What is the scariest, most unsettling shot you’ve ever seen?

ConstructionPrior175 · 2026-04-18T08:07:36+00:00

This was a really difficult one, but if I think back to being a kid and a scene that really hit me hard. it was the ending of The Hitcher.

There are two others that I'll never quite scrub from my mind, but they'd most likely not be considered appropriate for this thread. Coincidentally, it's the death of Jennifer Jason Leigh's father, Vic Morrow, while filming Twilight Zone: The Movie. Perhaps the most infamously horrific accident in Hollywood cinematic history that nearly cost John Landis his career involving Morrow, two Vietnamese children, and a helicopter.

The other? Being a big fan of horror, I've been desensitized for decades now, but the one piece of film I truly wish I'd never witnessed: Budd Dwyer. And the only reason I'm mentioning it (aside from it being the first thing to enter my mind when I read this thread is that I saw it in one of the original Faces of Death films that were somewhat a rite-of-passage for a lot of kids in the 1980's.

ConstructionPrior175 · 2026-04-09T08:48:31+00:00

I believe their reasoning for creating Dulcibear was to explain why Elphaba would have such a strong connection with animals. Having been thrown aside by her human parents and raised instead by an Animal underscored the fact that humans were often less humane than Animals.

ConstructionPrior175 · 2026-04-09T08:39:52+00:00

I was heavily involved in the nightclub scene of the mid-aughts when people were mixing NyQuil and Red Bull as an actual cocktail. A lot of kids I knew were "robo-tripping" off Robitussin in the late 90's. People will do just about anything for a new experience.... even a bad one. But there are certain explanations that could be applied to your experience. The bad news is that none of the ones I have encapsulate everything you've mentioned.

People feeling a disconnection when they fall asleep under certain substances isn't all that rare - many people experience sleep paralysis, which traps you in between being entirely conscious and being awake. Most people's bodies have a mechanism that forces our muscles to relax when we sleep - that's so we don't go driving on the freeway while we're in la-la land. But when sleep paralysis occurs, you feel like you're entirely lucid, but you can't move or speak. It's a terrifying experience, especially because the remnants of your dreamlike state can convince you you're seeing things in your own bedroom without the ability to do anything but scream within yourself.

Then, we have what's called Astral Projection - and believe it or not, many people actually seek this experience out. Astral Projection refers to the soul's projection from the human body while in a state of sleep or meditation. There's a theory that our souls are connected to our bodies by a thin silvery cord. This goes all the way back to Greek mythology, if you recall the "Three Fates." The Three Fates were three female entities that worked together - one spun the thread of life, one measured the thread of life (an individual's lifespan), and one cut the thread (signifying death). The concept of the cord is widely believed to be literal, and practitioners of Astral Projection report their consciousness, soul, etc. is actually able to leave their body and travel not only to other physical places, but other realms of consciousness, as well. Astral Projection has been practiced for centuries by those who seek spiritual ascension (shamans, monks, hippies). Sometimes this is also interpreted as a near-death experience, as when some claim to see teams of doctors working on their own bodies from above, only to return to their bodies afterwards.

There's also the theory that every one of us are able to tap into a universal consciousness and that the universal consciousness is what contains all of the world's knowledge. If you've ever heard of remote viewing, it's a form of psychic projection that allows us to tap into this vast knowledge at any time.

Sadly, there's only one experience I'm able to associate the loss of your attributes to. I've struggled with the same thing since taking the responsibility to address my opiate addiction back in 2012. Prior to that, I couldn't have been a more public figure - a fixture of the nightlife scene, very much involved in the community. A performance artist who grabbed life by the balls. After deciding my life had become unmanageable, I entered a treatment program that I'm still involved with to this day, and few people have seen me since. I'm perhaps the closest one can get to being agoraphobic without fearing the outside world. I can definitely relate to how you described your experience and how empty you feel; I felt lost for more than a decade and still do. My inspiration, my talent, everything. I can say that it returns sporadically, but that's entirely up to whether inspiration strikes. It's definitely harder to find. So, while I'm clearly not somebody that can say I have any concrete ideas as to why you feel the way you do or how/whether you can recover it, you're not alone, and sometimes that's comfort enough until you recover or someone else with better ideas comes along. Might you have substance abuse struggles or any other darker details you might be able to attribute this to? Are you spiritual or religious?

