstance seemingly as innocent and trivial as being too ill to participate can ultimately result in saving one’s life. Regardless, the decision would allow Yudin to live to old age, which he did, although he never had anything of significance to add to the investigations into the deaths of his colleagues.

It’s been a while since a new Jason movie featured on the big screen or a green and red striped jersey brought terror to our dreams. While those horrors have been left behind in their own era, a host of new scary movies exist to keep us shivering. And as with most movies, the fan theories follow close behind. WARNING: spoilers ahead!

SEE ALSO: Top 10 Must-See Recent Genre-Defying Horrors

10The Cabin in the Woods

You would be forgiven for thinking of The Cabin in the Woods as the horror movie starring Thor and the hot doctor from Grey’s Anatomy. This popular horror film surprised audiences in 2011 with its fresh approach and massive plot twist at the end.

However, not all viewers were convinced that the twist at the end was all it seemed to be. A fan theory has it that Chris Hemsworth’s character, Curt Vaughan, was in on the plot from the beginning. Proof of this theory is presented in the fact that Curt is the one who gets the group of friends to go to the cabin. Curt is also the only one who doesn’t choose a summoning object down in the basement.

More ‘proof’ indicates that Curt knew his girlfriend Jules had to die first according to the rules, so he made sure to get her alone so the zombies could kill her. It is also thought that Curt would have been given the title of ‘hero’ if he played along with the Facility.^[1]

9The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 1974 classic horror is one of the creepiest movies on this list. The killer, Leatherface, dons a mask made of human skin and runs around with a chainsaw and an insatiable bloodlust. Not to mention the Leatherface character is based on real life murderer, Ed Gein.

As such, it has always been assumed that Leatherface is a man, but a Reddit fan theory has it that the crazy murderer might in fact be a woman. Proof of this is said to be the way the killer applies lipstick and blusher to another mask. Leatherface also goes mental when the freezer is tampered with and makes very high-pitched sounds for what is supposed to be an above-average sized man. It is also alleged that since Leatherface prepared the food and probably ‘decorated’ the creepy house depicted in the movie, he is probably a she.^[2]

8Halloween

The most recent Halloween movie was a huge box office hit in 2018. In it, Michael Myers allegedly crashes the bus he was being transferred in, to return to Haddonfield to kill a bunch of people. He also goes after Laurie Strode, who has turned her house into a fortress.

Eagle-eyed viewers were quick to notice something off about Laurie, however. While sitting in her truck, drinking, she waits for the bus to leave for the maximum-security prison. She then pitches up at a family dinner drunk and starts crying. A fan theory has it that is wasn’t fear causing her to react like that, but guilt. The theory goes that Laurie, and not Michael, was the one responsible for the bus crash. It is also said that her almost non-reaction to the news report on the crash is a further indication that she planned the whole thing. Why would she do such a thing? Well, because she had been waiting for her fight with Michael for 40 years and wasn’t about to be unprepared for when he arrived at her house.^[3]

7 Us

Michael Myers has also been tied to the popular 2019 horror movie Us. The sequel to Get Out has spawned quite a few fan theories including one that says Michael is a Tethered and was swapped with a clone and trapped for 60 years.

Not only has Jordan Peele, writer and director of US, referenced Halloween during several interviews about his movie, he also mentions the rabbits that feature in the film and how if you should put a rabbit brain in a human body, you’d end up with Michael Myers. What further gets the theory going, is that Michael doesn’t talk, but rather grunts much like the Tethered in Us. Also, in Halloween Resurrection it is revealed to viewers that a tunnel system runs under the Myers house linking to the basement and ultimately enabling the clone swapping.

Moreover, Michael’s psychiatrist, Dr Loomis, tracks him using a ‘Rabbit in Red’ matchbox and describes his patient as not having a soul. Which pretty much describes the Tethered.^[4]

6 Hereditary

Hereditary is arguably the most disturbing entry on this list. There is bleakness and gore and shock value all culminating in a terrifying reveal involving a demon king named Paimon.

Fans were quick to come up with theories involving aspects of the movie, such as linking it to Midsommer (another disturbing horror flick by Hereditary director: Ari Aster). The theory says that since both movies feature cults, they must play out in the same universe. Some fans are also convinced that the couple walking past Annie in Hereditary is the one and only Dani and Christian from Midsommar.

Another popular theory supported by many fans says that none of the horrifying things in the movie, such as Charlie’s decapitation, actually happened. Instead it was the manifestation of both Annie and Peter’s mental disorders.^[5]

5 A Quiet Place

A Quiet Place took what we knew about horror and turned it on its head. Featuring silent characters and monsters reminiscent of the Demogorgon in Stranger Things, this movie made for a unique cinematic experience. Many movie-goers reported feeling uneasy throughout the movie because of the ongoing silence.

In the movie, the monsters are extremely sensitive to noise and attack anyone that makes a sound (as is evident in the very disturbing scene with the little boy and the toy rocket). Hence the silent characters.

These monsters, if one goes by the newspaper clipping on the wall, came from outer space when a meteor hit Earth. However, some fans think that is only a red herring and the creatures are in fact biological weapons left over from WWIII. Others believe that the only way the creatures could have spread so fast if they did indeed crash in only one spot in Mexico, is with the help of the meteor impact. If they had crashed during the spore stage of their lifecycle the impact would have sent the spores flying to the upper atmosphere where they would have caught a ride to locations all over the US.^[6]

4 It Follows

When it comes to psychological horrors, It Follows is a great example of how to do it properly. Rated 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, most reviewers agree that this movie is truly frightening without trying too hard or relying on tired jump scares.

