Folks Online Tell About 27 Terrifyingly Real Things Existing Around The Places They Live
The novels of the 20th century American science fiction writer Harry Harrison tell of "Deathworld"—a planet called Pyrrhus, where literally all living creatures, from plants to animals, sought to destroy people on the planet in every possible way. Someone ironically noted that the writer, apparently, was simply describing Australia...
Well, besides Australia—where literally every harmless spider or caterpillar can be incredibly aggressive and poisonous—in fact, any place on our planet can be really dangerous. So, with today's selection, we will talk about just these kinds of places. More precisely, about life-threatening things and creatures from these places.
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Humans. Seriously. I grew up in Florida, which has plenty of it's own horrifying, terrifying and pretty decent competition for apex predators. Moved to Colorado, learned about mooses and elk, mountain lions.. Although only the mooses and elks actually ever concerned me. Stayed in the Southwest for a bit. Camel Spider are pretty flipping scary! And definitely the humans in the remote parts. D***s, isolation and not a very deep breeding pool in those parts makes that movie The Hills have Eyes too close to reality.
But where we live now. In Mid-Missouri. Seeing, watching, experiencing over the last almost 10 years first hand of fascism taking root. Spreads. Turns people against each other in a feral sort of way. The hate. The in fighting.
The absolute need of a growing amount of people to blame, hate and destroy their neighbors, their communities, and even themselves and own children all in the name of leaders who only worship money, a god they have have truly forgotten and re-formed to excuse their own sins and grants permission to k**l the stewards, worship the elites.
These humans are terrifying, dangerous creatures. A dangerous terrifying animal is dangerous and terrifying out of instinct and survival. These ones are dangerous and terrifying as a choice. Not for survival but for ego and to dodge personal accountability.
"Religion" has lied and obscured what has been slowly building. They enjoy living in the darkness of the lies and try to silence anyone who exposes their hypocrisy. They ignore the very book they claim to live by. 'People will be lovers of themselves and of money, haughty, not open to any agreement, without self-control, headstrong, prideful, and have an appearance of godliness but prove false to its power.' 3 Timothy 3:1-5. Jesus said his government was not part of this world system. Matthew 6:9,10; John 18:36. Instead, that government will remove any people and governments that are against it. Daniel 2:44; Psalm 37:9-11. It may sound fantastical, but it's all happening right now. Don't believe me? Well, that was prophesied, too. 2 Peter 3:3,4.
"Fascism : a populist political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual, that is associated with a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, and that is characterized by severe economic and social regimentation and by forcible suppression of opposition." Looks correct to me.
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I live out in the country, on a quiet dirt road surrounded by woods. My nearest neighbor is a five-minute drive away, so I’ve always thought of this place as isolated and peaceful. But recently, I’ve had a couple of unsettling experiences. Twice now, I’ve caught two different people emerging from the woods and looking into my house.
It makes me wonder how many times this has happened without me knowing. My dog often goes into a barking frenzy at what I assume is nothing, but now I’m not so sure. I’m starting to realize I might not be as alone out here as I thought.
Pop out at them with what looks like a bloody axe. That will make them reconsider.
No need for illusions, use an actual bloody axe!
Load More Replies...I would feel myself must insecure in a middle-of-the-nowhere-place, like OP described, than in a crowded city.
I live rural, but it's too boring here for random weirdness. The only two times I saw unexpected people were: a soldier who was quite annoyed at being seen, apparently he has to go from there to there without being spotted; and a young female jogger who took a shortcut down my access lane and then realised it doesn't go anywhere and there are far too many brambles to nip across the field (not that a little bit of plant life bothered the army bloke). Two people, quarter century. Even the aliens would go someplace more interesting.
Load More Replies...I live in a rural area back in the pines. There are only 3 houses on my road and I'm at the end, then you hit a wooded berm and the road continues on the other side where there are only 2 houses. My road has to be entered off of one road and the other side has to be entered of a State route. The house closest to the state route became a dŕug house where people would go to shoot up. We tried to get them out and even the police were on it but they waited arcoss the state route for any of the "walkers" to come by. They got smart and started coming up our road, through the berm, past my neighbor's house on the other side and to the dŕug house. They were trying to break in to the houses, stealing stuff, walking loudly all hours of the day and night. Sleeping in the woods, trash everywhere. I had to get cameras. I already have an alarm system but there's no better deterrent than waiting for them and getting the neighbors out with shotguns and other fine pieces. Finally they shut it down.
keep a big dog handy and let it carry around a big beef bone with a shoe on the end
I'm in Africa.
There are remote parts here that literally have nothing but radioactive waste from Europe.
