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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask what's the scariest/creepiest thing you've read?

109 replies

ChickenTikkaTellMeWhatsWrong · 01/03/2020 23:27

I love anything to do with creepiness and I know there have been a few threads about the creepiest things that have happened, but I want to know what are the creepiest, scariest thing you've read.

I always remember when I was in year 6 I read a book called 'In a dark dark room' and there was one story about a girl with a green ribbon around her neck and she meets someone called Alfred. They get married and she never takes the ribbon off her neck and never tells Alfred why, until they're both old and she tells Alfred to untie the ribbon and her head fell off.
That story used to freak me out, but I constantly read it whenever I could and I always think of about it and still remember how I felt when I first read it.

I was also reading short scary stories not so long ago and this one freaked me out...

“I begin tucking him into bed and he tells me, “Daddy, check for monsters under my bed.” I look underneath for his amusement and see him, another him, under the bed, staring back at me quivering and whispering, “Daddy, there’s somebody on my bed.””

Anyone else?.....

OP posts:
n00bMaster69 · 01/03/2020 23:32

The Russian sleep experiment.

Synecdoche · 01/03/2020 23:40

The Yellow Wallpaper

Rebellenny · 01/03/2020 23:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Harakeke · 01/03/2020 23:45

M R James' ghost stories. I still think about the postcard one and shudder.

elQuintoConyo · 01/03/2020 23:50

Most of Poe, to be honest. The Mask of the Red Death is horrifying.

Samtsirch · 01/03/2020 23:56

Cripes yes, Thé Yellow Wallpaper....

Samtsirch · 01/03/2020 23:57

Also The Turn of the screw, Henry James.

1Morewineplease · 01/03/2020 23:58

Yes to MR James .
Clive Barker’s Books of Blood was very grim.
Edgar Allen Poe scared me too.

Samtsirch · 01/03/2020 23:58

The Monkey’s Paw...
I will never sleep now!!!

Mummoomoocow · 02/03/2020 00:07

Michael Crichton's Lair. The massive rats audibly eating the body of the dying man whilst he cannot move and hearing them eat him from within his own head. God it's one of the only books I've ever remembered vividly imagining

HopeClearwater · 02/03/2020 00:13

The Wikipedia entry for Philip Davies MP

LeavingTheTable · 02/03/2020 00:13

I love Poe. Just reread a whole lot of him. Sumptuously written. The Fall of the House of Usher, Masque of the Red Death, The Tell-Tale Heart...

Shirley Jackson's The Lottery blew my mind as a twelve year old.

The Rocking Horse Winner

Dotty1219 · 02/03/2020 00:19

I once read a book called the witch doll. Terrified me!

Emptywallet · 02/03/2020 00:20

Eeeeeeeew that’s horrible OP I hate shit like that 😭😭😭

TheoneandObi · 02/03/2020 00:21

Amityville Horrow when I was about 13. Freaked me out! More recently Michelle Paver's Dark Matter gave me the collywobbles

BarcelonaFreddie · 02/03/2020 00:22

Stephen King: per cemetery - the description of his toddler son when he dug up his coffin and looked into it, totally harrowing.

BarcelonaFreddie · 02/03/2020 00:23

Pet...

ActualHornist · 02/03/2020 00:24

@Mummoomoocow I think that one is James Herbert - I remember his rat books. Very unsuitable for 13 year old me!

About ten years ago, maybe longer, there was a series of videos on YouTube called Marble Hornets. It’s where the slender man meme started. It was a series of videos, supposed to be ‘real’, in which a teenage boy recounts his investigations into the disappearance of his friend.

I watched them all over the course of an evening, on my laptop with headphones on. At the time, it was touted to be true (which was utterly believable as the slender man thing was more of a real person thing).

I shit myself up, BIG time. It was so creepy. I must see if it’s still about and rewatch. I remember that by the time I turned it off, I was too scared to turn the lights off and go upstairs so I left every light burning and ran up like the hounds of hell were at my heels lol!

