50 of the Spookiest Urban Legends from Every State

Taylor Markarian

By Taylor Markarian

Updated on Aug. 21, 2025

Whether you dismiss urban legends as children's lore or believe they're based on fact, these 50 tales will send a shiver up your spine

Stories to keep you up at night

No matter where in the country you’re from, your home state is sure to have its share of urban legends and myths. These scary stories aren’t just for Halloween; they’re whispered among summer campers, passed down through families and reserved for nights when the power goes out.

Urban legends may be spooky stories, but they aren’t necessarily ghost stories. They could, in theory, have happened to someone you know. These are the stories that make you walk quickly past abandoned buildings, or double-check that your door is locked when you’re home alone. And they’re why you should always be careful when you’re driving back roads at night, because you never know what scary urban legends you might encounter.

If you’re a fan of all things spooky and supernatural, keep reading for the best urban legends from every state.

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Alabama: Huggin’ Molly

The story of Huggin’ Molly is clearly a tool used by parents to get their children to obey the rules: The urban legend, native to Abbeville, tells of a phantom woman who appears to children if they stay out late at night. She’s terrifyingly imposing, at 7 feet tall and wearing a big hat and dark clothes. She grips the lingering child tightly and screams in their ear—she’s not meant to cause death, just one heck of a scary-movie-style fright.

Some versions of the tale claim that Molly is the grieving ghost of a woman who lost her baby, hugging local children to help her heal. Another version suggests Molly is a former Southeast Alabama Agriculture School professor trying to keep her students safe and off the streets at night.

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Alaska: The qalupalik

The qalupalik, an Inuit version of a mermaid or siren, calls with a hum to children who are wandering too close to the seashore, then takes them away in her baby pouch, called an amautik. Qalupaliks are hauntingly scary to see—clawed hands, the smell of sulfur and scaly skin and fins emerging from all parts of their bodies are all features of these terrifying, womanlike sea creatures who will never return a child once it’s been taken into the depths. Sounds like a good way to convince your kids not to go in the water, if you ask us.

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Arizona: Slaughterhouse Canyon

Horror book lovers will love learning about Luana’s Canyon. Also known as Slaughterhouse Canyon, this urban legend tells the gruesome tale of a 19th-century gold miner who failed to come home to his family one night. Without his earnings, the mother and her children couldn’t buy food and began to starve. They wailed into the canyon and their screams echoed, but no one heard them. When she couldn’t stand it any longer, the wife chopped her kids into pieces, tossed them into the nearby river and died of despair. Her cries can still be heard echoing through the canyon.

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Arkansas: The Gurdon Light

The ethereal, mysterious light known as the Gurdon Light, seen in a wooded area by railroad tracks in Gurdon, Arkansas, has been described as blue, green, orange or white and looks as if it’s bobbing from a cord. Like many urban legends, the story of the Gurdon Light has several variations. In one, a railroad worker was hit by a train and decapitated. His spirit can still be seen today, searching for his lost light. In another, the railroad worker bore a violent grudge against his boss, who had fired him. He murdered his former employer with a railroad spike, and the victim now wanders the tracks. While the Gurdon Light is well documented, no one has been able to offer an explanation as to what it really is, besides local folklore trying its best.

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California: Char Man of San Antonia Creek

Per local lore, a father and son were trapped in the Ojai Valley fire of 1948. The fire destroyed many homes, including that of this father and son. The father perished, and the traumatized son lost his mind. According to legend, he strung his father up, skinned him and then ran into the forest. Now, known forever as Char Man, his blackened, burnt body is said to attack motorists on Creek Road in Ojai as he seeks more human skins.

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Colorado: The Ridge Home Asylum

The Ridge Home Asylum was a real facility that opened in Arvada in 1912, but it’s become an urban legend because of its history. It reportedly housed patients who were horribly mistreated—some of whom weren’t even mentally incapable but had just been forsaken by their families. Beginning in the 1940s and ’50s, reports of underfunding and overcrowding began to emerge from the asylum, as well as reports of abuse, including forced sterilization. Though it was closed in 1992 and demolished in 2004, people say they can still hear the screams and see the apparitions of former patients on the grounds.

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Connecticut: Dudleytown

The misfortunes that have occurred in the haunted place of Dudleytown, dating back to the 1700s, are so numerous and terrible that it has earned the nickname “Village of the Damned.” The land was settled by the Dudley family in 1740, and it supposedly came with a curse—the Dudley Curse.

