Stairs are one of the oldest architectural inventions in human history, with early examples dating back thousands of years, possibly as far as 8000 BC. And on paper, they seem pretty simple and rather genius. Just put one raised step after another, and voilà! You’ve got yourself a way to move between different heights.

But designing and building a proper staircase is actually trickier than it looks. Get the proportions, angles, or spacing wrong, and what should be a convenient way to get around can quickly turn into a serious safety hazard.

Below, we’ve rounded up some of the most terrifying staircases we’ve featured over the years. Scroll down to check out the best of all time, and prepare to feel very protective of your ankles. Some of these designs are enough to give you vertigo just by looking at them!

#1 Access For Wheelchairs On This Stairs

#2 Not A Good Carpet Choice For Stairs If You Ask Me

#3 I've Seen Some Bad Stairs, But This One Takes The Cake

People have been building stairs for so long that it’s difficult to say who first came up with the idea. One of the oldest surviving examples can be found in the ancient city of Jericho, where archaeologists discovered a stone tower dating back to around 8000 BC.

According to research published in the journal Antiquity, the structure stood more than eight meters tall and had a staircase built inside it. For people living thousands of years before modern construction equipment existed, that was a pretty impressive achievement.

#4 When You Let Satan Choose The Carpet

#5 Camouflage 101

#6 And That’s How Fred Flinstone Came To Have Two Hip Replacements

Of course, staircase design has come a long way since then. Today, architects and engineers have the technology and materials to create some truly extraordinary structures. Take the Niesen Stairway in Switzerland, which was built in 1910 and holds the Guinness World Record for the longest staircase in the world.

It has a whopping 11,674 steps and climbs 1,669 meters (5,476 feet) up a mountain alongside a railway. Normally closed to the public, the staircase hosts an annual race where brave participants attempt to climb the whole thing!

#7 These Are Stairs In My Town. Just...how?

#8 The “Extra” Two Inches Of Concrete At The Top Of My Stairs. We Call It “The Tripper”

#9 An Accident Waiting To Happen

However, an elaborate design doesn’t necessarily make a staircase practical or safe. Even the most ordinary flight of stairs requires some careful planning, since the height and depth of each step affect how comfortably people can use it.

And despite thousands of years of architectural progress, falling down the stairs remains a remarkably common way to get injured. In fact, the numbers are quite frightening.

#10 When You Don't Have Enough Space For Stairs! Brilliant Child-Friendly Space With An Observatory Tower Incorporated By Arch. Hiroshi Okamoto

#11 Finland. The House Was Built In 1930. Fire Escape Ladder, “Routed” To Each Apartment

#12 A Set Of Granite-Effect Stairs That Resemble Those Right-Left Space-Savi G Stairs, But Each Step Has A Little Half Step After It

In the US alone, more than a million people end up in emergency departments each year because of stair-related injuries.

A 2018 study published in The American Journal of Emergency Medicine examined these injuries between 1990 and 2012. Researchers estimated that nearly 24.8 million people received medical treatment during those 23 years.

That’s an average of approximately 1.08 million patients annually, or roughly one person every 30 seconds. And those figures only account for injuries serious enough to result in an emergency department visit.

#13 Built The Staircase Exactly As Designed, Boss

#14 Stairs That Lead To Nowhere

#15

Interestingly, the same study found that 61.2% of stair-related injuries happened at home. So even a familiar staircase that someone has climbed hundreds of times deserves a little caution.

One misplaced foot or a moment of distraction is all it takes to turn an ordinary trip downstairs into a painful sprain or even a broken bone.

#16 Extreme Wheelchairing

#17 They Built This School Like One Month Ago

#18 Infamous House In My Hometown. Yes, Those Are Stairs

But some staircases are considered so dangerous that authorities have decided people shouldn’t be using them at all. One example is the famous Haʻikū Stairs in Hawaii, also known as the Stairway to Heaven.

Built during World War II, the nearly 4,000 steps climb a steep mountain ridge. Despite being closed to the public in 1987, the staircase continued attracting adventurous hikers. In 2024, officials began a $2.6 million project to remove it over safety concerns and persistent trespassing.

