Scary means different things to different people. For some, it's about ambiance. For some it's about real danger.
One Reddit user asked:
Reddit, what is the scariest place you've ever been?
So we'll be honest, we were expecting a bunch of stories about haunted houses. What we got was a whole lot of terrifying, yet mundane places. As it turns out, sometimes it's the circumstances and not the location that make something truly terrifying.
Be warned, this article talks about child abandonment, slow death, arson, abuse, and more.
Some places are scary because humanity can be scary.
Lemon Drop
Probably a cave, wriggling through a "lemon drop" as they called it, where you go feet first down a skinny tunnel and have to wriggle down about 12' before you drop into a chamber below.
About halfway my shoulders got stuck and it took like five excruciating minutes to get loose.
I don't know why I went spelunking, I'm claustrophobic.
Edit: to answer a few common questions:
- I got out through the exit at the bottom of the cave, the entrance was uphill so you had to turn back or go through the lemon drop to get out.
- I had kinda forgotten I'm claustrophobic. Or I guess it's better to say my claustrophobia improved and I didn't really feel the walls closing in until they were literally squeezing me from all sides.
- I don't know why I went in there, it was a free event and I was probably pretty high and bored at the time.
Last Messages
Reconstructed subway which was destroyed by arson years ago in Daegu, Korea. They memorialized the site: scorched walls, melted people's items, burnt phone booths and all.
But the scariest was the scorched walls with writings and handprints from loved ones of the people that were trapped during the fire. This subway is one of the busiest stations even today due to being the city's downtown area.
They're the last text messages that the victims sent to their families as they were dying. The trains locked and trapped people inside. They burned, succumbed to smoke inhalation, etc. It was slow. They had time for final conversations. If you search "Daegu subway fire texts" you can find translations, they're chilling.
- ciongyik
That's Not Fruit
Bay Area Forest GIF by Chris
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We were on our way to Flagstaff, AZ for the Overland Expo and planned to camp near there the night before it started since we were on a longer overland trip.
It was this place in the woods that was recommended by other who were there before. It all seemed fine and we set up camp.
At night when we brushed our teeth we noticed there were animal skulls hanging in the trees all around us, it was super scary.
We packed up and spend the night in a Hotel. We hope it was just some stupid "funny" hunters or something, but you never know, there might be a crazy guy...
- natkolbi
Still Waters Run Deep
The Strid is what happens when a fast-flowing river basically turns on its side, putting a vast amount of water through a very slim, very deep, very dark groove in the ground. It looks calm on the surface, but if you fall in, you are royally fcked.
There's a claim that it might be the most dangerous stretch of water in the world, and I can readily believe it.
It's not too far from where I used to live, so I decided to go there once. It's the most unassuming thing you can imagine, but knowing how dangerous it is just makes it seem ominous, especially when you consider how many people it may have killed and how few people ever wash up.
I didn't go within ten feet of the thing.
Freezing
Got stuck in my car in a freezing steppe during a really bad snow storm at -45 degrees Celsius. The snow was real deep and my car was stuck so badly it would take a truck to pull it out. Cellphone didn't work, maps didn't work.
For those who don't know, once the engine dies you have about 12 hours before you freeze to death. The worst thing is that the snow was so deep and the storm was so bad they probably wouldn't have found me until spring. I have been in a bunch of life threatening situations in my lifetime, but fuck, nothing is as scary as freezing to death in the middle of nowhere.
Thankfully, another guy saw me. He happened to be driving a real pumped up Land Cruiser, all geared up and shit. He gave me a real confused look once he realized I was driving a Jaguar XE, probably the last fcking car you want to drive there.
It would have been ok if I stayed on the road, I guess, but I couldn't see because of the storm and wandered about 50 meters off road. He pulled me out and led me for two hours at 40 km an hour, given he could easily do 120 thanks to his car.
A Leopard In The Darkness
leopard GIF
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The most scared I've felt was standing in the dark at a camp in the middle of nowhere in northern Botswana. The path was between the tent and the reception/dining area and all there was separating this path and the camp from the wilderness was a flimsy fence. There were no lamps.
I had stopped to admire the stars which blanketed the sky; then I lowered my gaze to stare out at the inky blackness beyond. It was so dark i could not even see my hand. The thought that ran through my head was that a lion or leopard could be watching me that very moment, could be mere metres away, and I would never know it until too late.