Legend has it that the Dudleys were descendants of Edmund Dudley, beheaded in 1510, and John Dudley, beheaded during the reign of Lady Jane Grey. John’s son, Guildford, was betrothed to Lady Jane but was also later executed. It was said that the family was cursed, and when they settled the tract of land known as Dudleytown, unspeakable things began to occur. The now completely deserted town is said to have been home to many suicides, disappearances and even demonic activity that have given rise to several urban legends.

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Spookiest Urban Legends From Every State Delaware
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Delaware: Lums Pond State Park

What appears to be an ordinary state park is actually the alleged site of a horrific murder and the scary urban legend that followed. In the 1870s, a young girl ran away from her home in New Castle, hiding in the woods of Lums Pond. But, as she was hiding, she was discovered by a horrible man who assaulted and murdered her, leaving her body near a bridge on the Swan Trail. While police found her body, they never found the murderer—and people still report hearing the girl’s screams throughout the forest.

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Florida: Captain Tony’s

Since 1852, Captain Tony’s, the oldest saloon in Key West, has been known to be haunted: Doors slam for no apparent reason, and there are inexplicable banging noises and frequent ghostly visitations. But why? Well, the building itself has a long and storied history—one that includes being built around a tree that the town once used for hangings, and for being the site of the town’s original morgue. Many died around that tree, including a young woman who allegedly murdered her husband and two sons. She was hanged in a blue dress, covered in blood—and she hasn’t left the scene, appearing to patrons as “the Lady in Blue.”

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Georgia: “The Song of the Cell”

As urban legend goes, in 1848 Elleck and his wife Betsy, both enslaved people, were in their home one night when their master, drunk and belligerent, crashed through the door. He attempted to attack Betsy, but Elleck fought him off. Undeterred, the master chased Elleck up a ladder into a loft. As the struggle continued, the master lost his balance, fell out of the loft and died. Even though Elleck turned himself in to the sheriff the next morning, explaining that what had happened was self-defense, he was still charged with murder (a common occurrence in the antebellum South). Elleck was imprisoned in the Old Lawrenceville Jail and later executed unjustly for the crime. People say they can still hear his sorrowful song through the walls of the old jail.

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Hawaii: Pali Highway

Pele, the Hawaiian volcano goddess, has many myths attached to her name. For one, she’s the goddess of fire, so she is already known to have a fiery personality and many quarrels with those she feels have wronged her. One urban legend tells of her ill-fated union with the demigod Kamapua’a, who was half-pig, half-human. The two supernatural beings had a terrible breakup, agreeing to never see each other again. That’s why, as urban legend has it, if you carry pork with you when you travel over the Pali Highway in O’ahu, your car will come to an inexplicable halt.

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Idaho: The Water Babies of Massacre Rocks

This urban legend is about starvation and infanticide, so if you’re squeamish, you may want to skip ahead. When famine hit the local area of Pocatello, mothers resorted to drowning their babies in the rivers instead of letting them starve to death. It is said that those babies turned into fish-like imps, with fins and gills, to survive in the water, even eating small fish. These water babies now try to bring people to their deaths in the water, hoping to avenge their own terrible fate. If you’re near the water, you might see the babies’ spirits—or at least hear the distant sounds of the babies crying for their mothers. 

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Spookiest Urban Legends From Every State Illinois
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Illinois: Big Muddy Monster

Originating in Southern Illinois, the tale of the Big Muddy Monster began in the summer of 1973 and generated so much buzz that the story was even covered in the New York Times. Folks in the small town of Murphysboro began reporting sightings of a creature that was more than 8 feet tall, covered in matted, muddy hair and smelled foul. Some say there were also large track marks and slime left behind, which local police actually investigated. Besides its gruesome appearance, the Big Muddy Monster’s calling card is a high-pitched scream.

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Indiana: 100 Steps Cemetery

A couple of urban legends surround this still-operational cemetery. First, if you visit at midnight under a dark, moonless sky, count the number of steps until you reach the top; there should be 100. But as you count on the way back down, you likely won’t count those same 100 steps again; you’ll get a different number.

The second legend is a bit scarier: If you visit this cemetery and climb (and count!) the 100 steps in the dark of night, urban legend has it you’ll see the ghost of the original caretaker appear before you on top of the hill. He will give you a preview of what your death will look like. If, on your way back down, the number of steps matches your original count on the way up, the vision is wrong, but if the numbers don’t match, the vision will come true. Just beware: If you don’t count the steps or you stray off the path, you’ll be pushed to the ground by an unknown hand, and a red handprint will last for days afterward.

