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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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“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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#3
SydneyGirl 3 years ago
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!
#5
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.
#9
Greta Kolding 3 years ago
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.
#13
Saint Thomas 3 years ago
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.
#20
K- THULU 3 years ago (edited)
It was a preserved shark in formaldehyde....
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Saint Thomas 3 years ago
To be more precise, it was a dead shark from the get go, and it's a tank of formol.
Marcellus II 3 years ago
With those protruding teeth, looks like a goblin shark? Quite rare.
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Katie Lutesinger 3 years ago
I saw the urban explorer's video in which he discovered her! Boy did he get a shock when he shone his torch into the abandoned room and saw her outline. A few weeks later it had gone viral and other people were going to check her out (and of course some took the opportunity to trash the place and throw stuff in the tank). Thanks to the publicity, though, she was ultimately removed and restored and her tank was cleaned out, and she's now the property of... I forget the name, but a crystal museum elsewhere in Australia.
ERIKA H. 3 years ago
Unfortunately, the shark, which had been perfectly preserved for a long time, is now deteriorating due to vandals breaking the glass and throwing stuff in the tank
Katie Lutesinger 3 years ago
Good news! She's been rescued and restored and is now on display elsewhere.
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Stormdances 3 years ago
Yeah I might need some help with that afterwards. 😳
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SheamusFanFrom1987 3 years ago
Sounds like the plot of a horror movie featuring a supernatural shark... Oh wait...
Kennedy Kargeaux 3 years ago
Didn't they rescue this though & move it somewhere to be a tourist attraction as well as made a new tank for it?
Becky Samuel 3 years ago
It was a dead shark in formaldehyde, not a living shark in an aquarium.
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Greenmantle 3 years ago
Hang on, was this a prop in the movie "Mental" with Toni Collette and Rebecca Gibney?
Johanne Trudeau 3 years ago
How sad... They could have relocated it to a better place where it could have lived out the rest of it's days...
Savannah Finn 3 years ago
Not the full story! I believe this shark's name is Rosie and she was killed when she swam too close to a families tuna nets :( She was preserved in a tank of formaldehyde and sold to a water theme park-type thing. The glass tank where Rosie lived was located in Victoria, Australia which closed back in 2012 due to underfunding. Because of the lack of money, the park could not afford to ship Rosie anywhere and she was abandoned in that park along with most of their other attractions. When she was discovered a few years later AGAIN, she was moved to Crystal World Exhibition Center where you can still see her today.
April Miller 3 years ago
What do people think they should’ve done with a dead shark preserved in formaldehyde?
Ali Sherlock 3 years ago
When it was still running, I went there with my parents on a holiday. The guy who ran it supposedly took footage of sharks that Steven Spielberg used in Jaws
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What do you think ?
CalicoKitty 3 years ago
Thanks to all the BP fact checkers ensuring I know when I'm recieving Net Zero Information
AwesomeLeoWife 3 years ago
They’ve been changing a lot of definitions lately actually.
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the big dipper ️ 3 years ago
is this stuff /trying/ to make me stay inside more than i already do
Ruth Hempsey 3 years ago
I really need to remember not to look at lists with headings like these.
Keyrara Sanchez Michael 3 years ago
This thread needs an update posting this does not mean it will happen.. w[hooo2023
TheAnimalLady 3 years ago
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!!!
CalicoKitty 3 years ago
Thanks to all the BP fact checkers ensuring I know when I'm recieving Net Zero Information
AwesomeLeoWife 3 years ago
They’ve been changing a lot of definitions lately actually.
Load More Replies... the big dipper ️ 3 years ago
is this stuff /trying/ to make me stay inside more than i already do
Ruth Hempsey 3 years ago
I really need to remember not to look at lists with headings like these.
Keyrara Sanchez Michael 3 years ago
This thread needs an update posting this does not mean it will happen.. w[hooo2023
TheAnimalLady 3 years ago
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!!!
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