Urban Legends
Luke Mordue examines the historical impact of the stories that haunt our society, tales that have gripped towns and cities worldwide for centuries as actual events - Urban Legends. First, hear the tales retold as short stories before delving into the history of the legend, dissecting its cultural significance, factuality, and origins. Released Fortnightly.
Episodes
This week’s chapter steps away from the archive and into the inbox as creator Luke Mordue answers the listener questions over the years. If you have any questions you want answer, you can drop us a text, an e-mail, or DM on our social media accounts for a future edition.
Text Me (this is 3rd party & I cannot respond, but I see all messages)
- If you have more information or a correction on something mentio...
In this chapter, we delves deep into the urban legend of the 'Jersey Devil'. From its roots in the Pine Barrens and the Leeds family story into the 1909 wave of sightings, when strange tracks, alleged attacks, and public fear spread across South Jersey and beyond.
Join us as we examine what was actually reported, how the story travelled, and what the panic reveals about rumour, media, and the human need to give a name and...
Three separate stories, one title, but is there any truth?
In this chapter, we examine the 'Dog Boy' of Arkansas – tracing the documented history of Gerald Bettis, reports of abuse and cruelty inside the family home, and how that address later became a stop on ghost tours, whilst also delving deeper into two other stories that share striking similarities between them.
In this chapter, we trace the evolution of the haunting ‘Humans can lick too’ Urban Legend. From early cautionary tales about young women alone at night through to its modern form shaped by fears of home invasion, serial killers, and the thin line between security and vulnerability in our own homes.
We examine how this legend blurs folklore and reality, how it has absorbed real crimes and media scares, it's surprisingly long hi...
In this chapter, we trace the story of the so called 'Frozen Hill People' from 19th century Vermont newspaper accounts and family scrapbooks to modern retellings in magazines, folklore collections, and online media, asking where it sits between rural desperation, hoax, and horror.
We separate what can be verified from what was likely invented, and explore why the idea of humans placed into a kind of living hiber...
Some stories are kept secret for a reason, and among the Diné, the figures outsiders call 'skinwalkers' is one of them.
In this chapter, we examine how this subject sits within Diné teachings about witchcraft rather than monsters, why many details are not shared publicly, and how 19th-century accusations, modern reporting, and internet mythmaking reshaped the idea for the rest of the world.
We separate c...
The 'Dead Children’s Playground' urban legend is most often linked to the small play area beside Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville, Alabama. A place where grief and suggestion overlap. Visitors report swings moving on their own, childlike voices emitting from the dark, and odd lights appearing in photographs, but is there any truth to it?
In this chapter, Urban Legends examines what can be verified, what is only claimed, a...
Each Halloween, stories circulate of decorations that look disturbingly real, until someone realises theres a very good reason for that.
The 'Halloween Hanging' story is often dismissed as an Urban Legend as scattered reports over the years have blurred fiction and fact, leaving many to wonder how much truth hides behind the tale. Join us as we discuss the origins of this eerie story, and how very real incidents may have s...
Long before online conspiracies took hold, one of the most famous legends in music history began to circulate claiming that Paul McCartney had died in 1966 and had since been secretly replaced by a double.
Known as the 'Paul is Dead' urban legend, it transformed Beatles fans into detectives, studying the bands lyrics, album artwork, and audio recordings for hidden clues, but just where did this story come from? and is ther...
In this chapter, we explore a story that’s grown far beyond its origins, from a simple Raggedy Ann doll to a symbol of modern horror.
The legend of 'Annabelle'.
Join me as we trace her history alongside Ed and Lorraine Warren, the couple who shaped her fame and controversy. We’ll examine the psychology that makes dolls so unsettling, uncover the real events behind the story, and look at how belief, media, and myth turned a...
Urban Legends returns next week, but today, we’re sharing a guest episode from our friends at Weekly Spooky — one that connects closely to our most recent chapter.
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On July 4, 1984, police dogs uncovered a shallow grave in the quiet town of Northport, Long Island. Inside lay the mutilated body of 17-year-old Gary Lauwers—stabbed more than 30 times in a drug-fueled frenzy by his friend Ricky “The Acid King” Kasso. Within days, the...
**Trigger Warning: This chapter involves harm to children.**
In this chapter, let's delve into the urban legends that brought forward what is now known as 'The Satanic Panic‘, from the first sensational cases and flawed investigations to the media frenzy and courtrooms that followed. We’ll look at how fear, politics, and culture combined to create a moral wildfire, one that still echoes in today’s conspiracy movements.
For decades, stories of an unknown figure staring through bedroom windows have circulated in whispered warnings and late-night news reports, but is there any truth to it?
In this chapter, we explore the origins of the 'Killer in the Window' Urban Legend and the real incidents that connect to it. Join us as we examine how a fleeting shape outside the curtains became a modern myth about invasion, vulnerability, and...
From ancient carvings and medieval manuscripts to shipwreck songs and seaside myths, 'Mermaids' have haunted human imagination for centuries.
Over the years, they have been a symbol of beauty, danger, sin, and even salvation. But where did these beings come from, and why have they endured in so many cultures across the world?
Text Me (this is 3rd party & I cannot respond, but I see all messages)
- If yo...
In the late hours of the night, a bus winds its way through the quiet streets of Beijing - a vehicle that has given rise to one of China’s most haunting modern legends. Known as the tale of the 'Midnight Bus', it tells of unsuspecting passengers, strange late-night boardings, and a ride that takes a turn into the supernatural.
In this chapter, we unravel the origins of the tale, the cultural fears it reflects, and why the ...
In the crowded streets and buzzing venues of modern life, a rumour began to spread of strangers attacking at random with needles, leaving their victims with more than just fear and discomfort. Known as 'Pin Prick Attacks', this urban legend has gripped communities with its unsettling blend of danger, anonymity, and the dread of an invisible threat.
Join us as we delve deeper into the psychology and horror of a tale that ma...
In this chapter, we investigate the ‘Knife in the Briefcase’ urban legend, a chilling tale that has circulated in cities across the world. Rooted in warnings about predatory strangers, it tells of women lured into vulnerable situations by a man whose professional façade hides something far darker.
We trace the story’s spread through history and explore its links to real crimes and cultural fears. Just how much of it is true? Let&apo...
In a quiet corner of Perry County, Ohio, lies a grave that’s become the centre of a dark fascination. Marked by a horseshoe carved into stone, this otherwise unassuming headstone has inspired decades of eerie tales, commonly known as 'The Horseshoe Grave'.
From it's original story to today, we unravel how a single symbol etched in stone became the anchor for one of America’s most haunting rural myths.
Livestock found drained of blood. Puncture wounds with no clear cause.
In this chapter, we investigate the 'Chupacabra', one of the most infamous cryptids in modern folklore. However, beneath the sensational headlines and pop culture portrayals lies an origin story rooted in real fear. From rural Puerto Rican farms to dusty Texas backroads, we trace the legend’s spread, dissect the eyewitness accounts, and explore how one ...
The 'Thunderbird' is one of the most enduring figures in Native American folklore. A powerful, electric bird said to summon storms, strike down monsters, and keep balance between worlds. In this episode, I look at where the legend comes from, what it means to the tribes who tell it, and how it’s been reshaped over time.
We’ll explore stories from the Ojibwe, Sioux, and Menominee peoples, dive into ancient battles with unde...
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