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Iowa: Stony Hollow Road

As the saying goes, there’s no fury like a woman scorned. Lucinda of Burlington, Iowa, is no exception. Urban legend says that when her fiancé failed to meet her there as promised one night, she threw herself off the bluffs along Stony Hollow Road because she assumed he was with another woman. Later, he showed up too late, having been stuck with his wagon in the mud, and found his bride-to-be. Ever since, her ghost has appeared to countless people. What’s (much) worse, if she leaves a rose at your feet, according to the legend, you are destined to die within 24 hours …

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Kansas: Molly’s Hollow

The urban legend of Molly’s Hollow speaks to the country’s racist history. As the legend goes, when the local townsfolk found out that Molly, an African American girl, was involved with a white man, she was lynched. People claim her spirit is still there, screaming at night, while others describe feeling tugged at or grabbed.

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Kentucky: Hogan’s Fountain

In Cherokee Park, you’ll find Hogan’s Fountain, which is more than 100 years old. The fountain features the figure of Pan, the pastoral yet devious Greek god, beckoning thirsty parkgoers and dogs to the springs of water at his feet. Legend says that at every full moon (some variations say every night at midnight) the figure of Pan wanders the park, causing mischief for passersby.

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Louisiana: The Carter Brothers

Back in the early 1930s, a young woman escaped from the home of the Carter brothers in New Orleans with slash marks on her wrist. She told the police that the brothers were feeding off her blood; she was only able to escape because of how careless they were in tying her with ropes. The cops stormed the French Quarter residence, where they found more young women in similar states, their blood draining from their bodies alongside dead bodies stored in the next room. The brothers, who thought themselves to be vampires, were captured, tried as serial killers and executed, only for it to be discovered years later that their crypts were empty.

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Maine: Seguin Island Lighthouse

Like many urban legends, this one in Maine is rooted in isolation. As legend has it, in the 1800s, the caretaker of the Seguin Island Lighthouse and his wife were the only two people living on the tiny spit of land. They naturally grew increasingly bored and isolated. The caretaker bought a piano so his wife could keep them entertained, but she only knew one song. The insufferable repetition of the tune, combined with severe isolation, drove the husband mad. He took an ax, chopped the piano and his wife into bits, and then killed himself. Now, the haunting melody of the piano fills the air around the lighthouse. Or so the story says …

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Maryland: Bigg Lizz and the Greenbrier Swamp

During the Civil War, Bigg Lizz, a very large woman, was a slave who became a spy for the Union troops. However, her espionage was discovered by her master, who decided to exact revenge. Urban legend says he took Bigg Lizz to Greenbrier Swamp so she could help him bury a treasure. Bigg Lizz dug the hole and was subsequently decapitated by her evil master, who threw her body into the grave she had just unknowingly dug for herself. It is said that if you travel to that spot during the dead of night, you will see her spirit there, attempting to lure you into the murky swamp to help her find the treasure the master hid.

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Massachusetts: The Hobomock at the Boston Light

If you’re visiting this lighthouse in Cohasset, beware. This scary urban legend says there is a demon living there, known as a hobomock, according to the Quonahassitis tribe. It lives in the granite ledges surrounding the Boston Light and has caused some of the lighthouse’s keepers to mysteriously perish. The first keeper to live there drowned after his boat capsized, and the second also drowned. When the second keeper died, he left behind two assistants—but they both washed ashore days later.

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Michigan: The Nain Rouge

This is one of the urban legends still recognized today, and it’s celebrated by the people of Detroit every year. They say there’s a devilish creature, known as the Nain Rouge (French for “red dwarf”), who causes mayhem in the city. Small and red, with a piercing cacklish laugh, he’s thought to be seen when disaster is about to strike and is even said to be the reason for the Cadillac company’s downfall in the city.

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Minnesota: The Wendigo

The wendigo is a creature of Native American folklore. Some legends suggest the wendigo is a spirit capable of possession, while others say a person can turn into a wendigo if they resort to cannibalism. Either way, the wendigo is fearsome—it’s a fang-bearing creature that is almost 15 feet tall, skeletal and hairy, with glowing eyes. It roams the forests of the Great Lakes region, always in search of food and only satiated when eating a human—then immediately hungry for more. Some say the myth of the wendigo was created as a warning against cannibalism in the cold forests, where starvation in the winter months was something that could happen easily.

