View source for Social:Urban legend

{{short description|Form of modern folklore}}
An '''urban legend''', '''urban myth''', '''urban tale''', or '''contemporary legend''' is a genre of folklore comprising stories circulated as true, especially as having happened to a friend or family member, often with horrifying or humorous elements. These legends can be entertainment, but often concern mysterious peril or troubling events, such as disappearances and strange objects. They may also be confirmation of moral standards, or reflect prejudices, or be a way to make sense of societal anxieties.<ref>{{cite web|title = Urban Legend Definition| publisher = Snopes.com| url = https://www.snopes.com/what-are-urban-legends/}}</ref>

Urban legends are most often circulated orally, but can be spread by any media, including newspapers, e-mail and [[Social:Social media|social media]]. Some urban legends have passed through the years with only minor changes to suit regional variations. Recent legends tend to reflect modern circumstances: for instance, the common legend of a person being ambushed and anesthetized, only to wake up and realize that they are now missing a kidney that was supposedly [[Social:Organ theft|surgically removed]] for transplantation.<ref>{{cite web |last=Mikkelson |first=Barbara |url=http://www.snopes.com/horrors/robbery/kidney.asp|title=snopes.com:Kidney Thief|website=[[Philosophy:Snopes|Urban Legends Reference Pages]]|date=12 March 2008|accessdate=30 June 2010}}</ref>

==Origins and structure ==
The term "urban legend," as used by folklorists, has appeared in print since at least 1968.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, 2d ed. 1989, entry for "urban legend," citing R. M. Dorson in T. P. Coffin, ''Our Living Traditions'', xiv. 166 (1968). See also William B. Edgerton, ''The Ghost in Search of Help for a Dying Man'', Journal of the Folklore Institute, Vol. 5, No. 1. pp. 31, 38, 41 (1968).</ref> Jan Harold Brunvand, professor of English at the [[Organization:University of Utah|University of Utah]], introduced the term to the general public in a series of popular books published beginning in 1981. Brunvand used his collection of legends, ''The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends & Their Meanings'' (1981) to make two points: first, that [[Social:Legend|legend]]s and [[Social:Folklore|folklore]] do not occur exclusively in so-called primitive or traditional societies, and second, that one could learn much about urban and modern culture by studying such tales.

Many urban legends are framed as complete [[Social:Fable|stories]] with plot and characters. The compelling appeal of a typical urban legend is its elements of mystery, horror, fear or humor. Often they serve as [[Social:Cautionary tale|cautionary tale]]s.<ref name="Epoch"/> Some urban legends are [[Social:Moral|morality tales]] that depict someone, usually a child, acting in a disagreeable manner, only to wind up in trouble, hurt, or dead.<ref name="Epoch">{{cite news |title=Urban legends: Modern morality tales |author=Elissa Michele Zacher |newspaper=[[Social:The Epoch Times|The Epoch Times]] |date=18 July 2010 |url=http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/39382/ |accessdate=29 August 2010 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724140443/http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/39382/ |archivedate=24 July 2010 }}</ref>{{deprecated inline|certain=yes|date=June 2020}}

Urban legends will often try to invoke a feeling of [[Philosophy:Disgust|disgust]] in the reader which tends to make these stories more memorable and potent. Elements of shock value can be found in almost every form of urban legend and are partially what makes these tales so impactful.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20150126-how-to-create-an-urban-legend|title=What makes an urban legend?|last=Robson|first=David|website=www.bbc.com|language=en|access-date=2020-02-20}}</ref>

Most urban legends will also include an element of something that is [[Philosophy:Supernatural|supernatural]] or [[Unsolved:Paranormal|paranormal]]. Many of the most well known tales will try to balance out the normal with the paranormal. Stories that stray too far into the paranormal aspect are usually not as regarded as ones that still attempt to keep some sort of basis in reality.<ref name=":1" />

