50 Of The Scariest Signs Spotted Around The World You’d Probably Want To Be As Far Away As Possible From
When you think about it, the goal of a sign is pretty basic, isn’t it? We put them up to give us directions, send messages, and warn us about dangers lurking around the corner. But while sometimes they hilariously fail to fulfill their purpose by looking like the most random and absurd announcements ever created, others seem to carry a somewhat threatening aura.
We’re talking about signs that remind us the world is filled with unforeseen hazards that make us want to stop and quickly run the other way. So let us introduce you to the 'Scary Signs' subreddit. This online community with over 379K members has set out on a mission to share pictures of terrifying messages from all over the world "that you don't want to be near".
Some of them are scarier than the danger itself, others are so creepy we can’t help but wonder why they got put up there in the first place. Whatever the case may be, these warnings definitely catch one's attention. Bored Panda has collected some of the most frightening posts from the group, so continue scrolling to check them out for yourself, and let us know what you think about them in the comments!
This post may include affiliate links.
Scary-Sad, But Comforting To Know You Can Be Safe
That's not a scary sign I "don't want to be near" - that's a fantastic sign that we're all glad to see
Sign A The Vet
Oh...ok I Understand
Since its creation in 2014, the 'Scary Signs' subreddit has amassed more than 379K members who are eager to share the daunting messages they come across in every corner of the world. Nearly every post consists of terrifying or confusing signs that warn us of potential hazards up ahead and uneasy consequences we will face if we refuse to obey.
While we're used to seeing safety signs and not batting an eye, people on this online community prove that some of them have a slightly threatening nature that everyone should take notice of. After all, most of us are hoping to avoid falling into "the drowning machine", getting attacked by aggressive geese, or encountering a venomous snake that's missing from its exhibit.
Save The Bees
More Than Sad Scary, But Still
Beware Of Falling Deer
Yet, there seem to be many factors that can make people disregard even the most frightening messages. Maybe you're an adrenaline junkie looking for new adventures every chance you get. Perhaps you think the sign is scarier than the danger itself. I mean, it's better to be safe than sorry, but who really wants to be told to watch out for falling deer? How often does that really happen?
Marc Green, Ph.D., is a human factor expert who has extensive experience in perception, attention, human factors, and related areas. According to him, warning signs often fail to change people's behavior. They can either go unnoticed or, more often than not, they are seen but ignored by the viewer. "For many years, designers focused their concern on sensory aspects of warnings: color, shape, location, pictures vs. text, size and so on. However, recent research suggests that effective warning design depends as much on the contents of the viewer's head as on the contents of the warning's message," he explained.
Trailhead In Tennessee
Well, this is a great sign. I have encountered a few similar sign in Australia, and I find them rather helpful.
Don’t Do Meth
No Bees, No Oranges
You see, when people stumble upon alarming messages, they then have to make a decision whether or not to comply. But let's not forget that people who are the intended audience of these signs are not blank slates. They rather start with a thought process containing three components: "First, the viewer has general knowledge about the world and how it works. Second, s/he has a set of beliefs and expectations based on experience with the same or similar environment, product or technology."
"Lastly, the viewer enters the situation with a goal and strategy for achieving that goal," Green continued. "The goal can be specific ('I want to arrive at my destination as soon as possible') or more diffuse ('I want to feel good about myself')." So to create an effective warning sign, the designer must understand what the observer "brings to the table".
Percy Preist Lake In Nashville, Tn
See? They drowned even if they wore lifejackets! Why should people wear masks/seatbelts/get vaccinated/wear protective gear/etc when you can still die!? /sarcasm, if that was not obvious
Scary Geese
As viewers, we’re aware that safety signs are placed there for our own benefit. Their purpose is to draw our attention to important information that might prevent us from doing harm to ourselves or the people around us. Unfortunately, sometimes they are less likely to be effective when they are placed in the wrong area or use vague messaging. This could lead to tragic accidents, so it’s always best to make sure the sign will be crystal clear to virtually anyone.
A Disease Which Has No Cure
Something About This Unsettles Me
Straight To The Point, Don't Become Soup
However, even when signs are compelling and tick every box on the list, we humans have a tendency to overlook them. Green explained that when a warning tells us to refrain from behavior that would enable us to quickly achieve our goal, we then make a cost-benefit analysis. "In some cases, the viewer might lose the goal altogether ('No Smoking' signs), or exert more effort ('Detour' signs)," he mentioned some examples of the cost.