The plot of the movie centres around a curse in the form of a shape-shifting entity passed on to Jay Height after she has casual sex with a guy in the backseat of his car. She then must pass on the curse to another man, otherwise she will be killed by the entity that presents itself in the form of the loved ones of its victims. And so on and so forth.

A twisted theory appeared on Reddit that says the young people in the movie, running from the sinister shapeshifter, were kidnapped from different decades by demons and sent to Hell. On Earth, they had been replaced by changelings. This would mean the monster that follows Jay in the movie, is just another inhabitant of Hell. And the monster doesn’t choose its own form, but rather the victim determines its shape by what may have happened to them in the past such as abuse, rape, attempted murder etc. Since Jay has suffered a sexual assault, the monster chasing her takes the form of a naked woman.^[7]

3 The Babadook

The Babadook is yet another psychological horror that features a creepy kid and even creepier monster. When labor pains overtook Amelia, her husband drove her to the hospital only to get into an accident. Her husband didn’t make it and the movie follows Amelia’s struggle to cope with being a single parent. She reads a book about the Babadook to her son but starts feeling uneasy with the content, especially when her son claims that the Babadook haunts him at night. Amelia then tears up the book and throws it in the bin.

The book shows up on their doorstep, glued back together, and things take a turn for the worse in the household. It seems that the Babadook possesses Amelia with her voice changing during fits of rage. She also kills their dog and eventually goes after her son. When she vomits up black goo, it seems that the Babadook has lost, but instead it runs to the basement where it seems to be fed maggots by Amelia at the end of the movie.

A fan theory has it that the Babadook is a physical manifestation of Amelia’s hatred for her son, since she gave birth to him on the same day her husband died. When the Babadook is heard making weird noises in the movie, Amelia’s rage is evident, giving more weight to this theory. Another theory says that it is not rage, but Amelia’s intense grief that brings the Babadook to life.

A very popular theory claimed that the Babadook is gay, which was eventually acknowledged but not entirely confirmed by filmmaker Jennifer Kent.^[8]

2 Carrie

Carrie is a lesson on the consequences of bullying. And a very disturbing movie to boot. Carrie started out as Stephen King’s first published novel that spawned a film in 1976 and then a remake in 2013.

As with most Stephen King novels and movies, there are many theories surrounding the plot. In this case the main theory seems to be that Matilda, the main character in the novel of the same name by Roald Dahl, grows up to be Carrie.

After Miss Honey and Matilda move to Chamberlain, Maine, they change their names to Margaret and Carietta. Much like Carrie’s mother, Honey/Margaret becomes very religious which leads to Matilda/Carietta hiding away her telekinetic abilities. Which then leads to the start of the story of Carrie, according to theory. This would essentially mean that Matilda is the prequel to Carrie. More proof that these two stories take place in the same universe comes in the form of a car named Christine (another Stephen King title), which is a 1958 Plymouth Fury sold by Matilda’s father. The car caused the death of a passenger, leading to Matilda’s father being arrested and Miss Honey and Matilda’s move to Maine.^[9]

1 IT

The craziest theory by far, on this list anyway, is the one that connects Disney’s Mary Poppins and Stephen King’s IT. Considering that Mary Poppins is a sweet lady that flies around with an umbrella and IT is a killer clown, it might seem ridiculous. However, the theory points out that Poppins and IT share a similar power. They are able to tap into children’s innermost thoughts, whether it be for good or evil.

Both movies feature a young boy named Georgie. While Poppins returns to Cherry Tree Lane after 25 years and relies on children’s joy to keep her energy levels up, IT returns to Derry every 27 years and uses the fear of children to keep his power levels up. In both movies, the children’s encounters with IT and Poppins seem to fade from their minds. Not to mention, Poppins and IT both seem to like dancing. The final thread connecting these two movies comes during the scene where the characters in Mary Poppins grab balloons and float away. Since “floating” and “balloons” are synonymous with IT, the theory seems plausible to many viewers.^[10]

Tupac Shakur was only twenty-five years old when he was ambushed while he sat in a parked car on a Las Vegas strip on 7th September 1996. The attack came following the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon fight which Shakur had attended. He died in hospital six days later on 13th September.

See Also: 10 Crazy Conspiracy Theories Clouding The Music Industry

Conspiracy theories almost immediately began to fly. Many claimed that he was killed by fellow rapper, Biggie Smalls, who himself would be gunned down several months later. As time went on though, the theories strayed into “Elvis” territory, with claims that the rapper and actor had faked his own death, theories that still circulate today. Here are ten reasons some people firmly believe Tupac Shakur is alive and well . . . somewhere . . .

10 Lock Down At The Hospital

After he was admitted to hospital following the shooting, it is claimed only his mother, very close friends and certain designated medical staff were allowed to see Shakur. Perhaps because of this lock down, people began to speculate there was possibly more going on behind the scenes.

The rapper spent six days fighting for his life, during which time it was said he had to be revived several times, eventually succumbing to internal bleeding as a result of his gunshot wounds.

Perhaps the most controversial statement came recently from author Michael Carlin who claimed that the rap star was likely “finished off” in hospital by persons unknown. Carlin has worked closely with Los Angeles Police Department in researching Tupac’s killing. One thing he claims he is certain of is that the police and medical records regarding the rapper’s death are “bogus!”^[1]

9 The Person Who Performed His Cremation Disappeared

Perhaps one of the most mysterious parts of the Tupac Shakur murder is that the person who performed his cremation has apparently since vanished from the face of the planet.

