Category: Historic

For centuries, Great Zimbabwe has led to spirited debate about its place in the heritage and history of Africa. But all the debate and theorizing comes down to one, insurmountable basic question: what exactly is Great Zimbabwe?

Structurally, Great Zimbabwe appears to be a medieval African city near Masvingo in Zimbabwe, with a large conical tower and circular curtain wall. Right from its beginning around 1100 AD, people used to live in Great Zimbabwe.

However, during the 15th century, it was abandoned due to unclear reasons, and only the stone remains can be seen today.

Great Ruins Of The Zimbabwe

Great Zimbabwe is believed to have been constructed over centuries, between 1100 AD and 1600 AD. Towards the end of this period in 1531, the name of Great Zimbabwe was recorded by Vicente Pegado. “Zimbabwe” is known to be a Shona (indigenous farmers) name given to the ruins, referring to the stone houses found in the ruins.

According to the researchers, Great Zimbabwe was not built on a central plan. Instead, it was designed in such a way so as to be able to adapt to its changing population and roles. The historical site was clearly successful in this, growing to an area of nearly 720 hectares (1,779 acres).

The center of Great Zimbabwe consists of three main areas, namely, the Great Enclosure, the Valley Ruins, and the Hill Complex.

The Hill Complex is the oldest among the three, with some studies suggesting that it may have been constructed as early as 900 AD. It forms a structural ruin series located on the top of the steepest hill of Great Zimbabwe, and is believed to be the religious center of the historical site.

The second area, the Great Enclosure, lies just below the Hill Complex and is a circular, walled area dating back to the 14th century. The circumference of the enclosure is about 820 feet (250 m), and the height of the walls is 32 feet (10 m). The actual function of the Great Enclosure is not known. However, a number of archaeologists believe that it could be a symbolic facility used for storing grains or a royal residence.

The third significant area of Great Zimbabwe is the Valley Ruins. The Valley Ruins include a number of mud-brick houses located close to the Great Enclosure. The number of houses and their distributions hinted that Great Zimbabwe had a huge population, of nearly 10,000 to 20,000 people.

Great Zimbabwe is quite unusual not just in terms of the size but also in terms of the stonework. A number of structures present at the site were constructed from rectangular blocks. In some places, the stonework is surprisingly sophisticated.

At the entrance of a number of houses, there were rounded steps that looked carefully carved. Certain walls were decorated with chevron designs. All of this points to a city of decoration and beauty.

Not a “Lost City”

Many researchers refer to Great Zimbabwe as a lost city. However, the real fact is that it was never lost. The Zimbabwe people have always known about the ruins.

During the 19th and 20th centuries, European explorers reached Great Zimbabwe, took some artifacts, and promptly started claiming that the city was not built by the Africans. Led by misguided prejudice and racism, they refused to accept that an African culture could have built such a structure.

Instead, they decided that Phoenicians or groups from Europe or Asia were actually responsible for building Great Zimbabwe. Karl Mauch was among the earliest Europeans who described Great Zimbabwe. He claimed that the Queen of Sheba, a Biblical figure, was behind the building of Great Zimbabwe.

However, all such claims have been dismissed by mainstream current archaeologists. Today, it is believed by scholars that Great Zimbabwe has indeed been built by ancestors of the Shona, and other groups in Zimbabwe.

The People And The Climate

When it comes to people living in Great Zimbabwe, many have concluded that a type of Shona-speaking people named Karanga were the rulers of the ruins, but this is far from settled in the scientific community.

Certainly, evidence such as the pottery found in ruins suggests that Karanga people lived in Great Zimbabwe. However, this is not conclusive, and there is another theory relating to the people living in Great Zimbabwe.

According to that theory, it is believed that the people were descendants of the people at Leopard’s Kopje, an Iron Age site located at a distance of approximately 100 miles (161 km) from Great Zimbabwe.

Nevertheless, the reason for choosing the site appears clear from the perspective of the weather. Great Zimbabwe has a tropical savanna climate that receives rainfall from October, through to the month of April or May.

A majority of rainfall in ruins occurs in the form of a fine mist, brought in by the southeast trade winds. The climatic conditions were quite favorable in the region and were entirely suitable for supporting a growing population.

Treasures Of The Great Zimbabwe

Throughout its human occupation, the material culture of Great Zimbabwe mainly consisted of imported glass beads, local pottery, grinding stones, spindle whorls, and finished metal objects. But there were treasures to be found here as well.

The most significant artifacts discovered from Great Zimbabwe were eight birds made of soapstone, each about 13 inches (33 cm) high. Most researchers believe that the eight birds are birds of prey. However, the species has not been identified clearly, and the carvings seems to combine avian and human elements.

According to Paul Hubbard, a researcher at the National Museum and Monuments of Zimbabwe, some of the birds had human lips. Moreover, all the birds had four or five fingers or toes. Each of the eight birds had a unique marking or pattern. However, none of them had any resemblance to the local creatures.

Out of the eight birds, six of them were found in a location in the Great Zimbabwe called the Eastern Enclosure, on a hill. A large amount of cultural evidence found in the Eastern Enclosures indicates that it was mainly used for ceremonial functions.

Other notable artifacts found in Great Zimbabwe include iron gongs, copper and iron wire, bronze spearheads, copper crucibles, and ingots, worked ivory, iron holes, sheaths, pendants, gold beads, and bracelets. Various artifacts were also recovered from Great Zimbabwe which evidence its long-distance trade routes.

These include porcelain and glass beads from Persia and China, and an Arab coin of the 14th century. Syrian glass, iron spoons, bronze bells, coral, Persian faience bowls, and celadon dishes of China were other artifacts that seem to have been acquired from distant lands.

Great Wealth

Great Zimbabwe certainly seems to have been a wealthy city. Aside from trade, the wealth of the site was mainly generated through gold and cattle production. Towards the west side of Great Zimbabwe, there are various mines at a distance of nearly 25 miles (40 km).

According to one popular theory, the rulers of Great Zimbabwe did not have any direct control over these different gold mines, instead trading for it with the miners. They used to buy huge quantities of gold in exchange for their cattle. And for this Great Zimbabwe was perfectly placed, in a central location which allowed it to trade across Africa and beyond. There are definitely links with the great trading towns of the East African Coast like Malindi, Mogadishu, and Kilwa. The trade networks even extended to different towns in the Persian Gulf, China, and the western region of India.

Decline Of Great Zimbabwe

By the 15th century, Great Zimbabwe appears to have been in decline. The actual reasons for the abandonment and decline of the site are still unknown. Researchers suggest that some of the possible reasons for the decline of Great Zimbabwe could be political instability, water shortages and famine due to climatic changes, declining trade, or exhaustion of the gold mines.

