25 Biggest Mysteries Of History

In 1587, 121 colonists led by John White arrived on Roanoke Island in present day North Carolina to establish a colony. As tensions mounted with the native population, however, John White returned to England to solicit reinforcements. When he returned several years later, the settlement was deserted with no signs of a struggle and no remains to be found anywhere. The settlement became known as the Lost Colony, and none of its members were ever seen again.

In the dry lake bed of Racetrack, Death Valley stones as big as 700 pounds mysteriously slide across the surface of the earth without any notable external forces acting upon them. While some researchers believe a combination of natural events, such as wind and ice, cause these stones to “sail,” others question this theory, pointing out that the stones don’t follow a predictable path and change directions abruptly.

A low-pitched sound often described as something similar to a diesel engine idling in the distance is heard in numerous places worldwide, especially in the USA, UK, and northern Europe. The name comes from the small town of Taos, New Mexico, where in 1997, Congress commissioned researchers to identify it. Still, its source remains a mystery.

On August 15, 1977, Dr. Jerry R. Ehman detected a strong narrowband radio signal while working on a SETI project at the Big Ear radio telescope of Ohio State University. Amazed at how closely it matched the expected signature of an interstellar signal, he circled it on the computer printout and wrote the comment “Wow!” next to it. Although it lasted for a full 72 seconds, it has not been detected again.

A term coined by Ivan Sanderson, it refers to twelve geographic areas responsible for numerous mysterious disappearances. The best known of the so-called “vortices” is the Bermuda Triangle. Others include the Algerian Megaliths to the south of Timbuktu, the Indus Valley in Pakistan, and the “Devil’s Sea” near Japan.

This is an unexplained atmospheric phenomenon typically associated with thunderstorms that consists of spherically shaped, floating balls of electricity. Due to its rare and fleeting nature, it has proven almost impossible to study. The best-documented case occurred in 1984 when ball lightning, measuring about four inches in diameter, entered a Russian passenger aircraft and “flew above the heads of the stunned passengers before leaving the plane almost noiselessly.”

While the seemingly unexplained and spontaneous ignition of living human tissue has been recorded many times throughout history, no conclusive research has been done on the topic due to lack of evidence. Some of the more prevalent explanations, however, include static electricity, concentrated gas, and raised levels of blood alcohol.

In 1908, a blazing fireball descended from the sky and devastated an area about half the size of Rhode Island in the wilderness of Tunguska, Siberia. The explosion was estimated to be equal to more than 2,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs. While scientists think it was probably a meteor, the lack of evidence has led to numerous speculations ranging from UFO’s to Tesla Coils. To this day, no one knows for sure what caused the explosion.

It’s true that many believe “Nessie” to be a hoax, but several photographs and even videotape footage from 2007 cause some people to believe this creature to be real. It’s even popped up on some sonar equipment. Unfortunately, however, the data and footage is never clear enough to definitively verify its existence. So, for now, it remains one of the most famous examples of cryptozoology in history.

Also known as the Sasquatch, sightings usually come out of the American Northwest. Although most experts consider the Bigfoot legend to be a combination of folklore and hoaxes, there are several that withhold their reservations. Like the Loch Ness monster, they say, Bigfoot may be a living remnant from the time of the dinosaurs – specifically a Gigantopithecus blacki – a supersize ape.

In his dialogue Timaeus and Critias, Plato describes Atlantis as a formidable naval power that conquered much of Europe and Africa circa 9,000 BC. After failing to invade Athens, however, it sank into the ocean “in a single day and night of misfortune.” While there have been numerous efforts focused on locating the remains of the city, nothing tangible has ever been found.

During an attempt to make a circumnavigational flight around the globe in 1937, Earhart disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island after giving her last radio transmission. Although the official version states Earhart ran out of fuel and crashed at sea, numerous speculation has ranged from capture by Japanese forces to living out the rest of her days as a spy for the CIA.

Literally translated to the “The Goat Sucker,” the name is derived from supposed attacks on animals to drink their blood, particularly goats. It is most commonly described as a lizard-like being, appearing to have leathery skin and sharp spine running down its back. Given the name, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that most sightings come out of Latin America.

This legendary creature was reportedly seen in and around the Point Pleasant area of West Virginia between November 15, 1966 and December 15, 1967. Because there were no more sightings after the collapse of the Silver Bridge on Dec 15, legend has it that the two events were somehow connected. Biologists, however, have theorized that the creature was actually a sandhill crane that had wandered from its typical migration path.

An American labor leader and criminal, Hoffa disappeared from a parking lot in Detroit shortly after his release from prison. He had been allegedly due to meet up with a couple Mafia leaders but was never heard from again. While the most popular belief is that he was shot and buried in the Giants stadium, when the MythBusters team dug in the part of stadium where Hoffa was supposedly buried, they found nothing.

On November 7, 1872, the Mary Celeste departed New York with Captain Briggs, his wife, young daughter, and a crew of eight. Expected to dock in Italy, none aboard were ever seen again. The ship itself was found floating in the middle of the Strait of Gibraltar with no signs of a struggle and everything intact except for a missing Captain’s log.