[want to see]

The Truth Behind Urban Legends And Myths
By Celeste Stewart


As a kid, did you love telling creepy stories around the campfire? Ghost stories, fanciful tales and urban legends can send shivers up the spine and reinforce fears. While ghost stories and tall tales are usually seen for what they are (stories), urban legends are often told, and believed, as truth. Today, urban legends and myths spread even faster than before thanks to the Internet. If you’re a sucker for a good story, you’ve probably fallen for your share of urban legends. While most urban legends are harmless, others are embarrassing and even dangerous if people believe ones relate to health care issues. Learn how to recognize legendary stories and reign in your gullibility.

What is an Urban Legend?
Urban legends are contemporary stories of ordinary people, events and incidents that happened to someone that the storyteller knows (or “sort of” knows such as a friend of a friend’s father). This relationship gives credibility to the story because it’s almost an eyewitness account. These stories are told as being true events that recently happened. In addition, they often contain local names to further reinforce the validity of the story. For example, did you hear about the rattlesnake that bit a 3-year-old in the ball pit at the Burger King on Main Street? You’ll know this story is true because Sara’s preschool teacher’s sister was there when it happened.

Contemporary events, settings and incidents are prominent in these stories to keep them fresh. Even an old legend can be reinvented by changing the setting from a stagecoach to an airliner. You’ll hear these stories told by friends, family members, co-workers, and acquaintances as well as read them in e-mails. Many people instantly believe the story to be true because of the source. Your best friend wouldn’t lie to you and she swears that her cousin knows the person the story happened to. Since you trust her judgment, the urban legend sneaks pass your normal skepticism. As such, you may even tell the story to your sister or other friends.
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I guess that the Dropa Stone story needs moved here ;-(

[Tin Foil Princess]

[quote name='want to see' post='33575' date='Feb 8 2008, 10:50 AM']The Truth Behind Urban Legends And Myths
By Celeste Stewart


As a kid, did you love telling creepy stories around the campfire? Ghost stories, fanciful tales and urban legends can send shivers up the spine and reinforce fears. While ghost stories and tall tales are usually seen for what they are (stories), urban legends are often told, and believed, as truth. Today, urban legends and myths spread even faster than before thanks to the Internet. If you’re a sucker for a good story, you’ve probably fallen for your share of urban legends. While most urban legends are harmless, others are embarrassing and even dangerous if people believe ones relate to health care issues. Learn how to recognize legendary stories and reign in your gullibility.



This is me still, I like creepy stories , Urban legends. I know I can be very gullible at times.
With jokes or storys , I am like No, really ? what ever !

[Safire]

Personally, I think everything has some element of truth in it. Stories tend to get distorted throughout the years and something intended to teach a moral to a young child 150 years ago may have inevitably been altered along the way to scare the beejeezus out of us!

[trin]

Well and some of them are just fun...


Though that Dropa stone story, with the time frame of the supposed discovery (Japan was invading China, but WWII hadn't quite gone full blown for another couple years) may have come FROM China ("If we have something important worth saving maybe the US will come help us with this invasion.") but I think more likely it was written as part of a story in the US, or even a sort of "Mysterious East" (really really popular in that time frame too.) sort of feature article that really was just meant to amuse people... and it ran off and got a life of it's own.

Got a hero, like the Shadow, with special powers,...well if he's not from another planet how did he get them? Oh yeah, he learned in Tibet, where everyone knows magic really is understood and put to work there... ;) <IMHO, I think the Shadows powers could work as Granny Weatherwax would put it "Headology". and IMHO if we're talking Vajrayana or Zen Headology and Faith don't have a clear dividing line. :D >


I think my favorite Urban Legends are "The Baby Train" and "Choking Doberman"... though the one with "don't lick the envelopes" (spider or cockroach eggs in the glue) almost got me killed at work... (I was licking an envelope, got a scream and the story from a co worker, and almost fell off my chair LAUGHING. I thought she was going to beat me with the crate of envelopes...)

[want to see]

I like it... Fact turns into to fiction

[Caesar]

Personally, I think everything has some element of truth in it. Stories tend to get distorted throughout the years and something intended to teach a moral to a young child 150 years ago may have inevitably been altered along the way to scare the beejeezus out of us!

I couldn't agree more. I see this alot

[Tin Foil Princess]

Very good point Safire.

Trin , that envelope one I remember. LOL