55 Of History’s Scariest Pictures — And The Backstories That Make Them Even More Terrifying

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Scary Pictures: The Jaws Of A Frilled Shark

Russian fisherman Roman Fedortsov has caught a wide variety of astounding marine species over the years. But none have ever been as terrifying as the frilled shark pictured here. A living fossil that’s remained unchanged for 80 million years, this beast boasts 300 razor-sharp teeth that it uses to eat everything from squids to other sharks.Science Alert/Instagram

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A Crime Scene Message From The Lipstick Killer

When police entered the apartment of Frances Brown on Dec. 10, 1945, they found the 32-year-old woman dead with a knife lodged in her back — and this ominous message scrawled on her wall in her lipstick: “For heaven’s Sake, catch me Before I kill more I cannot control myself.” William Heirens a.k.a. the “Lipstick Killer” killed three more women before he was caught in 1946. While he confessed before his conviction, Heirens claimed he was coerced to do so by police — leaving one to wonder whether the real killer might have gone uncaught.Kirn Vintage Stock/Getty Images

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The Real-Life Urban Legend Of Charlie No-Face

The legend of Charlie No-Face spread among children of 1960s Pennsylvania like wildfire. Otherwise known as The Green Man, this faceless figure was said to roam the roadways at night and glow green as the result of an industrial accident. While the legend was eerie enough, the truth was far scarier — and all the more tragic.

The story begins with eight-year-old Raymond Robinson who, in 1919, accidentally shocked himself with 11,000 volts of electricity, causing his face to all but explode. He survived despite sustaining disfiguring injuries to his face and arms, then became a hermit by day to avoid ridicule over his appearance.Wikimedia Commons

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The Scariest Images Ever Taken: The Experiments Of Duchenne De Boulogne

Between 1854 and 1856, French neurologist Guillaume-Benjamine-Amand Duchenne de Boulogne conducted a series of electrophysiological studies to assess how facial muscles produced our expressions. A noble pursuit, his methods were anything but — as Boulogne used electroshocks on restrained patients to gather the necessary data. Wikimedia Commons

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The Terror Of Vintage Halloween Costumes

This particular vintage Halloween costume was captured on a farm in Camp Dix, New Jersey in 1917 — and is undoubtedly more terrifying than anything you’ll see this October.Richard/Flickr

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The Tools Of Ted Bundy

Early in the morning on Aug. 21, 1975, Salt Lake City police noticed a VW Beetle driving through town with its lights off. The driver refused to stop when the officer flashed his lights, leading to both his arrest and the discovery of this highly suspicious cargo in his trunk. The driver was identified as Ted Bundy, who was subsequently charged with the kidnapping of Carol DaRonch — one of the lucky few survivors of the gruesome attacks that Bundy carried out with the help of tools like the ones pictured here.Wikimedia Commons

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The Last Photo Of Jolee Callan

On Aug. 30, 2015, Jolee Callan and her ex-boyfriend Loren Bunner went on a hike through Alabama’s Cheaha State Park. The 18-year-old was weeks away from leaving town for college when she agreed to join her frustrated ex on a hike. Unaware he had brought a gun, Callan was taking in the view when Bunner shot her in the head and dumped her body off the 40-foot cliff she is pictured on here. This is the last photo of Callan — taken by Bunner moments before he killed her.lorendaniel/Instagram

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A Jail Cell From The Salem Witch Trials

This makeshift jail cell truly brings out the horrors of the Salem witch trials. It was in cells like this one that accused witches spent their final moments before being executed. Between 1692 and 1693, more than 200 people were accused — with 19 of those who were found guilty sentenced to death.Nina Leen/Getty Images

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Real Scary Pictures: The Secret Bondage Photos Of The BTK Killer

Boy Scout troop leader and church council president Dennis Rader appeared to be a loyal husband and proud father of two. Unbeknownst to anyone, however, he also murdered 10 people in and around Wichita, Kansas between 1974 and 1991. Self-described as the “BTK Killer” for his modus operandi to “Bind,” “Torture,” and “Kill,” Rader was finally captured in 2005. Authorities then discovered his secret stash of bondage photos, like the one shown here, in which he photographed himself in the paraphernalia that he used on some of his victims.Kansas Bureau of Investigation

