Some interesting reading for a rainy day.
Ambrose Bierce - A famous Civil War-era writer decides to leave his cushy life to go to Mexico, only to disappear forever.
America’s Unknown Child (The Boy in the Box) - A boy’s body is found in a cardboard box in Philly in the 50s. Who was he? [suggested by wlwpanty]
Agent 335 - One of the first U.S. spies was a woman, but who?
The Axeman of New Orleans - This guy won’t stop coming after people with an axe until everybody plays jazz music.
The Ballarat Bandit - What inspired a Canadian man to move away from his family and begin burglarizing a town near Death Valley, and how did he escape capture for so long? [suggested by eternallyitson]
Barbara Newhall Follett - A young writer disappears. Was she murdered or just tired of her life?
The Baychimo - When winter strikes, a ship sheds its crew–and then decides to take off without them.
Ben McDaniel (NEW!) - A diver disappears, and no one can find his body. [suggested by labassistantlucas]
The Black Dahlia Murder - Who murdered and maimed this woman, and is she the only victim? [suggested by several people]
Blair Adams - What is this Canadian man running from and did it find him?
Cahokia - A gigantic ancient civilization along the Mississippi is abandoned, but why? [suggested by luminescent-wanderings]
Çatalhöyük - A 9,500-year-old city in Turkey had everything going for it, and yet it was abandoned.
The Chicago Tylenol Murders - Someone laces Tylenol with poison and descends an entire city into chaos.
The Cleveland Torso Murderer (aka The Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run) - Who killed and dismembered the poor during The Great Depression in Ohio and Pennsylvania? [suggested by the-fisher-queen]
The Dancing Plague - People are stricken with the need to dance, some to their deaths.
D. B. Cooper - An unknown man hijacked a plane, extorted hundreds of thousands, and then parachuted to freedom.
The Dyatlov Pass Incident (tw: photo of a dead body) - Several experienced mountain hikers go into a mountain range in Russia and die of unknown causes. [see also]
Ebola in Rome - Did an outbreak of ebola strike ancient Athens long before it ever tormented Africa?
Edgar Allan Poe - What killed the famous poet, and was there foul play? [suggested by anon]
Elisa Lam - A woman, seemingly pursued by an unseen foe, disappears, only to be found inside her hotel’s water tower two weeks later.
Erdstall - There are thousands of still-standing, ancient tunnels beneath central Europe, but no one knows what they’re for. [see also]
Ettore Majorana (NEW!) - Theoretical physicist disappears under mysterious circumstances. [suggested by yachaer]
Genghis Khan’s Tomb - One of the greatest and most successful rulers of all time, but no one can find his final resting place.
Gloria Ramirez - Did “the toxic lady” sicken hospital staff, and, if so, with what?
The Hinterkaifeck Murders - Unexplained noises, missing house keys, and an entire family found dead in rural Germany.
The Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum Theft - Some hacks in police uniforms steal a bunch of priceless art, including a Rembrandt.
The Isdal Woman - What happened to this woman in Norway, who was she, and why were so many steps taken to conceal her identity? [suggested by whalesguts]
Jack the Ripper - Who is the world’s most famous serial killer? [suggested by diepflaume]
Japan’s Ghost Ship Problem - Ships from North Korea keep showing up on Japan’s shores… filled with mutilated corpses.
The Jian Seng - A giant ship is found floating with no crew and no one knows where it came from.
Jimmy Hoffa - A teamster with mob ties disappears, theories abound.
JonBenét Ramsey - Who killed the young beauty pageant star? [suggested by several people]
Joseph Newton Chandler III - Is this dead identity thief the Zodiac Killer? And if so, what is his real name?
The Joyita - Crew members abandon a real unsinkable ship, but why?
Kyron Horman (NEW!) - What happened to this young boy, and do the suspicious actions of some family members have anything to do with it? [suggested by lavenderbrew]
Lady of the Dunes - An unknown woman’s body is found on the beach. Who is she? And was she an extra on Jaws?
The Lighthouse Mystery - Several Scottish lighthouse keepers disappear abruptly.
The Lost Colony (on Roanoke Island) - A bunch of white people decide to try and colonize an island and it doesn’t go well.
The Lost Dutchman Mine - In unforgiving territory lies a lost treasure just waiting to be found–if you don’t die first.
The Lost Nazi Plunder - The nazis stole hoards of important items, including art and cultural artifacts. Where are they now? [see also]
Martha Philips (NEW!) - Who assassinated this Jewish single mother? [suggested by fuck-enterprise]
The Mary Celeste - A sailing ship in working order is found, still at sea, without a crew.
Maura Murray - What happened to this young nursing student, who suddenly left school and her car? [suggested by deanclift]
Monsieur Chouchani - Who was this mysterious Jewish teacher and mentor of Elie Weisel who dressed like a vagabond?
The Oakville Blobs - Gelatinous blobs of an unknown substance rain from the sky.
The Original Nightstalker (aka the Golden State Killer) - A very, very bad man tormented California in the 70s and 80s, and we don’t know who he is. [suggested by thesmallestbird]
The Paris Catacombs - A seemingly infinite series of tunnels filled with bones, artwork, and missing explorers. [see also]
The Phaistos Disc - A mysterious disc, thousands of years old and covered in strange symbols, is found in Crete.
Rongorongo - An undecifered set of glyphs from Easter Island, possibly a completely independent language.
The Sodder Children - What happened to five of this family’s children when a fire consumed their home? And why weren’t there any bodies? [suggested by deanclift]
The Tamam Shud Case (tw: photo of a dead body) - A body shows up on a beach in Australia, and how it got there is wrapped in mystery and lies.
Tarrare - A man who couldn’t stop eating, anything and everything.
UVB-76 - A strange radio station in Russia broadcasts a constant buzz, broken only by strange readings of names and numbers.
The Villisca Axe Murders - A killer with an axe terrorizes Iowa more than 100 years ago, and the murders remain unsolved to this day. [suggested by several people]
The Voynich Manuscript - An unbreakable code in an ancient manuscript full of strange drawings–what’s not to like?
The Woman in the Tree (aka Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?) - A body turns up stuffed into a tree trunk, becomes a local rallying cry.
The Wow! Signal - A strong radio signal from space still has researchers stunned and baffled.
The Zodiac Killer - Who is the cryptic killer behind a rash of murders? (Other than Ted Cruz.) [suggested by several people]
(These are the most reliable unsolved stories I could find. There are many others that require more sources to be believed or already have very plausible answers.)
Know a good one that isn’t listed? Let me know!
2087
prguitarman
kianamaiart
