The Thousand Steps

Behind a rusty, broken gate at the top of the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi in Eagle Point Park (Clinton, Iowa) is an ancient set of steps plagued with tragedy and wrought with mysteries and fables. Locals call them the “Thousand Steps”, and they were built in the 1930′s along with the rest of the neighboring park to allow access from the top of the bluffs to the beach below. Although originally used frequently by families and other people looking for a scenic hike, the stairs soon fell into disuse and began to decay- becoming filled with holes, structural cracks, and covered in slippery moss, making them very dangerous to use.

But of course, nothing compels children to do something more than being told not to do it.

In the 1960′s, it soon became a right of passage to descend the stairs and live- which many children and adults did successfully, but many others did not. Dozens of children died attempting to master the stairs every year all the way the 70′s, when attempts finally slowed and with it, the death toll until it was down to one per year, where it remains at today.

However, an obviously dangerous set of steps does not a legend make – it’s what began to happen after the many deaths that make the steps so intriguing. Frequent reports of ghost sightings, the confirmed discovery of human remains and even rumors that the sight used to be a Native American “Indian” burial ground began to circulate and gain credibility over the years.

The steps still stand today, as dangerous and mystifying as they were 50 years ago. If none of the legends are true – the burial ground, the human remains, or the ghosts – the death toll still stands. More than 20 people lost their lives on those steps, and the question remains… Who is the next victim?

Source: http://urbanlegendsonline.com/thousand-steps/

Camping Tales of Terror

The telling of supernatural tales is a long-held, cherished tradition among campers. As they sit around a crackling fire in the dark of night, chilling stories are told of vengeful ghosts and threatening monsters. But these stories, told and retold year after year, are just that - stories.

Yet unexplained things sometimes really do occur out there in the woods at night. Here are some true tales of the paranormal reported by campers. Ghosts, strange creatures, UFOs and mysterious phantoms - encounters that are sure to creep back to mind the next time you're camping.

White Mountains Creature

K.H. was camping at a National Forest campground in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. On night, after his wife and daughter had falled asleep, he was sitting by the fire when he heard a noise...

This was different than the usual bear grunt. It was more like someone sneaking in the trees. I immediately grabbed the flashlight. What I saw haunts me even now. I saw a being in the trees. It was naked. It looked gray. And this sounds crazy, but it looked like a person, but not really. It was hunched down, very muscular and its legs were backward, like a bird's. Then it quickly turned and bounded off down the hill. I couldn't even follow it with my light. We left the next day. We went back to the same campground this year. Back to the same site. Again, I stayed up late poking the fire and reading. It was maybe one or two in the morning when I heard a noise. I shined the light in that direction. That same creature, being, whatever, was there. It looked exactly the same as I'd remembered from last year. It just sat there, crouched at the small tree line that separates the campsites. I slowly walked toward it. I tried not to make any threatening moves or gestures. I got to within 20 feet when it just jumped backward and disappeared. It looked like it might be five to six feet high if it stood up. It was definitely gray. It had human features, but more leathery. And its face was very wide. Its eyes were so big, and, even though they reflected light, they still looked black, like two intensely black marbles. Its legs were very muscular, but turned backward. I know what I saw. It was real. - Kevnh

Phantom Campers

Nightraven and friend Todd were camping at a cabin in the Upper Peninsula Of Michigan. They were waiting for other friends to arrive when they had an unexplained experience...

