Several things here I believe.

* There is a good part of randomness in the ways posts get gilded and upvoted. Things like time of the day, what time it is in the us, europe, or somewhere else, the fact that a few upvotes will move the story up and increase its chance to get more, etc.

* Everything that happens on NoSleep is true. Posts are supposed to be written by actual people telling their story. Some of us are actually looking for this "reality effect". I have read Borrasca and The Spire in the Woods. Both were absolutely great, but it didn't feel like I was reading some post were someone was telling us about something weird that happened to them. It felt like reading a novel. A good novel, but not an internet post.