All families have secrets -- some deeper than others...
The Great Desertion Of Great-Grandfather
“That Great grandpa was a decorated soldier who fought in the Indian regiment of British troops in WW1. In reality, he was a cook, who deserted after seeing men sent to attack machine guns with their bodies. He and a bunch of others Nope’d the heck out of there while stealing a bunch of supplies. This was corroborated by the other deserters that returned with him. Took them a few years to get from France to Vadodara in the current state of Gujarat, India They sold the guns and rations along the way for money and great grandpa picked up an STD from an Iraqi prostitute (luckily grandpa was born before he left). They blame the STD on why he went “funny” in the head towards his end.
Also the little bit of money he brought back from the stolen and sold army gear helped my grandpa buy some land and kick start my family fortunes so that we could move out of the untouchable class.”
His Great Grandmother Took Revenge For The Oppressed
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“My brother lived nearby my great grandmother for 2 years before she passed away. Nearing the end of her life we had to get her back from Paris to nowhere-land, centre of France. The thing is, she started having problems with her memory (90+ years as I recall). Often after work, my brother would come see her for a while. And she started confusing him with my father, my grandfather, even her late husband. Must have been hard to some extent for my brother but he got used to it.
And then she started to talk about her life. I liked my brother telling this stuff to me. Family business, taken directly from the source. One day she told him about when she was a lavandiere (women who manually washed clothes in big pools of hot water) under German occupation, in Paris. She told him that one day one of the girls that worked with her bragged about giving the names of a Jewish family in the neighborhood to the Gestapo/nazi authority in place. Soon after they were deported. My grandma could not accept it. One day she told every woman there not to come because there wasn’t much work, nothing she couldn’t handle on her own.
As my brother told me, she told everyone not to come except this person. Upon arriving, she grabbed her and drowned her in the pool.
I’ll always remember my brother calling me afterward. I could hear that he was livid. To this day I still don’t really know how to feel about that.”
A Fortune In The Past
“Maybe an inverse sort of deal, but I found out that my family were apparently millionaires in the late 1800s. I guess they had always been very wealthy. But between that wealth getting split up every generation and my family living on the run for many generations, all that money was gone by the time I came around. Only thing left was a chunk of property in Mexico that is completely worthless aside from a small bit of money from it cause there’s a highway going through it.
This totally shocked me because in my lifetime my family has been quite poor. Full on redneck on top of that. And lots of issues with addiction.”
Grandpa’s Secret Stash — Pink Towels And Jasmine Incense
“So, ever since I started living in apartments for myself, I’ve had these big pink towels, and every time someone brought it up I’ve told this story. When I got the first apartment, I went to visit my grandparents with my mom so we could raid her basement for stuff she had lying around that I could use in my new home. And among the stuff that we found were these giant boxes of big pink towels and jasmine incense. Now, the towels I didn’t question, but my grandparents didn’t seem like the type to use incense, let alone in bulk, so I asked about it. And when I did, my mom and my grandma shared a look and one said to the other ‘I guess he’s old enough to know.’ So the story goes that my grandpa, amongst other things, ran two shopping centers. At one point, one of these shopping centers had a massage parlor. They seemed alright and always paid their rent. Then one day my grandpa gets a call that eyewitness accounts went something like this:
‘Hello. Yes, this is …. ……. . Yes. Yes, what… A BROTHEL?! WHAT DO MEAN I’M RUNNING A BROTHEL?!’
Apparently, this was a ‘full service’ massage parlor and the owner split once the cops got wind of it, leaving behind the whole operation. So my grandpa technically became the owner of a very large supply of pink towels, jasmine incense, baby oil, and tissues. And, never one to throw things away, he kept all of it in his basement. And they were pretty good towels, so I took a bunch and some of the jasmine incense. I may call them for more at some point.”
She Had To Lose Her Father…Twice
“Not my family, but I thought I’d contribute. Friend turns 15, and she’s told she’s adopted. Turns out that both her parents died in a car crash when she was just a baby, and her uncle adopted her and raised her. Told her that both parents were dead.A year later, a man messages her on Facebook saying that he’s her half brother. Turns out the dad lived through the car crash and later remarried, her adopted parents were lying to her as they knew all along, the dad just didn’t want to keep her.