While there are a number of theories relating to the decline of the city, one of the most prominent is the environmental one. It is believed that drought and overgrazing resulted in the exhaustion of the Zimbabwe soil.

According to the estimations made by the researchers, about 30,000 people used to live on the land of Great Zimbabwe and in nearby areas. The drop in productivity from their lands resulted in famine and would have made survival quite difficult for the people of Great Zimbabwe.

Another prominent explanation of the decline of Great Zimbabwe is that the people had to shift in order to enhance and grow their gold trade networks. Whatever the cause, by 1500 AD the Great Zimbabwe site was completely abandoned, its people scattered to the north and the south.

Misappropriation and Plunder

After its abandonment Great Zimbabwe lay abandoned for about 200 years, occasionally used for some religious ceremonies. But by the late 1800s Europeans reached Great Zimbabwe, attracted by legends of the gold mines of King Solomon.

Sadly, this influx of adventurers led to the archaeological record of the site being completely damaged. What is left is very hard to interpret. Karl Mauch, the German explorer mentioned previously, first arrived at Great Zimbabwe in 1871.

He befriended Adam Render, another German and a Karanga leader, who guided him to the site. Simply viewing the ruins, Mauch immediately concluded that Great Zimbabwe was not built by the Africans. As the culture of the site was advanced, and the stonework was sophisticated, he believed that it could only be the works of Israelite settlers or Phoenicians.

After Karl Mauch, Willi Posselt, a less scrupulous man, visited Great Zimbabwe. He looted the carved birds and went on to hide other artifacts of the site, so that he could return and collect them later.

Following Posselt, there were a number of other visitors who went to the site and took away gold and other valuable assets. Much of what was not valuable to them was destroyed.

Clumsy Archaeology

James Theodore Bent was known to be the first true archaeologist who visited Great Zimbabwe. However, his methods were not ideal, and in 1891 he created more confusion by digging at the conical tower in the Great Enclosure.

This not only destroyed the stratigraphy but also made it next to impossible for other archaeologists to determine the real age of the enclosure. Bent even threw away the metal and clay artifacts found on the site as he considered them to be insignificant.

Later, in 1905, the site was again excavated by an Egyptologist named David Randall-MacIver. David had studied under the guidance of the famous archaeologist William Matthew Flinders Petrie. He found a number of artifacts that were similar to those used by Karanga or Shona-speaking people.

He also concluded that the stonework was not Arabic, and that the Great Zimbabwe was built by the native Africans. Two other researchers also agreed with Randall-MacIver’s findings: J. F. Schofield in 1926 and Gertrude Caton-Thompson in 1929.

While archaeological evidence kept mounting over the years, the majority of the European settlers continued to reject these conclusions. Archaeologists like Peter S. Garlake, who were vocal about Great Zimbabwe’s native origin, were imprisoned.

Africans holding similar views were terminated from their jobs. Displays at Great Zimbabwe site were censored, and the locals were prevented from using the site for their ceremonies.

The Rejection Of Colonial Prejudice

Coming back to the present, Great Zimbabwe is symbolic of African cultural development. A number of popular books on Great Zimbabwe have made the site more accessible to the Zimbabwe people.

However, due to the various archaeological mistakes made in the past, the history of Great Zimbabwe is still elusive. The ruins are now offered protection by the “National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe.” Great Zimbabwe has also been declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

However, fewer than 10 archaeologists and only 2 conservators are present in Zimbabwe in order to look after and study all archaeological sites in the country, including the Great Zimbabwe. While some efforts are being made, the site will continue to decline, and more secrets of this enigmatic African trading nation may be lost forever.

Top Image: Ruins at the Great Zimbabwe. Source: Marco / Adobe Stock.

On May 6, 1937, the 30-year era of rigid airships came to a sudden, shocking end. The massive, lighter-than-air civilian aircraft known as zeppelins had been the last word in luxury transport for more than a decade, crossing the Atlantic in near silence and bringing Europe and the United States within easy aerial reach for the first time.

But, on that fateful day, it all came crashing down. The mighty Hindenburg, pride of the Nazi regime and wonder of the age, burst into flame as it came in to land at the Naval Air Station Lakehurst, near Manchester Township in New Jersey.

Airships when grounded were tethered to a mooring tower, the most famous of which sits atop the Empire State Building (although passengers were understandably queasy about disembarking there). As the airship came in to its mooring tower, in an instant it caught fire and crashed to the ground. The whole incident took fewer than 40 seconds.

The disaster took 35 lives on that airship, and one ground crew member was also killed, but amazingly 62 out of the 97 passengers and crew did survive this accident. The entire event was sensationalized when reporters and film crews captured the explosion and crash from the ground, with Herbert Morrison recording the famous words “Oh! The Humanity!” as the flaming wreckage came down in front of his eyes

The End of the Zeppelin Era

Thirty years of passenger travel with the commercial zeppelins came to an end on that day. By the time the Hindenburg came in to land, there had been around 2,000 operational flights without a single injury being recorded.

Furthermore, zeppelins were the last word in luxury travel. Passengers onboard the Hindenburg were able to travel from Europe to North and South America in just half the time that the fastest ocean liner took. Moreover, the interiors were also more luxurious than any aircraft before or since, spacious and comfortable. There were dining rooms, a piano lounge, comfortable sleeping cabins and even a smoking room nestled between the vast hydrogen cells that kept the airship afloat.

But was it the hydrogen, the very gas which allowed the Hindenburg to float in the sky, also the cause of the disaster? After all, 7 million cubic feet (200,000 cubic meters) of highly flammable hydrogen gas was stored right above the passenger quarters.

Inherently Flammable

And, after around 80 years of scientific and research tests, this is one of the preferred conclusions for the cause of the explosion. Many believe that the Hindenburg disaster occurred due to an electrostatic discharge or spark, which then ignited hydrogen which was leaking from one of the cells.

Conditions were not unmanageable that day, but there was a thunderstorm in the area and the pilots of the Hindenburg noted a strong, gusting crosswind as they came in to land. Although there was only a light rain, it was also noted that a strong static force had built up in the air, capable of creating a spark at any moment.

When the accident took place, the airship was only 200 feet (60 meters) above the ground of the airfield. The atmosphere was electrically charged, but the metal framework of the zeppelin was grounded with the landing line.

The difference in this electric potential may well have caused a spark to jump off the fabric covering of the ship to the framework of the ship, which was grounded to the landing line. The fabric covering was supposed to prevent any dangerous sparks from reaching the interior structure, but somehow this still happened.