SallyLovesCheese · 02/03/2020 00:26

'The Veldt' by Ray Bradbury. I read it as a child (perhaps a child version?!) and have never forgotten it. Not the scariest thing ever but definitely a bit creepy imo.

iago · 02/03/2020 00:29

A story where the protagonist has to walk home through a forest, knowing that a murderer is at loose. She reaches home, shuts the door, turns the key -feeling such relief - and then she is tapped on the shoulder...

IDoNotHaveABlackCat · 02/03/2020 00:30

The Australian Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. I continue to have nightmares all these years later.

BritneyPeedOnALadybug · 02/03/2020 00:37

I used to read this story all the time when I was younger and it used to terrify me!! This is not my story, I found it about twenty years ago on the internet when I was a teenager

Ouija Board nightmare

When I was fourteen, I was having a rough year. I was trying to fit in in junior high, having constant disagreements with my step-father, and all of the normal pressures that a teenager has to deal with. On top of all of that, my beloved grandfather was slowly dying from brain cancer. I live in Texas, and he was in Pennsylvania, and I was travelling twice a month to go and see him. ( My step-father worked for the airlines, allowing free travel.) My grandfather was like my dad. I grew up without a father, and knowing that his death was a certainty was very difficult for me. Nobody seemed to understand what I was going through. My mother, a nurse, was flying to PA every weekend to aid in her father's care, and when she was in town, she worked nights, so was either working or sleeping. I felt that she just didn't have time for me, as she too ws having to prepare herself for my grandfather's death. My step-dad and I didn't get along, and none of my peers could relate to losing someone that was so close to them. I was frustrated, and looking for avenues to express myself, and to get some understanding. I had began to study books on witchcraft,the occult, and oujia boards. I say study, but perhaps the better word is peruse, for I really didn't learn all of the facts as well as I could have. Of course, this type of thing was not the norm, and I for some reason found comfort in that, and immersed myself into it. I then remembered that I had a Ouija board that had been my moms in college. It was tucked away, as she didn't want me, or anyone to mess with it. She had told me that when she was in college, she and her best friend Rita (not her real name) used the board one night. While asking the typical questions, my mother said that the room became ice cold, and then suddenly, everything went black and she could see nothing. At that moment, Rita was screaming hysterically. She said that my mothers face just sort of "blanked out" that there was nothing but darkness where her facial features should have been. This terrified my mother so badly, that she was convinced that the board was inhabited by something terrible, and tried to throw it away in the garbage can outside. The next day, inexplicably, it was in her closet again.