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Market Vendors Selling Human Remains During The 1921 Russian Famine

A Soviet couple from the Samara province sells human remains at a market stall in the winter of 1921. That year, the nation was in the grip of a devastating famine that ultimately killed 5 million people and saw countless others resort to eating human flesh in order to survive.Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

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The Florida Skunk Ape

Whether Bigfoot is real remains to be seen, and the same is true for Florida’s so-called Skunk Ape, a lesser-known variation of the mythical primate. The Skunk Ape was reportedly first sighted in 1942, and the most convincing proof of its existence is this photograph that was anonymously sent to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Department on Dec. 29, 2000. The woman who mailed the ominous photo seen here claimed that the ape-like creature had made whooping noises for three straight nights, had an “awful smell,” and then fled, never to be seen again.Sarasota County Sheriff’s Department

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A Victorian Death Portrait

Before burying their loved ones for good, grieving relatives in the Victorian era would honor the deceased by photographing the corpse in what look like otherwise normal portraits. These Victorian death portraits were surprisingly common, especially when the deceased was a child. This tragic image, for example, was taken in 1855 and features a young boy holding a flower and his favorite toy.Victorian Photographic Portraits of People/Flickr

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The Cleveland Torso Murderer

Otherwise known as the “Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run,” the Cleveland Torso Murderer killed, castrated, and dismembered at least 12 people between 1935 and 1938. Seen here are detectives and the coroner examining the remains of two victims on Aug. 16, 1938. In a world before Ed Gein or Ted Bundy, these macabre crimes shocked the nation — particularly because the perpetrator was never caught.Bettmann/Getty Images

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The Montauk Monster

On a hot summer day in July 2008, East Hampton native Jenna Hewitt spotted an unidentifiable creature on the Ditch Plains beaches of Long Island, New York. As journalists, curious locals, and cryptozoologists flocked to the scene, a slew of theories about this so-called “Montauk monster” emerged. Some claimed it was a dead raccoon or a pit bull, while others pointed at Plum Island — a secretive Animal Disease Center located not far from where this creature was found. While the corpse is long gone, theories that the creature was an escaped lab experiment remain tantalizing to this day.Wikimedia Commons

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The First Moments Of The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami

It was the morning of Dec. 26, 2004, when a 9.1-magnitude earthquake emanated from the seafloor of the Pacific Ocean and sparked 30-foot tidal waves that crashed ashore in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, the Maldives, and Thailand. Seen here are tourists and Thai natives on the beach of Ao Nang as the first waves arrived. It was one of the worst natural disasters of the 21st century, leaving over 230,000 people dead and millions more displaced.Wikimedia Commons

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Real Scary Pictures: The Last Portrait Of The Lawson Family

While it appears to be a normal family portrait, this snapshot was taken mere days before patriarch Charlie Lawson (the man standing second from the right) murdered everyone pictured here on Christmas Day 1929. Only 16-year-old Arthur (top left) managed to escape being murdered.Wikimedia Commons

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The 1914 Eruption Of Mount Sakurajima

Now considered one of the most active volcanoes in the world, Mount Sakurajima had been dormant for more than 100 years when it suddenly erupted in 1914. Wreaking havoc upon Kyushu, Japan, this volcanic disaster was preceded by several earthquakes days before — which had fortunately led nearly every resident to safely evacuate the area. Nonetheless, 58 people were killed during the earthquake, while the volcanic eruption created a watery strait, turning the mainland into a permanent peninsula.Wikimedia Commons

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The Two-Headed Dog Of Dr. Vladimir Demikhov

The epitome of a mad scientist, Soviet doctor Vladimir Demikhov created the world’s first two-headed dog in 1954. Seen here is a German Shepherd serving as the host and a smaller dog fused on top, both of which could hear, see, smell, and swallow. Tragically, however, both animals died within four days.Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone/Getty Images

