Category: Historical Weirdness

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Massive grave contains bodies of the insane

More details have come to light as archaeologists unearth an extraordinary mass grave in the UK. This video, provided in an article by the Daily Mail, shows the scope of the operation.

The unmarked graves were accidentally discovered by Crossrail construction workers who were building the new Liverpool Street rail station. The discovery grew to hundreds and then 3,000 skeletons are expected to be brought up.

Some of the bodies may date back to the late 1500s and would include victims of the Great Plague in 1665. Many others were patients of the Bethlem Royal Hopital, which later became known as Bedlam. It was Europe’s first dedicated psychiatric facility. Bethlem has a pretty unsavory history, and existed in a time when mental illness was treated with what we see today as a great deal of cruelty. Though, some day people may look back on our own modern practices as barbaric.

Very few of the graves contained anything other than bones. A crucifix was found in one and a few other artifacts were recovered. It seems that these souls were too poor to have anything else laid to rest with them.

Commentary on the article is interesting with many crying out against the excavations, wanting to let the dead rest in peace. Is it a good idea to disturb these graves? Movies like Poltergeist (the good, original one) suggest that building over the dead and disturbing graves can have unpleasant consequences. There are certainly plenty of stories by people who feel they are haunted because the dead do not want to be disturbed. On the other hand, we learn much by studying the old and ancient dead. Perhaps this will bring us closer to our brothers and sisters of the past.

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Haunted mirrors

photo of an Asian woman brushing her teeth in a mirror with a ghostly figure of a Victorian woman reflected behind her
Are mirrors gateways into other worlds?

Mirrors are creepy. They show us a backwards view of our own world, suggesting that there is another realm just beyond. Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass gave us that image of what it might be like to pass into that world. Of course, he’s not the only one.

Jewish tradition dictates that mirrors should be draped when someone dies, a tradition that was adopted by the formal traditions of Victorian mourning. Reasons for this vary with the source. Some say it’s more about peace for the mourners. Others say it’s about the dangers of these spirit doorways which are more vulnerable at the time of someone’s passing.

Some of us have played Bloody Mary and similar games, actually daring something to reveal itself in the mirror. Is this childish or unwise? Are these just silly, spooky thrills or do we actually risk opening the door to let something nasty in?

Photo of a Victorian mirror hanging over a table with a bust statue of a woman
Does this mirror on the Myrtle Plantation contain the spirit of tortured souls?
Photo by Corey Balazowich [CC BY-ND 2.0] via flickr
There are many instances of haunted mirrors. One famous legend involves a mirror on the Myrtles Plantation in Louisiana. It is said that this mirror holds the spirit of Sara Woodruff. After Sara died this mirror was accidentally left uncovered and she will appear or leave handprints here.

Of course, there are haunted mirrors right here in Austin, Texas. The famously bespooked Driskill Hotel, a few blocks from the Museum, has the Maximilian Room. It’s named for the Mexican Emperor Maximilian and contains mirrors that he commissioned for his wife, Carlotta, before he was killed in an uprising. They were beautifully crafted in France, but never delivered. Three years after Carlotta died, The Driskill purchased the mirrors and hung them in an elegant new dining room, often used for weddings.

Legend has it that a mysterious White Lady is sometimes seen reflected in the mirrors. Some suggest that this apparition is the Empress Carlotta.

Do you have any stories of strange things in a mirror? Do you think they really can be doorways to other worlds? Share with us.

In the mean time, we take care with our mirrors, because you just never know.

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Message in a bottle over a century old!

Message-in-bottle
This bottle, discovered on a German, may contain the world record for a recovered message.

April 17th, retired postal worker, Marianne Winkler, was walking along the shore of the German island of Amrum on the North Sea coast when she found something very curious on the beach. It was a well-sealed bottle with a message inside. The Winklers tried to get the bottle opened, but were finally forced to follow the directions to extract the paper: BREAK THE BOTTLE.

It turned out to be a post-paid postcard from The Marine Biological Assocation of the UK with instructions to send the postcard back for a 1-shilling reward.

