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Exploring Urban Legends and Their Cultural Impact

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Can you handle the eerie allure of urban legends? Join Hannah and me as we kick off with a spine-tingling introduction to the mysterious world of urban legends. We define and debate everything from ghost stories and macabre superstitions to extraterrestrial encounters and modern-day creepypasta. Listen as we dissect the origins of famous legends like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster and recount the tale of the Vanishing Hitchhiker, which captured imaginations in the 1980s. We'll also explore how these captivating stories are rooted in local history and culture and how they've been immortalized in media, particularly in shows like Supernatural.

Ever wondered how urban legends seep into our favorite films and TV shows? This episode spotlights the fascinating intersection of these myths with popular culture. From the eerie episodes of Supernatural to the chilling plots of "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "It Follows," we discuss how supernatural threats manifest in uniquely terrifying ways. Discover the haunting tales behind "Candyman," "Krampus," and even the humorous legend of mutant alligators lurking in New York sewers. Plus, brace yourself for a wild ride through the dangerous wildlife of Australia, where everything seems to be out to get you.

Our exploration wouldn’t be complete without delving into the local legends of Norfolk. We spotlight the chilling stories of the Black Shuck and the Grey Lady of Tombland, debating their plausibility and historical roots. There's also the mysterious disappearance of Joseph and the eerie lantern lights seen on the broads at night. We ponder whether these tales are based on real events or are just figments of our imagination.  Join us for a captivating journey through some of the most intriguing and haunting urban legends!

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Davey:

Hello and welcome to Bonus Dad. Bonus Daughter a special father-daughter podcast with me Hannah and me, davy, where we discuss our differences, similarities, share a few laughs and stories. Within our ever-changing and complex world, Each week we will discuss a topic from our own point of view and influences throughout the decades or you could choose one by contacting us via email, instagram, facebook or TikTok links in bio.

Davey:

It was a dark night. The kind weather skies seemed to swallow the moon whole, leaving only a thin veil of cloud to reflect the feeble glow of distant stars. The air was heavy, pressing down with a suffocating stillness that made the world feel smaller, more claustrophobic. There was no wind, not a tree stirred. Even the crickets fell silent, as if the very night itself was holding its breath Waiting.

Davey:

It's Bonus Dad, bonus Daughter podcast, and today we're going to be talking about urban legends.

Hannah:

And that was definitely the weirdest intro we've ever done.

Davey:

I know.

Hannah:

I was on the, just so everyone knows, I was on the button doing the little piano. Bit Sure, I wasn't playing the piano. No, it's a recorded sound. Yeah, that was a interesting way. He's like that. I'm not sure if like is the word I'd use. Yeah, terrifying.

Davey:

But today's episode is all about urban legends. Urban legends. Have you heard any urban legends, Hannah? Have I heard any urban legends, Hannah?

Hannah:

Have I heard any?

Davey:

Have you heard any?

Hannah:

From you all the time growing up. Yes, yes.

Davey:

I love an urban legend, an urban myth. I know you do, so where did they come from?

Hannah:

This is just. Everyone knows this is going to be a very Davey heavy episode. So if you want to listen to a Hannah heavy episode, out our Disney episode. It's a bit, it's going to be lighter, it's going to be lighter, although this it's not.

Davey:

This isn't going to be too dark. I'm kidding please listen to this episode.

Hannah:

He's done a lot of one calls.

Davey:

I was going to actually I thought I was going to read the Vincent Price bit out of Thriller, but I thought, thought no, I just wrote that see, the only thing I know about thriller is you don't know the words, do you no?

Hannah:

oh, I know which bit you mean.

Davey:

Now the bit in the actual song I thought you meant the thriller like a movie oh no, the bit in the song with vincent price. Yeah, I don't know the words. The night was dark. Okay, right, enough of that, yes, so what is an urban legend? It is a myth or a tale in modern genre of folklore. It consists of fictional stories associated with the macabre superstitions ghosts, demons, extraterrestrials, creepypasta and other fear-generating narrative elements.

Davey:

Urban legends are often rooted in local history and popular culture.

Davey:

That's not really that scary is it the piano noise. The piano noise. Yeah, yeah, that's what we really need.

Hannah:

The other soundboard has a better noise. Yeah, it had, the Halloween one didn. The other soundboard has a better noise.

Davey:

Yeah, it had the Halloween one, didn't it, it did Halloween, halloween. Halloween, so yeah, so urban legends, where they kind of come from, they're always like stories that you hear, aren't they? It's like from a friend of a friend.

Hannah:

Yeah, and I feel like the biggest urban legends that I can think of is something like Bigfoot, you know. Yeah, I legends that I can think of is something like Bigfoot, you know. Yeah, I would call that an urban legend, like things that you think have kind of almost a possibility of technically kind of being true, like there is, there is an element of hmm, what if?

Davey:

well, that is the whole point of an urban legend. Because urban legends are, they could actually be true they could be true.

Hannah:

they've got an element of they're not that far out that they you know they could be true, yeah.

Davey:

Yeah, I mean because you've got. I mean Loch Ness, for example.

Hannah:

Yeah, Loch Ness is a very famous, probably one of the most famous urban legends.

Davey:

But I wouldn't really class that as an urban legend? Oh, I would no, because urban legend to me are those stories of you know like you know, death, yeah no, has a Loch Ness monster ever killed? Just putting it out there, it doesn't even exist, hannah.

Hannah:

No, but if he did, has he ever killed?

Davey:

Well, we'll never know, because he's probably eaten them. Well, true, has anybody gone missing up Loch Ness? Yeah, maybe, yes, so yeah, they're kind of stories that we used to tell as kids, really With the torch around the campfire. Exactly that. Exactly that, yeah, and you know it would be the horror stories trying to scare each other, but then it kind of. I think the first time that an urban legend was actually written down was in looking at things, it was in 1981. I knew it would be the 80s. Yeah, it was the 80s.

