Fictional horror stories — whether they come in books or movies — rely on artistic devices to creep us out. But real-life terror doesn't need a droning score or sudden jump scares. The mere fact that a person has actually experienced something horrifying implies that it could also happen to us — and that's what makes it hard to shake. One Reddit post asked platform users to name the creepiest verified pieces of found footage they've ever stumbled upon, and their answers remind us that some nightmares strike while you're still awake.
#1
I'm going to go with the man they found alive in a sunken tugboat 3 days after it capsized.
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69points
#2
Omayra Sanchez's picture, when she was slowly dying, in Colombia, after the 1985 eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano.
There's something about these dark eyes, and her resigned look that just gives me chills everytime I look at that picture. There was a huge scandal afterwards, about how long it took the government to send help. People around couldn't help her as she was trapped under some part of her house that collapsed, and she slowly died over the course of 60 hours.
There's something about these dark eyes, and her resigned look that just gives me chills everytime I look at that picture. There was a huge scandal afterwards, about how long it took the government to send help. People around couldn't help her as she was trapped under some part of her house that collapsed, and she slowly died over the course of 60 hours.
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58points
#3
There is a 450 mile highway stretch in British Columbia, Canada, where 40 or more women have gone missing from in the past 48 years. They call this stretch the "Highway of tears." Most the women were aboriginal and were hitch hiking. Authorities suspect this to be the work of one, or more, serial killers who use this stretch of road because of how vast and often unoccupied it is. One of the missing women, Amber Tuccaro, was on the phone with her brother when she was picked up by the last man to see her alive. They pass around that recording to see if anyone recognizes the man's voice, but what gets me is that she is already worried when shes talking to her brother. She hides her phone at her side so he can hear what shes saying and she demands to know where they are going and telling him that they aren't where he promised to take her. Very sad to hear first hand what many women must have sounded like as they realized their fatal mistake in taking that ride. I hope they find the b*****d.
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57points
Sometimes people have trouble determining which found footage is real and which was created for entertainment.
The horror subgenre has evolved from its humble beginnings into one that blurs the lines between reality and fiction and has produced quite a few hits on the big screen.
This storytelling technique typically presents the narrative as if it were discovered film or video recordings, portraying events through the perspective of characters involved, often accompanied by their real-time, off-camera commentary.
The genre's effectiveness lies in its ability to immerse audiences in horror that feels more immediate and personal.
#4
The Hunt for the Death Valley Germans
Found this one posted on reddit a few months back and got captivated by the story. Basically, a German family underestimated the American desert and tried driving from Nevada to California off-road in a stock rental minivan. After getting stuck in the middle of nowhere they ventured off in search of help. The van was found weeks later and triggered a massive search effort. Rescuers found clues and searched extensively in the direction they thought they traveled. No bodies were found until the stubborn author searched a completely different direction no one thought they would take years later.
Found this one posted on reddit a few months back and got captivated by the story. Basically, a German family underestimated the American desert and tried driving from Nevada to California off-road in a stock rental minivan. After getting stuck in the middle of nowhere they ventured off in search of help. The van was found weeks later and triggered a massive search effort. Rescuers found clues and searched extensively in the direction they thought they traveled. No bodies were found until the stubborn author searched a completely different direction no one thought they would take years later.
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50points
#5
More tragic than creepy but the people who lost their parents to the 2004 Tsunami got hold of their parent's last photos of being happy on holiday and the waves coming in.
>"At first I didn't want to even look at them. Then once I looked at them a few more times times I got to really stare at them," Knill says.
>"I saw that the waves were just so huge and powerful and people were just standing there."
>Knill says he does feel some comfort in what he can only imagine as his parents last few moments alive.
>"I just picture my parents hugging each and knowing it would happen and taking pictures, just in case someone found the camera and it did survive, they'd have something to see.".
>"At first I didn't want to even look at them. Then once I looked at them a few more times times I got to really stare at them," Knill says.
>"I saw that the waves were just so huge and powerful and people were just standing there."
>Knill says he does feel some comfort in what he can only imagine as his parents last few moments alive.
>"I just picture my parents hugging each and knowing it would happen and taking pictures, just in case someone found the camera and it did survive, they'd have something to see.".
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42points
#6
Any black box recording where a plane is crashing and the pilots slowly realise they are going to crash with all the passagers on board.
It's very chilling.
It's very chilling.
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37points
The subgenre gained significant traction with films like The Blair Witch Project (1999), which capitalized on the then-nascent internet culture to promote the film as a real documentary.
This marketing strategy, combined with the movie's minimalist approach, created a sense of authenticity that resonated with audiences. Subsequent productions, such as Paranormal Activity (2007), continued to explore this format.
