# Unsolved mysteries that aren't nightmare fuel **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 21, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsolved-mysteries-that-arent-nightmare-fuel/720538 "2015-05-21T19:07:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Jormungandr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@Jormungandr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jormungandr)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsolved-mysteries-that-arent-nightmare-fuel/720538/121 "2015-06-06T04:52:50Z")
One of the few Unsolved Mysteries cases that I remember. [Lost Hawaiian Fishermen – What happened to the lost crew of the “Sarah Joe”?](http://unsolved.com/archives/lost-hawaiian-fishermen) ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsolved-mysteries-that-arent-nightmare-fuel/720538/122 "2015-06-06T15:38:16Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > There’s a kid behind all of them that can’t be seen. They must be [Bill Mauldin](https://books.google.com/books?id=s4a1jAstmLoC&pg=PA87&lpg=PA87&dq=mauldin+jest+a+coupla+red+blooded+boys&source=bl&ots=uGkvrC4XNV&sig=lCNtGcC6AqXG4Vysz0NH69lC0pE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=iRNzVfOdI8arogS_p4DgDw&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage) fans. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsolved-mysteries-that-arent-nightmare-fuel/720538/123 "2015-06-06T15:42:39Z")
Re the “Sarah Joe”: What’s to wonder about, except the details. Many boats go missing in the ocean and larger lakes without a trace. It’s only when someone shows up having survived and drifted for months, or when traces are found that we hear about them again. And it’s only the surprising cases, like this one (2000 miles in a 17-foot flatboat?) that it becomes a mystery. They got blown out to sea, drifted for some unknown time, and at least two of them reached the far island - after events we can only sketch in and wonder about. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsolved-mysteries-that-arent-nightmare-fuel/720538/124 "2015-06-06T15:47:39Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Re the “Sarah Joe”: What’s to wonder about, except the details. Many boats go missing in the ocean and larger lakes without a trace. It’s only when someone shows up having survived and drifted for months, or when traces are found that we hear about them again. And it’s only the surprising cases, like this one (2000 miles in a 17-foot flatboat?) that it becomes a mystery. > > They got blown out to sea, drifted for some unknown time, and at least two of them reached the far island - after events we can only sketch in and wonder about. I guess the creepy factor is at least one person survived to bury the dead guy in a shallow grave and place the spirit money on him, I would assume someone with a connection to asian culture. No clue why they were carrying it though. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsolved-mysteries-that-arent-nightmare-fuel/720538/125 "2015-06-06T17:05:29Z")
> [@grude](#): > > I guess the creepy factor is at least one person survived to bury the dead guy in a shallow grave and place the spirit money on him, I would assume someone with a connection to asian culture. No clue why they were carrying it though. I think the “book” object is being misdescribed, or incompletely described. It sounds like several kinds of things - disposable batteries, pocket hand warmers, etc. - that are composed of layers of paper and “foil.” If a plastic shell disintegrated, it would leave such a stack of paper and foil and little else after ten years. It seems clear that at least two survivors reached the island, and one buried the other. It’s all very spooky and sad and mysterious, but it’s not really a mystery in any overall sense. ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsolved-mysteries-that-arent-nightmare-fuel/720538/126 "2015-06-06T18:11:53Z")
> [@Steken](#): > > But of those - especially the Taman Shud / Somerton Man Case - are _total_ nightmare fuel. I’m a grown man in my thirties, but after spending the better part of a weekend reading up on the case - and even trying to work out my own “interpretation” of the hand-scribbled “code” - you’d better believe I was spooked. Eek, sorry about wrecking your weekend :). It’s funny how one person’s ‘fascinating’ is another person’s ‘nightmare fuel’. Me, I’m fine with weird and mysterious and strange; I find it fascinating. What makes something nightmarish for me is knowing that someone suffered horribly - physically and/or psychologically\* - and there’s no real reason to think Somerton Man suffered, so I never thought of the case as nightmare fuel. \*If you’re like me, don’t ever read about Hinterkaifeck. Lots of fascinating mystery, but one detail that is pure headwrecker. ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsolved-mysteries-that-arent-nightmare-fuel/720538/127 "2015-06-06T18:19:01Z")
