50 Chilling Facts About Our Dark Past…

1. A Prince Beheaded His Cousins

Margaret of Anjou, the ruthless medieval queen, once let her son Edward decide how to execute his cousins. His choice was brutal, and unsurprisingly not well received. It certainly wasn't a decision that that should really have been left to a young adult.

2. Edgar Allan Poe Met A Chilling Fate

Poe was found wandering the streets of New York in a fugue state a few nights before he was found unconscious on the sidewalk, with all his belongings gone. As he was dying, he kept screaming "Reynolds", repeatedly. Nobody knew who he could have been referring to. We still do not know who he was referring to until today.

3. A Queen Gave A Brutal Punishment To Her Sisters

As queen Isabella, AKA the "She Wolf" of France, caught her sisters-in-law having sexual relations with knights, she enacted an extremely gruesome punishment to ensure this wouldn't happen again. When Isabella told her father what she suspected, he went after the cheating noblewomen with a vengeance...

4. Marcus Aurelius Was A Sadist

There was an interesting gladiator dilemma Marcus Aurelius faced when he was Roman Emperor. Faustina, his wife, fell in love with a combatant and confessed her passion to her husband over the gunfight. What was the emperor's solution? In order to get her to strip, Faustina was ordered to make love to the gladiator in question, who was then fatally attacked while on top of her.

5. Karma Got This Biblical King

As punishment for accusing and executing his wife of adultery, King Herod preserved her body in honey and performed disturbing acts with it for many years afterward. A mysterious illness eventually claimed his life. Because of what he had done to his body, his illness was both gruesome and fitting. Aside from paranoid delusions, rage, and arteriosclerosis, Herod died in 4 BCE from a brutal and agonizing illness that modern doctors are still unable to diagnose.

6. Henry VIII’s Wife Had A Literal Black Heart

At the time, Henry VIII's wife Catherine of Aragon's death was utterly mysterious. Her embalmer noticed that the corpse was in excellent health except for the blackened heart. Catherine's ghastly condition, coupled with her chilling premonitions of her own demise, led people to believe she was about to die. After witnessing Catherine's strange condition, those loyal to Catherine and disloyal to Henry and Anne Boleyn started whispering that Henry and Anne had poisoned Catherine in a chilling act of self-service.

7. The Marquis De Sade Was Infamous For A Reason

Throughout the castle walls of the infamous author Marquis de Sade, he committed horrors in the name of his hedonistic fantasies, but he couldn't hide his secrets forever. His servant fled the castle in terror. De Sade, it turned out, hired only the most attractive young women and men to work in his castle and then forced them to participate in his salacious bedroom activities, one of which was whipping.

8. The Queen Who Lost Her Beauty

Queen Alexandra of Denmark's iconic beauty calcified into a monstrosity as she grew older-yet her death was even more horrific. As a result of her aging face, Alexandra began wearing elaborate veils and wearing heavy makeup. The fashionistas who once followed her every move now call her "enameled." A burst blood vessel in her eye left her nearly blinded. Once she succumbed to a heart attack, she was little more than a shell of her once-glamorous self.

9. Genghis Khan Offed His Own Brother

As a child, Genghis Khan's father died and the tribe abandoned his family, driving them into poverty on the barren Mongolian steppe. This was only the beginning of his nightmare. Begter, Genghis' half-brother, then began to assert his power as the eldest child, attempting to become Hoelun's wife. Young, ruthless Genghis was not pleased with this, and he exacted cold-hearted revenge. With the help of another brother, he murdered Begter when he was 10 years old.

10. Henry VIII Rejected Anne Of Cleves For An Awful Reason

Henry VIII married Anne of Cleves almost immediately after seeing her portrait. When they met, his stomach dropped: she was unthinkably ugly, he said.  Making their way to London, Anne's party stopped at Rochester on New Year's Day 1540.  He expected her to see through his costume by the power of "true love". Henry tried getting Anne's attention and was ignored, or he outright groped and kissed her, which caused the young woman to ring the alarms about a strange dude harassing her. Henry left the encounter angry and possibly ready for revenge in the form of, "I never liked her anyway."

