30 Most Frightening Unsolved Mysteries Episodes

#30: Dreamy Disappearance

Few events are more perplexing than a mysterious, unexplained disappearance. What makes legal secretary Cindy Anderson’s case even more bizarre are the events that led up to her 1981 disappearance. Beginning the year before, Cindy started having nightmares of her own abduction. Then, shortly after the unsettling dreams began, someone graffitied a message addressed to Cindy on the wall of the shopping center where she worked. It was signed G.W., but Cindy couldn’t think of anyone she knew with those initials. When the message was painted over, it reappeared in even larger lettering. The morning she vanished began like any other, with Cindy working alone in the office. By the time her coworkers arrived, Cindy’s car was still out front, but she was gone.

#29: Body in Bags

This disturbing “Unsolved Mysteries” episode will have you scanning the faces of strangers everywhere you go. After failing to show up for work for three days, David Carter’s coworkers knew something was wrong. When his family checked his apartment, they were shocked to find an apparent bullet hole in the wall and a dark splotch on the floor. David had recently started dating a woman named Tammy Williams. But there were signs of trouble in paradise, and in the days after David vanished, Tammy seemed off. When David’s remains were located, police questioned Tammy, but she went on the run before an arrest warrant could be issued. It’s thought by some that Tammy could have connections helping her evade authorities.

#28: Queen Mary Ghost Ship

What’s more eerie than a haunted ship? Once a luxury transatlantic ocean liner, the Queen Mary is now retired and permanently docked in California. But accounts of apparitions, ghosts, and spooky encounters on the ship date back to her glory days. Crew members and guests have heard strange sounds, particularly deep within the boat and near the engine room and the first-class pool. At one time, the Queen Mary was the grandest ship on the sea, hosting famous Hollywood stars and royalty. However, she also has a more storied history, full of economic setbacks and tragic accidents. During WWII, the ship was even commissioned as a troopship and dubbed “Grey Ghost.” With such a history, is it any wonder some guests report feeling uneasy onboard?

#27: Missing Witness

This “Unsolved Mysteries” episode delves into some truly twisted family dynamics. When Lena Chapin vanished in 2006, leaving her possessions and young son behind, her mother insisted Lena simply moved to Florida. Her sisters weren’t so sure. Lena had recently made a shocking revelation about their mother, Sandy Klemp. Lena’s childhood was troubled. Sandy frequently jumped from one relationship to another and relocated the family often. When she married Gary McCullough, her daughters hoped for stability. Unfortunately, the marriage fell apart after Sandy started yet another affair. To add insult to injury, Gary discovered Sandy had also forged checks in his name. Then, suddenly, Gary was gone. A few years later, Lena confessed on tape that Sandy murdered him. Did Lena meet the same fate?

#26: Lady in the Lake

On a cold, snowy evening after attending a church prayer service, JoAnn Romain walked across the street, navigated a rocky embankment, and disappeared into Lake St. Clair. At least, that’s what police say happened. In the days following her disappearance, there were no visible signs of JoAnn in the half-frozen lake, which was shallow. And despite several Coast Guard searches, her body was not recovered. For JoAnn’s children, there was more to the story. Before she went missing, JoAnn had been locked in a contentious 30-year-long inheritance dispute with her family. Did the long-running feud take a deadly turn? Some two months later, JoAnn’s body was found in the Detroit River — a full 30 miles downstream from where she supposedly entered the water.

#25: Up in Smoke

Anyone who grew up terrified of spontaneous human combustion can probably blame “Unsolved Mysteries.” The infamous “Up in Smoke” episode convinced an entire generation they could burst into flames at any given moment. While other episodes had you losing sleep over mysterious disappearances or grisly unsolved homicides, this one fueled nightmares of a different kind. According to one survivor, Kay Fletcher, as she prepared coffee one morning, smoke began billowing from her back. Although she and her husband searched, they couldn’t determine what could have started the fire. While Kay lived to tell her tale, George Mott and Irving Bentley were less fortunate — both perished in intense, unexplained house fires. Is there a more rational explanation, or were these actual cases of spontaneous human combustion?

#24: Miraculous Escape

In 1978, a string of murders began in the Connecticut River Valley area near the New Hampshire and Connecticut border. The creepiest part about this “Unsolved Mysteries” segment is that it first aired in 1991, but to this day, no one has ever been arrested in connection to the killings. While a few promising suspects have emerged over time, no one has been identified as the elusive Connecticut River Valley Killer. One woman is believed to have narrowly escaped his clutches in the summer of 1988. Jane Boroski stopped at a convenience store around midnight to buy a soft drink from a vending machine. Suddenly, she was under attack. Despite suffering several injuries, Jane survived the harrowing ordeal.

