The Resident Evil Series - Resident Evil: Afterlife

In a world ravaged by a virus infection, turning its victims into the Undead, Alice continues on her journey to find survivors and lead them to safety. Her deadly battle with the Umbrella Corporation reaches new heights, but Alice gets some unexpected help from an old friend. A new lead that promises a safe haven from the Undead leads them to Los Angeles, but when they arrive the city is overrun by thousands of Undead and Alice and her comrades are about to step into a deadly trap.

The Resident Evil (film) series hasn't always had particularly amazing reviews, not unlike many other game to film franchises. 

I guess the best way to approach these films is to not expect a scare a minute type movie. The games had a lovely way of keeping you up for hours after setting down the controller, I have a particular memory of my brother watching me play Resident Evil 3: Nemesis and having to sleep in my room with me because he was too scared to be alone.

The films don't deliver the same tense atmosphere but they are certainly entertaining! Milla Jovovich was a fantastic choice for the title character of Alice and she delivers in every instalment. 

The fourth instalment looks to be as action packed as the first three. I had planned on watching it in 2d rather than in the widely advertised 3d. However, after reading about it in more depth it seems that the film has been incredibly geared towards the 3d showings so I guess it'll be contact lenses at the ready! (Wearing 3d glasses over your regular glasses doesn't seem like a fun way to watch a film).

It seems to be set 5 years after the third film (?) and Alice has journeyed to Alaska (Where the survivors from the previous film flew to 'safety'). The only survivor she finds is Claire with a spider like contraption embedded into her chest (for those of us who played Resident Evil 5 we will know a bit about this little contraption). We find out that Wesker is behind it (more about him below) and they both go about looking for survivors.

We get to see Claire Redfield have it out with The Executioner in a highly anticipated fight scene(don't worry if this doesn't make sense, the trailer is below). It's nice to see that other people get to have more of a hands on role in the film, rather than Alice doing all the work. It's also worth mentioning that Alice no longer possesses her psychic abilities in this film.

With many of the main cast from previous films having been killed off we will also see the return of Jill Valentine who was popular amongst the loyal game fans. 

Albert Wesker has a role in the fourth film too, seemingly being infected (maybe a lá Resident Evil 5 the game?). He shows of his 'kickass' moves in a fight with Claire Redfield and Chris Redfield(!). 

 

It looks like the makers have decided to include more of the games in this next film which is great. Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed Resident Evil: Extinction, the premise that it all took place in daylight completely took any horror element out of the film. The makers did say that it was filmed in daylight as to break away from the usual darkness of most horror films but who's afraid of daylight? 

Hopefully this film will bring back the horror element to the franchise, if not I certainly know that it'll be on action packed ride!

Tap tap tap...

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Katie and Joe had treated themselves to a lavish dinner for their 1st anniversary. They had been friends since childhood and always found ways to keep themselves amused despite knowing each other for so long. Knowing that traffic was extremely likely on the normal route home, Joe decided to take the deserted long way home, through a dense forested area.


After about half an hour the car slowed to a stop. Looking over at Joe, Katie knew he was being mischievous and gave him a stern look. "Come on Joe, I want to go home, don't you start" she scolded.


"Aww, come on! There's nobody around" he grinned.


He leant in for a kiss but Katie pushed him away, "I don't think so, this may be our anniversary but I'm not about to get it on in your car" she laughed.


"Oh fine, but you owe me" he huffed, jokingly.

Turning the ignition to awaken the car once more, Joe looked puzzled when nothing happened. He turned it again but still, nothing. Rollin her eyes Katie said "Come on, this has been done to death. Get on with it".
"Seriously, it won't start" Joe replied, demonstrating again that the car wasn't responding.

Image from flickr gorchakov.artem title: Gloomy Forest

They were stranded in the middle of a wood with nowhere to go. Both checked their phones, Joe's was dead and Katie had no signal.


After what seemed like an age, Joe declared that he was going to find the nearest petrol station or public phone. Getting her coat ready to go with him, Katie nodded. "No, you stay here and keep warm in the car" he said.


"Are you sure?" she asked.


"I'll be fine, I'm pretty sure there's a station about 30 minutes walk away" he reassured her.


