With Spooktober finally here and Halloween right around the corner, it’s officially time to start carving pumpkins, work on your costume, and, of course, brush up on your storytelling skills – some would argue that there is no better time for scary stories than this.
If you’re more fearful of not having enough stories to tell, rather than the stories themselves, you’re in luck, as today we’re shedding light on quite a few of them. Scroll down to find some terrifying tales, as shared by the ‘Scary Stories’ Instagram account, on the list below and expand your selection of chilling accounts to scare your friends and family with this spooky season.
Below you will also find Bored Panda’s interview with a behavioral scientist at the Recreational Fear Lab at Aarhus University in Denmark and in the Psychology Department at Arizona State University, Dr. Coltan Scrivner, who was kind enough to answer a few of our questions about why people like scary stories.
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Many people can’t wait for October to start. For them, few things feel better than a chilly fall breeze, a cup of cocoa or a pumpkin spice latte, and shades of yellow, brown, and red all around. But more than that, some people can’t wait for the spooky season’s activities, and it’s not hard to see why – whether it’s a visit to a pumpkin patch or a ghost hunt, we’re here for it. According to Statista, more than seven-in-ten people in the US are, too, as that’s how many are reportedly planning to take part in Halloween activities this year.
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In October, an abundance of creative individuals start decorating their homes; and their family members, for that matter, putting them in all sorts of Halloween costumes. More of Statista’s data reveals that this year, US adults are planning to spend roughly $104 on Halloween-related items – a sum that was only higher last year (over the last two decades, at least).
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While some people love decorating their homes or working on their costumes the most, others get most excited about telling spooky stories; and there is arguably no better time to share them than Halloween.
But those who do not belong to the latter category might not understand why one would want to listen to a bunch of terrifying tales. Discussing what in the world draws people to such content, Dr. Coltan Scrivner told Bored Panda that people are naturally drawn to information about threats – it’s a phenomenon called morbid curiosity. “Terrifying content by its nature provides a wealth of information about threats,” he noted.
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“Enjoying the feeling of fear is related to one's level of sensation-seeking, which is their predisposition to experience extreme sensations,” the expert continued. “However, many people enjoy fearful situations not just for the feeling of fear, but also for the learning experience that happens when you safely experience fear. Safely experiencing fearful situations allows one to learn about their own reactions to fear and how to better control those reactions.”
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In an interview with Bored Panda, Dr. Scrivner noted that the extent to which a person finds scary stories interesting depends on the degree of morbid curiosity that they have. And judging by the fact that the ‘Scary Stories’ Instagram account alone has close to 75k followers, it’s safe to assume that many people are plenty curious.
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If you’re wondering who are the most morbidly curious people out there, we took a closer look at that, too, and found that Mexico is the place where horror seems to rule the most; when it comes to people’s screens, at least. According to Statista’s data, close to six-in-ten people there watch or stream horror movies, TV series, or videos. Second on the list is Spain, followed by the US, South Africa, Germany, and Poland respectively.
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If you’re a big fan of horror stories and similar horrifying content yourself, you’re in luck as we have quite a few spine-chilling topics covered here at Bored Panda. After reading through this list, continue to one featuring stories that wouldn’t be as scary if they weren’t 100% real or browse one of our previous editions on spooky stories.
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