These mysteries continue to perplex law enforcement and amateur sleuths the world over! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most bizarre unsolved mysteries that haven’t received as much attention as their more famous counterparts.
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00:00This Christian holy relic is referred to as the Shroud of Turin.
00:06Welcome to WatchMojo,
00:08and today we're counting down our picks for the most bizarre unsolved mysteries
00:12that haven't received as much attention as their more famous counterparts.
00:16It is a great mystery that there is such large object near such a small island.
00:24Number 30. The Circleville Letters.
00:27Living in a small town seems ideal, until you're suddenly thrown into a real-life horror movie.
00:32Circleville, Ohio is a seemingly normal place with a true crime mystery that spanned decades.
00:38It began in the 1970s when a suspicious death led to citizens receiving unsettling letters.
00:44This is no joke. Please take it serious.
00:48The content ranged from accusations of infidelity and police cover-ups to thinly-veiled threats of violence.
00:54The correspondence escalated, and eventually, the writer attempted to take someone's life.
01:00On closer examination, Mary realized that it was a crude booby trap designed to fire the gun at her.
01:08Even after an arrest and conviction, the mail kept coming,
01:11making people realize they might have had the wrong person.
01:15They continued to be terrorized for years, until their primary suspect had been released.
01:20To this day, no one truly knows who was behind the frightening messages, or if they'll ever return.
01:26So many questions remain in this most bizarre case.
01:30Number 29. Saqsaywaman.
01:32Some earlier civilizations were able to erect impressive structures that have lasted into modern times.
01:38Some are so well-built that you'd think that they could have only been accomplished with newer equipment.
01:43One such example is Saqsaywaman, a fortified wall that was constructed by the Incas centuries ago.
01:49It's so precisely assembled that the details of its construction are the subject of a long-lasting debate.
01:54Some argue that the stones were pre-cut and lowered onto one another,
01:58while others think that they were towed into place.
02:01Both theories have been tested, with inconclusive results.
02:05The actual answer remains a secret, one that we may never get to find out.
02:09Number 28. Rongo-Rongo.
02:11The foundations of communication, verbal or not, have long been studied.
02:16Some of the earliest attempts at language have been observed, but not all are easy to parse, such as Rongo-Rongo.
02:22Rongo-Rongo is the traditional writing system of the Rapa Nui. It is inscribed onto wooden tablets.
02:28Unearthed on Easter Island in the 19th century, it is a series of tablets inscribed with different glyphs,
02:34and is supposedly one of the oldest preserved forms of writing.
02:38It's an extraordinary archaeological find that no one can figure out.
02:42It's one of the most unique and beautiful forms of knowledge of art in the world.
02:49Several efforts to translate the slabs have been made, with no solid verdict.
02:53In 1995, one linguist claimed that they were primarily creation chants.
02:58However, his conclusions are still being questioned today, making this one of the toughest historical nuts to crack.
03:05It's unique, and if we lose it, we lose part of the history of Rapa Nui.
03:0927. Tonus-Heracleion
03:12Although we already know ancient cities existed, finding the remains of one can still feel unreal, especially when they're underwater.
03:20Throughout most of contemporary history, Tonus and Heracleion were assumed to have been two separate areas that existed at the same time.
03:27However, the discovery of artifacts in Aboukir Bay led to the shocking realization that they had been one combined state the entire time.
03:34These fascinating artifacts from lost Egyptian cities were discovered.
03:38While that answered one question, that didn't stop others from popping up.
03:42No one is sure how the municipality met its fate, although examiners have suggested that severe flooding could have been the cause.
03:49The once-magnificent Egyptian cities of Tonus-Heracleion and Colopus, buried under the sea.
03:55Beyond that, less than 10% of the city has been found, meaning there are plenty of other old conundrums that could potentially be solved soon.
04:03Indeed, the sea had reclaimed the cities where they laid undiscovered for over a thousand years.
