American urban legends. Myths and Legends of Modern America Riverdale Road, Colorado
Halloween is a holiday of fun, absurdity and, of course, fear. A selection of tales - urban horror stories that American boy scouts still tell each other around the campfire - will help you not feel like a stranger at this holiday, because an immigrant in childhood was scared by completely different characters.
Riverdale Road, Colorado
Why is this creepy: The Riverdale Road near Thornton, Colorado, stretches for 11 miles (17 kilometers) and is literally teeming with legends that can scare even the most seasoned paranormal investigator. Here we met a ghost runner, a wide variety of demons and even a ghost Chevrolet Camaro. But the strangest place here is the Gates of Hell. This is the name of the entrance to the old estate, where, according to legend, the distraught head of the family burned his wife and children alive. The gate itself has long been demolished, the mansion has turned into ruins, but the ashes are still there. A woman in white wanders around it. And the ghosts of slaves allegedly hanged on a tree here. And even a pack of ghost dogs! Some believe that there is a portal to hell here, which is why so much horror is concentrated in such a small area.
Where did this come from: It is not known exactly when many local legends arose. Given the history of slave spirits, it is logical to assume that creepy things have happened here since the 50s of the 19th century. Each time something else terrible happened, the legend of it added to the list, which eventually became like a horror show in a provincial amusement park.
Mr. Sneeze, Delaware
Why is this creepy: In colonial times, Samuel Chu ( Chew) was a respected man - the chief judge of the state. However, even at that time and in his position, those around him laughed at his last name, pronouncing it like “Sneeze” (“apchhu!” - ah, Chew!). This infuriated the judge so much that even after death he could not calm down, and his spirit still haunts the descendants of his offenders. The ghost appears before his victims in a judge's robe and a starched wig. Those who still find his last name funny have the best chance of seeing him.
Where did this come from: Samuel Chew did serve as chief judge of three counties until his death in 1743. The legends surrounding him so disturbed the people of Dover Green that the ghost was even “buried” in an ornate grave. They say that after this he calmed down, but he can still properly scare the presumptuous lover of phonetic jokes.
Skunk Ape, Florida
Why is this creepy: The Everglades swamps in Florida are known for a number of nightmarish creatures and phenomena - man-eating alligators, man-eating snakes, car accidents and road robberies, which also cause people to die. However, in these places we also encountered something truly strange: a “skunk monkey.” The height of this relative of Bigfoot is from 1.5 to 2 meters, and its weight is about 200 kilograms. You can tell that a skunk monkey is somewhere nearby by its disgusting smell, reminiscent of rotting meat. Skunk apes are said to eat berries and small animals, but they have been known to attack wild boars and destroy farms. Recently, a headquarters for the search for this mysterious creature appeared in the Everglades. Of course, it is designed primarily for tourists: at the headquarters you can book a safari in the swamps. Who knows, maybe you will be the one to prove the existence of this beast once and for all.
Where did this come from: Nobody knows for sure. Some believe that this is Bigfoot, who, due to the invasion of civilization, left the mountains for the southern swamps, where it is easier to hide from hunters and find food. Others think it is a tale invented by the pioneers to scare away strangers from their lands. No matter what you believe, if you're camping in the Everglades and smell a pungent odor, you'll want to be on the lookout. It could be a skunk monkey.
The Curse of Lake Lanier, Georgia
Why is this creepy: The huge man-made lake north of Atlanta is scary for several reasons. An abnormally large number of boats and swimmers sink on the lake, and inexplicable murders regularly occur along its shores. In the early 90s, a car was found at the bottom with the skeleton of a woman locked in it, who disappeared back in 1958. Since then, eyewitnesses have reported a ghostly female figure that can sometimes be seen above the surface of the water. They also talk about a giant catfish that lives in the depths of the lake. It is rumored to be large enough to swallow a dog and even drown a diver.
Where did this come from: The creation of the lake was accompanied by a lot of problems associated with the eviction of families and businesses from the territory, which was transferred to the Army Corps of Engineers for development. The ruins of the previous buildings remained at the bottom. The old cemetery was also flooded, which was partly the reason for the lake’s creepy reputation. Of course, most incidents on the lake occur due to the well-known combination of “drinking + swimming = tragedy” (people go to the lake primarily to have fun). However, many deaths remain unexplained, leading one to believe that there is something sinister behind them.
Ghost Runner from Canyon Hill Cemetery, Idaho
Why is this creepy: There are many rumors about ghosts at the old Canyon Hill Cemetery in Caldwell, Idaho. The most famous of them is "Midnight Runner". This is a legless woman who appears if you park between certain trees near the cemetery. She knocks on the window and then continues her “run,” which looks more like flying. It sounds creepy, but this is far from the worst legend about ghost runners. What about the spirit that shits on lawns?
Where did this come from: The origin is unknown, but given another conspiracy legend according to which the state of Idaho does not exist at all, we can assume that this is another government invention.
Goat Man, Maryland
Why is this creepy: The infamous Goat Man of Maryland is said to do everything you'd expect from a crazy half-human, half-animal: killing teenagers, eating dogs, screaming goat, etc. But the most terrifying aspect is how widespread this legend is. The US Department of Agriculture was even forced at one point to publicly deny the accidental creation of such a creature at its research center in Beltsville. Another story about the appearance of the goat man tells of a goat breeder who, upon learning that a group of rowdy teenagers had killed his herd, went crazy and turned into a monster.
Where did this come from: Journalist Karen Hosler from the newspaper first wrote about the goat man Prince George's County News in 1971. The material was devoted to the study of urban folklore of Maryland and was accompanied by the story of one of the local families about how someone cut off the head of their puppy. Of course, the family - not without a hint from the journalist - blamed the goat man for everything. A month later The Washington Post published a large note dedicated to this legend. The Goat Man instantly became famous throughout the country. The legend about him remains one of the most popular in the United States. The Goat Man is regularly “meeted,” and notes about him, sometimes incredibly detailed, appear in the Maryland press to this day.