==Propagation and belief==
As Jan Brunvand points out,<ref name="Death Car">{{cite web|last= Mikkelson|first= Barbara|url= http://www.snopes.com/autos/cursed/deathcar.asp|title= snopes.com: Death Car|publisher= Urban Legends Reference Pages|date= 10 August 2006|accessdate= 30 June 2010}}</ref> antecedent legends including some of the motifs, themes and symbolism of the urtexts can readily be identified. Cases that ''may'' have been at least partially inspired by real events include "The Death Car" (traced by Richard Dorson to Michigan, {{wipe|United States}});<ref name="Death Car"/> "the Solid Cement Cadillac"<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.snopes.com/love/revenge/concrete.asp|title= snopes.com: Cement in Lover's Car|publisher= Urban Legends Reference Pages|date= 10 August 2006|accessdate= 3 July 2007}}</ref> and the possible origin of "[[Social:The Hook|The Hook]]" in the 1946 series of Lovers' Lane murders in Texarkana, Texas, United States.<ref>{{cite web|last= Mikkelson|first= Barbara|url= http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/hook.asp|title= snopes.com: The Hook|publisher= Urban Legends Reference Pages|date= 2 June 2008|accessdate= 30 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last= Ramsland|first= Katherine|url= http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/texas_chainsaw_massa/5.html|title= Texas Chainsaw Massacre is based on a real case the crime library — Other Speculations — Crime Library on truTV.com|publisher= Turner Broadcasting System Inc.|accessdate= 28 August 2010|url-status= dead|archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090831082654/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/texas_chainsaw_massa/5.html|archivedate= 31 August 2009}}</ref> The urban legend that [[Engineering:Coca-Cola|Coca-Cola]] developed the drink Fanta to sell in [[Place:Nazi Germany|Nazi Germany]] without public backlash originated as the actual tale of German Max Keith, who invented the drink and ran Coca-Cola's operations in Germany during [[Social:World War II|World War II]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/fanta.asp|title= The Reich Stuff? |accessdate= 9 January 2007 |last= Mikkelson |first= Barbara|publisher= Urban Legends Reference Pages}}</ref>

The teller of an urban legend may claim it happened to a friend (or to a [[Social:Friend of a friend|friend of a friend]]), which serves to personalize, authenticate and enhance the power of the narrative<ref name="believed">Brunvand, p.423</ref> and distances the teller. Many urban legends depict horrific crimes, contaminated foods, or other situations that would potentially affect many people. Anyone believing such stories might feel compelled to warn loved ones. On occasion, news organizations, school officials and even police departments have issued warnings concerning the latest threat.<ref>{{cite web|last= Gross|first= Dave|url= http://www.lycaeum.org/drugs/other/tattoo/|title= The "Blue Star" LSD Tattoo Urban Legend Page|publisher= the Lycaeum Drug Archives |accessdate= 29 August 2010|url-status= live|archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20110718214538/http://www.lycaeum.org/drugs/other/tattoo/|archivedate= 18 July 2011}}</ref> According to the "Lights Out" rumor, street-gang members would drive without headlights until a compassionate motorist responded with the traditional flashing of headlights, whereupon a prospective new gang-member would have to murder the citizen as a requirement of initiation.<ref name="Snopes lights">{{cite web|last= Mikkelson|first= Barbara|url= http://www.snopes.com/crime/gangs/lightsout.asp|title= snopes.com: Flashing Headlights Gang Initiation|publisher= Urban Legends Reference Pages|date= 8 December 2008|accessdate= 28 August 2010}}</ref> A fax retelling this legend received at the Nassau County, Florida, fire department was forwarded to police, and from there to all city departments.  The Minister of Defence for Canada was taken in by it also; he forwarded an urgent security warning to all Ontario Members of Parliament.<ref name="Snopes lights"/>

Urban legends typically include common elements: the tale is retold on behalf of the original witness or participant; dire warnings are often given for those who might not heed the advice or lesson contained therein (a typical element of many e-mail [[Phishing|phishing]] scams); and the tale is often touted as "something a friend told me", the friend being identified by first name only or not identified at all.<ref>{{cite news | url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6090918.stm | work= BBC News | title= Heard the one about... | date= 27 October 2006 | accessdate= 28 March 2010 | url-status= live | archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090604154846/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6090918.stm | archivedate= 4 June 2009 }}</ref> Such legends seem to be believable and even provocative, as some readers are led in turn to pass them on, including on social media platforms that instantly reach millions worldwide.<ref>{{Cite book|title=They are watching you: The Slender Man and the terrors of 21st  century technologies|last=Gelfand|first=Lynn|publisher=|year=2014|isbn=|location=|pages=}}</ref> Many are essentially extended jokes, told as if they were true events.<ref>Brunvand, p.223</ref>

