4. Slender Man

Legend: A slim, tall, faceless man in a suit randomly terrorizes children and others.

Reality: Unlike most of the other cases here, this is an instance of life imitating art. In other words, the legend was not based on a real incident, but a real incident resulted from the legend. In 2014, a pair of 12-year-old Wisconsin girls, apparently believing that Slender Man was real, allegedly sought to appease him by murdering another 12-year-old girl. They reportedly lured their prey into the forest and left her for dead with 19 stab wounds. According to 12-year-old criminal defendant Morgan Geyser, “It was weird that I didn’t feel remorse.” (source)

5. Frozen Woman

Legend: A woman falls unconscious outside in frigid weather, is frozen solid, then miraculously thaws out and comes to life again.

Reality: In 1981, a 19-year-old North Dakota woman named Jean Hilliard fell unconscious in 22-below-zero temperatures and froze to the point where she was stiff “like a piece of meat out of deep freeze.” She was rushed to a hospital, where the attending physician described her as “frozen stiff, literally.” Her body was so frozen that a hypodermic needle failed to pierce her skin. Yet she eventually thawed out, resumed consciousness, and recovered fully. The doctor described it as a “miracle.” (source1) (source2)