Humans are natural storytellers. A modern version of folklore is traveling “true” tales known as urban legends. However, they aren’t always “urban” and they don’t always qualify as legends – more like nasty rumors with legs. The most popular urban legends tell a story that’s usually so good, it SHOULD be true but a closer look would show that it isn’t. Other popular urban legends are warnings about scams, violence or hidden dangers. Common untruths or “old wives tales” may also come under the general term of urban legend. While the stories may contain a grain of truth, the circulating version has been changed to the point where it no longer resembles the original event if it did indeed occur. Commonly, the events are said to have happened to a nameless “friend of a friend” which makes them difficult if not impossible to verify. These types of stories travel the “grapevine” from person to person by word of mouth or, most recently, by the Internet and email which spread them worldwide with exceptional efficiency. Some of the same themes and stories are recirculated every few years – slightly changed or modernized from the original. Occasionally, the tales are given local details to add to the dramatic impact. Concerned people who hear scary warnings that may endanger a traveler or child, or those who want to spread the word about a missing person or someone in need pass the email on as a public service – thinking it’s better to be safe than sorry.
It’s certain that people have been telling interesting and embellished stories for thousands of years. So, what is the harm of urban legends? In a time where we are bombarded with news and information, paying too much attention to a falsity could cause us to pay less attention to a reality. Police must deal with the nuisance of answering calls from concerned citizens and investigate incidents people swear are true. Businesses lose money and their reputation in response to a baseless rumor. In general, these intriguing (but not entirely true) reports can be very entertaining and tell us a lot about our current culture and public feeling. But, they also might cause people who believe them to become paranoid about more things than ever and waste time, money or energy worrying about a fear that’s just a tall tale.
- Sharon Hill (Scientist) |
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