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April A Taylor - Lists at Ranker

Graveyard Shift

Portland, OR, sits comfortably in <a href="https://realestate.usnews.com/places/oregon/portland" target="_blank">America&#39;s Top 50 Best Places to Live</a>, but the city&#39;s history wasn&#39;t always so rosy. In fact, many believe that the Old Portland Underground, a network of basement tunnels that once connected businesses to the waterfront, were&nbsp;used for a variety of illegal purposes. Others claim&nbsp;that the Portland Shanghai Tunnels are home to several ghosts. Today, locals and tourists&nbsp;enjoy&nbsp;the opportunity to explore the historic labyrinth in search of a real-life <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/creepy-oregon-stories-legends/isadora-teich" target="_blank">creepy legend</a>.&nbsp;

Are the old tunnels beneath Portland really haunted? Did criminals actually transport human slaves underground to avoid the watchful eye of the law? Or are the stories yet another colorful piece of Oregon history, such as the frequent <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/crater-lake-creepy-stories/christopher-shultz" target="_blank">Bigfoot sightings at Crater Lake</a>? There&#39;s evidence on both sides, but this much is&nbsp;definitely true: there are Portland Underground tunnels, and many people report having odd experiences there.

Are Portland's Shanghai Tunnels Haunted By The Ghosts Of Human Trafficking Victims?

General

Portland's Shanghai Tunnels Are Haunted By The Ghosts Of Human Trafficking Victims

April A Taylor

Lists about the pre-historic, ancient, medieval, olden, and not-that-long-ago days of medicine, when doctors made bizarre assumptions and prescribed totally insane treatments that made sense at the time...

We Didn't Know Any Better

Medicine

Though it may seem odd now, many cultures throughout history cited several medical reasons for trepanning. Also known as&nbsp;trephining, this practice includes removing part of the skull via scraping or drilling a hole. Surprisingly, performing such a complex procedure several centuries ago wasn&#39;t nearly as deadly as you might think. In fact, archeologists have&nbsp;discovered ample evidence suggesting&nbsp;the&nbsp;trepanation survival rate was <a href="https://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.1055/s-2001-16333" target="_blank">very high</a>, especially in Germany.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Despite this, it&#39;s common&nbsp;for people who learn about this medical treatment to ask: &quot;Why did people perform&nbsp;trepanning?&quot; One assumes drilling a hole&nbsp;into&nbsp;someone&#39;s skull is unwise, and there have been unnecessary casualties. Trepanning rituals and some medical benefits have been widely documented throughout history, though the actual effectiveness of trepanning remains questionable, and many consider the entire thing pseudoscience.&nbsp;

Why Some People Believe There Are Benefits To Drilling A Hole In The Top Of Your Skull

The History of Trepanning: Why Humans Drilled Holes In Their Skulls

On May 18, 1927, disgruntled Bath Township, MI, resident Andrew Kehoe&nbsp;murdered 44&nbsp;people and injured 58 others. Although the Bath School Massacre&nbsp;isn't usually the first incident that comes to mind when you remember horrific school tragedies, it's actually the <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/crime/2012/12/18/bath_school_bombing_remembering_the_deadliest_school_massacre_in_american.html" target="_blank">deadliest US&nbsp;school attack</a> in history. Kehoe's&nbsp;series of bombings weren't the result of a moment of rage, either. Instead, he meticulously planned the Bath School disaster&nbsp;over a long period of time.&nbsp;&nbsp;What drives someone who once wanted to be a public servant to kill so many people? The Bath, MI, school bombing provides a few answers, but none of them are rational. Despite so much bloodshed, the passage of time has&nbsp;almost buried this true crime story for everyone but locals. Read on to discover exactly what happened, what rationale the murderer gave for his actions, and other details from that terrible day.

The 1927 Bath School Disaster Is Still The Deadliest School Massacre In US History

Psycho Killers

Psychology

Graphologists have closely studied killers' handwriting&nbsp;in an attempt to gain more insight into any commonalities found in their respective psychological profiles. As a result, there are some who believe that the validity of certain serial killers' letters is easily&nbsp;determined by looking to see if&nbsp;each letter contains so-called killer penmanship. This could provide law enforcement officials&nbsp;with a much-needed advantage when they receive written communication that claims&nbsp;to be from a murderer.Believe it or not, there are numerous cases of people <a href="http://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3bjabn/why-do-people-pretend-to-be-serial-killers-811" target="_blank">pretending to be serial killers</a>&nbsp;via fake confession letters and those letters&nbsp;can thwart police efforts to locate and apprehend actual&nbsp;culprits. With a better understanding of&nbsp;killers' handwriting, it may be possible to quickly ascertain if a letter is truly authentic. At the very least, graphology has the potential to provide some insight into the mind of a killer.&nbsp;What does your handwriting say about you? Would a criminal investigator take one look at it and decide that you have killer handwriting?

How To Tell If Someone's A Killer Based On Their Handwriting

Mysteries

On October 31, 1977, 19-month-old Nima Louise Carter was abducted from her home in Lawton, OK, but her parents didn&#39;t realize she was missing until the following morning. A month passed before Nima&#39;s body was discovered in an abandoned home where it had been placed in a refrigerator.

