Exploring the nations paving the way for the future of AI
Most people are familiar with the terrifying Annabelle doll that features so prominently in the 'Conjuring' cinematic universe (pictured), but did you know it's based on a real doll that still exists?
The story of the gem begins on the Moorish Iberian Peninsula, when it belonged to the Arab King Abū Sa'īd of 14th-century Granada. During the Christian reconquest of the peninsula, the Arab king was slain by Pedro the Cruel. Pedro took the gem as part of his war spoils, and legend has it that all the misfortune that befell Pedro, culminating in his death at the hands of his half-brother, were caused by the gem he stole in Granada.
Legend has it that this doll was gifted to a student nurse in the 1970s, who consulted a psychic when she started to suspect that the doll was possessed. The psychic confirmed that the doll was in fact possessed by a young deceased girl named Annabelle, and once Annabelle started to act violently towards her mortal caretaker, she was placed in the custody of spirit and demon expert Lorraine Warren and her husband Ed. The doll is purportedly kept behind glass in the Warren's haunted museum to this day.
The story of the lost Gold of Tolosa begins in the early days of the ancient Roman Republic, when the city of Tolosa (modern-day Toulouse, France) was ransacked by Roman proconsul Quintus Servilius Caepio. Records suggest that Caepio found and seized a massive hoard of wealth in the small town, but the tragedies that befell both Caepio and his bloodline far outweighed any initial financial gain.
Today, the massive spinel gem known as the Black Prince's Ruby is set front and center on the Imperial State Crown of the United Kingdom. The journey from the mine to the crown, however, was a long and violent one.
Caepio allegedly sent the gold back to Rome, but it never arrived. According to legend, the guards tasked with transporting the spoils were killed on the road, and the gold was never found again. Later, Caepio was responsible for one of the worst military failures in early Roman history, the Battle of Arausio in 105 BCE, in which 70,000 Roman troops perished. Over the years, Caepio's grandson died a young and inexplicable death; his great-grandson, Marcus Junius Brutus, was responsible for the death of Julius Caesar, the fall of the Roman Republic, and the birth of the tyrannical Roman Empire.
Perhaps the most famous gem in the world, the Hope Diamond has passed through many ill-fated hands over the years. The massive blue diamond originated in the mines of India, and is said to have been stolen from the eye of a statue in the 18th century.
The 186-carat gem known as the Koh-i-Noor diamond originated in India sometime between the 12th and 14th centuries. Ancient Indian tradition stated that "he who owns this diamond will own the world, but will also know all its misfortunes. Only God or woman can wear it with impunity.”
Legendary film star James Dean famously died an early and grisly death behind the wheel of his beloved Porsche 550 Spyder at the age of 24 years old. The car, one of the fastest (and most dangerous) in the world at the time, continued to wreak havoc even after the death of its famous owner.
The original and nameless thief was apparently torn apart by dogs, and over the years the various possessors of the alluring gem have faced murder, suicide, execution, and bankruptcy. The storied history of the Hope Diamond made many Americans weary when the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History acquired it, fearing that it would bring doom to the entire country. But since its last relocation in 1958, the curse of the diamond seems to have dissipated.
Various parts of Dean's car were salvaged and ended up in various other cars. The engine, for instance, was put under the hood of his friend William Eschrich's racing car, while the transmission and suspension were transferred to the car of racer Troy McHenry. Less than a year after Dean's death, both Eschrich and McHenry were involved in brutal car wrecks during the same race, with McHenry losing his life. It soon began to be suspected that the parts from the late movie star's car might be to blame.
In September 1991, one of the greatest scientific discoveries of all time was uncovered in the icy Alps crossing Italy and Austria. This would be the legendary Ötzi the Iceman, one of the oldest and best-preserved corpses ever found.
China's famous Terracotta Army consists of roughly 8,000 soldiers crafted by hand to protect China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang Di. Lost to time for thousands of years, this underground army of burial sentries was rediscovered by local farmers in 1974. The farmers were quickly cast aside by the ravenous and overzealous scientific community who poured into the area, but their lives were nonetheless permanently changed by their discovery.
Despite the wealth of historical and scientific knowledge that Ötzi granted his discoverers, he has also perhaps caused numerous inexplicable deaths. Within a year of his discovery, no less than seven people involved with the expedition met untimely deaths, giving rise to the now-infamous Curse of the Iceman.
Legend has it that the massive Great Bed of Ware was constructed in England during the 15th century, presumably for King Edward IV. The bed, however, was infamously uncomfortable, and was quickly discarded from the royal quarters.
The farmers, and the fellow residents of their nearby village, believed that nothing good would come from disturbing these eternal warriors tasked with protecting their emperor. In a sense, this turned out to be painfully true, as it took no time at all for their village to be torn down in order to make space for a village dedicated to the Terracotta Army.
King Tut's tomb was uncovered in 1923 by British state-sanctioned looters by the names of Howard Carter and George Herbert. The curse of the pharaohs may have been proven true, at least for Herbert, who suddenly died two months later after being bit by a mosquito.
