55 Chilling Photos From History Explained

By | September 15, 2022

An exotic dancer arrested by undercover cops testifies in court, Florida 1983

Historical photos often show us things that we don’t want to see, but that we can’t look away from. This collection of photographs show us extraordinary moments from our past that send chills down our spine. Some of these shots show moments that are hard to look at, but others will give you goosebumps in the best way possible.

We are warning you, some of these photographs are downright hard to look at, and some will astonish...they all deserve a closer look as they explain some of the most chilling moments in history. Click ahead for more, but remember viewer discretion is advised. 

test article image
Source: Pinterest

This stunning photo may look like it shows a woman disrespecting a judge, but in reality it’s an exotic dancer pleading her case. After a group of exotic dancers were arrested for exposing their bits at a Florida club, this woman testified that it would have been impossible for anyone to see what was under her dance bottoms because of their size. Photographer Jim Damaske explained how he caught the image to the Tampa Bay Times:

I was shooting freelance for the Clearwater Sun and UPI when the Sun got a tip what was going to happen. I got the call. Exotic dancers said that their shorts were too big to show what the undercover officers said they saw. The judge agreed with the dancers after they bent over. The photo went out on the UPI wire, which is how it got picked up everywhere.

The photo was later run in Playboy and it was selected as one of the “Magazine Pictures of the Year” by the National Press Photographers Association.

Judy met Jerry Griffin at Woodstock in 1969

test article image
Source: Pinterest

Hundreds of thousands of people went to the Woodstock music festival in 1969, but how many people can say they met their significant other while they were there? Judy and Jerry Griffin met when Jerry’s friends stopped to pick up Judy while she was hitchhiking after her car broke down. Judy was unsure about riding with Jerry’s friends, but after she hopped in the VW Beetle she and Jerry made fast friends. Judy told People

I was just thinking, ‘Damn, now we can’t go,’ and we were dying to. Then Jerry and his friends pulled up. I stuck my head in and I saw that there was a woman in the car. I’d never hitchhiked before, but I figured, ‘Well, since there was a woman, it was fairly safe, and I probably should just get in the car.’

That ride culminated in a 50 year marriage, two sons, and five grandchildren. However it wasn’t until 2019 when the two found this photo that was taken of them at the festival. They’d known each other for less than 48 hours when the photo was taken.