Humandramadoes grow (or shrink) proportionally to the amount of humans in a place, but, counterintuitively, a big city insulates you from most of it. You can be just a face in the crowd in a metropolis, but intownsand villages, you can’t help but know everyone around you.

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Back in in the 80s. Had two married couples who played cards together every week. Suddenly both couples got divorced, then remarried the other’s partner. They kept playing cards every week.Source - knew their kids.

Man in plaid shirt playing cards, smiling in a close-knit setting, reflecting on small town incidents.

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The high school history teacher who exposed himself in the park and was arrested. Was “on leave“ for six months and then came back and taught like nothing happened.For senior slideshow, students put up a picture of him and played the Police song “Don’t stand so close to me.“

Police officer detaining a handcuffed man, highlighting a small town incident.

Man in a grey shirt leaning on an orange bar, holding a water bottle, symbolizing unknown small town incidents.

Fatal hunting accident with a school kid in a village with a pop of ~ 5000.A dad and his son took the boat out to hunt birds with a two round rifle. Dad sitting in the back, kid in front. Dad fires the first shoot and just before firing the second round the kid jumps up to see if the bird got hit. Hit right in the back of the head. Was instant. Couldnt stop thinking about what the father experienced while rowing back for awhile. This was before cellphones as well.I was his classmate, not close but we hang out sometimes. a skater kid with punk hair. The school and community came together and held talks with us kids so that was a light during that time. Now its decades ago, so I dont think it counts as a common story, but I dont live there anymore so cant say.

Two men in life jackets talking on a boat on a lake, surrounded by trees, possibly discussing a small town incident.

There was a secret gay population in our small town. The dentist had a secret apartment near his office. His wife and my mother were great friends. Not a word was spoken about it

Two people touching foreheads by candlelight, with a focus on community incidents in small towns.

There was a girl and her beau who went for a night on the town, they were seen arguing with a man at the end of the night. The next morning the guy was found dead from gunshots in one location, the girl was found a couple days later in another location. No one was ever arrested and the main suspect was her married chief of Police ex. 40 years later, they dug the fella up to try and run some tests as part of a cold-case investigation, when they opened his casket, his head had been removed and replaced with someone else’s head.We in the town don’t talk about it much, but that show The Dead Files did an episode about it.

Wooden casket with red roses, symbolizing a small town incident that remains unspoken.

A guy [unalived] his son for the insurance money. Put a truck up on a jack and then dropped it on his kid and went to a party while he died. After that happened it came out that he had [unalived] his wife for insurance money out in California. He boarded up some windows “to do work on the house”, locked her in the bathroom, and set fire to the house.

Man in denim shirt counting money, seated on orange couch, in a colorful living room.

The High School health teacher kept getting students pregnant. All brushed under the rug.

Hands holding a positive pregnancy test, illustrating small town incident discussions.

30 Incidents In Small Towns That Nobody Talks About Because Of How Horrifying They Are

Minor teen girl had a much older adult boyfriend and he convinced her to [unalive] her whole family. It was big news when it happened and now it’s just a quirky history fact

Crime scene investigator photographs evidence in a small town incident, yellow tape visible in background.

This took place in Wayne, Nebraska in the 80’s. After graduating, two football jocks beat the suspected gay kid and broke both of his legs. They run banks there now. Everyone knows they did it. They were never arrested.

Football player catching a pass on a small-town field under a clear sky.

A chiropractor from the next town over used to dress like Elvis. He [unalived] a 15 year old girl from our town in 1978 and burned down a barn with her body in it. Everyone knows he did it. For 10 years after, He used to sit outside the city pool and watch the teenage girls in their swimsuits. Nobody said s**t to him. Her murder is a cold case that got very little attention in our small town.

Elvis impersonator in a white jumpsuit, holding a microphone, standing outside a store, related to small town incident.

