25 Creepiest Discoveries Ever Made

Posted by , Updated on January 17, 2024

Many interesting things are discovered every year; we have already published numerous posts with different kinds of remarkable discoveries. To name a few, we showed you 25 Most Shocking Discoveries In The Last Year, these 25 Recent Space Discoveries That Blew Our Minds, and these 25 Intense Archaeological Discoveries Which Rewrote History. Today’s post is also dedicated to notable discoveries, but this time around, we will show you some of most disturbing, terrifying, and scariest discoveries that have ever been made. From decapitated gladiators to frozen sacrifice mummies, here are 25 Creepiest Discoveries Ever Made.

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25

Mass Baby Grave

mass graveSource: ancient-origins.net

One of the most gruesome recent archeological discoveries was made in Southern Israel. In the ancient seaport of Ashkelon, more than a hundred infant skeletons were found. It was determined that the skeletons date back to the Roman Era. Who the babies were and why they were killed remains a mystery.

24

Hobbit Skeletons

Hobbit skullSource: livescience.com

The Indonesian island of Flores became the site of a spooky discovery in 2003 when scientists unearthed the bones of the petite ancient hominin Homo Floresiensis, also known as the Hobbit. At first, the researchers believed the bones may have belonged to a human with Microcephalia (condition characterized by small head and short stature), but later discoveries of similarly sized skeletons suggested the Hobbit is not just a tiny human — it is a species.

23

Headless Vikings

mass graveSource: ancient-origins.net

In June 2009, archeologists made a shocking discovery in the seaside town of Weymouth in Dorset, England. While preparing for the Weymouth Relief Road, they discovered a mass grave containing the remains of 54 headless skeletons and 51 skulls in a pile within a Roman quarry no longer in use. Experts think the men may have been executed for some sort of treason.

22

Jigsaw Skeletons

dead bodySource: bbc.com

Any discovery of a human skeleton is somewhat creepy, but what happened after the discovery of four prehistoric mummies in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides in 2001 is downright horrifying. Radiocarbon dating and stable isotope analysis revealed that the mummies were actually made of body parts from several different people, arranged to look like one person.

21

Moa Bird Foot

Moa Bird Foot Source: theepochtimes.com

In 1987, a team of archaeologists was carrying out a routine expedition in a cave on Mount Owen in New Zealand when they stumbled across a scary object – a gigantic, dinosaur-like foot still intact with flesh and scaly skin. It was so well-preserved that the scientists thought it came from an animal that had only died recently. Further examination revealed it actually was the 3,300-year-old mummified remains of the large prehistoric Moa Bird.

20

Site of Mass Cannibal Attack

broken skullSource: independent.co.uk

In 1994, deep within the murky depths of El Sidron, a cave system in Northwest Spain, scientists discovered bones of 12 Neanderthal people. Dating back to about 51,000 years ago, the skeletons belonged to a family of 3 children, 3 teenagers, and 6 adults. Modern forensic techniques also revealed that the family was killed and eaten by another Neanderthal gang. The bones and skulls were split open to extract the marrow, tongue, and brains.

19

Severed Human Feet

Severed Human FeetSource: theguardian.com

British Columbia, Canada is home to one of the most gruesome and baffling discoveries within the past few decades. Since 2007, at least 16 severed human feet clad in running shoes have been found on its shores, from Jedediah Island to Botanical Beach. Although some of the feet have been identified, it is still unknown why the feet were detached and how they got in the sea.

18

War Trophy Grave

Sépulture_de_TeviecSource: dailymail.co.uk

In 2015, a circular pit containing skeletons of 7 people from the Neolithic Era was discovered in Bergheim, Southern France. The experts believe two men, one woman, and four children were killed here in a raid or some sort of violent encounter. The arms of the victims were severed; it’s thought the limbs might have been hacked off as war trophies.

17

Calcified Ovarian Teratoma

TeratomaSource: sciencedaily.com

When researches from the Autonomous University of Barcelona unearthed the 1,600-year-old skeleton of a Roman woman, they were in for another, even spookier discovery. They noticed a bizarre object in the pelvis of the skeleton. Further examination revealed it was a calcified ovarian teratoma, a rare type of tumor that arises from germ cells. Teratomas contain remains of organic material, such as hair, teeth, bones, and sometimes even complex organs.

16

Snake Pit

garter snakesSource: nydailynews.com

When Ben and Amber Sessions bought their new house in Rexburg, Idaho in 2009, they had no idea how short-lived their stay in the house would actually be. Soon after moving in, the family discovered the house was infested with thousands of garter snakes. It was probably built on a hibernaculum, a winter snake sanctuary where the animals gather to hibernate for the winter. The family said it was like living in a horror movie.

