
*The following article contains discussion of suicide/self-harm.
Traumatic scenes depicted in movies–as convincing as they seem–will never compare to witnessing real-life horrors.
Curious to hear from strangers who wish they could unsee the tragic situations in life they happened upon, Redditor RoyalAd1555 asked:
"What is the scariest thing you witnessed with your own eyes?"

These deaths will haunt the following Redditors for a very long time.
Dying Mother
"Finding my mom unresponsive 6 months ago and subsequently watching her die as a result. Neither cellphone or landline would connect to 911 so she was dead by the time we got through to anyone. It was 20 minutes but it felt like a lifetime and now 6 month later I get the grief and the trauma with no mom to comfort me."
– Practical-Implement3
Helping A Bereaved Woman
"Helped a woman move out of her apartment maybe 90 minutes after the murder-suicide of her husband and son. Police were done, but the room had not been cleaned."
"A very sad and harrowing experience for me."
– HoarsePJ
The Site Of Tragedy
"When my son drowned in my in-laws pool, they had put that yellow crime scene investigation tape all around the pool. While planning his funeral, my mom and i had to make a trip out to my in-laws to get his favorite animal for him (It was at their house because I was working that day and they were watching him). My mom pulled all the way up into the driveway not even realizing what she had done and I had a clear vision of the pool with the tape. when I saw that, I immediately felt nauseous and had to vomit."
"It’s been almost 1 1/2 years and I still can’t bring myself to go out back. The rest of the family still gets in the pool when they have get togethers but I have no desire to get in that pool. I just hang out inside the house and people will come in and talk with me but when I see their pool, it’s like I get hit with a semi truck-i feel like my breath is knocked out of me as the image of my baby going down the pool slide and then laying in a hospital bed fighting for his life take over my brain and I can’t make it stop."
– NecessaryCod
Watching A Friend Flatline
"Was there in the emergency room with someone close to me who had just died from a completely random brain aneurysm/seizure episode. Being there overlooking someone you know well, and had just spoken to hours earlier, with a flat line on the heart monitor is pretty terrifying. Especially when we had talked about death (as an idea/concept) not long before."
– Mathgoat123
Many horrific sights can be seen while driving.
A Malicious Plan
"When I was around 6, we were going to my grandparents' house. On the interstate, a woman seemed to fall out of a car in front of us. My dad had to swerve to avoid hitting her. That's all I saw with my own eyes."
"It turned out the woman's husband was trying to murder her and make it look like a suicide. The intention was for my dad to have run her over, but he had time to swerve. The husband had an accomplice behind us, but he couldn't hit her because of how my dad swerved."
"Some other good Samaritan stopped and gave the woman a ride to the hospital. The guy who gave her a ride and my dad were both called as witnesses at the trial. The husband and the accomplice were both convicted for conspiracy for attempted murder."
– Awdayshus
The Roadside Conflagration
"Car ablaze on side of road with passengers crawling out very slowly and on fire."
– BillyBobbaFett
"Driving home from work one night. Tons of traffic. I am sitting second at a red light turning left and this truck stops in the opposite lane to leave an opening so the car in front of me can turn(it was a traffic jam so he would have stopped in the intersection if he didn't). Car turns, out of nowhere this semi is driving super fast along the side of the road (not in a lane). One second the turning car is there, the next second it is blown to pieces. I was turning right behind them. Maybe was 10 feet away from it. Felt almost surreal how close I was."
– Korbindallas912
These Redditors talked about people taking their own lives.
The Graphic Scene
"Driving up to an Amusement Park, King's Island, there is this longer exit as it gets off the highway. My friends mom just started getting on the exit lane and me and my buddy, probably around 10 watch this person jump in front of a semi. It was like the whole world just kinda stopped for those few moments. As we drove passed the body I fully remember the jeans around their ankle and the body just twitching."
"I really don't think I will ever forget the image."
– Sarnick18
The Siblings Who Didn't See It
"My mom tried to kill herself Infront of me, watching my siblings hide away from what was going on was the only reason I stayed remotely sane. I'm glad they didn't see any of it."
