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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I asked my counselor about these types of thoughts! She said they're completely normal.
“L’appel du vide” is also what I call it when my black cat is shouting at me to wake up and feed him breakfast
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I like to think they are happening to remind you NOT to do that
These are particularly annoying for me because I also suffer chronic suicidal depression.
It will get better....you will be happy...don't you ever let this s**t win, okay?! ♡ we are strangers, but in this together. You can DM me if you want...we got this :)
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They're called "intrusive thoughts", but "call of the void" sounds way more badass. I'm not mentally ill, it's just the CALL OF THE VOID
Intrusive thoughts are repetitive and distressing, and may cover harm to others as well as yourself. The Void is more like "lmao I could totally jump right now".
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Ohmygods. It's normal. I'm not just losing my mind on a regular basis. I just sighed with relief.
My city has a bridge that’s famous for lots of things, one of them being people jumping. They have barricades, nets, phones for emergency counsellors and services and of someone looks like they’re going to climb the railing, you pick up a phone which immediately shuts down traffic, sends out a crisis team and a counsellor speaks over a loudspeaker. Still, people jump regularly. The thing is, most don’t go to visit the bridge with intention to jump. Most have no signs that they’d do this. It’s often a spontaneous act in the same sense as this post. Many have a sudden recognition that life is perfect at the moment & will never be better. They pull a Hairdresser’s Husband. -there’s a film about this bridge called “The Bridge” - https://letterboxd.com/film/the-bridge-2006/
Is Hairdresser's Husband A Term From The Film Or Does The Euphemism Have Wider Social Traction
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I didn't find out that this was normal until a couple of years ago. Saying I was relieved was an understatement as mental health issues run through my family
Aren’t they also called intrusive thoughts? They usually only last a fleeting moment and most people simply dismiss them. Following through is a sign of mental/emotional issues.
In My Understanding Intrusive Thought Are a) More Random (No Obvious Association) And b) More Persistent. In This Case The Thought Is a) Preceded By An Obvious Trigger (Heigjts Activates The Split Second Longing Or Desire To Jump Or Fly) And b) The Desire Or Sensation (Not Thought) Completely Goes Away Once The Trigger Is Removed
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My ex husband's uncle had this uncontrollable urge to constantly jump fall/dive off of things when high up and it was such an over whelming drive, people sometimes would have to hold him back from killing himself. He just always said, I cant help it. I think he had a bad case of this?
Interested In Quebec. Care To Expand On That
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I have OCD and get these all the time. It gets old pretty quickly :(
I literally just mentioned this to my son. We were talking about the movie The happening and I told him that sometimes I get intrusive thoughts when I'm driving down the road and I'm thinking why don't I just crash my car into that. I know it's normal but it's kind of scary.
I once said to a mental health therapist that a lot of people's problems could be avoided if they could just get outside of their head. The people in the group session laughed at me, said that's what made people crazy... Exactly but if you get outside of those crazy thoughts you're going to be okay. Therapist agreed.
Snoqualmie Falls in WA state. Not in the least suicidal, but it was just, like - calling to me.
thats how the brain works? i like to explain to myself, maybe the brain is treating dangerous situations like a warning, so you feel the void or intrusive thoughts (as i do)
What if those call-from-the-void thoughts are actually produced from another part of our brain outside the grey matter that produces our conscience. And that other part is so sick of our s**t that it's trying to make us end it all. Just a split second thought. Go back to scrolling.
Theres a youtuber who did a series called `if we said our intrusive thoughts out loud`. (pt1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k73o6fYj8w . . . pt2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORNaCIgQzU0 . . . pt3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI3apGkf_7I )
This explains why I imagine jumping in front of a train everytime I hear one pass
Or having a feeling of cutting your wrist open with a sharp fruit knife... The brain just fires off so randomly, like " wouldn’t it be cool to see the flesh cut open, blood squelching out!!!! Do it! Do it! Do it!" and the next moment is kinda realiziling that i cheated death in a tiny bone chilling triumph... Small yay! But chilling nonetheless..
This was a side affect I had from taking Zyban, and within days I got off of it.
my intrusive thoughts are (for better or worse) a lot less scary than when they started. i think that may be because i started thinking of them as regular thoughts. anyone else?
Intetesting Word Choice. Makes Me Think That It's A Death Free Way Of Getting A New Lease On Life. Kind Of Like Waking Up From A Dream Right Before Dying And Having That Be The Catalyst For An Important Life Change
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Edgar Allan Poe has a story about this called the Imp of the Perverse.
I‘ve read somewhere that even thoughts of harming someone else are totally normal. Apparently (nearly?) everyone has them sometimes, even though only a few would really act them out.
AKA “the imp of the perverse,” perhaps coined by Edgar Allen Poe. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Imp_of_the_Perverse
Wow! Didn’t know they had a name. I’m also glad they happen to everyone not just me lol
I've gone through that multiple times. Good thing I've got impulse control, or I wouldn't be here!
These thoughts are completely normal. Some studies say that they arrive as a conflict of the sensory feeling of safety and danger. Imagine you are standing on a cliff. You are stable, your feet have hard groind to stand on. If fact, you are just fine. Yet your eyes see the danger, the posibility of a deathly fall. From that sensory dispute a person has those short termed ideas of jumping or pushing someone into the void without actual harmfull tendencies.
Ahh...So They're Trying To Resolve The Conflict Of (On The One Hand) Feeling Safe But Seeing Danger!! It's Like A Battle Of The Senses Which Can Only Be Resolved By Removing The Conflicting Information aka Stepping Back From The Edge
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Call of the void! All my family except for my mom experience this. She thinks it's really scary but to me it's just kinda normal
Intrusive Thoughts (Unlike This) Have a) No Obvious Trigger And b) Can Be Quite Persistent
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Ooh. There's a lovely French name for it? Excellent. I shall remember to use this - happens often.
“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.
Bloody huntsman. Those dinner plate sized ones creeping out from behind a picture on the wall do tend to create stained undies.
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!
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.
If they saw the c**p their laughter is used for now they would be turning in their graves.
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.
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.
Come on BP, that's at least the 3rd time in 2 weeks that you put this pic in a list...
“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.
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.
Thanks to all the BP fact checkers ensuring I know when I'm recieving Net Zero Information
They’ve been changing a lot of definitions lately actually.
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is this stuff /trying/ to make me stay inside more than i already do
I really need to remember not to look at lists with headings like these.
This thread needs an update posting this does not mean it will happen.. w[hooo2023
Seriously?!? Why the 🤬 is this listed under "Animals"?!? Only 6 of 21 are animal related!?! And the rest are so 🤬ed up!!! I'm really getting tired of being tricked into going to the non-animal junk!!!
Thanks to all the BP fact checkers ensuring I know when I'm recieving Net Zero Information
They’ve been changing a lot of definitions lately actually.
Load More Replies... is this stuff /trying/ to make me stay inside more than i already do
I really need to remember not to look at lists with headings like these.
This thread needs an update posting this does not mean it will happen.. w[hooo2023
Seriously?!? Why the 🤬 is this listed under "Animals"?!? Only 6 of 21 are animal related!?! And the rest are so 🤬ed up!!! I'm really getting tired of being tricked into going to the non-animal junk!!!
