Many of you are probably big horror fans. There’s something weirdly captivating about everything macabre, bizarre, creepy, and uncomfortable. It entices us, doesn’t want to let us go, and sometimes even haunts us for days or weeks to come.
The ‘Horror Stories & Facts’ (@horrorsfs) account does exactly what it says on the tin. The curator of this Instagram project shares some of the scariest real-life stories and facts that might just give you goosebumps. We’ve collected the creepiest ones for you. They’re perfect for spooky season.
A small note of warning, Pandas: some of these stories might make you uncomfortable. Scroll down at your own peril. Don’t blame us if you have nightmares.
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The BBC explains that things like dolls, mannequins, and clowns are things that many people find to be extremely creepy. These are things that are meant to be innocent, however, our brains interpret them as potentially dangerous. They’re meant to be humanlike, but they fall short.
In short, we’re bombarded with mixed messages about what’s actually safe or not. For instance, a clown is meant to symbolize happiness and humor, but in popular media, they’re often portrayed as malevolent beings.
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People react to scary, stressful, and threatening situations very differently. The two most widely known responses are fight or flight, i.e. squaring up to fight off a threat or running away from it (like Shaggy and Scooby-Doo often do). However, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Research shows that there are two other main responses to these sorts of situations. Namely, the freeze and fawn responses.
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WebMD points out that some of the signs that someone’s fight response has kicked in, in response to stress, include feelings of intense anger, a tight jaw, grinding teeth, and a huge urge to punch or kick someone or something.
Some other signs can even include crying in anger or having a burning or knotted sensation in your stomach.
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Meanwhile, a person whose flight response kicks in gets a sudden surge of adrenaline which helps them sprint to safety.
Some signs indicating this response is being activated include feeling restless, fidgeting, moving your arms or legs, and having dilated eyes that dart everywhere.
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Not everyone responds this way to threats, though. Some individuals instinctively choose not to fight or run away. Instead, they might completely freeze up or start fawning.
Someone whose freeze response is kicking in tends to have pale skin, feels stiff, heavy, cold, or numb, feels their heart pounding rapidly, and has an overwhelming sense of dread.
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In short, all the stress and fear completely paralyzes the person. You might have felt something similar to a freeze response if you were ever spooked in a dark place or felt completely overwhelmed by a school or work presentation you had to give in front of a crowd of people.
In some situations, running away is impossible and there’s nothing concrete to fight off.
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Meanwhile, the fawn response is a very social instinctive strategy for dealing with real, potential, or imagined threats. The long and short of it is that the individual uses their verbal skills to align themselves with the source of the threat.
This might include agreeing with everything the threat says or trying to be overly helpful, to avoid possible negative consequences. It means giving up your authenticity and morals and becoming extremely flexible for the sake of survival.
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The curator of ‘Horror Stories & Facts’ started the project all the way back in mid-2018. Over the years, the horror-themed account racked up a sizeable following. Currently, 34.4k Instagram users follow it.
However, the curator of the account appears to have stopped sharing new content a while ago. We’ve reached out to them via Instagram to hear more about the idea behind their project.
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Which of the horror stories and facts featured here spooked you the most, dear Pandas? Which ones did you find thrilling and which ones do you think might keep you up at night?
Are you a big horror fan or do you get scared easily (or both)?! Why do you personally think weird and scary things appeal to so many people on the internet?
Share your thoughts in the comments. Oh, and if you want to give your friends some goosebumps, share this post with them.
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