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
And if it's raining and the lights are all reflecting off the wet road and every wet surface, yeah it's he'll.
Load More Replies...I didn’t realize my astigmatism was causing this! I wonder why no optometrist has ever bothered to tell me that is why I can’t see as well at night
They haven't? That is bad. If you haven't got some already glasses or contact lenses can make a huge difference. It is the way the light enters the eye and that can be rectified to some extent.
I knew I couldn’t see well at night, maybe you should make an appointment to check your vision.
I'm new to astigmatism. I had a cornea transplant and cataract surgery after an insane eye infection. I've lived most of my 40 years with glasses but great night vision, but I wasn't sure it was astigmatism causing this new visual. Thanks for confirming :)
same here! (alternating esotropia, astigmatism, extreme nearsightedness, something weird with my retina idk what's up with that, and some other stuff i can't pronounce.)
My mom just had new lenses put in for this. She's mad she waited so long because it made a major difference.
Do you also have a terrible persistence with bright lights? I have the headlights printed in my eyes for several minutes every time 😱
>< I totally do. Though, it's never the light I see, it's always black spots shaped like the headlights.
Yes, but when I am a passenger…..many reasons now why I don’t drive.
Yep... I just figured out it isn't normal to have this. I thought it was normal to see lights like this.
I think there was a time I could see to drive at night, then my night vision changed. That’s when I knew I had something wrong with my eyes,. You really might want to check your vision.
Aha. Now I know why. I have astigmatism but no one could understand this.
This clarifies things for me. I have astigmatism and I saw this all the time before I got glasses
Since I have astigmatism, I gave my personal assessment. You are welcome to yours, of course.
I have only slight astigmatism in one eye and I can assure you that this is quite accurate description of the condition. Are you sure you know what atigmatism is?
It doesn't look like this for everyone. Though I don't know why Elsie had to comment under Jo as though she disagreed (and seemed to think she knew better) rather than writing about her own experience. I have mild astigmatism and it doesn't affect me this way, thankfully, but as I have worked in a sector dealing with sight problems I know it can look like this, or worse.
Yep, that's correct. And I thought everyone saw it like this. Imagine adding some rain .... it becomes a kaleidoscope :-/ Glasses changed everything, I can even drive on rainy nights again, and that's no luxury living in a rainy country!
I used to hate it and would be terrified, I got antiglare lenses and the change was immense.
Load More Replies...Is that what does that?! Jesus I had no idea my astigmatism was the reason for all of the glare, thanks!
This is why I hate driving at night! Is this not normal? I can’t stand bright lights and I swear headlights on cars are getting brighter. Always seems like everyone has their main beams on
Walgreens (and other places) sell driving glasses for $20, with amber lenses that block glare. They fit over your eyewear. I've found them very helpful.
Load More Replies...My sister just gave me a pair of those. I don’t have that prismatic issue, but my eyes are intensely sensitive to glare.
You might want to start with an optometrist, who will be able to write a prescription for the necessary prisms and strength(s) you’ll need to give to the optician, who will then grind the lenses so that you can see without all of that visual overstimulation!
Lol... I thought this was normal. I didn't realize it was a sign of a problem lol
I must have a slight astigmatism or something cos this is what it's like for me except the rays are thicker and the lights are more blinding.
Yes. The pic is almost right but in reality it's exactly what you said: thicker beams and brighter lights. And I usually see only 2 beams from each light.
Only one eye - I sometimes wear an eyepatch because of it. Arrgh, matey!
My problem is those who use high beams and don't care about others in their path...
Oh yes. See this often on rural roads. Just about have to have brights on because deer are funded by Geico, but coming around a hill and into high beams is like a 70s party with screaming instead of music.
Load More Replies...Your post about this somber subject just caused my cat to run out of the room because I burst out laughing!
The worst! It's like they stopped using headlight bulbs and started using lighthouse bulbs instead.
