“I almost wish I hadn’t gone down that rabbit-hole—and yet—and yet—it’s rather curious, you know, this sort of life!” said Alice as she tumbled intoWonderlandand found herself in a world of bizarre adventures.If there’s anything that can rival Wonderland’s strange allure, it’s the internet, where you can find weird and wonderful things about almost anything.But sometimes, curiosity leads to some truly unsettling places. TheseReddit usersshared the most disturbing online rabbit holes they’ve fallen into, and they’re definitely not for the faint of heart. Read their stories below, and don’t miss our chat with horror researchers Mathias Clasen and Coltan Scrivner about our fascination with fear!This post may includeaffiliate links.
“I almost wish I hadn’t gone down that rabbit-hole—and yet—and yet—it’s rather curious, you know, this sort of life!” said Alice as she tumbled intoWonderlandand found herself in a world of bizarre adventures.
If there’s anything that can rival Wonderland’s strange allure, it’s the internet, where you can find weird and wonderful things about almost anything.
But sometimes, curiosity leads to some truly unsettling places. TheseReddit usersshared the most disturbing online rabbit holes they’ve fallen into, and they’re definitely not for the faint of heart. Read their stories below, and don’t miss our chat with horror researchers Mathias Clasen and Coltan Scrivner about our fascination with fear!
This post may includeaffiliate links.
I forget the subreddit, but it shook me to my deepest fiber. It’s a Reddit where they ask you if you can ID where a photo was taken. At first I thought, oh cool, this sounds fun…Some of the photos clearly had a small child edited out, they were f*****g trafficked and trying to find where the perp is who is committing the heinous act(s).I looked thru every single post to see if I could help/recognize a landmark/indicator. Not every photo has a person edited out, but, you can just tell.Realizing there’s people/children right now needing to be saved breaks my heart.Edit: thanks Filiberto, the page is r/TraceAnObject, if you’d like to see for yourself.
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There’s something undeniably captivating about scary experiences—be it a chilling horror movie, or a bizarre conspiracy. To understand why we’re so drawn to them,Bored Pandareached out to experts at theRecreational Fear Labat Aarhus University.
According to Clasen and his colleagues, scary content offers a unique chance to play with fear in a controlled environment. “We are curious creatures, and we have evolved to find pleasure in learning about the world—and scary content lets us learn about the darker sides of it,” he explained. It’s this curious paradox that pushes us to explore fear while generally steering clear of it in our everyday lives.
Elisabeth Fritzl’s story.to put it brief, her father imprisoned his own daughter in a self made bunker/prison, and kept her for over 24 years. In that time, she had 7 children, was r**ed nearly every single day, and Elisabeth’s dad was soon imprisoned for life, and caught because Elisabeth needed to take one of her kids to the hospital.yea. don’t look at the details, please.
This idea resonates with Reddit userXxxbigfootisreal_, who started the thread on disturbing rabbit holes.Bored Pandaconnected with him, and he shared, “As I was exploring the smartschoolboy9 case, I became extremely curious about whether there were other disturbing cases out there.” His search led him to dark, harrowing tales that fueled his curiosity about the more sinister aspects of life.Coltan Scrivner, a behavioral scientist at the Recreational Fear Lab, discussed the various motivations behind our consumption of scary content. “Some people enjoy the adrenaline rush they get from feeling afraid. We call these adrenaline junkies. Others don’t particularly like feeling afraid but enjoy overcoming their fear—these are the white knucklers. Finally, some use scary content to work through difficult emotions, known as dark copers.” This classification highlights the variety of reasons people are drawn to horror and fear.Clasen pointed out that engaging with scary content can actually be beneficial. “Playing with fear can help you develop resilience. It’s sort of like an inoculation,” he explained. “When you watch a scary movie or step on a roller coaster, you’re actively engaged in regulating your own emotions.” This practice helps us learn to handle stress and fear more effectively in real life.
This idea resonates with Reddit userXxxbigfootisreal_, who started the thread on disturbing rabbit holes.Bored Pandaconnected with him, and he shared, “As I was exploring the smartschoolboy9 case, I became extremely curious about whether there were other disturbing cases out there.” His search led him to dark, harrowing tales that fueled his curiosity about the more sinister aspects of life.
