The Most Infamous (And Downright Creepy) Urban Legends From Every State
American urban legends recount spooky tales with enough truth to make people wonder, "Did this really happen?" The creepiest urban legends might make those who enjoy traveling the country reconsider their passion or take additional precautions. According to stories passed around each state in the US, the country is practically crawling with aliens, cryptids, creepy clowns, and vampires.
Mystery and uncertainty keep these stories from fading away - and sometimes, they change and evolve with each telling. Whether they're urban legends inspired by actual events or ridiculous myths concocted at a campfire circle, folklore has a special place in society.
People who like a good scare can take a road trip to the top haunted houses in the US or enjoy chilling tales from the comfort of home with this list of urban legends from every state.
Ghosts Of Abducted Children Hang Out At A Cemetery Playground In Huntsville, AL
In 1822, the people of Huntsville, AL, built Maple Hill, one of their first cemeteries. There's a playground in the middle of the cemetery, and locals claim strange phenomena occur there late at night, such as swings that move on their own, glowing orbs, and mysterious voices and laughter.
According to legend, several children disappeared in the 1960s, and they inexplicably ended up dead at the playground. The legend of Dead Children's Playground holds a special place in the residents' culture. Thus, when builders took down play structures to make room for more graves, people complained until the city built a new playground.
More Than 20,000 People Have Disappeared In The Alaskan Triangle, And The Kushtaka May Be To Blame
Photo: D. Sikes / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0The tropical waters around Bermuda may feel like the opposite of Alaska's frigid wilderness, but both places have something in common: unexplained disappearances. Thousands of tourists, residents, hikers, and airplanes have vanished without a trace in a large area of land called the Alaskan Triangle, encompassed by Juneau, Barrow, and Anchorage. In 2007, state troopers reported about 2,833 disappearances. For a state with a population of more than 700,000 people, this suggests one in about a couple hundred people disappeared in Alaska that year.
There are many theories about this creepy phenomenon, some of which involve Alaska's unpredictable and often unforgiving environment, as well as the sheer expanse of the landscape that can result in many lost travelers. According to the legends of the Native Tlingit people, the missing people likely fell victim to the Kushtaka, a race of shape-shifting otter people who lure humans away from civilization and transform their captives into one of them.
A Gold Miner's Wife Who Killed Her Children Wails In Arizona's Slaughterhouse Canyon
Photo: World Wide Gifts / Filckr / CC BY-SA 2.0In the mid-1800s, thousands of people ventured west in hopes of finding gold and riches. Unfortunately, this dream never came true for many people due to disease, the dangers of mining, and dwindling gold deposits. According to the legend of Luana's Canyon in Arizona, one miner left for the hills one day and never returned, leaving his wife and children with nothing and no way to afford food. The family grew so malnourished and weak that the wife fell into madness, put on her wedding dress, and killed her children to save them from further suffering.
She then threw their bodies into a river and wailed on its shore until she died of starvation. The legend says her cries still echo some nights, causing locals to call the area Slaughterhouse Canyon.
An Executed Railroad Worker Haunts Arkansas As A Mysterious Floating Light
Photo: pxhere / Public DomainIn 1931, a railroad worker named Louis McBride allegedly killed his supervisor from the Missouri Pacific Railroad. The foreman had fired McBride for an infraction, and some claim McBride had intentionally manipulated a piece of track to cause a train crash. Seeking revenge for being fired, McBride killed his former boss by beating him with a railroad spike maul; authorities arrested McBride and executed him by electrocution.
Not long after McBride's death, a mysterious moving light began appearing along the train tracks, far from the highway. People have witnessed it many times since, and the TV show Unsolved Mysteries documented the phenomenon.
Though there are some scientific theories to explain the occurrence, local legends attribute the light to the ghost of McBride - or that of a different rail worker who was decapitated in an accident and allegedly continues to search for his head.
After Being Badly Burned In A 1948 Wildfire, The Char-Man Terrorizes People Around Ojai, CA
Photo: Tony Salas / Flickr / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0If the Thomas Fire of 2017 is any indication of how susceptible Ojai, CA, is to wildfire, the state's most unnerving urban legend makes sense. In 1948, a wildfire raged in the area, and many people with homes in remote foothill areas had to wait days for help to arrive. A man and his son living in an isolated cabin allegedly burned alive in the blaze. When rescue workers finally arrived at the cabin, they discovered the father's body skinned and hanging from a tree.
