Misogyny, sexism, and domestic abuse have long been a problem in India, so its nice to finally see a progressive man whos willing to let his mom do a job that was previously reserved only for males. Two years ago in Mumbai, Mangal Bharat Thorat had an argument with her daughter-in-law over a dowry before the 62-year-old Thorat beat the girl, poured kerosene over her and set her ablaze.
Now, my hyper-fear of the elderly means that from time to time I prepare for the hundreds of hypothetical situations in which they may try to kill me and/or devour my youth, but I can honestly say that I have no contingency plan for being set on fire by senior citizens. Several things would have to go wrong to afford a 62-year-old woman the time to not only to collect kerosene, but douse me in it, strike a match and throw it at me.
Thanks for waiting, I can never remember where my husband puts the candles.
This crime is also frightening because its so far removed from common sense. Aside from being a grossly inappropriate reaction to an argument with an in-law, it also seems to be the least likely way to get more money from the brides family. Thorat received life in prison for the crime which is a small consequence to a 62-year-old woman. I think the lesson we can all glean here is that senior citizens are particularly dangerous because they have nothing to lose.
One day a boy named Charlie Wackaweed, was making a wish on a star. He did not know that the wish he would be making would change his life forever. It was late one night, when Charlie was looking at the stars. He had heard that if you wish on the first star you see, your wish will become true. So he spotted the first star that he saw, and he made a wish on it. His wish was that whatever he said or did, for it to come true. So for instance if he would say "Let it snow" it would snow. Just a few days later, he was sitting in Geometry class wondering about the test they would have in about 5 minutes. When he got the test, he sat there wishing that he would ace the test. He took the test that was supposed to be very hard and he thought that it was easy. He got it back and it was an A+. he was amazed because he had never had a test and aced it before, and this test was probably the hardest one that he had ever taken. He asked all his classmates what they had gotten on the test and they all replied " A C+ or lower. Charlie was very excited that he had gotten a better grade than Chris, who was an A+ student ,and Chris had made a C-. There was this one kid that Charlie did not like. He wished that something bad would happen to him. The very next day he was out of school. Charlie asked his teacher where he was he said " He is in the hospital with a very deadly disease. It came on him so fast, and none of the doctors have a cure. It is really weird. I have never seen anything like it." The very next day, Charlie heard that the kid with the deadly disease had died. Charlie was upset about the whole situation. He knew that it was his fault that he had died . So he went to his funeral with sorrow and regret. He was at home, alone, late one night. All of a sudden the phone rang. He ran down the steps to answer it thinking that it might be his parents. He picked up the phone and he heard the dial tone. He thought to himself "That's weird" and then he went back up to his room thinking no more about it. This happened several more times and he still ignored it. Then all of a sudden the door bell rang. He went down to answer it again thinking that it might be his best friend Jarred. He opened the door and said "Hey Jarred......what's....." but then he noticed that no one was there. He thought to himself "It must be those little kids that live down the street prank calling and ringing the doorbell and running." So he then went back up the stairs to his room, thinking no more of it. Then there was a peck on the window. He was really starting to get kind of scared and curious. He went to the window, opened it and yelled "Get out of here you little kids!!" But still he saw no one. Since it was starting to get really freaky, he decided to go and watch some T.V. He flipped on the T.V. and right then the power went out. He knew that the kids couldn't have done something like that because he didn't have a fuse box. He now realized that the kids couldn't have done any of the other things now, and he was starting to get really scared. He went and got a flash light and he saw red eyes across the room and was coming very fast towards him. He all of a sudden heard a low, creepy, but familiar voice calling " Charlie..........Charlie...........Charlie.....how could you do something like this to me?" Charlie replied "Who are you? What do you want from me? I have no clue what you're talking about." The voice replied "You do know what I'm talking about Charlie Wackaweed."All of a sudden, it jumped out behind the shadows and Charlie saw a beaten, flesh removed, kid that Charlie recognized as the kid that he had wished that something bad would happen to. His eyes were blood red, and the flesh that he had left was purple and blue. Charlie was scared to death. He told the kid that he had never meant for him to be killed or even hurt, but he didn't believe him. The kid replied "Now it is your turn to follow the pain and death that I had suffered through." Then the kid took Charlie out of the house, and tied him up to a tree. The kid then dug a huge hole and then untied Charlie. The ghost said to him," I'm sorry that it has to end this way Charlie, but this is what you have to repay me by doing. Good-Bye Charlie!" Then the kid threw Charlie in the hole and buried him alive. No one really knew what had happened to Charlie Wackaweed. Until one day a clipping all of a sudden appeared in the newspaper telling what had happened and who had actually killed the kid that Charlie didn't like. I am telling you now, be careful what you wish for because it just might come true.