Agreeing to stay with the car, Katie lightly kissed her boyfriend on the lips and settled into the back seat of the car. Slightly tired, Katie decided to have a nap whilst Joe was gone.


Tap, tap, tap. The distinct sound of tapping woke Katie up from her 'nap'. Looking at her watch, she discovered she had been sleeping for 3 hours. Puzzled that it had been so long without Joe returning, she peered out the window. It was night time and the density of the trees made it hard to see anything. 


Worried she climbed into the front seat and tried the ignition one more time, a fruitless attempt she knew but she wanted to at least try. She played a game on her phone for a little while having forgotten about how she had been woken.


About 10 minutes after she began playing, the tapping noise had returned. Tap, tap, tap it went. Not knowing what could be making the noise puzzled her. Shining her phone out of the window, she saw that they were not parked underneath a tree despite the area they were in. 


The tapping noise came and went every few minutes. Getting quite worried, she locked the doors and stopped using her phone. 20 minutes passed before any noise returned, this time however, it was a scraping noise that she heard. This freaked her out, lying down in the seat as low as she could, she closed her eyes and prayed for the noise to cease. 


Knowing that something was wrong with Joe didn't help to ease her anxiety, if he had made it to a station he would have returned by now. 


It had been at least 5 hours since Joe had left and about 2 of enduring the strange noises around the car. She was trying to think of anything just to take her mind off the situation. The noise started up again but was interrupted with flashing lights. 


The light filled the car and Katie sighed in relief, Joe must have gotten help. 


"This is the police, stay right where you are" a loud voice sounded through the air.


Puzzled, Katie wondered what on earth was going on. Unlocking her door she was greeted by a police officer looking pale. She looked around at the other officers and was immediately confused. They were all pointing guns right at her. "There must be some mistake, I've not done anything" she explained. 


"Just come with me, you're not in any trouble" the officer replied gently. Walking towards the cars with him he added "We're going to get you out of here but whatever you do, don't look back towards the car". 


Annoyed that he had said this, she looked like any normal person would. What she was greeted with made her throw up instantly on the muddy road. 


Right there on top of her boyfriend's car was a dirty man holding a bloody axe in one hand and her boyfriends severed head in the other. The noise through the night was him tapping on the roof with his axe. 

Horror Update

Hey guys :) 


Sorry I haven't been active in the past week, I was struck down with a virus :( 


I'm all better now and have some stories to post up tomorrow (or today since it's past midnight).


Just thought I'd let you know I'm still here ;) 


Mikayla (Your favourite horror blogger :D)

The Furry Gown.

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During summer break, two best friends: Jenny and Laura decided to have a girl's night in. Jenny's parents were on holiday for a week so they had their sleepover at her house. During the night they watched DVD's, put on face masks and had a good time.


At about 11:00pm Jenny decided that they should tell some scary stories to put them in the mood for a horror film. Although Laura wasn't a massive fan of all things scary, she was having a nice evening so she joined in regardless. After telling a few ghost stories they flicked through the channels on the TV to see if there were any horror films playing. They scanned through the many channels pausing briefly to see what was on each. On the news channel there was a report on an escaped inmate from the criminally insane prison in the next county.


"That's fitting for tonight isn't it?" joked Jenny, "Maybe we should grab some bats and go lock all the doors".


"Haha Jenny" Laura replied, warily "We should probably do that actually, best to be safe".


"Ok, you do upstairs and I'll do down here. We'll meet in my room and get our pyjamas on" Jenny laughed.


So the girls went round the house locking all the doors and making sure the house was secure. Laura arrived at the bedroom first. Finding her overnight bag, she changed into her night clothes.


After about 10 minutes she began to wonder where Jenny was. Walking over to the door she listened out for Jenny locking doors. What she heard when she got there made her heart stop. A dragging sound was coming down the hallway, muffled cries following. Running over to the wardrobe she climbed in and watched through the crack in the door. Seeing a shadow in the doorway, she held her breath, her heart almost beating out of her chest.


The bedroom door burst open and a very healthy looking Jenny jumped into the room laughing. Falling out of the wardrobe with fright, Laura gave Jenny her most annoyed look and threw a book a her. "Thanks for that" she said, "I've just aged 20 years".