Coltan Scrivner, a behavioral scientist at the Recreational Fear Lab, discussed the various motivations behind our consumption of scary content. “Some people enjoy the adrenaline rush they get from feeling afraid. We call these adrenaline junkies. Others don’t particularly like feeling afraid but enjoy overcoming their fear—these are the white knucklers. Finally, some use scary content to work through difficult emotions, known as dark copers.” This classification highlights the variety of reasons people are drawn to horror and fear.
Clasen pointed out that engaging with scary content can actually be beneficial. “Playing with fear can help you develop resilience. It’s sort of like an inoculation,” he explained. “When you watch a scary movie or step on a roller coaster, you’re actively engaged in regulating your own emotions.” This practice helps us learn to handle stress and fear more effectively in real life.
The Nuremberg Trial documentary. Not a modern documentary. The actual documentary made back after WW2 when they took the National Socialists to trial. Actual footage used in court. It’s absolutely rough. Yet free in wikipedia where it’s been out in HD. Amazon has it in the original pixilated form. IDK which is worse.
Scrivner supported this, saying, “Experiencing fear in a safe setting allows us to practice regulating it.” However, both researchers caution that too much fear can have the opposite effect. Clasen emphasized the importance of finding that “sweet spot” of fear—if a movie or experience is too intense, it can lead to negative feelings, rather than the intended enjoyment.The “paradox of horror” shows that being scared can actually be enjoyable, especially when framed as recreational fear. Clasen pointed out, “We learn something about the dangers of the world. We learn something about our own responses: What does it feel like to be afraid? How much fear can I take?” This engagement with horror serves as a critical tool for personal growth and self-discovery.Incorporating scary content into our lives can take various forms—horror movies, true crime podcasts, or unsettling Reddit threads. Finding your comfort zone is key: start small and gradually increase the intensity of what you consume. Clasen suggests beginning with lighter horror, like children’s films that have spooky elements.Exploring these experiences with friends often enhances the fun. Clasen emphasizes that recreational fear is usually a social activity. “Few people go to watch scary movies or run through haunted houses alone,” he said. Experiencing fear together can amplify the thrill and create memorable moments.
Scrivner supported this, saying, “Experiencing fear in a safe setting allows us to practice regulating it.” However, both researchers caution that too much fear can have the opposite effect. Clasen emphasized the importance of finding that “sweet spot” of fear—if a movie or experience is too intense, it can lead to negative feelings, rather than the intended enjoyment.
The “paradox of horror” shows that being scared can actually be enjoyable, especially when framed as recreational fear. Clasen pointed out, “We learn something about the dangers of the world. We learn something about our own responses: What does it feel like to be afraid? How much fear can I take?” This engagement with horror serves as a critical tool for personal growth and self-discovery.
Incorporating scary content into our lives can take various forms—horror movies, true crime podcasts, or unsettling Reddit threads. Finding your comfort zone is key: start small and gradually increase the intensity of what you consume. Clasen suggests beginning with lighter horror, like children’s films that have spooky elements.
Exploring these experiences with friends often enhances the fun. Clasen emphasizes that recreational fear is usually a social activity. “Few people go to watch scary movies or run through haunted houses alone,” he said. Experiencing fear together can amplify the thrill and create memorable moments.
I used to follow high fashion models in the late 2000s/early 2010s. Frida Gustavsson, Sasha Pivovarova, Vlada Roslyakova, Olga Sherer, Snejana Onopka (as you can see, I gravitated toward the Slavic models, mainly)–those were my favorites. I was looking up runway photos of either Roslyakova or Sherer and stumbled upon a blog “congratulating” one of the models in a candid photo for enjoying a breakfast of black coffee and a cigarette. The caption was, “We approve.“That was the day I learned that there was such a thing as a “pro-ana” community, or “thinspo.” This was the opposite of a support group–unless your understanding of a support group was supporting each other’s addictions and unhealthy coping mechanisms. They exchanged “tips” like sprinkling black pepper on lettuce to make you think you were eating more than you actually were. It was… frightening.Edit: typo.
Fatal caving accidents. Nutty Putty, but also Floyd Collins too (don’t Google these). Learned way more than I care to and it only ensured I will never go caving, at least not in caves tight enough to get trapped forever.