– user deleted
The Passenger Inside
"Well it wasn't me but my friend noticed a vehicle in the parking lot at his work had been there a few days in the same spot. He walked up to it and found a man who blew his head off with a shotgun. Suicide note was on the dashboard."
"His work offered him counseling with a professional if he needed it but he declined."
"He did tell me though months later he had a nightmare about it, but that was it, and he never really thought much about it after that."
– Trickery1688
No One Should Ever See This
"Step dad hanged himself in front of my mum and me. I feel you."
– RinaPug
Handling Death Claims
"Working property insurance I see death claims occasionally. Usually when someone tries to or successfully commits suicide. I had one where a mother and daughter were murdered by the daughter’s ex boyfriend. You could see the trails of blood in the hallway of the mom trying to drag herself to get help and where he caught her and shot her in the head. It was awful. I cried and ended up having to have the claim transferred to a more seasoned adjuster."
– Moxson82
These Redditors thought they were about to witness shootings.
Threatening The Dog
"When I was a kid, I witnessed my drunk step father wielding a loaded shotgun with the safety off. It was pointed inches from the face of my dog, and he threatened to blow her head off right then and there. Fortunately, he didn't shoot her in front of me. Bad news is that she 'ran away' (leaving her collar and tags behind) a few days later."
– VeloxFox
In The Face Of Death
"Guy pointed a revolver at my face and pulled the trigger, thought for sure in that split second I was going to die."
– bigsam63
These are examples of the unpredictability of animals.
A Kid And A Horse
"I was standing 6 feet way and watched a full size horse kick some kid in the face.. The kid is now considered mentally challenged."
– IllprobpissUoff
Happy To Be Alive
"Happened to my friend a few months back. She owns several horses and this happened with the last horse she would've ever expected. The wound on the right side of her head, was 6 inches long, down to the skull. I wanted to faint when I saw the pictures. After several months of complications with swelling and infection, she's finally healed up, but she now suffers with all that comes with TBI and PTSD. She said she's just glad to be alive. It's crazy how your whole world is changed just like that."
– Abject_Presentation8
One incident I will never forget is a house party gone wrong, where the apartment's occupant had her brother and his friends over. They were high and one of them carried a firearm while another guy had a knife.
A brawl broke out in the living room, and all I remember is jumping off the second-floor balcony with a handful of my friends and running to the car as we were being pursued.
Six of us managed to pile into the car as the guy pounded the rear window of the vehicle with his fists.
Cops eventually showed up.
Nobody was killed, but some of my friends were taken to the hospital to have their wounds treated. It was the most terrifying thing I've ever experienced and made me never go to another party in a long while.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/
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Oh the 90's. What a decade.
Who knew we were in the time of revolution?!
So much happened, yet so much stayed the same.
And not decades later, so much has changed.
Who doesn't love to look back upon a decade and discuss the things that were a common part of life and are now basically obsolete?
You never know in real time.
Redditor Apart-Scalewanted to reminisce about the glory days.
They asked:
"What was normal in the 1990s but rare or non existent now?"
For me... it's Madonna having a #1 song. It can still happen, but highly unlikely.
Music
"A disc man plugged into a cassette tape with a wire to play music in your car."
freehi_5
Call Me
"Hotlines for the weather report, current time, and movie show times."
redacted_4_security
"The time and temperature phone number for my small hometown still exists to this day. Same Pre recorded voice and everything. It still advertises caller-id as an add on feature for land lines. Know who’s calling you. It’s easy and convenient with caller id. The time is x. Temperature y."
Bushelsoflaughs
Let's Chat
"Talking to your friends mom to see if they were home."
Espeon2022
"I've always thought that having to go through the parents to talk to your friends made things more controlled and respectful. Now kids can just blast each other with every thought that pops in their heads 24/7, that must make things more toxic."
RupFox
Fly Away
"When picking someone up from the airport, you could wait for them at their gate."
Facelesspirit
"When I have flights going through cities with people I know I will intentionally schedule a couple hour layover so I can go hand lunch with them and then just go through security again and board the next flight."
