These Unbelievable Pictures Will Have You Questioning Reality

Dead Man’s Fingers

Now this looks like something you’d find in a horror movie. Imagine wandering through a forest filled with deciduous trees and stumbling upon this nightmare. Most people’s first instinct would be to scream and run in the other direction! It looks like an old, decaying hand is clawing it’s way out of the ground. In fact, it’s actually a type of fungus. This is xylaria polymorpha, which is colloquially known as dead man’s fingers. This fungus often grows around dead or rotting trees and is found in many forests across North America, Britain, and Ireland.

Every Seafarer’s Worst Nightmare

Those who spend a lot of time on the ocean must eventually adapt to the ominous feeling of knowing anything could be swimming around underneath you. Sharks, stinging jellyfish, giant intelligent octopuses, and massive whales all linger under of the surface. When you’re in a small boat, it’s easy to feel vulnerable and frightened. The seafarers in this photo must have been horrified when they saw this picture and realized how close to death they were. It’s not as though the whale would go out of it’s way to destroy that boat, but a simple flick of its fluke could easily rip this boat in half and send these people straight into the gray, murky water.

The Trouble With Tribbles

You could be forgiven for thinking these furry little fungi attached to this tree are actually living animals. They have a vague resemblance to Tribbles from the original Star Trek series and tend to multiply just as quickly! Don’t worry though, they aren’t actually alien creatures from another planet! This is a species of mushroom known as “Lion’s Mane” but its scientific name is hericium erinaceus. What looks like fur on these mushrooms is actually spiny teeth, which are used to distribute seeds to allow these mushrooms to multiply. You’ll often find Lion’s Mane growing near hardwoods in North America.

Common Eagle or Alien In Disguise?

Have you ever seen the 2009 Sci-fi/Horror movie The Fourth Kind? In this movie, aliens visited people at night under the visage of an owl and it was honestly terrifying! The way those owls looked into your soul is very similar to the look the bird in this photo is giving the camera! However, this picture doesn’t feature an alien. The bird in this picture is a harpy eagle, which exists in Mexico and South and Central America. This bird looks like something out of a sci-fi movie with its large, human-like eyes, legs the size of human arms, and massive 7ft wingspan. This powerful raptor is the largest in its region and definitely causes us to do a double take when looking at its picture.

Is It The Devil?

There are so many disturbing aspects of this picture. From the strange, egg-like shell this plant seems to be emerging from to the black, sticky goo barely holding the flesh-colored areas together, every part of this plant is pure nightmare fuel. So, is this a demonic seed planted to tempt humanity or something more mundane? Well, it’s actually another type of fungus! This fungus is called “Devil’s Fingers” and is found scarcely throughout Britain. This fungus does hatch from a gelatinous egg where tentacle-looking arms sprout. The fungus smells like rotting flesh to attract insects, which then spread it’s seed. Despite knowing it’s an act of nature, we still think it looks super creepy.

A Sea of Eyes

Lots of people raise sheep. They’re adorable, sweet, and provide plenty of entertainment with their cute ba-baaing. Sheep were so common that they became the star of most people’s nighttime routines. Children were told to count sheep to fall asleep, and it was a common practice. However, that practice would probably end the moment someone took a picture of sheep at night with their flash on, just like this picture. A sea of glowing eyes and unimpressed faces were captured in this picture, which make the sheep look less cute and fuzzy and more intimidating. This is a picture we wish we could unsee!

Real Life Game of Thrones Chair

Most people know about the infamous chair on the popular HBO series Game of Thrones. It’s a literal throne made of swords, but unlike the chair in this picture, you aren’t supposed to sit on the sharpest points. The chair featured in this photo is actually a torture device, and you’re seeing hundreds of nails that the victims were forced to sit on for hours or even days. The chair resides in a museum of torture in Guanajuato, Mexico. It’s horrifying to think about the atrocious acts committed throughout human history, and pieces of history like this chair serve as a chilling reminder of just how cruel people can be to each other.

