<div class="text-justify">The horror stories told around a campfire have always been a good way to scare people. Normally they are stories and urban legends passed from one to another, and have become as well known as any movie or horror novel. We just know them because we've heard it somewhere. Some of these urban legends and stories have a real origin, and in some cases it is quite interesting to know where. We show you some of the best known urban legends and where they came from.
<center></center>
___
# A killer in the back seat
Surely this story sounds to you. A woman travels at night and looks in the rearview mirror. You can see a car behind that sticks to it in a dangerous way. The car does not stop following and also starts to give the lights. The scared woman stops at a gas station to ask for help against this person who haunts and harasses her. The woman asks the assistant for help, until the person who pursues her arrives. That's when he tells her that he had a person in the back seat with a knife and tried to warn her.
<center></center>
The Origin - There are many of these stories that began in the 1960s, where the victim was always a teenager driving home or a woman returning from a party. There are many variations of history, although the basis is true. For several years, there were many cases of criminals who infiltrated the back seat of cars to rob drivers. This created a phobia in the United States that made everyone look in the back before starting the car.
___
# The ghost hitchhiker
This is another of those urban legends that exist throughout the world in various ways. The most well-known story tells of two men who are driving and see a young woman walking on the side of the road. They pick it up and climb in the back of the car. The girl tells them that she only wants to go home and gives them the address where she lives. Then she falls asleep. When they arrive at the address that has been provided, the girl is still asleep so they decide not to disturb her. They knock on the door of the house for a family member to wake her up and take her to her room.
<center></center>
A woman opens the door of the house and is surprised by what men tell her. He tells them that his daughter has been dead for years. When everyone returns to the car the girl is no longer there. The only thing that there is is their clothes. Of course, there are other stories that tell that the girl warns them of a dangerous curve. When the girl passes by, she is gone. Then they learn that the girl died years ago in an accident in that same curve.
The Origin - This is one of the urban legends with more variations. The story seems to be from the 19th century when there were only horse-drawn carriages. In almost all the versions that are known, the girl had died when returning home in different ways. In the majority they agree that the girl left things undone in life so she continues to wander the road. Interestingly, this urban legend has not born only from a specific country. Countries like Romania, Sweden and even some Asian countries have this legend in particular.
___
# The dog that licks the hand
<center></center>
The story says that a person listens to strange sounds at night. The person is usually a young girl, a boy or an older lady depending on the version. This person is with his dog in the room and to calm down he makes sure that the dog is nearby. He removes his hand from the bed and the dog licks it. This makes the protagonist of the story stay calmer. This process is repeated throughout the night. When he wakes up in the morning, the dog is not there. When you leave the room you find the whole family murdered and the dog hanging from a lamp. It was the killer who had been licking his hand all night.
The Origin - This urban legend is also from the sixties and used to be a favorite to tell in campfires. However, the origin seems to be in a story from 1870 where a jewel thief was stealing a house. The owner woke up and the thief licked his hand to pretend to be his dog. This allowed him to escape without the owner discovering it.
___
# The hook
Two young lovers are in their car parked in a rest area. While they are kissing, the radio reports that a crazy killer has escaped from a psychiatric hospital. The only way to recognize him is that he lacks a hand and usually replaces it with a large metal hook. The girl is scared and tells her boyfriend to block the car doors and close the windows. Even so, he continues to be afraid, so he asks her to leave. The angry boyfriend agrees to leave the place. When they arrive at the girl's house, they realize when they get off the car that a hook is hanging from the door opener.
<center></center>
The Origin - This story has mostly its beginnings in the forties, where couples who went to lonely places had a time of terror. There were several deaths carried out by a former military man named Clarence Hill, who went to rest areas to commit his crimes against the couples who were there. He did not have a hook, but he shot them through the window. This fear moved to the urban legend that we all know today.
___
# The nanny who is not alone in the house
This is another of the stories that most know. A teenager stays in one thing taking care of three children while the parents go out to dinner. The afternoon passes quietly and the caretaker beds the children. Then he picks up the phone and calls some friends to pass the time. At night the telephone rings and on the other side of the line there is a sinister voice. He asks the nanny if he has checked how the children are doing. After several calls like this, the nanny calls the police. When the police locate the stranger's call, they tell the nanny that she is calling from that same house. The nanny is horrified without knowing what to do.
<center></center>
The Origin - The movie "When a stranger calls" used this urban legend for his argument. Many say that it is one of the most honorable that exist and there are several versions of it. In many cases both the children and the nanny end up murdered by the person they have called. It seems that the story comes from several attacks that had nannies between the fifties and sixties. This, coupled with the idea of ββan adolescent taking care of defenseless children has made history become one of the most terrifying of all.</div>