Answers to the Wrong Questions

That the Hindenburg disaster was due to the hydrogen igniting is hardly surprising, however. The fact that hydrogen was highly flammable was well known to the designers and operators of airships, and safety procedures were in place to ensure it could not catch fire.

So the issue with the Hindenburg fire is much more about how the hydrogen could ignite, the first such occurrence in 30 years. And here there are various theories as to the cause, and the original site of the fire which ignited the gas.

Many believe that there was some kind of hydrogen leak caused by the gusting wind in the moments before the crash. This is supported by later testimony from eyewitnesses on the ground, who reported seeing fluttering fabric panels towards the rear of the Hindenburg, just forward of the rear vertical fin.

The fabric should have been taut and it seemed the fluttering could only have been caused by a tear in the surface layer of the ship. This could have allowed hydrogen to escape, and also potentially exposed the metal framework of the ship to a static discharge.

So, is that it? A hole in the Hindenburg allowed hydrogen to escape, and then a spark from the metal framework ignited the leak? Sadly, this does not offer a full explanation and there are other competing theories which merit consideration.

A Poor Choice of Fabric

The Hindenburg’s distinct and beautiful silver color was due to the use of aluminum powder in the fabric covering the ship. This strengthened the fabric and protected it from ultraviolet deterioration, and the impact of water, wind and other small objects.

But aluminum powder is a dangerous and potentially highly flammable substance, every bit as risky as hydrogen under the wrong circumstances. In fact, it is even used as a component of rocket fuel, albeit in a much different configuration to its use on the Hindenburg.

It may seem an unimportant distinction, but in reality these two different causes have massive implications for rigid airships. These may even come to be relevant if, in the future, such designs are ever revived.

If a spark on the exposed framework ignited hydrogen gas then the problem was one of structural strength. Design improvements should consider strengthening the skin of the aircraft and the hydrogen cells within, as without the hydrogen leak the aircraft would have landed safely.

However, if a spark was able to ignite the fabric itself then the problem is with the material used in her construction. If another, more safely inert material were to be used the fire could not have started, and crucially this suggests the structural design of the Hindenburg herself was not at fault: She was strong enough to survive that day.

The Last Flight of the Hindenburg

Over the years, other, more outlandish theories have been suggested. Could the Hindenburg have been struck by lightning, or destroyed due to sabotage within or without?

None of the other theories are really plausible, however. The camera footage of the accident and statements from the witnesses on the ground do not show evidence of any lightning strike, and it is clear that the fire starts on the upwards rear surface of the zepellin, and not from some internal explosion.

In the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum in Washington DC, there is a small chunk of the internal-support girder of Hindenburg aircraft. People still mourn for the lives lost that day, and the world lost one of its great innovations in transport, gone in seconds and in flames.

Top Image: The Hindenburg bursts into flame. Source: Arthur Cofod Jr / Public Domain.

It’s a somewhat disturbing fable, but is there truth behind the tale? It is a folktale known to most people — the story of a man dressed in multi-color (“pied”) clothes who agreed to remove an infestation of rats from the German village of Hamelin and, after not being paid for his services, lured the children out of the village as revenge.

Some believe that the tale chronicles a real set of events that took place in Hamelin.

Long before the Brothers Grimm chronicled the fairy tale in their anthology of stories, curious writings regarding the piper story appeared.

For example, a document from 1384 about Hamelin’s history states that an unrelated event took place “…100 years since our children left.”

It is interesting to note that at no place in the above manuscripts is there any mention of rats. The rodents don’t get added into the story until Count von Zimmern’s 16th century “Zimmern Chronicle.”

Richard Rowland Verstegan wrote a book in 1605 that states that the children were not harmed, but emigrated to Transylvania.

So if the story is based in reality, what actually happened?

Some theorists of centuries past believe the piper was the devil and spirited the children away for his own nefarious purposes. More recent researchers believe the piper represents a plague that struck the town, claiming mainly children as its victims. Others believe the story tells of a children’s religious crusade to Jerusalem that did not meet with success. And others believe the tale merely chronicles a large but sudden emigration (not only of children but of adults as well) from Hamelin to other places in Europe.

Like many folktales, there may be a germ of truth in the Pied Piper story. Unfortunately, there is not enough evidence passed down through time to determine what actually happened in the small village of medieval Hamelin.

One of the most unusual pyramids in the history of ancient Egypt, the pyramid of Sneferu was one of the first pyramids that was built, located at the Egyptian royal necropolis at Dahshur. It is unique among pyramid development in Egypt.

Sneferu, an Egyptian Old Kingdom Pharaoh, constructed the Bent Pyramid in around 2600 BC. Sneferu was the founder of the Fourth Dynasty, and his stepson Khufu oversaw the construction of the great pyramid at Giza in later years.

The pyramid was built in the desert on Nile’s west bank, 40 km (25 miles) south of Cairo. Pyramids had until this point been built on fertile land, but this represented something new. And instead of being constructed in a perfect pyramid shape, the walls bend inwards for the top section.

The Bent Pyramid is among only five of the old kingdom pyramids that remain in their original form, even after 4,500 years of construction. The pyramid even retains its limestone casing which would make it shine in the desert sun.

Why is the Pyramid Bent?

The pyramid is known as Bent Pyramid owing to the steep change in its slope. The walls of the lower part of the pyramid rise at an angle of 54 degrees. Then, at about 49 m (161 feet) above the base, there is an abrupt flattening of the slope to 43 degrees. This gives the pyramid its distinctive bent shape.

There are several theories relating to the change in the slope’s angle. One of the prominent theories is that Snefuru intentionally reduced the slope angle after he received news of the collapse of a pyramid at Meidum.

Another popular theory suggests that the pyramid took a lot of time to be built. To speed up construction and complete the pyramid faster, Sneferu may have reduced the pyramid’s angle.

Some scholars even believe that the odd shape of the Bent Pyramid was intentionally planned for some religious reasons. However, most Egyptologists have dismissed this theory relating to the shape of the pyramid.

Layout of the Bent Pyramid

A yellowish-grey enclosure wall, made of limestone, surrounds the pyramid complex. The main pyramid, a small temple, a satellite pyramid, and a small courtyard line up within the wall.

The Bent Pyramid itself consists of two entrances. The first entrance of the pyramid lies towards the north and is 12 m (39 feet) above ground level. Wooden stairways have been constructed to provide the tourists with optimum convenience.

The second entrance of the pyramid is towards the west and leads, like the first, to a chamber with a corbelled, high roof. While the chamber of the northern entrance is below the ground level, the chamber of the western entrance is constructed on the body of the Bent Pyramid.

