Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
A 2025 YouGov survey found that 28% of Americans believe Bigfoot exists. The same survey also revealed that 23% believe in the existence of the Yeti, 22% in the Loch Ness monster, and 16% in the Chupacabra.
While they may seem like a small share of the population, these stats show that a chunk of people subscribe to urban myths. It’s why there are dedicated subreddits like this one, where people share their fanaticism for all things cryptid-related.
Here are some of the posts we collected from the community, which include many other pieces of folklore that you likely haven’t heard of.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Edgar Allan Poe Predicted The Future. His Only Novel Is About 4 Shipwrecked Men Who Run Out Of Food And Eat The Cabin Boy, Richard Parker. 46 Years After It Published, A Yacht Sank In Real Life And 3 Of The 4 Survivors Also Decided To Eat The Cabin Boy... Named Richard Parker
RELATED:
#2
In 2003, Two Men Stole A Parked Boeing 727 From Luanda International Airport And Flew Away Into The Sunset. They've Never Been Found
#3
John Bentinck, 5th Duke Of Portland - Was Most Remembered For His Eccentric Behavior. Only One Servant Saw Him For Two Decades. He Built 15 Miles Of Tunnels Under His Estate Including A Giant Ballroom That Never Had Dances. Every Room In His Mansion And Everywhere Underground Was Painted Pink
Kabuki Kitsune 21 hours ago
The color isn't much of a surprise. During the Victorian period, when he lived, pastel colors (pink especially) were quite popular as colors to paint walls in buildings. It was seen as a warm, masculine color.
Given people's fascination with urban legends, an important question arises: what drives this interest? According to New York Times bestselling author Vincent Ralph, it all goes back to our inherent morbid curiosities.
#4
Houska Castle, Located In Czech Republic, Is A Castle That Was Built Over A Hole So Deep, That Nobody Could See The Bottom. It Was Supposedly Built To “Keep The Demons And Monsters From Hell” From Ever Reaching The World
#5
Yemen's Well Of Barhout - The "Well Of Hell", Which Is 100 Feet Wide And 328-820 Feet Deep. Foul Smells Emanate From The Well, And Folklore Says It Served As A Prison For Demons
Lil be lil 22 hours ago
Holy Shite, Batman!! Maybe leave a trail of golden cookies for the Anti-christ TrumpJesus to find his way back into the hole?
#6
In 1925 Percy Fawcett Vanished In The Amazon Jungle, In His 3rd Attempt To Find "Z", A Lost Ancient City Deep In The Jungle, Commonly Believed To Be A Myth. Recent Technological Advances Have Made It Possible To Digitally Deforest Part Of The Amazon, Revealing An Extensive Urban Settlement
“The best urban legends are both unnerving and, somehow, safe. They are horrifying situations twice removed,” Ralph wrote. “We’ve all heard of the friend-of-a-friend who repeated a cursed mantra in front of the mirror or took a wrong turn in the woods, but few can verify their fate.”
#7
The Real Christine, A 1964 Dodge 330 With A Confirmed Total Of 14 Owners, Each Owner Passing Away Before The Next
Spencers slave no more 19 hours ago
It appears BP has duplicated my Easter Island comment on this and other posts, and I can't delete it.
#8
Erdstall Tunnels - Around 2,000 Medieval Era Tunnels Can Be Found Throughout Europe. No One Knows Who Built Them, Or Why
Spencers slave no more 20 hours ago
Except this is Nushabad Underground City, also known as Ouyi, in central Iran. It is a massive three storey complex covering several kilometres. It's primary use was as a defensive refuge from invaders, with its entrances cleverly incorporated into homes, ovens and cisterns.
#9
This Picture From Over 200 Years Ago Depicts A UFO On A Beach In Eastern Japan. It States That An Attractive Woman, Aged 18 To 20, Was Aboard And Greeted Those On The Beach While Holding A Strange Box In Her Hand
Ralph explained that FOMO also has a lot to do with fanaticism about urban legends. He even described it as “the beating heart” of those who love their folklore.