Although no one has ever been officially charged with Nima&#39;s murder, strange events in the Carter home -&nbsp;as well as&nbsp;another child murder in the town -&nbsp;led to endless speculation. The horrific <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/crimes-committed-on-halloween/mike-rothschild" target="_blank">Halloween murder</a> remains a hotly debated case over 40 years later.

Nima Louise Carter Was Abducted On Halloween 1977, And Her Murder Is Still Unsolved

The Unsolved Murder Of 19-Month-Old Nima Louise Carter

China

What would you do if you were on a glass bridge, hundreds or even thousands of feet above the ground, and heard the glass start to break? For some people, this is no longer a hypothetical question. A viral video showcases what happens when a glass walkway in China cracks beneath tourists' feet.Many head to China for <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/top-must-see-attractions-in-beijing/ranker-travel" target="_blank">must-see&nbsp;tourist attractions</a> such as the Forbidden City and the&nbsp;Great Wall. It's a virtual certainty that the majority of these visitors don't want to find themselves clinging for dear life on the side of a glass&nbsp;bridge. Despite this, China continues to unveil these&nbsp;terrifying tourist attractions to the public, even though there was another potentially deadly incident in 2015.Keep reading to get a closer look at the recent real-life scene of horror. Because&nbsp;glass bridges continue to pop-up throughout China, there may soon be many more videos where terrified tourists watch as a glass walkway breaks. You know, just in case you needed one more reason to stay away from glass bridges.

A Terrifying Glass Bridge Leaves Tourists In China Fearing For Their Lives

This Terrifying Glass Bridge Leaves Tourists Fearing For Their Lives As 3,500-Foot-Tall Walkway Cracks Beneath Them 

In 1971,&nbsp;Mar&iacute;a G&oacute;mez&nbsp;Pereira, AKA Mar&iacute;a G&oacute;mez C&aacute;mara, first noticed&nbsp;stains that appeared to be faces seeping up through&nbsp;the floor of her kitchen. Gaining the nickname&nbsp;&quot;the Belmez Faces,&quot; this strange occurrence soon led to the discovery of numerous bodies hidden beneath a&nbsp;house in Spain. The exhumation of these <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/people-who-were-found-dead-years-after-they-died/jacob-shelton" target="_blank">mysteriously buried bodies</a> captured a lot of media attention, but it certainly didn't solve the Pereira family's problem.&nbsp;Is this&nbsp;paranormal phenomenon in Spain the real deal? Experts in many different scientific fields have analyzed the evidence only to obtain&nbsp;mixed results. The only thing that's known for&nbsp;certain is that the Faces of Belmez&nbsp;continued to show up even after the family had the floor replaced - twice. There were even measures put in place <a href="https://www.historicmysteries.com/belmez-faces/" target="_blank">to prevent fakery</a>, which still doesn't convince some skeptics but certainly lends a lot of credibility to the existing evidence. Read on to discover all the odd aspects of this case and&nbsp;the numerous appearances of the Belmez Faces.

There Is Credible Evidence The Belmez Faces Are A Genuine Paranormal Phenomenon

Credible Evidence The Belmez Faces Are A Real Paranormal Phenomenon

Are you the "horror person" on your virtual trivia team? Meet your new secret weapon: lists about everything even you don't know about movies scarier than the sound of a child's laughter in a cemetery after dark.

Horror Buff Stuff

Entertainment

The final girl movie trope is long-standing horror tradition. Most people think of characters such as Laurie Strode (Halloween), Nancy Thompson (A Nightmare On Elm Street), Ellen Ripley (Alien), and Sidney Prescott (Scream) when asked about their <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/strongest-survivors-horror-movies/megan-summers">favorite final girls from horror movies</a>. Although all these women&nbsp;are fine choices, there are plenty of other final girls who have been vastly overlooked and&nbsp;deserve their due recognition.In fact, many of these characters survive situations that are far more horrific than those faced by the previously mentioned horror movie final girls, and they do it without resorting to terrible genre trends. Whether they're enduring surgical&nbsp;torture,&nbsp;brutal captivity, demon-stalking, or the wrath of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/people-describe-the-creepiest-urban-legends/dukeharten?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">an urban legend</a> brought to life, these women encapsulate everything about this empowering&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/creepy-scary-horror-movie-tropes/christopher-myers">horror movie trope</a>. They're survivors, even if they endure a lot to get to the movie's end, and they offer hope to audience members.After years of seeing women as the usual victims onscreen, watching these unassuming girls rise up against their cinematic monsters is like a badass pep talk to rev any woman up to take on the more practical monsters of the world. Read on and be inspired by these horror movie final girls you may have overlooked.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Underrated Final Girls In Horror Movies That Deserve More Recognition

Film

Lists for horror-hounds who get their kicks by having paid professionals scare the bejesus out of them until they literally beg for mercy.

