"urban legend"

• "The Choking Doberman," a creepy campfire story about a burglar whose hidden presence in a family home is revealed when the homeowner's dog coughs up a chewed-off finger, is always related as a true event but in fact is regarded by folklorists as a classic urban legend.
• "The lack of verification in no way diminishes the appeal urban legends have for us. We enjoy them merely as stories, and we tend at least to half-believe them as possibly accurate reports." -- Jan Harold Brunvand

Common Urban Legends:

• Alligators in the Sewers
• The Hook
• The Microwaved Pet
• The Neiman Marcus $250 Cookie Recipe