But at the same time, Ralph says the what-ifs regarding their authenticity are what make urban myths a hit among those who subscribe to them.
#10
In 1912, A 4 Year Old Boy Named Bobby Dunbar Went Missing While On A Family Trip. 8 Months Later, Bobby Was Found & Reunited Him With His Family. Almost 100 Years Later, DNA Evidence Proved That Child Who They Found Wasn’t Actually Bobby. No One Knows What Happened To The Real Bobby Dunbar
Kabuki Kitsune 21 hours ago
This was on another list, I'll repeat what I said there. The going theory is that bobby drowned in a lake near where the family were, and the man who "found" him, kidnapped another child for the 6000 dollar reward. (That's about 200k today).
#11
In 1976, Four Men Witnessed A UFO While Visiting The Allagash Wilderness Waterway. Their Stories Were The Exact Same For 40+ Years And They Showed Real Signs Of PTSD. They Also All Passed A Lie Detector. The Men Were Certain That What They Were Abducted By Unknown Beings During That Camping Trip
#12
The Human Skin Manuscript Of Kazakhstan - An Ancient Latin Manuscript, With A Cover Made Of Human Skin And Only 10 Out Of 330 Pages Deciphered And Is Shrouded In Mystery. Hiding Secrets No One Has Fully Uncovered
David Paterson 22 hours ago
The ten pages deciphered so far contain only "mundane financial records" according to AI.
Medical journalist Naveed Saleh also pointed to how urban legends “prey on listener fear” while enjoying “long shelf lives” because of the internet. As he explained, these stories resurface in various iterations, especially through social media.
#13
This Obsidian Mirror Was Used By Queen Elizabeth I’s Adviser And Occultist John Dee To 'Speak' With Spirits Of The Dead And Angels. The Researchers Estimate That Dee’s Mirror Is Over 500 Years Old, Most Likely Made In The Final Decades Before The Spanish Conquest Of Mexico In 1521
#14
The Beast Of Gévaudan Was A Creature With "Formidable Teeth, And An Immense Tail" Believed To Have Attacked 610 People, Resulting In 500 Casualties Between 1764 And 1767 In The Margeride Mountains Of France
Jerome Lenovo 21 hours ago
no netflix back then, had to create your own stories , for the long winter nights
#15
In 1981, The Badly Decomposed Bodies Of Dean And Tina Clouse Were Found In A Wooded Area Near Houston, With The Whereabouts Of Their Infant Daughter, Holly, Unknown. In 2022, Holly Was Found Alive, After Two Women In White Robes Had Abandoned Her In Arizona 40 Years Prior
“Although (these stories) change during the course of retelling, with urban legends, these changes are often cosmetic in nature,” Saleh wrote. “The setting or time of urban legends changes while the message is retained, which gives urban legends staying power—especially in the age of the internet.”
#16
In 1978, Steven Kubacki Disappeared Without A Trace On A Frozen Lake While Cross Country Skiing. Fifteen Months Later, He Claimed He Woke Up In A Field Disoriented, In Unfamiliar Clothes, With No Idea Where He’d Been And No Memory Of What Had Happened
#17
The Brazilian Tribe Members Had Never Heard Of "Aliens" Before, They Did Not Understand, But When They Were Shown A Picture Of An Alien Grey They Recognized It Immediately And Said: "That Is Mankunawabu" They Live Underground
#18
The Patomskiy Crater - Local Indigenous People Call It "The Fire Eagle Nest", And Consider It "An Evil Place Where Animals Will Not Go, And Where People Feel Unwell And Can Even Disappear. The Large Scar On The Landscape Of Siberia Has Puzzled Scientists Since Its Discovery In 1949
David Paterson 22 hours ago
There was an expedition there in 2006. All I know for sure is that it's not from a meteorite. It was "created by geologic processes". The rocks are shattered limestone with some minor chemical alteration. It remains a mystery.
