Part pyramid scheme and part sex-trafficking operation, NXIVM was founded by Keith Raniere in 1998 and soon attracted rich and famous members from across America.“Do you think the person who is being branded should be completely nude and sort of held to the table like a sort of, almost, like a sacrifice?” This was just one of many horrific questions that NXIVM sex cult founder Keith Raniere posed to his top lieutenants.

Until the September 11th attacks, the Jonestown Massacre was the greatest loss of civilian life as the result of a deliberate act in American history.Today, the Jonestown Massacre that resulted in the death of more than 900 people in Guyana in November of 1978 is remembered in the popular imagination as the time that gullible expatriates from the Peoples Temple cult literally “drank the Kool-Aid” and died simultaneously from cyanide poisoning.

Bruce's Beach was originally owned by Willa and Charles Bruce, who made the property into an oasis for Black residents, but local officials used a loophole to wrest the land away from them in 1924. Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty ImagesThis stretch of Manhattan Beach, called Bruce’s Beach, belonged to a Black family before the city took it. In the 1910s and 1920s, Black families in Los Angeles County frequently flocked to Bruce’s Beach, a chunk of Manhattan Beach owned by a Black couple named Willa and Charles Bruce.

After the Winterberg tunnel collapsed in May 1917, almost all of the German soldiers inside it perished over six harrowing days.Pierre MalinowskiSoldiers at the notorious Winterberg tunnel, which currently lies under a forest trail popular amongst dog walkers. In May 1917, more than 270 German soldiers were buried alive in the Winterberg tunnel on the Chemin des Dames battlefront when the French bombarded it, sealing off both sides. Now, that tunnel — and the corpses inside of it — have just been found by an amateur historian and his son.

Michael Malloy was a down-on-his-luck drunk during the Great Depression when he was targeted for murder as part of a life insurance scam. The only problem was, he wouldn't die.Wikimedia commons.Tony Marino’s speakeasy, where the “Murder Trust” hatched their plan to kill Mike “the Durable” Malloy. It did not go as planned. Michael Malloy was like a lot of down-on-their-luck, unemployed men in New York City during the Great Depression. Apart from doing the occasional odd job, they drowned their sorrows at local speakeasies with the occasional unsavory characters.

Inside The Murder Of Johnny Stompanato, The Mobster Stabbed To Death By Lana Turner’s Daughter Morgan Dunn last month An enforcer and bodyguard in the L.A. mafia, Johnny Stompanato was stabbed to death in the Beverly Hills home of his girlfriend, Lana Turner, in April 1958. ncG1vNJzZmiZnKHBqa3TrKCnrJWnsrTAyKeeZ5ufonyiwdOhpqtnnaS%2FqK3NZpuupp4%3D

At least eight "witch bottles," which were traditionally used to stave off evil spells, have been found along the Gulf Coast since 2017.Jace TunnellA number of these so-called “witch bottles” have been found along the Gulf Coast in recent years. Beachcombers frequently come across curious items as they wander along the shore. But a number of especially strange objects have been washing up in Texas lately: “witch bottles.” People once used these in hopes of breaking dark spells — and experts suggest leaving them alone.

Pablo Escobar may be the infamous name everyone recognizes, but his brother Roberto Escobar is the one still profiting from their violent ventures.thedruglords.comRoberto Escobar was referred to as “El Osito” or “Little Bear” because he was said to resemble the animal. Most people have heard of Pablo Escobar, the infamous cartel leader, and vicious drug runner. But few have heard of his older brother — Roberto Escobar. That being said, it’s safe to say that both Escobar brothers left a lasting impression on the drug world.

Outside of the infamous Studio 54 Nightclub. Source: Associated Press Prolonged war and a stagnant economy gave way to a massive national hangover in the 1970s. But at Studio 54, the party was just getting started. Described by some as Sodom and Gomorrah with a disco beat, New York City’s delightfully depraved nightclub opened its doors in 1977. It took owners Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager just six weeks to transform the former CBS Studio 52 into the destination for celebrities and others in high society looking to cut loose.

Scientists hope that this will advance the fight to save lives by creating lab-grown organs.Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte via National GeographicThis pig embryo was injected with human cells early in its development and grew to be four weeks old. Scientists have created the first successful human-animal hybrid, or what is known as a chimera, in a laboratory. Led by the Salk Institute, the international team of researchers announced the achievement this past Thursday in the scientific journal Cell.