Urban Legends Part 1

The Wizard of Oz is one of the most well known movie classics of all time. Almost everyone has seen it, so of course there are bound to be rumors. One, in particular, is the hanging theory -- the urban legend that either a midget or stagehand hanged themselves on film. The question is, what really happened? While most agree that it is in fact false, some still argue that the hanging was real.

The suicide scene allegedly takes place when Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man head down the yellow brick road, on their way to Emerald City (after the Wicked Witch leaves.) Deep in the background, a dark figure can be seen.

Some say that a distraught munchkin hanged himself. The story says that he was upset because the female munchkin that he loved didn’t feel the same way for him. He then decided to kill himself right on set. Others say that it was a clumsy stagehand who accidentally fell out of a prop tree onto the set, getting caught in a cable of some sort, and was strangled to death.

Legend has it that the figure in the forest clearly takes a wooden block, stands on it, hangs himself, and then kicks the block out from underneath. On the other hand, critics argue that it was an exotic bird which was placed on set to give the movie a natural and realistic atmosphere. The moving figure was simply a bird, most likely a crane, flapping its wings and pecking at the ground.

The rumor started after the movie came out on VHS tape, which enabled people to replay the scene over and over. On the small screen, things appear much differently. With the picture being so small, the image wasn’t clear and this lead people to start the rumors. Supposedly, on the big screen it is undeniably a bird.

If it really was a suicide, why would they keep it on the final movie? Why not just redo the scene? Some conclude that it was “too expensive” and they were short on money. And why wouldn’t someone notice what had happened? After all, the three actors didn’t react to it or even seem to notice what happened.

Whether you believe it or not, it’s up to you. We’ll probably never know what really happened on set. But, there’s no denying it, the moving figure in the trees resembles a man hanging himself.

Halloween - a time of spooky decorations and dressing up in costumes for the chance to thrill and chill friends and neighbours—yet sometimes the scary efforts of some Halloween celebrators go too far. Consider the case of a young man attempting to pull off a fake hanging and fatally failing in the attempt.

The Hanging Man Halloween Decoration Urban Legend

In most cases an Urban Legend is a story that sounds too incredible too fantastic to be true. In some cases the urban legend is based on a true story, but the facts of the story have been augmented or in some cases left out in order to make it more fantastic. In this case, the urban legend turns out to be true at every angle.

It is possible that some of the stories told about people accidentally hanging themselves when trying to pull off a Halloween stunt are copy cat stories, imitations of the real events, but there are more than a few documented cases of actual accidental deaths on Halloween. Many of them involve the “hay ride” type attractions- sort of mobile haunted houses, a hay ride takes a load of passengers in the back of a wagon –pulled by horse or tractor- along a country path or farm with various stops along the way. These stops are invariably manned by people whose job it is to scare those in the wagon, by jumping out and saying “boo” in all manner of creative ways. One traditional stop is the hanging man.

A lone gallows will be set up, and a noose made from the rope, but not a typical hangman’s noose. This loop is secured so that it will NOT slip and tighten, and in many cases the person is actually suspended by a harness around the chest and under the arms, hidden by a jacket. Some cases involve just the noose, but the person’s feet are hidden as they are actually standing safely on the ground.

Every so often something goes wrong. Either a youngster sets it up themselves without proper supervision and unintentionally creates a death trap, or they use a rope that was set up to hold a mannequin. In one case organizers realized something was wrong when a teenager in the “hanging man” station remained silent when the hay ride passed by, failing to give the traditional speech.

A Twist to the Urban Legend

A few years back there was another story reported of a Halloween decoration in poor taste- a hanging body in full view of a busy highway. Motorists sped by and went about their day, assuming it was just some prank in honour of the season, but eventually someone notified police. Upon investigating the scene hours after the first sighting, it was discovered that a middle aged woman had committed suicide by hanging, apparently picking the particular spot specifically for the view.

The woman lived not far from the hill where her body was discovered, and the talking heads on the news shows took time to speculate whether or not it was the suicide’s intention to be mistaken for a Halloween decoration, if she chose the time of her death to coincide with the spooky celebrations, or if the entire episode was one big coincidence. At no point was it thought to be a case like those reported in the past, of an “Halloween hanging gone wrong.”