Every year, there are numerous men and women found deceased whose identities are a complete mystery. They are simply known as “John Doe” or “Jane Doe” until their real identities can be discovered. But unfortunately, sometimes this just never happens. Even though these people may have friends or family somewhere who are looking them, no one ever comes forward to claim the body. Years or decades go by without anyone finding out who they are. One of the most famous examples of this is the unidentified “Boy in the Box” found in Philadelphia in 1957. Here are some other examples of John or Jane Does being found under mysterious circumstances. Even though people have worked tirelessly to find out who they are, their identities remain unknown.
10
Little Miss Panasoffkee
On February 19, 1971, in Sumter County, Florida, the decomposed body of a young woman was discovered beneath a bridge in Lake Panasoffkee. She was believed to be in her early twenties and had been strangled to death with a man’s belt which was still wrapped around her throat. She had no identification and since no one ever came forward to claim her body, she was nicknamed “Little Miss Panasoffkee” and laid to rest in the area.
Years later, her body was exhumed in an attempt to identify her. One of the most curious discoveries they made was that a form of surgery called the “Watson-Jones” technique had been performed on her ankle. She had extensive dental work and a recent study of the lead isotopes in her teeth has led to the theory that she may have been a resident of Lavrion, a fishing port near Athens, Greece. It is also believed that she had given birth to a child at one point. In spite of these very distinct clues, her real identity has yet to be uncovered.
9
Sumter County Mystery Couple
Another Sumter County, this one in South Carolina, has its own mystery about unidentified murder victims. On August 9, 1976, the bodies of a young man and woman, both believed to between 18 and 22 years old, were found on a secluded dirty road. They had both been shot to death, and a local resident claimed they heard the sounds of gunshots and a vehicle speeding off shortly before the victims were found. Neither the male nor the female had any identification or money on them.
Even though they had no money, the victims both wore fairly expensive-looking jewelry and had extensive dental work. Months later, a witness came forward who believed he had crossed paths with the couple at a campground. He said the male claimed his name was “Jock” and that he was traveling through the U.S. because he had been disowned by his father, who was a prominent doctor in Canada. Not much is known about the female, but authorities have speculated that the couple may have actually been brother and sister. In spite of these leads, no one has ever come forward to claim the victims’ bodies, and the identity of their killer is also unknown.
8
Beth Doe
One of the most brutal homicides of all time took place in Carbon County, Pennsylvania on December 20, 1976. Three suitcases were found under a bridge along the Lehigh River and they each contained the remains of an unidentified woman, who was believed to be between 16 and 22 years old. She had been strangled, shot in the neck, and dismembered. One of the suitcases contained her arms and legs, and her eyes, nose and breasts had also been removed. It’s estimated that the killer made a failed attempt to toss the suitcases into the river, causing two of them to break open on impact.
As if the crime wasn’t vicious enough, the woman was also pregnant, as a full-term female fetus was also found amongst the remains. A potentiallysignificant clue was some letters and numbers written in ink on the victim’s left hand (possibly a license plate number), but authorities were never able to figure out their meaning. Over thirty-five years later, the victim is buried in a grave under the name “Beth Doe”, but no one has ever been able to determine her identity or find out who killed her in such a cruel fashion.
7
“Lyle Stevik”
On September 14, 2001, a man appearing to be in his twenties checked into a motel in Grays Harbor, Washington. He registered under the name “Lyle Stevik” and listed an address from Meridan, Idaho. He only paid for one evening, but told the staff he was likely planning to stay a few extra days. On September 17, his body was found in his room, hanging from a coat rack with a leather belt. It is estimated that he had committed suicide the day before. He left money on the nightstand alongside a note that said “For the Room”.
