There are many places in the world, and each one has different urban legends intended to excite, terrify, and delight listeners and readers who encounter them. The ten scariest urban legends on our list hail from a variety of countries including the southern United States, chain letters, bus rides, and many others.
1. Ghost Rider
Number one on our list of scary urban legends is the story of Ghost Rider. I first heard that when I was about thirteen at a slumber party. As I got older I realized that this was an ancient South American story that has been told and retold numerous times over the years with different variations. A teenage girl, distressed from her prom date, was walking home from the school she attended when she was hit and killed instantly by a drunk driver. To this day, her soul wanders the street where she was killed, looking for someone to take her home, only to disappear as soon as she crosses the property line.
2. Bus Killer
The second scary urban legend takes place in speak easy’s time. It’s just as scary if you live in a big city where buses are the only way to travel. A known serial killer was on the loose and the police couldn’t find him. They knew he traveled the bus routes, but what triggered officers was the difference between each route. No murder was committed consistently enough to determine the killer’s location. A salesman/father/mother/sister/brother got on the bus after losing track of time at work/school/hanging out with friends.
A sudden jolt woke them up and they realized that there were two passengers on the bus and they were both staring at them. The one passenger in front of the sleepy passenger leaned forward to get his attention. Finally, completely freaked out, the passenger decides to exit two stops at the designated stop. The next day, newspapers reported that a passenger on the bus who was trying to attract the attention of the sleepy passengers was found dead, stabbed in the back through the seat. The only witness was able to determine the killer’s appearance, but the man described had been dead for several years.
3. Slit mouth woman
The third urban legend took place in Chinaand Japanese folklore. It is about a woman with a slit mouth who is said to be the wife of a samurai. When she was discovered that she had cheated on him, her husband cut her mouth from ear to ear and berated her that she could never die. Rumor has it she still asks people if she’s pretty to them and when they claim she is she shows her scar but when they say they aren’t they die not long after the sighting found.
4. White history
This urban legend was told to me by my adoptive sister, it took place in Scotland and she claims it is a true story. She says there was a little girl who hated being alive so much that she chose to cause her own death. In an effort to erase all trace of her life, her spirit went and killed everyone in her family a few days after her death. According to legend, if you find out about this story, the girl will find you and knock loudly on your door. As the knocking gets louder, you’ll eventually have to open the door, only to find her spirit attacking you to ensure no one else knows of her existence.
5. Winstead Letter
The fifth story I encountered seemed too reminiscent of the blockbuster The Ring, in which a young girl who was tortured and killed by someone else is killed in a watery death just as watery.
6. Greek Soldier
The sixth legend I encountered is from Greece. It’s not as well known as some others from other parts of the world, but a bit romantic in a way. According to legend, a WWII Greek soldier was captured and killed by fellow Greeks who disapproved of the political beliefs of the side our soldier was fighting for. He was killed before he could return to his fiancé, and because of this, his spirit travels the cities near where he lives, seducing and impregnating beautiful women and maidens. After the birth of each child, the mothers find a note from the man who impregnated them, stating that he has returned from the dead long enough to impregnate women for his children to avenge his murder.
7. Bloody Marys
This legend I encountered was one I had heard but never counted as scary; Even after family members reported it as true, showing “scars” proving their words. It’s the story of Bloody Mary. The legend appears to have started in the 1960s, although the exact location is unknown. Although some researchers believe this legend may be as old as the Snow White fairy tale. Basically, it’s a legend that if you turn off all the lights, only candles are burning in the room in front of a mirror, and you chant “Bloody Mary” repeatedly, Mary will appear before midnight that night and kill you. To me this speaks to a failed summoning spell and punishment for the castor for not casting the spell properly.
8. Rose Bride
The eighth urban legend I found was one that was, again, reminiscent of a popular film, The Corpse Bride. It is set in medieval Europe, where there was a young woman named Elisa Day who was more beautiful than the roses that grew along the river of the town where she lived. One day a newbie in town met and fell in love with Elisa and I only dated her three days in a row. On the first day he came to her residence. On the second day, he bought her a red rose and asked her to meet him at the river. On the last day of their courtship, he killed her after waiting for her to turn back and shove her body into the river. To this day, locals claim she still wanders the riverbank, a rose between her fingers.
9. Choking dog
In this Aussie legend, a young couple comes home to discover their dog, a Doberman pinscher, choking on something no one has been able to identify. Concerned, they take their dog to a 24-hour veterinary clinic. When they get home, their phone rings and the vet calls them about their dog. He tells them to leave the house immediately and he called the police to go to their house. Apparently the dog had bitten off the finger of a robber who was willing to kill the couple to get their wealth. The robber was found passed out in her bedroom waiting for her to fall asleep before killing her.
Bonus: Strange Unsolved Mysteries of the World
10. Now to hell
The tenth and final scary urban legend I found is one that is still repeated by many Christians to this day. This legend began in 1989 when a group of Russian scientists drilled a hole in Siberia, located 14.5 kilometers into the earth’s crust. After the equipment was lowered into the hole to record the temperature and possible life forms in the Earth’s crust, the scientists reported that they recorded the sounds of screams. They claimed that a gas cloud erupted from the hole took the form of a large winged demon with wings unfurled. Many people believe this “Well to Hell” legend and repeat it as factual, although there is no evidence that this event occurs.
There are so many other good and scary urban legends in the cultures of the world to choose from. Just take one piece of advice and don’t read these stories in the dark.