30+ Historical Mysteries People Would Really Like Answers To

In 1888, the streets of Whitechapel in London were a place of danger and mystery. A shadowy figure was walking the streets in the evening, taking the lives of some unfortunate women.

These murders were shocking, and after the final murder of Mary Jane Kelly, Jack the Ripper seemingly disappeared. For centuries, people have pondered who exactly Jack the Ripper was. There were several theories, including members of the royal family and even serial killers from across the pond, but no one has solved the mystery.

During the ’60s and ’70s, Northern California was on high alert. There had been five murders, and all of them had been attributed to the unidentified assailant known as the Zodiac Killer. This serial killer flaunted his evasion by sending cryptic notes to the media.

To this day, the Zodiac Killer has never been identified and arrested — though there are plenty of theories as to who this evil person was. In total, the authorities had more than 2500 suspects, but none of them could be proven without a shadow of a doubt to be the Zodiac Killer.

The Catholic Church and its religious base, the Vatican, have been around for centuries. There are plenty of mysteries related to both the Vatican and Catholicism, but maybe one of the most famous is the Vatican secret archives.

Within the halls of this secretive underground vault lies 12 centuries of material and artifacts that are only available to the highest authorities in the church. It’s rumored that these archives contain all kinds of interesting information, including the files on investigations into demonic possession.

In 1587, the Crown sent a group of British colonists to set up a settlement off the coast of North Carolina. These settlers were led by John White, who — not long after getting everyone settled — returned to England, leaving his family behind.

When he returned three years later, the colony that had been built on Roanoke was nowhere to be seen. The only thing left besides the buildings was a single word etched into a tree that read Croatoan. Where the colony went has been a mystery for centuries. Some of the theories include integration into the local tribe, and even alien abduction.

Though recently some Russian authorities have claimed to have solved this mystery, there’s still a lot of doubt about the actual solution laid out by these officials. In February of 1959, nine Russian skiers were found dead in the Ural mountains.

Their bodies were bare and showed immense traumatic injuries that couldn’t be explained by anything concrete. Some have talked about this being a supernatural attack, but the Russian government in 2019 said they determined that this was a death due to an avalanche. Who knows if that’s what really happened!

Amelia Earhart was a pioneer of women in aviation and had flown quite a few record-breaking flights in her career. But in 1937, she set out to be the first woman to circumnavigate the world. Unfortunately, somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, she was lost and never to be found again.

Before going down, there were several messages between her and the coast guard ships. These messages were strange, talking about not being able to see and that her fuel was running low. After communication was lost, there was a 12-day search, but unfortunately, nothing was found. To this day, there are several theories about what happened, including her surviving and living into her old age, but nothing has ever been determined for sure.

In the 15th century (as well as before and after), the world of royalty was a cutthroat business. With everyone wanting to hold the crown, there were several coups perpetrated under the guise of protection.

In 1483, to protect Edward V’s sons, the Duke of Gloucester had Richard and Edward taken to the Tower of London. However, once they were there, they were never seen again as they were deemed illegitimate, and the Duke took the throne for himself. No one knows what happened to them, but in 1674, two skeletons of children were found and moved to Westminster Abbey for burial.

In the center of a remote grassy field in England is a large stone circle that remains a mystery to the world. Stonehenge, which is constructed of about 50 stones — none of which are native to England — is laid out in a unique pattern.

Though there are many theories on what and who built Stonehenge, none of them have truly answered the mystery. Some feel these were Bronze Age people who were building a monument as a calendar to mark the movement of the sun and the moon. Others consider this a druidic spiritual location, and there are even some that attribute this iconic landmark to aliens.

In November of 1872, Captain Benjamin S. Briggs navigated the Marie Celeste from the New York City port. The ship and its captain and crew were en route to Genoa, Italy.

But, just a month later, a British ship found the Marie Celeste with no crew onboard floating through the waters off the coast of Portugal. Supplies and food stores were all intact, but no one knows what happened to the captain, his family, and the seven crew members that sailed with them.

In the ancient world, there were seven wonders that were spread throughout the known world. One of these was the famous library of Alexandria built by Ptolemy I. This library was rumored to house thousands of texts and other writings from all over the Mediterranean.

