In February 2016, a Filipino fisherman made a chilling discovery when he boarded a drifting yacht off the coast of the Philippines. Inside the vessel, he found the mummified body of 59-year-old Manfred Fritz Bajorat, a German adventurer who had spent the past two decades sailing the world on his yacht, Sayo. Bajorat’s body was slumped over a desk, surrounded by the remnants of his life at sea.

Although his appearance suggested he had been dead for a significant amount of time, an autopsy revealed that Bajorat had passed away only about a week earlier. The dry winds and salty ocean air had accelerated the mummification process, preserving his body in the haunting state in which it was found.

While the exact cause of death could not be definitively determined, authorities speculated that Bajorat had suffered a fatal heart attack. His death marked the end of an extraordinary life spent exploring the open seas, a testament to both the freedom and the isolation that such a journey can bring.

On 22 February 1946, Jimmy Hollis and his girlfriend, Mary Jeanne, were attacked in Texarkana, by a “phantom-like” figure while out on a date in their car. They were beat with an object and Jeanne was sexually assaulted with a gun. They managed to escape. The following month, Polly Ann Moore and Richard Griffin were found murdered. They had both been shot while sitting in their car and Moore had been sexually assaulted.

On 13 April, 15-year-old Betty Jo Booker and 16-year-old Paul Martin were shot dead. Booker had been sexually assaulted and had been found 2 miles away from Martin, and his car was found 3 miles from Booker’s body and 1.55 miles from his body, indicating the teens had attempted to escape the killer but were unsuccessful.

There were at least three hundred suspects brought in for questioning throughout the killings. On 3 May, the killer struck again, killing Virgil Starks and seriously injuring his wife, Katie, in their home. He was shot dead while reading the newspaper and his wife was shot in the face but managed to escape and alert a neighbour.

This “phantom-like” killer became known as the “Phantom Killer” and the case remains unsolved today.

Sheree Beasley was a grade-one pupil at Rosebud Primary School and lived on South Road. According to her mother, Kerrie Greenhill, she was a very talkative and lively little girl; she said that she was her first born and was very special to her. While Sheree was exceptionally friendly, she still knew of stranger danger and would never speak to somebody that she didn’t know. In fact, Kerri had always told Sheree if a stranger approached her, to run to the nearest house for help.

That afternoon, Kerri handed Sheree money to pick up a litre of milk, a bottle of lemonade, meat pies and some cigarettes. She also handed her 50 cents to buy herself some sweets. As she left the home that afternoon, Sheree called out to her mother: “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes, mum. I love you.” Unbeknownst to Kerri, this was the last time she would ever speak to her daughter.

Around an hour after Sheree left the milk bar with the groceries, the alarm was raised. A local resident discovered Sheree’s abandoned bicycle and groceries in the middle of Parkmore Avenue, a dirt road located just off the Nepean Highway, around 100 metres away from the milk bar. The man who found the bicycle placed it against a nearby tree and moments later, another local woman spotted the bicycle. This woman knew Sheree and her family and recognized it immediately as Sheree’s bicycle.

The woman contacted Sheree’s other, Kerri Greenhill, who in turn called police to report her daughter missing....

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞:

The 1972 mugshot of John Wojtowicz, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for robbing a bank in order to fund his partner's gender reassignment.

Skidmore, Missouri, a small farming town of about 440 residents, lived in the shadow of terror for decades under the control of Ken Rex McElroy, a man infamous for his cruelty and disregard for the law. McElroy, a towering figure of 270 pounds with black sideburns, wielded fear as his weapon, bullying anyone who crossed his path. Armed at all times, he committed heinous crimes—including child molestation, attempted murder, and burglary—but evaded justice due to the town's collective fear of retaliation.

In 1980, McElroy’s reign of terror reached a boiling point after he shot 70-year-old grocer Bo Bowenkamp in the neck over a petty dispute. Though Bowenkamp miraculously survived, the attempted murder united the community against their tormentor. McElroy was convicted but released on bail, leaving Skidmore paralyzed with fear as he brazenly violated his terms of release and plotted revenge.

On July 10, 1981, the townspeople convened at Legion Hall, desperate for a solution. Shortly after, McElroy was ambushed in his truck outside the D&G Tavern, shot dead in broad daylight by two unidentified assailants. Despite over 40 witnesses, not a single person came forward. To this day, McElroy’s killers remain "unknown," and the town’s silence speaks of years of pent-up fear and unaddressed justice.

This message was found scrawled above the body of one of the victims of the “Lipstick Killer”.

