The internet is a wonderful thing that connects almost every little corner of our world to a world wide web. However, on that said web, some places are a lot darker than others, and the things that lurk in them can sometimes be downright creepy.
The Dark Web, for example, is one such place, and the rules of the regular world don’t apply there. Yet, to some, the danger seems only to incentivize curiosity because when these sketchy mystery boxes surfaced on the darkest corners of the internet, there were people online who couldn’t resist buying them and seeing what’s inside. Scroll down to read all about it!
More info: YouTube
The Dark Web is home to some of the most disturbing places on the internet, and now, you can order mystery boxes from it
Image credits: Hindi Darkest Facts
People daring to risk their safety to satisfy their curiosity or gain internet popularity are ordering these boxes and posting results online
Mystery box is a concept that’s been around for a good while. You buy a package without knowing its contents and (hopefully) enjoy the surprise once it comes in.
However, most of the time, when you purchase something like this, you’re still getting it from an official and legal vendor, so you kind of know what you can expect. Things take a complete 180-degree turn when the place you’re buying this mystery box from operates on a completely grey ground, where laws and regulations have little to no power.
Image credits: Hindi Darkest Facts
Image credits: Hindi Darkest Facts
While the Dark Web itself started around 2000, its mystery boxes seem to have come onto the market around 2018. This new trend caught the internet by storm, as many people couldn’t hold back their curiosity, even if many of the mysteries in the box were rather freaky, creepy, or even downright disgusting.
Since not everyone was brave enough to take the risk of ordering one of these mystery boxes, some people took it as an opportunity to gain internet recognition. For example, a TikToker, maskred, had built over 202,000 follower base, most of which started following him when he began filming these rather unsettling unboxings.
Image credits: Hindi Darkest Facts
Image credits: Hindi Darkest Facts
Some of the mystery stuff appeared to be quite silly, like Playstation 1 posing as Playstation 5 or a KFC bucket filled with toy chickens
This TikToker’s most popular video has been viewed more than 14.5 million times, with others following closely behind. Opening these weird packages, he encountered everything, from a silly-looking KFC bucket with rubber chickens to a smartphone with coordinates and World War One relics.
However, the scariest thing that he encountered, as the man told Vice, was a supposed letter from his real birth mother that had details about him only a few people could have known. It was delivered to his actual home address, which really shook the guy. Yet, when he tried to get in contact with the sender, he was denied, only being told that they were keeping an eye on him.
Image credits: maskred
Image credits: maskred
Image credits: maskred
Another popular content creator exploring the dark corners of the internet is a YouTuber known as Hindi Darkest Facts, who was happy to share his experiences when Bored Panda reached out to him for an interview.
The man behind the Guy Fawkes mask in these YouTube videos is Shaurya Sharma, a resident of New Delhi, India. The man has been making videos on the Dark Web for some time and, through his experiences and extensive research, has built up quite a strong understanding of how these wildlands function.
Image credits: maskred
Image credits: maskred
Image credits: maskred
However, other things in the box were quite disturbing or even downright scary, like creepy dolls, weird liquids, and a smartphone with coordinates on its lock screen
Shaurya told us that he first started meddling with these mystery boxes roughly 3 years ago. “I’ve actually seen lots of videos on the internet where people bought stuff off the dark web, but most of them were scripted, and I actually wanted to check if there’s anything such as mystery box,” shared the man, adding that doing that was scarier and more difficult than it appeared at first.
“I was seeking actual content, and it made me go on the creepiest websites that I have never imagined I would visit,” said the content creator, explaining what pushed him to start buying these mystery boxes. He further talked about encountering many creepy videos and pictures before finally finding a relatively safer but possibly less authentic way to get these boxes by buying them on E-Bay.
Image credits: maskred
Image credits: maskred
Image credits: maskred
Shaurya opened up, saying that surfing the Dark Web wasn’t an experience that left him without any scars. “I feel like the Red Rooms do exist on the internet,” he said, talking about encountering plenty of weird people, some of whom were harming themselves for views or even their own pleasure.
Even though the man took extra precautions trying to ensure his safety, scary personal encounters were not avoided either. “I remember finding a triangular-shaped necklace, and it was sent to me when I had a creepy stalker after me that came all the way from Discord, which scared me so much because he came to know all information about me to an extent where I had to switch home.”
Image credits: maskred
Image credits: maskred
Image credits: maskred
People who meddled with the Dark Web mystery boxes long enough even received some creepy things, indicating that the senders knew a lot more about them than they'd like
Thankfully, things have never gotten any further than that. The content creator said that there wasn’t any situation where he would have had to involve the police, adding that all the content showing content where people do call the authorities were most likely staged and shouldn’t be taken as real.
However, many people also believe that the Dark Web mystery boxes are just as fake as the aforementioned videos. “My message to all of those people is that I’m glad you do not believe in such stuff because the less curious you are about such stuff, the safer you are,” summarized Shaurya.
Image credits: maskred
Image credits: maskred
Image credits: maskred
Although none of these experiences developed any further, they were scary enough to make these people reconsider some of their decisions
In the end, the Dark Web is called that way for a reason. It is not a place you should visit for fun, and if you do, make sure that you’re aware of what you’re getting yourself into. Because, just like Hindi Darkest Facts channel creator told us, the experience can truly be a lot to handle, to say the least.
What did you think about this story? Would you ever dare to risk ordering something like this yourself? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Image credits: maskred