Urban Legends in your area

[Hoss]

Here is probably our most famous urban legend. This tale is from San Antonio, TX. I've never been up in that area, but someday I may check it out for myself.

***

Just south of San Antonio, Texas, in an unremarkable neighborhood not far from the San Juan Mission is an intersection of roadway and railroad track that has become somewhat famous in the catalog of American ghost lore. The intersection, so the story goes, was the site of a tragic accident in which several school-aged children were killed - but their ghosts linger at the spot. And the curious from all over the country come to this section of railroad track to witness firsthand the paranormal phenomena they've heard takes place there.

The story - at least 20 years old - is the stuff of urban legend and its details vary from telling to telling, but this is essentially it:

Back in the 1930s or 1940s, a school bus full of children was making its way down the road and toward the intersection when it stalled on the railroad tracks. A speeding train smashed into the bus, killing 10 of the children and the bus driver. Since that dreadful accident many years ago, any car stopped near the railroad tracks will be pushed by unseen hands across the tracks to safety. It is the spirits of the children, they say, who push the cars across the tracks to prevent a tragedy and fate like their own.

Even today, cars line up at the haunted intersection to see if the legend is true. The driver stops the cars some 20 to 30 yards from the tracks and puts the car in neutral gear. Some even turn off their engines. And sure enough, even though it appears that the road is on an upward grade, the car begins to roll. It rolls slowly first, then steadily gaining speed - seemingly of its own accord and against gravity - up and over the tracks. This has been tested time and time again, and cars really do roll up and over the tracks - every time.

But that's not all. The second half of this legend is that if a light powder - like talcum or baby powder - is sprinkled over the car's trunk and rear bumper, tiny fingerprints and handprints will appear - the prints of the ghost children pushing the car. Many who have tried it swear that indeed they can see the evidence of small children's handprints in the powder.

Source: About.com

Yikes! That's creepy! Let's hear your local tales!

Hoss

[pasnat54]

I've actually heard that legend before, hoss. In fact, wasn't it on some TV show, perhaps the one hosted by Jonathan Frakes?

There are plenty of urban legends near me because I'm relatively close to Hollywood. Marilyn Monroe's ghost can supposedly be seen in a mirror in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, Errol Flynn's corpse being taken out for one last fling, etc.

But there is one local one. Pasadena, where I live, is right next to Altadena. Overlooking both cities is Mt. Lowe, about 5,000 feet high. At the start of the 20th Century, a millionaire named Thaddeus Lowe built a small resort hotel at the top of the mountain, with a twisting, narrow-gauge railroad to take visitors up the hill.

It's been gone for many decades now, but the former railroad path is a popular hiking trail. It's accessible through a park where you can see the ruins of the old terminal. There are no houses or other structures nearby.

One night my niece and several of her friends went up the trail a little ways. On the way back, they felt several areas where there was a warm thermal draft, all the more noticeable because it was a rather chilly evening.

The next day, my niece was asking about the geography to see if maybe hot winds funneled down the canyon. Could that be what they felt?

Possibly, I replied. But I asked her what she knew about the old Mr. Lowe Railroad. Nothing, she said.

So I told her. It was abandoned after a fire destroyed the terminal. The caretaker was killed in the the fire, right where she said they had felt the warm spots.

She gasped, said "Don't tell me that!" and refused to listen to any more.

I guess this isn't exactly an urban legend, but maybe it will become one.

