Even though we know that most of them are completely fabricated and others are terribly distorted versions of the truth, we love to be scared out of wits. Here are 8 famous urban legends.
1. The babysitter and the man upstairs
This is one of the famous urban legends that have scared babysitters for decades. The babysitter gets repeated phone calls urging her to go check on the children who she knows are already asleep. It turns out that the calls were coming from inside the house and that a murderer has been waiting in the children’s bedroom waiting to kill her.
2. The hanging boyfriend
A couple is in the woods getting intimate. The boyfriend gets out to relieve himself and does not return. Instead there is a scrapping sound which scares the girlfriend. When she tries to drive off, she hears a muffled scream and in the headlights of the car she can see her boyfriend hanging from a tree. Her pulling away has caused him to die.
3. The clown statue
A babysitter has been asked by the parents to stay in one particular room, but she finds the clown statue unnerving. So, she calls the parents and asks if she can change the room. They urge her to take the kids and run to the neighbors. Apparently, they have no clown statue.
4. Buried alive
A man insists that his wife is not dead, even after the medical practitioner has pronounced her to be. He eventually gets her exhumed to find that nails bent back and bloody scratch marks on the inside of the coffin’s lid.
5. Aren’t you glad you didn’t turn the lights on
This is another of the famous urban legends that have stood the test of time. A girl returns to her room and hears some muffled sounds. She assumes her roommate is probably making out and doesn’t turn the light on. In the morning, she finds the dead body of her roommate with the note- ‘Aren’t you glad you didn’t turn the lights on?’
6. Killer in the backseat
A lady in a car is chased by another car that keeps flashing his headlight. She reaches her house and jumps out and so does the driver in the other car. He shouts at her to get inside and call the cops. Turns out he saw the silhouette of her would-be-killer in her backseat.
7. The hook on the handle
A couple is busy at Lovers Lane when the radio that a killer with a hook for a hand has escaped. The girl is frightened and wants to leave. When they reach home, they find a bloody hook hanging on the handle of the car door.
8. Humans can lick too
A lady hears dipping sounds in the house but can’t find a leak anywhere in the house. Every time she returns to bed after checking, she drops her hand and is reassured by the licking of her dog. When the dripping doesn’t stop, she switches on the light and finds her dog hanging inside her open closet door dripping blood, with the words, ‘Humans can lick too’ written on the mirror.
These are 8 famous urban legends that have been making the rounds for decades and even today inspire a chill down the spine.