The Creepiest Myth From Every State

May 2024 ยท 1 minute read

Wildfires are a somewhat common occurrence in California, but only one of these ravaging natural disasters has produced the psychopath known to the Ojai Valley as the Char-Man.

Some time ago, more specifically in the summer of 1948, a large fire blazed through the valley, according to the myth (as detailed by Backpackerverse). The area was isolated due to the limited technology of the era, and some households were forced to wait days for assistance. One such place was a small cabin where a father and son lived alone.

The building was devoured by the fire, the father killed by the flames, leaving the son as the sole survivor. He'd been badly burned, some might say "charred," but he made it through. Something more than his flesh was changed by the heat, the smoke, and the pain he endured, though. A piece of his mind was broken, turning him into a monster. As testament, when the police arrived on the scene, they found the corpse of his father hanging, skin flayed from his body, from a nearby tree.

It's said the Char-Man, the creature the son became, still terrorizes the Ojai Valley and will attack unsuspecting hikers and campers so he can collect their skins like he did his father's.

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