fascinatinghorror

The Life of Tilikum the Whale

There’s one grisly detail you might have heard reported about the death of Dawn Brancheau which isn’t included in this video: that Tilikum “swallowed” her arm during his prolonged attack.

The reason I haven’t included it is simple: it’s not true. Tilikum did sever her arm... but he never ate it. The reason that people think he did seems to be a recording of a 911 call that was...

The Stardust Nightclub Fire

The Stardust Fire is one of many disasters that has had a song written about it… but in this case the song is actually a story in and of itself. Christy Moore’s song “They Never Came Home” contains the following lines:

“In a matter of seconds confusion did reign.

The room was in darkness, fire exits were chained.”

What is a Mortsafe?

One of the few surviving examples of a mortsafe can be found in a graveyard that’s actually quite local to me. Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh is home to this magnificent specimen:

I’ve wandered around that kirkyard dozens of times, and I can remember seeing this strange piece of metalwork. ...

The San Bernardino Train Disaster

Often when researching a disaster, it can be interesting to “visit” the place where it happened using Google Earth or Google Maps. In this case it’s particularly fascinating. Looking at San Bernardino from above there’s a very clear open space in a residential area where the derailment and subsequent explosion...

The Legally Haunted House

In New York, you’re legally required to disclose when a property you’re selling might be haunted… but what about the rest of the world? From what I’ve read, in most places you’re not required to do so by law, but it still might be a good idea – especially if there’s been any media coverage of the haunting. Even if there’s no legal precedent, finding out that a house is ...

The Story of Gloria Ramirez

I mention in the video that few other explanations for what happened hold up to scrutiny… but there certainly are some interesting theories. People have claimed that it was actually a gas leak that was covered up by the hospital, a deliberate poisoning, or the result of an alien abduction.

The next most plausible theory relates to methylamine – a controlled substance that can...

The Death of Garry Hoy

The death of Garry Hoy actually contributed to the closure of the law firm he’d worked at (Holden Day Wilson) just a few years later. Losing a colleague in such a strange and unexpected way hit the other people in the office hard, and many of them quit their jobs in the years which followed. Eventually, still reeling from the loss, the firm closed its doors in 1996. It was one of the largest ...

The Story of the Blythe Star

Hear this story first hand

One of the best sources I found for this story was a news segment by Seven News Australia. Not only does it visit some of the areas where parts of this story took place, but it also features many extracts from an interview with Michael Doleman.

Michael was the youngest cre...

The New London School Explosion

The New London School Explosion website

There are many excellent sources when it comes to this disaster, but I wanted to highlight this one in particular. Not only is it incredibly detailed and packed with witness testimonies and personal stories, but it also has an interesting history of its own.

T...

The Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge

One question that came to mind while working on this story was this: has anyone actually fallen from the bridge in recent years? As far as I can tell, the answer is no. There are a few news stories about people falling over once on the island, and having to be brought back to the mainland by helicopter (getting an injured person back across the bridge is just too difficult)... but as f...

The 2019 Escape Room Disaster

The escape room’s website

Thanks to The Internet Archive, it’s actually still possible to visit the website of the Polish escape game where the fire took place. Here it is. As you can see it’s fairly official-looking, even offering gift vouchers that people c...

The Bizarre Wild Haggis

If you’ve never tried haggis before… it’s actually quite a tasty dish. In terms of flavour I suppose it’s comparable to minced sausage filling, but that doesn’t quite capture it. You should be able to buy it online (particularly around Burns Night in January each year, when haggis is traditionally eaten).

In most parts of the world, though, haggis is unlikely to be available in ...

The Congers Bus-Train Collision

A simulated emergency

One interesting detail that I couldn’t find a place for in this video is the story of Joan Fitzgerald – a local resident who was one of the first on scene, and who provided first aid to several injured students. She and her family lived in a house not far from the crossing. She was a member of the Congers Volunteer Ambulance Corps, and often work...

What is a Pfeilstorch?

Want to go see a pfeilstorch for yourself? One of the storks featured in this video is the Rostocker Pfeilstorch – so called because its taxidermied body resides in the zoological collection of the University of Rostock. It’s such a big deal there that it even features in their logo.

2023-06-09 10:15:00 +0000 UTC View Post

The Filming of Roar

Watch the finished film

I read about Roar long before I actually sat down and watched it, but nothing I read could quite prepare me for the reality of it. It’s such a strange film! The tone is all over the place, reeling back and forth between moments of genuine terror and momen...

