The concept of Cursed Images originated on Tumblr, where these photos were a hit at the time. According to its creator, the page began in 2016 as a form of entertainment among friends. However, it eventually gained traction.
As of this writing, Cursed Images 2009 on Instagram has over 71,000 followers and counting.
There are many possible reasons why Cursed Images 2009 is a hit among tens of thousands of Instagram users. One of them could be a rebellion against the platform's overly polished, filtered posts.
Another could be driven by nostalgia for the internet’s “Wild West” days, when people mainly posted unpolished, unmonetized, and even weird content.
The appeal of cursed images also comes from our innate curiosity for all things weird and unusual. According to fear researcher Dr. Margee Kerr, we humans evolved to be drawn to novel things.
"We're descendants of humans who had the curiosity and motivation to go out and explore, but also the ability to quickly notice and take action when confronted with something new,” she said.
While it doesn’t apply to everyone, many are also drawn to content that induces feelings of disgust. It’s likely why Dr. Sandra Lee, a.k.a Dr. Pimple Popper, has more than 28 million followers across all her social media platforms.
According to behavioral scientist Dario Maestripieri, more research is needed to explain the appeal of these content pieces, but it has a lot to do with personality, especially among sensation-seeking individuals.
A few images on this list carry a tinge of creepiness, a feeling that people would rather not feel. However, it can also draw intrigue, according to author and behavior scientist Coltan Scrivner, who explores morbid curiosity.
"You need to look closer to figure out what it's all about, to decide to fight, flee, or ignore,” he said.
