Local legends?

[Hocus Pocus 636]

It seems that every place in the world has some sort of local legend of a strange cryptid or location where supernatural anomalies or hauntings take place, and that got me thinking... Many of these anomalies are not very well known and as such, aren't likely to be heard by people outside of the area.

 

And this leads me to ask: What are some of the local legends from the area you're from?

 

For me, one of the more well known myths across the area is the phantom panther. There have been numerous spottings of a black panther in Illinois, one of which was my grandfather, who even went as far as to get a plaster mold of the prints it left... Which almost disappoints me because he hasn't shown anybody but us the prints he took, and I'd like to get it confirmed whether or not it is a large predatory cat rather than something like a coyote, which are quite common on his farm, but I digress. Some tales of encounters with this beast even involve the malfunction of electrical equipment, which is a common trait among many cryptids myths.

 

And a more local legend is that of Rachel the ghost, who allegedly haunts my old highschool, Springfield High School... Which was actually built on top of a graveyard.... like seriously, it was called Hutchinson Cemetery... between this and the "dungeon" (explained below), the story sounds pretty far-fetched, but please feel free to fact-check this if you're doubtful, it's pretty hilarious in that it sounds almost like something out of the beginning of some mystery/suspense anime... Or maybe just a scrapped episode of Gravity Falls

 

Oddly enough, supernatural occurrences never really happened in the school until a gravestone that was found while digging the elevator shaft was broken by a newspaper reporter... or so the legend goes. The cracked gravestone is still kept in the boiler room, and is usually shown off when the school does its annual halloween tours of what the students jokingly call "the dungeon", which is a curious set of tunnels beneath the school that can be accessed from trapdoors on the ground floor. Nobody really knows why the tunnels were built, but I theorize that it had something to do with trying to make a bomb shelter during the cold war.

 

(I could go into more detail, but I don't want to hog the spotlight and drone on about the school, if you're really interested in knowing more, feel free to PM me, but in the mean time, I think its high time I got off my soap box )

 

So what are your local legends and regional mythos? Even if you don't believe it yourself, it's still fun to talk about rumors that add to a region's culture right?

Edited June 11, 2016 by Hocus Pocus

[Venomous 18,814]

I live in Illinois and there is a motel that is about twenty minutes away from my town that is apparently haunted by the spirit of teenage girl that died there. I have never stayed in the said motel and I don't know anyone who has, so I can't really name any specific witnesses. However, locals insist that it is indeed haunted.

[El Duderino 878]

I live in Southern California, not too far from LA. There are tons of urban legends about the area, but I recently read about on that  really caught my attention. In Santa Paula CA (just northwest of LA) there is an urban legend about a monster called the Balliwhack Monster. It is supposed to be a large, muscular beast covered in white fur, with razor sharp claws and long goat-like horns on it's head (basically like a Wampa from Star Wars). Sightings go all the way back to the 50's. The legend is that it was created as an experiment by a scientist trying to create a super soldier before WWII.

[Stardust* 3,302]

I live in Washington state, and it is one of the biggest hot spots for Big Foot sightings. Many people claim to have seen him and the local tourist traps are keen on selling it up lol.

 

But one that is a bit closer to home is an old hotel that is down town. It is currently under construction trying to renovate it for low income housing. But it has been here almost as long as the town has been here and my husband was working security for the building quite a while back. Let's just say that it is well known for sightings of ghosts and blood curdling screams. Needless to say after a few nights of having to walk each floor he decided it would just be a good idea to check the outside perimeter. He still gets the willies when we drive by it.

[Lisa 5,552]

A town just southwest of Sydney called Picton is thought to be haunted. There used to be tours in it but they stopped a couple of years ago.

[cmarston1 5,952]

I don't think my town has any local legends.

We are kinda boring like that.

[Celtore 2,769]

Well, there's the old Preston Springs hotel. I did a paper on it for journalism. It was a famous hotel in 1890, people back then thought its springs had healing properties. Then it shut down in the 1940's because it couldn't keep up with increasing hotel standards, became a sanitarium for a short while, then later a really poor quality retirement home where the owner didn't care much for health regulations.

 

 

I've heard stories about the building being haunted and tales of trespassers coming across some unexplained and downright creepy things in there. People have been trying to renovate the building, but nothings really happened to it. Other than the exterior paint job, I suppose.

Edited June 11, 2016 by Celtore

[Dreambiscuit 8,139]

I used to live in Arkansas and the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs was reputed to be haunted. It was originally built as a health resort with natural springs that could cure any ailment, but that was a sham, and many patients died there. Now it's a very pretty hotel with many famous hauntings. One of my family members staying in the Governors's Suite there tried opening a door, but felt it being held shut from the other side. When he finally got it open, the room beyond was empty, except he heard a sound of someone unseen loudly clearing his throat. If that had happened to me, I'd still be running! 

I now live in California, and we do apparently have a resident ghost at Disneyland where I work. Happily I've never seen it.  :awuh:

[AriaTheLovely 578]

I live in New England not going to say what part since I do like my privacy. But a big thing where I live are pukwudgies they are pretty much a evil native american deity. That lure people to their deaths at night using bright balls of light. If anyone is interested here is a link for it http://ghostsofnewengland.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-pukwudgies-of-new-england.html. Another thing from around my area is king phillips rock. Here is a video explaining it since It explains the legend and the area better then I can. https://youtu.be/Hxa6hbytdOI?t=2m46s

[undiscorded 120]

i am from Ireland were i come from there is loads of legends and folklore actually to many to list off but ill do one or two

 

Banshee most known  one

 

The Banshee comes from the Irish bean sí (woman of the fairy mounds) is a feminine spirit usually seen as an omen of death and a messenger from the Other-world.
In legend, a banshee is a fairy woman who begins to wail if someone about to die.
The story of the banshee began as a fairy woman keening at the death if important personages. In later stories, the appearance of the banshee could foretell death. The banshee can appear in a variety of guises. Most often she appears as an ugly frightening hag but she can also appear as a stunning beautiful woman of any age that suits her.
Although not always seen, her mourning call is heard usually at night when someone is about to die and usually around woods.
The banshee may also appear in a variety of other forms such as that if a hooded crow, stoat,hare and weasel - animals associated with witchcraft in Ireland.
Banshees normally dressed in white or grey, often having long pale hair which they brush with a silver comb. This comb detail is also related to the centuries old traditional romantic Irish story that, if you ever see a comb lying on the ground in Ireland, you must never pick it up or the banshees having placed it there to lure unsuspecting humans, will spirit such gullible humans away.