Chills & Thrills

Whoa Facts

The Victim Experience by&nbsp;the Freakling&nbsp;Bros. joins an ever-expanding list of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/extreme-scary-haunted-houses-attractions/juliet-bennett-rylah" target="_blank">extreme haunted houses</a>. Much like the infamous and creepy haunted houses&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/mckamey-manor-extreme-haunted-house/april-a-taylor" target="_blank">McKamey Manor</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/what-is-blackout-extreme-haunted-house/jacob-shelton" target="_blank">Blackout</a>, the experience seeks to push participants to their psychological and physical limits. Because the experience only lasts an average of 30 minutes, this acts as&nbsp;a great starting point for people who wish to discover if they could&nbsp;withstand eight hours at McKamey Manor. To get through an experience like those put on by Freakling&nbsp;Bros. without using any haunted house safe words requires a ton of bravery and a willingness to submit to the unthinkable

<a href="http://thevictimexperience.com" target="_blank">The experience</a> provides a personalized haunted house that&nbsp;completely changes annually and incorporates minor tweaks for each ticket holder. Only eight people per night may&nbsp;enter this haunted house in Nevada, and everyone must face their fears alone. Tickets cost $295 in 2017, but this rarely ever&nbsp;prevents the show from selling out almost a month in advance. Every participant must sign a waiver and a non-disclosure agreement. Despite this, previous participants leaked some of the most insane details and spoilers.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

The Victim Experience: A Horror Attraction Where You’re Taken And Terrorized

The Victim Experience Is A Personalized Horror Attraction Where You’re Kidnapped, Tortured, And Terrorized Until You Break

Myths & Legends

If you've ever found yourself face-to-face with&nbsp;scary shadow people, know you're not alone;&nbsp;tons of stories exist&nbsp;online&nbsp;about&nbsp;these freaky entities and the process of summoning a shadow person. The term &quot;shadow people&quot; first appeared <a href="http://weekinweird.com/2016/08/31/investigating-the-link-between-the-shadow-man-phenomenon-and-the-terrifying-hat-man/" target="_blank">in 2001</a>, although some say these spooky silhouettes&nbsp;trace their roots back to early man.&nbsp;Regardless of exactly who or what these shadowy spirits&nbsp;are, <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/shadow-people-creepy-true-stories/jacob-shelton" target="_blank">shadow person stories</a>&nbsp;litter the Internet, suggesting this phenomenon happens to people from all walks of life. While the beings themselves remain difficult to classify, the process of how to summon a shadow person is actually pretty easy, as long as you have the proper tools and mindset.The act&nbsp;of inviting a shadow person requires a different set of&nbsp;rituals than those used for <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/how-to-contact-dead-without-medium/april-a-taylor" target="_blank">contacting the dead</a>. Though they possess similar haunting qualities of ghosts, shadow people are likely another form of supernatural phenomena. According to some reports, shadow people are the leftover energy of the dead that somehow remain stuck in the mortal realm, while another theory posits that shadow people <a href="https://exemplore.com/paranormal/Shadow-People-Who-Are-They" target="_blank">are astral projections</a>. Thankfully, their origins mean little in regards to summoning them, meaning all you need to do is adapt a negative attitude, light some candles, put up some mirrors, and wait for the room to go cold.

If You Ever Wanted To Actually Summon A Shadow Person, This Is How You'd Do It

How To Contact and Summon Shadow People

A look behind the beautiful velvet robes, gold threads, marble statues, intoxicating incense, tasty body of Christ, and sinfully unforgiving dogma of the Catholic church.

The Dark Side of the Church

Vatican City

Whether you&#39;re religious or not, it&#39;s intriguing to consider the numerous proven as well as rumored creepy artifacts contained within the secret Vatican archives. No one outside of the pope&#39;s inner circle is likely to ever see many of these historic items, although you can see a few <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/vatican-photos/rylee_en" target="_blank">strange things in the Vatican</a> during your next trip to Rome. The pope could choose to clear up <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/how-the-vatican-investigates-paranormal-incidents/mariel-loveland" target="_blank">dozens of conspiracy theories</a>, but in most situations, the Vatican appears to prefer&nbsp;ignoring&nbsp;many of the oddest&nbsp;rumors and merely&nbsp;<a href="https://cruxnow.com/church/2015/11/15/why-vatican-conspiracy-theories-never-go-out-of-style/" target="_blank">denying others</a>.

Of course, this doesn&#39;t mean that none of the theories would hold up to closer scrutiny. Perhaps that&#39;s exactly why the existence of most of the&nbsp;reputed weird Vatican objects has never been officially denied.&nbsp;Are the rumored items real or merely imaginative conspiracy theories? Either way, they just might provide a glimpse into the secret life of the Vatican. Read on to discover which ones actually exist - and which ones exist as rumors and mysteries.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

There Is A Secret Underground Vault In The Vatican That Might Conceal Head-Exploding Information

The 13 Creepiest Things You Can (Allegedly) Find In The Vatican

Lists about the backstories and persistent legends that surround the many mythical figures that watch you as you walk alone in the woods at night.

