In my next few posts, I’m going to take a little trip into the world of travel blogging. Since we’re still dealing with the great plague of 2020, I’ll be starting out with local, mostly outdoor, haunts. I’ll also talk about places I was lucky enough to visit before the first horseman started his ride.
Of course, all these posts will still have a spooky, supernatural twist. Because…it’s me. That just who I am. Go ahead and start calling me Veronica Halloween.
The first place I want to talk about…isn’t actually a place. Not really. It’s more a type of place. One that anyone can visit without straying too far from home, no matter where you live. I thought that might be handy given the lack of travel opportunities available at the moment.
I’m talking about those places in your city, or town, or woods, or cornfields.
The places teenagers go on dares, after hearing the stories passed down through the generations.
The stories parents tell to scare their children on nights when the power goes out and they lose the safe distractions of their LED screens.
The places of urban legends.
We’ve all heard about them, especially now that everyone can share stories with the tap of a finger.
Maybe it’s a local restaurant where no one wants to close up alone. If they do, they know a TV on the far end of the dining area will turn on by itself once all the lights have been turned off and they’re reaching for the handle of the door.
Maybe it’s a dark stretch of road, where the woman in a white dress asks for a ride, only to disappear just before reaching her destination. Perhaps your car will shut itself off then. Or the radio will scan through stations, even after you’ve turned it off.
It’s a haunted bridge, where a tragic accident took place.
It’s a cemetery, with the overgrown corner that no one dares maintain; the names on the tombstones worn away years ago.
An abandoned house, or school, or hospital.
The remnants of a structure in the woods, so decomposed that rumors run rampant about what it ever was in the first place.
It’s likely your town has a legend. Most of them do. If not, the next town over surely does. So, go explore the places nearby. Explore the places you’ve been warned about. The places you’ve been told to avoid. Go alone, or maintain a safe physical distance from your friends (assuming the first horseman is still hanging around when you’re reading this).
Unless the rumors are true. If your friend is being dragged off by a faceless man with a hook for a hand, it may be ok to ignore the social distancing protocols for a moment to save them. Or maybe they’re a lost cause, and you should just run…
The important part is to share your story when you get back.
Keep the legends alive.
What’s your favorite urban legend from the place you call home? Have you seen anything there? Share your stories in the comments!
Veronica Leigh 