I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Some of the best horror writing, and purportedly truthful tales of unsettling encounters, can be found completely for free on Reddit. If you’ve ever found yourself stuck in a creepypasta loop or endlessly scrolling a haunted AMA before realizing it’s suddenly four in the morning, then you’ll know exactly what I mean. If not, well, let me get you started on one of my favorite bad habits. At least this one won’t cost you anything, and in a world of collectible figurines and hand-forged swords that’s probably your best outcome on a geek website like ours. Happy spooking yourself!
10. Let’s Not Meet
A sub where everything is at least supposed to be entirely factual, the Let’s Not Meet Reddit sub is inspired by those missed connections sections in the newspaper (and Craigslist), but with a twist. Every single encounter related by the denizens of this subreddit is creepy at best, and utterly horrifying at, well, also best. From the terrifying mundanity of the overly friendly man who follows you home, to the dubious cryptid sightings, Let’s Not Meet has a wide variety of true-life tales to make you glad you’re safely at home. Some stories may be triggering or genuinely upsetting rather than enjoyably creepy, so be forewarned before delving in.
9. The Official SCP sub
The SCP Project, standing for Secure, Contain, Protect, is a collaborative fiction project dedicated to “a secret world in modern life where different organizations—the Foundation, the GoC, the Church of the Broken God, etc.—rush to find and contain anomalous objects or creatures called SCPs.” Sometimes silly, sometimes actually scary, The SCP’s official Reddit has something for everyone and is just waiting for you to join them.
8. Thalassophobia
Any Magnus Archives fan knows what thalassophobia means, but for the uninitiated, it is a fear of deep water. The ocean is sinister y’all, and I will take no notes on that. If you’re nodding along, then r/Thalassophobia is the sub for you. Full of photos and videos of the sea and other natural bodies of water, this sub will keep you relieved that you’re dry and safe on land … unless you’re scrolling on a boat. Then, you’re on your own.
7. Creepypasta
It’s a sub dedicated to creepypasta, which is a portmanteau of creepy and copypasta if you’ve somehow managed to escape one of the internet’s most enduring trends. Originally intended to be the urban legends of the internet, creepypasta was designed to be copied and passed around like digital chain letters. Like those well-meaning warnings about elaborate kidnapping schemes your aunty forwards you, it’s now expanded into folk tale/urban legend-style horror shorts in general. Some good, some bad, some classic, and all very easy to lose track of time while reading.
6. The Backrooms
An immersive horror experience, The Backrooms began with a single grim photo of the sort of liminal corporate nowhere space you’ll find in the most depressing hotels and office buildings. Now, it’s an entire sprawling, collaborative fiction meme that’s spread across social media. This is The Backrooms Reddit sub: part roleplay, part truly committed shitpost, part genuinely unsettling multi-media horror project, and a great place to waste your lunch hour.
5. Paranormal
Here’s a sub dedicated to users sharing their real-life supernatural experiences, paranormal evidence, and discussions about various aspects of the supernatural. There’s some interesting and scary stuff in r/Paranormal, and unlike a lot of paranormal/cryptid/spooky spaces, there doesn’t seem to be any right-wing conspiracy theory creep going on in the posts (which I can’t believe has to be a factor now but hey, the 2020’s!).
4. No Sleep
One of the biggest horror subs on Reddit, you may already be familiar with the podcast, which takes the best of NoSleep and reads them out to you as bedtime stories … or any time of day stories really, some of us are just built differently. As with any forum that allows open posting, not every story shared on r/NoSleep is a winner. But the sub has an above-average level of quality and some of the stories are genuinely chilling. Overall there’s a strong possibility of scaring yourself and finding something that will stay with you long after you’ve closed the browser.
3. Two Sentence Horror Stories
The two-sentence story is a classic literary constraint that was absolutely made for horror, and the denizens of this sub have used the format to create some truly disturbing, surprising little stories. This is another sub where you’ll have to curate your reading material yourself or would have to if we hadn’t made a start on it for you. Two Sentence Horror Stories has a high proportion of good or at least entertaining posts and comes with the bonus of being able to absorb a boatload of stories quickly. A low investment high reward sort of sub, it’s perfect for when you don’t have much time, are really tired, and lack the attention span for anything longer.
2. Humanoid Encounters
My personal favorite (because I love me some cryptids), Humanoid Encounters is full of first and second-hand encounters with uncanny creatures that may or may not be human. Another space that seems largely safe from right-wing conspiracy creeps, folks come here to share stories and find answers about what the hell they’ve just seen in the cornfield (nothing, you saw nothing, and if you heard it, no you didn’t).
1. Ask Reddit
No really, ask Reddit is one of the spookiest subs on there. Obviously, it’s not all dedicated to scary stories so you’ll have to use the search function. But all you have to do is type in a keyword like “spooky” and you’ll find some amazing collections of creepy encounters and ghost stories, all allegedly true. Can I recommend starting with the spookiest things truckers have seen on the road? Truckers have seen some shit. There’s also the Creepy Ask Reddit sub, where people cross-post the scary ones out of Ask Reddit, but there’s always the chance you’ll miss something if you rely on other people to find it for you.
(featured image: Andrea Boldizsar/Unsplash)
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Siobhan Ball
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