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No one wants to be the subject of disturbing facts and creepy stories. But reading about them from the safety of your own home, tucked under a cozy blanket? Listening to a true crime podcast while doing the dishes? Bring it on.

For those who love all things dark and spine-chilling, we’ve rounded up some eerie finds from the Morbid Knowledge Instagram page. Fair warning: some of these contain upsetting content, so proceed with caution—but if you’re here, you probably wouldn’t have it any other way.

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    #3

    Black and white mugshot of Bertha Boronda convicted of mayhem in 1908, a mysterious case that people lose sleep over.

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    Smeghead Tribble Down Under
    Community Member
    20 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Of course whe was ''quiet''. She was probably happy to be around other women and no man who was likely abu.sing her.

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    At first glance, our collective obsession with all things morbid seems genuinely strange. Why do we marathon horror movies every Halloween until we’re jumping at shadows? Why do we queue up yet another unsolved mystery right before bed?

    By all logic, our survival instincts should make us want to distance ourselves from anything that could cause harm, real or imagined. But, turns out, the opposite is true. That same survival instinct is exactly what fuels our morbid curiosity.

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    #4

    Woman holding a baby, related to a mysterious disappearance and creepy story about remains found years later.

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    Liliana Spiro
    Community Member
    15 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's all horrific, but that last sentence always gets to me (this case has been posted on BP at least twice in the past)

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    #5

    Young man in blue graduation gown holding diploma, representing a mysterious fate that remains unsolved and lost sleep fears.

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    Upstaged75
    Community Member
    22 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Apparently people had complained about the smell back there for years but nobody suspected it was a d**d body.

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    In an interview with Psychology Today, psychologist Coltan Scrivner, who studies morbid curiosity, explains that enjoying something scary by watching or reading about it is our brain’s way of learning about potential threats in a safe environment.

    Think of prey in the wild learning about their predators. It’s good for a zebra to know about the lions that live around it. How does the zebra learn about predators? According to Scrivner, the only way to learn is to be curious about it, to feel compelled to observe it under certain circumstances.

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    #8

    Black and white photo of children sitting inside a school shortly before a mysterious disaster buried them alive.

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    Did I say that out loud?
    Community Member
    18 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    For those not familiar. On 21st October 1966 a colliery spoil tip collapsed burying Pantglas Junior School and a row of houses in Aberfan,Wales. 116 children and 28 adults were kìllèd.

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    #9

    Photo collage showing Brianna Maitland, an old car stuck in a boarded-up building, and a group of people gathered, highlighting a mysterious disappearance.

    Brianna Maitland was a 17-year-old living in northern Vermont. In early 2004 she had recently moved out of her parents' home and was trying to become more independent while finishing high school. Brianna worked as a dishwasher at the black lantern inn in Montgomery, Vermont. The job often required late shifts, and coworkers were used to seeing her leave the restaurant sometime after midnight. On march 19, 2004, Brianna finished her shift shortly after midnight. she spoke briefly with coworkers, got into her car, and drove away into the quiet rural roads of northern Vermont. The following day, a state trooper driving along route 118 noticed something unusual near an old barn. A car was partially lodged into the side of the building. The vehicle was Brianna's oldsmobile. instead of crashing head-on, the rear of the car appeared to be pushed or backed into the barn's siding. Despite searches of the surrounding fields and woods, investigators found no trace of Brianna near the scene. The area around the barn was quiet and remote. Investigators have explored several possibilities over the years, including foul play, a staged crash, or someone forcing her vehicle into the barn. Some theories suggest she encountered someone shortly after leaving work. More than twenty years later, Brianna Maitland has never been found. Her abandoned car in the side of the barn remains one of the most unsettling images in missing person cases.

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    Bob Brooce
    Community Member
    10 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Isn't this at least a weekly occurrence? The names and details change, but the same story happens over and over.

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    “You see the same thing with humans. The difference is that we have culture and language to tell stories, so we don’t have to learn about it firsthand,” Scrivner says. “That drastically reduces how dangerous it is to learn about threats. You can learn about almost any kind of awful, terrible danger from the comfort of your home. Our brains pick up on that.”

