Lists of true accounts of real people who survived unfathomable situations and depictions of fights for survival in film, TV, video games, and other media.

Stayin' Alive

True Stories

Most people only die once. If you're lucky, you'll make through your life without anybody trying to take it away. But, not everybody is so fortunate. Every year, people across the world are brought within an inch of their lives by another human being. What happens to those unlucky people? Who hurts them, why, and what does it feel like to be left for dead?Some <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/4ahxt1/survivors_of_attempted_murder_whats_your_story/ " target="_blank">brave souls at Reddit</a> have shared their horrifying real life stories of surviving an attempted murder. The stories will definitely upset you... almost as much as the lack the number of people who got away with it.

Survivors Of Attempted Murder Tell Their Grisly Stories

General

Survivors of Attempted Murder Tell Their Grisly Stories

Rosa Pasquarella

Organized Crime

Whether you love&nbsp;Mob Wives&nbsp;or&nbsp;The Godfather (and you no doubt enjoy at least one), the organization holds an allure for many on the outside. <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/mafia-nicknames/amylindorff" target="_blank">Mafia lore</a> and <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/how-lemons-led-to-criminal-organizations/beth-elias" target="_blank">mob history</a>&nbsp;have long inspired everything from entertainment to the creation of unions to legal policy framework.&nbsp;Though Rudy Giuliani allegedly took out the American mafia, the Five Families, and the Commission in the 1980s, many say <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/things-the-mafia-controls/philgibbons" target="_blank">the mob is still active</a> throughout the world. Certainly, different countries possess their own iterations of the mob, but even in the US the institution still holds power.&nbsp;These Redditors claim to have encountered it&nbsp;-&nbsp;and lived to tell their tales on the internet.&nbsp;

Disturbing Stories From People Who Have Actually Encountered The Mafia

13 Normal People Share Their True Stories About Mafia Encounters

Beth Elias

Mysteries

Gabby Petito&#39;s <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/unsolved-mysteries-families/mike-bedard" target="_blank">disappearance</a> garnered almost-instant media attention when the 22-year-old Long Island native was reported missing by her family on September 11, 2021. Petito was on <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/16/us/gabby-petito-timeline-missing-case/index.html" target="_blank">a summer road trip</a> with her fiance, 23-year-old Brian Laundrie, and the couple was documenting their travels via YouTube and Instagram. Petito&#39;s family told authorities that she had stayed in close contact with them throughout the summer, but communication stopped in late August. A little over a week into the search for Petito, investigators discovered her remains&nbsp;in Wyoming&#39;s Grand Teton National Park.

The last known person to see Gabby Petito alive was Brian Laundrie, and he is currently a person of interest in the case. However, Laundrie is&nbsp;missing, and his family has told authorities that they haven&#39;t seen him since September 13. Since then, there have been multiple <a href="https://abc7ny.com/gabby-petito-brian-laundrie-joseph-instagram-updates/11088520/" target="_blank">sightings of Laundrie</a> in North Carolina, and neighbors claimed they saw him <a href="https://radaronline.com/p/brian-laundrie-seen-running-backyard-parents-neighbors/" target="_blank">running from his home</a> days after his parents said he had left.

As the search for Brian Laundrie continues, the internet and the general public wait with bated breath for a break in the case. Here are all the facts we know so far about what happened to Gabby Petito.

Everything We Know About The Tragic Gabby Petito Case

What Happened To Gabby Petito? Here's Everything We Know

Patrick Thornton

Nicknamed &quot;Shelby&#39;s Sweetheart&quot;&nbsp;by her community, Asha Jaquilla Degree was last seen walking down a foggy highway in the early hours of Valentine&#39;s Day&nbsp;2000. She was only 9 years old. Over the past two decades, there have been multiple theories explaining why Asha left her Shelby, NC, home in the middle of the night, and as of 2016,&nbsp;there were&nbsp;350 leads on the case.

Despite these leads, one fact remains clear: No one has seen, heard from, or been able to find Asha Degree in over 20 years. Even after two decades of searching, Asha&#39;s family still believes she is alive; while this may strike some as wishful thinking, there are numerous <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/missing-people-who-were-found-alive/rydavis" target="_blank">missing persons</a> who have been found, sometimes years after they disappeared.

