In our most vulnerable moments, our minds can play tricks on us in the worst ways possible. And how embarrassed we feel when we realize that a perfectly innocent scene made us jump is about proportionate to how freaked out we felt in that moment.
Of course, some of the things we come across can legitimately creep us out when we recognize them perfectly. Yet in such cases, there’s often a lingering unease that makes us want to back away from what we’re seeing slowly rather than yelp in surprise.
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What we’re about to see today scratches that second, discomforting itch. But much like the things that unintentionally provide us with real-life jump scares, they’re not all as scary as they seem.
If there’s one thing we love about googly eyes, it’s that they go with everything, right?
Well, it turns out that’s not entirely true. While putting those eyes on inanimate objects instantly makes them funnier to look at, it has an altogether different effect when we put them over the real eyes in a picture.
He seemed perfectly friendly before someone did this to him.
As the spooky season approaches, the most enthusiastic among us are preparing in their own way.
But in this case, this woman’s Halloween mask apparently doubles as a “babysitter mask.”
While I’d agree that this is a great way to make sure nobody causes trouble, it also seems like a good way to never get called back again.
This photo is a good reminder that some of the scariest things in life don’t reveal themselves until it’s too late.
Under normal circumstances, we would never notice that the picnic table we were sitting on has a whole village of wasp nests perched underneath it.
I bet you’ll check for them when you approach one now, though.
Despite how it looks, these people in Mexico City didn’t just fish a giant, angry rat out of the sewer system.
Instead, they apparently came across someone’s old Halloween decoration, which is probably even spookier after spending so long in such grimy conditions.
And speaking of things that look much worse than they are, we have this subtly unnerving scene.
While some passersby might be horrified to think they’ve stumbled across a brutal crime and car people might be horrified to think this vehicle is leaking transmission fluid, it turns out that neither of those things is true.
It’s really just a puddle of water that’s showing a reflection of the car’s red paint.
If you’re studying to be a dentist, chances are you’ll come across this terrifying practice mannequin.
And it gets better because, apparently, this is what this thing looks like when it’s in good condition.
As one commenter put it, “Must be new, the cheeks aren’t ripped into a joker-like smile by dental students who don’t understand yet that skin only stretches so far.”
Well, that’s a lovely mental image.
I don’t know who did this but they certainly put a lot of effort into startling us.
For their sake, I hope the uploader jumped a few feet when they saw this because that’s the only way it seems worth it to scale such a difficult-to-climb tree.
As we see with a lot of creepy dolls, things that are made with perfectly innocent intentions can become creepy with the right amount of damage.
For instance, this was once a baby shark sticker that found its way into a bathtub.
I have a feeling that the look of this thing after it gets wet might put a stop to the kid’s requests for that song for a while.
Although this structure in a fairy tale-themed amusement park is supposed to look like an evil witch, it’s probably not supposed to be *this* sinister.
However, the eerie red glow brought about by the wildfires raging up and down the west coast certainly give it a different character.
I’m not sure why this is, but the older the protective gear you wear, the scarier you’re likely to look in it.
While whoever wore this weird mask likely did so over the course of a dangerous job, it seems like they’d be the ones we’d need to be protected from.
Speaking of unintentionally sinister sights, this sign’s message seems to change as it experiences wear-and-tear.
Thanks to this accidental font, it seems like it goes from saying, “It’s not our fault if someone steals your car” to saying, “We’re going to mess with your car and you can’t do anything about it.”
I wish we had more context than someone coming across a “scorpion man” in the woods, but it looks like we’ll have to fill in the blanks ourselves.
At the very least, it looks like this is some kind of strange sculpture, which means that it’s not alive and can’t hurt us.
Yeah, I’m not convinced by what I’m saying either.
I think that decades of horror movies have trained us to immediately get suspicious when someone puts enough old children’s toys in a weird area with no explanation.
Even if you’re rolling your eyes at me right now, I think it’s a pretty safe bet that you’d suddenly take off running if you were here and heard a mysterious giggle behind you.
It’s a perfectly natural process but that doesn’t make this shot of a daddy longlegs’ babies emerging from their egg sac any easier to look at.
And the fact that these little spiders look paler than expected when they hatch is certainly not helped by how skull-like that leftover husk looks.
As the days turn to nights faster during this time of year, we’ll start to walk through scenes like this earlier and earlier.