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Mississippi: The Witch of Yazoo

While living on the Yazoo River, an old woman allegedly lured boatsmen to their deaths with her magic. One day, the local sheriff chased her into a swamp, and as she drowned in quicksand, she put a curse upon the town. In 20 years, she said, she would return to set the city aflame. Eerily, in 1904 the city was hit with a massive fire, believed to be the work of the witch. The next day, when people went to visit her grave at the Glenwood Cemetery, they saw that the chain links around her grave had been broken. Or so the urban legend goes …

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Spookiest Urban Legends From Every State Missouri
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Missouri: The Missouri Monster

If you’ve ever thought you’ve seen something akin to Big Foot in Missouri, you may not be far off. According to legend, the Missouri Monster, also known as Momo, is a gigantic, 7-foot-tall furry creature with a pumpkin-shaped head that was first seen in Louisiana, Missouri, in 1972. He smells awful and may also be dragging a bloody dog at his side as he roams. Some have seen him along the banks of the Mississippi, while others catch sight of him in the woods–and still others hear what can only be described as nonhuman screaming.

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Spookiest Urban Legends From Every State Montana
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Montana: Flathead Lake Monster

Flathead Lake is a beautiful lake in Montana where you can hike, camp, swim—and catch sight of the eerie Flathead Lake Monster, Montana’s very own version of the Loch Ness Monster. Flessie, as this monster is affectionately called, was first sighted in 1889, and there have been more than 100 sightings since. Long, eel-shaped and reportedly measuring 20 to 40 feet, Flessie is said to have steely black eyes and lurk in the depths of the lake.

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Nebraska: The Hatchet House

The urban legend of the “Hatchet House” of Portal reminds us of those scary ghost stories we used to tell each other at camp. As the legend goes, a school teacher from long ago went insane and decapitated all her students in the one-room schoolhouse. Afterward, she placed their heads on their respective desks and took their hearts to a nearby bridge, throwing the organs into the water. People say you can still hear the hearts beating if you cross the bridge, hence the name “Heartbeat Bridge.” We dare you to try it …

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Nevada: The Aliens at Area 51

Publicly known as the forbidden place where the military tests out some of its most advanced weapons and technology, this is also where conspiracy theorists and urban legend die-hards suspect the U.S. government stashes the UFOs it doesn’t want us to know about. Indeed, the only way for Area 51 employees to get to work is by unmarked plane out of a restricted terminal at McCarran International Airport. So what’s really going on there?

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New Hampshire: The Legend of Chocorua

Mount Chocorua was named after a Native American chief who lived in the early 1700s. Legend has it that he left his son with the Campbell family while he went away on tribal business. While under the family’s care, the son died (perhaps accidentally, perhaps not). To exact revenge, Chief Chocorua killed the white man’s wife and children. Then the surviving Campbell chased Chocorua to the top of a mountain and shot him dead, but not before the Chief had placed a terrible curse upon the land. It is said that the land, now known as Chocorua Lake Conservancy, will inflict suffering and death on anyone who tries to live there or drink from its rivers.

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New Jersey: The Ghost Boy of Clinton Road

The ghost of a young boy is said to reside beneath one of the bridges on this road in Passaic County in northern New Jersey. According to the urban legend, he’s quite helpful, not to mention honest: If you drop a coin into the water, he’ll return it to you, and in some instances of the legend, he might even push you into the lake to save you from getting hit by an oncoming car. It has become a rite of passage for local teens to test out this urban legend.

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New Mexico: UFO Crash at Roswell

In 1947, something big, really, really big, crashed on a ranch northwest of Roswell. Members of the U.S. military quickly came to retrieve the debris, which led some to believe that it was something they wanted to cover up—a UFO, perhaps? Adding to the mystery, Jesse Marcell Jr., son of one of the military officers charged with clearing the site, later described the debris he saw his father bring home as being made of lead foil with “I”-beams. According to the Roswell UFO Museum, “He recalled the writing on the I-beams as ‘Purple. Strange. Never saw anything like it … different geometric shapes, leaves and circles.'” The U.S. government maintains it was a weather balloon that crashed, but urban legend tells a different story …

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New York: The Legend of Cropsey

Staten Island’s “Cropsey” has been a local legend for decades, gaining national attention when a documentary of the same name was released in 2009. The story goes that Cropsey had a hook for a hand and was a patient at the Willowbrook State School. He would come out late at night to hunt and chase local kids with his hook. In truth, a series of child murders did take place in that area of Staten Island in the 1970s and 1980s, and the legend may have loosely been based on Andre Rand, an employee of Willowbrook who was convicted of kidnapping children in the 1970s and ’80s.