The serial killer’s modus operandi was to break into the homes of women in Chicago and brutally kill them. He also abducted and killed a six-year-old girl. Eventually, detectives identified 17-year-old William Heirens as the killer after he was caught trying to burglarize an apartment.

He confessed to three murders, but later recanted and said he was a victim of coercive interrogation and police brutality. He ended up being Illinois’ longest-serving prisoner, serving 65 years before he died in 2012.

Between 1913 and 1926, John Hulbert served as New York State's executioner, a grim role that weighed heavily on him.

Over 13 years, he operated the electric chair 142 times, a duty that brought not only a steady income of $150 per execution but also relentless fear and isolation. Hulbert carried a gun at all times due to threats against his life and adhered to rigid habits—eating at the same restaurant and requesting the same waiter to avoid potential poisoning.

Dubbed “the man who walks alone,” Hulbert lived a solitary and somber life. The emotional toll of his job eroded his mental health, culminating in a breakdown in 1926. “I got tired of killing people,” he admitted, resigning from his position and retreating further into despair. His resignation marked the beginning of a deeper decline.

The loss of his wife in 1929 shattered what little stability he had left. On February 22, 1929, overcome by grief and unable to reconcile his past, Hulbert went into his cellar and ended his life with a gunshot to the chest.

The Ovitz family, a unique Hungarian Jewish family of entertainers from what is now Romania, survived the unimaginable horrors of Auschwitz during World War II. Known as the largest family of dwarfs ever recorded, they ranged in age from a 15-month-old baby to a 58-year-old woman when they were imprisoned by the Nazis.

The family originally hailed from Maramureș County, Romania, and was descended from Shimson Eizik Ovitz, a rabbi and dwarf who fathered ten children, seven of whom inherited his dwarfism.

In the 1930s and '40s, the Ovitzes formed a performance group known as the Lilliput Troupe, where they sang in multiple languages, played instruments, and toured throughout Eastern Europe. Despite racial laws banning Jewish performances for non-Jewish audiences, they managed to continue performing until 1944.

When they were eventually deported to Auschwitz, they attracted the attention of Dr. Josef Mengele, the infamous Nazi physician who conducted cruel experiments. Fascinated by the family’s genetic diversity, Mengele subjected the Ovitzes to numerous, often excruciating tests, which included painful medical procedures meant to study hereditary conditions.

Unlike many, the Ovitz family received relatively better treatment to keep them healthy for Mengele’s experiments. Remarkably, they survived Auschwitz’s liberation by the Soviet Red Army on January 27, 1945. Following their release, they endured a seven-month journey on foot to reach their home village, only to find it looted. They relocated to Belgium and eventually to Israel, where they continued to perform until their retirement in 1955.

In Israel, they lived a peaceful life, with Rozika, the eldest, passing away in 1984 at 98 years old, and Perla, the last adult dwarf, dying in 2001.

It was the 17th of June, 2016, when a friend of Yuri Shipulin and his wife, Nataliya Gerasimova, reported them missing. The couple from Russia had been living at a farm in Kachiquari, Mulomulo, in Nasouti Highlands, Nadi, Fiji. They had been living here since 2011 when they left Russia for pastures greener, setting up a farm to grow and sell fruit and vegetables. They had left their farm in their grey metallic land cruiser. When they failed to return home, they were reported missing.

Inspector Josia Weicavu asked the public to come forward if they knew anything about the couple’s whereabouts. Their friend, Alla Mallerich, would make a public appeal on social media, revealing that the couple had been missing for three days and while their cellphones were continuing to ring, nobody was answering them. She wrote: “Police are doing what they can here within their limits. No helicopter or such so we are appealing to everyone.”

A couple of days after the search for the couple began, their vehicle would be found. The couple, however, were nowhere to be found, although their belongings and their mobile phones were found inside the vehicle. The peculiar discovery only raised more questions about the whereabouts of the couple.

It had been the couple’s business partner at the farm, Andrew Luzanenko, who had reported the couple missing. He said that recently, the farm had been facing quite a lot of debt and said that Yuri appeared to be depressed. He stated: “His business is not doing very well, especially after the cyclone and then we tried to revive the farm but it has been a very slow process.” Much like the couple, Andrew was from Russia. He had been working on the farm for the past six months but had wanted to return to Russia when the farm began to fail. “But now, I can’t because all of our passports are with police,” he said.

The home where they lived had been built from shipping containers and it had been searched extensively by investigators working on the disappearance. However, no tips which could indicate where the couple had gone were uncovered.