These high vaulted ceilings, although relatively common in later pyramid construction, may have posed problems of structural stability. It may have been this uncertainty about the pyramid which led to the change in angle for the top portion.

The Surroundings

A causeway, paved with limestone blocks, runs from the northeast of the Bent Pyramid towards the small temple. On each side of the causeway runs a low limestone wall, a little curved at the top.

Many believe that the Bent Pyramid may also have a second causeway that links the complex to the landing stage or a dock. However, no trace of a second causeway has been discovered to date.

Towards the east of the Bent Pyramid, some fragmentary remains of the pyramid temple have been found. Similar to the Meidum pyramid’s temple, two stelae are present behind the pyramid temple.

Moreover, no trace of any kind of inscription is found. Even though there are only fragmentary remains of the temple, it is assumed that it had a lot of similarities with the Meidum pyramid’s temple, which would support the theory that lessons learned from the construction at that complex would be applied here.

According to some Egyptologists, a satellite pyramid constructed nearby was designed to house the “ka” of the Pharoah, his “double” of the soul. Located about 55 meters (180 feet) towards the south of the Bent Pyramid, this smaller pyramid is only 26 meters (85 feet) high.

The faces of the pyramid are inclined at an angle of 44 degrees, a similar angle to the shallower top portion of the Bent Pyramid. The entire structure is built using limestone blocks arranged in horizontal rows.

The smaller pyramid contains a burial chamber, accessed through a descending corridor. A horizontal passage then connects this corridor with another ascending corridor which then leads up to a chamber. The design of these corridors is quite similar to the corridors present in the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Significance of the Bent Pyramid

The Bent Pyramid was one of its kind, a unique structure constructed in the history of ancient Egypt. It marks the glorious period in which the construction of pyramids evolved and may have been the first pyramid with smooth sides.

It is not only the most unusual pyramid in Egypt but also one of the best-preserved pyramids. Unusually large gaps between the limestone blocks covering the pyramid may have helped to preserve this casing, as the gaps would have allowed room for thermal expansion of the blocks without them touching.

Until the 19th century, there was no archaeological investigation of the Bent Pyramid. It only started in the 19th century when Egyptologists such as Lepsius, Perring, and Petrie began exploring the structure in Egypt.

These were followed by more modern investigations, including that of Ahmad Fakhry during the early 1950s. However even after so many investigations of the Bent Pyramid, several Egyptologists believe that there are secrets still to be revealed.

Whether all the chambers of the pyramid have been accurately located or not is still a question. The archaeological studies were often hindered as strong winds led to the creation of drafts through the passageways.

Owing to this, there are assumptions that some of the passageways or rooms of the Bent Pyramid may have remained undiscovered. Does this unique and ancient pyramid still have some secrets? Certainly, the remains of the Pharaoh Sneferu have never been found.

Top Image: Sneferu’s bent pyramid. Source: WitR / Adobe Stock.

By Bipin Dimri

Before science revealed the mysteries of the seas, superstitions and lore reigned the lives of mariners. One example is ghost ships, which have been plaguing seamen since the dawn of sailing. The most famous of these is undoubtedly the glowing spectral schooner called the Flying Dutchman. Throughout history, strange sightings resulted in eerie legends that explain why sailors feared the phantom ship as an omen of impending death.

Variations of the Legend

Pirates of the Caribbean

There have been many versions of the Flying Dutchman story throughout history. Most recently, Pirates of the Caribbean popularized the tale around the world. In the movie, the Greek goddess-nymph Calypso gave Davy Jones (her lover) the ship called the Dutchman to transport to the afterlife the souls of dead men lost at sea. When Calypso didn’t meet Jones after ten years, he became overwrought with grief and stopped ferrying the dead. Instead, he roamed the earth doing whatever he wished. For this, Davy Jones and his crew suffered a terrible curse that turned them into hideous mixtures of human/sea creature. As time passed, they became less and less human.

Early print versions of the legend from the late 18th century say that the Flying Dutchman sank in a terrible storm off the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa). It had tried but failed to enter the port, and all men on board perished with the ship. Subsequently, the ghost ship would appear to other vessels as a messenger of doom. Then it would vanish as suddenly as it appeared.

George Barrington, 1795

George Barrington from London served time in Botany Bay, Australia, in the late 1700s for pickpocketing. He later became a pioneer and author and wrote about the legend he heard regarding the Flying Dutchman. In his story, two Dutch ships sailed together toward the Cape of Good Hope when a storm overcame them. One made it to shore, while the other one sank along with all of its crew. When the surviving ship left the Cape to head back to Europe, it encountered another storm. In the dark clouds, crew members believed they saw their companion vessel that sank. When they arrived at the port, they told everyone about their ghostly sighting and called it the Flying Dutchman.

[blockquote align=”none” author=”George Barrington”]Some of the people saw, or imagined they saw, a vessel standing for them under a press of sail, as though she would run them down: one in particular had affirmed it was the former ship that had foundered in the former gale, and it must certainly be her, or the apparition of her; but on its clearing up, the object, a dark thick cloud, disappeared.[/blockquote]

John Leyden, 1803, & Others

Later, other ideas about the phantom ship followed. For example, in author John Leyden’s write-up, the sailors aboard the vessel had committed some crime. God punished them with a dreadful disease, and because no port allowed their entry, they had to sail the seas until judgment day. Sir Walter Scott connected the vessel to piracy and great treasures and said that a crewmate murdered another on board. Thomas Moore introduced the concept that the ship speeds along with full sails, even though there is no wind. Many variants of the tale say the captain swore to sail the seas forever, and the devil obliged him.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” was a long poem written by the Englishman Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1797-1798. It possesses a few elements of the Dutchman and is a great story. In it, a mariner, who is now living onshore, stops another man on his way to a wedding ceremony. He tells the man a tale about a strange experience he had on the sea long ago. During this sea voyage, the mariner shot an albatross. This resulted in a curse that sent the ship and crew into the Doldrums near the equator. For days and days, they were stuck and unable to go anywhere.

Then the mariner’s vessel encountered an old dilapidated ship, and aboard, two scary characters, “Death” and “Life-in-Death” were playing dice for the souls of the men on the mariner’s ship. “Death” won the souls of the crew, but “Life-in-Death” got the better prize, the mariner, who needed to suffer for his crime against nature. The crew all dropped dead, and eventually, the mariner wandered the earth in guilty penance having to tell his story over and over again to everyone he met.

