The spooky season is upon us, so what better time to get into some scary stories than today? The benefits of engaging with spooky content abound: cultural enrichment, brain stimulation, and you can even burn a few calories while being scared!
Indeed, research has shown that doing scary activities, like watching a horror movie, can help us lose a pound or two. In 2012, researchers at the University of Westminster found that a 90-minute horror movie can help us burn up to 113 calories, just as a half-hour walk would do.
If you’re in the mood for some thrilling spooks, these might help you burn some calories too! Bored Panda has rounded up some crazy photographs from the “Horror Stories USA” Instagram page, including fan-submitted paranormal sightings, ghost stories, and just generally creepy occurrences. Whether or not you believe that something or someone is out there, we think you’ll be able to enjoy these chilling tales nonetheless.
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#21

The owner of this photo said they set up a night vision camera after weeks of waking up freezing cold and feeling like they were being watched in their sleep. When they reviewed the footage the next morning they found this floating white mist hovering right in the middle of their bedroom. If you zoom in by the curtains you can almost see the shape of a head and shoulders forming out of thin air. It gives me the creeps just thinking about something standing there watching you while you are completely defenseless in bed. What do you guys think we are dealing with here? Is this a real spirit manifesting on camera or just some kind of strange dust anomaly? Tell me what you see down in the comments
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#22

Friend Captured This On Baby Cam. Girl Woke Up Crying And When They Checked The Vid They Saw This.
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#23

Alleged Witch In Mexico. Apparently In A Rural Town Deep In Mexico A Man Photographed A Witch. For Some Reason Mexico Has Some Of The Freakiest Encounters. Thoughts?
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#24

The owner of this photo said this: We cannot figure out what this is! The first pic I circled what we are looking at, second pic is enhanced to 4K resolution and colorized, third pic shows during the day there is not a tree there. At first we thought it was a tree with a knot but pic 3 shows that is not the case.
I have been setting up trail cameras out in the brush for a long time and this one genuinely gives me the creeps. If you look closely at the night time shot, the deer even seem alert and aware of whatever that massive shape is standing back there in the dark. It makes absolutely no sense that a huge solid figure appears at night but completely vanishes by morning.
Take a good look at these frames and drop a comment below. What in the world do yall think is wandering around out here?
I have been setting up trail cameras out in the brush for a long time and this one genuinely gives me the creeps. If you look closely at the night time shot, the deer even seem alert and aware of whatever that massive shape is standing back there in the dark. It makes absolutely no sense that a huge solid figure appears at night but completely vanishes by morning.
Take a good look at these frames and drop a comment below. What in the world do yall think is wandering around out here?
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#25

The owner of this photo said this picture is from the late 1940s in England. This is a snapshot of their great aunt when she was a little girl with her dad. The family says they were the only ones in the garden that afternoon. But later on when they looked at the printed photo they saw that face hiding in the bushes. To this day nobody can explain it and they really think it might be a genuine ghost photo captured on film.
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#26

The owner of this photo said they were just checking out some local roads on a mapping app when they noticed something totally off in the tree line. Take a good look at that red circle. When you zoom in it really looks like a pale grey face with dark hollow eyes staring right back out from the leaves. Some people will definitely call it pareidolia where your brain just makes up faces in shadows and branches but it looks way too clear to me. Have you guys ever found any unexplained paranormal activity or a crazy ghost sighting hidden in random pictures like this? Let me know what you think is actually hiding out there in those woods.
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#27

The owner of this photo said they found this old picture hidden in a box from an estate sale and it has them completely freaked out. It shows a group of kids holding hands in a circle around a giant dark pentagram drawn on the floor. Take a very close look at the right side of the room too where you can see creepy handprints smeared all over the glass. There is definitely some heavy occult ritual energy going on here. Has anyone seen this vintage image before or know the real history behind what these children were doing because the whole vibe is just deeply unsettling.
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#28

