Here are 9 of history's creepiest cursed artifacts.
Although they're lifeless, they'll still bring chills up your spine!
Number 9: The Dybbuk Box In Jewish folklore, there is believed to exist
dybbuks, malicious spirits that are the dislocated souls of dead people.
In 2004, a man named Kevin Mannis auctioned a wine cabinet he referred to as the Dybuuk
Box, which he described as containing the evil spirit that has wreaked havoc to the
box's previous owners.
Mannis, who owned a small antique shop in Portland claimed that he bought the box at
an estate sale in 2003.
It was once owned by a Jewish holocaust survivor named Havela who purchased it in Spain before
moving to the United States.
Havela's granddaughter told Mannis that they did not want the box, and they had always
kept it shut out of fear of the dybbuk living inside.
The box had since been in the possession of numerous owners, all having experienced strange
phenomena.
Mannis himself claimed he experienced horrific nightmares shared by other previous owners,
and his mother suffered a stroke the day he presented the box to her as a birthday present.
The box became the inspiration for Sam Raimi's 2012 film "The Possession".
Number 8: Maori Warrior Masks The Maoris are the indigenous people of modern
day New Zealand, and are known for their fierceness.
They loved to taunt and scare their enemies, and carved out scary looking masks to wear
in battle.
They believed that when killed in battle, a warrior's spirit will remain within his
mask.
A Wellington based museum that houses these masks has imposed a rather strange rule for
visitors - any pregnant and menstruating women are to stay away from their tour of sacred
Maori artifacts, or risk incurring the curse.
The museum stated that this was done following demands by Maori tribes who provided the items
in the first place.
According to Maori tradition, just like their artifacts, menstruating and pregnant women
are considered taboo.
This means that when they come into contact, a curse could be invoked.
Number 7: Pompeii Artifacts The ancient Roman town of Pompeii was destroyed
in the eruption of Mount Vesuvias nearly 2000 years ago.
The eruption not only destroyed the city, but also killed thousands of its inhabitants,
burying them under tons of volcanic ash.
Today the site has become a popular tourist attraction in modern day Naples, in Italy.
But it seems like the Roman gods are not done with Pompeii, as tourists who pilfer the site
are also punished.
Among the thousands who visit the ruins every year, there are those who go home with a little
more than just memories - they take some relics themselves.
However, many tourists who have slipped pieces of Pompeii's archeological remains in their
pockets have come to regret their actions, claiming the items are cursed.
According to Pompeii's archeological superintendant Massimo Osanna, he has received up to 100
packages from around the world containing stolen items from the site, accompanied by
letters claiming they brought bad luck.
A man from Latin America wrote saying that his family faced trauma after trauma after
he took a stone from Pompeii.
In another instance, five packages had been sent from Spain, including a bronze statue
which had been gone for over a decade, accompanied with a letter from a man complaining it had
cursed his entire family.
Number 6: The Hope Diamond The Hope Diamond is one of the most famous
jewels in the world.
Its exceptionally rare blue color and large size awes anyone who looks at it, and has
ownership records dating back almost four hundred years.
According to some early accounts, the diamond was originally an eye of a sculpted statue
of the goddess Sita that resided in a temple in India.
Legend has it that the statue's "eye" was stolen, and the temple priests then laid a
curse on whoever was in possession of the missing gemstone.
The curse proved to work a bit too well, as anyone even remotely linked to the Hope Diamond
would end up suffering misfortunes.
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, the 17th Century merchant who brought it from India to France
died during his travels.
The French royal family held it for over 100 years, with King Louis XVI being the last
to hold it.
He ended up with his head chopped off at the guillotine, along with his family members
during the French Revolution.
The legend continues with many other wealthy owners and diamond dealers who suffered diseases,
murders, suicides, and mental illnesses after coming into contact with the diamond.
The Hope Diamond currently resides in the Smithsonian Museum, and the curse is said
to have gone dormant after its acquisition by the non-profit national museum.
Number 5: Gettysburg Rocks The Battle of Gettysburg fought in 1863 had
the largest number of casualties of the entire American Civil War.
It is considered the most costly battle in American history, with casualties from both
sides reaching up to 50,000 soldiers in the intense 3 day battle.
Today, the battlefield is well preserved and maintained by the US National Park Service,
and receives many visitors every year.
Every now and then, the park would receive envelopes or packages containing rocks and
notes from previous visitors.
In each letter the sender would usually apologize about taking the rocks from Gettysburg, and
wanting to return them as they believed them to be cursed.
One letter from a man read that after taking several stones from the site, he got injured
on the job, went through several surgeries, relationship failures, and other misfortunes.
