Remember those urban legends that are whispered to us at sleepovers and shared around campfires? You’re right, those are the stories spread across the internet that we always knew were a hoax. But what if these chilling tales actually turned out to be true? Today, we’re bringing you those 6 urban legends that became a reality.
6. Rats in the Toilet
Have you ever had a fear that some rats would stare at you from your toilet bowl? With plumbing drains being three inches or more wide, that’s not impossible. There were numerous cases which including one from 1999 in Virginia, where a woman was bitten. The problem is common in Seattle, where officials issued public guidance on what to do with an unwanted visitor.
5. The North Pond Hermit
For three decades, the small communities located in North Pond in central Maine were haunted by ghosts. The residents realized that food, batteries, books, and supplies would vanish from their cabins. This started a rumor that there’s a mysterious hermit living in the woods. However, that ghost happened to be Christopher Thomas Knight, who, in 1986, drove to the woods and never spoke with another human for 27 years. He survived by stealing from residents with a technique that avoids detection. Knight was finally caught in 2013 during a break-in.
4. The Bunny Man
Back in the 1970s, teenagers from Virginia whispered about the Bunny Man, who was an escaped asylum patient who attacked rabbits and hung them from the underpass. Eventually, he was said to move on with humans. In October 1970, two separate incidents were reported about a man in a white suit and bunny ears. The first was from a couple who screamed at them for trespassing and threw a hatchet from their windshield. The second was from a security guard who saw him chopping at a porch with an axe. However, the mystery man was never caught.
3. The Funhouse Mummy
You probably heard about the funhouse mummy who turns out to be a real dead body. Well, it was a reality for the crew of the TV show, The Six Million Dollar Man. It happened in 1976 while they were filming at the Nu-Pike Amusement Park in Long Beach, California. One of the crew members moved the hanging mannequin, but its arm broke off which revealing a human bone. They found out that the prop was a real mummified corpse of Elmer McCurdy, a train and bank thief who died in 1911. After, he was given a burial in Oklahoma in 1977.
2. Rogue Waves
For centuries, sailors have always returned to the port with tales about a monstrous, 100-foot wave that appeared in the open ocean. It’s capable of swallowing ships whole. However, they were dismissed by scientists as a myth. But in January 1995, it made an appearance when a laser sensor on the Draupner oil platform in the North Sea reported a massive wave that was 85 feet high. It appeared in a sea of waves that were only 40 feet high. This rogue wave phenomenon confirmed the sailors’ tales.
1. Starlight Tours
During the cold winters in Saskatchewan, Canada, rumors about the Starlight Tours circulated for years in the Indigenous community. They said that Saskatoon police officers would drive the Indigenous people to the outskirts of the city and abandon them, which left them freezing to death. In 2000, it turned out to be true when Darrell Night survived being dropped off in -22°C weather. He was able to identify the officers involved, and an investigation followed. It exposed a series of r*cial abuse by the people who have sworn to protect them.