20 Normal Looking Videos With Disturbing Backstories

20 Normal Looking Videos With Disturbing Backstories

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at 20 Normal Looking Videos With Disturbing Backstories.

For this list, we’ll be looking at seemingly innocent clips that have a truly upsetting undercurrent.

Which of these videos do you find the eeriest? Let us know in the comments.

Roger Dean & the Nursing Home Fire

In November 2011, the Quakers Hill nursing home in Sydney, Australia was engulfed in a fire that resulted in the deaths of eleven people. While fire services tried to put out the flames, members of the press covered the incident and conducted some interviews. One of those was with Roger Dean, who worked as a nurse at the facility. Dean told reporters he’d helped in getting people out of the building, but failed to mention that he was, in fact, responsible for the fire. After stealing painkillers from the facility, Dean set fire to the building to cover up the theft. He later pleaded guilty to eleven counts of murder and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Tragic Pool Party

A day that should’ve been filled with cheer for Russian Instagram influencer Yekaterina Didenko took a horribly tragic turn. Didenko was celebrating her twenty-ninth birthday at a pool complex when blocks of dry ice were added into the water, reportedly to make it colder. This created an eye-catching visual effect that was captured on video and uploaded to social media. In the clip, you can see people jumping into the steam-covered pool after the substance was added. Unfortunately, the dry ice, which is actually frozen carbon dioxide, caused breathing problems for the guests, some of whom became unconscious. As a result, three people, including Didenko’s own husband Valentin, lost their lives.

Parrot Mimics Owner’s Final Words

Forty-six-year-old Martin Duram and his wife Glenna were found unconscious in their Michigan home in May of 2015. Both had suffered gunshot wounds that left Martin dead and Glenna severely injured. Police initially thought the couple had been victims of an attempted double homicide but the truth, which was a lot more sinister, was revealed by none other than a parrot. Following the tragic incident, Bud, Martin’s parrot, began repeating the apparent last words of his owner, since recorded on video. According to the authorities, the couple had gotten into an argument that ended in Glenna killing Martin before attempting to take her own life. The bird’s verbal recreation of the incident later played a part in convicting Glenna for her husband’s murder.

Mick Philpott’s Arson Attack

In May 2012, a fire at a family home in Derby, England resulted in the deaths of six children belonging to Mick Philpott. Days after the incident, Philpott and his wife Mairead gave a press conference in which they seemed to be heartbroken over the loss of their children. However, their body language during the session raised a couple of eyebrows. Police began carrying out surveillance on the couple and discovered that they, alongside their friend Paul Mosley, had orchestrated the fire. Their initial plan to frame Philpott’s mistress for the incident so as to win custody of her children had horrific consequences. The three were charged with and later convicted of manslaughter.

Melissa Benoist’s Jimmy Fallon Appearance

“Supergirl” star Melissa Benoist appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” in 2016, where she spoke about an accident she was involved in. According to the actor, she had fallen down a flight of stairs and landed right into a potted plant, which injured her eye. In the clip, Benoist narrates the ordeal like a lighthearted joke, but it seems the actual events were a lot more serious. In 2019, Benoist revealed that she had been a survivor of domestic violence and described a particular incident that was eerily similar to the staircase mishap. Although she stops short of linking both events, it’s pretty awful to think that she could have been hiding that much pain behind a smile.

Jonathan Schmitz & Scott Amedure

“The Jenny Jones Show” was a syndicated daytime talk show that ran from 1991 until 2003. The program generated a huge controversy in 1995 when a man named Jonathan Schmitz was invited for a taping. During the episode, Scott Amedure, an acquaintance of Schmitz, revealed that he had a crush on him and described some of his fantasies, in front of a live audience. Although he seemed to be a good sport about it initially, it later turned out that Schmitz felt deeply humiliated. Just three days after the taping, he accosted Amedure before shooting and killing him. Schmitz immediately confessed to the crime and was convicted of second-degree murder the following year.

Idi Amin Laughing

If you’re an active social media user, chances are you’ve seen this clip of the former Ugandan Head of State Idi Amin laughing on a boat. While you’ve probably tweeted the gif or sent it as a meme to your friends, you may be shocked to know the actual backstory of the clip. In 1974, the dictator appeared in a documentary in which he was asked about a comment he had made in the past, in relation to the Holocaust. Instead of directly addressing the comment, Amin breaks into a maniacal laughter that’s only made more disturbing by the atrocities he committed while in office.