Halloween is a time for kids to collect candy…lots and lots of candy. Each and every year bags of candy are collected brought home, and dumped on the dinning room table for inspection. Moms and Dads comb through chocolates, gum, apples and taffies looking for tampering, doing their duty to protect junior from razorblades in the Halloween candy- yet another Urban Legend that turns out to be true… sort of.

The Razorblades in Halloween Candy Urban Legend

The urban legend of poison, pins, razorblades and needles finding their way inside apples and candy on Halloween is a persistent one, and an old one. Rumors of deadly treats have been floating since at least the sixties, and likely before. Apples were the first target of the rumors, and concerned parents were soon scanning the peel of the fruit looking for suspicions cuts and insertion marks before allowing their brood to feed on it.

Poison was one of the first rumors that haunted trick or treaters, and while there are countless news stories every year urging parents to beware, there have been no links to Halloween poisonings, per se. There have been some disturbed individuals who have poisoned a specific child for a diabolical purpose and then tried to use the urban legend to cover their crime, but no random poisoner has been discovered. There was a case in 1982 of a mad rash of Tyelonol poisonings that resulted in a number of deaths; while this had nothing at all to do with Halloween candy, that year was a scary one for parents and children alike.

The Origin of the Razorblades in Halloween Candy Urban Legend

There are, however, documented cases of needles, pins and other foreign objects found in Halloween candy. Fortunately there are few cases where injury has resulted, and at worst only a few stitches were involved (but which was probably pretty frightening for the victim.) Many of the reported cases of razorblades found in an apple or a pin in a Tootsie Roll may actually be cases where the child themselves have inserted the object and the reported it as “found.” That is, until 2000. This year on disturbed man was found and convicted of placing foreign objects in candy and randomly distributing it with the intent to harm. Fortunately only one child was reported as being injured, and that slight.

Despite the very wide spread and infrequent occurrences of foreign objects placed in Halloween candy over the decades, it remains a popular news story come October 31st. Parents are urged to hold parties rather than take their kids trick or treating, and hospitals open up their X-Ray machines to run candy through, just to be on the safe side.

Final Thoughts

One example of this Urban Legend getting traction is in a popular “Chick Trac” from the religious publisher Jack Chick, which focuses on this urban legend exclusively. In it a coven of witches purposefully set out to injure children and drug them to use as sacrifices in a clear case of an Urban Legend gone wild.

“Bloody Mary killed your wife.” Sort of an odd thing to say especially when standing in a bathroom with the lights out and staring in a mirror. Yet kids round the globe are doing it, or something similar, in an attempt to take part in an urban legend that would have a vengeful spirit appear and turn their hair white.

The Bloody Mary Legend Superstition

In 1978 an essay was published on this urban legend, which in turn is based on a much older bit of folk lore (which is what they used to call urban legends before there was an “urban”.) The legend has been around for hundreds of years and has a variety of sources for the infamous Bloody Mary, but the many similarities between them follow the same basic plot. A vengeful spirit – or in some cases just an evil, perhaps spiteful spirit—named Mary is the subject of the legend, and the target of the machinations required. The spirit, sometimes called a mirror witch, can be summoned by chanting before a mirror. The actual mechanisms for summoning her vary from place to place and story to story, but they often involve invoking her name and usually some sort of comment expressing belief in her.

In nearly every story the variables are what to say, and what happens after you say it, but the setting is almost always the same. A dark room with a mirror and privacy; apparently Bloody Mary doesn’t like crowds. One of the most common places to perform the ritual is in a darkened bathroom at sleepovers. Sleepovers because that’s when this ghost story comes out, and the bathroom because the victim…er, volunteer, can have seclusion while chanting. Phrases like “Bloody Mary killed your wife”, “Hell Mary”, or “I believe in Mary Worth”, or simply “Bloody Mary”. The last version is the scariest for both the person doing it and those waiting outside the bathroom door, for you must say it thirteen times, starting from a whisper, and then getting louder and louder until you are screaming the name.

Then What?

After you perform the incantation something is supposed to happen. The spirit witch of Bloody Mary is supposed to appear in the reflection, and either scratch your face or suck your soul into the mirror (sort of an extreme set of options.) In some cases the devil is supposed to appear, although how he horned in on this legend is unclear.