Creepy Creatures of Ill Repute

The Enfield Horror, not to be confused with the Enfield Haunting that inspired&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/review/the-conjuring-2-the-enfield-poltergeist/85298224" target="_blank">The Conjuring 2</a>,&nbsp;is a cryptid&nbsp;observed by several people&nbsp;in 1973. Also known as the Enfield Monster, this disturbing looking beast makes its home in Enfield, Illinois. This tiny village boasts&nbsp;fewer than 600 residents today,&nbsp;a population drop of approximately 200 people since the beast made its first appearance. Perhaps what happened in Enfield back in the '70s was terrifying enough to convince people to move away and never come back. The beast's own appearance, as described by various witnesses, sounds like something most reasonable people seek to avoid at all costs.Several people saw the monster, although many&nbsp;discrepancies exist concerning&nbsp;its physical appearance. Regardless of exactly what it looks like, enough&nbsp;credible eyewitness accounts and evidence appears to back up this story. In other words, the Enfield Horror just might be real instead of merely an <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/creepiest-urban-legends/dukeharten" target="_blank">urban legend</a>, and may still be waiting&nbsp;in Illinois for intrepid travelers and cryptid enthusiasts.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

A Horrifying, Unidentified Monster Terrorized The Residents Of Enfield, Illinois In The Early '70s

Stories Of The Enfield Horror That Terrorizes Illinois

R. L. Stine

R. L. Stine's Fear Street books provided a bridge for millions of readers from truly <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/terrifying-childrens-books/april-a-taylor" target="_blank">scary children's books</a> to the works of adult horror novelists such as <a href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-very-best-of-stephen-king" target="_blank">Stephen King</a> and <a href="https://www.ranker.com/review/clive-barker/747545" target="_blank">Clive Barker</a>. The original series of young adult stories contained more than 50 books, many of which are still memorable years later. The teenage residents of Shadyside&nbsp;were constantly&nbsp;stalked by murderers, and the situation was even worse for those unlucky enough to live on Fear Street.&nbsp;The best R. L. Stine Fear Street books featured a combination of relatable characters and a twist ending that no one saw coming. Between&nbsp;Fear Street&nbsp;and the massive success of the Goosebumps series, it's no wonder Stine has become one of the most popular and bestselling children's authors in history.&nbsp;Which of the original&nbsp;books contain&nbsp;the&nbsp;scariest Fear Street stories? Vote up the titles that still keep&nbsp;you awake at night!

What's Your Favorite Scary Story? Revisiting R.L. Stine's Young Adult 'Fear Street' Books

The Scariest Stories From RL Stine's Fear Street Books

Detroit

Other parts of the country&nbsp;deal with some minor issues leading up to Halloween, but Detroit's Devil's Night has featured countless&nbsp;fires and general chaos for decades. In fact, it was common during the '80s and '90s for the three days leading up to Halloween to be accompanied by nearly&nbsp;constant blazes.The city&nbsp;finally took action in the '90s with the invention of a new holiday, <a href="http://www.detroitmi.gov/How-Do-I/Volunteer/Angels-Night-Information" target="_blank">Angels' Night</a>. Also set on October 30, this new spin on the troublesome holiday intended to reduce the amount of property destruction and other crimes that run rampant on the eve of&nbsp;Halloween.&nbsp;Devil's Night in Detroit has waned during the past two decades, but this deadly Halloween tradition still sparks up every year. At its peak, there was&nbsp;an average of 500 to 800 fires annually, but as of&nbsp;2016, this number had <a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2016/11/detroit_mayor_days_of_over_800.html" target="_blank">fallen to 59</a>. This represents a very positive change for Detroit,&nbsp;but it also showcases that some people still just want to watch the world burn.&nbsp;

Devil's Night Is Detroit's Deadly Halloween Tradition

Getting a little too close to the legendary beings that survive by drinking the essence of life: human blood.

Vampires: Who's Thirsty?

The Mineral Point Vampire has stalked the people of Mineral Point, <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/creepy-wisconsin-stories-legends/amandasedlakhevener" target="_blank">Wisconsin</a>, for many years and&nbsp;would seem like mere&nbsp;urban legend if it wasn&#39;t for all the credible witnesses who have encountered it. There&#39;s no way of conclusively knowing when the undead creature moved into town, but reported sightings&nbsp;go back to 1981.

Wisconsin vampires have faced hardships aplenty in Wisconsin, including a proposed piece of legislation&nbsp;seeking&nbsp;to <a href="https://www.fvza.org/prcriminalize.html" target="_blank">make vampirism illegal</a>. Perhaps that&#39;s the primary reason the Mineral Point Vampire disappeared&nbsp;for long periods of time. Despite these disappearances, the nocturnal bloodsucker most&nbsp;enjoys spending time in Mineral Point&#39;s Graceland Cemetery.&nbsp;

Witness reports indicate at least three <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/real-vampires/christopher-shultz" target="_blank">real-life vampire</a> sightings between 1981 and 2008. In each case, police officers responded to resident complaints and uncovered evidence that the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/real-vampires/christopher-shultz" target="_blank">vampire really exists</a>. Of course, Mineral Point police have a long history of hearing about things that go bump in the night. The city is home to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridgeway_Ghost" target="_blank">Ridgeway Phantom</a> and the haunted Walker House in addition to the Mineral Point Vampire. Here&#39;s all the evidence that suggests this Wisconsin vampire did - and may still - exist.