Persistent urban legends do often maintain a degree of plausibility, as in the story a [[Philosophy:Serial killer|serial killer]] deliberately hiding in the back seat of a car. Another such example since the 1970s has been the recurring rumor that the Procter & Gamble Company was associated with Satan-worshippers because of details within its nineteenth-century trademark.<ref>''Procter and Gamble v. Amway'' 242 F.3d 539</ref> The legend interrupted the company's business to the point that it stopped using the trademark.<ref>Brunvand, p.333</ref>

==Belief and relation to mythology==
The earliest term by which these narratives were known, "urban belief tales", highlights what was then thought of{{by whom|date=August 2018}} as a key property: their tellers regarded the stories as true accounts, and the device of the [[Social:Friend of a friend|FOAF]] (acronym for "Friend Of A Friend" invented by English writer and folklorist Rodney Dale in 1976) was a spurious but significant effort at authentication.<ref>Brunvand, p. 459</ref> The coinage leads in turn to the terms "FOAFlore" and "FOAFtale". While at least one classic legend, the "Death Car", has been shown to have some basis in fact,<ref>Richard Dorson. "American Folklore" University of Chicago Press, 1959, pp. 250-52.</ref> folklorists have an interest in debunking those narratives only to the degree that establishing non-factuality warrants the assumption that there must be some other reason why the tales are told, re-told and believed.<ref name="autogenerated1">Adam Brooke Davis. "[http://missourifolkloresociety.truman.edu/Missouri%20Folklore%20Studies/devilsnight.htm Davis, Adam Brooke. "Devil's Night and Hallowe'en: The Linked Fates of Two Folk Festivals." Missouri Folklore Society Journal XXIV(2002) 69-82] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160305105514/http://missourifolkloresociety.truman.edu/Missouri%20Folklore%20Studies/devilsnight.htm |date= 2016-03-05 }}</ref> As in the case of [[Social:Myth|myth]], the narratives are believed because they construct and reinforce the [[Worldview|worldview]] of the group within which they are told, or "because they provide us with coherent and convincing explanations of complex events".<ref>John Mosier "WAR MYTHS" Historically Speaking: The Bulletin of the Historical Society: VI: 4, March/April 2005.</ref>

Social scientists have started to draw on urban legends in order to help explain complex socio-psychological beliefs, such as attitudes to [[Philosophy:Crime|crime]], childcare, [[Finance:Fast food|fast food]], SUVs and other "family" choices.<ref>{{cite journal |last= Croft |first= Robin |year= 2006 |title= Folklore, Families and Fear: Exploring the Influence of the Oral Tradition on Consumer Decision-making |journal= Journal of Marketing Management |volume= 22 |issue= 9 & 10 |pages= 1053–1076 |url= |doi= 10.1362/026725706778935574}}</ref> The authors make an explicit connection between urban legends and popular folklore, such as ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'', where similar themes and motifs arise. For that reason, it is characteristic of groups within which a given narrative circulates to vehemently reject claims or demonstrations of non-factuality; an example would be the expressions of outrage by police officers who are told that adulteration of Halloween treats by strangers (the subject of periodic [[Philosophy:Moral panic|moral panic]]s) occurs extremely rarely, if at all.<ref name="autogenerated1" /><ref>
{{cite journal
| last1                 = Best
| first1                = Joel
| last2                 = Horiuchi
| first2                = Gerald T.
| title                 = The Razor Blade in the Apple: The Social Construction of Urban Legends 
| journal               = Social Problems
| date      = June 1985
| volume                = 32
| issue                 = 5
| pages                 = 488–497
| issn                  = 0037-7791
| doi                = 10.2307/800777
| jstor                = 800777
}}
</ref>

