Alcatraz Island via Wikipedia Located in the San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz Island was initially explored by Juan Manuel de Ayala in 1775, a Spaniard, who named the island Isla de los Alcatraces, meaning ‘island of the pelicans’. In the 1850s, the U.S army built a fortress to protect the San Franciscans from war, but it was never used and instead became a military prison. Finally, in 1909, the fortress was pulled down, and the new jail was built was by prisoners from the militar

In an era when doors were left unlocked, and communities were deemed safe places, Richard Chase was the most terrifying of prospects. Born on the 23rd of May 1950 in Sacramento, California, Richard Chase had an abusive childhood. His parents were disciplinarians, and Chase’s father often beat him and his younger sister. By ten years old, Chase was showing signs of the Macdonald triad; arson, cruelty to animals and bed-wetting, which is known to lead to violence in adulthood.

Many infamous criminals have spent time in the red brick building. Broadmoor Hospital via The Sun Broadmoor Hospital is the oldest high-security facility in the UK. Originally named the Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, it was built for men and women in 1863. However, contrary to popular belief, the facility isn’t a prison, and the daily operations are very different. Instead, sessions are based around therapy rather than the usual prison practises, such as job roles. This i

The Flying Squad took on some of the worst criminals in British history, but their most notable conquest was an infamous diamond heist. In October 1919, Detective Chief Inspector Frederick Wensley called 12 detectives to his office in Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police in London. He told them that their task was to combat violent criminals currently occupying the London boroughs through surveillance and capture. They would be known as the Flying Squad.

For four months, he shackled, tortured and raped six women in the basement of his Philadelphia home. To outsiders, Gary Heidnik was the founder of the United Church of the Ministers of God and a cunning investor, but to the women in the hole under his house, he was a murderer and a cannibal. The house via allthatsinteresting.com Heidnik was born on the 22nd November 1943 and was raised in Eastlake outside of Cleveland, Ohio. His parents divorced when he was still a baby, and

Hazel Drew’s death remains unsolved, unlike her on-screen counterpart. In the summer of 1908, the resort town of Sand Lake in Rensselaer County, New York was busy. The usual population of around 2,000 made way for holidaymakers and the July temperature was climbing. However, the visiting families would soon be joined by reporters and investigators, when the body of a woman turned up in Teal’s Pond. Hazel Drew via Times Union courtesy of Bob Moore, Sand Lake Historian Twenty-y

John Haigh's methods for his victim's disposal are the stuff of nightmares. However, there's always evidence left behind. Born into an average family, John George Haigh moved from Lincolnshire to West Riding of Yorkshire when he was younger. The boy was a fan of classical music and played the piano, which won him a scholarship to Queen Elizabeth Grammar School and Wakefield Cathedral. Haigh had an odd sense of humour and was bullied at school. A lover of strange pranks, he'd

The islanders locked their doors, but nothing could stop the bogeyman from entering their homes, and no one would forget his mask. Jersey lighthouse via Britannica.com Famous for its woollen trade and cows, Jersey is smaller than the Greater London region. At only nine miles wide by five miles long, the tiny island is part of the sovereign state of the United Kingdom that sits in the Channel between England and France. Its population in the 1950s was just over 30,000 inhabit

A journalist was able to buy a dead man’s spine for $300, so where are your remains really going when you die? Photo by Rory Waldegrave on Unsplash In the primarily unregulated industry of body brokering, thousands of bodies are being donated to companies under the deception that they’re going to be used to further science. However, many loved one’s remains are being used for something far more sinister. When Megan Hess and Shirley Koch were arrested for mail fraud and trans

Dorothy Arnold vanished while shopping on Fifth Avenue, triggering a manhunt that continues to this day. Dorothy Arnold via Wikimedia Commons Born in 1885 to a wealthy goods importer, Dorothy was one of Mary and Francis’ four children. The Arnolds were considered high society and socialised with New York royalty, including the Rockefellers. Dorothy was a writer but had found it near impossible to be published in credible magazines. Her family made fun of her failure, and inst

On the 8th of April 1954, the discovery of a young woman’s body shocked the community of Boulder, Colorado. Found eight miles west of the...