11. The Austrian Emperor Was A Cradle Robber

One aspect of Emperor Franz Joseph's life still makes historians uneasy. Franz Joseph was out for a walk near his summer palace one day when a beautiful blonde caught his eye. The Emperor and Anna Nahowski fell in love after meeting covertly in the park for months. Anna and Franz Joseph were both married, but that wasn't even close to being the scandalous part. In actuality, Anna was only 14 when she met Franz for the first time, and he was 45.

12. Henry VIII Once Got Heartbroken

Henry VIII married Jane Seymour just weeks after he executed his previous wife, Anne Boleyn. Whether she knew it explicitly or not, she knew she had two choices: bear him a son or die. Tragically, she would die from complications during childbirth just 11 days after giving birth to Edward VI. The inscription is as follows. "Here is Jane, a phoenix who gave birth to another phoenix. / Let her be mourned, for birds like these / Are rare indeed.” Jane was also the only one of Henry's six wives to be buried in a royal fashion.

13. Gandhi Liked To Tempt Himself With Young Women

Gandhi is seen today as a symbol of peaceful protest and understanding. However, there is another side to him. Gandhi became increasingly obsessed with lust at the age of 36, while married. Gandhi would sleep naked with young women to train and "perfect" his control over his desires. One night, he committed an act so heinous that his own employee quit on him forever. Gandhi performed this sleeping act with his own grand-niece Manu. The stenographer left in disgust.

14. Tsar Nicholas II Was A Freak In Bed

As a result, she was privy to all of Europe's dirty little secrets since she had affairs with the most powerful men. La Belle Otero revealed in her memoirs how she had seduced multiple royals, including princes and kings. One of her conquests was the last tsar of Russia, Nicholas II. Despite being fond of him, she also described him as timid and frightened, with a rank body odor. Even La Belle Otero was surprised at his choices in the bedroom.

15. The Indestructible Man

An iron rod was rammed through the head of a railroad worker named Phineas Gage in the 19th century. In one of the strangest medical anomalies in history, Gage lived another 12 full years despite having most of his left frontal lobe destroyed. Gage's story does have one more bitter twist, however. In spite of the fact that he technically was still alive, his friends spoke of how his behavior from this point on had changed dramatically, describing him as "no longer Gage" and telling them he was violent and moody.

16. Xerxes’ Got His Mistress In Trouble 

The mighty warrior king Xerxes was known as a notorious womanizer. He even had an affair with his own niece at one point. While this is incredibly horrifying on its own, things took a much darker turn when his wife found out about this. In spite of the fact that she could not punish her husband-  he was, after all, the King of Kings - she still devised a plan to exact her chilling revenge. The girl's mother was mutilated by Xerxes's wife when she heard about Xerxes's affair with her daughter.

17. Noblewomen Drank While Pregnant 

After her sudden passing at 23 years old, the Duchess of Berry was scandalized by her constant pregnancies and miscarriages. Six pregnancies we know about are miscarriages for the Duchess. Why did she have such horrible luck as a mother? Today's historians think they know why. It didn't stop the Duchess Of Berry from partying despite constantly being pregnant.

18. Alexander The Great’s Mother Was Ruthless

As beautiful as she was cruel, Queen Olympias, mother of Alexander the Great, was one of the greatest historical figures of all time. When she had imprisoned a rival queen, she infamously sent the girl three items: a cup, a rope, and a sword. As you can see, the cup contained poison, the rope was a noose, and the sword was deadly sharp. She wanted to know how she wished to die. It seems that she chose to hang herself, although during the very last moments of her life she cursed Olympias.

19. A Modern Prince Had A Lovechild

The Duke of Kent, Prince George, was a notorious bad boy. His high-flying life took a sinister turn when he fell for the dangerous Kiki Preston. Both of these rebellious lovers guarded a terrible secret all their lives. George Preston and Kiki Preston allegedly had a child together while partying, using drugs, and hanging out with threesomes. He was adopted by Harper & Brothers publisher Cass Canfield in 1926 when he was just a year old.