The owner of this photo said they were just snapping a few pictures of the kids having fun on the trampoline. It was a regular sunny afternoon in the yard. Nobody noticed a thing until they were looking through the photos later on. They swear up and down nobody else was back there by the tree line. But if you look right where that red circle is, there is a tall dark shadow just standing by the fence watching the kids play. It gives me the creeps honestly. Some folks say it is a shadow person or maybe a spirit attached to the land. What do you all think we are looking at here? Drop your thoughts below.
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#29

The owner of this photo said this Picture of a ghost & orbs my best friend took in a room in his house just after he bought it. Way cool!
Look at that wild swirling mist right in the middle of the room. You can also spot some weird circular lights showing up on the ceiling near the fan. A lot of folks in the community debate whether this kind of thick white smoke is actual ectoplasm from a spirit manifestation or just a trick of the camera flash hitting something like cigarette smoke or a camera strap in the air. The vintage feel of the room with the old television and packed shelves definitely adds to the spooky vibe. What do you guys think is happening in this shot? Drop your thoughts in the comments and let me know if you think this is a genuine paranormal anomaly or just a photography glitch.
Look at that wild swirling mist right in the middle of the room. You can also spot some weird circular lights showing up on the ceiling near the fan. A lot of folks in the community debate whether this kind of thick white smoke is actual ectoplasm from a spirit manifestation or just a trick of the camera flash hitting something like cigarette smoke or a camera strap in the air. The vintage feel of the room with the old television and packed shelves definitely adds to the spooky vibe. What do you guys think is happening in this shot? Drop your thoughts in the comments and let me know if you think this is a genuine paranormal anomaly or just a photography glitch.
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#30

The owner of this photo said they were just snapping a quick picture late at night outside their room and nobody else was around. They swear up and down that the hallway was completely empty when the flash went off. It was only when they were looking back at their pictures the next day that they noticed that dark shape standing way down the corridor in the shadows. If you zoom in on the background behind the girl you can clearly see what looks like a tall shadow figure just watching them. What do you guys think about this one? Is it just a weird shadow playing tricks on the camera or did they capture a genuine spirit roaming the halls? Let me know your theories in the comments.
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#31

The owner of the photo said this about the shot: It was taken at his grandmother’s open-casket funeral in Central Poland, roughly 20 years ago.
While the primary focus is on the grieving family, he tells an incredible story about the reflection visible on the dark window right behind them. Many believe you can see a distinct apparition of a man’s face appearing faintly over the mourners.
He says this reflection is his grandfather—the deceased woman’s husband—who had already been passed away for at least five years when this picture was taken. He doesn’t usually believe in ghosts, but this photo gets to him. His girlfriend thinks it's probably just a technical glitch or a reflection from the old film camera, but the owner highly doubts that, especially since the family was so spooked by it that they burned other photos from that day in horror.
While the primary focus is on the grieving family, he tells an incredible story about the reflection visible on the dark window right behind them. Many believe you can see a distinct apparition of a man’s face appearing faintly over the mourners.
He says this reflection is his grandfather—the deceased woman’s husband—who had already been passed away for at least five years when this picture was taken. He doesn’t usually believe in ghosts, but this photo gets to him. His girlfriend thinks it's probably just a technical glitch or a reflection from the old film camera, but the owner highly doubts that, especially since the family was so spooked by it that they burned other photos from that day in horror.
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#32

The owner of this photo said this:
So this is a picture of me and my older sister around 2008 or 2009, a few weeks after she broke her arm from a trampoline accident. My nana always loves taking photos on whatever camera she has in hand and took some for my birthday obviously and was looking back at the time after she shot a few and saw this. She showed my mom and they both did everything to try and find a reflection or mirror that would cause this shape or figure above my sisters head. To this day we do not know what it is, and my nana believes it is an angel of some sort. But it looks like he has a tool of some sort. Found this paranormal page and decided to post to see what anyone else might make of it.
So this is a picture of me and my older sister around 2008 or 2009, a few weeks after she broke her arm from a trampoline accident. My nana always loves taking photos on whatever camera she has in hand and took some for my birthday obviously and was looking back at the time after she shot a few and saw this. She showed my mom and they both did everything to try and find a reflection or mirror that would cause this shape or figure above my sisters head. To this day we do not know what it is, and my nana believes it is an angel of some sort. But it looks like he has a tool of some sort. Found this paranormal page and decided to post to see what anyone else might make of it.
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#33

