Giant Rats and
Sinister Spiders:
Urban Myths
Since the beginnings of time, humans have
enjoyed being scared. We choose to go on
rollercoasters and scream as we plummet
towards the ground; we are captivated by
horror movies and stories; we seek out
extreme activities such as bungee jumping
and zip wiring. And while it’s true to say that
some of us like the feeling of fear more than
Is that a spider bite… or something worse?
others, it’s true that most people understand
the thrill of danger to a certain extent.
It’s probably this penchant for being scared
which has spawned urban myths. These
are modern-day folk stories which are passed
off as true. They usually have a unifying theme:
they involve danger or gore. They often have a
supernatural element, and they can thrive on
the basis that they cannot be explained. Twenty
years ago, urban legends were mostly spread by
word of mouth – now the internet is a breeding
ground for weird and wonderful stories.
Often, the stories will be slightly altered or
adapted to suit local circumstances or individuals.
Here’s a selection of some of the most popular
urban legends. Do you recognise any of them?
The Sinister Spiders
Urban Myth: The holiday of a lifetime
became memorable for all the wrong
reasons when a woman was bitten by a
spider recently. Staying in a tropical location,
she had been warned about the local
wildlife, and thought she was protected
– but somehow, a spider crept under her
net while she was asleep, and bit her on
the cheek.
When she awoke the next morning, the woman
had a nasty bite. She put cream on it, and
Photo courtesy of RudiSteenkamp (@wikimedia.org) - granted under
creative commons licence - attribution
tried to ignore it. But it kept itching. When she
returned to her home, she still had the bite
and it seemed to have become bigger. She
went to the doctor, who lanced the lump – and
out came hundreds of tiny spiders! The spider
hadn’t bitten her – it had laid eggs inside her.
Debunked: There is no record of anyone having
a spider lay eggs inside their body. There are
lots of horror stories with similar ideas, and
there are many versions of this myth, but none
of them have ever been found to be true. This
urban legend is popular because it plays on a
popular fear – arachnophobia.
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 The Soft-Drink Santa
The Urban Myth: Do you know the reason
that Santa is always pictured wearing red?
It’s all thanks to the marketing strategy of a
particular soft drinks manufacturer. In the
1930s, they launched an advertising campaign
showing Father Christmas with their drink –
and because their brand colour is red, they
changed Santa’s suit to red! So every time we
look at Father Christmas, we’re actually looking
at a marketing image.
The Uninvited Passenger
Urban Myth: A woman finishes work late at
night, and walks out to her car in the car park.
She gets in, and begins her journey home. Not
long into the journey, though, she is shocked to
look in her rear-view mirror and discover a car
following close behind her, flashing its lights.
Terrified, the woman speeds up and tries to
escape from her pursuer, but they continue
to follow, flashing their lights and trying to get
her to pull over. At last, the petrified woman
reaches a petrol station and stops the car,
planning to appeal for help. As she gets out,
though, she is horrified to see a shape rise up
Is Santa as innocent as he seems?
Debunked: There are images showing Father
Christmas wearing red dating back to the
1800s – way before any soft drink advertising.
Santa has always been depicted in a number
of different ways, and while it’s true that there
was an advertising campaign showing Santa
wearing red, this wasn’t a new image for him.
It’s possible that the colour is actually taken
from the hue of bishops’ robes – after all,
Santa is actually Saint Nicholas, a 4th century
Christian saint.
from the back seat – there has been a man in
the car with her all along! Her pursuer spotted
him, and was trying to warn her. It turns out
the unwanted passenger is a dangerous
psychopath, recently escaped from prison.
Luckily, she escapes unscathed…
Debunked: The basic elements of this myth
have been used in many horror films and
books, but it’s not thought to have any basis in
reality. Because it challenges our perceptions
(we assume the pursuer is the person with evil
intent), it makes a good moral story. But from
a safety point of view, it’s still advisable not to
pull over for a stranger!
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 Giant rats: are they over-running New York?
Photo courtesy of Earth’sbuddy (@wikipedia.org) - granted under creative
commons licence - attribution
The Giant Rats
Urban Myth: Have you heard about the
giant rats in New York City? They live under
the pavements, using the sewer system
to navigate the city. People who’ve seen
them claim they’re as big as dogs, and
incredibly fierce. Some claim they eat each
other – others claim they prey on homeless
people. Not only are these beasts huge,
they also outnumber the humans in the city
by as many as five to one.
Debunked: Like all cities, New York has its
fair share of rodents, but it doesn’t have
more rats than people. The rat population
has grown in recent years, but the city is not
overrun yet. And people are certainly not
being eaten!
The Chain Letter
The Urban Myth: A man collects his post one
day and finds a mysterious letter in the pile
among the bills and circulars. Curious, he tears
it open and reads the contents. This letter can
bring you great good fortune, it reads, but only if
you copy it and send it on to ten of your friends.
If you don’t, then something terrible will
happen to you…
Sceptical, the man screws up the letter and
throws it in the bin. But then the next day, he
receives a letter telling him that his brother
has died. And the next day, he is the victim of a
mugging. And the bad luck goes on and on – all
because he ignored the warning in the letter.
Debunked: The chain letter is one of the
most tenacious of urban myths. So called
because they create a chain of recipients, the
threatening letters used to be delivered by
post, but the advent of the digital age means
they are now sent via email or messaging apps.
Often, they can be accompanied by a meme or
picture, and they can play on the emotions of
the recipient, telling the person that they don’t
care about cancer, or war, if they don’t forward
on the message. This is complete nonsense, of
course: the best thing to do with a chain letter,
email or message, is to delete and ignore it.
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 Yum! Chicken burger, anyone?

The Freaky Food

Urban Myth: Everyone loves fast food, don’t
they? A big favourite is a juicy chicken burger:
take a big bite, and let the mayonnaise squirt
into your mouth. Yum! But hang on – what’s
that in the burger? Oh no! You’ve just bitten
into a massive chicken cyst. And that
wasn’t mayonnaise – it was pus!
Or maybe chicken burgers aren’t your thing.
How about fried chicken instead? Only… is it
fried chicken? Are you sure it isn’t rat?
And have you heard how chicken companies
are meeting the demand for fried chicken?
They’re breeding genetically-modified
chickens with no feathers, no eyes… they’re
basically just walking lumps of chicken meat.
Feeling hungry?
Debunked: We all need food to eat – it’s
essential to life. Small wonder, then, that Be a Sceptic! folklore and explain the truth behind some
food is a common target for urban myths. sensational claims. Remember, it can be
The advent of the internet may have made
Although fast food isn’t great for your fun to read about weird and wonderful
urban myths much more prevalent, but it
health, it is subject to rigorous food standard things, but always remain sceptical
has also ensured there are plenty of places
practices, so is unlikely to contain anything and critical of any stories you hear.
to research the truth behind the stories.
more dangerous than too much fat and Research them carefully, and don’t be
Many sites are set up to debunk modern
salt!sollicitudin augue. taken in by tall tales!

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