Glancing at these images, we experience a paradox. It’s terrifying to look at them, however, it’s also hard to look away. To find out what fascinates people about the unsettling photos, Bored Panda spoke with Francis McAndrew, Cornelia H. Dudley Professor of Psychology at Knox College and Coltan Scrivner, behavioral scientist and expert on the science of horror and morbid curiosity.

Prof. McAndrew told that there are different types of creepiness, but they all have one thing in common: ambiguity. "In its most extreme form, it is about the uncertainty of threat or danger. We can get creeped out by a spooky place because it is uncertain if the place contains hidden things like predators, ghosts, or badly intentioned people who mean to do us harm. Similarly, we can be creeped out by a person who is behaving strangely and not obeying the usual rules for interacting with a stranger. Our uncertainty about whether the person is dangerous or just awkward leaves us wallowing in discomfort and feeling 'creeped out.'

Sometimes, we can get creeped out by things that we know are not dangerous, but they still make us uncomfortable because we do not know how to categorize them or react to them. For example, dolls or robots that are too lifelike trigger responses that we would make to an actual human being, but the fact that we know they are not human creates an uncomfortable tension that we need to resolve. We do not like uncertainty."

C. Scrivner explains creepiness as the feeling that something might be dangerous. “When we are sure we are facing something dangerous, we feel afraid. When we are facing something that is more ambiguous, we feel creeped out.”

People are attracted to learning about danger, particularly when they can safely learn about danger (in this case, looking at these oddly terrifying images). C. Scrivener explained that things that are unsettling are creepy, which means we aren't sure if they're dangerous or not. “This uncertain danger is particularly attractive for our minds. We want to learn more about the unsettling thing so that we can know if it's dangerous or not.”

C. Scrivener continued: “Creepiness differs a bit from individual to individual, just like fears. However, just like there are some things that are more likely to be feared (e.g. heights, snakes), there are probably some things that are more likely to be creepy. Things that have both elements of danger and safety might be more likely to be creepy, like a life-like doll or an abandoned house. Dolls are cute and safe, but maybe not if they're alive. Houses are places of refuge, but maybe not if they're abandoned.”

According to prof. McAndrew, things that are novel or strange automatically attract our attention. "For good evolutionary reasons, we need to figure out new things we encounter in case they are a threat to us or possibly a good thing that we can take advantage of. That is why we can't look away until we have figured them out."

"Some people are more comfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity than others, and the people who are least comfortable with it are the people who will be most easily creeped out."

What changes in us when we are creeped out? According to C. Scrivener, feeling creeped out has similar effects to anxiety. “Our mind prepares the senses for information gathering and we are more on alert than usual. This helps us efficiently learn about the potential danger. In the case of images, there is no actual danger. There are likely no long-term negative effects of viewing unsettling images.”

Prof. McAndrew added that they raise our arousal levels and focus our attention. "They create an uncomfortable emotion that will keep us motivated to keep processing information about the images until we resolve them, much the same way hunger or thirst (unpleasant feelings) motivate us to engage in behaviors (eating and drinking) that will eradicate the feeling."