Close friend of Tupac, and the person who was in the car he was riding in when he was ambushed and shot, Marion “Suge” Knight, reportedly claimed that he paid for the rapper to have a private cremation. Not only has the person in question allegedly disappeared, but the amount that Knight claimed he handed over for his services is also questionable given that it was $3 million. Was this part of the “missing millions” as they came to be known?^[2]

8 Tupac’s Missing Millions

It is claimed that Tupac Shakur was worth a little over $100,000 when he died, which doesn’t make him a pauper by any stretch of the imagination, but when considering the immense wealth he had accumulated from his music and his acting career, it is a drop in the ocean of the money he would, at one time, have surely had.

Furthermore, he had no property in his name when he died and his only possessions appeared to be two cars. There seemed to be concerns about the rapper’s contract with his record label, and exactly how much money he was actually paid, while his record company, the infamous Death Row Records, claimed it was Tupac’s own lavish lifestyle that had left him (relatively speaking) destitute.

Others though have speculated that the “missing millions” may have been discreetly “moved” elsewhere – remember the $3 million paid for the cremation?— in anticipation of a life to be lived out in secret.^[3]

7Detective Claims He Was Paid To Help The Rapper Fake His Death

In September 2015 a former detective, David Myers, made the claim that Tupac Shakur had faked his own death, and what’s more, he had been paid $1.5 million to help the rapper achieve it. Myers made the announcement from his death bed while in critical condition in hospital, stating that he “could not die without letting the world know” and that he was “ashamed” of his involvement. According to Myers, a body double was even arranged to be taken to the morgue in place of Shakur.

It should be noted however, that while this story appeared on several well-known web sites, there does not appear to be a definite source. Myers, if indeed he did exist, also didn’t state why the rap star wished to have the world believe he had died. One thing of interest though is the claim of a body double, particularly when inconsistencies concerning the mortuary records came to light.^[4]

6 Different Height and Weight Records

According to official records there was some discrepancy regarding Tupac’s height and weight as recorded by the mortuary. His driver’s license, as well as various celebrity “measurements” sites, listed Shakur’s height at 5” 10 and his weight at 168 pounds. But the mortuary records showed him to be two inches taller at a straight six feet and at a weight of 215 pounds – considerably heavier.

Could this simply have been sloppy record keeping at the mortuary? It’s certainly a possibility and realistically most likely, but nevertheless it has been a talking point for those who believe there is something being hidden about the rapper’s alleged death.^[5]

5 Alleged Last Photograph Inconsistencies

One of the most famous photographs of the Tupac Shakur murder, was said to be taken in the immediate minutes before his death. It shows him in the passenger seat of a car, with none other than larger than life, Suge Knight driving.

However, eagle-eyed fans and researchers quickly spotted that the date on the photograph was incorrect, and appeared to have been taken on the 8th of September – the day after the shooting had taken place. While in all likelihood the camera was just set to the wrong date in error, some believed the photo had been “set up” to circulate to the media following the rapper’s “death”.

Furthermore it was also pointed out that there didn’t appear to be any keys in the ignition of the car. There were automatic-start cars in 1996, albeit not as widespread as they are now, but to some this was further proof that the photo was staged.^[6]

4 No Bulletproof Vest The Night He Was Shot

Since his shooting in New York several years earlier, Shakur had become increasingly paranoid. He had suspected Biggie Smalls and people close to him to have been behind the shooting on the east coast, and was increasingly convinced that people wanted him dead. So much so that he had taken to wearing a bullet proof vest everywhere he went.

However on this evening, with the “East Coast-West Coast War” in full swing, and despite being in a very public place, he suddenly decided not to wear one. It was rumoured by some that Knight had told the rapper to remove his vest because “it was hot” inside the arena where the Tyson-Seldon fight was being contested – there is said to be footage of this conversation although it certainly doesn’t appear to be widely available. There also appears to be confusion as to whether the rapper had a bulletproof vest on at all that evening, with some sources that Knight and others close to Shakur had tried to insist he wear one that evening but he declined.^[7]

3The Makaveli Conspiracy

Tupac was known to be a huge fan of Italian renaissance man Machiavelli, and was particularly enthralled by his line, “To fool your enemies, fake your death.” For his last album, “The Don Killuminati – The 7 Day Theory” Tupac changed his on-stage moniker to Makaveli and, as he had done in many of his songs before, spoke of how he would fake his own death and then return to enact his vengeance on those that had wronged him.

When Biggie Smalls was himself gunned down only six months later, conspiracy theories began to circulate that perhaps Shakur was making good on his promise. Incidentally, Smalls’ death also remains unsolved.^[8]

2 Tupac Is Alive and Well, and Living In Cuba

This particular theory would be regarded as complete nonsense by even the most enthusiastic conspiracy theorists, particularly the claims that he was “seen” partying with Rihanna recently, were it not for the fact that the rapper does have a genuine connection to the country of Cuba.

His aunt, Assata Shakur, was a political activist and former Black Liberation Army member. She had fled to Cuba in 1979 following her conviction for the 1977 murder of a New Jersey State Trooper and sought political asylum there. Given Shakur’s political awareness, he almost certainly would have been very much aware of his aunt’s situation and possibly her whereabouts.