15

Fetus Inside Coffin of Mummified Bishop

Peder_Winstrup's_coffin_Lund_Cathedral_LundSource: ancient-origins.net

Researchers at Lund University, Sweden, were in for a surprise when they conducted a CT scan of a mummified Scandinavian bishop; they found remains of a tiny baby tucked under the bishop’s feet. Researchers guess that the fetus may be a relative of the bishop. Another theory is that it may have been a child born outside of marriage placed there by someone who wanted to receive a proper burial for him/her.

14

Cemetery from the 18th Century

old cemetery Source: dailymail.co.uk

When Vincent Marcello from New Orleans, Louisiana, decided to dig a plot in his backyard for a swimming pool in 2011, he ended up discovering a historic cemetery that dates back to the 18th century. The workers unearthed 13 caskets with human remains.

13

Decapitated Gladiators

skeletonSource: dailymail.co.uk

In 2005, a set of mysterious skeletons was discovered in York, Northern England. Dating back to the Roman Empire, all of the skeletons belonged to men who were decapitated. All of the men died relatively young; were taller than average for people of that period; they were use to wielding weapons, which is why experts believed they were gladiators.

12

Hanged Tenant

GallowsSource: thelocal.fr

When the new owner of an apartment in Paris moved in his new home in 2013, he made a gruesome discovery. He found the previous tenant hanged inside the apartment. Even more shocking was the fact that the dead man had been in the apartment undisturbed for a whole eight years. Who was he? Cambodian Thomas Ngin, who decided to end his life after he was fired and unable to pay his debts.

11

The Iceman

The IcemanSource: telegraph.co.uk

Two German tourists, Helmut and Erika Simon, made world headlines in 1991 when they discovered the 5,300-year-old remains of a hunter. “Iceman” or “Otzi” was unusually well-preserved. Found high in the Alps on the border between Austria and Italy, the mummy is reportedly cursed and is believed to have caused deaths of several people who were somehow associated with it.

10

Frozen Child Sacrifice Mummies

Frozen Child Sacrifice Mummies Source: cracked.com

In 1999, archaeologists on Llullaillaco Volcano in Argentina made a shocking discovery when they found three mummified children who were left to freeze to death during an old Incan child-sacrifice ritual. The ritual was often carried out by the ancient Incas to mark important events or to fend off natural disasters.

9

Dead Skier

Italian AlpsSource: cbc.ca

In 2015, the remains of Canadian skier Gregory Barnes were discovered in the Italian Alps. The creepy part of the story is the fact that the skier had actually been buried under snow for 35 years before he was finally found. Italian authorities, who made the discovery, said a hotter-than-normal summer caused glacial melt that uncovered the remains. Barnes’s body was found in a crevasse, along with his passport that confirmed his identity.

8

Vampire Graves

vampire skeletonSource: forbes.com

Archaeologists excavating a medieval cemetery site in the Polish town of Kaldus discovered 14 so-called vampire graves. In medieval ages, people believed in the existence of vampires, and they used several methods to “cure” vampirism. Some of the alleged vampires were decapitated, others buried face-down, and still more were weighted down with stones – to prevent them from rising again.

 

Archaeologists uncover some pretty crazy stuff! Learn about more of these discoveries in our list of 25 Most Important Archaeological Discoveries In History.

7

Mummified Lung

640px-Sarcophage_de_la_reine_ArégondeSource: livescience.com

A creepy archeological discovery was made in 1959 when a mummified lung was uncovered by archaeologist Michel Fleury. It was found inside a stone sarcophagus in the Basilica of St. Denis in Paris, the site where the kings of France have been buried for centuries. The lung was found with a skeleton, a strand of hair, jewelry, several fragments of textiles and leather and – importantly – a copper belt. Experts believe it was the copper belt that caused the lung to mummify after it had oxidized.

6

Oldest Evidence of Leprosy

Skeleton showing effects of leprosySource: livescience.com

In 2009, a 4,000-year-old skeleton containing traces of leprosy was discovered in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The creepy find immediately became the oldest known archaeological evidence of the feared disease. The fact that the skeleton survived suggests the person was an outcast: Hindu tradition calls for cremation, and only those deemed unfit were buried.