04:0826. The Potomsky Crater
04:11This seemingly simple rock formation has been throwing scientists for a loop since 1949.
04:16Siberia is famous for meteor strikes, but meteors don't usually make craters shaped like this.
04:24Located in Siberia, the Potomsky Crater consists entirely of broken limestone and covers a wide expanse of ground throughout the Potom Highlands.
04:32Since it was found, there's been non-stop supposition about its origins.
04:36The most popular thesis is that it was caused by a meteor crashing to Earth.
04:40However, some believe that a volcanic eruption was responsible.
04:43Some believe it's cursed and that those who go there will die.
04:47The dispute became so heated that a conference was held in 2010 to discuss each proposition.
04:53Physical markings on the crater have revealed flaws in every hypothesis, but that hasn't stopped researchers from searching for the answer.
05:01I see why it's inspired so many crazy stories.
05:0425. The Yonaguni Monument
05:07While humans can take credit for most existing structures, there are some that are questionable, especially when they exist underwater.
05:14Beneath the depths of the Philippine Sea lies the Yonaguni Monument, an alleged pyramid complete with stairs.
05:20The main structure is over 500 feet long, almost the length of two football fields.
05:26Its appearance has led people to believe that it was a human-made creation that succumbed to nature and sank below the surface.
05:32However, not everyone is so sure.
05:34Some geologists have posited that it was formed naturally, citing erosion as the most probable cause.
05:45The man who initially discovered Yonaguni disagreed, even suggesting it was proof of the fabled lost continent Mu.
05:51While research seems to support the logical reasoning, there hasn't been irrefutable evidence disproving him yet.
05:57If these stone structures were, in fact, created by humans, then they would have had to have been carved when the monument was above water.
06:0524. The Paracas Candelabra
06:08An engraving found by the Paracas Bay in Peru is one of the more peculiar mysteries.
06:13It measures 600 feet tall and is visible from a dozen miles away.
06:17Everything about it baffles historians, from its purpose to how it was made.
06:21Its age is also contested, although objects found nearby suggest it's been there since 200 BCE.
06:27It isn't even known if the society living there at the time had any hand in building it.
06:32Its mysterious beginnings have remained elusive to this day.
06:35Considering how much we've been able to learn about our past,
06:38the fact that we know next to nothing about something so massive is truly mind-blowing.
06:4323. The Hessdalen Lights
06:46Unidentified lights aren't a new phenomenon.
06:48The Hessdalen Lights have been seen in Norway since the 1930s, but no one is certain what causes them.
06:54And we saw this huge light in the mountainside.
06:59They vary in color and speed, leading to constant speculation.
07:03There are different ideas, both realistic and fantastical.
07:06While there are the usual declarations of them being extraterrestrial in origin,
07:11some of the more prominent theories suggest they're the outcome of aerial dust particles caused by mining.
07:16It can move slowly, and it can move very fast. No sound.
07:23There are even suggestions that radioactivity could be behind the spectacle.
07:27While these proposals make sense, the lack of a concrete explanation
07:30has led to people staunchly concluding they're signs of otherworldly life.
07:35It must be something new.
07:3822. The Shroud of Turin
07:40The existence of religious figures is often debated, with proof often hard to come by.
07:45When potential proof of Jesus Christ's burial shroud was found,
07:49it immediately attracted significant attention.
07:52It shows a very faint sort of image of a crucified man.
07:56And the crucified man calls us to remember Jesus' death and resurrection.
08:02Since its discovery in the mid-1300s, it's been considered an icon of the Christian faith.
08:07However, just as long as it's been loved, it's also been doubted.
08:11That transforms and leaves a lasting mark on the cloth.
08:17It was denounced as a fake as early as the 1380s,
08:20and since then, multiple arguments have cropped up supporting that claim.
08:24Some tests have been conducted,
08:26studying everything from the supposed bloodstains to the image found on it.
