Messages that contain personal details are very frightening. Like when they mention your daily habits, the places you go, or the people you meet. It gives the feeling that someone is closely observing you all the time, which is a very unsettling thought. For example, if a text says 'I know you went to the park with your dog yesterday', it's really scary.
Threatening or disturbing content is also terrifying. Messages with threats of harm, or disturbing pictures can be very scary. It makes the receiver feel vulnerable and in danger. It can cause a great deal of stress and anxiety, as the person doesn't know if the threat is real or not and what might happen next.
The sense of being watched. When the text messages imply that the sender is watching you, like saying 'I see you right now', it gives you a very uneasy feeling. You start to look over your shoulder everywhere you go. You become paranoid in your own home. This feeling of constantly being under surveillance can be extremely terrifying, and it can disrupt your normal life.
The sense of helplessness. You can't really stop these texts easily. Blocking the number might not work if they keep coming from new numbers. And you don't know what the sender will do next. For example, in the story of the guy whose car brakes failed after getting the texts, he didn't know how far the sender would go to harm him, and that's really terrifying.
One of the scariest is the story of a teenager who got a Snapchat message from an unknown user. The message showed a picture of his own bedroom, but he was alone in the house. He immediately ran out of the house in fear.
Threatening words are also a big part. Texts like 'I'll get you' or 'You're in danger' play on our fears of harm. It makes us feel vulnerable, especially when we're alone or at home. For example, if you get a text like that while you're in your bedroom at night, it can send shivers down your spine.
The anonymity. When you don't know who is sending those scary texts, it's really terrifying. Just like in the story where the girl got texts from an unknown number, not knowing who was behind it made it so much scarier.
The sense of being watched. In the forest story, the hikers feeling like the trees were alive and watching them added a lot of terror. Also, in the doll story, the girl feeling like the doll was somehow aware and watching her even at night was terrifying.
A young woman once got text messages with disturbing pictures and threats. The pictures were of places she often visited. The threats were like 'You won't be safe here much longer.' She called the police right away. The police traced the number and found out it was a mentally unstable person who lived near her. Thankfully, they were able to stop him before he could do any harm.
A man got a series of text messages with just pictures of his own house at different angles. No words, just those pictures. At first, he thought it was some kind of mistake. But then the texts became more frequent. He got scared and installed security cameras. It was a group of burglars scouting his place. Thankfully, because of his quick action, he was able to prevent the burglary.
There was a story where a person received a text that simply said 'Your time is up.' Every time they replied, asking who it was, they got no response. But then strange things started to happen around them, like objects moving on their own. They never found out who sent the text, and it remained a very creepy mystery.
I think the betrayal aspect in some of the stories is terrifying. There are fairies who seem friendly at first but then turn on the human characters. For instance, a fairy might offer to help a lost traveler but then lead them into a dangerous trap instead. It makes you question who can be trusted in these fairy - filled worlds.