Frightful stories of cryptids, aliens, and urban legends get retold every Halloween. Campfire versions embellish the truth for cheap scares. The following origins of 10 popular tropes prove that sometimes real life is even more bizarre.

10 Unsettling Premonitions That Came True

10 Neighbors Poison Halloween Candy

Ronald O’Bryan ruined everyone’s fun. Cautious parents inspect their children’s Halloween haul to make sure no nefarious prankster tainted it. They usually test this by courageously eating some portion of the candy themselves. Only one recorded child has died from poisoned Halloween candy. It was not done by a demented boogieman, but the child’s own father.

In 1974, eight-year-old Timothy O’Bryan went trick or treating. Timothy and his five friends approached an ominous house with its lights off. No one answered when they rang the doorbell. Instead, Ronald O’Bryan walked out shadows. He handed each kid a restapled 21-inch pixy stix coated in cyanide. Floundering in debt, Ronald killed his son to cash in on the life insurance policy. On June 3, 1975, a jury convicted Ronald of one charge of capital murder and four counts of attempted murder.

Following the unsolved Chicago Tylenol poisoning, the very real threat of child dying no longer seemed like quirky holiday superstition. Retellings turned the myth of deadly candy into the far more innocuous problem of needles in the chocolate. It only made sense that the type of sadistic monster willing feed trick-or-treaters razor blades is the same kind of person who hands out apples.^[1]

9 Piranhas are Flesh Eating Monsters

Nature-loving Teddy Roosevelt unknowingly spread one of its most groundless myths. Piranhas’ reputation as pocket sized demons that devour meat in seconds is unjustified. The fish are omnivorous. Some species are strictly herbivores. They only eat animals bigger than insects or other fish when they are starved, like when President Roosevelt first saw them.

In 1913, Brazilian dignitaries were eager to impress the former President. Desperate to make an impressive spectacle, they closed off a section of the Amazon river. For days, the isolated Piranhas were denied food. In honor of Roosevelts arrival, the locals dropped a live cow into the swarm. Like the velociraptor frenzy in Jurassic Park, the school stripped apart the bovine. Chunks of barren bone were all that was left to float to the top. Recalling the event in his travelogue Through the Brazilian Wilderness, Roosevelt described the fish as the “embodiment of evil ferocity.” Schlocky b-grade movies like James Cameron’s Piranha II: The Spawning ingrained the misconception in popular culture.^[2]

8 Celebrities get their Ribs Removed

On-stage antics are meant to be for shock. Theatric rocker Marilyn Manson’s legacy has been eclipsed by the rumor that he removed his ribs to suck his penis. The oft trot out line has no validity. This allegation was as false for the first person to have it applied to them. He unleashed horrors far more appalling than “The Beautiful People”

Rumors around celebrities removing their ribs is frequently targeted against women looking for unorthodox weight loss. That strain of story still gets retold with various stars like Cher, Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Fonda, Racquel Welch, or Britanny Spears. The salacious wrinkle that someone would opt for the surgery for self-fallacio is attributed to Gabriele D’Annunzio. D’Annunzio trafficked in gossip. To bolster his fame, D’Annunzio spread scandalous tales that he cooked baby flesh, stitched a robe to expose his penis, and stole the Mona Lisa. Despite his controversial history, Italy still heralds D’Annunzio as one of their nation’s great poets. The world is more familiar with his other work, fascism.

The first modern fascist state was the city of Fiume. The enclave was seized by D’annunzio’s 2,000 strong militia. Italian forces tried to reclaim the small town for 15 months. Eventually, the navy compelled surrender. Benito Mussolini admired D’Annunzio’s resolve. After his rise to power, Mussolini modeled himself after D’annuzio. D’annuzio was wary of Il Duce’s legitimacy, but he did suggest an easy symbol to identify followers of the cause. Initially known as “The Roman Salute,” the Nazi’s adopted the hand gesture as the Seig Heil.^[3]

7 The Jersey Devil

Two people birthed the Jersey Devil. Tradition holds that Mother Leeds conceived her thirteenth child in a pact with Satan. The deformed offspring sprouted wings, hooves, and a tail. The second culprit is nearly as unbelievable, Benjamin Franklin.