This Picture Gives Everyone Acrachnophobia

Camping is a wonderful activity that gives people a break from the daily grind and the endless feeling of being “on” due to the way technology has taken over most people’s lives. Can you imagine setting up your camping spot, enjoying the great outdoors, and then waking up to find this? This camper’s tent is completely taken over by spiders and they don’t appear to be in any hurry to leave! It seems incredible that this many spiders would randomly decide to take over a tent, and it opens up a ton of questions. What attracted these spiders to this tent? How long will they stay? On the bright side, these are daddy longlegs, which aren’t harmful. Also, the person using this tent should be grateful the spiders chose to congregate on the outside of his tent instead of joining him inside!

Is This Bird Even Real?

When you look at this picture, how does it make you feel? Sketched out? Creeped out? It certainly isn’t a comforting feeling! This bird doesn’t even look real with it’s yellow eyes, massive mouth, and awkwardly held wings. You’d be forgiven for thinking this was some strange sculpture or depiction of an alien bird species, but it’s actually a known species native to Venezula. The Potoo bird is a nocturnal insectivore that only grows between 8-inches to 2 1/2 feet. It’s unusual appearance gives most people the ick when they see it, but it’s completely harmless to humans and you’re unlikely to see it during the day.

Tentacle Takeover

What is going on in this picture? It looks as though tentacles are growing out of the corner of this shelf in a person’s pantry closet. It’s a startling picture because it raises so many questions. What caused this growth? And how did the person who owns this pantry not notice this monstrosity before it grew to such incredible lengths? Well, before you get too excited and start thinking it’s an alien or crazy fungus, the answer is actually quite mundane. This person simply left a bag of potatoes sitting in their pantry for far too long. Of course, the question remains, how did they not notice for this long? It would have to take months of those potatoes going untouched for them to grow sprouts of this length! Perhaps the homeowners went on vacation and simply forgot about the potatoes.

Making A Statement The Creepy Way

There’s a lot to unpack with this picture. First of all, someone went through a great deal of effort to decorate their old buick in old dolls. Second, they wrote “#CRYBABYBUICK” and then “GIGGLE” underneath. What possessed this person to do this to their car? Are they making fun of a car that constantly breaks down and needs repairs? Or, are they poking fun at themselves for some reason? Either way, this is a very creepy way to make a statement!

Read This Sad Fish’s Thoughts

The ocean is filled with strange, unbelievable looking species of fish. Most people are familiar with the creepy anglerfish that appears to have a little lantern attached to his head. The species in this picture looks even more surreal. Aside from it’s sad, nearly humoniod face, the most disturbing aspect of this fish is the fact that it’s head is literally see-through! You can see straight to the brain of this fish, and it almost looks as if it knows it’s most sensitive organ is on display. While it’s commonly referred to as a “spook fish” the real name of this species is barrelleye fish. What other creepiness is the ocean hiding?

If This Roof Could Talk…

This picture is incredibly disturbing at first glance. Whoever designed this roof must have known exactly what they were doing because there is no way they didn’t notice the face-like shape they were creating with these window placements. It looks as though this roof has eyes and a mouth with two perfect teeth, and it’s filled with secrets. We can only imagine what this roof has seen throughout it’s lifetime and what it would say if it could talk. This must look even more creepy at night with lights shining out of those windows!

Dimensional Portal In The Tree?

The person who captured this photo knew the true cause, but to anyone seeing this picture, it looks like something out of a fantasy movie. Glowing purplish light is shooting out of this tree as if there’s a portal to another world expanding out of the tree! The reality of the photograph is much less fantastical but no less astonishing. A firefighter captured this photo while fighting wildfires in Western N.C. The inside of the tree is burning up, and you can see the flames escaping. According to the person who took the photo, that purple color isn’t the result of a filter. That’s simply what a fire looks like when it reaches the scorching temperatures of these wildfires.

Never Leave Your Bike Unattended

Most people know not to leave their bikes unattended because of the risk of theft. But how many people realize nature might try to steal their bike as well? Can you imagine locking your bike up and going into work or school, only to come out and see this horror? This person’s bike has been completely taken over by a nest of bees and there’s no way he’s riding that bike home with a group of new bee friends under his seat. This person is likely going to have to cut their losses and give the bike over to the bees. After all, it’s not worth getting stung a million times over!