In order for European companies to comply with EU regulations, they just dump their waste here.
There was a court case that the locals tried to stop it but everyone was bribed and it all just keeps happening.
We also have limited train systems. The steel railways are stolen, put on a ship and sold to companies in Asia. The government then buys the steel back from the Asian companies. Lots of corruption and bribery.
If any countries, or continents in this matter, get ripped off and screwed over, it's the African countries.
Finland has strong, impartial investigative journalism and this dumping of hazardous waste to other countries became very familiar to me through that. That program also exposed companies that have done so. The program put tracking devices on recyclable products and followed where they ended up. (They went to Europe and from there, at worst, to Africa or Asia). The same shocking activity occurred a lot in the "recycling" of ultra-fast fashion and other trashy clothes. It's good that companies are being held accountable for their irresponsible actions, but much more of that is needed.
Corrupt governments cause so much misery around the world, and it's difficult to come back from. And we wonder why there's such an immigration problem in stable countries ...
It all started 4 days ago, when the user u/Chaulmoog asked other netizens in the AskReddit community: "What's the most horrifying thing that exists where you live?" and triggered a real flurry of scary stories—which, in just a couple of days, collected 4.3K upvotes and around 5.5K different comments.
Well, if you exclude the frankly cynical or parody comments like "landlords" or "taxes," you might get the impression that in many places on our planet—whether in a rural area or the very center of a huge metropolis—it may be better not to make the mistake of leaving your room at all.
Every summer, the mosquitoes here unionize, develop a taste for human ankles, and somehow bypass bug spray like it’s a polite suggestion.
Also, landlords.
There's always more mosquitoes. Always. You can look like a lobster with all the smacking and there will be more. Mosquito spray fogging helps, but that's controversial and people can opt out for the city to spray their street. Then they get to be the most hated person on the block if everyone else wanted relief.
Load More Replies...Every summer, the landlords unionize, develop a taste for overcharging, and try to bypass the lease agreement and tenants' rights like they're polite suggestions. There, FIFY.
A friend's parents bought her an investment property, complete with awesome long-term tenants, at 18. She rented it to the same lovely couple for 15 years, then another for the next 5 years before selling it for almost 300k. During those 22 years she had to do something for the property (repairs/replacements/find new tenants) on average once per year. She constantly talked about how hard of work it was to be a landlord (a few hours a year) and how she earned that money through her hard work. She made 300-500$ a month in passive income for over 20 years and got 300k out of it because she was born lucky, not because she worked hard.
100+ years ago the slaughterhouses in chicago dumped so much of their waste into the chicago river, that there is a portion of the river that is still bubbling today because there's piles of rotten meat remaining at the bottom.
Edit: Even more horrible, don't look up what happened to the fat that floated to the top of the river back in the day.
Yeah, let's cut back on government regulations and regulators - they just k**l businesses and companies are very good at ensuring customer and environmental safety. Oh, and who needs scientists and experts to research best practices? Not with my tax dollars! (Extreme sarcasm here, if you couldn't tell. I'm so disgusted with what's going on in the US Federal Government.)
It's horrifying. And those who are happy to deregulate can afford to ensure they live in clean places. I hope to never be proven right, but I do think that even those who believe they are ok with everything going to sh*t as long as there's enough nice spaces for them would not enjoy it as much as having a more equitable, safe and clean world.
Load More Replies...Well ,thanks aalot ,NOW I HAVE to go look it up just because you said not too
Poisonous insects and large predators, sharks and rays, wild boars and packs of stray dogs—literally any living creature can pose a threat to our lives and wellbeing. The only question is: what is the actual probability of encountering these creatures on your way?
Take sharks, for example. Based on the statistics, in 2024, there were 47 confirmed unprovoked shark attacks globally, with 4 fatalities, according to CBS. At the same time, data published in this study shows that between 2012 and 2019, the number of sharks caught by the fishing industry rose from an estimated 76 million per year to more than 80 million.
As you can see, the statistics are far from in favor of sharks. But, in fact, you encounter the most dangerous and aggressive creature on the planet literally every day of your life—and, most likely, you safely avoid any trouble from them, right? To see this dangerous creature—just look at the mirror.
Wild hogs. They chased my neighbor up a tree and waited for 2 hours in hopes he'd come down.
Only takes a few weeks for a normal pig to turn feral. Scary fast transformation
Tornadoes. Quite a few years ago, a town was nearly erased from existence, not terribly far from me.
Seeing the absolute destruction first hand is insane.
4 years ago my birthplace in BC was burned to the ground. Like 99% of the town. It's the 4 year anniversary actually and half of whats been rebuilt was just put on evacuation alert. Climate change ain't real though wildfires just got worse cause of... uhhh... magic or the devil I guess.
