Warning: Perilous Tales Ahead
Since it’s October and we’re all in a spooky mood, let’s talk about urban legends. You’ve all heard at least one urban legend in your lifetime; whether it’s about a cryptid, like bigfoot, or a mysterious supernatural happening. Urban legends are often cautionary tales told with the purpose of scaring people into proper behavior, many even target teenagers. For example: The Hook, or The Killer in The Backseat, which are both about murderers who kill teenagers who went out on dates and stayed out too late. Stories being used as cautionary tales is nothing new though, old fairy tales, folktales, and fables have done this for centuries. Hansel and Gretel teach kids to be careful and not talk to strangers, and the endings in Grimm’s Fairy Tales rarely end on a high point in order to prove a point. Urban legends do the same thing. So this Halloween, remember some of these grisly tales and stay safe.
Bloody Mary:
Bloody Mary is an extremely famous urban legend with multiple versions. Most involve playing a game in front of the mirror when a person says her name three times. This may have dire consequences, the person playing the Bloody Mary game may be killed or maimed, but there are also versions of the story where she is much less malevolent and speaks to you, or even simply does nothing. In most versions of the story, she is a vengeful spirit who had a gruesome death. The television show Supernatural did an episode based on this urban legend where a ghost haunted the mirrors of guilty minded people in a small town.
El Chupacabra:
El Chupacabra is a cryptid, which is sort of like a modern mythical creature. El Chupacabra is a Hispanic urban legend that originates from areas like Puerto Rico and Mexico. Sightings have been reported all over North and South America. Chupacabra is literally spanish for “goat sucker”. The reason why this creature is called “goat sucker” is because of the mysterious deaths of farm animals and the blood missing from the dead bodies of corpses.
Black-Eyed Children:
This is an especially chilling story due to the mysterious nature of the black-eyed children. The urban legend originates mainly in North America. They are children between the ages of 6 and 16 with eyes that are completely black and they always appear in pairs. If they ever appear on your doorstep, do not invite them into your home, because tragedy may befall your household. Once the children leave the house, you’ll seem to have gained some very bad luck.
Kuchisake-Onna:
Kuchisake-Onna, or the Slit-Mouthed Woman, is a Japanese urban legend. The most common version of her story is that she is the vengeful spirit of a beautiful woman who had her mouth slit ear to ear by her jealous husband who believed that she was cheating on him. She will approach people and ask, “Am I beautiful?” If you answer no she will use her large shears to kill you. If you answer yes, she will try to make you look just like her and slit your mouth with her scissors. In order to not be harmed by her, you must give a noncommittal answer like “you look average.”
Hanako San:
Hanako San is another Japanese urban legend about the ghost of a young girl who is supposed to haunt school toilets. She’s like Moaning Myrtle, but creepier. She will open doors and scare anyone who knocks on a stall and calls for Hanako San. She is a very common urban legend among children in Japan.