Welcome to our roundup of the most twisted notable exploitation films – a daring dive into cinema’s most audacious, boundary‑pushing titles.

Twisted Notable Films Overview

From cult classics that sparked entire subgenres to outrageous low‑budget marvels that still make heads spin, these ten movies prove that sometimes the most shocking cinema comes from the fringes.

10 Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls

Starring: Erica Gavin, John LaZar
Director: Russ Meyer

Celebrated schlockmeister Russ Meyer churned out a staggering number of films that often traded polished production values for sheer audacity and taboo‑busting content. His emphasis on quantity over quality, coupled with a love for shocking material, turned him into a cult favorite and inadvertently opened doors for future talent like Francis Ford Coppola (who directed the horror flick Dementia 13 for Corman) and James Cameron (whose debut feature was the Corman‑produced Piranja II).

This satirical melodrama is one of Corman’s most celebrated features for an unbelievable reason – legendary film critic Roger Ebert co‑wrote the screenplay. Ebert never shied away from discussing his brief dabbling with exploitation screenwriting, even if he wasn’t exactly proud of the outcome.

9 Shivers

Starring: Paul Hampton, Lynn Lowry
Director: David Cronenberg

Shivers delivers an alien parasite infestation story that feels like a feverish nightmare about a venereal‑disease‑themed outbreak. The film is disturbingly graphic, gruesome, and undeniably well‑crafted – hallmarks of a director who would soon become a horror legend.

Adding to its pedigree, the movie was produced by Ivan Reitman, the future director of Ghostbusters and its sequel, among other beloved comedies. Reitman’s partnership with Cronenberg continued with the follow‑up Rabid, which featured adult‑film icon Marilyn Chambers.

8 Pink Flamingos

Starring: Divine, David Lochary
Director: John Waters

Artist John Waters never shied away from shock value, and Pink Flamingos stands as his most notorious early work. While later titles like Cry‑Baby (featuring a young Johnny Depp) and Serial Mom have a slightly more mainstream sheen, Pink Flamingos dives headfirst into the grotesque.

Featuring drag‑queen icon Divine as a criminal on the run, the film pushes boundaries so far that it was released without a rating. Its surreal, darkly comic tone makes it a must‑see for exploitation fans—provided you can stomach the unforgettable final scene.

7 Super Fly

Starring: Ron O’Neal, Sheila Frazier
Director: Gordon Parks, Jr.

The blaxploitation branch of B‑cinema unearthed a treasure trove of daring, extreme storytelling, birthing stars like Fred “The Hammer” Williamson and Pam Grier. Director Gordon Parks, Jr.—son of the man behind the seminal Shaft—crafted perhaps the genre’s finest entry with Super Fly, a hard‑hitting pimp saga anchored by Ron O’Neal’s magnetic performance.

Equally noteworthy is the soundtrack: Curtis Mayfield’s debut solo project, delivering one of the era’s most acclaimed funk scores, cementing the film’s legacy both on screen and in music history.

6 The Toxic Avenger

Starring: Mitch Cohen, Mark Torgl
Director: Michael Herz, Lloyd Kaufman

Arguably the most unapologetically shameless filmmaker on this list (aside from Corman), Lloyd Kaufman heads Troma Studios, a powerhouse of wildly eclectic low‑budget cinema. The Toxic Avenger catapulted the studio into a faint spotlight, delivering perhaps its most coherent and polished effort.

When a bullied janitor tumbles into a vat of toxic waste and emerges with super‑powers, the result is a bizarre symphony of cartoonish violence and over‑the‑top characters. First‑time genre fans should experience it at least once to grasp the bonkers foundation that Troma built upon.

5 Caligula

Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren
Director: Tinto Brass

Caligula stands as the most singularly bizarre entry on this list, being the only feature film produced by men’s magazine Penthouse. Shot by Italian auteur Tinto Brass, the movie includes explicit scenes filmed by Penthouse publisher Bob Guccione himself.

Despite its explicit nature, Caligula boasts an all‑star pedigree: scripted by Gore Vidal and featuring Malcolm McDowell, Peter O’Toole, Helen Mirren, and John Gielgud (the latter two holding the acting “Triple Crown” of Oscar, Tony, and Emmy). Though savaged by critics—including Roger Ebert—the film has since earned cult status and is praised for its artistic ambition.

4 Cannibal Holocaust

Starring: Robert Kerman, Francesca Ciardi
Director: Ruggero Deodato

If the title rings a bell, it’s because this notorious film pioneered a new genre: the found‑footage horror. The story follows a documentary crew that vanishes in the Amazon, with the second half presented as recovered footage—making it the first true found‑footage feature, a concept later popularized by The Blair Witch Project nearly two decades later.

Equally infamous are the gruesome special effects, so realistic that director Ruggero Deodato was summoned to an Italian court to recreate them on set and prove no real deaths occurred. Though cleared, the film was banned in several countries and remains a brutal experience for the faint‑hearted.

3 Thriller: A Cruel Picture

Starring: Christina Lindberg, Heinz Hopf
Director: Bo Arne Vibenius

Quentin Tarantino once called this the “roughest revenge picture” he’d ever seen. The plot follows a mute young woman forced into heroin addiction and prostitution, who exacts brutal vengeance on her tormentors. Director Bo Arne Vibenius set out to create “the most commercial picture of all time” and spectacularly missed the mark.

Loaded with shockingly graphic violence and sex, the film sparked rumors—including an alleged use of an actual cadaver for an eye‑stabbing scene. Marketed also as They Call Her One‑Eye, it directly inspired later exploitation titles such as Tarantino’s own Kill Bill.

2 I Spit On Your Grave

Starring: Camilla Keaton, Richard Pace
Director: Meir Zarchi

Although Meir Zarchi aimed to deliver a powerful statement on sexual violence and feminism, the 1978 cult classic—originally titled The Day of the Woman and later renamed I Spit On Your Grave—remains one of the most controversial and infamous exploitation films ever made.

Writer‑protagonist Jennifer Hills (portrayed by Camille Keaton) is brutally assaulted at her isolated cottage by a group of deranged locals. Surviving the attack, she embarks on a revenge spree that eclipses the original violence in sheer brutality. Roger Ebert famously dismissed the film as “a vile bag of garbage… one of the most depressing experiences of my life,” though not all critics were as scathing. Regardless, the film lingers long after the credits roll.

1 Blood Feast

Starring: Mal Arnold, Lyn Bolton
Director: Herschell Gordon Lewis

Finally, we arrive at the grandfather of exploitation cinema. 1963’s Blood Feast holds the distinction of being the oldest entry on the UK’s Video Nasty list. Director Herschell Gordon Lewis set out to shatter the era’s cinematic conventions, delivering a tale of a psychotic caterer who incorporates his victims into meals as a sacrificial offering to an Egyptian goddess.

Lewis, feeling “cheated” by the lack of gore in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, pioneered graphic blood and gore that would become a staple of the genre. His subsequent career produced legendary titles like The Wizard of Gore and Two Thousand Maniacs!, cementing his influence on modern horror. Lewis proudly became the first filmmaker to show what no one else dared to.

Kids’ movies are meant to be lighthearted adventures with clear morals, but the twisted fan community loves to dig deeper, uncovering hidden meanings and bizarre backstories that turn these classics on their heads.

Twisted Fan Theories Unveiled

10 Donkey Is From Pleasure Island

Photo credit: Dreamworks

Shrek’s lovable sidekick Donkey stole the spotlight for many viewers back in 2001, and his comedic timing still fuels endless jokes. Fifteen years later a wild theory surfaced that ties his origins to Disney’s classic Pinocchio. In the 1940 film, naughty boys who end up on Pleasure Island are transformed into donkeys. The speculation suggests that Donkey was once a misbehaving boy sent to that very island and turned into the chatty animal we all know.

The link feels plausible because Pinocchio himself makes a cameo in the Shrek universe, so a donkey from the same magical island wouldn’t be out of place. Moreover, Donkey is the only major character in the Shrek saga who doesn’t stem from a traditional fairy‑tale or nursery‑rhyme, reinforcing the idea that his backstory lies elsewhere.

9 Calhoun Killed Her Fiance

Photo credit: Walt Disney Pictures

In Wreck‑It Ralph, the tough-as‑nails Sergeant Calhoun seems unstoppable—until fans uncover a darker layer to her past. The theory claims that before the events of the film she was engaged to be married, only for her fiancé to be brutally murdered and devoured by a cy‑bug on their wedding day.

The twist deepens when you consider that the cy‑bug inherits the traits of anything it consumes. According to the theory, after the bug swallowed Calhoun’s fiancé, it also absorbed his essence. When Calhoun later blasts the bug in a fit of fury, she inadvertently shoots the very essence of her own fiancé, effectively ending his life herself.

8 Riley Was Adopted And Missing An Emotion

Photo credit: Pixar

Inside Out gave audiences a colorful tour of a young girl’s mind, but some fans have taken the premise even further. One theory posits that Riley is missing an entire emotion—represented by the orange hue on Bing Bong’s jacket—and that this absent feeling will surface when she reaches her teenage years. The missing emotion is rumored to be lust.

Another strand of speculation suggests that Riley’s internal struggle isn’t just about growing up; it hints at an unresolved sexual identity. The theory points out that Riley simultaneously houses both male and female emotions, while her parents each display only one gendered emotion, implying a deeper narrative about her personal discovery.

Adding to the intrigue, a separate fan argument claims Riley was adopted. The clue? In the opening scene, Riley’s mother stands upright while speaking to the newborn, a posture that seems unlikely if she had just given birth, suggesting a possible adoption storyline.

7 Elsa And Rapunzel Are Sisters

Photo credit: Walt Disney Pictures

Fans love to connect Disney universes, and one of the most audacious ideas links the icy queen Elsa from Frozen with the long‑haired princess Rapunzel from Tangled. The premise starts with the notion that Elsa and Anna’s parents were en route to Rapunzel and Flynn’s wedding when a storm sank their ship.

Supporters note that when Tangled premiered in 2010, Rapunzel was said to be 18. Frozen arrived three years later, with Elsa being 21, meaning both characters would have been 18 at the same time. The theory also emphasizes visual cues: both characters are left‑handed and share similar facial features, fueling speculation that they could be sisters—or even twins.

6 Boo Becomes A Witch

Photo credit: Dreamworks

A sprawling fan theory stitches together the worlds of Monsters, Inc. and Brave by suggesting that the adorable toddler Boo matures into the witch who confronts Merida. The first “clue” appears when Sully shuts the door on Boo, only to turn around and find her standing outside again, hinting at magical abilities.