A Shadow Of His Former Self

Well, this photo looks more than a little disturbing at first sight. Most people know reptiles shed their skin on a yearly basis. It’s an important part of their growth and keeps them healthy. It’s not uncommon for people to stumble across pieces of shed skin from snakes or lizards, but it’s usually a piece from their body or tail. The shed skin in this picture is the entire head of a lizard, which even appears to have the lizard’s expression intact! This is quite an unusual find, and most people would probably leave it where they found it. Those who have an affinity for strange science or epic pranks are definitely the ones who would take this shedding home!

The 4 Seasons at Home

This is unbelievable and very creepy. While hanging out at home, OP took a picture of his backyard. Each window pane appears to capture the trees in his yard in a different season of the year! This is obviously impossible, unless his backyard is in some sort of strange time-loop that affects each of his trees differently. But the more logical explanation is that these are four different species of trees that flower in different temperatures and therefore give OP’s backyard an unusual appearance. It’s both awe-inspiring and very strange!

These Teacups Defy Science

These teacups appear to defy science at first glance. Each teacup looks as if it has small holes throughout its body, yet they’re still magically able to hold liquid. How does this work? Well, aside from magic, but there’s a more realistic answer to that question. The teacups actually have a design that just creates an ocular illusion. The teacups actually have shiny metal on the inside, which gives the appearance of holes. The outside features a raised honeycomb design that also lends to the illusion. It’s a fascinating teacup set that would make for great conversation!

A Cry For Help

This poor oven is clearly crying out for help, but that appears to be the limit of its communication. What type of help does it need? And how exactly does one help an oven? This is pretty unbelievable since ovens don’t have the consciousness needed to ask for help, and we’re pretty sure they weren’t designed to call for help when experiencing an issue. However, there is an explanation for this odd phenomenon. It’s probably an error code, which would indicate the specific type of help your oven needs. Hopefully, you still have that oven manual lying around so you can decipher this ominous message!

Taken Underground

Millions of people are abducted in the United States each year, and sadly, most of them are children. As if that sad fact weren’t disturbing enough, someone had the intuition to compare these two maps. The top map shows the places where the majority of kidnappings happen in the US each year. The bottom map shows underground cave systems throughout the country. These maps appear far too similar to be purely coincidental. We have to wonder if kidnappers are using underground cave systems to remain undetected for years. Perhaps someone should forward this photo to the FBI.

What’s In The Wall?

Everyone knows the creepy feeling when you can hear something skittering about in your walls. Typically, it means you have mice in your home, but occasionally a different creature could be the cause. Sometimes a shrew gets into homes by accident, or you could have a ton of cockroaches running through your home. It’s far more rare to find a tortoise behind those noises! We have so many questions about this photo. How did the tortoise get into this person’s home? Did it break through their wall or did the homeowner smash their wall to pull the tortoise to safety? Unfortunately, we won’t get the answers to these questions, but it’s fun to speculate!

You Shall Not Pass

It’s always important to pay attention to your surroundings when you’re walking through the woods, and this tree is a prime example of the dangers you could be subjected to if you’re not on your A-game. There’s no way you can safely touch the bark of this Silk Floss tree, so it’s best not to even try! This fascinating tree is covered in brutal, sharp spikes meant to deter predators from the delicious and delicate pink flowers that grow on its upper branches. Nature is amazing and terrifying in the ways it works to protect itself. We’ll definitely be giving this tree a wide berth the next time we come across one!

Is This The Fabled Leviathan?

Many people have heard of sea monsters, and their origin is complex. However, many historians credit the fabled Leviathan as the basis for most sea creature stories that have popped up over the centuries. Leviathans are supposed to have large tentacles and massive bodies that lurk deep in the sea. This photo looks as if it provides concrete evidence of their existence until you realize one thing. The tentacle-looking objects in the picture are actually just seaweed! Yes, it’s ginormous seaweed, but still just run-of-the-mill seaweed. That’s less exciting than the existence of a sea monster but also far less terrifying.

