Candy corn is still one of my favorite treats around Halloween. I found an article on Better Homes & Gardens about the love it or hate it treat.
Candy corn might be the most controversial Halloween candy. In our experience, people either love it or hate it—and we’re firmly in the “love it” category. We’re not the only ones eating candy corn by the handful: The National Retail Federation estimated that in 2019, 95% of holiday shoppers stocked up on the tri-color treat. Not to mention, it’s consistently the most popular Halloween candy in multiple states.
The little yellow, orange, and white treat is an icon among holiday candies and has a legacy that goes back more than a century. Get the background on how candy corn came to be, discover fun facts, and learn all about how candy corn is made. Try our candy corn recipes and some sweet Halloween decorating ideas that feature the striped treat.
Where Was Candy Corn Invented?
According to oral tradition, George Renninger, a candymaker at the Wunderlee Candy Company in Philadelphia, invented the revolutionary tricolor candy in the 1880s. The Goelitz Confectionery Company brought candy corn to the masses at the turn of the 20th century. The company, now called Jelly Belly Candy Co., has the longest history of making candy corn—although the method has changed, it still uses the original recipe. In honor of its Goelitz roots, Jelly Belly developed a candy corn-flavor jelly bean.
How is Candy Corn Made?
Candy corn is a mixture of sugar, fondant, corn syrup, vanilla flavor, and marshmallow creme. The ingredients are melted into a liquid candy—called slurry—colored, and run through a cornstarch molding process to create each kernel. Wooden trays filled with cornstarch are imprinted with rows of candy corn molds, where the layers are individually deposited from bottom to top.
The mixture cools in the tray, which seals the three layers together. The kernels of candy corn are sifted from the trays and polished in large drum pans with edible wax and glaze to create their irresistible shine. It’s also worth noting that, strictly speaking, candy corn isn’t vegan- or vegetarian-friendly. Most formulations contain gelatin or other animal-based ingredients.
What Other Types of Candy Corn are There?
Candy corn is such a popular choice that the mellow creme candies are now available year-round in a variety of colors for other seasonal holidays. Most have the same smooth vanilla flavor as the original, but there are some flavor variations.
For Thanksgiving, serve fall corn, which is brown, orange, and white (the brown section is chocolate-flavored).
Christmas-inspired reindeer corn has the classic vanilla flavor of traditional candy corn but comes in a green, white, and red colorway.
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with cupid corn in pink, red, and white.
For Easter, load up on bunny corn in various pastel colors.
You can also find seasonal candy corn varieties in apple, pumpkin spice, and cinnamon flavors.
Fun Candy Corn Facts
We’re all familiar with the classic orange, yellow, and white treats—but some of the facts about candy corn might surprise you!
Candy corn isn’t the treat’s original name
What was candy corn originally called? Fun fact: When the Goelitz Confectionery Company first produced candy corn, it was called “Chicken Feed.” The boxes were illustrated with a colorful rooster logo and a tagline: “Something worth crowing for.”
Candy corn has its own national day
You don’t have to wait for Halloween to indulge in the mellow creme candies. Celebrate National Candy Corn Day on October 30.
More than 17,000 tons of candy corn are produced each year
According to the National Confectioners Association, more than 35 million pounds (or 9 billion pieces) of candy corn are produced yearly.
Candy corn is one of the better-for-you Halloween candies
It contains roughly 28 grams of sugar and only 140 calories per heaping handful—and it’s fat-free!
It has a long shelf life
Once the package is opened, store candy corn covered and away from heat and light at room temperature; it should last three to six months. If unopened, packaged candy corn will last about nine months.
There are some beautiful birds in the world but perhaps none with a name quite as frightening as one species found in New Guinea—the Dracula parrot. This is the nickname for the Pesquet’s parrot (Psittrichas fulgidus), which is endemic to the island’s hill and montane rainforest. With rich black feathers and a scarlet red underbelly, it has all the coloration of Count Dracula’s cape, but looks can be deceiving.
The Dracula parrot is a relatively large parrot, measuring a total length of about 18 inches and weighing between 1.5 and 1.75 pounds. Its long, hooked beak and bare face, coupled with its large head, make it look a bit like a vulture. For that reason, it’s sometimes also called a vulturine parrot. But, don’t let these colloquial names fool you—this bird is no flesh-eater.
In fact, the Dracula parrot is a frugivore, which means that fruit is its preferred food. And for this parrot, we’re not just talking about any fruit. These parrots only feed on a few species of fig. This helps explain why they aren’t migrant and typically stick to one area. This is also why they’re only one of three parrot species without a bare face, as the fruit pulp they eat would cause facial feathers to become matted.
When they are left alone in areas where they aren’t hunted, it’s not uncommon to see groups of 10 to 14 roosting in the trees. They can almost always be found at least in pairs. Dracula parrots are believed to have a lifespan of 20 to 40 years and they nest in large, hollow trees. Interestingly, only one or two eggs are laid at a time.
These rare birds are the only members of their genus, and this genus is the only member of the subfamily Psittrichadinae, which shows how unique these parrots truly are. Unfortunately, the Dracula parrot has been classified as vulnerable on the IUCN’s Red List. This is mainly due to poaching, as well as habitat loss. Poachers go after the Dracula parrot for their feathers, which are highly prized by collectors. It’s believed that between 20,000 and 50,000 Dracula parrots exist in the wild and their population continues to decrease.
The specter of cannibalism overshadows many other fascinating facts about the emigrants.
In May 1846, the last wagon train of the season left Independence, Missouri for the Mexican territory of Alta California. Led by two men from Springfield, Illinois—farmer George Donner and furniture manufacturer James F. Reed—the Donner Party followed the well-established California Trail as far as the Little Sandy River in Wyoming. It’s there that they made the fateful decision to take a new, more direct route over the Wasatch Mountains and across the Great Salt Lake Desert. The determination was made despite the warnings from accomplished mountain man James Clyman.