Hannah:

They needed a distraction from all the chemical warfare and nuclear war. They were like let's make something else up to scare the living shits out of them.

Davey:

And the first one, actually the first publicised story was the Vanishing Hitchhiker, which is probably the most famous urban legend. You've heard the story of the Vanishing Hitchhiker.

Hannah:

Yeah, and I've seen the Hammer Hard House version of it as well.

Davey:

Yeah, also Supernatural.

Hannah:

And.

Davey:

Supernatural. So Supernatural was very heavily into urban legends for the very first season.

Hannah:

Very first and second seasons, I would argue.

Davey:

Yeah, very, very much about urban legends. But apparently the term urban legend was first mentioned in 1968 by folklorists, but it wasn't a mainstream until 1981 with the publication of the story of the Vanishing Hitchhiker. So what do you think it is about urban legends that? So why do we love them? Why do you think I would love urban legends so much?

Hannah:

Because you're really into conspiracy theories and theories of things that are could be true, have the possibility of being true perhaps might be a better way of wording it but also so obnoxiously not true.

Davey:

Yeah, that that's why you particularly would be interested yeah, well, I've got, I do like being scared I like being scared and I love a good story and I think urban legends kind of tick all those boxes although you like being scared until it comes to a lift hill on a roller coaster, and then yeah, but that was different.

Hannah:

How is that different?

Davey:

that was different. That's why I like to be.

Hannah:

I like that kind of mystical, macabre kind of thing you know things that you could probably logic away, but if till you can't, you're actually actually on it and going on.

Davey:

Yeah, hp, lovecraft, edgar Allan Poe, you know that type of the macabre, the mysterious, the witchcraft and all of that. You know vampires and werewolves and yeah, yeah, all that kind of thing.

Hannah:

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my.

Davey:

But there are so.

Hannah:

That was my best Judy Garland impression.

Davey:

I mean how many just off the top of your head? I mean you've already kind of mentioned Bigfoot, We've already mentioned Loch Ness, We've just mentioned the vanishing hitchhiker. Are there any other urban legends? Because I have listed some. Hopefully you haven't looked at it.

Hannah:

I actually haven't.

Davey:

So Bloody Mary brings Bloody Mary's another one, yeah.

Hannah:

Brings a bell.

Davey:

What's the one where, like they're in a, like two teenagers in a?

Hannah:

car with a scraping on the roof. That's it. Yeah, yeah. And then it's actually the boyfriend the scraping. The scraping is the boyfriend's hanging from the tree limbs.

Davey:

Yeah, yeah yeah, yeah, there's that one that's the that's that there's many different versions of that story. One's uh, an escaped hitchhiker. Uh, sorry, an escaped hitchhiker. Sorry, an escaped conv. Escaped hitchhiker, sorry, an escaped convict. But then you've also got the. You know, there's other versions of the story, of that one, where they're ghosts or they're monsters.

Hannah:

Yeah, like he goes out to investigate and then the scraping on the roof is him, isn't it?

Davey:

Yeah, she goes out to investigate. And scraping on the roof is him. It's him hanging from the thing, bigfoot.

Hannah:

Yeah, like yeah, bloody mary rings a bell. Yeah, same bloody mary in the mirror three times yeah, like be all juice.

Davey:

Yeah, candy man as well, candy man's a variation of that sandman is another. Yeah, slender man's another one who?

Hannah:

what's the one that only gets into your nightmares? Well freddie, that's not very long street. That's not an urban legend.

Davey:

No, I'm an idiot. I can't think of any more. There's two kinds of urban legends. There's the macabre and the mystical. What?

Hannah:

do you mean by macabre?

Davey:

Sort of kind of dark, witchcrafty kind of Think Edgar Allan Poe, think HP Lovecraft. That's very macabre. Okay, then you've got the other side of it, which is more like the things that you think would be in the news. Okay, there was a story that went around years and years ago. There'd be a pram in the road and what would happen is the driver would get out of the car, they'd go and have a look in the pram there's nothing in the pram and then they'd get lynched. They'd get back in the car, but while they were out the car looking at the prams, someone's got in the back seat.

Hannah:

Oh, one of my worst fears.

Davey:

Yeah, I hate that that was an urban legend that went round at some point that this was happening. It's like don't stop for prams in the middle of the road.

Hannah:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, that's the thing, though, they do say, particularly for women as well, because you can be quite vulnerable on your own and very overpowered by anyone, really just because of our stature. But but yeah, they have said that, like, if you ever see anything on the side of the road, don't, don't investigate, like don't yeah because it could be a trap yeah, so that was.

Davey:

That was an urban legend, though there was another urban legend that went around about about water slides, about razor blades being put in water slides. Oh my god, yeah, that was's awful, see that could be true. Yeah.

Hannah:

I've heard of razor blades or needles in cinema seats.

Davey:

That was another one.

Hannah:

Yeah, that went around. I remember that one.

Davey:

There was another one of people injecting people with AIDS with all the HIV with needles as well, of course, yeah, that was always there. But urban legends, things like that, but urban legends things like that, they do take on a life of their own. And the worrying thing is as well with those type of urban legends in the news, it gives people ideas. You know? There's no, and there's someone who might think actually, do you know what? I'm going to jump on that bagel rager, and I'm actually going to do it. Yeah.

Hannah:

Razor blades on water slides.

Davey:

Razor blades. That was a thing. It wasn't actually a thing.

Hannah:

No.

Davey:

But it was an urban legend that it was a thing Also.

Hannah:

How would you? I don't know how you can facilitate that.