This is an image of a message that was found in a bottle from the The Marine Biological Association of the UK
Front of postcard found in the bottle.
Photo by Marine Biological Association of the UK
Back-of-postcard
Back of postcard found in the bottle.
Photo by Marine Biological Association of the UK

It’s likely that the price of postage has gone up since this bottle was dropped into the water sometime between 1904 and 1906. It was one of nearly 1,000 bottles released as part of an study on currents.

“We were very excited,” Guy Baker, a spokesman for the group, told AP, London. “We certainly weren’t expecting to receive any more of the postcards.”

Photo of front and back of 1906 Shilling coin
Example of a 1906 Shilling Coin

To reward the Winklers for their find, the Association sent them a shilling from the period which they found on E-Bay.

Information about this find is currently being reviewed by Guinness for a possible world record.

 

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Nazi gold train discovered?

Today’s story combines two powerful ideas: Nazis and treasure.

Nazi villainy is legendary. They were a powerful, invasive force. They were responsible for unspeakable horrors that can never be forgotten. Their leaders were genuinely interested in tapping into supernatural forces to achieve victory.

Gold, jewels, the promise of treasure have excited countless generations. Some tales of treasure hunting are inspiring. Others are more horrific. People are capable of amazing things when they believe it will lead to riches.

So, here is the scene. There is a legend of a Nazi train filled with guns and gold that disappeared in Poland about 1945. If stories are to be believed this ghost train contains 30 tons of gold along with jewels and other valuables. Did such a train actually exist? Is it still findable?

See this video about a startling ground radar discovery:

https://youtu.be/nw99jY071EQ

If this is the real thing, Polish law entitles treasure hunters to receive 10% of anything found. I imagine a mere 3 tons of gold could make one pretty comfortable.

Of course, there is an ethical question. If these valuables were taken from Polish Jews by the Nazis, then is it right to take a “finder’s fee?” This question is at the heart of the controversey as people explore the best way to excavate the possible train. It’s currently buried in rock that will require careful blasting to reach.

If this is a Nazi train, even one carrying only military cargo, this is quite a find. The artifacts are likely well preserved and would be valuable in their own right.

If this ends up being a treasure train then it’s even more incredible. We will have to see how this all progresses. We’ll share more as news becomes available.

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Roanoke mystery solved?

One American mystery that has lasted for more than three hundred years is the colony of Roanoke, Virginia. Led by John White, they were sent by Walter Raleigh in 1587. White returned to England that year for supplies and was delayed until 1590 because of the war with Spain. (Remember, there was no overseas communication in that time and travel was slow and difficult.) When he did return, the colonists were gone. The word Croatoan was carved on a post and the letters “CRO” were found on a nearby tree. There was an island nearby known as Croatoan—now called Hatteras—where there were friendly natives.

This video from the Travel Channel gives details to the story along with what might have been a solution, an artifact suggesting that the colonists were attacked and destroyed by natives.

Roanoke map 1584
This map, drawn by John White was the basis for the new analysis. (A British Museum photograph of the map. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
The “attacked by natives” theory might have been appealing at one time, but as we learn more about the cultures in that time it makes less sense. This article from Ancient Origins, describes how archaeologists have been discovering clues that suggest that at least a portion of the colonists did go to the island. Pieces of rapiers, nails and other obviously European artifacts have been found on the island.

Meanwhile, work happening in North Carolina have yielded results suggesting that some of the colonists ended up there. The First Colony Foundation has been digging for three years above the Albemarle Sound, based on hidden markings found on a map drawn by John White, himself.

So, it appears that the colonists did not move to a single location but may have split up. Why? Were some of them less comfortable with adopting a more native lifestyle? Are there Roanoke descendants amongst us now who don’t even know it?

Clearly the mystery is not fully solved, but we are getting closer. I think that after the delay in White’s return with supplies that those left had to make decisions for their survival. They disagreed on what was best and broke into groups to continue on. At least they did not seem to turn to cannibalism, like appears to have happened in Jamestown.

I like mysteries. It’s fun to wonder…but it’s also good to find answers and I hope that we are closing in on a happy ending to a troubling question in American history.

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Are aliens below us?