The Donner Party followed a path set out for them by adventurer and guidebook author Lansford Hastings. The Hastings Cutoff was meant to save time by shortening the journey more than 300 miles. Instead, the rugged terrain, lack of natural water sources, and extreme weather conditions proved disastrous for the pioneers. The Donner Party was delayed by three weeks, all while much of their cattle was stolen or killed in raids by Paiute Indians. It wasn’t until early November that they finally began to climb the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Despite multiple setbacks and mistakes, the group arrived at Sutter’s Fort, only 90 miles from their final destination. If they’d made it over the pass and out of the mountains, the Donner Party might have been lost in the pages of history. They would have just been one of the hundreds of wagon trains in the first wave of westward migration. Instead, an early snowfall trapped 81 men, women, and children in makeshift tents and cabins at Truckee Lake and in the Alder Creek Valley some seven miles east.
Conditions took a grim and immediate turn. Once they ate the few remaining oxen and horses, the snowbound travelers relied on mice, tree bark, pine cones, and strips of leather for food. They also boiled ox hides to make a foul smelling, glue-like substance.
In mid-December, a group of 15 people that would later be known as the “Forlorn Hope” left the Truckee Lake camp to find help. Weak with hunger and carrying few provisions, they were caught in the open by a blizzard. They wandered lost and confused in the mountains for more than a month. Eight members of the troop died, but two men and five women eventually made it to a small farming community on the Bear River.
It took four rescue attempts to bring the last surviving member of the Donner Party to safety in April 1847. Unfortunately, nearly half of the emigrants had perished during one of the most brutal winters on record. Many of those who lived admitted that some members of the party had to resort to eating the dead, and the gruesome specter of cannibalism has hung over the episode ever since. But this morbid detail has obscured some of the most intriguing facts about this remarkable chapter in American history.
Abraham Lincoln was almost a member of the Donner Party.
As a young lawyer in Springfield, Illinois, Lincoln often helped his friend James F. Reed in business matters. The two had been messmates during the Blackhawk War, and Lincoln counseled Reed through bankruptcy proceedings shortly before the latter left for California. According to one historian, Lincoln considered joining the Donner Party, but his wife Mary Todd was strongly opposed to the idea. American history might look very different if the future president and his family had made the ill-fated voyage.
An intercepted letter may have sealed the Donner Party’s fate.
Most historians agree that the Donner Party’s fatal mistake was taking the Hastings Cutoff. It put them almost a month behind schedule and severely depleted their resources before the critical last stage of their journey. But the emigrants might have returned to the main trail if they’d received a letter left for them at the southwestern Wyoming trading post of mountain man Jim Bridger.
The letter was written by journalist Edwin Bryant and addressed to James F. Reed. It warned that the Hastings Cutoff was too rough for the Donner Party’s wagons. But as the trading post stood to profit enormously if the new route proved popular, Reed never received the letter. Both Reed and Bryant later suspected that Bridger had concealed it in order to improve his business prospects.
At least four people were deliberately killed during the trip.
One: Tensions were running high well before the Donner Party was trapped. Around the time they rejoined the California Trail near modern-day Elko, Nevada, a fight broke out between two teamsters over tangled wagons. When James F. Reed intervened, he was whipped for his efforts. He pulled a knife in self-defense, killing his attacker, John Snyder.
Two: Shortly afterwards, a German immigrant named Karl Wolfinger stopped to cache one of his wagons and never rejoined the wagon train. Two men who went with him claimed that he had been killed by Paiute raiders. Months later, as one of the men was starving to death, he confessed to murdering Wolfinger for his gold.
Three and Four: In December 1846, the members of the Forlorn Hope were forced to resort to cannibalism to survive their brutal ordeal. First, they consumed the flesh of five emigrants who had died from starvation and exposure. However, the group had joined with two Miwok men who had refused to eat the dead party members. Still starving, the Forlorn Hope group shot and killed the two outsiders before eating their bodies.
Five: In April 1847, Lewis Keseberg was the last survivor to be rescued. In his cabin he had pistols, jewelry, and gold belonging to George Donner. He also had a pot of human flesh.
Keseberg claimed that George’s wife, Tamsen, had given him the valuables for safekeeping shortly before she died. However, his rescuers accused him of murder and nearly lynched him. For the rest of his life, a cloud of suspicion hung over Keseberg. Rumors circulated that he preferred human flesh to beef, and that he had once claimed that Tamsen Donner’s liver was the “sweetest morsel” he’d ever tasted.
The Mexican-American War delayed rescue efforts for the Donner Party.
After James Reed killed a man in self-defense, he was banished from the wagon train. Forced to leave his wife and four children behind, he rode ahead on horseback. He made it down the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in late October and organized a party to bring food and supplies to the emigrants. Unfortunately, he was turned back by deep snow.
At this point, most of the able-bodied men in Alta California were caught up in the Mexican-American War. Reed traveled to San Jose to try to raise another rescue party, but volunteers were hard to find. Beyond that, communication lines were down and roads throughout the region were blocked. It wasn’t until February 1847 that he was able to round up enough men and provisions to head back into the mountains.
Most of the snowbound emigrants were children.
One of the saddest facts of the Donner Party’s story is that more than half of the 81 people trapped in the camps were younger than 18 years old. Six of them were infants. Mothers, fathers, and older siblings were forced to make terrible choices to protect their youngest family members.
In the most famous case, Margaret Reed made the agonizing decision to leave behind two of her four children when they proved too weak to make it down the mountain with the first rescue team. Eight-year-old Patty said, “Well, mother, if you never see me again, do the best you can.”
Thankfully, the second relief effort, led by Patty’s father James Reed, arrived shortly thereafter. All four Reed children were lucky enough to survive. The doll that Patty brought with her to California is currently on display at the Emigrant Trail Museum at Donner Memorial State Park in Truckee.
