Plenty of us Pandas are real fans of horror stories, right? Spooky movies, scary novels (hello, Mr. King!), and thrilling, chilling radio plays set our teeth on edge and give us goosebumps that will last all night. But do you ever wonder about real-life creepiness? Reality can often be scarier than whatever nightmarish things our imaginations come up with… and here’s the proof.

Redditor u/Vacancier1807 started up a thread that’s perfect for the post-Halloween period. They asked people to share some very (emphasis on very) creepy facts. Internet users obliged and what follows are some truly terrifying real-life facts that will keep me awake thinking about them for many nights to come.

Scroll down for the creepiest facts, as shared on this r/AskReddit thread.

However, a note of warning: this post and the sense of impending doom it brings with it might not be for everyone. If at any moment you feel like it’s all too much for you, then I cordially invite you to check out my wholesome and soothing gardening article on Bored Panda right over here.

#1

Bacteria and viruses can be frozen for millions of years and still be viably infectious, and having never encountered humanity before, could have no end of catastrophic results should they be uncovered and manage to infect a person or animal.

Not to worry though, it’s not like millions of ancient pathogens are currently trapped in permafrost which is now melting bit by bit each and every day...

Image credits: gjs628

#2

One reason why crows and ravens are associated with death is because they would often follow armies as they marched into battle. Being both carrion birds and extremely intelligent, they realized that a large group of armed men marching in one direction meant that there would be a tasty meal of corpses to eat soon afterward.

Image credits: TheEldritchHorror

#3

The bottom of Lake Superior is cold enough that the bodies of dead sailors just...remain. They don't really decompose because it's at freezing temperatures, so they instead get a coating of adipocere, which is liquid body fat, hardened around them.

Image credits: Whyiseveryonestupid

Even though these facts aren’t for everyone, a lot of you Readers might be unable to stop scrolling and reading. It’s hard to take your eyes off spooky facts and stories. I recently spoke about our fascination with horror and Halloween with Lee Chambers, an environmental psychologist and wellbeing consultant from the UK.

"The whole ethos of Halloween and the flirting with evil and death is fascinating because it is a place we rarely go as humans, especially in today's safe and sanitized world," Lee told Bored Panda.

#4

The smell of a freshly cut lawn is actually a chemical distress signal released from the grass as it's cut.

You're smelling the souls and screaming of the innocent.

Image credits: IrishIntrovert513

#5

It wasn't until 1987 that the American Academy of Pediatrics declared it unethical to operate on newborns without anesthesia. Until surprisingly recently, the medical community felt it would be dangerous to give infants anesthesia and/or believed that they didn't feel pain.

Image credits: allothernamestaken

#6

If you get a blood transfusion and get the wrong type of blood, one of the symptoms is 'a sense of impending doom.'

Image credits: DocMcCall

Psychologist Lee explained that during Halloween we get to explore darker sides without anyone judging us. What’s more, we get to test our emotive responses to fear in a safe, controlled manner.

"We can get the adrenaline rush of being scared, all while knowing we are in control and can exit the situation if it’s too much. We also cognitively know it’s not real, so we can trigger ourselves and test how we respond to threats, giving us the ability to practice coping mechanism for difficult times in life," Lee said.

#7

Rosemary Kennedy was JFK’s sister. She suffered from oxygen deprivation at birth and that unfortunately stunted her mental growth. She had a pretty decent childhood, but as she grew older she began to act out. Afraid that her behavior would risk his political career, her father, Joseph, agreed to have her lobotomized. Her mother, Rose, was against it and forbade him from doing it. So he did it behind her back when she went on a trip.
After the operation, Rosemary’s already low IQ was lowered even further, to the point she could no longer walk or communicate. Her family had her locked up in an institution and basically disowned her. They never visited and never publicly acknowledged her anymore. Rosemary died at the age of 86.
Her mother never for gave her husband for what he had done.

