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Things/ places that inexplicably give you the creeps...

678 replies

nuitdesetoiles · 21/12/2020 09:15

Ice cream Vans
Mime artists
Brighton
Glastonbury
(Apologies to residents of the above 2 places)

OP posts:
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5
WildRosie · 22/12/2020 21:24

A few. Not far from me is a place largely staffed by people with mental and/or physical disabilities or with life-limiting illnesses. It has a restaurant and vegetable gardens and shop. A local charity runs it. Undoubtedly their intentions are good but, the only time I visited, it really gave me the creeps. I can't pinpoint why but there was just a strange something wrong about the place . An odd vibe, if you will.

Clothing shop dummies/mannequins. Thankfully, these aren't nearly as lifelike or commonplace as they were in the 1970s when I was growing up but I still hate them, specifically the women mannequins that BHS used to display. Their pointed features and dead eyes used to terrify me. I had nightmares about them and, even now, occasionally have an unpleasant dream about them. The child ones are particularly grim too. Watch the first few seconds of the West End Girls video by the Pet Shop Boys and you'll see what I mean. Interestingly enough, the men mannequins never bothered me. I would have made a great example for a psychologist studying the uncanny valley theory!

Finally, the dental practice I used to go to with my family when I was a youngster. There were two surgeries upstairs, one with pink walls, equipment and chair, and an identical one next door but in a cold, harsh pale blue. The latter absolutely scared the unmentionables out of me which didn't make sense then and still doesn't now over forty years later. I didn't mind the pink room but the blue room - no way. On reflection, both surgeries were rather dated even by 1970s standards and the chairs were like something from a chamber of horrors. Clunky, clinical, practical and downright horrible. Like the mannequins, I still have dreams about them. Unfinished business is my theory. I never got over my fear of the dentist until I knew I would never have to climb those stairs again (the practice moved to new ground floor premises - thank goodness).

LadyOfTheCanyon · 22/12/2020 21:37

I know Mad Bess Woods very well. Agree, it's very creepy round there.

SallyCinnamon3009 · 22/12/2020 21:43

@WildRosie

A few. Not far from me is a place largely staffed by people with mental and/or physical disabilities or with life-limiting illnesses. It has a restaurant and vegetable gardens and shop. A local charity runs it. Undoubtedly their intentions are good but, the only time I visited, it really gave me the creeps. I can't pinpoint why but there was just a strange something wrong about the place . An odd vibe, if you will.

Clothing shop dummies/mannequins. Thankfully, these aren't nearly as lifelike or commonplace as they were in the 1970s when I was growing up but I still hate them, specifically the women mannequins that BHS used to display. Their pointed features and dead eyes used to terrify me. I had nightmares about them and, even now, occasionally have an unpleasant dream about them. The child ones are particularly grim too. Watch the first few seconds of the West End Girls video by the Pet Shop Boys and you'll see what I mean. Interestingly enough, the men mannequins never bothered me. I would have made a great example for a psychologist studying the uncanny valley theory!

Finally, the dental practice I used to go to with my family when I was a youngster. There were two surgeries upstairs, one with pink walls, equipment and chair, and an identical one next door but in a cold, harsh pale blue. The latter absolutely scared the unmentionables out of me which didn't make sense then and still doesn't now over forty years later. I didn't mind the pink room but the blue room - no way. On reflection, both surgeries were rather dated even by 1970s standards and the chairs were like something from a chamber of horrors. Clunky, clinical, practical and downright horrible. Like the mannequins, I still have dreams about them. Unfinished business is my theory. I never got over my fear of the dentist until I knew I would never have to climb those stairs again (the practice moved to new ground floor premises - thank goodness).

Have you posted about the farm on a simillar thread to this a few years ago?
lilfoxfur · 22/12/2020 21:46

@nuitdesetoiles

Ice cream Vans Mime artists Brighton Glastonbury (Apologies to residents of the above 2 places)
I live in Brighton and it gives me the bloody creeps too 😂

For me -

Getting up at night, house seems different and creepy
Dolls especially when their eyes are stuck open
The inside of grapes, ugh like eyeballs
People who can fall asleep instantly. Don't they have thoughts?!

