Public figures who go into politics tend to have a target on their back. Before the days of mass surveillance, they lived their lives completely on edge. It was very easy for someone to have access to a public figure, shoot them, and possibly get away with it. These political figures met their demise because of the jobs that they chose and loved! But, what happened to the men who killed them? On April 14th, 1865, John Wilkes Booth broke into Ford’s Theater and shot President Abraham Lincoln dead. Booth broke his leg while trying to escape but still made…
Author: Lisax
You never know how you’re going to react to something horrifying until you’re in the moment. These brave souls used their adrenaline to save lives and make history. Roy Benavidez became an active-duty member of the Army during the Korean War in 1955. He served in Vietnam in 1965 but had to be sent back home after stepping on a landmine. He made a full recovery after self-rehabilitating himself against doctors’ orders. He was redeployed in 1968 and joined a 12-man Special Forces unit. On May 2, 1968, he hopped on a helicopter to respond to a distress call. He…
In May of 1951, PFC Francis P. Wall and his regiment were stationed near Chorwon, 60 miles north of Seoul. They were preparing to bombard a village with artillery when they noticed something out of the ordinary over the hills. Witnessed described it as a “jack-o-lantern” moving down the mountain. As soon as they could make sense of what was happening, the “attacking” light began to pulse. The light moved toward the village where artillery air bursts were starting to explode. Wall recounted, “We further noticed that this object would get right into the center of an airburst of artillery…
In 1921, Swiss miner Tom Zwiglaar discovered an early-age hominid cranium, upper jaw, and other random bone fragments. He was digging in a zinc mine in what is now Zambia and was 60 feet deep in the Earth when he made the discovery. The skull was aptly named the Broken Hill skull due to where it was found. The skull was the first piece of evidence proving the existence of the species of human called Homo rhodesiensis. The skull was dated from 125,000 to 300,000 years old. Not only was this discovery fascinated at face value, but there was also…
Albert Shinsky was a simple taxi driver. He did his best to make ends meet, but something kept blocking his pathway to greater success. In the back of his mind, he knew what the issue was. So, in March of 1934, he decided to finally take his fate into his own hands. Shinsky snuck into the Pennsylvania Dutch home of Susan Mummey with the intent of murdering her. Folks of the valley better know Mummey as The Witch of Ringtown Valley, and Shinsky believed that she put a hex on him eight years prior. He crept through the house until…
On Aug. 4, 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden were murdered with a hatchet inside of their home in Fall River, Massachusetts. People were immediately suspicious of Andrew’s 32-year-old daughter, Lizzie. At first, she was charged with the deaths, but then acquitted of the crime. Her story became pop culture media and people were spreading rumors, concocting conspiracies, an armchair investigating the crime over 100 years later. The case was so popular that in 1996, the home was converted to a bed and breakfast. The home was put on the market for a whopping $2 million. As of today, there is…
Construction workers in Changsha, China were not expecting to find a massive tomb while digging a bomb shelter for a client in 1971. The tomb dated back to the Han Dynasty, which was more than 2,000 years old. The tomb housed more than 1,000 artifacts that were kept in incredible condition due to the conditions of the tomb. It was as if they were looking straight back into history. The owner of the tomb remained smack in the middle of it. The Lady of Dai remained hidden from the world for two millennia. Her corpse was left in the perfect…
The Barnstable House was built in 1716 along Old Kings Highway. This highway is a vein running the length of Cape Cod and is known as one of the most haunted in America. Seances have been held at the house for years. All groups seem to agree that there are at least 11 different entities stuck on the lot. In the 300-year history, that doesn’t seem too crazy. The home was framed in Scituate, Mass. and shipped to Barnstable. It was constructed by James Paine, whose grandfather is Robert Treat Paine and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The…
Infamous Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd thrust the music world into mourning after a horrific plane crash that killed six people, including three of the band’s members. The events leading up to the crash were ominous and foreboding, but no one yet knew it (except maybe Ronnie Van Zant.) On October 20, 1977, the plane crashed into a Mississippi swamp. The crash killed lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, back-up singer Cassie Gaines, road manager Dan Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary, and co-pilot William Gray all perished in the accident. The band had just released their fifth album and…
Old-school railroaders of Western Pennsylvania commonly told tales of Wild Tom Skelton. According to them, his ghost was always seen standing on the tracks leaning on his gun. According to the story, those who knew Tom when he was alive said that he was grieving over his long-lost love, Maria. Tom Skelton’s story was first written about by Dr. Frank Cowan, a physician from Greensburg who was President Andrew Jackson’s secretary. Cowan said that the PA Railroad trains had been forced to stop on three occasions because of an “old man” who was seen by the headlamps of the locomotives.…