Davey:

It'd be in the slats apparently.

Hannah:

Oh, oh, I understand now.

Davey:

Yeah.

Hannah:

I was thinking like what would the word be?

Davey:

I was thinking, as you go down, they would be this They'd be vertical, vertical, yeah, more horizontal Sort of portrait landscape, landscape. Oh yeah, oh no, yeah, that was. I remember it being a kid. That was always a big fear. Shark in the swimming pool. Shark in the swimming pool, I mean that was. Do you know what that was? I remember, I remember being terrified of the swimming pool I think it was norwich swimming pool where you, if you went down to the deep end, there was like a cage which going into, like where the off tank was, and everyone used to think that's where the shark was.

Davey:

Yeah, yeah you swim down to the cage on that one yeah, but yeah, that was always a yeah, yeah, yeah. So, but they did used to be they, you know, I think, especially when I was younger, obviously the internet wasn't a thing, tiktok wasn't a thing anything like that word of mouth it was all word of mouth it was probably used to change over hands.

Davey:

Oh god, yeah they're calling it and the story would change every time. But I mean mean the Vanishing Hitchhiker, that was always, you know. Yeah, yeah, I mean I remember that was pretty much kind of the same story, because can you not remember I wrote all those short stories yes, I do, yeah, when I actually did take a load of urban legends and translated them into today. Well, I'll say, today I wrote them about what? 15 years ago I, 15 years ago, I've just remembered another one.

Davey:

Sorry, it's just come to my head, uh, the beast of bob, and more yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Davey:

Well, we'll come on to something because we do live. The cornish pixies is another one. Yeah, yeah, we do live in a unique part of the country we're in norfolk that there are a few urban legends we've definitely talked about being in norfolk.

Davey:

We don't keep that secret, yeah yeah, yeah, so, but before we go into kind of like little from the urban legends, we've definitely talked about being in norfolk. We don't keep that secret. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, but before we go into kind of like little from the urban legends into more detail, I thought about you know, because they are popular, people do love them, people do love telling the stories, because we love to scare each other I think that's another thing as well as I love to. I love the storytelling, the aspect of it and the scaring people and really making it something. Yeah, but that has translated onto film, yes, and there are a lot of films within popular culture that reference urban legends. We've already mentioned Supernatural. You said season one and two are very heavily on urban legends. They do actually do the Vanishing Hitchhiker. They also do Bloody Mary Trying to think which other ones they do the Wendigo, wendigo, yeah, banshee ones. The Banshee, yeah, they do the Banshee. There's a lot, they do a lot.

Hannah:

And they obviously cover vampires, werewolves.

Davey:

Yeah, and then the more kind of mainstream, kind of.

Hannah:

Shapeshifters.

Davey:

Yeah, hookman. Hookman is in there, so Supernatural is one big one. I Know what you Did Last Summer.

Hannah:

Is that the one with the that's?

Davey:

the hook man.

Hannah:

Oh, okay.

Davey:

Hook man's. I Know what you Did Last.

Hannah:

Summer. What's the one where the demonic thing is passed by, sexually transmitted, like a demon. Do you remember that?

Davey:

was Angel.

Hannah:

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Definitely it's its own film and she was being terrorized by something. But as soon as she had sex with someone, then they were getting terrorized and you could only pass it on through having sex with someone I don't know. Have you not seen that? I don't think when. When was that? It's like I don't know, like, maybe like 2010s that doesn't ring any bells.

Hannah:

I don't think what that was and the one thing I keep thinking of is I I don't know if it's a mainstream thing or whatever, but Rooster Teeth come up with this one where there was like a killer snail, and the snail is always coming after you, but obviously a snail is quite slow. So, the idea is you just move away from the snail if it's going to kill you.

Davey:

But it's always, constantly there, it's constantly there.

Hannah:

It's constantly there, it's constantly there, it's constantly coming up.

Davey:

It could be round the corner. No, there is a film called it Follows.

Hannah:

Maybe it's it Follows. I think that is the film and it is. They pass it on to each other through, oh okay, oh right, intercourse, intercourse, intercourse. Intercourse, sexual activity? Yeah, and then she's no longer plagued by the demon, or whatever.

Davey:

All right, that is a brilliant one. It goes on to the next one. If it is, it follows.

Hannah:

That's a really good film I'm sure it's that one, but it's really slow.

Davey:

Yeah, it's really slow. Yeah, it takes its time.

Hannah:

But then you can pass it on to the next person.

Davey:

Ah, right, okay, so it follows.

Hannah:

It follows the film.

Davey:

Urban, urban legend, obviously.

Hannah:

No, really.

Davey:

Yeah, candy man, we've already mentioned Krampus, krampus.

Hannah:

Is that the Christmas one? Yeah, that's the Christmas one the evil Christmas guy.

Davey:

That's it. Krampus was an urban legend. Of course, the leprechaun.

Hannah:

Of course. How did we forget about the leprechaun, the?

Davey:

leprechaun.

Hannah:

Tap of the morning to it.

Davey:

And you never heard this at this urban legend is it in the toilet? The bar, essentially, yeah. So the the urban legend goes and it's mainly this is an urban legend from new york is that somebody had a baby alligator and they flushed it down the toilet and now it lives in the sewers and it will attack people from the sewers is that where, like ninja turtles come from? From. It's kind of yeah, the same sort of thing, isn't it yeah?

Hannah:

Do you think Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Is actually an urban legend.

Davey:

That would be amazing if there really were Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the sewers of New York.

Hannah:

Are they New York based?

Davey:

Yeah, yeah, I think so, yeah, oh my gosh, so you're just sitting on the toilet and then you just get like munched by an alligator? Obviously no the alligator was too big to come back up through the toilet.

Hannah:

Oh, you've lived in the sewers Well.