20. This Queen Of France Got A Petty Revenge

The famed Madame de Montespan was vain to the core, and her chief mistress, King Louis XIV's wife, truly believed that she should be queen above his wife. After all, she was the kind of girl with the looks, the wit, and the pedigree to succeed. Although de Montespan ended up outliving the true queen, Maria Theresa. After death, the queen finally managed to deliver the insult she had never been able to deliver to her rival while she was alive.

21. Louis XIV Might Have Slept With His Sister-In-Law

Prince Philipe of England married Princess Henrietta of England, who even converted to another religion for him. Prince Philipe of England returned the favor by sleeping with many men. In the beginning, Henrietta forgave him; after all, when they had their first daughter, there were rumors that Princess Henrietta had repaid her adultery, and that the baby was not Philipe's at all. King Louis XIV, Phillipe's own brother, and even the Comte de Guiche, Phillipe's very own ex-lover, are a few candidates for being the father of Phillipe.

22. This King And Queen Begged Forgiveness 

As King Charles II lay dying, he sent for his wife, Catherine of Braganza. She couldn't bear the thought of seeing her husband die. She asked to remain away from him, but added that she wanted to "beg his pardon if she had offended him in the past." Charles's reply was entirely repentant, and he cried out, "Alas poor woman, how poor you are!" Did she ask for my forgiveness? My mother begs you from the bottom of my heart, take back the answer you gave her."

23. The New York City Hoarders

A call was made to the New York City police in March 1947 about a terrible odor that was emanating from a Harlem apartment. Their horror was utterly excruciating when they opened the door. It was the home of Homer and Langley Collyer, who lived there and hoarded compulsively. Despite the fact that Homer's body was found crushed under his own junk, Langley was still missing. They found his body not far away from the remains of his brother.

24. Elizabeth I Was A Klepto

After the execution of her mother Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth I lived in poverty before she became the Virgin Queen. Elizabeth VIII's father Henry VIII ignored and neglected her so completely that her guardians had to beg the king for funds in order to provide Elizabeth with clothes that fitted her. Later on, when she became Queen, Elizabeth collected more than 2,000 dresses for herself.

25. This King Liked Older Women

Charles V had several affairs before he married Isabella of Portugal. His relationship with Germaine of Foix, his step-grandmother, was the most controversial, but it wasn't even the most disturbing. After her husband Ferdinand died, Germaine of Foix didn't get married for years, so when she gave birth just two years after he died, it raised a lot of eyebrows.

26. This Flapper Used Her Children To Make Money

Baker was one of the most seductive dancers of the Roaring 20s, and when she settled down, she adopted a large number of children. Despite her claim that she wanted to prove "children from different ethnicities and religions can still be brothers," the evidence tells a different story. Jean-Claude Baker believed there was a darker, more cynical motive for her "Tribe": she liked the attention.

27. Richard II Had A Gruesome End

The most prominent characteristic of King Richard II of England was that he was a coward. In spite of the fact that he voluntarily gave up his crown, he was unaware of the disturbing fate that awaited him. It was Henry IV, Richard's rival and successor, who simply strolled into London and snatched the crown from the King's head. As Richard starved in the prison, Henry slowly killed him. However, even when Richard passed on, it was not the end of the story. It was Henry who exhibited the cold, emaciated corpse in St. Paul's Cathedral for all to see.

28. One Man Survived Two Atomic Bombs

The Japanese engineer Tsutsumo Yamaguchi happened to be in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the time of their respective atomic bombings during WWII. The American forces dropped the Little Boy atomic bomb on Hiroshima's city center as Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima on business. A few months later, he went back to his hometown of Nagasaki, only for him to witness the dropping of the Fat Man atomic bomb. There is only one person that the Japanese government recognizes as having survived both atomic attacks and that is Yamaguchi.

