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Abigail Folger’s name rarely appears in headlines about the Manson Family murders — yet she was one of the five people brutally killed on the night of August 8, 1969. The daughter of Peter Folger, chairman of the Folger Coffee Company, Abigail was born into privilege but chose a different path.

After earning a degree from Harvard, she worked in museums and bookstores and eventually became a social worker, helping underserved communities in Los Angeles. She had plans to leave her troubled relationship and L.A. the very next day. But when the Manson Family broke into the home of Sharon Tate, her life ended violently on the front lawn.

Read more here: Abigail Folger, The Heir To Folgers Coffee Who Was Brutally Murdered By The Manson Family

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Dolly Oesterreich was 33 when she began an affair with 17-year-old Otto Sanhuber in 1913. To keep their relationship concealed, Dolly moved Otto into the attic of the Milwaukee home she shared with her husband, Fred Oesterreich.

Otto spent his days within the household making bathtub gin, helping Dolly with housework, and maintaining their secret relationship. At night, he retired to the attic to read mystery novels and wrote pulp fiction by candlelight. The arrangement continued after Dolly and her husband moved to Los Angeles in 1918, where Dolly selected an attic in her new home for Otto to hide in. Four years later, after overhearing a heated argument between Dolly and her husband, Otto came downstairs with two pistols. Fred Oesterreich was shot and killed — and the truth finally began to unravel.

Learn more here: Dolly Oesterreich, The Married Woman Who Kept Her Secret Lover In The Attic For 10 Years — Even After He Killed Her Husband

On Christmas Eve of 1971, LANSA Flight 508 was flying over Peru when it was struck by lightning and disintegrated in mid-air. Among the 92 people on board was 17-year-old Juliane Koepcke, who had just graduated from high school the day before. Still buckled into her seat, Koepcke fell more than 10,000 feet into the Amazon rainforest — and survived.

Waking up by herself with minor injuries, she relied on survival skills learned from her parents. She followed a stream, drank rainwater, and lived on a small bag of sweets she found in the wreckage. After 11 days of navigating the jungle, she found a remote logging shelter where she was finally discovered. She was the only survivor of the crash.

Read her harrowing story here: The Incredible Story Of Juliane Koepcke, The Teenager Who Fell 10,000 Feet Out Of A Plane And Somehow Survived

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In 1834, a fire broke out at the Royal Street mansion of Madame Delphine LaLaurie, one of New Orleans’ most admired socialites. But when firefighters entered the burning home, they uncovered a chamber of horrors that stunned even a city accustomed to the brutality of slavery.

Inside the attic were several enslaved people who had been kept in chains for years — starved, beaten, and grotesquely mutilated. Witnesses reported that one victim had her limbs broken and reset so that she resembled a crab, some had their mouths sewn shut, and others had their eyes gouged out. One witness even claimed that there were people with holes in their skulls, and wooden spoons near them, presumably used to stir their brains.

But before she could be arrested, LaLaurie escaped by carriage and fled to France, where she lived out her remaining years in quiet exile. The LaLaurie Mansion, rebuilt after the fire, still stands today in the French Quarter. Locals claim that it remains haunted by the cries of the people who were once imprisoned inside.

Read more here: The Horrific Story Of Madame LaLaurie, The Socialite Who Brutally Mutilated Her Slaves

In February 2015, 18-year-old Daylenn Pua set out to hike the Haiku Stairs — a stunning but illegal trail on Oahu known as the "Stairway to Heaven." The 3,922-step metal staircase was closed to the public decades ago, but that didn’t stop Pua from trying to reach the top.

That morning, he texted photos from his hike to friends and family, then the messages suddenly stopped. When Pua failed to return, authorities launched an extensive search of the mountains, using helicopters, ground teams, and volunteers. But no trace of him was ever found.

Even stranger, one of the last photos Pua sent showed a mysterious man standing in the background, half-hidden by branches. No one has ever identified him.

Read more here: The Mysterious Case Of Daylenn Pua, The Teenager Who Vanished While Hiking Hawaii’s Forbidden Haiku Stairs

One of Turkmenistan's most famous tourist attractions isn't the white marble and gold capital of Ashgabat or the resorts on the Caspian shore. It's a noxious burning pit deep in the Karakum desert that's filled with smoldering rocks, boiling mud, and orange flames fueled by underground reserves of methane gas.