What really happened to the library is still a mystery. Some say that Julius Caesar burnt it to the ground, and others say that it survived that attack and lasted until Theodosius I came through and destroyed it. One thing is for sure — most people feel that the loss of that knowledge created a major setback for civilization.

John F. Kennedy hadn’t been in office long when he chose to travel to Dallas. On November 22nd, 1963, as the president drove through the streets of this iconic Texas town, gunshots rang out.

The governor that rode with him was injured, and the president had been assassinated. There’s no mystery there, but when it comes to who actually shot him, there is. Many conspiracy theorists believe that the accused, Lee Harvey Oswald, either wasn’t the shooter or did not act alone. The mystery remains and perhaps will never know who killed JFK.

In 1912, a document appeared, gaining a pretty significant amount of attention because of its unidentified language. The Voynich manuscript seems to have been written in the 15th or 16th century and has six basic sections.

Since its appearance in 1912, historians and other people who love a good mystery have been trying to decipher the mystery of the language and what information is contained within the fragile binding of this book.

In the 18th century, among the chambers within the Berlin city palace, sits a room that had been dubbed the eighth wonder of the world. The amber room was designed with gold and amber panels and outfitted with other fine gems and artistry.

When World War II began, the Nazi forces looted the room and sent the panels to Konigsberg to be placed in the castle museum. However, the museum was bombed, and since then, the panels of the amber room have not been seen. No one knows if they were destroyed or if someone stole them.

In many Egyptian stories and tablets, there’s mention of a people only called the sea peoples. The texts have them moving throughout the Mediterranean in the early 2nd century.

These nautical marauders are said to have caused chaos for nations like Egypt and Anatolia. They were even rumored to be the people who ended the Hittite Empire. Though they had a marked influence on history and empires, no one has ever figured out where exactly these people originated from.

Genghis Khan is perhaps the most illustrious emperor of all time. His empire is the largest empire that has ever existed. But in 1227, the mighty warrior died while on a campaign. Unlike other emperors of the time, though, the funeral was not as illustrious.

In fact, no one knows where Genghis Khan was actually buried, and this was all his own doing. Legend says that the mighty one ordered that if he was buried, anybody who took part in his funeral procession would be killed so that no one could find his resting place. So, to this very day, no one is sure where Genghis Khan’s tomb actually lies.

Many people have an interest in mafia history. For those who are into this, a few names really spark a lot of curiosity. One of those happens to be the Teamster Union Leader Jimmy Hoffa and his disappearance.

Due to Hoffa’s involvement with the mob, his disappearance may not be that much of a surprise. However, the fact that no one has ever found the body or been arrested for his murder leaves it as a mystery that just may never be solved.

Cleopatra is one of the most well-known Egyptian rulers in history. Being born into the Ptolemaic line, Cleopatra used her beauty and brains to find her way to power. Along the way, she became the love interest of both Julius Caesar and Marc Antony.

Because of this, she eventually would, according to legend, take her own life using the poison of the Egyptian asp. Where this iconic Egyptian ruler is buried, though, is still a mystery. Though many archaeologists search for the location, none have quite found it yet.

If you’ve ever turned on The History Channel in the US, you have probably seen commercials or parts of a show covering the mysterious treasure of Oak Island.

For over two centuries, there have been rumors of a treasure buried by the illustrious captain William Kidd. Though there are tons of clues and stories to go with this mystery, no one has been able to decipher it or find the treasure.

In 1952 at Qumran, there was an extraordinary archaeological find. Though at this archaeological site everybody focuses on the Dead Sea Scrolls, there was another treasure found amongst them.

The copper scroll was found in the cave and tells of a vast treasure of gold and silver. Many have tried to decipher and find where this treasure was hidden, but no one has yet to stumble across its location.

The Ark of the Covenant has been the subject of not only legend but movies and books. King Nebuchadnezzar II attacked Jerusalem in 587 BCE. In doing this, he destroyed the first temple where the Ark of the Covenant was housed.

Though there are many stories about the Ark of the Covenant, no one is certain what happened to it after the Babylonian army conquered Jerusalem.

