5 Creepy, Dark, And Messed-Up Things I Learned This Week
Here's what the newsletter is covering this week:
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1.The 1987 sleepwalking murder case of Kenneth Parks in Toronto, Canada.
One night, ALL while sleepwalking, Parks got out of bed and drove almost 15 miles from his home, where he killed his mother-in-law, then attempted to kill his father-in-law.
Parks, who said he was unconscious through the whole ordeal, had entered his in-laws' home with a key he'd been given in the past. He bludgeoned his mother-in-law to death with a tire iron, then attempted to choke his father-in-law to death, who miraculously survived the attack.
In an extra surprising twist, Parks then drove straight to a police station (still covered in blood), and told the cops, 'I think I have just killed two people.' Parks would even go on to say he was fast asleep when he surrendered. A year later, he was acquitted of murder and attempted murder using a rare legal defense known as 'non-insane automatism,' supported by evidence of parasomnia (a sleep disorder).
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2.The existence of Heritage USA, a massive Christian theme park and resort complex in Fort Mill, South Carolina, that was built in 1978 by televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker.
At its peak, Heritage USA drew 5–6 million visitors annually, billing itself as the third most-visited park in the US and being called a "Christian Disneyland." It closed in 1989 after a major financial scandal, the loss of its tax-exempt status, and damage from Hurricane Hugo. Today, some structures remain, with parts repurposed by a church ministry, but nearly everyone who's seen it since says its abandoned state and sketchy history make it very creepy.
Above is "Praise the Lord" board chairman Rev. Jerry Falwell sliding down the 52-foot water slide at Heritage USA.
And here's what one Buzzfeed Community member had to say about their IRL experience with the eerie theme park: 'In the mid-'80s, my brother returned to school as a journalism major at the University of South Carolina. One of his assignments was to write a story about the newly opened theme park. So, one weekend, off he went. He later told me that the whole time he was there, he felt like he had to keep looking over his shoulder because he felt like a couple of guys were going to come up behind him, grab him, and say, 'You don't belong here.' Wish he was still here to tell the story himself.'
—Anonymous
3.The horrible case of Genie, a 13-year-old feral child who was discovered in Arcadia, California, in 1970 after years of horrific abuse.
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Genie (which was a pseudonym) was discovered after being brutally isolated and starved, strapped either to a potty chair or a crib, and forbidden to speak by her abusive father for almost her entire life. Her treatment had been so bad, it resulted in severe physical and linguistic deprivation.
She was subsequently placed under intensive study and gained some vocabulary and basic communication skills, but failed to acquire normal grammar.
Genie's case became known as one of the "worst cases of child abuse" in the US, and ultimately raised ethical concerns about the treatment of vulnerable subjects and their rights.
4.The tragic death of actor Angus Cloud, who died of an accidental drug overdose — a lethal mix of methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, and benzodiazepines — on July 31, 2023, in his family's home in Oakland, California.
Cloud had reportedly been staying with his mother following the death of his father in May. In an interview with People, Cloud's mother, Lisa, said that she found her son in the morning slumped over his desk. She tried to resuscitate him, but by the time first responders arrived, it was too late, and they later determined Cloud had already been deceased by the time they'd even been dispatched.
Lisa explained to People, "He got tired from lack of oxygen. Everything just slowed down, and eventually his heart stopped and he went to sleep. But he didn't kill himself.'
5.Finally, the case of gruesome serial killer William Bonin, known as the 'Freeway Killer,' who raped and murdered at least 21 teenage boys and young men in Southern California between 1979 and 1980.
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Bonin would lure victims into his van, often with help from accomplices, then assault and kill them, dumping their bodies along freeways. Caught in 1980, he was convicted of 14 murders and died by lethal injection in 1996 — California's first to be carried out by that method.
His last meal: Two large pepperoni and sausage pizzas, three pints of coffee ice cream, and three six-packs of Coca-Cola.
I think that's just about enough unsettling stuff for the week, don't you? In the next issue, we'll tackle the story of the 'Twitter Killer' and the infamous murder of Sharon Tate.
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Do you have a weird, creepy, or shocking story you want to share? Perhaps there's a strange Wikipedia page you want to talk about? Tell me all about it at thatgotdark@buzzfeed.com, and who knows, maybe it'll be featured in a future edition of That Got Dark!
If you are concerned that a child is experiencing or may be in danger of abuse, you can call or text the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (4.A.CHILD); service can be provided in over 140 languages.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, you can call SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) and find more resources here.
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