These legends can be entertainment, but often concern mysterious peril or troubling events, such as disappearances and strange objects. For books on specific legends and folklore or specific countries, search the library catalog using two keywords to describe what you want. Broiled again the hottest urban legends going by jan harold brunvand 74 times the choking doberman. California new york pennsylvania michigan ohio illinois massachusetts new jersey florida. Firstly, it describes many common urban legends, and tries to trace the origin and evolution of the stories.
Below are a few books in the edmonds cc library that may help you explore the context and history for a particular urban legend. Scary urban legends, myths and true ghost stories to read online. List of books and articles about urban legends online. So prepare to get frightened because here are the top.
The 1994 comics anthology the big book of urban legends, written by. Urban legends, sometimes also called urban myths or urban belief tales, are unverifiable but allegedly true stories about funny, frightening, or supernatural events that have achieved wide popularity. The book that launched americas urban legend obsession. Some are meant to entertain, others are meant to teach a lesson, and many others are more than a little spooky. A qualified esl teacher and graduate of the university of warwicks english literature and creative writing programme, you can connect with. Urban legends haunt the teenagers of generations past and present, and these ones are the creepiest ones we could find in america. Embracing these fears by sharing them with a group is a way of confronting and. Tales of the wendigo were used to allegorize the dangers of greed. Check out dark and terrifying myths and legends from all over the world, including japanese, mexican, korean and chinese. The origins of 6 terrifying urban legends and classic. Based on the legends of the algonquinspeaking people, the wendigo is an early form of the idea of a zombie or a cannibal, something that was once human but now lives off human flesh. And other urban legends by jan harold brunvand 63 times too good to be true. Urban legends 2 is a fantastic sequel to the original urban legend film. The skinwalkers, like so many ancient american urban legends, have roots in native american folklore.
Urban legends are often rooted in local history and popular culture. Guest blogger joel heckaman put together this list of michigan. From the mothman of west virginia to the jersey devil, socalled cryptozoologists remain everwatchful. It often consists of fictional stories associated with the macabre, superstitions, cryptids, creepypasta, and other fear generating narrative elements.
Top 10 urban legends from bloody mary to the spider bite, urban myths have inspired countless creepy books and films here james dawson shares his. A weekend that will change them foreverif they survive. American urban legends and their meanings by jan harold brunvand, the choking doberman. She then decides to make a film based on urban legend killings with some of her classmates.
Other stories are more likely to have been made up. Urban legends have been a part of growing up for generations. The story of the waterpanther spans multiple tribes, including cree, algonquin, ojibwe, and shawnee. From creepy folklore to rumors about celebrities and politicians, here are the top ten urban legends that have managed to gain a popular following. Folklore scholar jan harold brunvand assembles the bestknown. Old west legends adventures in the american west produced by kathy weiseralexander, narrated by dave alexander. List of books and articles about urban legends online research. Usually, they happened to a friend of a friends second cousin, and in almost every case theyre completely untrue. The creepiest urban legends and ghost stories from arizona 7. The groundbreaking book that launched americas urban legend obsession. American urban legends and their meanings by jan harold brunvand 87 times curses. Urban legends online is where youll find the most popular urban legends and be entertained with email rumors, recent internet hoaxes and stories you swore actually happened to your friends, cousins, pet sitters, roommate, when she was in college. Scary urban legends are rarely factually verified but do reveal important truths about our deepest, darkest fears.
An urban legend, myth, or tale is a modern genre of folklore. Secondly, it attempts to provide an analysis or the reason for such legends appearing. American legends series local and regional history books. Each woman has come to the retreat for different reasons. He is mostly known for sucking the blood out of livestock. And at the end of this weekend only one will be left standing. In many of these old legends, told around the campfire or a roaring hearth, can be heard the approach of galloping horses, the whispers of phantoms in ghost towns, the faroff sounds of pistols blazing, and the sighing moans of the winds drifting through the ancient trees of hunting, mining, and cowboy camps. Sharing shared horror, scary stories and online rumors since 2004.
