Unsolved Mysteries has found new life on Netflix; the reboot has been widely streamed since July 1st, but many fans still get the creeps remembering some of the episodes of the original series. Something about the creepy music and Robert Stack's narration sent chills down viewers' spines.
The original series began in the late 1980s, and since then several cases have been solved, debunked, or remain shrouded in mystery. Here are five of the most disturbing cases featured on the show, and five that ended up having false details.
Most Disturbing: Spontaneous Human Combustion
Unsolved Mysteries did a segment on this strange phenomenon that details human beings suddenly bursting into flames without explanation. The segment looked at several cases of spontaneous human combustion, including that of Irving Bentley.
Bently was a retired physician who lived alone; a gas company meter man found his remains in his bathroom almost completely burned up, besides his leg and part of his head. The heat was hot enough to burn a hole in the floor but was contained enough to leave the rest of the bathroom (and his metal walker) intact. The case remains unsolved and without much logical explanation today.
Fake: The Face On Mars
This photo from NASA depicts an image that caused quite a stir back in 1975. Along with this face formation, others saw pyramid like-structures. While many scientists asserted that these were natural formations that coincidently looked the way they did because of the light and shadows bouncing off of them, Unsolved Mysteries interviewed some scientists that suggested they could be something more.
Perhaps signs of ancient alien life? However, as tech improved over time, we got updated space photos showing that these formations were indeed naturally formed.
Most Disturbing: Tallman House
Along with disappearances, and unexplained phenomenons, the show was known to explore ghost encounters. This case is considered by many to be one of Unsolved Mysteries' creepiest paranormal cases.
The Tallman family begins experiencing horrifying visions, sounds, and other phenomena after buying and assembling a second-hand bunk bed. Witnesses to the phenomenon included a skeptical family member who saw a "horrible figure" along with the children in their bedroom. The paranormal activity got so unendurable that they destroyed the bunk beds and moved back to their original home.
Fake: Tom Huges
After doctors discovered a deceased patient they were treating had given fake information, the known true identity of Thomas Huges was the focus of one Unsolved Mysteries episode.
Before dying of a heart attack, Hues had been traveling from hospital to hospital seeking treatment for symptoms that he made up; meaning he likely suffered from Munchausen's Syndrome. Soon after the episode aired viewers were able to call in and identify his real name: Thomas White. This particular mystery didn't last long to crack.
Most Disturbing: The Circleville Letters
This disturbing case began in 1976 when the residents of Circleville Ohio began receiving threatening letters, including a bus driver who the writer accused of having an affair. The woman, Mary Gillispie, and her husband began writing letters back to the unknown writer claiming that they knew his or her identity. This stopped the letters for a while, but then things took a deadly turn.
Mary's husband Ron was found dead from an apparent DWI, but he had received a call from who he believed was the unknown writer before leaving his house with his shotgun. Some suspected foul play and things only got more convoluted from there; booby-trapped signs began appearing on Mary's bus route. The identity of the writer is still unknown and Unsolved Mysteries even received a postcard from them after the episode aired.
Fake: Gigi
This episode focused on what was believed to be a mysterious amnesia case. A woman who was called "Gigi" was found in a New Orleans park with no memory of who she was. She had a mysterious collection of random objects with her but nothing tied to her true identity.
Doctors were unable to find any reason for her amnesia, and soon after the episode, her real name was discovered to be Belinda. Sadly, she had been suffering from schizophrenia and her parents didn't want to reunite with her, claiming she had done this in the past.
Most Disturbing: Bill And Dorothy Wacker
One particularly disturbing Unsolved Mysteries episode featured elderly couple Bill and Dorthy and their constant torment from an unknown person in a small Ohio town. Their troubles began in the mid-1980s when their house was robbed several times.
During one of these incidents, Dorothy was attacked and managed to get a look at the intruder before getting knocked out and tied up. Things got progressively worse; the harasser would bang on the side of their house and leave mocking messages. Bill and Dorothy have since passed away and the intruder was never found.
Fake: Margie Jelovcic
After the death of her husband, Margie Jelovcic left Michigan to return to her family in Indiana. Working at her family's tavern, she met a man named Randy Yager and they began dating. Unbeknownst to her, Randy was involved in a gang and was under federal investigation. Soon both he and Margie disappeared.
Margie's family worried that Yager was responsible for her disappearance since all her personal belongings, including her inhaler, were left behind. However, years after the episode aired, the couple was found living together in Mexico. Margie tragically died in a crash trying to flee authorities, but Yager was caught and charged.
Most Disturbing: Cindy James
This is another disturbing case that involves continued harassment from an unknown assailant. In this case, however, the parents of victim Cindy James believe she was murdered after being stalked for several years. Cindy began receiving threatening phone calls several months after divorcing her husband.
Things escalated from there and for the next seven years Cindy would have her phone lines cut, her porch lights smashed, and she was even attacked and beaten. Oftentimes after these attacks, she would have a nylon stocking tied around her neck. Police became skeptical and believed she was withholding information, and she was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Soon after she disappeared and her body was found tied up with a nylon stocking tied around her neck.
Fake: KROQ Confession
Unsolved Mysteries reported that, in 1990, two radio DJs had a murderer call into the station to confess the crime. The DJ's had a radio segment called "confess your crime" which is meant to be humorous.
But when they received a call from someone saying they had killed their girlfriend, authorities launched an investigation. After the episode, the DJS admitted it was a hoax to boost ratings.