We're not even going to sugarcoat this. You're about to read some seriously disturbing stuff.
One Reddit user (perhaps unwisely) asked:
What is the scariest thing you've come across on the internet?
and honestly we were expecting creepypastas and jump scare videos. We did see those answers, but surprisingly few of them. It turns out the scariest things to be found on the internet are just videos and stories from real life.
Humanity is awful to one another. Much of the stuff here shouldn't have happened, shouldn't have been recorded, and shouldn't have been shared online.
But it was, and it's left people scarred.
Almost every entry here requires a content warning of some sort. There is torture and slow painful animal and child death. There is death on display as entertainment. There are horrific mental pictures ahead that have left some of these people traumatized for decades.
Proceed with extreme caution.
Screamer
That one video where the car was driving down that mountain road and you had to pay close attention and then it turned out to be a screamer.
That sh!t was actually aired as a coffee (or energy drink I'm not exactly sure) commercial in Germany. I can just imagine all the heart attacks it caused.
I was 7 and discovered I had tachycardia thanks to this video, when I noticed the weird heart feeling I had randomly was the same as being suddenly scared to death.
The video was shown to me by my parents in an attempt to joke with me and find a reaction and they got scared instead, didn't know how to act and apologized.
Slender Man
slender man horror GIF by Imagine Dragons
Giphy
The girls that tried to appease Slender Man by killing their friend.
The friend didn't die. She actually recovered and is perfectly fine now. Here's a news article from last year where she spoke out about it. It's crazy that someone can be stabbed 19 times and survive and safely recover. Truly a miracle. I'm sure she'll have trauma issues. But other than that, she's lucky she's alive after that.
Ana & Mia
Pro-ana forums where mostly teen girls encourage each other to starve to death.
Took me a minute of wondering "who is Ana and why does she want this to happen to these poor girls?"
Ana means anorexia. OP is talking about pro-anorexia forums. Also pro-mia refers to pro-bulimia.
I was part of one, and a couple of us made a snapchat group chat to keep each other accountable. The group chat quickly died after we all started to attempt suicide.
When I was in high school I was on MyProAna. I was extremely sick (mentally) with my ED and I felt like I had no-self control, so I needed strangers to help me starve. Looking back years later, it's super fcked up.
One of my friends used to be on there and one of the girls who she talked to a lot ended up killing herself because she thought her BMI was too high (really, her BMI was like 13).
Becoming Other
For sheer existential terror, a short video of a boy dying of rabies. Hes delirious and sick and it's just sad. But then for a second or two he locks eyes with the camera and snarls in a perfectly, quintessentially animalistic way. And you realize how easy it is to lose yourself and become other - to become reduced to just base instinct and bodily functions with no you left.
Yeah, rabies is a splashy version of that, but I think a lot of old age illnesses - how we are all increasingly more likely to die - isn't so different. And the ultimately terrifying thing is that its all so much worse to watch that and know we are potentially next than to live through it.
ISIS
Easily, without question the videos ISIS kept shoving online when they were expanding across the Middle East. What made them scary and downright disturbing was that it was happening now.
Some of these people were living normal lives in Europe or Turkey or the US just months earlier and now here they are, literally butchering people with a smile on their face for all the world to see.
It happened then. It can happen again.
Crushing
kitten meow GIF
Giphy
I was in my early teens when I learned what a crushing fetish is (women crush eggs and light bulbs and stuff under their feet or burr) and it confused me.
I didn't go on the internet for a few days after that.
Beheadings
I was about that age seeing it too. I was a weirdly curious kid and I think it was when r/watchpeopledie was still a thing (thank god it isn't anymore). It absolutely messed with me and the image of her lifeless face is permanently etched into my brain. I wish I could forget it. Needless to say I never went back to that sub again and took some time away from reddit lol.
Excited About Murder
Video of 2 teenage boys driving to a girl's home whom they planned to murder. It also has video of them after they did it. They are way too excited about murder.
I recall they were driving in a car before and after. It just reminded me of when I was a teen and was excited to go see a movie I've been wanting to see. And instead this was cold blooded murder. Complete disregard for her life.
The complete and utter lack of any emotion besides utter glee at killing someone should send chills up anyone's spine. I've seen videos of people straight up dying that is not as scary as that video.
