Famous Firsts and Landmark Cases
Curated by Nightmarks Tech · 20 nightmarks
The cases that defined each field of investigation. From Kenneth Arnold's 1947 sighting that coined the term 'flying saucer' to the Patterson-Gimlin film that put Bigfoot on the map, from the oldest documented haunting in our database to the enduring mystery of Tunguska — these are the encounters that shaped how we think about the unexplained. A timeline of the paranormal's most significant moments.
01
The Werewolves of Poligny — France's Early Shape-Shifting Trial (1521)
Poligny, Jura, France·1521·Folklore & Legends
In 1521, two men from Poligny in the Jura region of eastern France — Pierre Burgot and Michel Verdun — were tried and ex...
02
Phantom Communities and Spirit Ships of Homonhon Island
Homonhon, Eastern Samar·Pre-Colonial·Ghosts & Hauntings
Homonhon Island in the municipality of Guiuan, Eastern Samar, holds a dual significance in Philippine history: it was th...
03
Black Shuck Attacks Blythburgh Church During a Thunderstorm (1577)
Holy Trinity Church, Blythburgh, Suffolk, England·1577·Folklore & Legends
On August 4, 1577, during a violent thunderstorm, the congregation of Holy Trinity Church in Blythburgh, Suffolk experie...
04
The Werewolf of Bedburg — Peter Stumpp and Germany's Most Gruesome Trial (1589)
Bedburg, Germany·1589·Folklore & Legends
In 1589, Peter Stumpp (also spelled Stump, Stübbe, or Stumpf), a wealthy farmer from the town of Bedburg near Cologne in...
05
The Lost Colony of Roanoke — America's Oldest Unsolved Mystery (1590)
Roanoke Island, North Carolina·1590·Unexplained Phenomena
In 1587, 117 English colonists established a settlement on Roanoke Island in present-day North Carolina under the leader...
06
Bald Agnes at the Palace of Holyroodhouse
Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh, Scotland·1591·Ghosts & Hauntings
The Palace of Holyroodhouse stands at the foot of Edinburgh's Royal Mile, the official Scottish residence of the monarch...
07
The Green Lady of Fyvie Castle
Fyvie Castle, Fyvie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland·1601·Ghosts & Hauntings
Fyvie Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, is a magnificent fortress with roots stretching back to the 13th century. Passe...
08
The Mowing-Devil of Hertfordshire — England's Earliest Crop Circle Account (1678)
Hertfordshire, England·1678·Unexplained Phenomena
A 1678 English woodcut pamphlet titled 'The Mowing-Devil: or, Strange NEWS out of Hartford-shire' describes what may be ...
09
The Salem Witch Trials — Mass Hysteria in Colonial Massachusetts (1692)
Salem, Massachusetts·1692·Folklore & Legends
The Salem witch trials of 1692 are the most notorious episode of witch persecution in American history and one of the be...
10
The Arnold Paole Vampire Case — Mass Exhumation in 18th-Century Serbia (1726)
Medveđa, Serbia·1726·Folklore & Legends
The case of Arnold Paole (also spelled Arnaut Pavle) is one of the best-documented and most influential vampire incident...
11
The Beast of Gévaudan — France's Most Terrifying Predator (1764-1767)
Gévaudan, Lozère, France·1764·Folklore & Legends
Between 1764 and 1767, a mysterious creature terrorized the rural province of Gévaudan in south-central France (modern-d...
12
The Pontianak of Borneo — Southeast Asia's Most Feared Vampire Spirit
Pontianak, West Kalimantan, Indonesia·1771·Folklore & Legends
The Pontianak (also spelled Kuntilanak in Indonesian) is one of the most feared supernatural beings in Malay and Indones...
13
The Mercy Brown Vampire Incident — New England's Last Vampire Exhumation (1892)
Exeter, Rhode Island·1892·Folklore & Legends
On March 17, 1892, in the farming community of Exeter, Rhode Island, the body of 19-year-old Mercy Lena Brown was exhume...
14
The Tunguska Event — The Largest Impact in Recorded History (1908)
Podkamennaya Tunguska River, Siberia, Russia·1908·Unexplained Phenomena
On the morning of June 30, 1908, a massive explosion occurred near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in the remote Siberia...
15
Jersey Devil Mass Sightings — Burlington County, New Jersey (1909)
Burlington County, New Jersey·1909·Cryptids
During the great Jersey Devil sighting wave of January 1909, Burlington County in the heart of the Pine Barrens experien...
16
The Great Jersey Devil Panic of 1909 — Southern New Jersey
Pine Barrens, Burlington County, New Jersey·1909·Cryptids
In the third week of January 1909, southern New Jersey experienced a mass panic centered on the Jersey Devil. Between Ja...
17
Early Skunk Ape Reports — Florida Everglades (1920s–1960s)
Florida Everglades, Florida·1920·Cryptids
The Skunk Ape, Florida's regional variant of Bigfoot, has been reported in the swamps and forests of southern Florida si...
18
The Carroll A. Deering — A Ghost Ship Found Adrift off Cape Hatteras (1921)
Diamond Shoals, Cape Hatteras, North Carolina·1921·Unexplained Phenomena
On January 31, 1921, the five-masted commercial schooner Carroll A. Deering was found hard aground on Diamond Shoals off...
19
The Sasquatch of the Sts'ailes — Indigenous Accounts from British Columbia
Harrison Lake, British Columbia·1929·Cryptids
Long before the term 'Bigfoot' entered popular culture, the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest had extensive tr...
20
George Spicer's Roadside Encounter — Loch Ness, Scotland (1933)
Between Dores and Foyers, Loch Ness, Scotland·1933·Cryptids
On July 22, 1933, George Spicer and his wife were driving along the road between Dores and Foyers on the south shore of ...