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Historical Disappearances



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Sun Apr 23, 2017 4:55 am
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Wolfi says...



My novel takes place in a realm called Ordadus, where people from varying historical periods have mysteriously disappeared to. This has occurred with increasing rarity as the centuries have worn on.

Do you know of any disappearances of people, legend or fact, that have happened in the history of humankind? I'm looking for mostly pre-1900s examples, but I'm open to recent ones too as they might come in handy, depending on where I decide to take the plot. I might use Amelia Earhart's disappearance as one, for instance.

I have two others on my list:
- An Ancient Egyptian legend in which a bunch of peeps were blinded by a bright light and disappeared
- The Iron Mountain Disappearance
- EDIT: totally forgot to add the Anasazis

Oh, and if you know of any famous animal disappearances, I'd take those too.

Thank you ~
Last edited by Wolfi on Sun Apr 23, 2017 5:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
John 14:27:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled
and do not be afraid.
  





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Sun Apr 23, 2017 5:13 am
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ScarlettFire says...



Hi Wolfical! I have a few for you!

There was an Australian Prime Minister who went swimming at Cheviot Beach in VIC, Aus and disappeared in 1967. Don't think they found a body, either, so that one's kinda mysterious.

I'm not sure of any pre-1900s except maybe Roanoke in the late 1500s. And, of course, there's all the ones related to the Bermuda Triangle. ^^ OH, and there's an old Australian legend about some circus animals escaping from their train when it derailed. I believe that may be late 1800s or early 1900s!

Hope these help!
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Sun Apr 23, 2017 5:29 am
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Wolfi says...



@ScarlettFire, ooooh these are awesome! Thank you so much ~
John 14:27:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled
and do not be afraid.
  





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Sun Apr 23, 2017 5:30 am
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ScarlettFire says...



No problem! If I can find or think of any others, I'll drop them in here for you!
"With friends like you, who needs a medical license?" - Paimon, Aether's Heart


“It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission.” - Grace Hopper.
  





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Sun Apr 23, 2017 10:53 am
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birk says...



The Princes in the Tower is an interesting read.

Also, that lead singer from Manic Street Peachers just up and vanished in the 90s. Not that you asked for recent examples, this just made me think of it. xD
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Sun Apr 23, 2017 11:59 am
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Tenyo says...



Enoch and Elijah- Two biblical figures who 'were taken by God', which means technically their bodies were never found.

Sparticus- Led an army of escaped slaves against Rome. It was assumed he died in battle, but his body was never recovered.

The Princes in the Tower - A twelve year old king, I think it was, and his younger brother, were taken into a tower that ironically was used as both a palace and a prison.

The Mary Celeste - a boat that washed up on a shore back in the 1870s ish. It was in sailable condition, fully stocked with provisions, and no crew or sign of foul play.

The Grand Duches Anastasia - her story is surrounded by all kinds of myths. Her family were shot, but she was wearing a jewelled vest that saved her and managed to escape, and since that point several women claiming to be her came forward in hope to claim her inheritance. This was early 1900s so I'm not sure if it's any good, but it's a fantastic story.

The Corte-Real brothers - The older brother was an explorer who set sail from Portugal with three ships. Two came back, but the one he was on never returned. The younger brother followed his route to try and find him, and again two ships returned but the third never did.

Sarah Joe - Another boat, this one was in the 1970s. It had a crew of five, one of whom was found buried with fragments of the rest of the boat but the other four never were.
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Sun Apr 23, 2017 2:11 pm
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Feltrix says...



The graves of Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel were found empty shortly after their deaths, if that works.

The entire colony of Roanoke vanished suddenly, leaving nothing but the word Croatone carved into a tree.

Nothing else comes to mind at the moment, but I recommend googling it.
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Sun Apr 23, 2017 3:12 pm
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TheSilverFox says...



Tenyo wrote:The Grand Duches Anastasia - her story is surrounded by all kinds of myths. Her family were shot, but she was wearing a jewelled vest that saved her and managed to escape, and since that point several women claiming to be her came forward in hope to claim her inheritance. This was early 1900s so I'm not sure if it's any good, but it's a fantastic story.


Actually, as I understand it, the bodies of all members of the Russian royal family were discovered at one point or another among several spots, as this Wikipedia article conveys: Romanov graves. The Grand Duchess Anastasia was almost certainly killed by the Bolsheviks, along with the rest of her family, and buried/burned somewhere. There appears to be a debate over what body is hers or Maria's, but all children of the royal family of Nicolas II have been found dead. Interestingly enough, she may have survived the incident longer than anyone else, thanks to the diamonds she had sown into her corset, but was either stabbed or shot to death in the ensuing struggle.

That whole thing is just extremely depressing, I will admit.

Beyond that, I don't know many famous historical disappearances. The only one I can think of that's old would have to be when Henry Hudson and a few members of his crew were set adrift on the Hudson Bay in a mutiny, and never seen again. There's also this list of people who disappeared mysteriously: List of people who disappeared mysteriously.
S'io credesse che mia risposta fosse
a persona che mai tornasse al mondo,
questa fiamma staria senza piu scosse.
Ma per ciò che giammai di questo fondo
non tornò vivo alcun, s'i' odo il vero,
senza tema d'infamia ti rispondo.

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Sun Apr 23, 2017 5:05 pm
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sheysse says...



Theodosia Burr Alston, Aaron Burr's daughter, sailed from South Carolina's coast, and the ship mysteriously disappeared without a trace, never to be found.
  





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Sun Apr 23, 2017 5:36 pm
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Wolfi says...



Dang, you guys are great. These stories are so fascinating! Thank you all!
John 14:27:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled
and do not be afraid.
  





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Sun Nov 26, 2017 3:40 pm
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JamesKidd says...



I don't know if you are still working on this, but I immediatly thought of Charles Nungesser and Francois Coli. Two French pilots who were the first to attempt crossing the Atlantic. They left France in 1927 in a white plane and were never seen or heard from again.
  





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Mon Nov 27, 2017 4:04 am
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Wolfi says...



@JamesKidd I certainly am! Thank you. They sound perfect.
John 14:27:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled
and do not be afraid.
  








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