The creepiest and most bizarre stories told by people who explored the internet's hidden websites

Though people tell tales of drugs and other illicit sites, sometimes people use the dark web just for silly purposes.

One user was playing what was called an "Alternate Reality Game." This game, called 'No Love Deep Web,' had users accessing Tor to go on a hunt for various things.

This user got engrossed in the game. And, it ended with "me driving to New York to answer a pay phone at 3:00AM. That was cool."

Sometimes you find weird forums. Take this user's example:

I once found a forum dedicated to sharing recordings of the automated messages that tell you the next stop on trains. People would post the recordings that they presumably made themselves and then they would discuss them.

It haunts me to this day. I have so many questions.

Though Tor is said to hide your online identity, some people have found that to not be the case. Here are a few examples.

A Redditor writes this creepy tale about using the internet before Google. The user was following the online trail of a site he or she found. Then he or she found a document made just for them, making it known that the Redditor was not alone. "We see you," the message wrote.

The whole story goes that the user came upon a random page of what seemed like "random thoughts from different people." So, the Redditor decided to press further. Looking through the source, compiling the IP addresses of all the comments, this user was trying to figure out what connected the people on this site.

Then, something creepy happened:

I finally came upon a web server with a huge directory of HTML files and TIFF images, with a few smaller sub directories containing the same. nslookup returned no reverse records for the IP. A VisualRoute traced it as far as Colorado. The HTML files appeared to be records a psychologist or similar mental health professional would keep. The images were of faxes, apparently of both military and medical nature.

As I browsed from a sub directory back to the parent, at the top of was a new HTML file named something like "1-.HELLO-THERE.html". The time stamp was from right that minute. I opened it, and in plain text was the message "we see you". No quotes, all lower-case. About 15 seconds later the server dropped.

Even if you're using Tor, you can still be tracked. At least, that's what one Redditor says. The story:

I posted a comment on a video, and when I went back to that page to watch the video later, someone replied to my comment saying: "That is very astute of you Mr. (insert my last name)"

I didn't internet for like a week. my last name is not a common one.

Sure, you can find some weird things for sale on the dark web. But how weird? Some users have some pretty bizarre tales...

Sometimes you can find the everyday things on the dark web. But what makes it "illicit" is how you market it. Take this (very gross) example of something for sale on Silk Road:

DIY vasectomy kit on SR. it was a kit of weird dentist tool looking hooks and some tube thing. $20.

Sometimes you may need something specific and you have nowhere else to turn. If that's the case watch out for a steep pricetag. This Redditor explains:

A few years ago I went searching for rhino horn for a story, one guy said he had a couple of whole horns he'd sell for six figures. I had to pass.

Surprises are often in store. And so are vendors with senses of humor. As is showcased with this story:

Silk Road. Circa 2013. Purchased what was promised as a "mind-blowing" experience. Received a Dust Buster two days later. Strangely, no complaints on my end.

And sometimes people are selling things you didn't even know you needed to buy online:

There was a german man selling pretzels, just pretzels.