I consider this category the 'bread and butter' of UL's. These tales offer horror in its most simplistic and purest form that gets delivered straight to the heart like an adrenalin rush. They form the backbone to most modern horror stories, with the modern slasher/horror films heavily dependent and influenced by UL's. These tales survive the hands of time because of one basic reason; they make 'good story telling'. A Cub Scout Campfire would be meaningless without at least one of these UL's been told while heating marshmallows over the open flames! Also, after the campfire in the tent with your friends, while huddled into your sleeping bag, you would be telling me a 'porky pie' if you claim that you have never laid awake once the darkness of night has settled in, replaying the stories like an old 'B' Movie in your mind. Dark shadows slipping over the tent, the 'hoot' of an owl followed by scuffling noises from the nearby wood. Are those footsteps you can hear? Is that a hook you can make out from the shadows crawling across the canopy?

After reading the 'Bloody Mary' story I dare you (no, no - I double dare you) to repeat the name 5 times while looking in a mirror. You know it isn't real, but bogeymen do exist, and are lurking somewhere in the back of your mind. UL's tap into this basic fear and exploit it, and that is what makes them so effective.