Blackwood Edinburgh Magazine, 1821

Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine published a full story, Vanderdecken’s Message Home, about the Flying Dutchman in 1821. This version claimed that the Dutchman had left Amersterdam 70 years prior on its way to the East Indies for trade. Its commander, Captain Vanderdecken, brought a curse upon himself (and the crew) during an angry outburst in a storm as he tried to round the Cape of Good Hope. The devil heard his exclamation that he would “beat about here till the day of judgment” and damned him to remain in those seas. In the following excerpt, the Dutchman comes near the witnesses’ ship and makes contact:

“The next flash of lightning shone far and wide over the raging sea, and showed us not only the Flying Dutchman at a distance, but also a boat coming from her with four men. The boat was within two cables’ length of our ship’s side. . . . One of the men came upon deck, and appeared like a fatigued and weather-beaten seaman, holding some letters in his hand. Our sailors all drew back.

The chaplain, however, looking steadfastly upon him, went forward a few steps, and asked, ‘What is the purpose of this visit?’ The stranger replied, ‘We have long been kept here by foul weather, and Vanderdecken wishes to send these letters to his friends in Europe.’ Our captain now came forward, and said as firmly as he could, ‘I wish Vanderdecken would put his letters on board of any other vessel rather than mine.’ The stranger replied, ‘We have tried many a ship, but most of them refuse our letters.’”

The Opera That Popularized the Flying Dutchman

Richard Wagner’s opera, Der fliegende Hollandermade, made the story of the Flying Dutchman famous. In his rendition, the Flying Dutchman is not the ship, but the captain. The scene takes place off of Norway rather than the Cape of Good Hope. He also adopted some of Heindrich Heine’s version. This added the idea that every seven years, the captain could go to shore to search for a woman who could set him free through her endless love.

Origin of the Dutchman’s Story

The original story of the Dutchman may stem from the 17th century. Though many sources attribute the term, Flying Dutchman, to a spectral ship, other historians believe the inspiration was one of the Dutch East India Company’s real captains. Bernard Fokke is one possibility. He became legendary for his record-fast trips between Holland and Java, via the Cape of Good Hope. People didn’t think that anyone could accomplish such a feat and said that he must have made a deal with the devil.

The other possibility is someone by the name of Hendrick Van der Decken, who supposedly captained a Dutch East India Company ship that disappeared in 1641 somewhere between Holland and Asia. Some authors also used the name Captain Phillip Vanderdecken in some iterations of the story.

Sightings of the Flying Dutchman Ship

King George & Prince Albert Victor

One of the most significant sightings of the ghost ship came from King George V of the United Kingdom. In 1880, he and his brother Prince Albert Victor were on a three-year voyage. On July 11, 1881, the Prince recorded a strange vision that appeared to them in the Bass Strait while aboard the HMS Inconstant.

He wrote that an encounter occurred at 4 am when the Flying Dutchman crossed their port bow. They saw “a strange red light as of a phantom ship all aglow, in the midst of which light the masts, spars, and sails of a brig 200 yards distant,” according to George’s description.

The officer on watch and several other sailors initially spotted the ship, but the vessel quickly disappeared. It didn’t end there, though.

George wrote that at 10:45 am, the sailor who had spotted the apparition suffered a gruesome fate. He fell from the masts onto the ship’s forecastle and died instantly. Naturally, everyone thought the phantom ship had been a supernatural warning of doom.

Bystanders at Glencairn Beach, South Africa

Although many sightings of the famous ghost ship have come from sailors out at sea, people on the shores also glimpsed the apparition. In 1939 and 1941, crowds of people at Glencairn Beach, South Africa, saw the Flying Dutchman under full sail on a collision course with the land.

According to a contemporary news report from the 1939 incident, the ship sailed on with “uncanny volition,” heading towards the shores of Strandfontein. Bystanders had a long, unobstructed view of the vessel before it disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The 1941 report mirrors the first, with the phantom vessel heading towards rocks before abruptly vanishing.

Gulf of Suez, Red Sea

The most recent sighting of the phantom ship occurred during the Second World War. The ship’s log of a U-Boat reported that crew members spotted the Flying Dutchman.

What became of the U-Boat and whether it ended up at the bottom of the sea is uncertain. Although the legend places most sightings off the Cape of Good Hope, this took place in the eastern half of the Gulf of Suez in the Red Sea.

What Causes Sightings of the Dutchman?

Phantom ships have contributed much to nautical lore for centuries. Naturally, scientists have attempted to investigate the phenomenon to determine what may be the cause. The most common and well-researched explanation is one type of mirage known as a Fata Morgana.

When atmospheric conditions are just right, the refraction of light causes a reflection of a ship or other object beyond the horizon. From afar, the mirage can seem like it’s floating above the water or in the sky, sometimes upside down and often with an eerie glow.

Because atmospheric conditions are volatile, the mirage can quickly disappear. This would explain why witnesses have said the Flying Dutchman vanished right before their eyes. The following video explains this phenomenon well.

So, what about the close-up sighting by King George? Why did it fool U-boat submariners? How does it account for the ill-fortune suffered by some of those who have seen the ship?

Three Hundred Years of the Evolving Dutchman

Although most people believe that there is probably no such thing as a ghost ship, this was not the case three hundred years ago. The men who spotted the Flying Dutchman believed that it was otherwordly and were truly frightened. For them, it meant certain peril in already frightening and mysterious waters. What they saw at sea became their tales on land, and their stories spread across the world. Throughout history, the fantastic legends profoundly touched the human imagination and inspired hundreds of pieces of art, literature, and entertainment. Today, the story of the ghostly vessel continues to evolve. For most of us, it is a story to enjoy, but for the still superstitious mariner, it is a phenomenon to steer clear of.

The Great Sphinx of Giza is one of the most recognizable man-made objects in the world. Despite this, it is also one of the most mysterious man-made objects in the world. Even if you accept the general consensus of who built the Sphinx, how was the Sphinx built, you are still left with many questions that have not been, or cannot be, explained. However, not everyone accepts the general consensus and therefore, the Sphinx is even more of an enigma to them. One of the mysteries of the Sphinx that has possibly been answered, but often disputed, is how old is the Sphinx.

The head of the Sphinx emerging from the sand in 1867.

When Was the Great Sphinx Built

If you deny the general consensus of the age of the Sphinx, you are left with the question of who built it. However, for the purposes of this article, we will ignore that question, as it is still disputed within the realm of general consensus. In other words, even if you do accept that the Sphinx was built when most Egyptologists say it was, there is still the question of in which pharaoh’s reign it was built. That question may be answered as well, but it doesn’t answer who built it. We have the tomb of the pyramid builders. We have no such evidence of who built the Sphinx.

