Urban Legends
The subject of this report focuses on the phenomenon known as Urban Legend. Urban Legend, henceforth referred to as UL, is well known in the arena of folklore and other sorts of stories passed down through generations; however, it is relatively new to the world of literary composition as a legitimate genre to be analyzed and studied in texts by experts of literature. In fact, if it had to be labeled, UL would be considered a sub-genre of folklore by many of the experts. These stories are known as "modern oral folklore - typically a tall tale with a frisson of comeuppance of horror, related as having actually happened to a 'friend of a friend'" (Clute & Grant, 1997). UL is also considered to be very similar to myth and fantasy.
I originally became very interested in this phenomenon after seeing the film Urban Legend several years ago. My curiosity on the subject matter was rekindled when Stacey Burleson presented on "Legend" in our class. To be quite honest, I did not realize that UL was considered as being part of a genre of literature until Ms. Burleson's presentation. This newfound interest in the subject, as well as a desire to dig beyond the surface of the subject matter, is the reason I chose this topic. In doing this research, I realized that I have been participating in UL's every since I was a young boy. The simple fact that I never used the term "urban legend" is why I thought I was so unfamiliar with this subject area. During my childhood, my family and peers always referred to these legends as "campfire stories". It was not until college, when I saw the previously mentioned movie, that I associated the term with the countless stories I had heard and told to others.
According to Jan Harold Brunvand, considered by many to be the leading expert in the field of UL and fantasy folklore, UL's are "stories that are too good to be true. And are events that happen to a friend of a friend, or 'FOAF'."(Brunvand, 1999). Also, most of the time, the stories are told in such a believable manner because the storytellers themselves believe the story, or at least the probability that the actions in the stories could take place.
Brunvand, Jan Harold. The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends & Their Meanings. New York: W. W. Norton, 1981.
O'Flaherty, Wendy Doniger. Other People's Myths: The Cave of Echoes. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1988.
Brent, Liz. "Critical Essay on 'The Invisible Man; or, “Battle Royal'." Short Stories for Students.
Robert Knapp has come up with some ways to identify different types of rumors in his writing called A Psychology of Rumor. Knapp says, “In practice it has been found that the emotional needs most frequently served by rumors are wish, fear, and hostility” (496). Knapp uses the name Pipe-dream and Wish Rumor to describe the rumors that contain wishful thinking. He also uses the name Bogie Rumor when describing a rumor that comes from the fear and anxiety of the people. Knapp lastly uses The Wedge-driving Aggression Rumor when describing a rumor that is made out of aggression or hatred. One of these names will be chosen to categorize the reading called Paul is Dead by Alan Glen. The name that will categorize the rumor is the Bogie Rumor.
Throughout ancient history, many indigenous tribes and cultures have shown a common trait of being hunter/gatherer societies, relying solely on what nature had to offer. The geographical location influenced all aspects of tribal life including, spirituality, healing philosophy and healing practices. Despite vast differences in the geographical location, reports show various similarities relating to the spirituality, healing philosophy and healing practices of indigenous tribal cultures.
Why can we be so simply misled or deceived? Myths, folktales, legends and similar stories of freaky imagination often contain such a large amount of nonsense and clearly recognizable misinformation that one should identify the ‘masterpieces’, immediately and easily, as pure rubbish.
Native American healing is a general term that combines faith, spirituality, herbal medication, and rites. These healing beliefs and practices are used to care for people with medical and emotional conditions. Granting to the Native Americans, medicine is more about healing the person because they believe that illness arises from spiritual problems. Native American healing might not be capable to heal cancer, but can bear some worthwhile physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits. Religion and healing in Native America are a rich and nuanced discussion of Native Americans views on physical health, storytelling, history, and the future direction of Indigenous learning and discussion.
The medicine man is unswerving devoted to his calling for his entire life, both publicly and privately. Frequently he fasted and his thoughts would reflect upon the supernatural. Publicly his duties were numerous and onerous; dedicated children to the Great Spirit, carried out the setting up of the chief, confer military honors on the warrior, held leadership position for war, to enforce order he appointed officers for the buffalo hunts, when planting the maize he decide on the time to plant. Besides tribal rites and he officiated certain ceremonies. He was responsible for preserving traditions and the spiritual souls of his people.
Howard, Gregg. (2000). Native American Healing Alternative Medicine. Retrieved from the World Wide Web October 4, 2000: http://www.nativeamericanhealing.com
Urban legends are the supernatural folklore of our modern society. From one generation to the next, they orally travel throughout the world, constantly changing from one region to the next. Although cultural variations exist, the core of all these urban legends remains the same, to unveil the universally known individual and societal fears. “The Graveyard Wager” is a timeless urban legend told again and again, and the one of which I will explore more in depth.
The United States and Mexican border has been the focus of an abundant amount of controversy the past decade in the States. The border wall, or border fence, is one of several barriers preventing illegal Mexican and South American immigrants from entering the United States. However, as statistics prove, immigration and drug smuggling has been on the rise the past few decades and our “three prong approach” is not confronting the escalating issue at hand. America’s border security is not resilient enough to deter these illegal immigrants and drug smugglers; our border wall must be fortified immediately.
In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the theme of revenge is very palpable as the reader examines the characters of Hamlet himself, as well as Laertes, son of Polonius, and Fortinbras, prince of Norway and son of the late King Fortinbras. Each of these young characters felt the need to avenge the deaths of their fathers who they felt were untimely killed at the bloody hands of their murderers. However, the way each chose to go about this varies greatly and gives insight into their characters and how they progress throughout the play.
Revenge has caused the downfall of many a person. Its consuming nature causes one to act recklessly through anger rather than reason. Revenge is an emotion easily rationalized; one turn deserves another. However, this is a very dangerous theory to live by. Throughout Hamlet, revenge is a dominant theme. Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet all seek to avenge the deaths of their fathers. But in so doing, all three rely more on emotion than thought, and take a very big gamble, a gamble which eventually leads to the downfall and death of all but one of them. King Fortinbras was slain by King Hamlet in a sword battle. This entitled King Hamlet to the land that was possessed by Fortinbras because it was written in a seal'd compact. "…our valiant Hamlet-for so this side of our known world esteem'd him-did slay this Fortinbras." Young Fortinbras was enraged by his father’s murder and sought revenge against Denmark. He wanted to reclaim the land that had been lost to Denmark when his father was killed. "…Now sir, young Fortinbras…as it doth well appear unto our state-but to recover of us, by strong hand and terms compulsative, those foresaid lands so by his father lost…" Claudius becomes aware of Fortinbras’ plans, and in an evasive move, sends a message to the new King of Norway, Fortinbras’ uncle.
Bottigheimer Ruth B. Fairytales Folk Narrative Research and History “Social History” JSTOR 14, 3 (1989). 343-357, Taylor & Francis, Ltd.
A Folktale is described as the general term for the verbal, spiritual, and material aspects of any homogeneous preliterate or subliterate culture. These stories have been around and past down generations for thousands of years. Much controversy surrounds Folktales in determining the authenticity of the story. Many cultures strongly believe in their history and the tales that come along with it. On the other hand, many skeptics are headstrong in their beliefs that such characters featured in these folktales cease to exist and are told as entertainment and a way to promote strong ethical values in the generations to come. Folktales fall into the non-fiction genre of literature, which may cause confusion with some people considering we were all