The 5 Most Notorious Urban Legends

You might think that George Washington "cannot tell a lie," but actually, that whole cherry-tree-cutting-down thing is actually one of the oldest urban legends in America. These five urban legends, however, have withstood the test of time. To investigate further into myths and much more, check out Fact or Faked, returning on Tuesday, April 17 at 9/8c only on Syfy.

1. Sasquatch

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Though the legend of Bigfoot was first brought into the cultural lexicon Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin supposedly caught live footage of Bigfoot walking around in the wilderness outside Bluff Creek, California, sightings of one have been reported since as early as 1924.

As early as 1847, "wildmen" were reported among the indigenous population of the Pacific Northwest. Eventually, these wildmen stories developed into claims of a large, ape-like creature, covered in dark brown or dark reddish hair, almost ten feet tall, with footprints as large as 24 inches in length.

Alleged Bigfoot sightings in North America.

There are many theories and probable explanations for the creatures that have been cited over the past couple centuries, from hoaxes to Gigantopithecus—or a supposedly extinct species of ape that may have a surviving "relict population"—and while the scientific community generally discounts the existence of a sasquatch, when reports surfaced that Russian scientists were "95% sure" of a yeti population in Siberia, more credence was given to the existence of Bigfoot.

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2. Chupacabra

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The chupacabra, literally "goat-eater," is a legend borne out of Puerto Rico. In 1995, eight sheep were found dead in a pasture, each with three puncture wounds in the chest, and all wholly drained of blood. A few months later, another town was attacked—and this time, supposedly 150 farm animals and pets had been slaughtered.

Similar events had occurred back in 1975, in Moca, Puerto Rico, where hundreds of animals had also been drained of blood and died. These were attributed to a satanic cult or a vampire (El Vampiro de Moca), and most contemporary explanations are simply that the animals had been infected with mange and made weaker and more susceptible to attacks by predators.

In myth, the chupacabra is described as a much more demon-like creature, even possessing spines running down its back.

Still, that doesn't explain why all of the main attacks reported the distinct pattern of three puncture wounds and the fact that all the animals' blood was gone.

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3. Loch Ness Monster

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Surprisingly, the first time the Loch Ness Monster was supposedly spotted wasn't while he was in a lake, but rather, a road. In 1933, George Spicer, a Londoner, had been boating in Loch Ness when he spied "the nearest approach to a dragon or pre-historic animal that I have ever seen in my life" carrying some kind of animal across the road, heading for the shore. A year later, a famous British gynecologist—Robert Wilson—captured a picture of Nessie now known as "the Surgeon's Photograph" (because he refused to attach his name to it).

In 2009, Jason Cooke noticed this mysterious, 65ft.-long (including its thin strands trailing it) object or creature while browsing Google Earth in the Scottish Highlands.

Ever since, there have been numerous sightings of the monster, from ambiguous sonar reports in 1954 to unidentifiable creatures on Google Earth as recently as 2007. While many tend to write off these sightings as big eels or strangely shaped, halfway-submerged trees, the size of many of the "creatures"—particularly when confined to relatively small lochs—is often undeniable proof.

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4. Bloody Mary

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Bloody Mary is a ghost who supposedly is summoned after someone speaks her name three times in front of a mirror in a completely dark room. The most common interpretation of the legend goes that Mary Worth is the spirit of a young mother whose baby was stolen from her and subsequently goes crazy with grief, ultimately killing herself.

Summoning Bloody Mary is popular as a game or a dare, because supposedly after she comes around, she proceeds to attack the summoner—often ripping off their face or gouging out their eyeballs—aiming to drive them insane or to an early death. And, if you don't die after summoning her, then she will haunt you for the rest of your life. So, not exactly a great scene in any scenario.

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5. Bunny Man Bridge

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The legend of Bunny Man originates in Fairfax County, Virginia. On October 20, 1970, an Air Force Academy cadet and his fiancée were parked in a field by the now-infamous "Bunny Man bridge," professing their feelings for each other. Suddenly, a figure "clad in white" smashed their window and screamed at them about trespassing. The man's race was indeterminable, but he was wearing a white bunny suit, ears and all.

Just nine days later, someone else observed a man in a "gray, black, and white bunny suit" chopping at someone's porch post, muttering, "All you people trespass around here. If you don't get out of here, I'm going to bust you on the head."

The myth grew after these incidents, and people traced the origins of the Bunny Man to an escaped convict in 1904, after whose escape supposedly hundreds of "cleanly skinned, half-eaten" rabbit carcasses showed up all over the county. Since then, Bunny Man has been enshrined in the local culture, where people dress up as him for Halloween, and certainly no-one goes near the bridge.

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