urban legends ✓

the smiling dog ☹

Somewhere on the Internet, there's a photograph you really don't want to look at. A scanned-in Polaroid image of a "smiling" husky dog in a dimly lit room, it's meant to be just about the creepiest picture you will ever see. So creepy, in fact, that it will drive you mad.

The legend goes that it was first posted to Usenet sometime in the 1990s. Known as Smile.jpg, it's said to induce seizures and feelings of panic in those who see it. But that's not the worst part. The worst part is the smile itself.

Almost freakishly human, the dog's twisted smile is meant to haunt your dreams, driving you slowly mad. Most versions of the legend report that this nightmare dog orders those who've seen it to "spread the word," passing on the demonic file to another unlucky soul. Most kill themselves at this point. Others simply pass the message along.

Although originally written as a story a few years back, the Smiling Dog somehow caught the Internet's imagination. It's cropped up on countless websites, and still does the rounds as a supposed urban legend. Looking at that cheesy-yet-eerily-convincing Photoshop smile, it's easy to see why.