As many of you would have heard by now, the universe is huge. So insanely huge that if we were to take a break from our mundane lives and just think about the sheer scale of things out there, we’d likely go crazy. That’s the reason most of us don’t bother with anything outside our immediate surroundings, as our brains are simply not equipped to handle thinking about stuff like that.

If we did think about it, as many people – like scientists, astronomers and stoned college students – do, we’d realize that the universe is full of scary things you’d probably never put in a children’s book. If we ventured into its darkest corners, we’d find it hiding many fascinating – and concerning—mysteries we’re yet to uncover.

10 The Higgs Boson Doomsday

We have a lot of doomsday scenarios going around, depending on where you are in the world. Many cultures believe that the end of the world would be dramatic, which is cool by us as long as we get to see some cool visuals.

The most dangerous and plausible doomsday scenarios, however, come from actual scientists themselves, the Higgs Boson Doomsday being one of them. Many of them – including Stephen Hawking – believe it could happen, or is already happening. It’d start with a bubble filled with fluctuating Higgs energy, which should remain consistent for the universe to stay stable. The bubble would spread like the vacuum, fundamentally reprogramming – and in some cases, disintegrating – atoms as it goes.

Some scientists think that it has already started, and the bubble may be on our way from the dark parts of the universe soon. Though others say that it’s well into the future, and we may be long gone before it makes its way here.^[1]

9 Galactic Cannibalism

Galactic cannibalism is the last type of cannibalism we want to hear about, even if general cannibalism is pretty gross, too. Just the idea that there are some bigger galaxies out there gobbling up other, smaller ones, and the possibility it may happen to us, is quite scary. There’s nothing to worry about, though, as it’s not going to happen in the near future. Many other galaxies out there, however, are currently being eaten up by a bigger one just because it had nothing better to do that day.

It’s not that far away from us, either. Andromeda – the galaxy most familiar to the layman and a part of our Local Group –actually devoured a sister galaxy of the Milky Way around two billion years ago. It’s also expected to do that with the Milky Way in around 4.5 billion years, but by that time humans would hopefully have developed travel between galaxies, or would have long died out. Whoever decides to stay, though, would be subjected to one hell of a light show.^[2]

8 The Outcast Supermassive Black Hole

If we knew about all the massive things going on in the universe, our lives may start to look a bit tiny. Some of those things, though, are so massive that they truly demonstrate how insignificant we actually are. One of them is a supermassive blackhole ejected from its galaxy.

Scientists calculated that it would have taken the same amount of energy as 100 million supernovas to throw a black hole into space. It’s not just any black hole either, but by far the biggest black hole on the move we’ve ever recorded. The energy came from the merger of two black holes at the center of the galaxy, because of course that’s a thing that keeps happening in space, too.^[3]

7 Rogue Black Holes

Out of all the things that can potentially go rogue, a black hole seems to be the worst. Black holes, as we all know, are super dense parts of space with unimaginably-high gravitational fields, so much so that even light can’t escape them. They eat up everything in their gravitational field, which is why it’s a good idea to stay away from them.

It’s a problem, though, when it starts moving. You see, much like everything else in the universe, black holes can find their own motion trajectories. In some instances, they start moving at immense speeds, eating up everything in their path.
It’s not a distant phenomenon, either; a black hole as big as Jupiter is currently dashing across the Milky Way. It was earlier assumed to be stationary, though according to some recent research, it’s really not.^[4]

6 Zombie Stars

Whatever is alive has to die at some point, something that applies to everything in the universe. The death of stars – as you may remember from science class – is one of the most interesting phenomena in the known universe. Every star we see in the sky is already dead and the light hasn’t reached us yet, or will die at some point in the future, including our sun. That’s the natural way of things, except when they decide to not do that.

In rare cases, stars may die and come back to life like nothing happened, something that baffles us as well as the scientists. They recently discovered zombie stars that should have died in their supernova stages but somehow survived, and are now hurtling across space with a renewed sense of life and adventure. We don’t quite understand them, which is why we hope they stay away from us.^[5]

5 The Galaxies Without Dark Matter

If you’ve spent your fair share of time on the internet and science forums, you’d know that the visible universe is a tiny fraction of the whole thing. An overwhelming majority of it is made up of something called dark matter. We could have come up with a more scientific name, but as we know absolutely nothing about it, ‘dark’ matter is the most accurate description of what we think it is. We know that it permeates through everything, and huge swathes of the universe are made up of it, though that’s about it.

Even more mysterious, however, is the galaxy without any dark matter. It was earlier postulated that whatever dark matter is, the universe needs it to keep things together. The galaxy, along with others like it, proves that dark matter isn’t essential to keep galaxies glued together, further deepening the mystery of the whole thing.^[6]

4 The Triple Galaxy Collision

No matter how boring our lives are, we can take some comfort in the fact that something interesting is going on in the universe at all times. From massive shows of light to dying stars, it’s certainly not a boring place. Some of those events, though, are so mind-bogglingly humungous that we’d rather get bored on a lazy afternoon here on Earth than find ourselves anywhere near them.

