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An urban legend is an example of modern folklore.

Contents 1 Introduction 2 Urban Legends 3 Alternative Terms 4 Books 5 See Also 6 References

Introduction

It is a tale passed on primarily through word of mouth, and is usually short and with a distinct focus. The tale is told as true, and is believed by the person telling it (although some may start as a hoax). Attempts to track it to a specific original event (an actual person, date and location) are doomed to fail: it never actually happened.

The story may evolve over time, and there may be different versions in different areas.

Many urban legends have a cautionary element (don't flash your lights at another car; don't help a stranger in a parking lot with a flat; don't pick up hitchhikers).

Some of them involve elements of the paranormal, but many do not. The term is sometimes loosely used to refer to any story passed from person to person. For example, Mothman has been listed as an urban legend, but that is a case where the initial specific witnesses, dates and times, and locations are known.

Urban Legends

Although the vanishing hitchhiker is the story that was responsible for the term urban legend becoming popular, there are many others. These include fried rats served as chicken, waking up with a kidney having been removed, the hook from a murderer's arm in a car door, the list goes on. The urban legend, like the popular culture it is often based on, will continue to evolve.

Alternative Terms

• Urban myth
• FOAFtale (Friend-of-a-Friend) tale
• FOAFlore

Books

• The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their Meanings by Jan Harold Brunvand. ISBN 978-0393951691
• Encyclopedia of Urban Legends by Jan Harold Brunvand. ISBN 978-0393323580
• Urban Legends: Strange Stories Behind Modern Myths by A.S. Mott and Aaron Norell. ISBN 978-1894877411

See Also

• Legend
• Paranormal travel guide
• Quest Magazine
• Vanishing hitchhiker

References

• Hauntings and Legends by Hal Siemer (Quest Magazine)