Lots of terribly creepy stories circulate through society around Halloween. People love to feel frightened, even if they know the tales about ghosts and ghouls aren’t true…
But these campfire stories aren’t just fiction. Each have a ring of truth to them. Although we can’t prove that these certainly took place, read them for yourself.
…and leave the light on tonight.
1. The Ourang Medan
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In February 1948, several ships near Indonesia picked up distress calls from the Dutch freighter, SS Ourang Medan. In broken, accented English, a man stated, “All officers including captain are dead lying in chartroom and bridge. Possibly whole crew dead.” Indecipherable Morse code followed the message, then one final grisly message: “I die.” When search parties boarded, they found all crew and officers of the Ourang Medan dead, their eyes open, faces looking towards the sun, arms outstretched, and a look of terror on their faces. Even the ship’s dog was dead. The bodies appeared unharmed. The ship suddenly caught fire and sunk, erasing all evidence of its existence.
2. Deadliest Phone Number
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First issued in Bulgaria in 2000, every person who had the cell phone number 0888-888-888 has died in a terrible manner. In fact, it claimed the lives of at least 3 people; one by a sudden onset of cancer and two others in a hail of bullets. The number was suspended indefinitely in 2007.
3. The Man in the Mask
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The book and movie The Man in the Iron Mask was based on an actual person. In 1669, King Louis XIV sent a man to the Fortress of Pignerol who was neither charged, tried, or convicted of any crime. He had to wear a mask of velvet and whalebone. He was even assigned a special guard to make sure he was not seen, heard, or recognized. After moving to several prisons, the masked man died in 1703, with no one but the king of France knowing who he was or why he was incarcerated.
4. Abe Lincoln’s Dream
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Just before he was shot, Abraham Lincoln told several members of his cabinet, as well as his wife, Mary, about a dream he had. In his dream, Lincoln saw a soldier standing by a casket and heard people weeping. “Who is dead in the White House?” Lincoln asked a soldier in his dream. “The President,” he was told.
5. Devilish Twin
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Edward Mordrake, a handsome and talented man, was born with another face on the back of his head…a girl’s. Although it couldn’t eat or speak, the face’s eyes moved independently from Mordrake and could even laugh and cry. Edward begged to have his “devil twin” removed, but no doctor would attempt it. He committed suicide at the age of 23.
6. The Missing Brother
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On September 20, 1885, a man received a letter from his dead brother of 13 years. The letter informed him that he was mentally ill and still alive. The handwriting on the letter matched his brother’s, so he had his coffin exhumed, only to find it empty. Although the letter said that the brother planned to visit, he never came, and no further communication was ever received.
7. Curse of the Mongul Tomb
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On June 21, 1941, Soviet archaeologists opened the tomb and removed the skull of a Great Mongol Khan named Timur. They did this despite warnings by the locals that disrupting the tomb would lead to a great war. The next day was when Operation Barbarossa happened, and was the longest and most brutal invasion carried out during WWII. Hundreds of thousands died within the first weeks.
8. Bloody Stains
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Students at Sydney’s Riverwood Primary School returned from summer break to find 1.5 liters of unexplained blood in the school playhouse. For an adult, 1.5 liters is about 30 percent of total blood volume. DNA tests so far only tell us that it belonged to a human male and the DNA doesn’t match anyone in the database. No explanation was ever discovered for the blood.
9. Undeveloped Film
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In 1997, Rita Swift found an undeveloped roll of film while looking through a guest room’s cedar chest. The note attached stated “Taken in our backyard, 1969.” The first 16 photos were quite typical, but #17 through 19 showed what pictures from another time. The camera was a Brownie Hawkeye 20, and the images were shot hot using 620 black and white film. However, the last three photos look like they were taken with a pinhole camera and depict several people dressed in mid-1800s Native American garb. The first photo is a close-up of three men dancing in a body of water. The second shows a large animal, like a cow or an ox, and several people surrounding it. The third is of a large fire and a large group of people dancing in a circle.
10. Possessed Limbs
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Since childhood, George Boyer “wanted to be one-legged.” Therapists convinced him that this desire was irrational, but at the age of 68, his bizarre desire became too urgent to ignore any longer. He planned the amputation, and when the big day arrived, he sat down in his backyard, stuck his leg out, and pulled the trigger. The shot only partially severed the limb. With blood spurting everywhere, he had to struggle to fasten a tourniquet to his shattered leg, then call for an ambulance. After making it to the hospital alive, the Florida man had to persuade his doctors to amputate the leg rather than save it. After 12 days, they agreed to remove it…and the one-legged George lived happily ever after.
11. Edgar Allen Poe’s Story
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In Edgar Allan Poe’s 1838 story, “The Narrative Of Arthur Gordon Pym Of Nantucket,” three starving shipwreck survivors murder and consume their companion, Richard Parker. In 1884, three real-life shipwrecked sailors were tried for the murder of the fourth sailor. His name was also Richard Parker, and he was also eaten.
12. She Lives In The Walls
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A 57-year-old man in Japan set up security cameras inside his house after realizing that some of his items and food were missing. He watched the video one day later and saw a small woman sneak out of a bedroom cupboard. She ate his food, stole some money, and even took a shower. Before dawn, she disappeared into the cupboard again. Thinking her to be a one time thief, the man called the police to report her. After a thorough search though, the police discovered the woman still hiding in the cupboard. She had reportedly lived in it for over a year without the elderly man being aware.
There’s no shame in sleeping with a light on tonight. Or with a security blanket.