Halloween [1] is just about upon us, and that means that it's time to indulge in a time-worn tradition: reading, watching, and listening to scary tales. And there's nowhere better to find those stories than Wikipedia. The user-generated encyclopedia is home to thousands of legends, fables, and word-of-mouth tales, but there's nothing quite as spooky as the stories that originate from real-life events. And if you're looking to keep yourself up tonight, we highly recommend you keep on reading.
Behold: the 20 most chilling Wikipedia entries that are not only terrifying, but also very, very true.
- Tarrare [2]: An endlessly hungry sailor has no limits when it comes to what he'll eat.
- Euthanasia Coaster [3]: The real-life roller coaster of death.
- Grey Goo: [4] How robots could effectively take over the world and consume all the living humans on earth.
- Rat King [5]: The rat of your nightmares exists in the world.
- Montauk Project [6]: The real-world inspiration for Stranger Things [7] was a psychological warfare research base.
- Borley Rectory [8]: The most haunted house in England will have you believing in ghosts.
- Unit 731 [9]: The secret biological and chemical warfare research facility kept by the Japanese during WWII is too gory for words.
- Sedlec Ossuary [10]: A church in the Czech Republic uses the corpses of 40,000 to 70,000 individuals for furniture and decor.
- Hinterkaifeck Murders [11]: A house was believed to contain a ghost, but it turned out to be a serial killer.
- Issei Sagawa [12]: A murderer who cannibalized his victim then became a massive celebrity after his release from prison.
- Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva [13]: This medical condition leaves you frozen in time, forever.
- Goiania Accident [14]: What residents of one Brazilian town took as fairy dust turned out to be a radioactive event.
- Aokigahara [15]: A forest is known for its suicide-inducing properties.
- Genie [16]: There are few things more creepy than this feral child.
- Roanoke Colony [17]: This is what happens when an entire town disappears all at once.
- [18]Mad Gasser of Mattoon [19]: A mysterious series of events in Virginia still hasn't been explained by law enforcement.
- [20]Exploding Head Syndrome [21]: Knowing that this is an actual thing will do everything but make your head explode.
- [22]Mellified Man [23]: The Chinese believed that a vital medical substance is created by steeping a human cadaver in honey.
- [24]Total Information Awareness [25]: The American government is literally big brother.
- [26]Overtoun Bridge [27]: The staggering number of dogs who have leapt off this bridge can't possibly be a coincidence.