08:30Nothing has been 100% corroborated, leading to an unending disagreement
08:35between scientific and religious circles that most likely won't end any time soon.
08:40More academic scrutiny has been brought to bear on this 14 1⁄2-foot strip of linen
08:45than any other object in the world.
08:48Number 21. The Sugbra Inscription
08:51On an outwardly inconspicuous monument in England is a cipher that has mystified
08:55countless individuals. Many have tried to take a crack at the 18th century message,
09:00essentially a series of letters, with little success.
09:03Letters carved into the marble below are seen by some as part of a secret code.
09:08The estimations range wildly, with even a few delving into conspiracy theory status.
09:13Some have opted for a more natural reasoning, such as it being a basic tribute.
09:17Those who believe it could be the key to an ancient mystery
09:20claim that the DM code was mentioned by the infamous 16th century prophet of doom,
09:26Nostradamus.
09:28However, there's a large subset that's convinced there's a deeper meaning,
09:32even believing it's a clue that eventually leads to buried treasure.
09:35The truth is still sought after today, and the memorial serves as proof that
09:39even something mundane can be the source of ceaseless discussion.
09:43The DM code is a relatively modern invention,
09:46yet people have been trying to decipher it for more than 200 years.
09:50Number 20. The Toynbee Tiles
09:52Boston, Kansas City, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires.
09:56What do all of these locations have in common?
09:59In all of these cities and many more, embedded in seemingly random streets,
10:04are linoleum tiles containing cryptic messages about death.
10:07New York, DC, Boston. The person who made them was a complete mystery.
10:13The phrase, resurrect dead on planet Jupiter, is present on many of the tiles,
10:18as well as references to Stanley Kubrick's 2001 A Space Odyssey.
10:22A couple of different theories have been put forth as to the identity of the Tiler,
10:26including a 2011 documentary, but no proof or admission from the Tiler has confirmed any of them.
10:32If it were one person, why go through the trouble of traveling around the world?
10:36Number 19. The Hornet Spook Light
10:39It seems a lot higher than the old days, and it's behind us.
10:43We actually came down pretty far into it, but it seems to be back there.
10:47We had a neighbor stop by and says it doesn't even live here.
10:50What's in a name? Well, judging by the spooky phenomena that occurs in the
10:54Devil's Promenade west of Hornet, Missouri, sometimes a lot.
10:58Also known as the Hollis Light, the Spook Light is a ball or group of lights that's
11:03been sighted numerous times around the border between Missouri and Oklahoma.
11:07And then some nights they're spectacular and they're frightening.
11:12People have proposed explanations that range from headlights on Route 66 to
11:17atmospheric gases to the spirits of two Quapaw lovers who ran away together.
11:21Oh yeah, and aliens, obviously.
11:24Over the years, a few investigators have laid out evidence for the headlights explanation.
11:29But there are still true believers who think there must be something more to the tale.
11:33We believe it's likely that any of the headlights from any cars coming all the
11:39way down this long hill to this point could be the ambience of the Spook Light.
11:47Number 18. The Overtoun Bridge
11:50Don't bring your dogs near this next mystery.
11:52The Overtoun Bridge in Scotland is a seemingly normal bridge like any other,
11:56except for the staggering amount of dogs that have jumped to their deaths from the structure.
12:01They just looked up and leapt right over the bridge.
12:04Local tabloids have estimated that around 600 dogs have leaped off this bridge,
12:08seemingly for no reason.
12:10I started shouting to David, Sophie's jumped off the bridge, she's jumped off the bridge.
12:16It just happened so fast, seconds.
12:19Residents tell of their dogs pausing on the bridge as if possessed before unexpectedly jumping.
12:24Some dogs have reportedly jumped twice.
12:26Paranormal theories abound, including spirits and ghosts,
12:30while the most scientific explanation is that the dogs are smelling wildlife below.
