Long Awaited News - New Website - THE HORROR GROVE

 It's been a while my fellow Urban Legends and general all round horror afficionados! 

After starting this page to share my takes on some well known Urban Legends a very long time ago, I've decided to pick this little hobby back up and will be migrating most of this content to a new home:

www.thehorrorgrove.com

I'll be copying over my current Urban Legend stories (with some tweaks, but not too many to completely change those stories) and adding more content, reviews and horror items!

I look forward to seeing you guys over there, please come visit!

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Nightmare Fuel

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I’d been looking forward to this evening all day. I’d given my new mattress time to expand and settle and my god was I ready for a great night’s sleep.

The evening shift had been a nightmare, so walking through my house I swear my bedroom was almost glowing, my new mattress sitting proudly on the bedframe. All it needed was the new duvet set I’d bought as a payday treat.

‘Bella!’ I call for my cat to join me, she loves biffing at the sheets as I make the bed, diving inside the duvet and refusing to move when I’m finished playing.

No response. Typical.

As I grab the new sheets from the hall, I can see that she’s had a to-do with the old mattress. It’s leaning against the wall, only now it has fallen victim to my mini predator, innards and safety tag laying on the floor nearby.

Making a mental note to clean it up later, I move into the bedroom to set up my paradise for the evening.

As I begin to unravel the bedsheet, I hear something moving in the hallway.

‘Bella, leave it alone’ I sigh, assuming she’s gone back for another fight with the mattress.

Turning my attention back to the bed, I lean across to pick up the corner of the mattress, and I hear the door creak open - not unusual when your cat has privacy issues.

The light flickers, and I turn, expecting to see Bella.

Instead, all I see is Him.

He has no name, yet he’s always there in my dreams. He has an expressionless face, wears black overalls, and chases me each time through the same old farmhouse. Yet this isn’t a farmhouse and I’m not asleep.

I’m just standing there, looking at him. I pinch the outside of my thigh, to check I’m definitely awake, the pain snapping my brain back into action.

Most adults would probably confront an intruder, not me. Like a child, I dive onto my bed, and pull the duvet up to my face.

A few minutes go by, and I hear movement in the hallway again.

I bring the duvet down to my neck, to see if I’m delirious or if this is really happening. I slide off my new bed and take a step towards the door, leaning to see into the hallway.

He’s ripping open my old mattress.
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Rings (2017) Review

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1/5 STARS

So. First you watch it, then you die...
Credit: IMDB

This newest installment in the Ringu franchise is a confused, and ever so slightly boring foray into the depths of Samara's Well with a weak script and mostly unknown actors that can't carry the film's lack of originality.

We start off on a plane with a man giving an in depth explanation of the doomed tape, presumably to catch the new generation of teens up on the storyline (well, The Ring 2 was released in 2005). When Samara catches up with him, the tape starts to play on all of the screens across the plane, which makes me wonder - did the plane crash? Did all of those passengers get their 7 days? I'm supposed to be concentrating here - let's get back to the review.

Moving on, we see Johnny Galecki and a gloomy looking girl acquire a VCR from a garage sale with a brief shout out to the dearly departed plane guy we just saw. As you can predict, inside the VCR is a copy of the tape - he points this out to Skye (the aforementioned gloomy girl, played by Aimee Teegarden) and here we find out he's a Professor named Gabriel.

Long story short, he watches the tape.

But wait, here's another cut to Julia (Matilda Lutz) and Holt (Alex Roe), a couple of teens in love spending their last few hours together before he goes off to college and she... stays at home for her mother? This isn't really ever expanded on.

You can see where this is headed. Holt goes off to college and tells Julia about his Modern Biology class but that the rest of his classes are uninspiring. After not hearing from him for a while, she's woken up from a sexy dream by a video call, oops it's Skye calling!

Julia travels to find Holt, and after some sleuthing, finds her way into Gabriel's lab (well, it looks like a 90s hacker den crossed with a nightclub) where we see distorted images and countdown timers against people's names (yes, Holt is one of them). Looks like Prof. Gabriel is conducting some scientific research into Samara and the afterlife (where did that funding come from?!) - don't get your hopes up though, this exciting new take on the story is short lived.

We see Skye freaking out because of the tape, and Prof. Gabriel tells her to calm her shit, make a copy and have someone else watch it.

Julia ends up back at Skye's house and manages to get in touch with Holt who tells her to NOT watch the tape. Samara comes to bump off Skye (and is a flickery mess whilst doing so) and Holt turns up to explain everything to Julia (including that he's watched the tape himself).

As is expected, Julia secretly watches the tape in order to save Holt and receives the ominous phone call on an old house phone (do people still have these?), coming away with a burn on her hand. We travel back to Prof. Gabriel who explains his research a little more and tells Julia to make her own copy. As they try to copy the file, we find out it's too big to duplicate because more video has been added (how or why, we never find out), a video within a video... videoception.

