30 People Confess Their Family’s Darkest Secret
1. Uncle Jimmy didn’t get shot accidentally. He deserved it.
“When Uncle Jimmy got shot, it wasn’t a ‘farm accident.’ However, it needed to be done. He lived.”
2. My mother beat my pregnant sister until she had a miscarriage.
“When I was 6, my sister was 16 and pregnant with twins. Our mother found out and beat her till she had a miscarriage. I think I saw it happen, I only remember flashes. My therapist says I will remember these sorts of things when I’m ready… I don’t ever want to remember them.”
3. My dad’s cousin murdered his mother and cut up her body.
“My dad’s cousin murdered his mother (my grandpa’s sister). She wouldn’t give him drug money and he snapped, stabbed her, then cut up her body. It really tore up our whole family because everyone is super close. No one used to ever talk about it but he recently got out of jail and reached out to the family which was awkward to say the least. My dad and and aunt actually met him for dinner about 3 months ago but wont tell the rest of the family. It’s all very weird.”
4. My dad died when I was 14 when we were smoking crack together.
“My dad died when I was 14 when we were smoking crack together (1995 maybe). I told the police I woke up and found him. I was crying and hysterical. dont remember if the shock took away the high or if they just couldnt tell the difference. One of my sister’s boyfriends told me that they read the report and they think they are keeping the drug use a secret from me.”
5. My dad was a gay man who killed himself instead of coming out.
“My dad was a gay man who killed himself instead of coming out. Only ever told one person (my mom) and he was found dead a week later.”
6. My great-grandmother pushed her pregnant daughter down the stairs. The daughter and the baby both died.
“My great grandmother and great grandfather had 17 children. One of them became pregnant in her teens, and it was later revealed that she was raped by her father (my great grandfather). When her mother (my great grandmother) found out, she was filled with rage, and she pushed her pregnant daughter down the stairs. The daughter and the baby both died.”
7. My brother raped me hundreds of times over the course of seven years.
“My brother raped me hundreds of times over the course of seven years. I told my parents. They did nothing. I’ve never told the authorities.”
8. My aunt abandoned her son on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.
“My great-grandaunt (great-grandmother’s sister) had a son out of wedlock with a guy who was married. A couple years later when she got married herself, the new husband told her he didn’t want the other man’s child and wouldn’t let the son live in the house. They abandoned the kid on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, no-one ever heard from him again.”
9. My family thinks my sister drowned in the bathtub; they don’t know it’s because she’d shot up heroin.
“My sister died three years ago this October. I handled the entire affair and to preserve her appearance and memory I told my entire family she died because she drowned in the bathtub from passing out possibly due to health issues. She slumped forward and drowned because she passed out from shooting up heroin.”
10. Violet was a very pretty blonde child who fell ill, died, and occupies an unmarked grave.
“There was a child born on an isolated farm during the great depression. She was born at home with no midwife or doctor in attendance. The parents never registered a birth certificate with the county for her. She got very sick with a high fever as a young child (3-4 years old), and there was no money for a doctor, no phone to call anybody, no car to drive her into town, and no neighbors near enough to go ask for help. The family treated her as best as they could, but she died after a couple of days. She was buried on the family land with no official grave marker. Since her birth was never registered, her death wasn’t either. Nobody knew she had lived and died but the immediate family. None of the (now very elderly) surviving siblings remember exactly where she was buried on the property. Just that her name was Violet, she was a very pretty blonde child, and she was completely healthy but fell ill and died over the course of only a few days. At this point, some extended family members doubt the story, but I remember my mom insisting that Violet was real and is buried somewhere on that piece of land.”
11. My grandpa didn’t die from a heart attack. He shot himself in the head.
“My grandpa didn’t die from a heart attack. He shot himself in the head.”
12. A relative who was a daycare owner took a knife one day and slaughtered three babies.
“Long before my brother married his wife, his future in laws ran a home-based daycare. One day the dad took a knife and slaughtered three babies. This was more than 40 years ago. He’s still in prison.”
13. My grandfather used to beat the fuck out of my grandmother whenever she caught him in bed with other men.
“My grandfather used to beat the fuck out of my grandmother whenever she caught him in bed with other men. In turn grandma drank and beat the fuck out of her kids. Oddly enough my father was never abusive to us.”
14. My mom paid the bills by having ‘visitors’ come to our house.
“I grew up with single mom in an upper-middle-class neighborhood in a major United States city. She did her best to make ends meet, and probably no one realized we were broke because we lived in a nice house. However, she had no job. I don’t know the details ’cause I was pretty young.
