As October creeps around the corner, the mood changes from endless days of boredom, to the fun, excitement, and scariness of Halloween. Whether you like candies, watching movies, or dressing up, Halloween encompasses it all. But arguably one of the best parts of the holiday is sharing tales of terrifying horrors. Below we have included some of the most popular, and most frightening, urban legends.

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The Black-Eyed Children

Since the 1990s, there have been many reports that there are black-eyed children around the country that could potentially be dangerous. They are between the age of 6 and 16, and have been seen on doorsteps, hitchhiking, or panhandling. People wonder if they are monsters or vampires, but nobody knows for sure. The first person to spot them was Brian Bethel, who claimed they were in Texas at the time. Upon hearing this, many people did not want to go to Texas anymore, for fear of encountering them. Following Bethel’s report, there have been increased sightings of the Black-Eyed Children, especially during the night of a storm.

La Llorona

It is unknown if the legend of La Llorona is based on a true story, but most folklores have roots that link back to the truth. This folktale takes place in Mexico and is about a mother named Maria, also known as La Llorona. She soon learned that her husband married another woman, after having 3 kids with La Llorona. After learning her husband was unfaithful, she killed her three children. She immediately regretted her impulsive actions and threw herself into a river, and her wailing spirit can be found if you lurk around rivers after dark. It is said that she wears a chilling white lace outfit and by looking at her you will have brought death and doom upon you.

Bloody Mary

Bloody Mary has more of a history than you think. It has been said if a person goes in front of a mirror, and turns the lights on and off while chanting her name, this will summon the being known as Bloody Mary in the mirror. A corpse covered in blood, Bloody Mary was once the first Queen Regnant of England and lived a very hard life. After marrying King Philip, she became pregnant, but after some time, her belly started to shrink, and she lost all hope for the baby. After happening again for a second baby, Bloody Mary was devastated beyond help, and died alone the next year.

The Bunny Man

Don’t let the name fool you, all parts of this tale are frightening to the core. A man from Virginia, the Bunny Man disguises himself in a rabbit costume and has been said to murder people with an ax. The origins of this story trace back to the 1970s when there were supposed real-life Bunny Man sightings. At least two people have reported being threatened by an ax-wielding man in a rabbit costume. Some claim that the Bunny Man is an escaped convict who travels Virginia, skinning rabbits and hanging them on Bunny Man Bridge, giving it its name. Even to this day, rabbit carcasses are said to appear on the bridge around Halloween time.

Slender Man

An urban legend of a man with inhumanly long arms who lives in the woods and preys on children, Slender Man was invented in 2009 by Eric Knudsen. Although it is fairly new, this story has become an urban legend so fast that many kids started to believe this man was real. Many have committed crimes in the name of Slender Man, including the high-profile case of two girls who were accused of stabbing their classmate due to hallucinations of this figure.

The Killer in the Backseat / High Beams

A popular story to tell on road trips during the Halloween time begins with a woman driving home alone at night. Noticing the car behind her started driving erratically and flashing its high beams, she feared she was being followed. She rushed home as fast as she could, and locked her car in her garage so that the car behind her couldn’t follow her in. The woman realizes that there was a man in her backseat wielding a knife, and the driver behind her was flashing his lights to deter the man in the backseat. With the fate of the woman being unknown, this story is one of the most notorious horror stories that inspired 1998’s Urban Legend, with the movie starting with this traumatizing story.