[fulltimer56]

A urban legend has to start some where don't it? :shock:

Linda

[disneyteddies]

Okay, I realise that folks wanna believe but I'm sorry...these first ones just aren't true...THIS one is though!!! I was staying at the university dorms here in Winterpeg one year...I had been trying to study but my idiot roomate just wanted to party. She came back to our room and was bothering me (cause all I wanted to do was study for an exam) and I really couldn't get much done with her there so I went to the campus library for a couple of hours. I eventually met up with some other friends who convinced me to head off to the campus bar for a few cold ones...I feeling rather chilly in our cold Winterpeg weather said I would be along as soon as I got a sweater so that I could party with them for awhile. I headed back to the dorm to grab a sweater, when I got to my room...it was dark and quiet so I assumed my roomate was asleep so I left the lights off as I knew my way (even in the dark) to the closet. I reached in and grabbed a sweater and made my exit to party. When I arrived 4 hours later back at my room there were dozens of policemen there. I asked what was going on and one of the detective's approached me...I asked what was wrong and he told me that my roomate had been butchered by a madman!!! Losing all control I ran into the room and there was blood EVERYWHERE!!!!!! I was in a state of panic when a detective asked me if I could fill him in on something that had been written in blood on the wall of the bathroom...when I read it, it said "aren't you glad you didn't turn on the lights???" Ooooooooooo, I still get chills when I think of that night.....but lucky for me, since my roomate was killed, I got all a+'s for all my grades which was policy for the school when a roomate dies. True story folks, not like these other so called "LEGENDS".

[fulltimer56]

OH SHIT!! :shock: Did they ever find out who killed your roommate? When did this happen? Now that is down right CREEPY!!

Linda
Arthur will be home in about 6 hours!!

[disneyteddies]

HeH, HeH, HeH....... :twisted:

[fulltimer56]

I know, there's one born every minute right??! :evil:

[pasnat54]

Uh huh. Right, diz. True story. I'll tell you, it's fame has spread - I heard that story back when I was at Cal State Fullerton, and before that at Pasadena City College which doesn't even have dorms. How many people did you tell that to, and when did you start telling them?

Anyway, my story is basically true. Google Mt. Lowe Altadena CA to get the gist of it.

Here's another non-spooky Pasadena urban legend. As I've told you before, Stately Wayne Manor from the old Batman TV series is in Pasadena. It's on San Rafael Ave, one of the city's most exclusive streets. A famous Hollywood producer lives just up the block, and my dream home, the one used in Bells of St. Mary's, Topper, Hollywood Homicide, and Clue is a few yards away.

You've seen the Batman house in Dead Again and a bunch of other movies. The urban legend is that ex-Beatle Paul McCartney owns the house. Not true; the Los Angeles Times real estate section had an article about the real owners, and how they were getting bugged all the rumors. Their kids had friends at school asking them when they were going to move because they'd heard that Paul McCarney bought the house. Nope. Urban legend.

My dream house recently burned down. $8 million home and nothing's left but the walls. Most people think this house, which I'll call the Atkins house, was the one used for Batman. In fact, I found out about the fire when my sister called me and told me to turn on the TV cause they had coverage of the fire. I did, and told her, "That's not the Batman house - that's the Perkins house, my dream home."

"Well, are you sure? Everyone's calling it the Batman house."

"Believe me, I know the difference. It's not the Batman house. It's actually the better of the two homes."

I drove by to see the ruins recently. At a stop sign, I saw a couple guys who looked like comic book geeks. I asked them if they'd driven by to see the house. They said yes, and commented about how everyone thought it was the Batman house, but it really wasn't. Yeah, I had them pegged right.

Then they said, "Paul McCartney actually owns it now." I shouted, "Nope. Urban legend. Read last week's LA Times.""

Shortly after the fire, the TV stations and newspapers corrected themselves, saying that it wasn't the Batman house that burned down. I'm not sure my sister believes yet, though.

[pasnat54]

I wish this were an urban legend, but it's not.

To expand on Paul Williams; it wasn't always easy for him to get work. People would walk into his office, not knowing he was African-American, and instantly change their minds about hiring him. Always very nice about it, of course.

So he would say, "That's okay. I usually don't take small projects like this one. The last house I designed was for Tyrone Power (or whoever), and I'm used to having a bigger budget to work with. But as long as you're here, let me suggest a couple things to tell whoever you end up working with."

And he would start sketching something really spectacular, and the people would be so enthralled that they would change their minds again and insist that he design their house.

