There aren’t many experiences most of us can say we share with Kevin McCallister from Home Alone. But being afraid to go into your basement as a kid is probably a common one. I have to admit, they look and feel spooky to me even now. I’d much rather reserve that kind of creepiness for when I watch horror films.
However, some people are into that kind of stuff. The more horrifying, the better. That’s why we’ve compiled some pictures of the most eerie and chilling basements and cellars we could find. Creepy dolls, unsettling Catholic paraphernalia, and just generally uncanny vibes – lovers of all things bizarre will probably have a field day with this.
Bored Panda reached out to Kat and Jethro Gilligan Toth, masters of the creepy and the bizarre and the hosts of The Box of Oddities podcast. Scroll down to see their thoughts on why we find creepy basements so intriguing and their favorite stories from the podcast involving these unsettling spaces!
More info: The Box of Oddities | Listen to The Box of Oddities here!
#1 The Basement Of An Abandoned Children's Home For Difficult Children In Germany. Apparently, That's Where The Worst Ones Had To Stay
Image credits: NaughtyNinja1
There's something about dark, damp, poorly lit underground spaces we find particularly terrifying. Is it claustrophobia? Is it the history of what happened there before us? Or is it just our imagination going wild because of the unknown?
To get to the bottom of why we find creepy basements, old hospitals, crawl spaces, etc., so fascinating, Bored Panda decided to consult with the experts on all things strange.
Kat and Jethro Gilligan Toth host the Webby Award-winning podcast The Box of Oddities, where they share their love for unusual stories and inject them with their humor and commentary.
The pair cover everything from the strange history of medical practices to chilling true crime stories. The Box of Oddities has been downloaded more than 26 million times, so you know the stories ought to be good!
#2 Well I Didn’t Need Any Sleep Tonight Anyway
Image credits: Avi_WA
#3 Working In A Cellar In An Old Pub, Keep Checking Over My Shoulder
Image credits: monkeypowah
In movies, the basement is usually the place where the scary stuff happens. I personally only need to remember scenes from movies like The Ring (2002) and It (2017) to never want to set foot in another basement again. What is it about basements that give us the heebie-jeebies?
Jethro from The Box of Oddities says it probably has to do with the fact that they're under the ground. That taps into our fear of mortality. "The fact that it's underground reminds us that, historically, bodies have been buried underground, graves are underground, crypts are often underground, and catacombs are underground."
His co-host Kat says that basements also elicit a negative physical reaction from us. "The feeling of a basement is often cold and wet, and our bodies instinctively are uncomfortable in those environments."
"Perhaps this triggers something inside, reminding us that one day, we'll all [pass away]," Jethro adds.
#4 Creepy Basement, Could Anyone Help Me Figure Out What Is This, Or What Was It Doing In A Random SD Card?
Image credits: lxmexss
#5 New Orleans Charity Hospital Basement
Image credits: reddit.com
#6 I Have The Ring In My Basement
Image credits: Colintendo
The hosts of The Box of Oddities believe that a building, a room, or any other space is made scarier by its past events. "There's a big difference between going into the basement of new constructions and basements of buildings that have history," Jethro explains. "History leaves an imprint on older buildings, especially ones that have seen a lot of emotion or tragedy over the years."
#7 Wonder How Much Is She Asking For The House Now
Image credits: missjellinsky
#8 Found This In The Basement Of A Restaurant In Phoenix
Image credits: reddit.com
#9 So I Found A Wooden Figure Of James Brown In My Basement
Image credits: utopianfiat
Kat also tells us about The Stone Tape Theory. "[It] suggests that stones and other materials can record and playback past events or emotional energy," she explains. "It's like recording on a carbon cassette tape. Basements provide a perfect environment for that." There is one famous example people think proves this theory: the basement of Pennsylvania Hall at the Gettysburg College.
#10 This Bar's Basement. Imagine Being Drunk Trying To Find The Bathroom And You Stumble Upon This, The Lights Start To Flicker
Image credits: noyoureprojecting
#11 Haven't Been Down In The Basement In A While
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#12 The Pool In The Basement Of My Apartment Building
Image credits: Kei07
"The basement served as a makeshift operating room during the Battle of Gettysburg, where hundreds of amputations took place over three days," Jethro tells us the story of the Pennsylvania Hall basement.
"Numerous reports of strange activity have been associated with it, from an overwhelming sense of sadness to more extreme experiences, such as ghostly apparitions of Civil War soldiers and scenes of medical procedures like amputations."
#13 My Apartment Building Has A WWII Air Raid Shelter In The Cellar
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#14 How Do I Get Rid Of This Guy Without Stressing Him Or Myself Out? He’s Hanging In My Basement, And I Would Prefer He Didn't
Image credits: temillz
#15 My Parent's Stairway To The Basement Has The Creepiest Wallpaper
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People say that the scenes of what happened in the former operating room are playing there on a loop. That's called a 'residual haunting.' "The emotion is stored there, and you feel it when you step down slowly into the darkness of that space," Kat explains to us.