When it comes to benefits, they can be practical (like injury avoidance), and psychological. "A driver deciding whether to comply with a speed limit sign might calculate the costs of arriving later," he added. But one benefit of compliance is feeling safe and less anxious, like thinking "I won't be as likely to get in an accident," or "I won't have to spend time and effort looking for a radar trap." Other psychological advantages could be the sense of being "a good citizen" or "a team player," Green argued.
19th Century Japanese Tsunami Warnings. This One Reads: “Remember The Calamity Of The Great Tsunamis. Do Not Build Any Homes Below This Point”
And they still built below that point. I was watching a Geographics video and most of the people who died in the 2011 tsunami were in buildings situated below the tsunami warning points.
Fight Back
Road Sign I Found In Texas
Reminds me of the time a colleague stopped for a hitchhiker. A couple of miles down the road she accidentally ran over something (squirrel I think). Hitchhiker went to have a look. While he was out of the car she decided to have a look in his bag as she felt uneasy. He had a knife and rope in there. She yeeted out of there so fast. She was traumatised for a long time afterwards. But what a lucky escape.
Another factor that affects how we see the size of the benefits is the perception of danger, which has two elements — hazard and risk. The viewer of the warning sign must take them into account when making the calculation. "If the person believes that there is great danger, then s/he will see a larger benefit in compliance. Conversely, perception of small danger means low benefit and compliance will decrease," he explained.
Sign At Lava Falls In Grand Canyon
You Will Die
At A Nearby Wolf Sanctuary
Lastly, our personal, social, and cultural backgrounds also affect our decision-making. Green explained that even when two people make the same cost-benefit analysis, they could go two different ways — one might ignore the sign while the other doesn't. "People accept different danger levels, have different attitudes about their ability to control danger and are differentially affected by social and cultural norms," the expert added.
So for warning signs to be persuasive, designers should focus more on the psychological factor. Sure, the bright glaring colors and terrifying symbols catch our attention and might stop us from falling into dangerous threats, but harmony between human behavior and design would reduce accidents even further.
Bronx Zoo
Just Another Day In Alaska
Just think if people closed their bins properly and didn’t litter (or encroach on bears habitats) then they wouldn’t come looking for food in houses / public spaces.
"The Drowning Machine"
I bet that somebody stupid will go in hoping to make a great TikTok video
Uh Oh. Keep Out Of The Danger Noodle Room
This Slide
Bush Fire Rating Signs All Over Australia
Yikes
Trust Me, I Won't
Nope.
The School Lockdown Song
Worst sign ever. Nothing like a funny shooters song 🙈 for the little ones. Awful.
I understand it's aim to reduce anxiety and trauma, but it's terrifying that it's so normalised
Load More Replies...Why tf does America have such a huge gun problem? If there are so many shootings and deaths because of that wouldn’t it be smart to make it very hard to access the guns in the first place? Please correct me if I am wrong
Most American politicians care about the gun lobby more than about children. And many Americans are brainwashed into thinking guns make the world a safer place. I'm so happy my kids don't have to grow up in that place.
Load More Replies...My European brain thought that this was for the pandemic lockdown and after i read the comments i realised that it's for a problem very unfamiliar to those outside USA! So sad
Nah..my brain was like...it's disgusting they need a song. We don't need it. They should really up their gun laws... poor children
Load More Replies...Protect the children…by banning Kinder Surprise Eggs. Thank God we got that law passed, the kids are far safer now. #doneeverythingwecan
I had no idea about this at all- so thank you for the comment. I recall buying them before and thinking - wow- this does not seem ok. And never got one again- now I know why. Ironically I still have the plastic egg from thst candy- but no idea where the toy went. Probably the garbage. - another worry on my list… as I hunt it down and toss it out.
Load More Replies...One time I encountered my then five year old playing lockdown in her dollhouse. I hate so much that it had to be a part of her childhood. When people prioritize their right to guns, there's something terribly broken and I hate it so much.
It matters who you vote for. One political party gets its funding from the NRA and one does not. Choose wisely next time.
Load More Replies...Say you go to school in the US without saying you go to school in the US.
I know it's crazy but maybe it would be better if the general population didn't have guns?
No, it's not crazy, crazyest to think that public having guns have a positive side
Load More Replies...The second amendment to the US constitution gives people "the Right to Bear Arms" (meaning guns). Specifically, it says “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” It made sense at the time (1791), and refers to the right for a community to defend itself with a militia. Guns rights advocates (funded, of course, by gun companies and the gun lobby), interpret it as the right for any individual to own and use any kind of gun they want regardless of how many people are killed by them. Any attempt at gun control is met with "they're trying to take away our 2nd Amendment rights!" I would argue that those who passed the 2nd amendment never meant for it to justify the kind of gun violence we see on a daily basis here in America.