Poster for the 1956 film Mole People (See it MST3K style)

People have been fascinated with the idea of a hollow earth and who might inhabit it for many years. Jules Verne penned A Journey to the Centre of the Earth in 1864. It’s the story of a group of explorers who find that there is a world buried beneath the Earth’s crust, a mysterious world lost to time.

The story has been made into film time and time again. There have also been films like The Mole People that have looked at fantastic civilizations that have lived beneath the Earth.

This is just fiction, though. Right? When Admiral Richard Byrd explored the North Pole he allegedly wrote in his diary an account of discovering a huge area that was lush and a meeting with beings who claimed to live beneath the earth. Is this a real accounting or a fiction attributed to Byrd? Byrd makes no specific claims about this in a 1954 TV Interview (see IMDB record). So, the hollow Earth idea is probably a myth, right?

Not so fast! in this collective-evolution.com article the author covers many reputable scientists and explorers who have expressed ideas of a hollow earth with a sort of sun at its center. This BBC Article describes test results showing that the earth’s core might actually have sun-like temperatures. An article published in Nature discusses discoveries that there could be a huge repository of water (think ocean) deep under the earth. Perhaps the idea of an subterranean world is not completely ridiculous.

Of course, the biggest argument against a Hollow Earth is how could we not know? Some suggest that we do know, or at least some know, and that the news is being kept from us for the same reasons that are applied to UFOs. There’s even discussion that the UFOs people see come from inner space rather than outer space. This video even suggests a Nazi connection!

The truth is probably out there—or in there, as the case may be. If there is an inner-Earth, how many other mysteries are connected with it? It could explain UFOs, strange creatures and maybe even more shadowy puzzles of the paranormal. Imagine if our encounter with an alien world is just a matter of looking below!

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US Navy swastika building on Google Maps mystery solved?

While browsing strange news I came across this item from 2007: Google Maps forces Navy to redesign swastika building. It tells the bizarre tale about the U.S. Navy, somehow, inadvertently put up this Navy Seal training building in the shape of a Swastika in 1967. A snapshot of the building from Google Maps is shown here from 2006.

Screen capture of Google Maps showing a building shaped like a swastika
Google Map Image, captured May 8, 2006 by Flickr user Si1very

What a mess! How could this be? How could they accidentally put up a building in the shape of a swastika? In 2007 we find the Navy response in this L.A. Times article, Navy to mask barracks shaped like a swastika. Here, they outline the Navy’s plans to change the aeriel view of the building with some additional construction and landscaping. So, what must it look like today?

I took a look and here is what I found.

Swastika_Building
This snapshot from Google Maps on 8/9/2015 shows the building still in the shape of a swastika. See the map view here. (Note, the actual map view could change at any time.)

What?! It still looks like a swastika! Nothing has obviously changed! What does this mean?

Now it’s time for a little speculation. I backed the view up a little bit away from the swastika and I saw another picture, as one generally does when one steps back from something. There are another pair of very oddly shaped buildings in line with the swastika building. Do these tell a different story. Here’s the snapshot from the map.

Screen shot of higher elevation with tow other oddly shaped buildings in line with the swastika.
Pulling back from the swastika building shows two other strangely shaped buildings.

Do you see it? Those two buildings could be airplanes, navy bombers flying toward the Nazi menace. Here, I’ve enhanced everything a little to tell the story that I see.

Snapshot of Google Map is highlighted with red over the swastika building and blue over the buildings that could be bombers
Enhanced view shows what could be bombers flying toward the swastika

Are these buildings actually a memorial for the air battle against the Nazis in World War II? They very well could be! The strange airplane tail shape in the buildings is obvious.

If this is the story, why is the Navy shy to share it? Did the architect do it as a personal statement and never told his secret?

We may never know the truth, but it’s a fascinating mystery.

Know of any other architectural mysteries? Share it with us!

 

 

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Photographing the dead

Victorian photo of a dead woman gracefully reclining on a couch.
Postmortem photo of a young woman

Yesterday I talked about a couple celebrating their wedding in a funeral home. Today we turn to actually celebrating the dead in a way that seems to be lost.