As Cuba is one of the few countries that the United States (at the time) had no access to, it is an ideal place for anyone who is looking to disappear.^[9]

1 Scores Of “New” Songs Released After His Death

Since his death there has been a litany of new material released by the rapper. This has fuelled speculation from some that Tupac is alive and well and recording new material from afar. It is true that a wealth of new material has seen the light of day in the years following Shakur’s death. What’s more is that these new releases have arguably netted as much profit, if not more, than the rapper managed to while he was alive.

While the theory sounds plausible, the fact is that Tupac was well known for being a seriously hard worker in the studio, sometimes recording several songs in a session – sessions that could last for days at a time. It is not at all beyond the realms of possibility that he would have had hundreds of unreleased tracks waiting in the wings when he died. His estate and any royalties from his music were in the control of his mother, Afeni, until her death in early 2016.^[10]

About The Author: Marcus Lowth—writer at Me Time For The Mind—http://www.metimeforthemind.com/
Me Time For The Mind on Facebook—https://www.facebook.com/MeTimeForTheMind/

The actual day-to-day of archaeology and other similar professions may not be that exciting, as they often have to carefully spend time removing dirt from artifacts that may not be worth much of anything individually. Still, their collective work has inspired our imaginations and helped create countless fantasy works, as well as many lively discussions about the ancient past. 

That work has also given us a window into what we know to be true about these ancient civilizations, and also what we have come to suspect could be true based on archaeological evidence. Let’s take a look at some of the most fascinating theories of historical cultures, based on what’s been gathered by these curators of the past…

10. The Aztecs Sacrificed Countless People Due To A Protein Shortage

It’s pretty widely known that Aztec people took part in cannibalism during their human sacrifices, but it was anthropologist Michael Harner who put forth a controversial theory in an attempt to further explain the “why” behind their religious ideology. The theory goes that their population was booming, but at the same time, the available game for protein was decreasing. Getting all eight essential amino acids and protein from maize and beans would require large quantities of food, making it relatively impractical. He also cited times of famine where even nobles sold their children into slavery to buy food and suggested the poor class could fight in wars to get POWs so they could cannibalize them in a blood ritual and eat them for protein.  

Of course, there’s a competing theory by anthropologist and historian Bernard Ortiz De Montellano who argues that the rituals where cannibalism occurred were nearly always done at harvest time, as part of a celebration, and not during times of famine. Further, the cities where these blood sacrifices were known to take place were the bigger cities that received food tributes and weren’t particularly worried about food, even in general times of famine. Montellano argues that sacrificial victims’ bodies were sacred and that the reason for ingesting the body was to ingest a part of the gods themselves and was never connected in any official literature to protein deficiency. 

9. The City Of Pavlopetri Was The Fabled Lost City Of Atlantis

In 2009, a group of Anglo-Greek marine geologists and archaeologists went to work to survey a promising area off the Southern Peloponnese that more primitive technology had suggested was a hotspot for discovery some 40 years earlier, and they made an amazing discovery. They found the ruins of an ancient city, mostly intact, that had sunk beneath the sea floor about 5,000 years ago, during the days of Homer’s epic legends. 

The researchers believe it could have sunk due to a tsunami, earthquake, or both, somewhere around 1000 BC, leaving it resting below the waves for future discovery. While mapping it with modern digital technology they discovered 9,000 square meters of new buildings, and a very large Megaron, which was a structure used by elites for public gatherings, suggesting the city was used by important members of Mycenaean society. Due to the time period to which the city is dated, how quickly it disappeared beneath the waters, and the potential elite status of its inhabitants, some have suggested it could have been the fabled lost city of Atlantis. 

8. Noah’s Story Was An Allegory For Survivors Of A Really Bad Local Flood

Even those who aren’t Christian are well aware of the story of Noah’s Ark, and his quest to save two of every animal from a great flood that would encompass the entire earth. But Noah’s was not the only similar story. The epic of Gilgamesh, the Qur’an, and many others have a story of an all-encompassing flood in which people had to go to great lengths, often using boats to survive. Now, while stories about bad local floods, or even allegorical stories of worldwide floods, are not confined to one area, there is a very large concentration of them coming from Ancient Mesopotamia — which is now modern-day Iraq. 

This has caused researchers to consider whether the stories could have been allegories about a really bad local flood. While the geological record of the earth does not support a global flood, the geological record of Iraq does support the possibility of a bad flood, or even floods, back in the days of Ancient Mesopotamia. This flood (or floods) could have drowned many, destroyed their homes, and taken months to properly recede due to the geography of the area. With no internet or telephones to check outside their area, and all their known geography flooded, they wrote stories of the entire world being lost beneath a catastrophic deluge because as far as they knew, their entire world was flooded.

7. Contrary To Recent Popular Belief, Some Christians May Have Been Thrown To Lions

It used to be accepted that Christians, and many other malcontents, were thrown to the lions during the days of the Romans and it was believed to be a fact. Now, many historians and debunkers have told you that it isn’t true and that there is not a single corroborating text that states Christians were thrown to lions. However, the Romans didn’t always keep the best records. 

During the early era of the Christian Church, when many Christians were being executed, throwing people to the beasts was a popular method of execution. This method involved all kinds of animals including lions, and one text tells of a Priest called Saturas, whom they first tried to kill with a boar, then with a bear, and then finally finished off with a leopard. As for the crueler Roman Emperors, Nero was known to cover Christians in animal skins before throwing them to the dogs. Now, as we stated, there is no extant evidence of lion-on-Christian action, but considering how popular it was to throw people to the animals, it would seem more like a bizarre accident than anything if they never got their chance to sink their teeth into any early Christian flesh. 

