People Are Sharing Disturbing Photos That Look Normal Until You Find Out What’s Really Going On (30 Pics)
Interview With AuthorSeemingly innocent photos might be far more disturbing than you realize. And it goes to show just how important context is and that we should never judge a book (well, in this case, a photo) by its cover. There are secrets hidden behind sweet smiles and plenty of skeletons in happy-looking people’s closets. And don’t forget that even villains laugh and have fun.
Redditor KermitTheFraud92 started up a fascinating thread on r/AskReddit about the hidden sides of ‘normal’ photos. They asked people to share images that have incredibly disturbing backstories, and these are so vividly dark, they might keep you up at night.
Before you start scrolling down and upvoting the stories that drew you in the most, a small note of warning: make sure there’s plenty of light and people around you. We wouldn’t want to spook you too much, dear Pandas. I had a chat with the author of the thread, redditor KermitTheFraud92 from Australia. Be sure to read on for Bored Panda's full interview with them below.
A small note of warning: some of these stories might be too much for some of you Pandas. Read at your own risk.
This post may include affiliate links.
This Photo May Not Look Like Much At First
Now, have a look at the guy in the background, top left. Have a look what's in the background, top right.
That's the Tank Man from the Tiananmen Square massacre. Thought to be student Wang Weilin, this photo was snapped minutes before the famous one was taken.
Nobody knows what happened to Weilin. He may have been executed, he may still be in prison, he may have fled to another country.
Camp Staff Taking A Day Off
These photos of Auschwitz staff enjoying pleasant days off always stick with me. They look like camp counselors, but their job is killing people in horrible ways, and they enjoyed it. Most probably took lives not shortly before or after the photos were taken.
Jewish Children Holding Hands As They Unknowingly Walk To Their Deaths In The Gas Chambers At Auschwitz
Redditor KermitTheFraud92 was very open that they "can't really take credit" for the question that they posted on r/AskReddit. They were inspired by other similar questions, asked by other site users before. "I have seen similar questions posted on the sub in the past and they have always gained good results. It’s always interesting to ask it again every couple of years because you may get different results and even new ones," they told Bored Panda.
In the redditor's opinion, the thread appealed to people because of how interesting the topic was. "I'm pretty overwhelmed by the responses and am still yet to get through them all myself," they said that they got lots of feedback from other redditors.
This Is A Pic Of The 1970's-Era Gameshow, The Dating Game
The circled man is serial killer Rodney Alcala. By the time of that appearance on the show, he had raped several women and murdered at least one.
He won the game, but the woman never went on the date with him. You can imagine how relieved she is.
Yeah I remember the woman stating in an interview how she felt uncomfortable with him and there's just something about him that's off. Made me realize how I should always listen to my gut feeling.
This Photo Always Gets To Me Somehow
Just a couple of astronauts posing in zero gravity happy to have such an incredible opportunity, like astronauts often do. Meanwhile they have no idea that their space shuttle is irreparably damaged, and in fact will be dead in a few days during reentry (which was considered “safe” until then).
It’s the crew for Columbia for those who don’t know, whose tiles were damaged during the launch of the shuttle into space by foam. No one knew how bad the damage was until it disintegrated.
Father And Daughter In Omagh, Northern Ireland
This happy photo of the father and daughter was taken moments before the Omagh car bombing in 1998.
The bomb placed by a group known as the Real IRA was in this red car and killed 29 people, including the photographer who took this photo. Both the father and daughter survived.
We watched the movie about Omagh in high school. I excused myself to puke ten minutes in. So brutal.
In KermitTheFraud92's opinion, we "definitely" can't determine what a person's truly like, based on their photos alone. A photo "may give you hints and whatnot, but you can never truly tell what a person is like just from a photo." The redditor pointed out that the truth can be incredibly disturbing when you learn it: "Some of those photos show people smiling at the camera when they just murdered a loved one a few minutes ago."
