Prepare for nightmare fuel. For this list, we’ll be examining the most disturbing videos that take on a whole new level of scariness due to their unsettling backstories.
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00:00 "Look at that. These are just the ones that have gone in close up. I did close ups of them."
00:07 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at 10 scary videos that have haunting backstories.
00:12 "The shooting was captured on surveillance camera,
00:14 but the gunman has yet to be caught or even identified."
00:18 For this list, we'll be examining the most disturbing videos that take on a whole new
00:21 level of scariness due to their unsettling backstories. Which of these clips freaked
00:25 you out the most? Let us know in the comments.
00:28 Elisa Lam Elevator Footage
00:30 In 2013, Canadian student Elisa Lam disappeared while staying at the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles.
00:35 Police investigation turned up surveillance footage that showed Lam getting into the
00:39 hotel's elevator on the day of her disappearance. "This, take a look, is 21-year-old Elisa Lam
00:44 riding an elevator at the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles. So she peers out the doors,
00:49 runs back in, and then presses several buttons." In the clip, Lam appears to be speaking with an
00:54 unseen individual. She presses multiple buttons on the panel and at one point hides in a corner
00:58 of the elevator. Online sleuths jumped on the video, attempting to analyze Lam's bizarre behavior,
01:03 especially considering the Cecil Hotel's notorious reputation. "But as downtown LA descended into
01:09 crime in the 80s, so did the guests, like serial killer Richard Ramirez, the night stalker,
01:15 who killed 13 people as he lived on the 14th floor." Sadly, Lam's body was found in one of
01:20 the hotel's water tanks nearly three weeks after this footage was recorded. Although her death was
01:25 ruled an accidental drowning, many still believe there was some foul play behind it. "This is what
01:30 it looks like at the Cecil Hotel in LA. You can see officials surrounding a water tank. This morning,
01:35 someone complained about the water pressure at the hotel. When a worker went to investigate,
01:39 he found the body inside." Doorbell camera captures woman's screams. Residents of a
01:44 Leimert Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, California were rattled by a woman's terrifying
01:49 screams on the night of November 12, 2019. "The car was right here. The car was right here,
01:53 parked right here. Parked right here. The butt of the car was right here. The front of the car was
01:57 in the street. She looked like she was trying to get out once she'd seen us." A doorbell camera
02:01 from one of the houses captured the unknown woman yelling out for help in the distance.
02:05 Also caught in the footage was the voice of a man apologizing. Moments later, a white car believed
02:10 to be carrying the unidentified man and woman speeds down the street right in front of the
02:14 house from which the footage was recorded. "I heard a scream and I just ran out to see if anyone
02:19 was okay. And I saw a car and I heard a girl screaming for help. And the guy was telling her
02:25 like, 'Oh, I'm sorry. I told you I'm sorry.' And then he kind of just drove off." Police,
02:29 believing it to be a possible kidnapping, launched an investigation into the case.
02:33 Perhaps most haunting is the fact that the identity and whereabouts of the woman appear
02:37 to still be unknown. "Police now are looking for that car, but also the woman who may be missing
02:42 from the neighborhood." Sandeep Natwani drags ailing mother upstairs. This clip was recorded
02:48 by a CCTV camera in a residential complex in Rajkot, India. It shows a man dragging an older
02:53 woman up a flight of stairs. "A CCTV footage has been released by police in Rajkot, where a man is
02:59 seen trying to throw his mother from the fourth floor of his apartment." A short while later,
03:04 the man returns to the apartment, this time without the lady. The woman, 64-year-old J.
03:08 Shree Natwani, was found dead shortly after, apparently having fallen off the terrace of the
03:12 building. Her son Sandeep, an assistant professor who is the man in the footage, claimed that she
03:17 had taken her own life by jumping off the terrace. "Accused Sandeep Natwani initially informed the
03:22 police about his mother falling from the apartment terrace accidentally." However, this video seemed
03:28 to contradict those claims. Sandeep was arrested and interrogated by police, upon which he confessed
03:33 to ending his own mother's life, as he was fed up with her ailing condition. "Later, after analyzing
03:37 the CCTV footage of the apartment, the police found that Natwani was assisting his mother to
03:43 the top floor." The final moments of Colleen Ritzer
03:46 On October 22, 2013, high school teacher Colleen Ritzer was murdered in the bathroom of Danvers
03:52 High School in Massachusetts, where she worked. "Students say Ritzer, who was only 24,
03:56 was beloved by students for her passion for math and her commitment to help each and every student."
04:02 That afternoon, she was captured on tape leaving her classroom and heading towards the restroom.
04:06 Moments later, she was followed by one of her students and eventual killer, Philip Chisholm.
04:10 "Can you recognize that to be Colleen Ritzer?" "Yes."
04:13 "Can you recognize that to be Philip Chisholm?" "Yes."
04:20 Chisholm can be seen hesitating at first, but then he pulls his hood over his head,
04:24 and later wears a pair of gloves before going after his teacher. After committing the crime,
04:28 Chisholm changes his clothes, wears a mask, and drags a barrel across the hallway,
04:32 apparently containing Ritzer's body. He was later arrested and convicted of Ritzer's murder,
04:36 which earned him at least 40 years in prison. "Her killer, Philip Chisholm,
04:40 stood silent as the judge sentenced him to life in prison."