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North Carolina: The Beast of Bladenboro

Many regions in the United States have their own urban legends about a mutant creature in the woods who kills viciously and indiscriminately. In North Carolina, it’s the Beast of Bladenboro. In 1953, a woman heard her neighbor’s dogs whimpering, so she went out to investigate—and saw a panther-like creature walking away. But just a few days later, the creature was back at a local farm, where two dogs were killed and drained of their blood. The creature was described as cat-like, long with a tail, with a high-pitched scream and a thirst for dogs. Once it was reported that it attacked a local woman before being scared off by her husband.

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North Dakota: The Miniwashitu

Next time you’re on the banks of the Missouri River in North Dakota, keep an eye out for the Miniwashitu, a giant, red, hairy monster with sharp spikes along its back, a horn and only one eye. Standing at nearly 7 feet tall, the monster is said to emerge only on very rare occasions, which is probably a good thing. If you look at it, blindness, insanity and even death are said to follow. So on second thought, don’t keep an eye out for it!

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Spookiest Urban Legends From Every State Ohio
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Ohio: Lookout Tower in Hills and Dales Metro Park

You might have heard this tower called the “Witches Tower” or even “Frankenstein’s Tower.” While the urban legends that surround it have nothing to do with witches or Frankenstein, they sure are chilling. In one, it’s claimed that a woman plunged to her death from the tower after hearing about her husband’s passing during the Civil War—but since the tower was built in the 1940s, this legend is just that. Another urban legend claims that a group of teens sought shelter in the tower during a storm, but lightning struck every one of them, killing them all. This legend is a little closer to the truth: Unfortunately, a 16-year-old girl was struck by lightning at the tower when she and her boyfriend took shelter. She died, and he was left badly burned.

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Oklahoma: Shaman’s Portal

People have allegedly disappeared into thin air upon setting foot in these dunes in Beaver Sands, also known as Oklahoma’s Bermuda Triangle. Urban legends surrounding the area date back to the 1500s, when explorers with Francisco Vázquez de Coronado were said to have vanished in the dunes with what looked like flashes of green light. Coronado went on to lose several of his men to the dunes. It’s believed that a UFO crashed here, opening a door to another world.

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Oregon: The Bandage Man

The ghost of a man who was supposedly chopped into bits at a sawmill terrifies Oregon residents and urban legend believers to this day. They call him the “Bandage Man,” because, well, his entire body is wrapped in bloody bandages. He was first sighted in the 1950s, wrapped in his bandages and smelling of rotting fish. It’s been said that he haunts a stretch of Highway 101 near Cannon Beach, attacking teens in their parked cars.

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Pennsylvania: Eastern State Penitentiary

The Eastern State Penitentiary of Pennsylvania is a real place that was shut down due to its exceptional cruelty toward inmates. Each cell and chamber has its own set of hauntings and terrible tales, and walking through it is supposed to feel like walking through the pit of hell itself. If you’re the type who likes to experience the macabre, you can take a tour on Halloween. You must sign a liability waiver before entering, though.

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Rhode Island: Fingernail Freddie

If this sounds familiar, it’s because the Rhode Island legend of Fingernail Freddie is supposedly the inspiration for The Nightmare on Elm Street. According to legend, Freddie was a family man, living in a modest home with his wife and children. But one day, the neighborhood children burned his home to the ground, his family perishing inside and Freddie himself becoming disfigured. He fled to the woods, and while there, his nails grew long and wild. He has since sought to exact revenge on anyone who crossed his path.

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South Carolina: The Legend of Lavinia Fisher

Known as America’s first female serial killer, Lavinia Fisher was certainly not dainty about her kills: In the 1800s, she and her husband, John, ran an inn, where they had the unfortunate habit of killing off many of their guests. They would poison them, and then, after the poor person had fallen asleep, drop them down a trap door. One victim managed to escape, and the Fishers were found out, resulting in their execution. Now, people say the ghost of Lavinia Fisher haunts the Charleston jail where she was executed.

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South Dakota: Walking Sam

Walking Sam of South Dakota is a bit like the notorious figure from the Slenderman video games: unnaturally tall (at least 7 feet!), skinny and a creepy character. He’s also often seen wearing a wide-brimmed hat, and he has eyes but no mouth. When he lifts his arms, it’s thought that you can see the silhouettes of people hanging below them. According to the urban legend, those who cross his path are induced to commit suicide, and his favorite prey is young teens.

