What Happened in China's So-Called Death Village?

TL;DR

Luoan Village became known as China’s so-called death village after destructive fires and a sharp rise in deaths frightened residents, although investigators found no shared cause and attributed the deaths to common illnesses or old age. The collection also recounts Lee Eps’s apparent final phone call and an unexplained Connecticut death, so read on for the evidence behind all three mysteries.

Transcript

Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. And today I'm going to share three stories that all demonstrate that. But before we get into today's stories, if you're a fan of the strange, dark, and mysterious delivered in story format, then you've come to the right place because that's all we do. And we upload two, three, even four times a week. So... Read More

Key Insights

• Ethel Harris received Lee Eps’s call at 10:30 p.m. on October 26, 1968, after noticing that the hour was unusually late for someone to contact her. Lee immediately delivered a troubling message instead of having their customary conversation.
• Lee Eps was a longtime friend of Ethel and Don Harris who had lived beside them for decades. Although he later moved to another town, the three remained close, met periodically, and maintained contact through Lee’s regular telephone calls.
• Lee’s message was that he felt extremely unwell, had never experienced that feeling before, and needed Don to contact him upon returning. Ethel was especially confused because Lee somehow appeared to know that Don was away from the house.
• Ethel and Don learned at Mercy Hospital that Lee had died at precisely 10:30 p.m., the same time Ethel said she received his call. They could not prove an explanation but believed Lee’s spirit had tried to reach Don before passing away.
• Luoan Village was once a picturesque, tight-knit rural Chinese community of more than a hundred people. Two enormous fires caused by faulty wiring later destroyed homes, businesses, and historic buildings, leaving charred ruins that had not been rebuilt three years afterward.
• Luoan Village experienced a sharp rise in mortality after the fires, causing residents to suspect an unseen illness or curse. The number of deaths became concerning enough for disease-control investigators to conduct a full investigation into whether the cases shared a cause.
• Investigators concluded that the village deaths were unrelated and resulted from common illnesses or old age. Residents such as Maqing Mao remained unconvinced, interpreting the fires and concentrated deaths as evidence that their community had become cursed.
• The three-story collection connects different unexplained events: an apparent call coinciding with a friend’s death, a Chinese village beset by fires and sudden mortality, and a mysterious death in a wealthy Connecticut residence under the segment title "The Hand."

Questions & Answers

Q: What happened in China’s so-called death village?

Luoan Village suffered two enormous fires caused by faulty wiring, followed by a sharp rise in deaths. Residents feared an illness or curse, but investigators found no connection among the deaths and attributed them to common illnesses or old age.

Q: Why did Luoan Village residents believe their community was cursed?

Residents connected the increased mortality with two enormous fires that had destroyed homes, businesses, and historic buildings. Some, including Maqing Mao, found the concentration of disasters and deaths too troubling to dismiss as coincidence.

Q: What did investigators conclude about the deaths in Luoan Village?

Disease-control investigators concluded that the deaths were unrelated. They found no shared plague or other single cause, instead attributing the deaths to common illnesses or old age.

Q: What caused the destructive fires in Luoan Village?

The two enormous fires were attributed to faulty wiring. They destroyed homes, businesses, and historic buildings, and the charred ruins had still not been rebuilt three years later.

Q: What did Lee Eps say during his final phone call?

Lee told Ethel Harris that he felt very bad and had never felt that way before. He asked her husband, Don, to contact him as soon as Don returned, then ended the call.

Q: Why was Lee Eps’s phone call considered impossible?

Ethel received the call at 10:30 p.m., but Mercy Hospital staff said Lee died at precisely 10:30 p.m. Ethel and Don could not prove an explanation, but they believed Lee’s spirit had tried to reach his best friend.

Q: How did Ethel and Don Harris discover that Lee Eps had died?

After Lee failed to answer repeated return calls, Ethel and Don drove to his home and asked neighbors where he was. A neighbor directed them to Mercy Hospital, where they learned that Lee had died.

Q: What are the three unexplained stories presented in the collection?

The collection covers Lee Eps’s apparent final phone call, the fires and sudden deaths in Luoan Village, and an unexplained death in a wealthy Connecticut home. The stories are presented as cases in which truth appears stranger than fiction.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Definition: Luoan Village became feared as a death village after devastating fires and a sharp rise in mortality.

• Compare: Residents suspected a curse, while investigators attributed the deaths to unrelated common illnesses or old age.

• Tool: Disease-control investigators conducted a full investigation to determine whether the village deaths shared a cause.

• Definition: Faulty wiring caused the fires that destroyed homes, businesses, and historic buildings in Luoan Village.

• Number: The collection presents three stories framed as cases where truth appears stranger than fiction.

• Who: Ethel Harris was a 72-year-old woman living in Toledo, Ohio.

• Who: Lee Eps was Don Harris’s 59-year-old best friend and a longtime friend of the couple.

• When: Lee called Ethel at 10:30 p.m. on October 26th, 1968.

• Definition: Lee said he felt unlike he ever had before and asked Don to contact him after returning.

• Compare: Mercy Hospital reported Lee’s death at precisely 10:30 p.m., exactly when Ethel said she received his call.

• Who: Ethel and Don believed Lee’s spirit or soul had tried to reach his best friend before passing away.

• Definition: The Hand concerns a sudden, unexplained death inside a wealthy Connecticut home.