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The Most Shocking Things People Have Ever Seen That Scarred Them For Life

Woman holding head in her hands
woman in black tank top covering her face with her hands
Photo by Julia Taubitz on Unsplash

Who hasn't claimed they've been "scarred for life" by something?

Usually something fairly trivial, like a scary movie, a food that disagreed with them, or a poor travel experience.

As a result, we say it more in jest than anything else.

Unfortunately, there are those who have had experiences that genuinely scarred them for life.

Memories so deeply implanted in their heads that they will never be able to erase them, no matter how hard they try.

Often witnessing people in situations that we could never imagine anyone finding ourselves in.

Situations that were anything but trivial, and sometimes legitimately life or death.


Redditor _pleasesendhelp was curious to learn if anyone had gone through a truly horrifying scenario that legitimately scarred them for life, and eager to hear their stories, leading them to ask:

"What is the most shocking thing you've ever seen?"

To Think This Is Actually Part Of The Job

"Used to be a traffic safety engineer."

"Traffic collision analysis was part of the job."

"Images of the collisions are intense and you can never unsee the decapitations."- Bobbingforfrenchfrys

Most Frighteningly, It Could Have Happened To Anyone

"About six years ago, my family was traveling to Pennsylvania to visit some relatives for Easter and we drove back on Easter Sunday afternoon."

"We were driving on I-81 South in Virginia, and noticed traffic was slowing down and smoke coming from the side of the road, a car had crossed over the median and hit another car head on."

"Both cars were beyond totaled and were engulfed in flames."

"I remember looking over at one of the cars and seeing a person in the passenger seat and a good chunk of their head was missing, and the driver appeared to be dead too."

"I looked it up on the news the next day and only one person survived out of the five people involved in that crash."

"It was a pretty ugly scene to put it mildly."- HerrPaws

Silence Can Be More Terrifying Than Any Sound

"Working at a special care home, had a resident who routinely screamed for help over minor things."

"'HELP!! I NEED TO TURN MY LIGHTS OFF' kind of thing."

"One night she fell alone in her room and split her face open above her eye."

"Instead of calling for help, she just quietly walked out into the common area at 3am looking like Carrie."

"It was my first time applying my first aid knowledge and my first time calling 911."

"Most unforgettable was the sight of her blood-covered rosary."

"Woman really looked like a movie crew had made her up."- shiveringsongs·

So Many Questions...

"My dad took me and my brother to the beach when I was 6 and we saw a dead body wash up on the shore."- pringle513

There Is Little More Devastating Than Desperation

"I was walking down a neighborhood where number of homeless people is insane, but most of the time I just mind my own business walking to where I work but one day I saw a person eating his own human waste."

"I was mind boggled."

"Later when I was heading back to my home I saw him at the same area so I decided to give some leftovers I got from the shop I was working."

"Man he was the happiest person I saw when I gave him the food."- MrD1SRESPECT

A Traumatizing Miracle

"Pedestrian hit by a car."

"The victim looked like a fake body as he flew through the air."

"He had a shoe land over half a block away."

"Somehow only broke a leg."- Potential_East_311·

Neglect Can Be The Most Lasting Abuse

"A kid bawling his eyes out, begging with a sign and no coat in 20 degree weather in a downtown setting."

"It was really windy out and I saw him talking briefly to his mom in a doorway who was bundled up out of the cold texting the whole time."

"She was dressed expensively, looked comfortable and didn’t seem to want to be seen with him."

"Talked to building security who brought the boy inside, was on my way to work so I didn’t get to see the full resolution."

"Sh*tty mom."- _manicpixie

Dangers On The Road

"In person?"

"Accident between an idiot in a Camaro and a moron on a bike ( motorcycle)."

"Camaro genius was trying to turn left across 3 lanes of bumper-to-bumper traffic."

"Just as someone let them through, guy on a bike came flying down the right side berm."

"Biker was not wearing any gear; just shorts, shirt, sneakers, and sunglasses."

"Guy got massively lucky, though. If he'd hit a regular car/SUV, he would've gone splat right against the side of the car."

"But the Camaro was so low-sling, he just got vaulted over the top."

"He was in a world of hurt, but apparently in one piece."

"In video?"

"I'm a racing fan, so it'd be a tie between the fatal accidents of Roger Williamson or Tom Pryce in F1 and Gordon Smiley and Greg Moore in Indycar."

"All can be found on Youtube, but consider this a big warning--they are not for everyone."

"Williamson burned to death while trapped upside down in his car at Zandvoort, despite the efforts of fellow driver David Purley."

"Tom Pryce hit a track marshal who was crossing the track."

"The fire extinguisher the marshal was carrying struck Pryce on the head & killed him instantly."

"Smiley had a catastrophic crash during qualifying for the 1982 Indy 500."

"He reacted incorrectly and ended up going straight into the wall at 200 mph (320 kph)."

"In photos of the wreck you can see his helmet go flying."

"Part of his head is still in it."

"Moore was killed after losing control during a race at Fontana Speedway in 1999."

"Ultimately, he was launched sideways and head-first into a cement barrier."

"The impact was recorded by the car's black box at 154 Gs."- Unique_Football_8839

Worst Nightmare Averted

"About 2 or 3 years ago, my fiancé and I were in the kitchen cooking dinner."

"I was standing by the counter talking to her whilst she was stood over the hob frying."

"She started slowly lowering herself closer and closer to the flaming hobs to the point I interjected and panicking said 'what are you doing?', for her to slowly turn her head towards me with the blankest of gazes and then proceeded to collapse onto the hobs."

"Thankfully I managed to jump in and pull her away from receiving any burns but she collapsed to the floor and was out for a good 30 seconds."

"I thought she was dead, I'll never forget that look in her eyes too."

"Really felt like it was over."- JLUK95

Seriously, What Leads Someone To Do That?

"In a bar I worked in once, very angry men stormed in, grabbed one of my regulars by his hair and dragged him outside, and curbed him."

"Never seen anything so graphically violent in real life."- kerrykat91

Nothing Can Prepare You For It

"Finding my younger brother had just died."

"He'd been very sick for a long time but nothing prepared me for it."

"I was 14."- Professional-Permit5

It's Hard To Think It Ever Stops Being Shocking

"As a hardware tech working at a hospital."

"I got a high priory ticket to go into the OR."

"A computer shutdown in the middle of preforming open heart surgery on this guy."

"I normally don't cover this area, but it was early in the morning and I was the only tech on site.'

"I go down there and I have to gown up to go into the room."

"I had no issue going in till the nurse was like OMG have you ever been in a surgery room before?!? "

"The room is a bloodbath! "

"This guys is cut wide open! "

"Are you going to be okay?"

"I was like I was going to be fine before you started talking to me."

"Anyway I go into the room, and it is a blood bath with the guys chest cut wide open and a group of people operating on him with country music going while they were all singing."

"The issue was easy to fix."

"It was a desktop on a a mobile cart that had limited mobility in that section of that room."

"Anyway they had it pulled out as far as it could go and the power cable came out of the desktop slightly."

"I just had to tighten up the connection and turn it on."

"It was one of the most shocking and amazing things I have seen."

"Just the guys chest wide open and how calm and casually they are singing."- itsthewendigo

Most of these stories are the sort of things no one should ever witness in their lives.

One can only hope they all got and continue to get the help and comfort they needed to move on.

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