Upon further investigation, it was discovered that “Lyle Stevik” is the name of a character from the Joyce Carol Oates novel, “You Must Remember This”, so there’s a good chance this man had registered under an alias. The Idaho address he wrote down actually belonged to a Best Western motel. The man carried no identification or luggage and the only possessions left behind were a toothbrush and toothpaste. The only other clue was a discarded piece of paper in the room’s waste basket which read “SUICIDE”. All attempts to uncover anything about this man’s background have proved unsuccessful.
6
Caledonia Jane Doe
On the morning of November 9, 1979, a passing motorist discovered the body of a young woman in a cornfield near Caledonia, New York. She looked to be between 13 and 19 years old and was killed by two gunshot wounds to the head. Authorities estimate that the murder weapon was a .38-caliber handgun. She was likely killed the night before, but unfortunately, heavy rains had washed away potential forensic evidence. Her pockets had been turned inside out, indicating that the killer had possibly removed her identification.
A waitress reported seeing the woman at a diner in Lima, New York the night before, and numerous truckers claimed they had seen her hitchhiking and attempting to catch rides. In 2006, three microscopic pollen grains found inside her clothing were analyzed and it was determined they could have only come from Florida, Arizona or Southern California, indicating that the girl had travelled a great distance before her death. But even though authorities have followed up on over 10,000 leads, she has yet to be identified and remains buried under the name “Jane Doe” in Dansville, New York.
5
Princess Blue
In Brazoria County, Texas on September 10, 1990, a motorist who pulled off the highway to relieve himself in a trash-dumping area was shocked to discover a skull inside an old tire. The skeletal remains of a female, believed to be between the ages of 15 and 25, were then found on a pile of debris. Cause of death is unknown, but it is estimated she died one to five years before being discovered. She was initially thought to be Hispanic, but later analysis has determined that she was probably white and descended from at least one black parent or grandparent.
Even though no clothing was found, the victim had six rings on her fingers and a bracelet. The most distinctive piece of jewelry was a silver-colored 1975 class ring from Robert E. Lee High School in Houston. The blue stone in the ring is what led to her being nicknamed “Princess Blue”. Given that the victim was too young to have graduated high school in 1975, investigators were baffled about why she would have this ring and have tried to find out if anyone from that graduating class might have lost or given their ring away. Thus far, they have had no luck solving this mystery.
4
Unidentified Grateful Dead Fan
On June 26, 1995, a man named Michael Eric Hager was killed when his van crashed in Greensville County, Virginia. A passenger was also killed in the accident, but Hager’s family did not know him, so he had presumably been picked up while hitchhiking. The unidentified man was between 16 and 21 years old and wore a tie-died concert T-shirt advertising the Grateful Dead’s 30th Anniversary Tour. He had no identification, but he did have a ticket stub from the Grateful Dead concert at RFK Stadium the night before. The ticket was traced to a Pennsylvania man who had scalped it at the concert, but could not recall who he sold it to.
One significant clue was a note found in the man’s pocket which read: “To Jason, Sorry we had to go. See you around. Caroline O. and Caroline T.”. The note also contained a phone number with a 914 prefix, but no area code. Neither of these Carolines have ever been identified and the phone number has not helped uncover the hitchhiker’s identity. This note led to the man being nicknamed “Jason Doe”, but since no one has ever come forward to claim his body, his real name remains a mystery.
3
Baby Hope
One of the largest homicide investigations in New York City history was launched on July 23, 1991 when a cooler was found in a park bordering the Henry Hudson Parkway. It contained the decomposed body of a young girl, estimated to be between the ages of 3 and 5. She was wrapped in a black garbage bag and buried under cans of Coca-Cola. The girl had been asphyxiated and likely been dead for days, and evidence was later discovered that the girl was sexually abused. With no clue to her identity, she was nicknamed “Baby Hope”.