Ohmygod! I thought this was the oils on my contact lenses doing this. I have severe astigmatism., Though it's never been that bad.
You probably have these anyway but you can get contact lenses thst help correct astigmatism.
Two years ago I got glasses made with a technology called DNEye (at least that is what it is called here in Germany) and believe it or not, it really reduces this effect. Significantly, in my opinion! Now the cars coming towards me look like they have a light beam going up and down (like the pole on the horses of an old fashioned carousel) but no longer that much stray light. And for the first time in my live I can see something like leafs up on a tree, not just a totally undefined green mass. Yes, my eyesight is... well, there is potential for improvement. These glasses are expensive, not gonna lie, but I will get those again as it really makes a difference for me.
This is why I wouldn't drive at night until I had my cataracts repaired.
Terry, how long was your recovery from cataract surgery? And (if you don’t mind) how old were you when you had it/them?
Load More Replies...I was 61 and 62 years old. Recovery was a day or two of discomfort. But the doctor said if I were working, I could have gone back to work the day after surgery. I would have just been a little uncomfortable, maybe taken some pain medicine.
Try driving glasses that fit over your own. Amber lenses tend to cut glare. Cost: ~$20.
Load More Replies...I have a really good set of clip on polarised lens with amber tint. Doesn't stop the streaks but does cut the glare and stop the blindingly white light of the more modern headlights.
Aren’t halos glaucoma? If you haven’t had your eyes checked recently, you might want to make an appointment with your optometrist. EDIT: Glaucoma can make you go blind!
Sunglasses help a lot with this they do, when it's raining really hard. Not just for sunny days!
Glasses with yellow glas can change that, so everything looks clear
I have astigmatism in both eye and i don't have this affect at all
It doesn't do this for everyone. Be very glad it doesn't though, some people are told they definitely should not drive at night.
It's exaggerated, but pretty much true for me. I mostly see the rays coming off of street lights. I too thought everyone saw this way. It also makes me wonder about prism glasses that used to be sold on Fourth of July to enhance the fire works. If some people don't see the rays, what was it enhancing.
My astigmatism made horizontals duplicate. My cataracts made stars and moons.
Stars and moons? Real ones or more like something out of Lucky Charms?
Yes, you can wipe your glasses as many times as you like. It never goes away.
Spot on. I have some yellow lens night driving glasses and they do help a bit.
Live in the city. Can someone please explain to me why drivers around here need to have their brights on constantly. I have glasses so when a huge truck is behind me with their brights it legitimately makes it difficult to drive because the light reflects off the back of my glasses straight into my eyes. It wouldn't be so bad if they didn't have their brights on. But people in the city can't see at all, not with all the street lights. Even when it's just cloudy out they NEED their brights because they can't see.
Great question. Yes, yes. I also would like to know why SUVs and Sport trucks have to have blastingly bright LED lights exactly at the height of a car's side window and rear mirror or they drive towards you with their 5 layers of yellow/LED/Kyptonite lights blazing. You selfish wankers. That aside, suggestion for you: Buy some *good* blue blocking glasses. Red or orange lenses. Not just the computer cute ones for screens (there's no proof these help with blue light. But they sell, so...) . Also - you know there's a little tilt on your rear view mirror? Some don't - not implying you're not paying attention. Under the mirror flip the little tab in the center back and it tilts your mirror so you see the reflected version, but not full-on lights. Dark/daytime setting. I've also stuck my hand out the window and cover up my side mirror as we're sitting at a light, so the ass in back of me gets the hint that his 3 headlights are blasting in my face. Sometimes they take the hint.
Load More Replies...Yes the wing mirrors, I may try this. I wonder what Morse code for wanker is
You see moon shapes? @Candia Lee said that's effect of cataracts.
Load More Replies...I always thought that's normal and I am just a bad driver at night until I started seeing this pictures online.
