wildaspie

Urban legends and friend-of-a-friend (FOAF) stories are today’s incarnation of folklore.  Folklore that endures becomes a culture’s mythos, preserving a society’s values, perspectives, and fears.

Many of these tales are familiar; some are updated versions of older lore and legend, and others are current stories shared all across the country as fact.

Sometimes, a legend will start with a fact – usually something spectacular, gruesome, bizarre or ironic – and in the retelling be embellished, inflated, or otherwise “bettered” to appeal to the audience.

Email and the Internet have improved the ease and speed with which folklore is shared.  Many recipients know the story is false but forward it anyway, because of the moral, the style of telling, or simply because the telling and retelling of our myths is a way to keep connected with each other and our common experiences.

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