5

Mass Animal Grave

Mass Animal Grave Source: cracked.com

In 1971, paleontologists discovered a large mass animal grave in an Idaho corn field. Once a waterhole, the site was home to about 200 different animal skeletons. The animals were probably suffocated and buried there by a deep layer of volcanic ash some 12 million years ago. The site is now known as the Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historic Park.

4

Witch Prison

Aberdeen_St_Nicholas_KirkSource: dailymail.co.uk

In the years before the Protestant Reformation, St. Mary’s Chapel of the St. Nicholas’ Church in Aberdeen, Scotland, provided a quiet place for Catholic women to pray. However, a few decades after the Reformation, it took on a far darker role. Historians recently uncovered evidence that the chapel served as a prison for suspected witches while they faced trial. Embedded into the north wall of the chapel, an iron ring used to chain the alleged witches is the memento of the gruesome past.

3

Man of Sligo

uprooted treeSource: dailymail.co.uk

When a 215-year-old beech tree was blown over by a massive storm in Sligo, Ireland, in 2014, its exposed roots revealed a gruesome finding. Tangled in them was a skeleton of a young man, now known as the Man of Sligo. Further analysis found that the man lived during the early medieval period, between 1030 and 1200 AD. He was between 17 and 20 years old when he died, possibly violently, as several injuries were visible on the bones, including two cuts to the ribs and one to the hand.

2

Surrey Ghost Car

wrecked carSource: dailymail.co.uk

Crashes are common on the A3 Highway in England, so it looked like a routine matter when police in Surrey received calls that a car had veered off the A3 with its headlights blazing. But when officers went to investigate, they found no signs of the reported vehicle. However, a further search revealed chilling results. Just 60 ft from the reported ‘crash scene’ and buried in twisted undergrowth was the remains of a wrecked car containing a decomposing body of a young man, who, as the police estimated, had crashed there 5 months earlier.

1

Burnt Corpse in Barrel

wooden barrelSource: listverse.com

A grisly discovery was made in a Pennsylvania mining town in 1906 when a man saw smoke coming out of a wooden barrel on a lonely road. He stopped to have a look and discovered the charred remains of a human body. The corpse was that of a young woman. She had been murdered, stuffed into a barrel, covered in oil, and burned to a crisp. The coroner discovered axe or hatchet wounds on her neck, probably done to fit her head into the barrel. The identity of the woman is unknown.



Photos: 25. Gulustan, Guba mass grave (1), CC BY-SA 3.0 (not actual grave), 24.  Ryan Somma, Homo floresiensis, CC BY-SA 2.0, 23. Mario Modesto Mata, Spanish Civil War – Mass grave – Estépar, Burgos, CC BY-SA 4.0, (not the actual grave), 22. Wikimedia commons (public domain), 21. Ryan Baumann, Moa foot, CC BY 2.0, 20. PLoS, Neandertal skull from la chapelle aux saints, CC BY 2.5 (not the actual skeleton), 19. Alan Levine via flickr, CC BY 2.0, (not the actual foot), 18. Didier Descouens, 9 October 2010, Sépulture de Teviec (6)CC BY-SA 4.0, (not actual grave), 17. Billie Owens, Ovarian teratoma, CC BY-SA 3.0, (not the actual teratoma), 16. Oregon State University, Mating ball of garter snakes, CC BY-SA 2.0, 15. Jin Zan, Peder Winstrup’s coffin, Lund Cathedral, Lund, CC BY-SA 4.0 , 14. publicdomainpictures.net (public domain) (not the actual cemetery), 13. Airman st Class Perry Aston via lakenheath.af.mil (public domain), 12. max pixel (public domain), 11. 120, Otzi-Quinson, CC BY-SA 3.0 , 10. grooverpedro, Llullaillaco mummies in Salta city, Argentina, CC BY 2.0 , 9. Wikimedia commons (public domain), 8. Bin im Garten, Vampire skeleton of Sozopol in Sofia PD 2012 06, CC BY-SA 3.0, (not the actual grave), 7.  I, Peter Potrowl, Sarcophage de la reine Arégonde, CC BY-SA 3.0 , 6. http://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/obf_images/3e/8e/db54c227cbb344e97fcc04585eb7.jpg, Skeleton, mature female, showing effects of leprosy, from a Wellcome L0058449, CC BY 4.0 (not actual skeleton), 5. Wikimedia commons (public domain), 4. Ikiwaner, Aberdeen St Nicholas Kirk, CC BY-SA 3.0 , 3. © Copyright Walter Baxter and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence, (not actual tree), 2. publicdomainpictures.net (public domain), (not actual car), 1. pixabay (public domain) (not actual barrel)