10 Lesser Known Conspiracy Theories

Crazy man affraid of conspiracy and extra terrestrial aliens

We all know the good conspiracy theories that are out there – UFOs at Area 51; contrails are chemtrails, 9-11 was anything more than religion gone insane; David Icke’s lizard-people shape-shifters ruling the world; the USA government creating COVID-19 and using it against China under Trump’s direct orders. While I wouldn’t put that last one outside the realms of possibility, when it comes to any conspiracy theory anywhere, I have one word to say to you: Watergate. If a break-in could not be kept quiet and eventually implicated a paranoid president, then how could anything else be kept hidden? And the bigger the theory, the more likely it is BS. Think of the sheer number of people who would have to know, and who those people know… and all of them keep quiet? No way…

 

Before I start, I should point out that I have studied conspiracy theories for a number of years because of my involvement in a skeptics group. I have seen the science (as in real, peer-reviewed, actual science) to disprove 90% of the theories, and those that cannot be disproved because of “magic”, well, I am a scientist. If you can’t prove it, forget it.

 

But the main reason I am mentioning theories is not to convert you or to make belief in them seem stupid, it is simply because studying these theories gives great ammunition for stories.

 

Having said all that, there is one theory I do believe – big pharmaceutical companies deliberately stymie drugs that are cures. Why? Because keeping people sick and needing drugs that only keep things under control is more profitable than a cure which ends everything, and that means they get less money. And this, strangely, comes from my research. I thing Big Pharma is almost as evil as Walt Disney Corp. That’s it. Sorry.

 

Okay, so here are ten lesser known conspiracy theories writers could use to spice up their horror worlds. You might have heard of some before, but to the world at large, they are not that well-known.

 

1) The real reason for the invasion of Iraq was not WMDs but because Saddam Hussein had a Stargate
Yep. You read that right. A Stargate, a thing from a great 1980s sci-fi film, was actually found and Saddam owned it and the USA wanted it… and, more than that, they got it. That is why technology has become so much more pervasive, more powerful and has greater ability since the 1990s. Try telling a 1990s kid that we could say, “Alexa, order me a pizza the way I like it and get me tickets to the latest Marvel movie,” and a computer did it and we’d think you were writing some weird science fiction. It’s too much too quickly; therefore, it’s all coming through the Stargate. Makes sense, really.

 

2) Britney Spears protected George Bush no.2
This theory states that every time a big thing was happening in the White House during the Bush Administration that was bad for said administration, suddenly Britney did something weird. The timing is reasonably good, truth be told, but it might just have been a simple case of “Look at me!” syndrome or it could have been (shock!) coincidence. Still, Britney dropped her baby (allegedly) when Bush’s approval ratings hit shocking lows, she shaved her head when it was obvious Bush lied about the war in the Middle East being over, the CIA person who blew undercover operatives’ covers was thrown off the front page by Spears’ two and a half day marriage. And what happened when Obama became president? Spears started to lead a normal (by famous person standards) life. However, Miley Cyrus started to act crazy… and then calmed down when Trump took over… Hmm…

 

3) Vaccination trackers
We’ve all heard the vaccination conspiracies: vaccines cause autism (false, proven so, and started by a doctor to sell an alternative); vaccines contain nanobots to control us (then explain people doing inexplicable things); vaccines contain drugs that make the population stupider (then why do anti-vaxxers appear to be more stupid than average?). You know the drill. But how about this one – vaccines are a means of putting in secret tracking devices so governments know our every move and, according to some, even our every thought. The problem? In the Western world with the rise of smartphones and everything being done online, this is totally unnecessary. We tell the government what we’re doing and where we are.

 

4) Henry Ford saved many Nazi war criminals
This conspiracy has two parts. The first is that Henry Ford, noted anti-Semite, was a supporter of the Third Reich and when it looked like Hitler’s insanity was going to lead to Germany’s defeat, he personally intervened to ensure the shining lights – officers, scientists and bureaucrats – were brought to the USA. There, he ensured they were given jobs and new identities and hidden, with help from the Ku Klux Klan. Part two is that many of these people ended up employed by another anti-Semite, Walt Disney. Okay, while Ford was anti-Semite, the jury is still out when it comes to the Lord of Mouse. He did (and the company continues to do) a lot of nasty stuff, but this is an unproven myth. Second, a large number of German-speaking or German-accented people suddenly lobbing into the USA would not have gone unnoticed, even with Ford’s monetary resources. Still, demonising is fun, isn’t it?