"Sorry, I couldn't resist" laughed Jenny. Throwing the book back playfully, she changed into her pyjamas and took her dressing gown out of the wardrobe. "Do you like it?" Jenny asked, "My parents bought me it as a way of saying 'sorry we're going on holiday without you'".


The dressing gown was floor length and was covered in luscious black fur.


"It's not real fur, is it?" Laura questioned.


"Noo, we're not that rich" Jenny joked, wrapping the furry gown around herself.


"So what shall we do.." Laura was cut off mid sentence by a muffled bang downstairs. Looking straight towards Jenny she asked, "What have you set up now?".


Looking puzzled Jenny replied, "Nothing, I'm not stupid enough to try to scare you twice in one night". Creeping over to the door together, they listened for another sound. Certain that Jenny was just pulling another prank, Laura pulled open the door and shouted "Oooh, so scary".


The silence was broken with another bang. Suddenly the house was in darkness. Pulling Laura back into the bedroom Jenny whimpered. "I promise that it isn't me, I'm right here, how could I be doing this?".


Grabbing her phone for light, Laura illuminated the room. Seeing the look on Jenny's face made her instantly scared. A scuffling noise pierced the silence. Panicking, Laura instantly dialled the police number on her phone. As the phone began to ring, it made a beeping noise and died.


"Great" she whispered, "What are we going to do?".


"My phone is downstairs, I'll creep down and get it" Jenny replied, pulling on her shoes.


"WHAT? No way! What if someone's down there?" Laura cried.


"It's my house, I know every creaky stair and floorboard, I'll be back in a minute" Jenny didn't wait for Laura's response and she crept out the door.


Heart pounding in her chest, Laura looked out the window to see if she could jump out. 'Nope, way too high' she thought. Before she could return to the bed, a loud noise startled her. Almost in tears, she had no idea what to do. Hearing heavy footsteps downstairs, she hoped that it was Jenny.


After about 10 minutes, Jenny hadn't returned, so Laura decided to go look for her. Creeping out the room, she tried to make as little noise as possible. She'd been to Jenny's house hundreds of times before, so she knew which stairs creeked and which didn't. When she reached the ground floor she heard a shuffling noise. Getting to her hands and knees, she began crawling along the corridor, making sure not to make any noise.

Picture from: www.altitudeart.com

She reached the living room, where Jenny had last had her phone. Crawling along to the sofas she put her hand out to feel for Jenny. "Jenny, are you in here?" she whispered. Making her way to the armchair she stopped. She could feel a presence in the room. Reaching out she felt the welcome texture of the furry dressing gown. "Thank god Jenny". Standing up she groaned "So this was all a trick. Nice. Well you scared me, again".
When she didn't receive an answer, she pushed Jenny playfully. Again no answer. Suddenly the electricity flashed back on and the sight that met Laura was horrific. Screaming at the top of her lungs, she was staring straight at Jenny. Jenny was still wearing her new fluffy gown, but all that was visible of her body was the bloody stump of her neck. Her head was nowhere to be found.


The police found that Jenny had not infact locked all the doors downstairs. She had been playing along, not really believing that her house was at risk. The back door was wide open and a bloodstained, blunt axe was left on the kitchen counter.

So you want to survive a horror movie?

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If you've watched as many horror films as I have, you will be screaming at the TV as much as I do. Here are some tips on how to survive a slasher movie, you know, just in case.

1) Never say "This only happens in movies", you will die. Fast.


2) Never get drunk or high off drugs. You will be killed, albeit in a funny manner.


3) Don't randomly decide you're horny. Sex whilst being stalked by a maniac is just asking for it.


4) Look up lucid dreaming on the internet. Learn it, practice it, apply it.


5) Unless you want to: 1) Have the lamest death ever 2) Be killed in your dreams. You should make friends with caffeine, sleeping will result in your demise. Coffee, Coke, Pepsi, Red Bull, Pro Plus = all good sources.


6) Dress respectfully, if you watch these flicks carefully you'll see that the scantily clad, naked ladies get killed first.


7) Did you hear that? Yes we all heard it and we are now going to get away from the area. Do not ask who is there and do not go find the source of the noise.