Image credits: [deleted]

#8

Female mummies in Ancient Egypt were always more decomposed than their male counterparts. They discovered that this was because male bodies were embalmed a lot sooner than female bodies. Female bodies were kept at the family home until they started to decompose in order to avoid necrophilia at the embalmers.

Image credits: crossstitchwizard

#9

Crocodiles can gallop like horses. I don't like knowing this so I am cursing you people with this knowledge as well. Fortunately, alligators cannot.

Image credits: SaltyPeanut69

"We can explore the taboos of negative emotions like fear in a playful way, see where our limits lie, and do it in a supportive environment with other people. Getting scared and mastering our fear with scary entertainment and curated shocks can make us feel like we can take on all sorts of challenges, and can even feel like therapy when we take into account the physiological rush we get and the feeling of having survived."

#10

There is a genetic disease called fibrodisplaysia ossificans progresiva. When tissue is damaged, it is replaced with bone.

Growths form underneath their skin and their joints lock solid So over time those affected slowly become encased in a prison of bone just beneath their own skin.

They usually have to choose between sitting or standing up for the rest of their life. By the end of their life they have to drink every meal through a straw and can barely move

Image credits: Sythosz

#11

Mount Everest is covered in frozen corpses because removing them is very unsafe and time consuming. They are easily viewed from the climbing routes and some are used as trail markers.

Image credits: [deleted]

#12

If the sun exploded right now, you would be blissfully unaware of it for just over eight minutes while the energy travels at the speed of light to get to you.

Image credits: starjellyboba

#13

Cockroaches have been recorded eating human flesh, both living and dead, as well as fingernails, eyelashes, feet, and hands. The American cockroach and German cockroach are more likely to bite humans than other species.

Pretty sure Australian cockroaches do something equally creepy, but as an Australian who plans to sleep at some point in the future, I'm not going to google it.

Image credits: FauxPoesFoes228

#14

Blobfish in its natural habitat looks like a normal fish, but it lives so deep under water that it doesn't use a normal gas bladder to keep itself balanced. Instead, it has a spongy skin that is slightly less dense than water, which becomes damaged and bloated when fishermen bring it up too quickly.

It's not really the ugliest fish. It has just experienced something worse than one of us being thrown into outer space. Between sea level and space, there's one atmospheric pressure of difference. Between sea level and 2000 feet under water, their upper limit, there's 60 atmospheres of difference.

Image credits: songmage

#15

The Colombian serial killer Pedro Alonso Lopez, who is known as the Monster of the Andes, raped and murdered over 300 girls from Ecuador, Peru and Colombia. However, after he was caught and imprisoned for 18 years, he was put in a psychiatric hospital. There he was reviewed, declared to be sane and was set free, in spite of his blatant avowal that he fully intends to kill again. Since he was released in 1998, nobody knows where he is or what he’s doing. ( He is supposed to be 71 years old at present).He is known for being the most prolific killer ever.

Image credits: ridhan3912

#16

If you stifle a sneeze there’s a chance you can damage organs in your head, including eye blood vessels, rupturing your eardrums, and possibly rupture a brain aneurysm. Which means there’s a small chance stifling a sneeze can kill you. Better to be the loud ass with the sneeze that can be heard around the world than a dead loud ass cause someone told you to stifle that sneeze

Image credits: fauxcanadian

#17

Elmer McCurdy was a failed old west “outlaw.” His preserved body was put on display in a traveling carnival and years later he was eventually assumed to be a mannequin until he was used on set for the TV show the Six Million Dollar Man.

His arm accidentally fell off during the shoot, revealing bone and muscle and that he was a corpse, not a mannequin.

#18

It’s quite common after you die to burp a lot as you have more gas build up. Dead bodies can also sit up on their own sometimes

Image credits: squazle

#19

There are upwards of 300 active serial killers in the world

Image credits: RedAdamGamer18

#20

Either somebody knows where Malaysia flight 370 went missing to, or nobody does. Both are equally terrifying.