    #12

    Volcanic eruption at Mount Tambora with dark skies, highlighting mysterious and creepy events that cause people to lose sleep.

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    Tobi Ornot
    Community Member
    9 hours ago

    This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

    Today it would be forbidden!

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    Other researchers support this line of reasoning. In a paper published in Psychological Review, David March of Florida State University lays out evidence that people are often especially drawn to morbid information when it feels socially meaningful.

    For example, behavioral and eye-tracking studies have shown that when people could choose between looking at unpleasant social scenes involving violence or harm, decontextualized images of injury, or natural threats like an attacking shark, they were more likely to choose the social scenes.

    In his own work, March also found that participants spent longer looking at morbid images than at neutral ones, or even images that were equally arousing and clearly threatening but easier to understand.

    #14

    Black and white portrait of Wilmer McLean with text about his mysterious Civil War home fate.

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    BrunoVI
    Community Member
    11 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This doesn't state why that was a bad thing: the house was reduced to toothpicks as people took anything they could from it.

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    Neuroimaging research showed something similar. When participants chose to view unpleasant but socially meaningful images, rather than images that were simply graphic, brain regions linked to reward, decision-making, and weighing costs and benefits became active.

    That does suggest there is something about morbid curiosity that helps us process and learn from danger.

    Never miss a story that brings joy to the world. Follow on Google News

    #18

    Mountain Dew can next to jar with a mouse, calendar marked 74 days later, representing a creepy and mysterious case.

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    Lady Eowyn
    Community Member
    16 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If it will dissolve a mouse, imaging what it's doing to your gut.

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    Modern understanding of morbid curiosity also pushes back against old worries about what it means to enjoy horror. Scrivner notes that some studies from the 1980s found horror fans had lower empathy, but he questioned both the logic and the methods behind those findings.

    “There weren’t very many, and I was critical of their methodology. It also didn’t make sense to me. (Why does someone enjoy scary movies? They enjoy feeling afraid. Why do they feel afraid? Because they’re empathizing with the protagonist. How is that possible if they’re lower in empathy?)” he told Psychology Today.

    #19

    Aerial view of 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami destruction, highlighting mysterious events that lose people sleep over.

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    Lila Allen
    Community Member
    9 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    One beach got lucky. A little girl who had studied tsunami in her class the week before recognized the warning signs and told her dad who alerted everyone. They were able to get to safety before the beach was submerged.

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    #20

    Typewritten text layered chaotically with repeated fragmented questions, illustrating voices heard by a schizophrenic person.

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    random_frog_6846
    Community Member
    10 hours ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Here’s it typed out, everything I could make out at least. The title is Shed “Did you see it? It wants you. It was smiling right at you. Did you smile? No. Why? Are you are you are you? Yes are you Do the doses help? do they have you Have you…had a good day …smiled today Are you? Have you ever eaten flies? You’re smiling. Where are your eyes? Have you eaten today? Are you Have you ever eaten… Are you …flesh Look me in the eyes All LOOK ME IN THE EYES Did you see it in the shed? It was in the Light, today It was happy to see you Are you happy? Have you ever eaten flesh? smiled Eat you? No Is it like metal? Your brain is a mirror Reflecting light Have you looked in a mirror today? Gazer look at yourself You haven’t seen your eyes. Your eyes are like skies, empty You have eyes, you know? Nobody could ever love your eyes like we do I could eat your eyes Your eyes are like pools of honey in a sea of honey Melting in the sun

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    #21

    Two young boys smiling and sitting outdoors, related to a creepy and mysterious unsolved disappearance case.

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    Seán Baron
    Community Member
    Premium
    13 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Are we not going to mention he’s stood next to Jesse Plimmons? No? Anyone? Okay.

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    Using updated measures of cognitive and affective empathy, Scrivner found that people who enjoy horror were not lower in empathy than anyone else.