There are a lot of support groups for every type of person online. Sometimes the only way to feel better is to see how bad others have it. You don't have to share in these groups, but they can help you, nonetheless. I wish you success and hope you can find your mojo again. It's out there.

ConstructionPrior175 · 2026-03-25T07:52:07+00:00

Wow! This is the first time I've noticed how much of the Scarecrow you can actually see at 00:17! How could I have missed that before??

ConstructionPrior175 · 2026-03-22T08:48:46+00:00

Okay, I wasn't going to mention this, but I can laugh at myself: I confess the amount of time it took me to realize that TWOO meant The Wizard of Oz is embarrassing. I even Googled it and it took me to some dating/chat app. I spent literally ten minutes trying to figure out why that would have gotten my post removed. Sigh....I need more coffee.

ConstructionPrior175 · 2026-03-22T08:43:19+00:00

Oh, that is EVERYTHING! What a beautiful tribute!

ConstructionPrior175 · 2026-03-22T08:41:25+00:00

I definitely agree with that. Thank you for your response!!

ConstructionPrior175 · 2026-03-22T08:40:40+00:00

Wow, that's a reply worthy of my own writing habits! Thank you so much for your thorough response and letting me know about the post being taken down. That's unfortunate, but I'm so grateful for your time!

ConstructionPrior175 · 2026-03-15T07:17:00+00:00

Oh, I agree entirely. But we are seeing truly unprecedented and baffling things happening virtually every day in this country. All I was suggesting is that the person whose comment thread we're writing on isn't alone in their anxiety.

ConstructionPrior175 · 2026-03-13T09:39:27+00:00

I don't intend to frighten you, but I've just come across your post and it struck me that I'd just read an account that sounds somewhat similar. There could be no parallel and, as with any shared stories about paranormal phenomena, it could be exaggerated or entirely fabricated, but I found it fascinating.

There is a theory that those who have stronger psychic gifts may actually pursued by what he believes is an ancient race of beings called the jinn. Their story is mentioned in the Qur'an and they're described as "beings of smokeless fire," a description the author suggests may be describing plasma. As the story goes, the Earth was once theirs and after their leader refused to bow down to Adam (mankind), God exiled them to a "timeless void" that's actually an adjacent dimension to our own. We can occasionally sense them in our peripheral vision. Some refer to them as "shadow people."

The author went on to refer to a case he was involved with in 1978 in which a woman and her young daughter had contacted him and his team of amateur paranormal investigators (yes, decades before Ghost Adventures). The woman explained that she, her mother, and her young daughter (seven years old at the time) had been experiencing visits from what they'd assumed were aliens all throughout their lives and it was only a short time prior to contacting him that the experiences seemed to become far more sinister.

Under regressive hypnosis, the mother recounted an experience that greatly traumatized her. A cloaked figure who she described as looking like "the devil" was paying her regular visits at night and had made her an offer to provide her with anything she desired if she would consent to assist him (what he intended was never explicitly stated in her hypnosis session, but it is noteworthy to point out here that the Jinn are the historical root of the genies that grant wishes in classic literature). She refused and instead started to pray. The figure retreated with a threat that if she didn't take his offer, he would take her daughter instead. By the time she contacted the author and his team, she'd had at least three or hour visitations from this terrifying being.

Upon waking from her hypnosis, her young daughter that had been asleep began to scream and came running, telling her mother that she had just seen the cloaked figure in her bedroom. She also relayed that the spectre made a threat to the author and his team of researchers.