The Asha Degree case is still considered an open investigation; here&#39;s everything we know.

Everything We Know About The Mysterious Disappearance Of Asha Degree

Lists about what's going on on Capitol Hill and in your own backyard.

US Government & Politics

Trending on Ranker

Laws named after victims remain a source of debate. While plenty of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/crimes-by-rich-white-women/elle-tharp" target="_blank">brutal crimes</a> occur within any given year, only a very small percentage&nbsp;lead to changes to our legal system. When it comes to US laws created because of crimes, public outrage is key. Particularly <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/crimes-by-rich-white-women/elle-tharp" target="_blank">horrifying kidnappings</a>, murders, and suicides receive&nbsp;an unusual amount of press coverage, often resulting in&nbsp;the widespread backlash needed to pressure politicians into reforming the legal system.&nbsp;The crimes that resulted in new laws&nbsp;were already illegal when they were committed. The resulting legislation is usually seen&nbsp;as closing a loophole or addressing a unique aspect of the crime. However, there is much public debate on whether such laws are ethical or effective. People who have laws named after them are honored and memorialized, on the one hand, but critics argue such laws are often too reactionary to be truly effective.&nbsp;If you're unsure where you stand on the issue, browse this list. It will help you develop a more detailed understanding of how and why some crimes lead to new laws.&nbsp;

Every US Law Named After A Victim And What It Does

Jodi Smith

What was going on the year you were born? A look at the most popular things happening in entertainment, music, and even real world news while you were busy cycling through naps.

The Year You Were Born

Timeline

Sometimes, one news story completely overtakes the airwaves. These high-profile incidents&nbsp;can be worldwide events, political struggles, or natural disasters,&nbsp;but sometimes, they're fascinating crimes. The last several decades have been full of prominent true crime stories, and a look&nbsp;back through history reveals which of these tales was on everyone's lips the year you were born.&nbsp;While most of these events spanned multiple years - thanks to lengthy investigations and court proceedings - each seemingly overtook the news cycle for a specific period of time.

The Biggest True Crime Story From The Year You Were Born

Lists of unsettling and grisly details about what happened to kidnapping victims who were held against their will. 

While They Were Held Hostage

Unspeakable Times

Lisa McVey Noland&nbsp;did something truly incredible: she&nbsp;<a href="http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/a-serial-killer-abducts-and-rapes-his-teenage-victim" target="_blank">took&nbsp;down a serial killer</a>. Bobby Joe Long, AKA Robert Long, had already murdered at least 10 women and raped 50 others when he chose Noland&nbsp;as his next victim. What happened during the next 26 hours would change both of their lives forever.

Noland&nbsp;joined the very small group of <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/serial-killers-killed-by-victims/april-a-taylor" target="_blank">serial killer survivors</a> after using her street smarts and attention to detail in November 1984. After taking his first life, Long murdered every subsequent woman he picked up, except Noland. How she convinced him to let her go provides an important lesson for everyone. After all, you never know when you might need to talk your way out of a bad situation. Noland&nbsp;now helps catch bad guys in an official capacity, and her story is inspiring for every woman who considers herself a survivor.&nbsp;

Lisa McVey Noland Escaped Her Captor Through Superior Wit And Guile

April A Taylor

Lists about some of the worst people to ever live and the very bad ways things they did when they let their power go to their heads.

Real Historical Villains

Torture

Madame LaLaurie holds a special place in the mythology of the South, and New Orleans in particular. If&nbsp;there ever was a house that was haunted, it would be her mansion, a collection of rooms used for grotesquely&nbsp;harming and ending the lives of&nbsp;slaves in the most violent ways possible. Born Marie Delphine Macarty, Madame LaLaurie was a&nbsp;wealthy socialite and slave owner who had a body count that rumored to be somewhere near 100. Other accounts believe she owned closer to <a href="https://deepsouthmag.com/2014/01/15/real-madame-lalaurie-legends-american-horror-story-coven/" target="_blank">50 slaves</a>.

