Bathrooms were a source of fear.

Not because I have 'toilet phobia' (for which I couldn't find a specific name).

I was flippin' scared of bathrooms as a young child because of those elementary school scary stories. Those legends that creeped me out so much while I tried to listen calmly to the person telling me.

First, there was the legend of Bloody Mary. Now, this one is probably the one that stayed with me the longest. For those that don't know, Bloody Mary is a scary spirit that will harm you when summoned. There are differing tales that exist about how you summon her. But the one that the kids at my school liked to tell went like this: To summon Bloody Mary you had to go to into the bathroom by yourself (can't bring anyone along for moral support!). Then, turn out the lights (I also had a fear of the dark when I was younger (which, by the way, can be called 'nyctophobia' among a few other names)). Oh, you must also lock the door. By this time, the kid is probably scared senseless, unless they're pillars of strength like they liked to claim. Then, you chant "Bloody Mary" into the mirror. I think the children at school said you have to say it three times, but maybe I'm just mixing this up with the next legend? The Internet tells me the most popular number of times to chant it is thirteen. Which would make sense. But I don't think I heard that. Then, kabam!, Bloody Mary appears in all her gruesome (at least, that's how I imagined her) glory. She appears in the mirror and.... I don't know what happens next. Or, at least, not specifically. But I know something bad happens to the person.

This is what www.halloween-website.com tells me:
"After the given amount of chants, the spirit will then appear in a mirror and claw your eyes out and death will follow. Other variations have her driving you insane or pulling you into the mirror, never to be seen again."

This one girl claimed that she had done it and that's what the scratches on her were (they were actually from something else. A cat, I think?).

The Bloody Mary scare was used as a dare. But, I guess, it wasn't one that you'd be tortured forever for not following through on. I was never dared to do it. I don't know what I would have done, I didn't have my subject-changing skillz back then. I always pictured Bloody Mary as a stooped, but young-ish woman with black hair, a "scary" face, a wicked mouth, and burning eyes. Because of the darn legend my friends and the others at school perpetuated, I couldn't go into the bathroom at home without first reaching in my hand to turn on the light. Then, I'd run inside without looking at the mirror the whole time.

Next bathroom-related legend was the Candyman. SCARY.

This one just needed a toilet to work. You go into a bathroom, or even a public stall. (Of course, you must be alone and lock the door.) Standing facing the toilet, you flush it three times. Then, you say "Candyman, candyman, candyman" while turning around three times. Or, at least, that's how I remember it. He has a hook for a hand. I was thinking about it today and I realized I have no idea exactly what he's supposed to do to you. I expect it would be something gruesome with the hook.

I looked "Candyman" up on the Internet and a quick skimming shows that no one has my exact method for it. Weird. Most of them say it's in front of a mirror, a copy of "Bloody Mary." But I know the kids at school said it was in front of a toilet. That's how we do it at my old elementary school. Hah.

If you think about the Candyman legend now, you'll go "WTF?! That's more weird and funny than scary!" But I was, like, in the 3rd grade! IT WAS SCARY! Really, a man that you called "Candyman" coming out of a toilet, of all things! How does that work anyway?

But why do kids tell these scary stories? What pleasure do we get from creeping each other out before going to bed at a slumber party or giving each other chills during recess? I don't know if it's the same as people who go to see horror movies (which, I suspect, there's more than one reason for seeing them). But maybe I don't know, seeing as I don't watch scary movies.

I guess it's a form of entertainment. But I was so scarred for childhood by those stories (as was at least one of my friends). I couldn't go into bathrooms. I would huddle under the sheets if I was awake at night. I'd spend hours on end musing over Bloody Mary, freaking out at the very whisper of her name.

So, what impact did these stories have on other people, I wonder.