Top 10 Weirdest People in History

There are over seven billion people on the planet. Amazingly, every one of us is unique, even though some embrace their uniqueness more than others.

Certain people outright defy convention, and (often but not always) we respect them for it. Although not necessarily our own choice of words, these people are sometimes labeled as unusual, strange, or weird.

Today, we’ll tell the stories of the top 10 weirdest people in history. These unique individuals have fascinating (and sometimes gruesome) tales to tell. Read on to find out more about them!

Top 10 Weirdest Human Beings

1. Anneliese Michel: The Girl Possessed by a Demon

First on our list of the top 10 weirdest people in history is Anneliese Michel.

Anneliese Michel was born in Bavaria, West Germany, during the 1960s. She was a deeply devout Catholic and regularly attended mass. However, when she turned 16, her life would take a dark turn.

Anneliese experienced strange blackouts, hallucinations, and seizures. After visiting the doctor, she was diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy. However, despite religiously taking her medications, the symptoms would not go away. Her mental disorder worsened.

She began telling people ‌she was seeing and hearing the devil. These demons allegedly told her ‌she was damned. Her unusual visions continued until she consulted with the church. Anneliese’s mother agreed to have a priest see her, and they performed an exorcism. Here’s where the story gets strange.

During the months the priest was helping her, Anneliese’s body began to deteriorate. Her knees shattered due to excessive praying, and she stopped eating and drinking. Eventually, she passed away in 1976 because of malnutrition and dehydration.

While this was ruled as a tragedy, most people think something supernatural caused her death.

2. Tran Van Hay: The Man With the Longest Hair in the World

Tran Van Hay gained international recognition for being the man with the longest hair in the world. According to his wife, Tran rarely washed his hair. His last haircut had been fifty years before his death.

While there has never been any evidence corroborating his supposedly tried-and-true techniques for hair growth, the length of his hair is proof enough.

Tran never got his hair officially measured and verified by the Guinness Book of World Records. However, he is widely considered the man with the longest hair in the world. Can you imagine growing your hair out for that long?

3. Carl Tanzler: The Grave Robbing Romantic

We all struggle to let go of the people we love, but Carl Tanzler took his devotion to an ungodly level. For this reason, he’s made our list of history’s weirdest people.

The Austrian-born physician lived a normal life until he fell head over heels for a young woman named Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos.

Maria met Tanzler in the hospital, where he became obsessed with her. Unfortunately, she passed away soon after.

Tanzler was devastated. After gaining her parents' blessing, he purchased an expensive mausoleum for Maria and visited her frequently.

However, mere visits were not enough for him, and he began having bizarre and illogical thoughts. Tanzler stole Maria’s corpse. Tanzler lived with Maria’s corpse for seven years before he was eventually discovered.

4. Francisco Domingo Joaquim: The Man With the Biggest Mouth In the World

Francisco Domingo Joaquim is the proud holder of the Guinness World Record for having the world's largest mouth. It’s a crazy talent that has landed the Angolan a spot on this list of the top 10 weirdest people in history!

Joaquim’s mouth measures 6.69 inches, unstretched. When stretched, he can fit anything from a soda can to a wallet inside.

His unusual ability to open his mouth so wide and stretch it in all directions stems from a connective tissue disorder.

5. Sadhu Amar Bharati: The Man Who Raised His Hands to the Heavens

Raising a hand to the heavens in prayer or frustration is common. But, Sadhu Amar Bharati took this to a new level.

Bharati experienced a spiritual awakening and dedicated his life to the Hindu god Shiva. What he did next has landed him a spot on the list of the top 10 weirdest people in history!

To prove his dedication, Bharati raised his right hand to the heavens as a salute to his god. He has never lowered it.

It was reported that Bharati experienced intense pain during the first two years because of his raised hand. But after a while, the pain subsided. Eventually, he lost all sensation in both his arm and hand.

Bharati’s beliefs and faith remain true to this day, and his arm remains firmly lifted to the sky.

6. Hetty Green: The Queen of Thriftiness

Despite being born into wealth and amassing a fortune as a female financier at a time when nearly all financiers were men, Hetty Green was known for being frugal.

In fact, her frugality was so astounding given her circumstances that the Guinness Book of Records named her “the greatest miser.”

It’s said that she never spent money on an office. Instead, she did business on the floor surrounded by papers in a seemingly relaxed work environment.

Hetty wouldn’t buy pricey clothes, wearing the same dress and undergarments until they fell apart. She also refused to pay for heating and wouldn’t turn on the hot water.

Unfortunately, not everyone in Hetty’s life got away unscathed. Her son reportedly had to have his leg amputated after his case became incurable while Hetty searched for a suitable free clinic.

Despite her eccentricities, Hetty also had a reputation for being a quiet philanthropist and a caregiver to her family.

7. Mehran Karimi Nasseri: The Man Who Lived in an Airport

Iranian-born Mehran Karimi Nasseri’s unusual story inspired The Terminal, starring Tom Hanks.

Nasseri lived in a departure lounge of the Charles de Gaulle Airport in France from August 1988 until July 2006 - that’s 18 years inside a terminal.

Nasseri’s unusual living conditions were allegedly the result of him losing his documents. However, the exact reasoning remains disputed.

Over the years, Nasseri used a few measures to survive - such as living off the kindness of strangers. He received food from airport staff and was regularly visited by reporters interested in his story.

8. Hiroo Onoda: The World War ll Soldier Who Wouldn’t Leave the Jungle

Hiroo Onoda was a Japanese soldier during World War II who survived on Lubang Island in the Philippines for nearly three decades.

At the end of the war, he didn’t believe the Japanese had surrendered and refused to leave his post at the holdout.

While he was living in the jungle, it is said that he still followed a strict military schedule.

There were attempts from various police officials to get Onoda to leave the jungle. However, he would only step down at the command of his superior, Major Yoshimi Taniguchi, when the Major arrived to deliver the order in-person

9. Sawney Bean: Legend of a Cannibal

Sawney Bean and his grim life have become the stuff of legend in Scotland. Some people are convinced his story is folklore, but others believe he existed.

Sawney Bean is said to have lived in the 15th or 16th centuries in seclusion with his family. Supposedly, he led his family to do some gruesome things. The worst was hunting people for their own consumption - talk about shocking eating habits.

The family captured their victims and took them back to a cave. Here, the bodies were dismembered and eaten.

It’s said that Sawney and his family attacked the wrong person during one of these hunts. Their supposed victim was highly skilled and fought them off. This led to the family being discovered and later executed for their gruesome crimes.

10. Adam Rainer: The Dwarf and the Giant

Adam Rainer has one of the most interesting genetic histories in the world. He is the only person in history to have lived with both dwarfism and gigantism.

Rainer was born in Austria and grew up with a dream of joining the army. Unfortunately, he was too short to join. At the time, he measured in at 4 ft 6 in.

Over time, due to a pituitary tumor, his height drastically increased. At the time of his surgery in the 1930s, Reiner measured 6 ft 9 in! While the surgery was meant to stop his growth, it proved unsuccessful.

Reiner’s spinal curvature became more severe as he grew. When he died in the 1960s, he measured 7 ft 8 in. His hands and feet also grew and measured 9.4 in. and 13.1 in., respectively.

Conclusion

The world is filled with amazing humans. Some may count them as bizarre people who have lived extraordinary lives. We hope you’ve loved reading our list of the top 10 weirdest people in history!

Besides the mentions on this list, you might find it interesting to read about Myrtle Corbin, Johnny Eck, or Violetta. Visit Phreeque.com for the latest scoop on all that is strange and wonderful in our world.