8) Ooooh what's that? We don't know, and you don't want to know. Do not touch it, in fact run in the opposite direction.


9) Feeling mucky? Deal with it. If you climb into a shower with a madman on the loose then frankly, you deserve your fate.


10) Wear sensible shoes. You're going to fall over. A LOT. Running in stilettos will just make you an easier target. Even if you're running across a completely flat surface, you will trip, the killer will be ambling towards you and you will be screwed.


11) Are you an oddball? Or a loner? give yourself a pat on the back, you're going to survive.


12) Are you a bully? Ridiculously popular? Congratulations you've killed yourself off before the film's even started.


13) Remember how you never go anywhere without your phone? Hang it around your neck if you have to, just keep it with you. Make sure it's charged and ring the police, not your parents, not your boyfriend. The police.


14) Has the killer infiltrated your house? Then leave. Don't run upstairs and lock yourself in your bedroom. You will almost certainly die. You are not Sidney (scream) so just run for it.


15) If you have a gun, check the safety now. Later will be too late.


16) Keep your knives in a drawer, not in a knife block. Take the biggest one you have with you.


17) Home alone for the night? Babysitting? Check that EVERY door and window is locked. In fact, check all the wardrobes, cupboards and showers before the parents leave.


18) After you've checked all the wardrobes, cupboards and showers for a killer, DO NOT use them as a hiding spot. Chances are that the first places you look for a killer are also the first places they will look for their victims.


19) Have you found a good hiding place? Then shut your mouth, literally. The smallest whimper will give away your location.


20) Phew! You escaped the killer. Run and find a car to escape in. Bear in mind that any of these will happen: 1) There is no petrol (gas). 2) You will drop the keys in a puddle of mud. 3) The killer will predict which car you'll be taking so check the backseat. 4) No matter how fast you run or how far you drive, the killer will catch up (with his slow amble) and probably appear in front of the car.


21) Pay attention to your background music. This will tell you when you're about to die. In fact, listen out for some ominous music, a lot of killers have their own theme tune.


22) Have a boy/girlfriend? Not for long. They either die, making you a nervous wreck who will be killed next OR I'm sorry to break this to you but, they're the psychopath.


23) Does your maniac talk endlessly? Then he's the easiest to kill. Killers who remain silent for the entire film will not die, a lá Michael Myers.


24) Think you've killed the monster? Do not feel for a pulse, listen for breath or celebrate. They're not dead. Smash them in the face a few more times, run them over some more or slice the head off.


25) Hopefully you've survived your encounter with a madman! Be prepared for a good few sequels, for the killer to have siblings wanting to avenge their death, for the killer to come back with superhuman powers. In fact, just accept that you'll never be rid of the psycho.


__________________________________________________________


Hope you enjoyed the list! Have you got any tips or rules? Post them in the comments and I'll add them in!

Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the lights?

[Visit the new website - www.thehorrorgrove.com] Two girls that went to the same college were matched together as roommates. Kate was a socialite who loved to go out to parties and loved guys even more, Jen was a shying wallflower who kept to her studies and had a small group of friends. The two got along most of the time but they didn't see eye to eye when it came to visitors staying over in their room. That night, there was a dorm party on the floor above that they had been invited to. Jen had quickly made her excuses to not go whilst Kate, never one to miss out on a good party, had been planning her outfit since they'd been invited. After the last classes of the day, both girls were in the room. Kate had music playing as she was getting ready for the party and Jen was in her books, studying. A rapid knock on the door alerted them both, almost as soon as the knocking had stopped the door burst open and a group of girls fell in the room laughing. Kate's friends had come round to get ready as a group. Rolling her eyes, Jen picked up her books and declared that she was retreating to the library to continue her studies. Jen sat herself in her favourite comfy chair in the library and began reading her books. Students came and went throughout the night and when she finally closed her books it was close to 2am. Shocked that the time had passed so quickly, she gathered her things and began walking back to her room.

As she approached her room door she could hear people inside, sighing, she opened the door and left the light off.  She'd gotten an eyeful on plenty of occasions when she'd interrupted Kate and her 'date' getting amorous in bed. "Nice to know you enjoyed yourself" Jen said. The motions stopped briefly and then carried on again, annoyed that her room mate was ignoring her she changed into her pyjamas and climbed into bed. With the noises carrying on she turned on her MP3 player and turned the volume up loud. Quickly, she fell asleep.