#7
It was audio tape, not film: When I first started working with nuclear submarine programs in the 90s, we had to go to "training" (really just a presentation) about the Sub Safe program, which is an extraordinary QA program enforced for nuclear subs. They played audio of the USS SCORPION sinking and breaking up as a result of an equipment failure.
I don't remember the exact number, but the entire crew perished.
I don't remember the exact number, but the entire crew perished.
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36points
#8
This picture of three girls taking a selfie next to a railroad track.
All three are k****d moments later by the train behind them they didn't see. You can see its light right behind them.
All three are k****d moments later by the train behind them they didn't see. You can see its light right behind them.
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32points
#9
There were those photos of the guy that went out in the bush and ended up dying (they made that movie about it) he was living in a bus?
Chris McCandless - those photos always creeped me out. (Its late so i'm not going to look at them before I sleep).
Chris McCandless - those photos always creeped me out. (Its late so i'm not going to look at them before I sleep).
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31points
The research paper “A Corpus of Debunked and Verified User-Generated Videos,” developed by MKLab at the Information Technologies Institute (ITI) in Greece, explored the challenge of distinguishing real from fake videos online. The study compiled a dataset of 380 user-generated videos (UGVs), including 200 videos that had been debunked and 180 that were verified as authentic. In addition, the dataset contained 5,195 near-duplicate reposts, reflecting how content spreads across social media.
The dataset also tracked user comments, which can help identify fake videos or confirm real ones. The results revealed that YouTube videos get far more comments than Facebook or X (formerly Twitter), and real videos often attract more immediate engagement than fake ones. Fake videos, however, tend to accumulate comments steadily over time, sometimes years later, as old videos are reposted across the internet. Many fake videos are near-duplicates that receive few comments, so only a few reposts make a big impact. Overall, fake videos stay active and engaging for longer than real ones.
The takeaway? Make sure the found footage is real before you trust it.
#11
Scuba diver Yuri Lipski died at just over 300 feet underwater. When a diver went to retrive Lipski's body at the request of his parents, he made an unnerving discovery: the footage captured by Lipski's helmet camera was still intact. The doomed diver had recorded his own death.
At this depth, the body is subject to nitrogen narcosis, which can play havoc on the mind by inducing overconfidence, euphoria, hallucinations, confusion, and impaired judgment. It didn't help that Lipski had just one tank full of air — technical divers are better served by multiple tanks filled with trimix, a combination of oxygen, nitrogen, and helium that reduces narcosis.
At this depth, the body is subject to nitrogen narcosis, which can play havoc on the mind by inducing overconfidence, euphoria, hallucinations, confusion, and impaired judgment. It didn't help that Lipski had just one tank full of air — technical divers are better served by multiple tanks filled with trimix, a combination of oxygen, nitrogen, and helium that reduces narcosis.
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31points
#12
The Valentich Disappearance. The original tapes have been destroyed, but there's a full transcript available, and several dramatic reenactments on youtube.
Valentich was flying a plane off the coast of Australia when he began to give a report about 'something' in the sky with him.
Valentich: Is there any known traffic below five thousand [feet]?
Robey: No known traffic.
V: I am—seems [to] be a large aircraft below five thousand.
R: What type of aircraft is it?
V: I cannot affirm. It is [sic] four bright, it seems to me like landing lights. . . . The aircraft has just passed over me at least a thousand feet above.
The transcript continues for a few pages of Valentich describing this thing passing around his aircraft. The final part of the transcript is as follows:
V: My intentions are, ah, to go to King Island. Ah, Melbourne, that strange aircraft is hovering on top of me again. [Silence for 2 seconds.] It is hovering, and it’s not an aircraft. [Silence for 17 seconds, open microphone, with audible, unidentified staccato noise. End of transcript.]
Although some theories suggest that the four bright 'landing lights' were just the planets Mars, Mercury, Venus, and Antares - which is a little goofy, as it might be quite difficult to confuse a planet for landing lights.
Wrecked pieces of Valentich's aircraft were later found washed up on several beaches around Australia.
Valentich was flying a plane off the coast of Australia when he began to give a report about 'something' in the sky with him.
Valentich: Is there any known traffic below five thousand [feet]?
Robey: No known traffic.
V: I am—seems [to] be a large aircraft below five thousand.
R: What type of aircraft is it?
V: I cannot affirm. It is [sic] four bright, it seems to me like landing lights. . . . The aircraft has just passed over me at least a thousand feet above.