#19
Granger Taylor Left A Note Saying He Was Boarding An Alien Spaceship For An Interstellar Journey. He Was Never Seen Again
#20
The Easter Island Statues Have Bodies - Why?
#21
The "Shamir Worm" Is Said To Have Been A Tool Used To Cut Through Stones And Rocks In Ancient Times, Could Only Be Kept In Lead Boxes And Was Given By The "Sea Lord" To King Solomon For Him To Build The First Israelite Temple Without Using Axes, Chisels And Hammers
#22
Kenny Veach Was A 47-Year-Old Hiker And Youtuber Who Vanished In 2014 After Exploring A Strange Cave Near Area 51, The Secretive Military Base In Nevada. Veach’s Disappearance Sparked Many Theories And Speculations Among His Followers And Other Online Communities
#23
Thousands Of People Around The World Have Reported Seeing A Shadowy Figure In A Hat Standing In Their Room While They're Sleeping. Recreational Benadryl Users Report Being Able To Consistently Summon The Entity/Hallucination If They Take Enough Of It
#24
A Bible Believed To Be 1,500 Years Old Challenges The Crucifixion Of Jesus Christ, Proposing That It Was Judas Who Was Crucified By Roman Soldiers. This Ancient Text, Known As The Gospel Of Barnabas, Recently Surfaced In Turkey's Ethnography Museum Of Ankara, Causing Significant Controversy
David Paterson 22 hours ago (edited)
Looking this up. It's full title is "The True Gospel of Jesus, Called Christ, a New Prophet Sent by God to the World: According to the Description of Barnabas His Apostle”. Date of writing unknown, but definitely before 1634. "The gospel survives in three manuscripts (Aramaic, Italian and Spanish)". The length is extraordinary, as long as the four gospels of the New Testament combined.
#25
Since 1944, The Graffiti "Who Put Bella In The Witch Elm" Has Appeared, With The Last Case Being In 1999. The Graffiti, Which Is Related To An Unsolved Murder, Has Slightly Different Spelling When It Appears, But The Message Is Always The Same
#26
Ghost Ships - Ships Found Abandoned With No Sign Of The Crew, Still Occur Even With Modern Methods Of Rescue, Safety And Communication. The Last Recorded Ship To Be Found With No Sign Of Life Was In January 2021
David Paterson 21 hours ago
Wikipedia lists 16 ghost ships found in the 20 years since 2006. The most recent being a Russian LNG tanker in March 2026.
#27
In Norse Mythology A Cursed Ring Called Andvaranaut Brought Doom To Its Owners Long Before Tolkien Wrote The Lord Of The Rings
Powerful Katrinka 12 hours ago
No mystery here. Tolkien drew heavily on Nordic Mythology when he was writing The Lord of the Rings.
#28
A Pictograph At Barrier Canyon In The Central Utah Desert, Depicting An Anthropomorph With Bug Eyes And Antennae. 2000 Bce-500 Ce, United States Of America
Kristiina Männiste 18 hours ago
Well it kinda resembles the roach we met in our airbnb in Phoenix
#29
In 1993, Six Hikers Were Trekking Near Lake Baikal In Siberia When They Were Suddenly Overcome With Horrific Symptoms. Blood Streamed From Their Eyes And Noses, They Clutched At Their Throats And Bashed Their Heads Against Rock. Why This Happened Is Still Unknown
#30
The Imperial Treasury Of Vienna Attested That This Was A Real Demon Which Had Been Trapped In Glass During An Exorcism In 17th Century Germany
Jeremy James 19 hours ago
Oh, let him out. It's not like it's going to hurt anything at this point. The demons have already won.
