Transylvania is a region of Romania chock-full of history and legends.
The most famous terror to come out of Transylvania has to be the vampire.
Many make dubious claims to their origins and legitimacy, but there’s no shaking that
image.
There’s even the popular animated movie series Hotel Transylvania at this point to
back it up.
But vampires are only the beginning, and don’t get me started on Count Dracula.
Transylvania is a beautiful region, full of ancient forests, medieval villages, and breathtaking
mountains.
All of this combined means that there are some lesser-known urban legends in this picturesque
area.
Hello horror heads, and welcome back to the scariest channel on YouTube: Top5ScaryVideos.
I’m your horror host, Keegan Hughes, and today we’re going to be taking a look at
the Top 5 Scary Urban Legends from Transylvania.
Before we get started, make sure to give this video a big thumbs up, and subscribe for more
regional rigour.
Outrageous, let’s begin.
NUMBER FIVE: THE PIED PIPER We should all know the tale of the Pied Piper
at this point.
This legend slash fairytale dates way back, and has different regional variations.
Some say the flutist drew snakes away from a town, others say it was rats.
In various versions of the story, Mr. Pied Piper can be portrayed as generous, greedy,
benevolent, or evil.
It’s all up to the storyteller.
However, in Transylvania’s version, he was a terrifying hypnotist.
See, at one point there was an abundance of rats in a small German town.
The townsfolk didn’t know what to do until the Pied Piper showed up.
Using his bewitching tunes, he paraded the rats out of town, never to return.
He came back to the village, expecting to be lauded as a hero and paid a sum of money,
and neither of these things happened.
He did his very best to convince the townsfolk that his services were worth their weight
in gold, but they never did pay him.
This made him quite upset.
Leaving the town, he came up with a horrible revenge scheme.
The next week, he returned, musical instrument in hand.
This time, the goal was not rats or other pests.
No, he wanted to lure away the town’s children.
And so he did, playing a new, hypnotizing song that tugged at the hearts and minds of
all of the kids around.
He once again paraded out of town, but this time with their future in tow.
By the time all of the adults realized what had happened, it was too late.
What did the Pied Piper do with these children?
Well, there are different theories.
A particularly grim idea is that he led them right off a cliff, like human lemmings.
Yikes.
Another, less terrible one, which will link us to Transylvania, is that he led them to
a cave in the region and sealed it up.
Eventually, they did escape, and settled in the Romanian countryside.
Some say that is why you can find plenty of blonde-haired, blue-eyed German speakers in
the area.
NUMBER FOUR: THE LIARS BRIDGE Oh, you’re all in trouble.
I see you down in the comments, posting “first” like ten comments deep, claiming that you
don’t like my shirts.
I know fraud when I see it.
Nobody better try to cross this bridge, unless you’re down to die.
Okay, I’ll elaborate.
There’s a bridge in Sibiu that has quite the reputation.
It is said that anyone who lies while crossing will cause it to collapse.
It’s that serious.
This legend has become so popular that many brides-to-be are required to declare their
love and purity while crossing it.
If they’re being dishonest… well…
Of course, there’s no way that the bridge would still be standing if this were really
the case, people love to lie.
However, some have a less dramatic tale to tell: the bridge will make certain noises
upon the delivery of a lie.
This could have something to it.
The origins of the lying bridge are up in the air, but there are a few different explanations.
Some claim that lying or adulterous spouses and finances would be tossed off the bridge
if their impropriety was discovered.
This would definitely explain the modern practices associated with the bridge.
Others say that merchants who cheated their customers would be met with the same fate.
Overcharge or sell something under false pretenses, and take a dip.
It could also originate with the tales of cadets coming to town, wooing local lasses,
promising them the world, and disappearing forever.
I would say all of these scenarios could result in a bridge famous for ending liars.
Would you be willing to take a stroll across its footpath?
NUMBER THREE: BAU-BAU It really does seem that every culture has
their own version of the Boogeyman.
I suppose parents really do get fed up with their young children, eh?
Something we can all relate to.
Bau-Bau is exactly that: a Romanian boogeyman.
However, I find this figure to be even scarier than a lot of other children-snatchers.
See, the Bau-Bau stays in the same home as the kids.
This cloaked figure is believed to appear whenever children misbehave, and is always
waiting for his chance from a hiding place in the house.
Sometimes it’s the broom closet, other times it’s the store room.
Either way, I bet this knowledge scared the daylights out of a bunch of Transylvanian
kids.
Imagine playing around, and coming face-to-face with the door concealing a mysterious man
who will take you away for acting up.
With this knowledge, I bet the kids were actually quite well-behaved.
