- Today, when you think of a masked figure,
you very likely think of a superhero.
However, movies are not reality and sometimes reality
can be more unsettling.
There are people, or beings, that have been documented
to exist, some of them very well known,
whose identities are still a mystery
behind the mask that they never removed.
Here are 10 masked figures whose identities
are still unknown.
Number 10 is the Plague Doctor.
On May 9, 2015, the Swedish tech blog gadgetzz.com
released a two-minute black-and-white video
that they'd allegedly received to their offices
on a DVD from an anonymous source.
Called 11BX1371, the clip was named after the characters
physically written on the DVD itself.
Believed to have been filmed in a sanitarium
outside of Otwock, Poland, the video features
a figure that many think is male in gender
dressed in black robes and wearing
a plague doctor mask on his head to effectively
hide his identity.
A number of coded messages have been discovered
hidden in the imagery as well as the audio of the video
by sharp-eyed viewers,
but what it's meant to indicate is widely debated.
Who is this figure and what do they want?
Unfortunately, no one knows to this day.
Number nine is The Visalia Ransacker.
Starting on March 19, 1974, a masked man began
breaking into homes in Visalia, California,
continuing to burgle home after home for 18 months.
Dubbed The Visalia Ransacker, his crimes were limited
to burglary, prowling, and voyeuring,
that was until September 11th of 1975
when he attempted to kidnap 16-year-old Beth Snelling
from her home and was confronted by her father,
45-year-old Claude Snelling in the family's carport.
The Ransacker shot Claude twice, ultimately killing him.
The investigation into these crimes ending up being
the most expensive one the city of Visalia
has ever undertaken, and retains that record to this day.
When James DeAngelo, the Golden State Killer,
was arrested, it was believed he might also be
The Visalia Ransacker, but it could be several years
before that's ever proven in court.
Number eight is The Geezer Bandit.
On August 28, 2009, an older-looking man walked
into a US bank in Santee, California,
handed a teller a note which said he wanted money
and pointed a gun at them.
He went on to rob 15 more,
each time doing something similar.
Given the name The Geezer Bandit by the media,
the culprit appears to be between 75 and 80 years old.
However, eyewitness accounts and security footage
have caught him moving unlike any man of that age.
Authorities believe that the criminal that
they're looking for isn't old at all,
but is a master of disguise and is using
movie effects makeup to simply appear that way.
A $20,000 reward was offered for information
that led to the arrest and conviction of The Geezer Bandit,
an offer which still stands to this day
as the seemingly old man is still at large and unidentified.
Number seven is Claptone.
Specializing in techno and house genres,
Claptone is a world-famous electronic dance music DJ
with, what turns out, is a number of secrets
that he hides under his false facade.
Claptone's standard outfit consists of a black t-shirt,
white gloves, a black top hat, and an unsettling
gold-colored mask with a long beak,
which makes him resemble a bird of some kind.
He wears the mask to force his listeners
to discuss his music over gossiping over his life
as an unidentifiable human being.
And for the most part, it works.
Little is known of the music producer
beyond him being male, Caucasian,
and hailing from Berlin, Germany.
He claims that, to him, the gold mask is his face.
However, all of his secrecy is irrelevant
if prevailing theories are correct
that Claptone isn't one person, but several.
Number six is the Max Headroom broadcast.
On the evening of November 22, 1987, a number of people
watching television in Chicago, Illinois were shocked
to suddenly find themselves looking
at the masked face of a signal pirate.
Two very creepy separate broadcast
signal hijackings took place,
the first, which lasted 25 seconds, during a local
news program sports segment.
That one occurred shortly after nine p.m.,
while the second was during an airing of a Doctor Who
special around 11 p.m., which lasted around 90 seconds.
At least two culprits caused the interruption,
one of them in front of the camera
wearing an unsettling mask that resembled Max Headroom,
a fictional artificial intelligence character
from the mid-1980s.
Although the hack made headlines across the United States,
the culprits were never apprehended, or even identified.
Number five is The Phantom Killer.
Just before midnight on February 22, 1946,
25-year-old Jimmy Hollis and his girlfriend,
19-year-old Mary Jeanne Larey, were parked
in a scheduled spot labeled by locals as Lovers Lane,
when they were attacked by an unknown assailant.
The attacker wore a white mask with holes cut out
for eyes and mouth, and struck each of them
multiple times with a pistol.
Both of them were lucky enough to survive the encounter,
but others were not so lucky.
Nicknamed The Phantom Killer, the attacker,
who appeared to be male in gender due to his
physical build and voice, killed five people
and severely injured three more
in the area of Texarkana on the border
of Texas and Arkansas over the course of just 10 weeks.
To this day, he has still never been identified.
Number four is The Zodiac.
On December 20, 1968, The Zodiac Killer began
terrifying citizens all over Northern California
as he went on a shooting and stabbing spree,
targeting mostly couples.
Credited officially with five murders,
it's possible The Zodiac took the lives
of as many as 37 individuals as he claimed
as much in some of his messages.
Surprisingly, although he's known to be one
of the most notorious famous serial killers of all time,
The Zodiac Killer did leave a few survivors.
However, he has still never been identified,
and thus, never brought to justice.
Some of the survivors describe the killer
as wearing an all black costume with several Zodiac symbols
on it, and a hood, which covered his face
and had the target Zodiac symbol
he's often closely associated with on it.
Still to this day, the case is open in various counties.
Number three is The Man in the Iron Mask.
Arrested sometime between 1669 and 1670,
an unidentified individual was bounced around
between several French prisons, including the Bastille
and the Fortress of Pignerol until his death
on November 19, 1703.
However, nobody ever saw his face,
as it was immediately covered by a mask
upon his imprisonment and it remained in it
for all of his 34 years that he spent in jail.
Though he was given the name Marchioly,
the true identity of the man in the mask,
which some claim was made of iron and was literally
locked onto his head, has been debated amongst experts.
A popular theory says that he was the illegitimate
older brother of King Louis XIV, however,
we may never know who this mysterious prisoner really was.
Number two is Banksy.
While most artists usually enjoy being recognized
for their work, there are some who prefer anonymity,
and in cases like that of the insanely talented
street artist known only as Banksy,
there are some who can't reveal their identities
for fear of prosecution by the law.
Based in the United Kingdom, this graffiti artist
turned film director is praised by many
as being a positive force for change
as a political activist, while others condemn him
for being a vandal and a criminal.
Banksy has been described by one individual
who interviewed the artist in 2003 as being
a cross between singer Jimmy Nail
and streets rapper Mike Skinner,
appearing to be around 28 years old and Caucasian,
with a silver tooth, silver necklace, and silver earring.
But even with that description and knowing
much of his backstory, Banksy's identity is still unknown.
And number one is Anonymous.
Originating in 2003, the hacktivist group
known only as Anonymous has been getting cyber justice
on individuals, corporations, and institutions
all over the world.
Anonymous is famous for their online terrorizing
of the Scientology religion's online presence,
and were even named one of the world's 100
most influential people by Time magazine in 2012.
Whenever they enter the public spotlight
for any reason, members of the group hide
their identities behind Guy Fawkes masks,
which in addition to the most famous member
of the Gunpowder Plot and the main character
from V from Vendetta now symbolizes their organization.
Although dozens of individuals have been arrested
for their involvement in crimes attributed to Anonymous,
the identities of most of these
under their flag are unknown.
(creepy music)