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Cardiff Giant -

In 1869, farm workers digging a well in Cardiff, New York, uncovered what appeared to be a fossilized man. The man was nearly 10 feet (3 meters) tall. Some believed this was proof of the giants mentioned in the Bible.

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Cardiff Giant -

The Cardiff Giant was, however, a hoax by a man named George Hull. Hull pulled the stunt after an argument about Genesis 6:4 (where giants are mentioned) at a Methodist meeting. He wanted to prove how easy it was to fool people.

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'The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ' -

Russian journalist and adventurer Nicolas Notovitch wrote this book in 1894. It's about Jesus' unknown years. The author claimed that Jesus traveled to India and studied with Hindus and Buddhists.

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'The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ' -

Notovich's writings were supposedly based on a Tibetan manuscript he came across at the Hemis Monastery in India. But modern scholars say Notovich's account of Jesus' travels to India are a hoax.

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'The Lost Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles' -

'The Lost Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles,' also known as the 'Sonnini Manuscript,' was a text first published in London in 1871. It was supposedly a translation of a Greek manuscript of the end of the Book of Acts.

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'The Lost Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles' -

The manuscript was supposed to be the 29th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, and detailed Paul the Apostle's journey to Britain. But no trace of the original manuscript was ever found. The lack of evidence has led scholars to consider it a hoax.

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Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite -

This Greek author described himself as the embodiment of Dionysius the Areopagite (the real one is pictured), who was the convert of Paul the Apostle mentioned in Acts 17:34.

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Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite -

His works, known as 'Corpus Areopagiticum,' were very influential in Western mysticism, but channeling a dead man through writing surely makes many skeptics cringe.

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'Prophecy of the Popes' -

The 'Prophecy of the Popes' consists of 112 cryptic phrases in Latin that supposedly predicted Catholic popes, from Celestine II (1143–1144) onwards. The prophecy is attributed to 12th-century Irish archbishop Saint Malachy.

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'Prophecy of the Popes' -

The 'Prophecy of the Popes' was first published in 1595 by Benedictine monk Arnold Wion. But despite its prophetic claims dating back centuries, it's believed to have been written shortly before it was published.

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Priory of Sion -

The Priory of Sion was a fraternal organization founded in France in 1956. It was based on a supposedly secret society founded in 1099 by the Frenchman Godfrey on Bouillon (leader of the First Crusade, who became ruler of Jerusalem).

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Priory of Sion -

Priory of Sion was rooted in the notion of a Jesus bloodline, which was later popularized in books such as Dan Brown's 'The Da Vinci Code.' Despite the numerous conspiracy theories, the whole thing has been considered a hoax.

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'Oahspe: A New Bible' -

'Oahspe: A New Bible' was written in 1882 by American dentist and spiritualist John Ballou Newbrough. The book was supposedly written by automatic writing (i.e. he was spiritually guided to write the words). However, it contains multiple factual errors and unfulfilled prophecies.

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'Oahspe: A New Bible' -

The title page reads: "A New Bible in the Words of Jehovih and His Angel Ambassadors. A Sacred History of the Dominions of the Higher and Lower Heavens on the Earth for the Past Twenty-Four Thousand Years together with a Synopsis of the Cosmogony of the Universe; the Creation of Planets; the Creation of Man; the Unseen Worlds; the Labor and Glory of Gods and Goddesses in the Etherean Heavens; with the New Commandments of Jehovih to Man of the Present Day."

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'Monita Secreta' -

The 'Monita Secreta,' also known as the 'Secret Instructions of the Jesuits' is an alleged code of instructions to make the Jesuit Order more powerful and influential.

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'Monita Secreta' -

The instructions supposedly came from Claudio Acquaviva, the fifth Superior General of the Society of Jesus. But scholars attribute it to Polish friar Jerome Zahorowsk, who was expelled from the order before he wrote it in 1615. It's essentially anti-Jesuit propaganda.

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Maria Monk -

In 1836, Maria Monk exposed an alleged account of abuse of Catholic nuns and the killing on infants by the clergy in Montreal, Canada. However, the book was dismissed by scholars as an anti-Catholic hoax.

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Letter of Benan -

This alleged translation from a fifth-century Coptic papyrus was issued by Ernst Edler von der Planitz in 1910. But evidence of the original works were never found.

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Holy Fire -

The Holy Fire is an Orthodox Christian miracle that occurs every year on Great Saturday (the day before Orthodox Easter) at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

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Holy Fire -

The fire supposedly comes from a blue light that's emitted from Jesus' tomb. It then turns into fire and lights up the candles held by clergy and pilgrims. Many theories have been put forward, including the use of white phosphorus, which has self-ignition properties.

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Letter of Lentulus -

This epistle was supposedly written by governor of Judea Publius Lentulus centuries before its publication, in the 15th century. The letter contains a physical description of Jesus Christ. This description likely influenced how Jesus was depicted in art.

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Letter of Lentulus -

Part of it reads: "He is a man of medium size [...] His hair is of the color of the ripe hazel-nut, straight down to the ears, but below the ears wavy and curled, with a bluish and bright reflection, flowing over his shoulders. It is parted in two on the top of the head, after the pattern of the Nazarenes. His brow is smooth and very cheerful with a face without wrinkle or spot, embellished by a slightly reddish complexion. His nose and mouth are faultless. His beard is abundant, of the color of his hair, not long, but divided at the chin."

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Gospel of Josephus -

The manuscript attributed to Jewish historian Flavius Josephus was actually created by Italian writer Luigi Moccia in 1927 as a publicity stunt for one of his books.

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Book of Jasher -

This lost book is mentioned in the Bible. This led to (at least) a couple of forgeries, in the 18th and 19th century. The supposed books were all dismissed as hoaxes.

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'The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ' -

This book was written by American preacher Levi H. Dowling and was published in 1908. 'The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ' throws astrology and mystical knowledge into the mix.

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James Ossuary -

In 2002, an antiquities dealer in Israel claimed to have found an ossuary (empty) that belonged to James, the brother of Jesus. The box had an inscription in Aramaic that read: "James, Son of Joseph, Brother of Jesus."

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James Ossuary -

But in 2003, the Israeli Antiquities Authority concluded that the inscription was actually a modern forgery carved on an ancient ossuary box.

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Noah's Ark hoax -

In 1993, a man named George Jammal claimed to have found Noah's Ark in Turkey. There was even a TV special about it called 'The Incredible Discovery of Noah's Ark.' It was all a hoax.

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Noah's Ark hoax -

While Noah's Ark itself is yet to be found, science has confirmed that the Great Flood could have actually happened.

Sources: (Live Science)

See also: The Swiss Guard: from feared mercenaries to protectors of the Pope

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