Since its invention, the internet has steadily built a collection of unsolved mysteries, and many of them are quite creepy. From websites that have no apparent purpose to eerie videos that were posted on the dark web, people who had attempted to solve these mysteries had ended up even more confused than they were when they began their search. Allow us to introduce you to ten of the internet's creepiest mysteries!
1. Cicada 3301
On the 14th of January, 2012, a post was made on 4Chan by a user that was named "3301" who said they wanted "highly intelligent individuals." The post claimed that there was a message hidden in the image they had attached. Over the next few years, the anonymous entity — which came to be known as Cicada 3301 — posted a series of puzzles. Most of these puzzles involve steganography, which is the practice of hiding messages in other messages.
Almost eight years later, we have a truckload of people claiming to have completed the puzzles. All the same, nobody knows who is behind the puzzles and what reward will be given when the puzzles are solved. That is if any reward will be given. The truth is, we don’t even know if anyone who solved the puzzles and Cicada 3301 remains as one of the most well-known internet mysteries.
2. Jack Froese Emails
We have heard stories of people being contacted by their deceased loved ones. People claim they have gotten a message from a dead friend or relative. But there’s a common theme — they are usually contracted through a psychic or something similar. The Jack Froese emails beg to differ.
Approximately six months after his demise, Jack Froese's friends reported that they had received emails from his email address. The first conclusion anybody came to is that his email address got hacked. But his friends verified that he had never shared his personal information with anyone of them added some serious strangeness to this internet mystery.
Besides, there was a fact regarding the content of his emails. They believed his account wasn't hacked because the emails they had received were about personal things and conversations that only Jack could have known. One of his friends, Tim Hart, received a message from him, with the subject "I'm Watching.” The contents of the email were even creepier than the subject. The email read, "Did you hear me? I'm at your home. Clean your f**king attic!" Hart sent a reply to the email but hasn’t received a response till date. Who knows, maybe Jack was indeed watching.
3. Internet Black Holes
Internet black holes are one of the internet's greatest mysteries. Most people assume that when a website doesn't work, or an email doesn't reach someone, the connection went down. But there is a mysterious reason for this — internet black holes. Researchers tell us that the internet is full of them, and they pose a severe security risk. The most disturbing part is, no one knows what they actually are, or where the information that disappeared has gone. A virtual troll collecting our lost emails like rotten junk, perhaps?
4. John Titor
Between 2000 and 2001, John Titor made several internet bulletin board posts. He claimed to be a military time traveler from the year 2036. Also, he claimed that he was from an alternate universe. John made several predictions on the internet bulletin boards, which haven’t come true yet. Possibly, they didn’t happen because John did come from an alternate universe. Although, it’s fairly convenient to claim an alternative universe if you are going to be wrong, isn’t it?
Besides, most people believe the actual mystery is his true identity. Here’s why — several investigators jumped at the opportunity to expose a prankster but soon found out that there was no one named John Titor in the United States. Perhaps this will go on as one of the best internet mysteries.
5. A858
In 2011, a Reddit user posted an indecipherable code to a subreddit r/A858DE45F56D9BC9. The popularized version of this subreddit is A858 — the shortened version. Since then, a lot of people have tried to crack the code with little success. It became so popular that people created a sister subreddit just to crack the code and solve the problem. The user that posted it disappeared till 2015 when someone claimed to have cracked the code. We don’t know if any of it is true, and many people still believe that it isn't over. It’s probably because we are all still wondering what the meaning of that code is.
6. Lake City Quiet Pills
The story of Lake City Quiet Pills starts with the death of a Reddit user — ReligionOfPeace. His content on Reddit primarily consisted of guns, his military experiences, and encouraging posts to get people to upload pictures on his website, lakecityquietpills.com.
When people checked out the HTML of his website, they found troubling messages within the codes that were similar to possible assassinations. As they dug further, they found possible connections to the military! Eventually, extensive digging uncovered a government-owned bullet factory in Missouri that was named Lake City Ammunition Plant. This would mean that Lake City Quiet Pills are — you guessed it — bullets!
Some people have theorized that the website was a cover for passing assassination jobs back and forth. Others think it might all just have been a big prank. Either way, the mystery remains unsolved — and to be honest, this was a little disappointing. Several internet users were psyched at the possibility of uncovering unknown assassinations.
7. Markovian Parallax Denigrate
Markovian Parallax Denigrate is one of the internet's most enduring internet mysteries. Although it started back in the nineties, nobody knows what exactly any of it means. It began with weird and confusing posts of what seemed to be gibberish. Many internet users thought it to be gibberish, but others said it was a code revealing government information. Is it possible that these bizarre posts and a bunch of gibberish expose government plots? No one knows.
8. Bitcoin
Bitcoin was invented in 2009 and has become one of the most valuable cryptocurrencies in the world. The persona, Satoshi Nakamoto, is credited with the invention of BitCoin. However, nobody knows who he is or if he is even real. Since the inception of Bitcoin, people have tried to connect the creation to prominent individuals in technology, including Elon Musk, but they have all denied it. Besides, most theorists believe BitCoin was invented by more than one person and is run by a team of technological geniuses. But we might never know.
9. Valor por Tamaulipas
These words translate to "Courage for Tamaulipas.” This Facebook page was created on the 1st of January, 2012 by an anonymous user. It was created to make security reports on cartels in the Mexican city of Tamaulipas. Since its creation, the page has helped with the capture of several of these cartels. The unknown user releases detailed information about crimes committed by these people. The name of this Facebook page is apt, as this brave whistleblower is doing things that journalists get killed over. It has become so effective at exposing cartel activities, that whoever is behind the page must have targets on their backs. There’s only one problem; no one knows who is running the page — they have done a thorough job of staying anonymous.
10. Publius Enigma
The first time this riddle appeared on the internet, it was connected to the 1994 Pink Floyd album — Division Bell. It was said to be an attempt to publicize the album and tour. Many people have tried and failed to solve the puzzle, and some even think it might be unsolvable. People theorize that it was abandoned halfway and wasn't completed by its creators. This theory hasn't stopped people from being intrigued by the unsolvable puzzle. We sure wish Pink Floyd will help us out.
These are some of the weirdest mysteries that the internet has to offer. We hope that your inner detective is tickled. Consider exploring to see if you could be one of these mysteries’ heroes.