Guy shot his wife in his neighbors driveway then shot himself while teenage granddaughter (I was only a year older than her) was on 911 call. News played that call on tv and I was so pissed and sad for her. Grandma was a nice lady. Grandpa had some psychiatric issues and I didn’t really know him.

Reporter at a crime scene in small town, with police and forensic team in background, taped-off area.

A man in a classroom holding a book, discussing the incident of a small town with expressive hand gestures.

There was a thrift shop that opened and closed very suddenly, maybe open 6 months, that we found out was a police sting operation to catch dg dealers. A police officer was caught/identified as a major dealer, he was the former D.A.R.E. officer that came to the school, and is now the Chief of police. I think they even said he was selling old seized d*s.

Yellow “Family Thrift Store” sign, symbolizing small town secrets.

Nobody in blue ridge Georgia talks about how many people go missing up here never to be seen again. We’re right next to the cohutta wilderness, a massive plot of federal land that is very wild and undeveloped. It is creepy camping up there…

A scenic view of lush green hills under a blue sky, representing the mystery of small towns.

The person that almost [unalived] his grandchild with an axe while being in an alcohol-induced delirium. When this failed (the grandchild hid behind a wardrobe and he couldn’t get him out), he opened all the valves on the stove, poisoning himself to death as a result. His grandchild escaped and survived

30 Incidents In Small Towns That Nobody Talks About Because Of How Horrifying They Are

Pleasant Grove, Utah, April 13, 2014: Darren West began cleaning out the garage at the home he once shared with his wife, Megan Huntsman. Nothing could have prepared him for what he would uncover.Inside a small, white box, wrapped in plastic, was the tiny, decaying body of an infant.West immediately called the police. They searched the home and found six more dead infants, all in boxes, stashed away in the garage.After questioning, Huntsman admitted to k***g the infants between 1996 and 2006 (one was stillborn, as confirmed at autopsy). She was heavily addicted to mh and alcohol at the time, and said she [unalived] them because she couldn’t afford to raise them. Apparently bearing, birthing, and [unaliving] multiple children was easier than using birth control.This shut our childhood town down! Cops quit from the trauma, the extended family was a mess. And the cherry on top was she gave birth to 3 girls she kept. The infant deaths were woven between the daughters she kept. So gnarly but no one talks about it anymore. It became the town shame.

30 Incidents In Small Towns That Nobody Talks About Because Of How Horrifying They Are

Our local physical therapist was committing insurance fraud. Things like billing patients for multiple visits, but they only come once per week. Well the police got involved and interviewed him. He stopped paying his employees and just vanished. Turns out he fled to his house in FL and [unalived] his entire family and the dog. Very shocking for our small town in CT. He’s serving life in prison in FL now.Google “Todt Family Murders” for the full story. Stephanie Harlowe covered it well on her YouTube channel.

A man in a white outfit is escorted by two men, related to a small town incident.

The m****r. This man [unalived] his wife. Threw her out of the second floor window. Put her body in the family van. Took his kids to daycare. Told the daycare his wife was missing. Went to the car wash. Washed the blood out of the van. Dumped the body. Then called the cops and said wife was missing.

Man driving on a busy road, symbolizing a small town incident no one discusses.

A man in a gray shirt cradles a crying baby, symbolizing small town incidents.

Old water tower symbolizing small town incidents left unspoken.

LOL I came here ready and willing to share my story of insurance fraud about that one house that was “FOR SALE” for nearly two decades before it mysteriously caught fire… but I see that’s really small potatoes compared to everyone else.

“For sale sign in front of a small town house, related to an incident locals avoid discussing."

A wedding ceremony moment underlines small town incidents that remain unspoken.

A guy who is married has also had several girlfriends on the side that have all ended up dead of mysterious causes. House fires, staged ses etc. He is always the primary beneficiary of their assets when they die. Three women have died this way now. He hasn’t been arrested and people just sort of accept it? It’s very fg odd.

Couple sharing a romantic dinner, man offering a rose; setting hints at a small town secret incident.

