Every family has their secrets, it's only natural. Some things are just so foul and wrong that they just have to stay in the family. Some of them even go to the grave.
Sharing these dark secrets is very brave, considering the taboo topics that might come up. I ask you, oh brave pandas, to share some of the darkest ones that you have. I put a trigger warning in advance, since I'm aware that some of you might go into some really dark stuff. This thread might not be for the weakest of stomachs.
#21
I met my bio father in 2008. We met in person twice. We lived in different states. Met my 3 half sisters and 2 half brothers. We talked on the phone and wrote often. One day the calls stopped. Found out he was in prison for sexually abusing a few of his grandkids. I waited about 2 years to decide to write him. The day I went to look for the address to the prison I found his obituary and his funeral was that same day.
99points
#22
So I know this isn't as good (or bad?) as some of the other stories but a few generations back two brothers fought over the civil war and never talked again. A few years later, a girl from the confederate side of the family and a boy from the union side met at a lets-forgive-and-forget-but-I-still-hate-you type family gathering. They fell in love and started a family (keep in mind they're some kind of cousins or something). Fast-forward a few generations and I'm named after that girl.
96points
#23

It’s not actually disturbing or anything but somehow the fact my great gran got admitted to a psyche ward because she became s*****al has become something no one talks about. She died 5 or so years ago and I only found out this year that 20 years ago she was admitted for a few months and both my mum and gran are really ashamed of this fact.
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93points
#24

Take your pick: The murderer, the murderer who got away, or the one who a***ed children to death (murdered) without suspicion.
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92points
#25

The darkest secret our family has is a few streaks of alcoholism here and there and the fact that we're so boring that we don't have dark secrets.
91points
#26

