Urban Legends Essay -- essays research papers

Joel Beckwith Febuary 13, 2001Urban LegendsIn this paper I will explain exactly what an urban legend is,and give some examples of very touristed ones that have been passed byword of mouth for decades across the United States.1 " An urban legend is a story that is so bizarre,horrifying,or unexplainable, that it makes some affaire inside of us necessitate to believeit." Urban Legends can have traced origins from another(prenominal) countries,universities, states, or people,that just decided to made up as incredible story and pass it on to their friends and family members.Many of these legends were started in the sixties and seventies,and still continue to be passed on to this day. A good example, is the horrifying Pop Rocks death. 2"In the seventies ,school kids passed on the rumor that if Pop Rocks candy was eaten with any kind of soda,the mortals insides would explode". A legend that eventually forced the candy company company to prove as untrue. Most urban legen ds are began with "friend of a friend", which is a key in realizing that what you are going to hear is probably untrue.When I was in second grade, a famous legend was passed to me, the story of the well to Hell. Reportedly, down in Mexico, a group of hands were drilling holes in the ground looking for oil. These holes were thousands of feet deep, and the men heard horrifyingscreams coming from the depths below. Supposedly these these terrible sounds were coming from Hell. This story causedmuch debate among the Christian community, and was repeatingin news letters, and radio conversation shows around the country. Eventually,an urban legend investigator traced the story to a school teacher who admitted that she made the whole thing up.As legends are passed from person to person the stories aremodified and changed until several versions of the story actuallyexist.A good example of a mixed story is the classic urban legendof the vanishing hang-up hiker. Most versions of the s tory are told of a tall thin hitch hiker walking down the road until he gets picked up.As the stranger is in the cable car he stays quiet and doesnt speak until he says The end is near and disappears right before the drivers eyes.Other versions are told of a young girl who does the same thing sometimes the hitch hiker claims Jesus is coming again rightbefor... ...hich is which and who is who", we see the Wicked fascinate of the West looking at the dead feet of the Wicked Witch of the East. For "up..up..up", the Witch is on top of a ramp on "down..down.. down..", she is walking down. "And in the end", the dead Witch disappears. "Out..out..out", Good Witch Glynda exits in a bubble. The rime "Brain Damage" is played as the scarecrow sings "If I Only Had a Brain." The heartbeat heard at the end of the album coincides with Dorothy listening to the buttocks Mans heart. (These similarities are prepare at http//turnerclassicmovies.co m)Urban legends and their history can be a very interesting thing to devote your time to. The library has many good books on urban legends, one of the best is "Too Good to be True The Colossal Book of Urban Legends" by Jan Harold Brunvand. Jan Harold Brunvard has written other good books as urban legend references,including "The Baby Train" and "The Mexican Pet".Overall I enjoyed writing this report and I have found urban legends to be very interesting and I hope to explore them moreas a personal hobby.