We like to believe that everything we don’t understand can one day be explained to us. But in reality, life holds many mysteries that we will never be able to solve. Police, scientists, and researched can spend hours upon hours trying to identify a body, explain a seemingly supernatural phenomena, or debunk what seems to be an urban legend. In the end, despite their best efforts, these enigmas often remain unexplained. For decades, people have been endlessly fascinated by these tales of unsolved mysteries, resulted in countless books, TV shows, and movies. With thousands of people hearing these stories for the first time, someone is bound to crack one of them open. Perhaps you’ll even be able to provide some insight into one of these mysteries….
Plane Vanishes Mid Flight
A Malaysia Airlines flight with 239 people on board mysteriously disappeared, seemingly without a trace. The situation is made all the more unusual when you take into consideration that the skies were completely clear, and not a single distress signal was sent out by the pilot.
Nine months after the plane went missing search parties have been unable to find any debris from a plane crash, it’s as if the Boeing 777 vanished into thin air.
Statue with Hidden Message
This statue was created by sculptor Jim Sanborn, and is said to contain a hidden message. The piece contains only 1800 characters and 97 letters, but since its unveiling in 1990, no one has been able to crack the code.
In 2014 the artist gave the public a couple of vague clues, saying the code had something to do with the words BERLIN and CLOCK. Perhaps this will help someone unlock the mystery eventually.
Buried Treasure
Dutch Schlutz was a gangster in the early 1900s who racked up loads of cash selling bootleg booze. Having a hunch that someone was trying to bump him off, he decided to hide his riches. He stowed away around $5 million in cash, gold, and jewelry somewhere in the Catskill Mountains of New York.
As he had predicted, he was murdered soon after. But the treasure he had buried has still yet to be discovered.
The Zodiac Killer
“The Zodiac Killer” was an elusive mad man who roamed San Francisco and murdered 7 people in the 1960s. Apparently, he sent mocking letters to the police, hinting as his identity and describing his various kills. The last letter was sent over 44 years ago, and authorities have still yet to crack the case.
Though in 2018, the police made the decision to collect DNA from the back of the stamps of the letters he sent. We’ll just have to wait and see if they’ll finally catch him.
Celebrity Phone Hacks
You may remember the infamous celebrity photo hacks that began August 2017, and stretched out until November. A number of female celebrities had their private photos exposed to the public, including Jennifer Lawrence, Scarlett Johansson, Kim Kardashian, and Kate Upton.
The photos were originally shared by an anonymous user on the controversial site 4chan. It was confirmed that the hacks were targeted to specific individuals, but the motive, as well as the number of hackers involved, is still unknown.
Amelia Earhart’s Disappearance
One of the most famous mysteries in American history is the disappearance of aviator Amelia Earhart. During a flight in which she was attempting to circumnavigate the Earth she sent out a number of distress signals, but at one point the transmissions stopped going through, she was never heard from again.
Neither her plane or her remains were ever found, and the mystery of what happened after the signal cut off remains to this day.
Forty Missing Students
About forty Mexican high school students had planned to travel to a protest when they mysteriously disappeared. It was said that they were stopped by the police, and investigators reported they were handed over to a drug gang who eventually murdered them.
Eighty people were arrested following their disappearance, including the mayor and local chief of police. However, the bodies of the students have never been found.
Escaping the Inescapable
Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco is known for being virtually inescapable. Not only is the facility heavily guarded, but the prison is situated on an island 1.25 miles offshore. Despite its reputation, three prisoners in the history of its existence have managed to escape. However, they were never seen again, and their bodies were never found.
It’s unclear whether their escape plan was a success or if they drowned in the freezing cold waters while trying to reach shore. In 2018, one of the escapees sent a letter to the police saying that he was still alive. The note could be a forgery, but it was good enough evidence for the FBI to reopen the case.
What’s in Area 51?
Area 51 is an Air Force base located in the remote Nevada Desert, about 150 miles away from Las Vegas. Many conspiracies revolve around what exactly the area is being used for, and whether it’s hiding some sort of government secret. Some believe that extraterrestrials are being kept there, others say that time travel is being developed.
The area is highly classified, so no members of the public area likely to find out what’s really going on there anytime soon.
Broadcast, Interrupted
One evening in 1987, a television news segment was interrupted by a mysterious man wearing a Max Headroom mask with sunglasses. The man did nothing for 25 seconds before the broadcast continued. However, the man reappeared in the middle of an episode of Doctor Who, this time mooning the audience while being spanked with a fly swatter.
Authorities never uncovered the man’s identity, and the interruption was never repeated.
Gruesome Murder Never Solved
22 Year old actress Elizabeth Short was found brutally murdered in 1947, her body cut in half and gashes on either side of her mouth forming a creepy smile. Oddly enough, a number of people took credit for the murder, but none of them were ever changed.
A book was recently published about the mysterious kill, and claimed that the most likely suspect was a bellhop and former mortician’s assistant. To this day, no one has been charged with the murder.
Bigfoot Sightings
People have claimed to have seen the legendary Bigfoot all over North America. The tall, hairy, man-like creature is rumored to be a supernatural being that has existed before humans arrived to the continent. His existence has yet to be confirmed, and many regard him as a fabrication.
