Tell me about your hometown quirks/traditions/urban legends!

[Katika]

I want to know about all of the weird little things that make your hometown (or others you are near enough to hear stories of) unique! I'm in the process of outlining a series of short stories to work on fleshing out the world my fantasy series is set in, and need unique places for my traveling character to visit Sorts of things I'm interested in:

My hometown is in southwest Missouri, and just a short drive from a phenomenon called the Spook Light. I've never seen it (despite several attempts to ) but it's supposedly a mysterious light that floats along a remote dirt road. There are a few stories tied to what it could be, but the one that's usually the most prominent is about the ghosts of Native American lovers looking for each other.

I live a bit further north now, but my teeny (and I mean *tiny*) town apparently lays claim to a glowing tombstone (I don't have the nerve to check it out lol) and a place called "Copperhead Hill" (which I don't have the *desire* to check out).

What about you guys? What sort of neat or creepy or obscure things is *your* hometown known for? I'd love to hear about unique events, too, if there are any

[Bekuno]

I think our best urban legend is the story of Brit Bailey!

Basically how the tale goes is a man named James Briton Bailey moved to Texas with his family and some slaves and bought some land (known today as Bailey's Prairie!) to settle on. He had bought the land from the Spanish, and after the war of 1812 he was told to resign his land to Mexico by Stephen F. Austin and the Mexican Government that reclaimed the land. Of course, he refused, and was granted his land along the Brazos. Bailey was infamous for being a pain and frequently got in fights. He died of cholera in 1832. Before his death he requested he be buried standing up and facing West with rifle at his side and jug of whiskey at his feet. While his request was granted, the jug of whiskey was dug up and stolen (some say it was his wife, some say it was his slaves). Now his ghost haunts Bailey's Prairie and the surrounding areas, carrying a lantern and seeking his stolen whiskey. People frequently claim to see his floating light in the surrounding areas.

 I've never seen the light myself but I've stayed the night out at my friends land in the area and it's always a bit uncomfortable knowing this story lol

I also found out the fairgrounds behind where I live used to be a POW camp during WWII! Yikes!

[Duenia]

I grew up in a town with a supposedly haunted cemetery. I don't remember all the legends but there's some oozing ground ones, the ghost stories, and ritual area. If you look up Spider Gates cemetery you'll find some interesting stuff.

I always wanted to but never got a chance before I moved.

[scarletjul]

I live near both a haunted Chuck E. Cheese (in San Jose) and a haunted Toys R Us (in Sunnyvale.)

Info on the TRU:

http://www.strangerdimensions.com/2016/07/03/haunted-toys-r-us-sunnyvale-california/

I'm also near the Winchester Mystery House, but I think the story about the haunted TRU is more interesting because people don't know about it. 

http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com

[Nemesis]

Ooh, what a fun idea!

Well, my hometown comes with its own cryptozoological sightings! Specifically, The Dogman: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_Dogman

The story specific to my town is modern, having been reported only a handful of years ago. There was even a reenactment of it on one of those "monster hunter" shows some time back (I think it aired on SyFy?). Basically, there were some college kids out driving at nightfall. At some point they heard a strange sound coming from right outside the car...  In the rearview mirror, they saw a monstrous shape chasing them; it looked like a mix of human and animal, and it was FAST. Unnaturally fast. It pursued the car for a good distance, and needless to say, the people inside were starting to panic. They kept driving, and finally the creature slowed down and let the car escape. Afterwards, the students stated definitively that it was like nothing they'd ever seen. Covered in hair, with a human-like shape and hideous appearance. The story was eventually archived as a "Dogman sighting".

The thing is, my mother was a professor at the college they were from, and one of the guys who was in the car was her student. She always told me that he was very honest and sincere. She said she believed their story, because he wasn't the type to lie about something like that, or try to get attention.

So... local werewolf. There have been various sightings around Michigan, but that's honestly one of the most dramatic. Part of me wants to go looking for it.

[northstar3184]

I'm also near the Winchester Mystery House, but I think the story about the haunted TRU is more interesting because people don't know about it. 

http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com

I'm so jealous! I've been fascinated by that house for years.

[Tiffoes]

I live in Rotterdam, a town that was bombarded during WWII. There have been so many sightings of ghosts from WWII walking around, even at shopping districts. But the scariest thing that happened really close to my old home was the story of ''het Maasmeisje''.

The story of het Maasmeisje is terrifying because I was there when a few things happened. It's a story about a girl that was 12 years old and got killed by her own father somewhere in 2006. He cut her up in multiple pieces and threw most of it into the Nieuwe Maas, a river in Rotterdam. But he also threw bits and pieces into a garbage container, that container was located next to my elementary school. He probably choose that particular one because their house was located really closely to my school as well, as in it was in the same street. I remember that it was really hot outside and we got sent home earlier than usual. That was because the police found pieces of her body in that container. The smell was terrible, her flesh had been rotting in the hot sun and it was so intense that you couldn't help but (almost) puke. There was a silent march to honor her and I remember vividly how her mother was crying and screaming at the nightsky for her daughter. After a while there was this cold chill and it felt like the little girl told us ''Hey, it's okay, I'm going to a good place now''. Everyone got quiet and just left after a while.

