urban legends
ENG 101-087 November 2, 2002 Paper Three; Final Urban Legends: Factual Fables & Folklore There are many definitions for urban legends. Many people think a urban legend must be a story, having to do with events that happened to someone involving some sort of plot. These urban legends usually do not have the “facts” of a traditional legend; they are almost always passed from person to person and contain some sort of message. The story is almost always changed to fit the format of the storyteller and the place and time in which the urban legend is told. Urban legends typically are told with some sort of underlying message that can be humorous, horrible or contain some sort of warning, morality issue, or embarrassment. Urban legends often contain a strange twist that is believable enough to stand as a rumored truth. ... This first urban legend states this clearly. ... This urban legend has a most basic moral lesson; do not stay out late making out before marriage and if a warning is heard, do not test it. ... 3 Another urban legend issues a warning concerning Halloween; I believe this urban legend to be a warning for adolescents as well as adults, about being cautious on what you let your children have from their bags of sugar coated goodness, especially when dealing with a stranger or an unfamiliar neighborhood. This urban legend tells of drug dealers coating temporary tattoos with LSD. ... One of my all time favorite urban legends is the story about the alligators in the sewers of New York City.