However, there are still those who have seen the beast and swear that he is real. Will the world ever know the truth?
Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper was an infamous murderer in London during the late 1800s, known to brutally murder women and leave their gruesome corpses to be found by authorities. Over a century later, and the identity of Jack the Ripper has yet to be uncovered, and some believe he was merely a legend who never really existed.
Recently a book was published that claimed Jack the Ripper was actually a woman named Lizzie Williams, though historians find this claim to be doubtful. It’s likely we’ll ever discover the person behind the title.
Jimmy Hoffa’s Disappearance
Jimmy Hoffa had spent four years in prison for all his illegal activities as President of the union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters until he was eventually pardoned by Richard Nixon in 1971. However, two weeks after investigators discovered hundreds of millions of dollars missing from the union’s pension fund, Hoffa mysteriously disappeared.
The FBI questioned mafia bosses Anthony Giacalone and Anthony Provenzano, but neither of them provided any leads. Jimmy Hoffa has never been seen since, dead or alive.
The Assassination of JFK
The assassination of John F. Kennedy is one of the most widespread mysteries in american history. While Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the assassination itself, he claimed that he was acting under orders and was taken advantage of. Two days after his arrest, he was fatally shot by nightclub owner Jack Ruby, who eventually died of lung cancer.
The events following Kennedy’s assassination have led historians and the general public to speculate over the real reason Oswald killed the President that fateful November morning.
The Marfa Lights
The Marfa Lights were a UFO spotting that have captured the interest of those who believe in the paranormal for over a century. People have theorized over the origins of these mysterious lights, claiming that they might be indigenous spirits seeking revenge.
Physics students who looked into the phenomena have ruled that the lights were merely car headlights driving down the highway. But that’s just another theory…
Hikers’ Bodies Never Found
One of the most horrifying and elusive disappearances are those of Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon, two Dutch students who were seemingly killed while hiking in Panama. Investigators have only found fragments of the bodies of the two women and their backpacks.
Even more disturbing was the discovery of one of their boots with a foot still inside. What caused their demise is unknown to this day.
John and Jane Doe
In August 1976 local authorities were called to investigate the murder of two unidentified individuals. A man and a woman were found with no identification whatsoever, both of them had been shot in the back. The police discovered the murder weapon, but never the identity of the two victims.
Whoever killed this John and Jane Doe got away with the crime, as no one was ever convicted for the murders.
The Bermuda Triangle
The Bermuda Triangle is an infamous path of the North Atlantic Ocean, often nicknamed the Devil’s Triangle, which has been responsible for the disappearance of dozens of ships and planes over the past few centuries.
Theories that range from natural phenomena to terrifying sea monsters have been tossed around since, scientists have still yet to unlock the mystery of this deadly body of water.
Black Eyed Kids
Since the 1980s, there legend of the Black Eyed Kids has made its way around residential neighborhoods. A few people have come forward claiming to have had a small child knock at their door asking for help, but when they took a closer look, the child’s eyes appeared to be completely black.
One man claimed a Black Eyed Kid told him he had, “come to collect him.” Scary stuff!
Abducted on the Road
32 year old Pamela Webb was driving from Maine to New Hampshire to visit her boyfriend, but she never arrived at her destination. The following morning her boyfriend reported her missing, and the police set out a search party on the Maine highway. They recovered the truck she had been driving, as well as her dog and some of her belongings.
Her body was found in New Hampshire several weeks later, but the murderer was never caught.
Kidnapped and Never Found
Eight year old Zachary Bernhardt was abducted from his home one September morning. His mother admitted to the police that she often left the boy unattended at home, but there was no evidence connecting her to his disappearance.
A year later, a Polaroid photo of Zachary tied up and gagged was found in a parking lot. Sadly, this did not help the police crack the case and Zachary is still missing to this day.
Grand Duchess Anastasia
The tale of the missing Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna is truly a fascinating one. In 1918 the Tsar and his entire family, including Anastasia, were abducted. About 3 years later, a German woman claimed she was the real Anastasia, claiming to have had amnesia and no memory of her escape.
In 1991 the remains of the Tsar’s families were finally discovered, including the skeleton of Anastasia. As suspected, she had died in 1918 along with the rest of her family.
The Black Doodler
The Black Doodler was a serial killer in San Francisco, California in the mid 70s. He was known for sketching portraits of his victims before going to bed with them, and then subsequently murdering them.
Due to fear of outing themselves during a homophobic social climate, no surviving victims ever spoke to the police. To this day the Black Doodler has never been arrested or identified.
Who put Bella down the Wych Elm?
In 1943, four local boys were exploring in Hagley Wood, England, when they discovered human remains inside a hollowed out wych elm tree. One boy reported the incident to his parents, who later informed the police. Authorities determined the woman had been dead 18 months, but were unable to uncover her identity.
A year later, a graffiti message appeared on a street in Birmingham that said “Who put Bella down the Wych Elm – Hagley Wood?”. These messages continued to pop up until the 1970s, but the mystery was never solved.