Terrible, Disturbing, And Creepy Things I Learned This Month

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A hot-air balloon carrying 21 people crashed near Praia Grande, Brazil, on June 21, 2025, after catching fire mid-air just minutes into the flight. The pilot attempted an emergency descent and told passengers to jump; 13 survived with injuries, but 8 died — some from burns, others from the fall.
Authorities believe a backup burner may have ignited accidentally, possibly worsened by strong winds. This is Brazil's deadliest balloon crash on record, prompting national mourning and an ongoing investigation.
You can see footage of the disaster here.
Recently, actor Mariska Hargitay revealed (in her new HBO documentary My Mom Jayne) that she was accidentally left behind at the scene of the 1967 car crash that famously killed her mother, Jayne Mansfield, when she was just 3 years old. After her siblings were pulled to safety, the rescuers did not realize Mariska was trapped inside the car until her brother, Zoltan, asked after her. The rescuers returned to the crash and found little Mariska trapped under the passenger seat, having suffered a head injury.
Although Mariska says she has no memory of the crash, she still has a scar on her head from the tragic event.
On June 12, 2025, an Air India Flight carrying 242 people — 230 passengers and 12 crew members — crashed into a medical college hostel shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. At least 270 people were killed (including those on the flight and on the ground), making it one of India's worst aviation disasters in history. Investigations suggest a possible dual-engine failure was the cause. Miraculously, though, there was actually one survivor...
...Viswashkumar Ramesh, the sole survivor of the Air India crash, had been seated in seat 11A, an emergency exit seat. The part of the plane where he was sitting had landed near the ground (and was not crushed against the building). Ramesh told reporters that after the crash, he saw an opening and was able to unbuckle himself and get out before being engulfed in fire. Ramesh sustained burn injuries on his left hand, but was able to actually walk away from the crash, in shock, before he was assisted by locals and taken to a hospital.
Ramesh's brother, who had also been on the flight but in a different row, sadly, was one of the many other passengers who died.
On August 11, 2018, at 3:28 a.m., the Pueblo Police Department in Colorado received a spooky "abandoned 911" call traced to a funeral home and cemetery. When dispatchers returned the call, the line was answered but remained silent, emitting only static. Officers were dispatched to the location, finding the funeral home locked and dark, with no signs of activity.
Authorities speculated that the incident was likely due to a technical issue with the phone line, though the unusual circumstances led to some local intrigue and speculation about paranormal activity.
In February 2022, a woman in Green Bay, Wisconsin named Taylor Schabusiness gruesomely murdered, dismembered, and sexually abused the corpse of her lover, Shad Thyrion. Taylor had strangled Shad to death during a meth-fueled tryst in the basement of Shad's mother's home. Later, Shad's mother would find his severed head in a bucket in the basement. Taylor told investigators that she had "severed his head and penis with kitchen knives."
During her hearing in 2023, Taylor actually attacked her attorney. And, in 2025, she attacked her second attorney during a preliminary hearing on charges of assault against a sergeant at her correctional institution. Taylor was convicted and sentenced to life without parole for the 2022 murder of Shad Thyrion.
On July 6, 1978, a deadly fire broke out on a sleeping-car train near Taunton, England, after a bag of linens was placed against a heater. Twelve passengers died — mostly from carbon monoxide poisoning while they slept — and several others were injured. Rescue efforts were hindered by locked doors and sealed windows.
The tragedy led to major safety reforms on British trains, including fire-resistant materials, emergency exits, and improved fire detection systems.
The mysterious disappearance of Tammy Lynn Leppert, an 18-year-old model and actor, with roles in films like Scarface (1983), who vanished on July 6, 1983, after being dropped off at a parking lot in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Before going missing, Leppert had displayed signs of intense paranoia, claiming she had witnessed something disturbing at a party.
Despite numerous theories — including foul play and possible links to serial killers — no trace of her has ever been found. Her case remains one of Florida's most mysterious unsolved disappearances.
On July 6, 1944, a fire broke out during a Ringling Bros. circus performance in Hartford, Connecticut, killing at least 167 people and injuring over 700 — most of them women and children. The blaze spread rapidly because the big top tent was waterproofed with a flammable mix of paraffin and gasoline. Panic and blocked exits made the tragedy even worse.
The disaster led to major fire safety reforms and remains one of the deadliest events in circus history in the US.
