#10: The Crooked Man

"There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile. He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile. He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse, and they all lived together in a little crooked house."

The Crooked Man definitely tows the line on being an acceptable entree for this countdown; not entirely an urban legend of a cryptid, I guess you could say I really 'bent' the rules for this guy! Eh? Ehhh!? ...eh... While the Crooked Man is really more a nursery rhyme then anything, it's origin is fairly shrouded in mystery as to what or who it was about but this important thing to note is that despite having a traceable origin the Crooked Man has become somewhat of cryptid in this modern age. Despite being a harmless poem initially, the character of the Crooked Man has slowly been adapted into an increasingly darker figure throughout the years to the point that actual urban legends have come about for him. In this right, the Crooked Man is one of the best examples how anything can be turned into an urban legend simply due to the passing of time and the changing of cultures, the origin isn't what matters, it's the imagination and fear of the unknown that keep these things alive and that's why I feel the Crooked Man, despite being a little out there is completely warranted for this year's theme. That and I've wanted to add him in since I saw the Conjuring 2, because he looked bad ass in, but that's neither here nor there!