Eerie Photos And The Unknown Stories Behind Them                                  Fashionable ladies in France, 1908. 😘

Many photos of the past present everything prior to the modern era as stoic and well mannered. The photos collected here turn that concept on its head by showing some of the more candid moments from history that didn’t make it into the history books. Each new picture offers you the opportunity to see something real from the past rather than an oversaturated moment that’s been talked about ad nauseam.

This trip through the most intriguing moments in history will take you behind the scenes of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation, one of JFK’s pre-presidency vacations, and you’ll even get to see how Kiss rocker Gene Simmons is around kids. Prepare for adventure behind the scenes of history.

France has always been the focal point of fashion, and in the early 20th century the country was definitely flexing its style muscles with this gorgeous outfits. The early 1900s were known as  (the beautiful era) and every gal had an eye for being the most opulent creature to walk along the Siene.

During this time women wore a dense amount of frills, bustles, and any other kind of adornment that would put their outfit over the top and make them the most noticeable person in France. In order to get such extravagant outfits women traveled to Paris during March and September in order to find the perfect outfits in the city’s many shops. 

Jackie taking an early version of a selfie with Ethel, herself and John Kennedy in 1954. 📷🤳🏼

source: pinterest

Even though Ethel and Jackie married into the Kennedys within a few years of one another they look like they could sisters. The two met on Saint Patrick’s Day 1953 at one of Ethel’s annual parties, and throughout their tenure as stateswomen Ethel filled in for Jackie any time that she wasn’t feeling up to hosting in the White House.

This photo, taken only a year after, this look at one of America’s fairy tale families shows that they were just as quaint as any other family in the United States. However, there’s something about Jackie and John’s style that sets them apart, don’t you think?                                                                                                                                                                          A utility pole worker gives artificial respiration to a co-worker after electrical shock, the man survived. (1967)

While electricity powers our homes and pretty much every modern appliance that doesn’t mean that electricity is our friend. This photo of utility worker J.D. Thompson giving mouth-to-mouth to his co-worker Randall G. Champion was taken on July 17, 1967 by Rocco Morabito and became known as According to Thompson, the day this photo was taken was like any other until his co-worker grabbed a live wire on accident. He told NBC: 

He got a hold of the hot wire with his four fingers and [the electrical current] came out his – I think it was the left foot. And it blew a hole where it came out his foot.

Morabito, a newspaper photographer at the time, just happened to be in the area and had his camera on him. It’s a good thing he did because he won a Pulitzer Prize for his work.

A day of shopping in Los Angeles, 1960. (Photograph by Allan Grant. Colorized by Kostas Fiev.) 

Life in Los Angeles in the 1960s was a halcyon moment full of fun in the sun and days spent walking up and down the Sunset Strip in search of a good deal and a good time. At the time LA was experiencing a boom that was unprecedented for the era. The Dodgers had just moved to the city in 1958, and the town was growing at a remarkable pace, the city was a tree waiting to be picked.

It’s clear that some things never change in spite of the era. The sun is still a harsh mistress in Southern California, and friends are always going to have a great time on long, summer walks throughout the city. The only real question is where does someone find those shorts? They’re so groovy. 

Here's a young Prince Charles standing between his grandmother (The Queen Mother) and aunt (Princess Margaret) at his mother Queen Elizabeth's coronation in 1953. 👑

Born in 1948, Prince Charles has lead one of the most royal lives in the history of the monarchy. Not only was he born inside Buckingham Palace, but he was baptized in the Music Room of the palace by the Archbishop of Canterbury. He became the heir apparent and Duke of Cornwall in 1953 when his mother ascended to the throne, along with her sister Princess Margaret.

While that’s a lot to put on a young boy, it’s nothing compared to the spotlight that he had to deal with when it was announced that he’d be the first member of the Royal Family to attend school rather than learn from a private tutor. He later said of his schooling:

I am lucky in that I believe it taught me a great deal about myself and my own abilities and disabilities. It taught me to accept challenges and take the initiative.

Here's a pole climbing class for telephone electricians back in 1918. 👨🏼‍🔧

These students from the Army Training Corps at the University of Michigan are learning how to climb telephone poles, which isn’t really a life skill that many people think about but it makes sense that there would be a class for something as important as climbing phone poles.

These students were learning how to climb poles and repair phone lines at the tail  a time when it was important for people to be knowledgeable about setting up phone lines as well as making sure methods of communication could stay open. How long do you think these students were posing? 

A Sikkimese woman carrying a British man on her back, West Bengal, India, circa 1900.

From 1858 to 1947  making the entire country a part of the British kingdom. Many British colonials moved to the jewel of England and made lives for themselves. They got married, had kids, and even stayed long after England disconnected themselves from India. At the time of the take over, the British Empire believed that they were spreading liberty.

Obviously, there were many drawbacks to British imperialism, specifically the way the Victorian era men treated the natives. Even though England and India separated in ’47, the two countries still have a tense relationship - which is understandable after nearly 100 years of acrimony. 

