Surely even the smallest settlement harbors at least one legend that frightens visitors and impressionable people. Abandoned objects, old cemeteries, places associated with accidents, incomprehensible natural phenomena … All this is overgrown with scary stories. Below is a selection from the USA - the most eerie legends from the states of this country.
Bridge - the gates of Hell
The Hell's Gate Bridge is located in Alabama. His legend is associated with an accident that occurred in the 50s of the last century. The young couple lost control of the car on this bridge, their car crashed into the water. People died.
The locals even came up with two scary stories:
- If you stop the car in the middle of the bridge, turn off the lights, then the drowned people will be in the back seat of your car. Will give away their left wet trail.
- If you walk across the bridge, stop in the middle and look over your shoulder, you will see a frightening picture: the landscape behind you turns into a portal engulfed in flames.
But today it is impossible to test stories in practice: the state leadership closed the entrance to Hell Bridge due to its dilapidation. It is also a precaution against teenage ghostbusters.
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Kushtaka or the Alaska Triangle?
Surely, readers have heard of the Bermuda Triangle. But the United States has its own, it is in Alaska. According to local newspapers, an average of 5 out of 1,000 people go missing every year. A reasonable explanation: getting lost in the desert areas of the state is easy enough.
However, the Tlingita tribe living in Juneau has its own version. Locals believe that the loss of people is the work of evil spirits called kushtaka. This is the name given to anthropomorphic creatures who lure women and children into a trap with cries for help. And then they drown people to take their soul.
Canyon farm
And this story is already from the state of Arizona. The legend takes us to the events of the Gold Rush. In the 1800s, a family lived in the canyon, and they lived very poorly. Every day my father went in search of food. Once the head of the family did not return.
His family, wife and children, were slowly dying of hunger. Together with this painful condition, the woman was seized by madness. She put on a wedding dress, killed her children, unable to listen to their screams anymore. The woman threw the corpses into the nearest river. And then she slowly starved to death herself.
There is a belief: if you come to an abandoned farm in a canyon at night, you can hear the agonizing cries of a mother who killed her children and starved to death.
Swamp Creek Monster
And the residents of Arkansas will tell you their own version of the legend of the Bigfoot. Eyewitnesses say that the growth of the creature is more than 2 meters, in some way it resembles a person, but at the same time its body is completely covered with hair.
The first meeting with this strange creature dates back to 1834. However, there are still eyewitnesses who claim to have seen the monster. He loves to roam the streams in the beautiful countryside of Arkansas.
By the way, 5 full-length films were made based on these local legends! The first of them, telling about Bigfoot from Swamp Creek, was published back in 1972.
Charman
A truly horrible story from California. The legend dates back to 1948. An accident happened: a fire engulfed the house where the father and son were. The unfortunate people were saved.
But this terrible incident affected the mental health of the young man. His mind was clouded to the point that he killed his father. The police found the culprit, but he somehow managed to escape.
Eyewitnesses more than once noticed the insane Charmen in the forests near Ojai. It is believed that it is he who attacks tourists who stayed overnight in tents. Or pretending to be a hitchhiker to attack people.
Riverdale Road Legends
This track runs through the state of Colorado. And not one, but eight creepy stories are associated with it. These are the Hell's Gate, and the ghosts of slaves hanging from trees.
However, the scariest and most realistic of them is the following. The driver who was driving down Riverdale Road hit a man. Frightened by the punishment, he left the scene of the crime, leaving the victim to die painfully.
If you park at the accident site today, you will soon hear footsteps near your car, but you will not see anyone around. Some people even say that they saw handprints on the stele of a car, heard someone invisible knocking on the door.
Wicked witch Monroe
This is the name of a real inhabitant of Connecticut, Hanna Krannu. In the 19th century, the woman gained a reputation as a witch. It all started with the fact that her husband died a strange death - he threw himself off a cliff. The locals were sure that it was not just that - Hannah bewitched him.
The woman lived to be 77 years old and left a strange will: to carry her coffin to the cemetery in her arms, and not in a van. Local residents, of course, did not listen to such a request. But the coffin with the body of the deceased did not want to stay on the cart - it fell from it.
When the residents returned home from the funeral, they saw that Hanna Cranna's house was engulfed in flames. Everything that happened and assigned her the name of the evil witch.
Delaware Judge Ghost
Yes, this is not one of the most creepy stories, but still quite curious. The legend is associated with the name of Samuel Chew, who was the Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court back in 1741. Despite his high position, people did not respect this person. They laughed at him, mimicked his sneezing while walking.
After his death, the locals claimed to have repeatedly seen the magistrate's grafting under a poplar near the court. It also wandered inside the building. The ghostly judge pulled people by their clothes, they even felt his chilling touch on their skin.
Spook Hill phenomenon
And now a story from Florida. It is associated with a hill called Spook Hill. An interesting phenomenon is observed here: if the car moves on a flat road without going up and down, the persistent feeling remains that it is going uphill.
Locals explain the nature of this phenomenon as follows: the road near Spook Hill passes through the burial place of Native Americans. Another version is more outlandish: the track leads through the place of the epic battle of the Indian chief with the monster.
However, in reality, everything is explained simply: the landscape surrounding the hill creates an unusual visual illusion. In fact, the car continues to roll on a flat road without climbing any illusory rise.
The ghost towns of Lanier Island
And here is a very interesting legend from the state of Georgia. It is connected with the artificial lake Lanier. The state government bought up entire settlements and cities to create this reservoir. Permission to clear the lake space was obtained from the state government in 1946.
However, the settlements were not destroyed before the flooding. The cities were simply flooded. Therefore, under the waters of Lanier, there are untouched houses, several cemeteries, ferries, a hippodrome.
Many accidents are associated with this place. For example, in 2011, 17 people drowned here. Many people were saved in time. They told later that they suddenly ceased to feel their arms and legs in the water, it seemed to them that someone was pulling them to the bottom. Such stories gave the locals the ground for thinking that evil spirits had settled in the flooded cities.
Hawaiian Night March
And a spooky story from the sunny state of Hawaii. Locals believe in the spirits of the ancient Hawaiian warriors who march across the islands every night, protecting sacred sites. They are not classified as evil spirits, but these ghosts demand respect for themselves.
The night spirit cannot be looked at directly, otherwise the person will be marked with death. And if you accidentally get into such a procession, then you just need to lie down on the road.
These are the legends the Americans tell. Some of them are based on real events, some are entirely based on folklore.
Author: Yulia Abdulbarova