Redditor Kermit’s thread went viral almost immediately. The question got more than 57.2k upvotes and got so many awards, it was declared to be a ‘Top Awarded’ post. The thread had nearly 17k comments at the time of writing. And it’s no surprise because the topic is absolutely fascinating. It draws you in and doesn’t want to let you go. Just like the abyss.
This Photo Creeps Me Out
John Lennon signed an autograph for his killer, Mark Chapman, just a few hours before the murder and then asked him "Is that all?". Chapman even had a gun on him at the time.
To think that just one single idiot is enough to eliminate the creative power even of the most prolific genius...scary world.
The Hartley Violin
This is the Hartley Violin, owned by Wallace Hartley, the bandmaster and lead violinist on the Titanic. It was the one he carried with him and played on the night the ship sank. Survivors reported seeing Hartley and his band on the deck of the ship during the sinking, playing to calm passengers as they boarded the insufficient lifeboats. Hartley and every member of the band died in the sinking. We have his violin because at some unknown point before his death, Hartley tucked the violin back into its monogrammed case for safekeeping. That's how it was found, floating in the debris field, by one of the ships sent to recover bodies from the wreck. They were able to identify it as Hartley's because of an engraved brass plate, and it was returned to his fiancé, who kept it until her death. Her family authenticated it and sold it for $1.6M to an organization that collects Titanic artifacts."
Genie Standing For A Photo
Genie was a 'feral' child. She was tied to a chair in a room her whole childhood and punished when she made noise.
She was found, rescued, and they tried to teach her to speak, and she actually managed to learn to communicate a bit. By all we know now, she was curious, intelligent, and eager to learn. Her brain had just literally missed the window to learn language.
As far as we know, she's been in an assisted living facility somewhere.
Kermit’s thread touches upon the dark side of humanity and proves that we wouldn’t always be able to recognize complete monsters. Because they look and act just like us. Because they seem completely normal. And it’s only after you learn that you’re looking at photos of killers and kidnappers that you begin to search for any indication that beneath those innocent exteriors and friendly facades lie hearts and souls filled with malice and pure evil.
Despite the fact that some psychopaths blend into society like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, there are some subtle signs that you should keep an eye for. Keep in mind though that not everyone who’s evil is a psychopath and not every psychopath is necessarily evil. However, psychopaths do veer towards manipulating and hurting others, lacking empathy for their fellow human beings.
American Physicist Harold Agnew
This is physicist Harold Agnew holding the nuclear core of the Fat Man atomic bomb, which was dropped on Nagasaki in 1945.
The bomb ended up killing about 80,000 people, many of whom died from the long-term effects the bomb caused, like radiation illness and leukemia.
So, interesting how these reactions (edit: how the first reactions were) are so different from the Auswitz photo of the camp leaders having a day of
Franklin Delano Floyd And Suzanne Marie Sevakis
This is the leading image on Franklin Delano Floyd. In actuality, the little girl is Floyd's stepdaughter, Suzanne Marie Sevakis, who he'd kidnapped around 1974, when Suzanne was under 10 years old.
He would go on to raise her as his daughter, putting her through high school under several pseudonyms, have a son with her in 1988, and marry her in 1989, under the name Tonya Hughes.
By 1990, Suzanne had decided to leave Floyd and take her son, Michael, with her. In April of that year, she was found beaten and bruised on the side of a highway, and she subsequently died in the hospital. Michael went into foster care and was adopted, only to be kidnapped by Floyd in 1994 and to never be seen again.
If You're British, And Of A Certain Age, You'll Probably Be As Haunted By This Grainy Image As I Am
I still distinctly remember the first time I saw it. At the time, James Bulger was only missing, and it was regarded as a cause for optimism that he was last seen with other children. The truth was far worse than anyone imagined, and still inspires a visceral reaction unlike any other crime in my lifetime.
I'm not British but I think I know the story behind this and if it's what I think it is then...
Healthline points out that psychopaths are often deceitful, reckless, and take part in risky behavior. They’re also socially irresponsible, tend to completely disregard the rights and opinions of others, and have a very difficult time distinguishing between what’s right and what’s wrong. In other words, their metaphorical moral compass is either dysfunctional (i.e. they’re acting immorally because they choose to do the wrong thing) or non-existent (they’re being amoral and can’t tell between good and evil).