That’s the ‘secret’, so to speak. However, the story continues, as her biological father wanted to meet her. She flies out to meet him, stays with him, meet his wife and her half-siblings. Struggles with the idea of reconnecting with him, because she both loathes and loves him. Loathes him for not wanting her and getting a new family, loves him for wanting to make a difference in her life and reconnect. She takes the plunge anyway. 6 months later he dies from lung cancer. Life’s cruel joke on her.”
Her Grandfather “Took Care” Of A Puppy!
“I found out that my mom had this pet puppy that played too rough with her one evening and bit her hand (didn’t break the skin, just freaked her out since she wasn’t used to puppies) and my grandpa had everyone leave the house and he murdered the dog in the living room.
The day after I learned this, my mom and I went to visit my grandpa who was preparing to move out of state and wanted to give her some pictures he found. One of the pictures was of the little white dog and he caught my mom staring at it. My grandpa took it, chuckled to himself, and just lightly said, “Took care of that little guy.” Absolute psychopath.”
The Legacy Of Cousin Jack, The Outlaw
“Grandma dies. Family farm in Tennessee (her parents’) has to be put up for auction because part of it goes to Cousin Jack.
Who the hell is Cousin Jack? I have never heard of Cousin Jack. Turns out one of my great aunts had an illegitimate son in 1930 with a guy who later became esteemed mayor. That son disappeared in 1948 under hush-hush circumstances. Farm sells at auction. Jack’s share ($150,000) goes into escrow with State for Jack. We hire ex-FBI agent to find Jack. FBI agent finds out cousin Jack was dirty prize-fighter in Chicago, changed his name and pretended to be an American Indian. Eventually, finds Jack living in government housing 30 miles away. Jack is elated when we tell him. Next day Jack is arrested for skipping bail 30 years before after drunken knife fight murder of his roommate. Jack goes to the penitentiary and dies two years later and money goes to his ex-wife, whose mother put up money for bail 30 years earlier.
Then it get’s weird. Apparently, the reason Jack disappeared was because he helped the local Doctor kill the man who had impregnated his wife when Doctor was deployed overseas during WWII. My Grandfather was county sheriff at The time and discovers evidence (shoe prints at the murder scene matching the Doctor’s shoes) and arrests the doc. Doc threatens to rat out Jack. Shoes disappear. Jack disappears. Doctor is acquitted. No one talks about any of this until 60 years later after we find Jack..
My cousin was a multiple murderer. My grandfather helped hide the crime. My family practices mafia code of silence for more than half a century so that none of the young folk even know cousin Jack existed.”
A Prejudice From The Past
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“I didn’t find out until recently, in my thirties. So at this age pretty much nothing shocks you. But it would have shocked me in my teens, when my mother was super religious, warning us against premarital sex. In my early twenties, she tried to stop my girlfriend and I from living together when we moved to a city where we knew no one. (Obviously, we lived together. But we had to hide it from her when she came to visit.) When some unmarried friends of mine had a baby unexpectedly, and the child was born with a physical handicap, she even insinuated to me that it was punishment from God for having a baby out of wedlock.
So guess what… a few months ago, my aunt mentioned in passing that the reason my parents got married after only knowing each other four months was because my mother was pregnant. She ended up miscarrying, which is why we’d never figured it out before.”
The Man Who Forgot His Life
“My great grandfather was a quiet kind man and treasurer for his chapter of the Elks Lodge in Texas. He was attacked on his way home from an Elks Lodge meeting. He suffered amnesia and regained consciousness as a sailor on his way to Haiti. After landing, he lived in the country for a few months before getting into a bar brawl with a police officer and getting knocked out. He regained consciousness in jail, with a new-found memory of who he was. Her told this tale to a priest from jail, who believed him and wanted to help. The priest wrote my great grandmother and the American government and somehow convinced the Haitian government to let him return to America.
He returned to my great grandmother, had two children, and was a law abiding citizen for the rest of his life.
This story is so UNBELIEVABLE that when my mother told it to me 6 months ago I was convinced it was a hoax. She has documents (the letters from the priest and others) and testimonials of his friends that say this behavior was uncharacteristic. I dunno, crazy man…..”
He Guessed His Step-Dad Was Weird…But…
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“My mom married my stepfather in the mid-80s. My mom and dad had been divorced since my birth in the early 70s. So, living primarily with my mom, she would, of course, go out on dates, and eventually, I would get the old boyfriend introduction which usually went well. With my soon to be step father, I always knew there was something a little off. Couldn’t ever really pin down what it was, but he was just off, if ever so slightly. But hey, my mom really liked this guy, so I was in. Made my way through some awkward teenage years with him, and off to college. Still, I felt like I was missing something with him. Then, in 1997, and my mom and step dad divorce. Towards then end, he would grow very impatient and I guess they would fight a lot, but I wasn’t around to see it as I had long since moved out and had my own life to lead in a different state. Didn’t ever hear him come up much in conversation after that.
