Larian Studios Forums General Chat Chat (Anything) Urban myths / legends

What are Urban myths / legends:

They are a folkloric and often sensational tale about modern life that is repeated in the media and by other means, making it more believable to some.


I am curious about other countries Urban myths / legends so let's share.

Here's one:

The Arizona Highway Patrol in the United States came upon a pile of smoldering metal embedded into the side of a cliff rising above the road at the apex of a curve. The wreckage resembled the site of an airplane crash, but it was a car. The type of car was unidentifiable at the scene. The lab finally figured out what it was and what had happened.
It seems that a guy had somehow obtained a JATO unit (Jet Assisted Take Off-actually a solid fuel rocket) that is used to give heavy military transport planes an extra "push" for taking off from short airfields. He had driven his Chevy Impala out into the desert and found a long, straight stretch of road. Then he attached the JATO unit to his car, jumped in, got up some speed and fired off the JATO!

The facts as best could be determined are that the operator of the 1967 Impala hit JATO ignition at a distance of approximately 3.0 miles from the crash site. This was established by the prominent scorched and melted asphalt at that location. The JATO, if operating properly, would have reached maximum thrust within 5 seconds, causing the Chevy to reach speeds well in excess of 350 mph and continuing at full power for an additional 20-25 seconds. The driver, soon to be pilot, most likely would have experienced G-forces usually reserved for dog-fighting F-14 jocks under full afterburners, basically causing him to become insignificant for the remainder of the event. However, the automobile remained on the straight highway for about 2.5 miles (15-20)seconds before the driver applied and completely melted the brakes, blowing the tires and leaving thick rubber marks on the road surface, then becoming airborne for an additional 1.4 miles and impacting the cliff face at a height of 125 feet leaving a blackened crater 3 feet deep in the rock.
Most of the driver's remains were not recoverable; however, small fragments of bone, teeth and hair were extracted from the crater and fingernail and bone shards were removed from a piece of debris believed to be a portion of the steering wheel.


Kyra_Ny <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/badsmile2.gif" alt="" />

I'm not really shure what that was all about, or what this thread is all about but anyway:

Once in the fair city of Malmö (or whatever, the only important thing being it has an harbour, and Malmö does) there was an add in the newspaper who said:

"Ferrarri for sale, top shape 20 kr (allmost three bucks) call me on number XXXXXX (or whatever number you like...)".

One man answered to the add and there was this whomen who answered that he should meet her in the harbour the day after at 15:00. She would bring the car.

Well he showed up, and so did she with the car, and as she said, it was it top shape and everything, got CD, airconditioning, everything. Probably worth a fortune.

The guy said: "So... You're selling this car for 20 kr?"
She replied: "Well, yes, that's what the add said, right?"
The guy asked carefully: "That's a little cheap, isn't it?"
She said: "Well, now that you mention it, yes it is a little cheap, isn't it?"
The guy asked yet more carefully: "Is it... Is it stolen or something?"
She replied: "No, it belongs to my ex-husband."
He asked: "Well, why doesn't he sell it then?"
She said: "Because he's in Thailand with his 30 years younger girlfriend, and he called me and told me to sell the car and send him the money."

Übereil <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/badsmile2.gif" alt="" />

That is why the tsunami happened!!! The man got his money!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" />
@ Kyra
For some urban legends, you have to wait for a while, I don't know any from the top of my head. But we have some strange stories about the "Bokkerijders". Some men, they called something like "male goat ryders". But my fellow countrymen from the Limburg will tell you probably more about this mythe.

Urban legends - The famous werewolf

At fatima do sul - Mato Grosso do Sul. A litle interior town in 1945 the local people always talked many tales, but they believed in some ones cause of some facts like - by the morning many dogs appeared killed in the center of the city and neighborhood completely lacerated and a lot of blood out of your dead bodies. My grandmother told this tale to my mother and she told me when i was young(i'm still young - 20 - but when i was more young), the people was believing that was an werewolf attacking the dogs at the night - and many was saying that was a man what had been cursed by his mother cause he wasn't a good son(to the point to punch his mother a lot) and she cursed him, mading he turning into the werewolf of that city.

Well that's one of the legends, but here in Brasil we have some unique legends like:
The Curupira( The man with foots distorced to back, and this man is the protector of the forest - many said when had bad people in the forest killing a lot or burning the forest, this man come for them and no one know to say what happened with these hunters, but they never had be seen anymore).

The Saci-Perere(is a black boy with just one lag, what come with whirlwinds and like to scroll up with everyone who he find, change things of place or appear and disappear and etc...).

And other legends, if anyone has interest to know more later i tell you more.

At my school, when I was young-er, they added a new trail in the forest. ( My school has huge grounds). So we went in, and we found an old tree fort in the forest. So we started jumping out from it whenever people ran by and telling them not to go back there, the bad chain saw lady was back there. She was out at midnight, but was sleeping right now, but there was blood everywhere. And Timmy had disappeared....

We got busted and I believe a note sent home to parents or the principles office or something, but it was fun.

And some of the kids are still today afraid of the trail, heeheehee. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

We have a mountain that has a very weird legend / myth to it (legend to those who dont know, myth / joke to those who know)

If you drive up this mountain you notice that is starts very steep uphill, then has a short downhill before it continues steep uphill. If you stop on the downhill section, your car starts rolling backwards (uphill).

This has had people freaked out for as long as i can remember. People dont want to travel that road at night at ALL. This had me just as freaked out, until i had an epiphany in science class.... we were doing optical illusions...

When I went out with a group of friends, we decided to go measure the angle of the uphills and downhills on that mountain.

The uphills were very steep (about 30 - 40 degrees IIRC), and the Downhill was 2 degrees (which makes it an UPhill, but with optical illusion, compared to the steep uphills, it looks like a downhill).