ItsEntsy
I'm Out
"Being unreachable."
BTW_The_Names_Marcus
"I still do this to this day. I'll go on vacation for a week and just turn the phone off, or be far enough out in the boonies that there is no cell signal whatsoever."
libra00
I wish I could put my phone down. Who knew we'd never be without them?
Let's Fandango
"Calling the movie theater or looking in the paper for movie times."
yepitsjen22
Music Library
"Keeping a binder full of CDs in your car."
PMMeUrHopesNDreams
"I once left the door on my car unlocked and came back to find my car stereo gone but not my full 100 disc binder. The stereo had completely died 2 weeks prior and I just hadn't gotten around to swapping it out yet. I just laughed."
v1ct0r326
"My car CDs were stolen in 1998. I’m still pissed."
Whatwhyohhh
Multitasking
"Pressing play and record at the same time."
MoistnSquishy
"I don't know why but this one made me feel the saddest. I guess it just snapped me back to a moment when I was bored and had no where I had to be, no where I planned to go. My life's todo list completely empty. Just me and the weird 90's dust that seemed to float around in front of sunny windows."
bannablecommentary
"Putting tape over the security tab/square so you could record over any tape you had in your collection."
candiebelle
Dial Up
"Telephone booths."
Zen_Anarch
"I had to check for the phone booth that I used the most as a teenager (not in NYC, in the beach town where I spent my summers) and it was still there in the most recent Street View! I'll have to see if it's there now when I go by tomorrow. This was where I checked in with my parents and friends circa 1990 to see what was going on. The arcade was just down the street."
superluke
And the White?
"Yellow Pages."
zekesaltspider
"I got a phone book in my mailbox the other day. First one in years. It was about the size of a Goosebumps book."
dragon_book_hoarder
Well those were the days. Weren't they?
Texas is HUGE!
Literally, it's massive. That might be why the tagline is about everything being big. Oh the metaphors of life.
Next to size is heat. Lord is it hot there.
Those are just a few of the regular Texas deets that often come to mind.
What else do others think of?
Redditor Common-Transition973 wanted to compare notes on everyone's thoughts about the Lonestar state.
They asked:
"Non Texans , what are your thoughts when you hear 'Texas?'"
I've been to Texas once. Austin. It was cute.
Shaped
"Literally just the shape of the state itself as seen from a map or something."
BirbMaster1998
All Love Baby
"I’ve been through Texas a few times and the thing that stood out to me was how much people in Texas love talking about how much they love Texas. I had a beer at the Dallas airport when I was waiting for a friends plane and it was a Budweiser bottle but instead of Budweiser the label said Texas on it."
"Diners would serve Texas shaped pancakes. Every gas station had a section for Texas swag- everything from tee shirts to shot glasses to hats to magnets and other Knick knacks."
"I’ve always found New Yorkers to be obnoxious with how much they talk about how much better they are than everyone else, but Texas is actually on another level. So, I guess when I think of Texas, I think of a bunch of people yelling 'I f**kin' love Texas'."
duh_metrius
BBQ
"Barbecue, don’t get me wrong we’ve got it here in the UK but it’s nothing like what I’ve seen from across the pond. Burnt ends, beef ribs, smoked brisket. I’ve only ever seen it on YouTube and I envy those of you who have tasted it."
LWA7299
"Honestly when I went to Texas and tried the bbq, at both that big well known place and a 'mom and pop' place that my airbnb hosts said was the best in the city. It was... Good. Like it was tasty and all, but just they way people talk about it like its some kind of religious experience or that it's just so different and unlike bbq in other countries, but it wasn't. Its still just meat + dry rub + sauce and I've had comparable bbq in London."
GDPR_Violation
No Skittles
"My Texas is essentially one of those m&m characters. I picture him with those big oval eyes and white limbs. The color of this Texas-shaped m&m is 'American flag.' He’s got a cowboy hat, a piece of wheat sticking out of his mouth, and a perfectly groomed mustache. He’s just walking around in his cowboy boots with his Ak-47 in tow. He vehemently hates the skittles."
comradekitty__
Complete Crazy
"In my native Norwegian the term 'complete Texas' means chaos or out of control."