#23: Ready Teller Robbery

This episode will have you thinking twice before using an ATM at night. Matthew Chase set out to deposit his paycheck at a nearby ATM around midnight. He never returned. By tracking the activity on his bank card, investigators learned of several attempts to withdraw money throughout the evening and early morning after Matthew disappeared. Most alarmingly, they also recovered some grainy security footage of Matthew at the ATM. Another man is clearly visible in these chilling images, peering over Matthew’s shoulder. Police speculate the other man abducted Matthew when he deposited his paycheck. Eventually, $400 was successfully taken from Matthew’s account. Sadly, Matthew’s remains were later discovered in a ravine. Authorities believe he was robbed and killed by a gang member named David Meza.

#22: Dial A for Abduction

The 1991 abduction and near-rescue of Angela Hammond is possibly the most heartbreaking “Unsolved Mysteries” episode of all time. Just past 11 pm, Angela called her fiance, Rob, from a pay phone. As they talked, a man in an old green truck circled the block several times before parking and using the phone beside Angela. Although she wasn’t overly worried, she described the man and the truck to Rob. Suddenly, she screamed. Rob jumped in his car and rushed for the pay phone. On the way, he saw the truck Angela had described. He threw his car into reverse and pursued the truck. Tragically, he severely damaged his car’s transmission in the process, and it eventually gave out. The truck sped off into the night.

#21: Getaway Photo

Nothing was unusual about the morning of September 20, 1988, when Tara Calico left her New Mexico home for her regular bike ride. She never returned. Eyewitnesses saw a truck following closely behind Tara as she traveled her typical route, but otherwise, there were few clues in the case. Almost a year later, someone discovered an unsettling photo in a Florida gas station parking lot. The now notorious picture has divided experts and amateur sleuths for decades — with some claiming it shows Tara Calico and another missing person, Michael Henley, in the back of a van. Others claim it's fake. There were no significant developments in Tara’s case until 2023 when authorities announced they had enough evidence to pursue charges. No further details were released.

#20: A Salon Owner Goes Missing in 13 Minutes

Some fans are split on the 2020 Netflix reboot of "Unsolved Mysteries," a much more serious-minded and true crime focused take on the classic, spooky series. This case seems to possess universal interest from viewers, specifically the death of Georgia salon owner Patrice Endres. Police claimed that there was only a thirteen minute window within which Endres could've been abducted from her business, and her killer has never been found - even though remains were found relatively close to the salon more than a year later. The kicker here is how guilty her husband, Rob comes across in the episode, and how much of an outlier it is compared to the stoic nature of the season's presentation on the whole.

#19: Stockton Arsonist

There's just something creepy about finding some lost, obscure found footage on an old VHS tape. This is made doubly disturbing when it's also an actual unsolved mystery. The Stockton Arsonist episode of the series followed a family whose car broke down on the side of the road, during which time the young son found an abandoned jacket with a tape inside the pocket. On the tape is what appears like an intentionally set home arson, which is bad enough, but the voice speaking on the tape makes mention of Satanism, while a search of the site later by police turned up ritualistic paraphernalia. Updates in later episodes revealed that 2 underage suspects were ultimately tried, but it’s the Satanic implications - including the discovery of a ceramic skull - that are hard to forget.

#18: The Tallman House

Ghost stories and creepy reenactments are absolutely essential aspects of a classic "Unsolved Mysteries" episode, and this one certainly delivers the goods. It all started with a second hand bunk bed for the Tallman Family, a seemingly innocuous purchase that would turn their lives upside down. For it was soon after bringing the bed into their home that the Tallmans experienced all sorts of unexplained paranormal phenomena, from disembodied voices calling out in the home to household items operating strangely and dangerously as well as unexplained fires in the garage. The reenactment clicks all the boxes for a classic 'Unsolved Mysteries" fan, guaranteeing unsettled dreams and a questioning over what might lie beyond.

#17: The Lizzie Borden House

The tried-and-true murder mystery always makes for creepy nighttime viewing when it comes to die hard fans of "Unsolved Mysteries." And what better true crime tale than the infamous case of Lizzie Borden? This episode not only detailed facts about the horrible double murder from New England, but also goes into the present-day history of the Fall River home that Lizzie shared, alongside her father, stepmother, and live-in maid. The house may be a popular bed and breakfast for the brave and the bold, but there are also plenty of late night ghost stories that keep us awake wondering whether or not Lizzie still prowls the hallways, axe steadily in hand.

#16: The Vampire Cult Murders

While we admit there is something comfortingly nostalgic about the early internet footage present within this episode of "Unsolved Mysteries," there's nothing remotely funny about the actual case. Richard and Naoma Wendorf were the victims of a local gang who were obsessed with vampirism, to the point where one of the men arrested for the murders was actually convinced he was immortal. The Wendorfs’ daughter Heather was supposedly involved with the group, but any charges against her were eventually dropped. The episode itself points out the vampire's cultural significance over the years as a media symbol, while also doing a good job at presenting the real life creepiness of those real life fans who take their obsession too far.

