The Most Terrifying Crimes To Take Place On Halloween

True crime isn't something that only happens at certain times of the year. However, Halloween really does get some of us feeling even more spooky and wondering about all the creepy things that have happened in the world. So what happens when the two worlds collide? You end up with the most terrifying crimes to take place on Halloween.

Halloween has long been associated with horror and gore, so is it really so surprising that some people go to incredible lengths to pull off the most terrifying crimes? However, some really do stand out above the rest when it comes to the wickedness of their actions.

A Halloween tradition lost Karl Jackson his life

Throwing eggs at Halloween is nothing new. While it might be a nuisance, it usually doesn't end with more than some clean-up and disgruntled neighbors. That was until Halloween in 1998, when 21-year-old Karl Jackson found himself on the wrong end of a prank. Karl didn't want his car to end up covered in eggs, so he got out of his vehicle to confront those involved. Sadly, it proved to be a dangerous move, with 17-year-old Curtis Sterling retaliating by shooting Karl in the head. He instantly lost his life, and it wasn't long before Curtis was caught and charged with the crime. Now, every Halloween, it's said that Karl's mother sends Curtis a card in prison telling him she's glad he's rotting away behind bars.

A house of horrors created a Halloween no one would forget

It comes to something when a Halloween house of horrors becomes a reality. In fact, teenager Devon Griffin from Ohio described the scene he found as "something out of a haunted house." The scene? He came home from church on Halloween in 2010 to find that his mother, Susan, her new husband, William Liske, and his brother, Derek, had all brutally lost their lives. Only one suspect was named: William Liske Jr. He had been living with schizophrenia, and it was documented that he had wildly unpredictable and violin behavior. The 24-year-old was quickly found and arrested, where he confessed to ending all three of their lives. Apparently, Derek had been bludgeoned with a hammer, William Sr. had been shot five times, and Susan had been assaulted and later shot. William Jr. eventually took his own life while behind bars in 2015.

Poisoned Halloween candy was once a real issue

Plenty of us have heard the tales of poisoned candy being handed out on Halloween, but they're all just stories from paranoid parents, right? While it might seem that way, there was a time it was a real case in Texas during 1974. Ronald Clark O'Bryan took potassium cyanide and laced five Pixy Stix before handing them out to five local children- including his own 11-year-old son, Timothy. Why? So that Ronald could blame his neighbor and claim his son's life insurance policy. Timothy did eat his candy and lost his life within an hour at the hospital, with professionals learning there was enough cyanide in his system to end the lives of two people. Thankfully, fast-thinking police detectives smelled Timothy's breath and quickly acted to stop the other four children from meeting the same fate. As for Ronald, he was found guilty and sentenced to capital punishment in March 1984. When the procedure was underway, 300 locals shouted, "Trick or treat!" as they threw hard candies at protestors outside the building.

Sister Tadea Benz brutally lost her life on Halloween night

Nuns have long been at the center of creepy Halloween tales, but it's not every day that they're the victims in one of the stories. That was until Halloween 1981, when it was discovered that 76-year-old Sister Tadea Benz had been assaulted and strangled while in her convent. By November 9, Johnny Frank Garrett had been arrested for the unthinkable crime. It turned out he lived opposite the nun and ultimately lost his life to capital punishment over a decade later, in 1992. However, things took a turn after he lost his life, with plenty of people thinking Johnny wasn't actually involved and might not have been the one behind Tadea's ending. Still, no one else has ever been charged.

The most terrifying crimes to take place on Halloween really go to show how grisly the world can be. While utmost noises might just be things that go bump in the night, there are times there's someone behind that weird shadow past the window…