10 Nightmarish Legends You May Not Know About
The legends of Bloody Mary and the Hook Man have been discussed and dissected to death, and no one gets a chill from hearing those stories anymore. But all over the world there are still legends and stories that are creepy enough to motivate you to read them with the lights on while the rain drips through your bedroom window, blurring the face peeking in from outside…
Related: Top 10 Mysterious Nautical Legends and Superstitions
10 Romblon triangle
Let’s start with the couple’s “tamer” story. After the infamous Bermuda Triangle, another eerie triangle exists in Philippine urban folklore. The Romblon Triangle is located between the islands of Mindoro and the islands of Dos Hermanas and Sibuyan in the province of Romblon.
Also, like the Bermuda Triangle, there have been several maritime accidents and disappearances in the Philippine version. These include the world’s worst peacetime maritime disaster, when the MV Dona Paz inexplicably collided with an oil tanker in 1987 and sank with 4,000 people on board. In 1980 the MV Don Juan sank there, killing 176 passengers. And in 2008 the MV arrived Princess of the stars capsized during Typhoon Fengshen. Only 32 of the 851 passengers survived.
While it is noted that the tidal waves within the triangle make it dangerous for ships to travel through, there have been several rumors of a ghost ship appearing just before disaster struck. The ghost ship is said to be made of pure gold and is captained by Lolo Amang, who used to live among the werewolves on the nearby island of Sibale. This ship would have appeared shortly before the MV Don Juan sunk.[1]
9 The black ambulance
In the 1990s, there were many rumors about AIDS-contaminated needles being left on movie theater seats. This caused parents to panic and children to miss big screen movies. In Romania, another health legend spread like wildfire, scaring children and parents alike. Legend has it that a ‘black ambulance’ roamed the streets looking for children walking alone. Whoever was inside took the children and then stole their organs to sell to rich people. The bodies would be left in a field next to a pile of money for the funeral.
Sometimes these types of legends also cause mass hysteria. In 2018, a Romanian writer was traveling through Bucharest in her custom-built van, trying to cut costs on a book tour, when she was surrounded by a crowd of people convinced she was the driver of the mythical black ambulance.
Those surrounding the van eventually got inside and began rummaging through the writer’s belongings. One person put out a cigarette on her cheek, while another stole the license plates from the van. Fortunately, the police acted quickly and dispersed the crowd. They arrested three people for violent crimes and threatening behavior.[2]
8 Sesame seed bath
Korea is home to some of the creepiest legends in the world. One of these describes a young woman who is increasingly concerned about aging and developing wrinkled skin. She listened to all the advice to keep her skin looking youthful and finally decided to try sesame seed therapy. Apparently adding sesame seeds to bath water makes your skin look younger.
After a few hours, the woman’s mother became concerned when her daughter wouldn’t get out of the bath. She had asked a few times if everything was okay, to which her daughter replied, “Just a moment.”
When she finally pushed open the door, the mother was greeted by a gruesome sight. Her daughter, still in the bath, frantically tried to pluck the sesame seeds from her skin, which had somehow adhered to her pores and started growing roots. How did she try to remove it, you might ask?
By sticking a toothpick in her pores and trying to get the seeds out…[3]
7 Cemetery 100 steps
I’ve never met anyone who deliberately wandered around a cemetery at night. Still, it seems there are brave souls willing to do anything to meet an urban legend head-on.
The 100 Steps Cemetery near Brazil, Indiana, is the site of many a spooky story, as told by those who counted the steps as they walked up the hill where the cemetery is located. It is said that when you turn 100, the spirit of the original caretaker will appear and tell you the date and manner of death. You must then return the same way you came from, counting again. However, if you don’t reach 100, the caretaker will reappear and kill you on the spot. Rumor has it that through paranormal magic there are 100 steps up, but only 99 down, ensuring the poor victim’s direct passage to hell.
However, should you attempt to climb the hill in any other way, such as walking along the steps, a ghostly hand will knock you to the ground, and you will have a red imprint on your back for many days afterwards.[4]
6 Wolves of Pavagada
In April 1983, a five-year-old girl went missing from Pavagada in Karnataka, India. Villagers claimed to have seen a dog-like creature carrying the child away. Ten days later, another child disappeared. And then another and another and another. After the disappearance of the five children, the disappearances stopped for two months. Then in July 1983, a three-year-old girl disappeared from the room she shared with her mother. Villagers found blood and the clothes the girl was wearing the next morning scattered on the footprints of a large animal.