One determined savior went through a grueling process to rescue children.
John Stark was a stout and sturdy settler from California who went along with the third relief party in the March of 1847. Accompanied by two other rescuers, he found a small group of emigrants who had been left behind in the mountains by the last relief effort. Two of these emigrants were adults, while the other nine had been children.
While his fellow rescuers each grabbed a single child, Stark wasn’t going to leave anyone behind again. As the children were too weak to walk, Stark would haul up two children in his arms and trek a few yards before returning for the next pair. He traveled back and forth again and again under the weight of multiple children and his already heavy provisions. He did this heroic and exhausting task until he led the group all the way back to safety.
There were far more male casualties than female in the Donner Party.
Of the 35 members of the Donner Party who perished in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, 25 were male and 10 were female. The discrepancy can be attributed to numerous factors. First of all, women generally have higher levels of stored body fat and lower metabolism rates. The men were also in a weakened physical condition after performing backbreaking labor during the trek along the Hastings Cutoff.
It should also be noted that the mothers and wives of the Donner Party fought ferociously to protect their families. In one particular act of incredible sacrifice, George Donner’s wife Tamsen sent her children off with rescuers while she refused to leave her dying husband’s side.
Nearly all of the solo travelers perished.
The Donner Party was made up of 12 families and 21 individuals. Only six of the solo travelers—many of whom worked for the families—are known to have survived the frozen pass. Two families escaped the adventure fully unscathed, while the other 10 lost a combined 23 loved ones. Although that number is much higher, only 25% of the members who were a part of a family on the trail were lost, while over 70% of those on their own were killed by cold, starvation, or violence.
SOURCE: history
By Dave Adams | Updated Feb 11, 2020 | Published Jan 17, 2019
Peanut Butter Balls! This recipe comes from my namesake, so these are a no-bake treat. I’ve seen different variations on these, including melting the peanut butter first—too fussy for Aunt Pat. Or, melting an entire bag of chocolate chips and dipping the balls instead of drizzling the chocolate—oh hell no, she’d say! TOO MESSY! But the options are always yours.
Aunt Pat’s Peanut Butter Balls
Ingredients
4 cups powdered sugar
½ cup butter, softened
2 cups peanut butter, regular or chunky
3 cups Rice Krispies
2 cups chocolate chips: your choice, semi-sweet, milk or dark
Cream the powdered sugar and softened butter. Add the Rice Krispies, mixing by hand. Shape the mixture into 1-inch balls and place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet. (If you choose to dip the balls into the melted chocolate instead of drizzling the melted chocolate over the balls, refrigerate so they are firmer before you dip.) Melt the chocolate chips in a plastic bag in the microwave for easier clean-up (a MUST for Aunt Pat’s recipes). Snip off the tip of the bag and drizzle the melted chocolate over the balls.
Another variation is to put the melted chocolate right into the balls instead of drizzling it on or coating the balls
The mythical Blue Glaucus, or Glaucus atlanticus as known by its scientific name, is a small-sized blue sea slug species. It has distinctive dazzling blue hues that have garnered it plenty of attention in recent years. These colors have also inspired a series of nicknames, such as blue dragon, sea swallow, and blue angel.
The species is a master of disguise. The Blue Glaucus uses its brilliant colors to camouflage with the ocean and sky, though it sometimes washes up on beaches and surprises swimmers. It has a reputation for being both angelic and deadly and is best known for eating venomous prey and stealing their toxins.
Characteristics & Appearance
Weight & Length
The Blue Glaucus’ small size belies its dangerous reputation. It may reach lengths of up to three centimeters at maturity, weighing anywhere from just three to one hundred grams.
Physical Characteristics & Color
The Blue Glaucus’ body features a type of coloration known as countershading. Its dorsal side is silvery grey, while the ventral area is dark and pale blue, and its head is covered with dark blue stripes. This coloration affords it valuable protection from predators both above and below it as it floats on the ocean’s surface. The deep blue color may also help reflect harmful UV rays.
Additionally, the Blue Glaucus has a flattened, tapered body, along with six appendages that branch out into finger-like cerata–eighty-four to be exact. Cerata are long, slender structures used to sting when hunting or when the Blue Glaucus feels threatened. It also has radular teeth resembling a knife’s serrated edge.
Though quite content to merely be pulled by the ocean currents, the Blue Glaucus can move of its own accord. It gets around slowly, either by swimming or propelling its body. It can drive its body using muscular contractions or the millions of small hairs on its fleshy foot.
Lifespan & Reproduction
Life expectancy for the Blue Glaucus ranges from between one month to one year.
A curious detail about this sea slug is that they are hermaphrodites, meaning they produce both eggs and sperm. But despite this fact, they still have to mate with another slug to produce viable eggs. Their mating habits resemble those of their hunting habits: the Blue Glaucus simply floats along until they find a mate. Reproduction is an act they must engage in carefully to avoid getting stung by their partner.
They have long, curved S-shape bends in their penises that keep them safe while mating, which results in the release of strings of twelve to twenty eggs. Another curious fact about their reproductive habits is where they lay the eggs. Blue Glaucus often deposit them on the carcasses of their prey. Otherwise, they leave eggs on any other floating mass they encounter.
Habitat
Blue Glaucus are pelagic fish, which means they live in ocean areas that are neither close to the bottom nor the shore. They are found worldwide, dwelling in waters in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. However, it seems that their habitat is expanding. There have been many reports of Blue Glaucus sightings in areas not traditionally associated with the species. Some such examples are on the east and south coasts of South Africa, in European waters, near Mozambique, and off Australia’s east coast.
Where Do Blue Caucus Live?