Algorithmix9
Texas means so much in so many ways.
Perfection
"Cadillacs with giant horns on the front driven by old men in white suits with big white cowboy hats and superbly trimmed mustaches."
Spare-Cap-3152
'gone Texas'
"In my company (in a country on the opposite side of the planet from Texas), 'gone Texas' is a term used to describe a software program that has frozen up to the point where even Task Manager can't abort it. Otherwise we don't think about it very much, except perhaps with mild horror."
NinaCulotta
Taglines
"Heavyset white people with guns and large cowboy hats yelling 'DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS!'"
OhEeAyTaleSpin88
"My favorite part of 'Don’t mess with Texas’ is that comes across as this slogan about how tough and bada** Texans are, but in reality it was an effective anti-littering campaign from the department of transportation."
Extremists
"Militant Evangelicals."
skootch_ginalola
"Man, as a Muslim in a secular country, is always a ride seeing posts about republicans go on about something something shariah law, something something freedom, something Obama... And then two posts later, there's a r/nottheonion post about Texas basically being white Taliban."
Deadpotatoz
Well there is still a lot of good in Texas. You just have to dig deep.
Insects play a vital role in Earth's ecosystem.
Without insects, some plants would die and some animals would starve creating a domino effect of global famine.
That being said, June Bugs can crawl back into the pits of Hell from whence they came.
I know I'm not alone in that opinion.
Redditor aconnor105 asked:
"What insect can go straight to Hell?"
Horseflies
"Horseflies. One of those f'kers chased my car for an hour and a half."
- an_ineffable_plan
"Ah yes, the sadistic combination of a mosquito's diet and gluttony and a fly's energy and speed."
- MadQrow
"Their mouthparts are literally two knives with the blades facing outwards, when a horsefly (or deer fly, or moose fly) bites you, they’re literally ripping a hole in your skin and lapping up the blood."
- MacTechG4
"They are such a**holes. A thrown shoe when they land is surprisingly effective at taking them out."
- AcceptablyPotato
"Deploy La Chancla!"
- classicalySarcastic
Bed Bugs
"Bed bugs. If you're anything like me just the mention of them makes your skin crawl."
- My_Space_page
"The bites are bad but the paranoia is worse. Once you get them you will never trust a bed ever again."
"Every unexplained itch will make you think 'F'k, are they back?'."
- pk-starstorm
Mosquitoes
"Mosquitoes. Every single one."
- Fish_Panda
"Only few select, totally expendable species of mosquitoes feed on humans. We need to just completely exterminate those f**kers!"
- vortex1001
"Kill em all, let their mosquito god sort em out."
- Digital_Utopia
June Bugs
Vindicated! I'm not the only one who hates these things.
"June Bugs. I hate them so much. They fly right at you and are so loud! And I get embarrassed for screaming my a** off."
- Skeebou and Cupacakezzz
"1000% this. They make sitting outside in the summer in Texas after 8:00pm (when it’s actually cool enough to sit outside) completely unbearable."
- Rendogala
\u201cDamn June bugs love my pool don\u2019t they \ud83d\ude11\u201d— Stealth wolfsky\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Stealth wolfsky\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1658326332
Cockroaches
"Cockroaches. I want to invent a laser to kill just these f'kers only. They all need to burn to ash."
- AlphaShard
"In South China we had drain cockroaches that would panic when they got caught in flash torrential rain. They make a beeline for the nearest high ground, which includes you."
"I didn't really believe it at first."
"'Hah, that cockroach looks like he's sprinting towards me. Look, he even changed direction with me. Whoa, hold on a minute mate'."
"He got to my upper chest before I managed to throw him off."
"About 2,000 of them panicked after a minor earthquake, flooding out of the drains and into the nearby shops. Yelps and colourful language followed as shop staff pelted them into the air and onto bikes/cars/pedestrians with brooms."
- mrminutehand
Earwigs
"Earwigs. Creepy a** bugs with those big a** pincers on their butt."
"And they always come out at night, get in water glasses, mailboxes...nasty things."