What’s more, psychopaths also rarely show empathy or remorse for their actions, lie often, manipulate and hurt others, and generally disregard responsibility and safety. As a result, they can often have continuous problems with the law. However, you wouldn’t be able to tell these things just from a picture. Evil smiles, too.
American Volcanologist David A. Johnston
13 hours after the photograph was taken, on May 18, 1980, the volcano erupted and killed 57 people including the volcanologist.
This Photo Of Howard Ashman And Alan Menken, Who Wrote The Lyrics And Music Respectively For The Little Mermaid, Beauty And The Beast And Aladdin. In This Photo They Had Just Won Oscars For The Little Mermaid
That night Ashman told Menken they needed to have a serious talk when they got back to New York, and when they got back a couple days later, Ashman told Menken he had AIDS and was going to die. They had been songwriting partners for over a decade and were in the middle of working on Beauty and the Beast.
So it looks like a happy photo of two men achieving their wildest dream, but it's really a record of the last normal moment they had together. And while Menken is all smiles, if you look closely at Ashman you can tell something's wrong.
His music will live on forever. I’m glad they were honoured before he died.
John Edward Robinson And His Family
This is serial killer John Edward Robinson (yellow sweater) holding baby Tiffany Stasi, whose mother he murdered the day before.
He later gave baby Tiffany to his brother, saying she was adopted. His brother, along with Tiffany, didn’t find out the truth for 15 years.
Only eight of his victims have been identified, and he's been on death row since 2000.
The Final Picture Of The Webster Sisters And Their Friend
Taking a selfie, they all look so carefree and then you see the bright light behind them and just want to yell at them to get out of the way of the train
Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571
This picture was taken of a group of survivors of the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crash in the Andes. They were eventually saved but had to resort to cannibalism to survive. They are all smiling in the photo, but it becomes eerie when you see the human spine to the right of them in the picture.
There are plenty of people throughout all the time humanity has been around who have died rather than eat human "meat". For most humans their brain just doesn't go there. That's why we find cannibalism such a taboo and most religions have codified it in some form or other. (Apart from the obvious pitfalls of the dangers of eating some bits) So no, perhaps meat isn't just meat when you're starving, perhaps it depends where your mind wanders or what boundaries you're prepared to cross? I can't imagine how difficult their situation was or what led to their dreadful decision. It can't have been easy and I don't judge them for it. I have no idea what I would do in the same situation. Group dynamics certainly are different to being on your own.
Load More Replies...That is not a human spine. That has been coloured in and photoshopped. The original photo is black and white and if you research the story you will find out they only cut off a mouthful of fattiest flesh a day to survive. Mainly the bottom and the stomachs. This “ picking the bones clean” nonsense is highly disrespectful to these men who did everything they could to not eat their friends. 😡
I've read the book written by one of them. Yes, at first they were eating parts of the body but as time went on and food became more scarce they had to go back to the bodies and eat other parts they left before
Load More Replies...AFAIK The people who they cannibalised, knowing their time was soon up, gave their permission before they died. I think I might do the same.
Really our bodies are useless after death! If it's useful to save others then I'd be happy to help! That's why I'll donate my organs after death! I hope I'll give life to as many people as possible
Load More Replies...I read they ate people that were already dead, so at least they didnt kill anyone.
I'm currently reading the first hand account of this story written by one of the survivors. They had to resort to cannibalism after day 11 on the mountain.
Oh....I feel really weird right now...a strange feeling. How did they decide who got eaten?
They ate those who had died, either in the crash itself or injury/exposure.
Load More Replies...I read that they got blame because of that. People can be retard sometimes
This is a video on the subject by Caitlin Doughty, she's a death educator and mortician. The video goes into how the plane crashed, the difficult decision to eat the dead, and the worries the survivors had about how society would treat them when they returned. It might be a little long for some at 36 minutes, but Caitlin and her team put together amazing material and are very respectful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syJyPq7lRGc&t=1s
Yip. When you walk a mile in anothers shoes ony then dare remark on their choice to survive.
do whatever you want with my body after my death if it means you might save or help someone in progress. No sick fetishes though (as an exception of help).
so, wait they had already engaged in cannibalism by the time this pic was taken?