Most of us have heard of the Seven Wonders of the World. Though most of them are no longer standing, they still capture our imaginations. Of these wonders, the Hanging Gardens in the ancient city of Babylon may well be the one that captivates our imagination the most.

Though the site has never been found, there are several accounts throughout the history of these illustrious hanging gardens. Even with these accounts, archaeologists are still on the hunt to solve the mystery of where this magical place was.

In the 4th century, Plato told of an amazing land called Atlantis. In his tale, this island floated through the Atlantic Ocean, and the people that inhabited it had conquered much of the known world.

Though there’s no definitive proof that Atlantis ever existed, there are plenty of theories on who these Atlanteans actually were. Despite these theories, Atlantis still sits heavily in the imagination of many who love a good mystery.

In this modern age of GPS and advanced technology, it’s hard to believe that there was a time when someone could actually get away with a hijacking and robbery without getting caught. But, it happened in 1971.

Dan Cooper sat in a chair on Northwest Airlines flight 305. During the flight, he handed the flight attendant a note, and from there, the hijacking and robbery began. By the time all was said and done, D.B. Cooper, as he would come to be known, had gotten away with $200,000. The illustrious criminal’s real identity and whereabouts still remain a mystery.

In 1908, in the middle of summer, a large swath of forested land in Siberia was laid to waste by an unknown explosion. The Tunguska event was not witnessed by anyone, and there was no evidence of an explosion.

Most feel that an impact from a meteor probably caused this. There were no witnesses, and therefore, the truth behind this unexplained blast remains a mystery.

On Christmas Eve of 1945 in Fayetteville, West Virginia, a fire broke out in a local family home. The parents and several of the children escaped with very little harm. When the fire department arrived, the parents and children were distraught over the fact that five members of their family were still in the building.

But, when the fire department went through the burned wreckage, there were no bodies found inside of the rubble. After a while, the parents believed that maybe they had been kidnapped and hired private detectives and offered rewards for the return of their children. But, to this very day, no one knows what happened to the Sodder children.

There are just some places in the world that elicit mystery. One of the biggest of these happens to be a triangular section of the Atlantic Ocean that some call the Devil’s Triangle, but most know it as the Bermuda Triangle.

Over the past 500 years, airplanes and ships have been lost and never to be seen again. There have also been radio communications from some of these that have been quite mysterious. Because of the unknown and unfound vessels, there are many theories on what exactly this mystery is all about.

Many cities rise and fall due to political people and wars. However, some cities, like the UNESCO World Heritage site Mohenjo Daro, rise and then mysteriously disappear. This site is the home of an ancient civilization that thrived 4500 years ago.

The city lay unknown until 1911 when archaeologists first stumbled across it. The city had advanced drainage systems and unique grid-style construction that was not known at that particular time in human history. Because of this, mysteries abound about its construction and the people that live there.

The delineation between the late Bronze Age and the Dark Ages often leaves historians with a bit of a mystery to be solved. In 1200 BC or around there, the entire eastern Mediterranean and Aegean region of the world suddenly erupted into violence, and many of the great cities and empires there collapsed.

Most historians have theories about this being caused by foreign invasion or even issues with international trade. Nothing is for sure, and so this major historical event remains a mystery.

In 1959, a science historian from Princeton University was diving off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera. There he found the wreckage of a 2000-year-old ship and in it a unique object. In this wreckage, there was a device designed to predict eclipses and astronomical positions.

This ancient device is known as the Antikythera mechanism; it’s almost like an ancient computer. Because of its advanced technology, mysteries abound about who was able to produce this type of technology when it would have been invented in the 14th century.

In the 15th and 16th century medicine hadn’t quite reached its peak yet, and so, unfortunately, many plagues took hold throughout Europe. Though the bulk of these was not mysterious, there was one specific plague that took place in Strasbourg that still has people puzzled to this very day.

In July of 1518, a woman began dancing in the street uncontrollably. Eventually, she was joined by more of the citizens, and within a month, over 400 people were dancing through the city nonstop. Why this occurred, no one knows, but there are many theories — including mass hysteria and ergot poisoning.