During the reign of King Louis XIV of France, a mysterious man was incarcerated in several prisons throughout France and Italy. With scant historical information, the legend of the Man in the Iron Mask would be questioned over the centuries to come. Man in the Iron Mask depiction via RadioTimes.com In July 1669, the Marquis de Louvois sent a letter to Bénigne Dauvergne de Saint-Mars, the governor of Pignerol prison, located in Piedmont at the foot of the Alps. The letter stat

Maureen Brubaker Farley’s murderer has been identified after 50 years of hiding in plain sight. The autumn season hadn’t yet hit Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and teenagers Kevin Coppess and Danny Lineweaver had one thing on their minds; they wanted to hunt. They’d taken their guns down to the woods and come across a woman asleep on top of a car in the ravine just off Ely Road. They didn’t want to disturb her, so they slung their rifles over their shoulders and continued on their way,

Dubbed “the year of fear”, '74 saw the birth of numerous serial killers, but why did this happen, and why this specific year? Photo by David East on Unsplash John Wayne Gacy (Killer Clown) was already two deep, and Ted Bundy, Dennis Rader (BTK), Coral Watts (The Sunday Morning Slasher), and Paul Knowles (The Casanova Killer) had all started their new vocations this year. As a decade, there were over 450 active serial killers in the US alone and compared to the 67 active seria

One is strange, but three is bizarre. Brighton Station In East Sussex, England, Brighton has always been known as the home for dirty weekends away for Londoners and a city of unscrupulous crime. It’s boujee, yet full of culture and home to a community of people you won’t find anywhere else in the country. Perhaps it’s then unsurprising that many bodies have turned up in the seaside resort over the years. However, three torsos in trunks is a slightly more unusual occurrence. P

With natural charisma, Neville Heath could charm most into bed, but they didn’t always leave alive. Born in Ilford Essex on the 6th of June 1917, Neville Heath was an attractive young man who charmed everyone he met. In 1937 at the age of twenty, he decided he wanted to join the army and enrolled as a pilot. Neville Heath via mirror.co.uk Heath came from a lower-middle-class family but always had issues with petty crime. While in the army, he stole money from the mess room an

The real story behind Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood”. In April last year, the home with a dark history went back on the market. What was once home to the Clutter family was said to fetch between $150,000 and $200,000 in price. The seemingly regular farmhouse continues to attract visitors six decades later to see the place where four people were viciously murdered. Its former owners even charged $5 per visitor and created a flourishing operation before it was closed down due

April Tinsley was abducted and murdered but her case went cold. Three decades later, justice was served. April Tinsley via Wikipedia Easter 1988 in Fort Wayne, Indiana was stormy and wet weather was forecast over the weekend. 8-year-old April Tinsley was playing outside with her friends when spots of rain began to fall. She’d left her umbrella at her friend’s house, just around the corner from her own home, and hurried to collect it before the rain got worse. Her friends cont

His friends tried to kill him eight times for insurance money. Photo by Mark Asthoff on Unsplash In the 1930s, New York was already flattened by the Great Depression. People across the city had lost their jobs and homes, and the financial structure of New York bared no resemblance to its former position in the world market. It was a desperate era, where many tried to earn money however they could. Michael Malloy had moved to New York in the 1920s. The former firefighter was b

Julie Ann Hanson was just 15 years old when she was killed while riding her brother’s bike. Julie Ann Hanson via Naperville Police Department The 1970s were a simpler time. Then, doors were left unlocked, people knew their neighbours, and latch-key kids were typical. Julie and her siblings were no different. The teenager was desperate to attend the local baseball game in Naperville, so she borrowed her brother’s bicycle and left for the pitch. Julie never returned home from t