#15: The Tatum House

Okay, so it isn't as if "Unsolved Mysteries" needed an excuse to be creepy, but this special Halloween episode delivered the supernatural goods with a host of frightening tales. The "Tatum House" segment dealt with poltergeist activity in a home owned by a retired married couple, who reported continued explained noises in the house. The reenactments forego cheesy theatrics and overacting, and instead describe the Tatum's experiences with a basic, matter-of-fact delivery that makes it all the more real. As a result, we can identify much more with how the couple must've felt, particularly Jim Tatum, who becomes increasingly upset as he describes what happened to the camera.

#14: The Allagash Abductions

Okay, we admit it: sometimes the recreations on "Unsolved Mysteries" and other similar shows are more... well, "humorous" than frightening. Thankfully, this isn't the case with our next entry, a harrowing tale of an alleged contact with the extra-terrestrial. "The Allagash Abductions" doesn't play it light, or for laughs, but instead presents the four subjects as men who definitely seem to be shaken by a collective experience. As a result, we can put ourselves in their shoes, and imagine how we might feel if we felt we were abducted by visitors from outer space. It's here that "Unsolved Mysteries" has always shined, and an example of why this episode continues to give us the creeps.

#13: The Blind River Killer

We sometimes take solace in the fact that many notorious killers have been caught by police and brought to justice, but what about the ones who get away? Sadly, there was no justice during the lifetime of Gordon McCallister, who passed away in 2012 without discovering the identity of the Blind River Killer. This unidentified man accosted and robbed McCallister and his wife Jackie while they were parked for the night in their RV at a rest stop. The reenactment for this episode really drove home the tragedy of when McCallister's wife (as well as a good Samaritan at the rest stop) were shot and killed by the gunman, and we can't help but wish things could've turned out differently.

#12: Prison Mystery

Speaking of reenactments, the updated version of "Unsolved Mysteries," hosted by Dennis Farina, featured increased production values when it came to staging these sequences. As a result, this episode from that iteration's second season has aged pretty well, all things considered. The murder mystery which serves as the centerpiece to this episode deals with Judge James Michael Francke, who was hired by the Oregon State prison system to try and increase inmate capacity. The reenactments do a great job at stressing how Francke was murdered outside of his office in an apparent robbery-gone-wrong, while also lending credence to the theories that he might have been the victim of an inside hit by corrupt government officials. Either way, it's truly chilling stuff.

#11: Edward Bell & Larry Dickens

Many A-list actors possess humble origins, and Matthew McConaughey is no exception, with one of his first on-screen roles being here reenacting a terrible 1978 murder case. McConaughey plays Larry Dickens, who was the tragic victim of what can only be described as a senseless rampage from one Edward Bell. Bell, who was thankfully captured years later thanks to viewer tips, attacked the Dickens Family with no apparent motive, and seemed to be a career criminal with offenses dating back years before the incident. What's troubling about this episode isn't only the reenactment, but the fact that Bell was out on bail only two months after his arrest, thus allowing him to slip through the system for far too long before he was brought to justice.

#10: Resurrection Mary

There's a tinge of sadness to the next entry on our list, the tale of Resurrection Mary. It's a ghost story about a young life taken too soon, and the people who swear they've seen her spirit prowling the streets near Resurrection Cemetery in Illinois. Mary Bregovy was her name, a girl who is said to have died in a car accident during the mid-thirties. Multiple folks claim to have encountered her over the years, some of whom have even attempted to give her rides, only for her to disappear. The episode itself possesses a dreamlike allure, and captures well the tragedy of Mary's story. This is perhaps, in part, why the story of Resurrection Mary has survived to this day.

#9: Rey Rivera & the Mystery on the Rooftop

The case of Rey Rivera is the very first to be covered on Netflix's "Unsolved Mysteries" reboot. Rivera's death seems to be self-inflicted on the surface, but forensic evidence and medical examiner data led many to believe that this finance writer was the victim of foul play. A letter found near Rivera's computer complicated matters further with its talk of secret societies and Hollywood bigwigs, while Rey's employer placed a gag order that forbade anyone to speak of the case to police. With all of these loose ends involved, one might think that there would be a stronger push for the truth, but the unsolved nature of this crime, and the police's backpedaling into once again calling it self-inflicted leaves us awake at night wanting some closure.