Pasta drying out on the racks outside of a pasta shop in Palermo, Italy. (1865) 🍝🍷

It’s an understatement to say that and income. Long before pasta was mass produced in factories it was made by hand and dried out in the open. Even though it was (and still is) incredibly inexpensive to manufacture, pasta was a part of everyone’s diet - not just the poorer sects of the country.

One of the reasons that pasta was so popular in Italy was because of the country’s strict Catholic beliefs that forbid meat on certain days. Pasta became the perfect dish when Italians were looking for something filling but that wasn’t going to get them in trouble.                                                                                                                           13 year-old Melanie Griffith at home with her family pet Neil the lion in 1971. 🐾

Before she starred in the movie Working Girl with Harrison Ford, she was living with her superstar mother and her pet lion “Neil.” After Griffith’s mother - Tippi Hedren - made a film about big cats in the 1970s, she was encouraged to take a lion home with her, something that’s hard to imagine happening today. 

Photos from the time show that Neil lived like a member of the family. He slept under the blankets with Griffith and lounged around the living room with Hedron. Even though no one was hurt Griffith later said that owning a lion was “stupid beyond belief.”                                                                                                                                   The house where Edgar Allan Poe wrote the Raven in 1844, near the current day intersection of West 84th Street and Broadway in New York City. 

Could  have written “The Raven” in any other house? The gothic structure certainly looks like it’s ready house a spooky author, and while he was authoring the poem in this house his then wife and mother-in-law were living in a farmhouse owned by Patrick Brennan. It’s likely that Poe needed the space to work out his ideas about language and logic that fills the piece.

The house has since been demolished, and where it once stood only sits a plaque that lets passers by know of the location of the literary landmark. It seems that any ravens looking to escape a midnight dreary will have to go rap tap tapping on a different chamber door. 

Mary Wallace was the first female bus driver for Chicago Transit Authority in 1974. 🚍👩🏾‍💼

It wasn’t easy to become the first female bus driver for the  According to Mary Wallace, she had to essentially berate the CTA into hiring her. In spite of their excuses she finally got the job and looked cool doing it. She said          I used to work for the Planning & Placement Center when I was going to college, and we had job orders for CTA bus drivers. So I decided I wanted to check this out for myself, and I did. I went for three years, and they kept saying no, we can’t hire women, we don’t have facilities for women, so you have to do something else. I said I don’t want to do something else. I want to drive a bus. After three years of harassing them, they finally sent me a letter saying they would consider (not saying hire) me. They wanted me to come down and take some test, and I did not hear from them for about three or four months, and then I got a another letter saying I would be hired as a driver. After that, the rest is history.                                                                                       

A 6-year-old Michelle Obama, 1970.

Long before she was the  nee Robinson was growing up in a South Shore bungalow in Chicago, Illinois. Her father was a city-pump operator, and while that didn’t afford the family a lot of money, it was enough money for the Robinson family to survive. Everyone in the Robinson family, but especially the Michelle was intelligent, and she ended up skipping the second grade before studying French and biology.

Growing up, Robinson’s father fought through multiple sclerosis, something that inspired her to focus on her studies and stay out of trouble. She went on to study at Chicago’s first magnet school before moving onto Princeton. 

A couple posing for the camera in the 1860s. 📷

Taking a photo in 1860 was nothing like snapping a quick pic on a smart phone today. Photographers couldn’t just pull up portrait mode and start clicking, they had to set up a camera’s aperture and exposure in order to perfectly capture their subjects. The long exposure time that it took to take the photo made it impossible for people to smile - if they did everything would come out blurry.

Early photo technology explains why this couple looks so dour in their photo. It’s likely that they were told to sit still in these positions for as long as necessary to capture the photo. 

This divorced couple was ordered to divide up their Beanie Babies collection, valued between $2500 to $5000

Regardless of which ‘90s craze spoke to you the most, inspired the most rabid fandom of them all. Collectors hoarded their gaggle of stuffed animals, increasing the bubble until the prices on these pieces were astronomical. After this Las Vegas couple separated they went to court over their Beanie Baby collection.

According to the Huffington Post, the duo couldn’t agree over who got which Beanies in the nearly $5,000 collection. The collection had to spread out on the floor and divided one by one by Family Court Judge Hardcastle. Hopefully the couple were able to sell their collection before the bubble burst. 

A Himalayan tahr is a type of wild goat found climbing mountain slopes, in mountain forests and alpine pastures around the Himalayas in Tibet, India and Nepal.

If you’re traveling through  some time soon you’ll notice a wizened old goat sitting atop a mountain - that’s a Himalayan tahr. While these creatures are similar to goats that can be found in America, they have shorter legs, smaller heads, and they live at a higher elevation in order to avoid predators.

This species of tahr can weigh up to 200 pounds. They’re a relatively peaceful creature, and they do most of their feeding and moving near dusk or sunrise in order to stay out of the way of animals that might want to put tahr on the menu. 