The Strange Case Of The Vampire Of Mineral Point, Wisconsin

Compelling Evidence The Mineral Point Vampire Was Real

Shining a flashlight on real places around the world that are really haunted and really spooky.

Hello Is There a Ghost Here?

Unspeakable Times

Ireland's Leap Castle has a very bloody history, which makes it unsurprising that various visitors and owners have counted as many as <a href="http://www.ghost-story.co.uk/index.php/haunted-buildings/haunted-castles/264-leap-castle-county-offaly-ireland" target="_blank">20 ghosts</a> on the grounds. Although some spirits have only shown themselves once and haven't done much of note, the Elemental of Leap Castle had earned a reputation for being malevolent to those who seek it out. Other notable spectral inhabitants include the Red Lady and a priest whose murder took place&nbsp;within the castle's chapel.The O'Carroll family owned the castle for more than a century, but they spent much of this time <a href="http://www.thejournal.ie/tarquin-blake-haunted-ireland-1736828-Oct2014/" target="_blank">feuding amongst&nbsp;themselves</a> about who should rule Leap Castle. Ownership passed to the Darbys&nbsp;in the 1600s, who kept it in the family until 1922. Murder, betrayal, and torture were constantly on the menu for the first few hundred years of the castle's existence. Although this type of behavior has long since ended, there are some who claim that paranormal activity continues to this day. In fact,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/review/ghost-adventures/32048946" target="_blank">Ghost Adventures</a> has&nbsp;<a href="http://www.irishmirror.ie/whats-on/whats-on-news/hit-american-show-ghost-adventures-3989346" target="_blank">visited&nbsp;Castle Leap</a>, along with several other modern ghost hunters. As a result, many have dubbed this one of the best examples of the numerous&nbsp;haunted Irish castles.&nbsp;

Families Killed Each Other At Leap Castle, A Centuries-Old Paranormal Hot Spot

Pagan Halloween, AKA Samhain, provided the basis <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-halloween-or-samhain-1992402" target="_blank">for almost everything</a> we currently do during the Halloween season. In fact, if it wasn't for Irish immigrants bringing Pagan Halloween traditions to the U.S., you probably wouldn't have ever gotten to go trick-or-treating. There are many similarities between Samhain and Halloween, but the truth is that they're not exactly the same thing. For example, the history of Halloween shows October 31&nbsp;evolving&nbsp;from its early roots&nbsp;into a secular holiday. Meanwhile, Samhain&nbsp;still has important religious meaning for modern pagans and wiccans.&nbsp;Several <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/halloween-celebrations-around-the-world/jordan-love" target="_blank">countries celebrate Halloween</a>, and they each put their own unique spin on it. <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/scary-halloween-symbols/lea-rose-emery" target="_blank">Beloved Halloween symbols</a> such as costumes and jack-o'-lanterns all originate with Samhain, though. Therefore, although&nbsp;celebrating Halloween pagan-style does require a few changes, you're likely to be familiar with the majority of Samhain traditions.Want to try living like an ancient pagan for a day? There's no better way than through making this year a pagan-style&nbsp;Halloween.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

The Right Way To Celebrate An Authentic Pagan Halloween

Genene&nbsp;Jones is among those on a long list of <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/serial-killer-nurses/april-a-taylor" target="_blank">serial killer nurses</a>. In total, she's believed to have killed at least 60 children from 1977 to 1982 while working at Bexar&nbsp;Hospital. Despite this, she only has one murder conviction and one&nbsp;attempted murder conviction. If Texas prosecutors have anything to say about it, though, the Bexar Hospital serial killer will soon pay for more of her crimes.&nbsp;Jones was often referred to by the media as the &quot;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-texas-nurse/texas-angel-of-death-nurse-charged-again-in-baby-killing-spree-idUSKBN18M2D8" target="_blank">Angel of Death</a>.&quot; This was likely inspired by stories of her pushing young children to the brink of death with her cruelty&nbsp;before attempting to save them. It's unclear if she intended for any of the kids to die, but that doesn't change the fact that she ruthlessly injected&nbsp;young patients&nbsp;with medication&nbsp;their bodies couldn't withstand. Most of her victims were under the age of two. One hospital had the power to stop this <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/serial-killers-who-seemed-the-most-normal/ranker-crime" target="_blank">serial killer</a> nurse in her tracks, but they let her get away to kill again.&nbsp;Jones ultimately went to jail and even inspired one of Stephen King's most famous characters along the way, but she may soon go free.&nbsp;&nbsp;

All About Genene Jones, The Killer Nurse Who Inspired Stephen King's Misery

All About Genene Jones, The "Killer Nurse" Who Inspired Stephen King's Misery

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

While They Were Held Hostage

&nbsp;Alexander Komin&nbsp;was a serial killer who tattooed slaves as punishment for failing to follow all his commands. He expected each of his captives to spend their waking hours sewing in his underground sweatshop. For two and a half years, Russian serial killer Alexander Komin&nbsp;beat and raped his captives. Komin&nbsp;also murdered every victim who failed to please him. Police found some of the bodies but believed that Komin's&nbsp;victims had died from drinking tainted moonshine. In other words, there were zero investigations into these deaths until one brave victim escaped.&nbsp;By hiding his victims underground, Komin&nbsp;escaped notice and actually earned a good reputation in the local area. Komin&nbsp;also kept up the ruse for so long by abducting&nbsp;mostly homeless women who had a criminal record. This definitely made their disappearance a low priority for police, and it's possible Komin&nbsp;would still have his illegal operation going if he hadn't made a big mistake.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

A Russian Killer Kept Women In Captivity And Tattooed &quot;SLAVE&quot; On Their Foreheads

A Russian Killer Kept Women In Captivity And Tattooed "SLAVE" On Her Forehead

Need to summon a spirit? Set up your Ouija board, light some candles, and follow these guides to get chatting with parties who have shuffled off this mortal coil and onto the next.