The next morning she woke to find her MP3 player tangled on her pillow. Picking it up to unravel it, she turned over to scold Kate for her amorous actions the night before. As she turned over she dropped her music player and screamed. Kate was lying in a pool of blood with her sheets over the floor. On the wall, written in blood were the words "Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the lights?"

Flickr lalalaBRE title: Dorm

Humans can lick too...

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A 13 year old girl was left home alone one night when her parents went out for a meal with friends. The parents thought that she was too old for a babysitter so they decided she could stay home alone as long as she locked all the windows and doors as soon as they left. Usually she would have objected to being left alone, however her parents had bought her a beautiful German Shepherd dog just weeks before. The reason for such a gift was because the girl had been suffering from nightmares for years, having the dog sleeping in her bedroom helped her feel at ease. 

When her parents left, she went around the house making sure that all of the windows and doors were locked, as per her orders. She found that the basement window would not lock, so she locked the door leading into the house instead and thought nothing more about it. 

The time was 8pm and she was to go to bed at 10pm, this was enough time to watch a film so she put on one of her favourites and settled down to watch it. The dog came and lay by her feet for the length of the film. 

Feeling happy that she'd coped well with being alone at night, she decided she better head up to bed. Turning off all of the the lights on her way upstairs she saw nothing unusual in her home. Once upstairs she brushed her teeth and changed into her nightwear. She snuggled under her duvet and dropped her hand to the floor to feel for her dog. Sure enough he assured her of his presence with a loving lick, she smiled and drifted to sleep.

In the midst of the night she was woken by a dripping sound, rolling her eyes she assumed she hadn't turned the tap off properly in the bathroom. Trying to ignore it, she felt for the dog and received the lick that she was used to receiving and fell back to sleep. Only about half an hour later she woke again to the dripping and annoyed that it kept waking her she slumped to the bathroom to turn the tap off properly. Leaving the light off in order to not blind her eyes that were still half asleep, she tightened the tap and returned to her room. Feeling for her dog, she was greeted by the usual lick.

Tremendously tired, she fell back to sleep and didn't wake until her parents returned home. The lights from the car shone through her bedroom window and she was pleased that they were home. One thing shocked her though, the dripping sound was still relentlessly going. Worried that perhaps the tap had broken, she walked to the bathroom to investigate fully. She turned on the light and her scream pierced the silence.

Her parents ran up the stairs to investigate her troubled scream and they just stood staring into the bathroom. There was their beautiful dog, skinned and hanging in the shower. It's blood dripping to the floor. On the mirror was the words "Humans can lick too, my dear"...

Thump, Thump, Drag.

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One Saturday night, a 16 year old named Mary was babysitting 2 children as a means of earning a bit of extra cash. The parents had gone out for a meal and said they wouldn't be back until late so the girl put the two children to bed and then settled herself in the lounge downstairs. 

She turned on the TV and began to flip through the channels. A sitcom that she'd seen hundreds of times was on one channel, sighing, she flipped the channel again to a news story. The newsreader was issuing a warning about an escaped patient from a nearby mental facility, flipping the channel again she found a film that she'd wanted to see and so she settled to watch it. The film finished and having fallen asleep, she'd forgotten all about the news report from before...

A little while later one of the children jolted awake. He craned to listen to what had woken him. A noise, coming from the hall possibly. Quieting his breathing he strained to make sense of the noise. Thump, thump, draaaag... Not sure what to make of the sound he thought it could be the TV downstairs. He settled down and tried to fall back asleep. Before he could, he heard the noise again. Thump, thump, draaag... 

Startled, he leapt across the room and woke up his brother to get him to listen for the sound. Sure enough they both heard it again, thump, thump, drag... Thump, thump, drag.

They crept to their door to listen out for it again but the sound had stopped. Scared now, they both ran to their beds and hid under their duvets until their parents returned home.