Here is where any interesting premise the film may have had, disappears and we begin the long, boring journey of watching a samey remake of the 2002 film starring Naomi Watts. We see some casual grave desecration, a bit of chatting to a weird blind guy and breaking and entering into a Church.

Along the way we see some attempts at introducing some scares (because a CGI-heavy scene involving Samara has done nothing to cause any alarm) with a Don't Breathe esque mad-man, that doesn't quite hit the spot. A few cheap jump scares here and there (umbrellas, eels - you catch my drift) do nothing but annoy when their source material (The original Ringu (1998)) is so frightening.

It soon becomes apparent that Samara will be saving our main character from harm so that she can give Samara her freedom. Do we just gloss over the fact that Samara has killed many, many people prior to this? Surely we're not feeling sorry for this sodding wet villain... right?

Oh, I spoke too soon, after a brief shower scene involving a hair ball, Holt finds out the burn on Julia's hand is actually braille and turns to the internet to decipher what it means. We see Samara's true plan and right on cue, the tape is sent via email to hundreds of people and a few comments back about 'uploading' the video right away. Finally, a 2 second reference to the age of technology that we live in. Really, in a world with a powerhouse like Youtube, we'd all have seen that tape before the movie even began.

I just hope we don't have another of these to sit through in the future (but we probably will get one anyway).

Credit: IMDB



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The Dark Tapes (2017) Review

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3.5/5 STARS
There have been many trends within the horror genre: teen slashers; zombie invasions; vampire bloodsuckers and the trend that's possibly enjoying its swan song - the found footage film.

We've seen it all right? 

Michael McQuown's The Dark Tapes hopes to breathe fresh air into the lull of quality found footage horror (The Gallows anybody?), and for the most part, achieves its objective.

The film features three tapes played between a wraparound story (the wraparound directed by Vincent J. Guastini).

The first tape The Hunters and the Hunted" begins as generic found footage101 but when the action really gets going, BAM!, a brilliant topsy turvy set of events will leave your mouth wide and your head nodding in approval. 

The acting here is the poorest of all of the tapes but if you look past the performances, this one really does well to flip the generic Paranormal Activity trope on its head.

Up next, Cam Girls centres on Caitlin, this one filmed through a laptop screen focusing on the her video conversations with friends and clients. A slow burner at first, this tape does well to unnerve and I found myself watching through my hands towards the end. 

This tape brings some good ol' horror sex appeal and great acting from Emilia Ares Zoryan.



Rounding out the trilogy is Amandas Revenge - the best of the three films by a mile, with strong acting all round. 

After a party gone wrong, the tape's title character begins to experience terrifying activity through the night and when attempts to best the villain(s) fail, she begins to train her new found strength into escaping their unwanted attentions. With a touching relationship between the two main characters, this tape left me wanting more - and could easily be expanded upon as a standalone film.

The three tapes are nestled into the wraparound tale, which is both confusing and fantastic. It evokes paranormal frights and a creature feature in one, managing to keep the frights coming thick and fast right until the end. 

McQuown has created a great anthology here and has done well to break away from the tide of low effort found footage frights (not the good kind) that we've seen of late.

If you're stuck for a friday night film, this one will do the trick.

The film is available in the USA on Google Play, Vudu, inDemand , Dish TV, Amazon, Vubiquity, Xbox, Playstation, Sling TV, and Vimeo. 

For outside the USA you can watch on Vimeo.com and is coming soon on iTUNES, Google Play, Xbox and Playstation.
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Response to recent 'Slender man' attack on a young girl.

Hey guys, 

I'm sure a lot of you will have seen the news story about the young girl horrifically attacked by two friends in response to the 'Slender man' (Link to story) 'legend' posted on another horror story site (Creepypasta). Whilst I need not comment on the situation itself except to send my thoughts to the victim and her family, I must urge those of you reading the legends on my site to keep in mind that whilst we all enjoy a scary tale or two, these are all purely fictional.  

Please don't take the stories too seriously.

Keep safe out there! 

-Kay
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The Letter "D"

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Continued from 'Blue'


Jane froze at the sight of the balloon, marooned on her gate. Tentatively she stepped towards it, brows furrowed, pulling her jacket around her closely. 

She reached the gate and looked towards both sides of her street. Nothing. The guy had followed her home, that much was true but she didn't understand what his objective was. He could have just been a creep trying to freak her out but in this age, he could be dangerous or at least intending on doing something malicious. 

She strode over to her door, opened it as quickly as her shaking hands would allow and threw her bags into the hallway, slamming the door behind her. Picking up her handbag, she emptied it on the floor and her phone crashed to the ground. She slid her finger across the screen and watched as it dialled Lisa's number. 

"Hey there sugarbum" Lisa joked, waiting for the purpose of the call to be announced. 

"Where are you guys, that guy from earlier followed me home. I don't want to be alone" Jane whispered, not really knowing why.

"We've just paid... Are you sure?" came the reply.

"I'm sure Lisa, hurry home" Jane said, ending the call and gathering her bags. 

