In 1973, The Exorcist opened in cinemas. The highest-grossing film of its time, the horror movie was believed to be cursed and had problems from the beginning, including a serial killer on their payroll. The Exorcist Premiere at Leicester Square, London via StartsWednesday The set built to film the house scenes burned down when a bird flew into a fuse box, causing production issues and setting filming back significantly. Vasiliki Maliaros, who starred as Father Karra’s mother

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

Robert Hansen hunted his victims and crossed them off on a map. When the police walked into Cindy Paulson’s motel room at Big Timber, she was shaking and hysterical, trying to remove the handcuffs digging into her wrists. She’d survived an attack by a man who had paid her for sex and instead abducted her, tied her up in his home, and would have eventually killed her if she hadn’t escaped. Cindy’s quick thinking and luck helped her get away from her captor, but there were many

Would you protect the people sent to harm you? Most have heard of Stockholm Syndrome. It’s a phrase bandied around and has even been used as song titles, but what is it, and where did it begin? Snipers and police via Nobis Hotel On the 23rd of August 1973, Jan-Erik Olsson fired a submachine gun at the ceiling of Sveriges Kreditbanken and announced, “The party has just begun!” A bank employee triggered a silent alarm, and a policeman responded, but Jan shot him in the hand, a

For the McCann family, the newest search isn’t about publicity, it’s about keeping someone locked up.

The murderer has evaded capture for 45 years, but he’s next on the wishlist for DNA testing. Photo by Saksham Gangwar on Unsplash In the early to mid-seventies, homophobia was rampant in San Francisco. Only the year before these murders began, homosexuality had just been declassified as a ‘disorder’ by the American Psychiatric Association. According to politician Harvey Milk, 20 to 25 per cent of the 85,000 gay men in San Francisco were closeted about their sexuality. It was

Was Keith Raniere a murderer as well as a tax evader and child rapist? Entrepreneur, self-help guru and cult leader Keith Raniere was sentenced to 120 years in prison in October 2020. The charges against him included racketeering, attempted sex trafficking, wire fraud, forced labour and possession of child pornography. He was also fined $1.75million. The media reports that Raniere held sex slaves in single rooms for years, and the cult he led branded people with cauterising i

He'd already picked out another two victims. Days after Johnny Altinger had disappeared, his friends decided to break into his home. Police had refused to help them as he was an adult, but they knew their friend hadn't gone on holiday; he was missing. On Friday the 10th of October 2008, Johnny was getting ready to meet a woman he'd been chatting to on the dating website Plenty of Fish. They were getting on well, and the 38-year-old had told his friends about the plans he'd ma

Griffith Park's extensive parklands and diverse landscapes make it a popular choice for portraying jungle brush, desert scenes, and summer camps in TV and film productions. However, its vast size and rugged terrain also make it an ideal location for disposing of bodies, suicides, and accidental deaths. Photo by De’Andre Bush on Unsplash The park, which sits on the eastern edge of the Santa Monica mountains, is one of the largest urban parks in North America, with attractions

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

Socialite Mimi Boomhower disappeared with seemingly no trace at all, but why? And who had the motive to get rid of her?

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

Halloween is a night of scares and sweet treats but under the cloak of a mask, it’s also the perfect cover for a crime. Cindy Song via The Charley Project Cindy Song was born in South Korea as Hyun Jong Song. In the mid-nineties, Cindy moved to Virginia, to live with her aunt and uncle to attend school in America. She was accepted into Pennsylvania State University after high school, where she majored in integrative arts, a course that combined engineering, communications and

The 8-year-old’s murder changed England’s laws. Sarah Payne via bbc.co.uk Playing hide and seek with her brothers and sister in a cornfield, Sarah crawled through a gap in the tall harvest and onto the road adjacent to the field. She was heading back to her grandparents’ home because she’d received a knock on the head, but while walking down the road, she was abducted by a man in a white van. What came next was England’s worst child murder at the time. Eight-year-old Sarah g

Homophobia hindered the investigation, but Jaap Bornkamp’s death helped change gay rights rules. 52-year-old Jacob Bornkamp, known as Jaap, was precisely where he wanted to be in life. The Dutch native was creating stunning flower displays for the Royal Family and nobility, and he was in a relationship with the man he loved. “He once picked us up at the airport wearing snake leather boots, camo trousers and a big white fur coat. Jaap was not your regular florist.” — Hilgert B

The mystery of JonBenet Ramsey's death may never be solved, and there's good reason.

The celebrity publicist was shot in her car on the way home from a party. On the 10th November 2010, Ronni Chasen was driving home from the premiere of Burlesque at the W Hollywood hotel when she was shot through the front passenger window. Ten years later, the truth is still unclear as to why this successful publicist was murdered. Born Veronica Cohen in 1946, Ronni Chasen was a high-profile publicist who lived in Los Angeles, California. Brought up on the other side of the

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...

Harvey Glatman was a serial killer who murdered three women and disposed of their bodies but not before taking photographs of their suffering. Harvey Glatman was born on the 10th of October 1927 in the Bronx, New York. An awkward child, Glatman excelled at school and had a high IQ. He enjoyed the arts and had a passion for photography growing up. Harvey Glatman via Murderpedia When he was a toddler, his family moved to Denver, Colorado, where his mother had family. He attende