The Strangest Urban Legends from Around the World That Still Haunt Me at 2 AM

Okay, so you know how you fall down a random internet hole at like 11 p.m. because you’re just going to check one thing (famous last words), and then suddenly you’re reading about haunted vending machines and goat-headed cryptids? Yeah, that happened to me last night. Again. Which brings me to today’s ramble: some of the weirdest, creepiest, and straight-up what-the-heck urban legends from around the world. These are the kind of stories that make you double-check your closet before bed or give side-eye to any antique doll with too much… personality.

Let’s start with Japan, because wow, do they know how to mess with your head. There’s this legend about a thing called the Kuchisake-Onna, or “Slit-Mouthed Woman.” She’s this ghostly woman who wears a surgical mask (which honestly wouldn’t raise many eyebrows these days), and she’ll stop you on the street and ask, “Do you think I’m pretty?” If you say no—bam, she kills you. If you say yes—surprise! She takes off the mask to reveal her mouth has been slit ear to ear, then asks again. Say yes again? She still kills you. Say no? Yup, you guessed it—dead. Moral of the story: maybe just… run?

Meanwhile, over in Iceland, they have the Huldufólk, which literally translates to “hidden people.” These are elf-like beings who supposedly live in rocks and lava fields, and Icelanders take them very seriously. Like, rerouting-road-construction serious. There was a whole thing in 2013 where a highway project got delayed because people believed it would disturb the elves. I kind of love that, though—respect the mystical lava elves or suffer the consequences.

Then there’s the Philippines, home to the Manananggal, which is a shapeshifting, vampire-like creature that looks like a normal person by day, but at night it literally rips its upper torso from its lower half, sprouts wings, and flies around looking for pregnant women to snack on. I’m not making this up. Apparently, the way to defeat her is to find her severed lower half and sprinkle salt or garlic on it, so she can’t reattach and dies when the sun comes up. Note to self: always travel with seasoning.

Oh, and let’s not forget The Black Volga from Eastern Europe. This one’s weirdly modern and very Cold War paranoia-core. In the 60s and 70s, there were all these stories about a sleek black car—sometimes driven by Satanists, sometimes the KGB, sometimes just a straight-up vampire in a nice suit—that would abduct children right off the streets. You can tell this legend came from a time when everything was suspicious and nobody trusted the government or fancy cars. Honestly, I still don’t.

Here’s one that got under my skin in a weirdly specific way: The Bunny Man from Virginia. No, not cute. This guy wears a rabbit costume and chases people with an axe. Why? No idea. There’s a whole backstory involving an escaped mental patient and some dubious asylum history (very urban-legend-y), but the important part is: people still report sightings near a place called Bunny Man Bridge. And like, I want to laugh, but also I definitely don’t want to go there at night. Or during the day. Or ever.

Random fact for you: Did you know that fear of mirrors actually has a name? It’s called spectrophobia, and it’s often linked to legends like Bloody Mary (you say her name three times in a mirror, and she shows up to absolutely ruin your night). I read awhile back that the fear can even stem from the idea that mirrors are portals to another world. Which—yep, totally checks out.

Anyway, there’s something strangely delightful about these stories. They’re spooky, yeah, but they also give you a peek into what different cultures find creepy, and that’s kind of fascinating, right? Like, I’ll take a haunted phone booth over taxes any day. And it’s weird how some legends, no matter how bizarre, manage to survive across decades—or centuries. Maybe we just really like being scared. Or maybe, just maybe… that doll you thrifted actually is watching you.

Sleep tight tonight. And maybe don’t answer any masked women who want to chat about their appearance.