Urban legends are generally fictional folkloric tales that are told as warnings of worst-case-scenarios. They usually involve a “friend of a friend” or maybe even a distant cousin of whomever might be telling the story. They’re often creepy, sometimes terrifying — and sometimes gross. If you’ve ever been frightened or worried by one of these stories, you’ve probably been assured that these are all fictional tales that have minimal basis in reality. Sadly, that’s not always true. The following scary urban legends have actually happened in real life, and are far from fictional stories.
Insects hatching out of bites or “red spots” on your face and body
The most popular variation of this urban legend involves a bunch of baby spiders hatching out of a red spot or bite on a woman’s face. There are countless versions of this one — all of them absolutely horrifying and grotesque — but did you know that this is something that has actually happened? There are indeed certain insects which are known to burrow in human skin to lay their eggs. The bot fly is one notorious insect that can burrow itself in the eyes of animals and people. One horrifying example of this urban legend happening in real life involved a UK woman who went to the hospital in 2017 for painful lesions on her arms and legs. At first doctors thought she had been bitten by some kind of insect, so they gave her some meds and sent her home. Unfortunately, the doctors were wrong, and the woman had to go back to the emergency room shortly after being discharged. Come to find out, the painful “bug bites” on her arms and legs were actually several embedded larvae of an insect known as the tumbu fly.
Poisoned or Tainted Halloween candy
The mass fear of tainted Halloween candy being given to children during trick-or-treating has existed for many, many, many years. Because of this, numerous urban legends have circulated regarding this horrifying concept. One variation involves a trick-or-treater biting happily into a candied apple, only to find that razor blades have been embedded into it. Other versions of this urban legend involve needles and blades inserted into mini candy bars and the sort. In recent times, the urban legends involving Halloween candy have involved illicit drugs and poisons. There’s a reason why this particular fear has persisted over the decades: It’s actually happened before. In 2019, a Connecticut man was arrested for allegedly handing out razor blades in the halloween candy he was giving to trick-or-treaters. As far as poisoning goes, in the 1970s a man was arrested and convicted of killing his own eight-year-old son using poisoned Halloween candy. His name was Ronald Clark O’Bryan.
Murderers hiding in the backseats of cars
This has always been a scary and popular urban legend — so popular in fact, that it’s widely troped in slasher flicks. There are numerous variations and retellings, but the end point is always that some kind of stalker or murderer has put his or herself in the backseat of a vehicle, unbeknownst to their victim. The moral of the story, of course, is to always check your backseat before getting in your car. It’s sound advice, because this is actually something that has happened in real life. Just last year a young Idaho couple were stunned to discover a man hiding in the backseat of their car — and probably even more stunned when the man wasn’t arrested, but was instead simply charged with unlawful trespass. In 2018, a Tennessee woman was lucky to escape with her life after a man hid in her backseat in order to assault her. The victim had left her car unlocked at a gas station for about 10 minutes when she was supposed to be “in and out” — but that was enough time for her life to be put in immediate danger. In 2018 a Pasadena, Texas woman was also lucky to survive after a man hid in the backseat of her car and threatened to kill her. These examples are the lucky ones. There’s no telling how many missing and murdered women fell victim to this so-called “urban legend.”
Strangers hiding under beds and licking hands or feet
An old popular urban legend involves a teenage girl who believed her dog was licking her hand at night as it dangled over the edge of the bed while she slept. To the teen’s horror, as the story would go, she’d discover that it was never her dog, but instead a man who’d been hiding under her bed without her knowledge. This highly disturbing and super specific urban legend may seem really farfetched, but people truly are weird, and these things have indeed happened in real life. In 2020, a Florida man woke up to a home intruder sucking on his toes. Strangely, the Florida Toe Sucker might have struck more than once.
Chelsea Hoffman is a true crime writer with over a decade of professional writing experience. She is best known for her coverage of missing people including the tragic disappearance of Madeleine McCann as well as the heartbreaking cases of Dylan Redwine, Heather Elvis and many others.