Davey:

There's a full on side.

Hannah:

Well, you're safe then, as long as you don't go in the sewer.

Davey:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Hannah:

Oh, that's a shit urban legend. I thought we'd come up from the toilet seat and try to munch your bits, but there were. Shave their shit.

Davey:

There were stories of snakes doing that.

Hannah:

Yes, snakes seem a little bit more lethal to me. I don't like snakes.

Davey:

No, I'm not a fan of snakes. No, that's why I don't like Australia.

Hannah:

Poor Australia. I know we're Australian listeners.

Davey:

We have New Zealand listeners.

Hannah:

They're upside down.

Davey:

Yeah, well, this is the thing. Because your mum wants to go to Australia and I keep saying no, because everything there wants to kill you Everything.

Hannah:

Isn't that the same with New Zealand, though?

Davey:

No, new Zealand's slightly nicer. England Hobbits, yeah, but Australia I mean, there's just everything there. Everything wants to kill you.

Hannah:

Even the kangaroos are pretty lethal.

Davey:

I had this argument with your mum the other day about kangaroos in water that they tried to pull you in to drown you.

Hannah:

Do they yeah?

Davey:

They're smart buggers. Yeah, they tried to pull you in to drown you. There was a thing the other day. I saw a thing about a drop bear, which is like an evil koala bear that drops.

Hannah:

Seriously, Can I give you chlamydia as well? What Koala bear? Yeah, koala, yeah. You looked at me like I was insane. Then I was like I'm pretty sure I have her back.

Davey:

Honestly, everything in Australia wants to kill you. That's fun, and you know how I feel about spiders. I know how you feel about spiders. Exactly, they've got the huntsman spider. There's no way, I guess I mean, don't get me wrong, don't get me wrong. Australia looks like a beautiful, lovely country and I would love to go there, but I just would want to come back alive. You know your mom wants to go and I keep saying fine, you go, but I will not be going. You know I'm happy in norwich, just but yeah, everything there wants to kill you. That was a weird aside, wasn't it? That was a weird segue, really weird segue. So other things in popular culture with urban legends, the grudge and the ring.

Hannah:

Oh the ring. If you copy that videotape, you won't die.

Davey:

This is it.

Hannah:

I caught up in a castle episode recently that I watched. Did it? Yeah, they referenced the ring. Really, it was a videotaped situation where someone was using that as a way to murder people.

Davey:

Because you've recently gone to castle, haven't you? I have, I'm really into it. I can't believe it's taken you this long to get into castle.

Hannah:

Yeah.

Davey:

I'm really, really into it Brilliant.

Hannah:

I just really love, is it Nathan Fillion?

Davey:

Nathan. He'll always be Captain Mal. Oh no, I know he'll always be Captain Mal. He'll always be Captain Mal. He's Castle to me, yeah. But you know the worst thing? I mean why? Only one season of Firefly. But they're too old now. They couldn't go back to it now. That ship has sailed, yeah, and also there's the Joss Whedon issue. The Joss Whedon issue the Joss Whedon issue. The Hitcher have you ever seen the Hitcher Toss?

Hannah:

a coin to the hitcher.

Davey:

No, hannah, that's the Witcher.

Hannah:

Oh, valley of plenty.

Davey:

God, that song got stuck in my head for months after watching that. But no, the Hitcher was an 80s film and it had C Thomas Howell in it, who was a young actor at the time, very famous, and Rutger Hauer. Rutger Hauer I've mentioned Rutger Hauer. Rutger Hauer I've mentioned Rutger Hauer before Blade Runner. Yeah, yeah, and C Thomas Howell was driving down the road and he picks up Rutger Hauer as a hitchhiker. But then the rest of the film is him trying to Rutger Hauer trying to kill C Thomas Howell, and it's very violent. It's very, very good. They recently remade it and I think they remade it with with C Thomas Howell in Rutger Hauer's role. Oh Okay, I might have got that wrong. I was just doing that from memory, but that was based off an urban legend as well.

Davey:

Nice.

Hannah:

It was so they're the ones in popular culture. So, speaking of places we don't want to go to that could possibly kill you, ie Australia. We have some local urban legends that could also kill you. Wow, yeah, let's go on. So we are in norfolk, in the uk, um, which is, if you look at the uk, it kind of looks like the shape of a rabbit.

Davey:

We're in the tail that's a very good way of putting it. I always said we look like we're the arse end of the country yeah, don't say arse end, we're in the bunny's tail we're in the bunny's tail. We're in the the bum.

Hannah:

Yeah, near the bum. But, that's kind of London. Actually is the bum, but anyway. So we are two hours north of London. I would say we are but two hours northeast Via train.

Davey:

Yeah, two hours northeast of London. Yes, and what I love about our county is that you have to want to come here, to be here. It's not one of those counties that you pass through.

Hannah:

No, you can't pass through it. We don't have any major motorways. You have to come on an A road.

Davey:

Oh, when they dueled the A11. That was the closest we got to a motorway.

Hannah:

We got two lanes on the A11. We've got three lanes on the A14, haven't we?

Davey:

Yeah, but that's not in Norfolk, is it? That's more Cambridge.

Hannah:

I guess it is yeah, yeah. So if you've heard of Cambridge, which you might have because it's got a very famous university, we are east.

Davey:

East of Cambridge. East of Cambridge, yeah.

Hannah:

If you need a further geographical reference, yeah, we have a lot of coastline.

Davey:

We do have a lot of coastline.

Hannah:

Yeah, so we've got Norfolk, and then there's Suffolk as well, so we've got… we don't talk about Suffolk exactly.

Davey:

Yes, yes, there is uh local, local derby. Yeah, because norwich did you, did you know that norwich was?