Many people believe that it was after she married her third husband that <a href="https://historydaily.org/delphine-lalaurie-new-orleans-famously-sadistic-slave-owner" target="_blank">LaLaurie&#39;s&nbsp;virulent instincts</a> kicked in. Whatever the reason, she was known to openly flog her slaves for even the most trivial of perceived slights. Even given the abhorrent standards of behavior towards slaves in her time and place, this was considered extreme, and her behavior got her <a href="http://www.vice.com/read/a-portrait-of-cruelty-madame-marie-delphine-lalaurie-982" target="_blank">investigated for&nbsp;cruelty</a> in&nbsp;1828, 1829, and 1832.

Some historians believe her worst actions&nbsp;may have been exaggerated over time as her tale became a legend, but even contemporary news reports of the area paint a terrifying picture. With this collection of gruesome facts,&nbsp;you&#39;ll come to meet one of the most disturbing people who ever walked the face of the earth, and one who never faced any recrimination for the brutality she doled out.

Actress Kathy Bates depicted a fictionalized version of LaLaurie in the third season of American Horror Story. And in October 2019, The Conjuring writers&nbsp;Chad&nbsp;and&nbsp;Carey Hayes announced their plans to begin a new horror film franchise based on&nbsp;LaLaurie&#39;s home. <a href="https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3591518/conjuring-writers-announce-new-horror-franchise-based-haunted-lalaurie-mansion/?fbclid=IwAR2MSdGYv6U6njr4whfyzdLgbipVoKq0M_5JaEzzFJHFSB77FGjan7srWm4" target="_blank">They describe their intention</a> saying, &quot;The stories will unfold in multiple installments covering the history of the house from recent horrific events of modern day all the way back to the terrifying origins of the house&#39;s history and its owner,&nbsp;<a href="https://historydaily.org/delphine-lalaurie-new-orleans-famously-sadistic-slave-owner" target="_blank">Madame Delphine LaLaurie</a>.&quot;

Madame LaLaurie has become a part of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/axeman-of-new-orleans-facts/amandasedlakhevener" target="_blank">New Orleans legend</a>, and her house, as it stands now, is said to be haunted by the ghosts of the slaves who met their demise at her hands. Even if you don&#39;t <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/celebrities-who-believe-in-ghosts/celebrity-lists" target="_blank">believe in ghosts</a>, the story is so disturbing that a haunting feels likely.

19 Facts About Madame LaLaurie, Socialite, Slave Torturer, & Serial Killer

19 Horrifying Facts About Madame Lalaurie, Socialite & Serial Killer

Jacob Shelton

In 2019,&nbsp;podcaster Chris Lambert created an eight-part series entitled&nbsp;<a href="https://www.yourownbackyardpodcast.com" target="_blank">Your Own Backyard</a>&nbsp;to investigate the 1996 disappearance of college student Kristin Smart.&nbsp;The&nbsp;case had fascinated him&nbsp;since he was a boy, as he had passed a billboard about Smart&#39;s disappearance almost daily for 20 years.&nbsp;

He&#39;s not the only one intrigued by the story - the Kristin Smart case has captured the attention of countless people across the US, and over two decades later, investigators may have finally found a lead:&nbsp;On April 13, 2021, Paul Flores and his father, Ruben, were arrested in connection with Smart&#39;s disappearance.

After 20-Plus Years, We May Finally Get Some Answers In Kristin Smart’s Mysterious Disappearance

Here's What We Know About Kristin Smart's Mysterious Disappearance

Michelle Nati

Convenience&nbsp;stores aren't just the ultimate hubs for late night ice cream, gasoline, and Slim Jims. According to certain employees on Reddit, these mini marts and gas stations are also hotbeds for crime and sketchy characters, especially once&nbsp;nighttime approaches. Typical customers might just fill up their tanks and chat idly with the workers counting out their change, but other people are slightly more nefarious at&nbsp;<a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/convenience-store-secrets/ericascheidt?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">local convenience stores</a>.Like <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/worst-restaurant-customer-stories/michaelchoi" target="_blank">awful restaurant customers</a>, these unwelcome visitors&nbsp;steal food and drinks, release bodily fluids in inappropriate places, and even enact bodily harm on themselves and others. If you've ever considered a job at the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/711-horror-stories/jacob-shelton" target="_blank">7-Eleven</a>&nbsp;around the corner, be prepared.