The owner of the photo said this when sharing these unexplained images with us. They were looking through old memories from September 2021 taken at the Pappajohn Sculpture Park in Des Moines Iowa. The bright mist you see reaching out from the pale stone face in the first photograph was not added later. It is a raw capture taken straight from an old digital camera.
They provided the next two images taken only moments apart to show the truth of the space. The shadows rest at the exact same angle upon the grass but the strange sweeping energy is entirely gone. The large stone face stands quiet again. The owner is an experienced photographer who has taken over a hundred thousand pictures in their lifetime. They know how the sun plays tricks and creates normal flares on glass. But they noticed a detail that defies natural rules. The sun sits in the upper left corner of the sky. A normal trick of the light would cast its glare in the opposite direction. This bright anomaly breathes outward toward the upper right directly from the unmoving statue.
They questioned if a winged creature or insect flew past but knew they would have seen its physical form. After taking thousands of pictures with this exact camera since that day they have never captured another strange light like this one. We are left asking if this is a rare mechanical glitch or a paranormal energy revealing itself around the pale stone figure. Look closely at the shapes and the light. What do you believe was caught on camera that day?
They provided the next two images taken only moments apart to show the truth of the space. The shadows rest at the exact same angle upon the grass but the strange sweeping energy is entirely gone. The large stone face stands quiet again. The owner is an experienced photographer who has taken over a hundred thousand pictures in their lifetime. They know how the sun plays tricks and creates normal flares on glass. But they noticed a detail that defies natural rules. The sun sits in the upper left corner of the sky. A normal trick of the light would cast its glare in the opposite direction. This bright anomaly breathes outward toward the upper right directly from the unmoving statue.
They questioned if a winged creature or insect flew past but knew they would have seen its physical form. After taking thousands of pictures with this exact camera since that day they have never captured another strange light like this one. We are left asking if this is a rare mechanical glitch or a paranormal energy revealing itself around the pale stone figure. Look closely at the shapes and the light. What do you believe was caught on camera that day?
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#34

Photo Of My Cousin And Her Son Taken After Her Brothers Funeral. They All Believe This Was His Ghost.
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#35

Someone took this picture inside a temple down in Sahuayo, Michoacán, Mexico. The person who took it said everything felt totally normal while they were there. It wasn't until later, when they were scrolling through their photos, that they spotted something really creepy.
There was a dark shadowy figure hanging out in the background that they completely missed in person. It blends right in, making it super easy to overlook at first, which just makes the whole thing even spookier when you finally see it.
Since the picture hit the internet, people have been arguing over it. Some think it is just a weird trick of the light, but others are fully convinced the camera caught something paranormal.
There was a dark shadowy figure hanging out in the background that they completely missed in person. It blends right in, making it super easy to overlook at first, which just makes the whole thing even spookier when you finally see it.
Since the picture hit the internet, people have been arguing over it. Some think it is just a weird trick of the light, but others are fully convinced the camera caught something paranormal.
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#36

The person who shared this wrote: My grandma took this photo at the Crescent Hotel back around 2005 or 2006 on an old digital camera. She’s been going there since the early 80s, and this trip was just a little getaway with her brother and sister. You can actually see my uncle standing on the left side of the shot. Over the years, my grandma has caught a few weird orbs in her pictures, but this is the only time she got what looks like a creepy figure standing way down at the end of the hall.
She didn’t notice anything weird when she snapped it. It wasn’t until she got home and loaded the photos onto her computer that she spotted this unexplained thing lurking in the background. This picture has always fascinated me just because of how incredibly eerie it looks.
In February 2020, we took a girls trip back to the Crescent Hotel. I was so excited to do the ghost tour and show this picture to our guide. But when I pulled it up and showed her, she totally brushed it off and said it was fake. I was pretty bummed that she dismissed it so fast, but my grandma didn't care at all. She knows for a fact the photo was never edited, and the rest of our family believes her too. Whatever is standing at the end of that hallway is a total mystery, making this easily one of the creepiest photos our family has ever seen.
She didn’t notice anything weird when she snapped it. It wasn’t until she got home and loaded the photos onto her computer that she spotted this unexplained thing lurking in the background. This picture has always fascinated me just because of how incredibly eerie it looks.
In February 2020, we took a girls trip back to the Crescent Hotel. I was so excited to do the ghost tour and show this picture to our guide. But when I pulled it up and showed her, she totally brushed it off and said it was fake. I was pretty bummed that she dismissed it so fast, but my grandma didn't care at all. She knows for a fact the photo was never edited, and the rest of our family believes her too. Whatever is standing at the end of that hallway is a total mystery, making this easily one of the creepiest photos our family has ever seen.
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#37