==Documenting==
The [[Internet]] has made it easier both to spread and to debunk urban legends.<ref>Donovan, p.129</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://people.howstuffworks.com/urban-legend.htm|title=How Urban Legends Work|date=2001-05-16|website=HowStuffWorks|language=en|access-date=2020-02-20}}</ref> For instance, the [[Usenet]] newsgroup ''alt.folklore.urban'' and several other websites, most notably [[Philosophy:Snopes.com|snopes.com]], focus on discussing, tracking, and analyzing urban legends. The United States Department of Energy had a now-discontinued service called Hoaxbusters<ref>
[https://web.archive.org/web/20080922223145/http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/ The U.S. Department of Energy has decided that it no longer wants to be associated with hoaxbusters.ciac.org so this site has been permanently shut down.]
</ref>
that dealt with computer-distributed hoaxes and legends.<ref>
{{cite book
 | last1 = Watstein
 | first1 = Sarah
 | last2 = Jovanovic
 | first2 = John
 | chapter = Bioterrorism and Biological Warfare
 | title = Statistical Handbook on Infectious Diseases
 | year = 2003
 | url = https://archive.org/details/statisticalhandb00wats
 | url-access = registration
 | series = An Oryx book
 | location = Westport, Connecticut
 | publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group
 | publication-date = 2003
 | page = [https://archive.org/details/statisticalhandb00wats/page/297 297]
 | isbn = 9781573563758
 | access-date = 26 January 2020
 | quote = A number of Internet sites are available regarding urban legends and hoaxes, such as [...] the Compute Incident Advisory Committee and Department of Energy's HoaxBusters site at http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org.
}}
</ref> The most notable such hoaxes are known as [[Social:Creepypasta|Creepypasta]]s, which are typically horror stories written anonymously.<ref name=":3">{{Citation|title=Creepypasta|date=2020-02-09|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Creepypasta&oldid=939904754|work=Wikipedia|language=en|access-date=2020-02-20}}</ref> Although most are regarded as obviously false, some, in particular the infamous [[Unsolved:Slender Man|Slender Man]], have gained a following of people that do believe in them.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/dec/21/slender-man-case-anissa-weier-sentenced|title=Slender Man case: girl who attacked classmate gets 25-year hospital sentence|date=2017-12-21|website=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=2020-02-20}}</ref>

Television shows such as ''Urban Legends'', ''Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction'', and later ''Mostly True Stories: Urban Legends Revealed'', feature re-enactments of urban legends, detailing the accounts of the tales and (typically later in an episode) revealing any factual basis they may have. The Discovery Channel TV show ''MythBusters'' (2003–2016) tried to prove or disprove several urban legends by attempting to reproduce them using the [[Scientific method|scientific method]].

The 1998 film ''Urban Legend'' featured students discussing popular urban legends while at the same time falling victim to them.

Between 1992 and 1998 ''{{wipe|The Guardian}}'' newspaper "Weekend" section published the illustrated "Urban Myths" column by Phil Healey and Rick Glanvill, with content taken from a series of four books: ''Urban Myths'', ''The Return Of Urban Myths'', ''Urban Myths Unplugged'',<ref>
{{cite book
 | last1 = Healey
 | first1 = Phil
 | last2 = Glanvill
 | first2 = Rick
 | title = Urban Myths Unplugged
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=jX0kAAAACAAJ
 | publisher = Virgin
 | publication-date = 1994
 | isbn = 9780863698972
 | access-date = 26 January 2020
}}
</ref>
and ''Now! That's What I Call Urban Myths''. The 1994 comics anthology the ''Big Book of Urban Legends'', written by Robert Boyd, Jan Harold Brunvand, and Robert Loren Fleming, featured two-hundred urban legends, displayed as comics.

