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Article created by: Mantas Kačerauskas

Every town has its secrets… The kind that rarely make it into history books or glossy tourist brochures. They’re the stories that people whisper about behind locked doors, or in dimly lit corridors. True crimes are so unsettling that some locals would rather not speak about them and instead pretend they never happened. Until now…

Someone recently asked, “What’s a disturbing crime from your town that doesn’t get talked about?” and the answers read like a Stephen King horror. From people chopping off relatives’ heads, to entire families wiped out in a moment of madness, and shady black market body part shops… This is the stuff nightmares are made of.

Bored Panda has put together a list of the most bone-chilling ones for you to scroll through while you ponder the hidden secrets of your own neighborhood. We also explore why many people are so obsessed with true crime stories. And why that’s not necessarily a good thing. You’ll find that info between the images. Please note that some people might find the following content extremely disturbing.

#1

Healthcare professional with blue gloves preparing to draw blood from patient's arm, illustrating disturbing crimes nearby concept. This didn't happen where I lived but it was very disturbing. This happened in Florida. Back in the late 1980's, the Ray Brothers were barred from school for having AIDS. They had hemophilia and got AIDS thru blood transfusions. In 1987 someone set their home on fire and the family was forced to move as a result. I don't think they ever caught the arsonist but I find it hard to believe that no one who lived in that town knew who might have done this.

baronesslucy , Yunus Tuğ / Unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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    #2

    Close-up of a damaged metal dental crown on a molar tooth, highlighting unusual and disturbing crime scene evidence. Funeral home was selling body parts and gold from teeth/jewelry without permission, (using funds for luxury items and vacations) and giving loved ones cement mix in place of cremains. They literally operated a business called "Body Brokers" from the same address as the funeral home.

    sofakingWTD , Wikipedia (not the actual photo) Report

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    #3

    House engulfed in flames at night with smoke in the air, illustrating disturbing crimes occurring near homes. I lived in a very white suburban / rural town in the 1980s. A black family bought a large house directly across the street from the local country club. It was burned down within a month. Even though everyone knew who did it, or at least who was responsible, there was never an arrest made.

    HoraceBenbow , Jen Theodore /Unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

    #4

    Dense forest and muddy riverbank illustrating the setting of disturbing crimes that happened right on their doorstep As of recently in Houston, multiple bodies have been found in Buffalo Bayou and this maybe linked to an active serial killer.

    Cheetodude625 , JoanLouise / Wikipedia (not the actual photo) Report

    #5

    Smartphone with pink case and earbuds resting on denim fabric, evoking disturbing crimes on doorsteps theme. Oh man. Few girls went missing in my middle of nowhere town. A body or two was found in the river after a while of searching. They search one potential guys house, even the pile of concrete rubble behind it.

    One day, this same guy is drunk driving and runs into a school bus. Police search his car and find a pretty little pink cell phone apparently belonging to one of the missing girls. They search his house again, and this time in the pile of rubble find the last missing girls body.

    Population of literally 135 where I grew up.

    Interesting-Driver94 , Valeriia Miller / Unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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    #6

    Black and white vintage photo of a serious man in a suit, evoking the atmosphere of disturbing crimes close to home. I live in Hannover in Germany. About 100 years ago, there was a guy called Fritz Haarmann. I’m not fully aware of his crimes but here he’s known as the "Vampire of Hanover". He was a cannibal.

    He’s somewhat known in Germany — especially here in Hannover obviously — but outside of Germany, I don’t think too many people have heard of him and his crimes.

    Informal_Aerie8078 , zur Druckversion / Wikipedia Report

    #7

    Camera lens placed on a wooden surface, symbolizing surveillance related to disturbing crimes on doorsteps. Where a grew up this guy was neighbors with some of my parent friends. He seemed a nice guy and seemed a good neighbor. He managed to place multiple hidden cameras in my parents friends house and was recorded the wife in the shower and bed room and would get in their attic to grab the vhs tapes and replace with new ones to continue recording. I think he was able to manage this by acting like he was boring a friendly neighbor and helping with house repairs and renovations if my memory serves me correctly. The wife started to get suspicious of some things or would say or do and became super paranoid. She eventually noticed something wrong in the ceiling above the shower which led to her finding the recordings. My parents went to the guys house multiple times because he had a pool and they would all get together . My mom started to get the creeps because he was always very insistent that my parents wait to get to his house before they change into swimsuits ( he had cameras set up in the pool house). They made a lifetime movie about it but no one really talks about it back home. We only did because we were friends with the family that it happened to.

    THEBEAR4412 , Claudio Schwarz / Unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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    #8

    Man in a black hoodie speaking into a microphone under purple and pink stage lighting, reflecting disturbing crimes nearby. The Singer D4VDs car was discovered to have a chopped up body of a minor in his car. Everything points to him being in a relationship with her since she was around 13. Apparently she grew up in my area of Lake Elsinore CA as her school district sent out an email about it. (My kid goes to the same district).

    InternationalFace790 , AskeeaeWiki / Wikipedia Report

    #9

    Serial killer Israel Keyes came through in 2011, abducted and m****r an older couple. Bodies/remains have never been found. Was talked about for years but lately, sort of just forgotten for most.

    mchisto0450 Report

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    #10

    Hand holding a lighter igniting a flame, symbolizing disturbing crimes that happened right on their doorstep. A girl from my high school was followed home by a boy she rejected, and lit on fire in her own garage.

    To be fair I think (I'm hoping) some of that might be for her sake (she survived, but very badly injured) but the story just disappeared after it was initially reported. Like I don't even know what happened to the guy that did it (he was caught, but I don't know if he ever got sentenced).

    lumoslomas , rawpixel / freepik (not the actual photo) Report

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