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My Brain Has Been Obliterated After Learning These Really, Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Terrible, Disturbing, And Creepy Things Teenager Dylan Redwine disappeared while visiting his father, Mark, for Thanksgiving in Colorado — months later, Dylan’s remains were found scattered in the nearby mountains. Do you love all things terrifying, dark, and creepy? Subscribe to the That Got Dark newsletter to get your weekly dopamine fix of the macabre delivered RIGHT to your inbox! 1. In 2015, workers demolishing an abandoned cabin in Woodland Park, Colorado, discovered the remains of an 18-year-old man named Joshua Maddux, who had been missing since 2008, inside the cabin’s chimney. His body was wedged in a fetal position, wearing only a thermal shirt, with his folded clothes found near the fireplace. Investigators first suggested he might have accidentally climbed down and gotten trapped, with the coroner initially ruling the death "accidental." Details remain disputed. With no signs of injury or foul play, the coroner eventually ruled the cause of death “undetermined." While the missing-person case was closed — since Joshua was found — the cause of his death remains unresolved, and no further investigation has publicly determined what actually happened. 2. Earlier this month, a woman’s family filed a lawsuit claiming that her 72-year-old grandfather, a former Marine named Terril Johnson, was "boiled alive" while showering at a hotel near San Jose, California. The lawsuit alleges that the water temperature reached about 134–136°F and that Johnson was found unconscious and partially submerged in the tub, with horrifying burn injuries. It was reported that his skin “peeled away from his body” as family members attempted CPR. The coroner ruled the cause of death to be severe scalding covering more than one-third of his body. The family alleges the hotel’s failure to maintain safe water temperature violated basic guest-safety standards, and they are seeking damages for wrongful death and emotional distress. 3. This suuuuuuper creepy note someone found on their front door that was left by an elderly man: 4. In 1989, Canadian hockey player Duncan MacPherson vanished while snowboarding at an Austrian ski resort. His body wasn’t found until 14 years later, frozen under a glacier. When his body was finally recovered, there were suspicious discoveries. Authorities claimed he had accidentally fallen into a crevasse and been moved by glacier ice, but evidence suggested he was actually found on the ski slope, not off it. 5. In 2012, 13-year-old Dylan Redwine disappeared while visiting his father, Mark, for Thanksgiving in Colorado — and months later, Dylan’s remains were found scattered in the nearby mountains. Investigators uncovered traces of Dylan’s blood in Mark’s home and truck, and his skull showed signs of blunt and sharp-force trauma. Prosecutors later argued that Mark killed his son after Dylan discovered humiliating photos of him dressed in women’s underwear and a diaper, posing with feces — images Dylan had allegedly planned to confront him about. Mark never confessed and has continued to deny killing his son, but a jury found him guilty of second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death in 2021 and sentenced him to 48 years in prison, where he remains today. 6. In 2001, a wealthy passenger aboard a private Gulfstream jet allegedly pressured his pilots to ignore safety rules and attempt a dangerous night landing in Aspen, Colorado. Despite worsening weather and strict restrictions against nighttime approaches, the passenger reportedly entered the cockpit to intimidate the crew into proceeding. Under this pressure, the pilots apparently descended below the minimum safe altitude and crashed into a hillside just short of the runway. All 18 people on board were killed. 7. In 1985, Miami Herald photographer Bob East went into the hospital for routine surgery to remove a cancerous eye — and never woke up. During the procedure, a nurse accidentally injected a powerful toxic chemical, glutaraldehyde, directly into his spinal canal instead of the proper solution. The mistake caused instant, unbearable trauma to his nervous system, leaving him comatose and brain-dead within hours. East died soon after, and his death led to a $2-million malpractice settlement with the University of Miami School of Medicine, Jackson Memorial Hospital, and six physicians. 8. In 2019, a 15-year-old girl in the UK, Emily Eccles, suffered a gruesome accident while riding her horse — her horse bolted when startled by a car, and she was thrown, smashing her face into a wooden post. Her jaw was ripped away from her face and held on by only a sliver of skin; the surgeon later described it as “one of the most significant injuries…outside of areas of conflict.” The girl underwent a dramatic five-and-a-half-hour operation, during which her face was rebuilt using three titanium plates and more than 160 stitches. Miraculously, she returned to school just one month after the incident — but the trauma left its mark. She’s now campaigning for the surgeon to receive a knighthood for the work that saved her face and changed her life forever. 9. In 2008, a man named Mark Twitchell, an aspiring filmmaker, lured men to a rented garage in Edmonton, Canada, using fake online dating profiles. Obsessed with the TV show Dexter, he transformed the space into a makeshift “kill room,” complete with plastic sheeting and tools for torture. One of his victims, Johnny Altinger, vanished after answering an ad posted by Twitchell. When friends received strange emails claiming Altinger had gone on an unexpected trip, they grew suspicious and alerted police. Investigators traced the messages to Twitchell’s computer and, after searching his car and garage, discovered Altinger’s blood, personal belongings, and a chilling document titled “SK Confessions” — a detailed account of the killing disguised as fiction. Twitchell was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in 2011 and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. 