12:34They've no concept of what's on the other side. They can't see the drop.
12:38But if that's the case, why this bridge in particular?
12:42Number 17. The Devil's Footprints
12:46One winter morning in 1855, residents of Devon, England woke to find an eerie phenomenon.
12:52Hoof prints, some four inches long, were found across 40 to 100 miles of snow,
12:57as well as on roofs, walls, and even in drain pipes.
13:01Residents might have been able to write the markings off as belonging to a donkey or another animal,
13:05except they appeared in a variety of unreachable places.
13:08Even stranger, they were all in a single line instead of alternating left and right.
13:13No animal walks in such a unique way. To this day,
13:17no satisfactory theory exists, but residents think it was Satan himself.
13:22Number 16. The Disappearance of Benjamin Bathurst
13:26Try rationalizing this one.
13:28Benjamin Bathurst was a British diplomat in the 19th century.
13:31He was traveling through Germany in November 1809 with his aide Herr Krause
13:35when something strange happened. They were walking to the carriage together,
13:38but when Krause got in, he suddenly couldn't find Bathurst.
13:42Investigations uncovered his valuable fur coat in an outhouse
13:46and pantaloons miles away in the woods. His wife spent a fortune trying to find him,
13:51but to no avail. It's thought he was murdered and a possible skeleton was found many years later.
13:57Bathurst was known to carry pistols. How could no one have seen or heard him being taken?
14:03Number 15. The Phantom Barber
14:05There was more to worry about than World War II in the small town of Pascagoula, Mississippi in 1942.
14:11A mysterious person dressed in white began sneaking into homes and cutting off locks of
14:15people's hair in the middle of the night. This phantom seemed to prefer blonde hair,
14:19and he was rarely seen in the act. Though his intrusions were usually non-violent,
14:25police think he used chloroform to knock out a victim, and on one occasion,
14:29he beat a couple unconscious with an iron bar. A suspect was later arrested and then released.
14:36No definitive identity has ever been given for this ghastly figure.
14:40Number 14. The Pollock Twins
14:42Sisters Joanna and Jacqueline Pollock were 11 and 6 years old respectively when they were killed in
14:47a car accident. The devastated parents decided to have another child and gave birth to twins,
14:52Jillian and Jennifer. These twins shared so many similarities with the deceased sisters,
14:57including birthmarks, behaviors and preferences, as well as memories from before the accident,
15:02that they seemed to be perfect reincarnations. Many simply dismissed the case as a hoax,
15:07but both parents were convinced that these twins were their original daughters.
15:12The case is often touted as evidence of true resurrection.
15:16Number 13. Sleeping Sickness
15:19This is a scary one. A sickness began sweeping through the world shortly after World War I,
15:24and it would become so widespread it became an epidemic. It was called lethargic encephalitis,
15:30and it put people in a sort of coma where they were conscious but unable to speak or move,
15:35like living statues. Close to a million people died, and millions more were helplessly trapped
15:42in their bodies. No scientist to this day can explain what this sickness was or how it spread,
15:47and it is one of the biggest medical mysteries in history.
15:51Number 12. The Aurora Incident
15:53We've all heard of Roswell, but have you heard of the alien shipwreck in Aurora, Texas?
15:59In 1897, an airship that looked like a cigar allegedly collided with a windmill and exploded.
16:05People reported seeing a non-human pilot and papers with an unrecognizable language
16:10that resembled hieroglyphics. The pilot was supposedly buried, but the grave marker
16:14disappeared. The cemetery declined a request from the Mutual UFO Network to exhume the site.
16:19The dear lord is powerful enough that if he wanted to create another universe and other
16:25people, he could have done it. Conspiracy theorists believe the
16:28wreckage was confiscated by the military, so all that's left are accounts and memories.
16:33Was this a misconstrued event or a real alien shipwreck?
16:42Number 11. The Big Grey Man
16:44The Big Grey Man, known as Amfer Leamur in Scottish Gaelic, is not actually a man.
