Urban Legends are stories that circulate as true -- they’re usually creepy tales of
men in the woods, creatures under your bed, or even paranormal entities in the mirror
waiting to capture you if you say their name. For the most part these stories are fictitious,
spread from family to family, in order to scare children into being good and staying
home. However, saying that, some of these stories are actually based in reality, and
that thought is absolutely terrifying. So today on Top 5 Scary Videos, I’m going to
be counting down our list of the Top 5 Scary Urban Legends That Came True. Before we begin
though, be sure to stick around until the end of the video where I’ll be responding
to some of your comments, and with that, let’s jump in.
5 Rats In The Toilet Urban Legends about animals in sewers have
been rife throughout history, with the most notable being the alligators and crocodiles
in the sewers of New York, which for the most, actually turned out to be true. However, the
thought of finding something in your toilet, inches away from vulnerable areas of your
body, well, that’s something nobody wants to think about. While the alligators and crocodiles
are a far reach, this legend seems to have some elements of truth. A toilet drain is
just wide enough for a rat to climb up, first and foremost, with the animals being attracted
to sewage lines due to undigested food in feces. They follow the pipes and boom, wind
up in your toilet bowl. Back in 1999, a woman in Virginia got a nasty fright when she went
to the toilet and found a rat there waiting for her. Honestly, I’ve never feared a toilet
before, but I certainly do now. Apparently this has happened enough times for public
officials to put out a warning: if you encounter a rat in your toilet, close the lid and flush.
Godspeed.
4 The Bunny Man The Bunny Man is an urban legend that originated
from in Fairfax County, Virginia back in 1970. The legend has many variations, but for the
most part involves a man wearing a rabbit costume who attacks people with an axe or
hatchet. Most of the stories occur around Colchester Overpass, a Southern Railway overpass
spanning Colchester Road near Clifton, Virgina, sometimes referred to as “Bunny Man Bridge”.
In the tale, an escape mental patient takes to gutting bunnies and hanging them from a
bridge, when later escalated to the madman hanging teens in a similar manner. However,
the legend is based out of reality. Following extensive research into the Bunny Man, the
legend was linked to two cases of a man in a rabbit costume threatening people with an
axe. With the vandalism reports occurring ten days apart in 1970 in Burke, Virginia.
The first incident occurred on the night of October 19, 1970 by US Air Force Academy Cadet
Robert Bennett and his fiancee, who were visiting relatives in Burke. While returning from a
football game that evening, they reportedly parked their car in a field to visit an uncle
who lived across the street. As they sat in the car, they noticed something moving outside
the rear window. Moments later, the front passenger window smashed, and there stood
a figure in a bunny costume. As they drove away, the couple discovered a hatchet on the
car floor. The second reported sighting occurred on the night of October 29, 1970, when construction
security guard Paul Phillips approached a man standing on the porch of a home on Guinea
Road. The man was wearing a white bunny costume, and appeared to be around 20 years old. According
to Paul the man stated, I quote: “You are trespassing. If you come any closer, I’ll
chop off your head.” Now, while neither incidents resulted in death or disembowelment,
the thought of an adult in a bunny costume wielding a hatchet is absolutely terrifying.
3 Polybius Polybius is an urban legend that emerged back
in the early 2000s, with it concerning a supposedly fictitious arcade game called Polybius. The
legend describes the game as part of a government-run crowdsourced psychology experiment which was
based in Portland, during 1981. According to the legend, the game apparently produced
intense psychoactive and addictive effects in players, with the machines being said to
have been periodically visited by men in black for the purpose of data-mining the machines
and analyzing the effects. Now, while the entire legend doesn’t quite hold up, there
are some pieces that are actually based in fact. Brian Dunning, host of the Skeptoid
podcast, did some digging and discovered that a 12-year-old named Brian Maurp had become
sickened during a 28-hour marathon video game contest in Portland back in 1981. Just a few
short days later, the portland arcades were raided by federal agents, who seized cabinets
that were being used for gambling. Combine these two events and add some fictitious elements
and you have the legend of polybius.
2 Candyman The Candyman is an urban legend that tells
the story of a murdered slave who returns from the dead in search of revenge if you
say his name 5 times. In 1992, a Candyman movie was released based on the short story
“The Forbidden” by Clive Barker. This in turn sparked two sequels, as well as a
slew of paranormal games that friends dare each other to play. According to the urban
legend, if you look into a mirror and chant the name “Candyman” five times, he will
appear behind you and kill you with his hook. Now, although this is a legend and you will
likely not invoke him by saying his name, there is some reality to the story. In the
Candyman movie, after saying his name 5 times, Candyman breaks through the medicine cabinet
in a bathroom in order to kill his victim. This part is factual, believe it or not. Back
in 1987, the Chicago Reader published a story about Ruth McCoy, a woman living in a Chicago
housing project who called 911 insisting she was being attacked. When responders arrived,
they found her shot body, with investigators determining that her assailants had gained
access to her unit by climbing through her medicine cabinet which adjoins the apartments.
The complex was supposedly built that way so that plumbers could attend to leaks by
simply removing the cabinet to reach the pipes. However, this in turn resulted in people using
this method to burgle an murder. Absolutely terrifying.
1 Cropsey Once upon a time, Cropsey was a mere urban
legend; the boogeyman of Staten Island in New York City. Cropsey was rumored to be a
homicidal madman who had escaped from a mental institution and had a hook for a hand, who
supposedly hunted children and dragged them back to the tunnel system under an abandoned
Hospital. Parents would often use Cropsey as a way to frighten their children into being
good and staying close to home. The urban legend became so popular it inspired a 1981
slasher movie called The Burning, which very quickly became a cult classic. However, what
was thought to be fiction quite quickly became reality. In the 1980s, Cropsey came to life
in the form of a deranged killer who really did kidnap children. He was called Andre Rand.
Rand was a janitor at the Willowbrook State School on Staten Island which would eventually
be closed in 1987, due to corporate punishment and rampant sexual abuse. In 1981, Holly Ann
Hughes did not return home after going to the store to buy soap. Rand pulled up, pulling
Holly into his car and drove away. Then again in 1983, 11 year old Tiahease Jackson was
reported missing after her mother had sent her to purchase food, she never returned.
She was last seen exiting the Mariner’s Harbor Motel in Staten Island,days after Rand
had been released from prison. Then in 1987, Jennifer Schweiger was reported missing, and
her body was later found underground after a 35-day search. Rand was ultimately convicted
of the crime. A documentary about the madman was made entitled Cropsey, in which they speculate
that Rand may have been involved with Satanism and provided the children to be sacrificed.
Ultimately, Rand was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, with eligibility for parole
in 2037, at which time he will be 93 years old.
Well, there we have it! Do you guys agree with our list? Were there any scary Urban
Legends that we missed? Leave us all your thoughts and feelings in the comments down
below and perhaps we can do a part 2. Before I go though, I just want to respond to a few
comments from one of our last videos, Top 5 Scary Horror Movies That Are Haunted.
Romell Lowery said: “Hey Lucy are you related to the Dark Goddess, the Morrigan.” ---
Richard Clark said: “Sorry to pull you up Lucy, but Heather O’Rourke actually died
after filming Poltergeist 3 not 2.” ---
BarzaRomanov said: “I heard that the filming of The Craft had paranormal activity throughout
the filming.” ---
Karen NoLastName said: “My brain: Yo, let’s watch creepy stuff at 2am” ---
And on that note, if you haven’t already, be sure
to give this video a big thumbs up, subscribe, and turn on notifications so you never miss
another Scary vid. And until next time, see ya later.