Urban Legends: Exploring the Creepy Stories That Freak Us Out

All this October, we've been examining urban legends and other shared tales that get passed around as if they're factual, generally to inspire dread and provide salacious entertainment. We hoping to learn more about how and why troubling, seemingly ludicrous stories like these proliferate, and why we can't get enough of them.

So we're diving into the ways that regional sensibilities morph collective nightmares and stoke conspiracy theories. We how childhood institutions like slumber parties help spread these disturbing tales. We'll look at how the internet became a bastion for myth-telling, whether it's a string-boarded fan theory with scant plausibility or a story about a time-traveling future-dweller who returned with a mission of posting his musings on early 2000s message boards. We'll also bust open some of our most societally entrenched legends and conspiracy theories -- and, yes, that includes the Illuminati.

One piece of advice? Do not, under any circumstance, let the Black-Eyed Children into your home.