#19 Walked Up This Then Had To Turn Around Because Of These Useless Railings

#20 In Case Of Fire Use Stairs, They Said. Do Not Use Elevators, They Said

#21 Almost Broke My Leg

Certain staircases have earned a frightening reputation for reasons that have little to do with physical danger. The Winchester Mystery House in California has a particularly strange story behind its unusual design.

The enormous mansion contains 47 staircases, including some that lead absolutely nowhere, ending abruptly at the ceiling. Its owner, Sarah Winchester, spent decades expanding the property, creating a maze of strange rooms and passages.

According to popular legends, she deliberately designed the house this way to confuse evil spirits that she believed were haunting her.

#22 You Don't Have To Be Drunk To Fall Down These Stairs

#23 These Stairs At A Movie Theatre

#24 These Aren’t Stairs. They Are Decorative Waterfalls. My Friend Walked Into Them And Slipped, I Laughed My Butt Off

Another staircase with a rather creepy reputation can be found at the Stanley Hotel in Colorado, which famously inspired Stephen King’s The Shining. Over the years, guests have reported strange figures appearing on its grand staircase, along with other unexplained activity throughout the building.

In 2016, one visitor even photographed what appeared to be a ghostly woman standing at the top of the stairs. He insisted that he didn’t remember anyone being there when he took the picture.

Whether it was a ghost or simply another guest remains a mystery, but the story has certainly added to the hotel’s already eerie history!

#25 My God

#26 Takes Some Guts To Step Onto Here! I Gather It's Tijuca Peak - Rio De Janeiro And I'm Not Planning To Visit Any Time Soon!

#27 Floating Stairs At Machu Picchu, Peru.... I'm Sure That Drop Off On The Left When You Slip Is Just Fiiiiiiiin

Whether they’re associated with ghost stories or questionable engineering, staircases have certainly given us plenty of reasons to be nervous over the centuries. Luckily, most of the stairs we encounter are perfectly ordinary, and there’s no reason to start avoiding them altogether.

Still, looking at some of the designs in this collection, it’s hard to imagine what their creators had in mind. Perhaps the next time we encounter a particularly boring staircase, we’ll appreciate it a little more!

#28 Huntington Place Convention Center, Detroit

#29 Scary Stairs

#30 The Frozen Stairs! Stairs Up To The Top Of Snowdon, North Wales, UK!

#31 No. So Much No

#32

#33 Nope

#34 Yeah, Have A Few Drinks Upstairs At The Restaurant, Then Good Luck Navigating The Geometric Nightmare That Awaits

#35 Slippery When Wet, Aguas Calientes, Peru

#36 Scary

#37 Huangshan Mountain, China

#38

#39 The Perfect Building To Have Stairs In Front Of

#40 Not A Paradox, Just A Normal Russian Architecture

#41 Steps That You Can't See

#42 No Broken Legs I Know Of

#43 These Stairs In My In-Laws Summerhouse. We Have Parties Here So Going Down These Stairs Drunk Is A Challange

#44 I Saw This At My School

#45 This Stairway Has A Surprise Step

#46 My University Has A Stair Case To Classroom 9 And 3/4

#47 Somewhere In Australia Maybe

#48 Architectual Masterpiece

#49 This Fancy Staircase Leads Directly Into A Wall

#50 Just When You Thought You Were Reaching 1 Kcal

#51 Good Luck Going Down To Pee At Night

#52 Abandoned Diving Board, Prague, Czech Republic

#53 Authentic Dutch Stairs In The Airbnb We'll Be Renting To Bridge The Period Between Moving Out Of Our Current House Into The One We Just Bought

#54 Stayed In London Last Fall. Bathroom Was Upstairs

#55 It’s Fine. Everything’s Fine

#56 Stairs In Our Old Home. Everyone Has Fell Down These At Least Once

#57 Found Today In Sorrento, Italy

#58 When The House Lights Go Down, Good Luck

#59 I Just Fell Down These In My Mind And It Sounded Like Someone Hitting A Gong In A Very Uncoordinated Way

#60 Yeah, That Is A One-Story Home For Me

#61 “Stairs” Designed By Francesco Librizzi. It’s Really More Of A Treacherous Ladder. I’d Consider Going Up These. Would Not Be Interested In Going Down Them