I stood there for a few minutes, savouring this fear, reminding myself that this was what it was like for humans only a few hundred years ago, and thousands before that. Humbling experience.
Statistically, the most dangerous place I've been to is a shantytown/township/informal settlement in Cape Town. Informal areas like these are among the most dangerous areas in South Africa, but funnily enough I didn't feel unsafe as I was there for only a couple of hours in daylight and the people around me were friendly.
Abandoned And Unable To Speak The Language
I got abandoned in a care home at 11 years old in a foreign country. That sht was scary!
My dad abducted me and took me to Switzerland. I was under the impression we were moving, but little did I know he was keeping me from my family, after 3 years his relationship with his girlfriend imploded and he decided he would leave me in a care home.
It took me a year but yeah I eventually learned to speak German.
I actually only found out that it was a case of child abduction recently (1 month ago) after my grandparents gave me a document containing all the information. After getting that document from my grandparents I really have no interest in a relationship with him anymore.
Nearly 10 years have passed since I left the care home. He had plenty of time to tell me the truth and explain himself - but honestly he hasn't changed at all. He just drinks all day. I plan to confront him, but after that I'm done with him.
I'm getting married next year so I feel it's time to forget about him and move on with my life I guess.
Trafficking
An Airbnb in Barcelona. I've spent quite a while in Spain, speak Spanish, and have visited Barcelona multiple times. I've also used Airbnb multiple times, and know what to check for. Two friends and I (all 20sF) picked an Airbnb with several favorable ratings, in a good neighborhood. One of the ones that's a room in someone's apartment.
Show up, and the two guys look nothing like the picture, but are very hospitable, so we went inside. They showed us around, and the apartment looked like the photos. Then they showed us the room and let us be. We open the door to the room and it's nothing like the photos. It's essentially a closet, 3 dirty twin mattresses on the floor with no pillows and blankets covered in old food. Furthermore, the door to the room has no interior lock on it—but it DID have an exterior lock. It's at this point that we also realize they never gave us a key to the apartment.
We took pictures of everything and waited until we heard them leave the apartment, and watched them from the window until they were out of sight. We gathered our packs and SPRINTED out of there, with no plans on where to go, just calling random hostels until we found one that had room. But it was on the other side of the city, and the metro had closed for the night. So we walked an hour and a half. Thankfully the hostel was lovely, and Airbnb refunded us and removed the listing, but we're convinced it was a human trafficking setup.
Nearer My God To Thee
My experience was more about the circumstances than the place. I went to a university that offered volunteer opportunities that included cheap international trips. I was on a trip with 20 other clueless midwestern teens traveling to a school in the mountains of Bolivia.
The road was a sheer cliff face on one side and a step drop off on the other. And of course, there were crosses along the roadside marking where vehicles had gone over the side. This was just nerve wracking until the driver stopped the bus for what we thought was just taking a break. Then he scooted under the front wheels of the bus, came out, rooted around in a box and found a wire coat hanger. Scooted back under the bus with the coat hanger and came out without it.
Then, Vamanos! Our nervousness turns to concern.
At the next stop a woman gets on as we are leaving and drapes her arm over the driver's shoulder and they proceed to semi make-out while he is driving. Several of us were white knuckled at this point. When it gets dark the driver and his girl light up and we smell weed.
Good thing it was a Christian college and we all knew the words to "Nearer My God to Thee".
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Real life contains the scariest horrors you could ask for. So aren't we all living in a horror movie, in a way? At least, these people sure freakin' were.
MisterSnowman69 asked: What was a moment in your life that felt like a horror movie scene?
In the words of the legendary Mary Vivian Pierce in the film Pink Flamingos, “Murder merely relieves tension”. I’m sure the following Redditors felt differently.
Nothing scarier than the woods at night.
Went into a real deep woods hike for only the second time in my life.
My gps broke and had to rely on my compass. Got turned around a few times because I couldn't remember the direction I came from, and it was getting dark. Lost the trail way.
But the woods are weirdly silent in the dark and alone.
It was around 2am by the time I found the trailhead.
Darn foxes.
the simpsons react GIFGiphyMy friend and I got lost late on one foggy night in the Italian countryside. There were rats all over and every once in a while we heard someone scream.
I've never been more sure I was about to get murdered than I was that night.
It was probably a red fox that was screaming.
Could've also been a lynx, but they are much rarer in Italy.