The parents returned to the house and were shocked at the sight that greeted them through their front door. There was blood all over the walls and on the stairs was Mary, dead. Her arms had been cut off at the elbows and the rest of her body was so badly injured that she'd had to drag herself along the floor. She'd been trying to get up the stairs to protect the children from the murderer. She died from blood loss. 

To this day Mary's attacker has not been found.

Flickr User Ignatur Untitled

Blue Baby Blue

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Blue Baby Blue

We’ve all heard of Bloody Mary but have you heard the similar but no less disturbing legend of Baby Blue?

 Image courtesy of Tuomas Lehtinen at at FreeDigitalPhotos.net - edited by UrbanLegendsandHorror

Poor Baby Blue never had a chance. Born into the world by a psychotic mother, he was destined to be a child of legend. Nobody knows his real name, only that his mother killed him with a piece of shattered mirror.

The ritual of Baby Blue, not unlike Bloody Mary, is set in the confines of a bathroom and you’ll need a mirror to try it (if you dare).

I suggest you take a friend if your heart is set on trying this out but make sure they know what they’re in for.

Enter the bathroom and fog up the mirror (breathe on it, turn on the hot water – however you like), once this is complete you should write the words “Baby Blue” on the mirror.

Step two is turning off the light (be brave, you have a friend with you!) and waiting for a few moments. Once you’ve waited for about a minute you should hold out your arms, just like you were carrying a baby in them.

You should then feel the weight of a baby on your arms, don’t freak out – keep him held safe and after a while you should pass him to your friend. Mind not to drop him, he doesn’t take kindly to this and will give you a little scratch. If you pick him up and drop him a few more times (who would be so clumsy?), the last thing you’ll ever see is the mirror shattering in front of you (your friend might want to run at this point, you’re a lost cause).

A second version of this legend has a slightly different ritual:-

Enter the bathroom with the lights already turned off. Stand in front of the mirror and say the words “Blue Baby” thirteen times, over and over again. Whilst reciting these words you should rock your arms back and forth as if you were holding a baby.

Once you’ve finished the thirteenth chant, a baby will appear in your arms and give you a little scratch. At this point, I suggest you drop the baby and run because not long behind him is his aforementioned psychotic mother. She will scream at you from the mirror “GIVE ME BACK BY BABY” and attempt to have you meet the same fate as her little treasure.

Killer in the Backseat

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A woman is driving home from a late meeting at work. Turning up the radio when a song comes on that she likes, she is carefree and starts to sing along.

It starts to rain heavily and she sighs, putting on her wipers. After about 10 minutes a car appears behind her and she thinks nothing more of it. Suddenly the car following her flashes its lights and drives up close behind her car. Opening her window, she waves her hand assuming they want to pass. Instead of passing, the car falls back. 

A little confused, the woman rolls her eyes and continues on her way. A few minutes later the car flashes it's lights again and comes right up to her bumper, almost crashing into her car. "JACKASS" she shouts, speeding up a little to get away from them. 

Getting annoyed now, she isn't surprised when the car comes right back up behind her flashing their lights and beeping this time. The car gets very close and the woman starts to get worried. She pulls over to see if they pass and instead of doing this, they pull up behind her. Panicking, she drives off fast with the hope of losing them. Only 5 minutes from home, she sighs relieved that they've left her alone.

All of a sudden the car screeches up behind her and speeds next to her, she looks into the car and the man is signalling her to pull over. Thankfully, she gets to her house just in time and without taking her stuff, she exits the car and runs inside, locking the door and immediately calls the police to tell them someone has followed her home. 

After hanging up she peers out the window and sees the man getting out of his car. He starts to approach her car slowly holding what she thought looked like a golf club. Puzzled, she goes to her front door and as she opens it, she saw the man dragging a figure out of the back seat of her car. At this moment the police arrive and handcuff the intruder, taking an axe from the back of her car.

It turns out that the car behind her had seen the man raising the axe to kill her and they were trying to warn her about this. Every time they flashed their lights, the figure lowered back into the seats. 

There are other various takes on this tale, these include:

The woman sees that she needs petrol and pulls into a petrol station. The attendant sees the man in the back of her car and tells her that there is a problem with her card and that she needs to go inside. The woman is scared of the attendant because (in the majority of the stories that feature this attendant) he looks weird and rough. However, he saves her life.

