Bodies of Everest

This one is less of a mystery and more of a horror. Currently there are nearly 200 human bodies on Mt Everest that are used as landmarks for those that are climbing the mountain. This is mostly due to the extreme temperature, weather and altitude that a person must face while climbing the mountain. Sometimes the temperatures are so extreme on the mountain that instant frostbite to any exposed flesh is a very real possibility. That coupled with high altitudes and the many other dangers makes climbing the mountain a very dangerous act. Those who perish on the mountain while making their ascent are often left behind due to the fact that rescue or recovery of their body would be nearly impossible and very dangerous to even attempt.

Sometimes climbers will even come cross people who are still alive, but because they have no way to help them they have no choice but to leave them to die. Two climbers once found a woman that was dying along on the mountain. She called out to them and said "please, don't leave me!" But the climbers were forced to continue as staying would mean risking their own lives and they had no way to help the woman. They continues climbing and had to leave the woman to die. They spent the next eight years saving up money to return and give the woman a proper burial.

Links!

• More photographs for the curious: [link]

Rosalia Lombardo: Little Sleeping Beauty

While this may be a morbid topic (when do i ever avoid those?) I couldn't help but want to post this due to the fact that it's rather beautiful in a strange way. Forgive me me for posting such old topics, but i'm here to inform. Not to update. :)


Rosalia Lombardo was an Italian child born in the year 1918 in Palermo, Sicily. When she was only two years old she died of pneumonia on December 6, 1920. Her father was so grieved by her death that he contacted a noted embalmer, Alfredo Salafia and asked him to preserve her. Her body was one of the last few to enter the Capuchin Catacombs.

Photo of Rosalia's corpse in 1995

This wonderful state of preservation was achieved by a formula concocted by the embalmer, Alfredo. Until recently the formula was thought to be lost, but a handwritten memoir was discovered that contained the recipe for the formula. The preservation method used formalin, alcohol, glycerin, salicylic acid, and zinc salts. These were mixed together in a liquid and then used to replace the girls blood. X-rays showed that her internal organs were very well preserved and were all intact.
Until recently Rosalia was kept in a glass covered coffin at the end of the catacomb tour. Recent photos show that her body is starting to show signs of decay, the most prominent being discoloration. Her body has been moved back into the catacombs alongside the bodies of two other children.

2009 National Geographic photo showing the signs of decomposition.

Links!

• National Geographic article: [link]
• Discover Magazine article: [link]

Aokigahara: The Suicide Forest

At the North Western base of Mount Fuji in Japan lies a forest known as Aokigahara, or The Sea of Trees. Due to the strange absence of most wildlife, and it's wind blocking trees, the forest is know to be eerily quiet. The forest is also home to a few caves and caverns that are popular tourist attractions. But here's the kicker: Aokigahara is the worlds second most popular location for suicides, the first being the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco.

That's not a prop.

Local volunteers host and annual "body hunt" to search for bodies of those that have committed suicide in the forest. Since the 1950's there have been over 500 deaths in the forest, the majority of those being suicides. So many suicides have taken place that the Japanese government has posted signs urging people who are visiting the forest not to kill themselves. The high amount of death in the forest is often attributed to a popular novel, Nami no To written by Seicho Matsumoto, which ends with two lovers committing suicide in the forest. While the novel may have had some impact on the number of deaths, the forest was associated with death long before the novel was published.
It's thought that a practice called Ubasute was often preformed in the forest during the 19th century. Ubasute was when sick or elderly relatives were taken to a remote place, often a forest or mountain, and left to die. While this doesn't seem to be a common practice it was mostly used during times of drought or famine. Knowing this little cheerful chunk of history has led many people to believe that Aokigahara is haunted by the spirits of those who committed suicide and those that were left to die. This theory isn't helped by the fact that the volcanic soil in the forest often causes compasses to give false readings and the forest is eerily quiet.
Locals in the area claim that there are three types of visitor to the forest: those that come for the nature, those that come hoping to see something grim, and those that plan not to exit the forest alive.

Personal belongings are often found on the forest floor.

Links!

• CNN Article on Aokigahara: [link]
• More photographs *WARNING: GRAPHIC*: [link]
• Atlas Obscura: [link]

WTH? Dead Baby Pills?

Ok, this is totally gross. China has really raised the bar on things I do and do not expect to see on the internet. Get this: A Korean tv documentary team tracked down a hospital that was selling dead babies. What were the babies deing used for you ask? They were being ground up and sold as stamina pills.

Yes. That's a dead baby.

