Urban Legends Explained

Have you heard the one about “The Choking Doberman?” Or “The Stolen Kidney?” The Doberman story actually happened to my friend’s cousin’s neighbor’s vet…or maybe not. Welcome to the world of urban legends, these resilient, contemporary, often-frightening stories that always seem to have been witnessed by a FOAF (friend of a friend). Learn about their societal function and how they differ from fairytales and myths.

If you haven’t seen Bigfoot lately, it’s because he really prefers to remain hidden. The elusive nature of cryptids affects both folklorists and cryptozoologists, but in different ways. Explore the history of Bigfoot as an urban legend, as well as several other cryptids including the Yeti, Nessie, the Mothman, and Tizzie-Whizies. Learn why people continue to believe so passionately in these cryptids, without any real proof.

Among all the different kinds of folk narratives, urban legends are the quickest to adapt to new environments. Learn how the concept of oikotype development allows urban legends to thrive and explore the differences between the South African and American versions of the “Kentucky Fried Rat.” You’ll also discover a similar development in the school-haunting legends involving children.

"The Call is Coming from inside the House," is one of the most well-known urban legends that take place inside the home. Discover exactly why a house - haunted or otherwise - cramped college dorm room, or a seedy hotel are the locations for so many urban legends. And have you heard the one called "The Statue in the Corner." What is it about the title itself that makes it sound so creepy?

Cars can be wonderful places of exploration for teens and—for those very same reasons—frightening places for parents. That’s one reason there are so many urban legends about cars and so much crossover with stories about teens. Here, you’ll explore “The Man with the Hook,” “The Man in the Backseat,” and more, as well as consider what new urban legends might develop.

Ghost stories have not vanished! Their inherent malleability and flexibility make them great subjects for urban legends, regardless of whether the listener believes in spirituality from the religious viewpoint or the supernatural at all. Explore “The Vanishing Hitchhiker” in several of its incarnations to discover the wide variety of anxieties and lessons the legend addresses. Chances are you will remember at least one version from your own youth.

The internet has become the breeding ground and the home of some of the most famous and most unsettling urban legends circulating right now. In this lecture, you’ll learn how urban legends develop and maintain themselves on the internet and about the four main types of creepypasta. Specifically, you’ll meet “Slenderman” and learn about “Candle Cove” and explore why they are so frightening.

Do exploding toilets sound funny to you? When it comes to humor in urban legends, each person takes it differently. Two of the biggest categories are sexual and scatological, both of which are largely considered taboo. Could this be exactly the reason those stories stay in circulation? Explore your own reactions to “The Philanderer’s Car,” “The Cement Cadillac,” and “The Nude Housewife.”

Explore foodways, the cultural and social practices surrounding food. While we all need to eat, urban legends addressing foodways show that our issues related to food differ significantly across different generations and cultures. Discover how you react to “Bye, Mom,” “The Red Velvet Cake,” and “The Steak under the Hat,” all of which address our relationships to food.

Before science could answer our medical questions, we turned to folktales and urban legends—and we still do. Health legends aren’t inherently good or bad, and they can help people share “untellable” experiences when other avenues are closed. But unfortunately, urban legends can shape ideas that form the basis of health decisions and actions in bad ways too. Discover what you can learn from your own reaction to “The Cannibal’s Gift” and other legends.

Imagine being asleep and in danger but unable to move to save yourself. That is the terrifying experience of the Mara, from which we get the word nightmare. This legend isn’t going around much anymore, now that we know about sleep paralysis, but people referred to it for hundreds of years. Explore the relationship between the Mara, fairies, and the new urban legends of alien abductions.

Can urban legends be true? If they were 100% factual, they wouldn’t be legends at all. They would simply be the truth. But if they didn’t have at least a grain of truth, they would most likely stop circulating and fade into history. Learn how and why urban legends keep us guessing, what can happen when people try to test them out, and how they reflect the very shape of the world as we see it.