Proceed With Caution: 35+ Sinister Signs Spotted In Unexpected Locations

While driving, you must have encountered signs on the road issuing a disclaimer or some kind of warning. These signs play a vital role in road safety as they make you drive more cautiously. But today, we will look at some signs that aren’t typically found on streets everywhere.

These signs have such an ominous tone that they make the driver wonder what actually happened at the location mentioned in them. Some might as well have come straight from the set of a haunting horror film!

All the signs we’ll feature today were posted by people who either saw them firsthand or internet sleuths who found them on social media. From threatening warnings in the wild to straight-up spooky ones with weird facial expressions, here are 45 signs that could be used as a visual synonym for oddity!

Ancient

There will be a lot of crazy signs on this list, but this kind is genuinely among the most eye-brow-raising of all. For starters, it is so old. Next, despite the fact that the markers supposedly denote water levels at different times, this sign is nowhere near the river!

For those of you wondering where this sign is, it is near Great Falls in Virginia. The place is known for having some of the most scenic views. But thanks to this sign and the area where it is, we’d say ‘spooky views’ is more like it.

What do you think?

This complicated sign was spotted in a psychologist’s waiting room, of all places. If you’re confused about your current state of being, or think that you might be dreaming, then you can confirm things by following the instructions on this sign.

There are a few more things that you can do to find out if you’re dreaming or not. For instance, you should try reading something or try using your phone. If you’re dreaming, you wouldn’t be able to do any of that. A mirror is just too much.

Peculiar

If you have to put up a sign like this, things must be really messed up here. Even Floridians would be shocked by this! At the very least, we hope it was just someone taking a stab at dark humor, hoping someone would take a photo and make it go viral.

Sadly though, this could be a serious sign because incidents of parents not keeping a close watch on their kids as they play close to crocodile-infested waters are not unheard of. As such, this may just have been an extremely blunt way of asking people to be more careful.

On point

This photo is from Michigan. We love how they’re conveniently saying that the phone isn’t installed and requesting (warning?) people not to have emergencies near the booth. Well, if we had the ability to ‘control’ emergencies, I don’t think anyone would ever have one.

So, if you have an emergency near this location, your best bet would be to get yourself to a place with a functional emergency booth. And if a bear tries to attack you around this place, try to ask it to pause and attack you near a different phone booth.

Sign on the door

This is a photo of a door at the California Institute of the Arts. The sign is indeed useful, but we think there should have been more protection around the door, seeing as 13 feet is a considerable height. It wouldn’t hurt to barricade this door in some way.

Why would an eerie door like this even exist in the first place, though? What makes it even more curious is the strange handprints on it. Can you spot them? We understand being curious, but with a sign like this, we’d choose to err on the side of caution and believe these guys.

Don’t do it

You might feel like doing it, but this sign is giving it to you straight up. Adrenaline junkies beware because though we understand the high you get out of adventures like these, the sign warns that it might just be your last!

We are literally talking about jumping off of a cliff here, so it’s better to control the adrenaline rush. Moreover, near-freezing temperature is not something to overlook since hypothermia is a serious medical emergency. Don’t do it. Try rock climbing or bungee jumping instead.

Word

This sign in Hawaii offers very simple but very important advice to every person passing by. You would think that staying away from lava would be an obvious self-preservation instinct, but apparently, it’s not. That’s the only reason why a sign like this would exist.

Hopefully, the floor isn’t lava here! Hawaii is known for being stunning and having quite a variety of natural features, including active volcanos. We may have never seen lava firsthand, but we say Dante’s Peak, and that was enough to put the fear of volcanoes in us! We wouldn’t need this sign.

Please do not

For hygienic purposes, one shouldn’t touch anything if they’re bleeding. So, according to these guys, it’s better to wait, request for band-aids, and after cleaning up, then you can do whatever you want. But since this sign exists, it’s safe to assume that there are some disobedient elements.

We are very curious to know what happens if you don’t follow this rule and end up touching something accidentally or deliberately. Also, this might sound silly, but what if you just happen to be on your period? Such a bloody shame!

Cool it down

This eerie yet essential warning sign can be found in Death Valley, California. You would think the name itself might be warning enough, but you would be surprised at the number of daredevils living among us. Some people have this annoying tendency to test the waters even when they don’t need to.

For example, why would you go out during deathly high temperatures? If a place is too hot to be outside at 10 am, it would certainly not be on our list of dream vacation destinations. The hottest we can do is Vegas, and that’s just because, well, it’s Vegas.

Has to be done

If the sign says so, then the rules must be followed. You have to fill up a decoy purse with angry bees. Where will you get these bees from? Well, that’s not their concern. It’s your responsibility to arrange for a decoy purse and a lot of angry bees!

