A terrifying picture captivates you like a horror movie you never signed up for, but still watch till the end with palms on your face hiding from the screen. You look once, you look twice and then think, “This is enough for me today,” only to realize you’d like to see some more. Thus, we’re going to give you some more scary scenes of unsettling images.
We've listed 50 terrifying images from the scary corner of Reddit known as ‘Oddly Terrifying.’ This community of 2M members has people sharing the weirdest, creepiest, and most unsettling pics of random moments and computer-generated images. These creepy pics promise to fire up your brain with some tingly sensations. So, scroll down through Bored Panda’s new batch of spooky pictures, upvote the ones that you find the creepiest, and frighten your friends by surprisingly sharing these disturbing images.
Image credit: mountainmorticia
The Fun Behind Unsettling Images
First things first, a terrifying picture isn't meant to be a horror scene. Unsettling images capture moments, and places from people in their daily lives that shift our reality’s perspective by evoking a disturbing, scary, or fearful emotion. The fun in oddly terrifying pictures lies in their paradox—although terrifying, it’s also impossible to look away and miss the fun of finding scary things hidden in pictures.
Many people love them, and if you’re one of them, you must read the expert’s insights. To find out what fascinates us about the unsettling photos and videos, Bored Panda spoke with Lisa Yaszek, a Regents Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech, where she researches and teaches science fiction as a global language crossing centuries, continents, and cultures.
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Corn Maze
Best Cinema Ever
This Is True Fear
War Changes You
He was in another post recently, along with a bit of his story. Most of the four years he spent in a concentration camp.
Evgenii Stepanovich Kobytev is his name and yes he was a Soviet POW in Nazi camps
Load More Replies...If anyone of the world leaders actually went to war, they wouldn't want to make war. I hope the Russia-Ukraine crisis will de-escalate quickly.
That's why they make sure none of their own children ever go. It should be mandatory for everyone to do 2 years .... I bet throwing us in a war for the rich own gain would stop.
Load More Replies...These haunted eyes...I can't fathom what this gentleman has been through. And I don't want to know. :-(
We call that a Thousand Yard Stare. I've seen a couple, but most profound was Vietnam veteran in Washington DC, 2002, when I read names of the POW/MIA for anniversary of The Wall. I could *feel that man's anguish before I turned to see him. It broke my heart. It still hurts to think of him.
Load More Replies...He looks like a man who has seen horrible things beyond description...
His name is Evgenii Stepanovich Kobytev and he was quite a sucessful artist post war.
Thank you for that information. Seen this and always wondered. RIP 🙏❤️
Load More Replies...Just look at the changes in Pres Obama's face in four years as leader of the free world.
That isn't creepy, it's unbearably tragic, and even more so after I read the comment below.
…and drugs. Troops was forced to use drugs in WWII for maximize the time in the battlefield, minimize the pain and save resources like food.
His name is Evgeny Stepanovic Kobytev He must have seen things I don't want to imagine. His eyes look haunted and soul broken. Hope he is now at peace
His eyes have gone from innocent youth to absolutely haunted. What a terrifying change.
His eyes alone tell you he is gone. My grandpa had those eyes from what he had seen.
War is so scary. I really don’t want anyone to suffer like that but it just happens
Just look at Zelensky before and after the Russians evaded Ukraine..
If you look at each US President, and compare them from their first day to the last, they all have aged much more than the 4 or 8 years they were in office.
Our ears (and noses) are structurally cartilage and grow throughout our entire lives, which is why really old peoples’ faces look so out-of-whack. I noticed the other day that my nose has crossed that line, and I have long-life genes on both sides of the family. Yikes!
Load More Replies...Most US presidents age remarkably during their terms. Look at George W. and Obama even after their first 4 years they aged 10 years at least.
What we called she shock back then and PTSD now has the same ugly effect of the boys we sent to do horrific things they never could even dream of. Bring them home and hope they don't get shot for being in the wrong neighborhood or blowing all that ugly they never saw they would do right outside of their heads. We have lost so many men and boys on your own soil. It breaks my heart.
Unsettling Images Fascinate Us. Why?
“It’s hard for us to look away from unsettling photos and videos because they challenge our usual ways of perceiving and cataloging the world, disrupting our sense of ordered reality and even suggesting that reality might be something other than we thought it was,” Lisa told us.