Vampire Saint Germain, Louisiana
Why is this creepy: When it comes to scary things, Louisiana doesn't just rely on voodoo, ghosts and Woody Harrelson's accent in the show True Detective. Jacques Saint-Germain, like any self-respecting vampire, seduced young girls and drank their blood. According to one version, he was born at the beginning of the 18th century. According to another, he lived since the time of Jesus. After his "death" in 1783, he appeared here and there throughout Europe until he moved to New Orleans in 1902. Rumor has it that he still plies his murderous deeds in the city's French Quarter, but now calls himself Jack.
Where did this come from: The Comte de Saint-Germain was a real person, an alchemist and a real high-society snob who was friends with all the celebrities of his time. He communicated with Louis XV, Catherine the Great and Voltaire. The latter called him “an immortal man who knows everything.” He was even suspected of a series of murders. Besides, he never ate in public. In the 1970s, French showman Richard Chenfray claimed that he was the immortal Saint Germain. However, less than 10 years later Chenfrey died of a drug overdose. Or not?
Dog Boy, Arkansas
Why is this creepy: This character's name may sound stupid. However, you will not be laughing if in the town of Quitman, Arkansas, you suddenly see the silhouette of a 140-pound half-man, half-beast with glowing eyes in the window of house 65 Mulberry Street. In this case, it is better to get out of there as soon as possible, because he has a habit of chasing people on the street, biting their legs like a dog.
Where did this come from: The real story behind this legend is much darker. Gerald Bettis, the only son of the Bettis family at 65 Mulberry Street, was always a troubled child. But not like in the movie “Problem Child.” As a child, Bettis tortured animals (hence his nickname, Dog Boy). As he grew older, his sociopathy spilled over into his elderly parents. He did not let them leave the house. Rumor has it that he killed his father. Bettis was eventually arrested for growing marijuana in his backyard. He died in prison from a drug overdose in 1988.
Hell's Bridge, Michigan
Why is this creepy: The Michigan legends of Detroit's Red Dwarf or the Dog Warriors are no match for the story of Elias Friske, the crazy old preacher who is said to have tormented children in the woods that are now Algoma. He kept his victims tied up and killed one by one. The remains were drowned in Cedar Creek. When the parents of the victims caught him, he said that he was possessed by demons. This did not stop his parents from hanging him. Hell's Bridge is a narrow crossing over a stream in the middle of the woods. Those who dare to cross it at night can hear the screams of the victims of the mad preacher, and sometimes see his black figure with glowing eyes.
Where did this come from: There is no record of Elias Frisk in official state records, although such a family is known to have lived here in the early 1910s. However, everyone who has been on the bridge agrees that there is something there - and it most often makes itself felt at night.
Area 51, Nevada
Why is it (still) creepy: The story of Area 51 has been retold (sometimes in a humorous way) so many times that it has become forgotten how alarming the whole situation looked in the very beginning. However, government silence, dead aliens and sinister experiments in desert Nevada look more disturbing than the movies about it. There is a lot of speculation about what is really going on at Area 51. They talk about time travel, genetic experiments, and autopsies of aliens. However, no one except the authorities knows the truth.
Where did it come from: First of all, it is worth remembering that Area 51 really exists. This is a well-equipped military base in southern Nevada. However, its purpose is unknown to anyone. At the very beginning of the Cold War, in the 1950s, President Eisenhower approved a plan to build the first aircraft based on stealth technology, the U-2. The laboratories and test airfield were located in the area that later became known as Area 51. The experimental plane resembled a UFO. Local residents who saw his flights, of course, built theories about his extraterrestrial origin, which immediately hit the press. The scandal was further fueled by news of a “UFO crash” in Roswell. Since then, Area 51 has been the center of conspiracy theories around the US government.
Watermelon Heads, Ohio
Why is this creepy: The name "Watermelon Heads" could be a good name for a dessert. However, the legend behind this name is much darker: it talks about pale, sick children who were subjected to genetic experiments. They are reputed to have huge heads and sharp teeth, perfect for tearing apart babies (and maybe you). Doesn't sound like dessert at all.
Where did this come from: Similar stories exist in Michigan and Connecticut, but Ohio's version is the darkest. According to this legend, the “Watermelon Heads” are the adopted children of a certain doctor who tested new surgical and pharmaceutical treatments on them. It didn't turn out very well. Now the test subjects hunt in the forests of Kirkland, ready to flay the skin of any random passerby. According to other versions, children simply run away when they see strangers. Finally, some consider them to be ordinary ghosts. One thing is for sure: one super-low-budget horror film was made based on this legend.
Hobo Sam, South Dakota
Why is this creepy: In December 2014, a wave of suicide attempts swept across the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota - a total of 103 cases occurred. The incident is associated with the legend of Hobo Sam. Teenagers who tried to commit suicide said that a tall and thin figure appeared to them, who called himself Sam, and demanded to kill himself. A year earlier, five members of the Oglala Sioux tribe committed suicide. In 2015, the head of the tribe published in Facebook photo from a local forest with already prepared loops on the trees. This is how the plan for mass teenage suicide was revealed.
Where did this come from: The figure of Hobo Sam also refers to the legends about the Boogeyman, which still work today - just remember the Slenderman hysteria in 2008. The idea of the “shadow people” is also so old that it is difficult to find its origin. However, Hobo Sam himself is a relatively new local legend of the Lakota and Dakota Indian tribes. Journalist Peter Matthiesen first wrote about Sam in 1980 in his article “The Spirit of the Crazy Horse.” According to the material, Sam was first seen by Indians from the Sioux and Little Eagle tribes. The Tramp is sometimes called taku-he or "Bigfoot with a Straw Hat."
Rabbit Bridge, Virginia
Why is this creepy: This legend is fun to retell at night around the fire, but the real events behind it are truly frightening. In the 1970s, police repeatedly reported people being threatened by an axe-wielding man dressed in a bunny suit. Some eyewitnesses said that he threw his ax at them. There are still frequent reports of dead rabbits being found in the woods around the Fairfax Bridge, also known as the Rabbit Bridge. They also talk about a man in white who was seen under the bridge.