I don't know why she kept it, but I wish she hadn't. I sat down with it one day, and just began asking questions. I was estatic when it began to respond. At first, I just asked silly questions like "what is your name?" and "what do you know about me?". I was intrigued by its answers. At fourteen, I was an aspiring musician, and admired many a rock and roll star. One in particular has inspired me, and he happened to be deceased. The "spirit" claimed to be this particular musician, as if to appeal to me. It certainly worked. I was naive enough to belive it. I used the board regularly, alone. I didn't want to share my "spirit" with anyone else. ( Not that I could have; all of my friends that knew were scared out of their wits ,and even told me to stop "playing" with it.) I began to light candles around my room, and place one at the top of the board. Upon request, the spirit would raise, or put out the flame on the candles, just to prove that it was, in fact, there with me. After about 2-3 weeks, the "spirit" began to change. It started imitating several deceased musicians, then saying it was a guy named Will, which was my grandfathers name. In all of these various forms, it spoke of knowing how to become famous, and that the world was waiting for my talent. It said that it could guide me in all of the right directions, if I would just agree to let it help me. I was hesitant, because it refused to tell me exactly what it could do, and I wanted to know what the "plan" was before I agreed to it. It wanted the agreement first!! In hindsight, it is almost as if it were searching for a persona that would really appeal to me. The more it said, the more I listened. As the board became more interesting, and was giving me information that I found useful, I began abandoning my bi-monthly visits to my grandfather so I could stay with "my spirit." I would not take part in after school activities. I would not watch television. All I wanted to do was to use the board. I would use it before school, and after school until very, very late at night. During this time period, there was a temperature change in my room. It was ice cold. You could step out the door into the hallway, and it was like stepping out of North Dakota in the winter into Hawaii. It was extremely noticable, even to my parents. (Remember, my mother had no knowledge of my new found "friend") I noticied it, and just chalked it up to it being the spirit, and it didn't bother me. I suppose it had been about five weeks, and the "sprirt" suddenly changed it's helpful, friendly demeanor. It stated plainly that it was my only friend, and that it wanted to help me gain success, and that it was growing impatient. It began ignoring my questions, and was persistant to get me to agree to a commitment. One day, I finally told the "spirit" that I didn't believe it, and it was obviously a liar. Now, I had shelves on my wall that lined went from wall to wall, floor to celing. The shelves contained a few books and knick-knacks, but mostly my collection of stuffed animals. As I was sitting there, suddenly things began flying off of the shelves in my direction. Something was THORWING these things at me! I sat there with my head covered as I was pelted with the items from my shelves. I was absolutely petrified. At that moment, it dawned on me that I may have gotten myself in too deep, with something I didn't understand the full concept of. When I somewhat regained my composure, I "said" to the board, "I know you aren't who you say you are," and it said that was true. I asked it who it was, really. I was (and still am) chilled to the bone when it spelled out, very simply, " I am evil." I didn't know what to do. I was so scared. I wasn't sure if I should have told my mother, if I should have gone to a church, if I should have ran for my life. The board then said that "you will do what I say." I don't know what might have changed if I had gone against its wishes. I certainly didn't want anythng thrown at me anymore, knowing full well that next time it could have been something that really could have hurt me. Maybe the "spirit" might have followed me, and caused me all sorts of trouble. I was really convinced that it might have the ability to kill me. All I can say is that I was a stupid, young kid that got herself in a mess that she didn't know how to handle. Like a fool, utilizing whatever judgement I had at that moment, I asked the board what it wanted me to do. It spelled out, "we need your blood." I was literally shaking. I asked it if I should get a kitchen knife and cut my hand. It went to "yes," then it spelled out, "put blood on the board." In a daze, I went to the kitchen and got a knife, and returned to my room. I made a feeble attmept to cut myself, then some sort of realization dawned on me that I couldn't willingly cut myself, that I must be crazy! For some reason, I became very angry. I stood up and threw the knife at the board, and blew out the candles. I proceeded to swear at the "spirit" and ask what it was trying to do to me. I tried to explain that I was just a teenager, and how could it expect so much of me, etc. I was expecting some sort of backlash, but it was quiet. It seemed to have gone away. I was in tears, and relieved. I reasoned with myself that perhaps "my spirit" was taken away for a while, and somethng bad got in there, or some ridiculous notions like that. I decided that I would try to talk some sense into it later. (After all of that, I wasn't ready to give the damn thing up.) I remember specifically feeling nauseous, having a headache, and my whole body seemed to hurt. I decided to lay down for a while. I have to explain the setup of my room before I can get to what happened next. My bed was in middle of the room, to the right of the bed was a closet, to the left were the shelves from earlier, and a small stereo with speakers. The headboard of my bed was just under the window, and rested up against the wall. I had the speakers ( they were maybe a foot tall and 8 or so inches wide, not very big) on the headboard at an angle, up aganst the wall. As I lay down, I could see the speakers, one on either side of my head. Picture this if you will: if they were to have slipped and fallen, they would have slid downward according to the angle. In other words, they could not have tipped forward, because of their positioning.