#31
Hell’s Gate Bridge In Alabama - Many People Believe That When You Stop On The Bridge And Glance Over Your Shoulder, The Road Behind You Resembles The Fiery Gates Of Hell
#32
Hoia Baciu Forest In Romania Is One Of The Most Haunted Places In The World. Hundreds Of People Who Visited Have Said They Left With Burns, Rashes, Nausea, Physical Damage And Many Other Horrific Symptoms. There Have Been Strange Disappearances, UFO Sightings, And Local Legends And Mysteries
#33
On June 14th, 1969, 6-Year-Old Dennis Martin Vanished While On A Camping Trip With His Family In The Great Smoky Mountains. No Trace Was Ever Found, Sparking Theories Of Wild Men, Feral People, And Cryptids
Upstaged75 21 hours ago
He got massively lost in the middle of a huge forest during bad weather. And the search was mishandled badly - there were thousands of people barging around without knowing what to look for. The poor kid obviously died from injury or exposure and they just didn't find the body.
#34
Dolores Barrios - She Said She Was An Alien Who Came From Venus And Mysteriously Disappeared One Day Without A Trace
#35
In 1982, Soviet Navy Divers Participating In A Training Exercise In Lake Baikal Reported Encountering Tall, Humanoid Beings Clad In Silvery Suits, And A Strange, Unidentified Submerged Object. The Divers Described The Beings As Being Roughly Three Meters Tall And Lacking Any Visible Oxygen Tanks
#36
Thia Same Symbol Is Found In 3 Different Countries - These Petroglyphs Discovered In Japan, Utah, And Azerbaijan Prompt Intriguing Inquiries Into The Connections Between Ancient Cultures. These Carvings, Located In Fugoppe Cave In Japan, Nine Mile Canyon In Utah, And Gobustan In Azerbaijan
#37
Eilean Mor Lighthouse Mystery - All Three Lighthouse Keepers On A Remote Island Vanished. The Logs Found Reference A Brutal Storm That Lasted Days, Even Though A Neighboring Island That Had View Of The Lighthouse Reported Calm Weather
Kabuki Kitsune 20 hours ago
The going theory is that a rogue wave swept them away while they were doing maintenance on the west landing, which was out of view from the neighboring island. When the Northern Lighthouse Board investigated, they found quite a bit of evidence that pointed to a rogue wave being the cause.
#38
Black-Eyed Children Are Pale, Androgynous Children Between The Ages Of 6 And 16 With Jet-Black Eyes. They Appear Unexpectedly And Seek Entry Into Homes And Other Enclosed Spaces. Their Presence Is Often Accompanied By An Overwhelming Sense Of Fear And Unease
StrangeOne 20 hours ago
Legend theories claim they are not innocent children, but demonic entities disguised as children. The entities are too evil to hide their all black eyes.
#39
Bell Witch Attacks From 1817-1821, The Bell Family Was Tormented By A Mostly Invisible Entity That Was Able To Speak, Affect The Physical Environment, And Shapeshift. Some Accounts Record The Spirit Also To Have Been Clairvoyant And Capable Of Crossing Long Distances With Superhuman Speed
#40
18-Yr-Old, Aurora Fernandes, Was Struck By Red Beam Of Light Which She Says "Felt Like A Very Thin Needle Piercing" Her, That Made Her Fall Unconscious. She Was Unable To Walk Or Talk Properly For Weeks. This Is One Of Hundreds Of UFO Attacks Recorded By Brazilian Military At Colares, 1977
Bill Swallow 8 hours ago (edited)
Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. I can hear the Hanna-Barbera sound effect now.
#41
In Loveland, Ohio In 1972 Two Policeman Reported Seeing A 4ft Tall Frog-Like Creature Walking On Two Legs. Over The Last Few Decades Several Other Sightings Of The Loveland Frog Have Been Reported
#42
NASA Astronaut Franklin Story Musgrave Claimed To Have Seen Snake-Shaped Ufos During Two Missions In Space
Spencers slave no more 18 hours ago (edited)
No, he didn't. What he did say was that the white snake like material he saw and photographed, was "likely a rubber seal from the main engine" that had detached from the spacecraft.