30 Incidents In Small Towns That Nobody Talks About Because Of How Horrifying They Are

A local woman had enough of her husbands a**se and was going to leave him for California. He picked up his two kids early 7 and 9 and had them wait for her. Shot both kids in front of her, then shot her, called 911 and told them what he did and commited [self-harm] on the phone. Lady was a big part of the shriners and eastern star and husband was a mason. Sweetest lady and the best kids. Super smart. Always found her husband a jerk. Never wanted to be at the hospital w her when she was sick (had a autoimmune thing).

30 Incidents In Small Towns That Nobody Talks About Because Of How Horrifying They Are

A kid in my grade was the son of the circuit court judge. Throughout the duration of my high school years, there were several [self-harm cases] in this small town amongst the student population. Enough to really be atypical of such a small community. Then they mysteriously stopped, and in the last 30 years, there haven’t been any.Rumor is that the judge’s kid was a mur****r and knew he could get away with pretty much anything. Details were always sketchy. I’m glad I was on his good side.

Man in a detective office analyzing a board of connected photos, centered around “The Incident” in small towns.

Elderly couple embracing, watching sunset, symbolizing small town secrets and untold incidents.

A former coworker of mine spiraled out of control after the restaurant closed. Became a h****n manufacturer and was on FBI most wanted list. Anyway so one day him and like 2 guys went around a broke into over 15 houses stealing money and guns until he broke into a house and there was a 16 year old girl and they kidnapped her and held her hostage. Police from all three surrounding towns, sheriffs, highway patrol, and SWAT engaged in a multi hour standoff and a brief exchange of gunfire. I don’t remember how they ended up getting him. It was a huge news story for months then it slowly got quiet. Nobody talks about it but everyone remembers it

30 Incidents In Small Towns That Nobody Talks About Because Of How Horrifying They Are

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After so many years of trying, we finally got a brand new fire station. A few years later they were preparing dinner when a call came in. They hustled out to the scene and took care of it. After they were done another call came in. Whoever was preparing dinner left the stove on and it eventually caught the kitchen on fire so they rushed back to their station to put out that fire. I don’t remember how long it took to repair the damage. No one really talks about that anymore.

This woman [unalived] my friends dad, chopped him up and burnt his body in a bonfire out the back. I can’t remember what happened but she didn’t go to gaol and walked around town all the time, everyone was scared of her.I think there were like 3000 people in my town and that was the only murder like, ever. (Rural east coast Australia)

Criminal sadistic obstetrician in one of our neighbouring towns. There was a court case but it was all hushed up for some reason. Since then there have been scandals about criminal sadistic health care workers in the psych ward there and also the bad level of health care generally. People always tell you ‘go north’ when you’re talking about what hospital you might go to.

Doctor discussing with patient in a clinic room, symbolizing small town incident narratives.

The sweetest elderly front desk secretary at our high school & her husband were brutally murdered. Turns out they were d**g dealers.

A young girl was abducted and murdered. Everyone knows who did it but he fled cross country and “died of an overdose” before he could be investigated

The local prosecutor got banned from walking around the police department without an escort.Nobody really knows why this suddenly became a new policy but most people assume that the prosecutor was stealing c**e from the evidence locker.

Police station sign highlighting small town incident stories.

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Local police took a young man out to a secluded place, stripped him and hung him upside down from a tree. They beat him and taunted him. He survived but the cops were never held accountable. This was a longgg time ago.

Didn’t grow up in the town, but know someone else who did.Teacher at the local high school slept with the entire football team, and the team gave her their jerseys after they graduated and she’s still working there

Football player in maroon tackles opponent carrying ball during small town game.

Wife of sheriff’s deputy was cheating on him with a guy. Guy ends up dead of a shotgun shot to the head. Sheriff’s deputy is somehow first on scene. Sheriff’s department rules it a s*****e. Shotgun that guy supposedly shot himself with was never found.

