Told after dark

36 Local Legends

Every city keeps its ghosts, its devils and its stubborn miracles. Here are thirty-six of them, one for each table on the wheel — the crocodile-nun glowing beneath Girona's bridges, the baritone who kept taking curtain calls in Melbourne after dying on stage, the little monk who hides coins in Neapolitan houses.

The Lion of the Harbour
Athens, Greece
Mae Nak of Phra Khanong
Bangkok, Thailand
The Swing of the Gods
Bangkok, Thailand
The White Lady of the Hohenzollerns
Berlin, Germany
The Pen of Anonymus
Budapest, Hungary
Van Hunks and the Devil
Cape Town, South Africa
Resurrection Mary
Chicago, USA
The Architect's Fall
Copenhagen, Denmark
The Djinns of Feroz Shah Kotla
Delhi, India
Umm Al Duwais
Dubai, UAE
The Cocollona of the Onyar
Girona, Spain
The Sigh on the Bridge
Lima, Peru
The Ravens of Saint Vincent
Lisbon, Portugal
The Ghost of William Terriss
London, UK
The Bandit Beneath Cuchilleros
Madrid, Spain
Federici's Seat
Melbourne, Australia
The Weeping Woman of the Lake City
Mexico City, Mexico
La Bonissima
Modena, Italy
La Chasse-galerie
Montreal, Canada
The Lost Library of the Tsar
Moscow, Russia
The Devil's Footprint
Munich, Germany
'O Munaciello
Naples, Italy
The Alligators Below
New York, USA
The Devil of Vauvert
Paris, France
The Sleeping Giant
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The Basajaun
San Sebastián, Spain
La Quintrala
Santiago, Chile
The City Sealed Below
Seattle, USA
The Boy Who Turned the Hill Red
Singapore, Singapore
The Log That Chose the City
Stockholm, Sweden
The Tunnel Under the Hero
Sydney, Australia
The Generalissimo's Hidden Doors
Taipei, Taiwan
The Foxes of the Silver District
Tokyo, Japan
The Basilisk of the Lantern Lane
Vienna, Austria
The Rebobs of the Valley
Yountville, USA
Felix and Regula
Zurich, Switzerland