    In fact, they scored slightly higher on cognitive empathy. Another study found the same pattern when participants were asked how many of the top 50 horror movies they had seen.

    #22

    Gravestone of George Spencer Millet who lost life in a mysterious accident, a creepy story that many lose sleep over.

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    Grace Sssssss
    Community Member
    10 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "Ink erasers" were sharp little knives, meant to scrape the ink off the paper.

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    #23

    Side-by-side photos of Leah Roberts with text about her mysterious disappearance and unsolved case details.

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    Lila Allen
    Community Member
    10 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    See... it's ridiculous how many women just vanish after car crashes.

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    #24

    The last known photo of Patricia Meehan, whose fate remains a mystery after disappearing in 1989.

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    Lila Allen
    Community Member
    10 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Honestly the number of young women who vanish after a non fatal car crash is so high you'd think they'd actually investigate this....and yet

    So if you are here reading these morbid stories, wishing you had a bucket of popcorn beside you and happily soaking up every chill, there is no need to feel bad about it.

    Being fascinated by dark material does not mean something is wrong with you. It may simply mean your brain is doing what it has always done: trying to understand danger from a safe distance.

    #26

    Man with rare fetus in fetu condition, a creepy and mysterious medical anomaly that many lose sleep over.

    morbidknowledge Report

    B
    Community Member
    11 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    So many stories of odd physiological incidents in India. Must be something in the water. Many things, probably.

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    #29

    Black and white portrait of Isadora Duncan with text about her mysterious d***h related to a silk scarf accident.

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    Richard Graham
    Community Member
    10 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The car was a 1927 Amilcar CGSS Roadster (not a Bugatti as is often reported). As she departed, she famously told companions, "Adieu, mes amis. Je vais à la gloire!" ("Farewell, my friends. I go to glory!"). "Isadora Duncan Syndrome": This incident coined the medical term for strangulation caused by scarves or clothing getting caught in machinery or wheels.

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    #31

    Black and white portrait of Robert Todd Lincoln with text about presidential assassinations and fate mystery.

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    Janissary35680
    Community Member
    Premium
    12 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I bet he didn't get invited much to White House gatherings....

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    #32

    Historical illustration of Franz Ferdinand's assassination, a mysterious event that many still lose sleep over.

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    Bryn
    Community Member
    13 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yes but there were previous attempts this same day and they all failed... Also more than likely World War One would have started, just later. Tensions were so high in Europe anyway

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    #33

    Young woman smiling with text overlay about a mysterious disappearance that remains unsolved and creepy.

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    Upstaged75
    Community Member
    22 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    In October 2025, her father announced that investigators had identified new DNA evidence and significantly narrowed the pool of suspects, and the case is no longer considered cold.

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    #34

    Black and white newspaper clipping about the Battle of Los Angeles 1942, with searchlights and unexplained military activity.

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    Janissary35680
    Community Member
    Premium
    12 hours ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "We have met the Enemy and he is Us." (#Si hostem requiris circumspice.)

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    #37

    Black and white image of a woman in a shower, related to creepy and mysterious things people lose sleep over.

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    Crystal M
    Community Member
    Premium
    12 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Hitchcock a****d and tormented his actresses.

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    #44

    Woman in a red jacket in a forested area, related to a mysterious fate that many people lose sleep over.

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    Liliana Spiro
    Community Member
    13 hours ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Tullamore, Ireland. No remains were found and it'snow an open m*rder case. As per Garda (on their website)

    #48

    Soldiers standing near a cannon in a war-torn area, evoking mysterious and creepy historical events that lose people sleep.

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    Liliana Spiro
    Community Member
    14 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Please, BP, as much as I enjoy looking up additional info and sharing what I find, or providing facts I already know, it's a bit frustrating when a post is so fragmented that it really doesn't give any context and understanding of what we're supposed to take from it

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    #49

    Father and daughter in Northern Ireland captured moments before mysterious car b**b that haunts and loses sleep over.

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    Spencers slave no more
    Community Member
    22 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Whilst the father and daughter both survived, 29 people, including the Spanish photographer who took the picture, died in the explosion and over 200 were injured. Omagh, County Tyrone, August 15th 1998.