She explained that “these photos and videos tend to revolve around grotesque juxtapositions of things that should not be together; they are objects that defy science and rationality and disturb our sense of scientific category. More often than not, they focus on disgusting bodies that are monstrous fusions of things that should be kept apart.”
The professor added that while these monstrous bodies are usually individual ones, they often suggest a larger universe that is seriously out of kilter as well.
I’m So Disturbed Yet Also Intrigued
This Extremely Disturbing Face Swap
Nope I definitely didn't need to see this. Unsee juice, here I come
Mahatma Gandhi's Statue After Some Prankster Added Red Lights To The Eyes Of It (San Francisco, 2019)
A Terrifying Picture Offers A Different Perspective
The professor states that it’s no surprise that humans are fascinated by oddly terrifying images and that there are whole online groups dedicated to sharing them. “Photos and videos are supposed to give us clear and accurate representations of reality; they assure us that we document and thus know the material world around us in methodical and consistent ways.”
But unsettling images can do the exact opposite, Lisa suggests. “They can undermine our faith in reality: either the camera does not lie, and it has captured some monstrous rip in our own reality, or it does lie, and we have to recognize that we cannot even trust our own technologies to accurately document the world around us! Either way, it’s disturbing.”
This Statue With A Beehive For A Head
This Abandoned Hospital Had A Visitor Last Night
Amazing Halloween Costume
Why Do People Keep Looking at Creepy Pics?
So you may wonder why we keep looking at these photos —and disturbing art in general? Lisa has an illuminating explanation. “Grotesque imagery is part of every culture and goes back to the dawn of civilization. Today, we actively seek out terrifying experiences by looking at grotesque photos, watching horror movies, and even going on roller coasters,” she said and added that “as humans, we seek out these terrifying artistic and cultural experiences for at least two different reasons.”
“First, as designed experiences, terrifying art and culture give us a way to engage with things that are disturbing, uncanny, and even utterly monstrous from a safe distance. Our psychological and mental categories for understanding the world are temporarily turned upside down, but we’re not directly, physically threatened by the grotesqueries we are looking at or experiencing, and we know eventually everything will return to normal,” Lisa explained.
Biblically Accurate Angel
This Is What Running Birds Look Like
The Black Crack, A 65-Foot-Deep Fissure Along A Trail In Canyonlands National Park In Utah
The Impact of Photos With Disturbing Backstories
Lisa argues that it leads us to a second important point. “It’s the pleasure that comes from looking at disturbing images: they give us an opportunity to exercise our minds and to play with reality ourselves. Suddenly, we become storytellers asking ourselves and each other: Where do these grotesque images come from? Who is behind them? How would I react if I encountered this object or situation in real life?”
The professor suggests that at their most provocative, horrifying images can even inspire real-world change: “And how do these images make me see my own reality differently? What do I need to do in my own world to make sure this never happens? Terrifying and grotesque events are part of the human experience, and encountering them first in safe artistic and cultural spaces provides us with excellent ways to prepare for them,” she concluded.
Sears Tower During A Blackout
Woke Up Scared Stiff Last Night When I Noticed A Victorian Ghost Floating At The End Of My Bed. Took Me A Few Minutes To Realise It Was My Clothes On The Door
Oh my god.. This is why I don't have anything hanging from my doors or have dolls, whose eyes seem to always glow in the dark...
280 Million Year Old Fossil Found In Western Australia, Photo By Tom Kapitany
A British Tourist Filmed A 'Monitor Lizard' Coming Out From His/Her Toilet Bowl In Thailand
I feared snakes biting my ass; this is a very big fear upgrade. Thank you.
A Whale Skeleton Found In The Hot Dunes Of Egypt
Mother! I Request Your Soul!
Was Playing Video Games When I Heard A Sounds To My Left. Looked Over And Saw This
He just wants to talk to you about rising energy prices
Fingers Without Nails
Imagine Seeing One In The Middle Of The Road While Driving
Pregnant With Triplets
At Vezio's Castle In Italy There Are Lots Of These "Phantom" Like Statues
Eye Injury Causes Man's Iris To Collapse
...I didn't know the iris could collapse and now I'm completely freaked out
Found This In My Apartment While Living In Japan. They Are Fast!
