Urban Legends: Fact vs. "Fact" For hundreds of years, various folklore and local legends have been prime subjects of human intrigue and fascination. Over the past century, such folklore has been dubbed "Urban Legend." Also referred to as contemporary or modern legends, urban legends have become sources of education, entertainment, and explanations. What often starts as a mere rumor can potentially develop into an urban legend; a tale which attains this status somehow gains "truthfulness," …showed first 75 words of 1625 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1625 total…Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2000. Brunvand, Jan Harold. "Curses! Broiled Again!" Literary Culture: Reading and Writing Literary Arguments. Ed. L. Bensel-Meyers. Knoxville: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2002. 212-216. Mikkelson, Barbara. "Re: Organ Nicked: Vegetable." Online posting. 16 June 2000. Urban Legends Reference Pages: Horrors. 3 March 2003. http://www.snopes.com/horrors/robbery/kidney2.htm. Whatley, Mariamne H., and Elissa R. Henken. Did You Hear About the Girl Who...?: Contemporary Legends, Folklore, and Human Sexuality. New York: New York University Press, 2000.