Common history is already brutal. Behind the well-known wars, diseases, and murders are stories that manage to be even more horrifying. Some of these terrifying tales can only be likened to those found in Halloween movies. But, unlike horror movie monsters, which may be destroyed by declaring, "It's just a movie," the terrible tales on this list are all true.

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The Astronaut’s Mysterious Visitor

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Yang Liwei was floating in his capsule in 2003. He had just become China's first man in space. He was alone in the middle of nothing. Then there was a knock. 

Nobody can hear you scream in space. However, it appears like you can hear tapping. Back on Earth, Liwei told reporters about the incident. The sound reminded him of "someone pounding the body of the spaceship with a wooden hammer, just like knocking an iron bucket." He couldn't pinpoint the source of the noise. "It didn't come from outside or within the spaceship," he explained. He set out to investigate the shuttle for any clues. He looked out his porthole and saw nothing out the side. There was also nothing wrong on the inside. Nobody could explain the strange knock.

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When the sound returned, scientists had little luck in determining its enigmatic sources. Theories of benevolent aliens welcoming Liwei to the neighborhood were swiftly dismissed. Liwei returned to Earth and investigated the capsule once more. He and his colleagues were still stuck. The sound was recreated by the crew. Nothing even came close. Because sound requires a medium, the most likely cause was a physical item colliding with the spaceship. There were no marks indicating outside touch. The most widely accepted idea is that the exterior's metallic surface constricted while exposed to the cold vacuum of space. Other astronauts reported similar sounds in 2005 and 2008, providing credence to the theory that it is related to temperature. The truth exists, although it is most likely due to thermal change.

The British Zombie Invasion

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A virus spreads. The victims' shambling remains wander the city. The government attempts to suppress them, but they manage to flee. Armed locals must take matters into their own hands and carry them out. This is the plot of numerous zombie films, ranging from REC to Resident Evil. It was a reality for Black Plague victims in England. London, as a booming metropolitan hub, had reason to be especially concerned about the disease's spread. The sick were locked up in their own homes. The doors were padlocked to keep guests out. Any contaminated residence was marked with a red cross on the door to warn people to stay away. Armed guards were stationed to prevent anyone from attempting to assist.

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Inside the residence, conditions deteriorated due to a lack of food and medicine. The infected battled back, much like in George Romero's Land of the Dead. Families murdered the guards in order to flee. One usual method was to slip a noose through a window and lower it until it was around the guard's neck. The guard was hauled up with a rapid pull till he pledged to let them go. Blankets were thrown on top of deceased guards in order to deceive plague carts into carrying them away with the dead. When entire streets were quarantined, residents rioted and slaughtered all of the guards, with one crazy victim going so far as to make homemade explosives. Freedom was not worth all the bloodshed. The plague refugees wandered with no resources. As they fled London, many of the smaller villages barred entry. Locals threw stones and manure at the infirm. Some let the sick in, only to rob them.