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What happens after we say cheese? The subjects of the following photographs probably didn’t predict the answer to be a morbid plot twist. We have all seen post-tragedy photos of terrible accidents. Yet, there is something particularly ominous and haunting about photos taken before disaster.

Think smiling families, groups embarking on explorations, and daring stunt attempts, not in the least expecting to be caught in a natural disaster or a horrific plane crash. Some of these pictures appear so unassuming and cheerful that it makes what followed all the more horror story-like.

William Shakespeare famously said, “Men at some times are masters of their fate,” but as you will see in the following photos taken before disaster, this is not always the case. Scroll down below with caution to see the Bored Panda round-up of some of the most creepy images that precede unfortunate events.

#1

Mount St. Helen Eruption

Mount St. Helen Eruption

On May 18, 1980, Robert Landsberg, a freelance photographer, was just four miles away from Mount St. Helen. He had spent some time in the vicinity, exploring the beautiful vistas prior to the fatal event. This photo, showing the wall of ash that formed after the eruption, was the last one he took. Landsberg managed to hide the film with the photos before disaster struck on it under his body, leaving this as a piece of documentation of the events.

Smartin53 Report

#2

The Crew Of The Challenger Space Shuttle

Crew of space shuttle challenger walking their way to board

This is one of the last pictures before the disaster of the Challenger shuttle. The image shows all of the seven Challenger Shuttle crew members as they are boarding the vessel on January 28, 1986. The Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, ultimately killing all of the seven crew members.

NASA Report

#3

1976 Ebola Outbreak

Picture of Mayinga N’Seka a nurse standing near hospital bed during an Ebola Outbreak in 1976

Mayinga N’Seka, a nurse, is depicted here during an Ebola outbreak In 1976. The outbreak happened in Zaire, where 318 cases and 280 deaths were documented (88% fatality rate). Her dedication meant that she eventually contracted the disease herself and passed away not long after.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Report

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#4

The Omagh Bombing

Man and child standing near red car that killed 29 people

The Omagh Bombing was a car bombing that occurred on August 15, 1998, in the town of Omagh in Northern Ireland. It was carried out by the Real Irish Republican Army. The blast took away the lives of 29 people, including that of a woman pregnant with twins, and injured over 200 others. The man and the child in the image that precedes unfortunate events survived, but the photographer didn’t. 

Wesley Johnston Report

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Anne Bleakley
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Giant space Tiger - I'm from Northern Ireland- lived through the troubles and the situation is extremely complex. Best not to make political comments on a situation you don't understand. We are just grateful that those days have passed and we can go about our lives without worrying about being blown up or shot.

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#5

The Tragedy Of Keith Sapsford

14 year old Keith Sapsford jumped from plane wheel

On February 20, 1970, a 14-year-old Australian teen named Keith Sapsford snuck into the Sydney Airport and hid in the wheel well of a plane en route to Japan. Keith was described as a curious kid, and this was his attempt at an adventure. However, soon after the plane took off, a tragedy struck, and Keith’s 200ft plunge to death was accidentally documented by John Gilpin, an amateur photographer, who happened to be testing his new camera lens at that time and took this haunting photo before a disaster. 

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Sally Appleton
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've always wondered: if you were to fall like that, would you die upon hitting the ground or would you have a heart attack or something while falling? Can anyone tell me?

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#6

Columbine High School Massacre

Columbine high school massacre footage where William “Dave” Sanders guiding kids

On April 20, 1999, a shooting and an attempted bombing took place at the Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado. The photos taken before disaster show William “Dave” Sanders guiding over 100 students out of the cafeteria to safety. While he did save those students, he was later shot twice in the chest and did not survive. 

acolumbinesite.com Report

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#7

Uruguayan Flight 571

Picture of people flying on Flight 571

This is the last image of the infamous Uruguayan Flight 571, right before it crashed in the Andes on October 13, 1972. 27 out of 45 people survived the initial crash. However, they were eventually forced to cannibalize the dead to stay alive. Out of the 27 who survived the crash, 16 were rescued 72 days later. 

