Tell us about your local Myths, legions or ghost stores...

My title says it all and to be fair I will add one of my own...

Since I'm in the mood to share stories I will add this one from the Spanish culture... and my beloved Southwestern birth place...
before you read this story first know that in old southwestern lore when a Bruja (Bad Witch) was killed they chopped up her body and buried the pieces at a crossroads arms legs and torso at the four corners the head in the center of said intersection. It is said that when you encounter the spirit of a Bruja it will be at a crossroads....Don't know if it was ever really done but that is the story... reportedly true...

still you chose to believe or not I'm only sharing a story remember.


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My friend Isabela called me one evening before dinner. She was sobbing as she told me that she and her husband Enrique were getting divorced. He had moved out of the house earlier that day and Isabela was distraught.

I called my husband, who was on a business trip in Chicago, and he agreed that I should go stay with Isabela for a few days to help her during this difficult time. I packed a small suitcase and got right into the car. It was late, and it would take me at least four hours to drive from my home to Sante Fe. Isabela was expecting me to arrive around midnight.

As I traveled down the dark, wet highway, I kept feeling chills, as if someone or something were watching me. I kept looking in the rear view mirror, and glancing into the back seat. No one was there. Don't be ridiculous, I told myself, wishing fervently that I was home in my bed instead of driving on a dark, rainy highway. There was almost no traffic, and I heartily wished that I would soon reach Sante Fe.

I turned off the highway just before I reached the city, and started down the side roads that led to Isabela's house. As I approached a small crossroads, I saw a woman step into the street directly in front of my car. I shrieked in fright and slammed on my brakes, praying I would miss her.

The car shuddered to a halt, and I looked frantically around for the woman. Then I saw her, right beside my window, looking in at me. She had the face of a demon, twisted, eyes glowing red, and short pointed teeth. I screamed as she leapt at my window, her clawed hands striking the glass. I put my foot down on the accelerator and the car leapt forward. For a few terrible moments, she ran along side the car, keeping up easily and striking at me again and again. Then she fell behind and in the rear view mirror I saw her growing taller and taller, until she was as large as a tree. Red light swirled around her like mist, and she pointed after me, her mouth moving though I could not make out the words. I jerked my attention back to the road, afraid what might happen to me if my car ran off the street.

I made it to Isabela's house in record time and flung myself out of the car, pounding on her door frantically and looking behind me to see if the demon-faced woman had followed me. Isabela came running to the door and let me in.

"Shut the door! Shut it!" I cried frantically, brushing past her into the safety of the house.

"Jane, what is wrong?" she asked, slamming the door shut. She grabbed my hand and led me into the living room. I sank onto the couch and started sobbing in fear and reaction. After several minutes, I managed to gasp out my story. Isabela gasped and said: "Are you sure you were at a crossroads when you saw her?"

I nodded, puzzled by her question.

"It must have been La malhora," Isabela said, wringing her hands.

"The bad hour?" I asked.

"This is bad, Jane. Very bad," Isabela cried. "La Malhora only appears at a crossroads when someone is going to die."

Ordinarily, I would have laughed at such a superstition, but the appearance of the demon-woman had shaken me. Isabela got me a cup of hot cocoa, brought my luggage in from the car, and sent me to bed. She was so concerned for me that she didn't once mention the divorce or Enrique.

I felt much better the next morning, but I could not shake the feeling of dread that grew within me all day. Neither of us mentioned La Malhora, but we were both thinking of her when I told Isabela that I wanted to go home. Isabela insisted on accompanying me. I flatly refused to drive after dark. I was afraid I would see the demon-woman again when I passed the crossroads.

We left the next morning, and we hadn't been home more than twenty minutes when a police car pulled into my driveway. I knew at once what it meant, and so did Isabella.

The officers spoke very gently to me, but nothing could soften the news. My husband had been mugged on the way back to his hotel after dinner last night. His body had not been found until this morning. He had been shot in the head and was killed instantly.

My local ghost story has to be one of the most ridiculous in the world.

Pond Square in Highgate is supposed to be haunted by the ghost of a Chicken that Francis Bacon killed and packed in snow in 1626 in order to prove that refrigeration could stop meat from spoiling.

Mr Bacon himself died a few days later from pneumonia

Full story

reply to post by davespanners


Now that is a story to be proud of
you need to see if you can argange to get tourists to pay you for a peek at the great ghost chicken!

I forgot about the other big local phenomena "The Highgate vampire" which had groups of people literally running around the local cemetery with wooden stakes and crosses in the 1970's
As far as I know it all turned out to be a hoax, I've visited the cemetery many times as a lot of famous people are buried there including Douglas Adams and Karl Marx but I have never been bitten.
Highgate vampire

My very favorite Ghost Legend of all time - The Ghostly LIncoln Funeral Train
It can be seen across many states in the North East in the Mid West. Also around the Great Lakes area.

Originally posted by FlyersFan
My very favorite Ghost Legend of all time - The Ghostly LIncoln Funeral Train
It can be seen across many states in the North East in the Mid West. Also around the Great Lakes area.

I would love to camp out and try to catch a glimpse of that train! sounds fun

In London there was a whole station (the London Necropolis station) and train line specifically for the dead and mourners that went to a huge municipal cemetery
You can still see some of the station and the line today
Linky

If you want to catch the Ghostly Lincoln Funeral Train, take a look at the thread. There are times and stations and routes available. It's usually best seen in New York State and around the Great Lakes. Don't forget about Daylight Savings Time and the difference. Oh ... ahead of time go ask the locals working on the railroad about different tracks and if they know anything about it.

