As the purported “Front Page of the Internet,” Reddit has a lot to offer.
Full of communities catering to every possible interest, it would be hard NOT to find somebody
who shares your interests. Sometimes this can be fantastic and exciting,
especially if you’ve never been able to talk with anybody about different things you
like. Sometimes it can be a little irritating, with
people insisting on having the final say on what is “the best” or “the right way
to enjoy something.” Sometimes it can be world-altering, like finding
out there’s a subreddit dedicated to pictures of dead bodies, or the sexual enjoyment of
menstruation. Yeah.
So today we’re going to take a quick dip into the pool, or cesspool, that is Reddit,
and come out with some prime-time examples of some scary stuff.
I’ll leave the real raunchy ones for you all to discover on your own time, consider
this a jumping off point. Hello horror heads, and welcome back to the
scariest channel on YouTube: Top5ScaryVideos. I’m your horror host, Keegan Hughes, and
today we’re going to be counting down the Top5 Scary Subreddits You Should Never Visit.
Before we get going, make sure to give this video a big thumbs up, and subscribe for more
morbid mysteries. Perfect, let’s begin.
NUMBER FIVE: R/NOSLEEP If creepy stories are your jam, this is the
place to start. Creepypasta fans flock to this subreddit to
read and write the next generation of scary online stories.
It’s one of the better-known freaky subreddits, NoSleep has over 1.4 million subs.
After opening its doors about ten years ago, it became the premiere destination for creatives
and spook-seekers alike. As the name implies, it is the classic “read
til 4am and then realize it's totally dark and you can’t move” site.
If you want to fall down a rabbit hole of scary stories, this is the place to do it.
You read one, and then another, and then another, and you keep going until your brain is 100%
composed of scary internet stories. This, contrary to popular belief, is actually
healthy. What makes NoSleep a special place for campfire
story enthusiasts is the set of rules that make it a wonderful community.
It’s easy to dampen enthusiasm and discourage active posting if everyone is always crapping
all over what’s being written. So to keep the “this is so fake” crowd
at bay, they have an overarching rule: “everything here is true, even if it’s not.”
This makes for more fruitful discussion, keeps ideas flowing, and allows for more collaborative
creativity. NoSleep is full of well-known online horror
gems like The Limping Woman, Search and Rescue, Mimicry, and more.
Enjoy your insomnia! NUMBER FOUR: R/PARANORMAL
Now if you’ve decided that fiction posing as reality isn’t quite your speed, you can
take a trip to the wild world of the paranormal. Investigators and enthusiasts alike gather
here to swap tales of spectral encounters, and really dig deep into the stories others
are telling. Unlike on NoSleep, skeptics and the totally
reality-centric are encouraged to get to the bottom of each post.
Nothing is off-limits, as long as it’s relevant and paranormal-related.
Here, exorcisms and cursed objects are discussed, with photos, videos, and written accounts
to back them up. Recently we talked about a cursed statue that
first gained notoriety on r/Paranormal, which is a prime-time example of the kind of stuff
to expect. Ghosts, ghouls, curses, cryptids, you name
it. If it doesn’t fit into the well-established
version of reality that most folks subscribe to, you’re likely to find it here.
Connections between amateurs and experts are made here, too.
Folks experiencing their first real scare can come to seek advice on how to deal with
it, or potentially how to resolve any number freaky happenings.
It’s not all problems and solutions, though. Some topics brought up on this board are totally
unexplainable, though, compounding the mystery and creep-factor.
Videos of objects moving when they really shouldn’t, threads of crime scene cleaners’
experiences, unexplainable security footage, and more await.
A very popular, and very unnerving, category of posts is “Things Kids Said.”
You know, children with knowledge of things that they really can’t explain.
Past lives, ghost sightings, and more. That’s the last thing anyone wants to hear:
portents of doom from innocent youngsters. Hopefully they’re not possessed.
NUMBER THREE: R/UNRESOLVEDMYSTERIES Less mystical, more mystery.
This subreddit is dedicated to all sorts of unsolved disappearances, unexplainable crimes,
unbelievable happenings, etc. If you’ve ever watched a true crime documentary
with a bunch of loose ends, or read up on the many cold cases that are out there getting
colder by the day, you’ll know what this is all about.
People leaving home and never coming back, after being sighted outside of a sketchy gas
station. Families going on vacation, and remaining
away. Updates on famous criminals who have never
been caught. The whole shabang.
And while a great deal of the mysteries involve missing people, and conspiracies related to
the functioning of well-monied celebrities, there are some mysteries that are just plain
strange. Prisoners who refuse to disclose their identity
to anyone, remaining one-hundred percent anonymous. Investigations into the glitter industry.
Trying to figure out why Corbin Bleu’s Wikipedia page is so well-translated compared to other,
more bankable stars. A thread of redditors vanishing after asking
questions that may have hit a little too close to home.
That last one is particularly worrisome, especially if you’re interested in stuff like this.
