141 dossiers

Legend

A story the record cannot date to a specific event but cannot discard either. Legends in this archive are presented as legends — retellings with named variants, not history with better lighting.

By jurisdiction:Hawaii35 Wyoming13 New Mexico8 Arizona8 Washington6 Illinois5 West Virginia5 Oregon5 South Carolina4 Texas4 North Carolina3 Arkansas3 Georgia3 Maine3

High confidence

Flatwoods Wild Man report area

Flatwoods, West Virginia

Town-area setting of a reported 1919 wild-man encounter.

5 claims · 3 legends→

Paulding Light

Watersmeet, Michigan

The mystery light in the woods—since 1966, the debate continues.

5 claims · 3 legends→

Volcanic Crater

Halemaʻumaʻu

Volcano, Hawaii

Kīlauea crater identified as Pele’s home in moʻolelo.

3 claims · 3 legends→

Saddle Road

Cross-island road appearing in pork-carrying and hitchhiker stories.

3 claims · 3 legends→

Puʻupehe

Lanai City, Hawaii

Lānaʻi islet with variant interpretations of its stone platform.

3 claims · 3 legends→

Historic Settlement

Koreshan Unity Settlement

Estero, Florida

Surviving members transferred settlement land to Florida in 1961.

3 claims · 2 legends→

Shanghai Tunnels

Portland, Oregon

Underground corridors where legend says men were shanghaied to ships.

3 claims · 2 legends→

Devils Tower

Hulett, Wyoming

The bear’s lodge—the sacred monolith and the climbers.

3 claims · 2 legends→

Hāʻupu

Kauaʻi peak associated with a guardian giant.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Archaeological Site

Saua Village

Ta'u, American Samoa

Sacred archaeological village on Taʻu.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Volcanic Crater

Leʻahi

Honolulu, Hawaii

Oʻahu crater connected to Pele’s journey.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Haleakalā

Maui mountain associated with Māui snaring the sun.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Puntan Påtgon (Rota)

Songsong, Northern Mariana Islands

Rota endpoint of a giant child’s leap in CHamoru folklore.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Taisamasama

Ta'u, American Samoa

Taʻu coastal waters with yellow-hue traditions.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Kaʻena Point

Waialua, Hawaii

Western Oʻahu point associated with the departure of ancestral souls.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Keahiakawelo

Lanai City, Hawaii

Storied Lānaʻi rock landscape associated with Kawelo.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Polihale Beach

Western Kauaʻi landscape associated with souls’ departure.

2 claims · 2 legends→

As Nieves Latte Stone Quarry

Songsong, Northern Mariana Islands

Rota stone quarry associated with the legendary giant Taga.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Anna Bixby's Cave

Cave-in-Rock, Illinois

Cave associated with documented cultural history.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Railroad Bridge

Avon Haunted Bridge

Railroad bridge associated with documented cultural history.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Witch's Rock

Chrome Hill Road rock associated with Halloween folklore.

2 claims · 2 legends→

USS Harvest Moon wreck

Georgetown, South Carolina

Wreck with stowaway folklore.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Legend Landscape

Bridge of the Gods — Bonneville Landslide

Cascade Locks, Washington

Columbia Gorge landslide landscape linked to Klickitat oral tradition.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Lovelock Cave

Lovelock, Nevada

Archaeological cave associated with a Paiute giant tradition.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Silent Rock

Highway rock associated with a silence-and-bad-luck tradition.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Roan Mountain

Bakersville, North Carolina

The 6,285-foot bald where Cherokee legend says a battle turned the rocks red.

2 claims · 2 legends→

High confidence

Garden of the Gods (Shawnee)

Harrisburg, Illinois

Shawnee’s sandstone fins and the legends of the "Garden."

2 claims · 2 legends→

Seneca Rocks

Seneca Rocks, West Virginia

The Tuscarora fin where Snow Bird leaped for love—or didn’t.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Smoke Hole Canyon

Cabins, West Virginia

The mist-filled canyon where moonshiners hid—and the mist still rises.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Petit Jean State Park

Morrilton, Arkansas

The mountain named for a girl who dressed as a boy to follow love.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Neahkahnie treasure site

Manzanita, Oregon

The buried treasure—where the beeswax wreckers left their gold.

2 claims · 2 legends→

USS Cyclops

Baltimore, Maryland

March 1918—the ship that vanished in the Triangle.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Fremont Island

The Great Salt Lake island where a grave-robber was exiled.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Hinapsan Point

The Guam point where the legendary child made his leap.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Toltec Mounds

Scott, Arkansas

The Plum Bayou mounds—1,000-year-old earthworks older than the name suggests.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Eureka Springs Historic District

Eureka Springs, Arkansas

The crooked-street town built on the springs—where nothing is level.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Gobbler’s Knob

Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania

The stump where Phil sees his shadow—Groundhog Day’s ground zero.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Trapezium House

Petersburg, Virginia

The 1817 house built without right angles—to keep the spirits out.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Chief Cornstalk monument

Point Pleasant, West Virginia

The murdered chief—killed under flag of truce, 1777.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Devil’s Bathtub

Fort Blackmore, Virginia

The swimming hole the devil is said to use.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Lake Lanier

Buford, Georgia

The reservoir built on a drowned town—hundreds dead, they say it’s cursed.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Okefenokee

Folkston, Georgia

The blackwater swamp—700 square miles of peat and gator.

2 claims · 1 legend→

St. Philip’s Churchyard

Charleston, South Carolina

The churchyard where the gate is locked against the dead—DuBose Heyward’s ghost.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Angel Oak

Johns Island, South Carolina

The 400-year-old oak—65 feet tall, 17,000 square feet of shade.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Murrells Inlet

Murrells Inlet, South Carolina

The "seafood capital" where the pirates hid—and the MarshWalk lights.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Fountain of Youth

St. Augustine, Florida

The 1513 landing park—the spring that made the legend.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Longfellow House

Pascagoula, Mississippi

The 1849 house where "Evangeline" was written—allegedly.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Caddo Lake

Uncertain, Texas

The bald-cypress bayou—the Spanish moss swamp on the border.

2 claims · 1 legend→