The Complete Idiot's Guide to Urban Legends

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Urban Legends PDF Author: Brandon Toropov
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9780028640075
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 334

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Book Description
A collection of modern-day urban myths and folklore explores questions relating to famous figures, government conspiracies, paranoia, revenge, chain letters, and humiliating experiences.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Urban Legends

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Urban Legends PDF Author: Brandon Toropov
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9780028640075
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 334

Get Book Here

Book Description
A collection of modern-day urban myths and folklore explores questions relating to famous figures, government conspiracies, paranoia, revenge, chain letters, and humiliating experiences.

Aren't You Glad You Didn't Turn On The Light? (Urban Legend)

Aren't You Glad You Didn't Turn On The Light? (Urban Legend) PDF Author: Drac Von Stoller
Publisher: Drac Von Stoller
ISBN: 1301165050
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 3

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Book Description
Meg was happy to finally have the chance her other sisters didn't, and that was going to college. Meg's sisters helped her move into her new dorm. Her sisters were introduced to her roommate Samantha. Meg and Samantha got along well and helped each other in their studies. Samantha needed the most help with her homework because she liked to party and Meg always had her head in the textbooks. Midterms were just around the corner, and a big party was being held at a good friend of Samantha's house, of course, Samantha wasn't going to miss the party over a midterm exam. Samantha said, "Meg there is a party at one of my friend’s house and there is a guy I would like you to meet. What do you say? You want to come or are you going to stay inside this boring dorm studying all weekend?" "Well it sure sounds tempting, but I want to keep my average at an ‘A’ in every class," replied Meg. "Okay, Meg, but this guy is really cute," said Samantha. "I'm sure he is. You go on and have a good time at the party, and thanks anyway for the invitation, that was kind of you to think of me," replied Meg.

Too Good to Be True: The Colossal Book of Urban Legends

Too Good to Be True: The Colossal Book of Urban Legends PDF Author: Jan Harold Brunvand
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393104168
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 485

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Book Description
"If you enjoy these too-good-to-be-true tales, Brunvand's new book will give you hours of pleasure."—Chicago Tribune A fabulously entertaining book from the ultimate authority on those almost believable tales that always happen to a "friend of a friend." Alligators in the sewers? A pet in the microwave? A tragic misunderstanding of the function of cruise control? No, it didn't really happen to your friend's sister's neighbor: it's an urban legend. And no matter how savvy you think you are, you are sure to find in this collection of over 200 tales at least one story you would have sworn was true. Jan Harold Brunvand has been collecting and studying this modern folklore for over twenty years. In Too Good to Be True he captures the best stories in their best retellings, along with their latest variations and examples of how the stories have changed as they move from person to person and place to place. To help you find your favorite, Brunvand has arranged the tales thematically. "Bringing Up Baby" is full of episodes of child-rearing gone wrong, including the grisly tale of the drugged out baby-sitter who mistakes the kid for a turkey. "Funny Business" showcases stories of infamous lapses in customer service, such as the story of the shockingly expensive chocolate chip cookie recipe. And "The Criminal Mind" features both brilliant --if they were real --scams, as well as the purported antics of the less mentally gifted. Whether you want to become an expert debunker or just have plenty of laughs, this book will surprise and entertain you. Illustrated throughout. "Informative and entertaining.... Brunvand has collected more than 200 of the most-repeated and best-known examples of modern folk-myth."—Tampa Tribune "[N]ot only an entertaining anthology, but an excellent introduction to the study of folklore itself."—Publishers Weekly "A fun read... . All the classics are here from the killer upstairs to the Kentucky Fried Rat."—New City "Resonant stories that express our hidden anxieties ... make us laugh, [or] arouse our fascinated horror."—San Francisco Chronicle Book Review "Informative and entertaining... . Brunvand has collected more than 200 of the most-repeated and best-known examples of modern folk-myth."—Tampa Tribune "[N]ot only an entertaining anthology, but an excellent introduction to the study of folklore itself."—Publishers Weekly

Creepy Urban Legends

Creepy Urban Legends PDF Author: Tim O'Shei
Publisher: Capstone
ISBN: 1429645725
Category : Folklore
Languages : en
Pages : 18

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Book Description
"Describes scary urban legends, including The Vanishing Hitchhiker and The Babysitter on the Phone"--Provided by publisher.

