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The Most Disturbing Wikipedia Pages

Do you love all things weird, dark, and horrifying? Subscribe to the That Got Dark newsletter to get your weekly dopamine fix of the macabre delivered RIGHT to your inbox! Genie (feral child) Genie (a pseudonym) was a girl discovered in 1970 in Arcadia, California, at age 13 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 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. Her 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. Toy-Box Killer David Parker Ray, who was given the moniker the "Toy‑Box Killer," was an American kidnapper, serial rapist, and suspected serial killer who abducted and brutalized women — primarily sex workers— in a soundproofed trailer he dubbed his 'Toy Box' near Elephant Butte, New Mexico. Though he never faced murder charges and no bodies were found, Ray claimed to have abducted 40 victims. He was convicted in 2001 of kidnapping and torture based on survivor testimonies, receiving a sentence of over 223 years, and died of a heart attack in prison in 2002. Murder of Sylvia Likens Sylvia Likens was a 16‑year‑old from Indiana who, over the summer of 1965, endured escalating torture at the hands of her caregiver, Gertrude Baniszewski (pictured above), Gertrude's children, and neighborhood kids. The abuse — which included beatings, burnings, starvation, and sexual humiliation — resulted in over 150 wounds and eventually led to her death from a subdural hematoma, shock, and malnutrition. In May 1966, Gertrude was convicted of first‑degree murder, and her daughter Paula received a second‑degree murder conviction; both were reportedly sentenced to life in prison. Christine Chubbuck Christine Chubbuck was a TV news reporter in Sarasota, Florida, who was the first person to die by suicide on live television. On July 15, 1974, during a live broadcast of the show Suncoast Digest, she announced, "In keeping with Channel 40's policy of bringing you the latest in 'blood and guts,' and in living color, you are going to see another first — attempted suicide," before pulling out a gun from under her desk and shooting herself in the head. Chubbuck died about 14 hours later, and her death sparked enduring discussions around mental health and ethical boundaries in broadcasting. Murder of Junko Furuta Junko Furota was a Japanese high school student who was abducted, raped, tortured, and then subsequently murdered in 1989 by four teenage boys over the course of 44 days. Some of the horrific acts she was subjected to included being repeatedly burned, beaten, forced to drink her own urine, and then fatally set on fire. Her case was often referred to as the 'concrete-encased high school girl murder case,' because her body was discovered packed in concrete inside a dumped oil drum. The case became widely known not only due to the extremely graphic nature of the repeated beatings and sexual assaults she endured, but also the belief from the public that the perpetrators received lenient sentences. Hello Kitty murder case The Hello Kitty murder case is one of Hong Kong's most infamous crime cases. In 1999, a 23-year-old nightclub hostess named Fan Man-yee was abducted by three men — Chan Man-lok, Leung Wai-lun, and Leung Shing-cho — after she stole a wallet from Chan, a member of a Chinese organized crime syndicate. They held her captive in an apartment for several weeks, where she endured horrific torture, including beatings, sexual assault, and burns, ultimately leading to her death from traumatic shock. Fan's captors dismembered her body, sewing her skull into a Hello Kitty doll, which gave the case its name. The crime came to light when a 14-year-old girl involved in the case (who was being groomed by one of the perpetrators) reported it to the police. The three men were convicted of manslaughter in 2000 and sentenced to life in prison. Unit 731 Unit 731 was a covert biological and chemical warfare unit of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, based in occupied Manchuria (present-day China). Operating under the guise of epidemic prevention, it conducted brutal human experiments on civilians and prisoners of war, including vivisection, forced infection with deadly diseases, and frostbite testing. These experiments led to the deaths of an estimated 300,000+ people. After the war, the U.S. granted immunity to many Unit 731 members in exchange for their research data, allowing key figures like Ishii to avoid prosecution. The unit's atrocities remain one of the most horrifying examples of wartime human experimentation. Murder of Shanda Sharer In 1992, 12-year-old Shanda