According to translations of the “Dream Stela” at the foot of the Sphinx, King Thutmose IV came across the head of the Sphinx when he was still a prince. The rest of the statue was buried in the sand. He took shelter from the sun in the shadow of the great head. While there, he drifted off to sleep and dreamed that the Sphinx wanted him to dig out the rest of the statue in exchange for making him king. When he awoke, the prince remembered the dream and the deal was completed on both sides. If we are to believe that Thutmose IV unearthed the Sphinx, then we know the Sphinx dates back much farther than his reign, which began around 1400 BC.

A photo of the Great Sphinx taken in 1895.

Dr. Zahi Hawass and the Old Kingdom

According to Egypt’s premier archaeologist, Dr. Zahi Hawass Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, the Great Sphinx of Giza was built during the Old Kingdom in Egypt (2649-2150 BC). There is quite a bit of evidence to support this, but the most obvious is the style of the statue. The features of the face, the headdress, and the shape of the head are reminiscent of the 4th Dynasty (2613-2494 BC). Theories that go against Hawass’s findings put carving of the Sphinx thousands of years before the 4th Dynasty. That begs the question, why would artistic style have remained the same in Egypt for so many thousands of years? Of course, it begs many other questions as well. Dr. Hawass has said that none of these theories (regarding an earlier date) “has any basis in fact.”

Dr. Robert Schoch and Sphinx Water Erosion

One of the prevailing arguments for the Great Sphinx being older than the Old Kingdom is that some of the erosion on the Sphinx appears to have been caused by water. Dr. Robert Schoch of Boston University studied the Sphinx water erosion and says that it appears to have been made by heavy rainfall. He claims that the sort of rainfall that has occurred in the Giza Plateau since 5000 BC would not have been enough to cause this sort of damage. Much heavier rains occurred before 5000 BC, making a date around or before then more feasible to him and others. He has also found that similar erosion does not exist in other monuments in the area dating from the Old Kingdom.

Dr. Schoch has hinted that wet sand could have caused the erosion on the pyramid. We do know that the Sphinx has been buried for the better part of its existence. In fact, it was only unearthed again in 1936. This being the third time that we are aware of, including Thutmose’s tale. However, we have no way of knowing if it was buried in wet sand. Even if we did, we still have the fact that others have credited blowing sand with the Sphinx’s erosion.

Problems in Determining How Old is the Sphinx

If you accept that the Great Sphinx of Giza was carved during the Old Kingdom, you still have to wonder exactly when. Some experts believe that it was built during the reign of Khufu (2589-2566 BC), the man for whom the Great Pyramid was built. Others believe that it was built during Khafre’s reign (around 2500 BC). Khafre is the man for whom the second largest of the Great Pyramids was built. The difference is only that of a few hundred years.

It is impossible to use most modern scientific methods to learn how old is the Sphinx. Because it is carved out of stone, carbon dating is out of the question. The only methods available to us are those of observation and deduction. Who could have possibly carved the Great Sphinx before 5000 BC? Why would it appear to be an Old Kingdom structure thousands of years after it was built? Observation and deduction tell us that no one could have carved the Great Sphinx that long ago. Additionally, the idea that the style of art would have remained the same in Giza for all that time is absurd. However, concrete evidence cannot be applied to the Sphinx, as there is none. There is no record of it being carved and there is no way of dating it conclusively.

First released in 2019 and with two seasons currently on Netflix, The Witcher has been a major success. Starring Henry Cavill and based on the books and short stories of Andrzej Sapkowski, the fantasy series is steeped in eastern European traditions and folklore.

Like many other creatures seen in the universe of the Witcher this was not an invention but based on a real tradition in Slavic mythology. The Leshy, a god of the forests and of hunting, was a wild and malevolent entity who roamed the deepest and most inaccessible backwoods of eastern Europe.

The Leshy  was most often depicted as a huge and gaunt male, colored gray and green and bearded. But he was known as a shapeshifter and could take any form as he sought to trick the unwary who walk through his forests, leading them to their doom.

Sometimes, he is also portrayed to have horns and is surrounded by packs of bears and wolves, the wild and dangerous animals of the forest. In a number of accounts, he is also said to have a wife named Leschachikha, and children.

According to the fairy tale, his wife is a cursed woman who either left or was forced from her village and lives in the deep forest with Leshy. Their children, mischievous like their father, are lost in the forest and are rarely seen.

Old Man of the Forest

When Leshy takes the shape of an old man, he appears to be extremely wizened. Tangled green hair covers his body from head to toe, and his skin is rough, like tree bark. As he walks, he causes the winds to blow through the trees.

His blood is said to be blue, adding a tinge of that color to his skin and allowing him to disappear easily into the woodland background, being very rarely seen. Most of the time it is his voice that is heard by people in the forest. He can be heard singing, laughing, or even whistling.

On spotting Leshy, he can be identified easily. While he appears like a man, his right ear, eyelashes, and eyebrows are missing. His head is also pointed, and he doesn’t wear a belt or a hat.

When in his native forest, he is a giant as tall as the trees. However, the moment Leshy steps out of the forest, his size shrinks and becomes as small as a single blade of grass. A number of stories also describe Leshy as having cloven hooves and horns. He wore shoes on the wrong feet to confuse trackers, and does not cast a shadow.

Slavic Mythology

Leshy is capable of changing his shape and taking the form of different animals such as bears and wolves. According to the beliefs of the Slavic people, he is a protector of the forests as well as the animals that live in the marshes and forests.

People who were kind to the forest spirit used to receive gifts from him. In the folk tales, the poor peasants received cattle. In some stories, princes would seek out the guidance of the Leshy to help them find their ideal princess.

Shepherds and farmers even made a pact with the Leshy in order to protect their sheep and crops. It was said that people who became friends with a Leshy could learn the secrets of magic.

However, Leshy is also considered untrustworthy and sometimes even an evil entity, who would trick women into the forest. Leshy also had a reputation for abducting children who were not baptized, and would even abduct children entering the forest to catch fish or pick berries.

In the forest, he would also lead travelers astray to such an extent that they felt hopelessly lost. The intent of Leshy isn’t always evil in such cases: he is more a mischievous being who enjoys misguiding humans from their path. He is even known to visit a wayside tavern, drink vodka, and lead a pack of wolves back to the forest.

For people who were lost in the wood or have annoyed Leshy, it was recommended that they made Leshy laugh. In order to do so, people could try tricks like taking off their clothes, wearing shoes on the wrong feet, to try and confuse the spirit.

Another way of driving away the forest monster was to recite prayers alternatively with curses. Applying salt to fire was considered yet another means of getting rid of Leshy.