She sat in the kitchen, waiting impatiently for her friends to return home so she could either take her mind off the guy or at least feel safer. After what felt like an eternity, she heard a key being inserted into the front door and the friendly faces of Lisa and Laura greeted her from the hallway. "This was randomly tied to the gate" shrugged Lisa, dragging the ominous blue balloon behind her. 

"That's what I'm talking about, the guy who was following us earlier, he was carrying that balloon" Jane shot back, not understanding why they weren't taking this as seriously as she was.

"What guy Jane? Are you ok?" frowned Laura.

"Yes I'm fine, except for the fact that this huge guy was following us around all afternoon holding THAT balloon and when I get home THAT balloon is tied to my gate" she retorted, all patience lost.

"Ok, so we'll call the police if we see him again but we didn't see the guy Jane" Lisa hugged her, trying to calm her down. "Let's have a drink and then we'll take all the stuff upstairs" she continued, turning to Laura with a puzzled look on her face. 

They sat down whilst Laura found an open bottle of white wine sitting in the fridge, emptying it into three glasses for them to take the edge off the situation. They sat and enjoyed the wine, the balloon floating slowly across the floor. One bottle turned into two and soon enough, the tall man had been forgotten, replaced with an impromptu fashion show starring the three tipsy ladies. 

Jane, having been handed a little more wine than the other two, had pulled on her new glitzy gold dress and slipped on Laura's stilettos. She began to strut across the kitchen floor, pouting every few seconds to make her friends laugh. The shoes were a little too high for her however and as her feet found the string from the balloon, she felt herself slip and she crashed to the floor.

"Oh jeez, Jane are you ok?" worried Laura, with Lisa laughing in the background. She rushed to her side, pulling her up. 

"I'm fine" Jane laughed, standing herself up and kicking off her friend's shoes. "Help me carry this stuff to my room" she motioned to them both.

They each picked up a few bags and chuckled their way to the stairs. Lisa led the way, turning on the light to the hallway as night had drawn in. "It's cold up here, we should put the heating on" she noted, turning to Jane and Laura. "It is on" Jane replied, still laughing with Laura. 

They reached Jane's door but all three of them stopped. The air was freezing and none of them wanted to open the door. They looked at each other, confused as to what it was holding them back. The tipsy giggles left Jane and the events of the day came rushing back to the forefront of her memory, filling her with dread.

"Guys, stay there" she said, giving them her bags.

Placing her hand on the door handle, she took in a breath and pushed the door open swiftly. Nothing. They all laughed in unison, "Damn Jane, you have us all paranoid" Lisa joked. Jane turned to to push her friend but missed as Lisa had moved and flipped on the light to her room. 

As the light flooded the area, Jane went to grab the bags from her friend's hands when she realised they were just standing open mouthed staring at her. Frowning she asked "What?". Their reply was to continue staring at her, faces seemingly white. She realised that they were not staring at her, but behind her and it dawned on her. He was here.

She slowly turned to face her fate and was relieved to find noone behind her. Her relief was quickly replaced with fear as she saw what had grabbed her friends' attention.

Her eyes scanned the letter 'D' painted across her wall in red paint. At least, she had hoped it was red paint.
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Blue

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"Just a hot chocolate please" Jane requested, smiling at the thought of warming up with a hot drink on the girls' day out shopping. Her friends Laura and Lisa were waiting with their drinks at the other end of the counter. They'd planned a guiltless day of shopping stopping only for food and drink. 


Picking up her finished beverage at the drink station, whipped cream and sprinkles included, they scanned the shop for an empty table. "Ah the window seats!" exclaimed Lisa, an unapologetic people watcher. They made their way through the crowded store and fell into the chairs arranged by the window. 

After a few moments of sipping and relaxing, the girls began to compare their purchases from the past couple of hours. Jane pulled out a sparkling gold dress that she'd found in the sale, not her usual attire but at the price it was selling for she had to take it. "That's something I'll be borrowing" winked Laura, who had her new stiletto shoes in her lap for them to admire. 

As more garments were being pulled from bags and shown off at the table, Jane gazed out the window. People were rushing by, oblivious to each other, bumping around with noone really noticing anyone else. Typical of a city centre, everyone in their own world making a beeline for their next purchase. Just as she started to turn back to the mini fashion show, a man caught her eye. He was unnaturally tall and very thin. Just standing there, holding a blue coloured balloon on the other side of the walkway. At first she assumed he was just waiting for someone but he himself seemed to be watching everyone.

"Earth to Jaaaaane" Lisa mocked, poking her in the side.

She pulled herself away from the window and turned back to her friends. "Where's that sweater you found?" Lisa asked, pointing to Jane's bags. 

Jane smirked, knowing that Lisa would try to borrow it all the time but it was so soft that she'd be hiding it in her closet. She pulled it out and handed it over for her friends to admire. After they'd recapped on all their purchases, they drank up and gathered their things ready to head back out and continue with their trip. 

They had browsed through a few shops and were about to enter a beauty store when Jane stopped at the entrance. The others carried on ahead until they realised they'd lost a member of the group. They turned to see Jane staring away from the store. "Jane, what are you doing?" they chorused, to no reply. 

She was watching him again, the tall man from earlier. She'd forgotten about him before but she was sure he had been following her around. Now he was only a few shops away, watching her. His face was obscured by the hat he was wearing, pulled down and covering his eyes in shadow. She only glanced away as her friends tried to drag her inside. "No don't, that guy has been following us around all day" she pointed. Her friends peered around the doors to the store, "What guy?" they asked in unison again. 

"Him, with the balloon" she pointed him out again but the others couldn't seem to see who she was referring to. They both waltzed back into the store, leaving her at the door, just watching the man with the balloon. Whilst his face was obscured, she was sure he had started to smirk now, sending a chill down her spine as a result. 

She frowned and darted into the store, trying to put the man out of her mind for the rest of the trip. After a few more hours of wandering around the shopping centre and buying bits and bobs, she made her way home without her friends as they decided to dash to the supermarket to grab food for dinner.

As Jane rounded the corner towards their house, she realised that after the beauty store the man had disappeared. It relieved her to think that it was just a creepy guy who got bored once she decided to ignore him. She stopped at her front door and tried to grasp her keys from her handbag without putting all her shopping down. Once this attempt had failed she admitted defeat and let all her bags drop to the floor, accidentally dropping her handbag with them. Sighing, she bent down to rummage for her keys amongst the sea of receipts and old sweet packets. After a moment or two she found them and stood back up to let herself into the house, ready to fall onto the couch and maybe have a little nap. 

As she pushed the key into the door, a strange squeaking noise coming from behind startled her. The hairs on her arms stood on end and she closed her eyes wishing it was just her imagination. As she reopened them, she tilted her head to the side so she could see who was behind her in the reflection of the glass in her door. Heart beating fast, she swirled to meet the stranger behind her and was met only by a single blue balloon, tied to her gate.

See the next installment- The Letter 'D'


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30 Day Challenge Update

Just a quick update to say I haven't forgotten about the stories! Having some issues with the site and with sorting out personal life shenanigans but all the stories will be coming asap! 

-Kay
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Right

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The car shuddered to a halt on the dusty track belonging to the cabin. A typical sight, logs here and there with various trophies displayed on the walls. Unfortunate for the animal but a staple for any log cabin enthusiast, something Carl loved to hate every time his father, Dan, guilted him into a father-son weekend. 


He hadn't been too keen on the weekends for a long while. As a child the adventures were exhilarating but now he would rather hang out with friends over a cold one... or ten. His father still came once or twice a year though, albeit alone. The lakes were great for hunting and he preferred the peace and quiet away from the bustle of town life. 

Glancing toward the cabin, he spotted his father waving him in from the crooked front porch. He waved back, and pulled his keys from the ignition. Watching Dan re-enter the cabin, which Carl thought of more as a shack with its less than practical design, he pulled his dufflebag from the passenger side seat and slid out of his truck. 

He took his time, merely ambling toward their home for the weekend hoping that the experience wouldn't been too excruciating this time. "Finally Boy, I was about to come drag you inside myself you were walking so slow". Rolling his eyes Carl responded, "Well we aren't all go getters like you Dad". Silence followed, but only briefly as his father let out a slow laugh and then patted him on the shoulder. 

"Well then let's get started shall we?" his father suggested. 

"No Dad, I've literally just arrived. Can we just chill out for a little while, y'know, relax?" Carl was fatigued from the drive up and fancied a little nap by the fireplace for an hour or two. 

"Fine, fine" Dan replied, both of them settling down by the hearth. Pulling out two bottles from his bag, Carl tossed one to his father, "Cheers" he winked and they began to drink in silence. 
                                                              ***

"Carl, wake up we need to get going if we're going to get anything done at all this weekend."

"CARL"

He'd heard his father the first time, he wasn't even truly napping. Just stalling for time but the proverbial bull had reared its head and so he tackled the situation head on. 

"Dad, do you think you could just, not, this time". He asked, knowing the retort that was to come.

"What are you blathering about, I have to do it, I always do"

"You don't have to do anything Dad" he said, watching his father disappear down the hallway into the bedroom. He soon emerged, chain in hand. This one looked terrible he thought, assuming his father had arrived a day or two early to find the catch without him. 

He had loved it as a child, every kid wants to be like their dad. Most kids would do anything their dad asked of them and Carl was no different. He adored coming to the cabin to hunt with his father, it made him feel grown up and sometimes he was even allowed half a cup of beer to celebrate the catch. He had matured now though, he was an adult, and he spent all of his time at college. Time that had expanded his horizons and he had realised that he didn't like the pastimes of the past anymore. In fact, they made him feel bad just thinking about them.

"Carl, I don't know what this college business has done to you but you know why I do this and I'd like to think that I don't need to explain myself to my child" Dan responded, almost snapping at his son. 

Looking at the catch for the weekend, Carl saddened. He could see the fear in her eyes, almost pleading with Carl to set her free. From the looks of her spindly legs, she'd wandered into one of his fathers traps that littered the woods. Blood had seeped out and dried, with a glimmer of bone just peeking its way through the torn meat on her leg. She let a whimper of sorts pierce the air, to which his father responded with a sharp slap across the cheek. 

A funny moan escaped her lips and Carl realised his father had cut out her tongue and burned the end, sealing it as to not kill her. He must have caught her today, no-one could survive this for very long. Pulling her brown hair from her face, his father uttered "Not long now pretty lady".

"Dad, please let her go. It's bad to keep doing this. It always has been" he pleaded, which only made the girl cry even more. "She's probably just lost her friends, she doesn't deserve this fate".

"It's not about what is good or bad Carl. It's about what is right" Dan replied as he dragged the girl towards the door, picking up his hunting rifle on the way. "I was chosen to rid the earth of these vermin Carl, you know that. This heathen deserves her fate".

He whispered "Run little lady" as he opened the door and freed her chains. Watching the teenager limp towards the hillside he pulled his gun up to his shoulder and began the chase. 


Flickr User John Kent Title: Middle Tennessee Cabin


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12:01am

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"5 minutes left everyone, find your someone special!"

Sarah rolled her eyes, the University had been extra cruel with her timetabling this year and her exams were to start on the 4th January which not only meant that she was taking a test on a Saturday but that she was also stuck in the library on New Years Eve. Her friends had tried to lure her to the impromptu street party that had sprung up outside the dorms but this exam was much too important. Her first round of exams hadn't gone so well and she was expected to resit in order to catch up. 

She wasn't the only one with her head in the books that night, Amy, her course-mate (if that's what you could call her), was also expected to resit in order to pull her up from a fail to a pass. Sarah had struggled with the workload, leading to her fail, but her fellow library-goer for the night simply never turned up to lectures.

Sarah had hoped that Amy wouldn't base her study operation too close to her own area for the night, expecting that she'd be asked countless questions about course content. Thankfully, Amy contained herself in the private study area, leaving Sarah to revise in peace. A guy Sarah didn't recognise had also entered the library that night but she hadn't seen him since he first arrived a few hours earlier. They'd exchanged polite smiles and left it at that. 

Slamming her hefty book closed on the sleek new tables the University had installed during its "modernisation period", she circled her fingertips against her temples attempting to subdue what felt like the beginnings of a headache. The revelers in the street had increased in decibel as the clock drew closer to midnight, so she stuck her hand into her mess of a handbag and fumbled around for her phone. Locating the device, she clicked in the side button and sure enough the time read 11:59pm. Deciding to at least acknowledge the impending new year, she wandered over to the window to partake in the festivities (even if it was from the silence of the library). 

"3... 2... 1... Happy New Year!"

Making sure she was truly alone in her little area of the library that night, she did a jig of sorts to celebrate the arrival of 2014 and just as quickly regained her composure readying up for the next couple of hours of studying. 

Stealing one last glance at the party in the street, which had broken into song with Auld Lang Syne, she headed back to her table. Spotting her phone dancing around dangerously close to the edge of the table, she realised someone had managed to fight through the millions of phone calls being made at that precise moment and get through to wish her a happy new year. Catching it just as it was about to drop onto the thinly carpeted floor, she frowned at the unknown number message flashing in her hand. 12:01am on New Year's Day, it must be someone she knew,so she slid her thumb across the screen and answered. 

"Happy New Year!" She exclaimed, expecting a familiar voice to identify themselves on the other end to no luck. The crowd had gotten louder with the second rendition of Auld Lang Syne so she blocked her other ear with her finger in an attempt to hear her caller.

"I can't hear you, speak up." she said, frowning at the festivities now. Still nothing. Moving to the corner of the room she could just about pick up a faint thumping noise on the other end. Realising this was quite possibly a pocket dial, she shouted "HELLO" down the phone to try to gain the attention of her midnight dialler. She could just hang up but it was 2014 and she wanted at least one person to talk to for a few minutes. Pushing her call control buttons on screen, she changed the call to speakerphone to try to figure out who it was. 

Almost on cue, the drunken party-goers had grown tired of singing and had resumed normal celebrations for the night. 

Still thumping on the other end of the phone. It didn't really fit the profile of a pocket dial, which usually featured some heavy rustling and voices on the other end. This call was silent except for that thump, thump, thump noise. Resigning herself to defeat, she was about to hang up when a new noise filled the air. A dragging sound.

She frowned. What on earth is this call about? And then footsteps. It dawned on her that someone was dragging something on the other end of the line and for some reason this made her very nervous. Setting the phone back to its normal call mode, she decided to go find her course-mate and get a second opinion. That and to calm herself down. Something just didn't sound right, she didn't know what but it had freaked her out a little.

She made her way across the main library floor to the stairs which lead to the private study area. For some reason she was creeping down the steps one by one but she didn't stop herself. The air felt tense around her despite the celebrations happening outside. She found her way to the area that her course-mate had said she was headed and pushed through the door letting it swing shut behind her, to alert Amy to the fact that she was coming (and partly just to break the silence that was making her nervous). 

Deciding she was only freaking herself out, she called out "Amy" before she came to the private area. Just as rounded the corner, she stopped. Every single hair on her body stood on end and dread filled her limbs. The smiling guy from earlier was dancing around with one of Amy's arms in hand, leaving a dark stain of blood across the carpet as he dragged her.

"You finally joined the party, come, dance."



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January Writing Challenge

The start of a new year brings many resolutions and a popular trend on the internet (I've found) is the 30 Day Photo challenge (take a look- http://www.pinterest.com/cherylebb0819/photo-challenges/ ). As you've clicked through to this terrifying website, it's obvious we aren't here to take pictures or discuss our lives so I've chosen on of these photo challenges and I'll be writing a short horror story on each day starting tomorrow. 

Take a look- 

Not so scary upon first glance but I think we can have some fun with it! Any other horror writers reading right now? Join in! The more the merrier. 

Look for the first upload tomorrow, bookmark or follow to make sure you don't miss out! If you have any ideas for short stories send them in to kay@urbanlegendsandhorror.com and I'll see what I can do!
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Plagiarism

[Visit the new website - www.thehorrorgrove.com]

I've recently become aware that there are a few writers on websites across the internet duplicating my exact stories as if they wrote them. The disclaimer that is located on my site, 'Urban Legends are public domain but my stories are not.' has always been there and they are choosing to ignore it.

If you wish to share what I've written word for word then don't be a douche, leave a link back to my site. That, or at least have the decency to rewrite my story so it isn't exactly the same. My posts were created back in 2010 so there is no doubt as to who wrote the story first.

Copying other writers' work is such a huge issue in the literary field and people like those I've seen across the internet pretending my work is their own are frauds.

Back to my website however, more stories coming soon!

-Kay

Kay from 2023 - rest assured if you see these stories on my new website www.thehorrorgrove.com that this is my new website and i've copied my stories over!
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2 reasons I probably wouldn't survive a horror film.

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Here in Urban Legends and Horror HQ I like to think I'm a little knowledgeable when it comes to the horror genre, I may not bother myself with every horror film I come across but I've seen more than enough to give me a good idea of what to expect of those situations.

So naturally, being a long time horror lover, I just assume that I would ass-kick my way through any bad guy or evil doer without even breaking a sweat. 


This however, would probably never happen.


Reason 1: I am the shower scene girl from any horror film ever.


I may have seen any horror film I could get my hands on and read every single Point Horror book as a child but I also forget this stuff at crucial times. 


Let's take a more or less recent example. Before I moved to my current house, I lived in a tiny cottage with my better half in the countryside. He was at work, it was nighttime and I decided to take a shower. So there I am, in our tiny shower minding my own business. Mid shower I hear a few noises but as a fearless woman I obviously brush them off... I wish. What actually happened was that I promptly turned off the shower, wrapped myself in a towel and crept down the staircase to see what the noise was.


Oh hi there Mister Evil Killer Guy, it's me, half naked shower lady presenting myself for slaughter.


My entire knowledge-base of DOs and DON'Ts of the horror genre literally evaded me that night. What if there actually was a machete wielding hockey player in my living room? Right there I just became the most pathetic death in a Scream sequel.



Typical Shower Scene. GIF source http://scream.tumblr.com/


Reason 2: I am the worst person ever in "crisis" situations.


A lot of horror films tend to feature some typical character roles: the leader, the loner, the beauty, the smart one. Some real worldly situations have taught me that unless I have someone to tell me what to do in a crisis, I probably won't do very well.


Take two weeks ago for example. I'd put the washing machine on and just finished washing the dishes, noticing that the water was draining pretty darn slowly in the sink. I finish up in the kitchen and come back into the living room to watch my boyfriend playing Xbox, casually mentioning that the kitchen sink wasn't draining properly. A few minutes later I go back into the kitchen to check on the water only to find that the sink was overflowing with water all over the floor. What do I do? I shout for my boyfriend. Multiple times. He immediately rushes in to see me, staring at the sink, water flowing everywhere and promptly grabs a few pans and empties the water out of the sink.


My reaction, freeze and call for help. His reaction, actually do stuff to you know, help the situation.


This wasn't the first instance of this happening. We've had a small fire that I discovered in the kitchen and upon my discovery, I shouted for my boyfriend. Our dog ran out of our garden into the street, I shouted for my boyfriend. In horror films, the damsel in distress is mostly always killed pretty quickly, sometimes in a towel because she just climbed out of the shower to investigate a strange noise.


So there you have it, I am one big disaster in crisis situations. I can picture it now. An evil toy clown comes at me with a comically large knife. Instead of dealing with that myself, I call for my boyfrie- Oh wait he killed me already. 



Yeah, he's tiny. And what? Image from: El Grimlock, Deviant Art


There are probably a lot more reasons I'd be a good target for most film bad guys but the good thing about this is, now I know my weaknesses. I can work on them and then promptly begin the ass-kicking if I ever need to. Unless my boyfriend is nearby, then he can do it.


Are there any reasons you wouldn't survive the first act of a horror flick?
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Your Stories...

So for the past couple of weeks I've been ill and my motivation to write has been at a low. I've since recovered and will be trying to get some stuff up for your perusal. In the meantime, if YOU have a scary story or myth to tell please email kay@urbanlegendsandhorror.com and I'll look through any stories submitted and post it on here with full credit and a link to your own blog or website. 

That's IF I get anything in! 

I also have a upcoming project I'll be working on which hopefully people will enjoy. 

So keep an eye on the site, now I'm better I can dedicate some time to my writing!

Hope you're all having a wonderful day!

- Kay
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Films that scare you?

[Visit the new website - www.thehorrorgrove.com]

As horror fans go, I'd say I'm a pretty good one. Whilst I don't watch every single horror film I can get my hands on (whilst most would see this a blasphemous, I really can't watch badly made films - which I suppose a lot of horror falls into) I can say that I've seen A LOT of horror. 

Some may never let their child watch a horror film and yet I was permitted to watch such films at a young age. I guess this led to my fascination with the horror genre, I watched films and not unlike a lot of children/teens my age back then I was a HUGE fan of the Point Horror book series (and Point Horror UNLEASHED for us hardcore horror fans). So after overloading myself with scares from an early age I guess it's safe to say that as of now, I don't really become too scared by horror films anymore.


I guess the last horror film that actually scared me was Paranormal Activity 1. Before the inevitable groan escapes those lips of yours, let me defend myself. I was 19, I had just started University and I only had 1 other girl on my floor. We went to watch the film at the nearby Cineworld and well you know what girls are like. Fear breeds fear and boy was she scared... 


I mean you can hate the PA franchise all you want but when you are lying awake at night all alone and you are replaying the film in your head. Picture the scene of Katie being yanked from her bed by her leg. Really. That nonsense is terrifying and that is all my brain could think of that night.


After the Paranormal Activity incident I've been tense during horror films but never scared. My good friend Jordan keeps egging me on to watch Mirrors which I am yet to indulge in. The problem is, mirrors scare me in real life. Seriously. I expect to see a serial killer in the reflection behind me at all times of the day in my bathroom so I'm not entirely sure if watching a horror film based on mirrors would be a great idea for me...


I feel like  I need a good scaring, I'll hate myself afterwards for it (a horror fan who is terrified of the dark) but this can't be it for me. Almost 23 years into my life and there are no longer horror films to keep me awake at night?


I remember watching Darkness Falls when I was roughly 13 maybe 14. That film ended with me falling asleep in the light beams of my TV on the floor. It has now been uploaded onto UK Netflix... Maybe it's time for a relapse into childhood scares!


If you're reading this and you have *the* perfect film to scare the pants off me do comment or send me an email at kay@urbanlegendsandhorror.com.

- Kay
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Re vamped the site!

After a couple of years finishing a degree along with other distractions, the website is finally back to the top of my priorities list. 

A new look for the site along with a custom URL (www.urbanlegendsandhorror.com) completes the makeover for now. Once I've gathered a story or two to post for your enjoyment the site will be back in regular business.

For now you should enjoy the new look, read my old stories and follow (or bookmark!) so that you have a front row seat for the new wave of stories and articles that will be coming in!

If you are a horror blogger, you have a story you think would fit right in or you just have something to say, feel free to get in touch with kay@urbanlegendsandhorror.com

For now, adios! I've been working on the revamp all day and now I'm about to go play some games.

                                           
                                                                   - Kay
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The Resident Evil Series - Resident Evil: Afterlife

In a world ravaged by a virus infection, turning its victims into the Undead, Alice continues on her journey to find survivors and lead them to safety. Her deadly battle with the Umbrella Corporation reaches new heights, but Alice gets some unexpected help from an old friend. A new lead that promises a safe haven from the Undead leads them to Los Angeles, but when they arrive the city is overrun by thousands of Undead and Alice and her comrades are about to step into a deadly trap.


The Resident Evil (film) series hasn't always had particularly amazing reviews, not unlike many other game to film franchises. 

I guess the best way to approach these films is to not expect a scare a minute type movie. The games had a lovely way of keeping you up for hours after setting down the controller, I have a particular memory of my brother watching me play Resident Evil 3: Nemesis and having to sleep in my room with me because he was too scared to be alone.

The films don't deliver the same tense atmosphere but they are certainly entertaining! Milla Jovovich was a fantastic choice for the title character of Alice and she delivers in every instalment. 

The fourth instalment looks to be as action packed as the first three. I had planned on watching it in 2d rather than in the widely advertised 3d. However, after reading about it in more depth it seems that the film has been incredibly geared towards the 3d showings so I guess it'll be contact lenses at the ready! (Wearing 3d glasses over your regular glasses doesn't seem like a fun way to watch a film).

It seems to be set 5 years after the third film (?) and Alice has journeyed to Alaska (Where the survivors from the previous film flew to 'safety'). The only survivor she finds is Claire with a spider like contraption embedded into her chest (for those of us who played Resident Evil 5 we will know a bit about this little contraption). We find out that Wesker is behind it (more about him below) and they both go about looking for survivors.
We get to see Claire Redfield have it out with The Executioner in a highly anticipated fight scene(don't worry if this doesn't make sense, the trailer is below). It's nice to see that other people get to have more of a hands on role in the film, rather than Alice doing all the work. It's also worth mentioning that Alice no longer possesses her psychic abilities in this film.

With many of the main cast from previous films having been killed off we will also see the return of Jill Valentine who was popular amongst the loyal game fans. 

Albert Wesker has a role in the fourth film too, seemingly being infected (maybe a lá Resident Evil 5 the game?). He shows of his 'kickass' moves in a fight with Claire Redfield and Chris Redfield(!). 
 

It looks like the makers have decided to include more of the games in this next film which is great. Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed Resident Evil: Extinction, the premise that it all took place in daylight completely took any horror element out of the film. The makers did say that it was filmed in daylight as to break away from the usual darkness of most horror films but who's afraid of daylight? 

Hopefully this film will bring back the horror element to the franchise, if not I certainly know that it'll be on action packed ride!
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Tap tap tap...

[Visit the new website - www.thehorrorgrove.com]

Katie and Joe had treated themselves to a lavish dinner for their 1st anniversary. They had been friends since childhood and always found ways to keep themselves amused despite knowing each other for so long. Knowing that traffic was extremely likely on the normal route home, Joe decided to take the deserted long way home, through a dense forested area.


After about half an hour the car slowed to a stop. Looking over at Joe, Katie knew he was being mischievous and gave him a stern look. "Come on Joe, I want to go home, don't you start" she scolded.


"Aww, come on! There's nobody around" he grinned.


He leant in for a kiss but Katie pushed him away, "I don't think so, this may be our anniversary but I'm not about to get it on in your car" she laughed.


"Oh fine, but you owe me" he huffed, jokingly.


Turning the ignition to awaken the car once more, Joe looked puzzled when nothing happened. He turned it again but still, nothing. Rollin her eyes Katie said "Come on, this has been done to death. Get on with it".
"Seriously, it won't start" Joe replied, demonstrating again that the car wasn't responding.


Image from flickr gorchakov.artem title: Gloomy Forest
They were stranded in the middle of a wood with nowhere to go. Both checked their phones, Joe's was dead and Katie had no signal.


After what seemed like an age, Joe declared that he was going to find the nearest petrol station or public phone. Getting her coat ready to go with him, Katie nodded. "No, you stay here and keep warm in the car" he said.


"Are you sure?" she asked.


"I'll be fine, I'm pretty sure there's a station about 30 minutes walk away" he reassured her.


Agreeing to stay with the car, Katie lightly kissed her boyfriend on the lips and settled into the back seat of the car. Slightly tired, Katie decided to have a nap whilst Joe was gone.


Tap, tap, tap. The distinct sound of tapping woke Katie up from her 'nap'. Looking at her watch, she discovered she had been sleeping for 3 hours. Puzzled that it had been so long without Joe returning, she peered out the window. It was night time and the density of the trees made it hard to see anything. 


Worried she climbed into the front seat and tried the ignition one more time, a fruitless attempt she knew but she wanted to at least try. She played a game on her phone for a little while having forgotten about how she had been woken.


About 10 minutes after she began playing, the tapping noise had returned. Tap, tap, tap it went. Not knowing what could be making the noise puzzled her. Shining her phone out of the window, she saw that they were not parked underneath a tree despite the area they were in. 


The tapping noise came and went every few minutes. Getting quite worried, she locked the doors and stopped using her phone. 20 minutes passed before any noise returned, this time however, it was a scraping noise that she heard. This freaked her out, lying down in the seat as low as she could, she closed her eyes and prayed for the noise to cease. 


Knowing that something was wrong with Joe didn't help to ease her anxiety, if he had made it to a station he would have returned by now. 


It had been at least 5 hours since Joe had left and about 2 of enduring the strange noises around the car. She was trying to think of anything just to take her mind off the situation. The noise started up again but was interrupted with flashing lights. 


The light filled the car and Katie sighed in relief, Joe must have gotten help. 


"This is the police, stay right where you are" a loud voice sounded through the air.


Puzzled, Katie wondered what on earth was going on. Unlocking her door she was greeted by a police officer looking pale. She looked around at the other officers and was immediately confused. They were all pointing guns right at her. "There must be some mistake, I've not done anything" she explained. 


"Just come with me, you're not in any trouble" the officer replied gently. Walking towards the cars with him he added "We're going to get you out of here but whatever you do, don't look back towards the car". 


Annoyed that he had said this, she looked like any normal person would. What she was greeted with made her throw up instantly on the muddy road. 


Right there on top of her boyfriend's car was a dirty man holding a bloody axe in one hand and her boyfriends severed head in the other. The noise through the night was him tapping on the roof with his axe. 
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