At about 9:30 p.m., it was getting dark, and we were beginning to worry about Randy and Tommy. Only a few moments later, we saw car lights at the front of the cabin. We were in the middle of nowhere, so it had to be them. We heard the car doors open, heard Randy and Tommy as plain as day. I yelled. "We're on the deck." The car doors closed, we heard footsteps rounding the corner... and at the point that someone would have rounded the corner... it was silent. I looked at Todd. He was looking at me. It was quiet. I yelled, "Hey, Randy. Hey, Tommy." We got up and walked around front, and... nothing. No car, no people, no sound. Ninety minutes later, the phone rang. It was Todd's mother calling to inform us that at 9:30 that evening, a fatal traffic accident involving Randy and Tommy took place 30 miles from the cabin. It's almost as if they just wanted to keep our tradition alive. - Nightraven

Clark Road Mental Facility

Emily was a beautiful woman who lived at the Clark Road Mental Facility in Sarasota, FL since she was 7 years old, admitted there by her parents who knew Emily to be disturbed at a young age. Since she was a long time resident, hers was a life well-known. She had long, river-like, marble white hair that was barely tinted blonde and dark, beckoning eyes. This patient was difficult to say no to. If she wanted extra food at the cafeteria, so be it. No drugs that day, she got it. She was character disturbed, one of the documented symptoms as being “charming”, and she was being carefully watched because of her condition. Her conditions were many including Schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder.

The fire that closed down the mental institution was set by one of Emily’s alter-egos. Then, at age 32, she had attempted to escaped the asylum after by hiding out during the evacuation of the building. She died in the fire that day, so near to her escape, and never made it out. It is thought her spirit lives there still but wanders the entire Sarasota area.

RE-POST THIS IN THE NEXT 12 MIN OR SHE’LL FLY TO UR LOCATION AND HAUNT YOU AT YOUR BEDSIDE THE NEXT TIME YOU’RE BEING TREATED FOR ANYTHING. SHE’LL SCREAM HER NAME, “EMILY,” FIVE TIMES IN YOUR EAR. YOUR EARS WILL RING AND YOU’LL BEG FOR YOUR DOCTOR TO FIX IT. IT DISAPPEARS AFTER 72 HRS.

Source: urbanlegendsonline.com

Philippines Fiesta

There was a girl who was invited by her classmate and best friend to celebrate a "fiesta" (a community gathering for local residents to celebrate their town) in her hometown in the province. The town was located a good few hours drive from the city in a very dense mountain area with no electricity.

When the two got there, they were greeted joyously by everyone and the parents were extremely nice to their visitor. The girl was very happy to be welcomed, but the residents kept eyeing her and smiling at her in such a way that made her feel creepy and strange.

The fiesta was a day away and that night, when they went to bed, the girl heard some people talking in low voices. She peeked and saw her classmate and the parents together with the cook quietly talking when she heard the mother say "Ohhh!!! You have really brought us a plump one this year! The neighbors are going to be very happy!! We can make so many dishes out of her!!! Thank you child!!" 

Source: urbanlegendsonline.com

Black Aggie

Black Aggie

Excerpted from Spooky Maryland

retold by

S. E. Schlosser

When Felix Agnus put up the life-sized shrouded bronze statue of a grieving angel, seated on a pedestal, in the Agnus family plot in the Druid Ridge Cemetery, he had no idea what he had started. The statue was a rather eerie figure by day, frozen in a moment of grief and terrible pain. At night, the figure was almost unbelievably creepy; the shroud over its head obscuring the face until you were up close to it. There was a living air about the grieving angel, as if its arms could really reach out and grab you if you weren't careful.

It didn't take long for rumors to sweep through the town and surrounding countryside. They said that the statue - nicknamed Black Aggie - was haunted by the spirit of a mistreated wife who lay beneath her feet. The statue's eyes would glow red at the stroke of midnight, and any living person who returned the statues gaze would instantly be struck blind. Any pregnant woman who passed through her shadow would miscarry. If you sat on her lap at night, the statue would come to life and crush you to death in her dark embrace. If you spoke Black Aggie's name three times at midnight in front of a dark mirror, the evil angel would appear and pull you down to hell. They also said that spirits of the dead would rise from their graves on dark nights to gather around the statue at night.

People began visiting the cemetery just to see the statue, and it was then that the local fraternity decided to make the statue of Grief part of their initiation rites. "Black Aggie" sitting, where candidates for membership had to spend the night crouched beneath the statue with their backs to the grave of General Agnus, became popular.