6. Spartan Warriors Were Not That Amazing, It Was Mostly Propaganda

The Spartan reputation today is such that many still see them as the epitome of the most fearsome and powerful warrior. However, the truth is that much of what we think about the Spartans may have been nothing more than propaganda by the Greek historian Herodotus, and much of it from the Spartans themselves.

The Spartan state had a population of slaves known as helots that consisted, at any given time, of a much larger percentage of the population than the free Spartans themselves, and the Spartans felt fear was a good way to keep people in line, which only worked for a time as the helots did ultimately successfully rebel.

Now, when it comes to the facts, the Spartan won-loss record in battle was a little under 50%, which for warriors with such a reputation, is pretty bad. There is still some reason to believe that Spartans had slightly better unit organization and that many of their regular troops were slightly above the regular Greek average in terms of skill, but not to any amazing level. Further, individual skill only mattered for so much, as most battles back then consisted mainly of forming into a phalanx and smashing your soldiers into your enemy counterparts.

5. Scientists Have New Evidence Of City-States Dotting The Maya Lowlands

Back in 2016, surveyors flew over the area that once comprised the Ancient Maya Empire, and used laser imaging to map 830 square miles of the ruins — which is an area larger than the island of Maui. When the surveyors looked at the results, it proved a theory that had fallen out of favor and took their breath away. Many archaeologists had theorized that the Maya, who had an extensive economic and social system, had interconnected city-states dotted throughout the Maya Lowlands. But that theory had started to fall out of favor for lack of direct evidence. 

However, this laser imaging changed everything, and in one fell swoop revealed over 60,000 new potential sites of interest. These included 60 miles of causeways, roads, and canals to connect cities, large maize farms, houses of all sizes, and even defensive fortifications that suggested they had come under attack from the Western edges of their borders. All in all, it has given researchers a wealth of new Maya ruins to explore, and reminded us all just how advanced many ancient civilizations were. 

4. Are The Hanging Gardens Of Babylon Myth, Or Were We Looking In The Wrong Place?

The ancient stories tell of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, built by King Nebuchadnezzar II for his wife Amytis, because she missed the lush gardens of her native lands. They were said to have flowing waterfalls and all types of vegetation, with wonderful aromas of various plants wafting through the air — a magical oasis, in the middle of the desert. Now, the problem is that no evidence has ever been found in the site where Babylon once lay, and all records about it are after-the-fact stories, so some historians have started to believe it is nothing more than a historical mirage in the desert. 

However, Dr. Stephanie Dalley, a research fellow at the Oriental Institute of England’s Oxford University, believes that the only reason we have not found evidence of its existence is because we are looking in the wrong place. According to Dr. Dalley, who is an expert at reading ancient Mesopotamian texts, the Hanging Gardens were actually built in nearby Nineveh by King Sennacherib. Now, this is something that archaeological evidence backs up, as the ruins of Nineveh (Mosul in modern-day Iraq) have remnants of an aqueduct system, artwork depicting lush, hanging gardens, and an inscription from Sennacherib bragging about how he had managed to bring water a long distance. 

3. Homer’s Epics Iliad And Odyssey Were First Written Down By A Woman

Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey combine to create one of the greatest epics of all time, but for all the cultural importance they have had over the years, we know precious little about their actual origination. This is largely because Homer remains a pretty big mystery to historians, other than his being an ancient bard who didn’t actually put pen to paper himself. That second part is quite normal, of course, as most Ancient Greek legends were passed down through oral storytelling and embellished over time. 

The bigger question for many historians is who really transcribed them. Andrew Dalby, the author of “Rediscovering Homer” suggests that it was a woman who finally recorded the stories for posterity. He theorizes that because being a public poet and getting to put on a live performance was a male’s job, they wouldn’t want to give up that position for a long slog writing down a poetic epic, especially since it was unlikely to net them much of a return. He suggests that a rich backer, who would have had to buy all the necessary goatskin, had a woman pen the epics anonymously. 

2. Permanent Human Settlements May Have Predated Ancient Agriculture

One of the most commonly accepted pieces of wisdom when it comes to the rise of human civilization, is that humans only formed communities after they created agriculture, which they did as a necessity. In other words, the human community only exists because we had to stop being nomadic hunter-gatherer raiders who clubbed each other to death over territory, and settle down and grow food instead. However, recent evidence has not only put that theory into question but almost entirely overturned it, at least as any kind of absolute truth. Archaeologists have found evidence of permanent human settlements from hunter-gatherer tribes in the area that is now Israel and Jordan, some dating as far back as 14,000 years ago. 

This suggests that the idea that humans could only come together and stop being loosely connected tribes of a few nomadic hunters (at best) when they had no choice but to work together is nothing more than hokum. Humans are social creatures who generally like being around other humans, and would want to have their company to enjoy whether they needed that arrangement for efficient resource management or not. 

1. Ancient Native Americans Burned Down Many Trees In The Plains States

If you’ve ever visited the area, you might wonder why the Great Plains of the United States have so few trees. Many of the early settlers were so shocked by these long grasslands they were convinced that the plains would be a bad place to grow crops, and often made dangerous trips up to Oregon instead.

The truth is, long before European settlers came to the continent, there is reason to believe the Great Plains were once covered in forestland. As to how most of it disappeared, multiple potential explanations have been put forth. The area, while still getting a lot of rain, has more of a chance to experience temporary drought than many surrounding areas, gets hit by a lot of lightning strikes, which can cause fires, and the Native Americans were known to burn down trees to create land better for grazing for game animals. 