#43
In 1928, The Third Richest Man In The World Disappeared From His Private Airplane Midflight. He Went To The Bathroom And Simply Vanished. To This Day, Nobody Knows For Sure What Happened On That Flight
Upstaged75 21 hours ago
On the evening of 4 July 1928, Alfred left from Croydon Airport to fly to Brussels on his private aircraft along with six other people. While the aircraft was crossing the English Channel, Alfred went to the rear of the aircraft to use the lavatory. In Alfred’s aircraft, a door at the rear of the main passenger cabin opened on to a short passage with two doors: the one on the right led to the lavatory, while the one on the left was the aircraft's entrance door. When he had not reappeared after some time, Alfred's secretary went in search of him, and discovered that the lavatory was empty, and the aircraft's entrance door was open and flapping in the slipstream. The employee (along with the others on the aircraft) asserted his belief that he had fallen through the aircraft's rear door and plunged several thousand feet to his d***h in the English Channel. A fishing boat spotted a decomposed corpse floating near the French coast. It was identified as the body of Alfred Loewenstein .
#44
Lost Colony Of Roanoke - The First Attempt At British Settlement Of North America. The Leader Of The Colony Left For England For Supplies And Returned To Find All 120 Colonists And Their Buildings Had Vanished. The Only Clue Was The Word ‘Croatoan’ Carved Into A Tree
#45
Robert The Doll - One Of The Most Haunted Objects In America. He’s In A Museum In Key West And Visitors Are Given A Very Specific Warning. You Have To Ask Robert For Permission Before Taking His Photo. If Not, You May Experience An Accident Or Bad Luck Like Your Camera Breaking Or Something Worse
#46
MT. Luminaries In Brazil - Named That Way In The 16th Century After A Persistent Phenomenon Of Fast Moving Orbs Of Light That Would Plague The Skies From Time To Time. They Were Reported To From The Hills And Caves. Natives Used To Worship The Area Because The "Light Beings" Came From There
#47
Some Of The World's Oldest Known Rock Art, Up To 40,000 Years Old, From Australia Depicts Stylized Humanoid Figures
StrangeOne 20 hours ago
Perspective may be at play here. It could be an animal from an overhead view, or a depiction of a tribal dance where people dress as animals and dance around.
#48
In October 1964, A Young Man Was Driving To A Dance In Hamburg, Pennsylvania, When His Radio Began To Pick Up A Strange Frequency. At First He Thought It Was Just Tuning In To A Local Channel, But Then Voices Came Through Discussing Some Kind Of Nuclear War – And Issuing Bomb Reports
Bill Swallow 7 hours ago
Modern updating of Mercury Theater on the Air's "War of the Worlds"? Or a military training exercise and some grunt mistuned their radio?
#49
Time Traveler At A Mike Tyson Fight - This Shot Was Taken In 1995 There Are Other Images Available Go Check Them Out. Seems To Be A Smart Phone Of Sorts Being Used To Record The Fight
Add New Image
What do you think ?
PirellisMiracleElixer 22 hours ago
There seems to be a lot more alien abductions in the past before everyone had a camera in their pocket
Nikki Sevven 8 hours ago
And even with high megapixel cameras, all photos appear to have been taken with a potato.
Load More Replies...
StumblingThroughLife 18 hours ago
Does anyone else get irritated that they capitalise the first letter of every word in their sentences/paragraphs? Petty, I admit, but it IS irritating.
Fred 14 hours ago
Yes, infuriating. And often an abbreviation that should be entirely in capitals has only the first letter capitalized, for example Bc and Ad with dates.
Load More Replies... PirellisMiracleElixer 22 hours ago
There seems to be a lot more alien abductions in the past before everyone had a camera in their pocket
Nikki Sevven 8 hours ago
And even with high megapixel cameras, all photos appear to have been taken with a potato.
Load More Replies... StumblingThroughLife 18 hours ago
Does anyone else get irritated that they capitalise the first letter of every word in their sentences/paragraphs? Petty, I admit, but it IS irritating.
Fred 14 hours ago
Yes, infuriating. And often an abbreviation that should be entirely in capitals has only the first letter capitalized, for example Bc and Ad with dates.
Load More Replies...
Related on Bored Panda
