Halloween Monsters and Urban Legends II

This second installment of Halloween Monsters and Urban Legends is brought to you by the letter W, and the number 100. As in 100 blogs for you to hop, here. But first, check out what I have for you and don't forget to comment with your own Monster or Urban Legend. It can be a little known one, or one of your own manufacture. There are prizes for the best three, as selected by the judges. The winners will be announced on November 2nd.

WEREWOLVES

Much of what we know about werewolf mythology was actually added to the traditional tales after the 19th century, like its vulnerability to silver, its supernatural strength, size and speed, and even its famous nemesis: The Vampire. Lycanthropic tales are common to most European countries, from Greece to Slovakia. Since, across the world, the only cultures that seem to lack a lycanthrope are those where wolves didn't roam the lands, modern studious of the phenomenon rationalize the stories as the inevitable result of a world where deathly wolf attacks where a common occurrence. There are also those who argue the myth surged as a way to justify the horrific acts of serial killers like Peter Stumpp, a German farmer and alleged killer and cannibal, also known as the Werewolf of Berger, that was executed in 1589.

In any case, early tales of lycanthropy describe the affected as impossible to differentiate from regular wolves, when in that form, but for the fact that they had no tail and retained their human voice. As humans, there were a few signs that could out the creature like a unibrow, but were otherwise utterly regular folks. The curse was brought about as a consequence of committing despicable acts, like killing children or cannibalism, and could be lifted if no other act of violence against humans was committed for ten years. It was also said that if the corpse of a werewolf wasn't burn upon death, it would come back to live and feed on human blood, effectively turning into a vampire!

THE CLOWN STATUE

The friend of a friend who used to babysit as a teenager once told me a pretty freaky story that happened to her. Her clients were a wealthy couple that lived in a huge house in the outskirts of town, a very peaceful place but quite out of the way. Anyway, on this night the parents had some posh dinner in the town and they called the girl to take care of their two kids while they were out. Since the house was pretty large and adorned with many expensive heirlooms, the couple had strict rules about her wandering in the house.  She was supposed to stay in the family room, which was right next to the kitchen, had an awesome flatscreen TV, and everything she needed to pass off the hours quite comfortably.

The kids were very nice and, after a full day of activities and school, soon they were tired enough to go to bed. She then took residence on the room designated by the parents and proceeded to watch TV. After an hour or so, she started feeling really uncomfortable and there, in the corner, she discovered an ugly, bulky clown statue. It looked like a grotesque antique piece from the 20's, all grimy and covered in what looked like oil.

The hair on the back of her neck stood on end and she couldn't shake the feeling that the thing was looking at her. She tried to ignore it, just concentrating on her TV show, but to no avail. Finally she gave in. She hid in the kid's bathroom, telling herself she was insane for thinking the statue could hear her, but she did it nonetheless. When the call went through, the father answered on the other side of the line.

"Hey, it's Sarah. Look, I'm sorry to call you up like this but that clown statue you have in the family room is giving me the creeps. Would it be okay if I move it to another room or just stick a blanket over it?"

After a long pause, he replies, "Okay, Sarah. I need you to get the children, put them into your car, and take them to the nearest house. When you're there, call the police. We're on our way."

"Wait--why?" She asked all worried.

"We don't have a clown statue."