04:43 The Trinity Test The first time a nuclear bomb
04:46 was ever detonated was on July 16, 1945, in New Mexico. Dubbed the Trinity Test, the event was
04:52 carried out by the U.S. as part of the Manhattan Project, which sought to develop the first nuclear
04:56 weapons. The videotaped recording of this test showcased the terrifying power of the nuclear
05:01 bomb. Once detonated, the explosion produced a blinding flash followed by a massive mushroom
05:06 cloud that reached over seven miles in height. The project was initiated due to fears that the
05:10 Nazis might develop nuclear weapons first, and this test became a precursor to the bombings of
05:15 Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which left an estimated 129,000 to 226,000 dead.
05:22 "I realize the tragic significance of the atomic bomb. Having found the atomic bomb,
05:29 we have used it." Rajay Sharif Black's Haunting Facebook Live
05:33 On December 11, 2021, 44-year-old Rajay Sharif Black went on Facebook to confess
05:38 to a horrendous crime. "I would be doing this, but I gotta make it quick."
05:42 The session starts off pretty normal, with Black talking about the strained relationship
05:46 with his ex-wife and the bitter custody battle they had been engaged in.
05:49 "Online records in Howard County Circuit Court show a hearing in the custody case
05:54 slated for next month, and nearly four years of accusations lodged across dozens and dozens of
06:01 filings." He then reveals that he had just taken the life of his ex-girlfriend and was about to do
06:05 the same to his former wife, Wendy, and then himself. According to reports, Black had mental
06:09 health issues and was alleged to have been violent towards Wendy during their marriage.
06:12 The divorced couple were found dead by law enforcement shortly after. Police also found
06:17 their kids alive and well inside Black's car parked outside the house. "Police Commissioner
06:21 Michael Harrison and Mayor Brandon Scott were at the Federal Hills scene today. They both
06:26 condemned what happened and said disputes like these should never end in violence."
06:31 The murder of Elizabeth Barraza
06:33 Early in the morning of January 25, 2019, Elizabeth Barraza was standing in the driveway
06:38 outside her Tomball, Texas, home when she was murdered in cold blood.
06:42 "But investigators have found no reason why someone would want to kill the popular young woman."
06:48 "I don't think that the person that shot her is the one that wanted her dead."
06:55 Barraza was setting up for an impromptu garage sale in order to fund an anniversary trip for
07:00 her and her husband. Moments after her husband had driven out to work, a neighbor's doorbell
07:04 camera showed an unknown individual walk up to Barraza and shoot her.
07:07 "Surveillance video captures a Nissan Frontier four-door truck pull up. A person wearing go-go
07:14 boots, a muumuu dress, and a wig walks up to Barraza. After she says good morning,
07:19 the person fires four shots."
07:22 The killer then ran back to their car and sped off. Police believe that the same car
07:26 returned to the scene later, seemingly to ensure their mission was accomplished.
07:29 Even with the sizable reward put out by the Barraza family,
07:32 her killer still remains on the loose.
07:34 "There is a $50,000 reward at Crime Stoppers, and that's money this family has helped raise.
07:41 They told us tonight they want to see this reward paid out."
07:45 Long Island Missing Persons Shrine
07:47 A regular hike in the woods took an extremely disturbing turn for one New York man. While
07:51 walking through the Berkeley-Jackson County Park, James Rankin stumbled upon what could
07:55 easily pass for a horror movie scene. "What the f*** is going on in here?"
08:00 In what appeared to be a rudimentary camp, someone had hung up several missing person
08:03 posters of real-life cases. The hiker made a video of the strange sight, which went viral
08:08 on Facebook. "These are all different f***ing people, and they're all just…"
08:11 Rankin also forwarded his findings to the police, who investigated the case and reportedly concluded
08:17 that they were just decorations for a holiday party. But with the decorations having been up
08:21 long before Halloween, Rankin, as well as many online spectators, believed there could be a
08:25 more sinister agenda at play. "You know, what's this one? Tim.
08:31 Hamilton Police, um, 2013."
08:37 Mr. Fritz the Doll
08:38 Dolls can either be fun toys for kids to play with or really creepy creations that can give
08:43 you nightmares. This one definitely falls into the latter category, known as Mr. Fritz the Doll.
08:47 This figure was filmed in the home of its owner after they'd noticed some strange occurrences.
08:51 In the clip, the doll can reportedly be seen blinking and moving its mouth. Also,
08:59 the cabinet in which it sits opens and closes seemingly without any aid.
09:02 While the video's creepy on its own, the doll's unsettling history makes it even worse. Apparently,
09:11 Mr. Fritz was made by an American prisoner in a Nazi camp during World War II. Who knows what
09:16 despicable things its eyes have seen?
09:18 Cholino Sanchez's Death Note
09:39 After years of selling his music out of his trunk, Cholino Sanchez rose to become the voice of
09:44 narco-codido music. Sanchez had a particularly violent life, which culminated in his tragic
09:56 murder on May 16, 1992. The night before, Sanchez performed to a packed audience at the Salón
10:01 Buganvillas in Culeacán, Mexico. During his set, which was recorded on tape, someone handed the
10:06 singer a mysterious note, widely believed to have contained a death threat.
10:09 Cholino Sanchez's Death Note
10:16 In the video, Sanchez reads the note and is immediately uneasy. He,
10:20 however, crumples it and proceeds with his show.
10:22 Hours later, Sanchez was abducted by a group of armed men claiming to be police officers.
10:33 His body was found by an irrigation canal the next morning.
10:36 Cholino Sanchez's Death Note