Authorities sent out a public plea for information and later received a call from a woman using the name “Judy Brown”. She claimed that while driving on the Parkway nine days before Baby Hope was found, she saw a well-dressed Hispanic couple carrying a cooler, but this woman never came forward to provide further information. While Baby Hope remains unidentified over 20 years later, detectives initially thought they solved the case when they found pornographic Polaroids of a girl resembling Baby Hope in the same area three months later. They later discovered the person in the photos was actually a 12-year old girl living in New Jersey. In an eerie coincidence, her name was also Hope!
2
Huntington Beach Jane Doe
On April 1, 1990, a young woman stepped onto Pacific Coast Highway inHuntington Beach, California, and was instantly killed after being struck by two vehicles. She carried no identification, but wore one very unique item: a ring made of human hair. When the media published a sketch of the woman, many residents came forward to claim they had interacted with her. She had told some people that her name was Andrea and that she was 25 or 26, though she looked young enough to be between 16 and 18 years old.
One resident claimed that “Andrea” was a homeless transient and that he let her spend the night with his family. This is where he witnessed the woman cut off a chunk of her hair and wrap it around her finger as a ring. Other residents who spoke with her gave conflicting stories about her being from Virginia and New York. One person said the woman mentioned she was adopted and was searching for her birth family, and also claimed her parents were pretty well-known. In spite of investigators following up on numerous leads, the woman still remains unidentified over 20 years later.
1
El Dorado Jane Doe
On July 9, 1991, a blonde woman was found beaten and shot to death in her room at the Whitehall Motel in El Dorado, Arkansas. Her ID said her name was Cheryl Ann Wick, but investigators soon discovered she had stolen this identity from another Cheryl Ann Wick in Minneapolis who was alive and well and did not know the victim. The blonde had been murdered by her boyfriend, James Roy McAlphin, who served 12 years in prison for the crime, but could not shed any light on her real identity.
The woman was known to have resided in Dallas, Houston, Shreveport, and Little Rock before she arrived in El Dorado, and also told friends she was originally from Florida. In addition to “Cheryl Ann Wick”, she also went under the aliases “Kelly Lee Carr”, “Shannon Wiley”, and “Mercedes”. She had worked as a prostitute and topless dancer, had been arrested on numerous occasions for prostitution and writing bad cheques, and was possibly wanted for bank robbery in Virginia. She also had a bible in her possession, which included names from a family she had lived with for awhile. In spite of all these leads, no one has ever been able to uncover her true identity.
There are places on this planet that are stranger than the most alien landscapes we have ever imagined. Places that make your skin crawl. Places that induce heavy breathing and paranoia, before anything has even happened. We walk the dark, dusty steps of old castles and houses. We roam the halls of asylums and tunnels, hoping to glimpse something otherworldly. But sometimes, we wish we wouldn’t. Sometimes, our curiosity gets the better of us in the beginning, and is then squashed by a feeling that no human ever wants to be familiar with: absolute terror.
We hear screams in the night, footsteps in the hall. We see shadows flit by, and fog taking the shape of something eerily familiar. We breathe, we pray, and step lightly. We scream, we curse, and we sprint. Some encounters are mysterious, others violent, all terrifying. Why do we insist on investigating places such as these? Mere curiosity only gets us so far, and then we need a driving force embedded much deeper into our psyche in order to power on. Would you spend the night alone in these places?
10
Riddle House
The History
The Riddle House in Palm Beach County, Florida, was originally a funeral parlor. The Victorian house was dismantled and rebuilt in Yesteryear Village at the South Florida fair grounds. In the 1920’s the house became privately owned by Karl Riddle.
The Terror
Joseph, one of Riddle’s former employees, committed suicide by hanging himself in the attic of the house. Joseph, for whatever reason, hated men, and displays this hatred by attacking men who enter the attic. One man had a lid flung at his head, and men are now no longer allowed in the attic. Other places in the house are haunted as well, with furniture being frequently moved.
9
Helltown
The History
The Northern part of Summit County in Ohio is known by the eerily blunt moniker, Helltown. In the 70’s, Boston Township was the site of a government buyout, and subsequent mass eviction of citizens. The houses were intended to be torn down and the land used for a national park, but the plans never quite manifested. Legends spawned wildly, and who can blame the legend mongers? Driving through the dark, wooded landscape was enough to give you chills even when it was populated, let alone when you have to drive by boarded up houses standing next to the burnt out hulks of others (the local fire department used some buildings for practice).
