20 Historical Secrets That Were Finally REVEALED

10 Historical Secrets That Were Finally Revealed

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at the mysteries and secrets from history that were revealed and/or solved after a long period of time.

The Shroud of Turin

First documented sometime in the 14th century, the Shroud of Turin is a linen cloth that depicts a faint image of a bearded man. Purported by Christians, particularly Catholics, to have been the burial shroud of Jesus Christ, the Shroud of Turin has been venerated and debated over for centuries. In 1988, scientists from multiple laboratories performed carbon dating on the Shroud, which indicated that it in fact dated from between 1260 to 1390 CE, significantly after Jesus’ death - and shortly before it was first documented. Granted, those results have, of course, been much debated and criticized in the years since the tests.

The Bloop

In 1997, in a remote part of the Southern Pacific Ocean, audio sensors 3 thousand miles apart all picked up a low frequency, but high amplitude sound. It sounded essentially like…bloop. However, the massive distance involved led to many speculations, including that the noise was generated by a heretofore unknown massive deep-sea creature. By 2012 though, repeated tests have concluded that the noise was the result of an icequake, or large glaciers cracking. And with climate change, more Bloops are sure to come. That hasn’t stopped cryptid enthusiasts from creating increasingly horrifying monsters to represent the Bloop though.

The Identity of the Man in the Iron Mask

Much has been written, invented, and speculated about this mysterious French prisoner. Incarcerated during King Louis XIV’s reign, this prisoner was forced to wear a cloth, later exaggerated as iron, mask. He has been suggested to have been everything from an Italian diplomat to the king’s own twin brother. However, the most commonly accepted answer for the Man in the Iron Mask’s identity is that of Eustache Dauger de Cavoye, a valet to the King’s finance minister, and the son of several court functionaries. Dauger was involved in several court scandals and was linked to everything from devil worship to supplying poisons. While many still propose other identities for the famous prisoner, Dauger does seem the most popular candidate.

Pearl Harbor Ghost Plane

Rumors abound during war time. One such rumor about WWII that has persisted long after the fact is that of the Pearl Harbor ghost plane. A year after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1942, a heavily damaged P-40 fighter plane was spotted by a pair of pilots flying from the direction of Japan. After briefly waving at the pilots, the plane crashed, only for no trace of the pilot to be found. If it sounds like something out of fiction, that’s because it is. The persistent ghost story is based on a short story called “Ghost Ship,” written by Brigadier General Robert Lee Scott Jr. who shot down the claims of its veracity.

The Beast of Gévaudan

During 1760s France, the populace was up in arms over there being around 200 animal attacks in the southern province of Gévaudan. These attacks were purportedly all caused by a single beast, whose description was that of a large, striped, tufted-tailed creature bigger than a wolf. While theories include the Beast being everything from a supernatural being to escaped lions or bears from a menagerie, historians and animal experts agree the most likely answer is that it was just a wolf, or packs of wolves. Wolf attacks were very common during the time, and its description is reminiscent of the Italian wolf, which can be found in southern France.

The Lost Crew of the Mary Celeste

The Mary Celeste was a merchant ship discovered abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean in 1872. While the ship had obviously encountered rough weather, and there was water in the hull, there didn’t appear to be any obvious reason for the vessel’s abandonment. Wild stories about this “ghost ship” have persisted for over a century. And yet, several simple explanations have been offered. The most likely reasons include the crew fearing a potential explosion, owing to the large amount of alcohol belowdecks, or else the sailors not accounting for the ship remaining buoyant with the water it took on during a storm.

The Princes in the Tower

The dethroned 12-year-old Edward V of England and his younger brother Richard were imprisoned in the Tower of London by their regent uncle, future King Richard III. At some point during their captivity, the duo disappeared, never to be seen again. It has long been assumed that Richard III had them murdered, to prevent any challenge to his rule, although other theories about the pair’s survival have also remained for centuries. However, circumstantial evidence, such as several small, still unidentified skeletons found in the Tower, as well as a will including Edward V’s gold chain of office given to the Capell family by Sir James Tyrell, the alleged murderer, seems very damning - Richard almost definitely had them killed.

Rasputin’s Death

Grigori Rasputin is among the most fascinating figures in history. The faith healer and mystic wielded uncommon influence in the last days of Tsarist Russia. His mysterious reputation is only further enhanced by the legends surrounding his death. Rasputin was supposedly poisoned multiple times by cake and wine laced with cyanide, shot several times, and even drowned before he was finally killed by his assassins. However, according to Rasputin’s daughter, the faith healer forewent sweet foods like cakes, and the autopsy revealed no signs of drowning or poisons - merely a bullet to the head. Still, when someone larger than life dies, people expected his death to be equally so.

The Fate of Anastasia

Speaking of Tsarist Russia, Anastasia, youngest daughter of Nicholas II, the last tsar, has long been the subject of theories about her possible survival. Rumor had it that the young Grand Duchess outlived her family after they were killed, with several imposters claiming to be her over the years, and the story even being popular enough to get an animated film. Unfortunately, this legend of a lost duchess was put to an end when further remains of the executed Romanov family were uncovered, and DNA testing confirmed that Anastasia died with the rest of them.

The Lost Franklin Expedition

Captained by Sir John Franklin, this expedition set out to explore the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic in 1845. However, during the following several years, the crews of both the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror were stranded on the polar ice, with all of them apparently vanishing without a trace. Numerous expeditions to find them were launched over the next century and half. But it was only in 2014 that the Erebus was found again, and the Terror soon after in 2016. Evidence from the remains reveals that the theories about the men dying of exposure, hypothermia, and starvation, as well as that some resorted to cannibalism, were true. It took over 160 years, but they were found at last.

Is there a historical secret revelation you wish we’d revealed? Unmask your favorites in the comments!