History is often unreliable. Most of the past is presented before us through means that may or may not be authentic. Accounts of travelers, claims, and strong-held beliefs of the locals, none of which can be trusted with the complete truth of almost any historical incident. Only the individuals involved can know the personal interests, intents, or causes behind past actions. So then, history is basically our best conclusion of what the past might have been based on whatever evidence is left. But what if there isn’t much evidence left? What if there is no evidence at all!

Imagine mysteries that have plagued the minds of the whole of humanity: the death of John F. Kennedy, the Bermuda Triangle, Mount Kailash, the betrayal of Anne Frank, and many, many more. We all know about these, but as mysterious as they are, they fail to hold us as they once did. But more than that, there is a vast multitude of such unsolved, mind-boggling mysteries that we are unaware of.

In this article, we explore historical mysteries that have eluded most of us; mysteries that will bring you goosebumps and make you want to stay up late and dip up their details. So, let’s dive right in!

1. The Tiny Mummy: evidence of Lilliputians?

Let us begin with something rather small. Unusually so.

Mummy found in the San Pedro Mountains (X-ray on the extreme right)

Did I say small? I must be out of my mind because the tale of this San Pedro Mummy, from discovery to its mysterious disappearance, is anything but short.

The Dramatic Discovery

It all always begins when someone goes poking around where they shouldn’t, doesn’t it?

In the Pedro Mountains of Wyoming, USA, two miners — Cecil Main and Frank Carr—blew up a hill hoping to uncover a gold mine. What they did discover, however, can safely be considered more monumental than gold.

The blown-up hill revealed a very small cave, inside which, upon a ledge, sat this eerie, approximately 6-inch-tall mummy. It looked like a tiny old man, sitting cross-legged in a cave, meditating. This mummy, which at first glance might appear a statue or idol, was no gold, but it was sure treated as such.

Cecil and Frank went to the town of Casper to see what they could get from this. It’s hard to imagine what they considered the mummy to be then without all the expert insights that came in later. It is said that for quite some time, the mummy—now referred to as Pedro—was circulated around in the local markets and antique shops as a showpiece.

The year of the discovery is a mystery in itself. A local magazine mentioned the discovery of such a mummy in 1932, while in the affidavit given by the miners in 1936, the year mentioned is June 1934.

Once Pedro was in the markets, various strategies were used, and much more money was made—all until Pedro reached one Ivan Goodman, a Casper car dealer. His clever approach to garnering attention turned out to be favorable, as it spread word about this ‘Pygmy’ (as he put it in his advertisement) to a far wider audience and finally reached the scholars and experts who then began the investigation.

Attempts to solve the unsolvable

With Goodman’s permission, tests were conducted on Pedro by the American Museum of Natural History, New York. They even verified it with the Anthropology Department of Harvard University. Both institutes found that Pedro was indeed a human specimen and not a hoax designed by the businessmen, as many sceptics believed.

What now emerged as the real mystery was whether Pedro mummy was an adult human, an infant. Pedro’s diminutive size brought with it many questions: Could this be that monumental discovery which proves the existence of tiny men?

Even after careful examination, the experts could not conclusively state exactly what type of human Pedro was. Hence, two contradictory theories emerged, and both had reasons for their claims.

Pedro: A 65-year-old man?

Experts found that the mummy had a complete set of sharp canine teeth, and inside its stomach were found remnants of raw meat. Moreover, there were indications against a natural death. Injuries were dealt to the head, which corresponds to the Native American myth of the Nimerigar. Nimerigars, a mythical race of little people, were viciously known for killing off their injured or elderly with a sharp blow to the head.

The teeth, evidence of food consumed, and the injuries were a good enough reason to assume that Pedro had been an old, dwarfed man of about 60-65. But could it really be? A man so dwarfed that he’d be only 17 inches tall if he were standing?

Pedro: An infant with a rare condition?

With such a small height, many claimed Pedro was a child. It was Harry Shapiro of the American Museum of Natural History who examined the X-rays, performed a lung analysis, and concluded that Pedro was an infant with Anencephaly. Anencephaly causes a fetus’ brain to be underdeveloped such that some parts of the skull and brain do not develop at all. It is impossible to survive such a condition, and the babies thus born die within a few hours or days. This explains Pedro’s missing brain but leaves the meat and teeth unanswered.

