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Scorpion carrying the babies on her back.

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Guillotine Earrings from the French Revolution commemorating the execution of King Louis XVI.

This particular set from 1793 depict the Phrygian cap- a symbol of liberty on top, and crowned, decapitated heads of the King and Queen dangling below. 16 594 executions took place between 1793 and 1794 with the guillotine being the emblem of the Reign of Terror during The French Revolution.

Read more here

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In Mexico City two strange alien bodies were presented to the public after being discovered around 2017 in Peru. After scientific analysis it was determined that the bodies are about 1000 years old and are not related to any known Earthly species. However, further investigation by forensic experts determined that they were instead made of paper, glue, metal, human and animal bones. Maybe they had to walk back this discovery for a reason? Or maybe they needed to come up with a distraction to hide the real alien bodies? The truth is out there…

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The Hampton Court Ghost refers to a figure seen on CCTV footage near the Hampton Court Palace in October 2003. A strange presence had started being reported by employees and visitors in early 2001 until this "apparition" appeared in court robes opening the door to the building. What is so unexplainable about the images is that the humanoid being doesn't appear to have a face.

Do you believe in ghosts?

read about it here

full video on youtube here

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The death of Princess Diana

Diana Princess of Wales was born on July 1 st , 1961. She was only 16 when she met Prince Charles for the first time but did not marry him until she was 20 years old and he was 32 years old. Prior to the engagement with Diana, Charles was seeing Camilla but she did not have noble blood and did not meet the approval by the Queen and he was strongly encouraged to break things off. Diana and Charles had two children together, Prince William and Prince Harry but their relationship was wrought with drama since Prince Charles continued an affair with Camilla and potentially others and Princess Diana also had her share of affairs. In August 1996, the couple officially divorced but she was able to keep her royal privileges. Known as “the people’s Princess” she was heavily engaged in charitable work especially a campaign raising international awareness about landmines and the damage caused by them. She eventually began a relationship with Dodi Fayed, an Egyptian film producer and the eldest son of businessman, Mohamed Al-Fayed. The day before her death she had indicated to the paparazzi that she had big news to share the following day, however she became big news the following day.

After midnight on August 31 st , 1997 Princess Diana was in a car accident in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris, France with her partner Dodi Fayed and the driver, Henri Paul. While the other passengers were killed in the crash, Diana died later from her injuries. At 12:20am, they left the Ritz and were chased by paparazzi, 3 minutes later they were in an accident. French emergency services arrived at 1:20am and 18 minutes later Diana went into cardiac arrest. After stabilizing her, they needed to request approval to take her to the hospital and when they eventually left, the ambulance drove slowly. Nearly two hours after the accident Diana passed away, however there are different accounts about the cause of death, whether she passed in the ambulance or the hospital, and the time of death. There are a number of theories that make her death especially suspicious:

Theory 1: This was a freak accident: the driver had a blood alcohol level more than 3x the legal limit, he was driving too fast, and Diana and Dodi were not wearing seatbelts.

Theory 2: This was a hit ordered by the royal family and committed by MI6: the big news was apparently that Diana and Dodi were engaged and that she was also pregnant with his child which was information retrieved by a phone leak. MI6, the spy organization was called in to stage the incident to make it look like a car accident. Diana was paranoid that Prince Charles would “cut her car brakes” or MI6 could use technology such as strobe lights to disorient the driver. MI6 could have interfered at any stage of the night, for example Henri Paul was off duty that night and was not the driver and the delay in French emergency response teams taking her to the hospital.

Theory 3: This was a hit ordered by stakeholders affected by the advocacy work that Diana was doing on bringing awareness to landmines.

Theory 4: Diana chose to disappear out of the public eye.

Theory 5: The hit had nothing to do with her and instead the hit was intended for Dodi Fayed and she was just collateral damage. Dodi and his father also had their fair share of enemies that could have wanted them dead.

What do you think happened?

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In Iran along the Red Coast there exists a place known as "Blood Beach". The shore has a high iron concentration and sea waves are also coloured red, creating the effect that the beach is bleeding.

read about it here

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The World’s Record black sea bass caught by Edward Llewellen. It weighed 425 lbs. He brought it in alone in 1903. This record fish was surpassed in 1968 by a 563-pound giant sea bass caught by James McAdam, Jr.

read about it here

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The Blade Table: victims must place their hands in a compartment that saws their hands lengthwise. They must fill a 10 pint jar in 15 minutes in order to stop the bombs from exploding the room.

The Bathroom Trap: The victim must use a flimsy saw to cut off their foot, in order to be released from their shackles.

The Horsepower Trap: The victim is glued to the driver's seat of a car, and must rip his skin off, to pull a lever in front of him. This must be done in 30 seconds in order to save himself, and his friends, who are under the car.

The Pendulum Trap: Pulling inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe, the victim will be split in half, via a pendulum, unless he crushes his hands.

The Angel Trap: The victim must reach her hand in acid to retrieve a key. She is locked to a device that will pull her rib cage from her body. She only has a minute, and the key will dissolve even faster than that.

