There are a lot of weird things that happen in our world each and every day, and some of them are creepier than you could ever imagine. Even worse? These incidents remain unsolved to this day.
If you love a good mystery, get ready, because we’ve got some stories for you. Fair warning, though—be prepared to keep every single light in the house on for a week, because these creepy tales are still unsolved to this day. Because who needs sleep anyway, right?
Fair warning, though—be prepared to keep every single light in the house on for a week, because these creepy tales are still unsolved to this day. Because who needs sleep anyway, right?
The Sodder Children
In December 1945 in the town of Fayetteville, West Virginia, the Sodder family’s home tragically caught on fire. Fortunately, George Sodder and his wife were able to make it out of the home with four of the children, and one of their sons happened to be away from the house that night altogether—however, there were still five of his children that didn’t make it out of the house. Or did they?
When he re-entered the home after the blaze had been put out, he immediately set out to search for the kids that didn’t make it out with the rest of the family, but wasn’t able to find them. It was eventually determined that the fire wouldn’t have been strong enough to destroy everything to the point that absolutely nothing was left behind, so no one knows what truly happened to the kids that night, as authorities weren’t able to find a single shred of evidence they were ever in there in the first place.
To add to the mystery, George later noticed that his truck wouldn’t start unexpectedly and that his ladder seemed to be missing. Sadly, it is still unknown what happened to the kids.
Brian Shaffer’s Disappearance
In Columbus, Ohio, in April 2006, a man named Brian Shaffer and a group of his friends were out at a bar to celebrate the beginning of that year’s spring break. They ended their fun at a bar close to the campus that Shaffer attended, so he was incredibly familiar with the area.
They ended their fun at a bar close to the campus that Shaffer attended, so he was incredibly familiar with the area.
After he said his goodbyes to a group of girls he and his friends met while out, Shaffer passed in front of a security camera at the bar and then completely disappeared forever, leaving the authorities baffled. Sadly, the only remaining member of Shaffer’s family is his younger brother, as their parents passed away some years before.
The Case of Elisa Lam
In Los Angeles in February 2013, a young student named Elisa Lam was found after being missing since the end of January that year. Sadly, her body was later found in the water tank of the hotel where she was staying while in California, the Hotel Cecil. Strangely, however, authorities had no idea how she got in the tank.
After her death, the police released hotel security footage that showed Lam going around the hotel, acting very erratically—walking up and down halls over and over, hiding in the elevator then getting back out, and talking to someone in the hallway that police don’t think was real.
We know what you’re thinking and, no, her behavior wasn’t due to something she ingested, as her autopsy and toxicology report revealed that there was nothing unusual in her system.
In addition to this bizarre case, many other strange things happened in that very hotel—could all of the events be related somehow? It was apparently the last place the Black Dahlia, Elizabeth Short, was seen alive, and the site of an unsolved murder that took place in 1964. We’ll go ahead and assume you won’t be booking a room anytime soon.
Ray Gricar’s Disappearance
Ray Gricar was an attorney and prosecutor who worked in Centre County, Pennsylvania. One day in April 2015, Gricar decided he would take a day off work, but he never returned. During the investigation into his disappearance, his clothes and other belongings were found across a number of different areas within the town. His car was later found abandoned on a bridge, and his hard drive and laptop were eventually found near a river bank.
Though there are a lot of different theories that exist about what happened, police did discover a Google search for “how to fry a hard drive” on his computer, giving credit to the theory that he just wanted to leave his old life behind. Who knows, though—maybe that’s exactly what a murderer would want in your search history to throw the authorities off their trail.
Amy Lynn Bradley’s Disappearance
Amy Lynn Bradley was a woman who somehow disappeared off a cruise ship during March 1998 while she was on vacation with her mom, dad, and younger brother. She left her cabin sometime in the morning but authorities assumed she meant to return immediately, as she didn’t even take the time to put on shoes.
She left her cabin sometime in the morning but authorities assumed she meant to return immediately, as she didn’t even take the time to put on shoes.
After she disappeared, her parents mentioned that many crew members on the ship gave her “special attention.” They then started to believe that Bradley was a victim of human trafficking and, surprisingly, grainy images were eventually found of a woman in her underwear who looked like her. However, even though there are reports of Bradley being seen since she disappeared from the cruise ship, she has not been found.
The Beaumont Children Disappearance
In January 1996, a group of siblings walked along Glenelg Beach in Adelaide, Australia. They would eventually be referred to collectively as the Beaumont Children—9-year-old Jane, 7-year-old Arnna, and 4-year-old Grant. The three children hopped on a bus that took them on a five-minute ride to the beach but never came back on the bus that left the beach around 12 p.m.
Those who were at the beach that day later reported that the kids played with a young man while they were at the beach, and they were eventually seen buying snacks with more money than their mom sent them to the beach with. Even stranger was that an actual police officer said that he saw the children walking home around 3 p.m. that very same day, happy and safe as could be, but they obviously never made it there.
Eventually, letters were sent to their parents claiming that the kids were being held hostage, but they were determined to be fake. Their parents were so baffled by what happened that they even hired paranormal investigators to see if they could communicate with their children if they were, in fact, dead. What’s perhaps one of the strangest aspects of this story is that it happened in very close proximity to the Somerton Man incident below.
The Somerton Man
In November 1948, the body of a man washed up along the shore of Somerton Beach in South Adelaide, Australia. The man, eventually referred to as the Somerton Man, had no signs of a violent struggle on his body, and was found wearing a full suit.
Though he didn’t have any form of identification on him, he did have a note that read “Tamám Shud,” which means “it is ended” or “it is finished” in Persian. The page came from an incredibly rare book, “The Rubáiyát,” which authorities found just one street over.
The rumor is that the man was a spy, which is perpetuated by the fact that his book contained a message written in UV ink. Some suspect he may have been apart of a mission gone bad and took an undetectable poison to take his life before being captured.
