Urban Legends: The Stranger at the Door

STORY: A young boy and his sister were watching television one evening. Their parents had gone out for the night and wouldn't be home until the next day. Before they left, the mother instructed the children not to open the door for anyone. The children agreed that they would not, under any circumstances, open the door for anyone. Their parents also told them, if they needed help with anything, to call the neighbor's house.

An hour later, the children heard a knock at the door, but didn't pay any attention to it. They remembered that their parents had instructed them not to open the door for anyone. So the children ignored the knocks and continued to watch television. Eventually, the children went to bed. However, the knocking continued.

The young boy became curious about the knocking, and got out of bed to see who was making all the noise. His sister lay in bed waiting for her brother to come back. When he didn't return, she started to worry. Eventually, she got out of bed and made her way to her neighbor's house as quickly as she could. Luckily, the neighbors were awake. The young girl explained what had happened, and her neighbors quickly called the police. When the police arrived, they searched the girl's house. In the doorway, they found her brother's body and a bloody knife.

ORIGIN: This urban legend has been told for decades, and unfortunately, its origins have been impossible to trace. It may have originally been told by a paranoid mother who didn't want her children to open the door for strangers. Or, this event may have actually happened in some form or other. Like most urban legends, the line of truth and fiction is very blurred.

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