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Congressman Leo Ryan Investigated Jim Jones' Cult — And Paid For It With His Life

By 1978, Jim Jones’ cult, the Peoples Temple, had amassed a concerning number of followers — so many that the cult could no longer contain the disturbing rumors that were swirling about the human rights violations being committed at Jonestown, their Guyana-based settlement. As this all came to a head, Jim Jones prepared his followers for a mass suicide — but not before an investigation into the Jonestown settlement was conducted by U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan.

Ryan, a Democratic Representative fr...
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Scientists Use Brain Scans To Uncover Why The Sound Of The Aztec Death Whistle Was So Terrifying

Aztec culture remains uniquely fascinating in part due to its various religious practices that tend toward the macabre, including human sacrifice and temples decorated with human skulls. But one of the most intriguing — and terrifying — of their creations was the Aztec death whistle, a skull-shaped ceramic instrument said to emit the most horrifying noise in history.

Many have likened the sound produced by the death whistle — or the ehecachichtli, as it was originally known — to the shriek of a...
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Michael Turney Was 'Obsessed' With His Teenage Stepdaughter — Then, She Vanished Without A Trace

On May 17, 2001, the last day of Alissa Turney’s junior year of high school, the teen mysteriously vanished from her Arizona home. Earlier that day, her stepfather, Michael Turney, had picked her up early from school, then allegedly left to run errands. He claimed he returned later to find a note from Alissa explaining that she had run off to California.

At first, the police believed Michael’s claims that Alissa was a rebellious runaway teen. But strangely, she hadn’t taken her car or any of he...
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13-Year-Old Tristyn Bailey Was Stabbed 114 Times By Her Schoolmate — Because He Simply Wanted 'To Kill Someone'

On May 9, 2021, 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey disappeared from her home in St. Johns County, Florida. Hours after her family reported the cheerleader missing, her bloodied body was discovered in a wooded area, covered with 114 stab wounds. Chillingly, someone had written the word “karma” on one of her ankles and drawn a smiley face on the other.

Police uncovered a damaged Buck knife in a drainage pond near Bailey’s body. They also reviewed security footage from the night of her murder that appeare...
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Police Believe This Wisconsin Father Faked His Own Death And Fled To Europe In An Elaborate Scheme

Three months after Ryan Borgwardt went missing, authorities have uncovered shocking evidence that suggests he staged his own death and fled to Europe.

The 45-year-old kayaker and father of three reportedly had a second passport, replaced his laptop’s hard drive, inquired about moving funds to foreign banks, and took out a life insurance policy worth $375,000 earlier this year. These discoveries prompted the police to cease their search for the missing man.

Naturally, the news came as quite a s...
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66 Colorized Images That Capture The Golden Age Of Hollywood As It Really Was

Today, it may feel like every big movie is being produced by the same few studios. While it is certainly true that the likes of Walt Disney Pictures, Warner Bros., and Sony Pictures tend to dominate the box office in modern times, independent companies like A24 and Neon prove that there are other players in the game. And compared to the so-called Golden Age of Hollywood, today’s film industry is drastically more diverse.

Hollywood’s Golden Age lasted from around the late 1920s to the early 1960...
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2,300-Year-Old Punic Tomb Uncovered Beneath A Hospital Parking Lot In Malta

During construction work at a car park near Mater Dei Hospital in Birkirkara, Malta, workers recently came across an ancient Punic tomb complex. With oversight from the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage (SCH), excavations were then carried out, revealing a structure that dates back 2,300 years.

Experts believe the site was used through the Punic and early Roman periods, offering unique insight and perspectives into the burial practices of the time.

Initial construction work at the site was...
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King Tut’s Iconic Burial Mask Wasn’t Actually Made For Him, Shocking New Research Suggests

The famous golden death mask of the Egyptian boy king Tutankhamun likely wasn’t made for him, according to a new study.

A re-examination of King Tutankhamun’s mask by researchers from the University of York pointed out a few unusual elements that could suggest the mask had originally been made for a high-status woman or a child. And the basis for this theory comes down to one rather small detail: earring holes.