This is horrific. Nothing like a cheery little kids song to validate America's gun laws.
This doesn't validate the gun laws here. This is just one of the things the sane people in the country have to do in order to live in this gun culture as safely as possible. It's horrific and disgusting that we even have to do this. Ugh, sorry for the rant. It's a bad day.
Load More Replies...After Sandy Hook, I sat them down and we had a serious talk about it. We came up with a plan, and a code word. They knew if they ever heard me say the code word, it's not a joke. Get to your spot, and be quiet.
Yes, and now those of us who grew up with that all recognize how useless the advice was. Duct tape, newspapers, and squatting in the school hallways was never going to save a single child from a nuclear event. Only the control of nuclear weapons had that effect. Some day in the hopefully near future our children will shake their heads and wonder why we didn’t control guns sooner.
Load More Replies...How horrible that teachers have to teach this to their kindergarteners. Effin NRA. Effin GOP.
But they're too young to hear about LGBTQ people or the racist history of Murrica? Okay, got it.
USA has to be up there as one of the dumbest nation in the world. You would rather have kids go through c**p like this instead of better gun laws. And before you respond, no there is no justification for your useless gun laws which murder children on a regular basis.
Most of us don’t like it either. The NRA has our country by the balls
Load More Replies..."Hello children. As an active shooter I have to tell you that, at close range, my ACP rounds will tear big holes in your wooden desks, and in you, as well."
This is why I don't believe one damn word pro-lifers say. Until they get on the anti-gun violence bandwagon, this will become a traumatizing childhood norm.
But America doesn't have a gun violence problem.... When my kiddo was in school I just hoped she would come home alive.. that her school wouldn't be a statistic.
It's absolutely heartbreaking that we even need to have a lockdown song or this posted. This country is so f**ked.
Right to life stops at conception. Welcome to the ununited states.
The fact that this exists in a first world country, sickens me.
And yet safe gun laws are impinging on second amendment rights...much more important.
As a free American our children should be traumatized with death at school. It is our rights.
As long as they hand out guns to people like candy, this is what we will get. No guns=no gun violence.
Whenever we say "'Murica!?" we get told off by the Yanks for ragging on the US of A... but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say "'Murica?". Now tell me gun laws don't work.
I live in the US, Fat Harry. I don't think anyone sane could argue with you on this. I absolutely hate this aspect of our lives. It's appalling.
Load More Replies...This just turns my stomach my daughter's been doing drills at school for last 6 years she is in the 6th grade
Several years ago I went to my daughter's school for a "breakfast with daddy" event they had. They ran an active shooter drill while I was there. I never noticed that the classroom doors were made of thick steel (probably bulletproof) until that day. This was at an elementary (primary) school.
So sad but kids gotta do this. & Im glad they're getting trained on how to react when times like that MAY, hopefully not, come
or they could all do what Greta did. Every kid in every school refuse to go to school till guns are banned. countries with worse gun death rate than usa: El Salvador; Jamaica; Eswatini; Honduras; Venezuela; Brazil; Guatemala; Colombia; Mexico; South Africa; Panama; Philippines; Barbados; Costa Rica; Paraguay; Uruguay
Load More Replies...My 4yo and his class learned about the lockdown procedure at school. When the teacher announces a lockdown, they turn into mice that have to finding their best hiding spot to hide from "the cat". You may be surprised that this isn't in the US. It's in the UK.
Really? We haven't had a school shooting in nearly thirty years.
Load More Replies...This is horrible!! we should NEVER have to make our children live like this!
How horrible that young children have to learn survival techniques because of the NRA and 'Murcan freedom. You should be thoroughly ashamed of yourselves.
The NRA, the gun nuts, and the politicians who refuse to do nothing to change the situation, yes, they should be ashamed. The rest of us who hate the gun culture, and fight against it whenever possible, no, we should not be ashamed for fighting for something better.
Load More Replies...This makes me so sad. No child should have to know this in elementary school.
And this is the dystopian hellscape of 21st century America we’ve all found ourselves in
to be honest i think its a sensible way for children to do what there supposed to do without shoving the honest brutality of a possible threat in there school.
