50 “Interesting And Absolutely Terrifying” Images That Are Not For The Faint-Hearted

The Terrifying as [Heck] subreddit (whose name we’ve censored) is certainly one of the most frightening and unsettling places on the internet. I can handle gore and violence in films no problem, but seeing a photo of a gruesome event taking place in real life? That’ll keep me from sleeping tonight. And as you’ll see from this list, not all of the pictures are explicitly dangerous or frightening. Some photos are more disturbing due to what they say about society or just seem creepy due to the context. Terrifying as [Heck] is a reminder that scary things are happening all the time.

To learn more about how this frightening corner of the internet was formed, we reached out to their moderator team on Reddit. "The subreddit was created a long time ago, but the creator left, and it remained closed until February of this year, after we requested it from Reddit employees and reopened it," they told Bored Panda. "It's exciting to see it grow to over 400k members in 10 months, exceeding our original expectations."

When it comes to why audiences are drawn to this subreddit, the moderators told Bored Panda, "People I believe, are drawn to this type of content for a variety of reasons. People enjoy seeing terrifying things; we're all wired to notice anomalies in our surroundings. A defining aspect of the sub is regardless of socioeconomic, ethnic or cultural background, there is a relatability in what truly chills an individual to the bone... Another reason is that seeing morbid and terrifying content helps us see the darker side of reality, making us appreciate what we have even more."

We also wanted to know what the moderators find most frightening. "We all have different things that scare us, and for some, it's things that cannot be explained, such as unknown diseases or things deep in the ocean about which we know very little," they explained. "Others love videos of gruesome and morbid incidents. Those are the kind of thing we find the most terrifying and like to see on here. We've been terrified several times, mostly due to unexpected gore posts or this sub's specialty, pitbulls mauling humans or other animals."

And when it comes to why the moderators love Terrifying as [Heck] so much, they told Bored Panda, "We love this community for the same reasons its members do: strange content that makes you want to shiver." But the group is still an acquired taste. "In terms of moderation, this is probably our most hated sub, due to extremely toxic and upsetting comments and frequent gore posts popping up here and there," they shared.

But if you are a huge fan of the content in this article, be sure to head on over to the Terrifying as [Heck] subreddit after reading this piece and join their 440k members right here!

To gain more insight on the topic of terrifying photos, we reached out to horror photographer Joshua Hoffine, who has made a career out of shooting the most frightening pics you could imagine. We were curious how Joshua became inspired to enter the field of horror photography in the first place. "I've always loved horror movies, and all things scary," he told Bored Panda. "Around 20 years ago, when I was a young photographer working at Hallmark Cards, it struck me that there was no such thing as 'horror photography'. There are horror movies, and novels and comic books and video games - but why not photography? This realization inspired me to begin staging photographs deliberately designed to upset and frighten the viewer. When people asked me what I was doing, I called it 'horror photography'."

"I love horror because it is about spectacle," Joshua shared with Bored Panda. "I love the aesthetics of horror, and the surprising depth the genre allows.  Horror is, at once, psychological, metaphorical, and existential in nature."

"Horror is ultimately concerned with the imminence and randomness of death, and the implication that there is no certainty to existence," he explained. "The experience of horror resides in this confrontation with uncertainty. Horror tells us that our belief in security is delusional, and that the monsters are all around us."

We were also curious about Joshua's process of creating incredible frightening photos. "I stage my photo shoots like small movies, with sets, costumes, elaborate props, fog machines, and SPFX make up," he shared. "I seek out common and universal fears as subject matter for my images. The fears that interest me the most are the ones we all share. I want to find the monsters hiding in our collective subconscious and drag them out into the light of day."

And when it comes to what Joshua personally finds most terrifying, he told Bored Panda, "My biggest personal fears include death, the loss of a loved one, and the loss of self. My work covers an array of fears and phobias, but these core fears show up again and again. There are still many fears, such as nuclear holocaust or mass shooters, that remain to be made."

And when it comes to why we're attracted to these types of photos, Joshua shared, "Fear is part of the human condition. Horror never ceases to be relevant, because we never cease to be afraid. Confronting our fears is the only way to control them."

If you'd like to see some of Joshua's amazing and unsettling work, be sure to visit his website right here.

We were lucky enough to also get in touch with another horror photographer, Rick Jones, or the man behind Horrify Me, the UK's leading award winning horror portrait photography studio. Rick told Bored Panda that he's loved horror since a very young age (some might say too young, he added). "I recall being about 5 or 6 years old drawing monsters with blood-drenched fangs and chopped limbs, and I always watched any monster movie on TV that I could," he shared. "The horror photography grew from my lifelong passion for horror and my fine art background. It was a way to bring the two things together. I do most of my own makeup and sculpting, painting, and staging as well as lighting and photography so it's great that I get to smash all those practical skills into my genre passion!"

And when it comes to what Rick likes to capture in his photos, he said, "I shoot whatever I think is cool. Sometimes that's a popular character such as Freddy Krueger or Valak the nun, and sometimes it's something original that came from my own head. My favorite themes are my own unique twist on a popular theme - for example I once shot an art nude model as the Bride of Pinhead, and she was fully covered in pins all over her body. It was a wild idea, but fans loved it."

We also wanted to know what Rick actually finds scary (if anything!). "I find real life things more scary than fantasy horror," he told Bored Panda. "Vampires, zombies, demons etc - I am utterly fearless. I don't actually believe in anything supernatural anyway. But real life crime, serial killers and that type of thing is pretty scary because despite my passion for gory horror flicks, I don't actually like 'real' horror. I have created a few shoots which depict murder victims and realistic gore but when you are creating these images you are so engaged in the art form, and detached Savefrom the reality, that it doesn't feel disturbing. Other people have found this work very disturbing though. One person actually threatened to phone the police about my photos. Maybe they thought I was a murderer? I don't know."

When asked why people are drawn to these photos, Rick says it comes down to "morbid curiosity and fascination". "At least that's what draws me to it, so I can only assume it works for other people too. Photos are different to film because you are forced to study one static moment forever, so disturbing images can be far more confronting in stills photos than in film."

"I grew up during the 1980s in the UK during the 'video nasty' era, when horror films on home video were relentlessly censored and banned," Rick shared. "Now, as a horror artist myself, I experience this censorship often. Trying to showcase dark works of art on social media can be a thankless and frustrating task, at the best of times. For those of us who love this stuff - and there are a LOT of us - we absolutely relish it! We don't want to force it on people who hate it so there's endless calls for artists to be given better tools to be allowed to show their work rather than just face flat-out bans all the time. The horror genre is populated by some of the nicest people in the world, and it is a vibrant, friendly community. I kinda hope that the tech platforms figure this out one day and give us a break."

If you'd like to check out Rick's terrifying and amazing photos, be sure to visit his website Horrify Me right here!

Truth is stranger than fiction, and apparently, reality is scarier than fiction. We hope you’re not feeling too spooked from this list, but if you are, you can always check out a wholesome article from Bored Panda next (like this one!) as a palette cleanser. If you do plan to continue through this list, though, be sure to keep upvoting the pics that introduce you to new fears and let us know in the comments what the most terrifying thing you’ve recently seen or experienced was. We can keep spooky season going all year round!