Urban legends have set up some great premises for horror movies: it helps that horror fanatics are well versed with most old wives' tales. While the majority of urban legends are used to keep the unruly kids at bay, it goes without saying that they make for excellent film adaptations.
Some urban legends might be entirely fictional and doctored: some are based on true events. Whether invented or connected in reality, urban legends add a layer of realism and terror to the movies they're featured in. From slasher horror movies, like I Know What You Did Last Summer, to the frighteningly realistic, The Blair Witch Project, urban legends, be they real or fake, up the ante for horror movies.
'Slender Man' (2018)
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Perhaps one of the most recent and common urban legends of the 21st century. Born from the Something Awful forums in the mid-2000s, the Slender Man is said to be a tall, skinny, featureless man in a suit, known to stalk and kill people, especially kids.
While the legend is purely fictional and nothing beyond a scary story for kids and teens, it got a movie adaptation aptly titled Slender Man in 2018, featuring Javier Botet as the titular ghoul. It follows the story of a group of four friends who chase the thrill of summoning the Slender Man, and things go sideways when one of them goes missing; the rest of the kids are picked off by the Slender Man, one by one.
'The Blair Witch Project' (1999)
The urban legend about the Blair Witch is the perfect example of a well-rounded marketing gimmick. The Blair Witch Project is based on the Curse of the Blair Witch from the 18th century...or so it seems. The urban legend is an invention of the movie's directors, Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick. The legend follows the killings and disappearances of the people of the fictitious town of Blair, Maryland. The legend was made to look extremely real with doctored news articles and newsreels, videos, and photo evidence.
The movie is an account of four college students videotaping their search for the Blair Witch; while the students go missing, the footage is found and shown to the viewers. Their viewing experience is the tapes, in the found footage technique that was also seen in movies like Paranormal Activity.
'The Ring' (2002)
The Ring is perhaps one of the classics in the horror genre. It received critical acclaim for being an excellent adaptation of its Japanese counterpart Ringu. The movie follows the story of a journalist who investigates the mysterious disappearance of a student group after watching a peculiar videotape.
The legend followed that if you watch the tape, you die unless you pass it on and someone else watches it too. The movie's antagonist is a young girl named Samara who was drowned in a well by her mother. All she left behind was a tape she made with her mental ability, "Nensha," where she could burn images into people's minds. What piques the interest of most viewers is that the movie is based on true events: the legend dates back to 16th century Japan.
'Candyman' (1992)
The urban legend of the Candyman follows closely in the footsteps of Bloody Mary. The legend, created by horror titan Clive Barker, has it that if you say his name in the mirror five times, he will come after you. The story says that the Candyman is the vengeful spirit of a Black man who was brutally lynched for loving a white woman in the 18th century.
Candyman follows the story of a student who inadvertently summons the Candyman in the most meta way ever while working on her thesis on urban legends: what follows is a series of gruesome murders in Chicago. The marauding specter is played by legendary character actor Tony Todd, who reprises his role in the 2021 sequel, which was co-produced and written by Jordan Peele.
'The Hitcher' (1986)
The HItcher is based on a very popular urban legend and honestly everybody’s worst, most common nightmare: the vanishing hitchhiker. The legend follows somebody traveling in a vehicle when they meet with a hitchhiker who eventually vanishes in the middle of the journey without explanation, more often than not, from a moving car. The hitchhiker usually leaves peacefully, but on some occasions, the hitchhiker might not be as nice.
The movie features Rutger Hauer as the hitchhiker and Jim Halsey, who picks him up on his way to Chicago. The hitchhiker turns out to be a cold-blooded murderer leaving a slew of dead bodies in his wake, and a sadistic game of chase follows as the hitchhiker challenges Halsey to stop him.
'The Mothman Prophecies' (2002)
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In West Virginian folklore, the legend of the Mothman takes us back to Point Pleasant in 1966. The half-human, half-moth creature was spotted by a couple in West Virginia. The legend became popular, so much so that an annual festival is dedicated to the Mothman.
The Mothman Prophecies follows Richard Gere, who becomes obsessed with the Mothman legend after his wife passes away from a brain tumor. He lands up in Point Pleasant by accident and sees apparitions that closely resemble his wife, so he goes on a quest to crack the mystery behind the Mothman.
'Boogeyman' (2005)
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While this urban legend is made up to scare little children into sticking to their bedtime, there might be a chance there is a monster under your bed or in your closet. The Boogeyman (or Bogeyman, depending on local color) purportedly kidnaps and tortures children who have been particularly unruly, a story every child has heard growing up.
Boogeyman features Barry Watson as Tim, whose father was kidnaped and killed by the Boogeyman when he was a child. Since then, he has removed any semblance of a closet or bed to avoid the Boogeyman: in the film, he is forced to face his fears in his childhood home.
'I Know What You Did Last Summer' (1997)
I Know What You Did Last Summer is one of the most iconic slasher horror movies ever and follows the story of four friends stalked by a hook-handed man out for blood: this follows after they seemingly killed him in a car accident.
The story's antagonist borrows heavily from the urban legend of "The Hook," a faceless man with a hook for his hand. The Hook is usually known to attack couples straying too far from home. The Hook has since become a popular archetype in slasher horror and is referenced frequently in other films.
'Black Christmas' (1974)
Black Christmas is one of the few horror films ironically set during the most wonderful time of the year. It follows the legend of the babysitter and the man upstairs—a stranger calling to spook the occupants of the house and periodically asking the babysitter to check on the kids. As it turns out the call has been coming from within the house itself and the viewers find that the children have either been murdered or the babysitter has been lured in to be murdered herself.
With a slight twist to the legend, Black Christmas is the story of a group of sorority sisters who are stalked and tormented with calls by a stranger and then killed off one by one right before the holiday season. What’s more, the movie isn’t just based on the urban legend, it is also loosely based on true events; talk about spooky!
'When A Stranger Calls' (2006)
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Similar to Black Christmas, When A Stranger Calls is based directly on the urban legend of the babysitter and the man upstairs. It features Camilla Belle, who plays the babysitter when she starts receiving threatening calls from an unidentified caller.
What follows is a series of murders of anyone who tries to intervene. The viewers soon find out that calls have been coming from inside the house. Belle survives but lives with tonnes of trauma and guilt and is seen in a mental facility at the end of the movie. The movie is a remake of a 1979 horror film of the same name.