The owner of this photo said this:
Something strange in an unused hospital room? About 20 years ago I worked nights at a rural hospital. A friend suggested that during some down time we take pictures around the hospital for fun to see if anything paranormal showed up. This was just a standard digital camera, no flash. Down a hall of unused rooms, we just opened the doors, shot into the dark rooms and moved on. A while later he looked at the pictures and one had something that we could not explain. Went back and looked in that room and there was nothing in that spot. I can kind of make out a face maybe? It could be nothing but plenty of people had died there over the years. The first darker picture is unedited. The second is just brightened up showing a distinct grayish face looking right at the camera from behind a cardboard box. The final photo circles exactly where the anomaly is standing among the stacked chairs and medical clutter. Our reflections are in the window at the back.
Something strange in an unused hospital room? About 20 years ago I worked nights at a rural hospital. A friend suggested that during some down time we take pictures around the hospital for fun to see if anything paranormal showed up. This was just a standard digital camera, no flash. Down a hall of unused rooms, we just opened the doors, shot into the dark rooms and moved on. A while later he looked at the pictures and one had something that we could not explain. Went back and looked in that room and there was nothing in that spot. I can kind of make out a face maybe? It could be nothing but plenty of people had died there over the years. The first darker picture is unedited. The second is just brightened up showing a distinct grayish face looking right at the camera from behind a cardboard box. The final photo circles exactly where the anomaly is standing among the stacked chairs and medical clutter. Our reflections are in the window at the back.
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#38

The owner of this photo said this: "This photo was sent to me by a friend who works at a hospital in AZ. It was taken by one of the security guards in the pediatric oncology department. The two images are the original photo and a version with the brightness increased to make the figure easier to see. Unfortunately, the quality is pretty bad because the original photo was sent through Instagram and then downloaded from there, which significantly reduced the resolution. The hospital name, which can be seen on the wall, has been censored for privacy."
Take a close look at the hallway in that second brightened picture. You can clearly see a tall dark figure just standing in the doorway. Working nights in a hospital is already spooky enough without seeing a shadow person lurking in the pediatric ward. What do you guys think we are looking at here? Just a weird trick of the light or a real spirit roaming the halls? Tell me your thoughts in the comments.
Take a close look at the hallway in that second brightened picture. You can clearly see a tall dark figure just standing in the doorway. Working nights in a hospital is already spooky enough without seeing a shadow person lurking in the pediatric ward. What do you guys think we are looking at here? Just a weird trick of the light or a real spirit roaming the halls? Tell me your thoughts in the comments.
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#39

The owner of this photo said they were just taking a regular family picture in their living room. Everything felt completely normal when they snapped it but when they checked their phone later that night their blood ran cold. Look closely at the dark space in the hallway right behind the dad. They swear up and down that absolutely nobody else was in the house with them when this was taken. What do you guys think is lurking back there in the dark? Is this a real shadow person caught on camera or just some weird trick of the light? Tell me what you see down in the comments.
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#40

The owner of this photo said she was just taking a quick mirror selfie with her friend in the restroom and swore the place was completely empty. It was not until she looked at the picture later and zoomed in on the dark background that she totally freaked out. Check out the reflection on the right side. You can clearly see a pale creepy face lurking in the shadows looking right at them. We are always hunting for real scary pictures and unexplained paranormal activity on this page. What do you guys think we are looking at here? Is this a legit spirit caught on camera or just a strange reflection on the glass? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.
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