Proponents argue that Monsters, Inc. takes place in a far‑future setting, giving Boo enough time to master time‑travel magic. She supposedly journeys back to the era of the will‑o‑the‑wisps—Brave’s time period—where she opens a carpentry shop, complete with a carving of Sully as a nod to her origins. The wooden doors from the monster world serve as a symbolic bridge between the two films.

5 Big Hero 6 Characters Are Genetically Linked To Frozen Characters

Photo credit: Walt Disney Pictures

When the Easter egg of Lilo & Stitch popped up in Big Hero 6, fans began hunting for deeper connections across the Disney‑Pixar universe. One theory suggests Aunt Cass might be a descendant of Princess Anna from Frozen. The claim rests on shared habits: both characters tend to eat when they’re stressed or excited and habitually tuck their hair behind their ears.

Another link points to Fred’s father, Stan Lee, who allegedly resembles Prince Hans from Frozen, with a garden statue echoing Hans’s likeness. Finally, Honey Lemon’s bright, expressive demeanor and blonde hair have led fans to speculate she could be a modern‑day descendant of Rapunzel, tying Big Hero 6 back to Tangled.

4 Pinocchio, Peter Pan And The Princess And The Frog Are Linked

Photo credit: Walt Disney Pictures

Three beloved classics—Peter Pan, Pinocchio, and The Princess and the Frog—share a hidden thread, according to a fan‑crafted theory. In Peter Pan, aspiring travelers head toward “the second star to the right and straight on.” In Pinocchio, Geppetto’s wish upon a star brings the Blue Fairy to life. In The Princess and the Frog, Ray’s spirit becomes a shining star after his death.

The theory proposes that the Blue Fairy’s true name is Evangeline, and she is the same celestial entity that created Neverland after granting Peter Pan’s wish. Consequently, the “second star to the right” serves as a magical portal powered by Evangeline. Ray’s post‑mortem star then orbits alongside the North Star, fulfilling his wish to reunite with Evangeline.

3 Ice Age Is Set In The Future

Photo credit: Dreamworks

A Reddit thread sparked a bold theory that the Ice Age franchise actually unfolds far in the future, after humanity resurrects dinosaurs using recovered DNA and later launches a space program. A catastrophic nuclear war follows, plunging the surviving few into a nuclear winter that mirrors the series’ perpetual cold.

Supporters point out that humans appear only in the first film, and the timeline doesn’t align with known history. They also cite the bizarre plant that attempts to devour Manny and Diego as a possible product of wartime genetic engineering. Additionally, the ever‑present Scrat is argued to be a cloned specimen created for entertainment, rather than the original squirrel we meet throughout the series.

2 Mufasa Became A Demi‑God

Photo credit: Walt Disney Pictures

After Scar’s treachery claims Mufasa’s life, a fan theory elevates the fallen king to demi‑god status, granting him control over the skies. The first hint appears when Mufasa shapes clouds into his own specter to counsel Simba. The drought that plagues Pride Rock is then interpreted as Mufasa deliberately withholding rain to heighten the tension between the lions and Scar’s hyena allies.

Once Simba defeats Scar and restores order, the clouds burst into rain—an act attributed to Mufasa’s renewed benevolence, confirming his celestial influence over the weather.

1 Carl Died In The Beginning Of Up

Photo credit: Pixar

A melancholy theory suggests that Carl’s journey in Up isn’t a physical adventure at all, but a metaphysical passage through the afterlife. According to the speculation, Ellie’s death is followed shortly by Carl’s own passing—prompted by a notice that forces him into a retirement home.

In this view, the film becomes a visual representation of Carl’s soul navigating the afterlife, with Russell acting as his guardian angel. Russell’s childlike appearance aligns with the idea that Carl and Ellie never had children, allowing him to assume a youthful guide role. The familiar house they cling to represents the last tangible link to the material world, while the soaring Paradise Falls symbolizes heaven.

The sugary‑sweet sounds of Korean pop might make you think of catchy hooks, but underneath lie dark secrets that most fans never see.

Dark Secrets Behind the Glitter

10 Stars Sign ‘Slave Contracts’ When They’re Children

K‑Pop idols don’t just walk into a studio and start singing; they’re shackled to contracts that were signed when they were barely teenagers. Agencies lock aspiring stars into a decade‑long “boot camp” that usually begins at ages ten to thirteen, meaning they spend ten years training before they’re ever allowed to record a single note.

These so‑called “slave contracts” can stretch as long as thirteen years, binding performers to the agency well after their fame fades. The agreements hand over almost nothing to the trainees – in some cases, the young hopefuls even have to pay the agency for the first ten years of training. If a star tries to walk away, the penalty can be three times the amount the company invested, which often exceeds the total earnings the artist has ever made.

Legal battles have begun to chip away at the worst of these practices, but many adult idols are still stuck with contracts they signed as children, and the system remains primed to ensure the next dark secret on this list unfolds.

9 Managers Pimp Out Their Stars

The scandal that rocked South Korea in 2009 began with the tragic suicide of actress Jang Ja‑yeon, who left a note describing how her manager forced her to service powerful executives. Police later uncovered a hidden “sex room” on the third floor of her agency’s building – essentially a brothel built right into the office.

That case was far from isolated. Two‑thirds of Korean women in the entertainment industry report being pressured to exchange sex for career advancement. As one anonymous trainee put it, “You have to know men in order to work.” The dark secret here is that such exploitation is often treated as an industry norm.

8 One In Three Stars Have Been Sexually Assaulted

Even if a trainee vows to protect her virtue, the odds of sexual assault remain alarmingly high. A survey revealed that roughly one‑third of Korean aspiring stars have been molested by someone in the industry.

One infamous predator was talent coach Jang Suk‑woo of Open World Entertainment. He oversaw boot‑camp trainees and turned them into his personal harem, drugging girls’ drinks, raping them while unconscious, and even coercing male trainees to gang‑rape victims on camera. More than twenty victims filed rape charges, many of them minors.

Jang eventually landed behind bars, but his case is just the tip of the iceberg. The same 33 % of women who reported assault often stay silent, especially if they were expelled before achieving stardom.

7 Stars Are Forced To Get Plastic Surgery

Contracts in the K‑Pop world frequently contain a clause that mandates plastic surgery. It’s not just a women’s issue – male idols are also required to undergo procedures, often a simple nose job, before they can even step into a training room.

South Korea’s cosmetic‑surgery culture is so pervasive that half of all women undergo a procedure by their twenties, with double‑eyelid surgery being the most common. For an aspiring idol, the expectation is to completely remodel one’s face to match an almost unattainable standard of perfection.

A journalist who surveyed a handful of trainees found that most simply accepted the demand, replying, “It’s a good thing to become prettier.” The dark secret here is the industry’s unquestioned acceptance of surgical alteration as a prerequisite for success.

6 K‑Pop Stars Don’t Make Any Money

Until a song tops the charts, many idols see virtually no income. They often live in cramped dorms, surviving on microwaved noodles. Even well‑known groups have struggled financially. A member of Girls’ Generation once revealed she spent eleven years in boot camp surviving solely on her parents’ charity.

Block B, once a top‑selling act, disclosed that their agency hadn’t paid them for over a year, forcing their families to cover a $65,000 agency debt without ever receiving a penny back.

Desperate for revenue, some groups resort to provocative concepts. The girl group Stellar resorted to “erotic” music videos, exposing thongs and dribbling milk from their mouths, after sharing a single serving of food among four members for months. One member confessed, “When we didn’t have skin exposure, nobody even knew we released a new song.”

5 Boot Camp Trainees Have To Work As Servants

For the roughly ten‑year grind that aspiring idols endure, life often resembles servitude. Trainees are barred from smartphones, dating, and any social life until they produce a hit. Beyond endless vocal and dance drills, they’re relegated to menial chores.

Jo Kwon, a former trainee, recalled being forced to brew coffee for executives, run odd jobs, and scrub basement floors. South Korean law only began to recognize basic rights in 2014, promising “the right to learn, rest and sleep.” The law caps work at 35 hours per week for those under fifteen, but an exception allows agencies to extend hours when travel is involved.

Because contracts can be terminated at any moment, trainees live in constant insecurity. “You feel insecure every day,” one star warned, “you may be kicked out of the company one day.”

4 Managers Blackmail Their Clients

When an idol finally earns enough to consider a better deal, agencies often hold compromising material as leverage. One manager discovered a male client’s hidden sexuality, installed a hidden camera, hired a man to seduce him, and filmed the encounter. He then blackmailed the star’s parents for $500,000, threatening to release the video.

Big‑name singers aren’t immune. Baek Ji‑young was secretly filmed having sex, and when she tried to switch contracts, the manager leaked the footage online, shattering her career. The same blackmailer, Kim Seok‑jin, later fled to the United States and was only apprehended after being caught committing statutory rape.

3 Bribery Is Rampant

Beyond coercion, agencies routinely grease palms to secure airtime. When a new idol’s debut song needs radio play, it’s common practice to deliver a bribe directly to a TV network. As one executive bluntly admitted, “Bribing is marketing. With the least amount of money, you get the most effect.”

Investigations have uncovered executives lugging wadded‑up cash bags into network offices, and some agents justify the practice by comparing it to buying drinks: “Sometimes we spend $3,300 drinking with four‑five guys, sometimes we don’t have time, so we just give them $1,600.”

2 Taxi Services Help Fans Stalk K‑Pop Stars

When an idol finally breaks through, a new threat emerges: obsessive fans. In Korea, the phenomenon is known as “sasaeng,” and entire businesses exist to facilitate stalking. For about $100, a fan can hire a “sasaeng taxi” that follows their favorite star around 24/7.

The danger is real. A fleet of sasaeng taxis once chased Super Junior so closely that they caused a six‑car pileup, nearly killing the group. Other invasions of privacy include phones being tapped, hidden cameras in parking lots, and even thieves breaking into homes to steal underwear.

The most bizarre case involved the group JYJ receiving letters written in menstrual blood – multiple fans each sending a crimson missive to the idols.

1 ‘Anti‑Fans’ Try To Murder Them

Beyond adoring fans, some individuals actively wish harm upon idols. One fan slipped a toxic adhesive into singer Yunho’s drink, landing him in the emergency room. The trauma left him wary of trusting anyone again.