The Living Forest

At times, more than one Leshy is believed to live in the forest. According to some folk tales, these Leshen lived in an enormous palace, along with beasts and serpents of the forest. During the winters, they would hibernate here. However, once spring arrived, the entire tribe of Leshen went running through the woods, yelling and screaming.

In the summer times, the Leshy was most active and most commonly played tricks on humans. However, those tricks were rarely known to cause any harm to humans at this time.

During the autumn, they tended to be more quarrelsome. They looked for opportunities to frighten and fight with other creatures in the forest as well as with the humans. During the final cold days of the year, when leaves start falling from the trees, the Leshy disappeared and went to hibernate once again.

The Leshy clearly represents a personification of the mystery and the dangers of the Slavic forests to the unwary. Silent in winter and safer, if disorienting, in the summer, the old wizened tree-man is a summation of what can befall you if you step into the forest unprepared.

This monster finds its analogue in the Scandinavian trolls, or the Wendigo of Native American myth. Maybe there once was an old man of the forest, some human or creature who inhabited the dense and inaccessible wilderness of eastern Europe.

Maybe, somewhere in the leafy darkness, he is out there still, ready to snatch unwary children who venture too deep into the woods. But at least, this time, we have Henry Cavill to save us.

Top Image: Common depiction of the Leshy. Source: Н. Н. Брут / Public Domain.

by Bipin Dimri

Throughout her extensive reign, Queen Victoria valiantly overcame seven assassination attempts, demonstrating remarkable fortitude. Faced with adversaries such as Edward Oxford, a bold 18-year-old who disrupted the tranquility of Buckingham Palace with gunfire, and John Francis, who twice attempted to harm her in a single weekend, Queen Victoria confronted each incident with unwavering resolve. The assailants, ranging from a disgruntled ex-actor to a newsstand worker with a hunchback, each harbored unique yet misguided reasons for their actions. Despite these continuous threats, Victoria’s composed response, including her prompt appearance at the opera after being struck by Robert Pate’s iron-tipped cane, not only showcased her bravery but also cemented the public’s deep respect for her. The varied motives of these attacks, from political zeal to personal distress, never compromised her safety. Instead, these repeated attempts only seemed to elevate her esteem among her subjects, affirming a strong bond between the monarch and the people. In navigating these relentless dangers, Queen Victoria stood as a beacon of resilience and a beloved figure of public reverence.

Top image: Left; Franz Xavier Winterhalter – The Young Queen Victoria in 1837. Right; Older Queen Victoria photograph. Source: Left;  Gandalf’s Gallery/ CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Right; Wellcome Images/ CC BY 4.0

By Robbie Mitchell

In the late 1900s, the British worked to build a railroad from Uganda to the Indian Ocean at Kilindini Harbour in Kenya. In March of 1898, a crew was working on constructing a railroad bridge over the Tsavo River in Kenya.

The bridge was to span eight miles (13km), and several camps of workers were spread across the area. Two days before the project’s leader, Lieutenant-Colonel John Henry Patterson, arrived in Tsavo, workers began disappearing.

Over nine months, two apex predators stalked, dragged, and ate construction workers at night while asleep. This is the story of the Tsavo Maneaters, and how humans are not at always the top of the food chain as we like to believe.

The Terror of Tsavo

The Tsavo Maneaters were a pair of man-eating, mane-less lions who terrorized the crew building the bridge over the Tsavo River in Kenya. While most male lions are seen with manes, not all males will have them.

This might be due to polymorphism, which in biology is the occurrence of two or more visibly different forms of phenotypes in a population of a species of animals. Unlike most lions in Africa, “Tsavo male lions generally do not have a mane, though coloration and thickness will vary. There are several hypotheses as to why this occurs.”

One idea is that mane development is closely related to climate as manes can help reduce heat loss at night, but during the scorching days in the desert, it can lead to dehydration and excessive panting. Another reason the Tsavo lions lack manes might be an adaptation to the thick, thorny vegetation in the Tsavo region, which would interfere with a lion’s hunting abilities.

Once Lieutenant-Colonel John Henry Patterson arrived at the building site, he and his crew went to bed at night, fearing they would be taken as prey before the sun would rise the next day. At one point, the attacks seemed to stop; however, this was not the case.

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The Tsavo Maneaters simply moved to other camps and ate workers there. The Maneaters returned to the main camp, and their attacks became more intense and frequent. Men were being killed and devoured daily, and the crews tried to keep the pair of lions away however they could.

The workers would build large fires, hoping the smoke and flames would keep the lions out, but when this failed to stop the Tsavo Maneaters, they tried another method. The men built thorn fences known as bomas from the branches of the whistling thorn trees that surrounded their camp. This also failed to slow down the Maneaters; the lions would jump over or crawl under the thorny fences to feed.

Most of what we know about the Tsavo Maneaters came from letters from workers and John Henry Patterson’s semi-biography The Man-Eaters of Tsavo. According to Patterson’s writings, at first, only one lion would enter the camps and snatch a victim, but as time passed, both lions became bold enough and would enter the camps to feast together.

As the Tsavo Maneaters ate more and more men, hundreds of workers fled the area, which caused the construction of the bridge to be put on hold. By this point, “colonial officials began to intervene” to get construction back on track. Patterson alleged that the District Officer, Mr. Whitehead, almost fell victim to the Maneaters shortly after reaching the Tsavo train depot in the evening. Sadly, Mr. Whitehead’s assistant, known only as Abdullah, was killed while Whitehead himself barely escaped, with significant claw scratches along his back.

The Hunt

The Tsavo Maneaters kept eating workers, and officials decided that the beasts should be hunted to protect the builders and get the construction back on track. Patterson was said to have set several traps and tried to surprise the Tsavo Maneaters by attacking them from a tree at night.

After countless failed efforts to kill the Tsavo Maneaters, Patterson was finally victorious and shot the first lion on December 9, 1898. The first Maneater was a perfect example of how large the Tsavo lions can be.

This lion was huge, measuring 9 ft 8 in (2.95m) from the tip of its nose to its tail. Eight men were needed to return the lion’s remains to the camp. According to Patterson’s book, the first Tsavo Maneater had been shot in the back leg earlier that day but escaped. Upon the lion’s return to the camp that evening, he was shot “through the shoulder, penetrating its heart.”

The second Tsavo Maneater was taken down with nine shots over several days. The first shot came from Patterson, who was perched on a scaffold he built near a goat also killed by the lion. Eleven days after the first shot, the lion was shot two more times but escaped.

The following day, Patterson shot the lion three times, which severely injured the beast but didn’t end its life. Patterson then shot it another three times, which finally killed the last Tsavo Maneater.

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The exact number of victims of the Tsavo Maneaters is questionable. Some sources claim that 35 people lost their lives, while others place the death count at 135 people.