Definitely the Russian scientist that sewed the top half of a dog to the back/neck area of another larger dog to see how long it would live. Like some human centipede [nonsense].
One of the most disturbing rabbit holes I stumbled into was reading about abandoned, haunted amusement parks around the world. What started as an innocent curiosity turned into hours of looking at eerie photos, creepy backstories, and even watching videos of people exploring these decaying, forgotten places. It left me with chills, but I couldn’t stop digging deeper!
Hisashi Ouchi.In 1999, the nuclear plant at Tokaimura had a radioactive accident, and Hisashi was the closest victim to the incident. It happened during the purification process of uranium oxide. There were 3 victims in total.Hisashi survived despite being exposed to the largest amount of radiation on record.And the Japanese kept him alive. Against his will. For 83 days.It is the most painful, extended death I have ever read. They could have humanely ended his life.But they kept bringing him back. To experiment. Despite all the injuries, skin loss, burns, and organ failure.Do not read about it if you are weak/sensitive to graphic details.
Datura trip reports rank pretty high. I’ve had bad trips on psychedelics, but nothing even remotely as f****d up as what people experience on deliriants like datura.On psychedelics, no matter how crazy it gets, you at least know you’re tripping. The st you see is clearly just overlaid on reality - you know you’re hallucinating. That’s not the case with datura. From what I’ve read, the st you see doesn’t look psychedelic at all - it looks real. You might not even realize you’re tripping.Your dead grandpa is really in the room talking to you. Your friend is really getting brutally [attacked] in front of you. The giant spiders are really crawling all over you. It’s all 100% real as far as you can tell.Since you have no connection to reality, you can get into serious trouble or even die. You might think you’re fighting a demon and then get arrested for assaulting a random person in a park. All bets are off with that s**t.Oh and also it lasts several days.
The leg found at the OKC Bombing site.Nutshell: A random leg was found in the aftermath of the OKC bombing back in ‘95. They identified the leg, and exhumed the corpse it belonged to. Only problem? He was already buried with two legs. Except one wasn’t his. They swapped his leg, and set to work trying to find the owner of the other leg. DNA testing failed to find out who it belonged to….So whose leg was it? Nearly 30 years later, we have no clue. Some say it was a widely believed third accomplice to the bombing.
Stumbled upon an antivaxxer group once …. the sheer tin foil hat stupidity was utterly astounding.
On Reddit there used to be yearly thread for a while talking about supernatural experiences of Sailors. It was such a fantastic read . Every couple of years if I am bored and travelling I love to re-read them.
Artifacts from Spanish inquisition Era. A couple of Books supporting their beliefs was enough to make one puke. Then they brought out various “devices” and the explanation scarred me for life. Can’t believe that humans came with such seriously effed up things to be used on someone. I used to hate humans in general but had a little faith in humanity. After watching the documentary in wayback machine i doubt nothing much has changed. There were also 77 pages fully filled with the names of the victims and the name of the priests who “handled” them. It was a french documentary from 90’s and I was just curious about Spain’s history, very dark stuff that almost nobody outside Europe/Spain knows about.
Watching the new videos about the TitanSub that was destroyed last year. While I have zero sympathy for the owner who was knowingly breaking the rules, dying in that sub, I feel bad for the crew that he conned into going.One video that I watched last night suggested the possibility that they knew they were in danger and was trying to raise up to safety when they imploded and it wasn’t a quick thing, like they knew for approximately a minute that they were moments away from instant death, but the death was so sudden and so violent that no one knew it happened, human brains don’t work fast enough to process an implosion at that speed. .
Deep diving into the toy box killer, the tape he plays to his newly kidnapped victims is pretty disturbing even just reading the transcript. .
The logistics of crowd crushes.
Diphenhydramine addiction.No part of it sounds enticing, yet it’s still abused. I don’t know that I’ve seen any other d**g related sub be so adamant about avoiding it at all costs.glitteryvomit:diphenhydramine is what began my descent into drugs. I had insomnia veeeery young and my pediatrician suggested Benadryl to my mom. I began sneaking obscene amounts the older I got. I didn’t think twice about it. eventually it got worse but you know life decisions xyz.sober from pills (it got to benzos/etc) for 7/8 years now. OTC pill abuse is an issue most day to day people don’t see.