There were some who despite the dire predicament, still refused to consume human flesh,
That probably had to be the hardest decision they had to make in their lives!
A tragedy for everyone there. Survivors hadn't it easy either. Those on who they fed were family and friends.
If they did not murder, the source of food was vital to survival and therefore the right thing to do.
Damn like who dose that. Smiling with a back bone. I may not have much dignity, but still at least try to hide like nobody wants to see that.
Uruguayan Air Force? Is that like the Armenian Navy? ( What really happened was the rescue plane crashed and they ate them, too. )
They only did what they had to and the people were dead to begin with. I know it sounds horrible but I am pretty sure as sick as I would be I would have done the same thing to survive.
This is horrible, but I am really not sure what I would do or not do in such a situation so hopefully there is noone to judge them.
Read the book, "Alive," about these men. The survivors were incredible humans.
There was no other means available to stay alive, god bless them and those who died.
Bloody hell put yourself in their place you really don't know what you would do.
I don't understand why they are sitting around smiling for a photograph?
"Hey, we should put Charlie in the picture. - He's just a spine anymore. We, ahm, ate him. - Yeah, but the good will counts."
They had probably just eaten the dude and were just about to bury him, is my guess.
Load More Replies...Polish Constitution Day Celebration In Chicago
This is a picture of First Lady Rosalynn Carter in 1978 shaking hands with serial killer John Wayne Gacy, who was active in politics at the time. By that time, he had already killed over 20 young men. He's wearing an "S" on his lapel, which was given to him by the Secret Service to indicate that he'd been given security clearance. The picture was even signed, "To John Gacy, best wishes, Rosalynn Carter."
JP Morgan And Lya Graf
This photo of JP Morgan and Lya Graf, a performer for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus, caused her to become an overnight sensation, but she couldn't deal with all the attention. So she moved back home to Germany, where she was later arrested and sent to Auschwitz for being Jewish and she was deemed an unfit human.
Not much is known about her, but it's assumed that she and her family did not survive.
Two Trails In The Snow. Only One Is Leading Back To Life
This is the photo Kurt Diemberger took after his companion, the illustrious alpinist Hermann Buhl, fell into the abyss on the Himalayan mountain Chogolisa. Buhl was walking behind Diemberger and momentarily left the trail after which he fell through an overhanging cornice. He remains in the ice.
Roughly 1 in 6 people going up Everest die on the mountain. An excellent example of how all this happens is Jon Krakauer's book "In to thin air" detailing an expedition that killed multiple climbers in just 24 hours. Its a very good book.
A Still Photo From A Video
A man who swam to his girlfriend in their underwater hotel room while on vacation in Tanzania, and proposed to her with a note and a ring. He died before he could resurface from the water.
La Mataviejitas, Juana Barraza
Here is Juana Barraza, former Luchadora and Mexican serial killer. Her mother sold her to a man for three beers when she was 12 until her stepdad found her at 17. Ended up with four failed marriages and four kids and worked doing odd jobs as a cleaner. She strangled old ladies that reminded her of her mother by pretending to work for the government.
Is it weird that I understand her motives? No way does it mean she was right to kill other people, but makes me think of all the horrible things she had suffered that made her mind break. EDIT: corrected my mistake about which gender the killer was. Should read more carefully next time. The point remains the same though.
Photo Of Serial Killer Christopher Wilder Lurking In The Background During A Seventeen Magazine Fashion Show At The Meadows Mall In Las Vegas On April 1, 1984
Wilder would kidnap and kill 17-year-old Michelle Korfman after meeting her at this fashion show (Standing in the foreground)
Missing Big Island Hiker
A kid went missing while hiking a spot on the Big Island of Hawaii. He texted some pictures of the scenery while he was hiking. After he never showed up at home, his family noticed somebody lurking in bushes in the photos he sent. [If I remember correctly], my family that live in Hawaii said the spot is illegal to hike at, so it’s not like it would have been a heavily populated trail.
