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While most of us are naturally curious and suffer from more or less pronounced FOMO, meaning we have to know, see and hear everything others do, it’s not always best for us.

Some things are better left unknown or at least not put in the nightmarishly dim light like the facts shared on the “Creepy.fact” Instagram account. Followed by 231k followers, the page calls itself “the scariest account on Instagram” so we are about to see if that’s true. We wrapped up some of the most interesting posts shared on this page, so pull your seat closer, as you may want to leave your lights on.

The truth is... nothing beats the enduring appeal of things that fall under the categories of horror, grotesque, and mystery. Just look at the recent craze around gothic and horror TV shows (I refuse to believe there exists a person who hasn’t yet watched Tim Burton’s Wednesday) and serial killer documentaries (Netflix’ spin on Dahmer, anyone?!).

So to find out more about what it is that makes us tick when it comes to horror, we spoke with Lauren McMenemy, a south London-based writer of gothic-influenced folk horror who is currently working on a novel set in the world of the Victorian occult. And she was happy to share some very interesting insights into the topic!

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Hailie
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I asked my counselor about these types of thoughts! She said they're completely normal.

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“Humans are inherently morbid, whether they like to admit it or not,” Lauren McMenemy, a professional writer, journalist, and experienced writing mentor and coach told Bored Panda. “We are fascinated by death - by avoiding it, by cheating it, by embracing it, by understanding what comes next.”

“And I think the last bit is really why we love the creepy stuff; ghosts and skeletons and vampires and other creepy things help us to explore what comes after death. As for mysteries, well, who doesn't love a good mystery! As well as being morbid, we are also inherently curious creatures,” McMenemy explained.

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SydneyGirl
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Bloody huntsman. Those dinner plate sized ones creeping out from behind a picture on the wall do tend to create stained undies.

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Mahayana
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That’s good! I’m going to try that with the next ice cream truck I see!

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McMenemy argues that it's what marks out humans and has helped us to grow and develop over generations and millennia. “We want to figure out the things we don't understand, and when we can't figure them out then some of us become obsessed by them.” McMenemy still remembers her own childhood obsession with the Bermuda Triangle, and who didn’t have one!

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When asked whether horror as a genre is becoming more popular lately, McMenemy said that it definitely feels like it. “A large part of that is down to social media and the growth of self-publishing. The 'establishment' publishing houses still don't seem to like much in the way of horror - though serial killer fiction used to be considered horror, once upon a time! - but there is a huge online horror community, and they love to share discoveries,” the writer explained.

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Minath
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Happened in South Africa as well. Two Orcas called Port and Starboard turned up and after they killed and ate the livers of a few Great Whites, the sharks moved out. There were a few years with basically no sightings of the sharks.

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Greta Kolding
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If they saw the c**p their laughter is used for now they would be turning in their graves.

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Moreover, “Self-publishing has made it easier for people to share their own stories, too. And then we have the visual medium, and streaming services making access to horror much easier. I think the appetite has always been there, but it's just easier to get hold of that ‘fix,’” McMenemy explained.

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We were also eager to find out what makes a book or a film particularly creepy. The academic answer to what makes things creepy, McMenemy argues, lies in the concept of the "uncanny", or the psychological experience of something as mysterious and creepy in a strangely familiar way.

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Saint Thomas
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Come on BP, that's at least the 3rd time in 2 weeks that you put this pic in a list...

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Karen Grace
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

These are colonies made up of hundreds or thousands of individuals called Zooids.

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Aubry
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

ok but is anyone going to talk about the bottom left diver riding one like a cowboy?

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2x4b523p
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Aww so interesting, never heard of them. And they are “brightly bioluminescent” wow!

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Saggi
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ok, but before reading he caption did any one else think they were like impaled or ghost versions of jellyfish or some s**t?

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Carlota
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Pyrosomes, genus Pyrosoma, are free-floating colonial tunicates that usually live in the upper layers of the open ocean in warm seas, although some may be found at greater depths. Pyrosomes are cylindrical or cone-shaped colonies up to 18 m (60 ft) long,[2] made up of hundreds to thousands of individuals, known as zooids. Colonies range in size from less than one centimeter to several metres in length. They are commonly called "sea pickles".[3][4] Other nicknames include "sea worms", "sea squirts", "fire bodies", and "cockroaches of the sea (From wikipedia)

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TheAnimalLady
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Catfish are mostly a freshwater species. These are Marine. Divers have found ones big enough to swim through and done so.

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Gøøse
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Next on Real Animals That Look Lile Star Trek Monsters...

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Stormdances
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No, this meme contains the entire body of knowledge on these. Kind of like Medjed.

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Anne McKinney
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That guy "riding" it is a jerk. Leave wildlife alone...no matter what it is.

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RL R
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Hey Johnny, you careless blue whale! You forgot to throw your condom in the trash, you useless whale!"

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StregAnna
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, but the most interesting thing is that they are not a single individual, but are formed by myriads of cohesive entities to form that sort of "tube"

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TheAnimalLady
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had to check if this is real, it seems to be. I don't trust some of these after I Googled "potato bug" to show someone the difference between it & a sowbug. I "found" a "troll" of a potato bug on Wikipedia / reddit that someone photo-shopped the face from one of those Alien Predator movies onto. I didn't know that you could "edit" them until my cousin told me (he's a Techie Guy who watches that stuff & recognized it).

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Solidhog
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My eyes caught the end words as I was reading and I though it was going to end with "that are actually whale sperm"

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Douglas Gilanyi
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think they misspelled aliens. "The earth's oceans are filled with aliens."

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Notyomama
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They will be all that is left after societies self absorbed people that lack awareness are extinct.

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TheAnimalLady
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That kind of thing is really bad. You can get into a lot of trouble for harassing wildlife. Big fines if it's a mammal.

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Mrs.Pugh
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I saw spem whale and thought that this was a spem whale penis😑. I hate it here.

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TheAnimalLady
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But wouldn't it be a good thing if they ate poison? That's one way to get rid of it. (They're harmless to humans.)

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Liv
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They’re actually harmless, so harmless in fact you can ride them (as seen on one of the pictures). It’s not actually a full creature, it’s made of millions of those little things (I can’t remember the name) and they can reproduce so fast that if they’re not all killed at the same time, they’re basically immortal

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TheAnimalLady
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, in this case, it's the human that's being harmful!!! You don't harass wildlife, even Zooids😾

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DEW
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The last photo looks like one of these cones produced a water woman with long hair

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“It's the strangeness of the ordinary, the field where we are unable to distinguish between pleasure and displeasure and so we become anxious. Creepiness is about the uncertainty of a threat; you think there's something to worry about, but the signals aren't clear enough to send you into action,” the writer told us.

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Ex Pat
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Locked-in syndrome." Not an isolated event. [Martin Pistorius]

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Elita One
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Think I'll just stick to pictures from the people who've been there and done that, thanks.

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Meanwhile, “in books and film, this often takes the form of things just outside of our vision, or of familiar signals such as old and dilapidated houses, cobwebs, the unkempt and unloved. It results in that tingling down your spine, the goosebumps on your arms - you can't quite figure out what's going on, but you are intrigued…” McMenemy concluded.