Convenience Store Workers Describe The Craziest Things They've Witnessed

Lowe Saddler

Classrooms have always buzzed with rumors of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/student-teacher-romantic-relationships/samantha-dillinger" target="_blank">relationships between teachers and students</a>, but for years it appeared school administrators quietly dimmed any case that came to light with resignations and tight-lipped excuses. If it seems like reported misconduct&nbsp;and convictions occur more frequently these days, the reason may involve one of the most bizarre and upsetting &#39;90s scandals.

Mary Kay Letourneau&nbsp;was a schoolteacher in&nbsp;Burien, WA, when 12-year-old Vili Fualaau&nbsp;entered her Shorewood Elementary sixth-grade class in 1996. The artistic student reportedly suffered an abusive home life, and soon became close with&nbsp;Letourneau&nbsp;and her husband Steve,&nbsp;accompanying them and their four children on trips.&nbsp;

In June 1997, Letourneau and Fualaau&nbsp;began a sexual relationship and&nbsp;produced two daughters, capturing&nbsp;the public&#39;s attention and leading to jail time for the 34-year-old teacher. Twenty-four hour news stations and talk show hosts could not get enough of the story; Letourneau believed she found love with a child, and defied all common sense and court orders to stay with him.

After two prison sentences and a pair of children, the two married in 2005 before slowly fading from the limelight. All these years later, where is Mary Kay Letourneau and is she still with Fualaau? Was it love, lust, or mental illness bringing Letourneau and Fualaau together, despite the age difference and illegal nature of their relationship?

A Look Back At The Teacher-Student Sex Scandal That Rocked Headlines In The '90s

Weird

While it&#39;s now considered history to younger students, the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, are moments permanently etched in Americans&#39; minds. Most everyone can tell you exactly what they were doing when they heard about the events, and many&nbsp;who lost loved ones can recall the day in excruciating detail. 2,753 people lost their lives at the World Trade Center alone, and tens of thousands&nbsp;of survivors still live with physical and psychological health problems. The idea that someone would pretend to be involved in such a horrifying event is both shocking and distasteful - but one woman did exactly that.

Alicia Esteve Head - known primarily by her alias, Tania Head - was a graduate student in Barcelona during the events of 9/11. Despite not even being in New York City at the time, she joined the World Trade Center Survivors&#39; Network and told a dramatic story of being severely injured and losing her fianc&eacute;. Although this tale won her sympathy and friendship, those close to her - and reporters - started to sense something wasn&#39;t right. Her narrative wasn&#39;t always consistent, and after&nbsp;The New York Times&nbsp;opened up an investigation, people learned Tania Head&#39;s story was completely fabricated.

Her ruse was conveyed&nbsp;in the&nbsp;documentary&nbsp;<a href="http://target.georiot.com/Proxy.ashx?TSID=5036&amp;GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FWoman-Who-Wasnt-There%2Fdp%2FB00AHGXIE2%2F&amp;amazon-ids-by-cc=US%3Drankercom2758741-20" target="_blank">The Woman Who Wasn&#39;t There</a>. Head&#39;s then-friend Angelo J. Guglielmo&nbsp;Jr.&nbsp;directed and produced the movie, and he originally intended to showcase the lives of survivors. He had to change tactics when Head&#39;s true story came out.

Like the documentary&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/worst-moments-from-mommy-dead-and-dearest-documentary/stefanie-hammond" target="_blank">Mommy Dead And Dearest</a>,&nbsp;the movie delves into a web of intricate lies and speculates about the motivation behind such harmful deceit. Trauma - especially collective grief - can make people act out in a strange manner, and Tania Head appears to be no exception.

'The Woman Who Wasn't There' Tells The Shocking Story Of A 9/11 Survivor Who Wasn't All She Seemed

The True Story Behind 'The Woman Who Wasn't There'

Anna Lindwasser

Many look back on their high school years fondly, remembering them as the best time of their life. For others, the thought of&nbsp;high school brings back <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/elementary-school-teachers-discuss-gross-students/alexfurlin" target="_blank">painful memories</a>&nbsp;of being bullied. No matter what type of school someone attended, they likely know all about bullies - whether through personal experience or stories.Some students <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/kids-standing-up-to-bullying/anabel-conner" target="_blank">stand up to bullies</a> and put a stop to the mistreatment. Others, meanwhile,&nbsp;suffer from the life-long effects of being beaten up, called names, or having their school days made a living hell. For&nbsp;those who dealt with bullying in high school, however, sharing stories of their harassment on Reddit&nbsp;can prove cathartic.

