5 Urban Legends That Ruined Our Childhood
1. He’s right behind you, actually
From UrbanLegendsOnline:
One cold winter night, sixteen year old Katie was home alone. Her parents had gone out to a dinner party. It had been snowing all that afternoon, but had just recently stopped. After studying for a few hours she decided to relax a little. She made some popcorn, got a nice thick blanket and laid back on the couch to watch some TV in the living room. The television was positioned in front of one side of the glass sliding door that lead to a patio and the back yard. By midnight Katie’s parents still hadn’t come home and she was gripped with fear because from the corner of her eye she could have sworn she caught a glimpse of a very strange looking man staring at her standing outside the glass door behind the television. Terrified, she panicked, pulled blanket up over her head and grabbed the cordless phone that was by her side.
Katie called the police and, as luck would have it, there was a patrol car not far from her house. In a few minutes police are on the scene and Katie told them about the strange man who was standing outside, staring in through the glass.
The police opened the glass sliding door and looked around. After a few moments they turned around and explained to her that there could not have been anyone standing out there, as there would be footprints in the snow. The cops tell her that she is probably just tired and her imagination had got the better of her. Katie began to feel relieved, but still a little shaken. As the police officers are about to leave, one of them stopped and looked behind the couch Katie was sitting on. His jaw dropped and skin went pale. Katie noticed the man’s reaction and jumped up to look too. She saw what made the officer react that way. There were wet footprints on the carpet behind the couch. She hadn’t seen the man outside the door, she’d seen his reflection when he was standing behind her.
2. AIDS needles at the movie theater
This is an obviously fake “safety warning” collected on UrbanLegeneds.About but that hasn’t stopped me from feeling superstitious about checking my seat at the movies for the last 15 years:
Subject: Safety Bulletin
Please Read!!! very important
For your information, a couple of weeks ago, in a Dallas movie theater, a person sat on something sharp in one of the seats. When she stood up to see what it was, a needle was found poking through the seat with an attached note saying, “you have been infected with HIV”. The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta reports similar events have taken place in several other cities recently. All of the needles tested HAVE been positive for HIV. The CDC also reports that needles have been found in the coin return areas of pay phones and soda machines.
Everyone is asked to use extreme caution when confronted with these types of situations. All public chairs should be thoroughly but safely inspected prior to any use. A thorough visual inspection is considered the bare minimum. Furthermore, they ask that everyone notify their family members and friends of the potential dangers, as well. Thank you.
3. “Old lady” killer
The least creepy thing in the entire world is probably an elderly lady that is so old she gets confused about which car is hers. Until you read this. From UrbanLegends.About:
A young woman returns to her car from a day’s shopping. She had parked her car in the town’s multi-story car park.
As she approaches the car she notices someone sitting in the back seat. She cautiously checks the registration plate to see if it is indeed her car, as it is a popular model and color. The car is indeed hers, and as she gets closer she sees that it’s an old woman sitting in the back seat.
She asks the woman how and why she is sitting in her car.
The old woman replies that she had been shopping with her son and family but felt unwell and returned to the car to rest. She obviously had mistaken the young woman’s car for her son’s, as it was the same model and color. The old woman then asks to be driven to a hospital, as she is still feeling unwell. The young woman agrees.
As she gets into the driver’s seat something makes her very nervous about the situation and she asks the old woman if she is feeling well enough to direct her as she reverses the car out of the parking place. The old woman agrees, gets out of the car and proceeds to direct the reversing maneuver.
As soon as the young woman has the car out of the parking space she speeds out of the car park, leaving the old woman stranded. She then drives straight to the nearest police station and reports the incident.
A police officer then searched the car and found an axe concealed under the driver’s seat.
4. Man licking your fingers
This story was so ubiquitous I feel desensitized to it now, but when it made it’s initial rounds, I felt grossed out every time my dog licked me. From Wikipedia:
A young girl is home alone for the first time with only her dog for company. Listening to the radio, she hears of a serial killer (or mental patient) on the loose, so she locks all the doors and windows (in some versions, the basement window is jammed open so she just locks the basement door) and goes to bed, taking her dog to her room with her and letting it sleep under her bed. She wakes in the night and can hear a dripping sound in her room. The bedside lamp won’t work and she is too scared to get out of bed to turn on the main light. She hides under the covers but to reassure herself that the dog is still under the bed she puts her hand down and feels licking on her hand. She lies awake for some time listening to the dripping sound and periodically puts her hand down to where she can hear heavy breathing and each time feels gentle licks on her fingers. Eventually she falls asleep. The next morning when she wakes, she goes to the bathroom for a drink of water. On the shower wall, written in blood are the words “HUMANS CAN LICK TOO”, and her slaughtered dog is laying by the drain.
5. Bloody Mary
I’m not sure why exactly the Bloody Mary urban legend is so terrifying but I spent many days in elementary school turning off the lights in the school bathroom and messing around with my friends. From SupernaturalWiki:
An urban legend that says that anyone who chants the words Bloody Mary three times in front of a mirror will summon a vengeful spirit. This spirit has been reported to do a variety of things to the person who summons her, including killing the person, scratching their eyes out, driving them mad or pulling them into the mirror with the spirit – generally referred to as the spirit of a woman or even a witch.
Note: If you are not afraid of this urban legend I recommend the movie Candyman. You will be. 
