Top 10 Unsolved TikTok Mysteries

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the strangest unsolved mysteries that have caused a stir on TikTok.

#10: Elisa Lam

The tragic and bizarre death of Elisa Lam at the Cecil Hotel in 2013 has become one of the most covered TikTok mysteries. Elisa disappeared shortly after checking into the hotel. In the last known footage of her, she’s inside the elevator, acting strange, waving her hands around and seemingly speaking to someone who isn’t there. She was later found in a water tank on the hotel’s roof after guests complained about low water pressure and reported that the water had a strange taste and smell. The tank had a heavy, closed lid. So, how did she end up there? Her elevator behavior has been explained as a symptom of her bipolar disorder, but there’s no answer to how she opened the water tank.

#9: Karen Silkwood

In 1974, Karen Silkwood, a lab technician at a nuclear plant, was about to expose major safety violations, including radioactive contamination and falsified inspection records. While on her way to meet a New York Times reporter with a folder full of evidence, her car ran off the road, leading to her death. Even more mysteriously, all the documents she was carrying were missing from the scene. Police ruled her death an accident, but later evidence would suggest her car got hit from behind and pushed off the road. All these years later, we still don’t have a definitive answer.

#8: The Hanger Challenge

There’s quite an unusual trend on TikTok dubbed ‘The Hanger Challenge,’ which has people putting a coat hanger around their heads. Doing so triggers a unique reflex also known as the ‘Hanger Reflex’ which causes your head to involuntarily turn to the side, a phenomenon documented since the ‘90s. It’s a fun and confusing experiment. But what makes it really interesting is the fact that no one has been able to fully explain it ever since its discovery. All we know is that the hanger compresses the frontotemporal region of the brain, causing the head to turn.

#7: Alicia Navarro

Alicia Navarro mysteriously disappeared from her Glendale, Arizona home in 2019 and made national news. Navarro, who had been diagnosed with autism and had social anxiety, had left a note reading “I ran away. I will be back, I swear. I’m sorry.” For about 4 years, there were barely any developments in the case, until in 2023 when Alicia walked into a police station, identifying herself. She was safe, but to this day no one knows why she disappeared or how she ended up in a completely different state. While the missing persons case is closed, the investigation into the circumstances continues.

#6: Patti Adkins

The disappearance of Patti Adkins has haunted her family and captivated TikTok for years. Patti worked at a Honda motor plant, and she was in a secret relationship with a married coworker, whom she had allegedly planned to go on a vacation with to Canada for a week. On the night of her disappearance in 2001, she was apparently supposed to hide under a tarp in the back of his truck, and witnesses reported seeing her leave the plant that day. Patti’s sister, Marcia Pitts, called the man she was allegedly supposed to leave with, but he denied both the trip and any relationship. There has since been no activity on Patti’s financial records, and she has been legally declared deceased.

#5: Door Behind the Mirror

In 2021, TikTok user Samantha Hartsoe felt a strange wind draft coming from behind her bathroom mirror. What she found on the other side can only be described as shocking. Removing the mirror, she found a massive hole in the wall and climbed through, revealing a hidden room. But it was more than that; there was an entire abandoned apartment on the other side. It had signs of someone living there, like trash bags and a water bottle. It gets even creepier; one day not long after, she woke up and went to check to find out the hole had been sealed. Someone might’ve been watching. The building management was allegedly unaware of what was going on.

#4: Unwelcome Guest

TikTok user ‘@Bettsnangel69’ shared a series of unsettling videos that quickly went viral. The footage, shot from inside her home, showed a mysterious figure pacing back and forth in the woods surrounding her property for weeks. The person or creature was too far away to be properly recorded or identified. In later videos, she tries to confront the figure, but whatever it is seemingly runs away and starts wailing and howling. After that confrontation, she kept hearing it around the property. Since then, she’s moved, but people have reported the person or entity is still there.

#3: The Voynich Manuscript

The Voynich Manuscript is a 240-page book written in a language no one has ever been able to decipher. It was purchased in 1912 by Wilfred Voynich and since named after him, and it’s believed to have been written sometime in the 15th century. It’s full of intricate drawings of plants that don’t exist, and strange biological diagrams, but no one can understand what any of the text means. For over a hundred years, cryptographers, linguists, and historians have all tried and failed to decipher it. The mystery is still debated to this day! Is it just a clever hoax, or is it a forgotten language?

#2: Randonauts

Randonautica is an app that uses a number generator to provide users with random coordinates to visit. TikTokers began sharing their odd and sometimes unsettling discoveries, from creepy abandoned buildings to ominous messages. Its infamy peaked in 2020 when it led a group of teenagers in Seattle to a suitcase on a beach containing bags with two decomposing bodies! They captured this shocking discovery on video. People were quick to call it a hoax. But it was completely real, and the victims’ landlord was arrested for murder. The app’s creators have called it a coincidence, but it sure is a horrifying one!

#1: “The Hands Resist Him”

The painting known as “The Hands Resist Him” by Bill Stoneham has been shrouded in mystery for decades since its creation in 1972. It’s a creepy painting of a young boy and a life-sized doll standing next to him in front of a glass door. Behind him are dozens of ghost-like handprints on the glass, seemingly reaching out to him. Lots of TikTokers have claimed that the painting is cursed. And it’s not surprising when you look at its history. Allegedly, early owners of the piece passed away shortly after acquiring it; and since it’s resurfaced on eBay, its owners have reported that people who come in contact with the painting become ill. Is the painting truly cursed, or is it just an elaborate hoax?

Which unsolved TikTok mystery do you find most interesting? Comment the ones you thought should’ve been on here so we can cover them next time!