At some point she started having ‘visitors’ in the afternoon. Usually the visitors would come and leave before I got home from school, but there were times when they were still there. I never saw any cash transactions, but, once she started having ‘visitors’ the financial worries lessened. We could afford things then. She would never talk about it, and eventually the situation changed and visitors stopped coming.
I’ve never really been able to talk about this.”
15. My well-respected aunt used to make my brother and I lick her private parts when she babysat us as little kids.
“My aunt who is now a well-respected social worker, wife, and mother used to make my brother and I lick her private parts when she babysat us as little kids.”
16. My great uncle was grooming me for sexual abuse until I was about five years old.
“My great uncle was grooming me for sexual abuse until I was about five years old. My aunt caught him sneaking into my bedroom during a family party and finally spoke up. She was the second youngest of ten and both my grandparents worked long hours to make ends meet, so everyone thought he was just helping out when he would watch her after school.
He fled to Canada when all that all came out—not to evade the law, but to evade my grandfather (his brother) who absolutely would have killed him if he ever set eyes on him again.
He still sent me presents and birthday cards. Sometimes I would see them when my mom or dad got the mail, and they would tell me there was another little girl with the same name and that the mailman got mixed up.
When I got a bit older, my name was in the paper sometimes for sports or honor roll, and he would send the clippings to my grandmother with horrible notes that he was coming for me, and he knew I liked these sports and when my next game was. My grandfather had died by then, so he had moved back to the area.
My parents were always super overprotective of me, but after that they moved me into their bedroom. I slept there until he died when I was 15. They said it was because my brothers needed more space as they got older and needed their own bedrooms, but I knew why.
They still don’t know that I know about any of it. I overheard my grandmother and parents talking about it once, so I asked my older cousin why he had disappeared and she told me everything.”
17. My great-grandfather had two families that lived about 200 yards from each other for about 20 years. Neither had any idea the other existed until the funeral.
“My great-grandfather had two families that lived about 200 yards from each other for about 20 years. Neither had any idea the other existed until the funeral. When the priest asked the spouse to step forward, two women did. I’ve been told it was quite a scene in the aftermath. I remember going to see my grandma when I was younger and being told these people were my half cousins but had no idea what that meant until I was lot older and my dad told me what had happened.”
18. My ancestors were kicked out of a town in Kentucky for blowing up a church because they had a still underneath it.
“My ancestors were kicked out of a town in Kentucky for blowing up a church because they had a still underneath it.”
19. My uncle didn’t really commit suicide.
“One of my uncles ‘committed suicide.’ In reality, no one knows what really happened. No one knew who he worked for, but he was pulling in ass loads of money every year. Not even his wife knew what was going on. After years of this, he started acting funny for a couple weeks, jittery and on edge all the time. Soon after, his son found him hanged in their lake cottage. His knuckles were bloody and there were clearly signs of a struggle. The coroner even told one of my uncles who was pressing for details, that this was not a suicide.
Two more of my uncles start making calls to anyone they could, anyone that was in contact with him while he was alive and just keep going, trying to find out anything. One day one of my uncles gets a call from an unknown caller with a masked voice that says “For your sake and the rest of your family’s, do not pursue your search any further.” And that was when my uncles immediately stopped looking for answers. He was obviously involved in some really shady shit and even if they did find out what happened, it wouldn’t have brought him back.”
20. My uncle went to jail for having/producing child pornography of his own children.
“My uncle went to jail for having/producing child pornography of his own children. I’m pretty sure I waited on him when he came home after getting out. Working at a restaurant, I’m almost positive I served him. I hadn’t seen him in a long time (even before he was in jail), but the timing and his looks matched up. My mom won’t see him, but my aunt believes his lies saying that he didn’t do it. The worst part is he only got like five years.”
21. We suspect my uncle pushed my aunt to her death over Niagara Falls.
“My great aunt died after falling into the current and being swept over the Niagara Falls. Although it was ruled an accidental death, it is widely believed in my family that she was actually pushed in to the water by her abusive, alcoholic husband. My grandmother told me that back then domestic violence was seen as shameful and was mostly swept under the rug so nobody reported it when spoken to by the police. Years later my great uncle remarried and was arrested for nearly beating his second wife to death.”
22. My great-great-grandfather accidentally killed a woman by giving her the wrong medicine.
“My great-great-grandfather accidentally killed a woman. He fled his business and extended family to start a new life in a small town because he feared the woman’s husband, and the law.
He ran a pharmacy, and gave the wrong medicine to a woman.”
23. Grandpa raped all three of his daughters for decades and even made his wife join in on all the fun.
“Grandpa raped all three of his daughters for decades and even made his wife join in on all the fun. Then their daughters all got married and had daughters of their own. and let grandpa and grandma babysit. Then everyone acted surprised when the youngest granddaughter complained that grandpa was molesting her. I guess I was just lucky that my dad made sure we lived out of state, so it never happened to me. Nothing is sacred and love is a lie!”