What we don’t know is how much effect the Native Americans’ burning had, as we have no idea how sophisticated their methods were. We also don’t know how big an offender lightning strikes may have been, creating fires that could race across the landscape at speeds of 15-20 kilometers per hour. Either way, the landscape was irreparably altered, and we can only imagine what it once looked like.

The internet seems to run on conspiracy theories. There are so many of them around that you probably have a favorite one of your own. Half of Americans believe at least one medical conspiracy theory, like the FDA, is secretly hiding a cure for cancer. Maybe yours is about who shot JFK. Or if the moon landing was faked. Heck, maybe you think the Earth is secretly flat and the governments of the entire planet have been conspiring to dupe us into thinking it’s round for generations for some reason. 

Out of context, the term conspiracy theory is often used disparagingly. You think of people who believe in conspiracy theories as on the fringe of society, or somehow paranoid and unstable. But numerous conspiracies appeal to people across the board. They don’t adhere to one political ideology. And the fact that some conspiracies are true, like Iran-Contra, bolsters the belief in all the other conspiracies that have not been proven.

Whatever the case, there’s a conspiracy theory for almost everything you can think of and twice as many for stuff you never thought of. But where do these theories come from and how do they gain popularity? Maybe that’s a conspiracy too. Let’s find out. 

How Conspiracy Theories Start

Because so many conspiracy theories take root online these days it offers a unique ability for researchers to discover how these things form and spread. Research has shown that conspiracy theories tend to form very quickly when they’re based around false information, as opposed to genuine conspiracies which take much longer to break down and discover.

While a real conspiracy has many working parts, you can remove any of the elements and the story still makes sense. That’s because it’s a real thing and it really happened. All the ways the conspiracy connects still make sense even if you don’t include this part of that part. However, with a false conspiracy theory, if you remove elements, the entire narrative falls apart because it was never true and doesn’t make sense to begin with.

A good example of how a conspiracy is born is the DMSO conspiracy. This chemical is a waste product of paper production. Manufacturers wondered if it had a purpose and a scientist testing it determined it could be a sort of miracle cure. 

The FDA didn’t want to approve it because this was the 1960s and it happened just after the thalidomide crisis. Drug testing was a relatively new idea, and they were not keen to approve a new drug without proof it was safe and effective. So the FDA would not approve DMSO, which had not been thoroughly tested, and in the media, the story was that the government had banned this miracle cure. Thus, a medical conspiracy is born. 

Conspiracies tend to take root most easily during times of upheaval, confusion, and unrest. In studying over a century of articles and letters in newspapers, researchers found more conspiratorial language and ideas at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, a time with new technology and new ideas being spread around, and then again as the Cold War took off. In that burst of conspiratorial thinking, people were focused heavily on Communism-related conspiracies. 

While it seems like the US is more inclined to conspiracy, that may just be a result of the prevalence of US media and control of social media spaces. Evidence also shows conspiracy theories are widespread in all cultures, making it a solid and reliable aspect of the human experience in general. 

Why We Believe Them

One of the largest studies ever on who believes in conspiracy theories came up with three tendencies that most believers have. They perceived threats and danger. They rely on their intuition and also express “odd” beliefs and experiences, and finally, they tend to be antagonistic and feel superior to others. We’ll dive into all of that. 

Conspiracy theories often give easy answers to complex questions. Even if the conspiracy is not technically “easy,” it may seem vastly complex. But it can boil down to “the government” or “Big Pharma” or some other nefarious cause behind an issue. That simplicity offers security to many people. They feel better now that they “know” why something happened. It also can offer a sense of belonging because the believer is now a part of this inner circle, the truth holders. That’s a comforting thing. 

Tim Wise, a critical race theorist, defined conspiracy theories as being for people who don’t understand how societal systems work. They take an individualist look at society and expect everything to be reduced to good people and bad people and not large, complex systems. It’s easy for these people to reduce a thing to an evildoer instead of historical and complicated traditions and systems that allow for things to happen a certain way. 

Wise also argues a conspiracy gives comfort in the face of things over which we have no control. This is backed up by additional research suggesting that belief in a conspiracy affords the believer a sense of control that they now know something valuable and unique. 

Research has shown that people who do poorly on critical thinking tests, in particular those related to evaluating arguments, are more likely to believe conspiracy theories. Ironically, when you call a story online out as fake or a conspiracy, that label is actually more likely to get people to read and believe other stories that have not been tagged even if it’s the same false info. 

The American Psychological Association identified a number of personality traits and motivators that can make someone more prone to believe. People who believe strongly in their own intuition may be more inclined to be swayed by a conspiracy theory, as are those who feel a strong sense of antagonism or superiority to others. 

Conspiracies allow people, who are by no means unintelligent, to make sense of things that don’t make immediate sense. They need to understand in order to feel safe, and a conspiracy theory can offer that because it gives an easier answer than something that may not be easy at all. 

While safety is a cushy-feeling motivation, the need to feel superior is also a big factor. People want to feel that they, or the community they identify with, is better. Those who strongly believe are often insecure, paranoid, egocentric, emotionally volatile, and suspicious. 

Conspiracy theories start to take hold of people when they’re young. Obviously, older people are just as inclined to spread a conspiracy around, but if you’re wondering when people start believing in conspiracy theories it seems to be around the age of 14. As teens get older their willingness to believe in conspiracies increases with their age. This trend diminishes somewhat into adulthood and reaches a plateau where it no longer increases.

Oldest Conspiracy Theories

The modern world is full of conspiracy theories. There have been conspiracy theories around COVID-19, Donald Trump’s presidency, Jeffrey Epstein, every war that America has been involved in,9/11, and so on. 