Now, fast forward to 2007. My mom, unfortunately had cancer and it was nearing the end of her life. I spent the last two weeks with her at her house, just talking and letting her know how much I loved her and what a great mom she had been. For those that have never seen a loved one pass away from cancer, it’s not very pleasant. They tend to get a little loopy, forgetful and generally speaking, aren’t 100% with it. So, sitting on the couch next to her on one of these days, she exclaims ‘Well, I suppose I can tell you about your stepfather now’. My eyes perked right up, I knew it I knew it, something was off about him! Maybe he went AWOL from the Army? Maybe he had a kid I didn’t know about? She continued on ‘Your stepfather was a gay porn star in the 70s’. This, I had not expected.”
Walking Away From A Previous Life
“During the Communist takeover, my grandfather was called to fight in China. Living in Malaysia at the time, he was pretty sure he wasn’t coming back. He told his wife (my paternal grandmother) his goodbyes and probably to remarry before he left. He then started a new family in China. My grandmother was heartbroken and never recovered, mentally or emotionally. My father has pictures of his half-family and regularly talks to them. It’s eerie to see how similar in appearance they are.
Mostly, I just find it difficult to imagine having to leave your family just like that, and deciding to start a new life. My father and his half-brother have similar names, and I imagine that my grandfather (who I never met) was just as devastated at having to leave.”
The Missing Uncle
“I recently learned that my father had an older brother named Michael who died just after my mother and father met. My father never spoke about him and my grandfather, who had started a massive manufacturing company in Sweden, became a different person after the death. You see Michael suffered from schizophrenia and was a diabetic. A few weeks before his death he went missing and nobody knew where he went except my grandfather who had a hunch that he was up in their summer cabin in Northern Sweden, because it was their special place where they would go in the summers when Michael was young. My grandfather went up there to find the door wide open and the master bedroom locked. He busted the door open and found his dead son. He has never spoken about the cause of death.
Ever since everyone says he’s been completely different, and that he spent most of his time in the cabin where Michael died. And I learned all of this because in his will he left me all his fortune and a letter explaining why.”
Whose Son Is Whose?
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“You might need to draw a diagram to understand this one. My dad was born when my grandma was 18 and my ‘grandpa’ was 14. My father never looked like his ‘dad’ and always thought his mom had an affair (for context, my dad’s family is all Lebanese but he is very fair-skinned, which was partially why he assumed it had been an affair). When his ‘dad’s’ father, my great-grand-father, was on his death bed due to cancer, a relative confessed to my dad that his ‘grandfather’ was actually his father. My dad had my stepmom take hair out of his real father’s head and had it sent for DNA testing which confirmed it (yeah, little morbid if you ask me).
So basically, my grandma had an affair with a married man when she was 18, had one, possibly 2, children with him, then married his SON and had another 4 kids. So my dad’s siblings are both his siblings and his nieces/nephews, and the man who raised him is actually his brother.
Yeah, I don’t talk to that side of the family anymore.”
A Stuffed Rabbit Named For A Sister She Never Knew
“Just a couple of weeks ago my mom confessed to me that I had an older sister who died at birth. It isn’t as bad as some of the things in this thread, but I was entirely shocked. My entire life I’ve wanted a sister, and throughout my childhood I made a point about this, and yet my family never told me. My dad has had depression for a long time, and my mom always told me that he hasn’t always been this way and he just hasn’t been dealing with his emotions properly. I always just assumed there wasn’t a particular reason for it, but it turns out it’s because he hasn’t gotten over her death and refuses to see a mental health professional about his depression.
This is a little bit silly, but for me, this part was really shocking and…freaky. When I was a toddler, I had a certain plushie rabbit that was essentially my most well-beloved security toy. I always have had a special attachment to it. I named it Katriana. It turns out that was also the name of my would-be sister. I had no idea.”
A Priest With A Big Secret
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“So my grandpa used to go on these ‘business trips’ for years and years and the vast majority of the family believed that he was really a marriage counselor. He ended up dying a few years ago and it turns out he was a priest, the way we all found out was because we weren’t invited to his funeral because his family had never heard of us.
Because ya know, priests can’t get married.”