Documented
The Pendle witches hanged at Lancaster
A group from the Pendle area, convicted of witchcraft at a trial lasting two days, were hanged on 20 August 1612 at Lancaster's Gallows Hill.
Something ToldObscurity 2 of 7
Disputed
The Silver Bridge collapse and Mothman
On 15 December 1967 the Silver Bridge at Point Pleasant, West Virginia, collapsed into the Ohio River in rush-hour traffic and 46 people died. Author John Keel later tied the collapse to the Mothman sightings.
Something ToldObscurity 4 of 7
Folklore
The Trauco of Chiloé
The Trauco is a misshapen forest being of Chiloé folklore in southern Chile, said to prey on young women. His story was long used to explain pregnancies when no father was named.
Before you read on. On Chiloé, families blamed the Trauco when a young woman became pregnant and the father was not known, and Spanish Wikipedia reports that the myth was also used to frighten girls into keeping their virginity. A 2026 study finds violence towards young women's sexuality running through the Trauco stories.
Something ToldObscurity 7 of 7
Hoax, proven
The Vrillon TV broadcast interruption
On 26 November 1977 a voice calling itself Vrillon, speaking for a group it named the Ashtar Galactic Command, replaced the sound of a Southern Television broadcast in parts of southern England. The person responsible was never identified.
Something ToldObscurity 4 of 7
Disputed
The War of the Worlds broadcast
On 30 October 1938, Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre aired a radio drama about a Martian invasion of New Jersey, followed by long-running reports of panic.
Something ToldObscurity 3 of 7
Documented
The abandoned brig Resolven
HMS Mallard, a Royal Navy ship, found the brig Resolven abandoned off Newfoundland in August 1884, her lifeboat gone and her crew never seen again.
Something ToldObscurity 7 of 7
Folklore
The boto encantado
In Amazonian folklore the boto is a river dolphin that turns into a young man, goes to dances and seduces young women. The story has long been used to explain pregnancies when the father is not named.
Before you read on. The boto story is still used to explain a girl's pregnancy when the father cannot be named. A judge interviewed by Agência Brasil in 2018 said that behind many of these stories is sexual violence against girls, usually by relatives, which the legend helps to keep hidden.
Something ToldObscurity 7 of 7
Disputed
The burning of Jacques de Molay
Jacques de Molay, final Grand Master of the Templar order, was burnt in Paris on 18 March 1314. A curse on the king is said to have come from his pyre.
Something ToldObscurity 7 of 7
Disputed
The death of Charles Fort
Charles Fort, the American writer who collected reports of anomalous phenomena, died on 3 May 1932 in the Bronx, New York, hours after entering the Royal Hospital.
Something ToldObscurity 1 of 7
Disputed
The death of Johann Georg Schröpfer
Johann Georg Schröpfer, a Leipzig ghost-raiser, was found dead on 8 October 1774 after a gunshot was heard during a walk with associates. He was buried the same day in the hospital's burial ground for suicides.
Something ToldObscurity 2 of 7
Documented
The execution of Anna Göldi
Anna Göldi, a Swiss housemaid, was beheaded at Glarus on 13 June 1782 after a conviction for bewitching her employer's daughter. Glarus cleared her name in 2008.
Something ToldObscurity 4 of 7
Disputed
The execution of John Fian
John Fian, a schoolmaster accused in the North Berwick witch case, was tortured, strangled and burned on Castlehill in Edinburgh on 27 January 1591.
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Disputed
The execution of Louis Gaufridi
Louis Gaufridi, a Provence priest accused of bewitching a nun, was executed at Aix-en-Provence on 30 April 1611 after confessing under torture to sorcery.
Something ToldObscurity 6 of 7
Folklore
The lobizón
The lobizón, or luisón, is the werewolf of Paraguayan and Argentine folklore, said to be the seventh son in a row. In Argentina the president's godchildren, a custom for seventh sons, have had their schooling paid by law since 1974.
Something ToldObscurity 7 of 7
Folklore
The manglalabas in the widow's house
Three days after a father's death, a manglalabas starts coming to his family's house at night. It throws stones, breaks the water-jars and pinches the widow, and the family decide to leave.
Something ToldObscurity 5 of 7