Here's a thread in which to list your favorite urban legends. Mine, so far, is one that actually happened...
A killing wave of molasses swept through Boston.
A killing wave of molasses swept through Boston.
Favorite Urban Legends
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I always found the Paul is dead legend interesting.
The one where you open a thread on the SKMB titled "Favorite Urban Legends" then turn around and...
I heard an urban legend that Stephen King has a 300 pound St. Bernard named Cujo Jr.
Cujo Jr. is well fed on Kibble and Yankee bits.
Cujo Jr. is well fed on Kibble and Yankee bits.
I liked the one about the lady who gets bit on the face by a spider, the bite grows into a huge swelling bump, then bursts open & a million baby spiders crawl out.
Lol that one is sure messed up^^
i love the Resurrection Mary stories... it seems like this particular legend has enjoyed a long afterlife by being revived in many different towns and cities but her name is always Mary. She was even mentioned on an early episode of Supernatural.
Here's the Wiki version which puts her in the Chicago area
Resurrection Mary - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia....
Here's the Wiki version which puts her in the Chicago area
Resurrection Mary - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia....
The Myth:
A prop at a carnival was discovered not to be made of the usual combination of papier mache and carni spit, but human skin and bone. All the little kiddies at the haunted house had been poking and giggling at a real mummified dead body.
The Truth:
Apparently the smell wasn’t just coming from the convict manning the corndog stand. Back in 1976, a camera crew filming an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man began to set up in the haunted house at the Nu-Pike Amusement Park in Long Beach, CA.
As they were moving a "hanging man" prop, they accidentally knocked its arm off and discovered human bones inside. The body was that of criminal mastermind Elmer McCurdy, who was killed in a shootout after robbing a train in 1911.
McCurdy was embalmed by the local undertaker and apparently the guy was so pleased with his work that he propped up the corpse in the funeral home as evidence of his skills. People were charged 5 cents to see the corpse, which they paid by dropping a nickel in the cadaver’s mouth.
The undertaker’s scheme was ruined when carnival promoters posing as McCurdy's brothers showed up to claim him. McCurdy’s mummy then went on a morbid mystery tour all around America before finally coming to rest in Long Beach.
McCurdy is now buried in Oklahoma.
Read more: The 5 Creepiest Urban Legends (That Happen to be True) | Cracked.com
A prop at a carnival was discovered not to be made of the usual combination of papier mache and carni spit, but human skin and bone. All the little kiddies at the haunted house had been poking and giggling at a real mummified dead body.
The Truth:
Apparently the smell wasn’t just coming from the convict manning the corndog stand. Back in 1976, a camera crew filming an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man began to set up in the haunted house at the Nu-Pike Amusement Park in Long Beach, CA.
As they were moving a "hanging man" prop, they accidentally knocked its arm off and discovered human bones inside. The body was that of criminal mastermind Elmer McCurdy, who was killed in a shootout after robbing a train in 1911.
McCurdy was embalmed by the local undertaker and apparently the guy was so pleased with his work that he propped up the corpse in the funeral home as evidence of his skills. People were charged 5 cents to see the corpse, which they paid by dropping a nickel in the cadaver’s mouth.
The undertaker’s scheme was ruined when carnival promoters posing as McCurdy's brothers showed up to claim him. McCurdy’s mummy then went on a morbid mystery tour all around America before finally coming to rest in Long Beach.
McCurdy is now buried in Oklahoma.
Read more: The 5 Creepiest Urban Legends (That Happen to be True) | Cracked.com
Back in my youth, I read this book called Stranger Then Science. If I remember right, it led off with the story of David Lang, a man who simply vanished while walking around his farm. There were other stories, too, of spontaneous combustion and childhood genius and the like.
Ultimately, the problem was that Mr. Lang never existed. But it was a good way to start the book .
Ultimately, the problem was that Mr. Lang never existed. But it was a good way to start the book .
Black-eyed kids, are they real, what are they, where do they come from? Has Stephen King written about them and if not when will he?
The Legend of Fisher's Ghost
Frederick George Fisher was born on August 28, 1792 in London. He ran a successful business in London until he was discovered in possession of forged documents. He was sentenced to transportation to Australia on July 26, 1815.
He served his sentence and in 1822 was given a ticket-of-leave, this included a piece of land in Campbelltown.