Their house has been empty for years, no one lives there anymore. People avoid walking closely to it, as it has this cold, scary vibe to it. Last year there was a family that moved in there, but I believe they're out of the house already. I wonder what stories they have to tell.

[invaderhorizongreen]

In my home town we have the grape festival and the elementary soccer field used to be a WW2 POW camp for Germans. Some of them did not want to leave as they loved the valley so. 

[melodys_angel]

We are known as the city of waterfalls.  We also have a few historic monuments like areas where the war of 1812 took place.

Weve got the Peach festival at the end of August and we are by the fruitbelt..so lots of fresh produce in the summer

[Beldarna]

I live in the city of birches. It was founded in the 1400s and being a wooden town it suffered a lot of fires through the years. The largest and last one happened on june 25th 1888 and was so large it cut off the waterpipes and thus couldn't be put out by humans. It was finally stopped by some birches that stood around a walkway which saved the part of the city on the other side of them. When the cityplanners decided on how to build the town again, they decided to put birches at every street. Still today every road and walkway is lined by birches which makes it so beautiful and green during spring and summer (and h.ell for those who are allergic).
Nowadays we're joking about it being the city of roundabouts as we have one on almost every intersection, a total of 70 in our small city..

[Katika]

What intriguing histories your towns have!

Bekuno - I'm not sure if that story freaks me out or amuses me, lol. Hauntings always make me sad in a way (especially those that rise from tragedy) but if he *is* haunting the area looking for his whiskey... there are much worse reasons he could be wandering!

duenia - I'll absolutely check that out, thanks!

Scarletjul - it's dually creepy to me that it's places that are meant to be fun places for children that are haunted!

Nemesis - cryptozoology both fascinates and terrifies me. I can't imagine being chased by one of those creatures. Rumor has it around my hometown that we had a monster called the Shoal Creek Thing (I think?) but it's not spoken of nearly as much as the Spook Light. I *think* it's supposed to be akin to Bigfoot.

Tiffoes - how terribly sad and genuinely terrifying!

invaderhorizongreen - I hope the grape festival is as fun as it sounds! I had a friend on FB tell me about the corn palace (I think? in... North Dakota maybe?) and was all excited, telling her I hope it was as amazing as it sounds. She had to let me down and say that it's actually a terrible disappointment lol. Something about food-related festivals seems to excite me

melodys_angel - the city of waterfalls sounds *amazing* and definitely got my imagination running! Thank you

Beldarna - and so did the city of birches. I especially love the history tied to it, both a practical solution and what I feel is a subtle nod of gratitude to the trees for saving the town.

[ringwraith10]

My hometown houses the state mental asylum (which was supposedly the largest mental asylum in the world?!). It's been around since 1837, and is now mostly closed down. When they closed it, however, they didn't remove ANYTHING. Patient records are still in there. There are actual old beds with handcuff-things attached to them. It is the epitome of the "creepy old asylum" cliche. When I, uh, visited the place (with a fellow arena friend, actually), and I, uh, chatted with the security officers patrolling around outside (we're going to say it was just a visit and a chat), they told me that when the place was shut down it had just had a huge outbreak of tuberculosis, and that there might still be TB germs inside (though I think they were trying to scare me with that story). My town has a bunch of really cool historic landmarks, but nothing can even come close to being as cool as the asylum.

I also apparently have a distant relative that lived in the asylum, but I don't know her name. And even though the place is mostly shut down now, people still say they're going to "send you to Milledgeville" (my hometown) if they're making a joke about someone being crazy.

Here's an article I found upon googling the name of the hospital:
http://www.atlantamagazine.com/great-reads/asylum-inside-central-state-hospital-worlds-largest-mental-institution/

[Chrissytree]

There's a pudding stone just outside the village that's supposed to have a regular ghost of a witch sitting on it. "A puddingstone is a conglomerate sedimentary rock composed of rounded flint pebbles cemented together by a younger matrix of silica quartz." according to wikipedia. They're said to have magical properties and the one in the woods is about the side of a medium beanbag and was supposed to have been a spot for witchcraft.

There's also a story of a Y shape junction out in Greys. Apparently the road used to be straight and people have reported seeing a 17th century stage coach coming straight through the top of the Y and about 2 meters off the ground where the road has worn away. Most of those reporting it have been on their way back from a pub though.

Just out of oddness something you don't expect to find in a UK village is an Indian Well...
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In the 1860s a bunch of our villagers went to India to dig wells and told the Maharajah that there wasn't anywhere for clean water back here. So he kindly paid for this one.

[Bekuno]

Bekuno - I'm not sure if that story freaks me out or amuses me, lol. Hauntings always make me sad in a way (especially those that rise from tragedy) but if he *is* haunting the area looking for his whiskey... there are much worse reasons he could be wandering!

I camped out there last weekend. One of my friends is so scared of the ghost she wouldn't let us bring any alcohol. I've never seen the light myself, but I'm tempted to try for fun!

[pinkkittywinks]

The town I live in was the centre of the hat making industry many years ago. Madness was quite common due to the use of mercury as part of the hat making processes.

Another local thing that is real is the Cheshire Cat. Traditionally Cheshire cheese was made in the shape of a grinning cat. People supposedly ate the cheese from the tail up and left the grin until last.

Love pkw xxx