The British writer Tony Barrell has explored urban legends in a long-running column in ''The Sunday Times''. These include the story that Orson Welles began work on a Batman movie in the 1940s, which was to feature James Cagney as the Riddler and Marlene Dietrich as Catwoman;<ref>{{cite news |author= Tony Barrell |url= http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/culture/film_and_tv/film/article176017.ece |title= Did You Know: Orson Welles |work= The Sunday Times |date= 5 July 2009 |accessdate= 13 March 2012 |url-status= live |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20140222142755/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/culture/film_and_tv/film/article176017.ece |archivedate= 22 February 2014 }}</ref> the persistent rumour that the rock singer Courtney Love is the granddaughter of Marlon Brando;<ref>{{cite news |author= Tony Barrell |url= http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/culture/music/article184306.ece |title= Did You Know: Courtney Love |work= The Sunday Times |date= 13 September 2009 |accessdate= 13 March 2012 |url-status= live |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20140222142758/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/culture/music/article184306.ece |archivedate= 22 February 2014 }}</ref> and the idea that a famous 1970s poster of Farrah Fawcett contains a subliminal sexual message concealed in the actress's hair.<ref>
{{cite news
 |author= Tony Barrell
 |url= http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/culture/film_and_tv/tv/article186376.ece
 |title= Did You Know: Farrah Fawcett |work= The Sunday Times
 |date= 4 October 2009 |accessdate= 13 March 2012 |url-status= live
 |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20140222142752/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/culture/film_and_tv/tv/article186376.ece
 |archivedate= 22 February 2014 
}}
</ref>

==Examples==

; Crime stories
As with traditional urban legends, many Internet rumors are about crimes either fictional or based on real events but blown out of proportion.<ref>Pamela Donovan, No Way of Knowing: Crime, Urban Legends, and the Internet (Psychology Press, 2004)</ref><ref>Pamela Donovan, ''Crime legends in a new medium: Fact, fiction and loss of authority'', Theoretical Criminology; vol. 6 no. 2; May 2002; Pp. 189-215</ref> Such stories can be dangerous, because they both make claims to be news that are relevant to modern times and do not follow the patterns of typical urban legends.<ref>{{Cite book|title=No Way Of Knowing Crime,Urban Legends, and the Internet|last=Donovan|first=Pamela|publisher=Routledge|year=2004|isbn=0203507797|location=Great Britain|pages=2, 3}}</ref>

;Medical hoaxes
Some legends are medical [[Social:Folklore|folklore]], such as the claim that eating watermelon seeds will result in a watermelon's growing a watermelon in the stomach, or that going outdoors just after showering will result in catching a cold.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.boardvitals.com/blog/medical-myths-hoaxes/|title=Medical Myths and Hoaxes: Debunked? You Be The Judge.}}</ref>

; Internet
Internet urban legends are those spread through the internet, as through Usenet or email<ref name=frost>Chris Frost, (2000) ..Tales on the Internet: making it up as you go along'', ASLIB Proceedings, Vol. 52 Iss: 1, pp.5 - 10</ref> or more recently [[Social:Social media|social media]]. They can also be linked to [[Viral phenomenon|viral]] online content. Some take the form of chain letters and are spread by e-mail, directing the reader to share them or meet a terrible fate,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/luck/chain.asp|title=Chain Linked|work=Snopes.com|accessdate=21 November 2012}}</ref> and following a recognizable outline of hook, threat, and finally request.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2022/3231/FF%2037-1%20Blank.pdf;sequence=1|title=Examining the Transmission of Urban Legends: Making the Case for Folklore Fieldwork on the Internet|last=Blank|first=Trevor|date=2007}}</ref> Others are [[Virus hoax|fake virus alerts]], warning people of nonexistent threats to their computers, often appearing as online pop-ups claiming to be giveaways or store coupons.<ref>{{Cite book|title=What Happens Next? Contemporary Urban Legends and Pop Culture|last=de Vos|first=Gail|publisher=Libraries Unlimited|year=2019|isbn=9781598846331|location=United States of America|pages=78}}</ref>

; Paranormal stories

These stories usually involve someone's encountering something supposititious{{What?|date=July 2020}} or even supernatural, such as a [[Unsolved:List of cryptids|cryptid]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cryptid|title=Definition of CRYPTID|website=www.merriam-webster.com|language=en|access-date=2020-02-20}}</ref>—for instance, [[Unsolved:Bigfoot|Bigfoot]] or [[Unsolved:Mothman|Mothman]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://supernaturalmagazine.com/articles/an-overview-of-paracryptozoology|title=An Overview of Paracryptozoology|website=Supernatural Magazine|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-20}}</ref> legendary creatures for which evidence is wanting but which have legions of believers.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Dagnall|first=Neil|last2=Denovan|first2=Andrew|last3=Drinkwater|first3=Kenneth|last4=Parker|first4=Andrew|last5=Clough|first5=Peter J.|date=2017|title=Urban Legends and Paranormal Beliefs: The Role of Reality Testing and Schizotypy|url=https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00942/full|journal=Frontiers in Psychology|language=English|volume=8|doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00942|issn=1664-1078|doi-access=free}}</ref>

