7 Freakiest Urban Legends on the Planet

Back in 1883 in Arizona, two men went to check on the animals on their farm, and one of their wives who stayed behind started screaming when she heard a strange scream and saw a large beast-like creature. The creature had red fur, and its rider was a demonic figure that looked terrifying. As the strange being was standing outside of the house, the woman waited for her husband to return and after he finally came home, she told him about what she saw. The two men went outside to check if the creature was still there, but they only saw hoof prints around the home, some remains of the red fur, and the dead body of the other man’s wife. This started the legend of the Red Ghost. There were many sightings after that, most notably a man called Hamblin who claimed that the ghost on top of the strange creature was a skeleton and that he was actually riding a red camel. He shot it with a rifle, and while the creature ran away, the man found a skull on the ground. After 9 years, Hamblin also shot the camel.

At the end of the 60s in Kuching, Malaysia, a young nurse by the name of Janet disappeared without a trace. According to the legend, she disappeared near Satok Bridge, which was being built. Apparently, the bridge was haunted and required sacrifices of young women by decapitation. Janet’s body was found much later, but her head was missing. She was dressed in red at the time of her burial and later on, her ghost, wearing the same red dress, started appearing around Kuching. Janet’s ghost would hitchhike, enter strangers’ vehicles, and then disappear when they reached their destination. She would only leave behind a dark stain on the car seat. Also, the legend says that wherever she appears, money turns into leaves. The locals of Kuching are still scared of Janet, and some of them refuse to travel to work early in the morning to avoid encountering her ghost and are afraid of saying her name.

Namorrodor is a malicious spirit that haunts Northern Australia, and many aboriginal residents think that when they see a meteor in the sky, it is a bad sign because it represents the eye of the ghost. The spirit crosses the sky and searches for people who are about to die, then takes their souls by reaching for them with its long claws. People also say that the ghost can turn itself into a horse or kangaroo and locals believe that Namorrodor is attracted to the smell of cooking meat, so they never cook meat at night. Namorrodor also looks for babies and eats their hearts, and the locals believe babies need to sleep on their bellies so that the ghost won’t be able to reach their hearts.

In New Mexico, there is a well-known ghost named La Mala Hora, who waits for vehicles and drivers on highways and aims to drive them insane. The ghost hypnotizes its victims and later suffocates them. After that, the ghost leaves travelers on the side of the road. People are scared to talk about La Mala Hora in New Mexico and various legends are surrounding this creepy ghost. People believe that if you see it on the road and it takes the form of a female, you could die soon. If the female form appears to someone at a crossroads, a person’s loved one will die very soon.

In Korea, there are a lot of scary urban legends, but the one involving the Elevator Killer could be the scariest. Namely, the story starts with a teen girl called Haruko who returned home quite late in the night after working on her homework. She came home, entered her elevator and pressed the 14th-floor button to get to her home, but a strange man also walked into the elevator and pressed for floor 13. The man was handsome, and when he was exiting the elevator, he smiled, he took out a knife and shouted “Upstairs.”

He ran up the stairs to the 14th floor as the doors of the elevator closed, and Haruko climbed up to her floor. Haruko couldn’t find a way to stop the elevator, and when the doors opened, the man was standing in front of her with a big smile on his face. The next day, some neighbors found Haruko’s dead body and there were stab wounds all over it. To this day, people are still terrified of the story, and allegedly, this is the reason why most elevators have a dedicated stop button today.

It’s quite possible that the creepiest Native American legend could be about Tsiatko, also named Stick Indians. Stick Indians are fast creatures that are thin and quite tall. They can make their voices appear like they are coming from elsewhere and their characteristic whistling sound can terrify anyone who hears it. These creatures also use a powder made from dead people to make their victims pass out. While the victims are unconscious, the Tsiatko steal children from villages and do all sorts of bad deeds.

Cape Town in South Africa has got an old castle known as the Cape Town Castle and the building is surrounded by various urban legends. The castle is one of the oldest buildings in South Africa and the scariest story about it is that an old governor named van Noodt committed some cruel acts there and also met his own death.

The story goes that van Noodt hanged four soldiers in 1728 for desertion but he didn’t want to attend the execution. According to the legend, the last soldier to die cursed van Noodt just before his death. After the execution, some officers went to report to van Noodt and actually found him dead in his office. Van Noodt’s ghost is said to haunt the castle ever since, after being cursed for all of eternity.