Perhaps the most infamous campaign targeted rapper Tablo (real name Daniel Lee). After he claimed a Stanford degree, a wave of anti‑fans launched a conspiracy that he stole someone else’s credentials, sending death threats, lie accusations, and even harassing his mother with vile messages. The pressure forced Tablo to step away from music for years, fearing for his children’s safety.

These relentless attacks illustrate how the dark secrets of the K‑Pop world extend far beyond the stage, reaching into the very lives of those who create the music.

Not every monster gets its just deserts. In this top 10 sick roundup we dive into the darkest corners of the legal system, where loopholes, technicalities, and bizarre standards have let some truly twisted people slip back into everyday life. Buckle up for a wild ride through necrophilia, cannibalism, school shootings, and more – all the while wondering how these monsters managed to walk free.

Why These top 10 sick Cases Matter

10 Carl Tanzler

Carl Tanzler became infatuated with his patient, Elena de Hoyos, just as she was dying. Rather than accept death, he bought her burial plot, pocketed the key, and later exhumed her body, smuggling it straight into his own home.

Using plaster, wire, and wax, Tanzler turned Elena into a macabre, lifelike tableau, propping her up in his bedroom. He spent nights beside the corpse, constantly replacing decaying parts, outfitting her with fresh clothing, and even fashioning a paper tube as a makeshift vagina.

It took seven long years before a neighbor finally caught sight of Tanzler dancing with the corpse at his window. By that time, the statute of limitations had run out, leaving the courts powerless. Tanzler walked away without a single charge for his necrophilic obsession.

He even begged Elena’s family to hand over her remains. When they refused, he crafted a life‑size effigy anyway and spent the rest of his days cohabiting with a mannequin of his dead lover.

9 Rick Gibson

Rick Gibson isn’t a painter; he’s a performance artist who prefers to feast on human tissue in broad daylight.

In 1988 he bought a friend’s tonsils, strutted into a bustling market, and chewed them while holding a sign that proclaimed his cannibalism. A year later he escalated, swallowing fresh human testicles in front of the Lewisham Clock Tower.

Because English law doesn’t specifically outlaw cannibalism, and because Gibson legally purchased the body parts, the only penalty he faced was a modest £500 fine for indecency when he fashioned earrings from fetal remains.

His antics didn’t stop there. In 1989 he attempted to squash a live rat for a painting, but a vigilante crowd intervened, rescuing the animal before he could carry out his grotesque act.

8 Father Mario Cimmarrusti

During the 1960s and 70s, Father Mario Cimmarrusti abused more than 250 teenage boys, most aged 13‑18, and never spent a single night behind bars.

He would summon boys for “medical examinations,” only to spank them, force their faces into his groin, and humiliate them with threats, all while the abuse continued unchecked.

The Catholic hierarchy was aware; witnesses reported priests walking in on Cimmarrusti’s assaults and simply walking away without comment.

When the accusations finally surfaced in 1992, he openly admitted to the abuse during a psychological evaluation. However, the statute of limitations had already expired, allowing him to walk away free. He lived out his remaining years peacefully, passing away at 82 in 2013.

7 James Sligo Jameson

In 1890 the heir to the Jameson Whiskey fortune, James Sligo Jameson, decided to sponsor a grotesque spectacle: he purchased a ten‑year‑old girl as a slave solely to watch her being devoured by cannibals.

Jameson joined an expedition to the Congo under the guise of humanitarian aid, but his true fascination lay with cannibalism. He paid a local tribe six handkerchiefs for the girl, then presented her to a cannibal tribe, declaring, “A gift from a white man who wishes to see her eaten.”

The girl was bound to a tree, her abdomen slit open, and left to bleed out before being dismembered and consumed. Jameson observed the whole ordeal, later sketching the horror in watercolor.

When the story broke, Jameson sent his account to the press, never disputing the facts. He only clarified that his sketches were drawn from memory after the event.

6 Vince Li

In 2008, aboard a Greyhound bus, Vince Li stabbed and beheaded Tim McLean, a complete stranger, then proceeded to cannibalize his flesh while terrified passengers fled.

Because Li was deemed criminally insane, he was sent to a mental institution rather than prison. Canadian law grants such patients a full release once they no longer pose a threat.

By 2016 Li was living independently, initially subject to daily medication checks. By February 2017 those checks ceased entirely, leaving him completely free without supervision.

When Tim McLean’s mother learned of Li’s unrestricted freedom, she could only say, “I have no comment today. I have no words.”

5 Mitchell Johnson And Andrew Golden

In 1998, teenage duo Mitchell Johnson (13) and Andrew Golden (11) stole nine firearms and a crate of ammunition, setting up an ambush outside a middle school in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Golden triggered the fire alarm, and as children streamed out, the pair opened fire, killing four kids and an adult.

Johnson’s criminal record already included molesting a two‑year‑old girl a year earlier, a crime he never denied yet faced no jail time. For the school shooting, the two received only seven years, as juvenile law capped their sentences until they turned 21.

The age‑based system, meant to protect youth, paradoxically let both boys walk free far earlier than most adult perpetrators, with Golden actually serving a longer term due to being younger.

Since release, Johnson has cycled in and out of prison, while Golden remains out, making them the only U.S. school shooters who have been allowed to roam free.

4 William Seabrook

Writer William Seabrook was obsessed with the occult, especially voodoo zombies, and his work helped cement the modern zombie mythos.

In the 1920s he traveled to West Africa, begging a tribal chief to let him join a cannibalistic rite. The chief duped him, offering only gorilla meat, but Seabrook refused to settle for anything less than human flesh.

Back home, he enlisted a hospital worker to smuggle out human remains, then hosted a dinner party where guests were invited to watch him consume the flesh. Since eating human tissue wasn’t illegal, he faced no charges and even chronicled the taste in his books.

His private life was equally unsettling: he kept wives and mistresses chained for days, whipping them and forcing them to eat off the floor like animals. Yet, none of these acts broke any law, allowing him to live his entire life unencumbered.

3 Pedro Lopez

Pedro Lopez spent 14 years behind bars for a staggering tally of over 300 murders and rapes, primarily targeting girls aged nine to twelve.

He abducted, raped, strangled, and buried his victims in mass graves. After his 1980 arrest in Ecuador, he confessed to the killings, and authorities uncovered a mass grave confirming his claims. He received a 16‑year sentence but was released early for good behavior.

Following his release, he was transferred to a Colombian mental health facility, only to be discharged after three years when deemed fit to rejoin society.

Almost immediately after gaining freedom, Lopez fled the country, and it is believed he continued killing. He remains a wanted man for a post‑release murder, but his whereabouts are unknown.

2 Karla Homolka

Karla Homolka, alongside Paul Bernardo, became one of Canada’s most infamous serial killers, confessing to the rape and murder of at least three women, though many suspect the body count is higher.

Her gruesome spree began with the drugging of her teenage sister, presenting her as a “wedding gift” to Bernardo. Together they raped and murdered her, filmed the atrocity, and repeated similar crimes with other young girls. Bernardo received a life sentence, while Homolka struck a plea deal, serving just 12 years before her 2005 release.

Since gaining freedom, Homolka married, bore three children, and now lives in a Quebec town. Her kids attend a public school, surrounded by teachers and parents fully aware of their mother’s horrific past, bearing the indirect burden of her crimes.

1 Issei Sagawa

In 1981, after years of suppressing cannibalistic urges, Issei Sagawa lured a classmate to his Paris apartment, shot her in the neck, and proceeded to dismember and eat portions of her flesh before raping the corpse.

Police caught him as he tried to transport the body in suitcases to a lake. He confessed fully, stating, “I killed her to eat her flesh.” French courts deemed him insane and unfit for trial, sending him back to Japan.

When Japanese authorities received him, the French refused to share case documents, leaving Japan without evidence. Consequently, Sagawa was released without charge.

He later turned his notoriety into a career, giving interviews, writing books glorifying the act, and openly declaring his desire to repeat the cannibalism, saying, “There’s no doubt in my mind that I want to eat human flesh again. It’s delicious stuff.”

Welcome to a deep dive into the 10 twisted facts that surround necrophilia, the ultimate taboo that sits alongside pedophilia and incest in the realm of forbidden desires. This macabre fascination blends psychology, ancient myth, and modern crime, offering a chilling yet compelling look at a subject most prefer to ignore.

10 It’s Hardly A Mental Disorder

According to the American DSM‑5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition), necrophilia does not earn its own dedicated slot as a stand‑alone mental illness. Instead, it is tucked under the broader umbrella of paraphilias – a category that captures sexual interests directed toward people or objects that fall outside the realm of consensual adult genital stimulation.

The only genuine reason necrophilia appears on the list is that a corpse cannot give consent. Beyond that, the phenomenon is not as psychologically alien as our horror would suggest; after all, a dead person was once alive, whereas an inanimate object never was. Pinning down exactly why necrophilia might be classified as a disorder has proved tricky. Martin Kafka, in his paper “The DSM Diagnostic Criteria for Paraphilia Not Otherwise Specified,” notes a dearth of fresh data beyond a 1989 study by Rosman and Resnick.

Kafka quotes the study, stating: “Necrophilia could be considered as a fetish variant as the sexualized object of desire is ‘nonliving’ but, in my opinion, there are insufficient data to empirically support this change to include Necrophilia as a subtype of Fetishism. Necrophilia can be accompanied by ‘sadistic acts’ and sexually motivated murder, certainly not behaviors associated with Fetishism as it has been currently defined.” In other words, the only real justification for labeling necrophilia a fetish is its lack of consent – a rather flimsy hinge to lean on.

9 It Is A Paraphilia

Paraphilias become classified as mental disorders only when they substantially interfere with a person’s life – much like alcohol isn’t deemed alcoholism until it causes real trouble. These atypical interests can involve objects (shoes, appliances, food, clothing) or acts (exhibitionism, bondage, etc.).

The catalog of paraphilias stretches across human history, but a condition only earns the “disorder” badge when it is recurrent, intense, lasts at least six months, and creates significant distress or functional impairment. This distinction matters: not everyone who enjoys a spanking or leather is “mentally ill.” For necrophilia, the legal prohibition is the primary driver behind its disorder classification.

When many think of necrophilia, the name Ted Bundy springs to mind. Yet the 1989 Rosman‑Resnick study revealed that 57 percent of participants worked in occupations granting them access to corpses. This raises a provocative question: are these individuals truly necrophilic, or merely taking advantage of the opportunity their jobs provide? Which comes first – the urge or the chance?