29. The Empress Who Loved Insane Asylums

There is little doubt that Empress Elisabeth of Austria is known to the world today for her tragic end at the hands of an Italian anarchist. In addition to being perpetually melancholic, she had a special affection for horseback riding, insane asylums, and of course, her own good looks. As a matter of fact, Elisabeth's husband once asked her what she would like for a gift. What did she respond with? She replied in a very bright and serious manner: "What I would like most is a fully equipped insane asylum.".

30. There Was A Famous Lady Rake

After leaving Europe, she went to the Middle East, where she met a man who blew her mind. His name was Sheik Medjuel el Mezrab, and finally, he had been able to hold excitement-addict Jane's attention for more than a few days. Despite their whirlwind romance, there was one catch. Digby was 46 years old when she met the Sheik, while he was 26 and two decades her junior.

31. The CIA Tried To Make Cats Spies

There was a time when the CIA tried to spy on the Kremlin and Russian embassies by using cats as listening devices during the 1960s. An Acoustic Kitty program involved the surgically implanting of batteries, microphones, and antennae inside cats for the purpose of transmitting sound. When the CIA realized that it would not be possible to train a cat to do very much of anything, the plan was scrapped.

32. Time Is Wibbly-Wobbly

Most scholars agree that the Ancient Egyptian empire lasted for thousands of years, which can be hard to imagine. It is estimated that the Great Pyramid of Giza was built between 2550 and 2490 BC, and Cleopatra took the throne in 51 BC. For you, let me put this into perspective: That means that Cleopatra's reign took place closer to the time of the moon landing than it did to the time of the Great Pyramid building.

33. This Victorian Diet Was Disgusting

There was a diet that was very popular at the end of the Victorian era called the "tapeworm diet" and it was even more disgusting than it sounded. People literally swallowed tapeworms and other parasites as part of their weight loss programme. Now it is believed that the celebrity opera singer who was supposed to have sparked the fad has never actually done it.

35. The Real Man In The Iron Mask 

King Louis XV of France's reign was characterized by utter catastrophic failure - so it's not surprising that when the end of this playboy king came, it was absolutely horrific. The first thing that appeared on the king's face were small marks. At first, a few doctors were concerned, but when the marks did not disappear, they became more concerned. King Louis XV was an extremely horrifying sight in his final moments of life.

37. This Mistress Became A Press Target

There was nothing short of scandalous affairs conducted by the notorious mistress Lillie Langtry, but there was one affair that was more jaw-dropping than the rest. Langtry fell in with an individual called George Baird, and with him he formed a relationship. Besides being ludicrously rich, Baird was also known for his obsessive drinking habits. Langtry swore that he would leave her when he gave her two black eyes...but then Baird bought her a luxury yacht called the White Ladye. The woman could not resist.

38. There Used To Be An “Impotence Court”

I don't want to get my hopes up that I can say that being a woman prior to the 20th century would have been a horrible experience. Once upon a time, Medieval women were able to take their husbands to an impotence court if they were dissatisfied with their man's performance in bed. It's well known that women have always been inferior to their male counterparts, but this was actually something they were able to do!

39. Alcatraz Played A Nasty Trick

There used to be only one prison in the world where the inmates could take hot showers and that was Alcatraz. It may seem nice, but if you know anything about Alcatraz, you should probably be very suspicious about their motives for offering creature comforts to inmates. In reality, they were just concerned that potential escapees wouldn't get used to the cold water in case they tried to swim back to shore.

40. There Was A Pirate Queen

There is no doubt that the pirate queen Ching Shih lived one of the most dramatic lives in history. In the span of a few months, she went from being a sex worker to a grieving widow to a ruthless pirate-but even after all that, she still managed to save her most jaw-dropping move for the last. As part of Ching Shih's "retirement," she opened a gambling house and opium trade behind the scenes.