16:50It's said to be a creature or spirit living in the isolated Cairngorms Mountains in Scotland.
16:55Various accounts of the creature tell of a tall specter, shrouded in mist,
16:58that inflicts terrible fear and panic in the victims.
17:02Nearly all accounts report footsteps following them in the gravel before they encounter the
17:06entity. Another explanation that's been proposed is that it's a Brock Inspector,
17:16where the user's shadow is enlarged on a cloud bank. We sure hope so.
17:24Number 10. The Flannan Isles Lighthouse
17:27In December of 1900, three lighthouse keepers mysteriously vanished without a trace
17:32on the uninhabited island of Eilean Mor. When people went to check on them,
17:36they found a spare oilskin and unmade beds, suggesting something suddenly aroused them
17:41from their sleep. The mechanical clocks had not been wound for some time, either.
17:45No evidence of foul play was found, and the bodies were never seen again.
17:49The leading theory is that waves pulled them into the Atlantic Ocean,
17:53but it's forbidden to leave the lighthouse unmanned. So why did they all venture outside?
17:58And why did one leave his oilskin suit? It may forever be a mystery.
18:03Number 9. The Dancing Plague of 1518
18:07In 1518, in the Holy Roman Empire, the city of Strasbourg was reportedly struck with one
18:11of the strangest plagues in history – an inability to stop dancing. What started with
18:17one woman busting some moves somehow turned into mass hysteria that lasted for days.
18:22Residents found themselves unable to stop, and some sources report that many danced themselves
18:27to death. To this day, no one knows what really happened. Some believe the residents had ingested
18:33ergot, a hallucinogenic fungi, while others point to stress-induced hysteria. Oddly enough,
18:39this plague also reportedly occurred in Switzerland, Holland, and Germany,
18:43though not to the same extent. Number 8. T'man Shud
18:48This is the sort of puzzle that keeps you up at night. In 1948, an unidentified dead body washed
18:54ashore in South Australia. What ensued was a wild scavenger hunt with dead ends everywhere.
19:00In the man's pocket was a torn piece of paper that read T'man Shud, which is Persian for
19:04finished. The paper led them to the book it was torn from, The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam,
19:09along with a phone number and cryptic message that has yet to be decoded.
19:13It was 1948-49, so they were convinced perhaps he was a communist spy or a Russian spy.
19:19But no one ever came forward to claim this man.
19:21The number was of a local nurse, who denied knowing the dead man. Investigators discovered
19:27a discarded suitcase that they believe belonged to the body, but it had a fake name. One of
19:32Australia's biggest mysteries is still an open case.
19:35Even though that picture that we saw was widely distributed around the world,
19:39his fingerprints were sent to Scotland Yard, the FBI. Nobody knew who this guy was.
19:447. Bimini Road
19:46This strange rock formation is located in the Bahamas.
19:49The underwater path stretches for exactly half a mile before ending abruptly. The limestone
19:55blocks seem to have been precisely cut and stacked, leading some to claim that it must
19:59have been human-made.
20:09What makes this even stranger is that some 30 years before divers discovered it,
20:13modern prophet Edgar Cayce said that the road leading to the lost city of Atlantis was near
20:18Bimini. Geologists argue that this is a naturally occurring formation, but there are still believers
20:23who argue that it must have been built by an ancient civilization.
20:276. The disappearance of the USS Cyclops
20:30It's one thing when a small dinghy vanishes, but how does the largest ship in the Navy suddenly
20:35disappear? That's what happened in 1918 when the USS Cyclops was making a trip to Baltimore.
20:41The last message sent from the ship is simple, quote,
20:44Weather fair, all well. Normally, when ships disappear, some remnant or flotsam of the
20:50vessel washes ashore, but nothing whatsoever has been found of the Cyclops. Even more eerily,
20:56it vanished within the infamous Bermuda Triangle. No enemy ships were ever reported in the region.
