10 Creepy Urban Legends - That Will Make Your Skin Crawl

Published in Entertainment at March 29th, 2017 at 9:51 AM


The Wendigo

According to Algonquian folklore, this horrifying, demonic, hybrid half-beast creature is cannibalistic, and is native to the northern forests of the Atlantic Coast and Great Lakes Region of both the United States and Canada. The beast has been haunting the Algonquian people for a very long time. Some legend's claim that humans have the ability to turn into the Wendigo if they ever resort to cannibalism, or are possessed by a demonic spirit of the creature. While other's claim, that humans who became overpowered by greed could turn into Wendigos.

Wendigos are typically portrayed as giant werewolf type creatures with antlers, that are ravenous for human flesh, and are about three times larger than humans. The legend lends its name to the disputed modern medical term Wendigo psychosis, which In historical accounts, has been reported as humans becoming possessed by the Wendigo spirit, after being in a situation of needing food and having no other choice besides cannibalism. The Wendigo is historically associated with cannibalism, murder, insatiable greed, and the cultural taboos against such behaviours.


The Choking Doberman.

The Choking Doberman is a popular urban legend that originated from the United States. The tale follows a woman, who after going out for the evening with some friends, arrives home to discover her doberman choking in the hallway. Shocked and scared, she rushes her pet to the veterinarian, who advises the owner that he must perform a tracheotomy on the dog, and will call her once complete. During the surgery, the vet finds that the dog has been choking on three human fingers!

The vet proceeds to call the owner to warn her that there must have been, or still is, an intruder in her house. The woman calls the police who come round to search the house. Upon searching the house, they discover a mutilated burglar in the closet, seemingly passed out from blood loss, after being attacked by the woman's pet.


The Amityville Horror.

On November 13, 1974, Ronald DeFeo, Jr. shot and killed six members of his family at 112 Ocean Avenue - also known as 'The Amityville Horror' - and is well known from novels and horror movie's alike, the first two movies being based off of real life events.

In 1977, America was captured by the "true" story of a haunted house in Amityville, New York. The legend of the house, as written in the book 'The Amityville Horror' by Author Jay Anson, tells the story of the Lutz family, who unwittingly purchased the haunted house -at a bargain price of $80,000 we should add- as their dream home, in a peaceful Long Island town. During their first inspection of the house, the real estate broker had spoke of the DeFeo murders, asking if this would affect their decision. After discussing the matter several times, it was decided that it was not a problem, and the Lutz family moved in December 19, 1975. But much of the DeFeo family's furniture was still in the house, as it was included for $400 as part of the deal.

Within days, the Lutz family were terrorised by all kinds of frightening demonic and poltergeist type activity, including floating red eyes in the windows, a pit to hell in the basement, black ooze coming out of the toilets, and a voice that shouts "Get Out! - On January 14, 1976, The Lutz family left 112 Ocean Avenue, leaving all of their possessions behind. The next day, a mover came in to remove the possessions to send to the Lutzes. But reported no paranormal phenomena while inside the house.


Bloody Mary.

This is without a doubt, one of the most popular urban legend in existence. Who doesn’t know about Bloody Mary?

Historically, the ritual would encourage young women to walk backwards up a flight of stairs, during which they would hold a candle and a hand mirror, in a darkened house, which sounds like an accident just waiting to happen. As they gazed into this mirror, they were supposedly able to catch a glimpse of their future husband's face. There was, however, a chance that they would see the face of the Grim Reaper instead. Seeing this usually meant that they were destined to die before they would have the chance to marry. Fast forward to modern day, and the ritual involves Bloody Mary allegedly appearing to individuals or groups who ritualistically invoke her name in an act of catoptromancy. This is done by repeatedly chanting her name in a mirror, while in a dimly-lit or candle-lit room.

The Bloody Mary apparition -usually covered in blood- has been known to appear as a corpse, a witch and a ghost, and can even be friendly, but mostly evil. The lore surrounding this ritual states that participants may endure the apparition screaming at them, cursing them, strangling them, stealing their soul, drinking their blood, or scratching their eyes out. There's even the Japanese legend of "Hanako-San" which strongly parallels the Bloody Mary mythology. A more modern way of taunting Bloody Mary, seems to be mentioning her baby, which indicates the legendary figure's similarity with the historical figure, Queen Mary I, also known as "Bloody Mary", who was cursed by a number of miscarriages or false pregnancies and is remembered for her violent religious reforms.


The Jersey Devil.

Another one of the more popular urban legends on this list, The Jersey Devil is a legendary creature said to inhabit the Pine Barrens of Southern New Jersey, United States. The creature is often described as a flying biped with hooves, but there are many different descriptions. The most common description is that of a kangaroo-like creature with the head of a goat, leathery bat-like wings, horns, small arms with clawed hands, cloven hooves and a forked tail. It has been reported to move extremely fast, and often is described as letting out a “blood-curdling scream.”

The origin of this creature stems back to 1735. It was said that a lady named 'Mother Leeds' had 12 children, and was expecting a 13th. During the birth 'Mother Leeds' cried out "Oh, let this one be a devil!". The story goes, that the “child” arrived with a horse-like head and bat-like wings, screamed menacingly and killed the midwife before flying out of the chimney, disappearing into the darkness to spend the centuries accosting anyone unfortunate enough to encounter it. But, In 1740 a clergyman exorcised the demon for 100 years, and it was not seen again until 1890.


The Licked Hand (Humans Can Lick Too)

Possibly known to some as 'Humans Can Lick Too'.