> [@eclectic\_wench](#): > > Eek, sorry about wrecking your weekend :). Oh, haha, no problem - this was a while ago, so not your fault at all! > [@eclectic\_wench](#): > > and there’s no real reason to think Somerton Man suffered, so I never thought of the case as nightmare fuel. I see where you’re coming from. The creepiest part for me was that, in trying to decipher the “code” (who knows if it’s really a code, but oh well), I had to try and get myself into the mindset of a man about to commit suicide. That was… Not pleasant. > [@eclectic\_wench](#): > > If you’re like me, don’t ever read about Hinterkaifeck. Lots of fascinating mystery, but one detail that is pure headwrecker. Oh man. Can’t help myself. Googling now. Wish me luck. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsolved-mysteries-that-arent-nightmare-fuel/720538/128 "2015-06-06T19:38:24Z")
> [@eclectic\_wench](#): > > \*If you’re like me, don’t ever read about Hinterkaifeck. Lots of fascinating mystery, but one detail that is pure headwrecker. What’s the headwrecker? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsolved-mysteries-that-arent-nightmare-fuel/720538/129 "2015-06-06T21:02:15Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > What’s the headwrecker? The 7 year old, lying amongst her dead family, tearing her hair out in tufts, is pretty headwrecky. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsolved-mysteries-that-arent-nightmare-fuel/720538/130 "2015-06-06T21:31:05Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > The 7 year old, lying amongst her dead family, tearing her hair out in tufts, is pretty headwrecky. I’d say it’s that the perpetrator stayed around for several days after the murders, taking care of the animals and so forth, and may have been in hiding at the farm for days beforehand. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsolved-mysteries-that-arent-nightmare-fuel/720538/131 "2015-06-06T21:45:06Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I’d say it’s that the perpetrator stayed around for several days after the murders, taking care of the animals and so forth, and may have been in hiding at the farm for days beforehand. If he saw footprints and heard some one moving about, he very well may have been. Perhaps some one who needed to hide for a while and was discovered. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsolved-mysteries-that-arent-nightmare-fuel/720538/132 "2015-06-06T21:57:32Z")
I’d guess the headwrecker is: [spoiler] from [Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinterkaifeck): _The two-year-old Josef was rumoured to be the son of Viktoria and her father Andreas, who had an incestuous relationship_. [/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsolved-mysteries-that-arent-nightmare-fuel/720538/133 "2015-06-06T22:10:48Z")
Yeah, it was the hair-tearing that did it for me. (I was going to spoiler it, given the no-nightmares subject of the thread, but since **Baron Greenback** ’s already said it…) The fact that the killer might have been hiding on the farm for days beforehand is creepy as fuck, but doesn’t hit my AAAAIEEEE BACK BUTTON nerve. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2015, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsolved-mysteries-that-arent-nightmare-fuel/720538/134 "2015-06-06T23:49:07Z")
There’s the unexplained, there’s the unexplainable, and then there’s the “Dear God, DON’T explain it!” The last may be the best. [The 38 most unexplained images on the internet](http://imgur.com/gallery/MQq7x) ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2015, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsolved-mysteries-that-arent-nightmare-fuel/720538/135 "2015-06-07T01:27:35Z")
I think the most explainable was the guy with socks stuck all over his clothes. As for some of the rest, please pass the brain bleach. ---
**Author:** ![Jormungandr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@Jormungandr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jormungandr)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2015, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsolved-mysteries-that-arent-nightmare-fuel/720538/136 "2015-06-07T04:22:07Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I think the “book” object is being misdescribed, or incompletely described. It sounds like several kinds of things - disposable batteries, pocket hand warmers, etc. - that are composed of layers of paper and “foil.” If a plastic shell disintegrated, it would leave such a stack of paper and foil and little else after ten years. > > It seems clear that at least two survivors reached the island, and one buried the other. It’s all very spooky and sad and mysterious, but it’s not really a mystery in any overall sense. It is as the boat was found 10 year later, but wasn’t there 4 years prior when a government survey was conducted on the island. So, where was the boat and body for 6 years. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsolved-mysteries-that-arent-nightmare-fuel/720538/137 "2015-12-09T12:36:32Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > The identity of [Satoshi Nakamoto](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satoshi_Nakamoto). Some guy pops up out of nowhere with a fake name, proposes Bitcoin, works on it for about a year and then completely disappears. In the meantime, he’s mined several hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin, none of which he’s spent. > > Newsweek claimed it was some retired engineer in California a while back and was hugely embarrassed when it turned out to have been completely implausible. His email was apparently hacked a few months ago but nothing much has turned up since. The number of people who possess the skills Satoshi has is pretty small and all of them have denied being Satoshi. The conspiracy theories span pretty wide, from it being a US Govt project to aliens making us ascend to the next level of development. It looks pretty conclusive that it is an Australian guy called Craig Wright (possibly working with another person at first). > **[This Australian Says He and His Dead Friend Invented Bitcoin](https://gizmodo.com/this-australian-says-he-and-his-dead-friend-invented-bi-1746958692)** > > This story was originally published on December 8, 2015. Shortly thereafter, Craig Wright scrubbed much of his digital presence and disappeared for ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsolved-mysteries-that-arent-nightmare-fuel/720538/138 "2015-12-09T13:47:11Z")
There’s a disappearance which has always intrigued me, and which I feel doesn’t fall under the OP’s ban of “where the person concerned was almost certainly murdered” (abduction and subsequent killing, in the spies-and-spooks realm, is usually reckoned as a a possible – but fairly far-fetched – explanation). The incident commonly known as “the man who walked round the horses”. It involves the disappearance in November 1809 of the British diplomat Benjamin Bathurst, at Perleberg in Germany. Bathurst was en route to Hamburg from Vienna, where he had been serving as the British envoy. While checking out a change of horses for his coach, at an inn in Perleberg, he happened to step out of the sight of his secretary and valet; and was not seen again, ever – not seen leaving the inn yard, or anything else. A short story by H. Beam Piper, starting from this reported disappearance, postulates Bathurst’s having vanished into an alternative-history universe where the Napoleonic Wars, then raging in his own universe, never happened… ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsolved-mysteries-that-arent-nightmare-fuel/720538/139 "2015-12-09T14:42:58Z")
I’ve always loved the Bathurst one too, but unfortunately it looks like the mystery factor became exaggerated over the years. The whole ‘he just stepped around the horses and vanished’ thing comes from a later writer’s account. The contemporary stuff sounds more like he went out to the courtyard on his own to look at the carriage, and when other people followed, he wasn’t there. It’s not like he vanished in front of people’s eyes - his sister’s account says that ‘After waiting for him for nearly an hour, his attendants began to make enquiries for him.’ So no one was immediately worried or surprised that he wasn’t there. Both the [Wikipedia entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Bathurst_%28diplomat%29) and a [Fortean Times article](http://www.mikedash.com/assets/files/The%20Disappearance%20of%20Benjamin%20B.pdf) (pdf warning) conclude that he was probably jumped and murdered, either for political reasons or for his stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsolved-mysteries-that-arent-nightmare-fuel/720538/140 "2015-12-09T15:13:12Z")
Thanks – but, ah, damn ! – I also find Fortean weirdness a lot more exciting and inspiring, than mundane spy-and-spook crap. I’d been taken with the Bathurst mystery, since reading about it in a book by the early-20th-century aficionado of the unexplained, Rupert Gould (as far as I know, no relation to the Baring-Gould of the FT article). It would seem that I, and H. Beam Piper, have been seduced by the weird and arcane’s being more intriguing than the mundane and probable… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsolved-mysteries-that-arent-nightmare-fuel/720538.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unsolved-mysteries-that-arent-nightmare-fuel/720538.md?page=8)