A conclusive answer could be found if only Pedro hadn’t been lost.

Pedro Mummy lost, another found

It was around the 1950s, when Goodman lost Pedro, and it is hard to say how. Many attempts were made to recover it, and even a bounty was declared, but to no avail. The experts still invested in the matter had only the past findings to make do with. One such expert was George Gill. He continued to maintain that Pedro was an Anencephalian infant.

In 1971, George was contacted by a Native American family. They showed him—guess what—a mummy much like Pedro! Apparently, the mummy was of a little girl, mummified much like Pedro, in the same cross-legged position with her hands around her chest. She had been with the family for as long as they could remember. Tests conducted by Gill concluded that Chiquita—as she was named—was from the 1500s and had Anencephaly.

The discovery of Chiquita seemed to solidify the fact that both the mummies were infants. However, without Pedro present, no conclusion can be drawn, especially with its adult-like body.

2. Oakville Rain-Blobs: It’s raining slimes!

Imagine yourself roaming around the neighborhood at 3 on an August morning, and it starts pouring. But what’s pouring isn’t water, snow, or hail—imagine it’s raining slimes!

Well, it wasn’t slime, but that’s what it must have seemed like as it poured all over Oakville, Washington on the 7^th of August 1994.

As Oakville receives rain 275 days (about 9 months) a year, it wasn’t surprising when it suddenly began to rain. But it soon became evident to the residents that this wasn’t their usual rainwater. It stuck to your shoe as you walked and smeared all over the windshield when you tried to wipe it off.

The Search for Explanation

Mysterious as it was, most people would likely shrug it off as a one-time incident or a harmless natural anomaly. However, in the following weeks, it rained slime six more times. But it was only when the residents who had come in contact with the odd blobs fell sick and faced flu-like symptoms that the matter was deemed truly serious.

Samples were taken and sent to the Ecology Department of Washington state. The Hazardous Unit of the Department ran various tests, and it was found that the rice-grain-sized blobs contained two types of bacteria that were infectious to the digestive system. And apparently, they infect not just human digestion as many of the street animals were found dead following the slimy rains. Various types of other non-nuclear cells were also mixed in, and none could be identified.

No clear explanation was provided as to what exactly the substance was and why it rained from the sky. The causes and effects of this mysterious occurrence are still unknown. As one is bound to do, many speculations and conspiracy theories were formulated and circulated.

The Hunches

Dissatisfied by the lack of a proper reason, residents sought second (and third) opinions. Many samples were tested by different labs, and many theories emerged from their results.

It’s Raining Poop!

The finding of infectious bacteria generally present in the digestive system led some to speculate that it was human excretion from an airplane flying by. However, this is mostly unlikely as the Aviation Federation guidelines mandate excretion to be dyed blue; moreover, releasing it mid-flight is forbidden.

It’s Raining White Blood Cells!

As per the Netflix Series Unsolved Mysteries, samples were sent to a local hospital laboratory by Sunny Barclift, the daughter of one of the ailing residents. The lab technician claimed to have found human white blood cells in the sample. This made many think that by some glitch in the matrix of the universe, instead of water, it rained white blood cells and that the blobs were alive. This theory, too, was nullified as there were only simple cells in the sample and no complex ones like white blood cells.

It’s Raining Jellyfish!

The most controversial of the theories is the one that claims the rain blob was a blunder of the US Air Force. They were conducting naval bombing runs at sea just around the same time (August) when the incidents occurred in Oakville.

The hunch claimed that the bombs must have hit a school of jellyfish, causing them to fly up and reach the Oakville clouds, eventually raining down on the residents. The claim of a microbiologist to have found traces of live cells in the samples made this theory seem more plausible.

However, the US Air Force denied any part in the incident, even as they admitted having conducted the tests around the same time.

Ultimately, the status of this eerie incident is still ‘unresolved’. It will most likely stay that way until another such phenomenon occurs as no sample remains.

