Unsolved Mysteries: The Dead Hikers and the Washed Up Ghost Ship

In the spirit of my favorite month, the month of October, I bring you two mysterious, unsolved phenomena you may or may not have heard about. And if you have, you may want to take another look!

The Incident at Dyatlov Pass

On the 1st of February, 1959, a group of nine ski-hikers entered the northern Ural mountains of Russia on what is now Dyatlov Pass. Evidentially, several days into their journey, they settled down for the night, setting up their camp and enjoying dinner together. They were never seen again.

On the 26th of February, a search team came upon the hikers’ tent and noticed some abnormalities about the campsite, most notably the fact that the tent had been torn open from the inside. Searchers also found footprints in various conditions: some with socks, some with only one shoe, and some completely barefoot. The footprints led into a wooded area nearby where two members of the group were found dead. They were clothed only in underwear.

Hypothermia was suspected initially (and some people still believe this is the case) however, medical examiners later disagreed on this conclusion. As more bodies were discovered, contradicting evidence pointed them away from the popular theory of hypothermia.

Eventually, the remaining group members were also found deceased in the area. One victim had suffered blunt force trauma as if they had been savagely assaulted. Another hiker had third-degree burns on their body. Yet another had been vomiting blood at the time of their death. The last one, and in my personal opinion the most mystifying one of them all, was the victim who was missing their tongue.

If that isn’t puzzling enough for you, their clothing was found to be radioactive. This brought into question whether the KGB was somehow involved in these seemingly random deaths. Other theories that have been purposed include an avalanche, drug abuse, aliens, and Bigfoot or the Yeti.

Whatever happened on that dark and bitter night on Dyatlov Pass still goes unsolved to this day, and may remain that way indefinitely.

The Ghost Ship — Mary Celeste

As a great lover of ghosts and the ocean alike, this one catches my eye every time I see the story retold. On the 4th of December, 1872, the Mary Celeste, a British-American ship, was spotted adrift on the Atlantic Ocean. She was completely intact and structurally sound. She even still carried her cargo but was missing her lifeboat. Even more mysteriously, the ship’s entire crew was nowhere to be seen.

On her original journey in November of 1872, the Mary Celeste left port from New York headed for Genoa, Italy. At the helm was Captain Benjamin Briggs, who was accompanied by his wife and young daughter, along with seven crew members. The ship had enough supplies to last for at least six months.

The most intriguing discovery aboard the ship was no doubt the ship’s daily log entries. Where investigators would expect to see a reason for the crew’s abandonment of the vessel, the logs revealed nothing out of the ordinary.

Many theories have developed over the years since the Ghost Ship suddenly reappeared solo on the waters. These theories include a pirate takeover, mutiny, aliens, and sea monsters. Scientists have also speculated that an explosion from alcohol fumes could have occurred, but there was no physical evidence to support the existence of a fire on board.

What really happened to the crew of the Mary Celeste? Will we ever uncover the truth she hides behind a watery veil?