Linda Meyers

Vote up the facts that are as freaky as they are fascinating.

Every week, Graveyard Shift takes to the internet to learn new things that make our knees shake and blood run cold – then share these freaky finds with our readers, so they can suffer, too. This week, discover haunted cemeteries, tragic accidents, and missing people, and don’t forget to vote up the facts that scare you most.

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A Freak Mishap In An Elevator

Photo: allenhimself / Flickr / CC BY 2.0

From Redditor u/TorrenceMightingale:

In 2003, a Houston resident physician lost his life in a terrible elevator mishap when faulty wiring caused the doors to close as he was entering, pinning him in place. His head was then severed as the elevator began to rise, and it was stuck inside along with several horrified individuals until someone was able to free them more than an hour later.

• Creepy?

Divers Disappeared

Photo: Open Water / Lions Gate Films

From Redditor u/fleece_pants:

In 1998, a married couple was left behind during a diving trip to the Great Barrier Reef. Two days passed before anyone realized what had happened. Despite a thorough search, the couple was never found, though a dive slate was later recovered which read “Please help us [come] to rescue us before we die. Help!!!”

Their story ended up inspiring the film Open Water.
• Creepy?

Dingoes Ate Her Baby

Photo: Chamberlain Family / Wikipedia / Fair Use

From Redditor u/Longboarding-Is-Life:

In 1980, a dingo ate an Australian couple’s baby out of their tent while camping. When her parents reported this, they were not believed, causing the mother to be sentenced to life in prison for allegedly taking the child’s life. Three years later, the baby’s clothes were found near a dingo lair.

Although the mother was released then, it was not until 2012 that a medical examiner finally cleared the couple’s names by formally accepting their version of events.

• Creepy?

A Man Is Accused Of Fathering A Pig

Photo: Dick Culbert / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0

From Redditor u/LiveFreeDieRepeat:

A deformed, hairless, cyclops piglet was stillborn in 1642, and it looked so much like local man George Spencer (at least, according to witnesses) that he was brought before a magistrate on suspicion of unnatural relations. He confessed under pressure, later recanting his statements of guilt. Still, Spencer was ultimately taken to the gallows, and the mother pig put down.

• Creepy?

Florida’s Haunted Chair

Photo: brianna_shaye_/ / Instagram

From Redditor u/WouldbeWanderer:

The Devil’s Chair is an allegedly haunted graveside bench located in the cemetery of Cassadaga, FL. According to local legend, an unopened beer left on the seat will be found empty by morning (but still sealed). It’s even said that the devil himself will whisper to anyone bold enough to sit in the chair.

• Creepy?

Beware The Samurai’s Sword

Photo: Heibonsha / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

From Redditor u/DivineBanana:

Samurai from the Edo Period would dismember cadavers and even live convicts to “test cut” their swords (in order to determine the blade’s quality), a practice called tameshigiri. Bamboo, straw, and water-soaked and rolled tatami mats are used today as a humane alternative.

• Creepy?

An Abundance Of Mummified Cats

Photo: Mario Sánchez Prada / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA 2.0

From Redditor u/atomicbolt

In 1888, an Egyptian farmer discovered a cavern packed with tens of thousands of mummified cats dating to ancient Egyptian times. They were sold to British merchants by the ton and were mainly used in Liverpool as fertilizer.

• Creepy?

Chemical Warfare Has Lasting Effects

Photo: Naval Research Laboratory / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

From Redditor u/AnthillOmbudsman:

Mustard gas, which was used heavily during WWI, is not just a blister agent, but damages DNA by corrupting molecules in the strand. If the target survives, the DNA damage can lead to the development of cancer.

(Ironically, however, there are also derivatives of mustard gas that can also be used in chemotherapy as a treatment for cancer.)

• Creepy?

How Long Until A Body Becomes Bones?

Photo: Hbreton19 / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA 3.0

From Redditor u/amansaggu26:

Depending on factors like temperature, humidity, alkalinity (or acidity) of soil, and level of exposure to oxygen, a body can competely decompose into a skeleton in as little as two weeks or as long as a couple of years.

• Creepy?

First Demise By Plane

Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons

From Redditor u/kliuedin:

In 1908, U.S. Army lieutenant Thomas Selfridge was the first person to lose his life in an airplane crash. The propeller shattered mid-flight, and the plane, piloted by Orville Wright, nose-dived into the ground. Selfridge hit his head on the framework and passed from a skull fracture.

Creepy?

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