The Terror
Whether based on a kernel of truth or cooked up in the heads of creative visitors, the persistent legends of Helltown add to the creep factor. The steep Stanford Road drop off, immediately followed by a dead end, is aptly named The End of the World. If you get stuck at this dead end for too long, according to ghost story enthusiasts, you may meet your end at the hands of many members of the endless parade of freaks patrolling the woods. Satanists, Ku Klux Klan members, an escaped mental patient, an abnormally large snake, and mutants caused by an alleged chemical spill proudly march in this parade. And if you stray from the roads, you may find Boston Cemetery, home to a ghostly man, grave robbers and, the quirkiest of all, a moving tree.
8
Stull Cemetery
The History
Stull, Kansas, is a tiny, unincorporated town in Bumfuck, Nowhere- er, pardon, Douglas County. Ten miles west of Lawrence and thirteen miles east of Topeka puts it far from anything resembling a large population center. The population of Stull is approximately 20 people. But, don’t let the deceptively quaint village fool you. A darker side lurks behind the bushes and in the shadows.
The Terror
In the early 20th century, two tragedies rocked the tiny settlement (please observe, these are not legend or folklore, but fact). First, a father finished burning a farm field, only to find the charred corpse of his young son in the aftermath. The second incident to occur was a man went missing, and was later found hanged from a tree. As far as legends go, the infamous cemetery is where you can find your fill of supernatural lore. The book Weird US has this to say on Stull Cemetery:
“There are graveyards across America that go beyond merely being haunted and enter into the realm of the diabolical. They are places so terrifying that they say the devil himself holds courts with his worshippers there. The cemetery on Emmanuel Hill in Stull, Kansas, is one of these places.”
Rumors exist stating that Stull Cemetery is one of the 7 gateways to Hell. While the old church is now demolished, many attempt to sneak in at night for a peek at the unsavory goings-on. But be warned, the police patrol heavily, especially on Halloween and the spring equinox. The place is supposed to be so unholy, in fact, that some claim Pope John Paul II refused to allow his plane to fly over eastern Kansas, on his way to an appearance in Colorado. The validity of this last claim is up for debate, but none can deny that legends or not, Stull Cemetery is a terrifying place to be.
7
The Ridges
The History
Originally known as the Athens Lunatic Asylum, The Ridges was renamed after the state of Ohio acquired the property. The hospital saw hundreds of lobotomies, and often declared masturbation and epilepsy to be the causes of insanity in patients.
The Terror
Athens, Ohio, is listed as the 13th most haunted place in the world, as per the British Society for Psychical Research. The nearby Ohio University (which currently owns most of the property on which the Ridges is located) is said to be heavily haunted. The notorious rapist with Dissociative Identity Disorder, Billy Milligan, was housed at the facility for years. The most famous story, however is that of a 54 year old female patient who ran away and was missing for 6 weeks. She was found dead in an unused ward. She had taken off all of her clothes, neatly folded them, and laid down on the cold concrete where she subsequently died. Through a combination of decomposition and sun exposure, her corpse left a permanent stain on the floor, which is still visible today. Her spirit now haunts the abandoned ward.
6
Humberstone and LaNoria
The History
These two abandoned mining towns in Chile were recently featured on an episode of the SyFy Channel’s show, Destination Truth. In 1872, the town was founded as a saltpeter mine, and business boomed. However, after several heavy blows (including the Great Depression), the business declined and then collapsed in 1958, and the town of Humberstone and it’s surrounding towns were abandoned by 1960. Treatment of workers in both towns bordered on slavery, and now the towns are left standing derelict.
The Terror
It is rumored that the dead of the La Noria cemetery rise at night and walk around the town, and ghostly images frequently show up in photographs in Humberstone. These towns are so terrifying, the residents of nearby Iquique refuse to enter them. The former residents never left, and can be seen walking around, and children have been heard playing. The cemetery of La Noria, regardless of whether its occupants actually walk at night, contains opened graves where the bodies are fully exposed, leaving you to wonder why. Is it ghosts, or is it grave robbers? As if either prospect is very appealing.
