The Mysteries That Never Got Solved...
The majority of unsolved mysteries in the world fall into three categories: inexplicable paranormal incidents reported across the globe; uncertain historical events; and criminal cases that were never resolved. Below is just a sampling of the most well-known, well-researched, and yet still-unsolved mysteries in each category.
| Paranormal Incidents | Uncertain Historical Events | Criminal Cases |
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Paranormal Incidents
El Chupacabra
DATES: March 1995 / 565 AD
LOCATIONS: North, Central & South Americas / Loch Ness, Scotland
The name El Chupacabra is taken from the Spanish verb chupar, meaning ‘to suck', and the word cabra, meaning ‘goat'. The name stems from various eyewitness accounts, during which people claim they saw El Chupacabra suck the blood out of livestock (goats in particular). Descriptions of El Chupacabra vary. Most suggest that it is reptilian, has skin the texture of leather, is built like a miniature kangaroo with canine facial features, and has a forked tongue and fangs.
It has become a creature of lore to keep children indoors and has become a hot cult item, as the most oft-affected regions rely on livestock and even the slightest suspicious or unexpected death of an animal allows murmurings of the Chupacabra to resurface.
Reported sightings of both the Chupacabra and the mutilated goats it supposedly left in its wake have sprouted up in various regions across the Americas, with limited appearances in locations as far as Central Russia and the Philippines. The earliest reports first emerged in the 1960s, and interest grew markedly during the mid 1990s when a slew of rumored Chupacabra attacks left more than 150 livestock around the island of Puerto Rico dead and bled dry through round puncture wounds.
The actual specimens examined by scientists have all yielded insufficient biological proof of the creature's existence. The photo depicts Phylis Canion's specimen found in August 2007 in Texas – researchers later concluded after examining its DNA that it was a coyote with atypical features. Most of the other specimins were found to be coyotes with frightening physical attributes generally caused by large patches of missing fur and blue-tinted, diseased skin caused by mange. As far as we know scientifically, the Chupacabra does not exist, but it certainly still does exist in the minds of many who have experienced inexplicable livestock death and exsanguination.
Photo courtesy of Haunted America Tours
Mary Celeste
VICTIMS: Captain Benjamin Briggs (37); wife Sarah Briggs (31); daughter Sophia Briggs (2); and seven crew members of American, Danish, and German nationalities
DATE: found adrift December 4 or 5, 1872
LOCATION: approximately 600 miles west of Portugal/Gibraltar
The Mary Celeste, a two-masted brigantine, was in many ways a doomed and mysterious ship throughout her existence. Her first captain, Robert McLellan, died of pneumonia within days of her maiden voyage. He was to be the first of three captains to die on the ship.
In early November, 1872, the Mary Celeste left New York bound for Italy, under the captaincy of Benjamin Briggs. Another brigantine, the Dei Gratia, left a few days later on a similar course across the Atlantic. A month later, mid-trip, the Dei Gratia 's helmsman sighted the Mary Celeste, apparently drifting, with no one on deck or at the wheel. The sails were mildly damaged and there was some water below decks and in the hold, but the ship was not sinking, and was still moving slowly toward the Gibraltar strait.
Aside from the captain's logbook, which indicated no foul play or impending trouble, there were no papers for the vessel found onboard. Essential tools including the clock, compass, sextant, and chronometer were either missing or broken. The food supply and other possessions onboard were untouched. But the one lifeboat aboard the ship was missing, along with a small portion of its alcohol cargo. And every single living person had disappeared.
Many theories have attempted to explain the fate of the Mary Celeste's captain, wife, daughter, and crew. The speculation ranges from the believable, such as piracy, or the crew committing foul play; to the outlandish, like sea monsters attacking the ship, or alien kidnappings. Though some explanations are more rational than others, each has an aspect that can't be corroborated with the evidence, or is contrary to the evidence entirely.
The theories involving storms, seaquakes, or waterspouts are the most plausible, although most have been debunked considering the mild damage to the ship, the lack of a record in the logbook, and the lack of corroboration from logbooks of other ships near the area. Explanations implicating the crew members of the Dei Gratia are unlikely, as Briggs and the captain of the Dei Gratia were close friends. Moreover, there were no indications of struggle onboard, and the crew's valuables and cargo were discovered intact upon arrival in Italy. Suggestions of mutiny have also been discredited, as Briggs was known to be a fair and able captain and the crew members were all in good standing.
Since her discovery, the story of the Mary Celeste has become notorious. Experts have studied the incident, and postulated theories of all colors, but all to no avail. The mystery is just as lingering and curious today as ever.
Photo courtesy of Coastguards of Yesteryear
Uncertain Historical Events
The Origin of Life
DATE: the beginning
LOCATION: Earth and elsewhere
The origin of life is arguably the greatest mystery ever, and the one that generates the most controversy.
Many people believe that a god or supernatural entity created the universe and all forms of life, at a specific point in time. They argue vehemently with those who believe that life forms develop very gradually, over generations, from the very first cells existing three or four billion years ago, to the various species we know today.
A few other people believe that aliens first placed the modern-day humans on Earth. Most, understandably, ignore the alien theory.
The creationism and evolution camps have engaged in an apparently endless battle, with the evolution camp citing fossils and carbon dating, and the creationists, specifically fundamentalist Christian sects, discounting those phenomena and citing texts like the Bible to prove that God made everything just as it exists today.