Patterson gave different numbers of victims each time he spoke about it, which further puts some of his claims in his biography into question as well. All we can really confirm is that a pair of mane-less Tsavo lions killed and ate more than ten men who were working on the bridge construction over the Tsavo River.

What Triggered Man-Eating Behavior?

When it comes to human deaths caused by animals, lion attacks resulting in death are relatively low, averaging around 100 deaths per year. This may sound like a lot, but hippos kill about 500 humans per year, Ascaris roundworms kill about 2,700 people, with mosquitos taking the lead with around 830,000 fatalities a year due to transmission of illnesses like malaria, Japanese encephalitis, yellow fever, and dengue fever.

Unprovoked lion attacks where humans are eaten are relatively rare. Several scientists have studied man-eating behavior in lions and have suggested some of the following theories.

One theory was that it was due to an epizootic cattle plague (rinderpest) outbreak in Africa in 1989. The plague impacted the lion’s usual prey source, possibly forcing them to turn to humans as an alternative food source.

Another theory for why the Tsavo Maneaters ate men might have been due to the lions growing used to finding dead humans in the Tsavo River. Back at the time of the attacks, East African slave trading ships coming from Zanzibar had to cross the river, and the bodies of dead enslaved people would be discarded in the lion’s territory.

An often contested theory was that one of the lions had a damaged tooth that would hinder its ability to kill prey like usual. Patterson claimed he damaged the lion’s tooth with his gun; however, in 2017, Dr. Bruce Patterson (no relation to Colonel Patterson) found one of the lions had an infection in the base of its canine tooth, which would have made it hard for it to hunt. If you want to see the skulls of the Tsavo Maneaters, they were purchased by the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago in 1924 and remain there to this day.

Top Image: It is believed that the Tsavo Maneaters developed their taste for human flesh from the slaves who were force marched through the area. Source: Sean Nel / Adobe Stock.

By Lauren Aguirre

Just after Christmas in 1956, two sisters, Barbara and Patricia Grimes decided to go to a movie theater and see an Elvis Presley film. They never returned to their home located on 3634 South Damen Avenue. After almost a month of searching in one of Chicago’s largest missing person’s investigation, their nude bodies were discovered in a rural ravine. The double murder of the Grimes Sisters remains unsolved.

(L) Barbara Grimes, 15 and (R) Patricia Grimes 13 in 1956.

Watch a Movie at Brighton Theater

On December 28, 1956, 15-year-old Barbara Grimes and her 13-year-old sister Patricia went to the nearby Brighton movie theater to see the Elvis Presley movie Love Me Tender. Several reliable sightings at the theater determined the two did arrive safely at the cinema. A friend sat behind them during the film, and this same friend later spotted them in line to purchase snacks at 9:30 PM.

The Brighton Theater, located at Archer and 42nd, Chicago, as it appeared in 1956.

The two sisters apparently stayed for the second show of a double-feature. Then they vanished.

When they did not arrive home by midnight, their mother, Loretta Grimes, became worried. She sent out two of her other children to the bus stop closest to the house to wait for the two girls. Several buses passed by, but the sisters were not on them. At a little after 2:00 AM on the morning of December 29, their mother called the police. Within a week Law enforcement authorities determined it was unlikely the two girls ran away on their own.

Police Investigation

In the subsequent days, police officers fanned out across the Chicago areas. They found people who eagerly reported having seen the two girls. It became a headache for the police to keep up with all of the alleged sightings:

• Several people claimed they witnessed two young girls matching a description of the Grimes sisters get on a bus heading east into the heart of Chicago. However, nobody saw these two girls get off the bus at any stop on the route.
• Similarly, a train conductor claimed to have seen them on a train near the Chicago suburb of Glenview.
• A night security guard claimed he was asked for directions by two young girls the night of their disappearance.
• On the evening of the 29th, a fellow student of Patricia reportedly saw her walking past a restaurant in the company of two other girls — neither of which was Barbara.
• A restaurant worker reported a sighting early on the morning of the 30th. He said they were in the company of a man at this point, and that one of the girls acted sickly or drunk and needed assistance when walking.
• A hotel clerk stated the girls briefly stayed at his hotel. A clerk at another hotel claimed he refused them a room due to their young age.
• Several days later, employees of a department store reported seeing the Grimes sisters in their store, listening to Elvis Presley records.
• Most mysteriously, roughly two weeks after the girls’ disappearance, a classmate of Patricia’s received two puzzling phone calls near midnight. During the first call, the party on the other line was silent. During the next call, a voice the mother was sure was Patricia’s said: “Is that you, Sandra? Is Sandra there?” The caller then hung up.

Discovery of the Bodies

The fate of the sisters become known before the month was up. On January 22, 1957, Leonard Prescott, a day laborer found, the bodies of Barbara and Patricia Grimes in a ravine off German Church Rd and County Line Rd in Willow Springs. They appeared to have been dumped or thrown there by someone in a passing car.

Police and reporters at the crime scene. Image: YouTube.

The search for the killers became complicated when the autopsy pathologists and the chief investigator of the county coroner’s office could not agree on a time of death. Similarly, an apparent cause of death remained uncertain due to the puzzling wounds on the bodies.

Suspects in the Murder of Grimes Sisters

The police conducted a massive search for possible culprits and finally focused on three likely suspects:

• Edward “Bennie” Bedwell, a homeless man from Tennessee. He initially admitted to the murder of the Grimes sisters. He later recanted, saying the police forced him to issue a false confession.
• Max Fleig, a young man in his teens, admitted to the murders in a polygraph test. Unfortunately, Illinois law considered it illegal to polygraph a juvenile. The police released him. Fleig later murdered a young woman and went to prison.
• Walter Kranz, a man in his early 50s who considered himself a psychic. Before the discovery of the bodies, Kranz called the police stating he dreamed of their location. The location he disclosed proved to be remarkably accurate. Police grilled the man but were unable to come up with enough evidence to proceed.

Despite a lengthy investigation, the crime remains unsolved. The police interviewed approximately 300,000 individuals with no credible suspects identified.

Ray Johnson Investigation

Retired West Chicago Police Officer Ray Johnson became interested in the case in 2010 and began his own unofficial investigation. He believes the cold case is solvable.  According to Johnson, Charles Leroy Melquist murdered 15-year-old Bonnie Leigh Scott in 1958. Johnson noted the similarities in the murders, but police never questioned Melquist about Barbara and Patricia Grimes. Ray Johnson thinks public assistance can help crack the case and made this video linked below.

Historic Mysteries updated this article on April 4, 2020.