So You Want to Talk to Ghosts

Do you want to know how to contact the dead? There are many who claim communicating with spirits is easy, and it&#39;s not hard to find places worldwide that have a reputation for being a <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/dakota-building-curse/april-a-taylor" target="_blank">haunted building</a>. If you&#39;re skeptical or don&#39;t want to spend a lot of money, though, it may be&nbsp;best to take a DIY approach at first. After all, if a layperson can <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/ways-to-summon-the-devil/brandon-michaels" target="_blank">summon a demon</a>, it shouldn&#39;t be too hard to connect with cherished loved ones, right?&nbsp;

<a href="https://thoughtcatalog.com/melanie-jade-rummel/2015/08/5-things-youll-be-surprised-to-know-about-contacting-the-dead-as-described-by-a-medium/" target="_blank">Contacting the dead</a> without a medium isn&#39;t nearly as difficult as it sounds. In fact, there are numerous methods for doing so, along with several that&nbsp;require zero experience. All you really need to do is properly prepare yourself, grab the appropriate spirit communication&nbsp;tools, and dive right in. The best-case scenario is that one of these methods will turn out to be&nbsp;the departed&#39;s version of Skype. If they don&#39;t work, there&#39;s no harm done and you can try again -&nbsp;as long as you don&#39;t <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/people-pissed-off-demons/isadora-teich" target="_blank">make a demon mad</a> somewhere along the way.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

You Don't Need A Medium To Speak To The Dead - Here's How To Do It All By Yourself

How To Contact The Dead Without A Medium 

American Horror Story: Asylum

<a href="http://www.ranker.com/review/american-horror-story/63517104" target="_blank">American Horror Story</a>&nbsp;fans are familiar with the undercover female journalist Nellie Bly, even if they don't know her name. That's because her experience in an&nbsp;asylum provided the basis for&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/review/sarah-paulson/1978447" target="_blank">Sarah Paulson</a>'s character Lana Winters&nbsp;from&nbsp;American Horror Story: Asylum. Although the show's writers changed some of the details of this real-life story for dramatic purposes, Bly truly did pretend to be insane in order to spend <a href="http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/bly/madhouse/madhouse.html" target="_blank">ten days in a madhouse</a>. The things she discovered during this brief time period&nbsp;eventually led to mental health care changes nationwide.&nbsp;Born&nbsp;Elizabeth Jane&nbsp;Cochran, this dedicated journalist wrote under the pen name of Nellie Bly. She also contributed much more to the world than her undercover expose of Blackwell Island's Women's Lunatic Asylum. Bly used her words to fight for women's rights, and she also took a record-breaking trip around the world. Bly's journalism career started in 1885&nbsp;after she responded to a misogynistic&nbsp;newspaper column entitled What Girls Are Good For.&nbsp;She received <a href="https://www.biography.com/people/nellie-bly-9216680" target="_blank">$5 a week</a>, which is the equivalent of approximately $122 a week&nbsp;today. The highlight of her career, the 17-part&nbsp;Women's Lunatic Asylum expose, ran in the&nbsp;New York World&nbsp;in 1887 and later became a book.&nbsp;

AHS: Asylum Was Based Off The True Story Of A Woman Who Went Undercover At A Demented Insane Asylum

Meet The "Pretty Crazy Girl" Who Went Undercover To Expose Nightmarish Asylum Conditions

True Crime

In the autumn of 1984, Lisa McVey Noland&nbsp;did something truly incredible: She&nbsp;took&nbsp;down a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/serial-killers-killed-by-victims/april-a-taylor">serial killer</a>. By the time Bobby Joe Long targeted Noland as his victim, he had already murdered at least 10 women and sexually assaulted dozens more over an eight-month period.What occurred during the 26 hours Long held Noland captive ultimately changed both of their lives forever.

Lisa McVey Noland Escaped A Serial Killer By Earning His Trust, Then Helped Capture Him

Lisa McVey Noland Escaped Her Captor Through Superior Wit And Guile

London

London has been the site of many creepy historical events, ranging from <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/twisted-jack-ripper-facts/amandasedlakhevener" target="_blank">Jack the Ripper</a>'s serial murders to&nbsp;the Great Plague of London. So perhaps it's not surprising that tales swirl of things stalking its winding streets – things that aren't quite human. One beautiful, yet macabre London cemetery, Highgate, is rumored to house a very special resident:&nbsp;the Highgate&nbsp;Vampire. Stories about this creature go way beyond the typical urban legend.&nbsp;In fact, many residents became so wrapped up in the tale that they joined the mass vampire hunt of 1970.Yes, that's right: this bizarre tale isn't from the distant, superstitious&nbsp;past, but rather the supposedly enlightened 20th century. The London vampire hunt shows that, no matter how much science and technology advance, people are still frightened by the things that go bump in the night. Did&nbsp;the Highgate&nbsp;Vampire truly haunt the cemetery, and could it still be there?