Where did this come from: According to legend, in 1904, a group of prisoners were transported by bus from a mental hospital in Clifton, Virginia, to a nearby prison. On the way, the bus overturned, many prisoners died, but some managed to escape. The next day, the police began searching for the fugitives, and caught all but one. During further searches, police began to find gnawed carcasses of rabbits in the woods near the Fairfax Bridge, but they were unable to catch the one who ate them. A year later, on Halloween night, a group of teenagers went under a bridge to spend time away from their parents. The next morning they were found hanging from the bridge supports. Since then, it has been believed that anyone who finds themselves under the bridge that night will face imminent death.
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Slender Man, or Slenderman
According to legend, the Slender Man is a tall, thin man dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and black tie. He has long thin arms and legs, and his face is completely featureless.
His arms can stretch, and tentacles grow from his back.
When the Slender Man appears, his victim loses memory, experiences insomnia, paranoia, a coughing fit, and blood flows from the nose.
If Slenderman is spotted in the area, it means that children will soon disappear. He lures them into the forest, deprives them of their minds and takes them away with him. Those children who were carried away by the Slender Man were never seen again.
In 1983, 14 children disappeared in Stirling City, USA. Their disappearance was linked to the Slender Man. Later, in the city library they found a photograph taken by an unknown photographer that day, and it allegedly showed a monster.
Both girls ended up in a psychiatric hospital: one for 25 years, the other for 40.
Black Dog of Meriden
The Meriden Black Dog, from the U.S. state of Connecticut, is a small ghost dog that leaves no marks and makes no sounds. According to legend, if you see the Black Dog three times, you will die. It appears silently, leaves no traces (even in the snow), and then just as suddenly disappears.
In the early 1900s, geologist Pynchon explored a Meriden mountain called West Peak. One day he saw a black dog among the trees. As Pynchon turned to head home, the dog disappeared into the trees.
The second time the scientist saw a black dog a few years later in the same place. One of his friends, with whom he was climbing the mountain that day, said that he had already seen the dog twice.
They wandered around and finally came to the top. But the enemy was waiting for them. The black dog stood in front. Pynchon only turned away for a second when he suddenly heard a terrible scream. His friend fell and hit the rocks.
In Meriden, local residents told Pynchon about the legend of the Black Dog, but he did not believe it. Several years passed, the geologist decided to visit the same mountain. He left his apartment at dawn and never returned. His dead body was later found at the bottom of a ravine.
Pisadeira
In Brazil there is a legend about a scary woman named Pisadeira. It comes to men who are afraid, or to those who have eaten a heavy dinner and lie down on their backs - in this position, Pisadeira’s victim is practically unable to escape.
Pisadeira is a bony and thin creature, she has short lower limbs and long dirty hair, a hooked nose, reddish eyes, thin lips, sharp teeth with a greenish coating. Her long fingers have wide yellow nails. But even more frightening is the laughter and mocking giggle of the monster. If a person hears characteristic laughter at night, it means that Pisadeira will soon come to him. It is the creepy laughter that precedes her appearance.
The monster tortures its victim until she suffocates from fright, but Pisadeira can also leave a person, having had enough of fear.
Phantom of Benito Juarez Park in Mexico
In the small Mexican town of Jaral del Progreso there is Benito Juarez Park. This is one of the city’s attractions, but the park was laid out on the site of an old cemetery, so a bad reputation has spread about it. The city authorities landscaped the square as best they could. They installed benches and paved paths so that people could enjoy the beauty of nature. However, local residents believed that the authorities had awakened the local spirits and a curse was placed on the place.
Every evening in the park someone destroyed the benches and disappeared. Authorities then hired security guards to patrol the area at night.
And then one evening the guard began duty. At first everything was calm. The riots began when the park was covered in thick fog. The security guard heard a woman scream and went to check what had happened. When he reached the place, an elderly woman dressed in a white dress stood in front of him. The watchman followed her, and she began to destroy and throw benches.
When the guard approached her, he saw that the woman had no legs, she was floating in the air. Suddenly the old woman pounced on him and began beating him furiously. The guard managed to escape, and the next morning he told about what he saw. Shortly after this incident, he fell ill with a mysterious illness and died. The city authorities forbade talking about this story in the media, but the rumor still spread throughout the city; no one else wanted to be on duty at night.
Locals called the ghost the phantom of the park.
Girl from the closet
One day, a 57-year-old Japanese man noticed that someone was rearranging things in his house, food was disappearing from the refrigerator, and strange noises woke him up at night. The man decided that he was going crazy because he lived all alone. Both the windows and doors in his house were always closed.
One day he decided to take action and installed hidden cameras in all the rooms.
The next day he looked at the footage. In the footage, an unknown woman crawled out of the Japanese man's cupboard. The man assumed that she was a robber. But police said no one broke the locks.
After a thorough search, the woman was found in a small locker. As it turned out, she lived in a Japanese man’s house for a year.
Maryland Goat Man
For many residents of the United States, Prince George's County in the American state of Maryland is associated with a bloodthirsty monster called the Goat Man.
According to legend, the monster used to be an ordinary goat breeder. One day his wife became seriously ill, and he had to work tirelessly to help his beloved. But the cruel teenagers decided to play a trick on the poor guy and poisoned all his goats. The family was left without their only source of income, and the woman died.
Grief turned the farmer into a terrible monster, he ran into the forest and began killing everyone who crossed his path.
According to another version, the goat man is a scientific experiment of the mad scientist Dr. Fletcher. Local residents believe that prohibited experiments on animals were carried out at the district's agricultural research center. Once, through an experiment, a scientist created a half-man, half-goat. The researchers decided to keep him alive for study. But the creature grew up and turned into a cruel monster. He killed several scientists and escaped from the center.
Whether this is true or a myth, strange events took place in the area in the 50s of the 20th century. In 1958, residents found a German shepherd dead: the dog had been torn to shreds, but its meat had not been eaten.