Poetically referred to as the "Shining of the Karakum" but more commonly known as the "Gates of Hell," the gas pit has burned for over 50 years and is so popular that a campsite was built within walking distance of the rim. And in 2019, Turkmenistan's authoritarian president filmed himself doing doughnuts around the crater to disprove rumors of his death.

Explore more of Turkmenistan's infamous "Gates of Hell" here.

In the mid-1970s, 23-year-old German student Anneliese Michel underwent 67 exorcisms over ten months after claiming she was possessed by demons. When she was 16 years old, doctors had diagnosed her with temporal lobe epilepsy and believed that her condition triggered psychosis that was made worse by her deeply religious upbringing.

However, her devout Catholic family turned to priests after medicine failed to help her epilepsy and hallucinations. She received an exorcism once or twice a week, each lasting about four hours. During the rituals, Michel reportedly spoke in multiple voices and exhibited violent strength. She slowly refused food and died of starvation and dehydration in July 1976.

Read her full, tragic story here: Inside the Ghastly Exorcism of Anneliese Michel, The Real 'Emily Rose'

On the morning of September 11, 2001, 62-year-old Rick Rescorla kissed his wife and headed to his office on the 44th floor of the World Trade Center's South Tower, where he worked as the vice president of security for Morgan Stanley. When American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower, he began evacuating every employee, singing a Welsh military march through his bullhorn to keep everyone in good spirits. He called his wife after a second plane struck the South Tower and told her, "I have to get these people out safely. If something should happen to me, I want you to know I've never been happier." After leading 2,700 of his colleagues to safety, Rescorla went back into the building to do a final sweep — but he didn't make it out before the tower collapsed.

Go inside the inspiring story of Rick Rescorla and the ultimate sacrifice he made to save others.

On September 11, 2001, Genelle Guzman-McMillan clocked into work on the 64th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 8:05 a.m as usual. Just 41 minutes later, the building shook. She initially didn't think much of it, believing it to be a minor earthquake, but then she saw paper and debris falling outside the window. Her manager called the Port Authority Police and reported back that everything was fine and asked for people to remain calm. Soon, an announcement came over the PA system telling everyone to remain in the office, but few listened. Within minutes, Guzman-McMillan was one of just 15 people left in the office, all gathered in the conference room watching the news.

Just 17 minutes later, the second plane hit the South Tower with enough force that the shockwaves caused the North Tower to tremble again, and Guzman-McMillan could feel it sway beneath her feet. Another announcement told them to remain in place and that help was on the way. This time, they all headed for the stairs. They managed to make it to the 13th floor before the building caved in around them. For the next 27 hours, Genelle Guzman-McMillan clung to life in the rubble before she was rescued.

Read her harrowing story here: How Genelle Guzman-McMillan Survived 27 Hours Buried In The Rubble Of The World Trade Center

Read the full story here: Balbir Singh Sodhi, The Sikh Indian Who Was Killed After 9/11 By A Man Who Thought He Was Arab

When the first plane struck, Michael Hingson couldn’t see the fire or the falling debris, but he could feel the building sway 20 feet. As his colleagues panicked, his guide dog Roselle calmly woke from a nap and began a harrowing descent. Their bond didn't just save Michael; it kept an entire group of survivors focused and moving toward safety. Along the way, Roselle paused to lick and comfort employees as they evacuated the burning skyscraper.

From the "group hug" they shared on the 50th floor to the terrifying moment they ran from the South Tower's collapse, read the full, heart-pounding account of their descent to safety: Inside The Harrowing Escape Of 9/11 Survivor Michael Hingson And His Beloved Guide Dog

When the second plane hit the Twin Towers, 33-year-old Scott Davidson was on duty with Brooklyn’s Ladder 118. After helping evacuate hundreds from the Marriott hotel wedged between the towers, Davidson and his crew were buried under 1.8 million tons of rubble when the North Tower collapsed at 10:28 a.m.

Read the full story here: The Heroism Of Scott Davidson, Pete Davidson's Dad Who Perished On 9/11

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See more here: 25 Evocative Photos Of Windows On The World, The Legendary Restaurant That Once Sat Atop The World Trade Center

When rescuers went to save Omayra Sánchez from a devastating mudslide in 1985, they found her lower body was held down by a brick door while her dead aunt's arms were wrapped around her legs and feet.

Read about the full story here: She Spent Three Days Trapped In Mud Before Dying — And Nothing Could Be Done To Save Her

Source and more here: Executions, Informants, And Flamboyance: The American Mafia In The 1980s