The Leeds family lack the same name recognition as their Founding Father rival. They still shaped history. Daniel Leeds’ Almanac was the earliest printing in the New Jersey colony. It’s anti-Quaker stance is among the first political attacks in American history. Quakers retaliated by calling Daniel Leeds, “Satan’s Harbinger.”

Daniel passed almanac responsibilities to his son, Titan. Under his pseudonym “Poor Richard,” Benjamin Franklin joked in his competing almanac that astrological calculations prophecized Titan’s imminent death. As the prediction passed in 1733, the very much not dead Leeds called Franklin, “a liar.” Franklin retorted that he was still right. Titan was just a ghost. By the time of Titan’s real 1738 death, anti-British sentiment turned the Leeds family into a symbol of ridicule. Their family crest was mocked as the Leeds Devil. A 20th century huckster trying to stir up business towards his store revitalized and embellished oral stories of the Leeds Devil into the name of the cryptozoological chimera that terrorizes the Garden state’s forests and, occasionally, the National Hockey League.^[4]

6 Nazi UFO’s

Like any good melodrama, Baron Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s life starts with, “it was a dark and stormy night.” The hackney cliché first appeared in Bulwer-Lytton’s 1830 novel Paul Clifford. Other common phrases, like “The almighty dollar” or “The pen is mightier than the sword,” were coined within the pages of Bulwer-Lytton’s works. His life was as florid as his writing. In retribution for locking her in an insane asylum under false pretenses, his wife, Rosina Doyle Wheeler, sabotaged Bulwer-Lytton’s Parliamentary campaign. She leaked misinformation that he was having an illicit affair with future Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. No story better encapsulates his insane life than the far-reaching consequences of his 1871 potboiler The Coming Race.

The pulp novel was among the first science fiction texts to use the plot device of a traveler unearthing a mythical land. The main character discovered a secret undergound commune inhabited by a race of angels called Vril-ya powered by the fluid “vril”. A fan of the occult, Bulwer-Lytton’s fictional realm referenced common pseudoscientific ideas of the day. In 1947, researcher William Ley inspired real life quests to tap into Vril’s power. One such organization, the Vril Society, was allegedly founded when psychic Maria Orsic used her telepathic hair to communicate with aliens. Intergalactic beings equipped the Third Reich with superior technology in the waning days of the war. Shockingly, historians are not convinced the society existed.

The absurd idea of aliens working with the Nazi high command permeated pop culture. Tongue-in-cheek video games like Iron sky: Invasion, the Wolfenstein franchise, or the zombie levels of Call of Duty are based on the conspiracy theory. Along with all of their other wrongheaded views, some Neo-Nazis sects still maintain Vril is out there.^[5]

10 Beloved Stories Based On Horrible True Events

5 Chemirocha

Jimmie Rodgers was a legend in life. Death made him a deity. As “The Father of Country Music,” generations of composers were inspired by Rodger’s pioneering yodel. A fraction of the artists shaped by Rodgers’ catalogue include Bob Dylan, Louis Armstrong, Hank Williams, Mudddy Waters, and Howlin’ Wolf. His influence stretched far beyond the American South, including, curiously, Kenya’s Great Rift Valley.

British missionaries brought the word of God and the yelps of Rodgers. To further spread their message, evangelists played gramophone copies of country records. The Kipsigis tribe were particularly fond of Jimmie Rodgers. Through bungled translation, the formative country singer’s name became “Chemirocha.” “Chemirocha” entered the lexicon for anything new or interesting.

In the 1950’s, ethnomusicologist Hugh Tracey returned to the Kipsigis village to field record local songs. The phrase “Chemirocha” morphed into lore. Because of his unnaturally high-pitched voice, “Chemirocha” was described as a half-man and half-antelope faun. Either in myth or his music, Jimmie Rodgers achieved immortality.^[6]

4 The Loch Ness Monster

Murmurs of some creature lurking within Scotland’s Loch Ness were told for centuries. The modern notion of an aquatic reptile comes from a single 1934 photograph published in The Daily Mail. Dubbed “The Surgeon’s Photo,” the grainy black and white visual of a long neck and humped figure breaking through the water became the standard depiction of the beast. Everyone involved has since admitted it was a hoax.

