Hi, friends! I’m Crystal, and I write the That Got Dark newsletter, BuzzFeed’s weekly roundup of all things creepy, macabre, and horrible AF. And if you looooove this kind of content, you should subscribe to get your weekly dopamine fix of the macabre delivered RIGHT to your inbox!
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Here’s what the newsletter is covering this week:
1. Did you know there’s a real place in Tennessee where human bodies are left out to rot…on purpose? It’s called the Body Farm, and it’s where forensic scientists study how corpses decompose in every possible condition — under the sun, submerged in water, even sealed inside cars. All in the name of solving murders and understanding death just a little better. So, y’know, if you miss your chance at cracking a case in life, maybe you can still help out in death.
David Howells / Corbis via Getty Images
2. Recently, newsletter reader Alex Auen wrote to me about a man named Daniel J. LaPlante — a murderer with one of the most unsettling stories I’ve ever read. Here’s the grim story.
In 1986, LaPlante, a teenager from Massachusetts, contacted a girl named Tina Bowen while pretending to be someone else. They went on a single date, but Tina was immediately unsettled — LaPlante looked nothing like he’d described and behaved strangely throughout the evening. When she decided not to see him again, LaPlante began sneaking into her family’s home — hiding inside their walls, moving things around, and terrorizing them in ways that felt straight out of a horror movie. He was eventually caught and charged with breaking and entering. But the nightmare didn’t stop there.
Boston Globe / Boston Globe via Getty Images
Just a year later, at 17, he murdered a pregnant woman named Priscilla Gustafson and her two young children in their home — a crime so brutal it shocked the quiet Massachusetts town of Townsend. After a massive manhunt, LaPlante was found hiding in a dumpster and later convicted in 1988 of three counts of first-degree murder. He’s now serving three consecutive life sentences.
Boston Globe / Boston Globe via Getty Images
3. The existence of “creepy town” Pella, Iowa.
Wendy Rauw Photography / Getty Images
“Super conservative, religious culty vibes. People here live in a bubble where they think their views are the same everywhere. They are stunned when opposing views are expressed. So much so that those who don’t agree are afraid to speak out. Plus, there is a small ‘members-only’ church with guards at the door to prevent non-members from entering.”
—Submitted by BuzzFeed Community user susans4176e6f6a
4. This creepy Wikipedia page about something called the Toynbee tiles — one of the creepiest unsolved mysteries literally lurking underfoot.
Richard Levine / Alamy
Basically, these are cryptic messages embedded in city streets across the United States since the 1980s, all bearing the same eerie phrase: “TOYNBEE IDEA IN MOVIE 2001 RESURRECT DEAD ON PLANET JUPITER.” Theories link them to British historian Arnold J. Toynbee’s ideas about resurrecting the dead, Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, and even fringe cult beliefs. They’ve often appeared overnight, only deepening the mystery of these eerie, handmade messages.
MGM / Courtesy of Everett
Related: These WTF Facts Are So Creepy, Dark, And Tragic, Only Adults Should Read Them
5. Aaron Carter’s shocking and tragic death on Nov. 5, 2022.
Gabe Ginsberg / Getty Images
The pop singer and former teen idol was found unresponsive in his Lancaster, California home in November 2022. Carter, who had struggled for years with addiction and mental health challenges, accidentally drowned in his bathtub after inhaling compressed air and taking the anti-anxiety drug alprazolam (commonly known as Xanax).
Frazer Harrison / Getty Images
The combination caused him to become incapacitated and slip beneath the water. He was later pronounced dead at age 34, and his death was officially ruled an accidental drowning with substance use as a contributing factor.
6. Finally, the story of Randy Greenawalt, an American serial killer from Missouri who became infamous for his role in one of Arizona’s most brutal prison escapes and killing sprees.
Related: I’m Still Picking Up The Pieces Of My Brain After Learning These WTF Facts
Originally convicted in 1974 for murdering two truck drivers during separate robberies, he was serving a life sentence when he escaped from prison in 1978 with fellow inmate Gary Tison and Tison’s three sons. During their 12 days on the run, the group murdered a Marine sergeant, his wife, their toddler, and teenage niece, as well as a newlywed couple, before being captured after a police chase.
MIKE FIALA / AFP via Getty Images
Greenawalt was later convicted of multiple counts of murder and sentenced to death. He was executed by lethal injection in 1997 at the age of 47.
MIKE FIALA / AFP via Getty Images
His last meal: Two cheeseburgers, French fries with extra salt, and coffee with milk.
Crystal Ro / BuzzFeed
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Do you have a weird, creepy, or shocking story you want to share? Perhaps there’s a strange Wikipedia page you want to talk about? Tell me all about it at thatgotdark@buzzfeed.com, and who knows, maybe it’ll be featured in a future edition of That Got Dark!
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