Sinister Survey! (#3)

Last week’s Sinister Survey was a banger. If you missed it, go read about everyone’s out-of-the-ordinary Halloween traditions.

This week, let’s talk about the LOCAL LEGENDS that freaked you out as a kid.

Every town has a few, right? Were there any stories floating around about nearby haunted places, or ghosts, or cryptids, or spooky cults?

What was the story and how did it affect you?

For me, it’s gotta be the whole satanists-in-the-woods thing. I was a little kid in the ‘80s, when “satanic panic” was out of control. Back then, we had a LOT of wooded areas. Our woods were at that point still large enough to get lost in, and there were constant rumors about satanic cults doing bad things within them. Some areas were strictly off limits to us, because even our parents bought the stories.

Those rumors didn’t stop us from playing in the woods, of course. We did! All the time! But there was always a nagging sense that you were just one step away from doom. It was part of the fun, in its way. Anything we found in there — an animal skull, a spare tire, a box of discarded Playboys — was chalked up to black-robed satanists.

Your turn! In the comments, share memories of local legends that freaked you out as a kid.