In 1933, the Inverness Courier printed the first sighting of the legendary animal. The Daily Mail wanted to get in on the craze. They stationed Marmaduke Wetherall to gather evidence. In December 1933, he discovered a set of footprints on the shoreline. Natural History Museum scientists examining the plaster copies determined they were made by a dried hippo’s foot from an umbrella stand. Mocked for being so gullible, Wetherall concocted his revenge.

Wetherall approached his stepson Christian Spurling to create a fake monster. Molding some clay on top of a toy submarine, Spurling photographed the replica as it drove around the lake. To lend some credibility, the duo employed noted surgeon Colonel Robert Wilson to hand the pictures to The Daily Mail. Marmaduke Wetherell embarrassed the British tabloid just as they embarrassed him.^[7]

3 The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs

1979’s When a Stranger Calls begins with the classic twist of a panicked babysitter realizing that the killer’s call was coming inside the house. The tragic crime that inspired it was even more of a macabre irony. The phone cord she thought could save her, killed her.

On March 18, 1950, 13-years-old Janett Christman babysat Ed and Anne Romack’s 3-year-old son, Gregory. Worried about her safety, Ed lent Janett a shotgun if anyone suspicious stopped by. It was never used. Around 10:35 p.m., the local Sheriff’s Department received a frantic phone call. In between disjointed breathes, the dispatcher barely made out a plea for help. The phone was cut dead. Within three hours, Christman was too. She had been bludgeoned, raped, and strangled with the wires from an electric iron and the telephone. Thankfully, Gregory was unharmed.

Jurisdictional squabbles hampered the investigation. The Romacks lived 100-yards over the city limits. Competing agencies feuded over withheld evidence. This divide allowed the prime suspect Robert Mueller to evade justice. Mueller had a lecherous reputation in the community for young virgins. His occasional babysitter, Mueller lusted after Janett in particular. The stationary shotgun suggests Christman knew the culprit. The night of the murder, Mueller excused himself for two hours to allegedly meet his doctor. Mueller’s doctor says he never showed up. Most damning, Mueller phoned the Romacks the morning after the murder. Obviously out of compassion, he asked if they needed any assistance cleaning the blood. This call came before the press reported the murder. Taken to barn outside city limits, police interrogated Mueller. Denied a proper setting, the questions were inadmissible. Mueller died in 2006 never charged with any crime. Officially, the case remains unsolved.^[8]

2 Grey Aliens Probe Butts

There are two possibilities. Believers contend that on September 9, 1961, husband and wife Barney and Betty Hill were abducted by a flying saucer somewhere along New Hampshire’s White Mountains. Aliens shoved a needle through Betty’s navel and a metallic capsule inside Barney’s rectum. Skeptics maintain it was all made up. Neither view justifies why so many people have shared this delusion.

Logic explains away most of the supposed details. Sleep-deprived, the Hills drove five hours nonstop in the middle of the night. In this foggy state, an observatory tower light weaving along the wooded road could be confused for a craft. The visual of grey skinned aliens with an enlarged forehead closely resemble the costume design of a beast in an episode the Outer Limits aired two weeks before Barney shared his account. The intrusive surgery resembles accounts of accidental awareness Barney might have experienced if anesthesia wore off in a recent tonsillectomy. Physical evidence like Betty’s ripped dress, Barney’s scuffed shoes, or circular dents on the car are harder to rationalize, unless this whole story was created by an unscrupulous doctor.

The Hills were reluctant to publish their account. They only came forward at the recommendation of their psychiatrist, Dr. Benjamin Simon, in 1964. Under hypnosis, the Hills were susceptible for the opportunistic doctor to plant false memories. The couple did not initially seek out the counseling over concerns about a three-year-old hazy recollection. They faced tangible problems. Barney’s doctor warned he needed to treat stress-induced high blood pressure and ulcers. His first psychiatrist concluded Barney’s anxiety stemmed from being a black man married to a white woman. Active in the civil rights movement, the stigma of the interracial marriage caused the two mental unrest. Shortly before their sighting, the waitress at the diner they visited to was disgusted by the couple’s race. Black and white together make grey.^[9]

1 Elvis Faked His Death

Jimmy Ellis wanted to be a star. Every record with his name on it flopped. Critics always complained he sounded too much like Elvis Presley. After 15 years of scrounging by, Ellis abandoned music. He settled on just being himself. Then, Elvis died.

