URBAN LEGENDS

Chandrika Rao
WHAT IS AN URBAN LEGEND?
Urban legends are a type of folklore, defined as the handed-down beliefs, stories,
songs, and customs of ordinary people ("the folk").
Unlike novels and short stories, which are produced by individual authors and
formally published, urban legends emerge spontaneously, spread "virally" from
person to person, and are rarely traceable to a single point of origin.
Urban legends tend to change over time with repetition.
The phrase "urban legend" entered the popular lexicon in the early 1980s with the
publication of folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand's first book on the subject, The
Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their Meanings (W.W.
Norton, 1981).
Urban legends become synonymous with “false belief” - viral stories that are
indeed usually false but which may also, on occasion, turn out to be true, or at
least loosely based on real events.
 LIST OF COMMON CHARACTERISTICS

• The crucial factor is that the story is told as true, in the absence of verification. Factual or not,
when an urban legend is told it's meant to be believed.
• It's a narrative (a story).
• It's of spontaneous (or indeterminate) origin.
• It's likely to take the form of a cautionary tale.
• It's alleged to be true though its veracity is unproven.
• It's marginally plausible.
• It's likely to be attributed to a putatively trustworthy secondhand source (e.g., "a friend of a
friend," "my boss's wife," "my sister's accountant," etc.).
• It circulates by being passed from individual to individual, orally or in writing.
• It varies in the telling.
URBAN TALES FROM AROUND
THE WORLD
Bangalore, India
The staff members at the Bangalore International Airport were left petrified when
reports of a lady clad in white sari started doing the rounds in 2008.
After a pilot supposedly spotted the woman on the runway, a ground staffer
picked her up but she disappeared before they reached the terminal building.
Likewise, the pilot and the staffer also ‘disappeared’ from the scene and no one
eventually came forward to claim that they spotted the ghost.
URBAN TALES FROM AROUND THE
WORLD
The Alice Killings: Japan
This is one of Japan’s most famous urban legends. The legend revolves around a
series of killings that supposedly occurred between 1999 and 2005. The victims
had no relationship to one another, and the killings seemed unrelated in every
way, but they shared a haunting similarity.
A single playing card was found by each body with the word “Alice” written in
the victim’s blood. For an unsubstantiated urban legend, the specifics of these
murders were very consistent, right down to the names (and details) of the murder
victims.
There is no evidence, however, that these killings took place, and whether or not
they did, is debated. The truth is, though, that there was a serial killer who
identified his murders with playing cards. But he operated in Spain, not Japan.
Luckily, this Playing Card Killer was caught in 2003 and sentenced to 142 years
in prison.
URBAN TALES FROM AROUND
THE WORLD
Charlie No-Face: Pennsylvania, U.S.A
This twentieth-century urban legend haunted residents of Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. The legend had it that a figure with a severely burned face lurked
around an abandoned train tunnel at night and made electricity go haywire with
his very presence. Curious teenagers would sneak out to the tunnel to try to catch
a glimpse of him.
It turned out that ‘Charlie No-Face’ was actually a real person; but his name
wasn’t Charlie. His name was Raymond Robinson, and he had suffered a severe
accident involving an electrical line that left him with a disfigured face. Because
of this, he became a bit of a recluse, staying inside during the day and only
venturing out at night.
But he didn’t do any haunting - in fact, he was friendly and would occasionally let
curious teens take pictures with him in exchange for cigarettes.
URBAN TALES FROM AROUND
THE WORLD
The Unwanted Passenger: Dubai, UAE
In the Emirate of Dubai, along its airport road, lies a tunnel, notorious among
motorists, for being paranormal in nature. Several motorists claim to have experienced
the supernatural when passing through the area.
Those who experienced paranormal activity there, claim to have seen a woman dressed
in an elegant Arabic wedding dress. The woman would mysteriously appear in
the rearview mirror as a backseat passenger, when they pass the supposedly haunted
area. Those who were brave enough to turn around and confront her, would find the
back seat empty.
All those who have experienced this however, were of the opinion that the woman
would make no sound nor cause any harm to the motorist. She would simply stare
sadly outside the car window, and eventually disappear, once the driver passed the area.
Did she die from a broken heart? Or was she a victim of a tragic car accident on her
wedding day? We may never know.
 CONCLUSION
• Urban legends have existed for many years. Contemporary tales such as these encompass the
traditions common to cultures, subcultures or groups.
• The compelling appeal of a typical urban legend is its elements of mystery, horror, fear or humour.
Often they serve as cautionary tales.
• These myths have lasted through time and experienced more attention through changes in technology.
• The information age has helped the Internet act as a medium for these stories. They are forwarded to
many people, read, believed and passed on.
• The Purpose of this Presentation: to give an insight into the history of these kinds of stories, their
purpose for being created and believed; and the normal pattern for an urban legend.