New Zealand: Auckland Domain Witches. Now this urban legend sounds like something that you may have heard out of Salem, MA. Auckland Domain is a large park in New Zealand and has quite a bit of history. According to legend, three witches were hanged in the park in the 19th century. It is said that if you walk through Auckland Park at night, you can hear an echoing cackle of one of the witches during her final moments.

Germany: Changeling, Deformed Fairy Baby. Changelings are common in pop culture these days. You will find movies, television shows, and even video games that feature these gnarly little fairies. Most iterations of the story claim that changelings are old, gnarled fairies that abduct a child in the night, only to cloak itself in magic to mimic the child. People in Europe who were believed to be changelings were often mistreated and even killed.

Japan: Kuchisake-Onna. Kuchisake-Onna (also referred to as “The Slit-Faced Woman”) is one of the most popular urban legends in Japan. According to the legends, Kuchisake-Onna can be found roaming the streets in a surgical mask. If one walks near her, she will stop and ask them if she is pretty. If the person says, “yes,” she will remove her mask to reveal the cuts on her face. She will then ask once more if she is pretty. If you stick with your original answer of “yes,” she is said to cut your mouth to match hers.

Europe: Elisa Day. A young woman named Elisa Day lived in midieval Europe. One day a young traveler appeared and instantly fell in love with Elisa. They went on three dates. The traveler visited Elisa at her home on the first date. On the second, he brought her a single red rose. Finally on the third date, the traveler took her down to the river where he proceeded to crush her head with a rock while whispering, “all beauty must die.” Legend has it that people have seen a woman wandering the riverside with blood running down her face and a single red rose in her hand.

Japan: Hanako-San. The Japanese have some bone chilling urban legends. It makes sense that these have transferred over to Japanese cinema as they have unleashed some of the more unsettling horror movies in recent years. The origin story of Hanako-San varies but have many of the same elements. A person must knock three times on the third stall of a restroom and ask if Hanako-San is present. She will reply that she is there before ripping the person in to the toilet and down to hell.

Australia: Yara-Ma-Yha-Who, The Little Red Frog-Man. The Yara-Ma-Yha-Who is a red, vampiric little man that resembles a frog. It feeds off their victims’ blood and then swallows them whole before regurgitating them back up. When their victim emerges, they will be missing a few parts and have a reddish hue to their skin. The Yara-Ma-Yha-Who continues this process until their victim become a Yara-Ma-Yha-Who themself.

Indonesia (Bali): Jenglot, The Tiny Humanoid Doll. Now this one I wish I would have known about a year ago when I went to Bali on vacation. I definitely would have kept an eye out for jenglots. They are said to be a token of black magic and are slaves to their human masters. The only caveat is that the master must feed the jenglot a few drops of human blood on a daily basis. If the master forgets, the jenglot will become angry and unleash its wrath.

Mexico: La Llorona. Many of you may know of this story since it was adapted into a major motion picture in 2019. The story goes that La Llorona was a woman who was abandoned by her husband. She proceeded to drown her children and herself but now spends her time wandering around as a ghost. The legend claims that anyone who hears her crying and approaches her will meet the same fate as her children.

France: The Hitch-Hiker/La Dame Blanche. If you grew up on The Twilight Zone then you definitely know a variation of this urban legend. The premise is simple. A person picks up a hitch-hiker late at night and they ask the driver to take them home. They become increasingly nervous throughout the drive before screaming in fear and disappearing into darkness. Some variations of the urban legend claim that if you go to the home and describe the hitch-hiker, the residents of the home will become sad and say that the hitch-hiker was their son/daughter that died several years prior while driving home.

Russia: The Well to Hell. Russian scientists drilled a hole some 14.5 km into the earth’s crust in 1989. The drill broke through into an underground cavity so the scientists lowered some equipment down to see what they could find. Only 17 seconds of audio were captured before the microphone melted. Many of the scientists immediately quit the job when they were convinced that they heard the screams of the damned in Hell on the recording. Those who stayed on claimed to have seen a giant gas burst out of the borehole in the shape of a gigantic winged demon some time after.