Hannah:

actually the capital of england at one point. So a lot of people think it was the capital of england.

Davey:

Oh, I'm about.

Hannah:

I'm about to be schooled it's kind of like a qi thing a little bit. So, technically, yes, in medieval times we were, yes, technically, the capital of England at the time, but England was a lot smaller.

Davey:

England was a lot smaller then.

Hannah:

So it's hard, although I think that is one of Norwich's claims.

Davey:

Yeah.

Hannah:

Technically they're correct, but technically they're not.

Davey:

Yeah, but we also have two cathedrals.

Hannah:

We do have two cathedrals.

Davey:

We are, yeah, we have a lot of cathedrals and we are the birthplace of the Iceni tribe.

Hannah:

Queen.

Davey:

Bodicea.

Hannah:

Yes, and we are also the most godless city in the UK Big up, big up on the godless. Yeah, we're the most godless city in the UK, apparently.

Davey:

None of us believe in a sky wizard.

Hannah:

Despite the fact that we have several churches. Uh, we had a church for every week of the year we had 52 churches and we had a pub for every day of the year 365 pubs yeah, uh, which is, which is a lot smaller now but, that was our another claim to norfolk, but we are you know, it's a norfolk history there we are kind of we we're still quite rooted in our medieval kind of history, aren't? We yes.

Davey:

You know, as in the way Norfolk is the buildings, we've still got the castle wall to a degree.

Hannah:

We haven't modernised that much, no. We've kept our history quite well, I think.

Davey:

Yeah.

Hannah:

We've preserved a lot of it and restored a lot of it as well.

Davey:

Yeah, and that kind of where it comes into, like with some of these urban legends. Yeah, yeah, so we do have. I think we have just going through I think there was three, three local urban legends that I've written down and of course, anyone who's from Norfolk and anyone listening to this from Norwich will immediately know what I'm talking about.

Davey:

when I mentioned Black Shook, let's explain it to the non-Norfolk Black Shook is essentially our version of the Beast of Bodmin Moor Mm-hmm. It is a famous or infamous, locally infamous demonic dog and it's said that it wanders the East Anglian churchyards at night All 300, no, no, all 52 of them. Well, no, that's just Norwich. This is East Anglian churchyards at night All 300, no, no, all 52 of them. Well, no, that's just Norwich. This is East Anglian. So Black Shook does actually go into Cambridge, does go into Suffolk and slightly Essex as well, because that's all part of East Anglia. But to see the Black Shook is an ill omen, it's a sign of bad luck. Now, the first kind of sighting I say sighting in inverted commas is around 1850. And the creature was described as being unusually large, with black shaggy fur and red blazing eyes.

Hannah:

Sounds like a hellhound it does.

Davey:

So the black shuck is a hellhound. Okay, One of the most famous stories of black shuck is in Bungie.

Hannah:

Oh up Bungie Actually yeah, up the. Bungie which, oh, just shout out to the Bungie people, yeah.

Davey:

The Bungie Massive, so, bungie, massive. So Bungie is actually in Suffolk as well, so it's not actually in Norfolk Now. Apparently, one night, black Shook with a crash of thunder, burst through the doors of the Holy Trinity Church and ran up the aisle killing two people and causing the church steeple to collapse.

Davey:

As the hellhound exited, it left scorch marks on the north door which can still be seen today.

Hannah:

I think we need a BD BD field trip.

Davey:

I think we do. We need to check this out. Yeah, I need to see these scorch marks and up the bungie. Up the bungie, up the bungie. Yeah, we need to see this.

Hannah:

Yeah. So, We'll let you know.

Davey:

Ran up the aisle of the Trinity Church in Bungie, killing two people, and caused the church steeple to collapse. Well, there you go. What do you think of that?

Hannah:

I mean it is very plausible that a dog would have come into the church that was rabid and killed two people and left some left some damage. I don't know about the steeple, though that seems a bit far-fetched for me.

Davey:

See, that's quite interesting you saying that you said it's plausible for a dog to have come in and killed two people and then run out again.

Hannah:

I do feel like that is fairly plausible yeah.

Davey:

Bearing in mind this was in Bungie and it was in, I would say a few. It doesn't actually give a date, it doesn't give a date, it doesn't give a date, but I would probably say it was in the 1800s, 1900s, yeah, yeah, early 1900s. So could it be plausible that it actually was a big dog that came running in? A rabid dog foaming in the mouth, rabies killed two people, then legged it and then, through the urban legends and through the campfire talk, it's been morphed into this story of hellhound and black shook yeah, I mean it's pretty unfortunate experience for the two people that died yeah and they can't obviously give an account yes they, they did, yeah, and I think the steeple roof thing.

Hannah:

Oh, I hate saying the word coincidence, but Well it could be.

Davey:

It could be.

Hannah:

Or they just blamed it on it.

Davey:

Look at Hot Fuzz, what happens. Yeah, it could have been a murder.

Hannah:

It could have been a murder or an attempted murder, Murder murder.

Davey:

murder, An attempted murder, an attempted murder. Yes, so that is the legend of Black Shook. It essentially is a hellhound that wanders the churchyards of Norfolk, suffolk and Essex.

Hannah:

But do you know what I want to know?

Davey:

Go on.

Hannah:

Can I pet that dog?

Davey:

No, god, that would be hilarious, wouldn't it, Can I?

Hannah:

pet that dog.

Davey:

Oh, dear God. So there is another story.

Hannah:

Yes.

Davey:

And the grey.

Hannah:

One of my faves.

Davey:

Yes, the grey lady of Tombland. I love Tombland so just explain what Tombland is.

Hannah:

Tombland is a street in Norwich that is, You've got the cathedral on that particular street or the opening of the cathedral. What?

Davey:

do you call it the entrance, the?

