Top 30 Mysterious Events That Can't Be Explained

West Dunbartonshire, Scotland
Dog lovers may want to brace themselves. Upon first glance, there isn’t anything outwardly unsettling about Overtoun Bridge. Yet the Scottish structure has been the cause of several beloved pets’ demise. In the 1950s, dogs began leaping off the side for seemingly no reason. One moment, they would be walking obediently with their owners, and the next, they would be gone. This would even occur in well-behaved canines. One dog specialist theorized that the scent of mink urine in the area could be driving them to jump. However, the presence of mink in the area is questioned. To this day, the phenomena remains unsolved, so if you have to take your pooch across, we recommend keeping them on a tighter leash than usual.

West Pomerania, Poland
Trees are fairly standard beings, with most growing from roots belowground. Yet, the Crooked Forest in Poland appears to deviate from that norm entirely. Around 1930, a new grove of pines was added. Rather than stand straight up, they curved at the base, appearing to sit atop the dirt. Researchers are fairly certain human interaction was the cause, but why this shape was desired or how it was achieved still evades them. One of the leading theories is that they were grown that way to make carpentry easier, but even that has remained unproven. The forest is available to visit, giving people from all over the world a chance to puzzle over the anomaly for themselves.

Paracas Peninsula, Peru
Archaeologists are used to having to come up with explanations for the things they find, but not everything comes with a set background. Some finds are simply too bizarre to understand easily, such as the Paracas Candelabra in Peru. Coming in at over six hundred feet tall, the odd, candelabra-shaped geoglyph has no established meaning or explanation for its existence. The only clue offering any sort of information was a collection of pottery found nearby, allowing experts to date the landmark as far back as 200 BCE. How or why the civilization at the time went about constructing has remained elusive – making this one of the longest unsolved mysteries in human history.

Patom Highlands, Russia
Despite the huge size of the Patomskiy Crater, how it came to be has eluded even the brightest experts. Located in a thicket of dense forestation, the formation stands at well over 500 feet tall, causing it to stick out like a sore thumb amongst the trees. Many of the current estimates are based on some level of scientific reasoning, from past volcanic activity to the landing spot of a fallen meteorite. A conference was even held in 2010 in order to find out the truth, and even that collection of impressive thinkers couldn’t come to a definitive conclusion. Now it serves as verification that some answers may just always be outside our reach.

Nova Scotia, Canada
An island in Nova Scotia offers adventurers the chance to go on a real life treasure hunt themselves – if they dare. For centuries, people have tried locating the supposed riches buried on Oak Island. What they’re looking for has never been confirmed, with rumors ranging from the Holy Grail to pirate’s gold. Those who’ve attempted to find it have never succeeded, thanks to things like sinkholes and a deadly curse – that is claimed to have taken the lives of several men. With no verifiable evidence, some have wondered if the treasure even exists, or if it's simply just a hole. If it’s the latter, it’ll have been the biggest goose chase in history – but for now, the mystery lives on.

North Carolina, United States of America
There are some occurrences we’ve only begun to question recently – but some have been puzzled over for centuries. The establishment of Roanoke was meant to be a symbol of new life in America. When John White returned to the colony from a supply run in 1590, he could’ve never anticipated what would await him: nothing. Over 100 people disappeared, leaving behind no sign of life other than a cryptic message. There have been countless theories, both optimistic and pessimistic. Some believe the colonists were able to start anew amongst neighboring tribes, while others are adamant they were killed. There’s even speculation that they left in order to make the founder look bad. With no answer in sight, it remains one of the country’s oldest enigmas.

Hessdalen Valley, Norway
Reports of strange lights are nothing new. For years, people have used them as evidence of the existence of aliens – as is the case with these which have appeared in Norway. They were first observed during the 1930s, and have varied in both color and speed. This has made their origin hard to pin down, leading to observers creating ideas of their own. Besides the usual claims of extraterrestrial beings, some scientists have posited more logical explanations, such as the explosion of airborne particles or the result of electricity coming from quartz in the nearby valley. Despite decades of research, no definitive conclusions have been made – meaning there’s a chance they could be proof of other intelligent life beyond our atmosphere.

