Warning: This story is not suitable for sensitive viewers
In the 1940s, a group of Russian researchers sealed five prison inmates in an airtight chamber.
The prisoners were dosed with an experimental gas that would prevent them from sleeping. Their conversations were electronically monitored, and their behaviour was observed through secret two-way mirrors.
For the first few days, everything seemed fine. But after the fifth day, they slowly began to exhibit signs of stress. They became paranoid and stopped talking to one another, whispering about each other into the microphones.
Nine days in, the screaming began. Two of the sleepless prisoners just started running around the chamber, yelling so hard their vocal chords nearly broke.
Suddenly, however, the voices stopped, and the chamber became dead quiet. Fearing the worst, the researchers announced that they were opening the chamber. But a voice from inside answered: "We no longer want to be freed."
On the 15th day, the stimulant gas was replaced by fresh air. The results were chaotic.
One inmate was dead. The inmates had been severely mutilated, flesh torn off their bodies and stuffed into the floor drain. They seemed to have ripped open their own abdomens, and even eaten their own flesh.
They refused to leave by force, fighting back with a powerful aggression none of the researchers could have imagined they possessed. They fought furiously against being removed and anesthetised; one even tore his own muscles and ripped his bones apart during the struggle. When asked why they had mutilated themselves, each gave the exact same answer: "I must remain awake."
he researchers wanted to kill the prisoners and remove all traces of the experiment, but their commanding officer demanded it be resumed immediately, with the researchers joining the inmates in the sealed chamber. Horrified, the chief researcher shot him point blank.
He then shot and killed the two last surviving subjects, and set about covering up all that had taken place.
WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST READ?
Okay, first thing's first: that story didn't actually take place in real life.
Entitled 'The Russian Sleep Experiment', it's an internet legend of which the oldest version can be traced back to a Creepypasta Wiki page on August 10, 2010. The user who posted it is named 'Orange Soda', but the author's real name is unknown.
To this day, internet users continue to debate the veracity of this infamous story, despite the fact that it originated on an online forum thread devoted to seeing who can drill up the best "urban legend".
You've read stories like this. There was Slender Man, the story of a lanky faceless giant who frequents children's playgrounds. He gained the most attention when he inspired two young girls in Wisconsin to attempt to brutally kill their friend (unfortunately, that part was true). Then there's Jeff The Killer, the chalk-faced teenager-turned-murderer who goes insane and becomes a bloodthirsty psychopath.
The thing is, when you first read these horrific stories, they almost seem just realistic enough to work. After all, scientists have been studying the effects of sleep deprivation throughout the 20th century.
Even today, there are wide reports of meth-induced hallucinations resulting from a lack of sleep. Why wouldn't a story of a crazy Russian experiment from the 1940s seem plausible?
After careful analysis, Sara McGuire of Venngage has shared a visual report detailing exactly what it takes for a horror story to go viral.
