# Scariest Story Ever! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 27, 2002, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-story-ever/145068 "2002-12-27T00:38:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![fauxpas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e480ec/32.png) [@fauxpas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fauxpas)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-story-ever/145068/1 "2002-12-27T00:38:20Z")
MY question of this time is…what perhaps is the scariest stories with pictures as proof? Would it be Bloody Mary? Or something otherwise unknownest to us? ---
**Author:** ![fauxpas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e480ec/32.png) [@fauxpas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fauxpas)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-story-ever/145068/2 "2002-12-27T00:59:29Z")
For me would probably be The Blair Witch…pictures can be found at [www.blairwitch.com](http://www.blairwitch.com) (i think) ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-story-ever/145068/3 "2002-12-27T01:25:21Z")
I am a little unclear as to what you are after. What happend in the nazi camps was very scary. The last pictures of Jack the Rippers victim. Scary to think that we can and do these things to each other. Its scary that there are those that think having sex with kids is great. Very scary. The movies that I think are the scarriest are : The haunting, The hills have eyes, The Exorsist, Alien, Dawn on the dead and Jaws, Physco. Books Communiun by Whitley Streiber h is the only book that ever scaried me. My spelling scary. My husband says reading Pet Cemitary is scary. He can not read it. Red Dragon also made his list. I love the stuff. I read and watch a lot of it. ---
**Author:** ![fauxpas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e480ec/32.png) [@fauxpas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fauxpas)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-story-ever/145068/4 "2002-12-27T01:28:40Z")
I said story not movie or novel. ---
**Author:** ![raz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@raz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raz)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-story-ever/145068/5 "2002-12-27T01:34:05Z")
Novels and movies can tell stories, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-story-ever/145068/6 "2002-12-27T01:35:45Z")
> [@](#): > > I said story not movie or novel. But then you named a movie as your example. What he’s asking is, “Do you mean fiction or non-fiction?” A story and a movie and a novel are all _fiction_. Do you want us to name scary fictional stories, or do you mean real-life stories like the Nazis and the Holocaust, and serial murders and stuff like that? Or do you mean “story” as in “ghost story”? _Blair Witch Project_ **is** a ghost “story”, although it’s a movie. All those other movies that he named are “stories”, too, although they’re also movies. We don’t understand what you’re getting at. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-story-ever/145068/7 "2002-12-27T01:43:30Z")
And, er, you do understand that the whole story of the Blair Witch was just made up for the movie? There is no real “Blair Witch Legend”. [http://www.snopes.com/horrors/ghosts/blair.htm](http://www.snopes.com/horrors/ghosts/blair.htm) > [@](#): > > First of all, the “facts” behind the Blair Witch legend are apocryphal. The rare 1809 book The Blair Witch Cult, which is “commonly considered fiction” and “tells of an entire town cursed by an outcast witch,” isn’t real. (As the web site informs us, only one copy of the book exists, conveniently in the hands of an unnamed private collector.) A hermit who allegedly “ritualistically murdered and disemboweled” seven children in 1940-41 at the behest of “an old woman ghost who occupied the woods near his house” was “quickly convicted and hanged,” yet none of the area newspapers apparently saw fit to cover this sensational story. When the three student filmmakers allegedly disappeared in 1994, the Maryland State Police reportedly spent ten days and “33,000 man hours” employing dogs, helicopters, a hundred men, and even a “fly over by a Department of Defense Satellite” to locate them, but once again media coverage of this sensational, newsworthy event was completely non-existent. (The citizens of Burkittsville and the Frederick County Sheriff’s Department are happy to confirm the fictionality of these events.) > > \< snip \> > > \*\*The legend of the Blair Witch was invented by the film’s writer/directors, Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez. \*\*Myrick and Sánchez hired three young actors (Heather Donahue, Michael Williams, and Joshua Leonard), explained the outline of the film’s story to them, gave them advice about the characters they were to play, then turned them loose in the woods with film equipment to shoot movie footage. The actors received notes and supplies left for them and carried a Global Positioning System (GPS) device with them for tracking purposes, but they didn’t know exactly what was going to happen once they embarked on their movie-making venture – thus the film has the feel of a documentary that captures events genuinely surprising to the filmmakers. (If you’re still convinced the movie’s premise is real, perhaps the fact that the “dead” film students are giving interviews – such as the one in Salon – will dissuade you.) > > Adding to the movie’s pre-release build-up was the airing on the Sci-Fi Channel of a fictional documentary, The Curse of the Blair Witch, about the putative Blair Witch legend and the making of the related film. (Remember, the “Fi” in “Sci-Fi” stands for fiction.) “Apocryphal” means “fake”. > [@](#): > > Main Entry: apoc·ry·phal > Pronunciation: -f&l > Function: adjective > Date: 1590 > 1 : of doubtful authenticity : SPURIOUS > 2 often capitalized : of or resembling the Apocrypha > synonym see FICTITIOUS “Putative” means “assumed to exist”. > [@](#): > > Main Entry: pu·ta·tive > Pronunciation: 'pyü-t&-tiv > Function: adjective > Etymology: Middle English, from Late Latin putativus, from Latin putatus, past participle of putare to think > Date: 15th century > 1 : commonly accepted or supposed > 2 : assumed to exist or to have existed ---
**Author:** ![Splanky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@Splanky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Splanky)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-story-ever/145068/8 "2002-12-27T03:38:47Z")
The story of Al Fish. That guy gave me nightmares. ---