I can (still) see well at night but it happens to me a lot to be driving behind someone who goes at normal speed, but slows the hell down each time a car is coming in front of us. It's annoying but I don't get mad, I understand what's happening to them - this on the picture.
I got diagnosed a few years ago, and when I was a kid, I thought this was how everybody saw stuff at night.
So That, is what is going on! I was blaming those %&*$@** new headlights!
Wait a minute, that’s what I see while driving? The headlights aren’t as green in my vision but I thought everyone’s eyes did that.
Never knew that other people saw it any differently until a few months ago.
Wow! I didn't know it was a thing. I try to explain to my partner what it's like driving at night for me or when there is a bright sun and beams of light are coming from it onto the car bonnet. But he can't see them so I thought it was just me!
I am sure that this drives them nuts but dang it's pretty.... also upvoted because "666 points" unsettled me.
Wait... doesn't it look like this for everyone? Whaaat? Off to get my eyes checked, bye.
Add developing cataracts to that (they make a fuzzy halo around light source), and you'll know why I don't drive at night
Why does no one tell you this is not normal, I never knew this. (49yrs)
Add that to not being able to distinguish depth perception of oncoming headlights at night.
Thank you for sharing this. It’s better than my explanation for why I can’t drive at night.
Both eyes done in 35 minutes by Chief Ophthalmic Surgeon, Kaiser Oakland. 24 hrs to heal. 20/20 both eyes, distance lenses. Now need reading/computer glasses. Very clear at night/ use premium dark Duco polaroids daytimes. VERY happy.
But if you wear a pair of yellow glasses, they cut down the glare a lot. I have astigmatism too.
Have it but not like that, but I do have double vision with glasses and triple without now.
I have AMD and try not to drive at night...but if I have to, it does not look this bad. Scary!
Oh, i guess i have that then cause this happens with the lights at my church
Yes and if it's raining, it gets beyond the usual terrifying. I've actually pulled over and cried, I was so scared to keep driving when I had to go somewhere and got stuck driving home at night, in rain or just a lot of traffic. People think you're being dramatic when you explain you can't go somewhere because you can't drive well at night.
🙋🏾♀️🙋🏾♀️🙋🏾♀️🙋🏾♀️🙋🏾♀️🙋🏾♀️🙋🏾♀️ its better with my contacts instead of glasses but it still sucks
I remember when i found out that seeiing like that wasn't a normal thing, also it cleared up my confusion about why it didnt look like that in movies
Add in some halos and that's what I see! You learn to ignore most of it though
Halos can also signify glaucoma, which is definitely bad juju!
Load More Replies...Halos could indicate cataracts and that is something you don't have to live with, and tend to get worse. Astigmatism can also be corrected a fair amount by the correct contact lenses.
🎼🎶 Some enchanted evening, you may meet a stranger, you may meet a stranger, across a crowded room…🎶
I had an eye infection which was eating my cornea cause by a special Ed student who saw me as a singing human snot rag. Went to the Opthamologist every day. Put drop in eyes every two hours round the clock. I'm down to only seeing about 4-6 moons out of my left eye and the flying monkeys from the wizard of Oz have slowed down. It's amazing how I can see people in every tree or a VW van that has been blue and white since day one turn pink till I get closer.
Thats what night driving looks like to me. Does that mean that I have an astigmatism
A good optometrist should be telling people. Either people aren't going (and people really should because they can spot serious health conditions as well as catch vision changes that make driving unsafe) or they aren't telling their clients about it and that's not right.
100% and number 1 reason I have to avoid small streets while driving at night bc the incoming traffic will blind me for several seconds and that can cause an accident
Amber driving glasses! They fit over your own and I've found them really useful.
Load More Replies...Or get toric contact lenses, these are designed for people with astigmatism and will reduce all of that as they eliminate extra light reflection.
Why do I suddenly hear disco music playing in my head? (Blondie's "Heart of Glass," in case you're curious.)
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.
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)
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.
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)
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.
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.