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    #50

    Man sitting on a folding chair near volcano, capturing moments before eruption in a creepy and mysterious scene.

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    Spencers slave no more
    Community Member
    21 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    David A. Johnston. He was stationed at an observation post about 6 miles from Mount St. Helens to monitor its activity. He was kílled when the volcano erupted, obliterating his observation posts.

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    #51

    Christopher McCandless final photo with mysterious note, linked to creepy and mysterious stories that lose sleep over.

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    Upstaged75
    Community Member
    22 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    He was an idiot. Too bad he's been glorified in the media.

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    #54

    Last image of hiker Geraldine Largay in Maine forest, part of creepy and mysterious stories that people lose sleep over.

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    Bonnie Blue Bird
    Community Member
    16 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    She wandered off the Appalachian Trail and became lost. Died from lack of food and water and exposure.

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    #55

    Two men in vintage suits sitting on a colorful dating gameshow set, related to creepy and mysterious stories.

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    Spencers slave no more
    Community Member
    22 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Rodney Alcala. He was already a convicted sëx offender, and actively committing mürders, when he appeared on the show. He won, but the young woman who chose him refused to go on the date because she found him creepy.

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    #56

    Black and white photos of Edward Paisnel and his contorted mask costume related to creepy and mysterious true crime cases.

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    fancy unicorn
    Community Member
    17 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It was r**e, 13 counts. Some of the women were probably homeowners. BP should pay me to correct their posts.

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    #57

    Image showing a blurred figure about to jump into icy water, evoking a creepy and mysterious fate unknown.

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    Bonnie Blue Bird
    Community Member
    17 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This happened in Russia. In the Orthodox church it is believed that water becomes holy on January 19th (Epiphany) those who dunk themselves three times will cleanse their sins away. It was not her intent to harm herself and the incident was witnessed by her family to include her children. Her husband tried to save her. Her body was never found.

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    #58

    Last known photograph of Ian Curtis with his daughter, related to creepy and mysterious fate people lose sleep over.

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    Lauora
    Community Member
    18 hours ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is the same look in the last photo I have of my late husband and our daughter before he took his life. To anyone who can feel hope anymore, just focus on your next breath, next step, just one day at a time. You are more loved than you can feel right now x 🫂

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    #60

    Joe Kelly with his sons at a Yankees game before his tragic d***h in the September 11 attacks, a mysterious fate shared by many.

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    Armac
    Community Member
    Premium
    20 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Sad, but hardly a mystery.

    #61

    Three teenage girls taking a selfie near train tracks moments before a tragic and mysterious accident occurs.

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    Smeghead Tribble Down Under
    Community Member
    20 hours ago (edited)

    This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

    I cannot understand people who fk with trains. They terrify me. They are huge and take forever to stop, and derail at the drop of a pin. If you aren't familiar with it, look up the Granville train disaster. Happened in Sydney in 1977. 83 people kil.led. Known as The Day Of The Roses. 83 roses are thrown onto the tracks from the replaced bridge each year in commemoration. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granville_rail_disaster

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    #62

    Portrait of Tycho Brahe, the famous astronomer whose mysterious d***h involved a fatal bladder rupture after avoiding the bathroom.

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    Liliana Spiro
    Community Member
    14 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Deemed a myth. "Modern science suggests that his d***h was likely caused by acute urinary retention—an inability to pass urine—possibly due to an enlarged prostate or kidney infection that led to uremia (toxic levels of waste in the blood)." As per BBC

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    #63

    Abandoned Ferris wheel and bumper cars in Pripyat's amusement park, a creepy mystery people lose sleep over.

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    fancy unicorn
    Community Member
    17 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is Chernobyl nuclear accident, OMG BP, must I do everything for you?

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    #64

    CCTV image of Trevor Deely on last known night in Dublin, related to creepy and mysterious fate that remains a mystery.