Mercury Records Vice President Shelby Singleton is one of music’s great conmen. His first shameless scam was buying Sun Records’ back catalog, the Memphis studio that launched the King of Rock and Roll’s career. In 1972, Singleton released Ellis singing 1950’s standards under the implication this was the lost first Elvis’ recordings.

By Elvis’ 1977 death, Singleton hatched a more fantastical con. Loosely inspired by Elvis’ biography, Gail Brewer-Giorgio’s unpublished novel Orion: The Living Superstar of Song tells of a Southerner who lucked into becoming the world’s most popular singer. After squandering his fame on drugs and vice, Orion faked his death to find peace.

Dressed in bedazzled jumpsuits, jet black hair, and a rhinestone mask, Singleton marketed Ellis as Orion. Local publications, not too worried about their accuracy, ran that Orion actually was Elvis reincarnated. Singleton fostered such theories by coyly rerecording old Jerry Lee Lewis albums as duets with Orion. 11 Orion albums were released between 1978 and 1982, including nine charting country singles.

Despite his burgeoning success, Ellis hated his fabricated identity. He grew convinced he was Vernon Presley’s illegitimate child. Sharing the same biological father might explain Ellis’ uncanny similarities. On New Year’s Eve 1983, Ellis tore off the Orion mask. He renounced his alter ego to manage a pawn shop in Alabama. In 1998, he was killed in a botched. He was 53.^[10]

Top 10 True Stories More Interesting Than The Myths They Inspired

About The Author: If you thought this article was unbelievably bad, you can email Nate at [email protected]. If you thought it was scary good, you can follow him on Twitter @nateyungman.

Southern Europe is known for having a Mediterranean climate that produces hot summers, mild winters, and lots of sunny days.

But there is a definite chill in the air whenever any of the below spooky stories are told…

Related: Top 10 Ghost Towns Inside Or Near Famous Cities

10 Quinta da Pauliceia, Águeda, Portugal

Águeda is home to the Umbrella Sky Project, a project that forms part of the annual AgitÁgueda Art Festival. A kaleidoscope of around 3,000 colorful umbrellas is suspended over the streets in the center of the town, adding to the festive atmosphere.

In contrast, Águeda is also where you’ll find one of the most haunted houses in Portugal. Quinta da Pauliceia stands on an abandoned plot of land and has that typical haunted house look about it. Long ago, it was inhabited by the Águedense family, who moved to Portugal from Brazil. In 1918, all but one member of the family died during the influenza pandemic. The surviving family member stayed until they, too, eventually died, leaving no heir behind.

Neighbors on either side of the house have heard the neighing of horses coming from the crumbling stables on the property in the dark of night, and some have even reported hearing shotgun blasts breaking the silence. And the few who dared venture close to the house to investigate have reportedly had their hair pulled by an invisible hand.^[1]

9 Đavolja Varoš, Kuršumlija, Serbia

Đavolja Varoš, Serbian for “the devil’s town,” is a strange-looking rock formation that stands near Kuršumlija in southeastern Serbia. While it is commonly accepted that the rocks’ peculiar shape was created by soil erosion, a persistent local legend has it that the rocks are the remains of people attending a wedding reception. The revelers were petrified by the devil, who appeared to them as they drank water from a nearby spring. For the sake of twisted fun, the devil infiltrated their minds and tried to force a marriage between a brother and sister. A local fairy overheard the commotion, and realizing what the devil was trying to do, she whipped out some magic tricks and turned everyone into stone.

Some locals insist that the area remains haunted, and you won’t catch them spending the night there.^[2]

8 Skrinjari House, Croatia

In the small village of Skrinjari, Croatia, stands a nondescript house surrounded by trees. It’s only when the history of the house is revealed that the picture takes on an eerie hue. It is said that the house was built in the 1980s, and the original owner and his family fled the property because of paranormal activity. No one will buy the place even though it’s been for sale since 1997 for a very low price. Rumors are still making the rounds that the current owner is willing to give the house to the first person who can spend an entire night inside of it and live to tell the tale.