8 Psychopathia Sexualis

The term necrophilia first appeared by name in 1850, credited to Belgian psychiatrist Joseph Guislain. However, the seminal work Psychopathia Sexualis (1886) by Richard von Krafft‑Ebing offers the earliest detailed exposition, probing the question of mental soundness.

Krafft‑Ebing wrote that an “abnormal and decidedly perverse sensuality” is required to overcome humanity’s natural repugnance toward corpses and permit pleasure with a cadaver. He further observed: “Unfortunately, in the majority of the cases reported, the mental condition was not examined; so that the question whether necrophilia is compatible with mental soundness must remain open. But anyone having knowledge of the horrible aberrations of the sexual instinct would not venture, without further consideration, to answer the question in the negative.”

Thus, while a necrophile may be labeled a “freak” by popular imagination, that label does not automatically equate to insanity. The line between deviant desire and mental illness remains blurred.

7 There Are Four Types

Even the most grotesque fetish can be parsed into sub‑categories. Rosman and Resnick identified four distinct necrophilic typologies: homicidal necrophiles, “regular” necrophiles, fantasizers, and pseudo‑necrophiles (also called pseudo‑necrophilic killers). Each type carries its own statistical profile.

For instance, 68 percent of necrophiles express a desire for a partner who cannot reject them in any way. Even more unsettling, 42 percent of those studied had actually committed homicide to secure a body for their urges. Conversely, 21 percent cited a longing for a “union with a lost love,” hinting at a more mournful motivation.

Only 15 percent fell neatly into the category of individuals whose primary attraction is simply the dead body itself – a surprisingly low figure given the overall definition of necrophilia.

6 It’s A Guy Thing

Gender plays a stark role in necrophilic behavior. The Rosman‑Resnick sample showed that 95 percent of necrophiles were male, and every recorded necrophilic homicide was perpetrated by a man. Women appeared only in the “regular necrophilia” subgroup, accounting for 15 percent of that subset.

This imbalance suggests that opportunity may precede motive: men working in corpse‑related fields (mortuary assistants, undertakers) encounter the chance to act on necrophilic fantasies, and many take it. Female necrophiles are exceedingly rare, though notable cases exist.

One 2013 American case involved a woman obsessed with necrophilia who persuaded two male accomplices to murder two men so she could have sex with the live victims atop the freshly killed bodies. The woman, identified as Alissa Massaro (sometimes spelled Alisa), later accepted a reduced sentence in exchange for testifying against her co‑conspirators and was released in 2018 after serving less than four years.

5 Necrophilic Homicide

The most terrifying variant is necrophilic homicide, where a perpetrator murders a victim specifically to satisfy a sexual compulsion. The sheer horror lies in the combination of violent murder and post‑mortem sexual activity.

Even Sigmund Freud reportedly exclaimed, “Enough of this horror!” when confronted with the phenomenon. Although sensationalized in media, such cases remain rare, often involving serial killers or deranged individuals who kill, dispose of the body, and later retrieve it to relive the act or engage in repeated sexual contact.

These chilling narratives underscore the extreme intersection of aggression and sexual deviance, making necrophilic homicide a subject of both forensic fascination and moral revulsion.

4 Regular Necrophilia

“Regular” necrophiles experience a persistent attraction to corpses that infiltrates their daily lives. Many occupy roles that grant them routine access to the dead – mortuary assistants, gravediggers, or pathologists. The infamous Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe, began as a grave digger before escalating to serial murder, allegedly seeking corpses to fulfill his necrophilic cravings.

While homicide‑linked necrophilia is classified separately, the fantasies that develop in such occupational settings still fall under the “regular” umbrella. These individuals often report that living partners cannot satisfy them, either due to personal attraction issues or an overwhelming fear of rejection.

Thus, for regular necrophiles, the dead become an alluring, unjudgmental partner, free from the complexities of consent and emotional risk that accompany living relationships.

3 Pseudo‑Necrophiles

Pseudo‑necrophiles act on a momentary impulse, seizing a chance encounter with a corpse to indulge a sudden sexual urge. This opportunistic behavior showcases the unsettling flexibility of the human sex drive, where an otherwise “normal” person can be driven to intercourse with a dead body when circumstances align.

One documented case describes a 37‑year‑old, single, white man who, after a night of heavy drinking, shot his 49‑year‑old girlfriend “by accident.” While hiding the body, he reported a surge of sexual arousal and proceeded to have anal intercourse with the corpse. The bizarre episode highlights how extreme stress or intoxication can trigger necrophilic acts in otherwise non‑necrophilic individuals.

Such incidents remain rare, but they illustrate that necrophilic behavior can sometimes emerge not from a lifelong fetish, but from a fleeting, macabre opportunity.

2 Necrophilia In History

Ancient cultures were not immune to necrophilic narratives. The Egyptians, with their elaborate embalming rituals and obsession with the afterlife, produced myths that hint at necrophilic acts. In one tale, the god Seth murders Osiris and dismembers him. Isis, in a gruesome act of love, reassembles Osiris, but unable to locate his penis, replaces it with a phallic substitute and proceeds to have sex with the reconstructed corpse.

Greek historian Herodotus also offered practical advice to mourners: elite women were not embalmed immediately; instead, their bodies were left to lie for three or four days before being taken to embalmers, a measure intended to protect them from “indignities.” This ancient wisdom underscores a long‑standing awareness of the need to guard corpses from sexual violation.

These historical anecdotes reveal that necrophilic themes have permeated myth, ritual, and literature for millennia, reflecting humanity’s uneasy fascination with the dead.

1 Modern Necrophilia

In contemporary culture, necrophilia surfaces in music, literature, and true‑crime sagas. Death‑metal bands such as Cannibal Corpse weave necrophilic imagery into their lyrical content. The grindcore outfit Exhumed opened its 1998 album Gore Metal with the track “Necromaniac,” and later revisited the theme on the 2011 release All Guts, No Glory with “Necrotized.”

Literary references abound as well. Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “Annabel Lee” concludes with haunting verses that suggest an intimacy with the deceased: “In her sepulchre there by the sea… In her tomb by the sounding sea.” While some interpret it metaphorically, the language hints at a lingering, possibly necrophilic, obsession.

A notorious modern case involves Dr. Carl Tanzler, a German‑born physician in Key West, Florida. After treating Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos for tuberculosis, he became fixated on her. When she died, Tanzler exhumed her body, transporting it on a toy wagon to his home, where he painstakingly reconstructed her using wires, rags, wax, and even fashioned a wig from her hair. The resulting “mummy” was displayed in his bedroom until neighbors grew suspicious of his absence from her gravesite, leading to his arrest for grave desecration.

These modern manifestations—whether in art, music, or real‑life macabre obsession—demonstrate that necrophilia continues to captivate the darkest corners of human imagination.

With the holidays wrapping up here in the Western world, many of us still have our Christmas lights up, our bellies full, and plenty of other cheerful things hanging around to remind us of our recent celebrations. In this article we dive into 10 holidays twisted by dark and unusual histories.

10 holidays twisted – Overview

10 The Death Of St. Patrick

Most of us in the Western world who celebrate the holiday, especially if we’re not particularly religious or even armchair historians, think of St. Patrick’s Day as a fun festival marked by the consumption of copious amounts of beer. St. Patrick’s Day has always been a religious holiday, but Irish immigrants who came to the United States in search of a better life greatly popularized it as a secular holiday, solidifying it as a representation of Irish culture.

But the holiday didn’t have a happy-go-lucky beginning. It’s actually the celebration of the death of St. Patrick. His life was hard from the beginning. When the Romans occupied Great Britain in the fifth century, St. Patrick was just a 16-year-old boy who was captured and taken to Ireland from Britain as a slave.

Somehow, in 432, St. Patrick managed to escape slavery and become a force for Christianity by converting the then-pagan Irish to the religion and establishing monasteries and places of worship. He was said to have died on March 17, 493, which would have made him over 100 years old. However, historians generally agree that he actually died in 461, which is a bit more realistic.

Nonetheless, the fact remains that St. Patrick’s Day is a celebration of the day of his death. Even more dark and unusual than that are the events that ensued after his death.

The Battle for the Body of Saint Patrick took place when two rival factions fought over who had the proper rights to the corpse. However, things get a little mythological in the account in Annals of the Four Masters, the work that describes the battle.

It concludes with a scene where the rival factions end up on a river to do glorious, bloody battle for the rights to the corpse of the beloved saint. Allegedly, the river rose up and flooded upon their arrival. Both sides walked away with what they believed to be the body of St. Patrick, and it was attributed to a divine miracle that the battle was stopped.

Odd beginnings for a holiday of green beer, fun, and leprechauns.

9 Good Friday

For a holiday with such a nice name as Good Friday, its historical origins are rather dark in nature. However, Good Friday came from the ancient Germanic culture and language and was long ago Karfreitag (“Sorrowful Friday”). Before the contemporary world got hold of it, the holiday was celebrated by fasting, by asking for forgiveness from sin, and by general sorrow-filled reflection on behalf of the practitioners.

If you think about it, this makes sense. Good Friday is a holiday that was born out of betrayal, greed, and execution. For most of its history, it wasn’t the wonderful holiday that we make it out to be, but rather the celebration of the death of Jesus Christ.

Traditionally, monks and devout religious people saw this as a day of observance and remembrance and of somber reflection—not just the prequel to Easter Sunday. Some people even hold services that last three hours in remembrance of the amount of time that Jesus was said to have suffered upon the cross.

8 The Friday Of Sorrows

The lesser-known holiday of the Friday of Sorrows takes place on the Friday before Good Friday and dates back to the medieval times of Europe. It’s like Good Friday, only for the Virgin Mary, where worshipers and the devoutly religious celebrate the suffering of the Virgin Mary as she witnessed her son dying on the cross. This remembrance takes place mainly in predominantly Catholic countries rather than Protestant Christian ones.

Also known as the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, this holiday was not only meant to remember the suffering that Mary experienced while Jesus was on the cross but also seven of the sorrows that took place over the course of Mary’s life.

From Mary receiving the prophecy of Simeon to desperately fleeing into Egypt after Jesus’s assumed birth, losing Jesus in Jerusalem as mentioned in Luke 2:43–49, and watching Jesus be executed, taken off the cross, and buried, the Feast of the Seven Sorrows is perfectly dark in the way that only a medieval holiday could be.

7 The Night Of Broken Glass

This is a dark holiday observed in Germany in remembrance of one of the most atrocious events of all time: the Holocaust. Kristallnacht, or Night of Broken Glass, refers to the acts that led to the events that would eventually transpire at Auschwitz concentration camp.