On Friday The 13th, 1970, A Mass Of Londoners Hunted A 'King Vampire' In Highgate Cemetery

London Had A Mass Vampire Hunt... In 1970 

Bob Bashara and his wife, Jane, were well-known and respected in their local community in suburban Detroit. This made the <a href="http://www.ahpeters.com/obituary?id=1027091" target="_blank">death of Jane Bashara</a>&nbsp;a huge shock, especially because someone&nbsp;murdered her and stashed her body in Detroit, Michigan. Despite this, the national media most likely wouldn't have picked up this story if it wasn't for a couple of really unusual twists. By the time the case made its way through the legal system, everyone would learn&nbsp;Bob Bashara&nbsp;had a double life that included rough sex and mistresses. In this world, Master Bob stepped away from his wife and career in lieu of running a sex dungeon.It's unknown exactly what the motive was for Jane Bashara's&nbsp;murder. Perhaps&nbsp;Bob Bashara <a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2014/12/update_bob_bashara_found_guilt.html" target="_blank">orchestrated&nbsp;his wife's&nbsp;death</a>&nbsp;to prevent her from telling the world about Master Bob. It's possible he would've gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for the testimony of his handyman.

Sex Dungeon Owner Bob Bashara Killed His Wife, Perhaps To Hide His Double Life

The shocking <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/life-and-death-of-selena-quintanilla/mariel-loveland" target="_blank">murder of Selena&nbsp;Quintanilla-P&eacute;rez</a>&nbsp;on March 31, 1995, stunned audiences all around the&nbsp;world. As one of the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/tejano-music-bands-and-musicians/reference?" target="_blank">best Tejano artists</a> of all time, <a href="https://www.ranker.com/review/selena/1999876" target="_blank">Selena</a> was standing at the precipice of a great career right before her death. Born in 1971, the Mexican-American showed an affinity for all kinds of music at a young age. Unfortunately, her&nbsp;family&#39;s restaurant went out of business in 1981, and the struggling&nbsp;Quintanillas&nbsp;decided to hit the road as a band called Selena y Los Dinos. Thus, Selena began performing at the <a href="http://people.com/archive/cover-story-before-her-time-vol-43-no-15/" target="_blank">tender age of nine</a>.

By eighth grade, Selena&#39;s father pulled her out of school so she could devote all of her time to her growing musical career. This may have been a questionable strategy, but it did lead to&nbsp;success. Selena won two&nbsp;Tejano Music Awards in 1987, which opened the door for six hit albums.&nbsp;By 1994, Selena received her first Grammy nomination, sold approximately 500,000 copies of her&nbsp;Amor Prohibido&nbsp;(Forbidden Love)&nbsp;album,&nbsp;and was well-poised to finish transitioning into mainstream success.

However, the very next year, 1995, her friend and fan club manager, Yolanda Sald&iacute;var,&nbsp;turned her into a huge news story for all the wrong reasons. Selena was only 23&nbsp;when Sald&iacute;var&nbsp;fatally shot her. Sadly, Selena became one of the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/greatest-musicians-who-died-before-30/ranker-music" target="_blank">greatest musicians who died before 30</a>.&nbsp;The shockwave of Selena&#39;s murder quickly reverberated through the&nbsp;Mexican-American and Latino communities, and the singer&#39;s music became more popular than ever. Sald&iacute;var&nbsp;was ultimately convicted and sentenced to prison for life. To find out more about Selena&#39;s unfortunate death, read on below.&nbsp;

Details Behind Selena's Murder

11 Chilling Details Behind Selena's Murder in 1995

Anyone who is looking for a truly&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/extreme-scary-haunted-houses-attractions/juliet-bennett-rylah" target="_blank">extreme haunted house experience</a> should add&nbsp;McKamey&nbsp;Manor to&nbsp;their bucket list. This might just be the world's scariest haunted house, and it's almost <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/mckamey-manor-history/jodi-smith" target="_blank">certain to leave you shaking</a>. Originally located in San Diego, CA, the McKamey&nbsp;Manor haunted house can now be found in locations like Huntsville, AL, and Nashville, TN. Whichever spot you choose, you should be prepared to descend into a living nightmare that, like <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/inside-extreme-taking-services/beth-elias" target="_blank">abduction experiences</a>, could stay with you far longer than you can handle the house. Unlike a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/haunted-hotels-in-america/mariel-loveland" target="_blank">stay&nbsp;at a haunted hotel</a>&nbsp;where you might run into a ghost, you will definitely face horrifying things during your&nbsp;McKamey Manor experience.&nbsp;You may have heard many stories about visiting&nbsp;intense haunted houses, like the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/facts-about-the-haunted-winchester-mystery-house/natalie-hazen" target="_blank">Winchester Mystery House</a>, discouraging even the most hardened of horror enthusiasts. McKamey Manor firsthand accounts make it clear this legend has come to life. This experience is so intense that you have to sign a detailed waiver to get in, and you should expect to encounter horror and grotesque scenarios inside. Sure, you'll be traumatized, but&nbsp;you'll have a <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/creepy-haunted-house-staff-stories/amandasedlakhevener" target="_blank">creepy experience</a>&nbsp;you can share forever about being one of the few <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/7-real-people-who-survived-horror-movie-situations/samantha-wilson" target="_blank">people who survived a real-life horror story</a>.