#62 Oh No, I'll Jump, Thanks

#63 An Unusual Cuboidal Stairway In The Little Village San Augustin Etla, Oaxaca, Mexico (Vernacular Architecture) They Are Made Out Of Red Stone And In Six Alternating Columns. The Ankle Twister

#64 I Can Already Feel The Concussion

#65 Sthairs

#66 Love My New Apartment But These Are The Stairs Leading Up To The Loft. They Feel More Like A Ladder Because Of How Steep They Are. Don’t Get Me Started On How We’re Going To Move Furniture Up There

#67 A Little Nauseating Looking Down

#68 Handicapped Accessible Ramp In Germany

#69 This Was A Wheelchair Ramp To A Mall But When People Started Using It For Shopping Carts The Mall Decided To Fix The Issue Like That

#70 I Am Amazed By These Stairs... Are They Carved In Marble? Won't It Be Slippery?

#71 A Wood Staircase Is Covered With Decorative Stones Leaving Only A Narrow And Snaking Path For The User

#72 Steps Are Complete!!!

#73 Looking Down A Window Lit Rail-Less Stairwell. Dark Planks Across A Central Point With No Added Support

#74 Stone Stairs So Steep And Narrow They're Like Climbing A Ladder Almost Straight Up

#75 A Fire Escape Of The 38-Story Copan Residential Building In São Paulo, Brazil

#76 Stairs Hanging From The Ceiling Of A Gas Holder I Didnt Go All The Way Up Far Too Bouncy For My Liking LOL

#77 Tom Dixon’s Mykonos Villa Is On The Market

#78 Old Farmhouse Steps

#79 Steps Up To Our B&b In Portugal

#80 13 Landings 39 Steps 4 Stories. It Was Constructed Using All Mortise And Tenons With Half Lap Joinery. No Nails Or Screwshttps

#81 Made In Hungarian . Moreover, The Sticks Were Flexible

#82 Stairs To A Second Floor Of A Historical Building In The Ethnographic Museum In Riga, Latvia

#83 Spotted These In Tenerife

#84 Seen On A Temple In Siem Reap, Cambodia. Imagine Climbing This In Loose Monk's Robes!

#85 I Think My Stairs Fit Here

#86 Got An Unsatisfying Feeling When Walking Downstairs And The Last Step Was Not There

#87 That's How I Broke My Leg

#88 Imagine Being Drunk

#89 To Make The City More Inclusive

#90 May I Present To You: The Weird Stairs At My House. (Adding To The Recent Post From U/Psychedelicdevilry . I Never Actually Realized How Weird This Are Since I Lived With Them All My Life)

#91 This Staircase

#92 Boss Says Build Stairs, I Build Stairs

#93 This “Disable Friendly” Ramp

#94 Got Funky While Building My First Staircase

#95 Not Mine But Holy Wow This Is The Worst I’ve Seen

#96 A Set Of Steep Stairs Each Step Alternates So That You Can Only Really Put One Foot On A Step At A Time. It's Also Nearly A Straight Down Angle

#97 Can You Guess Where Does The Step Start And End In The Stairway Of My University?

#98 These Stairs In An Air Bnb That We Are Wiring

#99 Stairs In Front Of A Local Beer-Stand On A Festival…

#100 This Restaurant Had Wheelchair Accessible Washrooms… Down The Stairs

#101 Me On My Girlfriends Stairs

#102 Ayo, The Pizza’s Here! Image Description: A Flight Of Stairs That Goes Straightforward For 13 Stories Without Turning

#103 Fire Stairs On A Building In Vietnam Where Handrails Are Only On The Top Floor

#104 Some Stairs In A Bungalow I'm Working On. They've Also Added A Decapitation 2000 Ceiling Fan At Throat Level Which I Think Is A Nice Touch

#105 Church In Roscoff, Brittany

#106 My Shins Hurt Looking At This

#107 These Stairs Where You Have To Hug The Wall Or Sprain Ur Ankle

#108 I Feel Like These Count

#109 These Are Shin And Neck Breaking Stairs Located At Turkey Run State Park In Indiana And Yes They Are Exactly As Slick As They Look

109 Bizarre Staircases That Might Make Even The Most Confident Person Grab The Railing, If There Is One