Did you hear the one about the fraudulent gas pumps? Or the one about LSD tattoos? Urban crime legends seem to circulate for decades, getting updated by new generations and creeping us out all over again. But while the tales themselves are gripping and chilling, their backstories are often even more fascinating. When stripped of its street cred, the most fantastic urban lore reveals its humble origins.
1. The Not-So-Good Samaritan Tire Changer
This story takes place at the Tuttle Crossing Mall in Columbus, Ohio, in April 1998. A female shopper left the mall to return to her car and found she had a flat tire. As she began to fish around for her car jack, a man in a business suit approached her and offered to help. She gratefully accepted, and they replaced the flat tire with her spare.
When they were finished, the man asked the woman for a ride to his car, which he said was parked on the other side of the mall. Even though he had helped her, his request made the woman slightly uncomfortable, so she politely declined. When he became insistent, the woman grew fearful, told the man she had more shopping to do, and fled back to the mall, where she reported the incident to security officers.
The security officers escorted the woman back to her car, but the man was nowhere to be found. Since her deflated tire still needed to be repaired, the woman drove to a nearby garage, where the mechanic told her that the tire had been slashed with a knife. While she was talking to the mechanic, she noticed that the man had left his briefcase in her trunk. She opened it, and the only things in it were some rope and a butcher knife.
