On February 25, 1957, police discovered a cardboard box that had been dumped off

the side of a country road near Philadelphia, PA. Inside the box, which had once
contained a bassinet purchased from J.C. Penney, officers found the nude body of a
young boy, partially wrapped in an inexpensive flannel blanket.
The child's body was covered in bruises, and a medical examiner later concluded the
boy had died after sustaining multiple blows to the head. Detectives unsuccessfully
tried to identify the child, whom the media eventually named "the Boy in the Box” and
“America's Unknown Child.” Investigators surmised someone had cut off most of the
child's light brown hair around the time of his death. When they discovered the boy,
tufts of his own hair were stuck to his body; however, according to the medical
examiner, the person who cut the boy's hair had done so in a rushed and haphazard
manner.

Reportedly, there were four distinct bruises on the child's forehead, as well as signs
of a cerebral hemorrhage. Law enforcement then theorized the cause of death may
have been accidental. Whoever trimmed his hair with clippers could have
inadvertently applied too much pressure while holding the child's head in place.

A Philadelphia barber came forward soon after to say he was certain he'd cut the
child's hair approximately one week prior to police finding the boy. The barber
maintained the boy had come into his shop with his older brother and left unharmed.
The barber then directed authorities to the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood near
Fairmount Park, which was where he claimed the boy lived. Investigators followed
the lead but made no further discoveries. Doctors who examined the unidentified
boy discovered many signs of prolonged abuse. With the help of X-rays, a doctor
determined the child had probably been between 3 and 5 years old when he died, but
he weighed just 30 pounds and stood at only 40.5 inches tall. According to a medical
examiner, the boy had the body of a child who was just over 2 years old, and the X-
rays showed evidence of "arrested growth."The child's body was covered in bruises,
his lips were dry and bloody, and he was so emaciated, his ribs showed through his
skin. Examiners also found evidence the child may have had an eye infection that
was treated with medication prior to his death.The medical examiner was unable to
pinpoint his exact time of death, saying it could have occurred days or weeks before
the discovery.
We all love a good spooky story, and nothing quite hits the spot like the tragic tale of
a ghost ship. There’s just something about these mighty yet small and vulnerable
vessels, adrift on a boundless ocean. The chilling story of the S.S. Ourang Medan
is as fanciful as Blackbeard’s headless body supposedly swimming around his ship
before sinking beneath the depths. Despite the intrigue, it’s a mystery that’s gone
unsolved to this day!

This seemingly impossible event is said to have taken place in the 1940s—the
precise year tends to vary from source to source. According to the story, the
S.S. Ourang Medan, a Dutch vessel, was passing through the Strait of Malacca when
it ran afoul of a mysterious tragedy. Nearby ships reported receiving a horrifying
distress call. “All officers including captain dead, lying in chartroom and on bridge,
probably whole crew dead,” it stated. Then there was an unintelligible frenzy of Morse
code. The radio operator had the final word: “I die.”

Rescuers who boarded the vessel, it’s said, found the stricken ship just as
described. The crew was indeed dead, their bodies strewn across the decks. Not
only that, but they were found “teeth bared, with their upturned faces to the sun,
staring, as if in fear…” Even the ship’s dog was dead, frozen in this ghastly state, mid-
growl at an assailant or horror unknown!

That’s just the start of the mystery of the OurangMedan. Reports go on to suggest
that, shortly after the ship was boarded, a fire broke out in its bowels, forcing those
who had arrived to this grisly tableau to evacuate. Shortly after they did, the ship
exploded with such force that it was lifted out of the ocean, before quickly sinking
without a trace.

Naturally, this leaves us with not one but two incredible mysteries to ponder: what
caused the mass demise of the Ourang Medan’s crew, and what caused the
subsequent explosion? We’re getting ahead of ourselves, though, because there’s
one more thing to consider: Officially, the ship may never have existed.