In the spring of 1961, two students were found dead in the northeastern Maryland town of Bowie. The girl and the boy went into the forest at night. In the morning, a local hunter found a car with broken windows and many deep scratches on the body. The teenagers' bodies, mutilated beyond recognition, were found in the back seat. The criminal was never found.
In 2011, the American horror film "Deadly Detour" was released, inspired by the Maryland monster.
According to Irish folklore, the banshee is a spirit from the other world. She appears in the form of an ugly woman to the relatives and friends of the one who is about to die. It is believed that if a banshee cried loudly enough before her death, then in the next world her screams will be several times worse.
Banshees look like scary screaming women, old women with flowing gray hair, a scary wrinkled face and skeletal thinness.
The legend of an American girl who took revenge on her lover
In the USA there is a terrible legend about a girl who took revenge on her lover for unrequited love. In the small town of Stahl, Texas, there once stood a small church surrounded by graves. Next to the church there was a cellar, which was very difficult to find, as it was overgrown with grass.
The priest's daughter fell madly in love with a neighbor boy, but he broke her heart by choosing another girl. They got married, his chosen one became pregnant. Soon after the birth of the child, the priest's daughter visited the couple. They greeted her cordially, but the girl herself looked at their child with hatred.
The priest's daughter suddenly attacked her parents and cut both their throats, then she dragged their bodies to the hill where the church stood. She left the dead in the cellar and placed the living child between them.
The priest's daughter closed the door to the cellar and soon died. The bodies in the cellar could not be found for three weeks.
Many believe that the voice of a crying child can still be heard near the church at night.
Corpse house in Mexico
In the Mexican city of Monterey there is a famous legend about an abandoned building called the "corpse house." The strange structure was built in the 1970s, but no one has ever lived in the building.
From the street, the house looks like a structure made of concrete pipes. According to legend, the house was built by a wealthy couple who had a sick, paralyzed daughter. My father wanted to build a special house that would be suitable for people with disabilities. The design of the house included ramps that led from one floor to another.
The family began construction. One day the girl wanted to look at the house. She began to ride on the ramps, her parents were distracted for just a moment, when suddenly her wheelchair flew down the ramp. The girl could not stop, as a result she flew out the window and fell to her death.
Years later, the unfinished building was put up for sale. But no one wanted to buy it for a long time. One day there were clients. They came to see the building with their little son. While the couple were examining the situation, the boy went upstairs, and a few minutes later they heard him scream. On the top floor he was fighting with a little girl. An unknown person grabbed their son and threw him out the window. The boy died, the girl could not be found.
After this story, the authorities fenced off the area.
In 1941, a certain Mary Shaw performed with her Billy doll in one of the theaters in the American city of Ravens Fair. One day one of the spectators - a little boy - called the woman a liar. He saw the woman's lips move as Billy spoke. A few weeks later, the unfortunate critic disappeared.
Residents of the city and the boy's parents blamed the ventriloquist for his disappearance. Mary Shaw was soon found dead. According to local legend, the Eshen family (the boy’s relatives) committed lynching against the woman. They burst into the dressing room, forced Shaw to scream, and then ripped out her tongue.
Before her death, the woman wished that all her dolls be buried with her, there were 101 of them.
After the ventriloquist's funeral, massacres began in Raven's Fair. And the victims of crimes were those people who raised their hands on the Show. They, like Mary, had their tongues pulled out.
This infamous cemetery goes by many nicknames: the Seven Lost Gates of Hell, the Cemetery of the Damned, Satan's Boneyard, or most popularly, the Seventh Gate to Hell.
The gate to hell should be protected by a pentagram, which was made up of 5 cedars planted here, but at the moment only two of them remain.
They say about this necropolis that here the Devil himself administers judgment together with his followers.
Some argue that the cemetery does not deserve the chilling reputation it has acquired in recent years. Let's try to figure it out?
The churchyard and ruined church are located on a picturesque hill (Stull's Emmanuel Hill) near the tiny, almost forgotten village of Kansas Stull.
One of the legends about this mystical place has lived for 100 years, but first appeared in print only in 1974, when an article about several strange incidents in the cemetery church appeared in the November issue of the student newspaper at Kansas State University. Legend claimed that the cemetery was one of two places on earth where the devil himself appears twice a year: on the night of the vernal equinox and on Halloween. And the reason for his appearance was that his son was buried here. It was also said that the cemetery has long been the source of many myths and strange stories on this topic. How did the students find out about this? Did their grandparents tell them these stories or was it their own experience? One student claimed that, while visiting a cemetery, someone invisible grabbed his hand; another reported unexplained memory loss at that location.
Residents of these places said that they were hearing such stories for the first time. The article caused outrage and irritation because such things discredit the honor of the town. The pastor of the new church, located directly across the street from the old one, said that he believes these stories are made up by young people.
Whether it was true or not, the article caused a strong resonance among the population. On March 20, 1978, more than 150 people came to greet the coming of the devil. In addition, there were rumors that all those who died a violent death and were buried in this land would return from their graves. Unfortunately, the night was without exciting events.
Many stories have been told, but nothing has been documented. Just an urban legend.
But let's get acquainted with the frightening events that people retell to each other.
One story tells of two young men who arrived at Stull Cemetery at night. Suddenly a strong wind started blowing out of nowhere. They ran back to their car and discovered that the car had been moved to the other side of the road. Another eyewitness also spoke about the anomalous wind, clarifying that such a phenomenon occurs only inside the church, and not in the cemetery itself. He claimed that an ominous air current knocked him to the floor and prevented him from moving for several minutes. By the way, in this particular church, during rainstorms, there is no rain! But the destroyed building has no roof.
