Classic Urban Legends

By David Emery, About.com Guide to Urban Legends

Urban legends first won mainstream popularity with the publishing of folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand's series of books on the subject, beginning with "The Vanishing Hitchhiker" in 1981. Thanks to him, many of these familiar "friend-of-a-friend" tales are now recognized as "classics" in the genre.

1. Did You Hear the One About...?
2. Tales of Fear and Loathing

Did You Hear the One About...?

Here is a sampler of some of the best-known urban legends of the past quarter-century. Some may have begun as "campfire tales," others as back-fence gossip, still others as idle street chatter or high-school whisper campaigns. These days they're liable to turn up anywhere -- in an email, on the TV news, in a blog posting, or even in a text message.

• Alligators in the Sewers
• Aren't You Glad You Didn't Turn on the Light?
• Biscuits for Brains
• The Celebrity and the Good Samaritan
• The Choking Doberman
• The Dead Cat in the Package
• The Death of Little Mikey
• The Fatal Hairdo

• The Halloween Surprise
• The Hook
• The Kidney Thieves
• The Missing Day in Time
• The Neiman Marcus Cookie Recipe
• The Poodle in the Microwave
• Richard Gere and the Gerbil
• The Stolen Granny

Tales of Fear and Loathing

One way an urban legend persists over time is by provoking a strong emotional response in the listener (or reader), which stimulates a desire to share the experience by passing it along to others. Fear and loathing work especially well in this regard. No wonder so much of urban folklore explores the darker side of human life. We are fascinated by what horrifies and repels us.

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