Xiangkhoang[e] Plateau, Laos
Some phenomena are unexplainable due to human activities. The Plain of Jars is one of the planet’s most elusive areas – but not for a lack of interest. It consists of thousands of stone receptacles, with some dating back to 660 BCE. Originally, it was believed that a lost civilization of giants placed them there. More recently, it’s believed that they were used in ancient burials. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to truly verify, as it was targeted by United States forces during the Laotian Civil War. Over 250 million bombs were dropped, but 80 million never went off and remain active today. This makes it difficult to examine many areas of the Plain of Jars to find answers.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Even the most dedicated true crime fans will be stumped by this event. With no known killer, motive, or even a cause of death, it’s no wonder why the 1966 lead mask case immediately went cold. The two victims were discovered side-by-side, clad in suits and lead eye masks, alongside a set of bizarre instructions. It didn’t help that authorities waited weeks to perform an autopsy, leaving the organs too decomposed to properly study. While murder was the immediate assumption, the lack of struggle has led to more unique hypotheses – such as the pair attempting to communicate with aliens and accidentally dying. Whether it was by their own hand or someone else’s, the details of their fate remain sought after to this day.

Nova Scotia
Ships going missing or even being destroyed at sea is nothing new. However, the vessel being discovered with no sign of the crew is another story entirely. The Mary Celeste was last seen leaving a port in November of 1872, with nothing appearing to be amiss. Just a month later, another ship came upon it – and found that everyone aboard had vanished. There were signs of previous struggles, including ripped sails and a missing lifeboat– but no signs of current life. There were several personal items left alone, indicating they hadn’t been targeted by thieves. The remaining guesses range from insurance fraud to attacks from a giant squid. Unfortunately, false evidence has been published over the years, making the truth all the more unreachable.

The Northern Territory of Australia experiences a very bizarre phenomenon every year between September and March. Around 3:00 every afternoon, a huge thundercloud forms near the Tiwi Islands. The cloud has been named Hector by the locals, or more colloquially, Hector the Convector. This cloud was once used by pilots and sailors, and it’s now the subject of intense meteorological study. We understand that it’s caused by sea breezes interacting with the topography of the islands, but much about the cloud is still unknown. Perhaps future research will unveil more details about ol’ Hector the Convector.

Suffolk, England
With no hard proof, some events end up sounding more like fiction. The mysterious case of two green-skinned children arriving in a small English town sounds like pure fantasy, but according to some records, it was an actual occurrence that stumped people even back then. They’d arrived randomly, spoke another language, and ate nothing but raw beans. They slowly lost their vibrant pigment, and one even learned English. However, even that wasn’t enough to learn the truth of their origins. While the most accepted explanation is that they were sick Flemish citizens, there isn’t enough evidence – leading to fringe theories that they came from an unknown civilization. Regardless, it remains one of the most bizarre instances in history – if it ever even happened at all.

This sounds disgusting, and trust us, it is. Around 11:00 am on March 3, 1876, small pieces of gristly meat began raining over Bath County, Kentucky. Some people believed that it was divine intervention. Other people actually tasted it to see what kind of meat it was. Samples of the meat were sent to the Newark Scientific Association, which concluded that it was lung tissue. The people who didn’t blame God attributed the event to vultures, who are prone to vomit their food when escaping from predators. It’s likely that a kettle of vultures got spooked, took flight, and puked partially chewed meat all over the county. But no one really knows for sure.

Found off the west coast of Scotland is the Flannan Isles Lighthouse, which saw a very creepy disappearance in December of 1900. A passing steamer called Archtor noticed that the light wasn’t on, and they reported this to the Northern Lighthouse Board. A relief vessel went to the island and found the three lighthouse keepers missing. They also saw extensive damage indicating that a strong storm had passed through the area. The initial investigation revealed that the men had been swept off the island by a giant swell. This has remained the primary explanation, but the case is still being extensively researched and different theories are continuously put forward.

In 1968, diggers were working in the Chinese city of Changsha when they stumbled upon the tomb of Xin Zhui. She was a noblewoman who died in either 169 or 168 BCE. What makes this find so startling is the remarkable condition of Xin Zhui’s mummy. Her muscles, skin, hair, and organs were very well preserved, and she even had a small amount of blood still inside her veins. Experts believe that the deep underground setting and coffin type ensured the preservation of the body, but some questions still remain. For example, they don’t know why this particular body was so well preserved when not many others have been found under similar circumstances.

If there’s one convincing case of reincarnation, it’s the Pollock sisters. The Pollocks were walking to church when they were struck by a car and killed in May of 1957. Their parents moved on, and Florence Pollock gave birth to identical twin girls seventeen months later. The parents immediately noticed similarities to their deceased daughters, like identical scars and birthmarks. The girls also shared eerily similar personality traits and interests. And despite moving away from the area at nine months old, they both knew their way around when they returned for a visit four years later. Some see this as a genuine case of reincarnation. Others believe that it’s mere coincidence inflated by grieving parents desperate to make connections. What about you?