Hannah:

entrance, the gates, if you will, to the cathedral, which is actually part school, part museum, part cafe now, and you can see quite a lot of the castle wall down Toomland. But basically it's a street full of shops and full shops that are in the older buildings of Norwich. We've got actually the Crooked shop in Tombland as well, we do. Which I think is where, weirdly enough, an escape room is now.

Davey:

Yeah.

Hannah:

Yeah, and it's. Tombland has eateries and places to drink.

Davey:

It's got a real vibe about it, hasn't it, Tombland? It's just got.

Hannah:

Good vibes, only it's got Wetherspoons as well.

Davey:

When I was growing up in Norwich we used Tombland was like a little bit of a, Because Tombland is still medieval in some degrees, in the way that the architecture is, and then you've got Elm Hill, which goes up as well.

Hannah:

Yeah, Elm hill is probably the most famous yeah street in norwich isn't it because it's all cobbled and it's still in keeping with its I wouldn't like to say original, but yeah, in keeping with its history it has actually been used as a filming location as well for a number of films like stardust.

Davey:

They filmed there as well, because because of the way that the street is, but also tombland. When I was sort of, you know, when I was a late teenager, early 20s, it was also like the place to go when you were going out. So, tombland, we used to have Pizza One, pancakes Two. We had Boswell's, which was kind of like this really cool pub that everyone went to. If you went to Hummer, you went to Boswell's, and then you had High's as well, which was the nightclub, and over the road you had Peppermint Park. People on our list are now going, jesus Christ, remember some of these names. And then, on the other side of the road, you had I think it was Samson and Hercules, but that was before my time, but we had Ritzy and Fifth Avenue.

Hannah:

So everything was kind of in that area.

Davey:

But set back to this kind of medieval kind of setting.

Hannah:

Yeah, a lot of Tudor style houses, the black and white sort of architecture and structure, and it's pretty much sort of kept in keeping with that to this day, other than, like, obviously, shop signage and things like that. It's pretty in keeping with.

Davey:

But it's still got that feel about it, isn't?

Hannah:

it, it's.

Davey:

OG-ness. Yeah, now something else about Tombland which is interesting is why it's called Tombland. I actually don't know this. It's not graves. Ah Not graves. That makes a lot of sense. I think your uncle because your uncle does do a lot of kind of landscape gardening work, things like that I think he had a little bit of an accident in Tombland when he was walking in the summer because there's a lot of sinkholes in that area.

Hannah:

Oh, okay.

Davey:

And I think when I was growing up, it's like no one really knows what's underneath tombland. No, it's one of those kind of stories. So the gray lady of tombland is basically, of course it's a ghost. It's a ghost, no great lady of a young woman dressed in gray. She, apparently she, kind of floats through the streets and the homes of tombland. Now there are several different stories, but about her origin you know well, like where she came from, but one of the most gruesome ones is that she was a victim of the plague that swept through norwich in 1578. Okay, so apparently you know thousands of people died in the great plague and graveyards were then kind of brought up the covid of their time, exactly it really was, uh.

Davey:

and it was ordered that anyone who was found to have the illness would be taken from their home, which would then be boarded up and left until such a time that they were certain that the infection was gone. But when one house was unsealed by the bailiff 40 days later, the bodies of a man, woman and young girl were found, who had been presumably been too weak to call out, as they were barricaded in Apparently. That was horrific in itself, but when examined, examined, it was apparent that the man and woman had strange marks on their bodies.

Davey:

Teeth marks Teeth, yes, oh no, the young girl had apparently survived the plague, but she had no means of escape from the boarded up house. She then resorted to cannibalism out of hunger, only to choke on their flesh.

Hannah:

Choke.

Davey:

And now she is said to haunt the area of Tombland and Tombland Alley. How's about that, Mapples? That's grim yes, that is gnarly cool.

Hannah:

So she is the gray lady she is apparently the gray lady sounds young yes so a young gray lady, young woman, yeah, but not a child, a young woman yeah, interesting, okay, yeah, so that is the.

Davey:

That's the story of the gray lady of tombland. Okay, now there is a ghost walk around norwich. Isn't there? I've never been on it. I've been to the one that's cow tower of the Grey Lady of Tombland. Okay, now there is a ghost walk around Norwich, isn't there? I've never been on it.

Hannah:

I've been to the one that's Cow Tower. That one have you, yeah.

Davey:

I'd like to do it actually. Maybe we should do that around Halloween. We said we wanted to do something different, didn't we? We'll do it, we'll do Primeval and we'll do the ghost walk as well.

Hannah:

Okay.

Davey:

But of course in Norfolk we also have the Broads. Yes, and there is a very good urban legend about the Lantern Men. Have you heard that one?

Hannah:

No carry on.

Davey:

Okay, so this was early 1800s, apparently one night when the mist swept in across Thelton Stade, as a group of sailors sat in the White Horse Inn nursing a few drinks I love that word, nursing nursing a few drinks. One of them, joseph, remembered a parcel he had left on the wherry which was for his wife. Regardless of the protest by his fellow drinkers, he set out across the dark, across the marshes, where swirling mist and strange lights were later seen. The lantern men were afoot and Joseph was never seen alive again. Now legend has it that he was lured to a watery grave by the lights of the lantern men, and his ghost can occasionally be seen wandering the area.

Davey:

So this is not the only sight of the lantern men in the county, as people of Ursted have also claimed to be plagued by strange lights on the marshes. They have also said you should not mock the lantern men which they referred to as well as Jack-o'-lantern, as he would terrorise your home in the night. So they're kind of like this. You know, the lantern men live out on the broad, in the mists in the night. So they're kind of like this. You know, the lantern men live out on the broad, in the mists, in the marshes and they're like claiming more people and they're almost like banshees it's that kind of banshee story isn't it.