**Author:** ![fauxpas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e480ec/32.png) [@fauxpas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fauxpas)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-story-ever/145068/9 "2002-12-27T07:46:42Z")
Um no offense Duck Duck Goose but I know what those words mean. And thanks for your input. So Splanky who or what is Al Fish? ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-story-ever/145068/10 "2002-12-27T07:51:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by fauxpas \* > \*\*Um no offense Duck Duck Goose but I know what those words mean. And thanks for your input. So Splanky who or what is Al Fish? \*\* [Ask, and you shall receive.](http://members.tripod.com/bedpan3/reallife.html) It helps to Google a bit to keep up with the refs, **fauxpas**. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-story-ever/145068/11 "2002-12-27T07:52:17Z")
**Moderator’s Note:** What is scary to one person will make another person giggle. That being the case, this question has no factual answer and is inherently a matter of opinion. Did you hear the one about the Moderator who moved the thread from General Questions to In My Humble Opinion…? Later, they looked, and there was a bloody HOOK stuck in the side of the thread! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![fauxpas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e480ec/32.png) [@fauxpas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fauxpas)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-story-ever/145068/12 "2002-12-27T08:03:30Z")
Wow thanks MEBuckner, i Think? ---
**Author:** ![Keith\_Berry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/22d042/32.png) [@Keith\_Berry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keith_Berry)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-story-ever/145068/13 "2002-12-27T08:12:19Z")
That Blair Witch Legend thing is getting pretty tiresome. I live in Maryland (in fact about 15 miles from the abandoned house where they shot the ending at…film geeks note, that house is roughly 50-60 miles from the woods where the rest of the movie was shot) and when the movie came out, a lot of people on net boards were bugging me for “stories” about the legend. Hey, never heard about the damn thing until the movie! (Which I liked, by the way; I’m just puzzled that people thought it was real.) Best scary “urban legend” story has to be the AIDS Terrorist. A guy picks up a girl at a bar, hits it off, and winds up screwing her in a hotel room. He then falls asleep. Waking up the next day, he finds the girl is gone. Oh well! But going to the bathroom for his morning piss, he finds the following scrawled on the mirror in lipstick: WELCOME TO THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF AIDS I always thought that was terrifying, because I can easily imagine some mentally unbalanced, angry person out there would get off on doing such a thing. ---
**Author:** ![JRootabega](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e7dd6/32.png) [@JRootabega](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRootabega)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-story-ever/145068/14 "2002-12-27T14:33:10Z")
Why do things always have to be “scrawled” on mirrors, anyway? Why can’t it ever be “When she went into the bathroom, she saw, neatly printed in easy-to-read block letters, ‘Aren’t you glad you didn’t turn on the lights?’” ---
**Author:** ![Splanky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@Splanky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Splanky)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-story-ever/145068/15 "2002-12-27T14:39:00Z")
[Crime Library](http://www.crimelibrary.com/fish/fish/fishmain.htm) has a good article on Albert Fish. His practices were so vile he turned me off of serial killers for good. What did he do? Basicallly, he kidnapped and ate children. ugh. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-story-ever/145068/16 "2002-12-27T14:53:42Z")
Or the story of Peter Kurten, who (I think) was the inspiration for Fritz Lang’s “M.” But, IMO, possibly the most chilling thing I’ve ever seen was JFK’s speech during the Cuban Missile Crisis. > [@](#): > > It shall be the policy of this Nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union. Entire text: [http://list.k12.ar.us/pipermail/acss/2002-October/001385.html](http://list.k12.ar.us/pipermail/acss/2002-October/001385.html) ---
**Author:** ![Keith\_Berry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/22d042/32.png) [@Keith\_Berry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keith_Berry)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-story-ever/145068/17 "2002-12-27T16:41:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JRootabega \* > \*\*Why do things always have to be “scrawled” on mirrors, anyway? Why can’t it ever be “When she went into the bathroom, she saw, neatly printed in easy-to-read block letters, ‘Aren’t you glad you didn’t turn on the lights?’” \*\* Well, I think a woman (or man for that matter) who deliberately went about infecting people with AIDS would probably have definate signs of rage and inner turmoil that would be easily detected in her/his handwriting. Hence, scrawling. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SmileyDeath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@SmileyDeath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmileyDeath)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-story-ever/145068/18 "2002-12-27T16:51:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by fauxpas \* > \*\*Wow thanks MEBuckner, i Think? \*\* YOU THINK?! That’s it, you are getting pitted; and don’t you ever think again! ---
**Author:** ![fauxpas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e480ec/32.png) [@fauxpas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fauxpas)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-story-ever/145068/19 "2002-12-27T19:34:02Z")
Smiley, it was a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2002, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-story-ever/145068/20 "2002-12-27T21:36:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CaptMurdock \* > The movies that I think are the scarriest are : The haunting, The hills have eyes, The Exorsist, Alien, Dawn on the dead and Jaws, Physco. Was Dawn on the Dead the x-rated version? 🙂