Stairs. Not a word that sparks much excitement. We climb them all the time without even thinking. If you do feel anything at all, it’s usually just the burn in your legs after one too many steps or the sudden jolt of missing one. But there are places where the simple act of going up or down can get your heart truly racing—not from the effort, but from sheer fear.
You can find them in a Facebook group called ‘Death Stairs’ which, as its name suggests, is dedicated to sharing terrifying staircases. Picture this: flimsy ladders reaching for the sky and slippery rocks clinging to cliff edges. If you’re curious, we’ve gathered the most spine-tingling posts below. Fair warning though, you might want to hold onto something first.
Jeroen finds it ironic that stairs, whose primary goal is to be functional, sometimes end up being poorly designed and dangerous to use. Surprisingly, experts say they’re one of the most challenging elements to get right.
Danish Design Review explains that stairs are hard “to modify if other parts of the scheme are changed as the plan develops. It becomes a difficult game of consequences—change one part and another no longer works”.
The designs we see on ‘Death Stairs’ are truly in a league of their own. But while they may be entertaining to look at, it’s important to remember that navigating them in real life can be a different story. So be careful out there and watch your step!
#25 Pictured: The Stairs That Almost Killed My Boss. Picture Taken After I Mopped Up The Blood And Added Tread Tape.
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77points
#27 This Is One Of The Coolest Things I've Learned In Anthropology, At Ruins, And So On. It's Also Completely Terrifying. Chaco Canyon
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73points
#31 I Have Fallen Down These Bastards Twice, Which Was Two Times Too Many. Now I Climb Down Them Backwards Like A Ladder. Our House Is A Very Old Cape Cod And My Office Is On The Second Floor So I Am Upstairs Every Day. As You Can See They Are Very Steep, And The Step Is Very Narrow, Women’s Size 9 Croc For Comparison
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70points
#34 Not Really Death Stairs, Unless You Slip And Fall 300 Feet Into The Great White Shark Breeding Ground Below. As A Sidenote, It's Just A Short Drive From Bodega Bay, Where Hitchcock Filmed 'The Birds.'
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66points
#35 Eerie Death Stairs In Pittsburgh On Melrose Avenue. These Steps LED To A Small Apartment Development Called Clifton Park
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66points
#36 Giants Causeway, Northern Ireland. Not Traditional Steps, But Certainly Not A Place For A Soft Landing After A Misplaced Step
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65points
#37 My Air Bnb In Edinburgh, Scotland A Few Weeks Ago. 50 Steps Total, And We Were On The 4th Floor. Nothing Like Schlepping 4 Heavy Suitcases Up This Bad Boy After 3 Connecting Flights!
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65points
#39 These Were The Stairs In My Daughter’s University House. It Was A Lovely Victorian House. It Was No Fun Getting Her Belongings In And Out! Shes 5’10, How She Survived Negotiating Those Whilst A Bit Tipsy And Never Knocked Herself Out On The Doorframe Is Beyond Me!
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62points
#40 1911 Photo Of The Indian Trail Steps In Pittsburgh. Over 1000 Steps From The Level Of The Monongahela, Just Across The River From Downtown Pittsburgh, To The Top Of Mt. Washington, Which Was A Working-Class Neighborhood In Those Days. It Cost A Nickel To Ride The Duquesne Incline, Worth About $1.75 In Today's Economy, And Many People Climbed These Steps Both Ways To Save Ten Cents Every Day! The Steps Fell Into Disrepair And Disuse And Were Gone Before The Beginning Of Ww II.
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61points
