By Jaime A. Heidel
The Candy Man – A True Halloween Horror Story
On Halloween night in 1974, a father in Pasadena, Texas, by the name of Ronald Clark O’Bryan poisoned four jumbo-sized Pixy Stix with cyanide. He had taken out a sizeable life insurance policy on his children and passed out the cyanide-laden candy not only to his son and daughter, but to four other children to cover up his crime. Only his 8-year-old son, Timothy Marc O’Brien, ingested the candy and died soon after. Ronald Clark O’Bryan was put to death for his crime on March 31st, 1984. It is believed that this incident is what prompted the “candy scare” of the 80s and 90s.
A Case Of Mistaken Identity – A True Halloween Horror Story
In October of 1992, 16-year-old foreign exchange student Yoshihiro Hattori and his homestay brother, Webb Haymaker, went to a Halloween party in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. When they arrived at the house, they rang the front doorbell but received no response. They then went around to the back of the house and surprised owner, Rodney Peairs, who shot and killed Yoshihiro Hattori thinking the high school students were burglars.
The Hanging “Decoration” – A True Halloween Horror Story
In October of 2005, the body of a 42-year-old woman was discovered hanging from a tree in Frederica, Delaware. Neighbors believed the post-suicidal woman was a Halloween decoration and did not contact the authorities until the body had been hanging there for three hours.
Accidental Death Sentence – A True Halloween Horror Story
In October of 1990, 15-year-old North Carolina resident, William Anthony Odem, accidentally hung himself while staging a dramatic gallows scene at a Halloween party.
The Napa Valley Murders- A True Halloween Horror Story
This took place in Napa Valley, California. On Halloween night 2004, housemates Lauren M., Adriane Insogna and Leslie Ann Mazzara handed out candy to trick-or-treaters and went to bed around 10:30 a.m. Lauren awoke to the sound of breaking glass at 2:00am followed by screaming from Adriane. She ran out of the house and hid in the backyard. Upon hearing Adriane scream again, Lauren came back inside and tried to dial 911 but the phone didn’t work. Upstairs, she found both her friends had been stabbed and were barely clinging to life. Realizing she could not help them, she left the house again and called 911 from her cell phone. Both women soon died. The killer turned out to be Eric Copple, Adriane’s best friend’s fiancé, who apparently committed the murders out of jealousy of the friendship between Adriane and his wife-to-be.
There you have it. Five true horror stories!
Halloween is a time for dressing up, watching scary movies, partying and having a good time. However, Halloween isn’t always just innocent fun. Check out these five true horror stories that have happened on Halloween.
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