Legends say that the Devil began to appear here in the 1850s, and the original name of the city was "Skull" because the entire local population dabbled in black magic. But in reality the town was called "Deer Creek Community" until 1899, when the town received a new name in honor of the first postmaster, Sylvester Stull. The post office was closed in 1903, but the name stuck.
in 1980, an article in the Kansas City Times added fuel to the fire. The printed publication reported that the devil chose two places to appear on Earth: Stull City (somewhere near the church there was a staircase to hell. Whoever found it disappeared for several weeks, and then appeared with a loss of memory) and a desert plain where something in India. In these areas, the dark lord gathers all those who died violent deaths in the past years to dance at the witching hour. But why in Stall? The article states that it appears in this locality due to events that occurred in 1850, when the mayor was killed in a cemetery stone barn. Years later, the barn was converted into a church, which in turn was destroyed by fire. At midnight, the decrepit wooden crucifixes on one of the walls are sometimes turned upside down. However, the stories forget that, from a historical point of view, this settlement never had an official mayor.
Author Lisa Hefner Heitz has collected numerous legends that make the mythology of Stull Cemetery even more eerie and mysterious. Some versions say that Satan also visits this place on the last day of winter and the first evening of spring. He comes to the witch who was buried here - Wittich. An old tombstone with that name is located quite close to the wall of the church. In addition, on the territory of the cemetery there allegedly existed an ancient tree (pine) - it had already been cut down in 1998 - a gallows for convicted witches. Rumor has it that the tree has still been preserved, and to this day, on certain nights, the devil’s servants gather around it and pay tribute to the memory of their once executed trade friends, and the ghosts of the hanged sway on the branches.
What kind of creature is called the son of the Devil? Either from Wittich, or maybe from another witch, a terribly crippled child was born, who was immediately dubbed the Child of Satan. He was so deformed that he lived only a few days. He found his refuge in this cemetery. Rumor has it that his ghost still haunts the area, and a recent photograph showed the Devil's son peeking out from behind a tree.
Another strange creature is buried somewhere here - a boy of about 9-11 years old who believed that he could turn into a cat, a dog and a wolf. Werewolf or madness? He was born covered with long red hair and had two rows of teeth. They chained him in the basement and threw him scraps like he was to a wild animal. One day, when he was 10 years old, he bit off his left hand, for which he was put on a chain, and ran away, killing everyone he met. After 11 months, the series of murders was interrupted - a lonely farmer killed a creature born in the guise of a half-beast, half-man. The people saw that, in addition to everything else, he was a hermaphrodite.
On the spring and autumn equinoxes, luminous balls and lights materialize in the air. They fly over his grave, which remains unmarked.
Among the ghosts, you may encounter the spirit of a witch who promises to curse everyone who steps on her grave. “Stay away from my bones,” warns a tall lady with gray hair. They say that she really hated her last husband, who was buried with her. Even after his death, she was dissatisfied with his neighborhood.
A strange note appeared in the Times magazine (from 1993 or 1995 - the issue has not survived, and the versions give different time frames) that Pope John Paul II ordered the route of his private plane to be changed so as not to fly over an unholy place.
The number of legends grew so much that by 1989, on Halloween night, crowds of onlookers flocked to the cemetery. According to some reports, about 500 people gathered there. Incidents of vandalism increased. The indignation of local residents reached a critical level, and they appealed to the local authorities with a request to install a fence and increase patrolling of the area. This reduced the influx of "tourists". Only October remained as noisy.
So what really happened? Are these legends taken from cheap horror novels, or do dark tales actually contain a grain of truth? Perhaps cases of the supernatural took place, but over time they grew to gigantic proportions.
Nobody knows, and the locals remain strangely silent. Although the residents are against vandals and dark stories, they have done little to put an end to the legends forever. If almost all paranormal activity is associated with the death of the old church, why not demolish it? The building has been empty since 1922 and has been vandalized for many years. In 1996, the remains of the roof were torn off. The church was struck by lightning, and it was covered with a web of numerous cracks.
In 1999, on the eve of Halloween, journalists from a local newspaper and television, along with a group of spectators, came to the cemetery. The sheriff looked at this matter calmly, but then an unknown representative of the cemetery owners appeared and ordered everyone to leave the territory. The people had no choice but to comply. The owners of the cemetery, through a representative, said they do not want media attention because it attracts vandals. But it wouldn't be easier to let the film crew film the time of midnight and show that there is no devil there. This would debunk the legend.
But a much stranger event happened in 2002. A Journal-World newspaper reporter reported that the old stone church was demolished on Friday, March 29, 2002. A man named Major Weiss, who owns the land along with two other people (whose names he declined to name), said he did not authorize the demolition of the abandoned church. . People living next door were also unaware of the demolition. Only one person admitted that the walls of the temple collapsed about 2 weeks ago. From what - unknown.
There is a story that The Cure refused to play in Kansas because there is a cemetery in the state.
It is difficult to imagine the life of a modern person without a camera, mobile phone and selfie. Someone, in an effort to get an enviable shot, sometimes takes pictures in unimaginable places and poses, but selfies with mirrors are especially popular. However, not all selfie lovers think about the entities that hide behind the “water surface” of mirrors. One of the most popular “mirror” stories is the legend of Bloody Mary.
Origins of the legend
The descendants of the Slavs are well acquainted with a similar legend. Everyone knows that if you look in the mirror and repeat the girl’s name three times, her spirit will appear in the mirror and drag away the impudent joker. This is how children often have fun at summer camps and secret parties. However, few people know the true legend about this girl.
Various sources say that the legend of Bloody Mary is widely known in different countries. But the origins of this legend are not known to everyone, and perhaps the story of the mysterious girl in the mirror would not have survived to this day. However, the almighty Internet has kept this secret for us.
The legend was first recorded in writing only in the 20th century, when mystical phenomena were very popular among American children. This can be found out by analyzing multiple police reports, sheriffs and diary entries of great-grandmothers of the modern generation. After getting acquainted with these carriers of history, it becomes clear that Bloody Mary was invoked with enviable consistency, standing at the mirrors already in those days. Some of today's grandparents did it for fun, some for the sake of authority among their peers, and some for serious and dangerous reasons.