The Blue Caucus prefers to float upside down on the surface tension of the ocean. They swallow air bubbles and store them in their gas-filled sac to maintain buoyancy, and they let the winds and ocean currents carry them. At times, they float to the sand on the bottom of the ocean floor. Sometimes the winds carry them to undesired locations, namely shores where they can become stranded and die. Beachgoers are increasingly finding the Blue Caucus on their vacations.
Food & Diet
This species is a foraging predator with an impressive appetite. It’s quite comfortable feasting on creatures many times its size, thanks to its rasp-like tongue. Its diet consists of other pelagic species.
What Do Blue Glaucus Eat?
While there are many curious things about the blue dragon, perhaps the most curious is what it eats. Its food of choice is a venomous and feared cnidarian, the Portuguese man o’ war. This poisonous ocean drifter looks like a jellyfish, and it has a fearsome reputation.
The Blue Glaucus not only eats it, but it also recycles the stinging cells from the Portuguese man o’ war to use as their own protective devices. The blue dragon has hard disks inside its skin and a protective layer of mucus that protects them against these stinging cells–of which it can amass a significant amount.
For this reason, the Blue Glaucus poses a much greater threat to humans than the Portuguese man o’ war. Picking one up may result in a painful sting and symptoms similar to those of its prey. These include nausea, vomiting, and pain. But like other sea slug species, the Blue Glaucus itself isn’t venomous.
If the Blue Glaucus can’t get its hands on the Portuguese man o’ war, it will consume other pelagic species like the by-the-wind-sailor velella, the Blue Button, and the violet snail (or the common purple snail). Cannibalism is also common, and these slugs won’t hesitate to eat other Blue Glaucus if the opportunity arises.
Threats & Predators
As is true for most marine animals, the Blue Glaucus faces several different threats to its existence.
Human Threats
Human threats represent a significant danger to the Blue Glaucus. In recent years, the internet has caused the species to become very popular, although its fame has been detrimental.
Many people want to add them to their aquariums, leading to an increase in their appearance in the exotic pet trade. However, keeping the Blue Glaucus as a pet is impractical because of its diet. Obtaining the number of Portuguese man o’ war they need is impossible, and those kept as pets often starve to death.
Fun Facts About Blue Glaucus
A group of blue glaucus floating together is referred to as a “blue fleet.” It’s not uncommon for these groups to wash up on shore and sting unsuspecting swimmers.
Blue Glaucus are appearing in regions where they have never been seen before. Scientists theorize that these new movements may occur for several reasons, such as cyclical changes in the Portuguse man o’ war populations, warming oceans, and increased storm activity.
The venom of the Blue Glaucus remains active even after it dies, which is something to keep in mind if you run across one on the beach.
The mysterious “Lady in White” supposedly roams the corridors of the Chico Hot Springs Hotel in Pray, scaring guests and staff members. People have reportedly seen the ghost of a woman in white, many times leading them into room 349, only to find an empty rocking chair swaying back and forth. Her rocking chair is sometimes found in other rooms as well, always facing the window, no matter the position the last person left it in.
Nebraska: The Hatchet House
The urban legend of the “Hatchet House” of Portal reminds us of those scary ghost stories we used to tell each other at camp. As the legend goes, a school teacher from long ago went insane and decapitated all her students in the one-room schoolhouse. Afterward, she placed their heads on their respective desks and took their hearts to a nearby bridge, throwing the organs into the water. People say you can still hear the hearts beating if you cross it, hence the name “Heartbeat Bridge.” We dare you to try it.
Nevada: The Aliens at Area 51
Publicly known as the place where the military tests out some of its most advanced weapons and technology, conspiracy theorists and urban legend die-hards suspect that it’s also where the U.S. government stashes the UFOs it doesn’t want us knowing about.
New Hampshire: The Legend of Chocorua
Mount Chocorua was named after a native American chief who lived in the early 1700s. Legend has it that he left his son with the Campbell family while he went away on tribal business. While under the family’s care, the son died (perhaps accidentally, perhaps not). To exact revenge, Chief Chocorua killed the white man’s wife and children. Then the surviving Campbell chased Chocorua to the top of a mountain and shot him dead, but not before the Chief had placed a terrible curse upon the land. It is said that the land, now known as Chocorua Lake Conservancy, will inflict suffering and death on anyone who tries to live there or drink from its rivers.
New Jersey: The Ghost Boy of Clinton Road
The ghost of a young boy is said to reside beneath one of the bridges on this road in Passaic County in northern New Jersey. According to legend, he’s quite helpful, not to mention honest: If you drop a coin into the water, he will return it to you within 24 hours. It has become a rite of passage for local teens to go test it out.
New Mexico: UFO Crash at Roswell
In 1947, something big, really, really big, crashed on a ranch northwest of Roswell. Members of the U.S. military quickly came to retrieve the debris, which led some to believe that it was something they wanted to cover up—a UFO, perhaps? Adding to the mystery, Jesse Marcell Jr., son of one of the military officers charged with clearing the site, later described the debris he saw his father bring home as being made of lead foil with “I”-beams. According to Roswell UFO Museum, “He recalled the writing on the ‘I’-beams as ‘Purple. Strange. Never saw anything like it … different geometric shapes, leaves and circles.’” The U.S. government maintains it was a weather balloon that crashed, but urban legend tells a different story …
New York: The Legend of Cropsey
Staten Island’s “Cropsey” has been a local legend for decades, gaining national attention when the documentary of the same name was released. The story goes that Cropsey had a hook for a hand and was a patient at the Willowbrook State School. He would come out late at night to hunt and chase local kids with his hook hand. In truth, a series of child murders did take place in that area of Staten Island in the 1970s and 1980s.
North Carolina: The Beast of Bladenboro
Many regions in the United States have their own urban legends of a story about a mutant creature in the woods who kills viciously and indiscriminately. In North Carolina, it’s the Beast of Bladenboro, described by locals as a panther-like, bloodthirsty killer lurking in the darkness. It is said to have attacked numerous dogs and even people. Watch your back!
