Valentine's Day is supposed to be a time for romance, love and bonding between partners. However, for many in life it has been a time of suffering and death.
If your romantic plans didn't go the way you expected, be glad you weren't a part of either of these stories.
Valentine's Day massacre
One of the worst massacres ever to occur on this romantic day was in Chicago, 1929.
Chicago in the 1920s was a time of ruthless, bloody murder. The rise of Al Capone (Scarface) had seen enormous amounts of violence spread between the mafia gangs of the time, with one year reaching a death toll of up to 64 people.
Does mass murder factor into your annual Valentine's Day plans?
Capone was an enemy of an Irish mobster known as George 'Bugs' Moran. On Valentine's Day of 1929, the infamous criminal leader decided he'd had enough of Bugs, and sent a group of hit men to take him out. The attackers dressed as policemen, pretended to arrest Moran's men, lined them up against a wall and gunned them down. Seven gangsters were killed in the slaughter, though Bugs himself wasn't there by sheer fortune.
Picnic at Hanging Rock
One of Australia's biggest mysteries is whether or not the popular novel Picnic at Hanging Rock, by Joan Lindsay, is fact or fiction.
The story goes that a group of students ventured out to Hanging Rock, Victoria, with their teacher for a quiet picnic in the sun. It was Valentine's Day, 1900.
A mysterious presence calls to them, and four of the group - including the teacher - begin climbing a hill to investigate. No one is sure what happens after that point, as only one of the girls returned from the expedition, though too traumatized to talk about what happened.
The teacher and the other two students were never seen again. Or so the story says.
If you'd like to witness some strange, unexplainable mysteries of your own, book a ghost tour in Victoria tonight.
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