The Most Terrible And Mysterious Things That Have Happened On Friday The 13th

On Friday, March 13, 1964, Kitty Genovese was stabbed to death outside her apartment in Queens, NY. At the time, it was reported that nearly 40 people in the neighborhood witnessed or heard Genovese's murder take place, but no one tried to help or call the police. Since then, that number has been refuted, though there's no question there was a lack of quick intervention.

Winston Moseley was arrested for an unrelated crime six days after Genovese's murder, to which he confessed while in custody. Moseley stated his only motive for killing Genovese was his desire to kill a woman. He was sentenced to life in prison for Genovese's murder, dying in March 2016 after serving 52 years in prison.

The Black Friday Fires began on Friday, January 13, 1939, in Victoria, Australia - and the result was devastating. Almost five million acres of land were destroyed, and 71 people lost their lives. Thousands of homes and businesses burned down as well.

The fires were due to an unnaturally dry summer, combined with a drought that lasted for years. Many small blazes had sprouted before the Black Friday Fires; they were mostly ignored because people believed they would eventually die down. Instead, high winds caused the fires to fan out and eventually join together, resulting in the now-infamous Black Friday disaster.

The bombing of Buckingham Palace is proof that even if you decide to stay home on Friday the 13th, lousy things can still happen. On September 13, 1940, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth were at the palace enjoying their afternoon tea when German bombs went off in their courtyard.

Though the room they were occupying was right next to the courtyard, the couple was not harmed. However, one guest in the palace died, and several more were injured. King George VI refused to leave the palace and move to a safer place, and his wife and children stuck it out with him.

Friday the 13th has claimed many victims, but Tupac Shakur was a shocking one. Shakur was a successful rapper, actor, and record producer. On September 7, 1996, Shakur - just 25 years old at the time - was in Las Vegas on his way to a club when an unknown assailant in a white Cadillac pulled up beside him at a stop light and started shooting. Shakur was shot four times and in critical condition for six days; on Friday the 13th, he died of internal bleeding from his injuries. There are many theories about Tupac Shakur's death, but none have been confirmed.

Brittany Killgore was only 22 when her life ended, and it happened on a fateful Friday the 13th. Killgore had recently divorced her husband, and she was looking for someone to help her move back to her hometown. Killgore met Louis Ray Perez and asked if he could assist her. He told her if she partied with him that night, he would have five men available to help her move. Killgore met up with Perez that night, but was never heard from again. Days later, police found her unclothed corpse in a ditch.

As it turns out, Perez lived with his pregnant wife and another woman, and they were involved in the S&M lifestyle. His girlfriend, Dorothy Maraglino, referred to herself as Perez's mistress; the other woman, Jessica Lopez, was the couple's slave. In their home, a sex dungeon was set up, complete with handcuffs and other toys. Evidence pointed to Killgore being an unwilling participant in the group's sadomasochistic sexual proclivities and that, on the night of April 13, 2012, they strangled her to death and dumped her body. Perez, Maraglino, and Lopez were all found guilty of murder, kidnapping, torture, and sexual battery. All three received life without parole.

Many people are terrified to fly on Friday the 13th - and probably for good reason.  The Andes flight disaster is one of the most horrific plane crashes in history, and it happened on Friday, October 13th, 1972. A plane carrying 45 passengers - including a union rugby team - crashed in the Andes mountains. Initially, 12 died from the crash. The next day, five additional passengers died, and one more eight days later. The group did not have resources for the extreme weather, nor did they have much food. They did have a radio, on which they heard that the search-and-rescue team looking for them had given up.

Very quickly, the group ate the minimal food they had left. They tried looking for vegetation or animals, but found none. Surviving passengers felt they had no choice but to feed on the bodies of the deceased passengers to survive. This task proved difficult not only for the most obvious reason, but because the dead were mostly friends and family members of the survivors.

Over the next few months, several more survivors died, including eight who were taken out by an avalanche. Approximately two months after the plane crash, a pair of survivors went hiking in search of rescue. They were eventually found, and went back to save the rest of the group.