15 Creepy Urban Legends To Keep You Up At Night

1. Familiar with stories of people cooking up dead bodies? Disgusting, right? Chef David Viens of the Thyme Contemporary Café in Lomita, CA, reportedly killed his wife, Dawn, of 14 years, something he claimed to have been an accident. He later told police he stewed her body for four days in his restaurant. According to Viens, he used clear masking tape to bound her hands, feet, and cover her mouth so that he could get some sleep. The two had been fighting. He later discovered that she was dead. He made this confession after jumping off an 80-foot cliff, which some say caused him to be in an unstable state of mind. Those who worked alongside him at the restaurant say that this story was impossible as they would have noticed such a large pot in the kitchen. In the end, the judge sentenced him to 15 years to life after the jury found him guilty of second-degree murder. Dawn's body has never been found.

2. This photo was taken during a taping of a Japanese psychic TV show. The girl's head is at an impossible angle, but don't worry. This one is also edited.

3. There's a common belief that the weirdest things tend to happen in the middle of nowhere. This story says that 27 dead bodies were discovered in rural Iowa in the late 1960s. Police could not find any motive or killer. We could not find any major news sources on this story so it is probably just legend.

4. The Cooper family, grandmother, mother, and two sons, posed for this photo only to find out later that someone else, a ghost, was in that room that day. Although the original photo cannot be sourced at this time, it is believed to have been digitally altered.

5. This photo circulated the web along with the caption, "It was Halloween and the Buckley children wanted to make some decorations so they decapitated their mother." The truth is, fortunately, much less interesting. This photo is an edited version of the original, which featured the children with their mother, well and alive. Halloween artist Edward Allen was responsible for the transformation and did a fantastic job spooking people out. He calls his version 'Midwestern Matricide.'

6. Another creepy sight for many of us is that of a patient in a white gown. Well, one legend describes a patient at Cedar Senai Hospital killing two nurses before escaping from the center. Other versions say that she appeared out of nowhere and had teeth that looked like 'long, sharp spikes.' Don't worry, this one is also just fantasy.

7. According to legend, a Russian man stumbled into the woods after several drinks. He was later found with his skin shaved and hung in a sick but carefully placed manner that no animal could have done.

8. Kuchisake-onna, or Slit-Mouthed Woman, is Japanese urban legend with many versions. The common denominator is that each story features a woman with a mutilated face, slit from ear to ear, that haunts the public. A common version says that her husband found out about her infidelity and slit her mouth asking 'Who will find you beautiful now?' Others say that the wound was self-inflicted or that she was from a mental asylum. According to the original legend, the woman was believed to have approached her victims with a mask asking, 'Do you think I'm pretty?' She then removes the mask and asks them again, but unfortunately a 'Yes' or 'No' would end in their death. The modern urban legend has the woman wearing a surgical mask. She asks the same question. If you say no the first time, the victim will be killed with scissors. If you say yes, she'll reveal her face and ask again. If you say no this time, she'll cut you in half. If you say yes, she'll make your face look just like hers. This urban legend made some people so fearful that they would prepare ambiguous answers, among other 'solutions,' to avoid such a grisly fate.

9. Can you imagine children with pale skin and black eyes, completely black without a hint of color, approaching your house or car for help? It's a chilling thought, isn't it? Brian Bethel, a reporter from Texas, wrote of a few accounts in which he was approached by children of this description in both Texas and Oregon.

10. To be buried alive, what a dreadful thought! In 2011, this fear became reality for Michelina Lewandowska of West Yorkshire when her boyfriend, Marcin Kasprzak, tasered and later buried her in a box. Lewandowska was able to escape by cutting the tape with her engagement ring, and Kasprzak was sentenced to 20 years for attempted murder.

11. Ever heard the story of a serial killer, the Hook Man for example, targeting young couples? Well, it turns out that this story is true, sans hook, and is often referred to as the Texarkana Moonlight Murders. Nicknamed the 'Phantom Killer,' this serial killer looked to a couple of teens as his first target. Although they were able to make it out alive, five others later died. Each attack was committed about three weeks apart. He has never been caught but some crime writers believe they know who did it.

12. It sounds like a nightmare to live near an active volcano but residents near the Ubinas volcano in Peru knew it as a dormant one for the past few decades. In 2013, however, it began to show signs of activity. There are about 600 families in the area and to protect themselves, they use goggles and masks. The government provides materials to families in the most vulnerable zones.

13. There's a few different stories out there about people purchasing rugs from thrift stores only to find a dead body as they unrolled it in their home. Unfortunately, this story isn't just some sort of urban legend. In 1984, three Columbia University students stopped by to pick up some rolled-up carpet on a sidewalk near campus. They later discovered a corpse of a young man inside, says The New York Times.

14. Did you frequently check under the bed for monsters and murderers? Well, you had good reason. There's one urban legend called 'The Licked Hand' or 'The Doggy Lick' in which a young girl learns that a serial killer is on the loose. She takes all the necessary precautions, including locking all her doors and windows. While in bed, she hears a strange dripping noise but is too scared to check. She reaches under the bed and feels her dog licking her hands, which gives her a sense of comfort. The next morning, she goes to the bathroom and sees a bloody message that reads, 'Humans can lick too.'

15. Charlie Noonan was an amateur but ambitious folklorist. The last anyone's heard from him was when he told his wife, Ellie, that he was headed to Oklahoma to see about a mysterious old woman living on a remote farm there. A pawnbroker later contacted Ellie, saying that he had her husband's camera in his possession. When she developed the roll, this was the only photo. The photo is without context, despite Noonan having kept a journal.