One of them is the rare collision of three galaxies, like the one we observed in 2007. While two galaxies collide with each other more often that we’d think, it’s rare to see three of them do it. What looks like just a blob of light in the photos is three massive clusters of stars merging with each other, all the while forming stars at a rapid rate (around 200 solar masses per year at the center).^[7]

3 The Mystery Of The Biggest Black Hole Ever Found

There are quite a few things in the universe we don’t understand, which is cool, as we can’t know everything. It’s a real setback, though, when we think we have figured something out, only to later find out that we hadn’t figured it out at all. Case in point; the brightest and biggest black hole found in the early universe.

It’s at the center of a quasar (bright huge thing with a black hole at its center) scientists only recently discovered. Known as SDSS J0100+2802, it’s as bright as 420 trillion Suns, and by far the most massive quasar we have ever discovered. We don’t know how it formed, as nothing in the early phase of the universe should have got so big, which also makes it the most mysterious black hole we know of.^[8]

2 The Coldest Place In The Universe

The universe is quite a cold place, as the heat of the stars is only enough to affect a tiny part of it. We know that it’s cold, though we don’t know the extent of how cold it can get. According to some scientists, the absolute coldest place in the known universe is the Boomerang Nebula (a nebula being a giant mass of gas and dust in space).^[9]

It’s so cold – clocking in at -457.87F on an average – that scientists have been trying to understand exactly what happened to it for a while now. And as per a recent study, there’s a perfectly good explanation for it. Apparently, it was ejected out after a star threw itself into another bigger star going through the last stages of its life, causing most of its matter to be ejected out as a cold burst. While it’s still quite a bit away from us to be of any danger, it’s one place we should all agree to never explore in case we do figure out interstellar travel.

1 Strange Matter

For something named as inconspicuously as ‘strange matter’, you wouldn’t think that it’d mean much. It sounds like something scientists came up with when they couldn’t explain something and wanted to keep it for later. Look it up online, though, and you’d realize it’s by far one of the weirdest parts of theoretical physics.^[10]

In essence, strange matter – which may contain a lot of types of particles – isn’t like anything we have seen before. You see, usual matter is made up of atoms with a nucleus, which contains the protons and neutrons. They’re in turn made up of quarks, which stay neatly packed in, give everything around us their unique properties. In strange matter, though, the quarks run free, with seemingly no boundaries or rules on what they’re supposed to do. It’s a completely different type of matter, and scarily, could turn everything it comes in contact with to its own properties. Yes, a tiny lump of strange matter anywhere in the universe could be on its way here now, completely changing – and essentially destroying—the very nature of matter around it.

Fortunately, strange matter hasn’t been proven to exist anywhere in the universe, so it’s only on paper for now. Unfortunately and more recently, though, scientists did find something very similar to what they think strange matter would be like.

TikTok creators are always cooking up new ways to attract and entertain fans. While many choose to impress by following challenges, others create content that shocks and amazes fans with every post. This list features the scariest videos from the platform that show that a horror hashtag can be just as popular as a new dance. Get a change of underwear ready! Here are the top 10 scariest TikTok videos out there.

10 Lip Syncing with a Demon

TikTok is home to millions of lip sync videos, and every time, users post themselves doing popular challenges. @herony is a master of surprises, and in this video, he has a shocking twist for his fans.

The video starts normally with the young influencer posing as if he’s about to lip-sync to a catchy pop tune. But within seconds the music stops and the camera zooms into a dark corner.

In a video that taps into stereotypical horror tropes, the young man looks possessed, spinning his head in super-speed like a demon. The creepy soundtrack running in the background further adds an eerie effect to the clip. As the video ends, the demon jumps from the corner hands out, looking to grab the viewer through the camera.

If the demon twist doesn’t get you, the outstretched hands will have you pushing your phone away from your face.

9 My Family Wants You for Dinner

School is the best place to meet new people and for kids, it’s the perfect place to make new friends. This TikTok video by @ashurgharavi tells the story of two kids on the verge of being best buddies.

After one kid cannot pay for lunch, a generous stranger offers to pay, claiming that it’s a “good deed.” As the kids build a rapport, the lunch kid gets invited to his new friend’s home. But when they get home, things go awry quickly.

“Mom! I brought dinner,” are the last words the new kid hears before the clip rolls to a stop. From this point, it’s easy to fill in the gaps as to what happens next in this Hansel & Gretel-esque scene. Kids, don’t go for dinner at a strange house without telling your grandma first. You might become the dinner yourself! 

8 Daughter Turned Doll by Store Owner

Individually crafted hyper-realistic dolls are a new fad, and they make for interesting gifts. This TikTok features a special doll that literally comes to life after its real “parents” visit the doll store.

The video posted by @jannet.regina starts with a couple visiting the doll store where they are amazed by a doll they see. But once they press the “ON” button, the doll comes alive, revealing that she’s their long-lost daughter. The text on screen helps drive the story forward, as the dolls narrate how the store owner used magic to turn her into a doll. 

If that one episode of “Night Gallery” wasn’t enough to turn you off to dolls—if “Annabelle” didn’t do the trick—maybe this one will. Any doll that comes to life is enough to make you say “nope,” and leave.