Those who believe the story say it was the work of the son, who had gone mad from terror and pain after surviving horrific burns. He supposedly ran away into the wilderness and occasionally turns up to chase away anyone who wanders into his territory or otherwise stops by the area.
Legends call him the Char-Man, and he appears at certain Ojai campgrounds.
One Road In Colorado Features A Phantom Jogger, A Drag-Racing Ghost, And Slaves
Riverdale Road in Thornton, CO, boasts several spooky urban legends. People claim to have seen the bodies of massacred slaves hanging from the trees, a possible entrance to hell, and a phantom Camaro that somehow emerged in pristine condition after a tragic crash - it supposedly continues to challenge passersby to a race.
According to the legend of Jogger's Hill, a car fatally struck a person who was running along the side of the road. Supposedly, the occupants of any car parked on the hill hear running footsteps from behind, with the sound coming increasingly closer.
People have also reported something banging on the outside of their car, as well as mysterious handprints on their windows.
The Residents Of Dudleytown, CT, Abandoned Their Town Due To Rampant Madness And Death
Photo: lindsayΔlachance / Flickr / CC BY 2.0A few crumbling stone walls and sections of building foundation are the only remainders proving Dudleytown, CT, ever existed. Though history blames the town's abandonment on farming difficulties due to rocky soil, urban legends claim the founders' ancestor, whom King Henry VII beheaded, cursed the town.
Allegedly, the residents began to go mad or die in horrible accidents. A man fell to his death while building a barn; lightning struck a woman while she was sitting on her porch; people hanged themselves; and a man disappeared into the surrounding woods after his family died and his house burned down.
Buildings fell into disrepair after residents died or abandoned the town, and according to stories, not even animals are brave enough to enter the area to this day.
Delaware's Mr. Chew Might Get Angry If You Sneeze In His Presence
Photo: W. Gould White / Wikimedia Commons / Public DomainIn 1741, Samuel Chew became a chief justice in Delaware. Chew felt offended when people made fun of his name by faking a sneeze. After he died, residents began spotting his ghost, and those who had once teased him feared he would seek revenge. Women claimed to feel cold pockets of air around them suddenly, and men sometimes felt a phantom grip pulling on their coattails.
Terror gripped the residents of Dover, DE, and they refused to leave their homes at night, so local taverns suffered due to the lack of business. No longer wanting to live in fear, the townspeople decided to hold a funeral for Chew's ghost. Though the ceremony seemingly appeased Chew, and the ghostly encounters stopped for a while, he later returned to frighten people with phantom footsteps and spots of chilly air.
The Elusive And Stinky Skunk Ape Supposedly Makes Its Home In Florida's Everglades
Photo: Jack Liddon / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0Florida's Everglades are home to alligators, panthers, and - according to urban legend - the elusive skunk ape, which supposedly stands roughly 7 feet tall, weighs more than 400 pounds, resembles an orangutan, and emits a horrible odor. Sightings of the creature date back to the 1960s, and some claim to have taken videos and photos of the so-called skunk ape.
Though one enthusiast believes he has discovered beds, footprints, teeth, and clumps of hair from skunk apes, park rangers at Myakka River State Park say they have never seen the creature despite working there for decades. It's possible the skunk ape was a fabrication intended to scare outsiders away and prevent them from damaging the Everglades, but this may have had the opposite effect thanks to enthusiastic skunk ape trackers.
Georgia's Lake Lanier Might Hide Curses And Monster Catfish Beneath Its Surface
Photo: Peter Salanki / Flickr / CC BY 2.0In the 1950s, engineers constructed Buford Dam on the Chattahoochee River to form Lake Lanier, one of Georgia's largest artificial lakes. The lake would supply water and help with flood control in the area. As the waters of the newly formed lake rose, they consumed roads, bridges, and abandoned homes previously purchased by the government to make way for the new body of water.
While Lake Lanier has since become a beloved recreational spot, it has also stirred rumors about the cursed land beneath. Abandoned structures are sometimes visible when the water level drops. Catfish as big as 5 feet long allegedly swim in the lake. More than 160 people have either drowned or had boating accidents since 1994, including one woman who drove off a bridge.
Hawaii's Legendary Night Marchers Patrol The Islands In The Afterlife
Photo: troy mckaskle / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0In addition to world-famous beaches, Hawaii features a terrifying legend about a group of spirits known as night marchers. Purportedly the ghosts of long-gone warriors, the spirits appear at night traveling in a line and holding torches. Their job in death, as in life, is to protect Hawaii's most sacred beings. Rumors claim any living soul who glances directly at the marchers will die.
