Story: There was a story told in my neighborhood about a murderer who lived in the park behind our houses. Our whole neighborhood bordered a woodland park about three or four miles square. The story we told was that a kid was walking along a path through the park at night when they disappeared. Months later, after the police search for them had been called off, a passerby found their body inside of a trash can at the bottom of a hill. As the story went, if you stayed too long in the park after dark, the same thing might happen to you.

Context: The informant told me this story over text, as they were unavailable for FaceTime. The informant is from Seattle, WA.

Thoughts: The informant was told this story by their mother, and it became a well known story within their friend group. When asked how they feel looking back on the story now and if they believe it, they say that they aren’t sure if it’s true anymore, since they think their mom just told it to them so they wouldn’t stay out too late at night.

Analysis: While this legend is intriguing, I was genuinely curious as to whether or not it is true. I searched the park online and found that there was indeed a cold case in the park that dates back to 1984. A body of a 30 year old man had been found, and it wasn’t until 2020 that they identified the body (Staff). It isn’t exactly the same story that his mother told him, but I can see where the inspiration came from.

Staff, Author: KING 5. “1984 Cold Case Death at Seattle’s Carkeek Park Solved through Fingerprints.” king5.Com, 21 Feb. 2020, https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/seattle/man-found-dead-in-1984-identified/281-ac988edc-d73a-4552-876f-b98edc6001f8.