North Dakota: The Miniwashitu
Next time you’re on the banks of the Missouri River in North Dakota, keep an eye out for the Miniwashitu of North Dakota, a giant, red, hairy monster with sharp spikes along its back, a horn and only one eye. If you look at it, blindness, insanity and even death are said to soon follow. So on second thought, don’t keep an eye out for it!
Ohio: Gore Orphanage
In the 1800s, there was a deadly fire at the aptly named Gore Orphanage in Lorain County. Tragically, every single orphan in the institution perished. Locals say if you visit the site where the orphanage stood, you can still see the ghosts of the dead children, hear them playing or smell their burning flesh.
Oklahoma: Shaman’s Portal
People have allegedly disappeared into thin air upon setting foot in these dunes in Beaver Sands, also known as Oklahoma’s Bermuda Triangle. It’s believed that a UFO crashed here, opening a door to another world.
Oregon: The Bandage Man
The ghost of a man who was supposedly chopped into bits at a sawmill terrifies Oregon residents and urban legend believers to this day. They call him the “Bandage Man,” because, well, his entire body is wrapped in bloody bandages. Mostly, he is said to attack people who drive through or park their cars in Cannon Beach.
Pennsylvania: Eastern State Penitentiary
The Eastern State Penitentiary of Pennsylvania is a real place that was shut down due to its exceptional cruelty toward inmates. Each cell and chamber has its own set of hauntings and terrible tales, and walking through it is supposed to feel like walking through the pit of hell itself. If you’re the type who likes to experience the macabre, you can take a tour on Halloween. You must sign a liability waiver before entering, though.
Rhode Island: Fingernail Freddie
If this sounds familiar, it’s because the Rhode Island legend of Fingernail Freddie is supposedly the inspiration for The Nightmare on Elm Street. In this version, Fingernail Freddie is a wild woodsman with insanely long fingernails who comes out at night to attack campers with his talons.
South Carolina: The Legend of Lavinia Fisher
Known as America’s first female serial killer, Lavinia Fisher was certainly not dainty about her kills: In the 1800s, she and her husband John ran an inn, where they had the unfortunate habit of killing off many of their guests. They would poison them, then when the poor person had fallen asleep, drop them down a trap door. One victim managed to escape, and the two were found out, resulting in their execution. Now people say the ghost of Lavinia Fisher haunts the Charleston jail where she was executed.
South Dakota: Walking Sam
Walking Sam of South Dakota is a bit like the notorious figure from the Slenderman video games: an unnaturally tall, skinny and creepy character. Those who cross his path are induced to commit suicide, and his favorite prey is young teens.
Tennessee: Skinned Tom
As the story goes, in the 1920s, a young man named Tom once took his lady friend to the local Lover’s Lane. He didn’t know it, but the woman he was so enamored with, was, in fact, married. Her husband found the two canoodling in their car, murdered the wife and then skinned Tom alive. Folks say Tom still hangs around Lover’s Lane, ready to kill those who dare to commit adultery.
Texas: The Lechuza
In South Texas, after you’ve had a beer or two, you’ll need to be on the lookout for the lechuza. Depending on the version of this urban legend being told, this incredibly large owl is either a brouha’s (witch) or a familiar woman by day, bird by night. Her child was killed by a drunk, so she is on the prowl, looking to take revenge on bar patrons stumbling out onto the street after closing time.
Utah: The Curse of the Escelante Petrified Forest
Visitors to Escelante Petrified Forest in the Black Hills of Utah are cautioned to leave what they find behind. Legend has it that anyone who takes so much as a rock or a piece of wood will suffer intense misfortune. Car accidents, broken bones and even job loss are said to have befallen those who dared to ignore the warning.
Vermont: The Brattleboro Retreat Tower
Built as part of an insane asylum in the late 1800s, the Brattleboro Retreat tower was soon closed off after a number of patients supposedly committed suicide by flinging themselves from the top. The tower remains standing today, and people say that if you dare visit it, you’ll see ghosts plunging to their deaths over and over, like an old tape replaying itself.
Virginia: Bunny Man Bridge
As the story goes, in 1904, some of the most dangerous patients from an insane asylum in Clifton, Virginia, were being moved to a prison when the bus crashed on Fairfax Station Bridge. The inmates attempted to escape, but only one was successful. He left a trail of dead, skinned, half-eaten rabbits, hanging many from the bridge that was the scene of the crash. Then on Halloween night of that very same year, several teens hanging out under the bridge were attacked at the stroke of midnight—and met the same fate as the bunnies.
Washington: Maltby’s 13 Steps to Hell
In Maltby Cemetery in Maltby, you’ll find a set of 13 steps leading down into an underground crypt. Urban legend has it that anyone who makes the regrettable decision to climb down those steps will be met with a vision of hell so terrifying it will drive them to insanity.
West Virginia: The Mothman
Yes, this is the same “Mothman” from the movie, The Mothman Prophecies. The final scene of that movie is a retelling of a take on an event that actually happened in 1967: The Silver Bridge that connects Point Pleasant, West Virginia, with Gallipolis, Ohio, collapsed at the height of rush hour, killing 46 people. According to legend, it was the Mothman, the great bringer of death, who caused the accident.
Wisconsin: The Bloody Headstone at Riverside Cemetery
This urban legend tells of a local woman by the name of Kate Blood (fitting, right?), who is said to have killed her husband and three children, after which she committed suicide. Her headstone at Riverside Cemetery in Appleton allegedly drips with blood every full moon. (Though if you do visit, a glance at her headstone will quickly debunk the legend: She was outlived by her husband and her only child.)
Wyoming: The Jackalope
The large bunny creature with antelope horns is a well-known character in Wyoming’s culture, history, landscape and urban legends. Some people say they’ve most definitely seen it, while others shrug it off as fairy tale. What do you think?
