Happy Halloween, folks! We’ve got goosebumps, and it’s not the changing temperatures that are giving us chills. Rather, we can thank the spookiest stories on the internet for that. In case you haven’t spent too much time on the subreddit r/NoSleep, we’ll fill you in. It’s earned the rep of being one of the creepiest places to hang out online, and some of the stories shared there have become urban legends in their own right. We’ve rounded up six of their spookiest tales for you to curl up and read — just remember the golden rule for NoSleep: Everything is true on NoSleep, even if it isn’t. Beware of the things that go bump in the night.
1. “I’m a Search and Rescue Officer for the US Forest Service, I have some stories to tell” by searchandrescuewoods: Weird things happen in the deep woods. Lost hikers wind up dead in mystifying ways, mysterious stairs that lead to nowhere appear miles away from civilization, a hiker is found in shock and can’t stop babbling about a creepy man with black eyes. A SAR officer shares all the terrifying things that happen in the wilderness in six different posts — and trust us when we say each one is terrifying. This series was awarded “Best Monthly Winner 2015,” and with good cause. Click through… if you dare.
2. “My dead girlfriend keeps messaging me on Facebook. I’ve got the screenshots. I don’t know what to do”by natesw:This story sent chills down every Redditor’s spine and launched about a thousand conspiracy theories because no one knew whether the story was true or not. The OP’s girlfriend passed away in a tragic car accident and he began receiving messages from her Facebook account. The messages all seemed to be recycled from their past conversations and he even included screenshots of all the conversations. The creepiest part is that in the comments, OP got a picture sent to him from his gf’s account that is taken of his house FROM THE OUTSIDE. Creeped out yet?
3. “The Story of Her Holding an Orange”by inaaace: When you look at the annals of r/NoSleep, this horror tale is something of a legend. Told in the first-person retrospective, the story begins when the main character was a teenage boy and he meets his mom’s friend Rose. Around his mom, Rose is a totally normal person, but when she’s alone with the boy, she becomes someone else — an eerily grinning, baby-voiced version of herself. The weirdest part is that she always offers him an orange. Told in several parts, Rose stalks the protagonist over the course of several years — and always with the orange. This story is complete with photos, which leaves you wondering whether it’s a true story or not. *Shudder*
4. “Footsteps” by 1000Vultures: The first tale in this series dates back five years ago, and the series gained such an overwhelming following, the writer actually published the stories into a book titled Penpal. The story kicks off with the adult narrator recalling a strange incident from childhood: waking up in the middle of the strange woods at night. What happens next, we won’t tell you. Just know with each following episode, things get stranger and more sinister.
5. “Room 733” by The_Dalek_Emperor:Here’s another story that gained so much popularity (or notoriety, rather), the writer eventually published the collection into a book. This story follows a pair of best friends who are assigned the room next door to the notorious Room 733, also known as the *Suicide Room.* When the lights go out at night, eerie things happen.
6. “That wasn’t my husband I slept next to last night” by TorontoScared1:Imagine your S.O. comes back from a business trip and is just… different. He speaks differently, types differently and everything he touches is covered in a weird sticky goo. Yuck. And the same dreaded question prevails through each of the six parts: What’s in the suitcase? The series was the best story winner of August 2014, and goes down in Reddit history as one of the scariest.
Do you have a creepy story to share? Tweet us @BritandCo!
(GIFs via Giphy, Warner Bros., Pioneer LDC, Summit Entertainment)
Kimberly Wang
Kimberly Wang writes about all things pop culture, tech, style, and beauty. She's a Bay Area transplant and has an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University. On a sunny New York day, you can find her hanging out with her mini schnauzer Isabelle Jellybean on a blanket in Central Park.