There’s a very good chance that Amelia Earhart crashed into the ocean. However, no one can make a definitive claim, as nothing has been proven either way. Earhart was an incredibly famous pilot in her day, being the first female to cross the Atlantic and writing numerous books. Earhart was attempting to fly around the globe in 1937 when she disappeared near Howland Island in the Pacific Ocean. Most people believe that she simply ran out of fuel and crashed, but no evidence of her plane has ever been found. Another popular theory suggests that Earhart crashed near or landed on Gardner Island in Kiribati, but again, there’s no hard evidence to suggest this. For now, all we have is speculation.

In 1977, residents of Circleville, Ohio began receiving threatening and harassing anonymous letters. The letters had very distinctive handwriting, and contained accusations of embezzlement, affairs, and even murders. Ron Gillispie died under mysterious circumstances after receiving a phone call and announcing that he was going to confront the writer. His wife was nearly killed by a gun in a booby trap attached to a sign. It turned out that Paul Freshour, Ron’s brother-in-law, bought the gun, and his handwriting was deemed to match the letters. Yet during his time in prison, people in town continued receiving them - even while Freshour was in solitary confinement. If Freshour was the writer, he wasn’t working alone. We’re “writing this off” as an unsolved mystery.

Since 2016, U.S. officials and military personnel have been experiencing strange symptoms. These include pain, ringing in the ears, as well as difficulty with cognitive processes. Named for the location it was initially reported, the embassy in Havana, Cuba, Havana syndrome has since been reported at US bases and embassies in various countries. While some of those suffering from it have existing head injuries that could explain the symptoms, not all of them do. Proposed explanations have included a psychogenic illness, the sound of crickets, or even a microwave weapon. While the CIA has concluded that most cases were probably not caused by a foreign power, two dozen cases remain unexplained. Accidental or targeted, Havana syndrome is yet to be fully understood.

On November 22nd in 1987, the broadcast of two Chicago TV stations was interrupted. Both interruptions featured an unidentified man dressed as the British A.I. character, Max Headroom. The masked man disparaged the local station he was interrupting, made several pop culture references, and got spanked with a flyswatter. The heavily distorted audio, rotating background, and masked man gave the hijackings an eerie, almost David Lynchian feel. The hijackers couldn’t be identified, nor did they come forward after the statute of limitations on their crime expired. These broadcasts seem destined to remain as mystifying as their contents.

Since 2007, residents of Washington, USA and British Columbia, Canada, have found some rather morbid jetsam washed up on their beaches – detached human feet. Most of them were found still inside shoes. Foul play has been ruled out, as most of the identified victims were involved in accidents or took their own lives. It’s been speculated that the feet detached as the bodies decayed, and that the air pockets and buoyant foam in sneakers floated them to the surface. But it still seems extremely odd that there have been so many, and all around the same area.

This is kind of like the Havana Syndrome, only far more widespread and involving people not related to the American government. Reports of a general humming or rumbling noise have been made all across the world, including Windsor, Ontario and Taos, New Mexico, both of which have their own specially-named hums. While this sounds enormously irritating, help has been rare to non-existent. No one knows what’s causing the humming, with different areas reporting their own possible causes. For example, the Windsor Hum reportedly ended in 2020 when the blast furnaces of a local plant were deactivated. Others have blamed the likes of tinnitus, animals, and jet streams.

The medieval period was a scary time, full of misery and poverty. These issues may have led to the dancing plague. The curious mania affected Europe throughout much of this period, spanning from the 14th to 17th centuries. People would take to the streets and dance until they hurt themselves or collapsed from exhaustion. Sometimes good-intentioned musicians would accompany the dancers, believing that their sounds would cure the affliction. It was the best that anyone could do, because no one knew how to treat it. Even to this day, the incident is poorly understood. Some attribute it to the general stress of living in medieval Europe, others to ergot poisoning and religious cults.

Los Angeles, California
The solutions to some crimes that have been investigated for decades, such as the murder of Elizabeth Short, are still just as elusive as they were when they first began. The aspiring actress who became known as the Black Dahlia met her brutal fate in 1947, and since then, authorities haven’t come any closer to finding the killer. Besides the untrue details about Short herself that circulated throughout the media, over 500 people have confessed – some of whom were born after the crime took place. Celebrities and normal people alike have been named as potential perpetrators, with each lead eventually ending in a dead end. Despite the lack of results, many still are interested in finally giving her justice.