As most haunted house stories go, it is believed that the Skrinjari house was constructed over a graveyard, and all sorts of mishaps then began to befall its occupants. According to legend, a little girl fell into a well on the grounds and drowned. Her body was never retrieved. A young woman was murdered in the house, and her remains were hidden in the foundation.

Those who have tried to “win” the house by staying the night have allegedly ended up in a mental hospital after encountering the ghosts of the little girl and young woman. Some people have also reported hearing a baby’s cry coming from the house and seeing strange shadows flitting past the uncovered windows. Sometimes an electric bulb can be seen glowing and swinging inside the attic even though the house is not connected to a power supply.^[3]

7 Piazza Navona, Rome, Italy

Olimpia Maidalchini was born into a poor family in 1591, a fact which later ignited a fire in her to climb up the social ranks. Her parents wished for her to become a nun to avoid the expense of a wedding, but Olimpia flat-out refused. She went on to marry twice, both times marrying into money. Her second husband, Pamphilio Pamphili, came from one of the wealthiest families in Italy. Thus Olimpia lived her best life in the various palaces owned by the Pamphili family, including the Palazzo Pamphili in Piazza Navona.

After Pamphilio died, Olimpia became the right-hand woman of his brother, who would eventually be Pope Innocent X. Those who wished to visit the pope had to bring Olimpia expensive gifts to be granted the privilege. Soon, there were rumblings that she and the pope were in a sinful relationship. Olimpia solved this problem by poisoning the gossipers.

It is alleged that when Pope Innocent X was on his deathbed in 1684, Olimpia locked him inside his bedroom while she stole the papal treasure, including two chests of gold. She wasn’t about to use any of the gold to pay for the pope’s funeral, so she fled Rome when the night was at its darkest.

Olimpia never returned and died of the plague a couple of years later. Her ghost returned, however, and rumors started flying that Olimpia, dressed in black and holding on tight to her stolen gold, could sometimes be seen fleeing Piazza Navona and hurtling across the Ponte Sisto. Other times she is seen in a black carriage drawn by black horses, as her shrill laughter echoes in the night.^[4]

6 Accursed Mountains, Albania

In Albania, you’ll see mosques and churches standing side by side in a country known worldwide for its religious tolerance. The Albanian people are also known for going out of their way to make visitors and tourists feel welcome.

One of the most famous landmarks in Albania is the mountain range known as the Accursed Mountains or the Albanian Alps. Tourists and hikers are drawn to these mountains because of their remote location and tranquil atmosphere. Two villages in the mountains, Valbona and Theth, are connected by a lone trail that snakes over the mountains, and you can only get from one to the other by hiking over the Valbona Pass, which takes around eight hours.

The Accursed Mountain range got its name because of the legend of three brothers who went hunting up in the mountains and there met a fairy. All three instantly fell in love with the fairy and began fighting about who saw her first. The fight turned ugly, and all three brothers died. The fairy watched but couldn’t help. So when the brothers died, she ran and hid behind the peaks of the mountain.

Days passed, and the mother of the young men began searching for her sons after becoming worried that they hadn’t returned yet. She found their lifeless bodies and began wailing as she buried them, her cries echoing down the mountain. The fairy emerged from her hiding place when she heard the mother’s cries and tried to explain. The mother refused to listen to the fairy and blamed her and the mountain range for her children’s deaths. Ever since, the mountains have been referred to as the Accursed Mountains.

Many locals still hold fast to the curse and are convinced the mountains are haunted.^[5]

5 Cismigiu Hotel, Bucharest, Romania

Romania will forever be first associated with the so-called Dracula’s Castle, more formally known as Bran Castle.

However, legend has it that several restless spirits also wander this country, the most famous of which is that of a student who still roams the Cismigiu Hotel in Bucharest. The hotel was built just after the start of the 20th century, but by 1970 it had been abandoned and left to rot. Finally, 20 years later, the property was acquired by the Theatre Academy and converted into student housing.