The person who uploaded this image noticed this sign while he was leaving the theater. That explains a lot. Think of this as an extra step to protect yourself and your belongings. If something bad happens, it’s going to be pretty awesome when bees come to the rescue!

Real-time sign

If a normal sign won’t get your attention, a sign like this would surely do a great job. The person who came up with the concept of putting up a couple of pedestrian crossing signs that look like actual pedestrians crossing the street is a genius.

You never know if these signs actually start crossing the street when it gets dark and there are no people around. With the way they have been positioned, you can easily picture them randomly jumping to the middle of the street!

Time to get serious

This sign takes innovation to an entirely different level. To give you some context, it was seen outside of a human cadaver lab at a certain university. It’s important to show respect to the people who donated their bodies for the knowledge of students.

This is a genuinely good sign because the sentiment of the message likely matches the feeling inside the laboratory. But can you imagine passing by a sign like this without the faintest knowledge that this was a cadaver lab? We would have so many questions.

Beware

This one might sound funny, but everybody should consider this. It is better to double-check and make sure that nobody is creepily following you when you’re leaving a public place. This sign with the funny emoji was spotted at a certain nursing home.

It is possible that this image is from the dementia ward in that nursing home. Considering that, we understand why the sign exists, as it’s supposed to ensure that dementia patients don’t wander or leave the home unattended. However, without context, it’s just creepy.

Warning

This ominous sign was spotted outside an out-of-use nuclear bunker in Essex. We can imagine how freaky it would be if somebody was in this bunker, and the power went out before they had had the chance to read the sign.

Mannequins look scary and creepy anywhere except in malls and clothing stores. There is just something about their dead facial expressions which we suspect would be made exponentially worse by dull emergency lights. Just thinking about it sends a chill down our spine!

Think it through 

This is a sign that would make us turn around and leave this area. For those who are curious to know about the location of this sign, it is outside the Bucklin Trail in Killington, Vermont. There’s nothing as terrifying as cold and lonely mountains.

According to research and hikers, the first couple of miles on this route are quite easy, and the inclination is relatively gradual. But things get more intense as you move ahead. The upper section of the route is quite challenging and steep and may have you rethinking your love of hiking.

Issued in public interest

This sign is weird in so many ways. We find it hard to picture a situation where you would have to be warned against letting a pig enter the raccoon room. Instead of giving a disclaimer, this sign is doing a better job of confusing the readers.

Coming to the second part, we get that raccoons can appear cute, but they can still be dangerous. Not to mention, they are known to carry rabies. Additionally, even if they weren’t dangerous, people would still only pet them or cuddle them. Why would anybody put a raccoon on their head?

Drastic sign

We know that this looks like it was taken straight out of a horror movie. Or at least a place that’s rumored to be haunted. But the reality is miles away from that. Though it might not be immediately obvious, you can tell that this is the Wendy’s logo.

Light blew out on a Wendy’s sign somewhere in Canada – that’s all that happened. Yet, it’s enough to scare everybody away. This shows how small things can make a huge difference, especially when it comes to appearance. We’re sorry if you’re reading this at night!

Expressive

This warning sign conveys a lot, but can you guess what’s missing? According to us, it’s missing a text that exclaims ‘Aaaaaaaaa!’ That would literally complete this sign. That small update would even make this sign a relatively funnier meme.

It’s rare that a predatory bird would swoop over a person as they do with snakes and smaller animals, but that doesn’t mean that the bird cannot seriously harm you. Also, is it just us, or does that look more like a winged villain than a huge bird?

Take good care

If the dust collection bag is on fire after use, then it could be a problem. On a serious note, this is a legitimate warning because dust and finer particles could also explode. They are highly combustible and could cause a dumpster fire.

So, not being cautious over here could literally put your garbage bin on fire. That’s quite a clumsy situation, so it’s best to avoid that. The moral of the story over here, and in every other sign, is to basically be very careful.

Chills

Even without the sign, this lighthouse is quite scary. All lighthouses have a certain scary vibe, thanks to Hollywood movies. This particular one is located on Lake Erie in the USA, which happens to be the fourth-largest lake in the USA.

According to the warning, the sound pressure levels here can get to dangerous levels at times. It’s funny and sad because while the device is capable of warning ships that are miles away, it can do so while damaging the hearing of somebody next to it.

Machine problems

If that’s the true nature of this machine, best believe we would be keeping a safe radius between our flesh and its destructive tendencies. Most machines tend not to know the difference between flesh and other things, so a sign like this should actually be more commonplace.

Something tells us people would be so much more careful after reading a warning like this. On a more positive note, technological advancement has paved the way for the invention of machinery that can detect flesh around dangerous things like sharp blades and stop immediately.

It’s hot

For those who don’t know, 180 degrees is extremely hot. Scalding is actually very accurate. The sign is easy to understand but still not technically correct. For such an intense sign, you have to at least specify the unit. Some people would be clueless if it wasn’t for the word ‘scalding.’