Full episodes of Destination Truth, including the episode featuring Humberstone and La Noria, can be seen here.
5
Byberry Mental Asylum
The History
The Philadelphia State Hospital at Byberry, or known simply as Byberry, was the poster image for patient maltreatment. The hospital, in its most popular form, was founded in 1907, and known as the Byberry Mental Hospital. It exceeded its patient limit quickly, maxing out at over 7,000 in 1960. It housed everything from the mentally challenged to the criminally insane. Due to its atrocious conditions, and the sub-human treatment of its patients, the hospital was closed and abandoned in 1990. It had since become a nuisance for the neighborhood, as it was a breeding ground for vandals, arsonists, Satanists, and urban explorers. It was demolished in 2006, in spite of the fear of spreading asbestos, (which is what kept it standing for 16 years).
The Terror
The terrifying aspect of this location isn’t so much it’s hauntings or the unsavory characters that lurked after dark (although you would have been wise to be wary of both while exploring the building). The terror here comes from the facts of the how the hospital was run. Human excrement lined the hallways, which were also where many patients slept. The staff was abusive, and frequently exploited and harassed patients. One patient had a tooth pulled without Novocaine, while another killed and dismembered a female patient. Although the killer, Charles Gable, was never found, the victim’s body was found strewn across the property. Her teeth were found being played with by another patient. Even as the hospital was in the process of closing, two released patients were found dead in the Delaware River, two successive days after their release. Perhaps that gate in Stull Cemetery opens here.
4
Leap Castle
The History
While this Irish castle is perhaps the most popular location featured on the list, it is worth recapping the long and often gruesome history. Although it was built by the O’Bannons in the late 15th century, the castle was taken over by the ruling O’Carrolls, to whom the O’Bannons were subject. After the death of Mulrooney O’Carroll, a fierce rivalry erupted, culminating in two brothers struggling for control. One of the brothers, a priest, was brutally murdered in his own chapel, in front of the family, by the other brother. This chapel is now know as the Bloody Chapel, for obvious reasons. Many people were held prisoner and even executed at the castle.
The Terror
The castle is rumored to be haunted by a vast number of spirits, including a violent, hunched beast known only as the Elemental. It is most recognizable by the accompanying smell of rotting flesh and sulphur. While renovating the castle, workers discover an oubliette, which is a dungeon accessible only through a ceiling hatch, into which prisoners are thrown, then forgotten and left to die. This particular oubliette contained three cartloads of human remains, and was filled with spikes to impale those thrown into it’s depths.
3
Shades of Death Road
The History
This New Jersey road winds through 7 miles of countryside, and along that stretch it gives us no definitive clues as to the origin of its eerie name (for those wondering, Shades of Death is not a nickname given by locals, but is in fact the road’s official moniker). While the explanation for this highly unusual name has been lost, many theories abound. Some say that murderous highwaymen would rob and kill those along the road. Others say the reason was because of violent retaliations by the locals against the very same highwaymen, resulting in their lynched corpses being hung up as a warning. Some attribute it to three murders that occurred in the 20’s and 30’s. The first murder saw a robber beating his victim over the head with a tire iron, the second saw a woman decapitate her husband and bury the head and body on separate sides of the road, and the third consisted of poor Bill Cummins being shot and buried in a mud pile. Some attribute it to massive amounts of fatal car crashes, while others consider it the fault of viscous wildcats from the nearby Bear Swamp. The most likely explanation, however, is that malaria-bearing mosquitos terrorized the locals year to year, and the remoteness of the area prevented good medical attention from being prominent in the area. This is supported by the fact that, in 1884, most of the swamps in the area were drained.
