Just a quick post for today, I think. October is the time of year dedicated to all manner of frights, not just ghosts. While Michael Myers and other Slasher movie villains can certainly be used to evoke fear, I’ve always found those types of films to be somewhat dull, perhaps because in my opinion little imagination is used. They tend to rely on basic fears as their method of scaring us, specifically the desire to stay alive. Even when most people I know gravitate towards an interest in serial killer documentaries, I was always drawn to a more niche type of nonfiction cinematography: the truth behind urban legends.
Granted, there has always been a few overlaps between these urban legends and serial killers. One such example I can think of is Pogo the Clown, better known as John Wayne Gacy. Over a decade before author Stephen King introduced Pennywise to the world, Gacy went on a killing spree which claimed the lives of at least thirty-three men and boys, often using the persona of either Pogo or Patches to lure them to him. Perhaps King drew inspiration from Gacy’s actions in crafting his own monster, though killing and eating the children seems like a better fate than what Gacy intended.
Last year I was asked to help to design a scavenger hunt based around my local area with the theme of legends and lore. I learned a good deal about my area, and all the shady details of its past. One such story I researched told the story of Hot Shot Charlie, alternatively known as Fingernails Freddie. According to the story, Freddie (or Charlie) was a farmer who was being harassed by some local children to the extent he took action into his own hands. Not wishing any real harm on the children, the farmer loaded a shotgun with rocksalt and fired at the children when they returned, hoping the painful burn from the salt would make them stay away. The children later decided to get him back by burning down his house while the farmer was out in his barn, but did not realize his family was still inside their home. When he saw the smoke and flames he rushed into his house to save his family, only to find he was too late. In his vain attempt to get his family out safely, his face became permanently burned and disfigured. He stopped going into town and became even more reclusive. It is said that this man blamed all children for what happened, and took to murdering any he found wandering the woods alone. Was this in fact inspiration for Wes Anderson’s slasher film?
Another story I researched for the scavenger hunt was the story of Mercy Brown and her claim to be one of the first recorded vampire hauntings in New England during that time of paranoia. Mercy Brown herself was a victim of what they purported to be the work of vampires before her passing, and as the most recently departed she was suspected of being the cause of her living relative’s illness. It is said that when they exhumed her body to see if she was a vampire, both her hair and fingernails were longer than they had been prior to her passing. Here I shall not regurgitate the myth that both continue to grow after death, but rather share that in my research I found that the skin around both has a tendency to shrivel up after death, giving the appearance that both had grown while the heart stopped its beating.
I am sure there are other examples of truths behind urban legends that I could discuss, such as the deceased sister getting her revenge with a cursed wedding gown, or that story about the babysitter conversing with the police only to find out the call is coming from inside the house, but perhaps some of my readers don’t want that. I think the reason I prefer to hear the truth behind these stories is to remind myself that’s all they are: stories. One of the most scary things I can think of is the unknown, similar to how I always prefer never to actually see the monster in horror movies, whatever an individual imagines in that void you left is scarier than anything you will show to the audience. The premise is the same. Knowing the origin of legends such as the Jersey Devil or the Scottish Jenny with the Iron Teeth take away from the power those stories have to scare us.