Also, wouldn’t it be better if the warning was written on a bigger, more conspicuous sign? It’s so easy for someone to miss it if they aren’t paying attention. But if it was, say, white with a huge, red font, no one would ignore it.

Gonna be a problem

Well, skiing is a dangerous sport because there is so much maneuvering and little to no friction. It certainly takes a lot of practice, and one wrong move can open you up to a world of injuries. But what if everything is going alright, and a moose shows up while you’re skiing?

Well, this sign was placed here so that people could avoid ending up in a situation like that unknowingly. If there’s a moose in the area, it would be best to keep your distance and just not ski over there. Those things are massive! Plus, have you seen their horns?

Consider this request

Since they are so polite and thorough with the request, we should all consider abiding by these rules. Everything from wading to surfing is discouraged, so we’d say it’s just best not to enter these waters at all if you don’t have a death wish.

Honestly, there are a lot of places where you can surf without fear of sharks or waves sneaking up on you. All the dangers listed here sound like they would be a little too much to handle, so keeping your distance is the best way to go.

An intense one

The wife of the person who posted this sign was genuinely terrified and troubled after reading about the rat infestation and the rat poison. The company was polite and considerate enough to put up their number at the bottom of the sign for anyone who had complaints or maybe even compliments.

Come to think of it, a sign like this is actually quite necessary for people with pets or little kids and toddlers with a penchant for playing where they shouldn’t. If we found a sign like this close to where we lived, our next move would be househunting!

Essential Information

This sign is warning people about earth cracks. Depending on how you read it, the sign weirdly changes the meaning of things. By saying earth cracks, the implied meaning is hidden volcanic cracks. Any kind of accident involving this could be very fatal.

Thanks to the wood splitting and text alignment, it’s almost as if the sign is asking you to stay on trial (correct on that part), then it tells you that the Earth is dangerous (true but irrelevant here) and there are cracks in park area (confusing).

Much needed

Well, there’s not a lot of wrong to point out here, and since it’s a very essential sign, we’d say it did the job just fine. Firstly, the bear sign is properly sized, and secondly, it was put up in a lot of places, so many people can be alerted at the right time.

Even the advice regarding how to deal with a bear attack has been written very accurately. Lastly, the font, the design, and the concept are very much on point. It’s all out of concern. Even the terrible pun is out of concern.

Nobody considered

Well, we have seen a few instances where there is an ‘enter at your own risk’ sign. Some of them are usually placed near scenic areas because people tend to be willing to risk their lives more for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in famous locations.

But why would anybody want to enter here? It already looks very dangerous from the outside, so it’s probably not going to make anybody curious. On top of that, it’s locked, and the sign reads ‘fatal atmosphere.’ We’d say that’s enough to scare people. Hopefully.

Speak up

This is not a humorous sign that has some strange horror story behind it. This is a legitimate issue. The sign urges people to dial the given number if they hear any noise through the wall or the ceiling. Kind of reminds you of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, right?

This sign is from a hospital in the UK. What do you know! Jokes aside, it was placed there after it was discovered that some buildings in the area had been built from crumbling concrete. In such an instant, reporting a strange noise could save lives.

Refrain

There’s honestly no use for this sign, in our opinion. It would be needed if people ever resorted to doing such things. Dogs or cats could do such things, but this sign makes it look like there are a lot of people drinking out of urinals in this establishment.

That’s quite gross! Who would do that? Did someone hilariously confuse a bidet for a drinking fountain? Even if that was the case, why would they think that someone installed a place to drink water inside a toilet? Make it make sense.

Philosophical

This sign was found in a small rural town in New Zealand. The wordplay is nice, but if you try to think of its literal meaning, the sign just appears to tell you to shoot only once you verify that the target isn’t your ‘mate.’ That brings up a lot of questions.

In all honesty, problems like these do exist in places where hunting is permitted. And it’s not a rural or an urban problem. This problem persists when people who didn’t learn the rules properly go out hunting. This sign exists for all those people.

A sincere request

If there’s a sign that asks you not to eat paper, then this store must have surely seen a crazy person whose mouth might have started watering upon seeing this counter at Staples’ office supply store. That’s the only explanation that would pass for this sign existing.

Otherwise, why would a sign like this be needed? Eating paper does no good to your body, so it’s not even like it has any nutritional value in it. It could be a byproduct of a crazy incident or just a sign to make people laugh.

Not lovin’ it

As we write this, we really hope that the lights on the letters’ r’ and ‘v’ have now been fixed. This McDonald’s outlet literally has a ‘Die Thru’ section instead of the regular ‘Drive Thru’ section, which gives off a very ominous vibe.