Had a building wiped out by a tornado once, just across the street from my subdivision. In the middle of the city. Fun times.
I'm in North Dakota and we've had 34 tornadoes so far this year which is insane for the area. Unfortunately, 4 have died in connection to these storms and several towns have received quite a bit of damage.
My small city became as large as it is only because back in 1886, a tornado wiped out the then-larger town on the other side of the Mississippi River. Every building in town was destroyed and rather than rebuild after the tragedy, most folks moved across the river to here. The town was eventually rebuilt, but it never regained its dominance in the area.
One question, to what I never got a convincing answer. Why TF are you building every few years your light-wood-drywall-homes over and over again in the known tornado-paths?
I'm in maine, so...pick your favorite stephen king story.
I hope that's only out of appreciation for his scary stories, since he's a good human being.
Load More Replies...However, for those who live, for example, in the state of Idaho or its surroundings, there may be another hypothetical danger—the Yellowstone volcanic caldera, whose probable eruption, due to its scale, could be disastrous for all life on Earth, not to mention Idaho and the other surrounding states.
Probable eruptions of the Yellowstone caldera have been shown in various disaster movies like "Supervolcano" or "2012," but in fact, scientists today are closely monitoring volcanic activity around Yellowstone, and we're almost sure that they will try to minimize the possible damage from the eruption.
Moose. Surprisingly dangerous.
Right? I mean, you think they're huge until you see one and realize they're freakin' colossal. More than two meters tall AT THE SHOULDER. Not counting their immense heads.
Load More Replies...Whats surprising about that? It's a 1000 to 1600lb animal with giant antlers and hooves. Even a small female is the size of 4 adult human men.
Probably the Tarantula Hawk Wasp. Woke up to one of those guys in my bed. Wasn't f*****g fun.
We had quite a few of these in Arizona. I've seen what the sting does, but they are not very likely to use it. I've brushed these off before I realize what I'm doing - they make a bunch of noise, but I've never been stung.
Yikes! I have very few fears, but big, loud, stinging insects is one of them. I've learned to not run away screaming, but I give them a wide berth. Except bumblebees - have to live with them in my garden. :)
Load More Replies...Is it a Tarantula , a hawk or a wasp or some very disturbing combination of them three? ;-)
It's a wasp... it hunts tarantula spiders to lay eggs on to feed babies.
Load More Replies...Isn't this the species that remembers you and, if you anger it, will hunt you down?
These are what Cazadores from Fallout New Vegas are based off, they're scary!
I saw one on a hike last year, didn’t realize what it was so I just kept going thinking what the heck was it and kind of studying it. It didn’t bother me but I took a moment to look it up after I got home and was properly horrified. Again, it just did its thing, I did mine but it’s big and loud, too.
The decline of insect populations.
I worry so much about this. My windshield used to be covered in bug splat in the summers. Not anymore.
I keep autumn leaf litter for the fireflies, milkweed patches for the Monarch butterflies, and loads of wildflowers for the bees. Plus, I'm about halfway through transforming what grass is left into a tapestry lawn. It's already mostly clover, ajuga, dandelions, and such.
I did a sabbatical for a few weeks in Oman, working at a little rural hospital. We stayed in the local nurses hostel, and the superintendent gave us a big tin of bug spray-he said that "sometimes" bugs got into the rooms. The first night, the nurses warned us not to leave shoes or sandals on the floor, and said the bugs were resistant to the spray. They recommended a tin of hair spray and a lighter, turning the hair spray into a flame thrower. Middle of the night, we were divebombed by flying things, like enormous airborne cockroaches. Sending hairspray flames at them turned them in flying fireb0mbs. As we fled the room to escape the fireb0mbs, we realised why it was a good idea to sleep with shoes on-the whole floor was crunchy with insects that were as big as the aerial monsters, only wingless and impossible to crush. It wasn't a fun night.
What I liked most of the stories told in this collection is the witty admission of one of the responders, who said that they are originally from Maine, so it's worth considering any of the stories or novels by Stephen King. Well, the "King of Horror" often places the action of his works in his home state, so let it be, for example, the clown Pennywise—why not?
Summer. Phoenix, Az.
I spent a summer in Phoenix. Hated it with the passion of a thousand supernovae. Which is about what it feels like in summer. Bonus gigantic water roaches that will come up the drain WHILE you're taking a shower.
I've lived here since 2017 and just saw one of these roaches in my shower for the first time this weekend. I'm originally from Florida so I'm unfortunately used to roaches but this monster was HUGE!