The Origin of the Bloody Mary Urban Legend

There was a Bloody Mary in history: Queen Mary I of England. She has her own myths, such as murdering young girls to bathe in their blood to preserve her youth. This is nonsense; she came by her name for killing Protestants in an attempt to return England to Catholicism. But the blood bath story is great for the Bloody Mary urban legend. Other Mary’s are women who died in car crashes or were murdered in their sleep, or witches who were burned at the stake. While the details often change, the general idea of the sleep over activity remain the same.

Final Thoughts

This urban legend was made into a film in 2005 appropriately titled “Urban Legends: Bloody Mary.” In the film the spirit of Bloody Mary is a teenage girl who dies at a high school in Utah in 1969, and then is summoned more than thirty years later by yet other teenage girls looking for thrills at a sleep over.

Apparently, this was a common occurrence, but still understandably heart-stopping. Family and friends had gathered for the funeral of a young boy killed in a gangland slaying in Little Rock, Arkansas. The priest was just about to start on the last rites, when a young boy came upon the scene. Suddenly, women were screaming, men were gaping in shock and the mother fainted. Confounded, the priest asked a nearby mourner if this outburst was a ritual within the community. The mourner said in a wavering voice: "No, Father. That boy who has just walked in, he's the one we're supposed to be burying today." A pragmatist, the priest managed to calm people down and after much discussion realised what had happened. He worked out that the boy's mother suffered from glaucoma and when she was called to the police station to identify the body, she mistook the dead body for her son.

A church in a small town in Ireland, gained notoriety when the statue of the Virgin Mary was reported to speak to visitors. Rumours began when a local woman praying to the statue said she heard the Virgin Mary tell her that Jesus would return to the people very soon. In no time at all, flocks of people were turning up at the church and every now and then, the statue would talk about the return of Jesus and what the people should do to prepare for it. At one point, hundreds of people were gathered in the church. They all waited with bated breath to hear the Virgin Mary speak. Eventually, the statue began to speak: "Jesus will...". Suddenly there was an ear-splitting whine and the statue continued: "Shit, I spilt my cup o' tea!" The priest turned scarlet red and the people began murmuring. It didn't take long for people to figure out that a local businessman had planted a radio transmitter in the statue and his wife had made the pronouncements in a bid to boost tourism to the town. Funny that most people didn't question the Virgin Mary having an Irish accent.

A group of New Zealanders touring Scotland arrived in Stirling, a place that held them in awe with its rich history and heritage. They parked their car and wandered around, when they came across an old Scottish man, complete with his clan tartan and bagpipes. He spoke to them in a strong brogue accent, claiming that he was from the Mackenzie clan that was defeated by the Cameron clan in the area. The group was delighted to have met such an interesting man and chatted for some time before saying their farewells and driving on. Later in the day they stopped at some souvenir shops and stumbled across the old Scottish man again. They gave him a knowing nod, bought a few trinkets and, waving goodbye to the Scotsman, continued their journey. They stopped a mile or so up the road to admire a plaque dedicated to the "War of the Two Clans" and there he was yet again. Bewildered at how he had got there before them, they asked him to join them for a group photo. Back in New Zealand, the group had the photos of their trip developed. But on looking through them, they were shocked to see that the group photo that was taken of them with the old Scotsman showed them standing by the plaque with their arms round an empty space.

 A group of tourists on a sight-seeing trip around Edinburgh, Scotland, were taking in the splendour of the city and, at the same time, being educated about Edinburgh's darker past the focus of the tour was a ghost walk, a trek around haunted sites. They paused to contemplate the site of a particularly gruesome murder and to be told about the ghostly events that had occurred there since the slaying. While this was going on, a woman dressed in a cape appeared carrying a wooden stake, which she proceeded to plunge into the chest of the tour guide. The tour guide crashed to the ground and the tourists, assuming that this was a spectacularly well-acted piece of street theatre, applauded wildly. Unfortunately, the scene they had witnessed was not a piece of theatre but an actual murder carried out by a deranged woman who had been driven insane by the constant noise of tour guides droning on outside her window.