Did you know Cannon Beach has its very own scary legend? It’s the Bandage Man, whose origin came about during the World War II era, as explained by Hector Navarro on factschology.com.

The story starts with a logger slipping and being horribly mauled several times by a saw blade. When the ambulance arrived, the medics wrapped him from head to foot in bandages.

On the way to the hospital, the ambulance hit a slippery patch on U.S. Highway 101 near Cannon Beach and crashed. By the time the police arrived, the bandaged man had vanished, leaving behind only a piece of bloody bandage.

Years later, again on Highway 101, late at night, a couple in a pickup truck parked alongside the road in a remote area. They heard noises, then smelled rotting flesh as something seemed to climb into the back.

Upon turning around, they saw the bloody Bandage Man, who began yelling at them and banging on the truck. They sped away, and when they stopped again, he was gone, again leaving behind a scrap of bloody bandage.

And, the legend grew from there, with the Bandage Man popping up in odd places around Cannon Beach, possibly devouring missing pets, haunting Highway 101, etc.

Navarro speculates that the Bandage Man evolved from a combination of several deaths that occurred along then-dangerous Highway 101, which was completed in 1926, and the “Hollywood” effect, i.e. the popularity of the mummy movies, the first one appearing in 1932.

Navarro asserts his research proves the Bandage Man never happened. But what if he’s wrong? (Image: “The Mummy”/Universal Pictures)