I love his work, and really respect the man a great deal.

[Shadow-wolf]

Here is probably our most famous urban legend. This tale is from San Antonio, TX. I've never been up in that area, but someday I may check it out for myself.

***

Just south of San Antonio, Texas, in an unremarkable neighborhood not far from the San Juan Mission is an intersection of roadway and railroad track that has become somewhat famous in the catalog of American ghost lore. The intersection, so the story goes, was the site of a tragic accident in which several school-aged children were killed - but their ghosts linger at the spot. And the curious from all over the country come to this section of railroad track to witness firsthand the paranormal phenomena they've heard takes place there.

The story - at least 20 years old - is the stuff of urban legend and its details vary from telling to telling, but this is essentially it:

Back in the 1930s or 1940s, a school bus full of children was making its way down the road and toward the intersection when it stalled on the railroad tracks. A speeding train smashed into the bus, killing 10 of the children and the bus driver. Since that dreadful accident many years ago, any car stopped near the railroad tracks will be pushed by unseen hands across the tracks to safety. It is the spirits of the children, they say, who push the cars across the tracks to prevent a tragedy and fate like their own.

Even today, cars line up at the haunted intersection to see if the legend is true. The driver stops the cars some 20 to 30 yards from the tracks and puts the car in neutral gear. Some even turn off their engines. And sure enough, even though it appears that the road is on an upward grade, the car begins to roll. It rolls slowly first, then steadily gaining speed - seemingly of its own accord and against gravity - up and over the tracks. This has been tested time and time again, and cars really do roll up and over the tracks - every time.

But that's not all. The second half of this legend is that if a light powder - like talcum or baby powder - is sprinkled over the car's trunk and rear bumper, tiny fingerprints and handprints will appear - the prints of the ghost children pushing the car. Many who have tried it swear that indeed they can see the evidence of small children's handprints in the powder.

Source: About.com

Yikes! That's creepy! Let's hear your local tales!

Hoss

I actually have a DVD where they try this out, they put baby powder on the back of a car and park infront of the tracks, the car gets pushed over and there are handprints in the powder.

[Shadow-wolf]

Here's the most famous urban legend in my city the albino lady, ofcourse with each generation the albino lady gets meaner and there are more tales of her origin, however the tale of the albino lady comes from the fact that there was indeed an albino woman who lived in topeka back in the early 1900's. I remeber reading a book back in middle school about haunted places in kansas, I don't remeber all the details but here is an article that is closest to the truth of the albino lady.

http://www.invink.com/x178.html

[SatansProdigy]

Hey Shadow welcome to the Corral. Creepy story! Great stuff!

[The Charlton Guy]

Hey Shadow-wolf! Welcome to the funny farm!


How did you find this joint?


Let me guess....



http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a240/the-charlton-guy/animated-graphics134.gif

LARGE MARGE SENT YA!!!

Right?

[pasnat54]

Boy, that albino story takes me back. In the early 60s, I used to go to summer camp in Wrightwood, CA, in the San Gabriel mountains. One of the stories the counselors used to tell us was "The White Albino," about an unusually strong albino who was driven to madness by a cruel, unthinking society. He killed several people in the area around the camp and was never found.

About 10 years after that, I realized that the name "White Albino" was totally redundant, and that the story was probably bogus. About 10 years after that, I realized they were probably lying to us about how to hunt snipes too.

[chaosus]

I love this kind of stuff. New Jersey has a ton of Urban legends. We have one of those upgrades in the road that cars roll up too. It's in Franklin Lakes NJ.

If you really want to see how WEIRD NJ is go to this site.

WWW.WeirdNJ.com

It don't get any better than this.

Gary

[chaosus]

I love this kind of stuff. New Jersey has a ton of Urban legends. We have one of those upgrades in the road that cars roll up too. It's in Franklin Lakes NJ.

If you really want to see how WEIRD NJ is go to this site.

WWW.WeirdNJ.com

It don't get any better than this.

Gary