At least she wasn’t speaking in tongues.
My mom is quite the sleep talker, but it's usually pretty short and incoherent when it happens. One night as a teenager, I woke up to her scream-yelling the Hail Mary prayer (my bedroom was across the house and upstairs).
Difficult to get back to sleep after that one.
Sometimes scary sh*t ends up just being funny coincidences. Super funny. Right?
Don’t give them any ideas.
I was exploring an abandoned mental asylum and then got the scare of my life when a scary looking person inside one of the rooms was just staring at me without moving. Turns out some joker had left a cardboard cutout there.
And now I have plans this weekend... Just need to find a couple of cardboard cutouts and to break into the local abandoned asylum.
Don’t you hate when that happens?
Evil Dead Horror GIF by Coolidge Corner TheatreGiphyI was driving home on backcountry roads at midnight in heavy fog. Like can't see 10 feet in front of you thick. Suddenly I see an all-white silhouette running in front of the car. Every hair on my body stood up. I immediately think "oh god, oh f*ck, it's a f*cking woman in white, I'm gonna f*cking die"
Nope just a drunk who dove into the ditch.
Gotta love paranoia.
When I was about 12, my parents went out for dinner leaving me home alone. We lived out in the country, on a private road with only three other houses, surrounded by cow fields and wooded areas.
I went into the the kitchen and glanced out the window towards the trees and there in the fading light I could see a person walking slowly through the woods. They were wearing all black, moving slowly and appeared to pause behind trees. My heart started pounding so hard in my ears I couldn't hear anything else and I was weak and shaky from fear. I froze and just watched them. Would they come to the house? Where were they going?
This was before cell phones but I suddenly remembered my mom had left the number of the restaurant by the living room phone. Slowly, I made my way towards the living room, trying to watch this stranger in the woods.
Just as I entered the living room, all the lights in the entire house went out. By this time it was nearly dark outside. I started openly sobbing and in the dark I heard a weird boom like noise. That was it, I ran to my parents room, hid under their bed and sobbed. That's where my mom found me hours later (it felt like).
Well, turns out the stranger in the woods was a stupid cow that had busted through a fence, the lights going out was from an accident a few miles away (hit the power line) and the boom was the pilot light in the gas stove. Man, I have never been that scared in my life though!
I have a lot of questions.
A naked man who was covered in blood chased me across a park at 2 in the morning. I was totally alone. He just wanted money for a bus (????) and luckily nothing bad happened but I thought I was going to die.
But of course, the genuine horrors do exist. And they aren’t scary in a fun horror movie way, they’re actually terrifying because they can happen to anyone.
A scary few seconds.
car chase GIF by Mayans M.C.GiphyI am a "baby" in a car seat in between cousins in backseat. Dad is driving. This is in the 80s and it is my aunt's insistence that I am in this seat even though I am like 5.
A sleeping semi driver is coming over into our lane and there is a cliff on other side. Basically my dad did some amazing driving but semi blew us up. I am uninjured sitting in the seat swinging my legs while everyone is unconscious. They all wake groaning. Dad doesnt wake up.
Long story short just minor scrapes and dad has broken leg. But the crunch of metal and those few seconds/minute of being the only "alive" person was quite fear inducing.
Glad they’re all ok now.
Two days after my now boyfriend told me he liked me he fell from a zip line and broke his back. Almost died. 6 months later he got into a car wreck from a drunk driver - almost died. 6 months after that, he passed out and had to have emergency brain surgery, again, almost died. I now have severe anxiety/separation anxiety/and ptsd. That whole year was a f*cking nightmare
Edit: we're both okay now, the brain injury was almost a year ago. But TBIs take a while to heal so he still has side effects. Thankfully our relationship is still strong; he's physically getting better and I'm healing emotionally too. Lucky for him, the trauma of the injuries has caused him to forget the majority of the pain and memories of those incidents.
ALWAYS wear a helmet.
Driving home from work at 23, listening to my favorite song.
I pull up to a red light, and see this guy on a motorcycle coming up next to me in the other lane. I rolled down my window to compliment his bike when he stops. He doesn't, and runs the red light. He hits a car going at least 55mph. His motorcycle shatters apart, he goes flying, hits the hood of another car, and lands on the ground and rolls into the curb (no helmet). The car he hit with his motorcycle was totaled. I had to step over his body to talk to the police. He was still alive when they got there. I regret not holding his hand. It was just a normal day, and all of a sudden it felt like the rug was pulled from out beneath me. He was only 18.