21:02The Navy has called it one of the most confusing mysteries in its history.
21:065. The Ghost Blimp
21:08Picture it, 1942, off the coast of California. Two U.S. Navy pilots command the Navy's L-8
21:14Blimp in search of Japanese submarines in waters not so far from San Francisco.
21:32They radio flight control about an oil slick on the water, and are never heard from again.
21:39A few hours later, that very same L-8 Blimp crashes into a cliff,
21:43with no one on board. Everything in or about the craft was working normally,
21:48the throttles were idle, and more eerily, the parachutes and lifeboat were still on board.
21:54To this day, no one knows what happened, and the personnel involved were never found.
21:594. The Bay of Jars
22:01Brazil's Guanabara Bay contains a lot of trash. But the trash that people cannot explain
22:06is the 200 or so Roman ceramic jars found submerged in an underwater field,
22:11an underwater field the size of three tennis courts. According to experts,
22:15these jars trace back to the third century. However, European explorers didn't even reach
22:20Brazil until 1500, and the Romans themselves had little to no incentive to travel that far out.
22:26Thus, it's a complete mystery why their artifacts would be found there.
22:30Meanwhile, Brazil closed off the area in 1983, so it's unlikely an answer will ever be found.
22:363. The Voynich Manuscript
22:38If you haven't heard of this one, strap in. The Voynich Manuscript is a mysterious 250-page book
22:45written in a completely unknown language, and containing odd, otherworldly sketches.
22:51There are theories that the book might have been written in a kind of encoded Latin,
22:54or that an alien wrote it while being held captive in a monastery,
23:01or that Leonardo da Vinci wrote it as a child.
23:04Its origin is unable to be fully traced, so no one knows who created it, let alone why,
23:09but carbon dating puts it in the early 15th century.
23:12Cryptologists say the writing has all the characteristics of a real language,
23:16just one that no one's ever seen before. What makes it seem real is that in actual languages,
23:22letters and groups of letters appear with consistent frequencies,
23:25and the language in the Voynich Manuscript has patterns you wouldn't find from a random letter
23:30generator. So far, no one has been able to decode the script it's written in,
23:34despite being worked on by professional codebreakers from both World War I
23:38and World War II. What strange message lies inside this uncrackable book?
23:43The truth is, after decades of dedicated study to try and solve the mystery,
23:48this strange book seems likely to remain one of our most enduring historical codes to crack.
23:552. The Max Headroom Hijack
23:57In 1987, two television stations in Chicago were hijacked
24:01in perhaps the most surreal act of video piracy ever recorded.
24:05Both instances featured an unidentified man dressed as obscure TV personality Max Headroom
24:21dancing to distorted audio. The second video, significantly longer,
24:25saw the man rambling incoherently in a distorted voice
24:28and being swatted on the behind by an off-screen accomplice.
24:36The segments lasted no more than a couple of minutes, but have gone down as among the
24:50most notorious incidents in television history. No one has ever identified who pulled it off,
24:56or even why. We can only hope someone comes forward after all this time to put an end to
25:01this mystery. Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to
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25:271. The Green Children of Woolpit
25:30According to legend, in the 12th century, two children were found in the village of
25:35Woolpit, England. Their skin was green, they spoke gibberish, and they only ate broad beans.
25:41Eventually, they learned to eat normal food and speak English, and they claimed they were from
25:45a different world where there was no sun. The boy soon died of a mysterious illness,
25:50but the girl lived on. A few accounts from around the same time reference the tale.
25:55One leading theory proposes that the children were lost and malnourished Flemish immigrants
25:59from another town in Suffolk. Others claim they were extraterrestrials, or from inside the Earth
26:05itself. Have you ever heard of any of these obscure mysteries? Let us know in the comments below.
26:11But if the shroud is truly from the first century, an event from the Bible might reveal an answer.
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