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Taken in 1917 at Tsarskoye Selo, outside St. Petersburg, this is the only known color photo of the original Amber Room.
nazis

The Enduring Mystery of the Amber Room, Coveted by Tsars, Nazis, and Treasure Hunters

Crafted from amber and gold, it enthralled all who saw it. Then, near the end of World War II, it disappeared.
Stefan Bachmann and April Genevieve Tucholke February 14, 2024
The deep, loud mating calls of black drum fish may be the source of mysterious sounds keeping residents up at night in Tampa Bay, Florida.
science

Could Fish Sex Be Keeping Floridians Up at Night?

The mating calls of black drum fish might be the source of Tampa's mysterious thumping bass.
Roxanne Hoorn February 2, 2024
Valletta, Malta

Mysterium Fidei

After 400 years of being closed to the public, this monastery's underground tunnels and secret garden are now a museum.
Singapore

The Singapore Stone

An undeciphered text is inscribed on a mysterious stone slab.
The ornate Guttmann Mouse Helmet, seen from the rear, includes depictions of what scholars believe are two mice and loaves of bread.
objects of intrigue

For Sale: A Mouse-Infested Roman Helmet That's Stumping Historians

Are the mysterious mice adorning this 1,800-year-old helmet part of an ancient joke?
Roxanne Hoorn January 31, 2024
The "Point Reyes", a vessel known locally as the Inverness Shipwreck in Tomales Bay north of San Francisco.
meteorites

Wonder Is Everywhere: The Cosmic Dust Curator, a Secret Ancient Forest, and More From Around the Web

Get a peek into what we’re obsessed with right now.
April White January 19, 2024
Alet-les-Bains, France

L'église de Saint-Salvayre

This mysterious church sits discreetly above the Aude countryside, right in the heart of "Grail Country."
No one has ever solved the mystery of the Bell Witch.
witchcraft

2023 Was a Year Full of Mysteries

Our favorite tales of puzzles and perplexities.
Diana Hubbell December 29, 2023
Over time water has a way of turning wrecks into otherworldly archaeological sites.
ships

The Year in Wrecks, Lost Ships, and Underwater Discoveries

From unexpected treasure in Ukraine to a unique relic of the American Revolution, Captain Santa’s lost ship to digital dugouts.
Gemma Tarlach December 27, 2023
Tokyo, Japan

Ghost Buddha

The origin of this bizarre, ghostly idol is a local mystery, even to the temple it calls home.
Boston, Massachusetts

Charles River Esplanade Pi Plaque

Dedicated to the neverending mathematical constant, this plaque next to a park bench was sponsored by an anonymous benefactor.
Jacopo Guarana’s fresco ‘Concert of the Putte’ (1776-77).
music

The Lost Aria Rediscovered in Venice's Ospedaletto After 250 Years

A fresco at the historic refuge leads a musicologist to a composition not heard for centuries—and the determined young women who once performed it.
Marica S. Tacconi December 11, 2023
A popular tourist destination since becoming a filming location for Game of Thrones, The Dark Hedges is a road enveloped by beech trees in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
floods

Wonder Is Everywhere: Avian Love, Medieval Myths, and More From Around the Web

Get a peek into what we’re obsessed with right now.
April White December 8, 2023
A fast gift doesn't have to be a sloppy gift.
victorian

Last-Minute Gifts for Curious People

It’s never too late to inspire fascination about the world.
Danielle Hallock December 7, 2023
Newfoundland, known for its thick fog and beautifully stark landscape, seems a fitting locale for the mysterious 'Isle of Demons,' said to exist just off Newfoundland's northern tip.
lighthouses

The Phantom Island That Haunted 16th-Century Newfoundland

The ‘Isle of Demons' was said to be overrun with ghosts and ghouls.
Shoshi Parks December 7, 2023
Herds of glacier mice, which are actually moss balls, move in concert across the ice.
science

Herds of Mysterious ‘Glacier Mice’ Baffle Scientists

These moss balls move in unison, and researchers are okay with not knowing why.
Roxanne Hoorn December 7, 2023
Following the introduction of chemical weapons in World War I and into the World War II era, concerns about unseen dangers spread to the homefront.
poison

Airing Out the Mystery of the Mad Gasser of Mattoon

What a strange spate of "gas attacks" tells us about what was really lurking in mid-century America.
Colin Dickey December 4, 2023
This year, celebrate the Icelandic <em>Jólabókaflóðið</em>, which means “Christmas book flood.”
mystery

Bookish Gifts for Literature Lovers

A giving guide from the Atlas Obscura team.
Gemma Tarlach November 27, 2023