The Classroom Trap: The victim has to free himself from chains in order to escape a classroom that is about to explode. The chains must be ripped from their spots in the lower jaw, shoulders, arms, hands, obliques, legs, and Achilles tendons. That's a total of 13 chains!

Inspo for the post found here

What’s your favourite saw trap? 

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Artist of the Week!!! 

Do you like creepy things? Do you like homemade goodies and toys? Dirty Dolls is the store for you!! We love supporting small businesses and Dirty Dolls combines childhood favourite characters with Tim Burton-esque creepy designs. Browse their selection of handmade products like dolls, purses, buttons, mugs, clothing etc. to find your favourite styles! Also check out their instagram and show their designs some love. 

follow them here 

shop here

Are you an artist or do you know an artist that wants to be featured on our artist of the week posts? Our definition of art does not limit itself to drawings and paintings, we welcome film makers, designers, doll makers, fashion enthusiasts, makeup enthusiast etc. Submit to our blog or DM us on Instagram @giftshopofcuriosities to spread the spooky around. 

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The Hinterkaifeck Murders

In 1922 in a rural town of Hinterkaifeck, Bavaria, Germany, a family of five was brutally murdered after killers his in their home for weeks, learning their movements and picking the best moment to kill. 

The story begins six months prior, when the maid quit because she believed the family’s house was haunted, frequently hearing footsteps coming from the attic. When she quit and a new maid was brought in, the new maid reportedly saw footprints leading from the woods to the house as well as a strange newspaper that appeared at random. Someone had also tried to break into the tool shed, but no one paid attention. 

On March 6th, 1922, each family member, was lured into the barn where they were killed one by one with a mattock. The maid and the two year old child’s body were found in their bedrooms of the house. The bodies were discovered a week later, and the crime was never solved. During the weekend of the murders the neighbours reported that someone fed the cows and let the dog out, and smoke was seen rising from the chimney. 

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The Zodiac killer struck fear throughout the Vallejo, California community through 1968 and 1969 after several killings of couples in secluded areas. Panic further increased when multiple newspapers received letters from the self-proclaimed Zodiac killer boasting about the crimes and included several ciphers and cryptic clues for the police to sort out. The Zodiac killer was never caught despite seven confirmed victims, but the police had one serious suspect who was excluded by his DNA following his death. Recently, a software engineer, a mathematician, and a warehouse operator have finally cracked cipher Z-340 that has eluded San Francisco police and FBI for 51 years!

This case remains unsolved.

More info 

More info

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Cropsey is an Urban Legend stemming out of New York. He seemingly had a hook for a hand and was a patient at the Willowbrook State School. Legend has it that he would come out late at night and chase the local kids with his hook hand, abducting them through the sanatorium tunnels. The reason why this legend is so popular is that there was actually a series of child murders that took place in that area in the 70′s and 80′s. 

To parents horror, Andre Rand was the real life boogeyman. Working as a janitor for the Willowbrook State School for many years before the school finally closed its doors due to horrendous conditions, the now former janitor was arrested in connection with the disappearance of Jennifer Schweiger, a 12- year-old girl with Down Syndrome. Police suspect he is also responsible for the disappearance of at least four other children, however none of the bodies have been found. He is currently serving a 50 year jail sentence and will not be eligible for parole until 2037 when he will be 93 years old. 

Source

Watch the Documentary 

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Aristolochia Salvadorensis otherwise knows as the Darth Vadar flower for its uncanny resemblance to the Star Wars character. 

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Nara Dreamland, Japan’s attempt to mirror Disneyland abandoned in 2006. Here are some eerie pictures of the park before demolition in 2016. 

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Cebrennus rechenbergi, found mostly in the Sand Dunes of Morocco uses this gymnastics trick to escape from threatening situations, cartwheeling its way out of danger. 

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The Strange Case of the Minnesota Iceman. 

Discovered in the late 60′s, zoologist Bernard Heuvelmans and biologist Ivan Sanderson discover a hairy corpse believed to be a huminoid neanderthal who is thought to be the bridge species between man and ape. Frozen in a block of ice, this creature was used in side-show events being displayed in shopping malls, carnivals and state fairs. Cryptozoologists believe the ice man to be a descendant of the yeti or big foot, however scientists believe it to be a hoax. In 2013 the “original” Minnesota Iceman was sold on eBay and is still currently on display in the Museum of the Weird in Austin, Texas, although this has also been refuted as the original was said to have been switched out with a latex model at some point during the original examination. The mystery of the Minnesota Iceman remains clouded with uncertainty and lack of evidence. 

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Robert the doll is a 116 year old haunted doll that is allegedly responsible for all sorts of mishaps including car accidents, broken bones, job loss and divorce to name a few. 

Otto, the owner of the doll started blaming mishaps on the doll and years after his death, the next owners claimed to hear giggling from random places in the house as well as footsteps and witness Robert’s expression change when someone would badmouth Otto in his presence. 

The doll has since been displayed at East Martello Museum in Key West, Florida and receives up to three letters a day of apologies mostly. Many visitors attribute post-visit misfortunes to failing to respect the doll and they write him begging for forgiveness. Others ask for advice and some even ask him to hex those that have wronged them.