 

5) The Large Hadron Collider opened a warm-hole that enabled aliens to contact us
The scientific world was stunned when the LHC actually proved the existence of the Higgs boson particle. It was incredible and helped expand our knowledge of the universe itself. But, according to those “in the know”, it did more than that. Some were worried that the LHC would open a world-destroying black hole. Instead, it opened a worm-hole to another dimension and the negotiations between the two sides – alien and Earthling – have been going on ever since. That’s 8 years of negotiations… I give it another twenty years, minimum, before we know the truth.

 

6) A secret Nazi base exists in the Antarctic
Nazis again! The most common Nazi secret base theory is the moon one, but the fact is, if they have a base on the moon, considering how examined and watched the moon is, then they’re not doing much with it. But there is another Nazi base theory, and that is that a bunch of them escaped to a base on the Antarctic continent. Still widely unexplored, covered by ice and so remote we know very little about it, they could just be biding their time, building up their resources, gathering recruits, breeding, whatever else, waiting for a chance to attack again. The problem? Guys, it’s been 75 years! Do something already!

 

7) Britney Spears recorded an album without her record company’s knowledge that was subsequently banned and hidden because it claimed she was a clone
Do I need to say anything else? It’s Spears again. What is it with her? Well, apparently, she recorded a secret album that detailed how corrupt the music industry was and admitted that Spears herself was a clone created by said music industry. She played one song on a radio station – going there in person, mind, to give them a copy of a CD with this track – the record company heard it, freaked out, and did whatever they do to clones to make them toe the line. But it does make you wonder – what was on that album that the record company did not want anyone to know? Wow, Britney Spears is coming across like some sort of deranged female Jason Bourne here. To add to the clone story, Britney’s voice has gone up in register since she was a kid…

 

8) 666 is the Number of the Beast
You know, thanks to Iron Maiden, whenever I heard that, I sing it in my head. Well, the original translations of the revelation of John put the number he indicated as 666, and since then the number has had some nasty connotations: cars with that license plate keep getting into trouble, highways have been renamed, hotels use different numbering systems, the works. But is it? Really? Well, even when I studied comparative religion (an off-course subject, which were compulsory back in the 80s in Australian universities) (and, yes, I studied that while doing a science degree) there were doubts about the number, with several other numbers being thrown out there. However, the latest research indicates the number in the Bible is actually 616. So get ready for a bunch of people using that to prove so-an-so are the Antichrist, as they did with 666!

 

9) Elvis Presley did, in fact, die, but it happened in 1958
In 1958, Elvis Presley was drafted into the US army and subsequently spent a year in Germany. When he returned, his style was muted. The raw sensuality of his early performances was gone, replaced by mum-pleasing fare, traditional songs and, heaven help us all, novelty songs, and this image was reinforced in a string of increasingly terrible movies. More than that, he never toured outside the US. Why? Well, it seems that he wanted to make more money which is why he softened his image, and he never toured because his manager Col Parker was an illegal immigrant and couldn’t travel. But how about this? On New Year’s Eve 1958, Elvis died in a drunken mishap. He was replaced by one of the many Europeans doing Elvis impersonations. He couldn’t tour because he wasn’t Elvis. He grew depressed at living another’s life and that was why he went off the rails in the 70s. Makes sense, right?

 

10) Melania Trump is an agent of Vladimir Putin
Well, this is obvious, isn’t it? Allegedly, she is a Slovenian fashion model who Donald Trump paid to be his wife and bear him some sprog. That’s most likely true. But what if she was paid by Putin to become Mrs Trump, and that was how Putin ensured he knew what was going on, and led Trump to the White House which, thanks to Trump, Putin now runs? So odd. But… it does sort of make sense. More sense than anything else on this list.

 

As a writer, using any of these sorts of conspiracy theories (even if not the exact theory) can add a whole new dimension and set-up for a story. Better yet, if characters believe it, it would surely affect how they interacted with the world. Or you could even make up your own. It’s surprisingly not that hard to do. And, truth be told, I made up one of the theories on this list. Can you tell which one? Bet you can’t. So, as writers, go for it – use one, change one or invent your own. Conspiracies make for great horror tropes.

 

Good writing!