Edit: The song was Sunny by Boney M., for those curious
What did we learn today, kids? Foxes scream like humans, shadowy figures are usually cows or drunken rednecks, and once again, PLEASE WEAR A HELMET WHEN YOU RIDE ANY KIND OF BIKE.
Scary sh*t surrounds us. But where there is horror, there are heroes. So next time you think you see a scary figure in the woods, know that Bruce Campbell is probably right around the corner
Hypocrisy is everywhere; it's like a disease. And sadly everyone does it. Some of us indulge in smaller doses than others. But some people live their life by it. Like how can you support civil servants, like police, firefighters, etc... yet try to find ways to hide money in order to not pay taxes? Tell me... I'll wait.
Manga...
Hungry Night Court GIF by LaffGiphyItalian moms that say you're too fat then say I'm making grandma cry by not finishing my pasta.
Asian moms too! Not only that if you try to not eat, they make to go containers for you. Oh, sorry I have to leave, RUNS AT LEAST HAVE SOME FRUIT.
Phonies...
Celebrities positioning themselves as champions for social justice while launching a clothing line with no comment on the labor conditions their garments are made in.
Sexy Times...
The Porn Industry
Why is prostitution considered a crime, but it becomes perfectly legal once a camera is put beside them?
I think the first amendment helps with that one. There's been many a supreme-court case about whether porn is protected speech.
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...
You can get away with WAY more crap, in general, when you're attractive.
But we all kind of aspire to attractiveness and it's not like it's attractive people's fault, exactly. So what is there to be done?
So true. Money and beauty are treated like virtues and they aren't. They're luck of the draw. It probably helps you to be a better person if people assume that you are gentle and clever just by looking at your face or wallet.
KIDS
GIF by MOODMANGiphyPeople screaming at you if you don't want Kids and Kids are the greatest thing in the World and then turn around and whine how expensive they are and how annoying yadda yadda.
Yeah see... humans are a mess. And too often then not, personal conviction and dignity are just a myth, or a punchline. Double standards have always been a way of life. And many of us have begrudgingly learned to navigate.
Fashion
Fashion Model GIF by NYFW: The ShowsGiphyIf a skinny person wears something out of the ordinary, it's a fashion statement and awesome. It can even just be something like a crop top or overalls.
But God forbid a fat person wear the same thing.
Distractions
The hypocrisy hypocrisy. People love to call it out but rarely notice it on themselves and if they notice it then it's something completely different or a distraction.
That's the worst. I hate that I have to hate that. But if I don't hate it, then the hate will just continue. So, really, my hate comes from my love of an end to hate. So anyone who hates my hate hates love. And we must hate anyone who hates love!
My Morality
My own personal hypocrisy; When I was a lot less well off financially, delivering pizzas trying to get through college, I kept a cup of coins in my car. When a homeless person would approach me for spare change, I gave them the cup. Most of the time it was nearly full, so there was probably 20-30 dollars in there.
Now that I have a good salaried job, even if I've got a few bucks in my wallet, I tend to not even make eye contact anymore. I know it's awful, I know it makes me crappy, but the last 4-5 years have made me a jaded craphead towards people in general. I used to be so hopeful and I wanted to help everyone, and tried to live a life that reflected that.
Now, while my general and political morality is pretty much the same, my personal morality has gotten more grey. I'd jaded, I hate people, I assume the worst of people I used to assume the best of. I don't really care about the strangers around me like I used to, but I still expect everyone else to.
Placing Blame
Victim mentality.
It's so freaking frustrating when it becomes entrenched. "You did this, it's your fault" "you should've known to do x, its your fault" Yeah bro your problems aren't my problems and if all you do is make excuses and blame me for them, it's not going to be my fault when you don't develop as a person and accomplish your dreams. I'm sure they'll find someone to blame though.
In D.C.
Donald Trump Reaction GIF by Election 2016GiphyPoliticians work part time, are given free housing, education, and health care, and exempt from the everyday violence we experience, but refuse to lift a finger to help us.
At this points most people running for a position in the government are only in it for the benefits of being a politician and the amount of money they can embezzle. Well in my country at least.
Just speak a truth and live it. Yes, it maybe hard. But what part of life isn't? Hypocrisy is just lying. Plain and simple. And it's a sin to lie.
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