No matter where in the United States you’re from, your home state is sure to have its share of urban legends and urban myths. These scary stories aren’t just for Halloween; they’re whispered between campers, passed from town to town and reserved for nights when the power goes out. Urban legends may be spooky stories, but they aren’t necessarily ghost stories. They could have happened to someone you know, a relative or friend. These are the stories that make you do a double-take when you walk past abandoned places or make you check to make sure your door is locked when you’re home alone. Be careful next time you’re driving the back roads of America. You never know what scary urban legends you might encounter.
Alabama: Huggin’ Molly
The legend of Huggin’ Molly is clearly a tool used by parents to get their children to obey the rules: The story, native to Abbeville, tells of a phantom woman who appears to children if they stay out late at night. She grips the lingering child tightly and screams in their ear—she’s not meant to cause death, just one heck of a fright. Sounds like something straight out of a horror movie!
Alaska: The qalupalik
The qalupalik, an Inuit version of a mermaid or siren, calls with a hum to children who are wandering too close to the seashore, then takes them away in her baby pouch. The greenish, womanlike creature will never return a child once taken into the depths. Sounds like a good way to convince your kids not to go in the water, if you ask us.
Arizona: Slaughterhouse Canyon
Also known as Luana’s Canyon, the urban legend of Slaughterhouse Canyon tells the gruesome tale of a 19th-century gold miner who failed to come home to his family one night. Without his earnings, the mother and her children couldn’t buy food and began to starve. When she couldn’t stand it any longer, the wife chopped her kids into pieces, tossed them into the nearby river and died of despair. Her cries can still be heard echoing through the canyon.
Arkansas: The Gurdon Light
Like many urban legends, the story of the Gurdon Light has several variations. In one, a railroad worker was hit by a train and decapitated. His spirit can still be seen today, searching for his lost light. In another, the railroad worker bore a violent grudge against his boss who had fired him. He murdered his former employer with a railroad spike, and the victim now wanders the tracks. While the Gurdon Light is well documented, no one has been able to offer an explanation as to what it really is …
California: Char Man of San Antonia Creek
Per local lore, a father and son were trapped in a horrible fire. The father perished, and before help could arrive, the traumatized son lost his mind. He skinned his father and then ran into the forest. Now, known forever as Char Man, his blackened, burnt body is said to attack motorists on Creek Road in Ojai as he seeks more human skins.
Colorado: The Ridge Home Asylum
The Ridge Home Asylum was a real facility that opened in Arvada in 1912, but it’s become an urban legend because of its history. It reportedly housed patients who were horribly mistreated—some of whom weren’t even mentally incapable but had just been forsaken by their families. Though it was demolished in 2004, people say they can still hear the screams and see the apparitions of former patients on the grounds.
Connecticut: Dudleytown
The misfortunes that have occurred in Dudleytown, starting in the 1700s, are so terrible and numerous that its nickname is “Village of the Damned.” The now completely deserted town is said to have been home to many suicides, disappearances and even demonic activity that have given rise to several urban legends. It is believed that the founders of the village—and by extension, the village itself—are forever cursed.
Delaware: Fort Delaware
A prisoner camp during the Civil War, Fort Delaware in Delaware City was ultimately home to more than 30,000 Confederate soldier inmates. The few thousand who died before they could leave the Union fort are said to still haunt the area.
Florida: Captain Tony’s
Since 1852, Captain Tony’s, the oldest saloon in Key West, has been known to be haunted: Doors slam for no apparent reason, and there are inexplicable banging noises and frequent ghostly visitations. Perhaps that’s because it’s the site of the town’s original morgue and was built around a tree that the town once used for hanging pirates.
Georgia: “The Song of the Cell”
As urban legend goes, in 1848 Elleck and his wife, Betsy, both slaves, were in their home one night when their master, drunk and belligerent, crashed open the door. He attempted to attack Betsy, but Elleck fought him off. Undeterred, the master chased Elleck up a ladder into a loft. As the struggle continued, the master lost his balance, fell out of the loft and died. Even though Elleck turned himself in to the sheriff the next morning, explaining that what happened was self-defense, he was still charged with murder (par for the course in the antebellum South). Elleck was imprisoned in the Old Lawrenceville Jail and later executed unjustly for the crime. People say they can still hear his sorrowful song traveling through the walls of the old jail.
Hawaii: Pali Highway
Pele, the Hawaiian volcano goddess, has many myths attached to her name. One tells of her ill-fated union with the demigod Kamapua’a, who was half-pig, half-human. The two supernatural beings had a terrible breakup, agreeing to never see each other again. That’s why, as urban legend has it, if you carry pork with you when you travel over the Pali Highway in O’ahu, your car will come to an inexplicable halt. Next time you’re in the area, we advise sticking to chicken!
Idaho: The Water Babies of Massacre Rocks
This urban legend is about starvation and infanticide, so if you’re squeamish, you may want to skip ahead. When famine hit the local area of Pocatello, mothers resorted to drowning their babies in the rivers instead of letting them starve to death. It is said that those babies turned into fish-like imps whose new mission was to trick, or even murder, people.
Illinois: Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery
Often referred to as one of the most haunted graveyards in America, this 82-plot cemetery is known as the home of many phantom sightings. People who have visited the site have seen numerous inexplicable illusions, from a ghostly “White Lady” to an ephemeral white farmhouse.
Indiana: 100 Steps Cemetery
If you visit this cemetery in the town of Brazil and climb the 100 steps in the total darkness of night, urban legend has it you’ll see the ghost of the original caretaker appear before you on the top of the hill. Apparently he will give you a preview of what your own death will look like!