Unlike boogeymen in other cultures, the kidnappings only last for a little while.
The Bau-Bau will grab disobedient kids and hold onto them for a year.
So you don’t immediately get turned into soup, or drowned in a river, but instead you
have to live with this terrifying man for an entire year.
No friends, no family, no good food, just hard work and a scary supervisor.
If anyone did get taken away, it probably scarred them for life.
After the year, they get returned home, and I’m sure their life will never be the same.
NUMBER TWO: THE GHOSTS OF TELEKI MANSION Here we go: some real Transylvanian ghost
stories.
The region is known for its beautiful architecture and castles, so it’s no surprise that all
sorts of ghastly tales are attached to the ornate buildings.
Unfortunately, Dracula’s castle is Bram Stoker’s invention, and doesn’t really
exist.
But there are plenty more spooky facades where that came from.
One such tale originates in the Teleki Mansion.
This run-down and abandoned building was once an extravagant abode, but these days most
locals do their best to avoid it.
It’s actually relatively close to the university town of Cluj-Napoca, in a smaller town called
Ocna Mures.
Legend says that this mansion is haunted by the drunken ghosts of soldiers.
During the second world war, a squad of soldiers broke into the mansion.
They had heard there was plenty of good wine in the cellars, and decided it would be a
good night to imbibe.
After locating the gigantic barrels, they had themselves a grand old time.
As soldiers tend to do when given downtime with lots of alcohol, they got drunk.
A little too drunk, probably.
I say this because they ended up goofing around with their guns, firing them inside of the
mansion.
After causing a mess and a half, one unlucky marksman hit an unintended target.
His bullet pierced one of the gigantic barrels, which started to flood the cellar.
In all likelihood, multiple giant barrels were punctured.
Gallons and gallons of wine rushed into the underground room, drowning the soldiers before
they could escape.
I suppose that’s as good a way to go as any: drowning in wine.
Although I think the soldiers might have enjoyed it a little more in their bellies rather than
in their lungs.
NUMBER ONE: PEOPLE-EATING LAKES Sorry all you Great Lake Swimmers out there,
Transylvanian bodies of water tend to be a little more aggressive than others.
Of course, they don’t actually eat people, but they drown enough experienced swimmers
that folks started to claim that they had an appetite.
One such lake is Lake Vindrel, which is well-known for devouring even the most skillful swimmer.
Remember folks, don’t eat right before swimming, always go with a buddy, and try to avoid voracious
waterways.
If the disappearances of swimmers wasn’t enough, locals have also been known to find
floody chunks of people floating around.
That doesn’t usually happen when someone drowns, right?
Another lake famous for consuming is Lezer Lake.
Apparently this oversized puddle once drowned an entire town.
Something gave way, causing the lake to flood in and envelop everything.
Neighbouring towns thought the church was celebrating something, based on all the noise
the bells were making.
Nope, the bells were ringing because the church was literally sinking.
So yeah, you better watch your back around those Transylvanian lakes.
They’ll grab you before you can say backstroke.
OUTRO Does that change anyone’s travel aspirations?
Probably not, the spooky mysteries are a big draw for a lot of folks visiting Romania.
Just don’t go looking for Dracula’s castle, eh?
So what did you think of the list?
Were you familiar with these legends beforehand?
Which is your favourite?
Are there any Romanians watching today?
Make sure you let me know down in the comments.
Speaking of comments, let’s take a look at some of your more egregious ones from the
TOP 5 SCARY MOVIES ABOUT SCARY MOVIES: Reuben Wilson says “Top5ScaryHost says what?”
WHAT?
Duke Goodrev says “Behind the Mask: the Rise of Leslie Vernon… one of the best horror
movies about horror movies.”
Ahhh I knew someone would call me out on not including that gem.
If there’s a part II, you’ll be hearing more about it.
Matthew Richard says “When the Waylan Brothers made Scary Movie, in an interview they said:
they basically set out to make a not-so-subtle parody of horror movies that Scream was subtly
doing.”
Oh you can definitely feel that when you watch them.
They’re goofy, sure, but the Scary Movies are definitely love letters to horror as a
whole.
F0ckdumont says “Lamberto Bava needs to do Demons 3 now, it’s overdue.”
Yes!
Demons for the streaming era.
Causing problems for everyone with a Shudder subscription.
Carolanne LaBelle Karlin says “Hahahaha!
Do you right your own dialogue?
You’re definitely the funniest host???
Happy birthday!”
It’s basically all I do, all day every day!
Thank you!
And that’s all the time we have for today!
Before I play a tri-tone in front of a medieval audience, make sure to give this video a big
thumbs up, and subscribe for more pernicious myths!
Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you next time!