Urban Legends

           Everyone loves a scary story and with Halloween only days away, there isn’t a more appropriate time to share them. Tell these haunting tales to your friends around your campfire while you feast on your Halloween treats!

           Let’s start off with a classic, the legend of Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary is the tale of an old woman who lived in a cottage and sold herbal remedies. She was believed by the townspeople to be a witch, and no one dared cross her. People even avoided her home in fear that in doing so, their crops would rot, their children would fall ill, and many other horrific things. Suddenly and strangely, young girls from the village started disappearing. The townspeople looked all around for them, but the girls were nowhere to be found. When asked if she knew anything about the girls disappearances, Bloody Mary denied having any knowledge of this. However, the townspeople noticed something different in Bloody Mary’s usual rough and old exterior. She looked pretty and youthful which raised the townspeople suspicions. But they had no evidence that Bloody Mary had any part of the girls vanishing, so they left her alone. One night when a miller’s wife was nursing a toothache, she noticed her daughter sleep walking out of bed and following some enchanted noise that nobody else could hear. The miller’s wife woke up her husband and they both tried to restrain their daughter but it was of no use. The commotion woke up the whole rest of the townspeople and they all tried to assist the miller and his wife. All of a sudden, a farmer noticed an unearthly glow coming from the woods. It was Bloody Mary trying to cast a spell on the miller’s daughter. The townsmen grabbed their guns and ran towards Bloody Mary. Scared, Bloody Mary ran off into the woods but a farmer was still able to shoot her. She fell to the ground and the townspeople burned her at the stake. As she was burning, Bloody Mary cursed the village, saying that anyone who was to utter her name aloud before a mirror would suffer her revenge and a terrible death. Anyone brave(or foolish) enough to state Bloody Mary’s name three times into a mirror will summon the vengeful spirit of the witch and is said to have their bodies mutilated and their souls ripped from their bodies.

           Stay away from the Mississippi River Halloween night, or dare to challenge the legend of The Cut-Off. There once was a boat pilot who dared to ride the Mississippi River despite claims by his friends and fellow pilots that the Devil was in the river that night. He said they were all paranoid and swore he’d be able to make it on the river and back safe and sound. As he was preparing his boat, a thick fog developed over the river but this didn’t worry the pilot, he had rode up and down the river countless times and could probably do it with his eyes closed. He set off for his quest and snuffed at the people who doubted him. He was almost at the shore when suddenly he saw a piece of land that was never there before, which was supposed to be impossible – the river ran straight through that branch. He’d known because he’d rode the river so many times before. But he wasn’t going to allow this to deter him, he swore he would make it back to shore no matter what. He’d stay until daybreak if need be. The devil must have been listening to the tavern and heard the motor of his boat and shifted the land. Then, out of nowhere, the pilot’s boat gave a massive jerk and the boat stuttered and overturned. The next morning, fellow pilots searched the river and found the boat sunk all the way to the bottom with a gaping hole in its side and the pilot drowned. It’s said that on Halloween night, you can still hear the roar of the engine and the curses of the pilot desperate to complete his run.

           And those who are spending Halloween having a scary-movie marathon might find this urban legend interesting. The Blair Witch Film legend says that 3 young film makers of the movie “The Blair Witch Project” disappeared, never to be found in the woods where their film was left on the forest floor.