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69 Eerie Facts About The World That Get More Disturbing The More You Think About Them
Like it or not, the world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Plenty of strange things happen out there, and many are dark enough to send a little chill down your spine.
But for some reason, that doesn’t stop us from wanting to know more about them, even if we might regret it later. So we rounded up the creepiest posts from the Unsettling Facts Instagram page. Scroll down to read them—just maybe not right before bed.
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By all logic, our self-preservation instincts should keep us as far away from anything creepy as possible. Spotting danger is supposed to make us want to run and hide.
Instead, plenty of us happily binge gory horror movies and fall asleep to true crime podcasts. As it turns out, scientists have a pretty good explanation for this.
The urge even has a name: morbid curiosity. Behavioral scientist Coltan Scrivner, who has spent years studying it, describes it as “an internal motivation to learn about threatening situations in your environment.”
In other words, learning about scary stuff could help us steer clear of it later. Scrivner’s research suggests this trait is completely normal. He even developed a 24-item scale to measure how morbidly curious a person is.
#7
bob bobson 1 day ago
Maybe a ghastly ghoul. Probably just that the tumor was pressed against the areas of her brain that control speech and hearing
That scale looks at a few different areas of interest. Some people are drawn to the minds of dangerous people, while others are more fascinated by paranormal danger.
Either way, the pull toward the dark side of life seems to have deep roots. In his book, Scrivner describes morbid curiosity as an evolutionary advantage that lets us learn about threats from relatively risk-free places like a movie theater.
#10
The way it works is pretty simple. When you watch a horror movie, for example, you tend to get invested in the story. Before long, you naturally start putting yourself in the characters’ shoes and thinking about what you’d do in their place.
As a result, viewers end up learning from the characters’ experiences without having to go through any of it themselves.
#14
OneWithRatsAndKefir 1 day ago
Who are those lucky folks who’ve only had it happen to them once? I just need to borrow their sound sleep.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Scrivner and his colleagues decided to put this idea to the test. They surveyed more than 300 people and found that those who enjoyed horror films before the pandemic were more psychologically resilient in 2020.
Fans of apocalyptic flicks, like zombie or alien invasion movies, also felt they knew how to physically prepare for what was coming.
Our bodies play a big part in all of this as well. When we get scared by something but know there’s no real physical danger, our brains release feel-good chemicals like endorphins and dopamine, according to sociologist Margee Kerr, who studies fear for a living.
On top of that, testing ourselves in a safe setting can show us that we’re able to handle stress and that we’re stronger than we thought.
“When you come out the other side of a scary movie or haunted house, you have accomplished something. You’ve tested your will. Even though we know nothing will hurt us, the self-esteem boost is real,” Kerr explained.
#19
Alex Buchanan 1 day ago
Aww, everybody needs to mind their own business and leave poor blobfish alone.
#21
BarkingSquirell 20 hours ago
Yes, this is a thing and it's taken extremely seriously to remind them of how important their jobs are. Lives were lost in the bridge collapse.
In one study, Kerr and her team surveyed 262 visitors at an extreme haunted attraction outside Pittsburgh.
They found that the more scared people were, the better they felt once they made it out. Guests walked away in a noticeably better mood and felt less anxious and tired than they did before going in.
The researchers also looked at the brain activity of 100 participants before and after the attraction. Those whose mood improved showed an overall drop in how reactive their brains were.
This kind of “shutting down” is similar to what’s been observed in people who practice mindfulness meditation.
#22
So if you can’t stop reading about eerie facts and unsolved mysteries, there’s no need to worry about yourself. It might actually be good for you, and who knows, it could even help you survive a zombie apocalypse one day.
Of course, not everyone enjoys being scared, even when they’re perfectly safe. Whichever camp you fall into, it’s completely fine to feed your curiosity at your own pace.
#26
#27
BarkingSquirell 20 hours ago
I'd prefer to not learn this first-hand but Trump keeps pushing us down.
#28
OneWithRatsAndKefir 1 day ago
That old feeling. It is creepy to experience, to say the least. “Oh wow, what a beautiful vie- jump.”
#30
pjg237 16 hours ago
I am a high school art teacher and I had a struggling student drop out to go to another program. At the time I felt like I had not made an impact. She wrote me a note which I have on my wall in my office as a reminder. In it, she told me how much she appreciated me as a teacher and a person. She said I was the only person to ever ask her how she was doing, as my routine is to greet every student coming to my class to both welcome them and see how they are doing.
#34
BarkingSquirell 20 hours ago
Better known as the Campus R@pist. He was the first person in the USA to get off on an insanity plea and his childhood factored heavily into his sentence.
#35
KitchenToto 19 hours ago
Pore man. Very important to know the rules about what to do and not to do if you are caught outside in a thunder storm. You can look them up on Google
#48
BarkingSquirell 20 hours ago
Let's not forget Mike bit off a man's ear and went to jail for beating his wife (Robin Givens.)
#51
Luke || Kira (he/she) 20 hours ago
There are crimes that do deserve the capital punishment, but no government ever should have the power to kiㅤll its citizens.
#55
WindySwede 1 day ago (edited)
If i had read this 2 minutes later the light would have turned on with a timer, that would have been somewhat scary 😲
#56
Kewell Düüd 20 hours ago
Hm... sounds like a suspiciously convenient anecdote to market a horror movie... Just saying.
#59
Richard Graham 1 day ago
“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” ― Albert Einstein
#65
Wonky Donkey 1 day ago
Just England and Wales, and they weren't executed. It wasn't decriminalised until 1961.
#66
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What do you think ?
BarkingSquirell 18 hours ago
The freakiest thing that has happened to me lately is actually watching the video, Sweet Dreams are made of This" by Marilyn Manson. I found it demonic.
BarkingSquirell 18 hours ago
The freakiest thing that has happened to me lately is actually watching the video, Sweet Dreams are made of This" by Marilyn Manson. I found it demonic.
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