Load More Replies...But, it's a dry heat! 💀 I speak as a phoenecian who currently lives in the Midwest. Yes we routinely tried to cook eggs in our driveway as kids. We all had pet tarantulas and horned toads too. But, it's true that 100° with no humidity feels about the same as 85° with more humidity. I also have a shirt from the 90s that proudly exclaims "I survived Phoenix 120°". When people ask what it's like, I tell them it's like Wisconsin winters in reverse, we didn't go outside much until the seasons changed...
Kinda funny. I talk to many people that relocated from the east because they couldn't stand the cold anymore. I can't stand the heat anymore and Duluth, MN was a paradise when I was there in winter. Image having a winter festival with snow!
Can attest. Visited my BF there last August. Temp was 117F (47C) at midnight.
Sewer rats the size of cats just casually chilling at night.
My mother used tell a story about walking home from a bus stop in Detroit when she was young and encountered a rat just on the sidewalk near an alley. She tried to shoo it off (she was a country girl, not frightened of much) and it stood up and turned out to be larger than cat. The country girl became frightened by rats from that moment on.
After the many plagues caused by them in hundreds of years, most of the european cities are trying their best.
Me, I live in suburbia placed nicely in a heavily forested area. Every now and then, I go out into the woods at 1-2 am and blow my Aztec death whistle.
Haha, I had to look up "Aztec death whistle". Apparently, you can order one online from Amazon...?
I’ve got one of those! It’s tempting to hang out at the local haunted hospital and add to the stories.
Here's how they sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Sw0VCtZs-g - My neighbors would probably call police if they heard this.
But seriously, life on our planet is constantly changing, animals and plants occupy new territories and adapt to changing living conditions—including human activity. So it's far from certain, for example, that all the elements of this list will be as relevant, let's say, in ten years.
Nevertheless, we'll be grateful if you also tell us in the comments on this post about the most dangerous creatures and things in the area where you live. After all, maybe one of your neighbors had no idea about this—and you'll probably save their lives? Well, or scare the hell out of them—who knows? Anyway, please visit the comments below.
Bad drivers-this probably is a issue everywhere with road rage/parking lot rage, you name it.
Cascadia Subduction Zone
I bet it's pretty well known around reddit but, in a nutshell, the Oregon coast(and Northern California, and Washington), at least as far inland as Portland, will be liquified by a massive earthquake/tsunami that's due "any time now"
"Any time now", in geological terms, could be decades or a couple of centuries. Or tomorrow. It is a perpetual nightmare through waking and sleeping hours, never too far from mind.
Actually, this article makes it sound less scary. Only a 15% chance of it happening in the next 50 years.
OMG YES. I've visited Seattle, and I actually love it. But you couldn't pay me enough to live there. I feel much safer here, practically on top of the San Andreas Fault... where the only real worry is wildfire (there were a couple nasty ones today nearby).
50 years is nothing when the larger disaster cycle averages 12,000 years. It's not like they can predict it to the day or even century - just an increasing/decreasing likelihood. It not occurring in any one person's lifetime is like saying, on a rainy day, "It did not rain at all today because there was no rain at exactly 3pm and 16 seconds."
Load More Replies...And don't forget about all of the volcanoes in Washington ready to blow at any time.
Housing costs, both to rent and buy. Absolutely destroying our society, massively increasing economic inequality, and causing so much stress for so many while others profit massively.
It's so distressing how people with decent jobs can't find affordable housing. I have no idea what can be done about it, especially in this (US) political environment where regulation and price controls will never happen.
Guy got shot at a grocery store because he dared to suggest some return a cart.
Preschooler stabbed to death and mother attacked in grocery store parking lot just because
Stray dogs that roam in packs at night.
And on days, in many eastern-european countries. Dogs were and are kept more like farm-animals in villages, not like pets. The trend is changing slowly, and in cities dogs are nowadays more like pets, but I would say, for like at least t60-70% of eastern europeans, dogs are still farm animals kept for their guarding or alerting abilities.
There have been reports of dog packs in the mid-west that are made up of free range pets - they have no fear of humans
And they can read us ... interpret our facial expressions, feelings ... makes them so much more dangerous than wolves
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Several people in/from my local area have recently died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
Water bugs. Its not much but its a big a*s f*****g bug I saw in my room last night.
"Giant water bugs are not venomous, meaning they don't inject a toxin like a snake or spider. However, their bite is extremely painful due to the digestive enzymes in their saliva." Kinda like mosquitoes, except the pain from a water bug bite will go away in a few hours and a mosquito bite will keep you itching for days!
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The sound of something moving in the walls at 3am.