7 Frankenstein’s Monster in the Park

A walk in the park during perfect weather is always relaxing. But what happens when there’s a monster looking for blood in the park?

This video by @shortestblockbusters begins with incredible suspense as a person with a camera records a strange creature. The monstrous creature looks strikingly alien and, hunching over a bit, seems athletic. The user decides to hide behind a tree, avoiding the scary creature. But he’s not very successful.

The most frightening part is when the creature charges at the camera, growling like a predator catching up with its prey. The shaky camera movement, in the end, leaves audiences wondering whether the creature catches up with the person recording it.

If Frankenstein’s monster looks like this, there’s no chance most of us would survive its fury.

6 Midnight Knock on the Door

Midnights are quiet and for any night owl, this is a time to relax or wash dishes before bed. This TikTok is both creepy and disturbing and may have you rethink your night owl ways.

The video posted by @secondhorror starts off perfectly, with a woman washing her dishes in the quiet of the night. She immediately stops when she hears a knock on the door. This is when the video gets interesting—cue mood lighting. Between the pounding at the door and the dog’s barks, the mood unpleasantly shifts.

When she checks and opens the door, there’s no one there. When this happens the second time, she doesn’t take any chances since she knows that something’s off. After scanning the area carefully, she notices a figure from a distance and spots a lady standing menacingly in the dark.

You can bet that she doesn’t go to sleep after this since the mysterious figure looks like she means business. What would you do in the same scenario? Would you go out and confront the creepy lady?

5 Creature Pops Up Behind You

Imagine watching a late-night movie when the TV starts acting up, changing the channel by itself. As you listen to static and see strange patterns on the screen, the TV starts talking to you. It knows what you’ve been doing. What a creeper.

In this @dreamanalytics video, the above scenario unfolds, but it doesn’t end there. As the TikTok continues, the TV gives the clueless man the idea that something sinister is afoot. Indeed, an intruder with a white clown’s face creeps up behind him, watching him closely. In the end, the intruder is beside the man, who is so fearful he isn’t peeking.

The TikTok ends with a crazy clown laugh that leaves you chilly as the screen fades to black. It’s so real that you might end up looking over your shoulder a few times after you watch the video. Are you alone? Are you sure?

4 “Stranger Things” In Seattle

Home is the only place most of us can find peace in a tough world. But it shouldn’t be where we rest in peace! This TikTok from @niko.kent shows how his haunted home robs him of both.

In the video, Niko is panting and breathing heavily. In the background of the video, he records a strange occurrence in his room. In what can only be described as a “Stranger Things” monster, he discovers that he was right to be suspicious. A creature with long skinny black fingers closes the closet doors while making some creepy tapping sounds.

The scared man rushes out of his apartment in an attempt to escape the monster. His caption expresses his fears at the moment, as it reads, “Anyone else seeing weird things in Seattle cuz I’m about to move.” But just when he thinks he’s safe, he hears some undefinable sounds coming from the bottom of the stairs.

Are the aliens here? Is Seattle haunted? Niko thinks so, and his evidence is somewhat convincing.

3 What’s in the Next Stall

School bathrooms are mysterious, and from the many stories people tell, it’s one place you don’t want to visit alone. In this TikTok, @bloodydeeb is in the bathroom when screams and vicious banging break the peaceful silence.

Like any curious soul, the lady investigates the curious noise. To her shock, the banging gets more vigorous and tense, forcing her to freeze on her heels. “Hello?” She probes from a safe distance before dashing out of the bathroom at lightning speed.

It’s only through slow-motion that we get a glimpse of whatever she saw and it is chilling. A disturbing figure with a pale face and black clothing pops out of the last stall at the far end. She didn’t wait to face the terrifying creature, and this might be the best decision she ever made. The video’s caption reads, “Was war das bitte?! (What was that? What was that please?!)

The lesson here is that if you discover a suspicious figure in the bathroom, don’t investigate! Get the heck out of there and find some professional help. But if all horror films followed this logic, we wouldn’t have any movies now, would we? But seriously, “What was that thing?”

2 Lurking in the Ocean

Are you afraid of the ocean? If you have thalassophobia, this video might trigger sleepless nights since it takes you to a place you might never come back home. In the TikTok, @shangerdanger goes out into the ocean and decides to take a dive that might as well be his last.

In a very Nietzsche “stare into the abyss” storytelling style, Shane describes how one can be mesmerized by the ocean to their own detriment. After sailing into the ocean, he dives into the water, and for a moment, things are calm. But once he tries to paddle his way back to the boat, he discovers he can’t.

Before he’s gathered his thoughts, he notices whales sailing away, sort of running from something dangerous. It’s a territorial tiger shark. In the end, “blue turns to black” as the diver accepts his fate.

The video is so creepy and realistic that it has a thalassophobia warning in the title. But you can bet that millions viewed it. When you think about it, the ocean is a magical place, but it’s definitely not where you want to take your last breath.

