Throughout history - the occult has served as a foil to the societal norm, of dogmatic
religion and prescribed spiritualism.
Often associated with primal worship, witchcraft and ancient ritualistic practice - the occult
is a word shrouded by a veil of secrecy - that humanity has time and time again, through
forbidden literature and lost arts - attempted to peel back.
Hello horror fans - and once again welcome back to the scariest channel on YouTube - Top
5 Scary Videos - the place where no stone is left unturned in the frightful world of
horror fiction and fandom.
As always, I’ll be your spirit guide Jack Finch - as today, we curiously take a look
at the Top 5 Terrifying Occult Mysteries.
Roll the clip.
Granted - the world of the occult is a broad spectrum.
What some of us may explain away as the act of a deranged mind - others would argue that
there are more mysterious forces at play.
The term Satanism is often banded around as an explanation for these bizarre and often
brutal acts - but some of them - well, they don’t really have an explanation at all.
Let’s take a look shall we?
Kicking off at Number 5 - The Dyatlov Pass Incident
Which is, perhaps - one of the most unexplainable mysteries of the modern era - as far as intention
goes.
Granted, I will admit that the Dyatlov Pass Incident may not necessarily be explained
by an act of the occult - the most likely explanation being a logical yet tragically
coincidental accident - but you’ve got to admit, the red flags are there.
On January 25th 1959 - nine Russian students set out on a journey across the Otorten Mountain
range - nestled deep in the northern Urals.
They would never be seen alive again.
Their tent was originally found by a search party - after they’d been missing for over
a month.
It was found on the uppermost slope of Kholat Syakhl - or Mountain of the Dead in the native
language of northern Siberia.
All nine of the students were seasoned hikers and skiers - yet the scene told a different
story.
Their bodies were found scattered in various bizarre spots around the tents location - some
of them had burrowed up to 15 ft beneath the snow.
Most of them were naked, with a string of bewildering anomalies.
One of them, Lyudmilla Dubinina - was missing her tongue and eyes.
Others had broken bones and massive internal trauma - but perplexingly - no external injuries.
Not even a scratch.
Whatever happened on the Mountain of the Dead remains shrouded in mystery.
Coming in next at Number 4 - The San Francisco Satanic Beheading
On the 8th of February - 1981 - a homeless man, Leroy Carter Jr. was sleeping rough in
the Golden Gate Park of San Francisco.
That night, he was brutally attacked and murdered.
After the authorities had arrived on the scene the next morning - they discovered that his
head had been cut off.
Not only that - but it was nowhere to be found.
They scoured the crime scene - but it had appeared that the head was missing.
Bizarrely, perhaps the only clue at the crime scene - was a headless chicken - which had
partly been stuffed into Leroy Carter Jr.’s neck.
The San Francisco police were baffled.
They called in a specialist - Officer Sandi Gallant - who had built her career around
occult crimes.
From the beginning, she realised that the murder was perhaps related to a ritual involved
in Palo Mayombe - a black magic offshoot of the religion Santeria.
Their intention was to make a ritualised brew from Leroy Carter’s brain.
Strangely enough though - she also predicted that the head would be returned to the crime
scene after 42 days - in completion of the ritual.
Well - lo and behold - right on schedule, the head was returned exactly 42 days later.
However - no one had taken Officer Sandi Gallant seriously - and no one was watching the crime
scene to make an arrest.
The ritualistic murderer escaped justice - and the case remains unsolved to this day.
Next up at Number 3 - Pauline Picard
And we’re going all the way back to April, 1922 - in the rural area of Brittany, France.
On one fateful day - Little Pauline Picard, who was just two years old at the time - disappeared
from her family’s farm.
No one had seen her wonder off - and seemingly, she had vanished without a trace.
All search parties failed to find her - yet strangely enough - a few days later local
police received news that a little girl, who matched exactly the description of Pauline
Picard - had been found alone, wandering around the town of Cherbourg.
Which was over 300 kilometers away.
Her mother identified her via photograph, and the police were satisfied that it was
the same girl.