Joe O’Reilly’s Chilling “Late Late Show” Appearance

Irish mother of two Rachel O’Reilly was found brutally murdered in her home in October 2004, in what appeared to be a robbery gone wrong. Weeks after the unfortunate incident, Rachel’s husband Joe O’Reilly appeared on “The Late Late Show,” alongside her mother Rose. Joe appealed to the general public for information about Rachel’s supposed murderer, but something about his demeanor rang suspicious. It was eventually revealed that Joe was having an affair with another woman and had, in fact, killed his wife so he could be with his mistress. Police linked him to the crime after his cellphone records quashed his initial alibi. Joe was convicted of the murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.

McSkillet Car Reveal

Popular YouTuber Trevor “McSkillet” Heitmann gained prominence on the platform as a video game gambler. Heitmann played “Counter-Strike” and made huge profits trading in-game skins. In December 2017, he posted a video in which he showed off his new ride - a superfast McLaren 650S sports car. Heitmann reportedly later lost a large chunk of his income after he was banned by “Counter-Strike’s” developers and had to cease skin trading. A few months later, in an attempt to take his own life, Heitmann drove his McLaren in the wrong direction along a San Diego highway at top speeds. He crashed into an SUV, resulting in his own death and those of the other car’s occupants - a woman and her young daughter.

Adam Lanza Arcade Video

In June 2012, a clip was uploaded to YouTube which features a young man at an arcade playing the popular game “Dance Dance Revolution.” At first glance, it’s a harmless video of a goofy kid. That is until you realize the “kid” is actually Adam Lanza, who carried out the tragic Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting mere months later. Lanza was reportedly obsessed with the game and would spend hours every weekend playing at a movie theater close to his home. The infamous killer was also known to play more violent games, including one called “School Shooter.”

Jimmy Savile

During his lifetime, DJ and TV personality Jimmy Savile was a British icon. And while his career was marked by numerous misconduct allegations, they were largely ignored or dismissed as rumors until his death in 2011. After his passing, however, investigations revealed that Savile was one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders, having assaulted hundreds of people, including minors, over many decades. During this otherwise normal segment on BBC’s “Top of the Pops,” Savile can be seen groping an eighteen-year-old woman named Sylvia Edwards. Edwards looks to be jumping from Savile’s grasp and desperately attempts to squirm away from the presenter as he addresses the camera.

Carmen Miranda Drops to a Knee

Known as The Brazilian Bombshell, Carmen Miranda gained incredible fame in the 1930s as a samba dancer and actor. On August 4, 1955, Miranda showed up to “The Jimmy Durante Show” to film a performance with the host of the NBC variety show. The staff and cast members likely thought it was just any old work day. But Miranda was dying. After a strenuous dance, Miranda dropped to a knee and told Durante she was out of breath while holding her chest. She played it off like a pro, laughing with Durante and continuing on with the show. But Miranda died of a heart attack between three and ten a.m. the following morning. As such, the episode actually only aired over two months after filming. Unfortunately, as revealed by the morning after’s events, the famous dancer had clearly been in ill health, having been a heavy smoker, drinker and regular user of amphetamines.

Stranded on the Road

In 1986, NBC 7 San Diego ran a segment explaining what to do should viewers find themselves stranded on the highway. It was overseen by NBC’s Rory Devine, who was on a ride-along with California Highway Patrol officer Craig Allen Peyer. In the clip, Peyer warns about predators scouring the highways. Just two days earlier, Peyer himself had pulled over Cara Knott, murdered her, and tossed her body off a bridge. Scratches inflicted by Knott can be seen on Peyer’s nose in the NBC footage. Following the segment, dozens of women called in and reported that the officer in the video had pulled them over and attempted to seduce them. Peyer was found guilty of Knott’s murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Marisa

This video depicts an old man singing “Happy Birthday” to a woman named Marisa. Cute, right? Well, maybe not so much. This man is Edarem, or Edward Muscare, and he was a YouTube sensation in the mid 2000s. Edarem was also a registered sex offender, having been arrested for sexual battery back in 1986. In the video’s description, Edarem eerily describes Marisa as “the one that got away.” An old fling... or something far more sinister? It’s unknown, but there’s no denying that it’s creepy. Edarem’s YouTube career came to an end in 2009 after his computer was confiscated by the authorities. Edarem had failed to notify them about being a sex offender and was placed on probation - which he subsequently violated and was sentenced to prison for.

