North America certainly wasn't the only place on the planet that traded in accusations of sorcery. Twenty-four years earlier, Sweden experienced what's known as The Great Noise -- an eight-year witch hunt, 1668-1676, with trials and executions stretching from the west coast to the east.
Read MoreOn Friday, November 22, 1991, Freddie Mercury met with Jim Beech, manager of Mercury's band Queen. They would compose the statement in which Mercury would announce his health struggle to the world. Then Mercury and Peter Freestone, his longtime assistant, spent their last time together.
Read MoreKano was a serious man. He also cast a long shadow. From his birth in 1860 to his death in 1938, Kano would master a martial art, modernize it, and then unleash it on a global audience.
Read MoreThanks to their unmatched songwriting talent and willingness to experiment, the Fab Four amassed a back catalog like no other, and every attempt to put together a Top 10 list of their best songs is doomed to leave dozens of worthy candidates behind.
Read MoreOn Monday, August 17th, pro baseball player Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres curried both rage and adulation by ... playing baseball. But according to many, what he was really doing was breaking baseball's unwritten rules. Raising the question -- what are baseball's unwritten rules?
Read MoreBehind the scenes, Whitney Houston lived a life that wasn't quite as golden as her voice.
Read MoreFamous authors have pseudonyms when they publish something racy. Then there are revolutionary heroes who take on pen names out of spite. That's what happened when Benjamin Franklin couldn't get his work published in his brother's newspaper.
Read MoreOn December 8, 2004, the band Damageplan was playing at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, when a fan climbed on stage and shot "Dime" in the head, killing the 38-year-old guitarist instantly and three others in the ensuing pandemonium before being shot himself by a police officer.
Read MoreThe haunted heaviness of singer Layne Staley's voice helped Alice in Chains achieve international stardom. Unfortunately, Staley wouldn't be long for this world.
Read MoreVery few figures in Russian history has fascinated people more than the enigmatic Grigori Rasputin, the mysterious healer to Russian Czar's family. So much of his life has been documented, but you don't hear much about his family. Rasputin's daughter Maria was equally as enigmatic as her father.
Read MoreWhy can't Elton John stand Richards, and does the guitar hero respond in kind? Let's find out!
Read MoreIn the vast, seemingly endless ocean of weirdness available on the internet, Japanese game shows stand head and shoulders above the rest.
Read MoreIf you grew up in the sixties and seventies, you probably watched The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends every Saturday morning ... However, if you rewatch the beloved series as an adult, you'll definitely notice some grown-up themes that went over your head as a kid.
Read MoreFreemasonry has a murky history, but it's several centuries old, and it claims to be even older than that. Here's what life is really like as a Freemason.
Read MoreSheila started making phone calls -- roughly 700 of them, by her estimates. She phoned the police again and again and was, by her recollection, largely blown off. She went so far as to become a licensed private investigator, all in the hopes of landing a little more clout with law enforcement.
Read MoreOver the centuries, Vikings have been subjected to more stereotypes than you can shake an axe at. One example of this stereotyping in action? The Viking diet.
Read MoreEver watched a tennis match, seen the players lob balls back and forth, and think, "Wow, this could go on forever." Well, one match almost did.
Read MoreCharles Dickens was one of the greatest writers the English language has ever seen, but few know the man behind the writing. This is the troubled story of Charles Dickens.
Read MoreForget Attila the Hun's murderous, barbaric ways. Instead, why don't we let cooler heads prevail and remember that he was also a generous dinner host who dressed modestly. So, you know. There's that.
Read MoreFor close to three decades, WWN was a staple of grocery store checkout lines, a beacon of grayscale hope in a dreary landscape, serving its piping hot, all-caps message to a public ill prepared to accept the truth, with headlines such as, "HILLARY ADOPTS ALIEN BABY!"
Read MoreNo other California peak exudes more mystery and mysticism than Mount Shasta. Located in Northern California's Cascade Range, Mount Shasta stands tall as the fifth highest peak in the state. It's inspired many legends. Some of these stories have a grain of truth.
Read MoreThe Nile River turns to blood. Boils coat the bodies of the Pharaoh, his servants, and his animals. Hail shatters the landscape and destroys the crops of Egypt ... and a plague of locusts swarms over Egypt, and swallows up every last green thing.
Read More"Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth." - Oscar Wilde
Read MoreNo matter where you drive, you'll always find four kinds of drivers: the speed demons, the slow pokes, the normal people just trying to get where they're going ... and, of course, the slow pokes who, without warning, suddenly become speed demons as soon as you try to pass them in the left lane.
Read MoreTo Townshend, British rock was how children growing up in the ruins of war dealt with its trauma.
Read MoreThe Pilgrim State Psychiatric Center's history is as notorious as the history of psychiatric care itself. Here's what really went on behind closed doors there.
Read MoreThe replacement keeper, Joseph Moore, was surprised when none of the three lighthouse keepers greeted him upon arrival. Not only that, but the light did not shine atop the tower. The door of the lighthouse was unlocked and food still sat on the table. There was no sign of the men.
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