Growing up in a small town filled with gossip and stories made it difficult to separate truth from fiction.

 As children, we all heard tales about the creepy figure lurking in the woods, the ice cream man who kidnapped kids, and various old ladies rumored to lock trespassers in their basements or attics. These stories were common in small towns, often intended to keep us out of trouble.

The Old Man in the Woods

One particularly chilling story was about an old man who supposedly took children who wandered off or whose parents weren't paying attention, never to be seen again. The older kids claimed he had long, dirty nails, stringy hair, and an unpleasant smell that mixed sugar with burnt onions. 

Naturally, we were all warned to stay far away from someone like that. The adults seemed unconcerned, often sharing that they had heard the same tale when they were kids, but we took it as gospel nonetheless.

A Chilling Incident

I was about six years old when a terrifying incident occurred. It was a time before the internet, when front doors were often left unlocked, and cell phones were a luxury few could afford. One cold, rainy day, a mother with four kids in her van stopped at the corner store for milk. 

Managing four little ones in a store, especially when in a hurry, is no easy feat. She left them in the running vehicle, convinced that nothing bad ever happened in small towns. But in the short time it took her to make her purchase, her van and all of her children vanished.

For days, the two-person police force, the four-person fire department, and many volunteers scoured the area for the missing van and children, but to no avail. Weeks passed until someone finally reported strange noises and a terrible smell emanating from what was presumed to be an abandoned home.

Inside, three of the children were found, emaciated but alive, locked away in a dark room behind a padlocked door. The fourth child was discovered in the attic, deceased and wrapped in saran wrap.

 A thorough search of the house and property uncovered skeletal remains of children and animals that were likely decades old.

The surviving children were reunited with their mother, who subsequently moved away shortly after the incident. To my knowledge, the van and the kidnapper were never found. 

When interviewed by the police, the children described a man who was dirty, mean, and reeked of onions.





I don’t remember many details of what transpired, so my mom filled in the blanks for me. She was friends with the mother, and my siblings and I often had playdates with her kids before they left town.






Now that you've read my story, I have a question for you: Is there an urban legend from your hometown? Have you ever encountered an urban legend that turned out to be true?


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