Usually, we like to think of urban legends as spooky stories that are just too out there to be true. Alligators in the sewers? Mole people under a city? There’s no way those could be true…or is there? Let’s look at ten scary urban legends that turned out to actually be true, whether that’s because they were based on real events or something that happened later that was eerily similar to these stories. Clearly, reality is scarier than any tale!
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The Body Under the Bed
In 2010, guests at the Budget Lodge complained about foul smells. Apparently, it was coming from their room. It wasn’t until the cleaning staff investigated that they discovered the cause—the decomposing body of Sony Millbrook. She had been reported missing weeks earlier & her body was hidden inside the bed frame. Of course, the urban legend did come out before this case. But it didn’t make the horrifying discovery any less chilling.
The Killer in the Backseat
One night in 1964, a murderer escaped from a prison in New York. He fled the prison & hid in the backseat of a random car, thinking that he was safe but it was actually a police detective’s car—and the cop shot him! Eventually, the story changed to become the urban legend of the killer in the backseat. Instead of an office, the urban legend features a young woman discovering the killer. That doesn’t make it any less creepy though!
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The Poisoned Halloween Candy
In 1974, the fear of poisoned Halloween candy became a reality in Pasadena, Texas. Ronald Clark O’Bryan laced some Pixy Stix with cyanide and gave them to his son Timothy & four other children. Unfortunately, Timothy died that same night after consuming the poisoned candy. Why did he do it? The same reason that many people kill—for money. O’Bryan was suffering from financial problems so he wanted to claim a life insurance check on his son’s death. What an awful loss of life.
The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs
On March 18, 1950, in Columbia, Missouri, 13-year-old Janett Christman was babysitting a young child when she received a series of terrifying phone calls where the caller threatened her life. Later that night, the threats became real—she was brutally murdered. However, the police investigation revealed that the calls came from within the house and the case inspired the legend of “the babysitter and the man upstairs.”
The Green Man, or Charlie No-Face
The story of Charlie No-Face (also known as the Green Man) sounds like a ghost story but it’s actually about a man named Raymond Robinson. Robinson’s face was disfigured after a severe electrical injury in his childhood. As such, he preferred walking at night to avoid scaring people which led to the legend of Charlie No-Face. Honestly, it’s quite tragic. But on a more positive note, many people who met Robinson spoke about how kind he was.
The Leaping Lawyer
Many people have spread the bizarre story about a lawyer who would run into his office window to prove it was unbreakable—only to fall to his death when the window finally gave way. But it wasn’t fiction. It actually happened to Garry Hoy in Toronto who, in 1993, crashed through a window while trying to demonstrate its strength. However, unlike in the story, the glass was indeed unbreakable—the issue was the window frame. It gave way, causing Hoy to fall.
The Mole People of New York City
Who would’ve guessed that the story of the mole people living in New York City’s subway tunnels was true? While it sounds like something straight out of a comic book, back in the ’90s, writer Jennifer Toth visited these underground spots. She wrote all about it in “The Mole People.” Some people lived there due to problems like homelessness & addiction while others were there simply by choice.
Cropsey, the Staten Island Boogeyman
Cropsey is the boogeyman of Staten Island who is said to snatch kids away in the night. However, it turns out this legend was inspired by Andre Rand, a real-life kidnapper who preyed on children during the 70s and 80s. Clearly, the monsters we imagine aren’t as scary as real people because humans have done some truly terrible things.
The Corpse in the Carpet
We’ve told the story of “the Corpse in the Carpet” many times but many of us don’t realize there’s some truth to it. In fact, there have been numerous cases of people who have been killed and then hidden inside a carpet. These include the 1989 murder of Welsh girl Karen Price & an unsolved case from 1984. In the latter case, three college students took home a carpet they found on a sidewalk. When they unrolled it, they found the dead body of an African-American male inside.
The Legend of the Bunny Man
The story of the Bunny Man from Fairfax County, Virginia, involves a guy in a bunny costume going around with an axe and doing unthinkable things. It was based on a couple of real incidents from 1970 where around 50 people reported seeing a threatening man near an overpass in Fairfax County. Thankfully, nobody was hurt by the man yet nor was he ever caught. Later, the story became the Bunny Man legend that we all know.
Alligators in the Sewers
Everyone’s heard the tall tale about alligators in NYC’s sewers. Yet there’s some truth to it! Back in 1935, some teens stumbled upon a massive 7-foot alligator in a snowbank in East Harlem. Of course, there’s no proof that there are many more living down there & it’s almost impossible that there are entire congregations. But finding one alligator in the sewer is one too many!
The Body Behind the Wall
In 1987, Sacramento police found the body of a woman in the backyard of a seemingly normal boarding house. The owner, Dorothea Puente, wasn’t a normal average landlady—she was a serial killer. Puente killed off her elderly tenants & then cashed their checks like nothing happened. Eventually, this story became the urban legend of dead bodies hidden in walls.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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