People Share Their Stories Of Sadistic High School Bullying

Real People Share Their Heartbreaking High School Bully Stories

Jessika M. Thomas 

Survival

Humans&nbsp;have shown throughout their history they are capable of feats of&nbsp;miraculous survival. Although it may appear our physical forms are not all that tough when compared to other creatures in the animal kingdom, the truth is there are many <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/7-real-people-who-survived-horror-movie-situations/samantha-wilson?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">people who survived</a> crazy situations that most of us would generally not be able to live through.In a combination of sheer willpower, medical knowledge, and technology, people have been able to survive some really <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/deadly-freak-accidents/harrison-tenpas">crazy freak accidents</a>. These true survivor stories&nbsp;show us that even in the bleakest of situations, you can sometimes make it out okay.&nbsp;It’s a good thing too, because humans seem to be able to find themselves in all kinds of bizarre situations that cause shocking injuries.Whether it is a freak accident or a stupid stunt, these unbelievable tales&nbsp;demonstrate the remarkable&nbsp;people who survived the odds despite the horrendous injuries they sustained.

11 Freak Accidents That People Miraculously Managed To Survive

11 Insane Accidents That People Miraculously Managed To Survive

Nathan Gibson

Pop Culture

Most actors dream of never&nbsp;auditioning again. They fantasize&nbsp;about not&nbsp;having to sit in waiting rooms, experiencing&nbsp;an Emma Stone in La&nbsp;La&nbsp;Land&nbsp;moment, surrounded by carbon copies of themselves. They pray for the days of&nbsp;being free of the whims of distracted casting agents, hack directors, and pig-headed producers.Thus, for&nbsp;female&nbsp;actors, there's even more incentive to reach the dizzying heights of being &quot;offer only&quot;&nbsp;- avoiding sexism. <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/reactions-to-sexist-interview-questions/lisa-waugh" target="_blank">The entertainment&nbsp;industry&nbsp;is rampant with skeevy encounters</a> and gross dudes using their leverage to put young hopeful women in compromising&nbsp;positions. In the 2010s, a strong contingent of actresses&nbsp;began speaking out against entertainment industry sexism and their past experiences with it.&nbsp;&nbsp;Many an actress <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/sexist-late-night-interviews/rebecca-shortall" target="_blank">has experienced the&nbsp;institutionalized&nbsp;sexism</a> that runs rampant in the industry, especially when they were just starting their careers. Many of them lost out on acting jobs because they failed to comply with the creepy requests of a leering dude behind a&nbsp;camera or desk. But it probably wasn't a great loss, because look at where they are now!Check out all these famous actresses talking about Hollywood sexism and let's all bemoan the sad state of the entertainment industry.&nbsp;

Actresses Describe The Auditions That Took Things Too Far

Actor

16 Famous Actresses Share Stories About Hollywood Sexism

Rebecca Shortall

Sometimes, the identity of the offender overshadows the details of the transgression itself. Why did no one see this coming?

Shockingly Bad People

Sometimes when life's problems pile up, it's nice to imagine starting all over again. For some people, getting a fresh start at life is so important they will do just about anything to make it happen&nbsp;- including fake their own death. While it seems crazy, people who faked their own death to avoid their problems - be it impending criminal charges, souring relationships, or piling bills - really do exist.&nbsp;These cases of bizarre staged death are surprising, strange, and sometimes pretty funny. But before <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/crimes-youd-commit-if-you-could-get-away-with-it/dani-porter">you start planning your own escape</a>, take a real close look at these criminals who faked their death. While some are more creative than others, in the end&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/the-10-dumbest-criminals-who-got-away-with-it-_then-didn_t_/rachel-stewart">they all got caught</a>.&nbsp;

Strange Tales of People Who Faked Their Own Deaths And Almost Got Away With It

20 Stories of People Who Nearly Pulled Off Faking Their Own Deaths

Cristina Sanza

Unspeakable Times lists at Ranker - the ultimate source for lists and rankings in all categories