Human ingenuity knows no bounds. Along with creating all manner of new technology, and ever more complex levels of knowledge, another thing we are good at inventing is ourselves. And sometimes that alteration can become the stuff of legend.

Folklore is often about danger and how we, as a community, might avoid it. But real life sometimes becomes a mirror of those fears, and leaves us wondering why no one saw it coming.

Some of the oldest and most popular parts of folklore are the ghost stories. Whether told around a campfire, or red about in the safety a well-lit room, they are always fun, and often chilling. But there’s so much more to ghosts than wispy visions and rattling chains.

There’s a lot that science has explained away. Mysteries that left us cowering in fear. Events that challenged our feelings of security and control. But even after all that progress, there are still some unexplained stories that left to haunt us.

Humanity has always been very good at making the best of a bad situation. Either by burying the past, or at least by building distractions that take the focus off of it. But no matter how beautiful those distractions are, our past always leaves a mark.

We often speak in lofty terms about all that humans are capable of achieving, and much of that is true. But looking backward in time, we can also see moments when that potential has led to horrible tragedy. And we have no one to blame but ourselves.

The way we treat the past is a great lens into the character of humanity. Sometimes we elevate it, but all too often we work to bury it. And while the excuse might be to make room for the march of progress, it also allows us to hide our worst mistakes and most painful tragedies.

Humanity has grown over the millennia by passing on knowledge through teachings and guides. Even today, how-to books are best-sellers, and people are more hungry than ever to learn and grow. But some lessons aren’t worth passing on, and in a few cases, they’ve even been incredibly destructive.

Our passion for solving incomplete puzzles is something that unites us as a culture. We will chase any mystery and dig into every single question we encounter. But that attraction might also put us in grave danger, if history is any indication.

Folklore is our legacy. We humans have carried it with us everywhere we’ve gone in the world, and it anchors us to our roots and our community. But it also does something else: it gives us a place to hide our fear, to put it on a leash and control it. And there’s one story in particular that does that better than most.

We like it when things go according to plan. Even when it comes to death, we long to have some semblance of control over our path. So when those best-laid plans are disrupted by the unexpected, it’s only natural to assume the worst.

There’s nothing more certain in life than death. No matter how rewarding or challenging our days on this planet might be, for as long as humans have been around, we’ve viewed death as something akin to slumber, however natural or untimely it might be. But not all that sleep are left undisturbed.

The human tendency to study the unknown—to dig deep and search for the bedrock of truth at the bottom of the mystery—is one of our most enduring qualities. But while that tenacity has helped scientists unlock much of our world, it has also led us to unusual ideas. And you’d be surprised what they recorded about it.

We all love a good hiding place. Whether it’s the child who tucks the key to their diary under their pillow, or the parent who hides away the holiday gifts, humans have proven themselves to be fond of secret places. But if the stories are any indication, there’s one place in England that was better than most at doing what we love.

While the ocean represents opportunity and hope to a lot of people, it also holds more mystery than most of feel comfortable with. Yes, we’ve explored it in search of new lands and discoveries, but we’ve also lost so much in the process. Amazingly, though, some things that are lost occasionally return.

Before cell phones and internet access, learning about the world around us took a lot of time. Along the way, there would be gaps in our knowledge—holes that human cultures tended to fill with folklore. And while the creatures they invented to fill those gaps were amazing, it’s how close they often got to reality that makes those stories truly frightening.

The longer humans stay in one place, the more progress and community we seem to create. But at the same time, we bring our darkness with us, and over time it begins to stain a place with shadows of pain and tragedy. And the older the city, the darker the mark.

Most of our life is spent looking for things. Companionship, security, even our lost keys. But above all of that is our search for answers, and the way human beings have tried to find them has lead to all manner of frightening situations.

If you flip through the pages of history long enough, you’ll eventually run into stories about life out of balance, and how something—fate or chance or something otherworldly—has stepped in to make it right. In fact, some of those stories have become a part of our modern popular culture—all despite the deadly stories at their center.

Some places in our world have a dark legacy. Prior failures. Shameful acts. Painful tragedy. Even though it all took place long before we arrived there, we can still feel the tremors of that darkness—and the stories about their source are deeply chilling.

Everyone longs for someone. That special partner who can enter their life and make is something better, something more. And while dating has taken many forms over the years, nothing is like a good, old fashioned personal ad—or the people who took advantage of them.

Everyone wants to look good. And while there’s nothing wrong with beauty, sometimes people have made sacrifices—both willing and unaware—in the pursuit of it. After looking through the pages of history, though, that hasn’t always been a good thing.

Home might very well be what you make it, but it’s not always about beautiful decorations and comfortable furnishings. Sometimes the places we live take on elements of our own personality. Even after we’ve moved on, those pieces remain behind, like echoes of another time—echoes that can still be felt today.

Human nature has a number of powerful, universal characteristics. Our need for community. Our love of storytelling. Our seemingly infinite capacity to adapt and thrive. But some of the most terrifying events in history find their root in one other: our will to survive.

Some threats to our safety and well-being are obvious and easy to spot from a mile away. Over the course of history, people have become very skilled at looking for danger and avoiding it. But some threats are more difficult to spot—and once they strike, the results can be deadly.