This time of year, urban legends flurry around the Internet and find their way into your inbox. From the suicide victim that was mistaken for a Halloween decoration to children being poisoned by Halloween candy, there are plenty of strange stories circulating. See if you can figure out which story is true and which story was created to give us the spooks. You might be surprised by the truth. You’ll find the answers at the end of the article.
Just a warning, like all urban legends, these stories, whether true or false are spread because of their ability to shock and to teach a moral lesson. As such, some of them may seem a bit scary.
One creepy story concerns that suicide victim mentioned above. We are all starting to get used to seeing Halloween displays getting more and more elaborate as each year passes. From a few lit jack-o-lanterns, we have come to complete haunted scenes that include lights, smoke and even animated figures. It is not unusual to see homes decorated with headless folks sitting in lawn chairs, skeletal fingers reaching from the earth and bodies hanging from trees. In one recent case, the hanged figure turned out to be a genuine corpse, where it swung in full view of a busy street and was seen by many neighbors who assumed to be a gruesome Halloween decoration.
The next story has to do with poisoned candy at Halloween. Each year, we are warned as parents to keep our children safe by checking their candy at home or at community candy checks, and to throw out anything that could be easily tampered with. Police across the country have documented cases of children being poisoned by Halloween candy by evil or demented people out to hurt children. They are usually caught, but not before several children die each year.
Information on these legends was researched through Snopes.com, the ultimate fact finder when it comes to urban legends and hoaxes. To view more Halloween legends and more, visit Snopes.com by clicking here: http://www.snopes.com/holidays/halloween/halloween.asp
So, did you figure out which story is true and which is false? The first story of the suicide is true. As for poisoned Halloween candy? There has only been one documented account of a child actually being poisoned and dying from Halloween candy. In that case, the father of the child laced the candy himself and passed it off as a neighborhood poisoning.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
Related Articles
Identifying E-Mail Hoaxes: Protecting Yourself