The Dating Game Killer

Serial killer Rodney Alcala is one of the most depraved murderers in American history. He maliciously “toyed” with his victims, assaulted and even killed some of them. There were at least eight victims of his crimes —although some estimates place the toll as high as 130. In 1978, Alcala appeared on the game show “The Dating Game” and won a date with bachelorette Cheryl Bradshaw. However, she ultimately declined to go on it and referred to Alcala as “creepy.” Another contestant called him a “very strange guy.” At this point, Alcala had already murdered numerous people and would go on to kill again. He died in 2021 while serving life in California State Prison, Corcoran.

The Boston Marathon Bomber Buys Milk

Security footage inside a Boston-area Whole Foods shows a man dressed in black entering, buying a carton of milk, and leaving without incident. Nothing at all out of the ordinary here. He was even buying the milk for his two-year-old niece. Except this man was an extremist, and his previous actions of placing pressure cooker bombs close to the finish line of the Boston Marathon had just killed three people and horrifically injured another 264. In fact, the time between detonation and milk-buying was less than half an hour. Perpetrator Dzhokhar Tsarnaev became the target of a massive manhunt - during which his fellow perpetuator and brother Tamerlan died - and was found four days after the bombing. He is currently incarcerated at supermax prison ADX Florence.

The Midlothian Church Murder Suspect

This security footage from Creekside Church in Midlothian, Texas shows a person in tactical gear patrolling the halls and opening various doors. Without knowing the story, this 2016 footage comes across as relatively harmless. It’s a little weird seeing a lone person in full tactical gear inside an empty church, but the police search and examine buildings all the time. This person was not examining, however. They were hunting. Inside the church was fitness instructor Missy Bevers, and she was murdered - with the evidence pointing to the person in the video. Unfortunately, nothing else is known about the crime. The suspect, and their motivation for killing Bevers, remain a mystery.

Jeffrey Dahmer Home Video

When it comes to American serial killers, it doesn’t get much worse, or more notorious, than Jeffrey Dahmer. His very name is synonymous with serial killers, having killed seventeen people from 1978 to 1991. In this home video from the early ‘90s, Dahmer - who had already murdered multiple people by this point- can be seen speaking to his father and nonchalantly flipping through a magazine. They talk about Dahmer’s weight and eating out at McDonald’s, and Dahmer explains that he needs to start eating at home more often. He just looks like a typical Midwestern male, not the most notorious serial killer in American history. The “eating at home” comment is also made creepier by the fact that Dahmer cannibalized many of his later victims.

Chris Watts

By now, everyone knows Chris Watts as the subject of Netflix’s “American Murder: The Family Next Door.” But those watching Denver7 news on August 14, 2018 would have had no idea that he was a killer. Denver7 interviewed Watts about the disappearance of his pregnant wife and two young children. Aside from Watts’s curious lack of emotion, this seems like a typical news segment about a missing person. The very next day, Watts was arrested after failing a polygraph and admitting to killing his wife, Shannan. Watts initially claimed that Shannan had ended the lives of their children and that he killed her in retaliation, but he later admitted to committing their murders as well. The following November, Watts received five life sentences.

The Stephen Mark McDaniel Interview

In this video, viewers can pinpoint the exact moment that murderer Stephen McDaniel realized that he was going to be caught. It’s incredible, and incredibly creepy. McDaniel lived next door to fellow law school student Lauren Giddings. Giddings had gone missing, and a few days after her disappearance, her dismembered torso was found covered in plastic in a trash bin outside the building where they both lived. McDaniel was not aware of this. While interviewing McDaniel about Giddings’s disappearance, the reporter mentions the recent discovery of her body. The criminal completely shuts down. His eyes glaze over, he loses his words, and it looks like he’s about to faint. He eventually goes to sit down, and while unknowing viewers may think he’s in shock, the truth is far more malicious.