Warning: insomnia may result from reading these stories. If you need to quench your thirst for spooky, do so with these tales of mystery, drama, suspense, and horror. The /r/nosleep [1] subreddit has the ultimate collection of original narratives by real-life, terrified authors who take to the platform to share their frightening tales.

In what follows, get ready to make your blood run cold by plunging into our favourite harrowing testimonies from the Front Page of the Internet.

• The Life in the Machine [2] by Reddit user unpatriotic — This intriguing tale about a programmer's relationship with the virtual role world he or she created explores what it feels like to act as God and control your own universe. What began as a Sims-like world controlled by simple laws becomes an entity unto itself that evolves beyond its creator's control.
• The Strangest Security Tape I've Ever Seen [3] by Reddit user powerhawkmash — A gas station worker in rural Pennsylvania is charged with viewing hours of security tape to prove that a co-worker is stealing. What he discovers on the tapes is a disturbing, unsolvable enigma.
• 630-296-7536 [4] by Reddit user boothworld — While waiting for a contractor to arrive, the Reddit user receives a call from a nondescript number. As it turns out, that number is the portal to an underground community of what appears to be something very deadly. This post is the author's plea for help.
• Penpal [5] by Reddit user 1000Vultures — This six-part series, which begins with Footsteps [6], is about the surreal, dream-like, out-of-body experience of a young child. The series was one of the top stories of 2011, and the author ran a very successful Kickstarter [7] campaign to publish the stories as a book [8].
• I Bought Fake Beats by Dre from eBay and Now . . . Now, Well Now I'm F*cked [9] by Reddit user inaaace — Two newlyweds move into a new place with some curious neighbours. The husband decides to save a few pennies by purchasing a pair of knockoff headphones, but grows to regret his decision after an unsettling discovery.
• The Showers [10] by Reddit user clover10176 — A teacher's spooky Halloween [11] tale about a seemingly abandoned silo takes a dramatic turn when many years later, one student unearths the truth.