Police officer in uniform and sunglasses uses a radio, addressing a small town incident.

That one family who everyone knew were badly inbred.That time someone hung themselves from the lookout over the town and everyone thought someone else reported it, so they were there for way too long.

The math teacher was having an affair with one of the high school football coaches. The only reason anyone knew about it was because she gossiped about him to her own students.She was using her maiden name when the new school year started.

A woman leans in to whisper to a man, representing a small town secret or incident.

My town is 33,000 but this guy I went to school with died at the age of 18 from choking while high on opioids, a year later his father committed [self-harm]. Several years later the older brother committed [self-harm]. An extremely depressing story that a lot of locals know about but don’t talk about. I asked my friends about it recently to see if they remembered.

A girl was gang r**ed after they rear ended her car to target her and her friend. Her friend ran off into the forest and was lost until sunrise while she was driven to another location, threatened and dropped off. It was so insane the FBI actually came (which for where I’m from is a massive deal) and caught every person involved. Truly it was a stain on our community when it happened and I think everyone was relieved they were caught. Everybody wanted to forget that.

The vanishing of the family from Komerang House, a property in regional Australia. When the town learned that the family was suddenly missing, the pilfering began. The first local thieves noticed food on plates, unfinished. My family ended up with the giant mirror in the gold leaf frame. Then another family member took it and I don’t know where it is now. I think mum does. No one talks about the mirror or the missing family. Creepy, huh.

People not talking in a small town.. there’s no such thing there is nothing off-limits, especially in a small town.. it’s the worst place to be if you’ve got something you don’t want anybody to know about to talk..

Location: Central, CTPopulation: Approx 3,200Date 12/24/2013Event: Annual Xmas Eve Party at the “Smiths” farm, whole town goes for eggnog, bluegrass, guns, bonfires etc .This one kid, we’ll call him Simon had a few too many.. to paint a picture this was the in the friend group that was always there from preschool on up through highschool, in a small town it’s hard to grow out of those kind of friend groups….Anywayyys Simon was hammers telling us how we was head over heels in loveeee with the farmer daughter (yes really) we’ll call her Angela.Party goes into the early morning, with most of the guests leaving around 12 am. Simon stuck around for a bit then said he was going to walk home… he didn’t live far, it was winter in New England he would be fine.Turns out good ole Simon walked to the farmers house and tried calling out to Angela, tossing snowballs at her window until one of them inevitably smashed a bedroom window… Angela freaks out and calls the cops for a suspected burglary.While all this is taking place I decide it’s about time for me to be hitting the road as well maybe 1:30amI get into my car, start driving and then I SEE SIMON… walking down the road twords his house.Puzzled I pull over and yell over to him “Dude can you walk? Get in ya poon, I’ll drive ya home!”We get not .5 miles from the Farm and I’m met with 2 state troopers, blue and reds, guns drawn!Officer approaches the window, 2nd officer approaches. One on my side, one on Simon’s.Officer asks me: “Son have you been drinking tonight?”Me: “No sir, just heading home.”Simon: ‘Screaming’ “ Yes officer, we’re BOTH drunk!”Me : SmhOfficer: “Any ds or firearms in the vehicle, boy’s?”Before I can answer…Simon: “I don’t have any ds, BUT HE MIGHT, you should ask him” ( points at me)Keep in mind, Simon is very close to blacking out at this point but he’s forming sentences, so it’s making the troopers extremely nervous. So they pull us both out of the car.While I’m trying to explain (I have no idea, about what Simon did or where he came from. I just picked him up, trying to be a good friend)Simon just starts yelling “The truth, they need to know, they need to know the truth!!’”The Truuuuuuthhhh, they need to know the truuuth.At the same time the Farmer pulls up, sees me and Simon. He asks the cop what’s going on, the cops explain that we were stopped on suspicion of burglary, at his house!Thank god the farmer vouched for us claiming it all to be a mistake and we were set free.The local bar used to Chant “the truuuuth” whenever Simon walks in. He showed up to the same reception this past Xmas.Good times!