On the night of November 9, 1938, German Nazis committed a grievous massacre in the streets, killing Jewish people and destroying their property. In response to these events, the Nazi government said that their actions and senseless violence against the Jewish people were “perfectly understandable.”

The name of the holiday refers to the broken glass left in the streets in several countries after the events unfolded. The violence wasn’t limited to just Germany. It also took place in Austria and Czechoslovakia.

It all began on November 7, 1938, when a Nazi German official named Ernst vom Rath was shot in Paris by a Polish Jew who was 17 years old at the time. Ernst vom Rath died two days later after an extremely drummed-up propaganda assault by none other than the Nazi minister of propaganda himself, Joseph Goebbels. He had said that there was a massive conspiracy of Jews behind the assassination.

Of course, the die-hard Nazi supporters ran with it, committing widespread violence against Jewish people on the night of Ernst vom Rath’s death, which was November 9, 1938. Germany now tries to keep this night burned into their memory with a holiday of remembrance for those who lost their lives on the Night of Broken Glass and all who subsequently died in the tragic events that followed.

That night marked the beginning of much of the anti-Jewish legislation that was railroaded through by the powerful Nazi Party, which legalized the Holocaust and the acts which led to it.

6 Samhain

Samhain is a holiday celebrated by the ancient Celts as a part of their religion before they were subjugated by Roman rule and eventually turned to Christianity (with the help of St. Patrick, no doubt). The Celts were loose-knit tribes known by the Romans as the Gauls. They shared a similar language and culture.

Samhain was the ancient Celtic festival of the dead. Celtic religion held that the spirits of the dead would have to wander the Earth and wait until the day of Samhain, which was November 1, to pass into the afterlife. It didn’t matter what time of year that the person died.

The Celts also believed that their gods were not only mischievous and caused trouble, but that they were also invisible—except on Samhain. During the celebration on October 31, the Celts would leave out burning candles to light the way for their dead so that they could see where they were going.

It should be noted that Samhain isn’t Halloween, though Halloween borrows a lot of Samhain’s traditions. Samhain is actually still practiced by pagans around the world, albeit in smaller numbers.

In ancient times, it was believed that this period was a time when people could communicate with not only their dead friends and relatives but also the Dark Mother and the Dark Father, entities of supernatural power that the ancient Celts believed in.

Their religion was quite intricate, and this holiday is a time when people would communicate with their darker natures, the darker supernatural, and the dead.

5 Valentine’s Day

Today, the watered-down tradition of St. Valentine’s Day is represented most often by thoughtful cards, chocolates, and romantic love, even courtly love not unlike that of the Middle Ages. And long before the famed St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, the brutal Mafia execution of seven men conducted by Al Capone and his gang on February 14, 1929, there was another bloody day that actually spawned Valentine’s Day.

This was the martyrdom of St. Valentine. Yes, Valentine’s Day is the celebration of an execution.

The year was 269, and Claudius II was the emperor of mighty Rome. The growth of marriage and family life had caused a shortage of men willing to leave home and fight in foreign lands. Therefore, Claudius outlawed marriage entirely and anyone caught getting married or performing marriage rites would be condemned.

But St. Valentine refused to stop performing marriages. He was punished severely for his “crimes” and was eventually tortured, beaten with clubs, and beheaded. Yes, you read that right—St. Valentine’s Day is the celebration of a saint from ancient Rome who was tortured, beheaded, and died on February 14, 269.

4 The Feast Of Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi could be regarded as a particularly strange holiday to those who aren’t Catholic and don’t believe in transubstantiation, the idea that food and wine can turn into the body and blood of Christ for the believer consuming them. The Feast of Corpus Christi is a whole day to drink blood and eat flesh for devout believers.

“Corpus Christi” translates to “the body of Christ” in Latin, so there’s no ambiguity that the idea of eating the flesh of Christ is involved.

Heavy symbolism characterizes this holiday, which began in 1246. With chalices and bread wafers everywhere, it’s an aesthetic experience as much as a spiritual one. For most non-Catholics, a holiday where one places bread into his mouth that actually turns into flesh might raise some eyebrows. But many Catholics all over the world celebrate this holiday annually and have done so for hundreds of years.

3 Dia De Los Muertos

The reason we can’t appropriately say that Samhain was the forerunner of Halloween is that Samhain became what Catholics celebrate as All Saints’ Day on November 1. All Saints’ Day is basically the Catholic version of Samhain, complete with celebrating those who’ve gone to Heaven and the saints taking the place of the Celtic gods of old.

Dia de los Muertos is a Mexican holiday which celebrates the personification of death itself and has long roots in both European and Aztec cultures. With Spanish conquests of the Aztecs, Dia de los Muertos was moved to line up with the Catholic All Saints’ Day. The two fused into one holiday when practitioners would pay respects to their dead, which was in the origins of both holidays.

Dia de los Muertos makes no claims to be anything other than a dark holiday that’s all about death, with the name itself translating to “Day of the Dead” in Spanish. However, there are some notable differences between All Saints’ Day and Dia de los Muertos.

Santa Muerte (aka Our Lady of Holy Death), the major figure celebrated on Dia de los Muertos, is the saint of death. Dia de los Muertos takes Samhain and All Saints’ Day one step further by actually making death itself a saint. The Catholic Church rejects this saint and warns against the holiday as being dark and even satanic.

2 Passover

Passover is a Jewish holiday in which practitioners remove all leavened bread from their homes and reenact what life must have been like when the Jews fled Egypt in the Bible. For many, it’s a celebration of the liberation of the Jews from an oppressive Egypt and the foundation of the homeland for the Israelites. The holiday begins on the 15th and runs through the 21st in March or April.

But what’s the real story behind what they were fleeing? Well, it all starts with the slaughter of the firstborn. Exodus 11:5 says:

“Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well.”

According to the Bible, Jehovah killed every firstborn Egyptian child in the country to prove his point. And it gets worse. This was actually a reprisal because the pharaoh of Egypt had killed all the newborns and infants of the ancient Hebrews to prove his point. Then the 10 plagues of Egypt happened, with everything from raining frogs to bubonic plagues hitting Egypt hard according to the Bible.

This is what the holiday actually celebrates—a religious and military victory over another nation that, if you take it as gospel, is quite barbaric in nature.

1 Christmas

Christmas is both unusual and dark in its history for a few reasons. First, Christmas is an extremely modern holiday. Historically, Christians don’t celebrate birthdays as it has long been viewed as pagan to celebrate an individual’s birth on Earth rather than his dying to go to Heaven in accordance with Christian beliefs.

This is why saints are remembered for their (often macabre) deaths instead of their births because the moment of eternal judgment in Christianity is more important than life. This made Christmas a mockery for a long time, with writers advocating strongly against it. Traditionally, in Christianity, the moment of death was your actual and true “birthday” in the kingdom of God.

The second and more macabre part of the story comes with a jolly old fat guy, Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus. Thanks to Coca‑Cola ads stemming from the 1930s, we now see him plastered everywhere as a fat guy with a wispy white beard, a red onesie with white fur trim, and a big grin on his face at all times.

But this isn’t the real Saint Nick, so who was he? Well, the answer is that we don’t really know because we have no surviving historical documentation. He was the bishop of Myra in the fourth century. But aside from that, we know next to nothing about the man.

However, we do have one major artifact: his dead body. Yes, the only thing we know for sure about Saint Nicholas is that we have his actual dead corpse.

Allegedly, the real Saint Nicholas wasn’t very jolly. He was present for the very first Council of Nicaea in 325. There, he punched a guy in the face whom he thought was heretical.

After he died in 343, his remains lay buried until Italian sailors stole his corpse and moved it in 1087 from Myra to a city in Italy called Bari. Before this, the original Santa Claus was a nobody. But the theft of his remains made his popularity surge in Europe, which is how he became a figure that’s still present in our cultures today.

To put this little piece of history to the test, researchers analyzed a fragment of Santa’s hip bone. Sure enough, it dated all the way back to the fourth century, confirming that it probably belonged to the original Santa Claus.

I love to write about dark stuff, horror‑themed material, the unusual, murder, and death. Here’s a twisted little piece about the dark histories of holidays. This isn’t your usual holiday list, and Christmas is definitely the bizarre kicker. I haven’t seen it discussed like this anywhere.

When you think of “10 twisted ways” people have entertained themselves, you probably picture modern true‑crime podcasts or horror‑themed escape rooms. In reality, our ancestors had a far more macabre taste for spectacle, and they turned everything from murder mysteries to public hangings into must‑see events. Buckle up, because we’re about to tour the eerie amusements that once filled crowds with equal parts terror and fascination.

Why the Past Loved a Good Shock

10 True Crime

Long before the era of streaming documentaries, criminals themselves were the first celebrities. Readers hungrily chased every headline about outlaws, bank robbers, and murderers, devouring serial accounts in the hope of snagging a gruesome sketch or a fresh‑blood photo of a crime scene.

Pat Garrett, the lawman who finally put an end to Billy the Kid, even felt compelled to pen his own version of events after the public devoured fifteen dime‑novel pamphlets glorifying the outlaw. Garrett’s memoir attempted to remind the nation that Billy was nothing more than a thief and a murderer.

The infamous ambush that felled Bonnie and Clyde turned the site into a chaotic shrine for true‑crime fanatics. One woman fled with a lock of Bonnie’s hair to sell, while another desperate onlooker tried to slice off Clyde’s trigger finger.

The coroner later reported, “Nearly everyone had begun collecting souvenirs such as shell casings, slivers of glass from the shattered car windows, and bloody pieces of clothing from the garments of Bonnie and Clyde. One eager man had opened his pocket knife and was reaching into the car to cut off Clyde’s left ear.”

Compared to streaming a podcast, that level of hands‑on gore doesn’t sound so terrible after all.

9 Le Grand Guignol

When Oscar Metenier threw open the doors to Le Grand Guignol in 1897, he invited a mix of prostitutes, petty criminals, and society’s outcasts onto the stage. Defiant, Metenier and his partner André Antoine told the authorities to keep their beers, and the theater soon earned a reputation for pushing the envelope with graphic bloodshed and visceral gore.

Plays such as Le Laboratoire des Hallucinations and Le Baiser dans la Nuit routinely packed houses of around 250, drawing in royalty, artists, and curious onlookers alike. Audiences were treated to scenes of dismemberment, acid‑etched revenge, and other perverse spectacles that left them both horrified and enthralled.