Image credits: [deleted]

#21

In 2015, a young woman began to have headaches. They discovered that she had a brain tumor, and when the doctors removed it, they were shocked to see that it was a lump resembling skin that contained bone, teeth, and hair. But this was no parasitic twin: the mass was called a “teratoma,” or “monstrous tumor.” When the woman was an embryo, some cell tissue fell off and ended up where wasn’t supposed to be, her brain. It then develop hair and teeth while the rest of her grew as normal.

#22

There’s a parasite that enters a fish’s mouth, eats the tongue and replaces itself as the fish’s new tongue

Image credits: SaiC4

#23

It was once discovered that a fir tree was growing inside a human body. Artyom Sidorkin went to the doctors suspecting something wrong with his lungs. The doctors thought they were dealing with a tumor but turns out he had inhaled a fir tree seed which had sprouted and had begun growing in his lungs.

#24

More than 7000 people die annually due to the doctor's bad handwriting.

#25

Eventually there will be more dead people on Facebook than alive.

Wow thanks for the award.

Image credits: ByOrderoftheQueens

#26

When you happen to be murdered there is only an about 40% chance that your murderer will be found and punished.

Image credits: hookdelivery

#27

In the Czech Republic, there is a church called The Sedlec Ossuary that has decorations made entirely of human bones.

This happened because there were too many people in the cemetery to bury everyone, and the church leaders claimed that if their bones became part of the church, it only made them closer to God.

Nice propaganda spin there, guys.

#28

Your brain can play tricks on you to make you see monsters in the mirror. This is called the Troxler Effect. It's an optical illusion that affects how you perceive things, both visually and mentally.

Image credits: Eustass-

#29

1 in 100 people are psychopaths.

Image credits: [deleted]

#30

The astronauts aboard the space shuttle Challenger most likely didn’t die until they hit the water miles below the initial explosion.

Image credits: R3dFiv367

#31

Your eyes have a separate immune system from the rest of your body. If they get damaged in such a way that it affects anything other than your eyes, your regular immune system can attack the damage and will not recognise them, meaning your own body can permanently blind you.

What's worse, your body cannot tell the difference between either eye. If one of them gets infected or damaged, your immune system can attack your healthy eye and take away your sight entirely.

Image credits: TBroomey

#32

People don't take their antimalarial drugs when they travel because they hear bad stories about the side effects and they see native people in the areas living OK without taking pills every day. The truth is, populations native to malaria-endemic areas have all passed through pretty intense natural selection for survival and have a host of genes that prevent them from dying or suffering the other worst effects. Also, most of the resistance is built up over time, this is why it's most common for children to die rather than adults.

Whatever people have heard about the side effects of the antimalarials, getting it is so much worse. I, fortunately, have never had it, but I study it as part of my work and people have told me about having it and they all say the same thing - it is so awful you can't believe you're even still alive. It comes in cycles, usually 48-hours, and each cycle is agonizing and brings you the brink of death, sometimes it takes you, sometimes is spares you for another few hours until it starts again. And there are forms that, even if you clear the infection with drugs, it still remains dormant in your system and can come back at any time.

#33

You're more likely to be murdered by someone you know than a stranger

#34

There's a spider that gives you an hours-long, very painful boner before you die from its bite.

Image credits: alien__unknown

#35

Serial Killer Richard Chase took any unlocked door as an invitation to come inside.

Image credits: Nevermore-Nevermore

#36

The origins of vampires as we know them.

Basically your body has gas build up when you die. I’m not medically inclined enough to explain why. Basically the gas has to escape somehow, and so it would pass through the vocal cords in the throat. This creates the low “moan” that makes the body sound as if it was in pain. The people back then had no idea what was happening and random bodies would just start “moaning” in pain. And thus they believed that the bodies were rising from the dead. And when stabbed, the gas escaped otherwise. Thus leading to the belief that the only way to stop a vampire was to stab a dead body in the chest. This also led to a lot of strange burials, I.e the man that was buried in a stone wall to prevent him from rising from the dead.

