Terrifying Urban Legends That Are Horrifying But True

Everyone enjoys a good urban myth or legend; they're great for telling around campfires or at birthday sleepovers. But what if the scary stories you grew up with turned out to be true? The horrifying thing is that most of them are! While many of the tales we hear are exaggerated, myths and legends must stem from somewhere, right?

So, I'm sure your skin will crawl when you read about the real incidents that inspired some of the scariest urban legends still around today. Read below for stories of murder, creepy children, and myths like Slenderman, and finally discover the chilling truths behind these already terrifying tales.

1. The Buckley Children

Susan and John Buckley beheaded their own mother as part of a Halloween joke. They switched the idea of a beheaded dummy for their actual mother and disappeared before anyone realized that the Halloween decoration was a real dead body.

Freaked

2. Dr. Jacquelyn Kotarac

Dr. Kotarac was found dead after she suffocated while lodged in the chimney of her estranged lover's home. She was discovered by a house sitter after the smell became disturbing, and it took a team of firefighters five hours to extract her body.Guim

3. Michelina Lewandowska

This 27-year-old woman was buried alive in 2011 by her then-fiancé. After 'becoming bored' of her, the man taped her up, tasered her, and buried her in a cardboard box. She escaped after over an hour by cutting her way out with her own engagement ring.

Freaked

4. Kuchisake-Onna

This is the legend of a woman who was mutilated after her samurai husband caught her cheating on him with another samurai. To punish her, he slit her face from ear to ear and asked her, "Who will think you are beautiful now?" People now believe that she wanders the streets wearing a medical mask, asking people if they think she is beautiful. Regardless of your answer, after she removes her mask, she kills you.

Freaked

5. Black-eyed Children

There have been many accounts of people encountering these children with black eyes, mostly related to their need to be "let in" somewhere. Understandably, people are terrified of these kids, and one of the most recognized stories surrounding them is that of a journalist named Brian Bethel, whose car was approached by two of these strange children. After claiming they had missed a movie and needed a ride home, they demanded to be let into Brian's car. He drove off, expecting to see them in his rearview mirror, but the two kids had vanished.Freaked

6. Slenderman

Slenderman is an unnaturally tall figure with no face, known to stalk, abduct, or traumatize people, often children. He appears in works of fiction, movies, and video games, and those who idolize or indulge in works surrounding him have been linked to violent and often fatal acts. It is believed that in the late 2000s, he convinced a young girl to commit murder.Kym-cdn

7. Sweet Dreams

On three separate occasions—in 1994 in Miami, in 1996 in Pasadena, and in 2003 in Kansas City—people rented hotel or motel rooms only to be greeted by the sickly sweet stench of decomposing meat. Bodies were later found under the beds in all three cases.Wp

8. Elisa Day

Eliza Day was a beautiful young girl who was courted by a young man. After presenting her with a rose and convincing her he loved her, she went to meet him on the banks of the river where beautiful roses grew. He waited until her back was turned and hit her repeatedly with a rock as he whispered, "All beauty must die." He placed a rose between her teeth and pushed her body into the water, where it was never found again. People now claim that they have seen her ghost walking the banks of the river among the flowers.Freaked

9. The White Death

The White Death is the legend of a young girl who killed herself. Oddly enough, soon after, all her family members died. According to legend, if you discuss her death, she will come knocking on your door to take your life, too.Dewitzphotography

10. Psychic Japan

Psychic Japan was a TV show that discussed spirits and ghosts, aiming to convince people that they existed. Here is a photo taken of an audience member who looked oddly possessed. Is it possible that the ghosts are trying to blend in as normal people?Freaked

11. The Cooper Family

After moving into a new home, the Cooper family decided to celebrate by taking a family photo. When the image of the mother and grandmother with the kids was developed, a ghostly figure could be seen. Whether it's real or not, it sure is creepy.Freaked

12. Cedar Sinai Hospital

In 1972, a young patient escaped from their room and killed two nurses before fleeing from the hospital.Freaked

13. Candle Cult

Numerous murders in Peru in 2009 revealed that the victims had all had their fat drained from their bodies. It is believed that the murders were committed by a cult that then turned the fat into candles and burned them to perform satanic rituals. Men captured from the group also admitted to selling and trading the fat in a human fat trading ring to create products such as perfume and anti-aging cream.Diariomovil

14. Charlie Noonan

Folklorist Charlie Noonan traveled the U.S. chasing down the origins of bizarre and mysterious stories. His last adventure included finding an odd woman whom people reported as seeming "not quite human." She was always followed by a large dog and a disturbing sense of fear. After setting off to find her, Charlie disappeared, never to be seen again. His camera was found in a pawn shop with only one photo waiting to be developed (see above).Freaked

15. The Bunny Man

The Bunny Man legends began in 1970 in Fairfax County, Virginia, when stories emerged about a killer roaming around in a bunny suit, killing people with an axe. Most of the stories center around Colchester Overpass, a southern railway overpass that is now commonly referred to as "Bunny Man Bridge."Spokedark

16. The Bunny Man Copycat

This picture was found in Georgia in 1982, behind a dumpster. It was handed to the police, but to date, the case remains open and unsolved.Freaked

17. Halloween Murder

A 1962 Halloween party turned from fun to horror when a masked man entered the party with a kitchen knife and proceeded to stab seven people to death. He fled the scene and was never captured.Freaked

18. Body in a Rug

In 1984, students from Columbia University found a rolled-up rug stashed near a dumpster by their building. Thinking they had scored a nice new piece of decor, they took it up to their room and prepared to unroll it, only to discover a dead body inside. The police were called and found the body of an African American male in his late twenties with two gunshots to the head.Library

19. No Decoration Is TOO Spooky

In 2005, residents of Delaware were tricked into thinking a hanging body was a Halloween stunt. It wasn't until someone noticed the hanging body was warm and called the police that everyone discovered it was a real woman who had chosen to hang herself about a mile from her home.Freaked

20. Killer Recipes

In late October 2009, professional chef David Viens duct-taped his wife's hands, feet, and mouth after an argument. He left her alone for a period of time, and when he returned, she was dead. Convinced no one would believe that her death was accidental, he stuffed her 105-pound body into a drum of boiling water and cooked her for four days until little but her skull was left. He tried to convince her friends that she had left him and sent fake texts from her phone, but no one believed him, and they reported her missing anyway. When the police began closing in on Viens in 2011, he threw himself off a cliff in an attempt to end his life. He survived the fall but was severely injured and is now sentenced to serve 15 years to life in prison.Dailymail

21. Volcanic Ash

The residents of an island off Peru were forced to wear surgical masks at all times because of an active volcano, which put them at risk of breathing in dust, ash, and other dangerous substances.Freaked