3.The Watseka Wonder

When discussing the otherworldly, spirits, rebirth, and karma are prominent. All that is unknown is exciting. What follows death? Do souls exist? If they do, what happens to them after we die? Do they take birth again, or do they simply vanish somewhere in the void?

Sometimes, we simply deny the unknown. We do not think about it and go about our lives, thinking we’ll face it when it comes. But then some incidents arise that make us uncomfortable and force us to face that which may or may not exist.

The true tale of Lurancy Lennum will bring you chills.

The Fits

In the small, insignificant town of Watseka, Illinois, in the late 1800s, one Lurancy Lennum was born. It all began when she was 13. At first, it was just complaints to her parents about not being able to sleep at night. Then came the claim of hearing voices in her head calling out her name. Soon, she began to have severe stomach aches. This gradually led to trances and visions of spirits floating around her. If you’ve watched The Conjuring movies, you’d know what we’re talking about.

Lurancy’s parents were unsure how to move forward with this. After consulting multiple doctors, the only thing left to do seemed to be sending her to an asylum for treatment. The locals were all ready with their various inputs, suggesting they contact exorcists and spiritual guides. They chose mental asylum.

The Possessions

As time passed, Lurancy’s condition only worsened. New developments were made and she seemed to possess unnatural powers. According to a newspaper, Mesmeric Mysteries, she entered such trances that she could read out letters pointed at with her eyes closed. Such absurd trances lasted for a few hours and then she would become normal. Lurancy’s parents were now on the verge of taking her to the asylum. But something happens before they can.

One day, Asa Roff, a neighbor whose daughter had died twelve years ago, came to the Lennums. He told them that his daughter had faced seizures and trances as well. After her death, he had immersed himself in spirituality and now wanted to help Lurancy.

Asa suggested the spiritualist E. W. Stevens be consulted. Stevens wrote a book detailing his account of Lurancy and her condition, The Watseka Wonder.

Throughout her ‘condition,’ it is said that Lurancy claimed to know many spirits by name and had been possessed by many of them, including a German lady named Katrina. But the longest and most significant possession of Lurancy was by the spirit of Mary Roff.

Apparently, Lurancy herself chose to be possessed by Mary Roff. Asa Roff was brought to tears by the familiarity with which she remembered all the details about their home and Mary’s life. For quite some time, Lurancy lived as Mary with the Roffs. Interestingly, she seemed to have forgotten all details of her life as Lurancy for as long as Mary possessed her.

Various versions of Lurancy’s life are circulating around the internet and it is hard to know which one is accurate. One claims Lurancy herself demanded to meet Asa Roff after being possessed by Mary. In some versions, Mary takes control of Lurancy at will, while others mention Lurancy as the decider.

Back to Normal Life

All of Lurancy’s possessions lasted only a short while, and the longest one (by Mary’s spirit) lasted a few weeks. Afterwards, it is said that Lurancy one day suddenly declared that her soul would be returning to her body, leaving Mary’s, and so it did.

After this, Lurancy lived a normal life and married, and no more such happenings were recorded. Except during childbirth, when it is claimed, Mary’s spirit again took possession of Lurancy to make the process painless, and then again, Lurancy was returned to her body.

Criticism

Much of Lurancy’s story is hard to imagine and even harder to believe. Many critics rose against the claims of possession. Some claimed it was a hoax, others a psychological condition.

According to psychologist Frank Hoffman, it was nothing but a ‘typical case of historical impersonation’ and claimed that the Roffs had a big part in influencing Lurancy.

A journalist, Henry Bruce, called it a trick and nothing more, as Lurancy would get possessed by Mary only when the Roffs were around.

Many cases of possession have been found in the past and still are, but it is hard to make out which is a hoax, and which is a true absurdity. The case of Lurancy Lennum remains the most perplexing one yet.

Conclusion

So many questions and too few answers, but it is as they say: Mysteries lose their charm when solved.

History is as mysterious now as it ever was, be it because of perplexing events and happenings or because it was told unfairly.

All we can do is hope. Hope that the Pedro mummy gets miraculously found again. The mysterious life of Lurancy Lennum might become clearer to us and…and let us hope that no blob rains ever occur again even if the cost is lack of explanation. Some mysteries are better left unexplained.