#16 Pictures Of My School Basement
Image credits: GalacticRedeemer1
#17 The Basement Of A House I Visited Today
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#18 This Mushroom Growing In My Friend's Basement
Image credits: MiiiBiii
With more than 600 podcast episodes under their belt, the hosts of The Box of Oddities have covered their fair share of strange stories involving basements. In one of their more recent episodes, episode 618, titled Oregon, Owls, and E.T.s, the hosts investigated the Oregon State Hospital and the horrifying discovery in its basement.
#19 Found This Shrine While Pumping Out A Flooded Basement After A House Fire
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#20 The Realtor Was Just As Shocked As Me
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#21 This Door In The Basement Where I Work
Image credits: bnrshrnkr
"Established in 1883," Jethro begins, "It's a historic psychiatric institution known for its portrayal in the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. In 2004, over 3,000 copper canisters containing the remains of former patients were discovered in the hospital's basement. These canisters, dating back to the early 20th century, had been neglected in a sealed basement room and long forgotten for decades."
#22 My Apartment In College Had A Tombstone Of A Baby In The Basement. The Landlord Said It Was There When He Bought The Building, And He Didn’t Feel Right About Moving It
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#23 This Is Why I Hate Going Down To My Cellar
Image credits: Contrariwise2
#24 A "Zombie Spider" - Spider Covered In Fungus, Half-Alive, Which Can Crawl Around. Found In My Basement
Image credits: reddit.com
Kat takes us down the true crime road. "I also think that there are many stories of serial [criminals] like John Wayne Gacy who have used basements and crawl spaces to hide the bodies of their victims." The story she shares with us is the notorious case of Dr. Crippen.
#25 Working In A Basement. Flicked On The Lights To See This
Image credits: Nstybuell
#26 This Photo I Took While Working
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#27 Found These Behind The Furnace In My Basement. Needless To Say I Will Be Having A Talk With My Mother
Image credits: VoldeShort
"In episode 284 of The Box of Oddities, we told the story of Cora Henrietta Crippen," Kat says. "She was the wife of Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen, who [executed] her in 1910 in London. Her body was discovered buried in the basement of their home. Crippen was subsequently convicted of murder and executed, marking one of the most famous criminal cases in early 20th-century Britain."
#28 It Appears I Had A Visitor While Working Alone In A Large Abandoned Basement
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#29 There's A Real Metal Casket In The Basement Of The Fire Station I Work At
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#30 Old Theater Basement, Posters Falling Off The Walls
Image credits: Sekondtry2
"So, I guess the older your house is, the better the chance something or someone may be buried there," Jethro surmises. "Cue the creepy music."
If you're looking for more unsolved mysteries, paranormal phenomena, and strange cultural practices from all around the world, be sure to give The Box of Oddities a listen! Kat and Jethro masterfully present cases in an informative and entertaining manner, offering a unique look into the dark and mysterious corners of the world!
#31 Descent To The Asylum Church Basement
Image credits: TheKingPotat
#32 The Funeral Home Is Being Turned Into Housing. Everything Is Empty Except For These In The Basement. The Prep Room Is Still Hanging On For Dear Life
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#33 When We Saw This Mask In The Basement, We Got Out Of There Quickly
Image credits: TrinitySins
#34 Basement Of A Hospital In New Orleans That's Been Abandoned Since Hurricane Katrina
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#35 The Hand-Like Marking In Our Apartment Basement
Image credits: Pricefieldian
#36 A Bathroom In A Customer's Basement Where I Was Rodding Their Drain
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#37 The Basement Hallway Of This Abandoned Building
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#38 Mass Of Worms Gather In Kansas Basement After Tornado Flooding
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#39 Basement Level Of An Abandoned Northland Mall In Detroit
Image credits: iamshamtheman
#40 Abandoned Ultra-Creepy Basement
Image credits: AdvanceSorry262
#41 Found This Is An Abandoned Building In The Basement, It Has To Be Mold
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#42 Found In A Courthouse Basement
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#43 This Is A Door I Found At Work, In The Basement Of An Old Factory
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#44 I Put One Of Those Sticky Bug Traps In My Basement, Three Days Later I Remembered To Check It
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#45 The Laundry Room In The Hospital I Work At. I Hate Going To The Basement After The Workers Leave For The Day
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#46 Cages In The Basement Of An Abandoned Asylum
Image credits: Critpass
#47 Found This In The Cellar Of My Grandmother's House
Image credits: reddit.com
#48 So This Is In The Basement Of My Apartment Building
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#49 I Work At A Hospital, Found This Bathtub In The Basement
Image credits: Macabre_macaque
#50 It's Just A Basement, Right?
Image credits: ZerohasbeenDivided