Charlottejbt · 22/12/2020 21:48

The basement of my old college. The washing machines were down there so you had to go there. It was vast and full of pipes and boilers. Lights were dim so very gloomy and had a weird red painted floor. I always felt it was the kind of place you would get murdered in. I used to stuff the washing in the machine and run out as fast as I could.

I wonder if we were at the same college, or if there's some standard decor that college laundry rooms have? I never liked that room either and I was really grossed out by the dust bunnies on the floor, which is odd because I'm not a clean freak at all.

lilfoxfur · 22/12/2020 21:52

@Graymare

Newhaven in East Sussex, didn't feel real somehow, like being on the set of a horror film. Also the church in Stanton St. Quintin, Wiltshire. Normally love a good nosey around an old church but it felt as if someone quite malevolent was wanting me out of there. Only lasted 10 minutes before admitting defeat.
This is where I live and horror film sounds about right 😂
WildRosie · 22/12/2020 22:00

Sallycinnamon. I couldn't say for certain but it's possible. Why do you ask ? Does the story sound familiar ?

InterfectoremVulpes · 22/12/2020 22:02

Metal towers like old radar towers especially if they're asymmetric or weird shapes.

Pylons don't bother me though, but the big stations with all the ceramic Frisbees freak me out too (but that's probably because of the public service films 😆)

peachsquish · 22/12/2020 22:21

A building in Wurzberg Germany think its called the Residence. Paid to go in reached the first room and couldn't go any further and turned round and walked straight out.

MarieIVanArkleStinks · 22/12/2020 22:32

It's fascinating the way different atmospheres affect people. I've read the whole thread to see if others have had similar experiences to mine. Some ring a bell.

I love both York and Bath. The only thing that freaks me out about the minster is the exorbitant entry fee they now charge. But in Bath, the area around where most of the big hotels are has a very sombre air. Yorkshire Air Museum, based at Elvington, also has a heavy, haunting atmosphere. Ditto Castle Howard: not only the huge, crumbling building whose back is falling down and which is only half-habitable but its remote, windswept location. It feels odd for reasons I can't define.

Beachy Head and the whole area surrounding it feels not only atmospheric but positively menacing. There's a compelling feeling as if those cliffs are actively pulling you toward the edge. It's sheer rot I know, but if ever a place feels sentient and malevolent that one does. Interesting that someone else mentioned Portland Bill. That place (and Chesil Beach) affected me in the same way. Salisbury Plain is another, and a more random one: Birmingham New Street Station. I hate it.

A holiday let I once stayed in in Brockenhurst had a horrible atmosphere upstairs. Evidently it wasn't just me affected: DS insisted we close his bedroom door because the landing freaked him out too.

Savernake Forest and Betws y coed I love!

partyatthepalace · 22/12/2020 22:33

Slightly shocked that Savernake is felt to be creepy, I just associate it with endless childhood barbecues. Haven’t been there for years mind you.

I’d half like to move to Bristol but am put off by city centre, but just think it’s badly rebuilt. Don’t like seaside towns like Brighton but find them seedy not creepy. And find Glastonbury town cheesy not spooky.

I am frankly disappointed by my total lack of sensitivity...

RhubarbTea · 22/12/2020 22:44

A park near Camberwell in London where I played as a child had an unbearably sad and oppressive atmosphere, it was our nearest so we went there sometimes but it felt deeply unpleasant. I remember trying to sledge there in a few inches of melting snow.
We found out later that the reason the ground was so weirdly shaped and lumpy with strange hilly bits was because it was on an old plague burial pit. Shock

Also, the top floor of the Science Museum in London. Whichever the one is with all the mannequins dressed in 1960s doctors clothes anyway. There's a bit (or there was, haven't been there for a few years now) where there was an old style operating theatre behind glass and a machine that beeped and another thing that breathed in and out mechanically, some kind of breathing machine. Invariably there'd be no-one else up there and it would be deeply silent apart from the beeping and puffing from the fake operating thing, and it was just as creepy as hell. I felt like all the mannequins were watching me. I think I was there alone once as a kid and as an adult and it just never stops being unsettling and awful. I'd love to know if it's changed now or if anyone else has been there and knows the bit I mean.

Graciebobcat · 22/12/2020 22:58

Savernake Forest I have never been to but would approach with trepidation purely due to stories on Mumsnet.

