Wikipedia Rabbit Holes
Fiction about hyperspecific stuff that'll get you lost in Wikipedia if you're not careful — the more niche the better. Suggestions welcome, but to make the cut, there MUST be a corresponding Wikipedia page!! Links in the comments to get you started.
created by teddydee
last updated May, 2026
Comments
WIKIPEDIA RABBIT HOLES — BEINGS (Masad): link — A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEVEN KILLINGS (James): link — BURIAL RITES (Kent): link — CURSED BREAD (Mackintosh): link — THE DAY OF THE DOLPHIN (Merle): link — EVERYONE KNOWS YOUR MOTHER IS A WITCH (Galchen): link — THE FIRST WITCH OF BOSTON (Catalano): link — THE FORTUNE MEN (Mohamed): link — FRANKENSTEIN (Shelley): link — THE GUEST IN ROOM 120 (Ackerman): link — THE GLUTTON (Blakemore): link — INLAND (Obrecht): link — KING RICHARD III (Shakespeare): link — THE MANIAC (Labatut): link, link — MARY TOFT (Palmer); MARY AND THE RABBIT DREAM (Kiss-Deáki): link — THE MERCIES (Hargrave): link — MOBY-DICK (Melville): link, link — MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (Christie): link — THE NIGHT WE BECAME STRANGERS (Hughes): link — THE PEOPLE IN THE TREES (Yanagihara): link — THE PISCES (Broder): link — RIVER OF TEETH (Gailey): link — THE SATANIC VERSES (Rushdie): link — SONORA (Walsh): link, link — THE TERROR (Simmons): link
HONORABLE MENTIONS (no known Wikipedia page) — BONE HORN (Bussey-Chamberlain) — HOCUS POCUS (Charry) — THE WARLOW EXPERIMENT (Nathan): link [see p43]
teddydeeOP
If anybody can find a Wiki page for the real-life ad placed in 1797 which provided the basis for The Warlow Experiment I will owe you my life. SURELY this must be on here somewhere
Ok not technically a Wikipedia page but it’s hosted on wikimedia does that count??: Lancashire and Cheshire Historical and Genealogical Notes
Check page 43 for the goods!
teddydeeOP
😍 Weeeell... Ok I love this and am delighted you found it so I'm gonna include it for now as an edge case, lol. Thank you for your service!!
Sign 👏 me 👏 UP
Also I'll suggest The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave. It's based on two real events that seem kind of unbelievable at first: the Vardø storm in 1617, and the Vardø witch trials in 1621. Here's the link to the Wikipedia page. It's not super long so I understand if you don't want to include it but I started a deep dive from there when I first read it and then went onto other sources
teddydeeOP
Awesome, thanks! Sounds perfect :)
I am aghast I have never thought to catalogue all my book initiated rabbit holes. Brb guys, just got to go reread every book I've ever read & WRITE SHIT DOWN
i'm obsessed with this list teddy!! i have my laptop homepage set to wikipedia for a surprise every morning lol
teddydeeOP
Thanks! And that's so fun!! 😍 Got any recommendations for me?
ooh maybe The Maniac by Benjamin Labatut? it’s a fictional biography of von Neumann and AlphaGo vs Lee Sedol
ooh and Frankenstein was inspired by the work of Johann Konrad Dippel!
teddydeeOP
Ooh, thanks, pachinko! Added em both :)
Obsessed with this list idea! Highly recommend Shakespeare plays for this, especially his historical ones like Richard III for example I have ended up going down Wikipedia rabbit holes many a time through Shakespeare
teddydeeOP
Great idea! Thanks :) I'll work on adding some when I get home
This is once again making me wish there was enough info about the Silver Sisterhood for someone to write a book. It was a miracle there was a longer YouTube about it but it’s my Roman Empire of niche rabbit holes.
teddydeeOP
Whoa, thank you, I hadn't heard of this! Maybe someday...
teddydeeOP
I'm desperate for a book about Cabaret de l'Enfer & Cabaret du Ciel — I would kill for a nice coffee table book full of photos!! Alas.
Oh my god YES another person who loves that! You KNOW I’m a slut for this stuff!!!! If I had a Time Machine I’d absolutely visit these.
teddydeeOP
TAKE ME WITH YOU
If you are interested some time this is where I throw the rare YouTube videos I find on it. Tor did such a great job covering it, and RoseTinted includes links to sources for further rabbit hole diving haha. If I could buckle down and be serious I would reach out to as many people as possible and truly research it before everyone who lived in it or near it died out.
teddydeeOP
Obviously yes I am, thanks so much for enabling me :) have you played any of the video games? I can't believe that's even a real question, but???
I HAVENT been able to yet but I plan on it and have seen some smaller playthroughs and descriptions. That’s my next avenue of research lol trying to procure ROMs of however many I can find especially the Secrets of St Mary.
teddydeeOP
Lol godspeed, I hope they are fascinating!!!
Actually Ty so much for making this list and reminding me to look into this stuff again because a newer Reddit thread lead me not only to a bbc podcast with interviews from members but also another redditer who has been researching them for three years and is sending me all their info!!! HYPE
teddydeeOP
WHAT. That's so exciting!!! Maybe...maybe you could write the book 🧐...just sayin...
Ohhhh, what a great list! 👏 There were some rabbit holes I've fallen down... i'm very happy about more rabbit holes for me to check out 🙂↕️
teddydeeOP
If you've got any recs I'd love to have them :)
I will make sure to come back with any recs that I can think of :)
Omg I love a good Wikipedia deep dive 👏 great idea!!
I feel like I've read some books that would apply but I can't think of them at the moment, so for now I will enjoy the list as it is and click some links hehe