The Tornado Showing Up Because Of The Lightning Strikes
And my father shouting about my driving faults in the adjacent seat
A Webcam Appeared In The Bottom Of My Computer Screen After It Blue Screened
A Creepy Standing Goat.
That’s not creepy that’s cute ! I give it kisses , ere come ere I giz you kisses 💃
The Remains Of This Caribou In Greenland
Oh No
My Daughter's Bat Morph Suit
They Are Evolving
This Jack O Lantern With Mold Growing From Inside
Never Letting A Cat Touch Me Again
A Doll Chillin In A Graveyard
Just Wait When Night Falls...
Found This In My Girlfriends Loft. She Only Moved In 3 Months Ago And Says She Has Never Been Up There. Guess What My Name Is...
Found This In The Basement Of My New House
Spacex Has Robot Dogs Patrolling Their Rocket Factory Now
There Is A Mutation In Frogs Where Their Eyes Grow On The Inside Of Their Mouth.
That is a lie, the eyes don't grow from the inside of their mouth because of a MuTaTiOn, they can roll their eyeballs back in to the top of their mouth to clean then with their tongue if they get dirty and so it can help them swallow.
This Corridor, Man… This Is Gonna Haunt Me On Dreams
Man Goes In Narrow Underwater Cave
All Of A Sudden You Hear Sirens
I'm guessing the floodplain of a dam? There are signs like this along the Susquehana south of Columbia PA
The Ants Are Up To Something
Pov: Polar Bear Is Trying To Eat You
The bastards look so cute and harmless, too. I have this horrible suicidal urge to start scratching his nose while saying stupid s**t like "aww, who's a Mister Cuddlebug? Yooou aRRGH!"
One Of The Last Known Pictures Taken By The Hikers Of The Dyatlov Pass Incident (1959)
I saw all the pictures (was told) from the cameras at the Dyatlov pass - I never saw this!
This Happens To My Hands At Cold Temperatures
Well That's Not A Good Sign
Robot With A Face Is Quite Creepy
Welp imma go wash my eyes out with bleach now. Thanks, bored panda!!
Just don't go blind (I almost did when my sister accidently sprayed cleaning product in my eyes lol)
Load More Replies...Some very scary stuff, as stated. Not going to sleep. Nope nope nope.
I looked at all the pictures and don't have a sense that they were creepy at all!
Same, there was nothing that I would consider "oddly terrifying" - I think it is a very, very subjektive feeling.
Load More Replies...not me actually trying to do this to prove i am not scared. I AM BTW
I clicked for the innocent lemon picture and couldn't make it through the entire list.. these are genuinely terrifying, not "oddly".. definitely not for the faint of heart!
Man these suck they are all either Normal or just old images from years ago
How to gauge one's intelligence: Do they look at this post at 12am and genuinely wonder why they don't want to turn out the bedside lamp? They're probably a sleep-deprived idiot. I'm a sleep-deprived idiot.
Counted at least 6 posts I've seen recently in other BP posts. I'm sure there's newer creepy stuff but other than that the creepy ones are some of my fav posts! These, comedy, history/facts and art are my favs to look through.
Welp imma go wash my eyes out with bleach now. Thanks, bored panda!!
Just don't go blind (I almost did when my sister accidently sprayed cleaning product in my eyes lol)
Load More Replies...Some very scary stuff, as stated. Not going to sleep. Nope nope nope.
I looked at all the pictures and don't have a sense that they were creepy at all!
Same, there was nothing that I would consider "oddly terrifying" - I think it is a very, very subjektive feeling.
Load More Replies...not me actually trying to do this to prove i am not scared. I AM BTW
I clicked for the innocent lemon picture and couldn't make it through the entire list.. these are genuinely terrifying, not "oddly".. definitely not for the faint of heart!
Man these suck they are all either Normal or just old images from years ago
How to gauge one's intelligence: Do they look at this post at 12am and genuinely wonder why they don't want to turn out the bedside lamp? They're probably a sleep-deprived idiot. I'm a sleep-deprived idiot.
Counted at least 6 posts I've seen recently in other BP posts. I'm sure there's newer creepy stuff but other than that the creepy ones are some of my fav posts! These, comedy, history/facts and art are my favs to look through.