11 Creepy Things That Will Make You Lose Sleep

The world is a horror show.

1. The emergency room visit and death of Gloria Ramirez.

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On Feb. 19, 1994, Gloria Ramirez was admitted into the ER at the Riverside General Hospital in Riverside, California. She was in the late stages of cervical cancer and was suffering from an elevated heartbeat and abnormal breathing patterns. She was also very confused. Hospital staff noticed she was covered in an oily sheen, and a garlic-like odor was coming from her mouth. Upon drawing blood, they noticed an ammonia-like smell radiating from the tube, and odd particles floating in her blood.

Then several members of the hospital staff treating Ramirez became ill and passed out. An evacuation of the hospital was ordered, while a skeleton crew continued treating Ramirez. Twenty-three people fell ill, with five of them requiring hospitalization. The official cause of death was ruled as kidney failure. After an investigation, there were many theories and hypotheses for what happened, but no concrete evidence.

2. These strange lights that appeared over Phoenix.

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On March 13, 1997, the residents of Phoenix witnessed a large, black, V-shaped craft with five spherical lights hovering in the sky. According to witnesses, the lights moved in strange patterns before disappearing altogether. At the time, the governor of Arizona, Fife Symington, dismissed the UFO theories. But 10 years later, he described the lights as "otherworldly."

3. The air raid on the Japanese island of Chichijima and the subsequent capture of US servicemen during World War II.

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During World War II, a US air raid took place on the Japanese island of Chichijima, using four Grumman TBM Avenger aircraft. Nine airmen went down during the raid, including then-Lieutenant Junior Grade George H.W. Bush. While Bush was rescued by the USS Finback, the others had disturbing fates. They were taken in by the Japanese forces and executed, and their livers were eaten by their captors.

4. This laughter epidemic that shut down 14 schools.

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On Jan. 30, 1962, at a boarding school near Tanzania's border with Uganda, three girls started laughing uncontrollably. The laughter fit spread throughout the school, affecting 95 students. This laughing epidemic forced the school to temporarily close, and the students were sent home. It spread to nearby villages and finally died off after 18 months.

In total, 14 schools shut down and over 1,000 people were affected. The cause of the epidemic was hypothesized to be stress.

5. The deaths of nine ski hikers who died under really bizarre and mysterious circumstances.

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In February 1959, nine hikers were found dead near their campsite in the northern part of the Ural Mountains in Russia. During the night, "an unknown compelling force" made the hikers tear out of their tents and rush into the extreme cold with no proper clothing — some of them barefoot. Six of the hikers died from hypothermia. However, some showed signs of physical trauma. One hiker had signs of a fractured skull, and another had brain damage but no signs of skull distress. And a female hiker had her tongue and eyes missing.

The chronology of the events remains unknown.

6. The largest meteoroid impact event, which flattened 770 square miles of forest.

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On June 30, 1908, an explosive air burst from a meteoroid flattened 770 miles of forest near the Stony Tunguska River in Russia. It's considered the largest impact event on Earth in recorded history. The air burst was estimated to have the energy of roughly 3–5 megatons of TNT. Over 80 million trees were destroyed, and the shock blast would've been recorded at a 5.0 on the Richter scale. But despite the magnitude of the destruction, there were no casualties.

7. The mass suicide of these 39 cult members.

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Around March 24–26, 1997, 39 members of the Heaven's Gate cult killed themselves in a San Diego home, believing their souls would board a spacecraft trailing Comet Hale-Bopp. Their bodies were discovered on March 26.

The members took phenobarbital mixed in with apple sauce and downed with vodka. They also covered their heads with plastic bags. All the members wore black clothing with brand new Nike shoes. They also each had a five-dollar bill and three quarters in their pockets. The suicide occurred over three days, with 15 people dying on the first day, another 15 on the second, and nine on the last day. The remaining members would clean up after those who died.

8. The crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 in the Andes, where survivors had to eat the dead passengers to survive.

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On Oct. 13, 1972, a chartered flight carrying 45 people crashed in the Andes. A quarter of the passengers died in the crash, some succumbing to the freezing conditions. With no food or heat, the remaining survivors were forced to eat the dead passengers for nourishment. Sixteen of the passengers made it out alive after being rescued months later on Dec. 23, 1972.

9. The Station nightclub fire that was famous for how quickly the flames engulfed the building.

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On Feb. 20, 2003, at The Station nightclub in Rhode Island, pyrotechnics were set off during a rock concert, causing the building's plastic foam insulators to catch fire. It took five and a half minutes for the club to be engulfed in flames. The rapid growth of the fire, the black smoke, and the blockage of the main exit resulted in 100 deaths and 230 injuries.

Video of the incident was captured by cameraman Brian Butler as part of a planned piece of reportage on nightclub safety.

10. This dancing plague that affected around 400 people, leading to the deaths of some of them.

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In July 1518, in Strasbourg, Alsace, Mrs. Troffea began to dance for 4–6 days. That week, 34 others joined in. Within the month, there were 400 dancers, most of them female. Some of the dancers died from exhaustion, heart attacks, and strokes. No one knows why this happened. A report indicated that 15 people were dying a day due to the dancing mania.

One theory for the mass dancing hysteria was the consumption of a natural form of LSD, found in a fungus that grows on grains in the wheat family.

11. This voicemail recording from a serial killer who has never been caught.

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The "Original Night Stalker" (not Richard Ramirez), also known as the "East Area Rapist," is suspected of having committed over 50 rapes and killed over 12 people in a span of 10 years. The man suspected of being the "Night Stalker" called one of his victims and left this chilling message in a menacing, breathy voice:

"Gonna kill you...gonna kill you...gonna kill you...bitch...bitch...bitch...bitch...fucking whore."

The call was recorded by law enforcement. The serial killer/rapist is yet to be found.