I can’t really blame them. I’d be freaked out too if a corpse suddenly started to make sounds. Creepy for some, but I find stuff like that fascinating. There’s documentaries on YT talking about it. I highly recommend them!

#37

CNN has had a pre-recorded broadcast from the 90’s which they will premiere during the end of the world

Image credits: andrew_gusher

#38

Ducks become cannibals due to boredom , of all reasons. They can only be stopped by cutting off their "mouths"!

Image credits: bob_rob_III

#39

Tarantulas can swim.

Image credits: [deleted]

#40

A single tiger has killed over 436 people in India.

Image credits: Grim53N

#41

Every year you live through the future anniversary of your death.

Image credits: odagled86

#42

Since 1900, over 13,000 people have been murdered by serial killers in the USA.

Image credits: chngminxo

#43

Polar bears are the only animals that are thought to actively hunt humans.

#44

Remember that bath salts cannibal guy from a couple years back?

He wasn't high on bath salts when he did that. That was just media speculation and bulls**t. They only found pot in his system during the autopsy.

We still have no idea why he flipped out.

#45

The men of the ship Essex (the true event that inspires the story “Moby Dick”) avoided islands after being shipwrecked for fear of cannibals. The islands were settled and landing there would have brought salvation to the survivors. Ironically because of this bypass, the men ran out of food and were forced to eat each other for survival.

#46

If you begin to display symptoms of rabies, you will go crazy and die. There's no cure. Your brain will slowly melt until you're dead.

#47

A Fire Whirl can go as big as an EF3 tornado.

In 1923, such happened in Japan during an earthquake. The son of a b**** killed 38,000 people in less than 15 minutes.

#48

The US has lost 6 nuclear warheads in total

#49

This might not be very creepy, but there are no laws against cannibalism in the USA. You might be arrested for something else, but not for cannibalism.

#50

Cannibals find the palm of the hand the tastiest

#51

Hearing is the last thing to go after you die. You just might hear the paramedics and firefighters call off CPR...

#52

The stonefish, an incredibly venomous fish living in tropical waters mostly off the coast of Australia and parts of US, can cause pain that only escalates with time. Eventually the pain will subside but even after the barb is removed, patients have reported increasing pain 12+ hours later. Without antivenim or denaturing the venom with excessive heat, the pain builds and builds until the patients request euthanasia. Its spines hold the venom, hidden in its dorsal fins.
Aboriginals living around the Great Barrier reef have "corroborees," large gatherings, and will during these gatherings hold reenactments of people being stung by this monster (for what I assume is either amusement, learning, or both).

Image credits: Tormz1569

#53

In the US if someone is kidnapped and not found within about a day then there is a 97% chance the kidnapped person is dead.

#54

There are more creatures in your mouth than there are people on earth

Image credits: jeff_the_nurse

#55

Ah, another creepy fact is that one can die from drinking water. It has to be nine liters of water at once and you are a dead man. ( please don't try it)

#56

The reason dogs like squeaky toys is because the squeak reminds them of small animals dying

#57

A black mamba is the fastest snake which can slither at a speed of 12.5 miles an hour (20km/hr). They have neurotoxins which are fast acting. The venom shuts down the nervous system and paralyses the victim. Its venom is able to kill 10 people and it repeatedly bites. To add onto this, there is an almost 100% kill rate and can kill in 20 minutes.

Image credits: Amazing_Yewq

#58

Imagine being totally aware of someone preforming CPR but you physically can't move or respond. Well that's what happens when you get bitten by a blue ringed octopus, you have approx 6minutes between being bitten and someone starting CPR to keep your heart and lungs functioning to ensure you survive, all whilst being totally aware of what is happening to you. Neurotoxins are fun!