I was laying there thinking about all that happened, and a movement caught my eye. The speaker on the left of me was MOVING. It happened so fast that I didnt have time to react. It LIFTED ITSELF UP, from the top, and fell down, hitting me in the eyebrow with the corner of it. It did not slide down, it LIFTED UP FROM THE TOP, and fell. When it hit me, I instinctively put my hand to my eyebrow, marvelling at the pain that such a small speaker caused. I then realized that my hand was warm, and I pulled my hand away. I couldnt see out of my left eye, because it had blood in it. My hand was warm becasue of the blood caused by the injury. I looked in the mirror, and there was blood just gushing out of this wound. In a split second, it sank in what happened. Whatever it was that I had been communicating with was serious about getting blood from me. I a state of panic and confusion, and just began to scream. I have never been so scared in my life. All I could do was scream!!

My mother, who was sleeping at the time, came rushing to my aid. The first thing that she noticed was that I was bleeding. I began to babble about "doing a really bad thing" and "giving my soul to the devil" all while still screaming in hysterics. Then she noticed the board, and she became frantic. I can rememebr her asking me why I was messing with it, and who did I communicate with that could have done this, etc. She led me out of the room to help me clean up, and wanted to take me for sticthes, but I refused to go, because I didn't want to explain to the doctors what happened. I still have the scar. My mother removed the board, and wouldn't tell me where she took it. She said that she didn't want to hear another word about it as long as she lived. I haven't spoken of it to her since then. I don't know what happened to it, and I don't care.

For three days exactly after the incident, a black widow spider was in middle of my bedroom window on the outside. It sat there for three days, and never moved. Terrifed is an understatement on how I felt. I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't go to school. I was waiting for the "spirit" to come back for me. I felt as though I had betrayed God with my actions, and decided that I needed to right the wrong as best as I could. I went to a church, and told the pastor what happened. He was gracious, and believed me. I had people pray with me, and I begged God for mercy, fogiveness and protection. I didn't want to be haunted by the thing that hurt me. I stood in my frigid room the after I got back, and spoke out loud that whatever it was that I had invited into my home was no longer welcome, and needed to leave immediately. I felt that it was futile trying to do that, but it worked. The temperature in my room matched the rest of the house by the next day, and that hideous spider was gone.

Luckily for me, I suffered no long term ill effects from my experience. One thing that I seemd to have gained is the ability to sense spirits when they are around. Maybe all of us have this, but my ability seems to be amplified. I speak of all of this rarely, and it has taken alot for me to be able to write about it. So many people think that Ouija Boards are just "games". WRONG. You don't know who, or what you have contacted. There is no guartentee that you are going to contact a nice old lady, or whoever it is that you seek. I am extremely fortunate. I could have suffered many worse fates that what I did, inclding possesion, or having the "spirit" follow me through my life making me miserable.

Notice that I have kept the word "spirit" in quotes. It is my belief that what ever that was didn't fall into the spirit category, but was a demon instead. Please feel free to share my story with others. Don't play around with things that you don't understand, including the supernatural.

i don’t find the story scary now but as a teen reading it late at night before I went to bed it always gave me the creeps lol

Daffodil55 · 02/03/2020 00:41

I have not read much scary stuff at all but the first I can remember was the Amytiville Horror. I believed it was based on a true story but not sure how accurate it really was. I have a vague memory of the home owners being interviewed on television. Might google that one.

Later the films came out but they were never as good as that book.

ActualHornist · 02/03/2020 00:54

I also remember reading a really creepy story on Digital Spy or something similar - it was about a bloke who’d seen something odd at a remote holiday cabin. There was pictures and everything.

BritneyPeedOnALadybug · 02/03/2020 01:01

I remember that digital spy story!! (I think) or it may have been a different one. The one I’m talking about was where a guy arrived late to a cabin and he was really tired by the time he got there and he went straight to bed but noticed on the walls there were loads of pictures of people with contorted, evil faces staring at him but when he woke up in the morning there were no pictures on the walls at all, only windows where the pictures had been. Shock