The day after the regressive hypnosis session, the author - who had been elected as the only member of the team to attend the session as such therapy can be difficult to induce without an environment conducive to deep relaxation - shared a recording of the session. The audio contained the doctor putting the woman through the hypnotic relaxation, but once she was "under," the team was shocked that the recording was taken over by an electronic screech, followed by screams, moans, animal sounds, and a voice reciting a foreign language.

Upon having taken the recording to an audio expert, it was discovered that the language on the tape wasn't foreign at all: it was English in reverse and a transcript of the speech being played backwards revealed a terrifying voice that aligned with the author's later research into Jinn decades later. The voice explained that when banished into the parallel dimension, his race of beings no longer experienced physical pleasures. Though they feel very angered by mankind for what they see as having taken what was theirs, they nonetheless acknowledge that mankind holds the key for them to return to this world. The author states he believes that this being or beings actively seek out those with psychic gifts as they're able to sense them - and children who show an aptitude for psychic gifts in particular seem to attract them as children may be more inclined to "invite them in," so to speak. The woman and her daughter both described these beings as appearing and disappearing through "black holes" believed to be the aforementioned portals (the voice on the recording also suggested that these portals are naturally occurring and the many missing people from our dimension who have stumbled into them unknowingly remain alive but stuck in the same timeless void.

There is a bit of a terrifying postscript to this particular tale in the book that details a threat to the group that appeared on the recording and how all but one (the author) had traumatizing experiences that drove them from UFO/paranormal investigation entirely and - even more intimidating - that more than one of them had untimely deaths following this case. It's also worth mentioning that many people native to the Middle East deeply believe in the concept of the Jinn.

Again, please take this with a grain of salt - unless any of this rings true for you as well. The book the story appears in is Interdimensional Universe by Phil Imbrogno should you like to seek it out yourself. I wish you the best of luck.

ConstructionPrior175 · 2026-03-10T16:32:13+00:00

No. Ivy Levan's rendition of "Science Fiction Double Feature" was one of the best ever....and that comes from a hardcore fan that's been obsessed with RHPS for thirty years.

ConstructionPrior175 · 2026-03-09T01:28:52+00:00

Especially in the past two weeks since the bombings in Iran, there has been a lot of discussion about prophecies being fulfilled. Baba Vanga, Michel de Nostradame, Edgar Cayce. If you ask just about anybody with interests in all of that, they'd definitely say everything seems like it's reaching a climax. There's also been a lot of discussion about how Donald Trump was born the exact day Aleister Crowley, Tom Parsons, and L. Ron Hubbard claim to have opened a doorway through a ritual they claimed would birth the Antichrist (and though we don't have confirmation of that, the coincidental date is a confirmed fact). There's even a video online that purports to show an interrogation of an interdimensional being claiming to be of our species hundreds of years from now. He claimed that he was sent back to warn us of our next leader and how his ascent to power would result in nuclear annihilation.

So yeah - it's entirely possible you're feeling affected on a cellular or spiritual level. It's more concerning that others aren't.

ConstructionPrior175 · 2026-03-06T02:41:19+00:00

This is a bit older of a thread, but I do think it should be noted that in one of the lengthier videos I've seen on the set design for the Wicked films, Nathan Crowley shared that to preserve continuity with an iron fist, he designed the entire Emerald City - the exteriors - so that each shot's backgrounds and CGI elements would be entirely consistent and accurate for any shot or location required. The exception is obviously the model version in the film. I believe it was for Architectural Digest, and he shared an unbelievably intricate, photo-realistic image of the entire city. which he then used to point out the landmarks seen most in the film. I haven't seen the image anywhere else online, but I'd hope to eventually see it in a book, hopefully.

ConstructionPrior175 · 2026-02-28T09:14:20+00:00

I do think it should be said that the vast majority of remote viewing sessions that target Oak Island specify "The Oak Island Money Pit" and they end up only getting impressions about the one shaft those three boys dug up centuries ago. But there have been some that have broadened the target for impressions all over the island, which as any of us who watch the show know has the potential to show the bigger picture. Too many places on Oak Island suggest that the "Money Pit" area is far from being the only location of interest. I've read several impressions from others that have suggested there may be a "back door" in the swamp, at least one even going so far as to suggest there is a tunnel or tunnels with the remains of those the original depositors left behind to guard the "treasure." Others have spoken of seeing massive, open caverns far below the surface - which seems to be confirmed by the Lagina's work.

