There are countless scary urban legends from all around the world.
Many share similarities – a hitchhiker who vanishes on the journey, a mysterious
creature in a body of water, but the most common theme is just how chilling they are.
Number 5 La Cegua is a creepy figure
of Central American legend and folklore. It seems to have its origins in colonial times
and stories of the monster were brought over from Spain and adapted to local audiences.
As with many legends, the circumstances of the creature can change wildly,
as the message behind the story is more important than the story itself.
La Cegua appears as a beautiful woman to men travelling alone at night. She appears exhausted
and will ask for a ride to the closest town. The men are drawn by her beauty,
or a supernatural charm, and agree to take her. Once in the vehicle – or in colonial times,
on the horse – the woman transforms into a hideous creature with the skull of a horse for a head.
The man will either pass away from fright or will become a broken shell
of a person for the rest of their life. In other versions of the story, her head
remains human in form but covered in rotting meat or hair. She takes the lives of men with a kiss.
The story is supposed to stop men from stopping off at taverns on their way home from work, and
encouraging them to stay faithful and not give in to impure thoughts about vulnerable young women.
But it’s not only a warning for men. The origin of La Cegua varies a lot, but all
stories involve a young woman behaving improperly. In the most famous version of the story,
the creature was once a beautiful woman of Spanish and native decent.
She fell in love with a Spanish officer who tricked her into behaving in an improper way.
He broke her heart and returned to Spain. After he vanished, the woman went insane
and was transformed into the monster, forever destined to take revenge on men.
Other stories have the woman as a terrible woman who neglected her children, and is somewhat
similar to the more famous story of La Llorona. She is also said to have been cursed by her
own mother, when she tried to strike her mother for not letting her go to a party.
It seems the only way to definitively stop La Cegua is to avoid travelling alone.
In some versions of the legend, throwing mustard seeds at the creature can help.
She will stop to pike up the seeds, giving her victim enough time to escape.
Number 4 Bodies in the building are a common legend
around the world. The subjects of the legend range from famous landmarks to local buildings used to
explain disappearances near building sites. Australia is not immune from the morbid myth,
and one of the most famous structures is said to be the final resting place of many workers.
Sydney Harbour Bridge was one of the biggest construction projects in the world
in the early 20th century. It was nicknamed the iron lung because the project kept so many people
employed during the Great Depression. When the bridge was opened in 1932,
nine years after construction began, it was cause for great celebration. At the time,
there was little mention of the tragedies that had helped make the construction possible.
Two months later, with little ceremony, a pla1ue was placed above the steps on
the south side of the bridge, listing the 16 men who lost their lives during construction.
But according to urban legends, three names are missing.
The story goes that three men wound up inside one of the pylons. In some stories they fell
in during construction, but the officials did not want to halt work to retrieve the bodies
and the three men were entombed inside. In other stories, the men sought shelter
from the heat inside and spent the night drinking and smoking. The next morning,
while they lay sleeping inside, the pylon was capped and the men were trapped.
It was a few days before anyone realised the men were missing,
and the overseers realised what had happened. The petitioned the officials to allow them
to reopen the pylon to retrieve the bodies, but it was deemed too costly.
This wasn’t the end of the story though. The men’s spirits lingered in the area.
Workers would pour alcohol over the edge to appease them, but it wasn’t enough. A
number of the confirmed deaths are said to be caused by the spirits, including that of
Henry Waters, who passed away in April 1926. Officially he passed away in a quarry crash,
but according to the stories the incident was much more inexplicable. Sudden high winds caused the
crane he was operating to destabilise. He got out and began running to safety when he became
rooted to the spot beneath the heavy stone he had been lifting. Then the rope snapped.
Henry was allegedly the crane operator who had capped the pylon.
The story has almost definitely been embellished over the years, but whether there’s any truth
to the three unidentified men trapped in the famous landmark remains a mystery.
Number 3 There’s something about empty subway
or underground stations that are particularly eerie. Even something as simple as catching the
last train of the night from an active subway station can leave a commuter feeling uneasy.
Perhaps it’s the fact they’re designed to be busy, so the lack of people stands out.
But a subway station that’s no longer in use takes the creepy factor to another level.
Add in a creepy urban legend about an unexplained ghost and the Lower Bay Subway Station in Toronto
manages to becoming one of the most chilling stations in the world.
The Lower Bay station sits directly below Bay Station, which is still an active and
busy part of Toronto’s transit system. On the surface, visitors likely don’t notice
the few signs that another station lies just a few meters below them. The tiling on the
walls is slightly mis-matched as it had to cover the entrance to the lower platform,
and the doors that still lead down there just look like any other service doors.