Some followers of the forces of darkness mistakenly believe that the girl’s spirit will not harm them. They are trying to “tame” him and use this power against their enemies. At first it seems to them that this scheme works. Mary's spirit haunts mirror after mirror, killing victim after victim. However, at some point, the “master” of the entity himself becomes the target of Bloody Mary’s hunt. And then he either understands what he has done, or dies without a clear understanding of the situation that has occurred.
The years that have passed since the first mention of the girl’s sad story have done their job: a banal story about life has strangely degenerated into something supernatural and beyond the grave. However, this did not make the legend lose popularity. Until now, people continue to make the mistake of our ancestors on a dare - they test the nerves of the spirit for strength.
Time has left its mark on the interpretation of the legend. Folklore or cinema, the desire to embellish reality, the need for attention - all this and much more became the reason for the conscious modification of the facts of the stranger’s life. At present, it is very difficult to determine where is alluvial husk and where are real events. Therefore, one can only try to recreate Mary’s story.
The realest of legends, or who is Mary?
Our contemporaries are trying to find the truth in the question of who is the same Mary who was forever locked in Through the Looking Glass. As a result of research, many different facts are revealed about a girl whose face no one has seen. She is often painted as a medieval witch. Sometimes she is portrayed as our contemporary who died in a car accident. It is difficult to determine which of these “experts” is telling the truth. However, you can try to find the truth yourself.
As a result of a short independent search, we can come to the following conclusion: Mary really exists. The official version of the legend about her was born in Pennsylvania. She is connected with an old healer. In ancient times she lived as a hermit in a small dugout near the forest. This did not become a hindrance for other residents of the area. They were sure that the old woman was a witch and was sending diseases. For reasons unknown to us, the locals were very afraid of her. It was they who gave her the nickname “Bloody Mary.” People knew everything about the old woman, but did not touch her until a certain moment. The persecution of the woman began after local girls went missing. People searched absolutely everything around, but neither the children nor their bodies were found. Then local daredevils decided to search Mary’s abode. No direct evidence was found; the old woman denied everything. There were no reasons to bring her to justice. And only her face gave away the secret: the old woman had become noticeably younger!
The last straw, or punishment for witchcraft
The fears of the town residents were confirmed one night. The old witch's next victim suddenly got out of bed and walked towards the forest. It was impossible to stop her. Local residents and close people of the girl followed her. In the forest they found an old hermit: in her hands was a magic wand. This became direct evidence of the lone old woman’s witchcraft, and local residents burned the accused woman at the stake.
After the death of the unfortunate woman, people found the bodies of the missing girls around her house. During the “secret investigation” it was established that the woman used the blood of young and innocent children for rejuvenation and healing.
How did Mary get into Through the Looking Glass?
However, the story did not end there. We never found out where the very Mary who can be seen in Through the Looking Glass came from. It turns out that the old woman, burning at the stake, shouted a curse. Its essence was that every daredevil who pronounced her name at the mirror would be visited by Mary’s angry and tormented spirit and killed. A man trapped by Old Mary dies in a strange way. His spirit remains forever trapped in the Looking Glass and burns in hellfire.
Alternate history
Modern researchers offer several alternatives regarding the origins of the legend of Bloody Mary. One of the most popular versions is the story of the English Queen Mary I Tudor. She received her nickname after death due to her extraordinary bloodthirstiness. The woman sent to the stake not only ardent defenders of the “witchcraft” ideology, but also those who renounced their previous faith in favor of Catholicism out of fear of death. Also popular were stories about Queen Mary using the blood of young Protestant women to preserve her own youth.
In the United States, the story of Mary Worth has become famous. Today there are two common legends about a girl with this name. According to one of them, Mary Worth killed her own children. It was impossible to find details about this case.
According to another version, a girl with the same name was in a car accident. Before this event she was very beautiful. The girl spent hours looking at her beauty, sitting in front of the mirror. In the accident, her face was badly damaged: no trace remained of its former beauty. Relatives were afraid that the girl would go crazy if she found out the truth. And they hid the mirrors from her.
One night, Mary, secretly from her relatives, looked into the mirror in one of the rooms. Seeing the terrible scars, she screamed heart-rendingly. According to legend, the girl entered the Looking Glass. Since then, her spirit has been traveling from mirror to mirror in search of the next victim. She longs to convey her destiny through the cuts she inflicts on the brave.
Mary Worthington is another contender for the role of Bloody Mary. This girl didn't kill anyone in the first place. But they killed her in a cruel way - they cut out her eyes in front of the mirror. At the same time, the girl was alive and felt incredible pain. The legend says that after death, the spirit of the unfortunate woman moved into the mirror and lives there to this day. There is evidence that Mary moves with the mirror. If someone tries to call her, then the girl kills this person through the mirror.
Which of these stories is true is not clear. Each of them received some confirmation from witnesses to the crimes. However, which legend to believe in is up to everyone to choose for themselves.
Mary and modernity
Many years have passed since the first mention. However, to this day, American periodicals occasionally light up with a painfully familiar headline with the infamous name of Bloody Mary. This means that the myth is firmly entrenched in the minds of Americans. This also suggests that the events described were never a myth. Even now, the same Mary is standing by your reflection in the monitor - as before - waiting for you to make another mistake. When you say out loud these three pairs of painfully familiar words:
Bloody Mary! Bloody Mary! Bloody Mary!
It’s worth thinking about this when taking your next selfie in front of the mirror. Just don't repeat this...
Incredible facts
People have been making up legends and tales ever since they discovered communication. Despite some true facts, most of the terrible legends still remain fiction. However, chilling urban legends can often turn out to be true.
Sometimes turning a tragic event into a legend helps people cope with grief, as well as protect the younger generation from realizing the reality of what is happening.
In this article we have collected for you the creepiest urban legends based on real events.
Urban legends
Faceless Charlie
Legend:
Children living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania love to tell the story of Faceless Charlie, also known as the Green Man. It is believed that Charlie was a factory worker who was disfigured in a horrific accident - some say it was caused by acid, some say it was caused by a power line.
Some versions of the story claim that this incident caused his skin to turn green, but all versions have in common that Charlie's face was so disfigured that it lost all features. According to legend, he wanders in the dark through depressing places, such as the old abandoned train tunnel in South Park, also known as the Green Man's Tunnel.