The Terror
Gruesome history and spooky name aside, you have much to fear along this byway. South of the I-80 overpass lies an officially unnamed lake, that most will tell you is called Ghost Lake. This lake is frequently the home of specter-like vapors, and the sky is supposed to be unusually bright, no matter what time of night you are there. As per the name, ghosts of the highwaymens victims roam the area, and they are most frequent in the abandoned cabin across the lake. The dead-end road known as Lenape Lane is home to thick fogs and apparitions, you may be chased off the road by a white light. I’ll let Wikipedia detail the most disturbing aspect of the road:
“One day during the 1990s, some visitors found hundreds of Polaroid photographs scattered in woods just off the road. They took some and shared them with Weird NJ, which published a few as samples. Most of the disturbing images showed a television changing channels, others showed a woman or women, blurred and somewhat difficult to identify, lying on some sort of metal object, conscious but not smiling. Local police began an investigation after the magazine ran an item with the photos, but the remainder disappeared shortly afterwards.”
2
Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum
The History
Welcome to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, home of the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. This former high school was converted, in 1975, to Security Prison 21 by the Khmer Rouge. The prison was used as a base to torture and murder prisoners. Most of the prisoners were former soldiers and government officials from the Lon Nol regime. However, the Khmer Rouge leaders paranoia soon caught up with them, and they began shipping people from their own ranks to the prison. Many prisoners were tortured and tricked into naming their family and associates, who were them also arrested, tortured and murdered.
The Terror
The ghosts of the estimated 17,000 victims of Tuol Sleng continue to roam the halls, and odd happenings around the place are often attributed to them: and it isn’t hard to see why. Most were forced to confess to crimes they didn’t actually commit. Although most victims were Cambodians, many foreigners fell victim to the death machine, including Americans, French, a New Zealander, a Briton, Australians, Arabs, Indians, Pakistanis and Vietnamese. Only 12 people are thought to have survived. To close the entry on this sad history, I’ll leave you with the actual security regulations, the ten rules all prisoners had to abide by. All imperfect grammar is said in context due to poor translation.
1. You must answer accordingly to my question. Don’t turn them away. 2. Don’t try to hide the facts by making pretexts this and that, you are strictly prohibited to contest me. 3. Don’t be a fool for you are a chap who dare to thwart the revolution. 4. You must immediately answer my questions without wasting time to reflect. 5. Don’t tell me either about your immoralities or the essence of the revolution. 6. While getting lashes or electrification you must not cry at all. 7. Do nothing, sit still and wait for my orders. If there is no order, keep quiet. When I ask you to do something, you must do it right away without protesting. 8. Don’t make pretext about Kampuchea Krom in order to hide your secret or traitor. 9. If you don’t follow all the above rules, you shall get many many lashes of electric wire. 10.If you disobey any point of my regulations you shall get either ten lashes or five shocks of electric discharge.
1
The Mines of Paris
The History
The seemingly infinite tunnels that run below the streets of Paris should not be confused with the Catacombs of Paris, the famous underground ossuary, although the mines are also mistakenly referred to as the catacombs. Exploring the mines is illegal, and penalties include heavy fines. The mines were used to dig out minerals from Paris’ varied sediment (the location where Paris is was submerged for millions of years), and the tunnels are what got left behind.
The Terror
The mines are now unkempt, unpatrolled and unsafe. As far as legends go, ancient cults and creatures patrol the depths. Spirits dwell in the infinite shadows, and if one wanders deep enough, and survives, they may even enter Hades itself. As far as reality goes, those legends can take a back seat. The tunnels stretch for close to 600 kilometers throughout the Parisian underground, and most of them are unmapped. Saying it is easy to get lost is an understatement. It is nearly impossible not to get lost. Many parts of the catacombs are hundreds of feet below street level. Some hallways are flooded, or are so narrow you have to crawl through them. There are holes that drop hundreds of feet, and manholes that are unreachable, luring unwary urban explorers in with false promises of freedom. The infinite underground maze absorbs sound, mutes it, making it unlikely you will hear somebody yelling for help, even if they are not far away. Or, worse yet, making it unlikely somebody will hear you. Thousands of human bones litter the tunnels, due to overcrowding in many of Paris’ cemeteries. Weird paintings adorn the walls. Are they ancient? Are they new? Are they warnings? Or pleas for help? If you have claustrophobia, you will want to avoid the mines at all costs. If you don’t have claustrophobia, you probably will after a trip through the mines. Bring plenty of batteries, backup flashlights, clean water, a friend, and say a prayer before entering the mines of Paris. You will need them all.
Thanks for waiting, I can never remember where my husband puts the candles.
