Some mysteries are thousands of years old and others only date back to 1979, but they still offer people many reasons to speculate about their meaning. This invites people to suggest their own explanations for these unsolved mysteries, and if one cannot be proven to be right, people may continue to offer conspiracy theories and inferences alike for these unsolved mysteries for some time to come.
1. Jack the Ripper
The serial killer who committed several murders in the 19th century in the United Kingdom has never been identified. To this day, he is known as “Jack the Ripper.” This killer’s victims tended to be prostitutes who worked in the slums of London. These unfortunate ladies of the night were accosted by their assailant who cut their throats. Some victims even had their internal organs removed.
Of course, it was of the utmost importance for the authorities to determine who the killer was, so they developed a profile of the killer. Because the killer knew how to remove internal organs, people began to believe that Jack the Ripper was a member of the medical profession.
The identity of Jack the Ripper may be discovered one day because so many people continue to look for him. In fact, the study of Jack the Ripper and his identity has inspired so many people that it even has its own name: Ripperology.
2. The Black Dahlia
The oldest unsolved murder in Los Angeles occurred in 1947. Elizabeth Short became known as the “Black Dahlia” after her body was discovered on January 15. Her murderer slashed her body in half at the waste and left it to be found in a lot in the Leimert Park district. At the time the body was found, every ounce of blood had already been drained from it.
The body was also found to have several knife wounds. The perpetrator slashed the victim’s face from ear to ear. The murderer also cut one of the victim’s thighs and both breasts. The point may not have been to just inflict pain on the victim. This perpetrator may have wanted to have a souvenir of this crime because chunks of flesh were removed from the body. Damage to the scalp led to the conclusion that the perpetrator struck Short several times in the head.
As with other sensational murders, several people came forward to claim responsibility for this murder, but it remains unsolved to this day.
3. The Zodiac Killer
A serial killer who attacked his victims in the late 1960s is only known as the “Zodiac Killer.” This serial murderer received this name because of letters he sent to the newspapers, and these letters contained four cryptograms that the murderer intended for the authorities to solve. To this date, they have only been able to successfully solve one of them.
The authorities believe that the Zodiac Killer managed to murder at least five people, but as many as three people are believed to have been abducted by this serial murderer and were able to escape. A sketch of this killer exists because the survivors described the man who accosted them to a sketch artist, but no one has been able to positively identify him. The case is currently open in several counties and cities in northern California.
4. The Bermuda Triangle
Although some people think that something nefarious is going on in the Bermuda Triangle, the United States Navy doesn’t agree. However, this isn’t stopping people from spreading the rumor that this particular area is dangerous for ships and airplanes. The Bermuda triangle is said to stretch from the islands of Bermuda to the island of Puerto Rico to Florida. However, there has never been agreement on the “facts” of these unsolved mysteries.
The Bermuda Triangle became an area of interest when journalists learned that several airplanes and ships were supposedly disappearing from the location. Once a journalist from the Associated Press wrote an article about this supposed phenomenon, more people began to sensationalize it for the public in several magazines and books afterward.
The interesting element in the legend of the Bermuda Triangle is the fact that people have suggested that airplanes and ships disappear due to extraterrestrial visits or even paranormal activity. Most disappearances that have occurred in this area are believed to be exaggerated, but there are people who remain that can’t say for sure that this is the case.
5. Stonehenge
Stonehenge is an unsolved mystery located in the United Kingdom. This area is significant for archeologists who have used modern dating techniques to determine that the stones could have been erected between 3000 B.C. and 2000 B.C. as a burial site. Human remains that possibly date back to 3000 B.C. have been discovered at Stonehenge, and it is believed to have been a place where many bodies were cremated.
Although Stonehenge is believed to be a burial site, scientists also think that its use evolved over the many thousands of years that it has been in existence. However, it hasn’t been an easy task to discover the full purpose of Stonehenge because of glacial and animal activity and the inability of early archeologists to properly record the facts. This leads to disagreement, and this means that Stonehenge is set up to be a true unsolved mystery.
6. The Georgia Guidestones
The United States has its own Stonehenge that is an unsolved mystery to people in Georgia. The Georgia Guidestones are not quite as old as Stonehenge; the Georgia Guidestones appeared in 1979, but they still remain a mystery. After all, people don’t exactly know who designed the stone. One person claims to be the architect, but this name is known to be a pseudonym. The name R.C. Christian has been identified as the designer of the Georgia Guidestones.
People aren’t sure whether R.C. Christian is one person or a group of people, so conspiracy theorists had a modern mystery that they could try to explain and distribute to the public. One such theory suggests that the Georgia Guidestones are related to the New World Order. Another conspiracy has been put forth by Alex Jones who believes that the guidelines were written by Rosicrucians who believe that humans are a “cancer” on the earth.
The stones have ten guidelines written in eight modern languages, but they also contain messages in four ancient languages. Just one of the guidelines recommends that the human population of the earth be reduced to less than 500 million. Even though some people have tried to offer an explanation, no one can say for sure what the Georgia Guidestones mean or who the intended recipients of these messages are.
7. The Loch Ness Monster
No one has been able to definitively state that the Loch Ness Monster exists even though people have been searching for it since 1933. One explanation is that the Loch Ness Monster is a descendant of the dinosaurs, but scientists largely refute this tale. This hasn’t stopped several people from photographing what they believe is the monster, but these images tend to be blurry and inconclusive.
Scientists who have studied these photographs suggest a logical explanation for the images. For example, one scientist declared that the first popularized picture from 1933 was of a swimming dog. Gordon Holmes managed to take a video of the monster in 2007, and marine biologist Adrian Shine stated that the video is the best film representation of the monster in existence. However, Adrian Shine of the Loch Ness 2000 Centre is not willing to say that the image is actually a monster. He stated in an interview that it may be an otter or even some sort of bird.
Because the photographic evidence can lead to so much doubt, this mystery may remain unsolved for years to come.
8. Extraterrestrial Beings
All over the world, people claim to have been abducted by extraterrestrial beings. The photographs tend to look alike whether the person describing the being is living in Russia or in Mexico. Some people also believe that there is physical evidence that proves the existence of these creatures with one of the most popular incidents being a crash that occurred on July 7, 1947 near Roswell, New Mexico. Popular belief is that the spaceship that crashed was an extraterrestrial rocket ship that had extraterrestrial beings inside.
As is common with unsolved mysteries, people began to offer their conspiracy theories that can explain this occurrence. However, one theory is that the belief that aliens have come to visit is a psychological phenomenon. People who are more likely to believe that they have been abducted by aliens are those who tend to receive high scores on psychological personality tests that measure magical ideation.
Those who believe that they have been abducted are fervent in that belief, and they can’t easily be convinced that extraterrestrial beings don’t exist. This may mean that the existence of extraterrestrial beings is just one more unsolved mystery that will remain so for many years into the future.