17 Freaky Conspiracy Theories You've Probably Never Heard Before

Long story short: J.K. Rowling isn't who she says she is.

We asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about the weird conspiracy theories they've always secretly believed. Here are the wild results.

Note: These are theories and aren't being presented as facts, so just have fun reading this.

1. All birds died in 1986 and were replaced with drones to spy on the public.

Wikipedia / Public Domain / en.wikipedia.org, Wikipedia / Creative Commons / en.wikipedia.org

This conspiracy theory claims that Ronald Reagan somehow got rid of all birds in 1986 and replaced them with government drones to spy on the human race. A little farfetched, but think about it... have you ever seen a baby pigeon?

—ayeaz

2. Leo DiCaprio had something to do with River Phoenix's overdose.

Warner Bros., New Line Cinema

Shortly after his Oscar nomination for Running on Empty, River Phoenix was asked what movie he wanted to do next. He pulled out a copy of The Basketball Diaries and said, "I want to play Jim Carroll." Phoenix would have done anything to get this role, but apparently Leo DiCaprio wanted it as well. That's why he played a part in Phoenix's fatal overdose.

In fact, Leo has even admitted to seeing Phoenix at a party in LA the night he died. After his untimely death, the role of Jim Carroll went to Leo DiCaprio, which helped launch him into superstardom.

—kend4fe281761

3. The Red Cross is using everyone's blood donations for satanic rituals.

Wikipedia / Public Domain / en.wikipedia.org, Warner Bros. Pictures

Something sinister is going on with the blood donations the Red Cross collects. Sometimes they sell it for profit, and other times the government uses it for biowarfare testing. Most shockingly, the Illuminati uses it for satanic rituals.

—PHM8

4. Stevie Wonder isn't really blind.

Billboard / billboard.com, ABC

A lot of people believe this one. Donald Glover even got a little suspicious after meeting Stevie Wonder a few times. He claimed that some things just weren't adding up. Interesting!

—t459a2b505

5. Big Pharma already has cures for HIV, cancers, and other diseases and illnesses, but is hiding them.

Paramount Pictures, Relativity

This one is simple: the pharmaceutical industry makes billions and billions of dollars each year, so they have no interest in releasing the already-existing vaccines. Unfortunately, lifetime treatments for an "incurable" disease are way more lucrative for them.

—mleigh91 and reginaldcartwright

6. J.K. Rowling isn't who she says she is.

Harpo Studios / Warner Bros. Pictures

Some people believe that J.K. Rowling didn't actually write the Harry Potter books. Instead, they were ghost-written by a giant group people. This conspiracy theory goes one step further and claims that Rowling is actually Rita Skeeter, and she wrote the stories of Harry Potter after being banished from the Wizarding World.

—msky13

7. There really is a government organization similar to the one in Men in Black.

Columbia Pictures

Aliens exist, and the government is trying to cover it up. They have a secret organization, almost identical to the one in Men in Black, whose job is to destroy all evidence and memory of alien lifeforms.

—emmat468f520ed

8. Coke and Pepsi are secretly owned by the same people.

Pepsi / youtube.com

Apparently the rivalry between each company is completely fake. It's simply used as a ploy to get people to take sides and buy more of each product. That way the people who secretly own both companies will make even more money.

—amandag487f9b07e

9. Ed Sheeran is the only person who remembers a once-famous band, so he's been stealing their songs.

Universal Pictures, CBS

This echoes the same plot of the movie Yesterday, which Ed Sheeran randomly starred in. Basically, Ed Sheeran woke up one day and was the only person who could remember a particular famous band. Because he was the only one who had a memory of their music, he stole all their songs and claimed them as his own. How else would you explain his having 14 songs in the UK Top 15 at the same time? Nobody is that good.

—mathewrhysdesign

10. Ancestry DNA kits are being used by the government to track everyone.

Wikipedia / Public Domain / en.wikipedia.org, Warner Bros. Pictures

Ancestry DNA kits are actually kind of genius. Not only are you paying to give the government samples of your DNA, but you're also letting them do research on you and your family. Now they can track you, learn about your genetics, and keep records of your extremely personal information.

—katiel4f100bf4c

11. Beards mess with facial recognition software, and that's why you've seen all those articles about how "dirty" they are.

instagram.com / Marvel

This one is pretty self-explanatory. It's hard for the government to keep tabs on humans if their facial recognition software doesn't work, so they anonymously claimed that beards were unsanitary, in hopes that people would shave them.

—monikap6

12. Paul McCartney died in the '60s and was replaced with a lookalike.

BBC / ABC

This one is dark. Apparently Paul McCartney died in a car crash in 1966. He was then replaced by a lookalike because the band's managers thought there'd be an uptake in suicides if people found out the truth about his death. The other Beatles members apparently referred to the lookalike as "Faul," a combination of the words "fake Paul."

—bethg40b0877a0 and erinmichaela1

13. The TV was created to distract people from the government.

CBS Productions

The first American TV stations came into existence in the late '20s and early '30s, but televisions weren't commercially sold until about 1938. Around the same time, the government was making a lot of mistakes and needed to distract the public from what was really going on. Interesting.

Editor's note: During her 2009 SAG Lifetime Achievement Award speech, Betty White admitted to being part of an "experimental" thing called television. Does this mean she's also part of the coverup? You tell me.

—antara238

14. Your entire existence is just part of a simulation.

Paramount Pictures

Reality is an illusion. Every decision you've ever made, everything you've ever seen or believed, and everything in existence (even the entire universe) is fake. Essentially, we're all stuck in a computer game and someone has been controlling us.

—viciousxvenom

15. There's an alternate reality on the other side of mirrors.

Fox Searchlight Pictures, Monkeypaw Productions

What if the reason we can't walk through mirrors is because our reflection is always blocking us? Think about it. The thing that exists on the other side of mirrors is actually an alternate reality. Our doppelgängers live on the other side, and every time you die you're reincarnated as one of your doppelgängers from an alternate universe.

—sophiemariepouncey

16. They sank the Titanic on purpose to collect insurance money.

Wikipedia / Public Domain / en.wikipedia.org, Paramount Pictures

The Titanic had a sister ship (aka the Olympic) which was actually involved in a collision and had been damaged. They tricked everyone by pawning off the Olympic as the Titanic, and then they sunk it in the middle of the ocean to hide the evidence and collect the insurance money. How else could an unsinkable ship sink?

—caitlina49e0ae741

17. And Nic Cage isn't actually from earth.

United Artists, Buena Vista Pictures

Nic Cage is an abandoned alien. His increasingly oddball behavior is a result of him getting fed up with humans and all of our troubles. He acts this way because he wants to go home. His early days as an actor were basically just him adjusting to being on earth, but now he really, really wants out.

—colleend9

What bizarre, wild, or lesser-known conspiracy theory melts your mind? Tell us about it in the comments below!