The hospital responsible says that most of the remains are from stillborns and abortions, and i'm really hoping that they meant "all" instead of just "most." The documentary teach had tests ran on some of the pills and the rusults showed that the pills were 99.7% human. They were also able to tell the gender of the child and also found hair and fingernail remains.
The dead babies are taken, with the consent of the mother, to the medical company and placed in a medical drying microwave. Once the remains are dry they are ground up and placed in a capsule, all ready to be sold as a stamina pill. They also sell dried placenta pills as well.
ಠ_ಠ If you'll excuse me i have to go purchase some mind-bleach.


Links!

• Article found here: [link]

Waverly Hills Sanatorium

Here's one you may of already heard of: the Waverly Hills Sanatorium. I've seen this place on so many ghost hunting shows I can't even be bothered to count them all. But, a place as famous as this is worth mentioning.

 

 

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The Waverly Hills Sanatorium opened in the year 1910 and is located in Jefferson County, Kentucky. Despite the sinister sounding name it was used as a hospital for people suffering from tuberculosis, also known as the "White Plague." The hospital was closed in 1962 due to developments in treatments making the hospital unnecessary, though could of also been caused by patient abuse.
The most famous part of the hospital is what is known as the "body chute." A tunnel was built where bodies of those killed by the disease could be taken away and not be seen by the rest of the patients. This was intended to help keep patients from being upset and keep up the patient moral. Bodies would be strapped to a gurney at one end of the tunnel and then attached to a system of pulleys to be pulled down to the opposite end of the tunnel. Once at the end of the tunnel the bodies would be transferred to a hearse to be taken to their resting place. The tunnel is approximately 500 feet long with air vents to the surface every 100 feet.

 

 

Source

The body chute may be spooky, but what stands out the most at the Waverly Hills Sanatorium is the legend of room 502. Local legends say that a nurse working at the hospital found herself pregnant out of wedlock. During this time period this was a BIG "no-no" and she could of lost everything. The nurse was so depressed that she commuted suicide by hanging in room 502. Supposedly she still haunts the Sanatorium long after her death. It's not very clear if this is true or not, but it's still an interesting tid-bit to consider.

Source

Links!

• Official Waverly Hills Sanatorium page:  [link]

My Favorite Little Island: Poveglia Isand

Poveglia island is a place that until recently few people knew about. Now thanks to shows such as Scariest places on Earth and Ghost Adventures, a few more people may know about it. In case you're not familiar with it, Poveglia is a small island found in the Venetian Lagoon, located between Venice and Lido.

Source? D:

Why is this my favorite?  The legends surrounding this place are really fascinating, true or not. There's also the fact that it's full of abandoned buildings that have all sorts of things left in them. But the thing that really sparks my interest is the fact that the local government has banned any visitors from visiting the island and has police boats patrolling the waters nearby. 

Now, before I get down to all the gritty details, here's a disclaimer: there's not a lot of information out there about the island and most of it is pretty fuzzy. There are some details that could be fiction or the hard truth. All i'm saying is take everything you read on the internet with a grain of salt, i'm just telling you what i've read.

Ok, let's get to the cool part. Legend claims that Poveglia island was used as a site for massive body dumps during the Roman era. It was used as a quarantine zone and plague pit to those that were infected with the Black Death. Versions of the legend claim that the bodies were burned on the island along with plague victims that were still alive. It's said that there were so many bodies burned that the center of the island still had ash covering the ground. Fishermen apparently steer clear of the island due to the fact that bones are still getting caught in their nets along with their hauls (Grain of salt: Apparently untrue, fishing nets can be seen around the island.) Over 160,000 people are said to have died on the island throughout it's history.  (Grain of salt: Sources say that Poveglia wasn't used during the plague but another island, Lazzaretto Nuovo, was.)

Source

But we haven't even gotten to the best part yet! The Insane Asylum. No, i'm not kidding. In 1922 a building was erected on the island that was used for many purposes including a home for the elderly and a mental hospital. Legends say that the mental patients who were housed there often complained of seeing ghosts, apparently those of the plague victims. These claims were brushed off as a side effect of thier mental illness. The doctor who ran the mental institution was interested in making a name for himself by finding out what caused madness. He attempted to do so included everything from torture to lobotomies. He often preformed these procedures with crude tools such as hand drills, hammers, and chisels. Apparently after years of these "treatments," the doctor himself began to lose his mind, he then climbed up the bell tower were he threw himself off.

Eventually the hospital was abandoned and the island is currently uninhabited. What parts of the legend are true is up for speculation. But true or not, it makes for one hell of a good story, no?

Links!

• Blog of a visit to the island (lots of pretty pictures of your enjoyment!): [link]

• View of the island via Google maps: [link]