1 There’s Something in the Shadows

The list has some scary TikTok videos but the top spot goes to this video that had everyone jumping in fear. The video was originally posted by @artem_mokrushin on May 19, 2020, garnering over 20 million views. The horror TikTok was so popular that months after the user posted it on the app, it resurfaced and went viral on Twitter.

So, what made the 15-second video so scary? In the viral video, a man and woman are in their bedroom, probably at the end of a long day. As the man enters the room, he switches off the lights. The disturbing thing is that every time the light flicks off, you can see a creepy shadowy figure approaching the door. But when the man switches the lights back on, there’s nothing there.

When the man switches off the lights the third time, the creepy figure rushes to the screen accompanied by a screaming sound. The darkness, the mysterious character, the shrilling sound, and fast-forward effects catch you off guard. And temporarily make you hate whoever made you watch the video.

Users that watched the video confessed that it made them break their fingernails. They were not prepared for the jump scare. The TikTok scared plenty of folks and the strong reactions it got proves it’s striking. Think you can watch it without getting spooked?

What does the term “government experiments” immediately remind you of? Many would think about weird conspiracy theories, comic book super soldiers, and even eerie mutated animals.

But nothing is farther from the truth. Of course, when you exit the fascinating world of horror flicks and comics, you’ll soon discover-to your amazement- that governments don’t have a budget to fund such fictitious programs. Rarely do these “mad scientists”- or “atomic supermen”- receive the money they earnestly request to carry out such experiments. Nevertheless, some witty scientists have convinced high-ranking state officials to sponsor some crazy projects that end up confounding everyone.

Let’s dive into the list of the top ten scariest government experiments.

In the 1960s, during the Cold War (pitting the US against its rival, the USSR), espionage was the name of the game. Think of this rather interesting happening- the US Central Intelligence Unit (CIA) squandered a whopping $10 million in attempts to train “a spy cat!”

In this eerie project, the CIA surgically implanted listening gadgets, a tail-based antenna, and a battery. The agency intended to win these spy wars by all means. Yet, more drama would follow the costly espionage war. In the CIA’s efforts to outfit the cat, named Acoustic Kitty, the unthinkable happened; the poor animal slid under a speeding taxicab and was crushed!

Was this accidental? Was it a deliberate sacrificial act to close a controversial, monstrous program? We’ll probably never know. Interestingly, the government did not tell Americans about Acoustic Kitty until 2001, when the Clinton administration finally released the secret classified documents.

Don’t you agree this was a crazy government program?

You’ll likely know about the horrific science fiction movies that feature living disembodied heads. Still, many governments have funded such creepy programs by medics who want to achieve a chilling first in the real world. In 1954, doctors finally performed a pioneer human organ transplant, the first being a kidney transplant. Experts then suggested the possibility of a future head transplant!

True enough, in 1908, US surgeon Charles Guthrie successfully transplanted a dog’s head onto another dog’s neck, all funded by the government. Later on, in 1951, Vladimir Demikhov, a Soviet surgeon, attempted to perform a canine upper body transplant.

In response to Demikhov’s work, in the mid-1960s, the US government funded the renowned neurosurgeon Robert J. White’s project. Dr. White sought to experiment by transplanting dog and monkey brains into other animal’s necks and abdomens. Finally, in 1970, Dr. White successfully transplanted a living rhesus monkey’s head onto another monkey’s headless body.

8 Japanese Biological Warfare Tests

Have you heard about Unit 731, the Imperial Japanese Army special unit? The squad committed shocking atrocities disguised cleverly as “scientific experiments.” In 1984, the Japanese government finally admitted that state-funded researchers had conducted cruel experiments on humans. The state believed that these experiments would help the Japanese prepare for possible germ warfare.

The dreaded Unit 731 was first established in 1938 to develop biological weapons. The unit received support from Japanese medical schools and universities. They supplied the unit with research staff and doctors who carried out questionable experiments.

In this project, Unit 731 employed civilians and Chinese prisoners as guinea pigs to develop lethal diseases. The researchers injected wartime prisoners with anthrax, the plague, cholera, and other pathogens. Most horrifying, some of these experiments featured vivisection without anesthesia.

The researchers even used pressure chambers to test how much a human being can take before bursting! Disgustingly, the post-war US administration offered safe passage to the perpetrators of these terrible atrocities to access information on their findings.

7 Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment

The Tuskegee Syphilis experiment involved a study of untreated syphilis among the Negro male population. In the name of receiving free treatment, this study turned into an infamous tragedy, attracting widespread condemnation. Initially, 600 men enrolled for this project. The scientists in charge carried out the study from 1932 to 1972. 399 of these men had latent syphilis. 201 men provided the experimental control. 

Doctors from the US Public Health Service monitored the project. Instead of giving the then recommended penicillin treatment, the doctors administered placebos, including mineral supplements and aspirin, to the test subjects. The doctors sought to understand the effect and spread of syphilis on humans.

Tragically, 28 men died of syphilis as a direct result of these unethical procedures. 100 more perished of syphilis-related complications while 40 spouses contracted the disease. Consequently, 19 women who gave birth passed on syphilis to their newborn children.

In 1997, US President Bill Clinton apologized to the survivors and their families due to the tragic government experiment. The President admitted that the government action was “profoundly and morally wrong.”