Since the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 by archaeologist Howard Cart...
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Researchers In England Discover That ‘King Arthur’s Hall’ Is 4,000 Years Older Than Previously Thought

Researchers examining an historic site in Cornwall, England that’s linked to King Arthur have made a remarkable discovery. The stone and turf structure on Bodmin Moore known as “King Arthur’s Hall,” previously believed to be a medieval animal pen, has been revealed to be 4,000 years older than experts thought.

New findings have confirmed that King Arthur’s Hall dates back to prehistoric times and was likely built in approximately 3000 B.C.E. Experts are now calling the discovery a “major revela...
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44 Nostalgic Photos That Show What Pokémania Looked Like Over 20 Years Ago

Anyone who grew up in the late 1990s or early 2000s will understand the pop culture craze that was Pokémon. Ever since the debut of Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green in 1996 in Japan, it was clear that these creature-collecting games would be a phenomenon. When they arrived in America a couple of years later, that phenomenon got a name: Pokémania.

Between a televised anime, multiple video games, trading cards, theatrical films, and numerous brand partnerships, Pokémon was basically inescapable. The...
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Inside The Tragic Death Of Aaron Carter And The Downward Spiral That Preceded It

There was perhaps no person who better defined 2000s pop stardom than Aaron Carter. From hits like “How I Beat Shaq” and “Aaron’s Party” to his collaboration with the Baha Men, Carter’s music was a staple for teens of the early aughts. Every public pool, grocery store, and radio station in America seemed to be playing his hits. However, the singer also dealt with addiction and substance abuse from a young age, and that unfortunate struggle led to Aaron Carter’s death in 2022.

That November, 34-...
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A Conman Just Stole More Than 950 Wheels Of Cheddar Cheese From A Dairy Company In England

Neal’s Yard Dairy, a cheese retailer based in London, was recently robbed of more than 20 tons of cheddar in a sophisticated scam. After the company was approached by a fraudster posing as a legitimate wholesaler, employees shipped 950 clothbound cheeses to France — only to realize the whole thing had been a setup.

As a result, the business took a substantial financial hit of more than $390,000. The theft became even more high-profile when celebrity chef Jamie Oliver got involved, rallying behi...
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In 1986, A Massive Gas Cloud Erupted From Cameroon's Lake Nyos — And Killed Over 1,700 People

On August 21, 1986, a catastrophic event now known as the Lake Nyos disaster unfolded at Lake Nyos in Cameroon. A mix of carbon dioxide and water droplets, previously trapped in the lake’s depths, suddenly burst forth and erupted to the surface. This rare phenomenon, known as a limnic eruption, created a deadly, invisible gas cloud that engulfed nearby villages.

This unseen killer suffocated over 1,700 people and more than 3,500 livestock, displacing thousands more locals as they fled the area....
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44 Nostalgic Photos From The Pinnacle Of Preppy Culture

Throughout the mid-to-late-20th century, a popular fashion and lifestyle movement was on the rise. Characterized by upper-class living, “preppy” culture emerged from the long-held traditions and values of elite Northeastern preparatory schools and Ivy League universities. While the roots of this subculture date back to the late 19th century, it saw a major evolution and expansion in the post-World War II economic boom.

This economic boom expanded the middle class in America and encouraged more...
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Inside The Tragic Plane Crash That Killed Aaliyah — And Why It Was Completely Preventable

In 2001, Aaliyah was one of the biggest names in the music industry. The 22-year-old R&B singer had just released her third album and made her acting debut, and it seemed as if she would continue her rise to world fame — but then tragedy struck. On Aug. 25, 2001, Aaliyah’s plane crashed in the Bahamas, killing her instantly.

The singer had been in the Abaco Islands filming the music video for her hit song “Rock the Boat.” After wrapping the shoot, Aaliyah and various members of her entourage bo...
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Unraveling The Myths About Voodoo, One Of The World's Most Misunderstood Religions

In popular media, Voodoo is often portrayed as a sort of “dark magic.” Some people even believe that Voodoo is inherently evil, thanks in part to tropes involving Voodoo dolls, subjectively macabre imagery, and rituals that differ greatly from those practiced by more Abrahamic religions.