24. My uncle snitched on the Mafia, and we’re all waiting for him to get murdered.
“I’ll start by saying the Mafia is alive and well in New England. Anyone living up there can confirm that. they still pull the strings behind the scenes and still have a TON of influence. I’m gonna keep my uncle’s second profession a mystery because RI/Mass is one of those places where everyone knows everyone, and many will probably know exactly who he is cause millions have seen him on tv whether they know it or not. I’ll just say it has to do with sports.
Anyway, my uncle was primarily a corrections officer at a big New England prison and yea, he was on the take, receiving money under the table from the mob in exchange for special treatment for the mob-related prisoners. Maybe it was forced upon him or maybe he couldnt resist the money. Not sure, but the 90’s were one big party for him and he lived lavishly. fast cars, big parties, and he even had a heart attack on TV after doing an eight ball of coke.
Fast forward to a federal investigation. In order to save his direct family he took a plea bargain and sold out EVERYONE. he walked and dozens went to prison: coworkers and high and low ranking mafia guys, etc.
He also refused witness protection; not sure why. I suppose it’s because the only life he ever knew was in New England.
Fast forward to present day and everyone he sold out is now slowly getting out after serving 20-30 years, and he’s been receiving death threats all this time.
He had settled down and became a family man raising my cousins, but in the past couple years his lifestyle has completely reverted back to his old lifestyle, basically because he knows he’s dead. He lives everyday like it’s his last and we’re all just waiting for his murder.”
25. My grandmother beat my uncle with a baseball bat when he was an asthmatic eight-year-old.
“My maternal grandmother was a very cruel person. She abused my mother, aunt, and uncle terribly, both mentally and physically.
Like, she beat my uncle with a baseball bat when he was an asthmatic eight-year-old. Horrible stuff.
My mother, sadly, carried on the tradition although she was careful to not leave marks. She was good at not leaving marks. Even when she dislocated my jaw; I mean, it swelled up but it didn’t bruise on the surface, and of course she didn’t take me to a doctor either time she did it. The first time she did give me Motrin or something, but I was in a lot of pain for several days and had trouble eating or talking.
I was pretty sure she was going to go too far and kill me at some point. I didn’t expect to live to see 18. When I was 17, she had some sort of breakdown and was going to kill me (and then maybe herself) but I’d hidden all the knives when she started getting worked up… At 18 I joined the Navy and never looked back.”
26. My uncle keeps trying to kill himself; he scares the shit out of me.
“My ex-aunt (I think that’s what they’re called; she married in) left my uncle many many years ago. He didn’t like that so he tried killing himself by setting his house on fire while he was still in it. He then remarried years later. He’s second wife just left him and this time he tried to kill himself again by letting his car run while the garage was closed. He’s been evaluated many times and each time is given a clean bill of mental health. He scares the shit out of me.”
27. My mother allowed her boyfriend to beat me and emotionally abuse me, then she threw me into foster care.
“That my mother allowed her boyfriend to beat me and emotionally abuse me. Yeah, he would hit her, too. She didn’t leave him, even to protect her own daughter. No, she just threw me into foster care.”
28. My aunt removed her feeding tube and let herself starve to death.
“My aunt didn’t die of fatal health problems. She died because she decided she was sick of being so sick, so she removed her feeding tube and refused to sign off on it being reinserted. Her doctors said she could have lived if she’d wanted to, but she refused to deal with her health problems anymore and let herself starve to death.”
29. My ‘pro-life’ mom had an ‘operation’ to remove a ‘tumor’ from her belly.
“In the ’90s my mom, who always told people she was ‘pro-life,’ kept showing everyone that she had a mysterious ‘tumor,’ a suspicious rounding in her lower abdomen. She threw herself a benefit to raise the money for the ‘operation’ all the while never actually going to a doctor. She made some money, then a couple weeks later her tumor ‘just went away.’
Now, such a thing wouldn’t be so scandalous except: 1) This was directly after she chastised her boyfriend’s single niece into keeping her pregnancy, and 2) She had started her own church in our house (a story for another time) and I guess it wouldn’t look too good if the head of the weird house church got an abortion to hide the fact that she was cheating on her boyfriend. Also 3) Raising money through a fake benefit.”
30. My grandpa and seven other police officers killed a child molester.
“My grandpa was a policeman and during his time on the force a child molester got off on a technicality. The judge made sure that the arresting officer knew where to find the man after release. My grandpa and 7 other officers made the man disappear. From what he told me before he died the body is buried in a fairly hard place to reach at least 2 towns away.”