#59

From Atlas Obscura by Foer, Thuras, and Morton:

Necropants (Reader's discretion advised)

In Iceland, a long ass time ago (17th c), friends followed complex rules to obtain a dead man's skin to turn them into pants.

You had to get permission from the dude to use his skin after he kicked the bucket.

You would then wait until burial formalities concluded.

You would rob the s**t out of your buddy's grave.

You would cut the waist and peel the bottom half of the body off in one perfect flay.

You would then steel a coin from a poor widow, preferably your bud's.

Place the coin in the scrotum of the necropants to attract cosmic s**t, specifically more wealth in life, and leave the groin full of coins at all times.

Pass that s**t down to your kid.

Fun fact: The Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft has a pair on display for all of us sickos to gawk at.

#60

Unborn babies have a layer of hair around them (to regulate body temperature) called Lanugo. They shed it, eat it, then poop it out after birth.

#61

After getting stung by a cone snail, you don’t feel the sting for a little bit. There is no antivenin and it can be lethal. Treatment is basically keeping the victim alive until the venom wears off.

Image credits: PokeOPhantom

#62

in 1975 the CIA had a heart attack gun, it kills people and then the dart denigrates. just imagine what is classified now.

#63

Humans eyes dont reflect light at night like animals do. I like to say this fact to my wife at a camp fire.

#64

They used real corpses in the 1982 film Poltergeist, for the ending pool scene. The actress did not know until AFTER the scene was filmed.

#65

Our graves will be re-used for someone else unless we are memorable which in the 99% of the time we wont be so we better start thinking of badass ways we can be buried. If we're cremated then forget about being remembered past 1 generation unless you name a park or building after yourself.

#66

There was a speech made for Apollo 11 if they were to die on the moon.

Side fact - if it were to happen, people would look up at the moon knowing that, that crew died there, and their bodies would rest there till the end of time. Not forgetting that the ocean is somewhat like this, many people died there too, at the very depths of the sea.

#67

That very distinct “vacuum smell” (like that smell from the content you vacuumed up) comes from dead skin cells.

#68

Men who are hanged get a death erection, known as rigor erectus.

Pretty awkward for the family, I assume.

#69

Roach are natural burrowers. They also can’t walk backwards. There have been cases where they burrow into people’s ears but cannot get themselves out.

#70

chicken are so dumb they can accidentally peck each other and if one of them feels meet in the other chicken then all chickens will peck that chicken to death and eat it

#71

There is an insect the size of a human hand, called a Tree Lobster. Luckily it can only be found in Ball's Pyramid Island, Australia.

#72

Sometimes an AMBER alert causes kidnappers to panic and kill the kid immediately.

#73

When creating the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland, they couldn’t create skeletons that looked “realistic” enough, so they used real human skeletons They’ve since removed all of them except one

#74

Its less of a fact and more of an uncomfortable truth but it would be very easy for a determined individual to break into your place of residence and kill you at just about any time that you aren't expecting them. Even worse is that if they do it cleanly and have no relationship with you they stand a decent chance of getting away with it.

#75

A bubble caused by false vacuum decay could be expanding through our galaxy right now, destroying everything it touches. And we wouldn't even know about it, because it travels at the speed of light.

#76

Since 2007, at least 20 detached human feet have been found on the coasts of the Salish Sea.

#77

I once read that you should play dead if a bear attacks you, unless they start licking your wounds because that means they plan to eat you. That still haunts me to this day.

#78

According to Abe Lincoln's body guard Crook, he said Lincoln had a dream about his own assassination 3 nights in a row before he was killed.

Crook told Lincoln NOT to go on that fateful night, and all Lincoln said was "Goodbye, Crook" before he went to the play.

This was VERY ODD as Lincoln always said, Goodnight NOT goodbye.

#79

The human body can be drained of blood in 8.6 seconds given adequate vacuuming systems

#80

some species of spiderlings eat their mothers alive

#81

Anything to do with parasitic wasps.