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The Mouth Of A Leatherback Sea Turtle

Though it may look like something out of an alien movie, this is actually the mouth of a leatherback sea turtle. The largest turtle of its kind, the leatherback grows up to eight feet long and can weigh as much as 2,000 pounds. It’s also the only turtle without a hardshell and has dozens of demonic-looking papillae lining its mouth, esophagus, and gut in place of teeth. Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge

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George “The Mad Bomber” Metesky

Between 1940 and 1956, George Metesky, the “Mad Bomber,” planted more than 30 bombs in public places across New York City and injured at least 15 people in the process. While depositing them at places like Radio City Music Hall, the New York Public Library, and Pennsylvania Station, he wrote taunting letters to local newspapers and didn’t stop until he was arrested in 1957. He was subsequently found legally insane and committed to a mental hospital.Library of Congress

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The Sickening Human Experiments Of Unit 731

Pictured is a suffering victim of the Imperial Japanese Army, which conducted scores of sickening human experiments like this one on Chinese prisoners between 1935 and 1945. Known as Unit 731, the army’s biological warfare department explored the effects of hypothermia, conscious vivisection, pressure chambers, and syphilis on innocent men, women, and children. Here, Unit 731 personnel douse a test subject with an unknown bacteria — merely to study the results.Xinhua/Getty Images

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The Human Skin Gloves Of Ed Gein

The murders of Ed Gein in the mid-1950s were so shockingly macabre that they inspired everything from The Chainsaw Massacre to Psycho. The Plainfield, Wisconsin man robbed graves, butchered innocent women, and made furniture and clothing out of body parts. This was only discovered upon his arrest in 1957, when police raided his home and found mutilated bodies, bowls made of skulls, a lampshade made of a person’s face — and gloves made of human skin.Waushara County Sheriff’s Office

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The Last Moments Of A Man Who Jumped Into A Tiger Enclosure

In September 2014, visitors at the National Zoological Park in Delhi, India watched in horror as a tiger killed a 20-year-old visitor, pictured here just moments before his demise. The unnamed man, who reportedly had a history of mental illness, leapt over the railing around the tiger enclosure and dropped right in front of a ferocious white tiger — which then spent 15 minutes mauling the man to death. While children threw stones at the animal in hopes that it would stop, the tiger never did — and the man’s screams could be heard across the entire the park.Delhi Police

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History’s Scariest Images: The Mummified Girls Of Anatoly Moskvin

On the outside, Anatoly Moskvin appeared to be a respectable and normal man. He held an advanced degree, spoke 13 languages, and was a contributing author to several Russian publications. It was only in 2011 that authorities realized he was also a grave robber in his spare time when they found 29 corpses of victims aged three to 25 in his home. But the most chilling discovery was that he had turned them into dolls — covering their skin in fabric, makeup, and clothing, and even putting music boxes into their chests.Nam Tran/YouTube

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The Last Photo Of Daylenn Pua

On Feb. 27, 2015, Daylenn Pua of Oahu, Hawaii vanished from the face of the Earth. The 17-year-old had told his parents that he planned to hike the Haiku Stairs, a treacherous trail otherwise known as the “Stairway to Heaven,” and was never seen again. Most ominously, the last message he texted his parents included this photo of a blurry figure following him. To this day, this person has never been identified.Crime Stoppers

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The Mummified Corpse Of Carl Tanzler’s Lover

When Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos first walked into the office of Dr. Carl Tanzler, he was merely determined to treat her tuberculosis. But then, he fell deeply in love with her, and eventually went to macabre lengths to be with her even following her death in 1931. After stealing her corpse from the mausoleum where she was interred, he turned it into a makeshift doll that he held together with wax, coat hangers, and silk. He lived with the doll as his companion and sleeping partner for nine years before he was found out. Wikimedia Commons

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The Blood-Curdling Coconut Crab

