Canada has some strange stories that are as mysterious now as when they happened. Missing planes & weird lights, even ships that simply disappear, Canada has it all.
Here are ten unsolved mysteries from Canadian history and the stories behind them. Which one would you like to solve the most?
Falcon Lake encounter, 1967
In 1967, a prospector named Stefan Michalak had a crazy tale to tell. He said he was exploring near Falcon Lake when he got too close to something strange. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he claimed it was a UFO. Michalak ended up with burns shaped like a grid on his chest & metal samples that weren’t from the area.
It might’ve been the military or perhaps a meteor. Nobody’s really sure. There are some who think it might’ve been the Americans secretly testing a craft, since the pattern looked a little like an exhaust event. But one thing’s certain. Michalak never changed his story.
Ghost ship Baychimo’s final fate, 1931–1969
The Hudson’s Bay Company was forced to leave its ship Baychimo after it became trapped in Arctic ice. Bizarrely, people continued to see it drifting past, sometimes completely intact. The most recent sighting came 40 years after the crew abandoned the ship.
Nobody has managed to find where the ship eventually went down. One theory states it’s frozen into the seabed somewhere, while another says it might’ve broken apart. Either way, the ghost ship sure does give people the creeps.
Ambrose Small vanishes, 1919
Ambrose Small was a millionaire theater owner. He walked into his Toronto office one day to cash a massive cheque and then completely vanished. There were never any ransom notes or sightings of him, not even a sign of where he went. Some people think his wife or business partners may have been involved. But there was no proof.
Staff claimed to see a figure walking near his old theatre balcony, although this was never confirmed. He was later declared legally dead. Just where could this millionaire have vanished to?
The Bell Island “boom,” 1978
The year was 1978. One Sunday morning, a sudden blast shook Bell Island so hard that the power was completely knocked out. Some windows cracked. According to the locals, it sounded like someone had exploded some dynamite underground. Scientists have never found the cause of it.
Was it an extreme lightning strike? Or maybe a sonic boom? American researchers looked into it & theorized it may have been an electromagnetic boom or military testing. Yet nothing came of this research, and the source has never been determined.
USAF C-54 Skymaster lost, 1950
In 1950, an American military plane suddenly vanished near Snag, Yukon. It had 44 people aboard and it radioed nearby, but then appeared to vanish into the ether. Search crews tried looking for the plane across the tundra. Not one piece of wreckage has turned up.
It may have been simply a navigational mistake, or maybe a mechanical fire. However, the fact that the plane seems to have completely disappeared is what shocks most people. A few bush pilots claim to have seen bits of metal in remote valleys, although it hasn’t been confirmed.
CP Air Flight 21 bombing, 1965
That’s not all for planes. In 1965, an explosion ripped apart Flight 21 mid-air while it was on its way from Vancouver to Whitehorse. The cause was soon discovered. It was a bomb hidden in the washroom. But the real mystery was who planted it there because a suspect has never been found, nor has any group claimed responsibility.
Five passengers may have had potential motives, but the RCMP never knew for certain that it was one of them. Retired officers spoke about the case decades later. They said it was the hardest case of their career because every lead turned out to be fruitless. Who blew up the plane?
Oak Island “Money Pit,” ongoing since 1795
People have been digging on Oak Island since 1795. They’re convinced there’s hidden treasure underneath because they think the flooding tunnels & wooden platforms show there’s something there. Some claim to have found strange artifacts at the site, too.
However, nobody’s found a clear answer to what the treasure is, or even if it exists. It’s unclear who could’ve put it there, too. Theories include pirate gold and the vaults of the Knight Templar. But nobody really knows.
Nahanni’s “headless men” cases, 1908 onward
The Nahanni Valley has terrified people for over a hundred years, mostly because of the number of headless bodies found there. In 1908, two brothers went missing there. Investigators later found their headless bodies. Over the years, there have been similar cases of prospectors’ bodies turning up without a head.
It’s happened so much that locals still call it Deadman Valley. Nobody has ever been able to work out who, or what, could’ve done this to people. A few people suspect it may have been robberies or revenge killings. Others claim it’s animals scavenging dead bodies.
The Windsor hum, 2011–2020s
Over in Windsor, local people keep hearing a strange noise that has no origin, called the “Windsor hum.” It’s a deep rumble that rattles windows & makes dogs bark. Nobody has been able to work out what the cause could be, but some point to nearby factories.
It’s such an issue that locals have held meetings & filed petitions to find the cause. The sound went quiet some days. Then it came back stronger. Nobody could escape it, not even by going indoors, because the sound seems to go through everything.
The Arctic “ping,” 2016
Hunters near Igloolik also heard a strange sound. They heard a steady beeping noise from under the ice, and the sound was strong enough that it affected the local wildlife. The Canadian military sent a patrol plane to monitor the sound. They found nothing.
Even with submarines & advanced equipment, there doesn’t seem to be a cause of this odd sound. But the story gets even weirder. The sound suddenly stopped one day as soon as it started, never to return. What was making it?
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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