Mr_Funnybone Report

#8

The Malaysia Airlines Flight 17

Picture of Dave Hally wife with daughter on the plane

Dave Hally took one last photo of his wife and their 4-year-old daughter aboard the MH17 flight that was supposed to take them on their dream vacation from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. The plane was shot down shortly after its take-off while flying over a Russian-controlled part of eastern Ukraine. The tragedy took the lives of all 283 passengers and 15 crew members, and this is one of the last pictures before the disaster.

Dave Hally Report

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Stephanie Chapman
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember this happening because it was a huge atrocity and because there were a lot of people on board heading to a conference on AIDS. So doctors, researchers, and a lot of people who were working towards a cure.

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#9

The Crash Of The 235 Flight

Moment before Transasia flight 235 crashed

A dash cam captured the moments right before TransAsia’s flight 235 crashed in the Keelung River in Taiwan. The plane carried 58 people, and only 15 of them survived. The crash was deemed to be the mistake of the pilots. 

CBC News Report

#10

The Eagles Of Death Metal Concert

Gilles Leclerc and Marianne Labanane in The Eagles of Death metal concert

Gilles Leclerc and Marianne Labanane took a selfie at the Bataclan Theatre while waiting to see the performance of The Eagles of Death Metal. Moments later, four terrorists stormed into the theater and started shooting, ultimately killing 90 people. Gilles was killed in the attack, but Marianne, shielded by Gilles, survived. 

Mon frère Gilles Leclerc Report

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Joannie Goulet
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've heard about them. The man protected his girlfriend by throwing her to the ground out of harms way when the gunman started shooting. She survived thanks to his quick reflexes and selflessness. A true hero.

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#11

The Tragedy Of Robert Overcracker

Robert Overcracker droved a jet ski over Niagara Falls

Robert Overcracker was a professional stuntman who wanted to raise awareness for the homeless. So, in 1995, he decided to drive a jet ski over Niagara Falls to get the needed attention. One of these photos taken before disaster caught the moment as his parachute failed to deploy, ultimately sending Robert to his demise. 

confluencer Report

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logical fallacy
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Which is why you need a reserve parachute. And a reserve reserve parachute. And a reserve reserve reserve parachure.

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#12

Last Moments Of Harambe

Harambe with child at the Cincinnati Zoo

Harambe, a 17-year-old silverback gorilla, was shot after an incident involving a kid falling into his enclosure. The tragic events sparked a lot of talk on the internet, with many condemning the conduct of the zookeepers, saying the gorilla was shot without justification. In the image, you can see the last moments before Harambe’s death in Cincinnati Zoo in 2016.

ABC News Report

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A Little Light Arson
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The fault is of the parents, not keeping an eye on their child. Harambe may have been dangerous, but so is letting your child wander around at that age. They should have been supervising.

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#13

Moments Before A Bear Attack

Picture of black bear at the woods

West Milford took this photo on what was supposed to be a calm and relaxing hike in New Jersey. In fact, West was killed by the bear minutes after taking one of these haunting images that precede unfortunate events. 

West Milford Police Report

#14

Nicholas Mevoli After His Last Free Dive

Picture of Nicholas Mevoli after his last free dive

Nicholas Mevoli, a professional free diver, was attempting to dive 236 ft deep. He successfully completed the dive, surfaced, gave the OK sign, tried to speak, and then passed out. He never regained consciousness and died the same day from a pulmonary edema (a fluid buildup in the lungs). 

Lia Hyun-Joo Barrett Report

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#15

Last Picture Of Ayano Tokumasu

Picture of family with Ayano Tokumasu before railing outside the Niagara Falls

This unsuspecting family snapped the last moments of Ayano’s (dressed in red) life. In the following moments, Ayano threw herself over the railings outside Niagara Falls to her death. 

LoraxlRose Report

#16

Archduke Ferdinand And His Wife Sophie

Archduke Ferdinand and His Wife Sophie 1h before shot and killed

The last picture of Archduke Ferdinand, the heir of the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie, was taken about an hour before the assassination of the Archduke took place. The killing was done by a Bosnian-Serb nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and his actions ultimately triggered the beginning of WWI. 

commons.wikimedia.org Report

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stellermatt
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

it's incredible how he was actually killed. An assassin had tried to throw a bomb under their passing car, but it missed and exploded the car behind, the assassin then took his cyanide pill, but it was faulty and just caused him to throw up (a lot) so he panicked and threw himself in the river, but it had been a long hot summer, so the river was shallow... Ferdinand then was rushed away but later wanted to go and see the survivors or the earlier bomb, it was when he was on his way there that he was shot.