According to one story, a caretaker saw a mysterious fog, died the next day, and later appeared marching along with the spirits. If you encounter these creepy torch-wielders, the legends recommend you take off your clothes, lie facedown, and avoid gazing directly at the marchers. Some stories also suggest those who meet night marchers should urinate on themselves in submission.
Water Babies Haunt The Riverbanks Of Idaho's Massacre Rocks
Photo: AllAroundTheWest / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0Back in the 1860s, a narrow, rocky passage along the Oregon Trail in Idaho earned the name Massacre Rocks due to pioneers fearing an ambush by the area's Shoshone tribes. Though no one bothered to change the name as time passed, urban legend claims the site hosted other horrors.
For example, at one point, the Shoshone suffered a terrible famine, and mothers had to drown newborn children in the nearby rivers to avoid having to raise suffering and starving children. Stories claim the children became water babies who still haunt the waters where they died.
Supposedly, the infants' cries are audible when it's quiet. Other tales warn visitors to stay away from the riverbanks, where the water babies may try to drag them away.
A Clown Allegedly Kidnapped And Terrorized The Children Of Chicago, IL
Photo: A. Duarte / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0In the early 1990s, while audiences were laughing at Damon Wayans's portrayal of Homey D. Clown on In Living Color, kids in Chicago felt pure terror. Rumors circulated about a man dressed as the sketch-show clown driving around the city, abducting and terrorizing children. Reports mostly came from children, and while police took the reports seriously at the time, the details were inconsistent.
Some were claiming the man drove a black pickup, while others said it was an Oldsmobile or a van with "ha-ha" written on the side. Parents received warning letters, and school grounds gained additional security. Eventually, police dubbed the claims an urban legend, and kids who lived through the rumors reportedly recall different versions.
Diana Of The Dunes Supposedly Haunts The Indiana Lake Shore
Many people visit Indiana's Dunes every year to hike and swim around the southern tip of Lake Michigan. Back in 1916, newspapers reported on a mysterious woman named Alice Gray who rejected society, moved into a shack on the dunes, and disturbed locals with her skinny-dipping. She was allegedly the socialite daughter of a successful doctor. Newspapers dubbed her Diana of the Dunes, inspired by the Roman huntress, and Gray became the subject of many rumors.
After getting married and then caught up in a mysterious homicide involving her husband, Gray died at home and was buried in an unmarked grave. People later discovered she wasn't a wealthy woman fleeing society, but an environment lover trying to conserve the dunes. Today, rumors say she continues to haunt the park.
Paranormal Happenings Chill Visitors Of The Villisca House In Iowa
Photo: Tim Vrtiska / Flickr / CC BY-ND 2.0An ax-wielding person slayed a sleeping family of eight in their Villisca, IA, home in 1912. A concerned neighbor went to investigate the Moore family's house after she noticed they were missing. She later discovered the family's bodies in the house.
The Moore killings went unsolved, and several legends about the incident circulated, including tales of serial killers and corrupt senators. To add to the mystery, new owners eventually turned the house into a museum. After paranormal investigators insisted spirits haunted the site, people began experiencing ghostly phenomena, such as one overnight visitor who left with an unexplained and apparently self-inflicted chest wound.
People Allegedly Disappear After They Sit On The Devil's Chair In Kansas's Alma Cemetery
Photo: Parrot of Doom / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0A boarded-up well sits in the middle of Kansas's Alma Cemetery. According to local legend, the land underneath the cemetery originally belonged to a cranky farmer who refused to sell his property to the newly formed city of Alma. One day, he disappeared, and a terrible smell reportedly began emanating from the well.
Rather than investigate the disappearance and odor, city officials boarded up the well and continued building a cemetery around it. According to stories, brave souls who visit the cemetery and sit on the well end up vanishing not long afterward. This earned it the nickname The Devil's Chair.
Kentucky's Pope Lick Monster Lures People To Their Death On The Railroad Tracks
Photo: pxhere / Public DomainA horned goat-man, AKA the Pope Lick Monster, allegedly lurks under a railroad trestle near Louisville, KY. Some claim the creature was once a circus freak who escaped when a train derailed. Others say a farmer made a deal with Satan and then received goatlike qualities.
As the story goes, the creature lives under a Northern Suffolk Railway trestle near Louisville; he can mimic voices and hypnotize people into climbing on the tracks to die via train crash. Most do not recommend seeking out the monster, since several accidents and fatalities have occurred on the spot, and officials have closed off the trestle area from the public.