One production featured a doctor who discovers his lover’s paramour on the operating table, while another revolved around a man exacting vengeance on a woman who had disfigured him with acid. The shock value was intentional, and the theatre thrived on it.

A particularly infamous tableau showed a man strangling a woman to death, only to slice off her arm and discover she was still alive. The audience watched the macabre drama unfold in full view, gasping at each gruesome twist.

Le Grand Guignol survived until 1962, when dwindling crowds forced its closure. While the director blamed World War II, many observers pointed to his decision to soften the gore as the true cause of the decline.

8 Dark Rides

Today, “dark rides” usually conjure images of cartoon‑styled attractions and cutting‑edge technology. Dig a little deeper, however, and you’ll uncover a time when these indoor journeys were steeped in horror, featuring mad scientists, demonic entities, and terrifying dragons.

Venturing beyond the big‑name amusement parks and into state fairs reveals that more than half of these rides embraced themes of madness, ghosts, and monstrous creatures. The atmosphere was deliberately unsettling, designed to make riders’ hearts race.

The Pretzel Amusement Ride Company rose to fame in the late 19th century by crafting the tracks that powered these eerie experiences. While the company supplied the mechanics, it was up to individual owners to devise the chilling narratives that would haunt riders.

Carnival proprietors quickly realized that a good scare translated into higher ticket sales. The trend peaked during the 1970s and 1980s, when slasher films dominated pop culture, and even visionary artist H.R. Giger designed a personal dark ride to showcase his signature biomechanical nightmares.

Dark rides persist today, backed by a devoted fan base that fights for their preservation. After all, who wouldn’t want at least one night in a rickety cart, hurtling through a shadowy chamber under the watchful eyes of carnival‑seasoned operators?

7 Slum Tourism

Imagine a billionaire pausing mid‑drive, thinking, “I really need to put my mansions and sports cars into perspective.” That fleeting self‑reflection sparked a bizarre industry: slum tourism. Beginning in 1884, affluent travelers paid handsomely to be guided through the poorest districts of major cities.

Neighborhoods such as White Chapel in London, Five Points in Manhattan, and the bustling streets of Mumbai became hot‑ticket destinations for the well‑heeled. Promoted as a charitable eye‑opener, the tours quickly morphed into a morbid curiosity for the elite, who wanted to glimpse life on the other side of the economic divide.

While the original marketing claimed the tours would inspire aid, the reality was a voyeuristic itch being scratched. Visitors snapped photographs, while locals were reduced to living exhibits for a day.

And contrary to the belief that this practice died out, it persists. Today you can still book guided walks through Dharavi, Charleroi, South Central Los Angeles, 8 Mile, Belfast, parts of South Africa, the Bronx, and even active disaster zones.

Kenyan activist Kennedy Odede summed it up in a New York Times op‑ed: “They get photos; we lose a piece of our dignity.” The sentiment still rings true.

6 Dime Museums

Marketed as “edutainment” for the working class, dime museums were actually low‑cost carnivals that offered a taste of the macabre. Unlike the refined museums of the upper middle class, these venues packed freak shows, “Fee‑Gee” mermaids, and a medley of oddities into a single, affordable building.

Visitors could marvel at bizarre performers, watch vaudeville acts, and even catch the early stages of future legends such as Harry Houdini and Maggie Cline. The museums served as a launchpad for many entertainers who later achieved worldwide fame.

Although their golden era peaked around the turn of the 20th century, the spirit of dime museums lives on in modern institutions like the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine, the Museum of Death in Los Angeles, and the Monroe Moosnick Museum in Lexington, Kentucky.

5 Cemetery Picnics

Among the darker amusements, cemetery picnics stand out as oddly wholesome. In the early 19th century, people craved any diversion from the drudgery of daily life, and the well‑kept graveyards offered a scenic escape.

Back then, public parks were scarce, and mortality hovered closer to everyday conversation. Families would stroll among the manicured lawns, tend to loved ones’ graves, and spread a blanket for a modest picnic, turning a solemn space into a communal gathering spot.

Today, most cemeteries enforce strict rules against picnicking, deeming the practice disrespectful. The shift reflects modern sensibilities about the sanctity of burial grounds.

4 Asylum Tourism

While it could be lumped together with the slum‑tourism phenomenon, asylum tourism gradually evolved into a more constructive curiosity. In the 1800s, pamphlets advertised visits to local mental‑health facilities, capitalizing on the public’s appetite for the eerie.

By the early 1900s, the tours had taken on a new purpose: showcasing the evolution of psychiatric care. Rather than merely gawking at the afflicted, visitors were guided through treatment rooms to witness the progressive methods being employed.

Some institutions discouraged the tours, fearing they turned patients into spectacles or distracted staff. Others embraced them, hoping to educate the public, dismantle stigma, and build confidence in mental‑health practices.

These divergent attitudes highlight how asylum tourism straddled the line between exploitation and enlightenment, reflecting broader societal shifts in how we perceive mental illness.

3 Witch Hunts

Witch hunts have haunted humanity ever since societies needed a scapegoat for misfortune. Though early medieval courts treated witchcraft as another capital crime, the phenomenon truly blossomed as public entertainment during the 16th century.

Fears of disease, famine, and the fierce rivalry between Protestant and Catholic factions created fertile ground for hysteria. Charismatic “witch hunters” like Matthew Hopkins traveled town‑to‑town, whipping up fear and turning trials into lucrative spectacles.

Hopkins and his cohort made a living by stoking panic, staging dramatic accusations, and turning the courtroom into a circus where innocent lives were sacrificed for the thrill of the crowd.

Across the Atlantic, American colonies adopted the same fervor. Whole towns flocked to courthouses to witness alleged witches cast spells, watch witnesses writhe in feigned agony, and even hope for a glimpse of the infamous “devil’s mark.”

These events turned civic duty into a morbid pastime. Thousands perished under the weight of superstition, all because the public craved a chilling show.

2 Dogfighting

The roots of dogfighting stretch back to the Roman conquest of Britain, when legionaries observed the fierce native war dogs and began importing them for betting spectacles. The blood sport quickly embedded itself in local culture.

By the 12th century, “baiting” – releasing a dog onto a larger, often chained animal – became a regular diversion for English nobility. Across continents, dogfighting, rooster fighting, and other animal duels evolved into a worldwide pastime.

Legislation caught up in the 1860s, with most U.S. states outlawing the practice as awareness grew about its cruelty. Many other nations soon followed suit, criminalizing the sport.

Despite legal bans, dogfighting persists in pockets around the globe. Countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, China, Albania, and even certain prefectures of Japan still permit the brutal contests, while law‑enforcement agencies worldwide continue to raid illegal rings.

1 Public Executions

Pinpointing the exact origin of public executions is tricky, but historians agree they began as a stark demonstration of governmental power. Over time, the grim ritual morphed into a carnival‑like gathering, drawing massive crowds eager for a morbid spectacle.

As Frances Larson notes in Severed: A History of Heads Lost and Heads Found, London in the early 19th century could attract up to 5,000 spectators for a standard hanging, while famous felons could pull crowds of 100,000. In 1936, an estimated 20,000 onlookers watched Rainey Bethea meet his end, marking the last public execution in the United States.

People arrived at the town square to hear final words, purchase snacks from vendors, laugh at side‑shows, and simply enjoy the communal experience of witnessing a death.

Although many nations have abandoned the practice, some still staged public executions as late as 2012, according to Amnesty International. France’s final public execution took place in 1939.

One notorious case involved serial killer Eugen Weidmann, who was guillotined before a crowd that included a teenage Christopher Lee. The governor, alarmed by the throngs scrambling for souvenirs, declared it the last public execution in France.

Lee Drake, a writer and 3‑D artist based in Orlando, now shares his fascination with horror on YouTube, keeping the legacy of these dark entertainments alive in a new medium.

When you hear the phrase 10 twisted facts, you might picture bizarre trivia, but the dancing plagues of medieval Europe were anything but ordinary. From inexplicable mass convulsions to grim cures, this eerie saga spans centuries and continents, leaving historians both baffled and fascinated.

10 Twisted Facts Overview

10 The Case Of Frau Troffea

A week before the Mary Magdalene feast in 1518, Frau Troffea stepped out of her doorway and began an unstoppable dance. Her limbs flailed in every direction, and she kept moving from dawn until dusk, only to collapse from sheer exhaustion.

Her muscles quivered, sweat drenched her skin, and after a brief, trembling sleep she awoke to resume the frantic jig. By the third day, her shoes were slick with blood, yet she could not find rest; the compulsion drove her onward.

Spectators watched in horrified fascination as days passed. Eventually, Frau Troffea was escorted to a shrine for a hoped‑for cure, but it arrived too late. The frenzy spread, swelling from a few dozen dancers to over four hundred, whose feet bled and bodies bruised until many perished.

9 Cause Unknown

As August rolled on, ever more citizens flooded the streets, their legs jerking in a macabre, relentless rhythm. Fear gripped the city; onlookers argued whether divine wrath or demonic influence was to blame. By the time hundreds were dancing—bloodied, sweaty, and utterly spent—reports suggested up to fifteen deaths per day.

The root cause remains a mystery. Was it a case of collective hysteria, a contagious pathogen, or something else entirely? Scholars still debate, and no definitive answer has emerged for the Strasbourg outbreak or its European counterparts.

8 Paracelsus’s Opinion

Paracelsus, the famed physician‑alchemist, visited Strasbourg in 1526, a few years after the infamous dancing epidemic. He was the first to chronicle Frau Troffea’s ordeal and coined the term “choreomania” to label the phenomenon.

According to Paracelsus, the epidemic began when Frau Troffea’s husband, irritated by her relentless twirls, sparked a domestic dispute that ignited the mass hysteria. He argued that personal grievances could cascade into communal madness.

Paracelsus dissected the ailment into three origins: a product of imagination, a release of sexual frustration, and physiological triggers in certain individuals. Ultimately, he blamed disgruntled wives as the primary catalyst for the dancing plague.

7 Societal Stress

One plausible explanation points to overwhelming societal stress. The dancing plague erupted shortly after the Black Death, and sufferers displayed involuntary leg spasms—symptoms reminiscent of modern psychiatric conditions.

Religious guilt, class tensions, poverty, and famine likely converged, creating a pressure cooker of anxiety. Many believed they were being punished by a higher power, while the stark divide between rich and poor amplified collective despair, pushing vulnerable populations to the brink.