The night can be peaceful sometimes but there’s always something that seems oddly threatening about it when we experience it in narrow streets like this one in Japan.
Although most of us aren’t normally so keen on exploring sewer tunnels, there are two good reasons to avoid this one.
And if you’re having trouble seeing them, look for that pair of white dots in the darkest part of this image.
I’m not saying that they’re eyes, but would you really hang around long enough to find out?
Despite how it looks, the intentions behind this sign are innocent enough.
The problem is that when you put masks on the faceless figures you tend to see on restroom doors, it looks more like they have gaping, monstrous mouths.
Yup, this skull in the back of this 18-wheeler is exactly as large as it seems.
And the fact that it’s a little hard to see adds a lot to its spookiness, doesn’t it?
Hopefully, the haunted house it’s going inside of uses it to the same effect.
I’m just glad that nobody on my block got this creative when I was a kid or you wouldn’t have gotten me to go trick-or-treating for all the candy in the world.
But really, what’s the point of having a collection of creepy dolls if they aren’t leading a macabre parade and carrying suspiciously body-shaped bags?
Anything else would be downright pedestrian.
No one is a stranger to warning signs, but this one seems a little unique, showing a man jumping over a pit of hands.
See, this is why I avoid going outside. You never know when you’ll stumble upon a zombie forest, and I don’t have the endurance needed to run away from anything.
When you’re close to someone, it feels like you’re always discovering new ways to see them.
This includes literal, physical perspectives, like the one here. Who knew that taking out the midsection of someone’s face could be so terrifying?
There’s nothing strangely creepy or odd about this picture, just a gathering of one of the world’s most dangerous predators.
Am I in any physical danger of an alligator or crocodile harming me at any point? No. Do they still strike fear and worry into my mortal soul? Absolutely.
For those of us who drink coffee in the mornings as a part of our routine, it can come to provide a certain comfort.
Then you look down and see this, and you start to wonder if this means you’re going to have a bad day.
No matter how much you love your pet, they can be undeniably creepy sometimes.
As soon as they get any sort of reflection in their eyes, be it in a photo or at any other time, there’s no denying the worry that they’ve suddenly been possessed by a demon.
Case in point, this user who put bunny ears on their cat and snapped this pic.
Why did they do that? Who knows! But the ears make for an even more unsettling photo somehow.
I’m sure that many of us have held a job where employee of the month was something to strive for, but here it looks like a title no one wants to get.
Who knew that some dripping spray paint is all it takes to make an otherwise commendable title so offputting.
When visiting open houses, you’re looking for features that’ll help make that house a home. This chandelier…doesn’t do that.
Apparently, it’s made of doll hair, and I’m not sure if that makes me feel better or worse than if it were human hair. Don’t even get me started on those pillows.
At the bottom of the Minnesota Lake is a statue of Jason Voorhees.
Built and planted by a man named Doug Klein, the statue stood at 120 feet below water for many years before it was removed in 2018, being deemed “trash.”
This is most certainly not trash, it’s art.
This mask was purchased for $1 at a dollar store and it wound up having a much scarier shadow than expected.
Yes, the mask seems pretty spooky in its own right, but there’s something about the empty eyes that really gives the shadow the upper edge here.
This was uploaded with a caption that described this as looking like a “scary dentist sign,” which really paints this image in a new light.
If your trips to the dentist look like this, I think you need to get in touch with the authorities. And a plastic surgeon.
A wasp nest being built around someone’s set of flood lights left this frightening visage behind.
I’d call the exterminators now before they get to building the body.
Stumbling upon a random door/chamber combo in the woods is already bad enough.
Mix that with some ominous graffiti and you have the perfect concoction of unsettling vibes.
Speaking of evil mouths, the rain has warped the view from this windshield enough to make the car in front of us look absolutely sinister.
While it’s not so surprising that the brake lights might resemble red eyes, it is pretty uncanny to see how easily rain drops can seem like sharp teeth eager to chomp on us.
Thought this was about the two random splotches on the bottom window looking like handprints. Oh how wrong I was.
As someone pointed out in the comments, at least it’s well-lit! Darken your surroundings and this becomes a million times worse.
This user found a collection of porcelain *Peanuts* figurines in their grandmother’s closet.
Is there…any reason for them to look like this? Any at all? And what is it with porcelain dolls looking like the creepiest creations known to man?