Tyler Hadley's Florida House Party
This is a photo of Tyler Hadley, the one holding a cup, at a party at his house.
Just before this party, he murdered his mother and father with a hammer and hid their bodies in the master bedroom.
During the party, Tyler showed his best friend, Michael Mandell, the room where he killed his parents, and he took this photo because he wasn't sure when he'd see Tyler again.
In The "Old Days" It Used To Be Common To Take Pictures With Dead Relatives. The Woman In The Middle Is Already Dead
Thats why she is the only one who is not blurry I guess...she didnt move...
The Menendez Brothers Appeared In The Background Of A Basketball Card With The Photo For The Card Being Taken After They Had Killed Their Parents
Two Guys Going For A Coffe At A Gas Station
That's Salah Abdeslam and his driver on their way back to Belgium. The night before he ordered the 2015 paris attack that killed 131 people
This Photo Of Travis Alexander By Jodi Arias... Moments Before She Killed Him. It's Haunting To Me
The Whitakers At A Graduation Dinner
The kid on the right, Bart Whitaker, had paid two of his buddies to murder his family that night. They would kill the mother and brother, but the father, who took the photo, survived.
Bart was later sentenced to death, but after his father strongly opposed it, Texas Governor Greg Abbott granted him clemency, and he is now serving a life sentence.
The Station Nightclub In Rhode Island
This photo was taken at a nightclub before it caught on fire by fireworks leaving 100 people dead
This Photo Of Nightclub Kiss Posted On Facebook By One Of The Dj's
Later that night, 245 people would die and more than 680+ would be injured when the band "Gurizada Fandangueira" lit a flare that ignited the flammable acoustic foam in the ceiling.
There wasn't enough emergency exits, it was overcrowded by hundreds and the security guards trapped the victims inside in an attemp to organize the crowd.
The Lawson Family
Dressed in their finest, a picture made for the holidays, and no one knowing that the father (Charles Davis "Charlie" Lawson) would kill most of the family (and himself) days later.
The motive is still unknown, but many suspect that it was due to a head injury Charlie suffered from or incest between him and his oldest daughter, Marie. Only his oldest son survived because he wasn't home, but he later died in a car accident at 32.
These were very interesting but there wasn't a whole lot of info about the circumstances...If you didn't already know the stories, you might not know the significance of the photos...
The post on Reddit has more info for many of these: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/oesza5/serious_what_is_a_seemingly_normal_photo_that_has/
Load More Replies...Since I don't go on Reddit, I don't mind these posts. This one was very interesting.
Precious historical evidences, but I feel so bad upvoting some of these, even if to honor the innocents (depicted or not) - the sheer malignancy of the circumstances is just so dark…
I can't stand anything related to killing and torture, especially children and animals. I wish there was a warning. Those little children, I can't stand internet sometimes, I feel like I have seen too much evil.
There is a warning - Read at your own risk! If you're easy to get triggered why click on a post with the word disturbing in the headline?
Load More Replies...I get what you mean- I read the whole reddit thread the other night. Nightmare material. The one that haunted me was one where a nightclub caught fire- the OP posted a link to the video and you could hear the screams- I turned it off straight away but the screams got to me. I am one of those peopleswho can't stop themselves from looking at the link knowing that I will regret it.
Load More Replies...Are you addicted to sadness? Need help? Call 18004003697 6-9am m-f they will help you
Load More Replies...The pictures of murderers perfectly illustrate the banality of evil.
I looked the james bulgar case up cause i hadnt hearf about that and i highly regret it
Load More Replies...This is Katherine May Knight and her partner John Price.She was a highly skilled meatworker who killed and skinned John putting his skin on display on a meat hook.Police found his head cooking on a stove and steaks made from his buttocks roasted in the oven with vegetables, planned to be served to his children. You can read all about it in the book Beyond Bad: The Life and Crimes of Katherine Knight, Australia's Hannibal.It's a fantastic read! 25305656-0...b601e7.jpg
Some of these I already knew. But these articles are always interesting despite being disturbing
If you want some examples of the intellectual sidestep you must make to believe there is an all loving, and omnipresent god in charge of everything, then this list provides 33 of them. And this is a VERY short list.