6 Tarantula Bites

France wasn’t alone in experiencing the mania; Italy reported similar outbreaks, labeling them “tarantism.” Locals blamed the sudden, uncontrollable dancing on the bite of a tarantula spider, claiming victims felt compelled to sway and eventually plunge into the sea, sometimes to their death.

Although tarantula venom isn’t lethal to humans, the phenomenon persisted into the 20th century, with the final documented case investigated in 1959, underscoring the enduring mystique of this peculiar affliction.

5 The Binding Cure

Various remedies were attempted to halt the relentless dancing. One common approach involved binding sufferers tightly in cloth, akin to swaddling infants, thereby restricting their ability to move and preventing self‑inflicted injuries.

Some victims reported that firm pressure around the abdomen provided relief, while others begged for a hard blow or stomp to the stomach, believing that such shock could quell their compulsions.

4 Darkness And Fasting

Paracelsus also advocated a stark regimen: lock the afflicted in a pitch‑black chamber and subject them to severe fasting, limiting sustenance to bread and water. He disparaged the sufferers as “whores and scoundrels,” insisting on harsh treatment.

Historical records do not clarify whether this brutal method succeeded, but it was no kinder than the exorcisms performed by clergy on those believed to be possessed by the dance mania.

3 Children’s Dancing Plague

Chronicles from 1237 recount a chilling episode in Erfurt, Germany, where roughly a hundred children erupted into uncontrollable dancing. They marched all the way to Arnstadt before collapsing from sheer exhaustion.

Authorities gathered the exhausted youngsters and returned them to their families. Several children died shortly after, while the survivors were said to carry a lingering tremor for the rest of their lives.

The cause of this youthful outbreak remains unknown, adding another layer of mystery to the broader phenomenon.

2 Saint John’s Dance

In the 1300s, shortly after the Black Death, a wave of dance mania swept through Germany. Men and women seized the streets, convulsively leaping, foaming at the mouth, and appearing possessed.

The frenzy spread person to person; some victims were swaddled and seemed to recover briefly, only to relapse into the uncontrollable dancing once more.

Those caught in the fits reported an eerie detachment: they heard nothing, saw nothing, yet felt compelled to scream, twirl, and exhaust themselves until they finally collapsed.

1 Saint Vitus’s Dance

Often lumped together with the dance manias, Saint Vitus’s Dance was actually a neurological disorder causing involuntary jerking, now known as Sydenham’s chorea. Affected individuals were ushered to the Chapel of St. Vitus in hopes of divine remedy.

The Catholic Church mandated pilgrimage to the chapel; refusal meant excommunication, underscoring the severe social pressure surrounding the condition.

Elizabeth, a devoted researcher of arcane histories since 1997, spends her days amid dusty tomes, chronicling these strange episodes and traveling to historic sites to uncover further clues.

Explore the top 10 twisted predictions as technology rockets us from prey to predator, leaping from caves to the cosmos. The pace is so breakneck that a parent’s world looks entirely different from their child’s, and the acceleration shows no sign of slowing. Each day brings fresh growth and mutation in the tech landscape.

Why the Top 10 Twisted List Matters

10 Forced Neurohacking

Neurohacking, the art of linking with and enhancing the human mind, now spans everything from simple at‑home nootropic experiments to full‑scale brain‑machine‑interface studies. Labs worldwide have already built devices that respond solely to thought, prompting a daring question: can the reverse be done—machines that steer human cognition?

The answer appears to be a resounding yes. Researchers have already decoded enough of the brain’s electrical chatter to let non‑verbal individuals ‘speak’ through computers, proving that our neural signals aren’t a mystical secret but a manipulable code. While the most dramatic vision conjures zombie‑like puppets, a nearer‑term reality could be neuro‑marketing, where our gadgets emit subtle signals that nudge our brainwaves toward craving a particular product.

9 Designer Humans

Designer humans have dominated headlines as our grasp of the genetic underpinnings of ability and disease tightens, forcing scientists and policymakers to confront a bold dilemma: should we edit a person’s DNA before birth? That question sits at the heart of the designer‑human concept, bristling with both promise and peril.

On the upside, this technology could eradicate most inherited illnesses—cystic fibrosis, Huntington’s disease, heart ailments, even many cancers. It might also smooth out everyday annoyances like poor eyesight or baldness. Yet the darker shadows loom: who will wield access to gene‑editing tools? Will a genetic elite compete against unaltered athletes? Might we push beyond disease prevention to enhance intelligence, speed, or strength? Could society fracture into tiers of engineered humans, and does any of this sit comfortably within our ethical framework?

8 Every Atom a Computer

Moore’s Law famously predicts that the transistor count on an integrated circuit doubles roughly every two years, implying ever‑faster, ever‑smaller computers. Futurists extrapolate this trend toward a so‑called zero‑size intelligence—a processor of staggering power yet virtually no mass.

If such a leap materializes, the possibilities swing between utopia and nightmare. With sufficient time, energy, and resources, every atom around us might become a miniature supercomputer. One chilling vision is the AI singularity, where swarms of atom‑sized processors fill the air, a battlefield no one wants to fight. A more plausible scenario is that these machines remain under human command, leading us straight into the next chapter of this list.

7 Smart Dust

The term ‘smart dust’ was coined by physicist Kris Pister in 1990 to describe clouds of nano‑robots capable of harvesting unprecedented data streams while remaining virtually invisible. Imagine the very air we breathe populated by swarms of microscopic bots that silently capture every motion and thought, relaying it to an unseen master.

We don’t need to wait for atom‑size intelligence to see this unfold. Insects‑sized computers already exist and could, today, flutter unnoticed around us, quietly recording every gesture. The prospect of a world saturated with such discreet sensors feels both awe‑inspiring and unsettling.

6 The Coding Olympics

While many futurist forecasts spotlight apocalyptic or post‑human scenarios, they often overlook the everyday fun that will evolve. Sports, for instance, have entered the futurist conversation, with many predicting radical transformations.

Robots now can nail basketball shots, boot field goals, and sprint laps. Though they may eventually replace human athletes, some visionaries foresee an even stranger shift: the Olympic Games, originally designed around skills vital to ancient societies—like chariot racing and wrestling—could morph into contests that celebrate modern proficiencies such as coding, circuitry, and rapid physical calculations.

5 Second Life

Popularized by films like The Matrix, the notion of a simulated reality remains a staple of futurist speculation. In The Matrix, humanity is farmed as a resource, pacified by an artificial world. In reality, we might voluntarily retreat into a digital realm to escape a deteriorating physical planet.

Even without malevolent machines forcing us into illusion, a voluntary exodus into a crafted virtual universe is unsettling. Such a created reality could operate under rules alien to us, and its architects might embed shortcuts and cheats accessible only to a privileged few. A world built by a select handful could push inequality to unimaginable extremes.

4 The Dead Will Walk

Uploading human consciousness into digital avatars opens a chilling side‑effect: the concept that death may lose its finality. ‘Dead’ minds could be housed in video portraits, reminiscent of the magical, interactive paintings in the Harry Potter series.

These consciousnesses might also inhabit lifelike robots; if robotics advance enough, death would become a simple transfer from one vessel to another. Over time, such synthetic bodies could outnumber biologically born minds, and with sufficiently durable chassis, could effectively halt the natural cycle of birth and death.

3 No More Sky as We Know It

This prediction actually bundles two separate forecasts, both virtually inevitable. First, the familiar blue dome of our atmosphere will thin as drones and personal aerial vehicles crowd the heavens. Second, the dark veil of night will glow as an ever‑growing swarm of satellites encircles Earth.

As drones dominate sectors like home delivery and long‑range tracking, and satellite constellations expand for communications and defense, the sky we recognize will vanish. Initially, only occasional specks will punctuate the clear expanse, but eventually every square mile could become as congested as a bustling city street.

2 No More Animals as We Know Them

Human‑driven Anthropocene extinction is accelerating, wiping out species at rates hundreds to thousands of times the natural background. It’s plausible that the near future could see a world largely devoid of wild flora and fauna. While food‑producing species may be preserved, lab‑grown alternatives already dominate many markets.

Consequently, we may inherit a planet with scant non‑microbial life and little economic incentive to restore it. This scenario echoes Blade Runner, where engineered creatures replace natural ones. After original species vanish, designer animals could become the norm, and microbes might sustainably supply food, leaving remaining animals merely as luxury entertainment for the affluent.

1 No More Technology as We Know It

When we think of technology, we picture mechanical gadgets and electronic circuits, yet the future may be fundamentally biological. Entirely living, self‑replicating systems could supplant traditional manufacturing.

Conventional production has wreaked havoc on the environment, prompting a shift toward bio‑fabricated materials, fuels, and even food. Microbes already excel at generating plastics, fuels, and sustainable nourishment. Futurists envision societies where homes, vehicles, and even clothing are grown from engineered microbes or living organisms, erasing the line between technology and biology.

It seems obvious that a former president should be given an appropriate and honorable final resting place. For most who have served their country, that has been true. But there have also been a surprising number of issues with former leaders’ deaths. From George Washington to the present day, presidents have been memorialized in some strange ways. Worse still, some of their remains haven’t been allowed to rest as they should.

Here are ten tales of the strange fates of former presidents after death.

Related: Top 10 Faux Pas Committed By US Presidents

10 George Washington

When George Washington died in 1799, his will was clear: He wanted to be buried close to his Virginia home. But the mausoleum at his plantation, Mount Vernon, needed considerable renovation to hold the first President’s remains. Prior to his death, Washington himself laid out the issue. He wrote about repairs that had to be done to the vault: “I desire that a new [tomb] of Brick, and upon a larger Scale, may be built at the foot of what is commonly called the Vineyard Inclosure… In which my remains, with those of my deceased relatives… may be deposited.”

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Congress ignored his request and conspired to erect a crypt in the U.S. Capitol building. But by 1830, three decades after Washington’s death, that memorial hadn’t been built. Washington’s remains were still in Mount Vernon—but no renovation had been done on the vault there, either.