The lower platform was opened at the same time as the upper station,
but it was part of a short-lived experiment to connect different lines. The experiment was
abandoned after just six months, allegedly because passengers found the new layouts too confusing.
Today the station is used for training and turning trains around when necessary.
It has also featured in numerous films that feature subway stations, often
dressed up to resemble a New York City station. But Toronto Transit Commission workers claim
there is something else living down there. The Lady in Red as she has been dubbed is
the spirit of a woman dressed in red. She has no legs, or not any that have been seen, and
instead glides along the tracks. Some sources also say she has no eyes, and workers that have seen
her refuse to return to the tunnels where she was witnessed. Others have felt drafts where they say
it’s not natural for a draft to be, or cold spots that leave them filled with anxiety or dread.
Orbs have also been witnessed. Who the woman is remains unknown. It has
been suggested it might be the spirit of someone who jumped or was pushed in front of a train
during the station’s short life, but there is no record of such an incident taking places.
Other sources have reported the station was built on the site of an old Potter’s Field,
a graveyard for the poor. The people that were laid to rest in the cemetery were all
moved before building took place, but perhaps the Lady in Red’s remains were left behind.
For now, the spirit seems to be confined to the lower platform, and there are no reports
of her trying to make herself known to passengers on the busy subway line.
Number 2 This chilling story sounds like a work of fiction
and, while many people dismiss it as just that, others insist the legend is true.
In Philadelphia, there is allegedly a bus unlike any other. From the outside it looks
like any other city bus, though it does not display a destination and cannot be found on
any of the transit maps in the city. Waiting at a bus stop for it to come will get you nowhere.
The only way to get on the bus is if the entity deems you worthy.
The Bus to Nowhere, as it’s been called, appears only to people at the lowest point in their lives.
These people are filled with such despair that they cannot imagine living another day.
While walking alone on a Philadelphia street at night, they will see a bus pass them which,
for some reason, they know will take them to where they want to be. If you ignore the bus, you
will not get a chance, but if you try to flag it down, the bus will stop and you can get onboard.
Most people forget everything that happens after this point, but the people who have retained their
memories say no fare was requested and the driver simply gestured for them to sit down.
The new passenger joined a number of others all sat on the bus in silent contemplation.
If they gaze out of the window, they will see nothing. While they’re aware
the bus is moving and there is a world outside, it cannot be seen.
For hours, the passenger will reflect on everything that’s led them to feel this despair.
They deconstruct what has happened, what they did wrong, and what they could have done differently.
It’s only when everything has been laid out in their minds that the passenger can move on from
the grief and despair they have been feeling. At that moment, city lights will be visible
outside and the passenger pulls the cord. The bus comes to a stop at the same place
where the passenger got on board. Some passengers have reported,
even though they experienced only hours, weeks or even months have gone past in the real world.
Others have said they’ve been able to go back and make amends for the mistake they previously made.
All those who have reported being on the bus, whether they remember what happened or not,
said they turned their lives around afterwards. This story sounds too strange to be true,
and first arrived on the internet in 2011. The author said it was a work of fiction but
many people claim otherwise, and it’s possible it has more truth than the author even knew.
Number 1 Flat Bridge in Jamaica
is one of the oldest bridges in the country, and one of the most dangerous.
Built using slave labour in the 18th century,
an unknown number of slaves lost their lives during construction. Ever since, the water below
has apparently demanded sacrifices and motorists and pedestrians alike have lost their lives here.
The bridge is located in St Catherine’s Parish. It’s on a relatively busy route,
but the bridge itself is only a single lane and traffic is managed with lights.
Many attribute the high accident rate on the bridge to careless driving, and that almost
certainly plays a part. Impatient travellers have been known to skip the cues at lights
and try to cut across the bridge while vehicles are coming in the other direction. But many
locals believe something more sinister is afoot. For a start, many of the accidents may have been
less tragic if something like railings were placed on the sides of the bridge.
But each time such a structure has been put in place, heavy storms have washed them away.
This is said to be the work of The River Mumma, a mermaid that lives below the bridge.
According to creepy legends, when the river water turns a bright green, that indicates the mermaid
wants a sacrifice, and an accident is soon to occur. Cars stop working for no apparent reason
or are otherwise pulled into the water, where rescuers have been unable to save the occupants.
Once the mermaid has had her meal, the water returns to normal and the accidents stop.
One resident, a man referred to as Roaster, showed his relatives a giant fish scale
he claimed came from the mermaid. He told them he was going to catch it. Roaster drowned in
the river. When his remains were found, it was discovered he had broken a hand and his neck,
and a string of fish had been tied to his shorts. His neighbours blamed the mermaid.
Also supposedly lingering around the bridge are the ghosts of slaves who passed away
during construction. They have also been blamed for some of the accidents.