10. The fact that when someone is cremated, the “ashes” we receive aren’t actually ashes at all. Turns out, after the body is incinerated, what’s left are bone fragments, which are then ground down in a machine called a cremulator to create the fine powder we think of as "ashes." Just a little reminder that even in death, there’s always a twist. 💀 11. This horrifying and tragic video of a 31-year-old hiker who fell to his death while trying to take a photo on Nama Peak in Sichuan, China. You can see the original video here, but fair warning, it is highly sensitive in nature. The hiker reportedly unhooked his safety rope near a crevasse to get a better shot, slipped, and slid more than 650 feet down the icy slope — and it was all caught on camera as his friends watched helplessly. Apparently, the group had been climbing in a restricted area, and authorities are now investigating. 12. Just a couple of months ago, a group of teenage girls were staying at a hotel in Garden Grove, California, for a water polo tournament when, in the middle of the night, someone tried breaking into their locked room with a bent wire. One of them filmed as the door handle rattled and even spoke to the person outside, terrified they were about to be kidnapped. The hotel later claimed it was an employee doing a “room check” and said they were “going to be terminated.” Either way, nothing quite rattles you like realizing how easy it is for someone to literally unlock a hotel door…and in the process, unlock a whole new fear. 13. The highly suspicious death of Madison "Maddy" Scott in British Columbia. Madison “Maddy” Scott was a 20-year-old from Vanderhoof, B.C., who vanished after attending a party at Hogsback Lake on May 28, 2011, when her tent and truck were found abandoned, but she was missing. Despite years of searches, her case remained unsolved until May 2023, when her remains were discovered on a rural property east of Vanderhoof. The RCMP continues to treat her death as suspicious, though no cause of death or suspects have been confirmed, and the investigation remains active. 14. This chilling story about an Oregon homeowner who kept hearing strange noises under their floorboards...only to discover a man had been secretly living in their crawl space. Apparently, the intruder had made a setup complete with a bed, TV, and lights wired into the house’s power. Thankfully, the man was discovered by police, and he was arrested and then charged with burglary and meth possession, with bail set at $75,000. 15. The murder of Reet Jurvetson, a 19-year-old Canadian woman whose body was found off Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles in November 1969, stabbed 157 times with a small knife. She was shockingly identified 46 years later...and by chance. With no identification on her, she became known only as “Jane Doe No. 59,” and for 46 years her identity remained a mystery. That changed in 2015 when her sister, Anne, saw a photo of the unidentified victim on a cold case database and recognized her. DNA testing confirmed the match in 2016. Reet had reportedly gone to California to meet a man known as “John” or “Jean,” but despite sketches, leads, and even speculation about possible ties to the Manson Family, the case remains unsolved. 16. The fact that Native American women on reservations were forced, coerced, and pressured into sterilization in the 1960s and '70s, and the US government covered up. In the late 1960s and 1970s, the US Indian Health Service (IHS) — a federal agency responsible for providing medical care to Native American and Alaska Native communities — sterilized thousands of Native American women, often without their full consent. Many women were misled, pressured, or not properly informed about the procedure, which was sometimes described as reversible. A 1976 US Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation confirmed widespread violations of consent rules, estimating that at least 3,400 women were sterilized in just a few years — with later research suggesting the real number may have been much higher. 17. The violent murder of Abby Choi, a 28-year-old Hong Kong model and influencer who disappeared on Feb. 21, 2023. After her disappearance, Abby's body was discovered days later, brutally dismembered. Her ex-husband Alex Kwong, his brother, and their father were charged with her murder, while her ex-mother-in-law was accused of obstructing justice. Authorities believe the killing stemmed from a bitter dispute over property and money, particularly a luxury apartment Choi had purchased but registered under the Kwong family’s name. The case, still ongoing in court, is regarded as one of Hong Kong’s most shocking murders due to its gruesome details and involvement of close family members. 18. The dark story of Charles Albanese, an American serial killer from Illinois who poisoned family members with arsenic in order to steal their money and valuables. Between 1980 and 1981, he murdered his mother-in-law, his wife’s grandmother, and his father, slipping arsenic into their food and drinks. Investigators eventually linked the sudden, suspicious deaths, and exhumations confirmed arsenic poisoning, leading to his arrest in 1981. He was convicted of multiple murders and sentenced to death, and in 1995, he was executed by lethal injection. 19. Finally, this list of "reasons" that people were admitted to the "Lunatic Asylum" in Brooklyn, New York from 1868: Love this kind of content? Subscribe to the That Got Dark newsletter to get more like it delivered RIGHT to your inbox!