Over the years, curious teenagers have visited this tunnel in search of traces of Faceless Charlie. Many claimed that they felt a slight electrical voltage and had trouble starting their car after calling No-Face. Others said they saw the slight glow of his green skin in a tunnel or along a country road at night.
Reality:
Unfortunately, this tragic story contains the lion's share of truth. The legend of Faceless Charlie appeared due to the fact that he had a very real prototype - Raymond Robinson. In 1919, Robinson, then 8 years old, was playing with a friend near a bridge that carried high-voltage tram tracks.
Raymond suffered horrific injuries after accidentally touching a power line. As a result of the blow, he lost his nose, both eyes and an arm, but survived. He spent the rest of his long life - 74 years - withdrawn into himself, and only went out for walks at night, but he reciprocated people's friendly appeals to him.
Killer in the attic
Legend:
This chilling story appeared many years ago. It tells the story of a family who are unaware that a dangerous intruder has taken up residence in their home and has been secretly living in their attic for weeks. Things are lost or moved, and suspicious objects appear in the trash. They joke sweetly about the brownie until the cruel killer who lives next door kills them in their sleep.
The worst thing about this legend is that it would seem to be quite possible - and this is in fact so.
Reality:
This story begins in March 1922 on a German farm called Hinterkaifeck. The owner, Andreas Gruber, began to notice that things were periodically disappearing from the house and were in the wrong place. His family heard footsteps in the house at night, and Andreas himself, on the eve of the tragedy, noticed other people’s footprints in the snow, but after examining the house and territory, he found no one.
At the end of March, the man who left these traces came down from the attic and brutally killed six inhabitants of the farm - the owner, his wife, their daughter, her two children aged 2 and 7 and their maid with a hoe. Their bodies were discovered only 4 days later, and it turned out that at that time someone was caring for livestock. The identity of the perpetrator has not yet been established.
Legends
Night doctors
Legend:
Stories about night doctors in the past were often heard from slave owners who used them to intimidate slaves so that they would not escape. The essence of the legend is that there were certain doctors who operated at night, kidnapping black workers to use them in their terrible experiments.
Night doctors caught people on the streets and took them to their medical facilities to torture, kill, dismember and cut out their organs.
Reality:
This terrible story has a very real continuation. Throughout the 19th century, grave robbing was a major problem, and the African American population was unable to protect either their deceased relatives or themselves. Additionally, medical students actually performed surgeries on living members of the African American community.
In 1932, the Alabama State Health Service and Tuskegee University launched a program to study syphilis. No matter how terrible it may sound, 600 African-American men were taken for the experiment. 399 of them already had syphilis, and 201 did not.
They were given free food and a guarantee to protect their grave after death, but the program lost funding without telling participants anything about their terrible illness. The researchers sought to study the mechanisms of the disease and continued to monitor patients. They were told that they were being treated for a minor blood disease.
The patients did not know they had syphilis or that they needed penicillin to treat it. The scientists refused to give any information about the medications or the condition of their patients.
This story, seasoned with slave owners riding horses at night in white clothes, has long instilled fear and awe of the legend in black people.
Alice Murders
Legend:
This is a fairly young urban legend from Japan. It says that between 1999 and 2005, a series of brutal murders occurred in Japan. The victims' bodies were mutilated, their limbs were torn off, and a distinctive feature of all the murders was that next to each corpse the name "Alice" was written in the victim's blood.
Police also found one playing card at each of the grisly crime scenes. The first victim was found in the forest, and parts of her body were strung on the branches of various trees. The second victim's vocal cords were torn out. The third victim, a teenage girl, had her skin severely burned, her mouth cut, her eyes torn out, and a crown sewn to her head. The killer's last victims were two little twins who were given lethal injections while they were sleeping.
It is alleged that in 2005, police arrested a man who was found wearing a jacket from one of the victims, but they were unable to link him to any of the murders. The man claimed that the jacket was given to him as a gift.
Reality:
In fact, such killings have never happened in Japan. However, shortly before the appearance of this legend, a maniac was operating in Spain, who was called the Card Killer. In 2003, all the Madrid police forces were sent to catch the man responsible for 6 brutal murders and 3 attempted murders. Each time he left a playing card on the body of the murdered man. Authorities were at a loss - there was no connection between the victims or an obvious motive.
All that was known was that they were dealing with a psychopath who chose his victims at random. He would never have been caught if one day he himself had not confessed to the police. The card killer turned out to be Alfredo Galan Sotillo. During the trial, Alfredo changed his testimony several times, refusing to confess and claiming that the Nazis forced him to confess to the murders. Despite this, the killer was sentenced to 142 years in prison.
Scary urban legends
The Legend of Cropsy
Legend:
Among the residents of Staten Island, the legend of Corpsey has been circulating for several decades. It's about a crazed ax murderer who escapes from an old hospital and is hiding in the tunnels underneath the abandoned Willbrook Public School. He comes out of hiding at night and hunts children: some claim that he has a hook instead of a hand, and some say that he wields an ax. The weapon does not matter to him, what matters to him is the result - to lure the child into the ruins of the old school and cut him into pieces.
Reality:
As it turned out, the crazy killer was very real. Andre Rand was directly responsible for the abduction of two children. He worked as a janitor at this very school until it closed. There, children with disabilities were kept in terrible conditions: they were beaten, insulted, and had neither normal food nor clothing. Homeless Rand returned to the tunnels under the school to continue the atrocities that previously reigned in this school.
Children began to go missing, and the body of 12-year-old Jennifer Schweiger was found in the woods near Rand's camp. He was accused of killing Jennifer and another missing child. It has not been fully proven that these murders were his doing, but the police managed to prove that he was involved in child abductions. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison. The whereabouts of the other missing children have still not been revealed.