Police car with flashing lights at night, representing a small town incident.

Older woman (retires, maybe around 70ish) would go to the laundromat every so often and hand out rolls of quarters. Just a way she paid it forward.She found naked, brutally r**ed, and murdered on a wooded walking path near the river. Not far from downtown.

Rohnert Park, CA. A police officer shot and [unalived] Kuanchung Kao, an engineer, outside his house in 1997 after he had gotten a promotion at work. The person who lives in that house today is actually the person who bought it from his wife a year after the murder.The cop ended up facing no disciplinary action, ended up retiring and moving to Texas where he became the mayor of a small town. Fortunately, he’s dead now.

Pastors wife was messing around with a recent graduate who was coaching their kids football team. Pastor, verrrry Godly man, threatened to murk him if he didn’t leave town. He came back a couple of years ago after he turned 21. I haven’t heard anything since or any drama, but he’s still preaching and owns a large company. They’re still together. Everyone knows, nobody talks about it lol

Not really a small town but a small corner of a big town. At my high school, about 30 years before I attended, a married teacher moved in one of his students to be a live in nanny at his house because she had a rough home life. There were rumours that the student and teacher were having an affair. Then one day the guys wife goes missing. There was an initial investigation but it was kind of swept under the rug because the guys was friends with all the local cops and he was kind of a big guy around town. People pretty much stopped talking about it until a couple of years ago when a podcast was released that really went into the case. The podcast kind of forced the police to reopen the case and the guy was eventually arrested, charged and sentenced to his wife’s murder even though her body has never been found. Went to that school for four years and never heard about until the podcast.

Everyone talked about the incident but keep their opinion about the trial outcome close to the chest so I’m still sharing lol.The town I grew up in isn’t super tiny but has only had like 2 murders in the past 30 years. A beloved teacher was kidnapped and beaten. She survived but shortly after died from falling down the stairs. Her husband was acquitted of murder but everyone I’ve ever talked to still thinks he did it. He died several years later, weirdly enough, after falling from his roof.

Friend of mine in HS went to a party with her Senior bf. They dis d***s and drank and she insisted on driving home. They argued, he got out of the car, she ran over him several times and [unalived] him. As a 16yo, she did probation. A few years later, she got in a DUI accident and another bf died. She was seriously injured and now cannot care for herself.

Dentist murdered his wife and got away with it.

Sometimes women who had been heavily a***ed would say he had been “lost in Bering” or “died at sea”. Then they would throw a massive party. I was really young at the time but even then it seemed a little bit too jubilant to be a funeral.Looking back on it now, I still don’t know if they hid the bodies somewhere in the forest, put them in the tide for the crabs to eat, or if those men really died off a boat somewhere in the icy north sea.No one talks about it, and when I asked about “the men who died fishing” I’m too young to know. Ok.

High school gym teacher was fired for having an inappropriate relationship with a student. Destroys her family, etc.Her replacement is also later fired for having inappropriate relationships with multiple students. Destroys her family, etc.The replacement ends up reigniting the scandal when she gets re-married a few years later, to the now-graduated student that had an inappropriate relationship with the first gym teacher.

One highschool math teacher’s husband committed [self-harm] a few years ago, and she recently had a bad health scare. Most students & attentive parents know.She is the sweetest woman ever and deserves the world. She is incredibly strong and seems very happy know although I know her life must be difficult some days.

In the small town I grew up in, there was a story going around that a prominent local businessman had a … rather unfortunate encounter with a carrot. As in, the carrot became stuck in a certain part of his body, and he had to seek medical attention. What made it particularly funny was that the guy had brightest tuft of orange hair atop his head. We called him carrot a**e. Whenever you’d see him around town, there’d almost always been some muffled chuckles happening in the background.

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