== Marketing ==

Companies have been accused of hiding "secret messages" behind their logo or packaging,<ref>{{Cite book|title=The United Symbolism of America : Deciphering Hidden Meanings in America's Most Familiar Art, Architecture, and Logos|last=Hieronimus|first=Robert|publisher=New Page Books.|year=2008|isbn=9781601630018|location=Franklin Lakes, NJ|pages=267}}</ref> as in the case of the old Procter & Gamble symbol, supposedly an occult figure that gave a panache to the brand. (If the thirteen stars in the symbol were connected a certain way, it would show [[Unsolved:Number of the beast|three sixes]] in a row.)<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Big Book of Urban Legends|last=|first=|publisher=Paradox Press|year=1994|isbn=1-56389-165-4|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bigbookofurbanle0000flem/page/172 172]|url=https://archive.org/details/bigbookofurbanle0000flem/page/172}}</ref> Similarly, a video of a Christian woman "exposing" Monster Energy for using the [[Social:Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew alphabet]] symbol for the letter <nowiki>''</nowiki>M" to disguise the number 666 went [[Finance:Viral video|viral]] on Facebook.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/monster-energy-drink-666/|title=Does the Monster Energy Drink Logo Include the Number 666?|last=Mikkelson|first=David|date=10 November 2014|website=Snopes}}</ref>

On the lighter side, some urban legends have been used intentionally for comic purpose in advertising. The most well-known examples include the use of a [[Unsolved:Bigfoot|Sasquatch]] in Jack Link commercials, known as "Messin' with Sasquatch," and the use of unicorns in Icebreakers ads. Another is the New Jersey Devils hockey team, named for the state's popular cryptid, the [[Unsolved:Jersey Devil|Jersey Devil]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.toptenz.net/top-10-cryptids.php|title=Top 10 Most Famous Cryptids|date=2009-05-14|website=Toptenz.net|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-20}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Unsolved:List of urban legends|List of urban legends]]
** [[Social:Creepypasta|Creepypasta]]
**Japanese urban legend
* [[Social:Factoid|Factoid]]
* [[Social:Old wives' tale|Old wives' tale]]
* [[Unsolved:Rumor|Rumor]]
* [[Unsolved:Superstition|Superstition]]
* [[Social:Tall tale|Tall tale]]
* [[Woozle effect]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
* {{Cite book | author = Jan Harold Brunvand | title = Encyclopedia of Urban Legends: Updated and Expanded Edition | publisher = ABC-CLIO | year = 2012 | location = Santa Barbara, CA | isbn = 978-1-598847208 | url = https://archive.org/details/EncyclopediaOfUrbanLegends2ndEdition}}
* {{Cite book | author = Pamela Donovan | title = No Way of Knowing: Crime, Urban Legends, and the Internet | publisher = Routledge | year = 2004 | location = New York City | isbn = 0-203-50779-7}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |author=Enders, Jody |title=Death by Drama and Other Medieval Urban Legends |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2002 |pages= |isbn=978-0-226-20788-9}}
* ''Urban Legends: A Collection of International Tall Tales and Terrors'', ed. by Gillian Bennett and Paul Smith (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood, 2007), {{ISBN|031333952X}}
* ''An Anthology of American Folktales and Legends'', ed. by Frank de Caro (London: Routledge, 2015)

==External links==
*[http://www.snopes.com/ Snopes - Urban Legends Reference Pages]
*[http://folklore.usc.edu/?cat=23 USC folklore legends archive]
*[https://contemporarylegend.org/our-publications/contemporary-legend/ International Society for Contemporary Legend Research]
*{{Curlie|Society/Folklore/Literature/Urban_Legends|Urban Legends}}

{{Urban Legends}}
{{Media manipulation}}
{{Folklore genres}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urban Legend}}
[[Category:Folklore]]
[[Category:Fringe theory]]
[[Category:Urban legends| ]]

{{Sourceattribution|Urban legend|1}}