Iowa: Stony Hollow Road
As the saying goes, a woman scorned is not someone you want to mess with. Lucinda of the town of Burlington is no different. Legend says that when her fiancé failed to meet her there as promised one night, she threw herself off the bluffs along Stony Hollow Road. Ever since, her ghost has appeared to countless people. What’s (much) worse, if she leaves a rose at your feet, you are destined to die within 24 hours, or so the story goes …
Kansas: Molly’s Hollow
The urban legend of Molly’s Hollow speaks to the country’s racist history. As the legend goes, when the local townsfolk found out that Molly, an African American woman, was involved with a white man, she was lynched. People claim her spirit is still there, screaming at night.
Kentucky: Hogan’s Fountain
In Cherokee Park, you’ll find Hogan’s Fountain, which features a statue of Pan, the pastoral yet devious Greek god. At every full moon—some versions say every night at midnight—the figure of Pan wanders the park, causing mischief for passersby.
Louisiana: The Carter Brothers
Back in the early 1930s, a young woman escaped from the home of the Carter Brothers in New Orleans with slash marks on her wrist. She told the police that the brothers were feeding off her blood. The cops stormed the French Quarter residence where they found more young women in similar states, their blood draining from their bodies. The brothers, now thought to be vampires, were captured and executed, only for it to be discovered years later that their crypts were empty.
Maine: Seguin Island Lighthouse
Like many urban legends, the one in Maine has to do with isolation. As legend has it, in the 1800s, the caretaker of the Seguin Island Lighthouse and his wife were the only two people living on the tiny spit of land. They naturally grew increasingly bored and isolated. The caretaker bought a piano so his wife could play it to keep them both entertained, but she only knew one song. The insufferable repetition of the same tune, combined with severe isolation, drove the husband mad. He took an ax, chopped the piano and his wife into bits, and then killed himself. Or so the story goes …
Maryland: Bigg Lizz and the Greenbrier Swamp
During the Civil War, Bigg Lizz, a very large woman, was a slave who became a spy for the Union troops. But her espionage was found out by her master, who decided to exact revenge. Urban legend says he took Bigg Lizz to Greenbrier Swamp so she could help him bury a treasure. Bigg Lizz dug the hole, and was subsequently decapitated by her evil master, who threw her body into the grave she had just unwittingly dug for herself. It is said that if you travel to that spot during the dead of night, you will see her spirit there, attempting to lure you into the murky swamp.
Massachusetts: The Ghost of Sheriff George Corwin
When you think of haunted locales and birthplaces of urban legends in the United States, Salem is no doubt one of the top places that comes to mind. A key character in the Salem Witch Trials, Sheriff Corwin was the most infamous and brutal when it came to interrogating and handling accused witches, earning himself the nickname “The Strangler” for his torturous methods. A building called the Joshua Ward House now stands on top of the land where Corwin lived and died, and many people say they’ve seen him in the windows or even felt his hands pressing down around their necks when they’re inside the space.
Michigan: The Nain Rouge
This is one of the urban legends still recognized today, celebrated by the people of Detroit every year. They say there’s a devilish creature, known as the Nain Rouge (French for “red dwarf”), who causes mayhem in the city. He’s thought to be seen when disaster is about to strike and is even said to be the reason for the Cadillac company’s downfall in the city.
Minnesota: The Wendigo
The wendigo is a creature of Native American folklore that is thought to be the result of cannibalism. A person will turn into a wendigo, a fang-bearing creature that is tall, skeletal and hairy, if they resort to eating another human being. Will you fall prey to the glowing eyes and snake-like tongue of the wendigo, or is it just an urban legend?
Mississippi: The Witch of Yazoo
While living on the Yazoo River, an old woman allegedly lured boatsmen to their deaths with her magic. One day, the local sheriff chased her into a swamp, and as she drowned in quicksand, she put a curse upon the town. In 20 years, she said, she would return to set the city aflame. Eerily, in 1904 the city was hit with a massive fire, believed to be the work of the witch. The next day, when people went to visit her grave at the Glenwood Cemetery, they saw that the chain links around her grave had been broken. Or so the urban legend goes …
Missouri: The Landers Theater
The Landers Theater in Springfield is supposedly beyond haunted: From fires to stabbings to accidental deaths, this theater has seen it all and has many urban legends to tell. Locals and performers have alleged that they’ve seen the ghosts of the people believed to have perished there, including the janitor who was said to have died during a 1920 fire.
The Galapagos Islands are home to some of the strangest and most unique creatures on earth. For what appears to simply be an unassuming little bird, there’s a lot of competition to stand out.
This ground finch makes sure to fit in amongst this archipelago of misfits by drinking the blood of other birds, and is therefore known as the vampire ground finch.
The vampire ground finch can be found on the Galapagos islands, which are located around 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador.
The vampire ground finch looks a lot like any other finch. You may mistake the red stain on its lips for berry juice, but this one really does have a hankering for bird blood.
It used to be considered a subspecies of the sharp-beaked ground finch, however strong genetic evidence suggests they are not closely related and they are considered their own species.
These are a vulnerable species, endemic to only two islands in the Galapagos, and they’re at risk of extinction from a new parasite.
However, they do appear to be adapting quickly and living up to their names as one of the 13 species of Darwin’s Finches found in the archipelago.
Here are some cool things about Vampire finches.
Interesting Vampire Ground Finch Facts
They like to drink from boobies
Let’s get this one out of the way, shall we? The vampire ground finch is peculiar in its choice of diet; part of which comes from the body of red, masked and blue-footed boobies. These tiny finches have been seen pecking at the skin of the boobie and ‘milking’ them for their blood.
This is where the name originates and is a behavior that – so far – hasn’t been seen in any other bird species. They seem to do it during times of drought, and for some reason, the boobies don’t seem to mind.
It’s possible that this behavior originated from a form of commensalism in which the ancestor of the vampire finch would pick off parasites from the boobie, and gradually evolved into cutting out the middle-man entirely. The finches then capitalized on an alternative food source!