Vladimir Demikhov is recognized as the first medic to successfully perform a coronary artery bypass surgery on a warm-blooded creature. Despite being a successful surgeon in coronary and organ transplant surgery, the medic performed some embarrassing experiments, thrusting him into disrepute. The infamous two-headed dogs’ experiment is one notorious example of his downfall.

In the two-headed dogs’ project, Dr. Demikhov stitched a puppy’s head, shoulders, and front legs onto a German shepherd’s neck. Since both dogs could move around independently after the surgery, the project appeared successful. However, they soon died due to tissue rejection. Demikhov repeated his experiment 20 times, but the longest these creatures lived was one month.

Many considered this a cruel experiment, and I bet you do too!

5 Human Testicle Transplants

In a most disturbing experiment, Dr. Leo Stanley, a physician at California’s San Quentin Prison, transplanted some executed criminal’s testicles onto living inmates. The doctor believed that these criminal males had a common characteristic: they all had low testosterone levels. He believed that raising testosterone levels would reduce crime rates.

In his theory, Dr. Stanley turned over 600 inmates into his test subjects. Then came the most horrifying action- the doctor injected his victims with liquefied animal testicles when he could not get enough human testicles!

To prove his success, Dr. Stanley later cited a Caucasian inmate who claimed to feel energetic after undergoing a testicle transplant from an executed convict of an African American background.

4 The Stanford Prison Experiment

In 1971, researchers from Stanford University experimented with investigating why prisoners and guards always seemed to be at loggerheads. The researchers assigned 24 students the roles of prisoners and guards, putting them into a prison-like environment.

However, in just six days, this bizarre study abruptly came to an end. They initially planned to experiment for two weeks, but that did not happen. The researchers found it impossible to maintain and control the order in the experimental cells.

Interestingly, prisoners who became guards were instructed to shun violence. Shockingly, a third of the guards became abusive. The surprising thing is that the abused prisoners passively accepted cruel treatment, leading two of them to emotional trauma.

3 The Zombie Dog Experiment

Shockingly, two Russian scientists Dr. Boris Levinskovsky and Sergei Brukhoneko, once released controversial videos featuring dog heads kept alive through an artificial blood circulation system. The released videos were known as Experiments in the Revival of Organisms. In the controversial video, the scientists used the autojektor, a piece of special heart-lung equipment, to display dog heads blinking their eyes, licking their mouths, and wiggling ears in response to sound.

In 2005, American Scientists repeated the same experiment by flushing the dog’s blood and replacing it with sugar-filled saline and oxygen. The unthinkable happened; the dogs came back from the dead three hours later, after undergoing an electric shock and a blood transfusion.

2The CIA MKUltra Project

Pundits consider the MKUltra among the CIA’s most notable projects. The CIA intended to develop a mind-control technique to be unleashed against enemies during war. The agency carried out the project from 1950 to 1970. The primary goal was to put America in the lead of mind-control technology. However, in time, the project degenerated into an illegal drug-testing regime targeting thousands of citizens.

The CIA used drugs and chemicals, like LSD, to inflict psychological torture. The agency even tried to manipulate the victim’s mental states by altering brain functions. In a curious move, the authorities ordered the destruction of all project-related documentation. Despite this, in 2001, more than 20,000 pages of the program’s documents were released under the Freedom of Information Act.

1Regenerating Dead Human Cells

This might sound more like science fiction, but can you imagine a scientists’ gallant attempt to grow human brains in mice? The surprising truth is that it happened.

A group of scientists discovered that they could dry pig-bladder tissue into an extracellular matrix powder. In turn, this powder could help regrow human fingers. Interestingly, the researchers also found that pig-bladder lining cells commonly contain a unique protein that boosts tissue growth. This is strikingly similar to the way lizards regrow their tails. In contrast, the typical mammal grows scar tissue to heal injuries; this prevents future cell growth.

More recently, a few scientists achieved the impossible; they succeeded in injecting a human embryo’s stem cells into the brains of an unborn fetal mouse. After birth, the human brain cells continued developing together with the mouse brain cells. Astoundingly, this proved human stem cells can grow into such cells while “encased” in another living creature.

Doctors have used similar treatments to develop new fingertips, reattach severed fingers, and regenerate an Iraqi war veteran’s destroyed muscles. Ultimately, many scholars believe this knowledge could boost human brain disorder research and improve researchers’ testing experimental medications.

+Bonus Experiment: Spider Genes in Goats

In another development, a team of scientists succeeded in inserting the genes of spider silk into goats. Once they did this, the goats’ milk contained a protein that forms silk. In turn, this likely makes it possible to harvest massive quantities of silk from the goats’ milk. Experts consider spider silk to be five times stronger than ordinary steel! Overall, medics believe this discovery will help them design artificial limbs and bullet-proof vests.

Conclusion

These horrifying tales prove that humans will do anything to further their ambitions. One crucial detail is that the researchers accomplished all these listed atrocities with official government support and funding.