Speculation is encouraged, and folks should be ready to bring in evidence and research
if they want to push their narrative. It’s stuff like this that opens up whole
worlds that you may never known about, and maybe after falling down the rabbit hole,
wish you avoided. I think the scariest thing about Unresolved
Mysteries, though, is the large number of amateur podcasts it inspires.
NUMBER TWO: R/LETSNOTMEET Ever read the “missed connections” section
of any publication? How many of those do you think ended well?
How many were posted by a creepy guy who thought he was getting somewhere before whoever he
was pursuing ditched? Sometimes you might get a Ghost World scenario,
but how well did that work out for anyone? Not great.
R/Letsnotmeet is based on the concept of another, similar subreddit called r/letsmeet.
Basically a giant, online classified ad board, where folks who were really into an interaction
with an individual can try their hand at meeting a second time.
Sometimes it’s cute, sometimes it’s desperate, and often it can get a little weird.
The weirdest of the weird might make the leap to the dark side, and end up on let’s not
meet. This is the place to post tales of your creepiest
real-life encounters with other people. Let’s face it. People are weird and bad.
Not always, but everyone’s got a story about a person they hope they never see again.
Whether it’s a bad time at a party, or a first date gone terribly wrong, the world
is full of freaks and creeps who don’t seem to understand how socialization works.
Stalkers, peeping toms, and overly aggressive barflies all find their homes here.
And what makes it extra disturbing is the fact that people are told not to exaggerate.
This is not a place to hone your writing craft. Instead, it’s a place to recount actual
events as they happened. Which, when you think about it, is much creepier
than any scary story. Some of the most haunting stories involve
people coming within inches of death. I’ve seen more than one post about someone being
somewhere moments before disaster. Running into killers moments before they take
down their victim. Seeing kidnappers and sexual predators scoping
out targets. Human traffickers canvassing for their next
score. It’s terrifying to consider how close we
all may be to disaster when out and about. And the tales from LetsNotMeet are a chilling
reminder. NUMBER ONE: R/FIFTYFIFTY
HEAVEN OR HELL! WHAT’S IT GONNA BE? Fifty fifty is basically a long list of high-stakes
coin flips. Guess correctly, and you’re no worse off.
Guess wrong, and you could be psychologically scarred.
You’re risking your sanity for fun. Every post presents you with two options:
something nice and harmless, or something NSFW or NSFL.
I didn’t realize that there were tags for things not safe for life.
Thank goodness, though. Because some of the options on FiftyFifty
are so gross, so repulsive, that seeing them could cause damage to a person’s psyche.
Secondary trauma is real, and if you’re not ready you could be having nightmares for
years. Risking it all and running through a few of
the posts became a popular pastime, and even launched some content creators into the spotlight.
Infamy is just as good as fame, right? Let’s just take a look at some of the options
we have when browsing Fifty Fifty, and you let me know if you’d be willing to take
that risk. Men getting eaten alive by shark VS. Man dancing
with shark. A beautiful neighborhood VS. Man gets electrocuted
until his head falls off on the side of the roof.
A Bob Ross Painting VS. A Decomposing corpse. Wizard Spider with his magic hat and mighty
staff VS. Horribly infected spider bite. Honestly, the risk vs. reward factor here
isn’t enough. I feel like the only reward is the relief
of not being exposed to something disturbing. But hey, some people live for the thrill,
right? OUTRO
So! Now you’ve got all sorts of new frontiers to explore to your heart’s content.
Or maybe it’s discontent. If you’ve got a bad heart, maybe avoid these altogether.
I’m sure I left out a few choice scary subreddits, so let me know what your favourite is down
in the comments. Speaking of comments, let’s take a look
at some of your more insidious ones from the TOP 5 SCP MONSTERS THAT CAN NEVER ESCAPE - PART
17: Mike Vasquez says “A virus that turns a
person into a steampunk robot? MOST METAL VIRUS EVER!”
Literally! Like, it makes people into metal! Shampa Saha says “Yes, give us more information
that we should not know!” The forbidden fruit is always tastier! Enjoy
this classified information while you still can!
K Lilly M says “As always I am struck with the desire to go and work on my SCP.”
Do it! Make your mark on the SCP community! I want to hear all about it!
Noel Laguna says “S: Scary. C: Camera. P: Pics.”
This is especially true when discussing SCP-978. Patrick Barnes says “SCP-1110. The perfect
crime, eh? Here’s how you commit the perfect murder. 1. Buy weapon online. 2. Make plant
to kill in remote location. 3. Kill someone with the purchased weapon in said location.
4. Clean off weapon. 5. Repackage the weapon. 6. Return weapon to sender. Let me know how
it goes.” I… I don’t think I’m gonna follow this
plan. I think the whole buying a weapon online thing might put me on a list of some kind.
Good luck with your murderous ambition though. And that’s all the time we have for today!
Before I slap box a kangaroo, make sure to give this video a big thumbs up, and subscribe
for more misanthropic mischief. Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you next
time.