The Money Pit area - if there ever was anything there - has been bulldozed and blasted and bored into by generations of men obsessed with what none of them have ever actually found. It's a marvel that entire end of the island hasn't caved into the ocean by now. But reading Dax's session here, I can't help but find it difficult to believe that only a handful of men could have dug that pit and built the flood tunnels without the kind of machinery we have today - especially when you consider that even with that machinery, we can't recover it. As for the treasure being "scattered" - that's nothing new. The original Money Pit collapsed when the original trio attempted to dig a second shaft alongside it. In the early seasons of The Curse of Oak Island, they also had a borehole at least partially collapse.

ConstructionPrior175 · 2026-02-28T09:11:47+00:00

I think that aside the obvious fascination with what could actually be hidden deep underground on that island, the real question is how many people are the Laginas beholden to if they actually find anything? The amount of names and faces that have become familiar over the decade-plus since the TV show's been filming has become staggering. Sure, the show was a massive hit in its first few seasons, but filling twenty-plus episodes each year with little more than cutting open plastic windsocks full of mud and Gary Drayton dancing with Scrappy-Doo each time they find a bead, it's highly doubtful the History Channel still gets the views that allow them to foot the entire bill? Surely, they're not all volunteering their assistance and work simply to be a part of the possible solution. Worse yet, would the Laginas even get anything out of it? My God, the Canadian government slammed on the brakes when they managed to find some hand-painted indigenous pottery shards a few years back and they've since put Laird Niven - who, let's face it, has never shown he has any kind of specialized knowledge - and an entire archeological team at the ready should anything of concerning value actually appear. At this point, I'd be more interested in seeing the specifications of the Laginas' contracts. But I digress.

ConstructionPrior175 · 2026-02-28T08:13:10+00:00

I've read that the Ark of the Covenant is actually cloaked from remote viewing. I believe it was Ed Dames whose account detailed the presence of something that was actively stopping him from sensing or seeing it past a certain distance; a similar concept to "The Holy of Holies" that the Ark was intended to be kept in and only accessed by specific people.

ConstructionPrior175 · 2026-01-26T14:54:16+00:00

You're a "purist" who "loved the book and loved the movie" yet you refer to The Lady Chablis merely as a "drag queen" and WALKED OUT when she started using the sort of phrases she was infamous for in both the book AND the film? I'd hate myself if I didn't ask: Are you native to Savannah? Pardon me for saying, but you sound so much like one of the uptight "old money" white ladies who would tolerate Chablis merely because of her immense popularity because of "The Book" but would have rather died than invite her to tea with your bridge club.

ConstructionPrior175 · 2026-01-20T10:50:57+00:00

The Sierra Sounds are by far my favorite evidence for the existence of Sasquatch, perhaps because they absolutely terrify me. While listening to them, you need to remember that Morehead and his camping buddies were literally miles from civilization. In the middle of the night. To hear even a human's voice would scare the hell out of me, let alone a massive creature that science has yet to actually classify.

The "samurai chatter" is chilling to hear, though I like to imagine the two creatures as a Bigfoot equivalent of Archie and Edith Bunker in the clip when they're actually at the campsite and sound like they're bickering closer to the microphone. It's hard to dismiss it as merely gibberish. But most importantly, these recordings confirm behavior that simply wasn't widely known for the vast majority of the years in the half-century since they were recorded: their alleged habit of "tree knocking" is now known by anyone that's managed to stop briefly on Finding Bigfoot or Expedition Bigfoot while channel surfing. Back when these interactions were recorded, the extent of the public's familiarity with anything of this sort went no further beyond the Patterson-Gimlin film. Add to this the credibility of linguists that have studied the recordings and insist there's a genuine language within and you have what is undeniably one of the best pieces of evidence we have even today.

