What urban legends are there

One of the more popular theories is that a local miner, who tragically lost his head in a mining accident, is now wandering the area by lamp light searching for the lost appendage. The original legend begins with Carol Ann Smith, a woman who went by several names in the Tulsa area in Supposedly under hypnosis or some kind of hex, Carol forced them to live in cages with barely any food for over seven years.

They were only allowed outside to go to work and even gave Smith their paychecks at the promise of great rewards. Smith lived off several life insurance policies she had been collecting under suspicious circumstances. It is widely believed she planned on taking out insurance on the two women as well. Smith was never charged with murder, but did jail time after the investigation.

Upon her release, she fled the state. The house was a popular spooky site visited by teenagers until it was torn down in Ever since, there have been accounts of other people who have simply vanished into a mysterious alternate dimension in the same way. This seemingly normal home in Tulsa was the site of mysterious happenings following the Great Depression in the s.

It was eventually named the Hex House. Photo Credit: Tulsa World. Continue reading below A special thanks to our advertisers. Bigfoot — Talihina Bigfoot stories have been a staple of southeast Oklahoma for decades. The children in her care are often murdered. With advances in mobile phone technology expect this to develop into Snapchat based horror or killers using Tinder to track down their victims.

A truly modern modern myth, Slender Man started online as part of a competition to Photoshop pictures to include a supernatural element. User 'Victor Surge' added a suited, faceless, unnaturally tall figure into two black and white photos which were copied and distributed virally over the net.

Since then, millions of authors, mostly online, have shared and spread the story on websites such as Creepypasta. The Slender Man's MO is to abduct people, often children who seem to willingly go with the figure never to be seen again, making him a terrifying version of the Pied Piper. New urban legends will almost certainly have some sort of viral online element. Jeff the Killer is a similar, facially disfigured internet meme. Top 10 urban legends.

From Bloody Mary to 'the spider bite', urban myths have inspired countless creepy books and films — here James Dawson shares his 10 favourites and explores their roots and influence. One of the most enduring urban myths: The "spider bite". We know it's not true but… agghhhh! Bloody Mary Perhaps the most famous modern myth, this tale suggests that if you are to look in the mirror and say "Bloody Mary" a specified number of times, something will happen.

The hookman Another campfire must, this tale features an amorous young couple out for a drive when the radio informs them a hook-handed lunatic has escaped from a local institution. Freaky food Recently, outraged internet people were taken in by claims that popular fast food outlet KFC were breeding genetically mutated chickens for their burgers. The licked hand In this popular tale, a scared girl or sometimes an old woman listens to an ominous dripping coming from within her home.

The kidney heist In this tale, a young man is either seduced by a beautiful woman or pays for an escort. Location, location, location As someone eager to get on the property ladder, I don't know how bothered I'd be to check what my house was built on, but you might want to get a surveyor to have a look. Chain letters You know this one. The Slender Man A truly modern modern myth, Slender Man started online as part of a competition to Photoshop pictures to include a supernatural element.

James Dawson is up for the Queen of Teen award. Deformities cited as film defects by officials. Fire at library occurred one week later. Actual photograph confiscated as evidence. We didn't want to go, we didn't want to kill them, but its persistent silence and outstretched arms horrified and comforted us at the same time… — , photographer unknown, presumed dead.

His descriptions are chilling, for sure — but perhaps part of the appeal lay in the gaps of Surge's story, which leave space for us to project our own imagination. This video is no longer available. Our brains, it seems, have only so much room for the bizarre before it becomes too confusing to be enjoyable.

Consider Little Red Riding Hood. Tehrani recently examined the evolution of the Bloody Mary myth — that if you chant an incantation into the mirror, a mutilated face will appear before you. In terms of their wider themes, psychologists have found that, perhaps unsurprisingly, the most popular tales also tend to evoke strong emotions — and the feeling of disgust seems to make a story particularly potent.

Julie Coultas at the University of Sussex recently asked subjects to read and share different versions of common urban legends, some more disgusting than others. As the woman fumbles with her order for a delicious steak, the dog trots into the kitchen. It is only when the bill comes, minus the cost of the meat, that she realises she has eaten her beloved pet. Even a year later, the students were still struck by the tale, she says. Perhaps that can explain why urban legends are so often in very bad taste.

We are also drawn to themes of survival — which is why many stories deal with life and death. That makes sense, given our evolution — stories would have been an important way of transmitting valuable information that could save our skin at a later point. His participants were given a choice of tales and asked to choose one to read, remember and pass on to another person.