Postmortem portraits, ghost photographs, and images of disfigured soldiers are just a few examples of photography from the past that might seem unsettling to modern viewers. The grainy and black-and-white aesthetic combined with the open acknowledgment of death and fascination with the supernatural world has produced many photos that now give off an eerie and disturbing feel.
For those who find this intriguing, we have a whole list of pictures from the past that are truly unsettling. Collected by the Old School Creepy subreddit, these images invite you to embark on a darker journey through history.
While you're scrolling through, don't forget to check out a conversation with moderators of this subreddit, nicknamed Seryan_Klythe and TheOddityCollector, who kindly agreed to chat with us more about old and unsettling photos.
#1 Martin Laurello, The Only Man Who Could Rotate His Head A Full 180 Degrees, 1930s

Image credits: Quick_Presentation11
#2 A Boy On Krampus Shoulders During A Parade, Mitterndorf, Austria, 6th Of Dec 1949

Image credits: silvercatbob
#3 Photographed In 1880, Myrtle Corbin Was Born A 'Dipygus', Having Two Separately Functioning Pelvises And Four Legs. She Married And Had Five Children

Image credits: silvercatbob
#4 Ventriloquist’s Family Portrait, 1950s

Image credits: mistermajik2000
#5 With Father Christmas, 1920

Image credits: theanti_influencer75
#6 Behind The Scenes Of The Shining (1980)

Image credits: silvercatbob
#7 Apache Ghost Dance Ceremony, Taken By Edward Curtis Circa 1906

Image credits: Star_Ship_55
#8 My Mother In Law And Her Twin Sometime In The 60’s

Image credits: Vinbob123
#9 Stills From The Very Druggish Children’s Show “H.r. Puffnstuff” From 1969

Image credits: SignorAlberto2022
#10 A Circus Performer In Germany C.1930, By Kurt Triest

Image credits: Star_Ship_55
#11 Children Going To A 12-Hour Night Shift In The United States, 1908

Image credits: silvercatbob
#12 Parrot Costume

Image credits: byrobot
#13 Written On The Back: "Excuse Our Backs, Our Faces Are Dirty" (C.1899)

Image credits: Star_Ship_55
#14 A Colorized Photo Of Grigori Rasputin With The Last Empress Of Russia And Her Five Children In 1908

Image credits: kooneecheewah
#15 The "Double Exposure Girl"... A Haunting Photo Of A Girl Shot In Double Exposure [date Unknown]

Image credits: WyldGyrl86
#16 Dogon Stilt Dancers In Bandiagara, Mali, 70s, By James Morris

Image credits: Naive-Pen8171
#17 Edna Tichenor As 'Arachnida, The Human Spider' In Tod Browning's 1927 Silent Film The Show

Image credits: Star_Ship_55
#18 9-Year-Old Child Bride Eunice Winstead Johns And Her Husband, 22-Year-Old Charlie Johns, Sneedville, Tennessee, United States. 1937

Image credits: TheOddityCollector
#19 At 4:31 Am, An Unauthorized Photo Taken Of Stalin Inside Of The Kremlin Shows The Very Moment He Was Informed That Germany Had Began Their Invasion Of The Soviet Union

Image credits: silvercatbob