urban legend

Urban legends have captivated us from ancient eras to the modern day; a deep dive into scary lore and 'could be true' tales about Bigfoot, Slender Man, the Suicide Forest and beyond.

The Maniac in Back!
This is something Debra told me happened to her back in the 80s. True story, man, and the woman it happened to never forgot it. It was, as they say, a real "close shave."
By Tom Baker7 years ago in Horror
The Girl with the B52 Hairdo
Madge was forever spraying her hair, ogling herself in front of that old, cracked dresser mirror. She liked that song, oh what was it? The Ronettes! Yes, "Be My Baby." The song they later used in that movie Mean Streets. That was maybe '62 or '63, I guess. Well, you know what became of Phil Spector. But, anyway.
By Tom Baker8 years ago in Horror
Vampires in America
What is your favorite movie about Vampires? I was a '70s baby, so depending on your age, your answer may differ from my generation. Perhaps, like me, you're old enough to remember the release of 1979's Love at first bite with George Hamilton, or Jim Carrey in Once Bitten from 1985. Lauren Hutton acted as the leading blood-sucking seductress, and he was still a newbie actor. I have yet to see Bela Lugosi in the famous Nosferatu from the 1920's, I have to confess because it feels like a sin. But Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder in Dracula (above pic from 1992) is the ultimate in fantasy Vampire movies. Long before that movie was made, I had read the book written by Bram Stoker, and had loved it! For some, the first movie about these nocturnal creatures who crave the life force of blood to retain their supernatural powers and forever ceases the aging process, can't get better than the 'Twilight' Sagas. I watched the movies AFTER I read the books. I had started to write my own Vampire novella in 2005, so not only did I want to see how the author stood in comparison, but also just because I refuse to go along with trends. So, it was pretty embarrassing when I wound up in the theater, slinking down in my seat amongst screaming tweens for 'New Moon', the second movie of the Twilight saga!
By Lady Sunday8 years ago in Horror
Little Bowser
Ohmigod! You just have to hear all about the strange dream I had last night! No, really, it was so gross. I was driving through this place that looked like a desert; but, it wasn't really a desert; it looked like some housing addition that was set up out on the edge of a desert land. Or maybe some place in Nevada. Ground was all hardscrabble and rock; the roads were torn up with potholes pretty bad.
By Tom Baker8 years ago in Horror
Baked!
Okay, this really happened. Happened long ago. Maybe 45 years, maybe 50. Who knows. I don't know, but I'll tell you the story.
By Tom Baker8 years ago in Horror
The Ones That Got Away!
I've written about "urban legends"--those apocryphal little horror stories told around offices and break rooms, and now shared as "creepy pasta" on the wild, terror-filled domains of the Internet--for many, many years, publishing one book, Scary Urban Legends (Schiffer, 2010), as well as an unpublished sequel Scary Horror Legends, that I have, nonetheless, cannibalized, off and on, whenever the occasion arises. I'm pretty much enamored with the genre--the weird, dislocating, timeless anonymity, the "everyman" nature of the undeveloped narrative protagonists; the way it exposes the hideous truth lurking just below the surface of bourgeois, suburban American society. Each legend has about it a sense of BEWARE: THIS could happen to ME, YOU, ANYONE OF US. Each nightmare vignette reminds me of what Stephen King once wrote about a short story being like, "A kiss from a lover in the dark."
By Tom Baker8 years ago in Horror
Quinceañera
Part 1 The bustle and fluster that occurs around the quinceañera (kínseh - ani - éra) is a tradition that dates back to the Aztecs from around 500 B.C. Boys were psyched up for warrior-hood, and girls were prepared for marriage. Prior to this turning point, a girl would have been taught to cook and weave, and she would have been talked to about childbearing. After the arrival of the Europeans and with the mingling of cultures, girls came to be seen as the carriers of heirs, the ambassadors of feudal clans, the hope of familial extensions… and for some, it may have been decided that they might best represent their parentage by consigning themselves to nunneries.
By r. nuñez8 years ago in Horror
Legendary Lives
Vampires, werewolves, and time travelers—the stuff of horror movies, comic books, and bad television pilots, typically for shows that last about ten episodes before finding their way to the mass grave of cancellation, never to be resurrected. Such beings exist only in the childish fantasies of writers and artists, dreamers and gamer-geeks who refuse to grow up—or grow old. Right?
By Tom Baker8 years ago in Horror
When the Abyss Stares Back
Ever since I was a child, I have been afflicted with what I have recently dubbed “the horror gene.” It runs in my mother’s side of the family and skips a generation. My maternal grandfather had it; the varying four-foot tall stacks of horror films in his house certainly attested to that. Now, I have him to thank, for that very same morbid fascination with darkness and fear is in my own blood.
By Becca Volk8 years ago in Horror
Mirror, Mirror
They say that Marie will never be the same again, and I sure believe it. The way she careened out of that bathroom that night, her face bloody, horrible claw marks stretching across her right cheek, well, you can bet it was an image not one of us would soon forget! But I better explain.
By Tom Baker8 years ago in Horror
What Kind of Dog Is That?!
The cemetary was a place she often visited. Day, night, it didn't matter to her. This was a place of comfort for her. Her Grandmother was laid to rest here, how could any wrong come from visiting her dear Grandmother.
By Susan C8 years ago in Horror
10 Haunted Hot Spots to Visit in Michigan
Are you a native Michigander looking for a little bit of freaky fun? Or are you just passing through our beautiful state? Either way, if you have a vested interest in the paranormal, here are some of Michigan's weirdest reputedly-haunted locations to add to your "must-see" list.
By Jen Chichester8 years ago in Horror