The bed ended up making the rounds at various inns around the small English town of Ware, where the bed's ornate furnishings were regularly vandalized. According to legend, the original carpenter of the bed, one Jonas Fosbrooke, became so furious and hurt in life by the disrespect that his creation was met with, that his ghost guards the bed to this day, and harasses anyone of common blood who tries to rest in it.
The infamous Egyptian coffin lid known as the Unlucky Mummy first began to be bought and sold in the 1800s, and according to legend the first four people who owned the artifact all met early deaths. These, however, were far from the last tragedies linked to the Unlucky Mummy.
This Egyptian artifact, dating back to the 10th century BCE, has been blamed for all manner of disasters, from causing madness in those who study it, to the untimely deaths of those who report on it. One of the most outlandish claims posits that the Unlucky Mummy was on board the Titanic when the cruise liner made its ill-fated maiden voyage, leaving many to speculate that the mummy's curse is what caused the tragedy. Of course, the cursed coffin lid was able to escape unscathed, along with its protector at the time.
The curse of the pharaohs is one of the most infamous supernatural warnings in the world. It says that anyone who disturbs the final resting places of these ancient Egyptian rulers will be, well, cursed. But this threat has rarely come to fruition, except in the case of King Tutankhaten, better known as King Tut.
One of the most potent curses comes from a mirror that resides within the walls of the main manor. Legend has it that this mirror (not pictured) was left uncovered after the death of Sara Woodruff, the plantation's first mistress. To this day, visitors to the plantation claim that Woodruff's spirit is caught in the mirror's glass, and that her face and handprints can be seen within.
Deep in Louisiana lies the Myrtles Plantation, one of the United States' most haunted houses, claiming at least 10 mysterious murders within its grounds. It is said to be wrought with the ghosts of plantation owners and enslaved human beings.
During the 20th century, mathematician Harvey Dubner discovered what is quite possibly the most cursed prime number in the world: Belphegor's prime. Named after a Christian demon, Belphegor's prime consists of two sets of 13 zeroes. In the middle of these sets is the conventional number of the beast: 666. At the very beginning and the very end of the number is a one, bringing the total number of characters to 31, or 13 backwards. Some have claimed that the number can be found in the infamous Voynich manuscript, represented by an inverted pi symbol.
Despite that very explicit warning, the diamond has passed through the hands of many men over the centuries, virtually all of whom seemed to be cursed with inevitable destruction. In a climax of ill-fated conquest, the infamous East India Company acquired the gem some time around 1850. Less than a decade later, unprecedented revolts in British-occupied India brought a decisive end to one of history's most powerful organizations once and for all.
At the turn of the 21st century, a phone number in Bulgaria wreaked havoc upon those who were assigned to it, starting with the CEO of the phone company who owned the number, Mobitel.
The number, +359 888 888 888, is said to have caused the early death of Mobitel CEO Vladimir Grashnov, at the young age of 48, in 2001. The number's reign of terror didn't stop there, however. Before the number was finally taken out of circulation in 2010, it claimed the lives of two other people, including a Bulgarian crime lord who was assassinated and a businessman who was shot outside of a restaurant.
The Dybbuk box is an allegedly cursed wooden minibar that is inhabited by an evil dybbuk, a type of ghost demon from Hebrew mythology that is said to bring incessant nightmares and bad luck to those who possess it.
Sources: (Fodor's) (ScoopWhoop) (Atlas Obscura)
See also: The most haunted hotels around the world
It's understandable to assume that there is just too much satanic symbolism in this number for it not to be cursed. While Dubner himself lived a long and healthy life, writer, mathematician, and occasional occultist Clifford A. Pickover popularized the belief that Belphegor's prime was most certainly cursed, warning that the number was not to be stared at for too long.
There are many of these haunted items and artifacts all around the world, which might be to blame for some truly heinous crimes. From coffin lids sinking the Titanic, to terracotta sculptures with the power to wipe out villages, there's a lot more out there for you to be afraid of than you might have thought.
Do we have your attention? Read on to learn everything you need to know about the world's most haunted artifacts.
The most haunted objects in history
Items and treasures that bring about a downfall
LIFESTYLE Curiosities
Spooky stories of haunted houses, desecrated burial grounds, and seafaring specters are enough to send chills down anyone's spine, but we can all take solace in the fact that as long as we avoid these very specific places, no supernatural misfortune should come our way. So then, what do you do when it's not an area that's cursed, but an object? An object capable of moving throughout the world, always bringing tragedy and destruction in its wake? That's an entirely different story altogether.
There are many of these haunted items and artifacts all around the world, which might be to blame for some truly heinous crimes. From coffin lids sinking the Titanic, to terracotta sculptures with the power to wipe out villages, there's a lot more out there for you to be afraid of than you might have thought.
Do we have your attention? Read on to learn everything you need to know about the world's most haunted artifacts.