That’s when things got strange. That year, Washington’s nephew and last surviving heir, John Augustine Washington II, fired a gardener who had been employed at Mount Vernon. The landscaper was upset about the dismissal and sought revenge. He crept into the crypt with the intention of stealing the late president’s skull. Thankfully, Washington’s body had been encased in lead to prevent post-death tampering. Even so, the crypt was in such bad shape that the bones of dozens of people were scattered and mixed together inside. Instead of taking a piece of Washington, the gardener swiped the skull of one of his distant relatives. A year later, the surviving Washington heir erected a new crypt to honor the president, and—pardon the pun—the rest is history.^[1]

9 James K. Polk

James K. Polk died only a few months after his term ended in 1849. The nation’s 11th President died of cholera, which at the time meant a quick burial in a mass grave to slow the disease’s aggressive spread. That burial was unbecoming for a former president, though. After a year in a common grave in a city cemetery in Nashville, lawmakers in Tennessee ordered the remains moved. The intended final resting spot was to be Polk Place, where the president died. And for a while, that was that. But in 1893, the Polk family sold the expansive property. When that happened, Tennessee officials moved Polk’s remains to the State Capitol in Nashville—and again, for a while, that was that.

In 2017, Polk’s final resting place came back into question. At issue this time was the late president’s last will and testament. In the document, he requested to be buried at Polk Place. That property was demolished not long after his family sold it back in 1893, though. So state lawmakers began the process of moving the remains to a property in the city of Columbia, an hour outside Nashville.

Polk had also owned that home during his life, and politicians reasoned the move would essentially fulfill the request in his will. In 2018, the Tennessee legislature passed a resolution to move Polk yet again. However, six months later, it was put on hold when the Tennessee Historical Commission refused to grant permission to disturb the remains. Today, Polk rests at the State Capitol Building—for now.^[2]

8 Zachary Taylor

Not long after Polk’s death, his successor died. Zachary Taylor had the unfortunate distinction of dying in office when he perished a year into his term in 1850. He was 65 years old upon death, which was an advanced age at the time. However, just days before passing, he was in good spirits at a Fourth of July ceremony. The sudden death left supporters wondering if he was poisoned. Taylor had been strongly against allowing slavery in the west at the time. Thus, his supporters wondered whether pro-slavery insurgents poisoned the milk and cherries he ate on the Fourth of July. But no definitive proof of poisoning was ever revealed.

Taylor was buried in his home state of Kentucky. For a while, he rested peacefully. But over the next century, the possibility of poisoning continued to be debated. In 1991, the former President was exhumed for an autopsy. Kentucky’s chief medical examiner performed the procedure. He conclusively found Taylor had not been poisoned. In his report, the death doc wrote Taylor died of “a myriad of natural diseases which could have produced the symptoms of gastroenteritis.” Satisfied at the conclusion, 140 years later, lawmakers had Taylor reburied. Today, he rests in the National Cemetery that bears his name in Louisville.^[3]

7 John Tyler

John Tyler was America’s tenth President, serving before Polk. The Southerner died in 1862, during the middle of the Civil War. He had been elected to the insurgent Confederacy’s legislature in his final days. Thus, rebels held the Virginia native’s body on their side of the horrifically bloody war. This riled up men on both fronts of the conflict and altered how Tyler’s final resting place was designated. The write-up of Tyler’s passing in The New York Times was vicious, asserting he went “down to death amid the ruins of his native State.” The obituary continued: “[Tyler] himself was one of the architects of its ruin; and beneath that melancholy wreck his name will be buried, instead of being inscribed on the Capitol’s monumental marble, as a year ago he so much desired.”

That obituary writer would be proven correct. Tyler had requested a simple funeral at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virgina. That did not happen. Seeing an opportunity to promote rebel pride, Confederate President Jefferson Davis threw a “grand event” for Tyler. Davis even draped Tyler’s coffin in a Confederate flag. In response, Union lawmakers refused to acknowledge the former president’s resting place. Today, Tyler is still interred in Richmond. The old bitterness has carried on, too. According to cemetery officials, he is still the only former president whose resting place is not recognized in Washington.^[4]

6 Abraham Lincoln

After Abraham Lincoln’s 1865 assassination, his body was taken by train around the country. Millions of Americans mourned their murdered leader. The body was embalmed for the trip—a relatively new procedure at the time. It hadn’t been perfected yet, though. The 19-day rail journey required morticians to travel with Lincoln’s corpse and re-embalm it at every stop. However, the experts were unable to prevent the corpse’s ultimate decay. When the train stopped in New York, a reporter wrote: “It will not be possible, despite the effection of the embalming, to continue much longer the exhibition, as the constant shaking of the body aided by the exposure to the air, and the increasing of dust, has already undone much of the… workmanship.” Thankfully, after three weeks, Lincoln was finally laid to rest in an Illinois tomb.

A decade later, in 1876, a group of criminals devised a plan to steal Lincoln’s remains and hold them for ransom. There were no guards at the late president’s tomb, and the marble sarcophagus serving as his resting place had only been lightly sealed. Unbeknownst to the group, they revealed their scheme to a man who was a government informant. He told the Secret Service, and on the day the crew went to the tomb, officers were waiting. Following that near-theft, Lincoln’s remains were secretly buried in the vault’s basement. In 1901, he was disinterred once more and reburied inside a steel cage under ten feet of concrete.^[5]

5 Warren G. Harding

Warren G. Harding suddenly died at a San Francisco hotel in 1923. At the time, he was in the midst of a nationwide speaking tour. He’d also recently suffered food poisoning. But nobody expected him to pass without warning. His wife, Florence, was adamant about the aftermath: no autopsy and immediate embalming. Harding’s doctors were furious. They wanted to know what had suddenly killed the sitting President. One frustrated medical professional even wrote: “We shall never know exactly the immediate cause of President Harding’s death since every effort that was made to secure an autopsy met with complete and final refusal.” The grieving widow was unmoved, though, and her late husband was buried.

For a while, the public blamed Harding’s doctors for his death. But a few years later, the truth started to come out. In 1928, a woman named Nan Britton wrote a tell-all book about an alleged affair she had with Harding. And in 1930, a former administration staffer wrote a book alleging Florence poisoned her husband after learning of the infidelity. Then, almost a century later, Britton’s descendants wanted answers about their lineage. Ancestry documentation linked them to Harding, and they took the late president’s offspring to court over it. Before Harding’s body could be exhumed for DNA proof, though, his progeny relented. They admitted Harding did indeed have an affair with Britton that produced a child.^[6]

4 Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt was one of America’s greatest presidents. He saw the country through a bit more than three terms spanning much of the Great Depression and World War II. When he died in 1945, he had been very sick for a very long time. Still, his death was not expected. Roosevelt had been at one of his vacation homes with an alleged mistress when he perished. He told her he felt “a terrific pain in the back of my head” and passed out. Three hours later, he was dead. But while officials knew the importance of embalming quickly after death, their response was slow. An undertaker wasn’t contacted until four hours after the president’s death. All the while, aides waited on Eleanor Roosevelt to arrive as the next of kin.

Nine hours later, the embalming process finally began. The undertaker, F. Haden Snoderly, recorded a detailed 15-page memo about the significant issues he faced at that point. “Rigor mortis had set in,” he wrote, and Roosevelt’s abdomen had been “noticeably distended” by the time embalming began. Worse still, FDR’s “arteries were sclerotic,” which meant it was nearly impossible for Snoderly to get embalming fluid into the great man’s veins. The process was so difficult that accusations later appeared in books that Roosevelt had been poisoned and his body had turned black upon death. Those claims were false, but rumors persisted. As for FDR’s afterlife, the president wanted to keep things simple. He wrote out a very detailed set of instructions demanding a bare-bones coffin, a low-key funeral, and no lying in state.^[7]

3 John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy’s body rests in the Arlington National Cemetery. His brain, however, is missing. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. During the autopsy, his brain was placed in “a stainless-steel container with a screw-top lid.” Secret Service agents stored it in a secured file cabinet for safekeeping. From there, it was later brought to a “secure room” within the National Archives. But then something horrible happened. Three years after Kennedy’s death, officials discovered the late President’s brain had vanished. But nobody knew when or how it had been removed from the National Archives.

Author James Swanson reported on the macabre caper in the book End Of Days, writing: “the brain, the tissue slides, and other autopsy materials were missing—and they have never been seen since.” There is no shortage of conspiracy theories focused on Kennedy’s death, but his missing brain has only added to the lore. Swanson played right into it with his own theory too. The author claimed JFK’s brother Robert F. Kennedy was the one who swiped the organ. “My conclusion is that Robert Kennedy did take his brother’s brain—not to conceal evidence of a conspiracy but perhaps to conceal evidence of the true extent of President Kennedy’s illnesses,” Swanson wrote, “or perhaps to conceal evidence of the number of medications that President Kennedy was taking.”^[8]

2 Tassos Papadopoulos

Tassos Papadopoulos, the former President of Cyprus, succumbed to lung cancer in 2008. Papadopoulos had been a political hero in the island nation. After his death, his body was interred in a cemetery in the city of Nicosia. But on the day before the first anniversary of his passing, the remains were stolen. On the morning of December 11, 2009, one of Papadopoulos’s former bodyguards went to the gravesite to light a candle of remembrance. It had rained hard the night before. When the mourning man arrived, he found an empty hole and a pile of dirt where the grave had been. The shocked man immediately called the police.

Officials were baffled by the heist. For weeks, they failed to determine any suspects. Then, three months later, an anonymous tip led police to a different cemetery in Nicosia. There, they found Papadopoulos’s body reburied in another grave. The tip gave investigators a lead, too. It turned out the late president’s body had been dug up by a man seeking leverage to ask for his brother’s release from prison. The scheme came apart after another accomplice called Papadopolous’s family and asked for money instead. The grave robbers were caught and quickly punished. Each man received less than two years in jail for the crime. Thankfully, Papadopoulos was reburied peacefully.^[9]

1 José Eduardo dos Santos

When José Eduardo dos Santos died in early July 2022, it kicked off a series of tense exchanges. Dos Santos had ruled over Angola for decades after taking power in 1979. During that time, his regime oversaw a brutal civil war. He died in Spain, thousands of miles away from his political opponents. But the geography and timing were both tough: Angola was on the eve of an already-tense election campaign when dos Santos succumbed in Barcelona.

His daughter openly claimed foul play had felled the 79-year-old man. She demanded an autopsy in Spain to determine his cause of death. The autopsy was performed, but the evidence of misdeed was not there. Certain of an unsuspicious death, a Spanish judge ruled weeks later that dos Santos was not the victim of foul play. The judge also ordered dos Santos’s body be released to his widow, Ana Paula, and not his children. The grieving wife flew it back to his homeland days before the August elections.

The current Angolan government protested that choice but eventually allowed it. Longtime supporters met the late president’s casket at the airport in Luanda and mourned as it traveled through the city. Finally, in August, dos Santos was laid to rest in the capital “after a long waiting period.”^[10]