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

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

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

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

Alice Crimmins was made public enemy number one and she paid dearly, but was she innocent? Alice and Eddie via murderpedia.org She was the subject of a hate campaign across America due to a police force’s relentless harassment and theories. During a time of solid morals, Alice Crimmin’s lifestyle and appearance meant she was targeted by the public and the police. She was stuck in a living nightmare, and no one would help her. On the 14th of July 1965, Alice awoke to find her

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

The musician was not the only target on his killer’s list. John Lennon and Yoko Ono via Wikimedia Commons When David Bowie stepped out on stage on the 9th of December 1980, there were three empty seats in the front row. He was performing in The Elephant Man at the Booth Theatre on Broadway and the play was only running for another month. Most celebrities had already been to see him in the title role, but his good friend and collaborator John Lennon and his wife were due to wa