#8: The Circleville Letters

The word "chilling" doesn't even begin to describe what happened to the residents of Circleville, Ohio during the late 1970s. Small town gossip turned deadly when residents of this otherwise unassuming small town began receiving threatening letters about their personal lives, increasing exponentially to the point where the entire community was turned upside down with paranoia, fear, and anger. The reenactments do a great job at presenting how tense and on edge the whole affair made the community, and the voice-over of the Circleville Writer is delivered in an ultra-creepy monotone. Finally, it's revealed that even the crew behind "Unsolved Mysteries" weren't safe from being harassed, as they received a threatening postcard prior to airing the episode.

#7: Friends to the End

Not every unsolved mystery can be resolved during the lifetime of a family member, friends or, in this case, a dedicated prosecutor. Richard Garrett was determined to uncover what happened to Kevin Ives and Don Henry, two popular teenagers who were tragically run over by a train, under mysterious circumstances. It took multiple autopsies and the testimony from witnesses as bizarre as former professional wrestler Billy Jack Haynes to discover that the boys were murdered and brought to the tracks, not accidentally run over while under the influence of marijuana. The episode detailing their demise is a somber and sad affair, a story which haunts us almost as much as it seemed to haunt Garrett, who died in 2018 without receiving an answer to his investigation.

#6: Danny Casolaro

We'd need a lot more time to fully detail all of the twists in the story of Danny Casolaro, because this thing reads like a paranoid thriller from the 1970s. Casolaro's body was found in a West Virginia hotel and his death was considered self-inflicted. The thing is, Casolaro was a computer industry writer hot on the heels of a story that he felt involved upper level government officials, organized crime and lucrative contracts for law enforcement software. Casolaro's family felt that his fear of blood made his method of supposed self-inflicted demise unlikely, and the local investigation into the case seemed skewed against letting anyone else in on any specifics. Honestly, we suggest doing a deep dive into this case yourself. It's compelling stuff.

#5: War of the DePues

Once a happy couple, various issues would later culminate in Dennis Depue assaulting his wife, Marilyn. While he told his children that he was taking her to the hospital, a few days later, police would find Marilyn’s body off a deserted road. Now here comes the biggest twist of the episode. The night that it aired, a woman named Mary came to her house to find that her boyfriend, Hank, was in a hurry to leave the house. After he left, it wasn’t long before she discovered who her boyfriend really was. Later that evening, police were able to track Dennis down and after a brief standoff, he would take his own life.

#4: Spirits at The Comedy Store

Sometimes, buildings have personalities all their own. Case in point? California's classic stand-up venue The Comedy Store, which possesses a history dating all the way back to the 1940s and '50s. The Comedy Store was known as Ciro's during those days and was a hub for criminal activity for the local mobsters. As a result, some people claim to have witnessed paranormal activity and other mysterious occurrences, such as inanimate objects being moved around by an unknown force. Given the fact that so much comedy seems to come from pain, we're not entirely ruling out the possibility that The Comedy Store walls have some sort of bad juju lurking deep inside.

#3: Scared to Death

There's harassment, and then there's what reportedly happened to Cindy James. The nurse claimed to be the victim of threatening phone calls, letters, and behavior for over seven years, so much so that she told friends that she feared she was going to be "scared to death." Still, James' reluctance to reveal specific details about the case has raised suspicion about what exactly happened leading up to her death in 1989. The "Unsolved Mysteries" take on her tale raises more questions than answers about how she was bound, hand and foot, with a lethal dose of morphine found in her system. Yet, it's the evidence and mystery behind the death of Cindy James that continues to haunt our dreams every time we re-watch the episode.

#2: The Son of Sam

The name of this pick is probably a familiar one, even if you've never seen an episode of "Unsolved Mysteries." David Berkowitz was known as the “Son of Sam" when he terrorized New York City during the late seventies, stalking and killing young couples who were parked out in cars late at night. Berkowitz, who also bore the moniker of the “.44 Caliber Killer,” claimed Satanic leanings in letters, and confessed that he was driven to commit these heinous acts by a dog owned by his neighbor Sam. Serial killer stories are always uneasy listening, so it just goes to show that this episode of "Unsolved Mysteries" had us reaching for that night light when it was bedtime.

#1: Shane Stewart, Sally McNelly & Satan

"Satanic Panic" refers to a period during the 1980s where moral outrage over the occult, heavy metal, and “Dungeons & Dragons” spilled over into accusations of Satanic ritual abuse. Shane Stewart and Sally McNelly were teenagers whose disappearance and violent deaths were attributed to their involvement in a local cult. Although today "Satanic Panic" is largely seen as a reaction to Christian conservatism, misinformation, and paranoia, those involved at the time seemed to be searching for something to blame for this tragic loss. A person of interest for the murders didn't emerge until 2017, when a Texas Sheriff's Office named John Gilbreath as someone who possessed "biological material" associated with the case. Sometimes, reality is much scarier than anything associated with imagination or The Devil.