21 Modern Urban Legends That Will Keep You Up Tonight

The bad news: You're not getting any sleep tonight. The good news: At least you won't have any nightmares.

1. Tulpa

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Have you ever wondered if you could will something into being just by thinking about it hard enough? Have you ever stopped to think about the repercussions? Stop thinking about it. Stop thinking about the voice you hear in your head. Stop thinking about the voice reading this sentence inside your head. Just stop thinking about people living inside your head.

2. Candle Cove

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Candle Cove is a little-remembered TV show, until “Skyshale033” on the NetNostalgia forum started a thread about the show. The users of the forum quickly filled the thread with memories of the show, including the show’s villain, the disturbing Skin-Taker, and one particularly disturbing encounter he had with a young girl named Janice. The only problem? Candle Cove may have never actually aired.

3. Squidward’s Suicide

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When a group of editors uncover a lost episode of SpongeBob SquarePants called “Squidward’s Suicide,” they first think it’s a joke, but quickly discover the disturbing tale of Squidward’s final hours, complete with horrifying images they can never forget. Most disturbing, nobody knows where the footage came from.

4. Ted The Caver

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When spelunker Ted found an awesome new cave system, he couldn’t wait to explore it, and keep a blog online showing his progress through the virgin tunnels. But eventually Ted goes a little too deep, and finds something deep underground that never wanted to be found. Ted’s story is long, but well worth sticking around for.

5. BEN Drowned

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Remember this story next time you buy something at a garage sale. “BEN Drowned” is the story of a unique copy of The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. The game is a warped, perverted version of the original that plagues anyone unfortunate enough to play it with disturbing images and threats. “BEN Drowned” is also accompanied by a number of very convincing videos, which will make you wonder if Ben’s spirit is still out there somewhere.

6. Lavender Town Syndrome

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Anyone who has ever played Pokémon Red or Blue probably remembers the creepy, haunting tune that can be heard in Lavender Town. As it turns out, there may be more to the Lavender Town tune than intended, and some people speculate that there are hidden frequencies that led to a rash of suicides and suspicious illnesses shortly after the game’s release in Japan. Listen for yourself. Carefully.

7. Herobrine

creepypasta.wikia.com

When Minecraft was released a few years back, it instantly became a hit with both gamers and, apparently, digital apparitions. One user tells the story of a mysterious, blank-eyed character appearing in his single player game, and after doing a little investigating, discovers that the illusive character shares a name with the deceased brother of Minecraft’s creator.

8. Dead Bart

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Nobody knows what happened to episode 7G06 of The Simpsons, titled “Dead Bart,” and nobody involved with the show will talk about it, but rumor has it that a series of headstones seen in one scene accurately predicted the date of death of every guest star to appear on the show. That fact alone is already disturbing, but what’s scarier is that the guest stars who remain alive all have the same date on their headstones.

9. The Slender Man

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creepypasta.wikia.com

By now, almost everyone has heard of Slender Man. Slender Man has given a name and a face to the concept of the bogeyman. Except that Slender Man doesn’t have a face…just abnormally long limbs, possible tentacles, and a tendency to hang out near children. Slender Man is a fairly new name for a creature that has apparently existed in culture for thousands of years, and he’s LITERALLY OUTSIDE YOUR HOUSE RIGHT NOW. RUN.

10. suicidemouse.avi

youtube.com

Very few people who have seen the suicidemouse.avi video have lived to talk to about it, but we have managed to get a little information about the disturbing clip.

When the six-minute animation of Mickey Mouse walking sadly down a street fades to black, most people would say it’s unusual, but not disturbing…until you realize there’s an additional three minutes. Nobody is quite sure what happens in those last three minutes, but it’s been claimed to drive viewers to end their own lives.

11. Pokémon Lost Silver

creepypasta.wikia.com

creepypasta.wikia.com

Pokémon Lost Silver tried to warn you, but you wouldn’t listen. Whenever this strange game boots up, it sends messages to players urging them to leave. If they decide to stick around, they’re presented with a glitchy, partial Pokémon game, and a number of vague messages and threats about death. Whose death? It’s never quite clear. Maybe some random character in the game, or maybe yours. Probably yours.

12. Little Pink Backpack

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creepypasta.wikia.com

creepypasta.wikia.com

If you’re ever walking along and find a little pink backpack, don’t open it. Whatever you do, don’t open it.

13. Mr. Bear’s Cellar

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How well do you remember the kids shows on the local access networks from when you were a kid? They always had really low-budget shows with names like Paint With the Soul and Booby. Oh, and everyone remembers Mr. Bear’s Cellar. Mr. Bear was always so friendly, and just wanted all his friends who watched his show to come visit him in his cellar.

14. Normal Porn for Normal People

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Normalpornfornormalpeople.com is a site that features anything but normal pornography for anyone but normal people. Nobody quite knows what to make of the nine video files that could once be found on the site, but with images of masturbating men in chicken outfits, shaved chimps on crazed rampages, and other terribly disturbing footage, maybe it’s better that this one remains a mystery.

15. Burgrr

burgrr.com

Buried within the pages of burgrr.com is the story of one man’s descent into meaty madness. Nobody seemed to notice the new Burgrr franchises opening up all around town until it was too late. Now, nobody will ever be able to forget about them.

16. Polybius

books.dreambook.com

Polybius was an arcade game that is said to have been distributed by mysterious men in black to arcades around Portland, Oregon, in the 1980s. Many kids who played the game reported suffering from amnesia, night terrors, and other illnesses, and usually gave up video games for good shortly after playing.

After about a month, every Polybius cabinet suddenly and mysteriously disappeared, and the company behind the game disappeared just as quickly, and may have never existed at all.

17. Robert the Doll

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Gene Otto wasn’t always named Gene. He was once called Robert, but changed his name because his childhood doll wanted that name. The doll also wanted the Ottos’ house. And their lives. The best part? Robert the doll is real! He’s in a museum in Florida, where anyone who wants to can go visit him. He loves visitors. Just make sure to ask permission before you take his photograph.

18. SCP-173

scp-wiki.net

Don’t blink. Not when SCP-173 is around. Any NEVER look it in the eyes.

19. The Grifter

youtube.com

If you haven’t watched the video above, it may not be too late for you. If you have already watched the video, just keep an eye out for any out-of-place dolls around your house tonight.

20. Jvk1166z.esp

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Before the massive success of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the third game in the series, “Morrowind,” let players explore the world of Tamriel, and even make their own mods for the game, shaping reality to their needs. The only problem is that some people had a hard time distinguishing between the world of the game and the real world.

21. Smile Dog

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If you already know the story of smile.dog, or the smile.jpg image above, you already know what you have to do. Send this image to everyone you know, if you want to live.