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    Lila Allen
    Community Member
    9 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This one is WILD. Some guys were walking around and hiding near the bank. Trevor unexpectedly returns. He gets the umbrella and is seen leaving with two men in dark clothes who had been waiting in a courtyard off to the side for over 20 minutes follow him and he's never seen again.

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    #68

    Three WWI soldiers in muddy trenches with corpses, illustrating creepy and mysterious war conditions that lose people sleep.

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    liam newton-harding
    Community Member
    9 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    @BP...STOP with the AI slop images...there are thousands of photographs of the horror of WWI.

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    #69

    Tsunami and earthquake disaster at Port Royal Jamaica in 1692, a mysterious event that people lose sleep over.

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    random_frog_6846
    Community Member
    10 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Why even bother having a photo if it’s going to be AI?

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    #72

    Portrait of King Charles II in royal attire referencing creepy and mysterious facts that people lose sleep over.

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    Norfolk and good
    Community Member
    15 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Are we sure he wasn't just on a sesh? He was after all The Merry Monarch, and the King who brought back partying. 🎵 🎶

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    #77

    Portrait of Louis XIV in royal attire with a caption about mysterious fate and creepy stories people lose sleep over.

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    fancy unicorn
    Community Member
    17 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yeah, that's really an odd story but true. Fun for a deep dive.

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    #81

    Medieval painting depicting Richard II of England and young Isabelle of France, evoking creepy and mysterious historical themes.

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    Lucy Covington
    Community Member
    Premium
    15 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This was common back in medieval Europe to solidify peace etc between nations. It was usually common practice not to 'consummate' the marriage at this age, they would have to wait until the girl was of age, usually once she started puberty. Still creepy but childhood wasn't really a thing back then. Boys of 7 would be sent off to be pages (upper society), poor kids would be working fields with their parents from the day they could walk and talk.

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    #84

    Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Pompeii, a mysterious disaster where residents lost their lives suddenly, a creepy event to lose sleep over.

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    Liliana Spiro
    Community Member
    13 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I visited the open-air museum site as a child. It was haunting to see, especially as an impressionable young child. The actual skeletons in the display are, in fact, encased inside the plaster casts, adding to the haunting feeling. This feeling remains with me to this day, but it was an immensely interesting experience and it's not that I'm "scarred for life", it just made a profound impact on me seeing this, especially when seeing what was believed to be a mother tenderly holding her child in their final moments. Recently the tested DNA revealed it being a male, so not a mother, which in no way changes the both touching as well as horrific sentiment

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    #85

    A close-up of a creepy bust believed to be Henry VIII as a child, evoking mysterious thoughts people lose sleep over.

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    Janissary35680
    Community Member
    Premium
    12 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "Said who?" asks the Wikipedia editor.

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    #86

    Group of diverse people with serious expressions highlighting 49.6 million living in modern slavery today.

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    David Paterson
    Community Member
    1 hour ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The organisation that this is quoted from counts public servants, policemen, and farmers who sell their produce to the government as "slaves". This myth needs to be busted.

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    #88

    Image showing a man leaving Cook County Jail before a mysterious and violent attack that leaves his fate unclear.

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    Upstaged75
    Community Member
    22 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Wrong. He was outside the jail on the street.

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    #90

    Father and daughter disappear on Maine's Katahdin hike; mysterious fate remains a mystery causing loss of sleep.

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    Spencers slave no more
    Community Member
    22 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Esther's body was recovered a day after her father's. Tim d1ed from hypothermia in extreme weather conditions, while Esther d1ed from blunt force trauma, likely caused by sliding down a steep, icy boulder field.

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    #91

    Photo from 2005 showing Natalee Holloway at a bar before she disappeared, a case that remains a mystery.

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    Spencers slave no more
    Community Member
    21 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    In 2023, Joran van der Sloot, the prime suspect in Natalee's disappearance, confessed to kīlling her and dumping her body in the ocean. He was serving 28 years in a Peruvian prison for the 2010 műrder of Stephany Flores, when he was was sentenced for 20 years in US federal prison on extortion charges, when he confessed.

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