The birth of a legend: I like to backpack camp, and one of my favorite places was near a huge pack-in campground in the mountains outside of a large city. I was sort of a semi-official "host" of the area, and I would often meet other hiker's, inc. lots of girl and boy scout groups. I know a lot about wilderness camping and was often asked questions about the local flora and fauna, trails etc. One day, back in circa 1980, bored, I told some boy scouts a "legend" that I made up as I went along. It had lots of the common scary campfire monster story elements, climaxed with the kicker--a headless man (whose body was discovered I said in 1903) who roams the area looking for his lost head. I strated telling this story to various people I met in the mountains. I always related it as something that was told to me by old-timers, always adding something like "of course I don't believe it, but strange things ARE heard and seen in these woods". Over the next few years I probably told this story to 40 or 50 people. It took awhile, but about 15 years later, people started telling ME about the headless man. The legend I created. My crowning glory came when a local U.S.Forest Service publication mentioned it in an article about that area. As with many if not all legend hoax's, I heard embellished versions--that people had been found murdered in that area, all with their heads missing, that the headless man was almost captured once, that he had been shot repeatedly with no effect, that he was caught and buried but came out of his grave, stuff like that. 1 guy even swore that his grandfather had related that legend--MY legend--to him when he was a child. Indeed. I've omittted the location because I don't want to spoil it. But everyone knows a headless corpse can't be re-animated and roam about. Right?
I think the 2 replyers missed my point. My point was how I created a legend, which is now part of the local lore, and some people accept it as an old legend but I made it up in 1980.
here here dopesick. i find it interesting that with all of the threds going on around here (many dumb indeed) somehow this.... "legend" would br your fifth post. it's kind of a folksy piece about working through inferiority by artificially inflating ones own ego. this isn't even an antecdote. what are you trying to not spoil? the ending? the headless guy is still walking around? what.... whats that over there.... BOO!!!! we have the same story in the woods near where i live, in fact i made it up also... inly difference is is was a healess coed, i caught her, had my way with her, and now shes wandering around looking for back child support.....
you lied to all these people when you told them this bucket of horseshit when did I ever claim to be the king of ganja ever? I only picked the damned name cuz it sounded cool.....damn people
I thought there would be people here who had a sense of humor, who had been camping, who knew about the tradition of telling scary ghost stories on a camping trip. Instead I get attacked. Not too hip. The point was not the content of the story. It was about how a legend can start and get passed around. Some people need to get a life outside of ragging on others on the internet. Don't you have anything better to do with your time?