In April 2019, a five-year-old, Landen Hoffmann, was thrown from a third-floor balcony at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. The perpetrator, Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda, told police he was "looking for someone to kill" due to anger over rejection by women. Landen suffered severe injuries, including skull and facial fractures, broken arms and legs, and brain damage. He underwent over a dozen surgeries and spent four months in intensive care. His recovery took more than three years.
In a more positive conclusion to the story, Landen is now reportedly healthy and happy, with no memory of the incident.
A 14-year-old boy from Greenville, South Carolina, Will Hand, died suddenly from a rare bacterial infection called meningococcal septicemia on June 8, 2025. The infection, caused by the bacteria Neisseria meningitidis, entered his bloodstream and led to a rapid decline. Will died just a few days after symptoms appeared.
Speaking with Fox Carolina, Prisma Health Pediatric Infectious Disease Dr. Anna-Kathryn Burch said, "This illness is spread through saliva and respiratory secretions. It can spread when people come into close contact with an infectious person or share items."
Recently, Erick Escamilla, a 27-year-old transient man, was arrested for the April 2025 murder of an older man in the Valley Village neighborhood of Los Angeles. Escamilla allegedly broke into an apartment through a skylight and murdered the 53-year-old resident with a screwdriver during a burglary, before fleeing the scene. In a shocking twist, Escamilla was subsequently tied to and charged with the 2022 killing of an 81-year‑old woman in Woodland Hills, where she was stabbed during a home invasion and her home was set on fire, as well as with the attempted murder of a man stabbed during a home invasion in San Fernando that same year.
A 19-year-old in Arizona, Renna O'Rourke, died on June 1, 2025, after attempting a TikTok challenge called 'dusting' (or 'chroming'). The challenge involves sniffing computer duster spray to get high. O'Rourke suffered cardiac arrest and spent four days in the ICU. She was eventually pronounced brain dead due to 'sudden sniffing death syndrome."
In August 2004, a 12-year-old Boy Scout named Garrett Bardsley disappeared while walking just a short distance — roughly 150 to 250 feet — near Cuberant Lake in Utah. Garrett had been on an early morning fishing trip with his father when his feet and clothes got wet. He headed back alone to their campsite to change, but he never showed up. His father noticed him missing roughly 15–20 minutes later and then immediately raised the alarm.
Despite extensive searches with hundreds of volunteers, no trace of Garrett was ever found. His disappearance remains a mystery, though most believe it was likely an accident. In his memory, his family founded the Garrett Bardsley Foundation to support search and rescue efforts and humanitarian causes.
On Easter Sunday, 2015, a woman named Victoria Cilliers went for a routine skydive at Netheravon Airfield in England. Horrifyingly, both her main and reserve parachutes failed to deploy, causing her to fall roughly 4,000 feet. Remarkably, she actually survived the fall, though she sustained serious injuries. Investigations later revealed that her husband, Emile, had tampered with both parachutes, deliberately causing the malfunctions.
In a wild twist, it was discovered that this parachuting incident was actually the second attempt on her life within a week. Earlier, Emile had intentionally caused a gas leak at their home by loosening a gas valve fitting in a kitchen cupboard.
Emile Cilliers was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder. In May 2018, he was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 18 years.
On June 4, 2025, a 15-year-old boy tragically died after being pinned between two vehicles in the parking lot of a prestigious private school, Campbell Hall, in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles. The incident occurred during school pickup time when a Rivian SUV rear-ended another SUV, striking the boy who was walking between the vehicles. He was transported to a local hospital where he later died from his injuries.
Five others, including another teen and three adults, sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The Los Angeles Police Department has determined the incident to be an accident, and no citations will be issued.
In May 2025, a 13‑year‑old girl in Russia, Anastasia Ryzhenko, was fatally injured during a PE class when a classmate, unsupervised at the time, threw a javelin that struck her directly in the eye. The young girl fell into a coma and died four days later, just shy of her 14th birthday. A criminal investigation is underway focusing on apparent negligence by the coach and lack of proper safety procedures.
Finally, in 2017, a woman, only known as Yueyue, in China died after her husband "forced" her to have four abortions in a year because he wanted a son. Despite already having a daughter, he demanded gender-specific ultrasounds and pressured her to terminate each pregnancy when the fetus showed as female. This practice is illegal in China, but apparently, unlicensed practitioners often provide such services. The repeated procedures, of course, seriously harmed her health and left her bedridden. Her husband filed for divorce, and she used the settlement money to seek medical treatment in Shanghai, where she later died.
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