Cute photo of Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher from 1959.

It’s not rare that a 

  However, it’s not every day that a relationship like this plays out across the tabloids. Fisher was open about her tense relationship with her mother during her formative years, telling Oprah:Whether or not you believe in ghosts you have to admit that this photo is very spooky. While traveling through Paris in the late ‘90s singer-songwriter Tom Petty snapped this photo of journalist Brett Meisner, and supposedly the strange image in the background is none other than the spirit of . When Meisner saw the photo he was understandably upset. He                                

Much like their western counterparts in West Virginia, the miners would descend into the mines for a long and dangerous day of work before returning above ground to wash off and get ready to do it all over again. 

Coco Chanel, 1910. 😘

Born in 1883, in France,- was different from what many of the people who wore her fashions could imagine. Rather than grow up in a lavish estate or in the heart of Paris’ fashion world, Chanel was raised in an orphanage after her mother died at the age of 12. She was abandoned by her father who either couldn’t or didn’t want to take care of her.

Chanel was taught to sew by the nuns who raised her, something that would come in handy for the rest of her life. Before she turned to fashion, Chanel briefly worked as a night club singer in Vichy and Moulins were she was referred to as “Coco.” She opened her first shop on Paris’s Rue Cambon in 1910 where she sold hats. By the 1920s she was in international superstar.

Little girl walking with penguins- the zoo director let the penguins walk through the city in order to attract people to the zoo in Edinburgh, Scotland. (1950)

How do you get people to visit your zoo? By, of course. According to Lynda Burrill, the Animal registrar and former bird keeper for the zoo, the penguin escape wasn’t exactly meant to boost business, but once the tuxedoed birds started waddling through the Edinburgh streets the zoo didn’t exactly go out of their way to stop them.

The penguins actually received a police escort through the city to make sure that the birds were minding their business and that the locals weren’t feeding them too much fried food. What a day for these peculiar birds. 

Gene Simmons hanging out with young KISS fans in the 1970s. 🆒 

While in New York, they weren’t an international sensation until the release of “Alive!” in 1975. The landmark live album strapped a rocket to the band, turning them into the most recognizable group in the world. While many of their songs were about partying hard and rock n’ roll, their theatrical look attracted gobs of young fans.

Kiss fans young and old have always been total die hards for the group, so it must have been a thrill to see Gene “The Demon” Simmons up close and personal. Hopefully he didn’t try to breathe fire during this appearance. 

Known for its loyalty, the Giant Tibetan Mastiff was bred primarily as a livestock guardian dog.

Now this is a fluffy little pup. Or rather, a big fluffy pup. This massive dog breed was created in Tibet centuries ago to be used as The males of the species can grow up to three feet in height and they can weigh up to 160 pounds - imagine that jumping on your lap after a long day at work. Ouch.

Tibetan mastiffs are still bred today and while they’re still guarding livestock, they’ve also been domesticated and can be found in just as many homes. They sure look like they’re fun to cuddle with, but when it comes to bathing them that’s going to be a hard pass. 

McDonald's in 1974. 

Imagine and spending less than five dollars on a meal. Back in 1974 that dream was a reality. A hungry diner could pop into a Mickey Ds and dump out the change in their pockets for something tasty.

McDonalds got its start in the late ’40 when it was started by the McDonald brothers, but after they were bought out by Ray Krock in 1961 the company went global and began serving burgers internationally. By the 1970s there were more than 40,000 restaurants across the world. In 1974 McDonalds was still specifically a lunch and dinner fast food restaurant, but all of that would change one year later with the introduction of the Egg McMuffin.                                                                                                                                                                            

Kiowa girl with a lovely smile in 1894. 👩🏽😃

When you think of living in teepees and hunting bison, you're thinking of the Kiowa. By the early 19th century the Kiowa people were living full time in the Great Plains after generations of traveling from the states like Colorado and western Montana. The name Kiowa is believed to be a take on the group’s name for themselves, the Kai-i-gwu, which means “principal people.”

They were definitely an important group in the social structure of indigenous people, specifically when it came to forming relationships with tribes that have gone down in history for being aggressive. The Kiowa were close friends with the Comanche, Arapaho, and Southern Cheyenne, and since the late 1800s they’ve shared reservation space with the Comanche                                                                                                                                                  Four generations in this family photo from New Guinea, 1970. 📷

Even though westerners have been since the late 19th century, with Italian naturalist and explorer Luigi Maria d'Albertis leading the way, there’s still so much that remains a mystery about the tribes in the area. Many tribespeople in the area believe that outsiders bring evil spirits along with them, so it’s a wonder that these four generations of men would allow themselves to be photographed.

The tribespeople of New Guinea still hunt with bows and arrows, and their practices are passed down from generation to generation, and they’re not afraid to point their weapons at outsiders who’ve yet to establish themselves as peaceful people