Encyclopedia of Urban Legends [2 volumes]

Encyclopedia of Urban Legends [2 volumes] PDF Author: Jan Harold Brunvand
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 911

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Book Description
This revised edition of the original reference standard for urban legends provides an updated anthology of common myths and stories, and presents expanded coverage of international legends and tales shared and popularized online. From roasted babies to vanishing hitchhikers to housewives in football helmets, this exhaustive and highly readable encyclopedia provides descriptions of hundreds of individual legends and their variations, examines legend themes, and explains scholarly approaches to the genre. Revised and expanded to include updated versions of the entries from the award-winning first edition, this work provides additional entries on a wide range of new topics that include terrorism, recent political events, and Hurricane Katrina. Entries in Encyclopedia of Urban Legends, Updated and Expanded Edition discuss the presence of urban legends in comic books, literature, film, music, and many other areas of popular culture, as well as the existence of "too good to be true" stories in Argentina, China, Italy, Japan, Mexico, and several other countries. Serving as both an anthology of stories as well as a reference work, this encyclopedia will serve as a valuable resource for students and a source book for journalists, professional folklorists, and others who are researching or interested in urban legends.

Film, Folklore, and Urban Legends

Film, Folklore, and Urban Legends PDF Author: Mikel J. Koven
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
ISBN: 9780810860254
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
From Alien to When a Stranger Calls, many films are based on folklore or employ an urban legend element to propel the narrative. Films, Folklore and Urban Legends explores the convergence of folklore with popular cinema studies and focuses on the study of urban legends and how these narratives are used as inspiration for a number of films. Beginning with a general survey of the existing literature on folklore/film, this book addresses discourses of belief, how urban legends provide the organizing principle of some films, and how certain films "act out" or perform a legend.

Campus Legends

Campus Legends PDF Author: Elizabeth Tucker
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313038163
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
Since the earliest days of universities, students have told stories about their daily lives, often emphasizing extraordinary, surprising, and baffling events. This book examines the fascinating world of college and university legends. While it primarily looks at legends, it also gives some attention to rumors, pranks, rituals, and other forms of folklore. Included are introductory chapters on types of campus folklore, a collection of some 50 legends from a broad range of colleges and universities, an overview of scholarship, and a discussion of campus legends in movies, television, and popular culture. Since the earliest days of universities, students have told stories about their daily lives, often emphasizing extraordinary, surprising, and baffling events. Legends often dramatize certain hopes and fears, showing how stressful and exciting the college experience can be. From the stereotype of the absent minded professor to the adventures of spring break to the mysterious world of fraternities and sororities, campus legends have also become an important part of popular culture. This book provides a convenient, readable introduction to campus legends. While the volume focuses primarily on legends, it also explores rumors, pranks, rituals, and other related folklore types. The book begins with an overview of college and university folklore. This is followed by a discussion of particular types of legends and other folklore genres. The handbook then presents some 50 examples of college and university legends, including ghost stories, urban legends, food lore, drinking tales, murders and suicides, and many others. These examples are accompanied by brief comments. The book next surveys scholarship on campus folklore and discusses the place of college and university legends in films, television, literature, and popular culture. The volume cites numerous print and electronic resources.

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid: The Book of Scary Urban Legends

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid: The Book of Scary Urban Legends PDF Author: Jan Harold Brunvand
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393350401
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
An anthology of the most chilling urban legends of all time collected by the maestro himself. Urban legends are those strange, but seemingly credible tales that always happen to a friend of a friend. For the first time, Professor Jan Harold Brunvand, "who has achieved almost legendary status" (Choice), has collected the creepiest, most terrifying urban legends, many that have spooked you since your childhood and others that you believe really did occur—even if it was one town over to some poor hapless coed who left a party early only to be followed by a man who just got loose from a mental hospital. From the classic hook-man story told around many a campfire to "Saved by a Cell Phone," these spine-tingling urban legends will give you goose bumps, even when you know they can't be true. Still, you'll continue to check the backseat of your car at gas stations and look under your bed at night before praying for sleep.

Urban Legends

Urban Legends PDF Author: Gillian Bennett
Publisher: Greenwood
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 382

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Book Description
Presents the basic stories behind urban myths and legends from around the world, along with examples of each, and groups them by theme, which includes city life, horror, accidents, disease, animals, sex, merchandise, murder, and the supernatural.

Phantom Hitchhikers and Other Urban Legends

Phantom Hitchhikers and Other Urban Legends PDF Author: Albert Jack
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101619341
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 163

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Book Description
Have you heard the one about… • Walt Disney’s frozen body? • Coca-Cola owning Santa Claus? • Alligators living in New York City sewers? We all love a good story. But where do the urban legends, conspiracy theories, and old wives’ tales we hear every day really originate? Albert Jack explores the best, strangest, and funniest of the tales so many of us take as gospel, and uncovers some eye-popping true stories that are even more far-fetched than their mythical counterparts. From Robin Hood to JFK’s brain, from hamsters under carpets to mysterious travelers, you’ll never be short of a scary or bizarre anecdote again.