Urban Legends from Every State

Introduction

• Definition of Urban Legends: "An often lurid story or anecdote based on hearsay and widely circulated as true."
• Purpose: Discuss urban legends from each of the 50 U.S. states.
• Approach: Legends covered state by state, not alphabetically but geographically across the U.S.

Washington: 13 Steps at Mulby Cemetery

• Located near Bothell.
• Legend: Walking down 13 steps to a grave shows visions of hell.
• Consequences: People disappearing, screaming, or losing speech after reaching the bottom.
• Steps covered up due to high interest.

Oregon: Hesedah Head Lighthouse

• Built in 1894.
• Haunted by Rue, the wife of a lightkeeper who lost her daughter.
• Apparitions, items moving on their own, disembodied screams.

California: The Monster of Elizabeth Lake

• Sighted in 1880.
• Description: Giraffe-like neck, bulldog head, bat wings, six legs.
• Beliefs: Passageway to hell beneath the lake, possibly a pet of the devil.

Alaska: The Kalupalik

• Originates from Inuit legends.
• Description: Humanoid with scales, fins, and webbed hands, smells like sulfur.
• Behavior: Lures children into the water using humming.

Idaho: Water Babies of Massacre Rocks

• Native American legend.
• Babies drowned during famine turn into ghoul-like water creatures.
• Lure people to water with giggling or crying sounds.

Nevada: Water Babies of Pyramid Lake

• Babies thrown into the lake by Paiute tribe.
• Believed to drown fishermen in revenge.

Utah: Skinwalker Ranch

• Sightings of UFOs and mysterious creatures.
• Legend involves a shape-shifting werewolf, or 'Skinwalker'.

Arizona: The Jerome Grand Hotel

• Former hospital turned hotel.
• Haunted by spirits of those who died there, especially on the third floor.

Montana: Ghosts of Little Bighorn Battlefield

• Site of the Battle of Little Bighorn.
• Ghostly activity includes screams, gunshots, and horses.

Wyoming: The Lady in Green

• Ghostly woman seen on horseback.
• Replicates the story of a lost daughter of a fur trading agent.

Colorado: The Lafayette Vampire

• Theodore Fedor Glava believed to be a vampire.
• Rumors based on a tree growing from his grave.

New Mexico: The Death Waltz

• Soldier's ghost returns to dance with former lover, draining her life.

Hawaii: USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor

• Ghosts of servicemen reportedly haunt the area.

North Dakota: Jean Hilliard's Miracle

• Jean Hilliard survived being frozen at -30°C.

South Dakota: Gitche Manitou Murders

• Haunted by the spirits of teens murdered in 1973.

Nebraska: Blackbird Hill

• Ghostly screams from a woman murdered by her partner.

Kansas: Molly's Hollow at Jackson Park

• Ghost of a girl named Molly, hanged by racists, haunts the park.

Oklahoma: The Hornet Spooklight

• Mysterious glowing orb on Devil's Promenade.

Texas: Hell's Gate at River Legacy Park

• Execution site for Union Army spies during the Civil War.

Minnesota: Glensheen Mansion

• Haunted by spirits of murder victims.

Iowa: Devil's Chair and the Angels

• Legends surrounding cursed cemetery statues.

Missouri: Zombie Road

• Haunted road with numerous ghost sightings.

Arkansas: The Lady in Black

• Ghost of a college lover searching for her lost love.

Louisiana: The Carter Brothers and Vampires

• Brothers believed to be vampires executed in New Orleans.

Wisconsin: Boy Scout Lane

• Legend of murdered Boy Scouts haunting the area.

Illinois: Resurrection Mary

• Ghost hitchhiker along Archer Avenue.

Michigan: The Michigan Triangle

• Area known for disappearances and UFO sightings.

Indiana: 100 Steps Cemetery

• Ghost caretaker reveals one's death when steps are counted.

Kentucky: Sleepy Hollow Road

• Ghost hearses and time warps reported by drivers.

Tennessee: Bully Jamestown Boy

• Ghost of a schoolboy accidentally killed by a bully.

Mississippi: Mercritis

• Fictional disease causing women to go into homicidal rage.

Ohio: Rogue's Hollow

• Haunted area with a legendary headless horseman.

Alabama: Oplica's Spring Villa Mansion

• Haunted by the ghost of a slave who killed his master.

Maine: Pitcherman

• Ghost with a pitcher offering ale to travelers.

New Hampshire: Legend of Goody Cole

• Witch who returns to haunt her town.

Vermont: The Old Hayden House

• Cursed lineage leading to the family's extinction.

Massachusetts: Route 44 Hitchhiker

• Ghost of a redheaded man haunts the road.

Rhode Island: The Vampire Panic

• TB outbreak believed to be caused by vampires.

Connecticut: Norwich State Hospital

• Abandoned hospital with ghostly activity.

New Jersey: Black Doctor of the Pines

• Ghost of a helpful healer aiding travelers.

New York: Captain William Kidd

• Ghost of a pirate protecting his buried treasure.

Pennsylvania: Seven Gates of Hell

• Legend of gates leading to hell where an asylum once stood.

Delaware: The Governor's Mansion

• Haunted by spirits of former residents.

Maryland: Glendale Hospital

• Abandoned facility with haunting legends.

West Virginia: The Flatwoods Monster

• Alien creature sighted by children.

Virginia: Benjamin Mosby the Vampire

• Vampire legend linked to tunnel collapse.

North Carolina: Lake Norman's Normie

• Monster resembling the Loch Ness Monster.

South Carolina: Third Eyed Man

• Catacombs figure with a third eye.

Georgia: Lake Lanier

• Haunted lake built over a sunken town.

Florida: Pensacola Lighthouse

• Home to multiple ghostly spirits.