Top 10 Scary Urban Legends

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Over time, people have passed down scary urban legends for various reasons. In most cases we don’t even know why we believe in these urban myths. However, if we really understood the origins of the scary urban legends, we would be even more scared. Many urban legends started due to our ancestors believing in many different religious or supernatural things. In many cases, they needed to perform certain acts in order to protect themselves from evil. Check out below for the top 10 scary urban legends, many of which are still practiced today!

#10: Breaking a Mirror Is Bad Luck

One of the scary urban legends that has been around since at least the time of the Romans is that breaking a mirror will cause bad luck. This is because traditionally a mirror is supposed to be able to show not just a reflection of your physical self, but also a reflection of your spiritual soul. In the Roman religion, they believed that human life renewed in cycles of 7 years.^[1]Mirror History – Broken Mirror – Is Breaking a Mirror Bad Luck? In addition,if they broke a mirror, the next 7 years of their life would be plagued by bad health.

However, the superstition did not stop with the Romans. In fact, it many other cultures throughout history also have superstitious urban myths with regards to it. For example, in Victorian England, parents told their children not to look into a mirror for fear of that the mirror would stunt their child’s growth or steal their souls. Furthermore, in modern times, Jewish families cover up mirrors after a person’s death. They do this to make sure that their soul does not get trapped on its way to the afterlife.

#9: Walking Under a Ladder Is Bad Luck and Deadly

Walking under a ladder is one of the common scary legends. Like many other superstitious beliefs, its history spans throughout history through many different cultures. One of the oldest urban myths with regards to walking under a ladder comes from ancient Egypt. In ancient Egyptian culture many shapes had sacred meanings. They believed that a ladder leaning against a wall formed a “sacred triangle”.^[2]Library of Congress – Does your heart stop when you sneeze?The Solar Origin of the “Sacred Triangle” in Ancient Egypt? Therefore, if a person walked under a ladder, they were breaking the sacred triangle’s spiritual energy.

Walking under a ladder was also a scary urban legend to early Christians. In many Christian depictions of the cross of Jesus Christ, the Romans propped a ladder against it. Early Christians believed that devil liked to hide under the ladder.

In Asian societies, the government usually hung prisoners from the top rungs of a ladder. As such, many Asians were afraid to walk underneath the ladder because the did not want to meet the prisoner’s ghost.

In France, the executioner forced convicts to walk under a ladder before heading to their death at the gallows. They called this the man’s “final unlucky act”.

#8: Be Careful When You Sneeze!

Today, it is common to say “God bless you” after someone sneezes.^[3]Library of Congress – Does your heart stop when you sneeze? This tradition dates back a long time. In many ancient societies, they believed that the human soul was in your breath. In fact, during the Plague in Europe, doctors recognized that sneezing could have bad consequences. However, at the time, they did not realize they were witnessing the spread of germs. Therefore, when a person sneezed, they though a person risked losing their souls. Therefore, when one says “God bless you”, it was to help protect their soul.

#7: Jumping the Broom

Jumping the broom is a mainly African American wedding tradition. In the tradition, the husband and wife jump over a broom during the wedding ceremony. This tradition dates back to slavery when the Church and State did not see African Americans as legitimate people in society. Therefore, African Americans had to make up their own traditions.

However, the tradition of jumping over the broom dates back much farther. In the Middle Ages, couples also jumped over the broom at weddings^[4]Europe: A Cultural History in order to prove that neither of them was an evil spirit. People did this because they believed that evil spirits are compulsive and couldn’t jump over a broom without first counting all the  broom’s bristles.

#6: A Rabbit’s Foot

Many cultures have superstitious beliefs attached to the rabbit foot. In fact, the Aztecs and the Chinese saw the rabbit as a symbol of cunning and survival. However, African American hoodoo was the first to attribute the idea of rabbit feet standing for luck.^[5]Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things They believed that rabbit’s rear foot stood for luck. In addition, actors used to use rabbit feet to apply makeup. As such, actors started to also hold on to their makeup rabbit feet when going on stage or screen for a little bit of extra luck.

#5: Don’t Wake Up on the Wrong Side of the Bed

The phrase of “waking up on the wrong side of the bed” is a common phrase. Today, it generally means that you had a bad sleep and felt bad when you woke up. However, this saying actually comes from old scary urban legends? In fact, many ancient cultures actually believed there was a right and wrong side of the bed. In Egypt, the ancient Egyptians believed that the left side of the bed was the bad because it symbolized the forces of death and destruction.^[6]Wonderopolis – Which Side Is the Wrong Side of the Bed? This idea still persists today. In fact, by placing the left side of a bed along a wall, many hotels design their rooms in order to influence people into getting out on the literal right side of the bed.

#4: Black Cats and Witches

Black cats are a part of many scary urban legends, especially around Halloween. This urban myth started in Ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptians viewed the cat as both a sacred animal and a god. Afterwards, the cat kept its legendary status through the Middle Ages. During this time in European history, the cats were overrunning the continent. This time also coincided with Christianity’s rise. Duruing their rise, Catholics attempted to destroy anyone they saw as heretics. In general, these witches were the outcasts of society and included the old or single women of society. At the same time, these women also tended to be cat ladies. As such, the population started to associate cats with these witches, going so far as to call them the witch’s “familiars”.^[7]Web Citation – Black Cats

#3: Don’t Be the Middle Person in a Photo as You Will Die!

Many people believe that if there is a photo with three people in it, the middle person will have bad luck and die.^[8]Global Business Etiquette: A Guide to International Communication and Customs This modern interpretation of scary urban legends actually references back to the idea that mirrors could steal your soul. This superstition is very prevalent in Japanese and other Asian societies. Therefore, the next time you go out with your Asian friends, don’t be surprised if they insist there are more than 3 people in the photo!

#2: Your Bread Doesn’t Come Out Right When Cooking It

Bread has been one of the staple foods since the beginning of civilization. Bread has been both the figurative and literally basket of life. Over the course of history, people have developed many scary urban legends about bread, especially when it doesn’t not turn out well. For example, in England, people consider it really bad luck to have an empty space in your bread, the type caused by air bubbles. The empty space foretells that someone at the table will die soon, as the empty space symbolizes a coffin. In addition, people also believe that if your bread does not rise properly, it was because the devil was sitting on it.^[9]Paste – 10 Bizarre Food Superstitions Around the World

#1: The Scary Urban Legends of Tucking Your Thumbs in Your Pocket When Passing a Graveyard

No scary urban legends list is complete without at least one including something about a graveyard. For many cultures, a graveyard has many superstitious beliefs. However, Japan may have the best scary legends with regards to one. In Japan, tradition states that when walking past a grave yard, you must keep your thumbs in your pocket. You may wonder, why just the thumbs? In fact, in Japanese, the word “thumb” translates to “parent finger”. Therefore, when you hide your thumbs while pass a graveyard, you are essentially protecting your parents from death.^[10]Kathleen Maca – Hold Your Breath & Other Cemetery Superstitions