While this is a mild irritance for adult blue-footed boobies, it’s potentially deadly for young chicks.
Vampire ground finch also eat eggs
While not exclusive to this bird, this is quite unusual for a finch.
This little vampire rolls eggs out of the nest by slapping their beak into the ground and pushing with their legs.
They occupy two islands
These finches are found on two islands in the Galapagos: Darwin and Wolf. Their habitat is greatly restricted and they’re unable to take on long flights, so each population has to stay put.
Each population has a different song
Strangely, both populations have their own song.
Much like its namesake, the Wolf Island population has a long and melodious call. In contrast, the Darwin population have what’s been described as a buzzing call.
They’re troubled by flies
Among the invasive species that threaten the ground finches of the Galapagos, a particular parasitic fly that was thought to have been introduced in the ‘60s has proven to be one of the most destructive.
These flies infect baby finches, and in a cruel twist of irony, parasitize them, often killing them in the process. This botfly is called the ‘avian vampire fly’, and threatens to wipe out populations of finches all over the Galapagos.
They contributed to the theory of evolution
Some people think the word theory means a simple idea, but in science, it refers to a form of robust and well-examined consensus.
Much like the theory of gravity, the theory of evolution was developed as an idea and then modelled and studied thoroughly into what we consider about as certain as we can be on any topic.
Legendary naturalist, Charles Darwin, had one of his most groundbreaking discoveries of evidence for evolution on the Galapagos, and much of his studying revolved around these finches.
These finches have become known as ‘Darwin’s Finches’, of which there are 13 species – the bloodsuckers being one of them. Each species evolved a different bill size and shape, which allows them to exploit different diets and food.
The vampire fly is forcing the vampire finch to evolve
Evolution isn’t a conscious adaptation to circumstances; it’s simply the product of useful random mutations, that happen to come in handy and then get passed on, or ‘selected for’.
The invasion of these vampire flies has been shown to affect the young of finches with lower levels of brood care instinct. That means females who naturally want to spend more time with their young are reproducing more successfully.
Over time, this trend may push out inattentive mothers and genetically reinforce those who show improved brood care as the genes that predispose the birds to this behavior faced with these selective pressures, changing the genetic buildup of the finch population and hopefully cementing this adaptation to the invasive fly problem.
They have unusual guts
Every animal on earth has at least billions of microbes living in its digestive system that help break down what they eat into useful building blocks. Different bacteria allow for different types of food to be broken down. For example, a cow has bacteria that produce the enzyme cellulase, which breaks down the cell walls of plants, and is how they manage to extract the protein for all that muscle only from grasses and herbs.
As any dog owner will recognize, dogs don’t have these bacteria, which is why when they eat grass, it comes out undigested; all stringy and gross in their poo. So, the bacteria in our body determine what we can eat, and finches are no different.
It’s been found that almost all of Darwin’s finches have very similar ranges of these bacteria living inside them with one exception: the vampire finch.
This bird has microbiota that are much more common in predatory birds and reptiles and goes a long way to explaining how they’re able to digest such unusual food.
Cotton bedding might help vampire ground finch conservation
One of the many suggested resolutions to the vampire fly/finch struggle is to infuse a type of cotton with an insecticide. The cotton is then supplied to the finches as nesting material and can kill 100% of the parasitic flies in the nest.
You might be wondering why conservationists are favoring one vampire over another, but it’s important to remember that the flies are an invasive species, and these can wreak havoc on local populations that have never had time to adapt to equilibrium with them; especially on islands – just ask New Zealand!
Most authorities agree that the name topaz comes from Topazios, the old Greek name for a small island in the Red Sea, now called Zabargad. (The island never produced topaz, but it was once a source of peridot, which was confused with topaz before the development of modern mineralogy.) Some scholars trace the origin back to Sanskrit (an ancient language of India) and the word topas or tapaz, meaning “fire.”
The ancient Greeks believed that topaz gave them strength. In Europe during the Renaissance (the period from the 1300s to the 1600s) people thought that topaz could break magic spells and dispel anger. For centuries, many people in India have believed that topaz worn above the heart assures long life, beauty, and intelligence.
The name for imperial topaz originated in nineteenth-century Russia. At the time, the Ural Mountains were topaz’s leading source, and the pink gemstone mined there was named to honor the Russian czar. Ownership of the gem was restricted to the royal family.
The name topaz has been used for any yellowish gemstones for at least two thousand years. Gem traders did not know that these yellowish stones were actually different minerals until about two hundred years ago. Gem traders recognized that quartz, beryl, corundum and olivine all had yellow variants and were not true topaz and that topaz could be other colors not just yellow. In addition, the island Topazios, after which the gemstone has been named, never produced topaz, but was a source of peridot, or olivine often confused as topaz. The island is now called Zabargad Island.
Ancient Egyptians believed that yellow topaz received its golden color from the Sun God, Ra. The ancient Greeks believed that topaz gave them strength and topaz is mentioned in the modern translation of the bible, although the word probably referred to a yellow stone, not necessarily true topaz.
During the middle ages, the main source of topaz was from a deposit in the Erzgebirge Mountains in Germany. Hundreds of kilograms of yellow to brown topaz crystals were mined from the deposit. Then in the 1730s, a large topaz deposit was discovered in the Minas Gerais region of Brazil. During this period, Brazil was a colony of Portugal, so in 1768, the Portugese Government officially recognised the deposit as an important commercial mine, and most of the gems were transported back to Europe. Brazil remains the largest producer of Topaz in the world.
Gem quality topaz was first found in Australia as a by-product of metal mining operations. In 1872, tin was discovered in the New England area of New South Wales and mining commenced shortly afterwards. When the miners concentrated the alluvial material, sometimes they found pebbles of topaz. Waterworn topaz was found associated with gold, tin and wolfram deposits throughout eastern Australia.
Sew Colorful 