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Tennessee: Skinned Tom

As the story goes, in the 1920s, a young man named Tom, who is described as being quite the looker and charming to boot, could get a date with any young lady he wanted. Soon, he had dated every eligible young woman in his town—so he moved on to the next town over. He met a gal named Eleanor and fell head over heels for her, taking her to the local Lover’s Lane. He didn’t know it, but the woman he was so enamored with was married. Her husband found the two canoodling and went mad with jealousy. He dragged Tom into the woods and then skinned him alive, leaving him for dead. Folks say Tom still hangs around Lover’s Lane, ready to kill those who dare to commit adultery.

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Texas: The Lechuza

In South Texas, after you’ve had a beer or two, you’ll need to be on the lookout for the lechuza. Depending on the version of this urban legend being told, this incredibly large owl is either a brouha’s (witch) or a familiar woman by day, bird by night. In one version, her child was killed by a drunk, so she is on the prowl, looking to take revenge on bar patrons stumbling out into the street after closing time. In other versions, she is a woman who lives alone, which makes the locals suspicious of her—and when a little boy goes missing, she is instantly blamed as a witch responsible for the disappearance. It’s said that she then makes a deal with the devil to become an evil owl woman.

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Utah: The Curse of the Escelante Petrified Forest

Visitors to Escelante Petrified Forest in the Black Hills of Utah are cautioned to leave what they find behind. Urban legend has it that anyone who takes so much as a rock or a piece of wood will suffer intense misfortune. Car accidents, broken bones and even job loss are said to have befallen those who dared to ignore the warning. If this should happen to you, it’s been said that if you return what you took, be it wood or rock or stone, the curse will lift and be broken.

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Vermont: The Brattleboro Retreat Tower

Built as part of an insane asylum in the late 1800s, the Brattleboro Retreat tower was soon closed off after a number of patients supposedly committed suicide by flinging themselves from the top. The tower remains standing today, and people say that if you dare visit it, you’ll see ghosts plunging to their deaths over and over, like an old tape replaying itself.

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Virginia: Bunny Man Bridge

As the story goes, in 1904, some of the most dangerous patients from an insane asylum in Clifton, Virginia, were being moved to a prison when the bus they were riding in crashed on Fairfax Station Bridge. The inmates attempted to escape, but only one was successful. He left a trail of dead, skinned, half-eaten rabbits, hanging many from the bridge that was the scene of the crash. Then on Halloween night of that same year, several teens hanging out under the bridge were attacked at the stroke of midnight—and met the same fate as the bunnies.

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Washington: Maltby’s 13 Steps to Hell

In Maltby Cemetery, you’ll find a set of 13 steps leading down into an underground crypt. Urban legend has it that anyone who makes the regrettable decision to climb down those steps and then turn around will be met with a vision of their own spirit descending into hell. Other versions of the legend say that if you’re standing on the seventh step right at midnight and turn around, you’ll see the spirit of a woman grieving the death of her family.

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West Virginia: The Mothman

Yes, this is the same “Mothman” from the movie The Mothman Prophecies. According to legend, the Mothman is a tall, winged creature with red eyes and a 10-foot wingspan. It could also fly extraordinarily fast, at more than 100 miles per hour. The final scene of that movie is a retelling of a take on an event that actually happened in 1967: The Silver Bridge that connects Point Pleasant, West Virginia, with Gallipolis, Ohio, collapsed at the height of rush hour, killing 46 people. According to urban legend, it was the Mothman, the great bringer of death, that caused the accident.

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Wisconsin: The Bloody Headstone at Riverside Cemetery

This urban legend tells of a local woman by the name of Kate Blood (fitting, right?), who is said to have killed her husband and three children, then died by suicide. Her headstone at Riverside Cemetery in Appleton allegedly drips with blood every full moon. Though if you do visit, a glance at her headstone will quickly debunk the legend: She was outlived by her husband and one of her children, but her actual story was still tragic. She lost one of her children at a young age and then came down with tuberculosis. She was sent to Kansas to heal, but didn’t come home alive. She passed at the young age of 23.

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Wyoming: The Jackalope

The large bunny creature with antelope horns is a well-known character in Wyoming’s culture, history, landscape and urban legends. Some say they’ve most definitely seen it, while others shrug it off as a fairy tale. Believers say that early trappers in Wyoming hunted the mythical creature for its fur. In reality, two brothers were hunting jackrabbits in the early 1900s, then brought their bounty home and placed it next to a pair of antlers. The brothers thought the rabbit looked so good with horns that they taxidermied one of their jackrabbits with deer antlers—and a new myth began.

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