No, Tromp! With an “O!” In 2016, Mark and Jacoba Tromp took their three adult children on an impromptu road trip hundreds of miles north, leaving their house unlocked. Mark seemed convinced that people were out to get them and forbade phones. Their son Mitchell brought one anyway, but it was later thrown out the car window. He left, not understanding his parents’ paranoia. Later, the daughters left too, stealing a car before splitting up. One, Riana, was found in a catatonic state. Ultimately, all returned safely, but no explanation has been given specifically for what happened. Whether it was shared psychosis, or someone was out to get the Tromps, the case has fascinated the world ever since.

In 1994, Oakville, Washington experienced perhaps the strangest weather phenomenon of the last few decades – it rained blobs. Strange goo fell from the sky over a period of several weeks, blanketing the town in ooze. What’s even more bizarre is that the residents experienced a widespread illness that lasted for several weeks too. So what could this goo have been? Was it evaporated bits of jellyfish that reformed in a cloud? Or maybe waste from an airplane? The most troubling theory is that the event was a military experiment on U.S. soil. There are a whole mess of theories about this messy, and weird weather.

Despite some very extensive and incredibly expensive efforts, we have found no hard evidence of extraterrestrial life - at least not public evidence. But we do have the “Wow!” signal. It was August 15, 1977, and a telescope at Ohio State University picked up a very bizarre radio wave. The telescope recorded the signal for a solid seventy-two seconds. A few days later, astronomer Jerry Ehman was studying the data when he stumbled across the signal. He circled the series of letters and numbers in red ink and wrote a very enthusiastic “Wow!” beside it. “Wow” is right. To this day, no one knows what caused the signal, and despite significant effort, it has never been found again.

The story of D. B. Cooper has captured our collective imaginations for decades. On November 24, 1971, a man largely known as “D. B. Cooper” hijacked an airplane for the modern equivalent of $1.3 million. The plane landed in Seattle and Cooper allowed the passengers to disembark. He then ordered that the empty aircraft be flown to Mexico City. But shortly after takeoff, Cooper opened the door and jumped out with his parachute. And with that, he disappeared from both the plane and history. Neither the man nor the money have ever been found, but a small portion was discovered on the Columbia River in 1980. It’s likely that Cooper died in the jump, but we just don’t know for sure.

On March 8th, 2014, Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 vanished while flying from Malaysia to China. After a loss of communications and its disappearance from civilian radar, Flight 370 reappeared on military radar, having deviated from its planned flight path. The disappearance has fascinated the public for years and led to several expensive searches. It seemed impossible for an entire airplane to just go missing in an age where everything can be seen by satellites. Although a few pieces have washed ashore, the bulk of the aircraft and the reason for its deviation remain unclear. Speculations have run the gamut from a hijacking, to it being shot down, to some kind of equipment failure.

In 1959, nine Russian hikers were found dead in the Ural Mountains. All were severely injured, several were undressed, and they had cut their way out of their tent from the inside. Some were burned, and others slightly radioactive. Most seemed to have died of hypothermia or their injuries. The case has baffled the public and authorities for over half a century. Theories include an avalanche, an animal attack, or military involvement. The most plausible theory involves the group camping against a heavy snowbank, which collapsed, leading them to assume an avalanche and freezing after they escaped the tent. But, unless there really was outside involvement, only the victims know the truth.



Which unexplainable event do you hope gets solved in your lifetime? Let us know in the comments below.

dum-BARTON https://youtu.be/rzG7rYSVn_0?t=73
[b]pah-RAW-cuss https://youtu.be/CwMsKT6VN5E?si=QC-7Kt2Ar2rNeamz https://forvo.com/search/paracas/
[c]pah-TOM-skee https://translate.google.ca/?sl=ru&tl=en&text=%D0%9F%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BC%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9&op=translate
pah-TOM
[d]https://youtu.be/RhuL_0gyFYc?t=126
[e]see-yung-HOANG https://forvo.com/search/%E0%BA%8A%E0%BA%BD%E0%BA%87%E0%BA%82%E0%BA%A7%E0%BA%B2%E0%BA%87/
[f]https://youtu.be/IMSwILz5cbI?si=poTFNHUDBiAeiilw&t=226