Reactions= Sounds
That fcking video of a brick flying through a windshield and killing the mother in the passenger seat. There's no gore, but the reactions of the husband and daughter will stick with me forever.
I'm not what you would call squeamish but I totally agree on this. It's the sound of the guy screaming and crying at the same time, it stayed with me for days. Truly disturbing.
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Of course, most of the time, it was “just a phase". And looking back, those phases are regrettable, to say the least. Here are some prime examples of that.
SirGergoyFriendman asked:
What was your biggest/most regrettable "It's not a phase, mom. It's my life." that, in fact, turned out to be just a phase and not your life?
The enthusiasm of a young person can lead to some unexpected changes that parents are just not ready for.
Hi, Wheeljack!
I was VERY into The Transformers when I was a wee lad in the 1980s. One day, I decided to change my name to the name of my favorite Autobot. My name was lame, and I wanted an awesome Transformer name. And I was VERY insistent that my parents only call me by my new name. Calling me by my 'old' name would cause a big fat tantrum on my part.
So for the better part of a week, my poor parents had to call me Wheeljack.
Very 2008.
Ariana Grande Shrug GIFGiphyMy cat-ear phase. I wore cat ears every single day. Everywhere. I had like 20 pairs of them. Now everyone thinks I'm a furry.
I find that very cute and wouldn't have thought you'd be furry. Even if you'd had cat mittens. I think my suspicions would have started if you moved a bit like a cat, displayed catlike grooming habits or got a cat mask.
Not gonna lie, that car sounds cool.
I went to a car show once as a teen, and the only newer car there was some chick's PT cruiser. It was hot glittery pink, and at the time I was obsessed. I insisted that one day I would have a hot pink car, with pink seats, pink dash, pink carpets, etc. I was pretty heavily goth at the time, so my parents just rolled their eyes.
These phases can often lead to some very strange fashion choices.
That’s commitment.
When I was a teenager (early 00s), I was waiting for my mother to pick me up and was wearing one of those sh!tty sports wristwatches. It was itching me so I took it off for a second, but then she arrived and because I was struggling to get it back on my wrist, I looped it around the equally sh!tty chain I had around my neck in a rush to get out the door.
My mom asked me about it in the car, and I told her this was my new style and I planned to wear it like that every day. She rolled her eyes.
I wore that watch on a chain around my neck every single day for 3 years or so. There are even professional family photos where I'm wearing it because I refused to take it off.
One day, the chain broke and I lost the watch. I was in high school at that point anyway and it was a major lady repellent, so... phase over.
Not everyone can be Eminem.
slim shady eminem GIFGiphyBaggy pants, being a rapper someday and being a professional skater.
When I was about 14 and Eminem was starting to blow up I bought myself a keyboard with a synthesizer. It cost like $200 which was all the money I had saved up. It finally came (this was way before amazon prime and such) and I tried rapping.
My sister told me "you're effing horrible" and I gave up right then and there.
This should be a sin.
I used to button the top buttons of polo shirts.
I must say, this is probably the worst one I've read.
Looking back at our regrettable choices, all we can do is cringe.
An optimistic look at bad tattoos.
check me out season 3 GIF by PortlandiaGiphyBeing a tattooer. Regrettable because of those poor people who have my awful doodles on their bodies.
Take heart! My favorite tattoo is the one I drunkenly got my buddy to do in his living room one year during March Madness! It's dumb and frankly mediocre? But such a good story and has such good associations I smile every time I see it.
RIP Fredro’s.
My friend and I decided we were going to open a bar in Jamaica with exotic snakes in glass cages in the walls at each booth. We convinced ourselves it would be amazing for at least two years in college. It was going to be called Fredro's.
My entire family made fun of me for it. Once we got out of college, we realized it was not feasible and joined the office grind. We're also two white guys with no ties to Jamaica.
Talk about cringey.
I wore a top hat with an anime pin on it for around a year. Met one of my current best friends while wearing it, idk how he could bear to speak to me after that.
My weirdest phase was probably when I insisted on wearing knee-high rainbow socks to school every day. But honestly, I don't regret it. I rocked those socks, and I wish I still have a pair.