According to other friends of the couple, Yuri, who had once been a pilot for the Russian air force, had a number of failed business interests on the island and was believed to be owed upwards of $200,000 by former business associates. He was said to be exceptionally generous with any money he had, often giving loans to people and never seeing any money back. Some said that he was living much beyond his means.

As one friend said, he was living lavishly and burning the candles at both ends....

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞:

In 2003, this bizarre skeleton was discovered in a deserted Chilean town. It is 6-inches long and estimated to be just a few decades old. The skeleton was nicknamed “Ata” and has an oddly shaped skull and 10 ribs. Conspiracy theorists worldwide theorise that it is an extraterrestrial. However, scientists determined that the skeleton is human.

Teghan Skiba was a four-year-old girl living in Smithfield, North Carolina, with her mother, Helen Reyes, and Helen’s boyfriend, Jonathan Richardson. They lived in a barn on Richardson’s grandparents’ property, which lacked basic amenities such as running water and a bathroom. The only bedding available was a solitary air mattress on the floor.

Despite the grim living conditions, Teghan was described as a “very energetic, vivacious and lovable child.” She loved the colour purple, butterflies, and catching lady bugs in her grandmother’s garden. She was born to Helen and Jerry Skiba, but due to the fact Jerry was serving time at Craven Correctional Institute in New Bern after a felony drug trafficking conviction, he was not involved in his daughter’s upbringing.

Much like Jerry, Richardson also had a criminal record. He had a conviction for simple assault and injury to personal property. This case related to an incident in 2007 when he broke the windshield of his then-girlfriend’s car during an argument. He was given six months’ probation and ordered to pay restitution. He was also convicted in Wayne County in 2008 of driving while impaired.

On 6 July, 2010, Teghan was left in the care of Richardson while her mother, Reyes, went to New Mexico for Army Reserves training. Just ten days later, Richardson brought Teghan to UNC Hospitals at Chapel Hill where it was discovered she was suffering from “severe bodily injuries.” Richardson had told medical personnel in the emergency room that Teghan had fallen out of bed.

Upon closer inspection, however, Teghan was found to be covered in bite marks, cuts and had suffered severe head trauma. There was also evidence that Teghan had been tortured and sexually assaulted. Police were immediately called to the hospital. One of them commented: “You think about how bad you think it is, and it’s that times ten. There’s no excuse for it. It was really just a disgrace to the sanctity of human life for a human body to be tortured like this. It was just a senseless act of violence.”

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞:

In the 1930s, if you strolled through Coney Island in New York, you’d encounter all kinds of sideshow spectacles, but one in particular was unlike any other: Martin Couney’s “incubator babies” exhibit. For 25 cents, visitors could observe rows of premature infants in glass incubators, each fighting for survival in a pioneering display of neonatal care.

Martin Couney’s background remains shrouded in mystery, as he often altered his story to fit his work. Born in Poland in 1869 as Michael Cohn, he claimed he had trained under Dr. Pierre-Constant Budin, a leader in neonatal medicine, although no evidence of formal medical training has been found.

Despite this, Couney’s dedication to saving preemies was undeniable. Couney married a nurse named Annabelle, and in 1907, his own premature daughter was saved through incubator care. Inspired, he launched exhibits at Coney Island’s Dreamland and Luna Park, funding his “child hatcheries” through admissions. When Dreamland tragically burned in 1911, all the infants were safely evacuated and transferred to Luna Park, where the exhibit continued for four decades.

Through his work, Couney saved over 6,500 lives, pioneering care for premature infants when the medical community hesitated to invest in incubators. By the 1940s, hospitals began adopting his techniques, and Couney closed his sideshow in 1943.

Today, incubators and Couney’s early “Kangaroo care” practices are crucial in modern neonatal care, saving countless lives worldwide.

It was the 13th of July, 2012, when cousins, 8-year-old Elizabeth Collins and 10-year-old Lyric Cook, set off from Elizabeth’s home in Evansdale, Iowa, on their bicycles. Quite often, Lyric would go to Elizabeth’s home for the day while her mother went to work. That afternoon, they were being cared for by their grandmother, Wilma Cook.

The girls never returned home. Their families would search around the area for approximately on hour before calling police and reporting them missing.

A search party would be assembled as police tried to retrace the girls last known movements. Hundreds of concerned locals would participate in the search and police would quickly discover that last reported sighting of the girls was from around noon, when they were spotted in downtown Evansdale.