I know right, this case is absolutely insane.
But - hold on, because it gets weirder.
Because about a month later - a farmer that was walking near the Picard farm - stumbled
upon the last thing that anybody expected to find.
It was the mutilated and decomposing body of a young girl - perhaps two years old.
Next to her, was a pile of neatly folded clothes.
When the towns people arrived - Pauline’s parents included - they discovered that the
folded clothes were the exact same ones that Pauline had been wearing on the day that she
disappeared.
It was thought by police that the body had been deliberately placed - the crime scene
was pristine.
Even weirder though - I told you guys - was the fact that the skull of an adult male had
been placed next to the body.
If that was Pauline’s body, then who was the other kid?
What happened to Pauline?
And what the hell is going on with that mysterious skull?
Well, no one knows - and the strange case of little Pauline Picard remains France’s
greatest unsolved mystery.
Swinging in next at Number 2 - Jeannette DePalma On the chilly afternoon of Monday, August
7th 1972 - 16 year old Jeannette DePalma left her house in Springfield Township, New Jersey
to meet a friend, letting her mother know that she was taking the train on the way.
She was never seen alive again.
After her disappearance, her parents filed a missing person report with the Springfield
police, but the case went cold.
That is until six weeks later - on September 19th - when the skeletal remains of Jeannette
DePalma were found at the top of Springfield’s Houdaille Quarry.
This is where things get weird - and raises the question of a potential fault in the police
investigation.
According to several witnesses, her remains were surrounded by a pattern of strange occultist
objects - adorned into a coffin-shaped perimeter of wicker branches, and small wooden makeshift
symbols.
It is claimed by some residents of Springfield that this pattern was in actual fact a pentagram.
Jeanette DePalma’s autopsy did not reveal a cause of death - although the coroner suspected
strangulation.
Even more bizarrely, were the high amounts of lead found in her body - yet no explanation
for this was given, either.
Eventually, the case went cold - and the tragic murder of Jeannette DePalma remains a mystery.
And finally - at our Number 1 spot - Bella In The Wych Elm.
Who Put Bella Down The Wych Elm?
Is a common question asked in the West Midlands area of Hagley, near Birmingham.
I’ve seen it myself, often written in scrawling graffiti on brick walls.
It’s a mystery that has perplexed the Midlands for over half a century - yet still remains
to be answered.
On April the 18th, 1943 - four young boys went poaching in the woods of the Hagley Hall
Estate - thinking they’d find some bird nests ripe for picking.
After climbing a Wych Elm tree - the then 15-year-old Bob Farmer made a much more gruesome
discovery.
Inside the hollow opening of the tree’s trunk, wedged tightly inside - were the skeletal
remains of a woman, entirely complete save for one missing hand.
Police were dispatched to the scene and found it exactly as described.
Later, buried near the tree - they found the woman’s severed hand, along with several
items of clothing believed to belong to her.
Local’s dubbed her Bella - and rumours stirred of a witches coven, black magic and an occultist
execution.
Police investigation later discovered that the woman - who was believed to be between
35 and 40 - had been placed into the tree’s hollow while still warm, where she had remained
hidden for at least 18 months.
Nothing else is known about Bella, and how she ended up in the Wych Elm - and it remains
one of England’s most terrifying occult mysteries.
Where there we have it folks - cheers for sticking around all the way to the end.
What do you guys think?
What mysteries keep you awake at night?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below.
Before we depart though, let’s read out some of your best comments from the past few
days.
First up - Mackenzie Shoop says - One of my favorite Horror movies is Repo the genetic
opera.
And yes Mackenzie Shoop - Repo is absolutely awesome.
Who knew that Paris Hilton would end up in a necromerchant flick, eh?
Clay Talman says - Hello Awesome Jack.
Was worried you’d make us listen to Taylor Swift, I would have had to unsubscribe for
that.
Well Clay my good buddy - you know I’d only ever make you listen to Taylor Swift if it
was wrapped up in an appropriate Cthulhu based joke.
Glad to see you’re still kicking around.
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