The vanishing hitchhiker was professor brunvands first popular. Explore our american legends series, which covers everything from urban legends to famous pirates and sea monsters. Snopes is the internets definitive resource for factchecking misinformation, debunking fake news, and researching urban legends. Internet archive contributor internet archive language english. American urban legends and their meanings his subsequent books have tended to revisit the same myths over and over again. Some true some false if you hear the same story retold with new variations these usually never happened some legends can be traced historically telltale warning signs can occur hoax spread by wordofmouth, email, the internet, and often retold via newspapers, radio and tv. Ghostless ghost stories, urban legends are modern day fairytales.
The definitive internet reference source for researching urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation. The culmination of twenty years of collection and research, this. 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. Some urban legends are created by adults who want to scare their kids into behaving. This is a book about american urban legends and their meanings. The term urban legends was first used sometime in the 1930s to designate a certain type of folklore. Tell these scary stories and horror tales around the campfire, at bedtime or on halloween night. So let us explore just some of these weird and wacky urban legends. No, a killer with a hook hand has never terrorized necking couples.
One of the most flexible urban legends of all time, the vanishing hitchhiker has been traced as far back as the 19 th century, where horseandwagon rides took the place of a car. Discover librarianselected research resources on urban legends from the questia online library, including fulltext online books. American urban legends are some of scariest stories ever weve invented bigfoot and the mothman, and we even saw witches in our own neighbors in salem. The 10 most terrifying native american legends the th. Heres some american folklore that you may not have heard yet, from the tricky wendigo to the closetotruth cropsey to the horrifying boo hags. Still, some urban legends have managed to gain a remarkable amount of credibility. Thats partly due to how often people report sightings of the creature all across the western hemisphere, including the southern united states. The origins behind 9 terrifying american urban legends. An evil spirit native to the northern coast of the united states and the great lakes, the wendigo may appear human, but it is not. An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend is a genre of folklore. Originating in postwar america, it recounts a story of a murderer with a hook prosthesis in. Michigan urban legends to tell around the campfire michigan. While such tales are often told with a wink and a smile, some continue to believe them.
Retellings of american folktales, tall tales, myths and legends, native american myths, weather folklore, ghost stories, and more from each of the 50 united states of. This list of books about urban legends and ghost stories is sponsored by forge books. Folklore scholar jan harold brunvand assembles the bestknown urban legendsincluding the hook, the spider in the hairdo, and the babysitter and the man upstairsand provides an enlightening and entertaining analysis of their variants and evolution. David emery is an internet folklore expert, and debunker of urban legends, hoaxes, and popular misconceptions. I was quite looking forward to this collection but it is the same stories retold in different accounts collected over the years. The vanishing hitchhiker was professor brunvands first popular book on urban legends, and it remains a classic.
The old west, often referred to as the wild west, encompasses the period after the civil war, the rest of the 1800s, and the early part of the 20th century up to 1912, when the last mainland states entered the union. The culmination of twenty years of collection and research, this book is a musthave for urban legend lovers. You can read about all sorts of famous characters like paul bunyan, pecos bill, jesse james, davy crockett, daniel boone, and many more. Urban legends often come with a dose of skepticism. Includes bibliographical references and index presents a collection of examples of major american urban legends, one of the most common forms of contemporary american folklore, and explains their popular appeal.
That we share these mysteriously appearing, modernage folk narratives and incorporate them into our lives binds us as communities and tells us something about ourselves. Amy is a young college student who is studying film production. It usually consists of fictional stories, often presented as true, with macabre or humorous elements, rooted in local popular culture. Jan harold brunvand wrote the first widely available discussion of urban legends and their meanings. Michael david wilson is a professional writer and editor. He is the founder of the ancestral health website and podcast, paleo minds. Urban legends an urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend is a form of modern folklore. He is the managing editor and owner of the popular uk horror website, podcast and small press, this is horror. Its usually described as a giant dragonlike feline, and the most common element is the monsters aquatic habitat. This folklore site contains retellings of american folktales, native american myths and legends, tall tales, weather folklore and ghost stories from each and every one of the 50 united states. Every country has their own scary urban legends that have been spread across their land.
7 949 940 1156 710 1203 1117 231 860 288 1266 93 1094 638 814 440 1370 369 468 956 38 441 14 346 1414 345 837 1264 431 200 813 796 716 1018 654 162