The man who owned the neighbouring block of land was George Worroll (also Worrell or Worrall). Worroll was also paroled after being transported to Australia, but had continued his criminal ways and soon included Fred Fisher in his dealings. Fred found himself in debt for £80 and was unable to repay them, he began to fret about losing the small house and land he had built.
Worroll decided to help his neighbour by hiding the ownership of Fisher’s farm. He told Fred to sign the ownership over to him so when the debt-collectors came, he would not lose the farm. Frederick agreed and soon Worroll officially owned the farm. When the debt-collectors came and Fred was unable to pay his dues, he was arrested and imprisoned for six months in late 1825.
After serving his sentence, Fred returned home in June 1826, to find that Worroll had taken over the Fisher Farm and really was not expecting Fisher to return. Worroll had been telling people that Fred had sold him the farm and returned to England, so when the man returned and demanded his property be returned, Worroll decided otherwise.
June 1826
On the night of June 17, 1826 Frederick Fisher was last seen with Worroll by Jane Hopkins. The time was around nine o’clock and the men were about to start drinking, it was the last time he was seen alive.
After several days, people were suspicious of Worroll’s stories of Fisher returning to England and enquiries soon began into Fred’s whereabouts. A local police officer Newland discovered blood splatter on a paling fence on Worroll’s property. Aboriginal trackers were brought in to search the two properties and claimed they could smell a dead white man, yet were unable to find a body.
Most of Fred’s possessions were found amongst Worrell’s property, the man had even begun wearing Fisher’s clothing. A local man was sold Fisher’s horse, when he questioned Worroll about his right to sell the animal, Worroll produced a crudely written and obvious forgery of Fisher’s signature, stating Worroll had power of attorney over the horse. The local townsfolk and constabulary believed that Worrell had murdered his neighbour.
September 1826
Early September 1826, after a lengthy investigation provided no body or evidence of Fred having left the country had been found a reward was posted to encourage anyone with information to come forward. Soon afterwards James Farley stumbled into a local pub, gasping for breath as he began telling his story. A story that was to become Campbelltown folklore.
Farley’s story was incredible to say the least. The man claimed to have seen the ghost of Fred Fisher sitting on a fence on his property, there was a large wound on the apparition’s forehead. The ghost said nothing to the startled man, he just pointed towards the creek (now known as Fisher’s Ghost Creek).
The police were called to the hotel to hear Farley’s story. The following morning a search was made and the decomposed body of Fred Fisher was discovered partially buried.
On September 17, 1826 Worroll was arrested for the murder of his neighbour Frederick Fisher. At the court trial, no mention was allowable to how Farley had been directed to the body of Fisher. One witness also claimed that when discussing the possible murder of Fred before his body was found, Worroll had “turn[ed] pale, and affect to smile” before attempting to change the subject.
Worroll confessed. He claimed to have been walking between the two properties with Fisher when he threw a plank of wood towards one of the horses, it struck Fisher, who fell unconsciously to the ground. He panicked and hid the man’s body, Fisher expired during the night. The following evening Worroll had returned and attempted to bury the man.
Worroll was found guilty of the murder on Friday February 2, 1827 and sentenced to hang the following Monday.
February 1827
On Monday February 5, 1827 George Worroll was hanged for the wilful murder of Frederick Fisher. He is buried in a cemetery in The Rocks. The body of Fred Fisher is interred in a secret grave in the Anglican Church in Campbelltown. At the time of writing being discussed by Council is whether a gravestone should be re-erected at Fisher’s gravesite or whether a memorial should be erected elsewhere.
The site where Fisher’s Ghost was seen has become a pilgrimage for some interested parties, with a hope of once more seeing the Ghost. The site is now beside the railway lines under a major arterial bridge. Not the place for an almost 200 year old ghost to be spending his eternity, even one as famous as Fred.
Map of where Fred was found.
He served his sentence and in 1822 was given a ticket-of-leave, this included a piece of land in Campbelltown.
The man who owned the neighbouring block of land was George Worroll (also Worrell or Worrall). Worroll was also paroled after being transported to Australia, but had continued his criminal ways and soon included Fred Fisher in his dealings. Fred found himself in debt for £80 and was unable to repay them, he began to fret about losing the small house and land he had built.
Worroll decided to help his neighbour by hiding the ownership of Fisher’s farm. He told Fred to sign the ownership over to him so when the debt-collectors came, he would not lose the farm. Frederick agreed and soon Worroll officially owned the farm. When the debt-collectors came and Fred was unable to pay his dues, he was arrested and imprisoned for six months in late 1825.