I spent one night reading all about staircases in woods stories and was thoroughly creeped out, only to discover the next day that the stories were all fake.
I saw someone mention Junko Faruta so I looked her up.Edit: The worst part was, I had no context before looking. I can’t remeber the exact circumstances, but it was a Reddit post that someone casually mentioned her name but as a missing person or something far leas than what it was. Certainly not the horrors that poor women went through and what happened after. But it was almost a casual mention. The only reason I looked her up was because I thought the name was quite unusual and rather interesting. So I was just wondering if she was famous in Japan or something to look up while being bored and meandering around Reddit. Little did I know…. This was quite awhile ago. Her name comes up frequently now, but it was almost unknown (internationally, I am sure it was well known in Japan) at the time.VeryOddNaw:F***ed up thing is some of the guys who did that are still walking the streets without a care in the world, I have seen some people spam Junko’s image in there accounts though but still I want them dead or behind bars forever.
That girl with munchausens that picked her legs to the bone so she could be a double amputee.
Raw isis and cartel execution videosI deeply regret both.
Looking up my physical symptoms… i have health anxiety.
I got sucked into the world of creepy pasta stories and ended up staying up nights reading about haunted websites and urban legends. It was eerie and I had to take a break to clear my mind!
When eugenia cooney was on twitch. I was disturbed but curious about how she was able to be like that. I would watch her streams every once in a while and ask simple and vague questions that she would sometimes read. Just wild to me a human can live like that.
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The Sreberencia Massacre, which led to reading transcripts from the Hague war crimes trial. Absolutely horrifying.
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Elan schoolwas quite the rabbit-hole for me. Schools —if you can call them that— like these are f****d up and should not exist imho. 😟.Ytrog:A “school” where children with difficulties are sent to and it is an abusive hell basically.
It’s probably not that exciting but learning EVERYTHING Diddy did and we just let that st slide for decades. Also, seeing how many celebs are involved oooooh st so glad I’m not one of those people who has a Parasocial relationship with celebrities lol. It’s awful and the stuff that’s coming out now is only the tip of the iceberg. I feel like this is just old news being brought to light.I can’t stand Justin Bieber or Usher but damn, Diddler f****d them up…. like sent Usher to the hospital for a torn a*e when he was younger…. st is fkkkked.
Pimple picking / extractions at 3 am!
Soft White Underbelly.RealAnise:While SWU is often disturbing, I wouldn’t put it in the same category as all of this other stuff. It’s basically hundreds ofvideosof people discussing their lives, their work, their trauma, their experiences– [escorts], addicts, that kind of thing.
A couple of medical conditions I had to study after I learned a loved one was suffering from at least one of them. Doing it out of curiosity is one thing, but when you’re forced to do so in order to either improve your health or make it less serious… oh s**t.
Secret societies consumed my life for like 5 years.
I landed in a telegram channel where people were manipulating or blackmailing underage girls to post nude pictures/videos and cut themselves with razors, including cutting themselves with the abusers name. It was an open channel with a deceptive name. Discord apparently has similar channels but they get banned faster there.I uninstalled telegram shortly after that.
That 19 year old girl that married an ~80ish year old man and livetweetedas he was on his deathbed.
Jfk assassination.
It actually happened recently. My friend and I were planning our trip to Japan on discord and looking at Google Maps, just seeing how far away we were actually travelling. We stumbled across some VERY weird islands, with VERY weird names. We came across this one island that had an airport, a church, and the names were extremely weird like ‘banana’ or something. The images you see from people using that location weren’t real photos and the website to the church looked extremely fake. We dove a little into the history and just saw more and more weird s**t. The funny part is, you can’t even see it normally on the map, you literally have to zoom in so much just for it to even appear.EditHIBananaCIA airport code, LOLweird reviewsIt appears to be real, but goddamn this was funny at the time.
When I had around 13~14 years old I was browsing in the deep web and ended up reading a blog about how to invoke demons, but it said that I would go to hell if I tries then I never tested due the fear lol.
Tabs vs spaces.
Still in said rabbit hole but learning how torture has evolved and how we have given out the death sentence I’ve even looked up pictures of people that have been decapated I have even given my self Chinese water torture that was a fun 5 hours.
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