The largest land-dwelling invertebrate on Earth, the coconut crab has a leg span of up to three feet and can weigh up to nine pounds. With a hefty abdomen and 10 spidery legs, this terrestrial terror is a scary sight to behold. Fortunately for us, these creatures don’t care for human flesh — and prefer to feast on fruits, nuts, seeds, and animal carcasses.Coconut Crab Fan Club/Facebook

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The Terrifying Ronald McDonald Of Yesteryear

With a significant percentage of people utterly terrified by clowns, it’s no surprise that the baby seen here with Ronald McDonald is unhappy. While this isn’t the original Ronald McDonald of 1963, this particular iteration from the 1970s is arguably far more chilling — as its eyes appear more reptilian than human.danielecarrer/Pinterest

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The Snaggle-Toothed Snake-Eel

The snaggle-toothed snake-eel is one of the most terrifying animals on Earth. Perhaps most chilling is that these creatures grow up to three feet long and are typically found in tropical waters — at depths as shallow as 16 feet. Captured near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in 2018, this particular specimen’s eyes are bulging out, for added horror, due to exposure to the elements.Mtaylor0812_/Reddit

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Scary Photos: The Mask Of Edward Paisnel, “The Beast Of Jersey”

Throughout the 1960s, the Channel Island of Jersey was terrorized by Edward Paisnel, who raped and sodomized at least 13 people — while wearing the mask seen here. But perhaps most chilling of all is that the so-called “Beast of Jersey” was, to the rest of the world, a family man who even dressed up as Santa Claus for local foster children at Christmastime.R. Powell/Daily Express/Getty Images

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Joseph Göbbels And The “Eyes Of Hate”

Just moments before this photo was taken at the League of Nations meeting in Geneva, Switzerland in September 1933, Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Göbbels was smiling and cheerful. But as soon as he found out that the man taking his photo was Jewish, his expression switched to the one you see here, since known as the “Eyes of Hate”. LIFE Magazine

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The Great Gorge Of Ruth Glacier

The legs of photographer Aaron Huey dangle over the edge of the Great Gorge of Alaska’s Ruth Glacier, the deepest glacial gorge in the world. The hole is 3,700 feet deep and portions of it are more than a thousand years old. The only thing separating Huey from a seemingly infinite drop into the abyss is an ice sheet that he chose to trust. As he later admitted, “It was easy to imagine a long slide to an icy death.”argonautphoto/Instagram

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The Final Moments Of Two Men Atop A Burning Turbine

In October 2013, this wind turbine in Piet de Wit, Holland, suddenly burst into flames. During a routine maintenance check at 260 feet, two engineers aged 19 and 21 were trapped on top of the turbine by the blaze, which was caused by a short circuit. They can be seen here embracing in their final moments before being fatally engulfed.Today In Horror History/Facebook

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The Final Photo Of A Victim Of The Glamour Girl Slayer

Before dragging 19-year-old Judy Dull into the Mojave Desert to strangle her, Harvey Glatman took this photo of her for his collection. Known as “The Glamour Girl Slayer,” this 1950s serial killer posed as a photographer and targeted aspiring actresses in Hollywood, taking their picture before taking their lives.Bettmann/Getty Images

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The Japanese Spider Crab

Though it looks torn from the pages of H.P. Lovecraft, the Japanese spider crab is no work of fiction — it actually does roam the coastal floors of Japan. Dwelling at depths between 160 and 1,970 feet, adult specimens have the widest leg span of any arthropod at more than 12 feet. These creatures can weigh up to 42 pounds and have fortunately not yet developed a taste for human beings.Takashi Hososhima/Flickr

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Children Bound To A Radiator At A Lebanese Asylum

Pictured are two children tied to a radiator at a Lebanese mental asylum in 1982. While psychiatric facilities of decades past were rife with practices that would be unconscionable today, few abuses were as disturbing as those inflicted upon children like these.José Nicolas/Corbis/Getty Images

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A Siberian Bear-Hunting Suit From The 1800s

