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It's a classic tale. We've all heard stories about a possible killer living in the attic, who emerges while everyone is peacefully asleep. But this scenario has actually occurred.
In 1922 Germany, a farmer named Andreas Gruber began to observe minor items disappearing or being misplaced in his home. His family also detected the sound of footsteps, while Gruber himself discovered footprints inside his home.
Shortly after, the entire family was found brutally murdered in their home. The mystery surrounding the identity of the perpetrator remains unresolved.
Locals dubbed him the "Ghost of Maules" or "Le Loyon." However, given the absence of hard evidence that he existed, these accounts were disregarded as mere folklore.
People living near the Maules Forest in Switzerland have shared tales of a mysterious individual wandering through the woods dressed in a lengthy camouflage cloak and a gas mask.
If you're from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, it's likely that you're familiar with the legend of Charlie No-Face—a faceless man who roams the streets during the night.
The legend says that the man was a utility worker whose face melted due to either an acid attack or an electrical accident, depending on the storyteller.
However, the reality is that this man existed. He was named Raymond Robinson and had fallen victim to a childhood incident that left his face completely disfigured. Understandably, he shied away from crowds, choosing instead to take nighttime walks.
Following the killing and disfigurement of the victims, the murderer also left behind a playing card. However, these murders didn't happen in Japan.
However, in 2013, a passerby captured a photograph of Le Loyon. Shortly thereafter, his cloak and gas mask were discovered in the woods, accompanied by a note stating that he could no longer stand being perceived as a monster. The fate that befell him remains unknown. He was never seen or heard from again.
A relatively recent legend has been circulating in Japan. It involves a series of alleged murders spanning from 1999 to 2005. In every instance, the perpetrator left the word "Alice" written at the crime scene.
In the early 2000s, Spain experienced a reign of terror by a convicted murderer who had a similar M.O. Alfredo Galán shot and killed six individuals, placing a playing card on each victim's body before making his escape.
The tale describes how Cropsey emerges during the night to seize children, luring them back to the abandoned Willowbrook facility where he murders them. This legend is closer to the truth than you might think.
A suspected murderer named Andre Rand was found guilty of abducting two children during the 1970s. As it transpires, he happened to be employed as a janitor at Willowbrook during the mid-1960s.
But that network of tunnels simply didn't exist. Or did it?
For centuries, the inhabitants of Puebla, Mexico, shared folktales concerning a mysterious labyrinth of tunnels concealed beneath the city.
In 2015, a team of construction workers stumbled upon a mysterious tunnel. Subsequently, approximately six miles of these baffling tunnels have been unearthed winding beneath the city. They are thought to have been constructed between the 16th and 19th centuries.
The story finds its origins in an actual crime that occurred in 1950 in Missouri, USA. A 13-year-old named Janett Christman was looking after a three-year-old boy at his home when she was savagely assaulted and killed by an intruder. Her murder remains unresolved.
This story has inspired various films, including 'When a Stranger Calls' (1979) and its subsequent adaptations.
This story has numerous variations, but they all share a common beginning: a couple kissing in a car on an isolated road. Suddenly, the radio emits crackling sounds, and a news bulletin disrupts the romantic scene, cautioning listeners about an escaped murderer with a hook for a hand who is on the loose.
The subsequent events differ significantly depending on the telling, but the idea is clear. Although this might resemble the plot of a B movie, it actually happened in Texarkana, Texas.
The story of the babysitter who receives an unsettling phone call only to find out the call was made from inside the house has been well-known since the mid-20th century.
There's evidence that suggests that doctors of the 19th century conducted horrific experiments on African Americans. White farmers spread these stories as a fear-inducing strategy.
The Night Riders (or Ku Klux Doctors) was the name of a kind of boogeyman in African American folklore. The story goes that physicians in search of subjects for experiments would skulk in the shadows, biding their time for the chance to abduct their victims.
These rumors were disseminated by white individuals aiming to hinder former slaves from relocating to the North. Sadly, the boogeyman has some basis in reality.
In Staten Island, USA, a creature resembling a boogeyman known as Cropsey was reputed to be an axe-wielding killer. The tale suggested that Cropsey had fled from a mental institution and now haunts the tunnels beneath the former Willowbrook State School. This institution, once dedicated to children with intellectual disabilities, was closed down due to revelations of dreadful torture and maltreatment.
The tale of the Bunny Man, which still haunts Virginia, tells the story of a disturbing incident from 1904. A bus carrying patients from a mental institution crashed, resulting in the deaths of all but 10 patients. A search party successfully located them, except for one.
Subsequently, rabbit carcasses started to be discovered suspended from a nearby bridge. Later on, the body of a man was also found hanging in a similar manner. It goes without saying that the Colchester Overpass in Clifton, Virginia, is deemed to be haunted. This legend is believed to have been influenced by two events, with the second one stemming from the 1970s when an individual dressed in a rabbit costume menaced others with an axe.
In 1946, a series of homicides called the Texarkana Moonlight Murders occurred in the city. The "Phantom Killer" targeted eight individuals, claiming the lives of five of them. They had all been sitting in cars on various "lovers lanes" when they were attacked. The cases remain unsolved.
See also: The most sinister urban legends from every US state
Urban legends are often just that: legends. However, our imaginations sometimes pale in comparison to reality, and actual events can give rise to unsettling stories that eventually become deeply rooted in popular culture.
Click through the gallery to learn about creepy cases that prove that the truth can be stranger than fiction.
Real events that inspired urban legends
The reality is often more frightening than made-up stories
LIFESTYLE Horror
Urban legends are often just that: legends. However, our imaginations sometimes pale in comparison to reality, and actual events can give rise to unsettling stories that eventually become deeply rooted in popular culture.
Click through the gallery to learn about creepy cases that prove that the truth can be stranger than fiction.