Religious justification is always the same BS. "God gave us free will, this is all our fault"
Load More Replies...A significant botch by BP editors: these are not disturbing photos. They are perfectly ordinary photos with disturbing backstories.
i can tell i'm depressed and medicated, i don't get the visceral reaction to any of these that many people seem to. cerebrally, i can appreciate that this person was awful, that person was evil, but my only real reaction to these was "huh, that's interesting".
The title of this article should be more like "If You Aren't Depressed Enough About Humanity on Your Day Off, Just Read This."
I'd like bored panda to include citations for the information they share on these posts.
Amy and Guinny, speak for yourselves... Some of us don't follow Reddit or Buzzfeed and we find these topics interesting... If it is redundant for you, move on... noone will mind...
Load More Replies...Maybe if you actually *read* the article, you could understand how iconic they really are.
Load More Replies...These were very interesting but there wasn't a whole lot of info about the circumstances...If you didn't already know the stories, you might not know the significance of the photos...
The post on Reddit has more info for many of these: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/oesza5/serious_what_is_a_seemingly_normal_photo_that_has/
Load More Replies...Since I don't go on Reddit, I don't mind these posts. This one was very interesting.
Precious historical evidences, but I feel so bad upvoting some of these, even if to honor the innocents (depicted or not) - the sheer malignancy of the circumstances is just so dark…
I can't stand anything related to killing and torture, especially children and animals. I wish there was a warning. Those little children, I can't stand internet sometimes, I feel like I have seen too much evil.
There is a warning - Read at your own risk! If you're easy to get triggered why click on a post with the word disturbing in the headline?
Load More Replies...I get what you mean- I read the whole reddit thread the other night. Nightmare material. The one that haunted me was one where a nightclub caught fire- the OP posted a link to the video and you could hear the screams- I turned it off straight away but the screams got to me. I am one of those peopleswho can't stop themselves from looking at the link knowing that I will regret it.
Load More Replies...Are you addicted to sadness? Need help? Call 18004003697 6-9am m-f they will help you
Load More Replies...The pictures of murderers perfectly illustrate the banality of evil.
I looked the james bulgar case up cause i hadnt hearf about that and i highly regret it
Load More Replies...This is Katherine May Knight and her partner John Price.She was a highly skilled meatworker who killed and skinned John putting his skin on display on a meat hook.Police found his head cooking on a stove and steaks made from his buttocks roasted in the oven with vegetables, planned to be served to his children. You can read all about it in the book Beyond Bad: The Life and Crimes of Katherine Knight, Australia's Hannibal.It's a fantastic read! 25305656-0...b601e7.jpg
Some of these I already knew. But these articles are always interesting despite being disturbing
If you want some examples of the intellectual sidestep you must make to believe there is an all loving, and omnipresent god in charge of everything, then this list provides 33 of them. And this is a VERY short list.
Religious justification is always the same BS. "God gave us free will, this is all our fault"
Load More Replies...A significant botch by BP editors: these are not disturbing photos. They are perfectly ordinary photos with disturbing backstories.
i can tell i'm depressed and medicated, i don't get the visceral reaction to any of these that many people seem to. cerebrally, i can appreciate that this person was awful, that person was evil, but my only real reaction to these was "huh, that's interesting".
The title of this article should be more like "If You Aren't Depressed Enough About Humanity on Your Day Off, Just Read This."
I'd like bored panda to include citations for the information they share on these posts.
Amy and Guinny, speak for yourselves... Some of us don't follow Reddit or Buzzfeed and we find these topics interesting... If it is redundant for you, move on... noone will mind...
Load More Replies...Maybe if you actually *read* the article, you could understand how iconic they really are.
Load More Replies...