BLOODY MARY

There are thousands of urban legends around the world but, are they real?

Despite being true or not, people believe in them…why? 

The following story is based on a real case and it has become one of the most popular urban legends. 

Mary was a fifteen year old girl when she got an illness which had no cure. Her father didn’t want any member of the family to catch the disease, so he hired a doctor and told him to give Mary a special medicine to make her seem dead.
The doctor, following the father’s orders, gave the girl the potion. But after a couple of minutes she didn’t wake up. The next day, her family would bury her.
Mary’s mother couldn’t accept the fact that her daughter had died, so she tied the girl’s finger to a bell in case she woke up.
She remained near her tomb for two days, hoping the bell would ring, until her husband ordered her to go back home.
The next day, when she visited the child’s tomb, she saw the bell had fallen. Amazed and desperate, she told her husband and they exhumed the body. There, they saw scratches all over the coffin.
Mary’s mother wouldn’t forgive herself for the way her daughter had died, so she committed suicide. 

Nowadays, it’s very common to find young people curious about this case. They play a game in which they have to spin around three times in front of a mirror while saying ‘Bloody Mary’ also three times. It is believed that Mary’s spirit appears, sometimes covered in blood. 

It’s hard to consider is this legend is real or not. Scientists establish that if you stare at something for a long time, it might cause visual distortion and hallucinations. This fact plus the fear people feel related to the story should be reason enough to see the spirit. But, what if science lies and what you see is the actual spirit? 

Why don’t you give it a try?

Florencia Tubio and Analía Yonamine – 4th Year

URBAN LEGENDS: PART II

Following our previous article, we bring you two more scary urban legends from our country: Argentina. 

Get ready…

The Bus Driver

In Rosario, Argentina, there is a legend that keeps drivers awake when driving at night. It was a cold, winter night and a 114th Line bus was heading home after a long shift. The driver was extremely tired and trying not to fall asleep. His eyes closed for just a few seconds. 

Suddenly, while passing by ‘El Salvador’ cemetery, his eyes went wide open when he saw something that looked like a girl, on the road.

He couldn’t stop the bus and ran her over. The man was frightened. What had just happened? Why there, in front of the cemetery? Feeling too scared to check on the girl, he left her there and drove away. 

After a few minutes driving madly to escape, he looked through the rear view mirror. 

He was petrified, stone cold. The girl from the road was sitting in the back row, sobbing and staring at him. 

What ever happened to the bus driver, no one ever knew. It remains a mystery. 

The Lady in Black

The second legend, very famous in our country, is the one about the woman in black.

In Saint Gregory, a town near Venado Tuerto –Santa Fe- the neighbors were shocked by the story of a cryogenic worker. 

One drizzling morning, he was heading for work. He took the usual road: ROUTE 14. 

He was driving along when he saw a woman dressed in black, hitchhiking. He stopped, asked her where she was going.

After answering she was going downtown, he agreed to give her a lift. When they got there, the woman said her name was Nancy Núñez, thanked the driver and left.

When the man got to his work place, he told the story to his work mates. He couldn’t believe his ears: Nancy Núñez had died a year and a half before, when a light airplane lost control and crashed on the car she was driving. She died instantly. 

He was even more frightened when he learnt that the terrible accident took place where he saw the woman in black. 

Hans Fritzler, Camila Monteros, Pablo Contreras and Micaela Cruz - 3rd Year

URBAN LEGENDS: THE WEREWOLF

Urban legends are mythological stories that are based on stories than allegedly happened. They are based on urban characters, as the name implies.

The most famous are the Werewolf, the Whiner and the Phantom of the Opera, among others. 

Today we will focus on the scary story of the Werewolf.

The Werewolf

The legend began in the north of Europe when the XVIth century started, and expanded over the continent orally. At that time, hungers were regular and the cattle were very important. Then, the legends started to grow because wolves also attacked woman and children.

The most famous case was in 1573 when the people said that they had frequently seen a wolf-man that had caught several children without seeing them again. 

On the 9th of November a farmer rescued a girl from the jaws of a werewolf. It escaped but some people thought they recognized Griller Gainer, a peasant, in the monster’s face. Six days after the disappearance of a 10 year old boy, Gainer was arrested for being a werewolf and put in prison because he had killed and devoured children. 

Gainer was burnt alive on the 18th of January, 1574.

The Werewolf in Argentina

In our country, this monster is famous in Entre Rios, Corrientes and Misiones. 

The story says that on Tuesdays or Fridays with full moon, the seventh male son transforms into a werewolf. 

With features of a dog and man, it starts with a bad felling, for example a headache. After that, the animal looks for loneliness, stays on the ground and rolls 3 times. He gets up with red eyes and big legs and arms and it doesn’t stop until daylight.

The werewolf is popular because it was the first urban legend that appeared. It became famous because it was used by parents to scare their children and convince them to behave correctly.

Nowadays, modern children are not scared of this legend. However, the idea of using a ‘horror story’ to change their bad attitudes is as old as the werewolf itself.

Camila Monteros, Micaela Cruz, Hans Fritzler and Pablo Contreras - 3rd Year