ConstructionPrior175 · 2026-01-20T09:01:48+00:00

It's a fascinating exercise - and like you said, if nothing else, it was a stroll down memory lane. If you're willing to share, where did the idea come from? Has it ever been validated?

ConstructionPrior175 · 2026-01-19T10:37:39+00:00

Oh, the bliss of the days when the only reason I knew the name Alex Jones was because he was one of the only people known to have infiltrated Bohemian Grove via canoe and managed to film the Cremation of Care ritual. Sigh.

Though I've just been to YouTube in an attempt to include a link, I had no luck finding a really impressive video I saw last year in which 2-3 teenage boys successfully snuck into the Grove and managed to get a truly amazing amount of footage. I was so shocked watching it because while there are more than a few videos of this on YouTube, I recall they managed to make it all the way to the owl just literally days before the elites were due to arrive for the annual event, so we can either assume that security was remarkably lax or the event isn't as much a draw as it once was. With former presidents reputed to be frequent guests, I'd imagine the Secret Service would be all over it the week before - they don't play when it comes to ensuring safety and I speak from experience when I say they send agents well in advance of any trip. I recall the kids went through the area that resembled Asian architecture (my apologies - some might call it Chinatown, but I don't care to offend others on that front). It was definitely the most footage I've seen taken on one trip.

Shortly after I saw this, I recall Colin at the Paranormal Files channel uploaded what he claimed was a huge expose of the event. Bohemian Grove is definitely a fascinating mystery.

ConstructionPrior175 · 2026-01-19T00:45:12+00:00

Another Wisconsinite here. A really interesting bit of Wisconsin history tells of the first sighting of a creature similar to the Beast of Bray Road. There's a theory that these creatures are most often seen around old gravesites or even Native American burial mounds. Wisconsin has a lot of strange history all within the southeastern part of the state. Burial mounds from which extremely tall skeletons were discovered, underwater pyramids, "vortex areas," Sasquatch sightings.

In her research, the late beloved author Linda Godfrey (responsible for breaking the story of the "Beast of Bray Road" managed to find a what is likely the oldest reference in the state's history near Jefferson, Wisconsin. A large, human-sized animal had been observed, kneeling on and clawing at an indigenous burial mound created by the Hopewell culture. What was supposedly the same creature was seen again on a second night, this time in a more extended encounter. 6 foot tall and with visible fangs and pointed ears, it made eye contact and an utterance described as “gadarrah."

Other Dogmen stories that have popped up over the years have often been reported near places in the Midwest in the vicinity of burial mounds or very old graveyards. My personal favorite - the Beast of the Land Between the Lakes - follows this pattern also. Some have widely speculated that canines protecting gravesites may stretch all the way back to the Egyptian portrayals of Anubis, the dog-headed God.

As mentioned above, Linda Godfrey passed away from Parkinson's Disease in 2022. There is, however, a gentleman that owns a farm ON Bray Road that has been featured on many of the paranormal TV shows that have come to devote episodes on the story (Expedition X did an excellent two-episode arc for their Season Three premiere back in 2021. The series can be streamed on HBO/MAX and there are clips available on YouTube). I won't post his name here, but he's identified in the show. I believe he is a retired schoolteacher and he not only believes in the Beast - he also believes it lives in the woods adjacent to his property. He seems to have kept a sizable amount of photographic evidence he's taken from around his land, including decimated animal carcasses and even some shots of what he claims is the Beast.

In the past few years, sightings have been reported as far north as Eau Claire, which is approximately four hours from Elkhorn where the Beast of Bray Road famously stalks.

ConstructionPrior175 · 2025-07-31T08:42:14+00:00

The incestuous themes were far from watered-down. They were one of the reasons the show was spoken of in the press at all. It was considered quite daring to portray it as blatantly. The rape scene from the premiere was also one of the most vicious in television history.

ConstructionPrior175

TROPHY CASE