#1
Was with a couple friends but broke off by myself and ventured upstairs, when I turned at the top of the stairs I saw a figure standing in the darkness just staring at me.
I bolted out of the building as quickly as I could and my friends heard me and panicked, they weren't far behind. Went back there a couple of weeks later with a bigger group to "prove my story" and to my embarrasment.. it was a tall mirror at the top of the stairs, the figure I saw was me. Not my proudest moment.
#2
One house she went to take pictures at and she was kinda creeped out by the basement and did not want to go in. She just opened the door, leaned in, reached her arm out and took a picture. When her dad reviewed the pictures he saw a man standing in the basement about 5 feet from the camera staring directly into it.
#3
Edit: Squatting is a term meaning living somewhere illegally. The confusion this caused is absolutely hilarious though.
Every horror story starts the same way: someone thinks, “This’ll be fun.” But fun quickly fades when your flashlight catches a glimpse of something that shouldn’t be there. These urban exploration stories are not just spooky - they’re the kind of tales that stick with you long after you’ve locked your doors and double-checked your windows.
Urban exploration, aka Urbex, is the curious, and slightly chaotic, hobby of sneaking into long-forgotten places to poke around and soak up the eerie vibes. Whether it’s abandoned hospitals, derelict mansions, or crumbling asylums, this pastime is part scavenger hunt, part ghost story, and part adrenaline rush.
While most explorers go in looking for old graffiti and cool architecture, some end up sprinting out of there, spotting mysterious figures in the shadows or, worse, finding a real-life coffin surrounded by vintage furniture and letters from the 1950s. Yep, that really happened.
#4
#5
So, why do people even want to creep around deserted asylums and forgotten hospitals in the first place? Turns out, there’s some actual psychology behind our love for spooky spaces. Exploring abandoned places taps into our innate desire for novelty, mystery, and risk, which can stimulate the brain's reward system, creating excitement.
For some, it’s a way to escape the mundane and experience a kind of controlled fear, like when you’re riding a rollercoaster or watching a horror movie. Urban explorers often feel “drawn” to these places, not just for the fear factor, but for the sense of forgotten history.
#6
That and the fact it was trespassing i guess and railway workmen or transport police could catch us at any moment.
So as you can imagine it was dark, REAL dark in the middle, but towards the end there was enough light to barely see.
One day we took an old school pal down there and after walking the length, almost at the end of the tunnel just as it was beginning to get light he stopped to look down a large uncovered square 3ft by 3ft manhole....
No he didn't fall in, but after a flash of brief confusion he took in a deep breath and screamed, then immediately started sprinting for daylight.
"Oh s**t, Fuckn RRUUINNNNNN!!!" he screams
Naturally without question we ran, having a hard time catching him up.
At the mouth of the tunnel we stopped.
All out of breath "WTF !! What's wrong? What did you see?" We asked.
His face was pure white, and shakeing barely able to speak he said " there was someone down there, looking up at me!"
Now this buddy was and still is a good friend of mine, but back then he wasn known for not being the sharpest tool in the drawer...
instantly we had an idea what just happened, but slowly we returned to open manhole.
Then as the four of us stood around this hole looking down, sure enough..... Reflected in the still water about 5ft down this feckn hole was our four faces looking back up at us.
.
#7
Edit: typos.
#8
No idea what was there, but sometimes I wonder if I avoided more than just a report for trespassing.
#9
The lower you went the more disordered. The basement/garage was in complete disarray. Books and random c**p thrown around. Beer cans and used condoms. We went to the far end of the house where the wall partially collapsed and that’s when we saw the bear. Foolishly ran with all our might. Thankfully the house between us and bear’s lack of interest is why I’m typing this.
But pretty much every explorer has their version of the moment when curiosity turns into pure survival instinct. Whether it’s a figure staring from the darkness, weird graffiti written in... well, let’s just say not paint, or an actual human in the basement of a recently purchased home—there’s always a breaking point.
Some folks do it for the thrill, others do it for the Instagram likes. And some, let’s be honest, probably watched too much true crime.
#10
The guy was really nice, took the time to explain why it was dangerous, and send me on my way. I didn't insist
Weirdest part is we explored for one or two hours before getting busted and met no one. We weren't hidding or anything.
#11
#12
We were exploring the floor, cool glass ceiling, lots of debris, but suddenly we find a room filled with plastic containers with pink and brown liquids... Some friends decide to explore the ground floor, which was pitch black and involved going down a broken staircase missing several steps. They heard someone coughing in the dark and feel several people *moving* in the darkness as their eyes get used to it... At this point I was hearing someone slowly walking in a room on the first floor, carefully stepping over the broken glass on the floor (to not make noise) which was really creepy. We got the f**k away and on our way out we saw a roughed up man with bloodshot eyes leaving a shack outside the house and staring at us. I still shiver when I remember his look.
Probably just some [users] living there but for overly high 15 year olds it was scary as f**k.
True crime and horror culture have glamorized the spooky unknown. The mix of fear, history, and personal storytelling can get folks easily hooked. And apparently, half of the folks in the U.S alone enjoy this genre. That might explain why someone would climb an old grain mill, without stairs, only to find the body of a deer neatly placed at the top like some kind of bizarre sacrificial offering.
And while exploring ghost towns and abandoned chapels might seem like harmless fun, it’s not always as fun as it looks. Structures in decay can be dangerous—floors collapse, air quality is poor, and there’s always the risk of encountering someone who doesn’t want to be found. It’s one thing to be spooked by a shadow, but it’s another to walk into a danger zone.
Just like one netizen did when exploring an abandoned prison, only to ditch part of the ceiling that had almost collapsed right on them. Okay, now that’s a bit too real for my taste.
#13
#14
#15
On the way out, we nearly got locked in due to a safety on the exit door that locks closed if you don't hold a switch in the guard room next door.
So why keep going back? Well, despite the occasional (okay, frequent) horror movie moment, most urban explorers aren’t deterred. In fact, the more chilling the story, the more badge-of-honor points they rack up.
It’s all about the adventure, the stories, and that rare feeling of stepping into a place where time forgot to keep ticking.
#16
#17
#18
One time (I think perhaps the last time) there was a fresh, child-sized hand print in the dust on a wall, and what seemed like blood droplets/spray nearby.
#19
We go in and start taking photos. One of the first shots came out with what seriously looked like a little orb dude. We decided to stop making fun of the undead, but we did forge ahead. It was very creepy, especially when we found the morgue.
#20
