Before there were horror movies, there were legends. Passed down through oral tradition, our earliest ancestors created colorful fables of vengeful gods, malevolent witches, and ravenous beasts lurking in the darkest corners of the night. Often told to entertain, these spooky tales also included hidden warnings about the dangers of straying from the path, disobeying one’s parents, or breaking social norms. As the years have passed between then and now, so have the stories. Horrific tales of poisoned apples have become whispered warnings to check Halloween candy for razor blades. Trolls lurking in the woods have transformed into a hook-handed murderer haunting lover’s lane.
Contemporary legends are more likely to be shared in an email forward than around the campfire, but their functions remain the same. These tales exist to help us navigate an unpredictable world and their subjects have evolved alongside our cultural fears. We’ve also updated our methods of delivery, merging modern folklore with the horror genre. The following urban legends, some old and some new, have made their way to the big screen, their coded warnings immortalized through the magic of modern cinema.
The Killer in the Backseat
This classic urban legend features a driver, usually female, alone in her car at night. As she glides along the darkened streets, another car follows close behind repeatedly flashing their high beams. Arriving at home, she bolts out of the car only for the following driver to alert her to the stranger hiding with a knife in her backseat. Other variations involve a helpful gas station attendant who notices the killer then lures the confused driver into the office with claims of a credit card problem. Nearly all versions of the story end with the killer apprehended and a clear message to always check the back seat before climbing behind the wheel.
This unnerving story was adapted into the opening sequence of the 1998 film Urban Legend and features horror icon Brad Dourif as the misunderstood gas jockey. More frightened of his warning, Michelle (Natasha Gregson Wagner) runs to her car and drives away thinking she has avoided danger. But lightning flashes through the windows as a killer with a gleaming ax slowly rises from the back seat. Jamie Blanks’s film features several iconic stories including “The Boyfriend’s Death” and “The Microwaved Pet” as he follows a killer using classic urban legends to exact a grisly revenge.
Slenderman
This creepy story is the rare bit of folklore with a definitive origin. The tall, faceless monster with tentacle-like arms is a photo creation by Eric Knudsen originally posted to the Something Awful Internet forum in 2009. A thin man in a sinister suit haunts several photos of happy children with accompanying text that hints at disappearance and death. As others add to the lore, Slenderman has seemingly taken on a life of his own, transcending these doctored images into all forms of internet media. The 2018 film Slender Man brings this legend to life with a group of friends who attempt to summon the dangerous entity only to become his next targets. However, an even more terrifying version of the story can be found in Beware the Slenderman, Irene Taylor Brodsky’s 2016 documentary following two teenage girls who tried to murder their classmate while claiming to be under the control of the mythical creature.
I Believe in Mary Worth
‘Paranormal Activity 3’
Also known as “Bloody Mary,” this urban legend is a popular one to practice at middle school sleepovers. The specifics may vary, but the ritual usually involves chanting some iteration of “I believe in Mary Worth,” while staring into a mirror in a candlelit room. This ritual is said to invoke the spirit of the aforementioned woman who will appear in the darkened mirror behind the participants. One variation claims to reveal a young girl’s future husband or the grim reaper should she be destined to die before her wedding day. Other modifications conjure a vengeful spirit who will attack the chanters with her long, sharp claws.
This particular ritual is a popular one in the horror genre, but few adaptations terrify quite like Paranormal Activity 3. Set in the 80s, Katie (Chloe Csengery) convinces her babysitter Randy (Dustin Ingram) to join her in chanting “Bloody Mary” while staring into her bathroom mirror. Prepared to capture evidence of spectral activity in the home, Randy films the encounter and records something truly terrifying. While they do not see any images of Katie’s future husband, their chants seem to invoke a demon who crashes through the house as soon as they turn off the bathroom light.
La Llorona
‘The Curse of La Llorona’
This Latin American ghost is frequently spotted wandering near bodies of water weeping for her lost children. Dressed in white, the malevolent spirit sometimes serves as a harbinger of misfortune and death, while others claim she searches for mischievous children to lure away from their parents. Another variation tells of a woman abandoned by her husband who drowned her own children in a grisly act of revenge.
Jayro Bustamante’s La Llorona brings this heartbreaking legend to life with a modern fable about the horrors of war. Aging dictator Enrique Monteverde (Julio Díaz) is facing trial for brutal war crimes while protests rage outside his massive estate. Haunted by his own sinful past, Monteverde begins to hear weeping in the night and fears that a mysterious housekeeper may have been sent to deliver justice outside the legal system. A fascinating remix of a classic legend, this Guatemalan film repurposes the story of “The Crying Woman” to tell a poignant story about the spiraling nature of atrocity.
Snuff Films
‘8MM’
Most accepted definitions of a “snuff film” describe a staged murder recorded and sold for profit, often involving an element of sexual assault. Videos of accidental death and execution can unfortunately be found in the vast corners of the interwebs, but all confirmed recordings were either found and distributed by third party sources or made for some purpose other than financial gain. While rumors of these tapes have swirled since the origins of cinematic pornography, a verified snuff film has never been found.