Cakemonger · 22/12/2020 23:13

Totally agree about Bristol, Bath and Totnes being weird and oppressive.

I found some parts of London very creepy and oppressive when I lived there - mostly wealthy bits like Hampstead, Highgate, Islington, Pimlico. A lack of realness, like being on a film set.

The sea at night has always creeped me out - I can't look into it when it's dark.

YewandOak · 22/12/2020 23:34

Seems strange that so many people find Bath,Bristol and Glastonbury to be weird. Born and bred here in Somerset and love those three places.

Spent many happy times in each of them,my gran lived in Bath and I spent part of every summer with her. I do have family links to Bristol and the area around Glastonbury way,so maybe that's why I always feel comfortable there.

allycat4 · 22/12/2020 23:39

@Teddycat1970 re Santa Barbara - I don't know! It was beautiful and all that, but somehow creepy to me! Ditto outskirts of San Diego.

Calledyoulastnightfromglasgow · 22/12/2020 23:47

It’s interesting about edinburgh. I am from there originally and would never think of the locals as dour. Unless perhaps it’s during the festival and everyone is a bit weary of the crowds. I feel bad this was your experience, like I should apologise for it.

I don’t find it depressing despite the grey stone. I guess it feels home for me. However I completely agree and know exactly where you mean about King Stables Road and by the car park by Castle Terrace. It’s not nice. There have been a few attacks and last year a man was stabbed randomly. It doesn’t feel nice at all. I used to work near there and hated leaving late

lottielimejuice · 23/12/2020 00:01

Watermouth castle near ilfracombe. DH had a major panic attic and had to leave. Full of old fashioned arcade machines, Victoriana, the stuff of nightmares! Also another fun-packed overnight stay at tintagel castle hotel. The worst overnight stay of my life. Felt terrible impending doom. Think the owners belonged to some cult. There was talk of a visit to see “the light box”. Thanks but no thanks.

CheshireLife · 23/12/2020 00:12

In my home county I find Middlewich a little bit off at times, although I can quite happily visit if needed. There is a certain stretch of road near to Chester which is also a bit creepy somehow, likewise with parts of the A50 especially near to Holmes Chapel.

Ozgirl75 · 23/12/2020 01:12

@Toriathebadger my dad had a very odd experience on the snake pass. My mum was pregnant with me and he was driving home from a business trip across the snake pass in thick fog.
He said he heard a voice as clear as day saying “slow down now” and he did, and next thing he came around the corner to an accident that had just happened in the road that he would have ploughed into.
He thinks it was just his subconscious telling him he was going too fast but, although he was totally down to Earth and normal, he said it really shook him and he definitely felt that someone was looking out for him that day.

Emerald123 · 23/12/2020 02:16

Yes,yes to Portmeirion. Weird creepy place with an oppressive atmosphere and a strange feeling of being watched. Couldn't get away fast enough.

Downunderduchess · 23/12/2020 03:00

So glad I’m reading this during the day & not at night. Love these threads but they freak me out!

Once when I was with one of my sisters we were going to visit our eldest sister at her partners house, I’d never been there before (it’s interstate). When we pulled up in the car, I took one look & said, I’m not going in. Luckily there was a huge outdoor shed area they also used for entertaining. I never stepped foot inside. And I never will. It seriously looked like a haunted house. I was scared. Made me feel sick.

PompomDahlia · 23/12/2020 06:12

I once hosted a Japanese lodger. Her mum came to visit and bought me a gift - a cloth with a print of a grotesque woman on it. I have it hidden away in a drawer - I don’t like to look at it but I’m also too scared to throw it away

PompomDahlia · 23/12/2020 06:13

@RhubarbTea was this Ruskin or Burgess park?

funtimefrank · 23/12/2020 07:37

As someone who lives between Bristol and bath I am bemused that we are so creepy!

My friend lives near Glastonbury and her dad used to refuse to go there because he felt so creeped out.

I've drive through Savenake forest a few times and just thought it was woody.

Littledean House near the Forest of Dean on the other hand was creepy as fuck. I'm not the most sensitive to these kind of things but god I felt dreadful. One room made me feel quite upset and teary and I had to leave much to the amusement of my mother. I was in my late teens/early 20s at the time and the guide said that a lot of girls my age didn't like that room.......

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