True Stories That Sound Fake: Ship Crash and Shaman Killer

TL;DR

Three verified true stories prove reality can outstrip fiction. In the 1956 Andrea Doria collision, 14-year-old Linda Morgan was scooped from her bed into the SS Stockholm and survived. In 1997 Indonesia, shaman Ahmad Suradji confessed to killing dozens of women, believing a dream ordered him to drink 70 women's saliva for immortality.

Transcript

sometimes the truth is Stranger Than Fiction and today we're going to look at three stories that demonstrate that but before we get into those stories if you're a fan of the strange dark and mysterious delivered in story format and you come to the right channel because that's all we do and we upload three or four times every week so if that's of in... Read More

Key Insights

• The SS Andrea Doria was considered Italy's largest, fastest, and safest ocean liner, but on July 25, 1956, it collided with the Swedish liner SS Stockholm in heavy fog off the US east coast, killing 46 aboard the Doria and five aboard the Stockholm.
• The collision happened because both ships used radar but misinterpreted what they saw, so neither communicated with the other, and by the time visual contact was made at 11:10 p.m. the crash was already unavoidable.
• Linda Morgan became known as the 'Miracle Girl' because when the Stockholm's bow penetrated 40 feet into the Doria, it scooped up the bed she was asleep in and dragged her out, leaving her alive on the wrecked bow with only a broken arm.
• ABC News correspondent Edward Morgan reported the crash on air without losing composure, even after being told his 14-year-old daughter Linda was missing and presumed dead, before later learning she had survived.
• Survivor guilt can outweigh physical injury, as Linda Morgan recovered fully from her broken arm but suffered enormously because her stepfather and half-sister were both killed in the collision.
• In April 1997, an Indonesian farmer tripped on a strange mound in a sugarcane field, and villagers who dug into it discovered a woman buried up to her neck with dirt thrown over her head.
• Shaman Ahmad Suradji, 45, confessed to killing 21-year-old Dewe and dozens of other women the same way, and police excavation of the sugarcane field uncovered an estimated 42 bodies, though they believed there could be more.
• Suradji's motive came from a 1986 dream in which his dead father told him that drinking the saliva of 70 women would make him immortal, so he lured victims by claiming he could grant everlasting beauty and riches through a ritual.

Questions & Answers

Q: What happened to the SS Andrea Doria in 1956?

On July 25, 1956, the SS Andrea Doria, considered Italy's largest, fastest, and safest ocean liner, was sailing toward the US east coast when it ran into heavy fog. The Swedish liner SS Stockholm entered the same fog unaware of the Doria's position. Both ships used radar but misinterpreted the readings and never communicated, so at 11:10 p.m. the Stockholm's bow struck the Doria's side, killing 46 people aboard the Doria and five aboard the Stockholm.

Q: Why did the two ships collide despite both having radar?

Both the Andrea Doria and the SS Stockholm were using radar, but each vessel misinterpreted what it was seeing on the screen. Because of that misinterpretation, neither ship communicated with the other as they moved toward each other in the fog. The captain of the Doria had followed procedure by slowing down and sounding the fog whistle, but by the time the two crews finally made visual contact, the collision was already imminent and could not be avoided.

Q: How did Linda Morgan survive the Andrea Doria crash?

Linda Morgan, a 14-year-old asleep in a room on the Andrea Doria, survived because the SS Stockholm's bow penetrated over 40 feet into the ship and scooped up the bed she was lying on. When the Stockholm retracted from the Doria, it dragged the bed and Linda with it. A man aboard the Stockholm heard her cries, ran to the bow, and found her alive on the wrecked bow. She suffered only a broken arm and became known as the Miracle Girl.

Q: Who was Edward Morgan and what was his connection to the story?

Edward Morgan was the ABC News correspondent chosen to cover the Andrea Doria collision. Unbeknownst to his co-workers, his 14-year-old daughter Linda Morgan was aboard the Doria. Just before going on air he was told she was among the missing and presumed dead, yet he reported the story without losing composure and never mentioned her. After learning she had survived, he went back on the air to share her survival story and how hard it was to deliver news about someone he loved.

Q: How was the body in the Indonesian sugarcane field discovered?

On April 27, 1997, a farmer walking his livestock through a thick sugarcane field near his house tripped on something and noticed a strange mound of dirt that seemed out of place. He told the village leader, who returned with other men and poked the soft mound with a stick, releasing a horrible stench. After authorities told them to dig, their shovel struck something soft, and they uncovered a woman's face buried up to her neck with dirt thrown on top of her head.

Q: Who was Ahmad Suradji and what did he confess to?

Ahmad Suradji was a 45-year-old shaman, someone who claims to use magic to cure the sick. Police approached him after a Rickshaw driver revealed he had dropped off the victim, 21-year-old Dewe, to see the shaman. Suradji first denied involvement, but after police searched his house and found Dewe's belongings, he confessed. He nonchalantly admitted that he had not only killed Dewe but had also killed dozens of other women the same way and buried them in the sugarcane field.

Q: Why did Ahmad Suradji kill his victims?

Suradji told his trial that in 1986, eleven years earlier, he had a vivid dream in which his deceased father instructed him to drink the saliva of 70 women, promising he would become immortal. Believing this was a real interaction with his father's spirit, he decided to obey. Since his father never explained how to extract the saliva, Suradji concluded the most efficient method was to kill the women and forcibly take their saliva, then bury them in the field.

Q: How did Ahmad Suradji lure and kill his victims?

Suradji spread rumors that he had supernatural powers to grant women everlasting beauty and riches. Women who believed it came to his house at night, paid a fee of roughly 300 dollars, and were led through a cemetery into the sugarcane field. He handed each a shovel, told her digging was part of the ritual, then had her stand in the hole while he filled it in until she was immobilized. He then strangled her with a cable, took her saliva, and reburied her with her head above ground facing his house.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The 1956 Andrea Doria disaster began when Italy's supposedly safest ocean liner ran into heavy fog heading toward the US east coast. The captain slowed and sounded the fog whistle, but the Swedish SS Stockholm entered the fog unaware of the Doria's position, and both crews misread their radar.

• At 11:10 p.m. the Stockholm's bow plowed 40 feet into the Doria's side before retracting, killing 46 people on the Doria and five on the Stockholm. ABC's Edward Morgan reported it composed, unaware his daughter Linda had been scooped from her bed onto the Stockholm and survived.

• In 1997 Indonesia, a farmer found a body buried up to the neck in a sugarcane field. Police identified 21-year-old Dewe and traced her to shaman Ahmad Suradji, who confessed to dozens of killings. He buried victims immobilized, strangled them, and took their saliva, chasing a dream of immortality.