Yes this is horrible to think this is the reality our children face today. That being said, have you ever heard the meaning behind Ring Around the Rosy?? Apparently it's nothing new for children to be singing of horrible realities.
so america is equivalent to tudor england, got it.
Load More Replies...I was born in South Africa in the '80s, starting school in 1990. We did lockdown drills. I experienced bomb threats in both a grocery store & at school. I remember heavily armed guards in malls and other public places. I remember signs with plastic models of various incendiary devices so you'd know to avoid & report them if found. America has it's issues, yes, but every country has it's own scary/awful/shameful chapters.
Except (a) that was mostly propaganda by the then-government to keep the population afraid of black people - go count the number of actual terririst strikes, far fewer than amurkan schoo shootings, and (b) You're saying amurka is basically equivalent to apartheid south africa - well yes if you look at indian reservations/bantustans, and the BLM issue, similar to the freedom fighters in SA - so yeah. A reasonable comparison BUT it basically makes the bright clear point that amurka is a third world state having a low-level civil war. In case you doubt it: countries with worse gun death rate than usa: El Salvador; Jamaica; Eswatini; Honduras; Venezuela; Brazil; Guatemala; Colombia; Mexico; South Africa; Panama; Philippines; Barbados; Costa Rica; Paraguay; Uruguay
Load More Replies...WTF?! This is absolutely awful.And still you get people claiming they have "the RIGHT to bare arms".It takes a seriously sick society to choose unnessesary weapons and an misplaced and understood idea of "Freedom" over the lives oftheir children.
F*******k...when I was a kid we had yo learn the Green Cross Code not worry about active shooters.
This sign shouldn't exist un first place. What kind of world are we giving yo our children?
Why do you assume that i don't know your gun laws? Also....I can tell you 100% it's close to impossible here to get a gun without a permit. And random people don't get a permit.
Pathetic...and we ALL know what country this is in!! Welcome to 'Murica!!
Hardly a day goes by without a "mass shooting." These days, you need about 10 people shot for it to qualify and make the news. Legislators have sold out to the guns/freedom/antiabortion/don't-mask/MAGA crowd.
This song seems like something that came out of a creepypasta fic.
They're trying to make it less scary and teach the kids what to do. But what a sad commentary!
This is the absolute scariest sign. It's like something from the most nightmarish dystopian film.
Christ. What has this world become. My niece was talking about active shooter drills like we did fire drills. No big deal. She's 10.
Whoops. Sorry. She'd send in front of the shooter because she turned 11 two days ago.
Load More Replies...Ok,hold on. Are they singing this actively? While someone’s in the building? That’s dangerous.
No, they practice the song during class time, so that the children can remember the words should the need arise.
Load More Replies...Okay, kiddos - this isn't the time to go out and get crazy again. Geez. Doesn't school teach you to be smart - instead of smart-asses?
Like the nursery rhyme "ring around the roses". It's about the plague.
How Fast Is It Going To Move?
This Got Dark Real Quick
Common all around the UK for a while. Now, probably prompted by research findings, we have signs written by children, with childish drawings, that say 'Twenty is Plenty'.
Crocodile Enclosure At Sydney Aquarium
You Get The Gist, Even Without A Word Of Swedish
At Least They Give You A Choice.
Not Sure If This Counts
At My Apartment Complex
Yeah I Think I’ll Pass
Apartheid-Era Sign Near Johannesburg, South Africa (1953)
I had the misfortune when I was young to have a brief conversation with a white "Rhodesian" (young man) and yes, attitudes really were that vile.
Crossing A Swing Bridge In Nz
Think This Belongs Here!
Careful When Skiing
Heart Rate Increasing
Slowly Puts Shovel Back In Trunk
Ok, Let's Just Go To The Public Pool?
Water somehow always enters my nose while swimming. I’d avoid this pool no matter what
No Worries, 3 Layers Of Glass Still Remain To Protect You From The King Of The Jungle!
Yeah but how did it break? Accidental damage or was the lion testing the fence like a Dino in Jurassic Park. If those lions are looking to escape we need to know!
Cute Cartoons Don’t Make Creepy Messages Better
“Holy Water Removed Temporarily”
Saw This Walking Through My University After Hours
Did I just waste my time? Yes. Did this traumatize me? Yes. Do I regret reading this? Absolutely not.
One I was sure I'd see: Trespassers will be Shot! Survivors will be Shot Again!
Did I just waste my time? Yes. Did this traumatize me? Yes. Do I regret reading this? Absolutely not.
One I was sure I'd see: Trespassers will be Shot! Survivors will be Shot Again!