To all the people out there cringing over their past selves, remember that you were just a kid, and to be easy on yourselves. After all, we've all been there
Yet, too often, manufacturers who oversell their products fail to deliver what is promised and are inevitably left with angry customers who want their money back.
Whether the merchandise was defective or ridiculously overpriced, strangers online shared some of their worst purchases when Redditor BooksMcGee asked:
"What is the worst product you ever paid money for?"
Short Life Span
"This NERF gun that's supposed to shoot tennis balls for your dog. I bought it cause I thought you could load 3 at a time and shoot them far, but it's just one and it's super loud and the gun broke after like 4 shots (reading reviews later, this was a common issue)."
Lame Pets
"There were these toys called squiggles when I was a kid and the commercials made it seem like the toy was alive. It looked like you would get this crazy little fuzzy worms as pets that would follow you around an so sick tricks and listen to your every command. It was really just a piece of fluffy string tied to another piece of string with googly eyes on it. People may say that it was supposed to be a magic trick but they should also explain that to a 5 year old who really wanted a pet."
Card Value
"Not their fault, but I paid $70 for a Yugioh card hours before it was limited to one copy. Probably dropped to $20 by the end of the day."
These purchases were bad for your bum.
"A bicycle that literally fell apart before I made it out of the parking lot."
Not Worth Sitting On
"Joybird brand couch. Was so terrible, we returned it. Still hard to believe, we returned a freaking couch."
Going Nowhere Fast
"A 2000 VW Beetle (used)."
"Biggest piece of sh*t that literally had to have just about everything replaced before 100k miles and would still break down every time you left the driveway to the point where the tow-truck driver knew us on a first-name basis."
Expensive Lemon
"An Oldsmobile Achieva from one of those buy here pay here places. I should have known better, but I was young and thought I was getting a good deal. I had the thing for about 5 months, I drove it for maybe 3 weeks. The rest of the time it was either in the shop, or in my driveway waiting until pay day so I could afford to fix whatever broke on it this week. Eventually told the dealer just take it, I'm not paying for it any more. He said nope, and I will make sure your credit is ruined. I said well you sold me a lemon, do you really want to go this route? He came and took it. Never reported anything to credit. I heard he got sued by several other people who sold sh**ty cars too and eventually went out of business."
"Always amazes me when I see them driving around still, I can only assume there's enthusiasts who just love repairing horribly designed cars."
– zerbey
These Redditors were not convinced what they ingested was edible.
Bad Cereal
"A box of plain Cheerios. Thought they were honey nut, poured a bowl, was very disappointed."
"If I wanted to taste cardboard, I'd just eat the box."
– gor8884
Space Pizza
"A burnt frozen pizza at the air and space museum cafe in DC. I Don't wish that experience on anyone. There are some amazing restaurants in DC, don't settle."
– Alseids
The following electronics just gave off a bad charge.
"Asus Transformer Pad TF700"
"This was one of those early 'high end' Android tablets that was grossly underpowered, and it showed. Thing was slow as sh!t in no time flat. Rookie mistake investing into shiny new tech while they were still working all the bugs out. Think I paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $350-400 for it..."
– Luke5119
Bad Apple
"macbook pro 2018 13" touchbar. 2 years old and dead (battery). they're asking $300-$400 to change the battery. malfunctioning keyboard with double presses and missing presses. that's a lot of money for bad design."
Chilly Reception
"Past winter my old room heater broke down and I had to buy a new one. Went to a store nearby and somehow got convinced to buy a very costly heating device.. It's also my fault, since there were some sligthly cheaper options around, but nope. I wanted the expensive one thinking it will make my small room a volcano with little to no effort/cost (that's also what the seller told me). Long story short the device wasn't doing ANYTHING. No significant temperature changes, too much space, a weird noise, and was doubling my previous device in utility cost. I still gloom over those 80 euros.."
Some of my disappointing purchases was clothing, but only because I purchased them online. Unless they are a brand I'm familiar with, I'm usually fine with buying new jeans off of their websites.
But when it comes to graphic tees only available on specialty shops, an M-size shirt is not necessarily the same size as those found in other reputable stores.
I bought a medium sized T-shirt from a boutique store online because I loved the look of the design. But when it arrived, the supposed medium fit me like an XL.
At least I gained a fierce cleaning rag from this impulsive purchase.