The transcript continues for a few pages of Valentich describing this thing passing around his aircraft. The final part of the transcript is as follows:
V: My intentions are, ah, to go to King Island. Ah, Melbourne, that strange aircraft is hovering on top of me again. [Silence for 2 seconds.] It is hovering, and it’s not an aircraft. [Silence for 17 seconds, open microphone, with audible, unidentified staccato noise. End of transcript.]
Although some theories suggest that the four bright 'landing lights' were just the planets Mars, Mercury, Venus, and Antares - which is a little goofy, as it might be quite difficult to confuse a planet for landing lights.
Wrecked pieces of Valentich's aircraft were later found washed up on several beaches around Australia.
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29points
#13
There was a bear enthusiast in Alaska who recorded himself getting close to grizzlies.
There is audio footage of him being mauled by a hungry bear.
Edit: I think the documentary about him is called Grizzly Man (doesn't include audio footage) if anybody is curious about his story.
There is audio footage of him being mauled by a hungry bear.
Edit: I think the documentary about him is called Grizzly Man (doesn't include audio footage) if anybody is curious about his story.
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28points
#14
I believe there is a reasonable official explanation, but there were some Dutch hikers that went missing in Panama. The last photos they found are kinda creepy (though they were either taking them as a light source or to try to attract the search parties).
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25points
#15
This one always messed with me.
Oh FFS my top rated post is now about a girl being eaten alive by bears.
Oh FFS my top rated post is now about a girl being eaten alive by bears.
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19points
#16
Seems like I'm late to this, If I'm not, my friend recently had her face mauled by a dog. The day after it happened I had to send someone an image form my phone. After opening my gallery I saw a pic I had forgotten I'd taken the previous night. The photo of my friend hugging the dog (hours before the incident) sent chills down my spine.
Edit: I'll pass all the love you've send today to her, thanks gals and guys :).
Edit: I'll pass all the love you've send today to her, thanks gals and guys :).
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18points
#17
I'm not sure what you mean by verified, but I remember an incident from Northern Ohio back in the 90s. Someone found a video camera lying in the middle of a pasture. When they checked the recording, they found very creepy B&W footage that included someone who looked deceased. Where the footage came from and how it got there was a mystery.
A few weeks later it came out that the footage was from a video shoot from the band Nine Inch Nails, which was a new and up and coming band from Northern Ohio at the time. They had suspended the camera from a helium balloon, trying to get an overhead shot, and the balloon broke away and disappeared. At some point it must have landed in that pasture.
So it wasn't a deceased person after all, just creepy footage from a creepy band.
A few weeks later it came out that the footage was from a video shoot from the band Nine Inch Nails, which was a new and up and coming band from Northern Ohio at the time. They had suspended the camera from a helium balloon, trying to get an overhead shot, and the balloon broke away and disappeared. At some point it must have landed in that pasture.
So it wasn't a deceased person after all, just creepy footage from a creepy band.
17points
#18
Some guy floating on a piece of wood gets shot to death by the crew of an unknown ship.
"A video shows at least four unarmed men being gunned down in the water. Despite dozens of witnesses, the killings went unreported and remain a mystery."
"'Shoot, shoot, shoot!' commands a voice over one of the ship’s loudspeakers as the final man is k****d. Soon after, a group of men on deck who appear to be crew members laugh among themselves, then pose for selfies."
"A video shows at least four unarmed men being gunned down in the water. Despite dozens of witnesses, the killings went unreported and remain a mystery."
"'Shoot, shoot, shoot!' commands a voice over one of the ship’s loudspeakers as the final man is k****d. Soon after, a group of men on deck who appear to be crew members laugh among themselves, then pose for selfies."
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12points
#19
A teenage arsonist's tapes were found. The other footage at the end where he is pretending to be a vampire is also very creepy.
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11points
#20
Investigators got 1,600 calls and possible leads from people across the nation after the videotape was shown on the national television program 'Unsolved Mysteries.'
Investigators were given the tape after a family whose car had broken down found it wrapped in an old military fatigue jacket beside Highway 205 near Stockton, Calif. in August 1989.
The tape shows flames consuming a house at night as an eerie voice whispers, 'Ancient spirit of evil. Look at it. The fire department is trying to put it out. What a laugh.'
The unseen narrator, breathing heavily and laughing, spoke to someone named 'Omar.' Some investigators thought it could be a reference to Satan.
Investigators were given the tape after a family whose car had broken down found it wrapped in an old military fatigue jacket beside Highway 205 near Stockton, Calif. in August 1989.
The tape shows flames consuming a house at night as an eerie voice whispers, 'Ancient spirit of evil. Look at it. The fire department is trying to put it out. What a laugh.'
The unseen narrator, breathing heavily and laughing, spoke to someone named 'Omar.' Some investigators thought it could be a reference to Satan.
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10points