ONTD Original™ - Halloween Edition: 10 Classic Urban Legends as Told by 'Freaky Stories'

From 1997 to 2000, a low-budget and likely forgotten anthology by the name of Freaky Stories aired on YTV in Canada. It also aired on Fox Family from 1998 to 2001 in the USA. The basic format was two puppets, a dim-witted maggot named Maurice and ornery cockcoach Larry de Bug, would host a collection of several short animated segments in each episode. These "freaky stories" were usually based on urban legends, both common and obscure. Each segment started and ended with a narrator saying, "This is a true story. It happened to a friend of a friend of mine." Urban legends or urban myths are modern folk stories that are regularly shared as if they are true. The show's reimaginings of these tales were often more family friendly, especially in some cases where the source material had a macabre twist or adult themes. Here are just ten classic urban legends that were featured in Freaky Stories.

A Shot in the Dark
In preparation for a big date, a young woman tries to fast, but she can't resist eating something in the meantime. The only food in the house, though, is beans. She regrets this decision later. On the way to her date's car, the woman farts in the car and quickly airs it out her window as the guy walks around the car to the driver's side. Once the guy gets in, he introduces his date to his friends in the backseat.

Cat Food
A mother and son plan a dinner party, but they don't invite their neighbor. Before the party, the mother and son's cat eats some of the fish. They decide to not discard the fish and use it for the party since the cat only took a little bite. Later during the party, the son tells his mother that their cat is dead. They assume the fish is the cause, and everyone at the party has to go to the hospital for treatment. The neighbor that wasn't invited tells the mother and son the next day that she had accidentally run over the cat and left it on their doorstep. The fish never killed the cat, and none of the guests were ever in danger.

Graveyard Wager
A young boy accepts a dare to jam a knife into the grave of a killer at midnight. He does just that, but when he tries to leave after, he physically cannot move. He thinks the ghost of the killer has got him. As it turns out, the boy pinned his pants leg down to the ground with the knife.

Free Gas
A cheapskate regularly siphons gas from other cars. When he comes across an RV, he tries to siphon fuel, but nothing comes out of the tank. The oblivious RV owner later offers some gas to the stranger. As the cheapskate returns to where he was siphoning before, the RV owner stops him and says that that's actually the septic tank.

Ouija Board
In this variant of "The Hook" legend (a more traditional version was featured in another episode), a teenager decides to play a prank on her friends. Along with another friend, they use a Ouija board to scare their peers. As one teen uses the spirit board to set up the fake story of a hook-handed killer coming after them, her partner-in-crime excuses herself to use the bathroom. In truth, she pretends to be outside, scratching at the front door as if she was the hook-handed killer. The hoax is revealed, and the teenager that concocted the prank explains everything. Just then, her friend confesses that she never pulled off her bit in the joke - she had been talking on the phone with her boyriend. The front door opens to reveal a severed hook hanging on the knob.

Last Call
A woman's husband has a fear of being buried when he's still alive. Even in death. So he tells her that when he dies, a phone must be installed in his final resting place for up to a year. That way, he can call her if he turns out not to be dead after all. If he never calls after a year, they can declare him officially dead. The husband eventually dies and his wishes are carried out. The widow waits by her end of the phone line for almost a year despite everyone telling her to move on. She's offered to go on an all-expenses paid trip, but the leave date is on the last day of the year. As the widow goes on the trip, the phone finally rings...

Last Laugh
A girlfriend buys her boyfriend a lottery ticket for his birthday. The lottery ticket's numbers match the ones drawn on live TV during the birthday party. The boyfriend tells off his girlfriend and breaks up with her. The girlfriend reveals that it was all a joke - the numbers on the ticket are from the previous week's lottery drawing, which she had recorded on videotape and played at the birthday party.

Deep Forest Diver
Two agents are brought in to help a cop figure out why amidst a huge forest fire there was a scuba diver stranded in a tree. The scuba diver, with no recollection of how he ended up in the tree, claims not to have started the forest fire either. The agents never figure it out, but the cop's son has an idea: a plane that picks up water from a nearby lake to extinguish forest fires must have scooped up the scuba diver when he was swimming.

The Big Question
Two college students that prefer to goof off rather than study miss their big exam. They tell the professor an improvised lie about getting a flat tire and that's why they were absent. The professor agrees to a make-up exam. The students study non-stop and are prepared to ace the test. On the day of the exam, the professor separates the students by testing them in different rooms. The first question on their test is easy as the students actually studied this time. The next question is more difficult: "Which tire was flat?"

Safe at Home
A self-proclaimed fearless young girl left home alone for the weekend is comforted whenever her pet dog licks her toes from beneath her bed. As the evening progresses, the girl hears random noises that scare her. From under the bed, the dog licks her toes, reassuring the girl that all is fine. The girl finally investigates the clamor coming from the cellar. To her surprie, she finds her dog locked down there. So who was licking at her feet before? She looks outside to see a man walking away from the house, screaming "I can lick, too."

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