What are some elements that make the top 5 scary ghost stories so frightening?

The sense of helplessness. When people are in situations like those in scary real stories, they often feel powerless. Like in cases of supposed demonic possession, the victim seems unable to control their own body or actions, which is terrifying to think about.

Well, for starters, the isolation that often comes with midnight. Most people are asleep, so the protagonist in the story is alone. Then there's the idea of the afterlife and the supernatural. Ghosts represent something that defies our understanding of the natural world. Also, the use of sound effects in these stories, like creaking doors or howling winds, adds to the overall scariness. It makes our imagination run wild and fills us with dread.

The setting plays a crucial role. Take 'The Amityville Horror' for example. A large, old, and isolated house provides the perfect backdrop for a scary story. The creaking floors, dark hallways, and the feeling of being alone in such a place add to the fear.

The unknown is a big factor. We don't know what ghosts are really like, so when we hear about encounters, it scares us. For example, in those stories where people see strange figures in the dark.

The unknown. In true ghost stories, we don't really know what the entity is. It could be a lost soul or something more malevolent. For example, in many stories, people see just a shape or a figure in the dark, and not knowing what it is makes it scarier.

The unknown makes really scary true ghost stories frightening. When things happen that can't be explained by normal means, like objects moving on their own or strange noises in an empty house. It plays on our fear of the unseen.

Well, the unexpected twists play a major role. In many of these short ghost stories, things don't go as expected. For instance, in 'The Monkey's Paw', the family thought the wishes would bring them good, but instead brought tragedy. The idea of something from the beyond interfering with our normal lives is also scary. In 'The Red Room', the presence that the man encounters in the room that was supposed to be just a superstition is a terrifying concept. And the use of vivid descriptions, like in 'The Tell - Tale Heart' with the description of the old man's eye, makes the horror more palpable.

The unknown is a big factor. In a scary alone story, like when you hear a noise in an empty house but don't know what it is. It could be anything, and your mind starts to imagine the worst. Another element is isolation. When you're alone, there's no one to turn to for help, which makes the situation scarier. For example, if you're in a spooky forest all by yourself and something strange happens.

The cultural and historical context. Many Mexican scary stories are based on ancient Aztec or Mayan beliefs. These cultures had a deep connection with the spiritual world, and some of their more fearsome deities or spirits find their way into the stories. For instance, the Aztec god of death, Mictlantecuhtli, is often associated with dark and spooky tales. His appearance is often described as terrifying, with a skull face and a body covered in bones, and his domain is the underworld, which adds a lot of horror to the stories.

The unknown. For example, when a character in a story enters a dark, uncharted place like an old cellar, not knowing what's there. It creates suspense.