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The first documented vampire stalked his widow and was impervious to crosses In 1672 Jure Grando became the first real person to ever be described in history as a true vampire.
Vampires are usually associated with dark, foreboding castles in Transylvania; however, stories of the strigoi exist in other cultures as well. In fact, one of the most chilling tales comes from an Istrian town in a small European country known as modern-day Croatia. It is within this Balkan state that in 1672, Jure Grando became the first real person to ever be described in history as a true vampire. A small village The legend of Jure Grando begins in a small Croatian town called Kringa, where life was quiet and conventional. Grando was known to be somewhat of a nasty character, yet he did have a pleasant wife and lived…
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10 mysterious caves and tunnels nobody can explain Ancient goblin caves, underground pyramid secrets, Victorian crime dens, and even Satanic tunnels under a preschool. Let's go cavin'.
Humans have always been fascinated with spaces in the ground beneath our feet, whether for the possibility of discovering a long-lost civilization, the gates to the underworld, or forgotten treasures. When we can’t account for what we do find, these caves and tunnels become a gold mine for the inevitable folklore. Early humans often left tunnels behind without an obvious explanation – especially before written language was invented. Other times, the purpose of these tunnels were intentionally kept as closely guarded secrets. Sometimes the actual truth is just dull and boring. Regardless, these unexplained underground spaces are interesting and we can’t help but wonder about their secrets. Germany’s “erdställe” goblin…
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10 lesser-known cryptid monsters that turned out to be hoaxes A lot of these are silly as heck, too. Don't get caught believin'.
You’re walking through the woods with some friends late at night when something scurries past you in the bushes. You quickly look around and see a shadow of a giant ape for a split second. The obvious conclusion is that you must have witnessed a cryptid. In reality, it was probably just someone’s lost dog. There are hundreds of reported cryptids and monsters, and many of them have been debunked thanks to the hard work of researchers and hobbyists. However, there was a time before the internet when people genuinely believed that there are a ton of secretive, pseudo-mythical creatures hiding out in the forests. I’m not going to rule…
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Cops share their creepiest paranormal encounters Cops have to deal with a lot of weird shit, and the paranormal—or what seems to be—is sometimes part of it.
Remember the viral video of a police chase ending up with the car disappearing into thin air? Watch this video on YouTube Cops have to deal with a lot of weird shit, and the paranormal – or what seems to be – is sometimes part of it. Here are the freakiest creepy stories and paranormal encounters put to print by former and current cops. The indian procession My dad used to work as a CO (corrections officer) at a rural prison. He drove perimeter, which just means he made circles around the jail in a truck, checking empty buildings for runaway inmates and just generally being bored for eight hours…
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10 reasons to believe alien life really exists The mindboggling scale of the universe represents gazillions of lottery tickets for alien life, but here's the evidence and arguments so far.
The search for extraterrestrial life begins with a simple assumption: if intelligent life exists, then these beings must leave behind clues to their existence that would be recognizable to us. For example, to a space-faring alien, a tell-tale sign of intelligent life existing on Earth could be that there are trace periodic elements present that can only form from nuclear fission. Fission is not generally known to occur naturally except under specific conditions, so it is logical that there is an unnatural explanation. “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” With this in mind, we count down the top reasons to believe that…
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Vampires have nothing on the sinister blood-drinking fairies who inspired them Long before Dracula ever hit the shelves, Scottish folklore painted the first image of a vampire-like creature and it was terrifying.
Ever wonder when the first imaginary, blood-sucking, bat-shifting creature stepped into the light? Believe it or not, it wasn’t in Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight… but it also didn’t start with Dracula. So, where did the vampire originate? The cheesy modern day vampires These days, the vampire narrative is pretty worn out. Ever heard of a little heartthrob movie called Twilight? What about The (cuddly) Count on Sesame Street? Heck, even Hotel Transylvania turned a bruting vampire into a caring, overprotective dad with an agenda to ruin his daughter’s love life. Big whoop. So, what happened to the terrifying vampire tales of the past? Bram Stoker’s Dracula certainly jarred the world when it was first released, and inspired some fairly scary…
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The 11 best Goosebumps monsters Writing at a breakneck pace, R.L. Stine churned out sixty-two Goosebumps. These are his best monsters.
It’s plain to see that 90s kid lit is enjoying a renaissance right now, and the king of the paperbacks back in the day was R. L. Stine. Writing at a breakneck pace, he churned out sixty-two mainline Goosebumps books as well as dozens of spin-offs and other titles. Stine’s series made horror accessible to audiences too young for R-rated fare, taking a variety of terror tropes and giving them young adult twists. With the second Jack Black-starring Goosebumps movie set to hit theaters, we pulled out the library card and reacquainted ourselves with the freaks and beasts of the original book series. Here are definitive picks for the eleven…
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Gates of Hell: The real places said to be entrances to the underworld Hell, Hades, Guinee—the names are different but they all describe an underworld that many believe can be accessed through real gateways.
Religious teachings may vary, but a common concept embraced by many is that the souls of those who committed terrible acts in life will be forced to suffer in the afterlife. Hell, Hades, Guinee—the names are different but they all describe an underworld that many believe can be accessed from Earth through gateways across the globe. The Acheron, Greece The Acheron, prominently depicted in classical mythology, is an actual river that flows through northwest Greece and is also known as the River of Woe. The ancient Greeks believed there were several entrances into hades, one of which was at the ancient Greek temple of necromancy Necromanteion of Ephyra on the banks…
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Too freaky to fake? 5 legendary TV curses One might be tempted to dismiss this as the inevitable result of an industry that attracts famewhores and the mentally ill. Then again...
These legendary streaks of bad luck are so horrible we just have to believe. Otechestven Front Otechestven Front is a Bulgarian slice-of-life interview show. Presenter Martin Karbovski travels around interviewing normal-seeming folk with extraordinary tales. The most extraordinary tales, however, happen after the show airs…when the guests die. The weirdness started in 2010, when a criminal died days after appearing on the show. Rumors of black magic circulated, but probably the criminal just pissed someone off who saw him on TV and whacked him. If Otechestven Front is really just about exposing criminals without using that face-blur thing, it’s hard for us to call it a curse. Which is why…
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6 baffling phenomena that have surprisingly simple medical explanations "Supernatural" mysteries can pass down generations after they’ve actually been solved, as is the case with the following six “unsolvable” mysteries.
Baffling phenomena create gossip. Solving baffling phenomena, for some odd reason, tends to create less gossip. Which is why “supernatural” mysteries can be passed down generations after they’ve actually been solved, as is the case with the following six “unsolvable” mysteries: 1. Alien Abduction What’s this? Oval-headed, bug-eyed, gray visitors from another planet. They immobilize a research target in bed, enter their room and kidnap them. Then they flash bright lights at the subject and fool around with the subject’s butt because Earthling anuses are simply hilarious. A freaky amount of people have reported this experience. That’s proof positive that aliens exist, right? So what is it, Doctor? Sleep paralysis.…