Weird Urban Legends That Turned Out To Be 100% True
By
Michael Avery in
Geeks and Gaming
On 15th November 2016
When it comes to urban legends, most of them have been told time after time with little variation in the story. The terrifying not-sure-if-this-is-true feelings associated with urban legends is part of what makes these stories so popular. People like being scared; even if they say they don’t, which is why you’re embarking on this nightmare-inducing list right now.
However, our list does have one little difference: the urban legends we’ve included here are—dun, dun, dun—TRUE! Yep, each one of these incidents really happened, and we’ve got all the gruesome details. Oh yeah, and about those nightmares you’ll be having tonight. . . don’t say we didn’t warn you!
People really do swallow the bristles from wire brushes.
When cleaning a grill with a wire brush, be very careful that none of the bristles come off. There are numerous reports around the country of people being rushed to the hospital after swallowing a metal bristle.
People really did complain of funny tasting water, only to discover a body was in the water tank.
This happened at the Hotel Cecil in 2013. A woman climbed up on the roof and somehow got in the tank, where she died. How she got in the tank has never been fully explained.
A man really did get HIV from a needle prick.
There are fake stories of needle attacks, but one actually happened. It happened during a prison fight when a man was stabbed with a hypodermic needle. He contracted HIV and later died from the infection.
Arms have been ripped off playing tug of war.
In Taiwan, Yang Chiung-ming and Chen Ming-kuo each had their arms ripped off playing tug of war. Thankfully, doctors were able to reattach their limbs.
Students really did find a dead body in a rolled up carpet.
Students from Columbia University found a carpet on the street. When they took it back to their apartment and unrolled it, they found a body inside.
A teen really was crushed to death in a trash compactor.
Sadly, this actually happened. A teen was sleeping in a trash can when it was picked up garbage men. They had no idea anyone was in the can and the teen was crushed to death.
A man really did cook his own wife.
Chef David Viens tied up his wife after getting into an argument. When he found her dead the next morning, he tried to dispose of the body by cooking her in a huge pot for four days.
People really have been cut in half by elevators.
Hitoshi Nikaidoh was a surgeon in Japan. He somehow got his head stuck in an elevator and the doors would not open. He was decapitated when the elevator began moving.
People really have slept on dead bodies in hotel rooms.
This has actually happened several times. It happened in 2003 in Kansas City and in 1994 in Miami, to name just two.
Dead bodies hanging in trees really have been mistaken for Halloween decorations.
In 2005, a Delaware woman committed suicide by hanging herself next to a busy road. It hung there for several hours before neighbors realized it was a real body.
People have died climbing down chimneys.
Dr. Jacquelyn Kotarac was trying to climb into her ex-boyfriend's house when she got stuck in the chimney. Three days later, the housekeeper saw fluid dripping down and her decomposing body was found. Tell Santa to beware!
Someone really did survive in spite of being frozen solid.
Jean Hilliard froze while looking for shelter after a car accident in the Minnesota winter. She was found eight hours later completely frozen. Doctors thawed her out and she actually lived.
A woman really did get put into a freezer, mistaken for being dead.
Maria de Jesus Arroyo was a woman wrongly pronounced dead in 2011. When funeral workers claim to retrieve the body, they found her body bag unzipped and bruising that indicated she was desperately trying to get out of the freezer.
A dead body really was unwittingly used as a prop in a movie.
During the filming for "The Six Million Dollar Man," the crew thought a body they were using was fake. It turned out to be an actual cadaver.
A woman really did find someone living in her attic.
A South Carolina woman heard noises in her attic and sent her children to investigate. It turned out to be her ex-boyfriend who she hadn't seen in 12 years. They found cups where he had been urinating and defecating while living in the attic.