Every society to have ever existed has had urban legends. America, and, more specifically, Texas, is no exception to this. The lone star state has some of the strangest myths, urban legends and even hauntings in the United States. Texan urban legends however, are not very well known outside of the state, let alone outside of the USA. Nevertheless, here are some of the scariest Texas urban legends that might make you reconsider visiting Texas!

10. Black Eyed Children

The urban legend of the Black-Eyed Children can be found pretty much everywhere on earth thanks to the internet. However, the tale seems to have its origins in Abilene, Texas. The tale describes a single, or group of mysterious creatures who strongly resemble grade school children. They apparently only manifest at night and only to alone or unsuspecting people. When they appear, they usually only manifest to people who are currently driving or are inside their homes. When they walk up towards the closed doors of the unsuspecting victim, they will attempt to convince the person behind said door to open it for them. They accomplish this by asking for travel favours like asking to use the telephone, asking to use the bathroom or even asking for a ride home. Potential explanations for Black-Eyed Children include, vampires, demons, spirits or even a non-paranormal cult.

The origins of the black-eyed kids urban legend come from a 1998 paranormal-related mailing list post by Brian Bethel. In the list, Brian talked about an encounter with Black-Eyed Children outside a movie theater in Abilene, Texas. Although the origins of the urban legend seem to be found in Abilene, Texas, the legend spread all across the world in record time thanks to the internet. The legend experienced peak popularity in February of 2013. This is because a two-minute video episode of a popular series featured a look at these strange, paranormal children. Later, the video was eventually published to the entertainment section of the MSN web site.

9. The Donkey Lady

The Donkey Lady, is an urban legend that originates from Houston, Texas. The urban legend goes that a young woman married a man, who, later on, creates a fire. The fire is said to have killed the woman’s children and severely disfigured her. She now supposedly haunts the Woman Hollering Creek, Seguin which is between San Antonio and Houston. Her skin now drooping like an elephant; And her fingers turning into large, dark stumps, similar to donkey hooves. The heat from the flames caused the skin on her face to melt forward into the shape of a donkey. She supposedly, now prowls Woman Hollering Creek, hoping to one day get her revenge against her husband and any travel that happens to wander too close.

Many people have claimed to have encountered the women. Some say that it was a paranormal experience while others claim it was more akin to a living creature.

The origins of the urban legend is largely unknown due to the age of the legend. The tale is so old in fact, that over the years, multiple versions of the urban legend have sprung across near-by areas. However, the main tale remains somewhat-consistent throughout local areas. Some explanations for the Donkey Lady include;

• A deformed deer or donky of some kind,
• A demonic spirit or even a deformed hermit hat lives in the wilderness near the area.

Sightings of the Donkey Lady have, nevertheless, have remained consistent among various, unconnected accounts.

8. Ghost Children On San Antonio’s Railroad Tracks

The urban legend of Ghost Children on railroad tracks orginiatews in Antonio, Texas. The urban legend goes that on an intersection near Antonio, Texas. The roadway crossing is reportedly the site of a terrible train accident in which a train collided with a school bus full of children at full-speed, killing ten children on board. Reporadbly, the fatal tragedy accident happened in either the 1940’s or 30’s. However, the urban legend does not end there, as, supposedly the ghosts of the ten children continue to haunt the trail tracks, protecting other people from a terrible fate.

The urban legend says that if you happen to put your car directly into neutral while on the railroad tracks the ghosts of the children will push the car off-of the tracks to safety. Supposedly, if you happen to have your car bumper covered in baby powder or any other sort of powder, you could see tiny hand and finger prints imprinted onto the bumper. Sometimes, you can supposedly hear the laughter of children as they push your car.

The origins of this urban legend is unknown, as there is no recorded accident in the immediate area that is in anyway comparable to the one in the tale. Although the legend has been popular in the area for years, it has seen renewed popularity due to an episode of the popular series “Unsolved Mysteries” as well as multiple newspapers and magazines within Texas.

7. The Candy Lady

The urban legend of The Candy Lady, originates from rural counties in Texas. The urban legend goes that during the early 20th century a woman supposedly lured kids out of their homes with candy, once lured, she would kidnap her victims and take them to her home, never to be seen again. When children started disappearing in the small rural counties in Texas, the locals began to blame The Candy Lady. Supposedly, children in the areas began to tell stories about finding candy sitting on their window sills, however, they never told the story to their parents, fearing that they would take the candy away.

This urban legend actually has some truth to it. In the late 18 hundreds, a woman named Clara Crane murdered her husband with poisoned candy in Texas. This is due to an incident in 1893, where Marcella, her child, was killed in a farming accident. Her husband was supervising at the time of the accident, but he had been heavily intoxicated during the incident. Outraged by this, Clara poisoned caramel candies and fed them to her husband, killing him. She was then housed in the North Texas Lunatic Asylum, where she was later released.

To this day, no one knows where she went, has asylum records for the time were not really consistent. Following her release, multiple children went missing, thus, the legend of The Candy Lady was born.

