Urban Legends And Tales

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away!"

Have you ever heard the expression "an apple a day keeps the Doctor away?" Most assume that it's simply an easy-to-remember rhyme that tells the importance of eating healthily to children. But the saying didn't form as a harmless reminder. It was born in a frontier town in the early years of the gold rush, where food was scarce and money even scarcer.

One August, when a bad drought had struck the region, a series of bloody killings swept through the town. Every night, a single house would be broken into, and anyone who saw the invader would be swiftly and brutally slain. Nothing was ever stolen except for a few scraps of food.

After two weeks of that, the local grocer set out a few apples and a glass of milk in the town square overnight. He then hid in the tower of the church, hoping to catch a glimpse of anyone who came by.

The grocer waited for any sign of life below. Just after midnight, he saw a chilling sight; a man, carrying a black bag stuffed with dully shining metal tools and covered from head to foot in cloth bandages, staggered into view. He paused at the sight of the apples and milk, then whipped his head around, as if looking for the one who dared to patronize him. Seized with fear, the grocer ducked out of sight, staying hidden 'til sunrise.

The strange man had only taken one of the apples, and didn't even touch the glass of milk. No houses were broken into, and no one was killed. For years, the town continued to place out an apple or two every night, even long after a single apple stopped disappearing.