Made of quilted leather with hundreds of one-inch iron nails adorning its exterior, this 19th-century Siberian bear-hunting suit was reportedly the only one of its kind to actually survive a bear attack.LIFE Magazine

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Real Scary Pictures: A Corpse From The Toraja Death Ritual

The death ritual of the Torajan people of Indonesia mandates that the deceased remain at home while relatives prepare the funeral. During this time, the deceased’s body is cared for meticulously. Dressed in everyday clothing and often even adorned with sunglasses or hats, the corpse is sometimes preserved in this fashion for years, and is often removed from its grave when it’s time to clean either the tomb or the corpse. This particular corpse was removed from its grave for a touch-up.Muslianshahmasrie/Flickr

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Keith Sapsford’s Fatal Fall

On Feb. 22, 1970, 14-year-old Keith Sapsford ran away from his boarding school in Sydney, Australia, and climbed into an airplane’s wheel-well to hitch a ride just for the adventure of it all. But he didn’t realize until the aircraft was 200 feet in the air that the compartment would reopen to retract its wheels — causing him to fall to his death. His fatal fall was captured by photographer John Gilpin, who happened to be photographing airplanes that day.John Gilpin

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Dracula’s Castle

Located in Transylvania, Bran Castle is widely known as “Dracula’s Castle.” While the iconic vampire is of course fictional, this castle does have some historical associations with the Wallachian conqueror Vlad the Impaler, a.k.a. Vlad Dracula, the bloodthirsty tyrant widely called the inspiration for Dracula.Pinterest

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The Aptly-Named Megamouth Shark

Only discovered in 1976, the megamouth shark roams the deep seas and is so removed from the world of humans that only about 100 specimens have ever been seen or caught. Perhaps more disturbing is that adults can reach up to 18 feet in length and weigh more than 2,500 pounds — with a mouth that extends up to four feet wide. The beastly specimen seen here was caught three miles off Port Owase in Japan’s Mir Prefecture in 2016 before being sold at a local fish market.TrackingSharks/Twitter

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One Of The Few Survivors Of The USS Indianapolis

Days after the USS Indianapolis secretly delivered the components of the atomic bomb that was to be dropped on Hiroshima, it was torpedoed at sea by a Japanese submarine. The July 30, 1945, incident left nearly 1,000 men adrift in the Philippine Sea — with the vessel’s oil burning men to death and sharks eating them alive. Seen here is one of only 316 surviving sailors.United States Navy

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Demonic Selfies Taken By The Perpetrator A Mass Shooting Just Before The Massacre

On July 20, 2012, James Holmes stepped into the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado during a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises and deployed tear gas grenades before shooting 12 people to death and leaving 70 more wounded. Holmes was apprehended at the scene, and this selfie, among others, were recovered from his home and used as evidence against him at trial. The 27-year-old was sentenced to 12 life sentences on Aug. 7, 2015.Colorado District Attorney’s Office

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The Giant Golden-Crowned Flying Fox

With a wingspan of nearly six feet, the giant golden-crowned flying fox is officially the largest bat on Earth. Fortunately for us, this aerial terror is only interested in eating fruit. Nonetheless, colonies of these creatures are ominous to behold — as they can swell to as many 10,000 bats when they swarm the Philippines.AlexJoestar622/Twitter

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The Mummified Corpse Of Manfred Fritz Bajorat

On Feb. 25, 2016, fishermen in the Philippines boarded a seemingly abandoned yacht, only to discover a mummified body within. Documents found nearby helped authorities to identify the man as Manfred Fritz Bajorat, an experienced German sailor who was discovered slumped over his desk. He apparently died while attempting to use the radio, perhaps to call for help. To this day, authorities don’t know exactly how he perished or how long it took for him to naturally mummify in place right where he died.Barobo Police

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The Scariest Pictures Ever Taken: The Woman Held Captive For 25 Years

In 1901, French police received an anonymous tip that a woman was being held captive in the home of an aristocrat in the town of Poitiers. Sure enough, officers soon found a 55-pound prisoner named Blanche Monnier, pictured here just after her discovery. She had been trapped against her will in that room for 25 years — by her very own mother.Wikimedia Commons