To this day, the locals there, still avoid that road at night.

This is not a modern legend but an ancient one.
Untill the 17th century "Antwerpen" was written like "Hantwerpen" (Trhowing hands). No wonder, because according to an old myth a part of the river "De Schelde" was gaurded by a big giant Druoon Antigoon. He claimed a very high toll for every passing ship. Who ever did not pay, the giant simply chop of the hand of the shipper and throw it in the river. One day, a Roman soldier, Silvius Brabo killed the giant in a fight, chopped of his hand and throw in the river. That is how Hantwerpen got her name from. Later they erased the "H" and kept "Antwerpen"
Antwerp is connected with a lot of myths, but they are to long to translate all in English.

Nice name for the next Larian game. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" /> ( I mean the Giant.)

Modern myths ? That all Germans wear Lederhosen and eat Bretzeln ... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/silly.gif" alt="" />

We've got something simillar:

There was this giant (can't rememer his name) who got pissed on this other giant (can't remember his name either). To make things clear the first one lived in Sweden and the other one lived in Finland.

OK, so this giant in Sweden takes a piece of the land and tries to throw it at the other guy. But since he's very weak (and he's a terrible aimer) it lands in the sea. So he takes out another piece of the land and throws it at the other guy. Same result. OK, so the pieces of land turned into Swedens two largest island, Gottland and Öland. And the place he took the land from (where there now where two big holes) were eventually filled with whater, and turned into Sweden's two biggest lakes, Vänen och Vättern.

Übereil

I found another one story about Bruges. A city in West-vlaanderen.
When Jesus was on his way to Golgotha, with his cross, he passed a Jew standing in his doorway. Jesus asked the Jew:"Can I rest here for a little while?" "No": said the Jew.
And Jesus said: "I will rest someday, but you will go on untill the world stops to exist." Since then the Jew is known for "the walking Jew", wondering all over the world. He can never sleep, have faught in many wars, tries to kill himself, but dead didn't want him. When he got around the world, 100 years were past. One day, he arrived in Bruges. He joined a man on a boot that was hedding for the market. He stayed there to play cards with the people on board. He loses everytime, because he can't win. When he has to pay, he just have to put his hand in his pocket and has the right amount of goldpieces to pay for what he needs. He is still on that boat, because the end of the world is still not in sight.

Pepole must love that guy...

Übereil

I am sure that they do <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

There is a myth in SA about the "Tokolosie"

It is reputed to be a dwarf-like little black man that is VERY ugly and evil. According to the myth, he is the bringer of infant deaths, disease, madness etc. A lot of our local tribes STILL elevate their beds, but putting bricks underneath it, to prevent the Tokolosie from harming them when they are sleeping.

When a woman gives birth to a deformed baby, the tribe will kill the child, because they believe that the Tokolosie slept with the mother. No other man will ever admit to having slept this that woman. She is outcast for the remainder of her life, because she is believed to be tainted by the Tokolosie and will always bring deformed childre, death and disease.

If you want to commit suicide in South Africa but dont have the courage to do it yourself.... all you have to do is tell a tribal man that the Tokolosie slept with his mother.... He will hunt you down and kill you (and your family).

"Ugly looking" Animals are also reputed to be the Tokolosie's dogs... A Tribal person will not go into a property if there is a "Pug", a "Show" (because of the blue tongue and habit to stare at people), or a "Sharpei". They are considered evil animals, and will be avoided at all times.

Cruel people there in SA! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />

Lol any more cruel than burning people at the stake for having knowledge of herbs???? (witches).... If my mother or i lived in those ages, we would have been cut into 10 000 pieces, just so they can burn us 10 000 times!!!!

sounds like kebab to me. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

& the natives in SA still have a long way to go in getting rid of such myths. my people used to have those too but i think we're wiser now. i hope.

Yes that's true, I really think that torturing and burning socalled witches was simply something that sexually frustrated priests did, so they could take advantage of innocent women who were outkasts in their own village. I once saw a movie about some fanatic priest that got randy when he saw this very beautiful girl. He tortured her and took her in his bed, later he even cut off her tongue <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" />(couldn't watch any further, brrrrr too creepy), the priest had a sword hanging above his bed, like Damocles sword? Can't remember the name of the movie but never forgot about it. I provide shelter for all witches, wizards and any one who is followed for what they believe in. Everyone's welcome!!

Satanists? Sadists? Pedofils? I'm there!!! No <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/puppyeyes.gif" alt="" />...

Übereil

Don't confuse movies with reality.
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

@ Gal
THe movie's name was Pit and the Pendulum

THe reason that the "witches" were burnt, was that they didnt PRAY to heal people, they applied their OWN (in other words not the Church's) remedies.

What happened later in that movie, was that he DID bed her (rather violently), but she later broke free, turned his own sword on him, after husband (who was also thrown in prison) broke loose from the torture chamber, and helped her escape.

The evil priest got killed (like they always do in the movies).

another urban legend from Belgium is about a gang in a certain city (don't know which). you can find them in subway stations, and if you meet them they give you two choises: groepsverkrachtig of engelenlach (gangbang or 'angelsmile'). and if you make the better sounding choise angelsmile, they take a knife and cut the two ends of your mouth open, right to your ears. so you'll get an angelsmile indeed...

good this one isn't actually true, but you better pay attention in stations though...a guy named Joe was killed two weeks ago in belgium. two polish dudes (they were gypsies (is that the right word, not discriminating or something?)) wanted his mp3-player. he didn't gave it, so one of the dudes decides to stab him 5 times with his knife, result: joe is dead, just because he didn't want to give a music player...
they found one of the polish guys a few days ago, and the murderer today.