We have all hear about vampires and werewolves, but there are many real life people who are stranger than fiction. We have listed 5 bizarre people in history.
People have always been attracted to the unreal and bizarre. This is why we love scary movies, and find fascination in made up stories of the super natural.
Fiction might be more out-of-this-world, but these real-life bizarre people have stories stranger than fiction.
Elmer McCurdy
This American bank and train robber got himself killed at a shoot-out in 1911. And with no one claiming his body, the funeral home decided to mummify him and put him on display. Elmer became somewhat of a local tourist attraction at the funeral home in Oklahoma.
After several years, Elmer ended up as a fixture on a series of travelling carnivals. In the 1960s Elmers body was bought and exhibited at The Pike amusement zone in Long Beach, California. He was casted in several films before being discovered as a real body.
Edward Mondrake
Edward Mondrake was born with a complete second face on the backside of his skull. The heir to English peerage, wanted the face removed, but no doctor would attempt the surgery. The face did not speak or eat on its own, but was reported to show facial expressions like smiling and smirking.
He claimed that his second face whispered things “one would only speak about in hell” at night, and took his own life in his mid-20s.
Man in the Iron Mask
The Man in the Iron Mask was imprisoned on orders by King Louis XIV of France in 1669, and his identity remains a secret. He was arrested under the name “Eustache Dauger”, and had his face covered by a black velvet cloth at all times.
Several conspiracy theories have emerged since about the masked man’s identity and the crime he committed to deserve such a grim punishment. It was Voltaire who first claimed that Dauger was masked by an iron mask instead of velvet. He also claimed him to be the older, illegitimate brother of Louis XIV. And writer Alexandre Dumas claimed that the man in the iron mask was Louis XIV’s identical twin.
Shoichi Yokoi
Shōichi Yokoi was a sergeant in the Imperial Japanese Army who was sent to Guam during the Second World War.
When the US forces entered Guam in 1944 and defeat was inevitable, Yokoi abandoned his post and ran for the hills. For 28 years he lived in a cave in the middle of the jungle, in fear of being caught by the Americans. He was captured by local villagers in 1972, and upon his return to Japan said his famous phrase: “It is with much embarrassment, but I have returned”.
Paul Karason
Paul Karason was the real-life Papa Smurf, he has grey hair and beard,and blue from head to toe.
Karason was actually the victim of bad medical tips. Before it they were pulled from the market, silver products were used in many remedies. He had prepared a formula of colloidal silver at home, and used it to treat himself for problems with his sinus, dermatitis, acid reflux and other issues.