Sharer was abducted, tortured, and murdered by four teenage girls, Melinda Loveless, Laurie Tackett, Hope Rippey, and Toni Lawrence, in Madison, Indiana. The crime was driven by Loveless's jealousy over Sharer's relationship with her ex-girlfriend, Amanda Heavrin. Under the guise of taking Sharer to meet Heavrin, the girls lured her into their car and subjected her to hours of brutal torture, including beating, stabbing, strangulation, and sexual assault. Eventually, they set her on fire while she was still alive. All four girls were tried as adults and accepted plea deals: Loveless and Tackett received 60-year sentences (paroled after 26 and 25 years, respectively), Rippey was sentenced to 35 years (paroled after 14), and Lawrence received 20 years (paroled after 9). As of 2019, all four girls, now women, have been released from prison. Kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard On June 10, 1991, 11‑year‑old Jaycee Lee Dugard was abducted while walking to a school bus stop in Meyers, California. Her captors, Phillip and Nancy Garrido, held Jaycee for the next 18 years in concealed tents and sheds in the backyard of their home in Antioch, California. Phillip, a convicted sex offender, repeatedly raped Jaycee during the first six years of her captivity, leading to the birth of her two daughters when she was just 14 and 17 years old. Over the years, numerous people actually saw Jaycee, and there were even several missed rescue opportunities. Then, in August 2009, during a visit to UC Berkeley with Jaycee's daughters, campus police officers became suspicious of Phillip and ran a background check, which ultimately led to Jaycee's rescue and the arrest of the Garridos. Phillip Garrido was sentenced to 431 years to life, and Nancy to 36 years to life in prison. Since her return, Jaycee has written memoirs, founded the JAYC Foundation supporting trauma survivors, and focused on rebuilding her life with her daughters. Tarrare Tarrare was an 18th-century Frenchman who was said to have had an insatiable appetite and ability to eat nearly anything — live animals, stones, garbage. Despite his extreme eating habits, he remained slim. He served in the French Revolutionary Army and underwent medical experiments after eating enough for 15 people and swallowing a wooden box to test his use as a courier. Captured during a mission, he was eventually returned and expelled from the hospital after being suspected of eating a one-year-old child. He died of tuberculosis in 1798, and his autopsy revealed an abnormally large stomach and digestive system. Anneliese Michel Anneliese Michel was a German woman who, despite being diagnosed with epilepsy and psychiatric disorders, became convinced, along with her parents, that she was actually possessed. After years of failed treatment, two priests performed 67 exorcisms over 10 months during which Anneliese ceased eating and exhibited extreme self-harm. She died from malnutrition and dehydration in 1976. Her parents (pictured above with a photo of Anneliese) and the priests were later convicted of negligent homicide. The case led to changes in exorcism practices and inspired several films, including The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Scaphism Scaphism was an allegedly ancient method of execution — aka "the boats" — whereby a victim was trapped between two narrow boats, one inverted on top of the other, with their limbs and head left exposed, then force-fed and smeared with milk and honey. This would leave the victim exposed to insects and vermin that would eat them alive over several days. Human radiation experiments There were a number of human radiation experiments, mostly conducted in the U.S. from the 1940s to the 1970s, that exposed vulnerable people — including hospital patients, children, pregnant women, and prisoners — to radioactive substances without consent. These experiments, done by government agencies and universities, involved practices like directly injecting plutonium, feeding radioactive material to children, and even exhuming bodies from graveyards, and all of it caused serious harm or death. Public outcry led to a 1994 investigation by President Clinton's advisory committee, which confirmed ethical violations and led to official apologies and limited reparations. Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris, given the moniker the "Tool Box Killers," were American serial killers who abducted, tortured, raped, and murdered five teenage girls in Southern California during 1979. They were given this name because they used everyday tools — like pliers and ice picks — in their brutal crimes. They sometimes made audio recordings or took photos of their crimes, which were so awful that they reportedly brought some jurors, lawyers, and court observers to tears when presented during their trial. Norris eventually turned informant, received life in prison, and died in 2020; Bittaker was sentenced to death and died in prison in 2019. Both died of natural causes. Peter Kürten Peter Kürten, known as "The Vampire of Düsseldorf," was a German serial killer active in 1929. He committed at least nine murders and numerous assaults, deriving sexual pleasure from violence and blood, once even drinking his victim's blood. Arrested in 1930, he confessed to dozens of crimes. After a high-profile trial, he was executed by guillotine in 1931. Fritzl case In 2008, Austrian police discovered that a man named Josef Fritzl had kept his daughter Elisabeth imprisoned in a secret cellar for 24 years, during which he repeatedly raped her and fathered seven children. Three of the children lived with her in captivity, three were raised upstairs as foster children, and one died shortly after birth. The case was uncovered when one of the children became seriously ill, prompting Josef to seek medical help, and then leading to Elisabeth's rescue and Fritzl's arrest. He was later sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to multiple charges, including rape, incest, and murder by negligence. Carl Tanzler Carl Tanzler was a German-born radiology technician in Key West, Florida, who became obsessed with his tuberculosis patient, Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos, after her death in 1931. He would visit her mausoleum nightly and claimed he heard her spirit urging him to take her body home. He eventually exhumed her remains and spent seven years living with and preserving the corpse — using piano wire, wax, glass eyes, perfume, and clothing — until her sister discovered what he'd done. Charged only with grave-robbing, Tanzler avoided conviction due to the statute of limitations, later moving to mainland Florida, writing his autobiography, and reportedly keeping a wax effigy until he died in 1952. Armin Meiwes Armin Meiwes, known as the 'Rotenburg Cannibal,' was a German man who, in March 2001, killed and cannibalized a consenting victim, Bernd Brandes, whom he found via an online ad seeking someone willing to be eaten. The two even attempted to eat Brandes's severed penis before Meiwes eventually murdered him, dismembered his body, consumed some of his flesh, and stored the remainder in his freezer. Arrested in December 2002, Meiwes was initially convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 8.5 years, but after an appeal and retrial in 2006, he was ultimately convicted of murder with life imprisonment. Murder of Kelly Anne Bates Kelly Anne Bates was a 17-year-old from Manchester, England, who, over approximately four weeks in early 1996, was violently tortured by her boyfriend, 48‑year‑old James Patterson Smith. Some of the atrocities he committed included burning Smith all over her body, stabbing her, and even gouging both her eyes out. He ultimately drowned her in a bathtub and reported it falsely as an accidental death. Smith was convicted of her murder in November 1997 and given a life sentence with a minimum term of 20 years. Murder of Skylar Neese Skylar Neese was a 16-year-old honor student from Star City, West Virginia, who disappeared on July 6, 2012, after sneaking out of her home with two friends, Shelia Eddy and Rachel Shoaf. In January 2013, Shoaf confessed that the pair lured Skylar to a wooded area in Pennsylvania and stabbed her to death, over 50 times, simply because they 'didn't like her' anymore. Her body was found months later, buried under brush. Shoaf pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received 30 years in prison, while Eddy pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, receiving a life sentence. Finally, Waverly Hills Sanatorium Waverly Hills Sanatorium, which is located near Louisville, Kentucky, opened in 1910 to treat tuberculosis patients amid a deadly local outbreak. It was expanded in 1926 to accommodate over 400 patients and became infamous for experimental treatments — like rib removal and lung collapse— and for secretly transporting bodies through a hidden 'body chute' to avoid alarming the living. After the discovery of antibiotics, it closed in 1961 and briefly reopened as a geriatric center. It is now a privately owned facility that people frequently say is haunted. Obsessed with this kind of content? Subscribe to the That Got Dark newsletter to get a weekly post just like this delivered directly to your inbox.