Quite some secrets here.
- My mom and her sisters were a***ed by the same uncle when they were little. No one believed my mom when she spoke back in the day, and her sisters never said anything until last year, I think.
- My grandad from my mom's side was a alcoholic and a violent person. He hit my grandma A LOT, and also hit my uncles when they were little. Everyone in town knows him as a great and kind person, and the greatest friend.
- We don't know who my dad's father is. My grandma never said a word, never will. The man I call my grandpa on his side doesn't Even look like him. Other people know who my bio grandad is, but no one seems to remember the name. Also my dad doesn't care so idk who my actual grandad is and probably will never know.
- Word says my grandad from my dad found his wife sleeping with this other man and set her on fire, leaving her a huge very visible scar on her belly, chest and neck, almost to her face. He denies it all.
There's more, but it's getting quite long, so I'll leave it at that. Quite the family.
- My mom and her sisters were a***ed by the same uncle when they were little. No one believed my mom when she spoke back in the day, and her sisters never said anything until last year, I think.
- My grandad from my mom's side was a alcoholic and a violent person. He hit my grandma A LOT, and also hit my uncles when they were little. Everyone in town knows him as a great and kind person, and the greatest friend.
- We don't know who my dad's father is. My grandma never said a word, never will. The man I call my grandpa on his side doesn't Even look like him. Other people know who my bio grandad is, but no one seems to remember the name. Also my dad doesn't care so idk who my actual grandad is and probably will never know.
- Word says my grandad from my dad found his wife sleeping with this other man and set her on fire, leaving her a huge very visible scar on her belly, chest and neck, almost to her face. He denies it all.
There's more, but it's getting quite long, so I'll leave it at that. Quite the family.
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90points
#27
There are really two......my old man was a sociopath, closet p***phile with a sadistic streak......when my maternal grandfather dies he persuaded my maternal grandmother to move in with us, sold her house and pocketed the lot. Charged her rent from her pension and treated her abysmally. When she was 82 he left a note on the kitchen table telling her to be out of his house by the time he got home from work, THAT day. All because supposedly she had omitted to pass on a phone message.
He was a complete a'hole whom I hated with a passion and I'm glad he is gone.
89points
#28
I am my family's darkest secret.
1. My birth mother was a teenager who became pregnant by her high school History teacher. I was put up for adoption and never spoken of again.
2. My adoptive mother and I lived with her father. I was told my father was dead, having been k***ed in the war. That was untrue. He left us when I was a toddler to start another family in the next town over.
I did not find out about any of this until after my adoptive mother died. I was 32.
1. My birth mother was a teenager who became pregnant by her high school History teacher. I was put up for adoption and never spoken of again.
2. My adoptive mother and I lived with her father. I was told my father was dead, having been k***ed in the war. That was untrue. He left us when I was a toddler to start another family in the next town over.
I did not find out about any of this until after my adoptive mother died. I was 32.
82points
#29
I was raised by my mom, no dad in the picture. When I was a teenager, I guess my dad reached out to my mom to have contact with us (my brother and I). My mom asked us first if we wanted that, and my brother did, so I also agreed even though I didn't really care.
Well right before we met him for the first time, my mom told us that he was married when they were dating. He was cheating on his wife with her. I apparently have two half siblings, one is older than my brother and the other was born between me and my brother. (I still don't know if my mom knew about the wife while she was dating my dad.)
We stopped having contact with my dad only three months after starting contact. My brother invited him to his football game, but he didn't show up. I hate my dad for disappointing because my brother because he really wanted it to work out and to have a father.
I should note that I found out my brother asked my mom for my dad's contact information when my brother's wife was pregnant. He told my mom he wanted to see if there were any health problems on that side of the family that he should be worried about due to the pregnancy. My mom is pretty sure he just wanted to tell his dad that he was having a kid.
79points
#30
My grandparents met and married within 7 days; my grandma already had my mom at that point (from a r**e, she was only 16). A few years and 2 more daughters later, they divorce and she moves away and meets a man, who we'll call Tom, and marries him. About a year later, she leave him for my grandfather and they remarry. Now when she left Tom his own mother tells him she got in a car accident and died. Fast forward about 30 years an my grandmother applies for social security and they tell her, "oh, you're last name is so and so." She responds, no, my last name is "this." Nope, sorry ma'am, our records indicate your last name is so and so. She does a little sleuthing and finds Tom. She speaks with Tom's wife who tells her what Tom's mother said and so he never divorced my grandma. She also told my grandma that he never got over her and she wasn't going to mention this to him. My grandma said, "well, you're not really married to him, I am, so unless you want me back in your life, you'll get this taken care of PDQ." So, she got a divorce and married my grandpa for a 3rd time. When we had a family meeting for them to tell us, their 3 daughters and grandkids cracked up laughing, but my grandparents didn't think it was funny.
74points
#31
Not really a secret as she had no trouble telling everyone, but my mom wanted to k*** me and my brother and “bury em in the backyard” so there’s that
71points
#32
My grandpa's brother on my mom's side who I grew up knowing as a nice man that I called Uncle Bill. He had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a distant cousins young daughter and got her pregnant. He told her to tell everyone she didn't know who the father was. She slept over their house frequently for some reason and she gave birth in their basement and he tossed the baby into the furnace.
70points
#33
Not really a secret, but we are related to Americas first serial k***er, Boone Helm
67points
#34
3 half siblings from Dad (older than us )but named the same as my brother and two sisters,
66points
#35
It is known that I suffer from depression and I am on antidepressants. But what i have not told anyone is that the antidepressants have not worked as they should and that I've tried taking my own life several times so far this year
66points
#36
A person in our family has committed multiple felonies and crimes (none of physical violence). Due to therapy, financial wealth, and cunning secretive behavior, they have never had to pay the price for their actions.
65points
#37
Me. I'm the first one in the family to have gone to prison.
56points
#38
Buckle up, we're about to go on a crazy ride. First thing first, this was a secret only hidden from me.
A few decades ago, I met someone who seemed like the perfect match for me. We clicked so well, it almost seemed that we were destined for each other. We had several mental issues. It caused some strain, however we helped each other pull through it and we progressed further than anyone would've thought. At first, I took her mom's lead when things went bad (she had schizophrenia, bipolar and OCD). I thought sedating her was a simple way out. So, I tried talking her through it. Sedating her was a last resort for me. The more that happened, the better it got. Her Mom was told that she would never be able to live on her own and bought an apartment building, so she would have some illusion of Independence. However, the more I worked with her, you couldn't see a trace of any serious mental illnesses. The honeymoon period wore off. Honestly, I think I felt it earlier. But, I thought it would be too devastating for her to lose the relationship. I took some soul searching and remembered why I feel in love with her in the first place. It worked in a hundred fold. A couple years later, she felt that. Broke it off, with very few regrets (& not even giving a chance to rethink it). My little brother had a crush on her from his early teen years. He thought I didn't deserve her. He never saw her at her worst and thought she was always at her best (though, I don't mean anything negative for her at these points). Now, here's where it becomes relevant to this post. He started dating her. That information was kept from me for a couple years. I had some suspicions, but no answers. It was usually brought up in a side note, but carefully covered. I didn't know for sure until one of my friends asked me if we were on good terms (my brother and me). Now, I do feel bad, but I take some pleasure in this. Without the constant care, she has reverted back to where she was. Also, my brother can be on the selfish side, he left her.
50points