One particular weekend, shortly before a school vacation was to start, all the students had already departed for home, except for a lone girl. She walked down the hall and entered what she thought was a dorm room. It was nearly midnight and very dark, and what the girl actually stepped into was an elevator shaft. She fell down the shaft and was seriously injured. Panicking and in pain, she shouted for help, but there was no one to hear her. She died a short time later.

Ever since the accidental death, reports have been making the rounds about screams echoing through the halls of the building and from what used to be the elevator shaft. The building has since been renovated and converted back into a hotel. The shaft no longer exists, but that hasn’t stopped people from reporting ghostly goings-on in this former student housing building.^[6]

4 The House of the Seven Chimneys, Madrid, Spain

In the 16th century, Chueca in Madrid, Spain, was a quiet and tranquil place. And it was also the location of a major scandal. Elena, the beautiful daughter of Philip II’s huntsman, caught the eye of the king (who was still a prince at the time). To avoid rumors, Elena was married off to another, Captain Zapata. Unfortunately, Zapata died during a battle in Flanders soon after the wedding, which devastated a pregnant Elena. Shortly after giving birth to a baby girl, Elena also died.

It was believed that Elena had died from a broken heart, but soon another story started making the rounds. Servants murmured behind their hands about knife wounds on Elena’s body, which gave rise to the theory that her child may have been the king’s and not Zapata’s. No investigation could be done on Elena’s remains as her corpse mysteriously vanished, and not too long after, her father was also found dead.

A hideaway/love nest known as the House of the Seven Chimneys was initially constructed for Philip II and Elena, but it was only her ghost that would eventually roam there. Citizens passing by the house reported seeing a woman dressed in white flitting between and around the chimneys, stopping only to point a finger at the Alcazar where Philip II lived at the time.

At the end of the nineteenth century the building was renovated, and the bones of a woman were discovered inside the walls of the basement along with 16th-century coins.^[7]

3 The Well of Souls, Kifissia, Athens, Greece

Greece is the stuff of vacation dreams. Here you will find friendly people, stunning beaches, gourmet food, fantastic wine, and excellent coffee.

But much the same as all the other places on this list, Greece has a spooky side too. In the northern suburb of Kifissia in Athens is a well that has been sealed with a cement block and has reeds growing around it, making it difficult to find. The outer part of the well has symbols scribbled over it and is believed by locals to be haunted by the souls of the dead who cannot pass on to the next life. These apparitions appear to those who pass by the well at night and often take on terrifying forms.

It is rumored that a man once tried to shoot one of these ghosts. The following day he became ill and died.^[8]

2 Parco Sempione, Milan, Italy

Near the Castello Sforzesco lies the Parco Sempione, the largest park in Milan. The park dates back to the 15th century and is a popular hangout spot for locals. Inside the park are several buildings and sculptures that highlight the history of the area.

But it is not only the living that enjoys the park. Legend has it that the Veiled Lady walks here on hot summer nights, her face covered with a black veil. She keeps to herself most of the time, but when the scent of violets permeates the air, it is said that the Veiled Lady wishes to reveal her true form.

Whenever a man catches the scent of the violets, he will soon find a stunning woman in a black dress approaching him. Her face remains covered as she extends her hand to her victim. Once she grabs the man’s hand, she drags him into the depths of the park toward a dilapidated mansion.

Here, she lifts her veil, revealing a skull in the place of a face. This causes the man to instantly go insane, after which he is condemned to keep searching for the Veiled Lady until he dies.^[9]

1 Mdina, Malta

Malta is a stunning island country in Southern Europe. And while it may be the world’s tenth-smallest country, it has some of the world’s eeriest tales to tell.

Mdina, also known as the Silent City of Malta, is the location of a scary legend. In ancient times, a beautiful young woman named Katerina, who lived in Mdina, was attacked by a knight as she was walking home. She fought back and accidentally killed her attacker.

Katerina was found guilty of murder and was sentenced to death by execution. Minutes before she was beheaded, she was allowed to marry her true love. Now, Katerina is known as the headless bride of Mdina. She stands motionlessly at the end of the streets, beckoning people to follow her. She even appears in their photographs. Sometimes she floats up to widowers and men who have had their hearts broken and whispers to them to give up on true love and join her in death instead.^[10]