6. The Dancing Devil

This urban legend originates in the town of El Camaroncito, Texas. When supposedly, on Halloween, 1975, several attractive women danced with the devil himself. The legend goes that during a Halloween party at the El Camaroncito Nightclub on Highway 90, an unknown young man began to dance. For some reason, the most attractive women were drawn to this man, not because they were attracted to him, but because where compelled to by some unknown force. After several hours of dancing, one woman stopped in horror, ripping herself from the man’s embrace, screaming at the top of her lungs while pointing at the floor. To the horror of everyone at the party, the man that had danced with the most attractive women at the party had chicken legs.

After everyone at the nightclub started to scream and point at the man in fear, an eerie silence formed as the strange man dashed into the men’s restroom, vanishing from the club out of an open window in the bathroom. When the man vanished, he left a cloud of smoke that filled the night club, smelling of a sulfur to this very day. The direct cause of whatever happened that night is still unknown. Some possible explanations for the event include, evil spirits, demons or even an elaborate prank.

5. The Nurse of Bexar County Hospital

This urban legend originated in Bexar County, Texas. Supposedly, an evil spirit haunts the hospital, killing patients in accordance to their room number. The story goes that the unexplainable deaths started in one ward room, where any patient that stayed in that room started seeing supposed hallucinations. When confronted with this, patients kept asking about a particular nurse that visited them.

When numerous staff members checked the security cameras, they saw the patients seemingly speaking to no one and reacting to things that were not there. Then, all of a sudden, patients started to die under strange circumstances. However, the patients didn’t die randomly, instead, they died in accordance to their room number in order. The unexplained deaths did not stop, until one room remained unoccupied, breaking the chain of unexplainable deaths.

This urban legend is actually based on a real tragedy. A worker named Genene Jones, was convicted of murdering multiple people in multiple hostbitles, including Bexar County Hospital. When Jones worked at Bexar County Hospital, she intentionally poisoned a minimum of 11 babies and infants during her time there. She was later found guilty of the murders and is currently serving 99 years in Dr. Lane Murray Unit in Gatesville, Texas. It is theorized that the The Nurse of Bexar County Hospital urban legend originated thanks to the crimes committed by Genene Jones

4. The Soldier at Thompson Island Bridge

This urban legend originates from San Marcos, Texas. The local population claim that the Thompson Island Bridge is guarded by a ghost dressed in a civil war era confederate uniform. Supposedly, in life, the confederate soldier made a promise to his brother; A promise that causes him to forever haunt the bridge. The unnamed soldier supposedly promised his brother that he would return no matter what. The legend goes that the spirit will only manifest if America is at war or right before a war. According to locals, the man died during the civil war, but he still kept his promise and will forever haunt the bridge.

The origins of this urban legend are largely unknown, as almost identical stories have been found in near-by area. However, for the last few decades, many San Marcos residents continue to claim to have interacted with the spirit of the Confederate soldiers. Some have even claimed to have spotted the spirit marching from one end of the bridge to the other. However, in recent years, supposed sightings of the spirit have died-down.

3. Saratoga Light

The urban legend of the Saratoga Light originates in the Big Thicket National Preserve, in Southeast Texas. The local population tells the tale of mysterious lights that appear at night above the forest. Primarily located on the main highway and on a dirt road, the lights supposedly manifests and de-manifests at random intervals during the darkest parts of the average night.

The explanation for the lights vary widely within the region and even between families. However, the most popular story tells the tale of the spirit of a miner who got decapitated, forever searching for his lost head. However, in recent times, science has come to give an explanation for the strange lights. Marsh gas is natural, non-paranormal phenomenon where methane built up in swamps is released as flaming bubbles into the atmosphere. However, locals claim that if that were the cause, the forest would have burnt down years ago. As a result, the urban legend lives on.

2. The White Lady of Rio Frio

This urban legend originates from Lake Rio Frio, Texas, Supposedly, a women can been seen as a strange fog near Rio Frio Lake. The woman in the strange fog is said to actually be very kind. Reportedly sitting by the beds of children on cold nights. Or, simply hanging around children to protect them from any possible harm. Many people, both residents and tourists, have claimed to have seen a woman dressed in all white clothing roaming next to the lake, or even the near-by canyons that scatter the landscape. However, the supposed tale is far more terrifying than the actual alleged apportion.

The origins for the urban legend dates back to the early 1900., When a woman and her sister lived inside one of the close-by canyons. According to the tale, both women were two of the most beautiful ladies in the entire area. One woman, named Maria, wanted to find a loving husband to have children with. Then, one day, the husband of her sister fell in love with Maria, who, after years of living with her sister, fell in love with her instead. According to the legend, as this was happening, another man named Anselmo also fell in love with Maria. Maria fell in love with Anselmo. However, this angered Gregorio, who shot her with a pistol so she could never marry Anselmo. According to the locals, her spirit still haunts the lake she died next to.

1. The Lechuza

The origins of this urban legend are completely unknown, as tales of this aperishion can be found all over Central and North America. Tales of the Lechuza vary wildly; In some versions of the tale, she is a spirit of a witch who was executed by the local population, in others, she is a vengeful spirit taking revenge on those who wronged her. by locals. Her spirit returns in the form of the bird-monster to get revenge. However, for simplicity’s sake, this entry will focus solely on the Texan interpretation of the cryptid.

