13 Creepy Basements That Were So Horrifying, Homeowners Just Had To Share

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.

Pictolic 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!

13 PHOTOS

#1 The Basement Of An Abandoned Children's Home For Difficult Children In Germany. That's Where The Worst Ones Had To Stay

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 Creepy Basement, Could Anyone Help Me Figure Out What Is This, Or What Was It Doing In A Random SD Card?

#3 Wonder How Much Is She Asking For The House Now

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 Well I Didn’t Need Any Sleep Tonight Anyway

#5 I Have The Ring In My Basement

#6 Working In A Cellar In An Old Pub, Keep Checking Over My Shoulder

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 New Orleans Charity Hospital Basement

#8 So I Found A Wooden Figure Of James Brown In My Basement

#9 Found This In The Basement Of A Restaurant In Phoenix

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 Haven't Been Down In The Basement In A While

#11 My Parent's Stairway To The Basement Has The Creepiest Wallpaper

#12 The Basement Of A House I Visited Today

"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