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Savant
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Actually, the driver made a wrong turn when going to the survivors, and passed in front of the gunman, who shot Archduke Ferdinand.

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Jace
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Trigger... well... It was used as an excuse to do what political powers wanted to do anyway.

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Jonathan Bruford
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No it wasn't! The first world war was fought over oil! 1st UK deployment?? That would be to Basra. The Germans planned a pipeline from (what is now) Iraq to Germany, this would have given them a significant advantage in the arms race, so Britain stopped it. the whole franz ferdinand thing was because the British knew that a commercial war would not enjoy the support of the people who, you know, would die in it... something america didnt learn until the 70's :-) hence the b******t around WMD for the next time they had a go at iraq. it's always about oil.... until it's about wheat or water.

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Jack In The Box
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Gavrilo Princip was not a "Serb Nationalist", but a member of organization which was dedicated to the liberation of Bosnia from Austro-Hungarian occupation. Members of this organization were also Croats and Muslims.

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Angie Ando
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yikes! I’m sorry, but I had to laugh out loud when I read stellarmatt’s post

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Bingyu Hu
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, I remember reading this in The Story of the World. Gavrilo Princip was drinking coffee when he saw Ferdinand and Sophie in their car. He got out a gun and shot both of them. Also, someone tried to kill them by planting a bomb under their car. The car was blown up, but they both survived.

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Kevin Braid
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

not a fan of serbia, look what they did to all those muslims in places like Srebrenica, 8000 ppl murdered.

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Goran Šafarek
Community Member
5 years ago

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One more innocent mistake? After Russians allegedly downed the airplane above Russia? Ferdinand was visiting Bosnia, occupied by his forces. Proncim was nationalist, but in his own country.

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Daniel Duarte
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

FYI the official investigation report of MH17 indicates that a BUK17 from a russian army division located in a russian—backed separatist area fired the missile which brought it down. Doubts only exist on russian media.

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#17

Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182

Picture of the plane before hitting the ground

In 1978, Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182 from Sacramento tragically crashed into a small private Cessna 172. After the collision, the 182 fell down, and this image captured the moment before it hit the ground. 137 people on the airplanes were killed, as well as 7 watching the event take place on the ground. 

Hans Wendt Report

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Don Flynn
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I saw that happen... it was PE class and we were playing soccer on the upper field at Junipero Serra High School in San Diego. We watched the PSA jet go across the sky on fire until it hit the ground

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#18

Japan Air Lines Flight 123

Picture of Japan Airlines flight 123 inside before crash

Japan Air Lines Flight 123 was supposed to be a domestic flight from Tokyo to Osaka, Japan. On August 12, 1985, the Boeing 747 suffered a severe malfunction 12 minutes into the flight, and after flying for another 32 minutes under minimal control, crashed near Tokyo. Out of 524 people on the flight, only 4 ultimately survived. 

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Nadja Lambacher
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5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am honestly curious how 4 people managed to survive. That is incredible luck.

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#19

Christopher McCandless’s Last Self-Portrait

Picture of Christopher McCandless'es last self portrait

Christopher McCandless (the man from “Into The Wild” story) was an American adventurer. His last adventure took place in the Alaskan bush, where he stayed in an abandoned bus for over 100 days. His decomposing body was found in 1992 by moose hunters, with starvation later determined as the cause of his death (although that’s still debated). This is one of the last pictures before disaster.

Chris McCandless Report

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Susan Forbes
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And now people who are "inspired" by the book have to be rescued from their own lack of preparation. They obviously didn't think about what happened IRL

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#20

Pavel Kashin’s Deadly Trick

Pavel Kashin performing the back flip trick

Parkour enthusiast, Pavel Kashin, is depicted in this photo while attempting to perform a trick that ultimately led to his death. He was trying to do a backflip to the wall but soon lost his balance and fell to the ground. 