The Vampire Comte de Saint-Germain Supposedly Stalks The Shadows Of New Orleans, LA
Photo: takomabibelot / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0A man known as the Comte de Saint-Germain reportedly lingers around New Orleans, and legend says he is not a man, but a vampire. The count emerged in the late 1600s or early 1700s, but there are stories about a man with the same name throughout history, even dating back to biblical times. In 1700s Europe, the count was purportedly an alchemist, joked about being over 100 years old, and never seemed to age.
His love of high society and the finer things in life made his excessive wine consumption appear commonplace. After his recorded death in 1784, rumors spread about his appearances across Europe until he allegedly resurfaced in New Orleans in 1902 as Jacques Saint-Germain. This man called Jacques was also a socialite and eccentric, and he disappeared after a woman accused him of attacking her and trying to drink her blood.
Of all the spooky things one might encounter in New Orleans, this vampire is possibly the most chilling.
Buck's Tomb In Maine Bears An Everlasting Leg-Shaped Stain, Prompting Theories Of A Curse
Photo: DrStew82 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0In Bucksport, ME, Colonel Jonathan Buck rests in a tomb in Buck's Cemetery. As the town's founder and namesake, he has a large monument in his honor. Residents were surprised to find a leg-shaped stain marking the front. Though they supposedly had the stone cleaned and replaced the monument twice, the stain would reappear.
Rumors say the stain signifies a curse placed on Buck's memorial by a witch he had burned at the stake. Allegedly, her leg rolled out of the fire, and the phantom limb is haunting him to this day. As creepy as the stain sounds, skeptics point out Buck lived long after the witch hunt craze. Plus, the stain first appeared 75 years after Buck died.
A Massive Snakelike Creature Swims In Chesapeake Bay Off The Maryland Coast
Photo: Paulo JC Nogueira / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0In 1936, military members in a helicopter over Maryland's Bush River claimed to have seen a large, snakelike creature swimming in the water below. People seemingly forgot the story until the 1980s, when more sightings occurred.
In 1982, a family captured a video of the so-called Chessie. Considering this and other firsthand accounts, the Smithsonian determined some type of creature lives in the waters, though the size and species remains uncertain. Chessie believers claim the creature is about 30 feet long and hangs out in the waters of Chesapeake Bay. Since 2014, no reports of new Chessie sightings have emerged, but local environmentalists have used the urban legend to help raise awareness of water pollution.
The Accused Witch Giles Corey Cursed Salem, MA, Leading To Several Tragedies
After the Salem Witch Trials, it's no surprise the Massachusetts town has a witch-related urban legend or two. Many say Giles Corey placed a curse on Salem after townspeople accused him of witchcraft in 1692. Attempting to extract a confession, locals stripped 81-year-old Corey naked and placed heavy rocks on top of him. Corey was allegedly trying to protect his assets, but he remained defiant and refused to confess to anything, and the rocks eventually crushed him to death.
In line with Corey's curse, the sheriff who oversaw Corey's abuse died of a heart attack four years later, and every sheriff up until the 1990s suffered heart problems, different blood diseases, or legal troubles. Corey's ghost allegedly appeared before several major disasters, including the Great Salem Fire of 1914 - which, coincidentally, started near the gallows where 19 alleged witches were once hanged.
A Demon-Possessed Man Allegedly Disposed Of Children's Bodies Under Hell's Bridge In Michigan
Photo: phxhere / Public DomainA narrow, unassuming bridge in the woods near Algoma Township in Michigan sits at the center of a gruesome urban legend. According to stories, a man named Elias Friske killed several children while he was possessed by a demon, and he threw their bodies below the bridge into Cedar Creek. Some say those who stand silently in the middle of the bridge can hear the unfortunate children's cries and screams.
According to history, however, there was never anyone named Elias Friske living in the area, though there is a nearby Friske Road. While many paranormal investigators have dismissed the legend as bunk, many believers insist something terrible still lurks around Hell's Bridge.
Cursed Cannibals Reportedly Roam Minnesota As Wendigos
Photo: Donarreiskoffer / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0Native American folklore tells of terrible creatures called wendigos found in the forests of Minnesota. Some believe they are responsible for many disappearances in the area. According to tales, the creatures have long fangs and glowing eyes, stand over 15 feet tall, and have enormous appetites.
Supposedly wendigos were once human, but turned into monsters after practicing cannibalism. A well-known Cree hunter claimed to have killed a number of wendigos, including one he claimed had possessed a woman.
