Millions of people worldwide celebrate one memorable holiday every year, where they party with friends and families, gather around for dinner, enjoy the tradition of gift-giving, and bask in the company of the loved ones: Christmas.
Families big and small make the time and efforts, sometimes spending a good amount of money, to make sure everyone has the merriest Christmas in their lifetime.
Schools and businesses are off, so no one has to be bothered with anything that may distract them from having a whole night and day of fun.
In Christmas 1945, the Sodders, too, was having a good time all night long at the family home in Fayetteville, West Virginia that the children didn’t even want to sleep early.
Their Christmas joy, unfortunately, had to end in a terrifying way when a fire broke out in the middle of the night, turning the home into ash and leading to the disappearance of five children.
The mystery surrounding the fire and the whereabouts of those children remain a mystery today.
10 /10 A Loud Thud
Except for one son who at the time was away serving in the Army, George Sodder along with his wife Jennie and their nine children: John (23), Marion (17), George Jr. (16), Maurice (14), Martha (12), Louis (9), Jennie (8), Betty (5), and Sylvia (2), were all present.
Approaching midnight, Jenny was awoken by a phone call asking for someone who didn’t live there.
Sounds of laughter and clinking glasses in the background made her think it was probably a call from a drunk person. Some moments later, she heard a sound of a large object hitting her roof.
9 /10 Fire Broke Out
Just moments following the loud thud, Jennie has woken again for the third time, but now she could smell smoke.
A fire broke out. The two parents, the three eldest siblings, and the youngest family escaped the burning house.
Marion ran to a neighbor’s home to call the fire department, but she received no response.
Another neighbor drove into town to find Fire Chief F.J. Morris. Morris couldn’t go to a fire truck, so he had to ring around to find a fireman who could.