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#21

James Dean Before His Crash

James Dean getting gas for his Porsche 550 Spyder

James Dean, a Hollywood actor, is pictured here filling up the tank of his Porsche 550 Spyder not long before he crashed it and died on September 30, 1955. Although the car was totaled, the salvageable parts were sold, only to cause several accidents later on. This spurred the myth that the car was actually cursed.

Corbis Report

#22

One Of The Last Known Pictures Of Titanic Afloat

Picture of Titanic afloat

Titanic, the biggest cruise liner of its time, sank on April 15, 1912, after it collided with an iceberg. There were an estimated 2,224 passengers and crew aboard. More than 1,500 of them did not survive the collision.

vintag.es Report

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BusLady
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The last survivor, Millvina Dean, died in 2009, at the age of 97. She was 2 months old at the time of the tragedy.

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#23

The Concorde Crash

Picture of Concorde Crash

On July 25, 2000, Air France flight 4590, a Concorde passenger jet bound for New York from Paris, crashed shortly after its takeoff. The plane’s engines caught on fire, and the crash took the lives of 113 people in total. Although it was the only fatal accident in 27 years of Concordes being operated, they were all grounded after the crash, soon to be retired and never to fly again altogether. 

Toshihiko Sato Report

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GiantSpaceTiger
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It killed Concorde, too. Not just that one - all the planes were mothballed soon after. Now if you want to fly supersonic you need to be Military :(

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#24

Diana, Princess Of Wales

Diana Princess Of Wales before the fatal crash

One of the last photos of Diana, Princess of Wales, was taken by paparazzi chasing her car on the fatal night of the crash that took her and Dodi Al Fayed’s lives. She’s seen in the back of the car with her head turned. In front on the left is her bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones, and on the right, the driver Henri Paul (who was later found to be driving drunk). This is one of the photos taken before the disaster on the night of August 31, 1997, just before the fatal crash.

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Max L.
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Who took the photo contributed to the crash and their death (not sure her bodyguard survived)

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#25

George Mallory And Andrew “Sandy” Irvine On Their Mount Everest Conquest

George Mallory and Sandy Irvine before they began their ascent of Mt. Everest

George Mallory was an experienced mountaineer, and this wasn’t his first attempt to scale the summit of Mt. Everest in 1924. However, this attempt was fatal. And while the body of Andrew “Sandy” Irvine has never been recovered, Mallory’s remains were found 75 years after his demise by an expedition set for this task in 1999.

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#26

Paul Walker

Paul Walker going into the car that crashed

In this image, you can see Paul Walker, a beloved Hollywood actor known for his role in the Fast and Furious series, climbing into the car that eventually crashed, taking his and his driver’s lives in 2013. 

Splash Report

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Herb Eaversmells
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ricardo miller posthumously awarded Paul Walker his bjj black belt. Already a brown belt at the time of his passing, his coach thought nothing would,stop him from receiving his,black belt. This was a real honorable gesture by his,coaches part and a real cool thing to do

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#27

The Fatal Show Of The Great White

The band Great White playing at Rhode Island's station nightclub

The photo was taken moments before a tragedy struck at the Great White band concert at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., on February 20, 2003. The pyrotechnics seen on stage are about to set the whole club in flames and kill more than 100 people. 

John Johnson's Video Archive Report

#28

The Televised Trial Of R. Budd Dwyer

R. Budd Dwyer holding a gun

R. Budd Dwyer was the treasurer of Pennsylvania between 1981–87 before being accused of bribery and withholding taxes. He shot himself on his televised trial, watched by millions. This is one of the last images of him. 

imdb.com Report

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#29

Joseph Avery’s Niagara River Crash

Picture of Joseph Avery crashing his boat in the Niagara river

The reason why this photo is so blurry is because it was taken on July 18, 1853. In the image, you can see Joseph Avery, the sole survivor of a boat crash that killed two other passengers, clinging to a rock to be saved. He stayed this way for 18 hours, and when the rescue boat came, it capsized just as he boarded it, ultimately ending Avery’s life. It’s probably one of the oldest photos taken before disaster.

LOC Report