Lying in bed one night I heard a "scritch, scritch, scritch" that sounded like it was coming from the stairwell to the attic. Searched and couldn't find the critter anywhere. Finally realized the critter, likely a mouse, was inside the bedroom/stairwell wall. Heard it again the next night. After that, never heard it again. Assumed it either found its way out, or d i e d in the wall. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I recently had to get rid of a rat that was living in my walls/fireplace. Not sure if it's rats in my roof or possums, because I'm a bit scared of putting my head through the manhole without knowing what's there.
Any circle k gas station after dark.
Oh yeah. S.E. Tennessee here. I know about the circle k.
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Dead people keep washing up on the lakes.
Might want to weigh them down a little better, too.
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Idaho is like 10 miles from here.
Rattlesnakes, I hate them.
At least they give you warning before they strike! Just leave 'em alone and they'll leave you alone.
Right? They're very polite. Terrifying, but polite.
Load More Replies...I've lived in AZ for over 25 years. I finally saw one while on a hike in the Supoerstitions early this year. There rattle, more like a buzz, is nature's way of telling you to GTFO of there.
No love for bed bugs? They're a growing problem, rather like the ticks mentioned adjacent.
Bed bugs are the worst!! I had an infestation a couple of years ago, I still have PTSD from it. I feel like people don't realize how bad bedbugs are because no, they don't carry diseases, but they will mess you up mentally (and financially).
Load More Replies...I live in the American Southwest, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever is worse than rattlesnakes and tarantula hawks combined. It is treatable, but often leaves people with brain damage or other disabilities.
Just up the street from me, there are still bodies from John Wayne Gacy. Everybody knows, but for some reason no one wants to "dig up" the past. https://www.chicagomag.com/real-estate/june-2013/are-victims-of-john-wayne-gacy-buried-in-the-yard-of-this-for-sale-five-flat-on-the-northwest-side/
Well, I live in Australia so.....anyway, worst are white back spiders because they are relatively smallish but can show up anywhere, I got bitten, luckily had a fair response in that I had an ulcerating blister about 1 centimetre diameter recurring for 5 years. Others are not so lucky and have flesh rot set in and spread into gangrenous pustules or worse, can even k**l or cause amputations for small children, so yeah.
Bushfires, it would be ok if we could get a decent warning but the mobile phones go out first which means we cant access any warning information. Also our local town still has an air raid siren, gives you the heeby jeebys when you go to town and that thing goes off. They used to do it when all the emergency services were required at a scene but they seemed to have stopped. Town is in a valley so the reverb was pretty chilling.
A friend of mine once knocked on my door at like 6AM asking to crash on my couch. He explained he got too drunk to walk home and decided to take a nap on a bench at the local park. Well, he woke up to some man staring at him from a distance while rubbing his d*ck... It turned out that man was well-known in the area and everyone was chill about him hanging out in the park at night and playing with his junk.
No love for bed bugs? They're a growing problem, rather like the ticks mentioned adjacent.
Bed bugs are the worst!! I had an infestation a couple of years ago, I still have PTSD from it. I feel like people don't realize how bad bedbugs are because no, they don't carry diseases, but they will mess you up mentally (and financially).
Load More Replies...I live in the American Southwest, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever is worse than rattlesnakes and tarantula hawks combined. It is treatable, but often leaves people with brain damage or other disabilities.
Just up the street from me, there are still bodies from John Wayne Gacy. Everybody knows, but for some reason no one wants to "dig up" the past. https://www.chicagomag.com/real-estate/june-2013/are-victims-of-john-wayne-gacy-buried-in-the-yard-of-this-for-sale-five-flat-on-the-northwest-side/
Well, I live in Australia so.....anyway, worst are white back spiders because they are relatively smallish but can show up anywhere, I got bitten, luckily had a fair response in that I had an ulcerating blister about 1 centimetre diameter recurring for 5 years. Others are not so lucky and have flesh rot set in and spread into gangrenous pustules or worse, can even k**l or cause amputations for small children, so yeah.
Bushfires, it would be ok if we could get a decent warning but the mobile phones go out first which means we cant access any warning information. Also our local town still has an air raid siren, gives you the heeby jeebys when you go to town and that thing goes off. They used to do it when all the emergency services were required at a scene but they seemed to have stopped. Town is in a valley so the reverb was pretty chilling.
A friend of mine once knocked on my door at like 6AM asking to crash on my couch. He explained he got too drunk to walk home and decided to take a nap on a bench at the local park. Well, he woke up to some man staring at him from a distance while rubbing his d*ck... It turned out that man was well-known in the area and everyone was chill about him hanging out in the park at night and playing with his junk.