You could, of course, go back in time and find conspiracies about whether Tupac Shakur is still alive, whether Elvis is still alive, if Hitler’s brain is in a jar, if Walt Disney froze his head, and so much more. But where did it all begin?

If there’s a first conspiracy theory you’re not likely to ever find it. The first instance of that specific term in writing was from a column in the New York Times in 1863 discussing European affairs in the US. Another dates back to 1870 in The Journal of Mental Science. These are not where the idea comes from, of course. These are just the first times anyone labeled anything as such.

In reality, we can find conspiracies that date back to the Medieval period. Anti-Judaism conspiracies from that period said that Jewish people had conspired with the devil to take back the Holy Land. King Phillip of France in 1307 produced a conspiracy theory to banish the Templars by accusing them of Satan worship and sexual deviancy. It worked, too, and he had them all arrested within a night. 

In the 1800s, American newspapers were rife with conspiracy theories about politics, religion, and more. The Illuminati, the Europeans, witches, and more were being blamed for all manner of social ills. 

In an online world conspiracy theories may seem more prevalent, but they really aren’t as far as anyone can tell. There’s not a lot of research that has been done to try to compare modern conspiracies to ancient ones, but there is enough to suggest that conspiracies have always been a way of life.

The Spread of Conspiracy Theories

There’s more than one reason for someone to spread a conspiracy theory. It’s possible that the person sharing the information genuinely believes what they’re saying. Your uncle Gary may really believe the Earth is flat, and that NASA has been keeping you in the dark. But there’s a second, more nefarious reason as well.

Some conspiracy theories are hatched, and spread, with full knowledge that they are complete lies. The purpose is to sow discord, paranoia, mistrust, and chaos. There are organizations that employ people solely to be trolls on the internet, to share specific hashtags, and stories, and ideas meant to overwhelm and undermine confidence in governments and institutions. They work tirelessly to spread conspiracies, misinformation, and outright lies.

The purpose for spreading these lies is twofold. One, maybe someone truly believes them and has a change of heart. Conspiracy theories do work to bolster people’s opinions even in the face of evidence to the contrary. A 2022 poll found that 29% of Americans believed Joe Biden won the 2020 election due to fraud. That’s a large number that could have a serious impact.

The other reason for the widespread dissemination of conspiracy theories is to overwhelm and undermine. If social media is flooded with conflicting information all the time, the truth will always be watered down. 

In one study related to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated conspiracies, the authors noted that people who feel a national narcissism which is defined as feeling one’s ingroup, in this case, their nation, is exceptional compared to all others and deserves special recognition, spread conspiracies more readily. 

For a national narcissist, COVID-19 showed the weakness of their nation – and it could be any nation affected by the pandemic. It showed a lack of preparedness and an inability to overcome a challenge. That bred conspiracies blaming other countries, poor government systems, politicians, and healthcare workers. Someone had to be the scapegoat. And these conspiracies spread very fast because it was a time of confusion so everyone, national narcissist or not, wanted an explanation and someone to blame. It allows people to defend their sacred national image, and it’s easy because it supports what they want to believe already, whether it’s true or not.

Online communities allow these theories to breed and spread rapidly and intensely. The information shared reinforces the beliefs of those involved so it’s often never questioned. This is likely something we have all experienced online – you are attracted to online forums and communities that deal with your interests and it’s more enjoyable and affirming to see things shared that support what you already believe and feel to be true. 

The theories born on one forum are picked up and shared on another and another as like-minded individuals want to inform those who they share interests with while also challenging those they feel oppose them. They gain legitimacy when high-profile members of the media, online influencers, and even politicians share them. 

In the modern world, social media has allowed for unprecedented spread of misinformation and conspiracy. These theories can be weaponized, intentionally or otherwise, to harm people like when an armed man who fell for the Pizzagate conspiracy that said a non-existent basement below a pizza restaurant was a place where politicians were worshiping Satan and sacrificing children opened fire on the restaurant.

There’s also a lot of money to be made in spreading conspiracies. In September 2024 a number of high-profile right-wing YouTubers were found to have been getting paid large sums of money to spread conspiracy theories and misinformation on behalf of Russia. These influences had millions of followers each making the spread of the conspiracies incredibly fast and wide. 

Fighting Conspiracy Theories

The consensus seems to be that conspiracy theories are on the rise and are potentially becoming more dangerous. Trying to directly talk someone out of believing a conspiracy theory, even if you have evidence to support your point, rarely works.

There are methods to combat conspiracy theories, but they do take time. One thing is to focus on what people “actually” believe. Conspiracies offer comfort, safety, and explanations for most people. Because a believer likely talks to people and visits forums that bolster these beliefs, they’re inclined to think more people believe the conspiracy than actually do. Learning how few people believe a thing, and how many believe the truth, can help bring people back to reality. 

Generally, to get someone away from conspiracy requires receptiveness, patience, and a willingness to not be defensive. That’s why it will probably never work with a stranger on Twitter, but it can be done.

There are far too many celebrity hoaxes as it is. If it isn’t Avril Lavigne being replaced by a doppelganger, then its Jeff Goldblum falling off of a cliff in New Zealand. While these are often laughed about and forgotten very quickly, there are still people out there that believe to have seen The King clear as day and in the rotting flesh. Here are the top 10 places Elvis’s cold, dead feet are supposed to have grace-landed in recent years.