The Lechuza are bird-like monster with the face of an eyeless woman. The Lechuza where once an ordinary woman. However, after they sold their souls to the one and only devil, they were granted mystic powers. At night, they change their form to hunt for pray. Once a Lechuza finds a suitable target, she will hide in a location where she can’t easily be seen. Once there, she will make either strange whistling sounds, or the cry of a helpless baby. If her victim ignores the cry and runs away, a Lechuza will move on and search for someone else. However, if someone attempts to determine where the sound is coming, she will swoop down and grab the person with her bird feet, never to be seen again. Some explanations for the Lechuzas are, demons, evil spirits, or even a not-yet discovered species of bird.

You must have read so many monster tales and also seen many monster movies. Such movies and novels do give us goosebumps and at times we are left wondering what would happen if such a monster stood right in front of us in real life. It surely would scare us to such an extent that we would perhaps faint then and there. But there are people who claim to actually have seen monsters for real. Whether it is true or not, it sure is interesting to learn about these 10 scariest monsters that people say they have seen in real life.

TOP 10 Scariest Monsters People Think Exist:

10. Dover Demon

Dover Demon is a monster that three teenagers claimed to have seen in Massachusetts on April 21-22, 1977. According to the teenagers, these monsters had curly fingers and huge glowing eyes. Each of the three teenagers who saw this monster drew its sketches and each of them drew the same type of image. The police however, believed that this was just a joke played by some other teenagers on the witnesses.

See also; 10 Most Terrifying Creatures Ever Found.

9. Converse Werewolf

The converse werewolf is a part of the North American legend. As per this legend, there was a rancher who had sent his teenage son to hunt a deer in the woods. However, the son did not come back and so the father went to the forest along with a rescue team. When the father heard the scream of his teenage son in the forest and ran to that direction he saw his child was being eaten by a huge wolf-like creature that did not die even after being shot by a rifle and just ran away.

See also; Top 10 Reportedly Haunted Places in Alabama.

8. Santu Sakai

This is a Malaysian legend about a creature that kept on attacking villages and ate the innocent people living there. Santu Sakais are beloved to be half human and half animal. Not too many people believed in the existence of Santu Sakai, however, a man named Henri Van Heerden claims to have seen two of these monsters while hunting and then he ran off in his car. Since these monsters are said to eat human they are one of the scariest to exists, if at all they do.

7. Champ

This monster is said to be living in the Lake Champlain. There is no physical evidence that could prove the existence of the Champ and the scientists believe this is just a trick to attract more tourist into this area. However, until now around 300 people have claimed to have had encounters with this scary monster. The first person ever to see this creature was Samuel de Champlain who saw it in the year 1609.

See also; 10 Most Interesting Kaiju Monsters of All Time.

6. Skunk Ape

This ape-like creature is a part of the legends of many states in the US, including Florida, North Carolina, and Arkansas. The monsters got their name from the smell that people say came from it. It was in the 1960s and 1970s that some people saw this ape. However, scientists do not believe in its existence, and think what people saw back then was just a bear.

5. Thunderbird

Thunderbird is a huge bird-like creature that people saw from 1890 until 2007. These creatures are believed to be a part of North American folklore and remind of prehistoric pterodactyls. In the 20th and 21st centuries, many people from Texas, Missouri, Alaska, and Illinois supposedly saw these giant birds.

4. Yeti

Yeti is popularly known as Abominable Snowman and is said to be residing in the Himalayan Mountains. It is a part of the mythology of the indigenous population of Bhutan, Tibet, and Nepal. The British, in 1921, held an expedition in Mount Everest and it is then that they saw the footprints of some creature that they thought must be a big wolf, but once they looked at them more carefully it looked like footprints of some huge human. The members of this expedition named the creature Abominable Snowman.

See also; Top 10 Mysterious Creatures Spotted on Camera.

3. Chupacabra

This strange creature is a part of the North American folklore and is first believed to have been seen in Puerto Rico. Chupacabra supposedly attacks livestock, particularly goats, and suck their blood. This creature is believed to look like a small bear but has many spikes on their back.

See also; 10 Most Popular Mythical Creatures Known To Mankind.

2. Loch Ness Monster

“Nessie” is the monster that apparently inhabits Loch Ness, a lake in Scotland, since 1933. There are many stories from different people who claim to have seen this monster, however, there are not many photographs or other types of recorded material. The monster, as people say, is a big dinosaur, which is alive to date. In addition, 2017 was the ‘record year’ for sightings of these Scariest Monsters “Loch Ness monster” according to BBC.

Bigfoot is a part of the legend from North American folklore. It is said to be living in forests and is an ape-like creature. This monster, as described by the people who saw it, is huge and hairy, but scientists do not believe in its existence. They say these are just rumors or a hoax because no valid evidence of its existence has ever been gained. According to the scientists, what people have seen most likely were bears.

It is true that the existence of these scariest monsters cannot be guaranteed. However, there are many people who claim to have seen them, and when they did, it surely must have scared the wits out of them. Of course, this would have been your condition too had you encountered any such monsters, wouldn’t it?