Hannah:

What's? What are their mermaids?

Davey:

sirens, sirens yeah, that type of thing. So yeah, so it's like they're claiming, they're claiming another, they're claiming another and they're kind of beckoning people to their death.

Hannah:

I mean Joseph went on the broads at night and probably got lost. He probably got drunk. Or he just went home to his wife yeah well, he's never seen again or he legged it no, no, no, no, no, or he couldn't get the parcel. His wife was so annoyed she topped him off. She done him? Yeah, just because he was never seen again doesn't mean anything. Maybe they did it.

Davey:

They're covering up. They're covering up. What happened was he wouldn't listen to them. He was nursing his drink. They were going Joe mate shots and Joe was like.

Hannah:

Nah, I've got a wife and kid at home.

Davey:

I've got to go home, the missus. She's going to kill me if I have another drink. She's told me I've got to stop drinking. I've got to go. Nah, joe Soda, sit down. Mate, have one with the boys, have a shot. Go on, have a sambuca, tequila. We're all golden Boys, seriously. No, no, I've got to go home to the missus. She needs me at home, joe, sit yourself down. He gets up. One of them gets up, puts him back in the chair. An altercation. An altercation occurs, he goes down, bashes his head and then they go. What we're going to do? Hoss him in the broad. Hoss him in the broad, and then let's make up a story about it.

Hannah:

About the lantern men. I think that's more plausible. Also, lantern men. Are they all going to be lantern men.

Davey:

Well, they're kind of sailors, aren't they? I suppose like out on the broads Lantern men yeah. I don't think it sounds as sinister as the lantern people, the lantern people, or it could just be fireflies, or it could just be fireflies out on the broads. Yeah, I mean that's the most plausible. That's probably more plausible. You know the strange lights.

Hannah:

I love how we've tried to explain the other two, but the Grey Lady of Timberland we're like yeah that definitely happens.

Davey:

Yeah, that happened. But yeah, I think, being out on the broads at night because I have been out on the broads at night as the sun comes down on a kayak they are beautiful, but they could be quite scary as well at the same time.

Hannah:

Yeah. I can understand why, and also if you're not aware of them, I can understand why. That would be terrifying seeing all these dancing lights.

Davey:

Yeah, so I thought we'd go over some of the uh, the top 10 urban legends across the world.

Hannah:

Oh, bloody mary's first. Yeah, we knew that, didn't we?

Davey:

yeah, the story of bloody mary that is, yeah, essentially. You stand in the mirror, you say bloody mary three times. Something will happen yeah yeah, now this is. But this is the interesting thing about Bloody Mary is that it depends which story you get. Depends on what happens.

Hannah:

Mm-hmm.

Davey:

You know, it could be that she will do something good for you or she'll do something bad.

Hannah:

Yeah.

Davey:

There is. You know, there's both sides of the scale on that one.

Hannah:

In the earliest versions, an unmarried woman would see the face of her husband in the glass or skull if she were destined to die before being wet.

Davey:

Oh fun, but then involved in something more gory bleeding spirit which is called Mary. And that's the story. That I know is the gorier ones. I know the spider bite. Have you heard of this one?

Hannah:

I mean, isn't that just Spider-Man?

Davey:

No, no, no. I have heard this story, but this is probably as it says there. This is probably one of the more believed ones, and where somebody goes out and it doesn't happen with just spiders, that happens with other things as well they'll go across the faraway land. They will then get bitten by something, but then, when they get home, they actually find out that they've been I don't want to use the term impregnated, but essentially they have been impregnated by an insect. They are the host. They are the host for all of the babies of that insect, good Lord. And then the babies come out. We've seen this time and time again in films.

Hannah:

Yeah.

Davey:

Where this has happened. Yeah, yeah, I mean alien Alien is.

Hannah:

Yeah.

Davey:

Yeah, number three the hook man. Here we go. This is the one. The couple out for a drive. Oh, this particular version. Looking at this, the radio informs them that a hook-handed lunatic has escaped from a local institution. So that's kind of the one that I said earlier. Fun, yeah, they go to have a look to find the hook embedded in the back of the car. Oh, the hook was left in the car, yeah, or one of them ends up suspended above the car with his fingers scraping against the roof.

Davey:

That's what I said. Yeah, novel, I Know what you Did Last Summer and also the Candyman. So actually in some of these films they've actually mixed a few of the legends up together, haven't?

Hannah:

they. Yeah, yeah. Why is a hook hand so scary? Also, why would you have a hook on your hand as an amputee?

Davey:

It's so not. It's not practical, is it? It's not practical at all, is it?

Hannah:

I mean, you can lift a cup, but then that cup will just fall from tip forward. I don't know how a hook is practical, and this is a hook that has like a pincer situation, yeah, yeah it's like a double, like a two finger, two finger like the hook yeah I just yeah yeah, it's never been a practice captain hook. Why does he have?

Davey:

that's where it's come from, though isn't the whole pirate thing?

Hannah:

what's freaky food?

Davey:

tell me about that oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's uh so freaky food. Is that the burgers you eat at certain restaurants is not the meat that you think it is?

Hannah:

ah, like horse meat in the tesco meal deals yeah, there was.

Davey:

There was also talk of uh rats and kfc. Yeah, yeah and um, also breeding chickens without heads, things like that finger l, that Finger licking good, finger licking good. Yeah, breeding mutated kind of animals to then put in burgers. I mean. Yeah, that is kind of.

Hannah:

Speaking of finger licking good the licked hand.

Davey:

The licked hand. What is this one?

Hannah:

Oh, this was in Supernatural as well. It's where, like a scared girl or scared woman or whatever, is laying in bed and their hand gets licked and they think it's the dog, but then the dog comes into the room afterwards and they realise that something else has licked their hand.