The Jeweled Ladybug

This is one of those photos that makes you question what exactly you’re looking at. The first thought many people have when looking at this photo is it’s a ladybug made of little jewels. That would make an impressive art piece, but the reality of this picture is somehow even more impressive! This stunning imagine captures a unique moment in nature that very few people have ever seen with their own eyes. What you’re seeing is a ladybug covered in dew droplets. It’s amazing how unreal and man-made this picture looks. Nature does some wonderful things!

Shocking Turn of Events

Imagine sitting in the passenger seat of a friend’s car while driving along a country road and watching the ceiling console above you fall out without warning. Then, imagine the console looking as though it has bright glowing eyes and a mouth frozen open in a scream! That’s the image captured in this picture, and it’s truly a shock to the system. There’s no telling whether this ceiling console looked normal before it collapsed or if it always had this shocked appearance. However, we imagine the person in the passenger seat probably had a similar expression once this console fell in front of them!

Don’t Touch The Lamp!

People who are afraid of spiders will probably cringe in horror when they see this picture. Can you imagine looking at your lamp and seeing the shadow of a giant spider hiding just under its shade? Most people would probably throw the lamp outside or run outside themselves and give the house over to their new spider overlord. However, unless you live in Australia, it’s unlikely you’ll find a spider of this size just chilling in your home. What you’re actually seeing in this picture is the structure of the lamp and the area where you screw the lightbulb in. The shadow is just distorted in such a way that it resembles a spider. Still, the image definitely makes our heart race at first glance!

Rainbow Pool

How beautiful is it to come across a rainbow pool in the middle of the woods? Imagine going for a stroll with your friends or significant other and spotting this! You might believe you’ve stumbled upon a magical water wonderland, but the reality is actually a bit more creepy. What you’re looking at is the result of rotting plants at the bottom of this bog. As the plants rot, they release natural oils that rise to the surface of the water and create this colorful, rainbow-like appearance. It’s similar to how spilled oil creates a rainbow-like effect in oceans or lakes, except this is 100% natural. It’s both fascinating and a little creepy since it’s the result of dead plants!

Perfect Uniformity

The shocking and perfect uniformity of these clouds gives this picture its unrealistic appearance. Something about the white snow, the white lines on the road, and the eerily perfect white clouds gives us the shivers! However, if you’ve ever lived in the mountains, then you know this is a fairly regular occurrence. This photo was taken in the Berkshire Mountains in Maine and depicts an average day in the life of someone commuting to work. This would give most people the creeps to drive through, but for the Mainer who posted this picture, it was just another day.

You’re Saying This Isn’t Photoshopped?

This photo genuinely looks like the result of some heavy photoshop. It’s one of those pictures that makes your eyes water and makes you scratch your head in confusion. However, when you look closely, you’ll realize this is the result of a camper taking a picture from the inside of their tent. The front of their tent is unzipped and shows a stunning view of the forest where this person is camping. Once you know how this photo was taken, it’s easier to see that it’s a real picture and not a result of photoshop. But it still made us do a few double-takes at first!

This Horse Is A Magician

Most people have heard of famous magicians like David Blane and Criss Angel showing off their levitation skills in front of large crowds, but you’ve probably never heard of a levitating horse before! The horse lying down in this picture appears to be floating off the ground, but this is another example of an ocular illusion. In reality, the horse on the right has cast a shadow at just the right spot to create the appearance that it’s the shadow of the horse lying down while levitating. Pretty spooky at first glance, but very mundane once you look at it for a minute!

Fiercy Ice Cave

This stunning picture was taken at exactly the right moment. Sarah Bethea, a photographer with a love of nature, went exploring a glacier ice cave in Iceland when she came across this beauty. The giant ice formations look stunning at any time, but this picture captured something truly unbelievable. Rays of bright orange sunlight strobed through the entrance of the cave right at sunset and lit up this ice formation, causing it to look as if it were made of amber. It’s absolutely stunning and leaves most people who see this photo in awe.