Top 10 Rockers Who Are Better Than Elvis

10 Elvis is an Undercover DEA Agent

During his career, Elvis was known to have worked alongside president Nixon in spreading awareness against drugs. He was even known to have denounced the Beatles for their “hippy” and “anti-American” lifestyle. But rather than dying on the toilet from long term drug-abuse, some sources say that his massive image in american culture was too dangerous for someone with a Bureau of Narcotics badge. So they faked his death to keep him safe, now he appears around the world in various disguises to continue the fight against drugs.^[1]

9 Elvis Is An Extra In Home Alone

In this clip from Home Alone (1990), you can clearly see someone who resembles The King delivers one of his famous head tilts. It’s an uncanny resemblance, right? Actually it’s entirely ‘canny’; the extra used in this scene was confirmed to be none other than Gary Grott.

Grott was a close friend of Home Alone’s director, Christopher Columbus (yes that really is his name) and he appears in several of Columbus’s lesser known films. The head tilt was actually Grott’s best attempt at acting like an annoyed airport civilian. Maybe there’s a reason he never hit the big time. Unfortunately, Gary Grott passed away due to a heart attack in 2016 but as his family can attest, he was said to have enjoyed wearing the suede shoes for awhile. Who knows, maybe Grott is still out there too!^[2]

8 Elvis Is A Groundskeeper In Memphis

If you lived a crazy life as the world’s biggest rock star, you’d most likely end up retiring as an 83 year old groundskeeper. Right? It sounds far fetched, but there is a clinically insane fan base that would tell you otherwise. This clip shows “Elvis” doing various groundskeeper tasks. The real identity of the man in question is still unknown. He does, in fact, wear an Elvis t-shirt. So, by that logic, anyone wearing an Elvis t-shirt right now could very well be The King, Keep your eyes peeled.^[3]

7 Elvis Attended His Own Birthday Party

Photographs surfaced of Elvis’s 82nd birthday celebration in Memphis where a man with similar stature is in attendance. He wears a black baseball cap and glasses, has a bushy white beard and is seemingly accompanied by a small security detail which leads people to believe that Elvis was attending his own birthday in disguise. And if that’s not him, fans will have you believe it’s his stillborn twin, Garon. Although, Garon seems to be brought up any time there is a hole in an Elvis-is-alive argument. If it isn’t Elvis, it’s his brother, who also died.^[4]

6Elvis is in Argentina Under Witness Protection

Shortly after Elvis’s death, there were several claims that he was seen checking into a Memphis airport under the name John Burrows, which was an alias he was said to have used throughout his career. The plane was set for Argentina and as an Argentinian military member once claimed, a Pan Am flight did land there in 1977. With the knowledge that Elvis had a relationship with American government and a Bureau of Narcotics badge, an attempt to infiltrate a criminal organization called “The Fraternity” went sour. Elvis was found to be a mole for the government and was quickly escorted out of the country.^[5]

5 Elvis Is At Home, Kickin’ It By The Pool

Yep, you read correctly. In 1978, there was a heated debate surrounding a photograph that was taken by a poolside in Graceland. It shows a pool house screen door with a familiar face lurking behind it. The photograph even made it on CNN as Larry King and several other people involved went back and forth discussing its legitimacy. The photograph was taken by Mike Joseph who initially claimed it to be The King but later went back on his statement saying he had met with two of Elvis’s friends who were able to confirm that the photograph was not of Elvis, but of his cousin Jimmy, whom Elvis never got along with.^[6]

4 Elvis is Sending Roses To His Exes

What would you do if everyone thought you were dead? Mess with people’s heads is the only correct answer. Only a day after Elvis’s death, Lucy De Barbin, one of his ex girlfriends, received a single rose in the mail sent by none other than El Lancelot. This was apparently her odd term of endearment for Elvis and is a name only she would have been able to recognize. We are only left to assume that this was his way of telling his loved ones that he was not dead.^[7]

3 Elvis Escaped In A Helicopter

In a novel titled The Presley Arrangement, Monte Nicholson describes an experience he had working with the Los Angeles Police Department. He was informed that not only was there a suspicious helicopter hovering over Graceland the night of Elvis’s death, but that there were photographs taken of Presley himself getting into that helicopter from earlier. Some theorize that somehow, Elvis was replaced with a wax figure look alike moments before he was found dead. Could he have made the switcheroo?^[8]

2 Elvis Is A Ghost That Talks Through People

An entire book was written by Hanz Holzer about a housewife from New Jersey who claims that Elvis could speak through her and to his family. Elvis even pops up in modern day articles where people with psychic abilities decide to take on messages from the Late King. One including someone named Amy, or as she is also referred to as “The Closet Clairvoyant.” In the article titled, “Conversations With Dead People: A Medium’s Session With Elvis Presley” Elvis is quite the chatterbox. He rattles off some obvious buzzwords like, “sugar” and “honey.” Or maybe that’s just what was in the room at the time.^[9]

1 Elvis Is In Vegas

Elvis comes in droves if you’re in Vegas. They’ve got old Elvis, young Elvis, short Elvis, fat Elvis. What better place for an Elvis to retire and stay hidden than a city full of people pretending to be Elvis? I have my own personal theory that if he were to be alive to this day, he would be smart enough to hide in plain sight. Of all the theories you’ve heard today, which one sounds the most believable? Just sayin. We will most likely never know whether Elvis has truly left the building or not.^[10]

About the Author: I play in a San Diego rock and roll band called Lefties. @lefties_sd on media platforms. I’ve always had top 10 lists rolling around in my abstract head, its nice to have an opportunity to drain my brain.