Davey:

Oh, the monster under the bed, type of thing. Yeah yeah, a variation of that one the kidney heist. You must have heard this one.

Hannah:

Yeah, people stealing kidneys, and they just awaken in a bath full of ice. That's it.

Davey:

Yeah, yeah, I've heard that one. Oh God Must have been. I was really young when I heard that one for the first time.

Hannah:

They actually kind of hinted at that and lost John, had his kidney taken. His dad conned him out of her kidney all right, okay because he was on dialysis and his dad was a con man and conned him out of her kidney anyway oh, oh yeah, of course go on building a house on cursed ground of course poltergeist poltergeist.

Davey:

I mean, poltergeist is the most famous for that one. Yeah, they moved the headstones, but they didn't move the bodies. Oh yeah, so that is. Yeah, pet cemetery is another one, another version of that buffy the vampire slayer buffy the vampire slayer. Oh yeah, they built sunnydale on the hellmouth, didn't they? Yep so horror stories from the house that dripped blood. You know, building a house on cursed ground will always then trigger a supernatural response.

Hannah:

Chain letters is the next one. My God, which has evolved into email. Yeah, If you didn't pass this email on, someone will die.

Davey:

Yeah, to be honest, that's the same as the grudge in the ring. Yeah, in the ring, it's the same thing, isn't it?

Hannah:

Same situation.

Davey:

You do the VHS recording and then pass it on. Yeah, the call is coming from inside the house oh yeah.

Hannah:

So yeah, you're having calls and it's like, oh, I'm going to kill you yeah, I remember telling loads of stories about this is the babysitter theysitter the.

Davey:

Babysitter the.

Hannah:

Babysitter.

Davey:

The Babysitter Scream did this.

Hannah:

Yes.

Davey:

Scream, did this one, but yeah, the story of the call coming from inside the house.

Hannah:

Yeah.

Davey:

Yeah, that is yeah, I've heard that. Lots of different variations of that particular urban legend and the final one of the top 10, the Slender man.

Hannah:

Yeah.

Davey:

Now, I've heard of the Slender man, but I don't know much about it.

Hannah:

It was really popular on YouTube like a while back, and I remember Slender man being mentioned a lot in school when I was there. So I'm talking like between the years of maybe 2007 to 2012, 14, something like that, 12, 14, something like that Slender man was always just some sort of demonic, really slim, tall man standing in the garden or certain situations.

Davey:

Was he like an omen? Or was it almost like the Black Shook, where he would, if you saw the Slender man, something was going to happen. I think so.

Hannah:

But I never really understood the legend itself really. But yeah, a lot of photoshopping.

Davey:

Yeah, I think, because I think again, I think it's yeah, because creepypasta was a thing, wasn't it?

Hannah:

Yeah, yeah, oh. It says that Slender Man's MO is to abduct people, often children, who seem willingly to go with the figure, never to be seen again.

Davey:

So for like a yeah, terrified version Of the Pied Piper, basically there's a bit of a theme there, because it's almost a little bit Like the Lantern Men as well. Child abduction, yeah, but also like the Lantern Men, it's stealing people, abducting them and yeah, very similar, very similar.

Hannah:

Okay, maybe it was Slender man.

Davey:

Conspiracy theory for you.

Hannah:

Okay, go on.

Davey:

Okay, I'm going to tie A lot of these together. Go on alien abduction all of these are alien abduction all of these are alien abductions, okay yeah, where people are stolen and it's aliens coming down and stealing people to do the probes it's probing time it's probing time. That's what I think's happening I don't know.

Hannah:

I don't know. I mean, you know some of these things like slender man, for example. There are some really awful people in this world. It is very likely that a man has stolen some children from a garden at some stage in history. I'm pretty certain that's probably happened more than several times. So I think making up like an urban legend based on that is not too far fetched from literal truth.

Hannah:

And of course it's going to be a tall man, because when you're small, everything is tall, yeah, so of course it's going to be a tall person or figure or what have you. It's going to lure them. But yeah, I mean again, kidney heist is kind of just one of them plausible things some of these I think are might have happened yeah it might have even happened once again.

Davey:

There are awful people in this world and yeah, but again, you know, when you think about what we're saying about black shook, where you know the story gets distorted over time. Bits get added to it, bits get taken out. I mean, chances are it could have been some rabid dog that ran into that church and bit couple of and they both died of rabies. But then over the years it's morphed into this demonic hellhound and then the legend is born from there.

Hannah:

We need a trip to Bungie.

Davey:

We've got to go and check this church out.

Davey:

We have to look at these scorch marks.

Davey:

I want to go and have a look at this great lady in Tombland as well. I want to look at this do some digging.

Hannah:

I mean, I've walked in tombland more times than I, than I can count, and I've never seen.

Davey:

I've never seen a tombland movie. No urban legends urban legends indeed.

Hannah:

Well, we hope you've enjoyed this episode, this very spooky, spooky, spooky, spooky episode of bonus dad, bonus daughter.

Davey:

Please join us for more or less spooky episodes well, I think we're going to have to have more spooky episodes soon, because it's getting to that time it is getting towards Halloween. It's getting to that time, isn't it?

Hannah:

It is indeed.

Davey:

We need to do a really good Halloween special this year. Okay, a really good Halloween special, right? Maybe we could do BDBD podcast out on the road on a ghost walk On the road. Yeah, I don't know how we'd do it.

Hannah:

No, we'd have to be mic'd up.

Davey:

Or how it would even translate.

Hannah:

Yeah, because we're an audio podcast.

Davey:

Yeah, we'd have to do some thinking on that one. Yeah okay, okay, cool.

Hannah:

Bye Outro Music.