Cheryl Eddy

Nuclear Sausage Dog Demands Belly Rubs … Or Else

Melbourne, Australia held its first-ever “Running of the Wieners” dachshund race in honor of Oktoberfest this weekend. There was also a costume contest, and while we don’t know where li’l Xena placed, we will say this is the first time we’ve ever seen a dog dressed as a Cold War-era nuclear missile. Photo by Scott…

This Short Film Offers a Delightfully Evil Spin on the Classic Disney-Style Love Story

In Cursed, a dialogue-free student short by Merel van den Broek and Nicole Derksen, a Disney-esque villain doesn’t quite know what to do with herself when she starts crushing on a dashing hero. Because even when you have magic powers, love doesn’t always go as planned… [Via Geek Art Gallery]

Peru’s “Apostle of Death” Serial Killer Has a Brother Who Just Might Be a Serial Killer Too

A Peruvian man suspected of six brutal slayings in Japan may be the younger brother of Peru’s most prolific serial murderer, a diagnosed schizophrenic known as the “Apostle of Death” because he claimed God urged him to kill. In 2006, Pablo Nakada Ludeña was captured after shooting at least 17 people (he claimed 25 total…

Johnny Depp’s 6 Most Inexplicable Career Decisions

We are not anti-Johnny Depp. We love films like Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Donnie Brasco, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas—all of which are highlighted by stellar Depp performances. But for a Hollywood A-lister, he’s made some undeniably bizarre career decisions, and here are his oddest. 1) The Lone Ranger In the wake of…

Which Final Scene in a Movie Haunted You for Hours Afterwards?

This grainy image from The Blair Witch Project is unremarkable on its own. But contextualized within the film’s carefully-crafted mythology and nerve-jangling buildup, this simple shot was a terrifying way to end the film. (I absolutely screamed my head off the first time I saw it.) Tell us, fellow lurkers in the dark: what final…

Inside the Twisted World of the “Co-Ed Killer,” Whose Bloodlust Could Not Be Contained

When he was 15, Edmund Kemper shot his grandparents, curious about what it would feel like to commit murder. A stint in a maximum-security prison hospital did little to cure him; after his release at age 21, his urge to kill led him to a new target: college girls. His headline-grabbing nickname became “The Co-Ed…

Johnny Depp Managed to Make One of History’s Greatest Gangsters Boring

James “Whitey” Bulger became a kingpin because he was a ruthless killer—and because he masterfully exploited his side gig as an FBI informant. These are the two truths hammered home in Black Mass, which studies a singular criminal career and yet feels disappointingly generic. Perhaps it’s Boston setting—specifically, South Boston—the underworld of which we’ve visited…

In India, A Baby Elephant Goofs Off Under the Watchful Eyes of Its Massive Bodyguards

A baby wild elephant plays between two adults outside of Gauhati, India—the same city where, less than a month ago, a male elephant wandered the streets after being separated from his herd. Close human encounters with wild animals have increased due to booming development in the area, which may explain why these two big bodyguards…

Today In Worst-Case Scenarios: Irate Landlord Tries to Set Tardy Tenant on Fire

In most cases, if you’re lagging on the rent, your landlord will serve you with a legal notice that basically says “pay up or get out.” This past weekend in Jersey City, New Jersey, a mad-as-hell building owner decided lighter fluid and a match would be much more convincing. Reports the New York Daily News:…

At Last, Zoo Claws Its Way to an Appropriately Silly and Insane Finish

Zoo ends with an episode titled “The Great Big Hill of Hope,” but dares to suggest that “hope” will spring from an irritatingly catchy 1990s pop song. However, there are baboons, survivalist goons, a really cute old pug, and evan a few mild surprises. Spoilers follow! We begin “Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean,” as the…

In 2012, when San Diego police used DNA testing to try and solve the 1984 beachside rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl, they came up with two suspects: a convicted rapist who’d died in 2011, and a man who’d worked as a SDPD crime-lab analyst from 1982-2002. Was the analyst guilty … or had…

Ruthless Driver Charged With Felony After Playing Death Race 2000 with Seagulls

If it’d been pigeons, he might have gotten away with it. But a 19-year-old Rhode Island man who mowed over three seagulls in a beach parking lot is facing felony charges for “maliciously killing or wounding animals.” Really, if nobody’d seen him do it, he also might’ve gotten away with it. But as Boston’s WCBV…

Inside “Left for Dead,” A Fascinating Project That’s Bringing New Awareness to Cold Cases

Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting’s latest project is “Left for Dead,” an ongoing series of deeply-researched articles and accompanying podcasts addressing a fascinating and tragic mystery: why are there so many unidentified and unclaimed bodies in America? And there’s more: “Left for Dead” also includes the development of an online tool that allows…

Here’s a Story About Area 51 That Doesn’t Involve Extraterrestrials

The family that owns 400 acres of Nevada land just three miles from the famed Area 51—and has owned said land for over 100 years, long before the secretive military facility moved in—is fighting an “eminent domain” takeover by the US government, according to CNN. The official word: The Air Force wants the land because,…

The Dapper Killer Who Took Gruesome Revenge On His Romantic Rival

His colorful name—Mandeville Zenge—was memorable, but the lurid horror of his 1935 crime eclipsed all other details in the newspaper articles that eagerly chronicled it. He was the jilted corner of a love triangle, and he exacted revenge on his rival’s manhood … using a pen-knife. The victim, Dr. Walter Bauer, wasn’t found until hours…

On the Run From One Murder, He Accidentally Committed Another—And Joined the FBI’s “Most Wanted” List

In 1960, it seemed like the perfect crime, and the best solution to a pressing financial dilemma: snatch a wealthy,middle-aged beer-company heir; demand $500,000 ransom (equivalent to nearly four million dollars today); collect the money; and fade back into obscurity. As often goes with so-called perfect crimes, however, the kidnapping of Adolph Coors III did…

Early Forensics Helped Solve England’s Gruesome “Jigsaw Murders” Case

In September 1935, two women were found buried at the spot marked on this photograph of a grassy ditch next to a Scottish road. To find their killer, investigators would need to identify the women first—a task that would require piecing together their scattered, dismembered bodies. The process forced the advancement of forensic techniques that…

Which Horror Movie “Spooky Kid” Was the Absolute Spookiest of Them All?

It’s only 50 days until Halloween, so naturally we’ve got horror on the brain. Spooky kids have been a part of scary movies as long as the genre’s been around; it’s just so unnerving to see a pint-sized kid that’s possessed, a drippy-haired demon, precociously evil, a vampire, a cannibal … Anyway, there’s a huge…

Japan’s Notorious “Boy A” Killer Now Has a Creepy Vanity Website

It was called “the grisliest murder in memory in Japan.” In 1997, a 14-year-old Kobe boy murdered 11-year-old Jun Hase and left his victim’s sawed-off head on the gate of a school, with a message taunting police stuffed in the mouth. The killer, who called himself “Seito Sakakibara”—a combination of symbols meaning apostle, sake, devil,…

The Visit Proves That Families Are the Scariest Thing of All

The Visit arrives lugging some baggage. It’s directed by M. Night Shyamalan, and it’s a found-footage horror movie. For many film fans, just one of those factors would be an automatic turnoff. But The Visit has one really big thing going for it: it’s entertaining as hell. The premise is simple. Teenage siblings Becca (Olivia…