Just don't get stuck on a bridge with a train coming like the ghost hunters did a few weeks back.
That was tragic.

in the eastern san francisco bay area in northern california, theres a place called Niles Canyon that has a pretty winedy road.

its been said for a long time that on some night(i think its hallows eve?), near a particular white bridge in the canyon, at a certain time of night, there is a "white witch" that hitchhikes in a white prom dress. The girl was killed right there in an car accident coming back from a school dance a long time ago, hence the white dress, and is said that once picked up asks for a ride to a house in San Francisco.

Every account ive heard of somebody picking the girl up, says that once they get to the dumbarton or san mateo bridge she disappears out of the back seat before the car goes over the water.

if one goes all the way to the address, her mother or some other old family member is there and they retell the story about how every year somebody shows up at the house.

im told (and according to my aunt this is from the mother as well) that "spirits" in that state cannot cross over water.

ive always wondered why they dont just simply drive the long way around the bay. but i guess nobody knows whats going on until after the fact. ive thought about pickin her up but it takes a lot to get me to drive down old canyon road at night.

::edit:: google "white withc niles canyon" theres too many accounts to post. heres just a few. the story changes a little bit from person to person but its more or less the same.

www.lovehaight.org...

www.sunol.net...

www.strangeusa.com...

skelletonpictures.tripod.com... - movie being made about it.

www.chabotspectator.com...



"the secret sidewalk" is also another very interesting little legend of fremont/niles canyon. its a big sidewalk that winds through the hills for miles. its not really a sidewalk its like a water duct thing that from the top appears to be a big wide sidewalk. its difficult to access and you have to be somewhat "in the know". that place has a million stories in itself.now a whole city of homeless people live up there.

its not called "secret" because of its location....theres been many brutal murders up there.

also the old mission building (mission San Jose) has many many Ohlone indians buried on the site. supposedly you can see spirits in full traditional Ohlone garb crossing the street towards the mission. they disapear before they get to the other side. Ohlone college is right next to the Mission and has a ton of haunted spots within it too. that whole area is sacred Indian grounds.

The first, of many, local myths that pops to my mind, is that of the ghost of Brit Bailey, whose lantern can be seen roaming through the woods looking for his jug of whiskey.
www.texasescapes.com...

The first one that comes to mind (for the Dallas area) is the legend of The Lady of White Rock Lake:

A well-known Dallas urban legend is the story of the Lady of White Rock Lake. The tale goes (there are a lot of area residents who claim the story is true) that the ghost of a girl in her early 20s will appear at night, dripping wet in 1920s dinner evening wear, and a car passing along the road circling the lake will stop. The girl tells the driver she had an accident and needs to get home. The driver will then drive to the address given, and when he (or she) arrives, the girl is gone, leaving only a waterlogged seat. The driver then learns after knocking on the door of the house that the girl was their daughter -- she died by drowning when she fell out of a boat on the lake at night many years ago. Some later stories report that the driver taking the girl going to the address arrives, and the house is no longer there: it was torn down years ago and is now the site of an apartment complex. Reports of the ghostly encounters were published in Dallas-area newspapers in the 1960s.

Source: en.wikipedia.org...



I can remember, as a kid, this story scared the heck out of me. I remember getting my drivers license, at which point I found the legend laughable, until driving out to White Rock Lake at night and getting the hebejebes. There is just something about the dark of night, desolate woodlands and the splashing of water on the shorelines that intensifies creepy feelings.

Okay the first one I'm going to share is from my home state of New Jersey. YES!!! The Jersey Devil! You see, this old woman wa beleived to be a witch and she lived in the pine barrens of NJ; and she had twelve children already. Her name was something Leeds (in my hometown there is a road named Leeds). Well anyway she found herself pregnant once again, and feeling very forlorn about this decided to curse her child to be something demonic and when she gave birth to the wretched thing, it opened a set of bat like black wings and flew off into the woods and has been spotted only every year by someone. Well let me tell you about my experience with this thing. I used to go to summer camp in part of the Pine Barrens, A place called Camp Merrywood and they only had a sleep over once in the summer(It was normally just a YMCA Day Camp). Well anyway me and two of my friends walked to use the girls room since we had all full bladders, and whilst we were walking we heard a very deep very develish sneering behind us, thinking it was the boys messing with us we hid behind some trees to scare them cause they would come to find we "disappeared", however nobody came down the path... we continued only to hear the noise another time but I was good at figuring where sounds came from and discoverd it came from right beside us and there beside us there was a very tall tree And I looked up to see these red staring eyes glaring down at us and showed it to my two friends...we ran screeching to the bathrooms and emtied our bladders but we would not leave the camp counselors had to come and get us, lucky they heard our screams!!!!!!
Heres a link to the legend:
Legend of the New Jersey Devil


Now the second is from the place I live now well it's actually two legends neither of which Have I had any experiences with, unfortunately. The first is the Skunk Ape(something like Bigfoot but stinky). Anyway here's a link :
Florida's Yeti

And Another of a ghost on skyway bridge that hitches a ride from the beginning of the bridge to the end of the bridge, only she don't ask to hitch she will just appear in your car at the start and disappear at the end before you leave the bridge. Here's a link to an article:
Skyway Bridge Ghost

I am listing this one because I went near there today but took courtney campbell instead of skyway! LOL!!!