A Backcountry Nightmare: The Hook Man Legend Was Real, Something Circled Our Campsite, and a Haunted Pekingese

About this episode

This episode features spine-tingling stories about childhood trauma, urban legends, and terrifying camping experiences.

Hey, it's Michelle, and this week's four calls span a childhood spent finding comfort in the strangest of places, the true and unsolved crime behind one of America's most famous urban legends, two hours of being circled in the Oregon wilderness, and a dog who came with a previous owner attached. Now available as a full video episode on both Spotify and YouTube for the first time. Erica from San Diego, now living in Eastern North Carolina, returns with a story she says slipped her mind until recently. Growing up in an abusive household, she would retreat to a closet space in her bedroom during her parents' worst fights. There, a girl named Sally would find her. Elongated face, dark hollow eyes with no visible whites, an expression stuck in a permanent frown; she should have been terrifying. Instead she offered comfort, always asking if Erica was okay, always encouraging her to go play outside with the other kids. Erica still knows every child she grew up with on that block. None of them remember a girl named Sally. Bobby from Little Rock, Arkansas shares his grandmother's firsthand account of where the Hook Man legend actually came from, and it is not the urban myth everyone…

People in this episode

Host: Michelle Newman

Guests: Erica, Bobby, Rob

Topics covered

• ghost stories
• urban legends
• childhood trauma
• camping experiences
• mystery
• fear

Keywords

• ghost stories
• urban legend
• childhood memory
• camping nightmare
• Phantom Killer
• mystery

Mentioned in this episode

Places: San Diego, Eastern North Carolina, Little Rock, Texarkana, Eugene, Cascades

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