You may think that photographing everything is a new phenomenon. Though they didn’t have social media, the Victorians captured many images of life, and death. The woman seen in this picture is dead. It was common practice to photograph the dead in elegant remembrances. These photos give the appearance of a loved one who has simply been caught napping.

Victorian postmortem photo of a woman in a black dress laying with her eyes opened
This postmortem photo has the woman’s eyes open.

In some cases they eyes were opened for the photograph, giving a weird effect. They stare out, strangely.

Victorian color photo of a young black boy standing behind his dead brother who lays on a couch
A brother looks over his dead sibling

It was common to have people pose in the photographs, a tableau of living and dead together. Some of these pictures are incredibly poignant, such as the brother looking over his sibling, apparently napping on the couch.

Victorian postmortem photo of a standing fireman with a drawin showing the rig to pose him
This rig allows the deceased to be posed in a standing position.
JohnOconnor-postmortem
A strange, standing photo of a man two years after his death

Of course, the dead did not simply recline. Elaborate rigs were designed to pose a corpse standing. Some of the photos resulting from this technology are pretty bizarre, as the dead stand proudly, or lean jauntily, sometimes surrounded by friends and family. The photo of John O’Connor shows him standing with a couple of gentlemen two years after his death! The card is from the Livingstons Undertakers. Is this a sample of their embalming work?

There are a few photographs that seem to show the dead hanging around for some time between their death and their burial. It’s possible that, since news and people traveled more slowly in this age that they kept the embalmed bodies on view for much longer before they were buried.

Victorian postmortem photo of a teenage girl sitting with handwritten notes around
Notes around this photo indicate the emotion associated with the death and the reluctance to let go

These images are weird and heartbreaking. The emotion is clear in the faces of loved ones included. It’s also interesting the number of children that appear. “Go over there, Timmy, and hold your sister’s cold, dead hand for the man.”

Of course, our modern society has become quite removed from the process of death. Perhaps they were all simply much closer to it, so it wasn’t unusual. I think these are all a good defense if you decide to take a selfie with the deceased at the next funeral.

I’ll close out with a few more striking pictures. I find them all fascinating. Many more can be easily found on the Internet.

A sweet-looking young girl lies as though napping.
A sweet-looking young girl lies as though napping.
A dead girl stares wildly as she poses with her family. Note the base of the stand at her feet.

 

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Happy 4th of July, 2015

BigfootWithFlagToday is a day to reflect on independence, not just in the United States of America, but in the Northern Mariana Islands, Rwanda and the Philippines. Of course, the freedom we enjoy the most at the Museum of the Weird is the freedom of expression. It is wonderful to be able to explore the weird and wonderful mysteries and to ponder them, even when our views might not be in the majority opinion.

If you celebrate today, we hope that it is a grand holiday. If not, we hope that you find an opportunity to express your own weirdness.

I can’t just leave you like this, however. While I go fire up the grill (and prepare for a night of party palm-reading) here are some bizarre tales about our forefathers, The macabre legacy of the heroes of the American Revolution, written this time last year on the site strangeremains.com. They were pretty weird 200 years ago as well!

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Monuments of bone

Humans have a fascination with the remains of our ancestors. There are many examples in the Museum of ways that artifacts have been preserved for religious, magical, and historical purposes. Some of our items have come with a little extra, such us Emily, the skeleton which arrived with a ghost who haunts the Museum.

Of course, by some standards our collection is ridiculously tame. Here is a fascinating panoramic view of a bizarre chapel in Czermna, Poland, constructed with human skulls and bones. Move your mouse around in the picture to look all around.

You can read more about this fascinating monument in this article from the Smithsonian Institute.

There is also the Seldec Ossuary, also known as “the Kutna Hora bone church.” This video tour shows how human bones have been used to create chandeliers and other things in the monastery.

Are these the vestiges of superstition, throwbacks to a time when we looked for souls in a sneeze? Are they respect for the vast number of lives who have come before us? Are they just weird art?

Come to the Museum of the Weird and experience our mummies, skeletal items, and other bizarre examples of how people have kept the dead near by. See some other examples of bone monuments in this article by Mental Floss.