Did you ever hear the one about the baby alligator that was flushed down
the toilet and grew into a huge beast in the sewers? How about the girl
who had spiders living in her beehive hairdo? What about the guy who tried
to dry off a dog in the microwave? Or maybe you heard the one about Nostradamus
predicting the World Trade Center disaster?
Urban legends are stories that spread like wildfire. They're a cross
between a hoax, a rumor, a cautionary tale... and sometimes a bit of truth.
They are spread from person to person through phone calls, letters, and
(now more than ever) e-mail. You might hear different versions of the
same story from different people, all of whom will tell you on good authority
that they have the right information.
Check out books from the library to acquaint yourself with classic urban
legends, or surf the web to keep up with the latest stories and find out
how much truth they contain.
Books
Spiders in the Hairdo: Modern Urban Legends. Collected
and Retold by David Holt & Bill Mooney.
Urban Legends: The Truth Behind All Those Deliciously Entertaining
Myths That are Absolutely, Positively, 100% Not True! by Richard
Roeper.
The Big Book of Urban Legends: Adapted From the Works of Jan
Harold Brunvand by Robert Loren Fleming and
Robert F. Boyd, Jr. [A graphic novel.]
Websites
Urban Legends on About.com
-- Groups urban legends by many categories, including Animals, Crime,
Science, and Show Biz. Each story includes links to articles and websites
that have more information on the topic.
Urban Legends Reference Pages --
Categories include Disney, Holidays, Luck, Quotes, and Sports. Each item
is listed as "true," "false," or "undetermined."