In addition to Michael Findlay’s 1976 publicity stunt film Snuff, this legend was adapted into Joel Schumacher’s 8MM. When a wealthy widow cleans out her husband’s personal effects, she finds a disturbing tape containing what appears to be an authentic murder. Hired to learn the truth, private investigator Tom Welles (Nicolas Cage) goes on a harrowing journey through the seedy world of exploitative film. Critically panned, 8MM teems with sleaze and grime. However, an exploration of the world of violent pornography should perhaps not feel like a comforting watch.
The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs
‘When a Stranger Calls’
One of the most enduring urban legends of all time follows a babysitter tormented by mysterious phone calls. An anonymous voice repeatedly telephones asking if she’s checked the children until police confirm that the calls are coming from inside the house. Survival of the children varies from version to version, but the story almost always concludes with the babysitter escaping into the arms of police as the man chases her out the front door.
This story comes to life in one of horror’s most terrifying opening sequences. When a Stranger Calls begins with a high school babysitter named Jill (Carol Kane) who receives increasingly deranged calls from a man with a British accent. Playing out like the infamous legend, Jill flees the house as the man emerges from the upstairs hallway, covered with the blood of the children she was supposed to be watching. Seven years later, Jill receives a similar call while out to dinner with her husband then rushes home to check on her own two children.
Black Eyed Children
‘They Come Knocking’
Of all the monsters on this list, these mysterious children may be the most frightening. While sitting in his car one night in 1996, a Texas reporter named Brian Bethel was approached by two teens with black eyes demanding a ride home. Said to bring headaches and intense feelings of dread, these sinister kids usually dress in old-fashioned clothes and approach in pairs begging for assistance or asking to be let into your home. Little is known about the unnerving creatures as no one has ever let them in and lived to tell the tale.
The Hulu series Into the Dark adapted this legend with Christian Cota’s 2019 entry They Come Knocking. This mind-bending horror follows a newly widowed father on a cross-country road trip with his grieving children when a group of kids with empty black eyes set up camp outside their RV. The indie film Sunshine Girl and the Hunt for Black Eyed Kids also tackles this strange phenomenon, but perhaps it’s time for the black eyed children to make their debut on the big screen.
The Bell Witch
‘The Blair Witch Project’
This Appalachian legend is one of the rare few to be documented in the annals of history. From 1817 to 1821, the Bell family of what is now Adams, TN became the victims of a spirit known as the Bell Witch. Claiming to be “Old Kate Batts’ witch,” this entity focused its attention on the family’s youngest daughter and eventually killed patriarch John Bell. Quite the showman, the Bell Witch liked to perform for guests and stories of her cheeky antics traveled far and wide. Possibly a poltergeist, this flamboyant spirit was also known to appear as a large black dog with the head of a rabbit. Over time, a nearby cave has become a part of the legend with visitors reporting strange noises coming from deep inside the earth.
Though based on a fictitious legend, folklore from the found footage phenomenon The Blair Witch Project bears a striking resemblance to this rural tale. The story follows three filmmakers as they venture into the Maryland woods to document the existence of the Blair Witch. This vengeful entity is reportedly the spirit of Elly Kedward, a woman executed for witchcraft in the 1700s. She supposedly still haunts the local woods and hunts anyone who ventures into her territory.
The Elevator Game
‘The Elevator Game’
This ritualistic bit of modern folklore likely originated in Japan and South Korea, but was popularized in the west after a tragic death at the Cecil Hotel. The Elevator Game involves an intricate list of instructions designed to open a portal to another world. Once the game begins, you must follow the procedure exactly, navigating to each floor in the sequence without exiting the elevator. If a mysterious presence should pass through the doors while stopped on 5, you are not to look at or engage with her in any way. If played correctly, the final step will take the elevator up to the tenth floor where the doors will open into another dimension.
Rebekah McKendry’s 2023 film The Elevator Game brings this hellish experiment to life as the cast of a paranormal web series attempts to recreate the ritual in a nearby office building. Weeks after a high school student disappeared while trying to complete the intricate game, these teens attempt to access the rumored dimension only to find the horror spilling out of the elevator doors and into their homes.
Organ Theft and the Kidney Heist
‘Turistas’
Variations of this legend include a night on the town followed by a hellish revelation the next morning. The unlucky victim awakens either covered in blood or laying in an icy bathtub with a crude incision on his abdomen. A note informs him that his kidney has been removed and advises he seek medical care. A more generalized version warns of a black market network in which organs are harvested and sold to high-paying bidders. While there have been reports of human tissue stolen and distributed for transplant in some third world countries, no actual evidence of organ profiteering has ever been found.
The 2006 film Turistas brings this disturbing story to life as a group of backpackers become the hostages of a Brazilian group of organ harvesters. Falling at the height of the torture porn era, this harrowing film mixes survival horror with medical trauma to deliver an upsetting story about power and privilege and an updated reminder to never stray far from the beaten path.