Sometimes it is told as the woman driving away from the petrol station, scared of the attendant. She meets an untimely end in this version, with the murderer in the back seat killing her. 


This Urban Legend is the opener of the film: Urban Legends 1998 - Amazon DVD link - DVD

Bloody Mary

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We've probably all heard variations of Bloody Mary, this post will look at the various takes on the legend. It will also attempt explain the confusion over who Mary really is.


It is common that at sleepovers, teenagers act out this tale in order to spook each other out. 


Usually the 'ritual' goes like this: 

You all enter the bathroom (I say all because really, who would do this alone?)and turn off the light (Maybe light a candle for a bit of atmosphere). Stand in front of the mirror and chant "Bloody Mary" 13 times, getting louder each time you say it. The legend says that after the thirteenth chant, Mary will appear and scratch your face. 

The legend has various guises, including the different sayings:
"Bloody Mary"
"Hell Mary"
"I stole your baby Mary Worth"
"I killed your baby Mary Worth"
"I believe in Mary Worth"
"Bloody Bones"
"Agnes / Black Agnes"
And many more.


After calling out any of these names, there are also various outcomes of the ritual, including:
Receiving claw marks on your face or body.
Your eyes being ripped out.
You disappear from the bathroom into the mirror.
Possibly the least radical of the consequences, you see her in the mirror.


The ritual has many rumoured beginnings, with the most popular telling the story of Mary Worth a witch that lived supposedly over 100 years ago. She was found guilty of practising black magic and was promptly executed. As you can tell, there is no mention of a child here, but in the games of today people often chant "I stole your baby, Mary Worth".
This possibly came around as people confused the tale of Mary Worth with Mary I, Queen of England.Mary was unable to carry a child and it is said that she suffered two 'phantom' pregnancies. This is probably how the two tales became intertwined and merged to one. Mary Tudor was also commonly nicknamed "Bloody Mary". This was due to the high number of executions that she ordered throughout her reign.


There are so many versions and 'origins' of this tale that I'll post websites that talk of them all, if you want to look into the legend deeper. 


Castle of Spirits, Bloody Mary. Snopes, Bloody Mary Wiki - Bloody Mary

The Babysitter

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An old one, but still a good one...

A teenage girl looking for some extra cash, decides to take a babysitting job from the next town over. The parents are attending a friend's party and leave their 2 young children with the teenager. 

The girl plays with the children, gives them their supper and then puts them to bed. Pleased to get such well mannered children she returns downstairs and settles down to watch a film for the night. About an hour into her film a shrill ring pierces the silence. Aware that the children are sleeping she answers the phone quickly in order to not wake them. She assumes that it's the parents calling to check on their children, however, instead of the voice she is expecting she is met with heavy breathing. Assuming that it's the wrong number, she hangs up. As she begins to walk away the phone rings again. 

"What?" she asks, irritated. "I'm close" a hoarse voice whispered to her. Puzzled, she demands to know who it is but the caller hangs up.

She returns to her film in the next room, trying to forget the weird call. About 15 minutes later, the phone rings again. The teenager would rather not answer it again, but she really didn't want the children to wake, so she answered it again. "I'm closer, and I'm about to get you", the voice laughed. Getting scared, the teenager hangs up and immediately calls the police. 

The police are unsympathetic and tell her it's probably a prank but they will monitor the line if it will ease her mind. Instead of going back to her film, she stays by the phone, waiting for another call. She doesn't have to wait for long and sure enough, it's the mystery caller again. This time he laughs hysterically and tells her it won't be long. She throws the phone back into the receiver and her heart pounds. 

Almost immediately the phone rings again and she is met with the voice of a panicked man "The calls are coming from inside the house, GET OUT NOW". "I'll get the children and go" she says, panicking. "NO, GET OUT OF THE HOUSE NOW!" he demands.

Without hanging up, she runs to the front garden and is met with 2 police cars, the police men run straight into the house and upstairs. They return empty handed and with a sickly look on their faces. "The children are dead, no sign of the killer" they state, solemnly. Another officer exits the house with an evidence bag, which contains a bloody knife.

A film version of this story - 'When a stranger calls - 2006'. Amazon link : DVD