After serving his sentence, Fred returned home in June 1826, to find that Worroll had taken over the Fisher Farm and really was not expecting Fisher to return. Worroll had been telling people that Fred had sold him the farm and returned to England, so when the man returned and demanded his property be returned, Worroll decided otherwise.
June 1826
On the night of June 17, 1826 Frederick Fisher was last seen with Worroll by Jane Hopkins. The time was around nine o’clock and the men were about to start drinking, it was the last time he was seen alive.
After several days, people were suspicious of Worroll’s stories of Fisher returning to England and enquiries soon began into Fred’s whereabouts. A local police officer Newland discovered blood splatter on a paling fence on Worroll’s property. Aboriginal trackers were brought in to search the two properties and claimed they could smell a dead white man, yet were unable to find a body.
Most of Fred’s possessions were found amongst Worrell’s property, the man had even begun wearing Fisher’s clothing. A local man was sold Fisher’s horse, when he questioned Worroll about his right to sell the animal, Worroll produced a crudely written and obvious forgery of Fisher’s signature, stating Worroll had power of attorney over the horse. The local townsfolk and constabulary believed that Worrell had murdered his neighbour.
September 1826
Early September 1826, after a lengthy investigation provided no body or evidence of Fred having left the country had been found a reward was posted to encourage anyone with information to come forward. Soon afterwards James Farley stumbled into a local pub, gasping for breath as he began telling his story. A story that was to become Campbelltown folklore.
Farley’s story was incredible to say the least. The man claimed to have seen the ghost of Fred Fisher sitting on a fence on his property, there was a large wound on the apparition’s forehead. The ghost said nothing to the startled man, he just pointed towards the creek (now known as Fisher’s Ghost Creek).
The police were called to the hotel to hear Farley’s story. The following morning a search was made and the decomposed body of Fred Fisher was discovered partially buried.
On September 17, 1826 Worroll was arrested for the murder of his neighbour Frederick Fisher. At the court trial, no mention was allowable to how Farley had been directed to the body of Fisher. One witness also claimed that when discussing the possible murder of Fred before his body was found, Worroll had “turn[ed] pale, and affect to smile” before attempting to change the subject.
Worroll confessed. He claimed to have been walking between the two properties with Fisher when he threw a plank of wood towards one of the horses, it struck Fisher, who fell unconsciously to the ground. He panicked and hid the man’s body, Fisher expired during the night. The following evening Worroll had returned and attempted to bury the man.
Worroll was found guilty of the murder on Friday February 2, 1827 and sentenced to hang the following Monday.
February 1827
On Monday February 5, 1827 George Worroll was hanged for the wilful murder of Frederick Fisher. He is buried in a cemetery in The Rocks. The body of Fred Fisher is interred in a secret grave in the Anglican Church in Campbelltown. At the time of writing being discussed by Council is whether a gravestone should be re-erected at Fisher’s gravesite or whether a memorial should be erected elsewhere.
The site where Fisher’s Ghost was seen has become a pilgrimage for some interested parties, with a hope of once more seeing the Ghost. The site is now beside the railway lines under a major arterial bridge. Not the place for an almost 200 year old ghost to be spending his eternity, even one as famous as Fred.
Map of where Fred was found.
Yep, I read about this.
My absolute favorite. Yes, parts of the Rez Mary story were intermixed early on with other phantom hitchhiker lore, and the CW is that all phantom hitchhiker stories are by definition fake because many include similar elements, just like all religious relics are fake (although no one's proven how the Shroud of Turin was created), all crop circles are fake (because a couple of fools in England who were lying anyway confessed to creating a few), and all signs of Bigfoot are fake for pretty much the same reasons--a few people pulled hoaxes so naturally anything reported anywhere by anyone at any time was never real. And don't get me started on UFOs. Well, if you are going to believe ONE phantom hitchhiker story, believe Resurrection Mary! It's just beyond belief that thousands of people over an 80-year period, including police officers and other credible witnesses, would hallucinate the exact same figure from the hair down to the shoes!
I read somewhere that Stephen King never goes in his basement because he thinks that a velociraptor is down there.
The old fortune cookie story where the fortune reads, "Help us, we're trapped in a fortune cookie factory!"
More funny than anything else.
More funny than anything else.