The police were called and soon rumors (started by the officers) started circulating about man-eating wolves taking the children. It was confirmed that all the missing children were girls and that they had all been taken at night while sleeping with their parents. There were also rumors that black magic was being practiced in the Madakshira region, which separates Pavagada from the rest of Karnataka. Taxi drivers stopped entering Madakshira after dark, and by the time seven children were gone, rumors of werewolves were everywhere.
The mystery of the missing children persists, as does the urban legend of the werewolves of Pavagada. Some human remains were found during searches, but it remains unclear what exactly was responsible for the deaths.[5]
5 Kate Blood
A cemetery is just a cemetery, right? They’re all pretty creepy, but that’s where it ends. In the case of Kate Blood, however, that’s not where it ends at Riverside Cemetery in Appleton, Wisconsin.
Rumor has it that Kate Blood was a cold-blooded witch who murdered her children and her husband with an axe. Now, on full moon nights, her gravestone drips with blood, to the horror of those who reportedly witnessed the spectacle.
In reality, 23-year-old Kate Blood died of tuberculosis in 1874, leaving behind a two-year-old daughter. Her husband remarried and lived forty-two years after the death of his first wife. Both he and his second wife are buried in the same plot as Kate.
Where did the legend of the dripping gravestone come from then? Well, Kate’s last name was Blood after all. Her grave is separated from others and is on a hill near the Fox River. Perfect fodder for a creepy legend.[6]
4 Tomino’s hell
Japanese poet Saijo Yaso wrote a dark poem after the end of World War I, seemingly depicting his suffering when his father died in battle. The poem “Tomino’s Hell” was soon attributed with several other meanings, including one stating that the poet described Tomino’s descent into hell after he died during the war.
A legend began to circulate that anyone who read the poem aloud would endanger their own life. This came after accusations of personal losses and even death after reading the poem. A young girl is said to have read the lines and died a few seconds after saying the last word.
So it seems that in this case reading silently would be the best choice. Or, you know, don’t read it at all.[7]
3 Candlelight hunter
What’s scarier than a creepy urban legend? An urban legend that turns out to be true. Children were told (and terrified) by the story of the Candlelight Hunter many years ago. It was said that the prowler entered houses at night, stood in front of children’s beds and stared at them with a candle in hand. Those who awoke and saw the prowler were so frightened that they lay perfectly still until morning came and he disappeared. Then they ran screaming to their parents’ bedroom and told the scary story. The only evidence that the Candlelight Chaser was ever in a child’s room were some drops of wax on the floor.
In 2012, police arrested a man named Darren James McDonald, who was charged with indecent behavior involving children, aggravated burglary and theft. It turns out that McDonald had raided a series of homes in Ballarat, Australia, between July and August 2001. In one of the houses he sexually abused two young sisters. In another, he used a candle to make his way through the house while the family slept, dropping it on the floor as he went.[8]
2 Bridge of witches
Some stories say that the Penitent Bridge in Wroclaw, Poland, was used to identify medieval witches. Women accused of practicing witchcraft would be forced to walk across the bridge (there were no guard rails at the time). If they lost their balance, they would fall to their deaths, but be acquitted. If they made it across, they would be burned at the stake for being witches.
In the 15th century, a legend began to circulate that the restless souls of frivolous women would float over the bridge at night and sweep it clean. These women shunned their earthly “duties,” such as childcare and housework, in favor of coquetry and laziness. Furious, their parents cursed them, and the women’s spirits must now sweep the bridge for eternity as penance.[9]
1 The Hellfire Club
In honor of the excellent fourth season of Stranger thingshere is the story of the Hellfire Club in Dublin, Ireland.
Many clubs of the same name were founded in Great Britain and Ireland in the 17th and 18th centuries. These clubs were intended as meeting places for the most powerful members of society living in Ireland and Great Britain at the time. It quickly became the favorite meeting place for young men looking to indulge in drinking, partying and sex.
After a while, rumors abounded about unnatural behavior in the clubs, including dark magic and satanic rituals.
One of the most infamous Hellfire Clubs started as a hunting lodge, which still stands on Montpelier Hill in Ireland. The construction of this lodge involved the demolition of an old cairn stone that the locals had their arms on. They believed that the destruction of the stone aggravated the spirits in the area, meaning that the site would be haunted forever. So even before a Hellfire Club was formed at the lodge, paranormal sightings were happening here.
Naturally, church and club clashed, which led to negative attention for the club. More urban legends circulated, including one that said a member of the club had played cards with the devil and that a cat had to be exorcised after it attacked another member. Other stories say that black masses were held here and that the devil himself blew the roof off the lodge during a storm.
Today, the possessed cat is said to still lurk on the site of the lodge, its ears like horns and its eyes bright red in the dark.[10]