Creepy Vintage Disney Costumes

I show a few different Mickey and Minnie Mouse costumes in the video, but if you want to see a full timeline of how the design changed over the years, I’d recommend this incredibly detailed timeline on a Disney Fandom Wiki.

As you can see, there were some fairly rapid impr...

The Indiana State Fairgrounds Explosion

A personal account

Of all the sources I used while researching this story, I’d most recommend this one. It’s a piece in the Courier Journal that follows the story of Janie Hensley �...

Eaten By Your Own Pets

Here’s a case study of this type of incident that I found particularly interesting. In it, a woman was almost entirely consumed by her pet dogs after her death – by the time she was discovered all that remained were some fragments of bone and scraps of her hair.

It’s worth noting, thou...

The Lewes Avalanche

Lewes is a town with an interesting history. Here's a little more about it.

The Lewes Bonfire

Before researching this story, I’d not really heard of Lewes, and I knew very little about it. As it turns out, although it’s a relatively small town, there’s quite a lot of history to the place.

One thing that came up again and again was the Lewes Bonfire. This...

The Mystery of the Mary Celeste

The Mary Celeste has attracted a lot of attention and speculation over the years, with dozens of people inventing extra details to make the story more mysterious, or even coming up with wild theories that they then publish as fact.

One of my favourite fabricated stories is a tale published in 1913. It purported to be the account of a survivor of the Mary Celeste, and exp...

The Crash of United 232

As usual, here are a few extra notes from my background reading on this story.

Other CVR highlights

In this video I read out a few lines from the CVR transcript of this flight… but the full thing is definitely worth a listen (you can hear it in this video). It has to be one of the ...

The Island of the Dolls

If you happen to be in Mexico City, and want to visit the Island of the Dolls, you’ll need to hire a boat to get there. Though on a map the island looks like it’s connected to the mainland, it’s actually surrounded by canals and floating gardens.

You can rent a colourful gondola called a trajinera. Most owners are more than happy to row you out there and show you a...

The Therac-25 Accidents

Comparable doses

I did a little research into how the doses of radiation accidentally delivered by the Therac-25 compared to the doses that were supposed to be delivered, as well as to some other incidents of radiation exposure.

During a typical chest x-ray, for example, you might receive less than one rad (or Radiation Absorbed Dose) of radiation....

The Deadliest Toys (Part Three)

This was an interesting one for me, since I remember having a set of clackers as a child. I don’t think a description can convey just how fun to play with (and loud) these things were. They’re absurdly simple compared to some modern toys, but they kept me amused for hours.

No wonder, then, that kids are still playing with them. Most recently clackers saw a resurgence in Indonesia and ...

The Our Lady of the Angels School Fire

There’s a lot to this story – and not all of it could fit into this video. Here are just a couple of notes on parts of this disaster that I couldn’t include…

John Jajkowski

In the aftermath of this fire a lot of shocking images appeared in newspapers around the world. One in particular soon became emblematic of the horror of the fire: that of firefighter Ric...

The Story of Calvin Graham

The story of how Calvin Graham managed to sign up for the Navy when he was just 12 years old is quite an incredible one. Wearing his older brother’s clothes and speaking with a deeper voice definitely helped… but even so, soldiers had to undergo a medical exam before they were allowed to sign up.

This was a problem. Calvin was confronted by a dentist, who could easily tell that he was...

The Inventions of Thomas Midgley

Here are a couple of interesting extra details from this story that I couldn’t quite fit into the video.

The “house of butterflies”

In the video I mention that the people working in the production of tetraethyl lead were some of the first people to suffer the effects of lead poisoning. An investigative report quoted by the New York Times gave this dis...

The Failure of the AVCEN Jetpod

In this short I mention the promising Jetpod promotional materials. If you’re interested in this quirky bit of aviation history, here’s a promo video that I’d recommend giving a watch. It does a good job of explaining the Jetpod concept, and why the craft might be revolutionary.

At the same ...

The Sinking of the Princess Sophia

Here’s a little more detail on some parts of this truly fascinating story…

The lone survivor

In the video I mention that the only living thing to survive this disaster was a dog, who was found exhausted and soaked with oil at a nearby harbour not long after the sinking. Most accounts record the breed of this dog as an Irish Setter or English Setter.

It’s...

What is a "Rat King"?

Rats aren’t the only animals to sometimes get their tails tangled. In recent years there have been a fair few sightings of “squirrel kings” – groups of squirrels whose tails have become glued together with tree sap or another sticky substance, then tangled into an impossible knot.

More often than not, when a squirrel king is spotted, the animals are caught and taken to a vet… wh...