Most of the world’s islands are well-explored, their secrets learned long ago, but a few remain mysterious. Islands shown on maps for centuries suddenly appear to vanish. Dangerous, top secret facilities on remote islands are abandoned or destroyed. Sometimes, islands behave in ways seemingly inexplicable to those who discover or study them. An island seems to appear as if by magic, leaving experts to wonder what created it and how. Islands all but completely cut off from the rest of the world produce flora that are not only unique but also look as though they could grow only on an alien world. Other islands are mysterious because of their inhabitants’ origin or fate. All of these ten strange and mysterious islands are truly amazing for these reasons and more. 10 Isla Bermeja, The Lost Island Photo credit: Henry S. Tanner On maps dating as far back as the 1700s, Isla Bermeja was shown off the Yucatan Peninsula’s coast, at a greater distance than any other i...
When most people hear the word cannibalism, they will likely imagine the literal consumption of human flesh by a fellow human. However, ritual cannibalism of the ancient world is something entirely different although no less intriguing, or indeed grim. 10 Fr Berenger Sauniere’s Death And Ceremony Perhaps the best place to start with our look at the claims of ritual cannibalism would be with the, strange unto itself, death of Berenger Saunier, a one-time poverty stricken priest who had taken over the small chapel at Rennes-le-Chateau in France in the early 1880s and suddenly became extremely wealthy seemingly out of nowhere and overnight. He would pass away suddenly from a stroke (despite being in perfect health) in the summer of 1917. What made his death even more intriguing was a visit from a nearby priest to administer the last rites in his final hours. Following an apparent confession from Sauniere, though, the priest refused to carry on and, unshriven, Sauniere died the next day...