The Yazoo River Witch Returned 20 Years After Her Death To Burn Down Yazoo City, MS
Photo: Matthew Nichols / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0A woman living along Mississippi's Yazoo River allegedly abused and killed fishermen after luring them to the riverside. When local authorities confronted her in 1884, they found human bones in her house. The Yazoo River Witch fled into the woods and got stuck in quicksand. As she sank, she threatened to return in 20 years to burn down the town.
Allegedly 20 years to the day, a fire started. Unusual winds caused the fire to spread rapidly, and it destroyed the town. Stories also claim the chain-link fence around her grave broke - a grave that still stands today with an unidentified body buried below.
Missouri's Zombie Road Might Be Home To Shouting Ghosts And A Serial Killer
Photo: Desertrose7 / Pixabay / CC0 1.0Built west of St. Louis, MO, in the late 1860s, Lawler Ford Road connected railroad tracks and the Meramec River. It saw its share of history over the years as a path traveled by Native Americans, railroad companies, workers at the nearby limestone quarry, and Civil War spies - then it fell into ruin. In the 1950s, teenagers used the abandoned road for parties or as a lovers' lane.
Different urban legends circulated about killers with hooks for hands, a ghost wandering the railroad tracks, and a creepy woman who screams at passersby. One story claimed a shack-dwelling serial killer named Zombie slayed young lovers, giving Lawler Ford Road the infamous nickname Zombie Road.
A Native American Tragedy Gave Montana's Sacrifice Cliff Its Name
Photo: Sara goth / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0Sacrifice Cliff overlooks Billings, MT, and takes its name from a tragic Native American legend. According to the story, a smallpox epidemic ravaged the Crow tribe around 1833, and many died. Believing their sacrifice would end the outbreak and preserve the rest of their tribe, several Crow tribe members blindfolded their horses and rode with them off the cliff's edge.
A Teacher Went Mad In Nebraska, Cut Out Her Students' Hearts, And Threw Them In A River
Photo: Wesley Fryer / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0Though the town of Portal, NE, has no recorded history of a mass killing, an urban legend alleges it was the site of a gruesome act. The legend says a schoolteacher went mad in the early 1900s and killed all her students. According to some accounts, she decapitated the pupils and placed their heads on top of their desks. The regretful teacher cut out the children's hearts and threw them into a nearby river.
The schoolhouse was relocated to Papillion, where it now functions as a historical building. However, some claim those who stand in the middle of the bridge where the teacher discarded the children's hearts can still hear them beating.
Area 51 In Nevada Inspires Some Of The Biggest Urban Legends In The Country
Photo: X51 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0When the government builds a military base in the middle of a desert in Nevada, then places signs around the perimeter threatening deadly force for trespassing, it's going to start a lot of urban legends. Area 51, one of the most mysterious locations in America, has inspired stories about UFO research, alien autopsies, and a staged moon landing.
There are also rumors about scientists at the base studying time travel and genetic experimentation. Since then, some have disclosed the base functioned as a test site for military aircraft back in World War II. Still, few know the truth about what goes on there.
A Native American Chief Cursed New Hampshire Settlers For His Son's Death
Photo: Kathleen Tyler Conklin / Flickr / CC BY 2.0According to legend, a Pequawket chief named Chocorua lived in New Hampshire in the early 1800s. He had a young son who died after drinking a bottle of poison supposedly belonging to a settler, and Chocorua declared revenge on the settlers. After finding one man's family slain, the settlers chased Chocorua into the mountains, where he climbed atop a rock on the summit and either jumped or died from a fatal gunshot.
Just before he died, Chocorua might have cursed the surrounding land, resulting in horrific storms at the settlements, wolf and bear attacks, faltering crops, and a rash of cattle disease.
An Unknown Watcher Tormented A New Jersey Family With Creepy Letters
Photo: pxhere / Public DomainIn 2014, the Broaddus family purchased a million-dollar home in New Jersey, but before they moved in, they started receiving letters from a self-described "watcher." The letters' mysterious author claimed to have inherited the job of keeping an eye on the house until its "second coming." The family became more concerned when the letters referred to the children as "young blood," and the watcher asked questions like, "Who has the bedrooms facing the street?" and "Have they found out what's in the walls yet?"
The Broaddus family refused to move in and sued the previous owners for selling the house while supposedly knowing about its active stalkers. No one knows the watcher's true identity, and neighbors mostly shrugged off the idea, blaming a local person with mental problems who they say is harmless.
