Here Are All The Things That Set My Brain On Fire This Week
by Crystal Ro · BuzzFeedHi, friends! I'm Crystal, and I write the That Got Dark newsletter, BuzzFeed's weekly roundup of all things creepy, macabre, and horrible AF. And if you looooove this kind of content, you should subscribe!!!!!
Here's what the newsletter is covering this week:
Warning: Graphic content ahead, including stories of sexual assault and murder.
1. Did you know that between Dec. 31 and Jan. 2, the number of missing-person reports spikes dramatically?
According to police reports, the combination of holiday stress, travel, and increased alcohol consumption means people can disappear in unexplained ways. So, you know, keep that in mind as you go from party to party. Or, IDK, maybe just stay home and lock the doors until the ball drops. That’s always a good plan.
2. One of the most devastating crimes tied to New Year’s happened in the early hours of Jan. 1, 1994. Brandon Teena was a 21-year-old transgender man living in Falls City, Nebraska, when he was brutally raped and later murdered after two men discovered he was transgender.
Days before his death, Brandon reported the assault to police, but instead of being protected, he was met with invasive questioning and disbelief. On New Year’s Day, Brandon was killed along with two friends, Lisa Lambert and Phillip DeVine.
The case later exposed serious failures by law enforcement, particularly in how Brandon’s report of sexual assault was handled, leaving him unprotected in the days before his death. Brandon’s story would eventually reach wider public awareness through the Oscar-winning 1999 film Boys Don’t Cry.
3. When The Exorcist was released on Dec. 26, 1973, just days before the new year, audiences had no idea how deeply it would unsettle them. But by the time it reached theaters, the film already carried a reputation as one of the most notoriously troubled productions in Hollywood history.
During filming, a mysterious fire destroyed much of the MacNeil house set, forcing weeks-long delays. The only room left untouched was Regan’s bedroom, where many of the film’s most disturbing scenes were shot.
Several people connected to the production died during or shortly after filming, including actors Jack MacGowran and Vasiliki Maliaros, whose characters also die in the film. The string of accidents and deaths was unsettling enough that director William Friedkin reportedly had a priest bless the set — a fittingly grim footnote for a movie released during the final days of the year.
4. If you think peeking into the future is exciting, Scandinavian folklore would strongly disagree. Årsgång was a New Year’s ritual said to let you see what the coming year held…but only if you were willing to walk alone, in silence, through graveyards, crossroads, and abandoned churches.
What people claimed to see weren’t weddings or good fortune, but funerals, disasters, and the names of those who wouldn’t survive the year. The ritual was considered so dangerous that many believed attempting it could cost you your sanity, your luck, or your life — a reminder that sometimes the future is better left unseen.
5. Famous death anniversary: Ricky Nelson — Died: Dec. 31, 1985. Cause of Death: Plane crash.
Known as America’s first teen idol, Ricky Nelson was 45 years old when he died in a plane crash near De Kalb, Texas, on New Year’s Eve. He had been traveling to a New Year’s concert when the vintage Douglas DC-3 he was flying in caught fire midair and crashed, killing everyone on board.
An investigation later determined that the fire was likely caused by a malfunctioning cabin heater or faulty wiring, worsened by flammable materials inside the aircraft. Nelson died just hours before the new year began — a stark reminder that sometimes the countdown doesn’t reach zero for everyone.
6. Finally, the infamous story of serial killer Richard Ramirez.
Known as the “Night Stalker,” Ramirez terrorized California in the mid-1980s, carrying out a series of home-invasion murders that stretched across months — including the winter holiday season and into the new year. His crimes thrived on distraction and darkness, striking while families slept and routines were already disrupted.
Ramirez was eventually identified through fingerprints and eyewitness accounts. In August 1985, he was recognized in East Los Angeles, chased, and violently subdued by local residents before police arrived to arrest him. He was later convicted of 13 murders and numerous other crimes, becoming one of the most infamous serial killers in US history. Ramirez was sentenced to death but died on death row in 2013 from complications related to lymphoma before he could be executed.
Because he never made it to the execution chamber, Ramirez did not have a last meal in the traditional sense.
His last meal: Chicken cacciatore (eaten in hospital prior to death).
SEE MORE SERIAL KILLERS' LAST MEALS HERE
Do you have a dark or shocking story you want to share? Perhaps there’s a strange Wikipedia page you want to talk about? Tell me all about it at thatgotdark@buzzfeed.com, and who knows, maybe it’ll be featured in a future edition of That Got Dark!