Freaky Friday Files: Creepy Urban Legends (The Bullet-Point Edition)
DISCLAIMER: Topics in this blog post may be distressing to some readers. Reader discretion advised.
Hi friends. For this edition of Freaky Friday Files, I thought we could take a look at some bite-sized creepy urban legends/myths - in bullet-point form. Hope you enjoy!
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Creepy Urban Legends (The Bullet-Point Edition)
The "999" phone charging myth - This refers to the urban myth that if your phone has low battery and you dial "999" or any other emergency number, then that call charges the phone so the phone has more battery. This originated in the UK (hence 999) and was debunked by UK authorities as a dangerous thing to do.
2016 Clown Sightings - I wrote about this one in another Freaky Friday Files "here". This refers to there being many clown sightings in the year 2016 that went viral on social media and nearly turned into a massive moral panic. Don't worry, the first sighting was a marketing campaign for a horror movie, and I feel like a few other people stole the idea to freak people out.
Anastasia Romanov's Survival - This refers to a popular urban legend that claimed Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia survived following the k*lling of her family in 1918 during the Russian Civil War. This theory was made up because Anastasia's remains were not buried with her family. In 2007, this was debunked, as she didn't survive the war; she was just buried elsewhere.
Ankle Slicing Car Thief - This refers to the urban legend that there's a driver who keeps hearing noises under their car whilst driving. When the driver steps out of the car to see what's going on, their ankles are sliced open with a knife. While the original driver is on the ground in pain, a car thief comes out from under the car and steals the car.
The Bell Witch - The movie that The Blair Witch Project was based on. The Bell Witch legend refers to John Bell Sr. and his family in Tennessee. From 1817 to 1821, his John's family and the local area were under attack from a "mostly" invisible entity that could speak, affect the environment, and shapeshift. The story is most likely thought to be fiction/fraud, but it does make for good pop culture horror.
The Black Vloga - This refers to an urban legend from Eastern Europe that circulated in the 1960s/1970s where a black vloga car was allegedly used to abduct and m*rder people, especially children. Different stories of the legend all say that it was a different person driving the car each time, so it's not clear if the car is the legend or if the people driving the car turned into a maniac if they drove the car, sorta thing.
Bloody Mary - Who hasn't heard of this one? Oh my gosh, it was so scary hearing about this as a kid! Bloody Mary refers to the legend of some sort of ghost/witch/paranormal being conjured to reveal the future. Legend has it that if you say her name 3 times in a mirror, she appears. It's not clear if she's a good or bad spirit, but most of what I remember as a kid, it was implied she was bad.
The Bunny Man - Another one I've also talked about in a Freaky Friday Files before. You can check that out "here". This legend refers to a man in a bunny suit who attacks people with an axe in Virginia, Washington, D.C., from the 1970s and most incidents occur at a specific bridge.
The Bogeyman - This legend refers to a "mythical" creature that is used to scare children into behaving well. I believe this figure changes culturally around the world, but most people use it to scare children into being good, "otherwise they'll get punished by the bogeyman".
Canterbury Panther - I really wanted to have at least one from NZ make it in here, so we'll have to settle for this one. However, I do remember it being more in Otago than Canterbury. Anyway, this refers to an NZ legend about a panther who lives in the Canterbury region & sightings go back to the 1970s. I feel like this one is probably just feral cats, though.
Cow Tipping - This refers to the act of a person sneaking up on a cow that is sleeping while standing and then pushing the cow over for entertainment. This practice is considered an urban legend, and cows actually lie down to sleep!
The Elevator Game - I don't like this one very much because it caused so many issues surrounding the death of Elisa Lam, who was just suffering from a mental health crisis. Anyway, the elevator game is a type of ritual that allegedly sends the person playing into an alternative reality/world if done correctly, and then a mysterious woman enters the elevator. This legend dates back to 2008 from a Japanese website.
The Hat Man - This refers to the legend of a humanoid shadow person who appears following someone who has taken too much medicine at once, specifically Benadryl. The Hat Man is described as "a tall, dark silhouette with the outline of a trench coat and a fedora". It was popularised on TikTok recently, but I think this one could be explained by sleep paralysis too or just a hallucination?
The Kinderhook Blob - This refers to a cryptid that was seen in the 1960s in Kinderhook, New York, by 6 witnesses. They saw a floating, mysterious blob that was so scary that armed men ran away in terror.
Men in Black - I think this one would be more of a conspiracy theory, maybe? I'm not sure. Anyway, the Men in black refers to alleged government agents that are dressed in dark suits and show up at UFO witness houses and threaten them into being silent about what they have seen. Obviously, Men in black are evident in pop culture (The X-Files, Men in Black movies, etc.).
Mothman - This is the name given to the alleged cryptid that was seen in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, around 1966 - 1967. Mothman is a humanoid figure that resembles a giant moth/bird type person.
Polybius - A fictional arcade game that a lot of people "remember" existing, even though there is no physical evidence that it did. I feel like this legend is common in creepypastas and could tie into the Mandela Effect. I also kinda wanna do a bit of a deep dive into it now.
Red Room Curse - This refers to an early Japanese internet urban legend concerning a red pop-up ad which announces a person's upcoming death on their computer screen.
Thank you for reading! Stay safe, folks,
Ash xx
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