- Xonvoluted
\u201cThe hidden, origami-like wings of the common earwig unfold to ten times their folded size, transforming the mostly ground-dwelling insect into a super-efficient flyer [read more: https://t.co/9vtGk5Hr52] [how they served as models: https://t.co/58nfe8WhYQ]\u201d— Massimo (@Massimo) 1658138400
Fleas
"Fleas. Literally any parasitic insect."
- Recent_View6254
"This is the answer, literally just any parasite. Some actually DO have a reason to exist, but others seem like they were created for the PURPOSE of spreading diseases and pain."
- StreetIndependence62
Borers
"The Emerald Ash Borer. Has killed three massive trees on my property, and is working its way to killing every ash tree in my part of the country."
- CoffeeAndBrass
...but there seem to be a lot more we mostly hate.
Did your insect nemesis make the list?
For the life of me, I can't understand how anyone could still watch The Walking Dead. I just checked and the damn thing has had 11 seasons. 11 seasons!
Can you imagine?
People enjoy watching characters follow a set of train tracks for an entire season I guess. (For context, I made it to the beginning of the seventh season before I threw in the towel, and it was really testing my patience well before then.)
But there's so much more out there that's equally overrated. Television is the least of our problems.
People shared their thoughts with us after Redditor PieinHorse asked the online community,
"What is very overrated?"
"The perceived security..."
"The perceived security of most jobs."
chickenkottu
Replace jobs with locks or doors or windows and it's still true.
"Influencers."
"Influencers. I'm not sure what's more ridiculous, the fact someone believes they are an "influencer" or those who actually follow them and are influenced by said influencer."
aussie_shane
I scarcely think about them. Out of sight, out of mind.
"After owning..."
"Designer brands and bags. After owning an item from each brand, it’s really the most big waste of money people can put their money on."
ian6677
You do get what you pay for up to a certain point.
"The extra leg room..."
"First Class Airline tickets!"
"We lucked up on our last flight that we had no choice but to get first class and our company paid for it, but I can 100% say that it was NOT worth the extra $700."
"The extra leg room was nice, as I'm 6'7", but the "free cocktails" and additional food? Nah homie, I'm good."
ecallowsamoht
Was this domestic? For those short flights First Class is pretty much not worth it, but for international long haul? A lie-down bed for a 13 hour flight is worth the 2x or more price, plus the other perks.
"I prefer..."
"Casual sex. I prefer competitive sex."
[deleted]
Evolutionarily speaking, life is about competitive sex...
"Being famous..."
"Being famous must suck big time. Imagine not being able to go shopping, taking a chill walk in the park, go to the beach, supermartket, etc... without people engaging with you."
Pcostix
Say goodbye to any privacy whatsoever. No thank you.
"Spent my prime years..."
"Alcohol. Spent my prime years drinking at college and all that, still say it’s the most overrated thing in history. So many better drugs that could have prevented long and short term health issues, made things more peaceful, more efficient, more successful, and so on. The fact that it’s globally advertised every millisecond proves it’s overrated."
DFHartzell
There's nothing wrong with deciding to stop drinking (or never drinking at all) and people should not be shamed for it.
"Why?"
"Huge weddings. Why? Spend the money on something important or on a trip."
Ginger_Chick
Some people want their best day ever to be a big party with all the people they care about. But there is a crazy level of stress involved in planning a party that size.
"Being an adult."
"Being an adult. What BS is this, and why the hell did we want to be adults when we were kids?"
imunclebubba
Nah, being an adult is awesome. I wouldn't change it for the world. Freedom!
"Half of the time."
"Hot weather. Half of the time it is just horrible and you’re sweating in your clothes and the other half you’re at the beach burning alive."
patrickgall
Sorry, I'd rather it be hot than be freezing, but I'm one of those people who can never get warm.
Hey, it could be worse. We could be talking about how much Game of Thrones disappointed us (again) and how it is impossible to watch it now, a total slog, knowing where it ends up. Disappointing and overrated indeed.
Have some suggestions of your own? Tell us more in the comments below!