Their bicycles were found along the bike trail on the southeast corner of Meyers Lake. Police would send a boat into the waters of the lake, searching for any evidence of the girls.

They would send divers into the lake and then drag it but there was nothing found inside the water which could indicate what happened to Elizabeth and Lyric.

However, around 20 feet away from where the bicycles had been found, police would find Elizabeth’s purse and cellphone....

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞:

On March 8, 2019, former detention officer Kirk Martin was arrested in connection with a horrifying case of sexual and psychological abuse. The prior afternoon, he forced his way into his ex-girlfriend’s apartment using a spare key, attacked her, and subjected her to brutal assault.

After violating her, Martin locked her in a closet, keeping her confined for hours as she tried to calm him down, eventually persuading him they might reconcile. Following this, Martin permitted her to leave the closet but restricted her to the bedroom.

When Martin finally left, the woman was able to FaceTime her mother, instructing her to call 911. Police arrived quickly, leading to Martin's arrest. His mugshot, taken as he was booked into Murray County Jail, revealed visible scratches inflicted by the victim in her struggle to defend herself. During questioning, Martin admitted that he had "let things get too far" and disclosed that tensions had been high following their recent breakup.

In November 2019, Martin was sentenced to life without parole. At trial, prosecutors presented substantial evidence and witness testimony, and shortly after his arrest, two additional victims came forward, recounting instances of abuse dating as far back as 2012.

This photograph shows renowned linguist and Mayan script decipherer Yuri Knorozov holding his beloved cat, Asya.

He always listed Asya as his co-author on his publications, but it was a detail that his editors always removed, much to his dismay. He also insisted on using this specific photograph, which was taken around 1980, as his official author photograph. When editors cropped Asya out, Knorozov was angry and expressed frustration at their lack of respect for his chosen collaborator.

Knorozov, a Soviet scholar, famously cracked the code of Mayan hieroglyphs in the 1950s, unraveling a mystery that had stumped researchers for decades. His dedication to his work, along with his insistence on honoring Asya’s role in his life, became part of his legend. In his view, Asya provided him with company and inspiration through long nights of research, becoming a kind of muse for his groundbreaking work.

In the small, tobacco-farming town of Truevine, Virginia, brothers George and Willie Muse were born into an impoverished sharecropping family. The brothers had albinism, a condition that causes pale skin and sensitivity to the sun, which made their laborious life under the harsh sun even more challenging. Tragically, their unique appearance caught the attention of a circus worker, leading to two conflicting stories of how the brothers ended up in a circus show.

One story claims the brothers were lured away and kidnapped by a man named James “Candy” Shelton. Another account suggests their mother, Harriet, may have initially allowed their participation in the circus with the hope they’d be returned soon. Either way, Harriet later discovered her sons had been sold across multiple circuses, displayed as “Eko and Iko” in degrading shows, marketed as "sheep-headed cannibals," "aliens," and more. For years, George and Willie endured miserable conditions, performing tirelessly in various sideshows.

Harriet tracked her sons down in 1927 when Ringling Bros. came to Roanoke, Virginia. She fought to free them, winning a legal settlement and securing their return. Eventually, the brothers continued performing under fairer terms, gaining financial stability, meeting the queen, and performing at prestigious venues.

Between the 1960s and 1998, Northern Ireland was embroiled in an ethno-nationalist conflict known as The Troubles. While the conflict mostly took part in Northern Ireland, the violence sometimes spilled over to the Republic of Ireland, England and even mainland Europe.

A total of 3,532 people died during these years, and another 47,500+ were injured.

For many, Northern Ireland was a no-go zone throughout The Troubles, but there was one woman who looked past the discord and came to visit: 18-year-old Inga Maria Hauser.

Inga was a student from Munich, Germany. She was known for her intrepid spirit, and had ambitions of one day becoming a singer. Inga was also a keen artist.

In March of 1988, Inga left her home in Munich and went backpacking across England and Scotland. On the 6th of April, 1988, Inga boarded a ferry in Scotland to Larne, Northern Ireland. During her travels, she kept a diary which she used to document the sights she saw and the people she met.

That morning, she had written in her diary: “Morning has broken in Scotland. Breakfast in Inverness. Nice town. Have to see the Loch Ness monster one day. Going to Glasgow now. Snowy mountains and wild landscape. Scotland is beautiful.”

The ferry docked in Larne at 9:40PM. Inga stepped off the ferry and disappeared into thin air, only to turn up dead two weeks later....

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞: