Everyone knows at least one urban legend. Whether we grew up watchingFreaky Stories,a Canadian show with the tagline “It happened to a friend of a friend of mine” or friends telling scary tales, it’s hard not to be fascinated. Whether shared around a campfire or whispered during a sleepover, teenagers love sharing urban legends, from the man with a hook for a hand who torments couples parked in their car to a hitchhiker who totally disappears.
The cheesy 1998 horror movieUrban Legend, starring Alicia Witt, Joshua Jackson, and Rebecca Gayheart, may be cheesy, but it’s a compelling look at these entertaining, spooky tales. There are several classic and popular urban legends that are depicted in the movie.
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The Dog In The Microwave
Urban Legendcan be considered anunderrated ’90s horror movieas it’s got a main character to root for (Alicia Witt’s Natalie, who looks into the murders at her college campus) and a great premise of looking at urban legends.
Brenda and Natalie’s friend Parker (Michael Rosenbaum) finds his dog in the microwave, a horrifying and sad moment. This moment references the"Microwaved Pet" urban legend. According toUrban Legend Wiki, the legend tells the story of Esther, an elderly woman who loves her dog. After they go for a walk in the pouring rain, she wants to put him in the microwave so he can dry off, but unfortunately and tragically, he dies in a horrific manner. When Parker gets a phone call from the killer, he yells about the urban legend about a babysitter and the killer says, “Wrong legend! This is the one about the old lady who dries her wet dog in the microwave oven.”
Did Soda And Pop Rocks Kill Little Mikey?
While Urban Legend isn’t ameta-horror movie in theScreamtradition, the movie does look at real urban legends and stories that people believe are true. In one memorable scene, Professor Wexler (Robert Englund), asks Brenda if she’ll drink soda and eat Pop Rocks. She freaks out and tells him, “Well, supposedly, your stomach and your intestines and everything bursts.”
This refers to theurban legend of Little Mikey dyingbecause of mixing these two things together. According toThrillist.com, people wrongly thought that John Gilchrist, who appeared in cereal commercials for Life, died from this, which became a problem for the brand.Urban Legendfeatures this urban legend in a death scene as well, as Parker is killed by Pop Rocks and cleaning chemicals after finding the remains of his dog in the microwave.
The Babysitter And The Man Upstairs
There areseveral old slasher horror movies, which includesWhen A Stranger Calls, the 1979 horror classic that depicts the urban legend “the babysitter and the man upstairs.” This story is also used inUrban Legendwhen Professor Wexler mentions it and Brenda says that this really took place in the town where she grew up.
As the story goes, a young woman is babysitting and after she tucks the kids into bed, she gets a phone call from someone who says “Check the children.” This is also an early origin of “the call is coming from inside the house” as the cops tell the babysitter that someone murdered the kids and phoned her from upstairs.
This is a perfect scene as it shows how fast these stories spread and how people really believe them. While audiences know that Brenda ends up being evil and that she’s definitely lying here and trying to stir up trouble, the moment still works. Brenda proves that many people grow up thinking that a scary tale is true when of course it can’t be.
Bloody Mary
Horror fans have definitely heard of the urban legend of Bloody Mary. The idea is that you should never, ever say these words, as you’re just asking to be killed. This story is used in manyslasher horror movies, from the 2006 film simply calledBloody Maryto the third movie in theUrban Legendfranchise which was released in 2005.
When horror movie characters say “Bloody Mary” several times while looking in a mirror, they’re not likely to live very long.Urban Legenduses this tale in a scene when Natalie and Brenda say these words in Stanley Hall, a building on their college campus. While they’re totally safe, this is still an unnerving moment. Bloody Mary refers to theBritish Queen Marywho was burned at the stake for heresy, according toSmithsonian Mag.
Is There A Killer In The Backseat?
While some say that the'90s was a bad horror movie decade, it’s still fun to see which “true” stories are part ofUrban Legend. Perhaps one of the most famous urban legends is the idea that a killer would be in the backseat of a car.Urban Legenduses this story when Michelle (Natasha Gregson Wagner) gets back into her car after getting gas on a rainy night and is murdered by someone in the backseat in the first scene.
Where does this urban legend come from? Many people have said that they heard it happened to someone who they knew, with advice columnistAnn Landers writing about the urban legend, saying that a woman wrote to her and said that her friend experienced this scary incident.
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