What Actually Happens During A Nightmarish Eight-Hour Stay In McKamey Manor

Inside McKamey Manor, The Most Extreme Haunted House In America

Black Market organ prices might surprise you. That&#39;s because some body parts are worth an astounding amount of money&nbsp;while others fetch a much lower price than&nbsp;you&#39;d probably guess. If you&#39;ve read the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/true-stories-of-people-whose-organs-were-stolen/harrison-tenpas" target="_blank">true stories of people whose organs were stolen</a>, you know that organs aren&#39;t the only human parts that are in demand.&nbsp;Everything from hair to skin has a price and is available&nbsp;without waiting on a donor list - as long as you&#39;re willing to break the law and risk imprisonment and medical complications.&nbsp;

Due to the difficulty of making it to the top of the applicable organ transplant list in time, some&nbsp;organs&nbsp;used in surgeries come from&nbsp;the Black Market, or what the World Health Organization calls the &quot;international organ trade&quot; via &quot;transplant tourism&quot; or even human trafficking. This happens despite the fact that <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-iran-kidney-20171015-story.html" target="_blank">Iran is the only nation</a>&nbsp;where it is actually legal to buy, sell, and trade organs. Sadly, many people feel like they have no choice other than to turn to the Black Market because their need is so great. In the United States, approximately <a href="https://www.organdonor.gov/statistics-stories/statistics.html" target="_blank">20 people die</a> each day while waiting for an organ that is unavailable.&nbsp;

So, what are your organs worth on the Black Market? Read on to find out!

Here's What All Your Organs And Parts Are Worth On The Black Market

Medical professionals are supposed to help people, but&nbsp;there have been several serial killer nurses who ended the lives of their patients, instead. Some of these&nbsp;nurses haven't become as infamous&nbsp;as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.ranker.com/list/serial-killers-who-were-doctors/ranker-crime">serial killer&nbsp;doctors</a> like H. H. Holmes. However, this doesn't mean their crimes against humanity were any less heinous. In fact, the methods that some of these nurses&nbsp;used to terminate those in their care may be disturbing enough to make you think twice about going in for that checkup.Perhaps these individuals were able to get away with their crimes for so long because society views nurses as the ultimate caregivers. This makes it very difficult to consider that someone who has lost a lot of patients could actually be responsible. The reality, though, is that&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.ranker.com/list/creepy-stories-from-people-who-work-in-hospitals/trent-walker">hospital workers have creepy stories</a> about things they've seen, heard, and done. Medical nurses who were serial killers may not be one of the most common hospital oddities, but there have definitely been more of them than most people would ever guess.

17 Serial Killer Nurses Who Murdered Their Patients

Person

17 Serial Killer Nurses Who Murdered Patients In Hospitals

Human Body

Vampires do exist&nbsp;in real life, regardless of what your parents taught you, and they have to deal with the numerous&nbsp;side effects of drinking human blood. Many of these <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/modern-vampires-drinking-blood/lisa-a-flowers" target="_blank">modern vampires</a> have adopted a bloodsucking lifestyle by choice and are able to minimize most blood-drinking effects&nbsp;by limiting their consumption. However, individuals who have <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/facts-about-renfield-syndrome/jacob-shelton" target="_blank">clinical vampirism</a> feel compelled to keep going even after they&nbsp;learn what happens when vampires drink blood. This can lead to disastrous consequences, and it&#39;s also virtually guaranteed to have an enormous impact on their entire lives.&nbsp;

The major difference between clinical vampirism and choosing a vampire lifestyle - which these <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/real-photos-of-vampires/jacob-shelton" target="_blank">real photos of vampires</a> document - is that people with clinical vampirism typically have little to no control over their desire to consume&nbsp;blood. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6823646" target="_blank">Medical case reviews</a> indicate that this condition is rare, but it absolutely does exist. These cases have helped answer a common question: what happens if you drink blood?&nbsp;They&#39;ve also pointed out the many similarities&nbsp;in the&nbsp;childhood experiences of clinical vampires, which include&nbsp;cutting themselves at a young age. As the condition progresses, <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/real-vampires/christopher-shultz" target="_blank">these sanguinarians</a> become increasingly fixated on getting blood from other people.

There is no known cure or successful treatment method for clinical vampirism. Interestingly&nbsp;though, it&#39;s possible that people with a serious iron deficiency may be able to give into the same vital craving without suffering from as many side effects. Therefore,&nbsp;how your body reacts to drinking blood may vary slightly from the typical, medically observed complications. There are a number of common consequences from drinking blood, however.

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