But Voodoo (often spelled Vodou or Vodú) is not an evil religion. Instead, it emphasizes a deep connection to the spiritual world. And the spirits summoned in Vodou rituals, lwa, are somewhat similar to the Chr...
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Archaeologists In England Unearth 1,800-Year-Old Roman Statue Head Near Hadrian’s Wall

Archaeologists in England working near the historic Hadrian’s Wall have unearthed a carved stone head from the Roman era and an ornate gem depicting Silvanus, the god of the countryside.

This discovery is the latest in a series of finds from the excavation team headed by Frank Giecco, an authority on the history of Roman Britain. In all, Giecco and his team have made more than 5,000 finds at the site since 2021, and he says that many of them have “literally just come out the ground.”

Giecco’s...
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Robert Graysmith, The Cartoonist Who Dedicated His Life To Unmasking The Zodiac Killer

There are few true crime books as prominent as Robert Graysmith’s Zodiac. It was adapted into a popular 2007 film of the same name in which Jake Gyllenhaal portrays Graysmith. But before Graysmith became an author who was obsessed with the Zodiac Killer case, he was a political cartoonist.

Graysmith was working at the San Francisco Chronicle in 1969 when the Zodiac Killer sent an encoded letter to the newspaper. Soon, the case had completely captured Graysmith’s attention. He became determined...
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Archaeologists In Türkiye Uncover Headless Skeletons Of Infants Stuffed Into Clay Pots 1,500 Years Ago

During archaeological excavations in Türkiye at the ancient city of Savatra, researchers came across infant skeletons buried inside clay pots — and they were missing their heads. They were part of what archaeologists believe to be ritualistic burials some 1,500 years ago, though the exact nature of the rituals remains unclear.

Indeed, researchers noted that this type of burial was “extremely rare” and that it offers unique new insights into this region during late antiquity.

Since 2021, archae...
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Ed And Lorraine Warren Were Famous Paranormal Investigators — But Were They Also Abusers?

Ed and Lorraine Warren likely need no introduction. The two paranormal investigators have been permanently embedded into the pop culture zeitgeist thanks to the success of The Conjuring franchise. The Warrens spent decades crafting a public image of themselves as a wholesome Christian couple battling the Devil and his demons. But that image was called into question in 2017 when it was revealed that a woman named Judith Penney accused Ed and Lorraine Warren of abuse in 2014.

Penney, who was in h...
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11 Enchanting Creatures Found In Irish Folklore, From Headless Horsemen To Booze-Loving Sprites

The folklore of Ireland is filled with tales of fascinating gods, sprites, and monsters that have been passed down through the generations. In fact, these stories are so deeply rooted in Irish culture that many still believe in fairies, or the aos sí, to this day.

From banshees to leprechauns, Irish folklore creatures play a multitude of roles in local legends. Often, these beings are symbolic of something greater than themselves, illustrating a set of beliefs and morals that hearken back to th...
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Archaeologists In Sweden Just Unearthed 139 Graves And Evidence Of Ship Burials Dating To The Viking Age

While investigating a Stone Age settlement just outside of Varberg, Sweden, archaeologists serendipitously discovered a massive Viking-Age burial ground rife with artifacts. So far, just six percent of the site has been excavated, but researchers have already revealed 139 graves holding both human and animal remains, clay pots, and even evidence of ship burials.

The initial examination of the site began back in May 2017, when the local government announced plans to build a roundabout and instal...
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The Zodiac Killer, The Enigmatic Murderer Who Terrorized Northern California In The Late 1960s And Early 1970s

The case of the Zodiac Killer remains one of the most infamous unsolved serial murder cases in American history. The mysterious killer’s reign of terror in Northern California during the late 1960s left a trail of victims, puzzling messages, and unanswered questions that continue to haunt investigators and the general public to this very day.

Although many potential suspects have been named in the case, none have ever been officially identified as the Zodiac Killer. The brutal nature of his cri...
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How The Bloody 1986 FBI Miami Shootout Ushered In The Militarization Of U.S. Law Enforcement

On April 11, 1986, a small group of FBI agents tracked down the murderous bank robbers Michael Lee Platt and William Russell Matix and cornered them on a Miami side street, sparking a bloody shootout that would leave both perpetrators dead.

Just before 10 a.m., three FBI vehicles crashed into the bandits’ car and forced them off the road. Almost immediately, Platt and Russell began to fire at the agents using automatic and semi-automatic weapons. Most of the agents, meanwhile, were equipped wit...
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