The nanny and the killer on the second floor
Legend:
The story of the nanny and the killer hiding upstairs is undoubtedly a classic urban horror story. According to this legend, a girl working as a nanny for a rich family receives a creepy call. In almost all versions of the story, the caller asks the nanny if she has checked the children. The nanny calls the police, where it turns out that they are calling from the house where she and the children are. According to most versions, all three are found brutally murdered.
Reality:
The reason for the spread of this terrible story was the very real murder of a 12-year-old girl, Janet Christman, who was looking after three-year-old Gregory Romak. In March 1950, when this brutal crime occurred, there was a terrible thunderstorm in Columbia, Missouri. Janet had just put the child to bed when an unknown person entered the house and brutally raped and killed the girl.
For a long time, the main suspect was a certain Robert Mueller, also accused of another murder. Unfortunately, the evidence against Mueller was only circumstantial, but he was still accused of Janet's murder. After some time, he filed a lawsuit for illegal detention, the charges were dropped, and he left the city forever. After his departure, such crimes stopped.
Legends based on real events
Rabbit Man
Legend:
The story about the rabbit man appeared around the 70s of the last century and, like many urban legends, has several versions. The most common one concerns the events that occurred in 1904, when the local mental institution in Clifton, Virginia, closed and it became necessary to move patients to a new building. In a classic of the genre, a transport with patients gets into a serious accident, most of them die, and the survivors break free. They are all successfully brought back...except for one - Douglas Griffin, sent to a mental hospital for the murder of his family on Easter Sunday.
Soon after his escape, exhausted and mutilated rabbit carcasses appear on the trees in the area. Some time later, local residents discover the body of Marcus Wallster hanging from the ceiling of a railroad underpass in the same terrible state as the rabbits before. The police tried to drive the madman into a corner, but he ran away and was hit by a train. Now his restless ghost wanders around and still hangs rabbit carcasses in the trees.
Some even claim to have seen the rabbit man himself, standing in the shadow of an underground passage. Locals believe that anyone who dares to enter the passage on Halloween night will be found dead the next morning.
Reality:
Fortunately, this creepy legend is just a legend, and there really was no crazy killer. There was no Douglas Griffin or Marcus Wallster. However, in Fairfax County there lived a man who had an unhealthy obsession with rabbits and terrorized local residents in the 70s of the last century.
He rushed at passers-by and chased them with a small hatchet in his hands. Some claimed that he once threw a hatchet through the window of a passing car. One incident occurred at the home of one of the local residents. The madman took an ax with a long handle and began to chop down the porch of the unfortunate man's house. He ran away before the police arrived and no one still knows who he is or what motivated him.
Hook
Legend:
The legend of Hook is perhaps the most common of all urban horror stories. It has several versions, each more terrible than the previous one, and the most famous one tells about a couple making love in a parked car. The radio broadcast is suddenly interrupted to inform listeners of terrible news - a brutal killer wielding a hook has escaped, and now he is hiding in the very park where the lovers are.
The girl, having heard the news, asks her lover to leave there as quickly as possible. The guy is annoyed by this, but they get ready and he takes her home. When they arrive, they find a bloody hook hanging from the passenger side door handle.
Reality:
Whether the couple makes it home without incident, or the girl is horrified to hear her lover's fingers touching the roof of the car as his bloody body hangs from a tree, the story is not accidental. In the late 1940s, a small and peaceful town was rocked by a series of horrific murders. The culprit was dubbed the Moonlight Killer, but was never found.
At night he killed young people in parked cars. Frightened residents returned home long before the curfew announced by the authorities. The bloody crimes stopped as quickly as they began, and the Moon Killer disappeared into the night.
Dog boy
Legend:
In the town of Quitman, Arkansas, there has long been a legend about Dog Boy. Locals claimed that it was about an evil and very cruel little boy who loved to torture defenseless animals, and then completely turned on his parents. After the boy's death, his ghost haunted the house where he killed his parents, in the form of a half-man, half-dog, instilling horror and fear in people. People often notice his outline in the room where he kept the animals he abused.
Witnesses describe it as a large, furry creature that resembles a dog with glowing cat-like eyes. Those who pass by his house notice that he is closely watching them from the window of the house, and some even claim that an incomprehensible creature on all fours was chasing them down the street.
Reality:
Once upon a time, in an old house at 65 Mulberry Street, there lived an angry and cruel boy named Gerald Bettis. His favorite pastime was catching neighbors' animals. He had a separate room where he brought the unfortunate. There he tortured and brutally killed them. Over time, his cruelty began to manifest itself towards his elderly parents. He was huge and overweight.
They say that it was he who killed his father, but no one has been able to prove that he provoked his fall from the stairs. After his father's death, he continued to abuse his mother, keeping her locked up and starving her. Law enforcement agencies intervened and managed to save the unfortunate mother. Some time later, she testified against him for growing and using marijuana. He was sent to prison, where he died of an overdose.
Legends that turned out to be true
Black water
Legend:
This fairly well-known story begins with an ordinary family buying a new house. Everything is fine with them until they open the tap and black, cloudy, foul-smelling water comes out. After checking the water tank, they discover a rotting body. It is unknown when this legend was born, but a similar story really took place.
Reality:
Elisa Lam's body was found in a water tank at the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles, California in 2013. Her death remains a mystery and her killer has not been found. By the time guests began complaining about spoiled water and her body was discovered, it had been decomposing in the tank for a week.
The most terrible legends
Bloody Mary
Legend:
According to the creepy folk belief about Bloody Mary, in order to summon her evil spirit, you need to light candles, turn off the lights and whisper her name while looking intently into the mirror. When she comes, she can do a number of harmless things and some terrible things.
Reality:
According to psychologists' studies, if you look closely in the mirror for a long time, you can see someone else looking back at you, so most likely the legend of Bloody Mary did not appear out of nowhere. Italian psychologist Giovanni Caputo calls this phenomenon the “illusion of someone else’s face.”
According to Caputo, if you stare long and hard at your reflection in a mirror, your field of vision will begin to distort and the outlines and edges will become blurred—your face will no longer look the same. The same illusion manifests itself when a person sees images and silhouettes in inanimate objects.