41. Don’t Mess With English Kings

There is no doubt that Edward Longshanks had a very vicious temper. As an example, consider his revenge against Simon de Montfort, the Earl of Leicester. In spite of Edward's father's objections, Simon had decided to marry his sister against the wishes of his father. Edward's response has been described as "an episode of noble bloodletting unprecedented since the Conquest by William the Conqueror."

42. A Royal Betrayal

During the reign of Anne of Austria, she had the world's worst husband. It is no secret that King Louis XIII despised her from the moment they were married and treated her horribly for decades-but his worst betrayal was saved for last. In Louis XIII's last words to his wife, he said that one of his final acts was to stick it to her. While he was gone, he tried to make sure she never saw an ounce of power, refusing even to let her act as regent for their son when he was gone.

43. Victorians Had Impossible Beauty Standards

Even though the hourglass figure has always held a special appeal across Western cultures, the Victorian period was the era when it gained Corsets were used to take their obsession to an entirely new level by the women of the time. Although these waist-cinching devices were successful in achieving a "wasp waist", they had  serious health consequences. In addition to causing fainting spells, it is likely that the restriction on women's lungs worsened potentially deadly ailments like pneumonia and tuberculosis.

44. The Original Great War

Until World War I took over the monicker, the Napoleonic Wars were known as "The Great War." They were completely unprecedented in their scope and bloodshed-but most people don't realize just how horrifying this horrific conflict really was. In this era, the military in European society truly became a separate entity from the civilian population as opposed to simply following orders from their monarch.

45. There Is A Mystery In King Tut’s Tomb

Researchers recently discovered a sharp iron dagger in King Tut's tomb which was still sharp thousands of years after it was found. The origin of such a dagger is quite mysterious. Scientists have tested the metal and determined it came from a meteorite, which indicates that the ancient Egyptians were unlikely to have used the metal to make weapons from meteorite debris. Due to this, it is either a product of another more advanced civilization...or it may be the product of aliens.

46. Skipper Has A Saucy Backstory

Mattel decided that in order to really make Barbies stand out from the crowd, The "Growing Up Skipper" doll was introduced in the '1970s. It basically depicted the adolescent age of the Barbie- her becoming a woman. In other words, it was only natural that when you twisted Skipper's arm, her boobs grew. Well, I suppose it is fair to say that no one survived the 70s with their dignity intact, not even plastic dolls.

47. Catherine Howard’s True Last Words

In a legend, before her execution, King Henry VIII's fifth wife Catherine Howard is said to have said, "I die a queen, but I would have rather died as Culpeper's wife," referring to the adulterous lover of her life. The story of her last words is a myth, but even more heartbreakingly, she actually said them as she died. Despite Howard's repentance, she cried, "I should die a thousand deaths" for betraying a king who had always treated her graciously.

48. The Countess With A Vendetta

Immediately after the Countess of Castiglione's estranged husband tried to claim custody of her only beloved son Giorgio, the Countess sent him a surprise in the mail. The first thing that hit him was how horrified he was. It was a seemingly innocent photograph of the beautiful Countess, dressed in a luxurious gown. But, the countess was holding a dagger in the folds of her dress, which she had kept hidden. In essence, it was a threat: You mess with my son, I'll mess with you.

49. The Last Emperor Of China Was A Prisoner

During 1908, Pu Yi was just two years old when he was crowned the supreme Emperor of all of China. In truth, he would now live in the lap of luxury - but with a heartbreakingly high price for the small child's divine power. It is thought he was separated from his family and placed in the Forbidden City, where he would spend the next 11 years living in the elaborate palace and forbidden to leave it. Nevertheless, that wasn't the end of what Pu Yi experienced in the Forbidden City.

50. A Boy Rose From The Dead

There was a tragic death of a two-year-old boy from pneumonia in Brazil. At the funeral, the grieving family experienced a great deal of apprehension as their "dead" son suddenly sat up and asked for a drink of water. Even though the parents were overjoyed and astonished by the news, they were still set to endure another heartbreaking event. After losing consciousness a second time, the boy was not able to be revived, so he was declared dead once again by the coroner.