Another man wrote saying that he lost his house, spent 9 years behind bars, and had
his wife leave him.
Gettysburg now warns its visitors from attempting theft at their park, saying: Don't take our
rocks - unless, of course, you want to be cursed.
Number 4: Otzi the Iceman In September 1991, a frozen mummy was found
in a glacier in the Otztal Alps at the border between Austria and Italy.
Otzi the Iceman, as he was nicknamed, lived more than five thousand years ago, and is
Europe's oldest known naturally preserved human corpse, offering valuable information
for researchers and scientists studying him.
But over the years, many people connected to the discovery and research of the Iceman
have died under mysterious and violent circumstances, prompting allegations of an "Otzi mummy curse".
This includes co-discoverer Helmut Simon who went missing while on a hike in the Austrian
Alps in 2004.
His remains were found days later, believed to have plunged 100 meters down to his death
in an accident.
Konrad Spindler, who was head of the Iceman investigation team followed a few months later,
dying due to complications arising from multiple sclerosis.
Other victims include Dr. Rainer Henn, a forensic expert who laid the mummy in a body bag with
his bare hands, and who died in a traffic accident while on his way to a conference
to discuss about the important discovery.
Kurt Frits, a mountain guide who organized the mummy's transport by helicopter died in
the mountains he knew so well, from a snow avalanche.
There was also Rainer Hoelz, a journalist who filmed the Iceman's recovery, who died
from a brain tumor.
Number 3: The Koh-i-Noor Diamond Koh-i-Noor which translates as Mountain of
Light in Persian is a 105 carat diamond, one of the largest and most well known in the
world.
Originating from India, it has belonged to various rulers, among them Hindu, Mughal,
Afghan, and Sikh, before finally ending up in the hands of the British Monarch.
The large gemstone has been fought over and seized time and time again in many wars for
hundreds of years.
But owning the Koh-i-Noor comes with the price of a terrifying curse.
An old Hindu text from the time of the diamond's first authenticated appearance in the early
14th Century reads: “He who owns this diamond will own the world, but will also know all
its misfortunes.
Only God, or a woman, can wear it with impunity.”
True to those words, all male possessors of the diamond have suffered terrible luck.
Nader Shah, the Persian King who obtained the diamond after seizing Indian territories
in the 1700s suffered terrible health, and was later stabbed to death by his own bodyguard.
The diamond would eventually fall into the hands of the rulers of the Sikh Empire.
The empire was short lived, surviving only 50 years with many of its rulers falling ill,
dethroned, murdered, and dying violent deaths, before being defeated by the British.
The diamond was sent to Britain, and a cholera outbreak occurred on the ship that carried
it.
The British Royal family was obviously aware of the diamond's curse, and when the Koh-i-noor
came into their possession during the reign of Queen Victoria, it has only been passed
down to female rulers and the wives of male rulers.
Number 2: The Terra Cotta Army The terracotts soldiers are without doubt
the most impressive collection of human sculptures in the world, with over 8000 soldiers and
600 horses depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of a unified China.
But for the locals who first discovered the statues, the terracotta army has brought them
nothing but despair.
In 1974, seven local farmers in Lintong District of Shaanxi province unearthed terracotta figures
while digging a water well close to the Qin Emperor’s tomb mound nearby.
The discovery lead to further investigations by Chinese archeologists, and they soon revealed
the largest ever pottery figurine group in the country.
The discovery brought riches to China, but not for the farmers.
They had their lands taken away, and their homes destroyed in order to make way for archeological
purposes.
Not just the men, but the whole village was ruined financially.
Many fell ill, could not afford health care, and were riddled with debts.
Three of the farmers died at a relatively young age - one from suicide.
Many blame the Chinese government for the fate of these men, but some believe the terracotta
army itself is cursed.
Number 1: The Tomb of Tutankhamun You've probably heard of the terrifying curse
of King Tut's tomb, even if you're not much into Egyptology. 1923 remains an important
date in the field of archeology and the study of Ancient Egypt when Howard Carter and his
team opened the untouched tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty Tutankhamun.
Unlike other tombs in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, King Tut's tomb had never been raided
by tomb robbers and was still packed full of priceless treasures.
Unfortunately the discovery came with a price - a curse that fell upon every member of the
archeology team.
It started with the expedition's main sponsor and financial backer, Lord Carnavon.
He died less than 2 months after the tomb was opened, due to an infection when he accidentally
shaved a mosquito bite on his face.
7 years later, and the body count of those linked to the tomb's discovery had risen to
7 - all dying of unnatural causes.
By 1935, that number had climbed to a whopping 21.
Howard Carter himself passed away in 1939 due to Hodgkin's Lymphoma.