The story is centred on a young girl, who is home alone for the first time with only her dog for company. As she turns on the news, she hears of a mental patient on the loose. Being alone, the girl is terrified, she proceeds to lock all the doors and windows and goes to bed, with the dog following behind her, which she lets sleep under her bed. In the middle of the night, the girl wakes to the sound of dripping coming from the bathroom. The dripping noise frightens her, but she is too scared to get out of bed and investigate. To calm herself, she reaches a hand toward the floor and is rewarded by a reassuring lick by her dog. Still wide awake, she listens to the dripping sound. But each time she feels frightened, she reaches for the dog on the floor and feels a lick on her hand. Eventually she manages to fall asleep. The next morning when she wakes, she heads to the bathroom for a drink of water only to find her dead, mutilated dog hanging in the shower with his blood slowly dripping onto the tiles. On the wall, written in the dog's blood, are the words "HUMANS CAN LICK, TOO."

Other variations feature a nearsighted old woman rather than a young girl. The fate of the dog also varies, from the dog simply being hanged to it being skinned, disembowelled, or mutilated. The message is sometimes written on the floor or on the bathroom mirror rather than on the wall. Some versions even include the parents' return and their discovery of the killer hiding elsewhere in the house, sometimes the basement, other times the girl's bedroom closet, or under her bed.


Well To Hell.

Sometime in 1989, Russian scientists in Siberia drilled a borehole some 14.5 kilometres (about 9 miles) deep into the Earth’s crust. The drill spiralled out of control, but not before breaking through into a cavity, where scientists began lowering equipment down to see what could be found. The temperature soared over one thousand degrees Celsius, but the real shocker was the sounds that they captured. They only managed to record about seventeen horrifying seconds of audio before the microphone melted. After playing the audio back, the group were convinced what they had recorded, were screams of tortured souls, directly from hell. Many of the scientists quit the job immediately (or so the story goes).

The group who stayed were in for an even bigger shock later that night, as a plume of luminous gas emanated from the borehole, and the shape of a gigantic winged demon unfolded, with the words “I have conquered” in Russian seared into the flames. Even though today it is considered to be a hoax, there are many who still believe that this incident really happened. The “Well to Hell” urban legend remains alive to this day.


The Wild Rose. (Elisa Day)

The Wild Rose, is an urban legend from many many years ago. Based on a girl named Elisa Day, who was murdered by her boyfriend. It even went on to inspire the Nick Cave song 'Where The Wild Roses Grow.'

Elisa Day, a girl who's beauty was like that of the wild roses that grew down by the river, all bloody and red. One day, a young man came into town and -upon seeing her beauty- instantly fell in love with Elisa. After introducing himself, the pair spend the next few days together. Day one was spend with Elisa in her home. On day two, the man claimed she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and gifts Elisa a single red rose, requesting she meet him the next day, down by the river.

Day three, Elisa met the young man, where the wild roses grew. Unknowingly, this would be the place she would die. They both stood, silently gazing into the water. The man proceeded to kiss her, for one last time, then -waiting until her back was turned - took a rock in his hand and whispered “All beauty must die" - and with one swift blow, he killed her instantly. Before sliding her body in to the river, he placed a rose between her teeth, and watched her disappear beneath the surface.

Some people claim to have witnessed her ghost wandering the riverside, with her head bashed in, blood running down and a single rose in her hand.


The White Death.

This is a story about a little girl who hated life so much, that she wanted to destroy every last trace of herself.

So much so, she finally decided to commit suicide, and the news was broke to her family not long after the incident. In a horrible twist, within a few days, every member of her family was found dead, with their limbs torn apart. The legend says that when you learn about the vengeful spirit of 'The White Death' - she will look for you, she will find you, and she will kill you. You'll never know she's there, until you hear the telltale knock at your door. Legend goes that each knock represents something sinister.

1 knock: She wants your skin, to patch up her own decaying flesh.
2 knocks: She want's your hair, which she rips out with her teeth.
3 knocks: She want's your bones.
4 knocks: She want's your heart, which she'll rip out.
5 knocks: She want's your teeth, which will be viciously pulled out.
6 knocks: She want's your eyes.
7 knocks: She's coming for your soul.

Throughout all of the torture, her main goal is to prevent anyone from knowing about her. Like most urban legends, the story is probably nothing more than the wild imagination of a modern Aesop—but all the same, it’s always good practice to find out who’s standing behind the door.


Kuchisake-onna (Slit-Mouthed Woman)

A legend that originated in Japan, and has appeared in many 'ghost stories' - Kuchisake-Onna, also known as the slit-mouthed woman.

Some stories portray her as a former patient of a mental asylum, although a more common story see's her as a samurai's wife, upon finding out that she had cheated on him, with another samurai. Enraged and furious, he used a sword to cut her mouth from ear to ear and asked, "Who will think you are beautiful now?". Some say that the woman was cursed to never die, and wander the world so that people can see the horrific scar on her face and pity her.

There have been many claims about sightings of a young looking woman, covering her mouth with either a scarf, fan, or surgical type mask. Once she picks her victim, the woman will ask "Am I pretty?", If they answer no, she kills them with a pair of scissors, which she carries. If the answer is yes, she will remove the mask, revealing her slit mouth, and ask again. If they answer yes or they scream, she will slash them from ear to ear so that they resemble her. But if they answer no, she cut's her victim clean in half. It is impossible to run away from Kuchisake-onna, as she will simply reappear in front of the victim.