If you’re curious to know where this outlet is situated, it was spotted somewhere in Malaysia. Electric signs have the tendency to malfunction in the most hysterical ways, so it was only a matter of time before we came across one on our list.

Dark

This is a sign that would instantly wanna make you run away from this place if you are visiting with your kid. The humor implied could be too dark for some people to appreciate, so there is a remote chance of people panicking.

This photo was clicked at a certain flower shop. The person who uploaded it was at the flower shop with his son. The boy noticed the sign, and according to the father, he did not leave his side after that!

Danger ahead

Squirrels might look very cute, and they are harmless in most cases, but it’s still in everybody’s best interest to let these animals just be by themselves. This sign shows the after-effects of feeding a squirrel. So, it’s better to keep your distance!

Although they are relatively small in size, this sign proves that they could still inflict a great deal of damage. Be it a squirrel or literally another other wild animal, it’s better to leave them alone. Wildlife would do much better without human intervention.

A long walk indeed

If you slip from this point, then you’re going to have a very tough time coming back up. This endeavor may or may not involve a rescue team. So, instead of being a reckless risk-taker, you are advised to be wise and cautious.

This image is from Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan. After reading the rescue fee part, the message is quite simple: If things go wrong despite the warning on the sign, you’d basically be on your own. Although the view is splendid, this place is visibly steep.

Not good

When it comes to restaurants, signs and logos play a very important role. When you are driving, and you spot a restaurant sign, if both these things appeal to you, you will be more inclined to venture inside even though you’ve never eaten there before.

In this case, the first sentence is enough to put people off. Even if you don’t read that, the scary image on the top would do the job of scaring people away. When it comes to the cones, they don’t even look like cones. They look more like claws!

Multilingual

If you spot a sign that literally has a warning in multiple languages, should you even consider staying there for a long time? It’s quite intense, and that’s more than enough to change your mind and think things through. If that’s not enough, there’s a detailed explanation as well.

This image was taken in Wittenoom in Western Australia. Here’s some more information for your benefit: Asbestos is basically a group of fibrous minerals that occur naturally. These are resistant to heat and corrosion and pretty dangerous since they’ve been attributed to causing some types of cancer.

Legitimate

We’re shocked that the owners of this daycare settled on this name when they had a world full of options. Though we understand what they are trying to say here, ‘cage’ is a harsh word, which makes this board a meme.

There is a technical error that needs to be pointed out on this sign. There is no hyphen between the words’ cage’ and ‘free,’ making the messaging quite disturbing. Wonder how many parents dared to leave their little ones here.

Interesting

Honestly speaking, this sign would make so much more sense if it was situated in a hazardous place. Maybe some sort of a lab, mining site, or radioactive area. If you were asked to guess where this was seen, we bet one or all of those places would have come to mind.

The person who posted this photo spotted this sign inside a security door of a fast food restaurant, of all the places. The best and only sensible explanation here could be that this is some sort of an emergency safety measure.

Simple things

Sometimes, explaining things to people in the simplest way possible, and with a bit of creativity, can be the best way to go. This squash court understands that, so they don’t play around with their rules and regulations. That’s highly appreciated.

Come to think of it, there are many squash courts in the world where you won’t see these signs. But, even then, people won’t ever come to play squash without wearing protective eyewear. It’s common sense. If there’s a sign here, there might have been an accident in the past.

Too late

There’s nothing majorly wrong with this sign, but there are still a few flaws. First of all, considering the level of threat, the size of the sign is way too small. Also, we aren’t certain about the whole situation, but we hope that this sign isn’t the only one around.

Next, the size of the sign and the emphasis on the text should’ve been more than what we’re seeing here. Just so you know, the person who uploaded this image only found this sign halfway into a nature trail. See why we’re complaining?

Trendy

This sign contradicts itself, and that is mainly because of the font. The word ‘stop’ is written in a very creepy way. People would be more likely to turn around or speed away after seeing this sign instead of stopping.

Also, if you look closely, you’ll notice that even the screws haven’t been properly painted. The residents of this area must be quite badass if this is what they use as a Stop sign. Way to be unique, guys. We just hope no one thought to replicate it somewhere.

Relief

This is the last thing you want to see when you are on a long drive to a hilly area and looking to stop for a fuel refill or other vehicle services. A car breaking down at this point or after this point would be a nightmare.

The amount of snow is enough to make things even more difficult for the unlucky people whose vehicles break down at or after this point. This sign is situated somewhere in Yukon, a mountainous and sparsely populated area in Canada.

Worst warning

This sign paints a very clear picture. This is probably one of the few signs that guarantee death. It is scary to read about how escaping this fate is literally impossible, and swimming in the water here could be fatal.

It’s also the first time we’ve seen someone call a low-head dam a drowning machine. It is technically that, but it’s funny how much more dangerous it sounds this way. The sign was spotted somewhere in Southeast Queensland in Australia.