The actual origins of life and man, however, are mysteries that will continue to endure, and will no doubt give rise to many religious and scientific conflicts yet to come.
Photo courtesy of The Classical Culture Ring
JFK Assassination and the Babushka Woman
NAME OF VICTIM: John Fitzgerald Kennedy (46), 35th President of the United States
DATE: November 22, 1963
LOCATION: Dallas, Texas – near Dealey Plaza
John F. Kennedy's assassination was one of the most scandalous and heart-wrenching political murder mysteries of modern times. The ‘magic bullet' that seemed to hit him at a trajectory that did not correspond to the direction he moved in response is infamous. No one knows for certain to this very day how many shooters were involved in the sniper murder, nor can anyone pinpoint the exact motives.
Historians, investigators, journalists, and civilians around the globe speculated about why the assassination occurred and who the perpetrators were – most no longer accept the government's supposedly clean conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, especially since many believe he was unable to have acted alone in the very least, and that nightclub owner Jack Ruby's murder of Oswald was too immediate after the latter's capture for there to be no further suspicion of a conspiracy. Other theories entertained include a Cuban conspiracy in response to the Bay of Pigs invasion and an internal, widespread government conspiracy. Regardless, it has been noted that there has been a suspiciously high number of casualties among those investigating JFK's murder.
One loose end investigators were never able to thoroughly investigate was the presence of the Babushka Lady near the scene of the crime, allegedly photographing the incident as it took place. Her nickname resulted from her headscarf, worn over the head like Russian grandmothers or old ladies, or babushka . Eyewitnesses and also various films of the assassination placed her at the scene – however, neither the FBI nor the police could ultimately locate her or any potential photographs she may have taken.
A woman named Beverly Oliver stepped forward in 1970 claiming to be this lady, but her account of the scene had many inconsistencies and she was never able to fully prove that she was there. Not only was she 17 at the time of the murder while the lady in the film appeared to be middle-aged, but she also cited odd evidence such as mentioning a camera model that had not existed at the time of the murder, and giving unclear and uncorroborated directions about where she was standing relative to others.
The uncertainty and suspicion around the various loose ends, the government's quick and easy ‘solution' to the murder, and the many equally mysterious deaths around those investigating the murder certainly puts the murder of JFK in the annals of the greatest ever unsolved mysteries.
Photo courtesy of Top 10 World
Criminal Cases
Black Dahlia Murder
NAME OF VICTIM: Elizabeth Short (22)
DATE: body discovered January 15, 1947
LOCATION: Los Angeles, California – near Leimert Park
She was found in two pieces in a parking lot, with slits cut from the corners of her mouth like the Joker smile. She had been missing for a week.
Her nickname, Black Dahlia, came from a drugstore in Long Beach, where she was given the nickname as a play on a movie out that summer, The Blue Dahlia. She wore black often as she was trying to become an actress. The reporters covering the murder brought the name into full and evocative use.
The murder investigation was a great effort – thousands were questioned as suspects, more than 60 people confessed to the murder, and all the while the media worked to fuel public interest, making the mystery of the unfound perpetrator seem even more intriguing and perplexing.
There were a couple theories and related murders, too. The Cleveland Torso Murders used the same murder methodology of cutting the torso, and many believe that the perpetrator of socialite Georgette Bauerdorf's murder was the same as that of Elizabeth Short's. There were links uncovered in the evidence, but investigators largely discounted both possibilities. Even with all the lasting interest in this unsolved murder, the time now lapsed has more than likely left this murder an eternal mystery.
Photo courtesy of Prairie Ghosts
Jack the Ripper Murders
NUMBER OF VICTIMS: uncertain, at least five
NAMES OF "CANONICAL FIVE" VICTIMS: Mary Ann Nichols (42), Annie Chapman (48), Elizabeth Stride (44), Catherine Eddowes (44), Mary Jane Kelly (25)
DATE: 1888 – unknown
LOCATION: East End of London, England
In 1888 in London, a series of 11 murders was dubbed the ‘Whitechapel Murders'. Five are generally accepted to be the work of Jack the Ripper, the serial murderer's pseudonym as found on a note taunting the police. They are referred to as the ‘canonical five' as they match the modus operandi of a Jack the Ripper murder – slashes to the face and neck areas, internal organ removal and mutilation of the abdomen and genitals.
Mary Jane Kelly is considered by most to be the Ripper's last murder, but four other murders have been possibly linked to the case. However, like the other six of the 11 original murders, these four had slightly differing murder methodologies.
At the time, the police unearthed many suspects but were unable to mount sufficient evidence against any one individual in particular. That was before the time of forensics, so the only way to convict someone of murder was to catch him in the act or force him to confess. None of the top suspects were caught red-handed or established as genuinely legitimate suspects.
Since 1888, a vast number of newspapers, books, and movies have been written and produced on the topic of Jack the Ripper's murders. People have wondered and discussed who the man may have been – new forensic research is still being conducted on the case, and though most documents have since been destroyed, many are still being recovered and reviewed. Many believe that the identity of Jack the Ripper can yet be determined either as someone from the list of top suspects, someone who was rejected as a possible suspect during the original investigations, or someone else entirely. Until then, the murders of Jack the Ripper will remain unsolved.
Photo courtesy of Top News