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The Deep-Sea Fangtooth Fish

While the fangtooth fish looks like something out of a horror film, it’s a real animal roaming our oceans at this very moment. Fortunately for human beings, this deep-sea creature dwells at depths of up to 16,400 feet. Nonetheless, its petrifying appearance and ability to hoover prey into its mouth remains pure nightmare fuel — no matter how far removed from this creature we might be.NOAA

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The Salem UFO Sighting Of 1952

Captured on Aug. 3, 1952, in the skies above Salem, Massachusetts, this photograph has not been doctored — and has never been explained. The image, taken by 21-year-old U.S. coastguard officer Shel Alpert, depicts four unidentified flying objects hovering in formation. It has remained one of the most prominent photographs of a UFO ever taken and has since been entered into the Library of Congress.Library of Congress

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A Hiroshima Man’s Shadow Imprinted Onto The Ground By The Atomic Bomb

When the United States dropped the atomic bomb “Little Boy” on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, many of the 80,000 victims left nothing but their nuclear shadows behind. The explosion resulted in a heat blast of 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which bleached any exposed surfaces — resulting in chilling silhouettes of whatever stood in its path, including human victims like this one.Universal History Archive/UIG/Getty Images

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Chilling “Spirit Photography” Said To Reveal Ghosts

Discovered in an antiquarian bookshop by a curator of the National Media Museum, these images were captured by purported medium William Hope. Known as “spirit photography,” these images from the early 1900s allegedly depict ghosts, and even contemporaneous luminaries like author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle believed they were real.Public Domain

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The Last Photo Of The Dyatlov Pass Victims

In January 1959, a group of young hikers trekked into the Northern Urals in Soviet Russia — and were never seen again. This is one of the last photos taken of the hikers before they disappeared, recovered from one of their cameras. Now known as the Dyatlov Pass incident, the mystery of the hikers’ disappearance only deepened when their bodies were discovered months later. Some of them were found without eyes, another was found without a tongue, and several were struck by an unknown force comparable to a speeding car. What actually happened to them remains uncertain to this day.Public Domain

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An Explorer’s Final Photo Before Being Cannibalized By A Remote Tribe

Michael Rockefeller, center, was the son of New York governor Nelson Rockefeller, who would become Vice President of the United States. He was born with a silver spoon and wanted for nothing, but he met a macabre end when he travelled to Papua New Guinea in the early 1960s. It’s believed that the Asmat people — known cannibals who beheaded their victims — ate the unlucky explorer during one of his trips.President and Fellows of Harvard University/ Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology

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The Congo Tiger Fish

Jeremy Wade has spent the last three decades combing the world for the weirdest river fish he can get his hands on. Seen here, the British television presenter is holding a Congo tiger fish — which Wade himself explained “can grow to the size of a person.” Even more disturbing is that this creature’s mouth is riddled with one-inch teeth, which are about the same size as those of a 1,000-pound great white shark.Animal Planet

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Scary Photos: The Frozen Corpse Of 19th-Century Sailor John Torrington

This is the body of John Torrington, a young sailor who perished alongside over 100 others in the doomed Franklin Expedition of 1845. The expedition was meant to be an historic voyage to locate the elusive and lucrative Northwest Passage to Asia through the Arctic. Instead, it was one of the most harrowing maritime disasters of the 19th century, as some 130 sailors became trapped in Arctic ice and froze, starved, or cannibalized each other to death. Nobody knew quite where the men had died until Torrington’s corpse was discovered by researchers in 1986, buried under ice on Beechey Island in the Canadian Arctic.Brian Spenceley

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Vintage Clown Charlie Smith

Pictured here is Charlie Smith, a demonic-looking vintage clown. Luckily, he was just another performer, trying his hardest to soothe a terrified toddler back in the 1930s.FPG/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

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Whether it’s serial killers, cannibals, or disturbing beasts, the only thing more chilling than these scary photos from decades past are the terrifying stories behind them.