Urban Legends...

[Ducky]

So I was inspired to list some urban legends I had grown up with, and mosly deal with Detroit. Here they are for discussion:

Detroit has many urban legends, like the Kwamster’s “alleged” wild party at the Manoogian Mansion, Devil's Night (not just another plot device, folks,) or Le Nain Rouge, the Red Dwarf, who materializes before a major disaster occurs — this one dates back to the 1700s, when the city was first settled.

Here's a few links:


Edison's Last Breath?

The amazing disappearing car...

The Red Dwarf.

Not to mention Hoffa's disappearance, which created all kinds of wild speculations from his body being under the Silverdome parking lot, to my parents jokingly pointing out the concrete for the foundation of their house was poured the day after he disappeared.

Marie Caroline Watson Hamlin published "LEGENDS OF LE DÉTROIT" which presented legends

in chronological order, from 1669 to 1815, covering Detroit's evolution from the French colonial period to the coming of the American Republic. They include Native legends and the entire cast of otherworly French-Canadian beings: the loup-garou, or were-wolf, the feu-follet or will o' the wisp, the chasse-galerie or flying canoe, not to mention numerous sorcerers and ghosts. But there are many local manifestations as well: the famous Nain rouge or Red Dwarf of Detroit, Sans-Souci, the enchanted mare, the Jesuit pear tree.

So, what spurrs an urban legend into being? Is it simply embellishments over time, creating a game of "telephone" per se, and morphing over time into an urban legend or are they deliberate fabrications intended to prove some point according to the teller's morals?

The big question I have is whether or not urban legends are "dangerous." For example, is there harm in telling fabricated tales of yore, or is it all just fun around the campfire?

Anyone have any fun urban legends from their hometown?


(ETA links.)

 

[Starthinker]

I think Urban Legends are just Legends updated. I'm sure when humans first started speaking and developing language that the first sentences were, "This really happened to brother's girlfriend's uncle...." I mean, legends have been around forever and "urban" legends are just new, with current trends and technology woven in. And they probably serve the same purpose.

"Come home before dark, or a vampire will suck your blood" vs "Come home before dark, or escaped psychopath will get you with his hook." Same lesson, different century.

 

[bob_kark]

The big question I have is whether or not urban legends are "dangerous." For example, is there harm in telling fabricated tales of yore, or is it all just fun around the campfire?

Well, I don't know how dangerous the urban legends you mentioned are, but some can be fairly damaging. For example, there was the urban legend that Tommy Hillfiger (sp?) made racist remarks on the Oprah show, Dr. Pepper is carbonated prune juice, Menthol Cigarettes contain fatal amounts of fiberglass to kill minorities (well, maybe it would actually be more beneficial for people to believe this one...) Even Target has been... targeted... in several recent email hoaxes telling people that they treat veterans unfairly.

Anyway, these are legends that get passed on without anyone taking time to fact check any of them. Even Spike Lee was duped by the Hillfiger one. In fact, I'm sure everyone here has been told an urban legend at one time or another that they believed, for a little while at least. Unfortunately, it seems easier to start up a blatent lie such as these than it is to educate people about the truth. There are several companies and people out there still trying to fight off these rumors and wasting thousands/millions of dollars to do so.

 

[Bronze Dog]

I'm glad we have the wonderful world of www.snopes.com

 

[bob_kark]

I'm glad we have the wonderful world of www.snopes.com

Ain't it grand?

 

[Matilda]

I was told a few months ago I had to be careful about my drink because a weird man might drop in a chemical THAT WOULD STERALISE ME!!!!
Well, that seems a simple alternative to surgery.
I explained snopes to said person.

(Just in case someone doesn't know, don't leave your drink unattended, rape drugs are real. And this way you can down your drink and get another).

 

[PatKelley]

About rohypnol (the standard date-rape drug, an updated chloral hydrate) my wife has a rather surprising ability. If anyone dropped that in her glass she'd down it and be fine. I've seen her drink several tablespoons of chloral hydrate and not sleep for hours.

Name it and she's tried it, and none of them work on her anymore. She just can't sleep normal.

Maybe she could get a job as a taste-tester at Greek parties...

 

[Mery Kitsune]

There are 2 urban legends/ghost stories here in the DFW area that I know of that I don't usually find somewhere else (a la vanishing hitchhiker)

La Llorna (a woman mourning her lost child... it's of Mexican origin)
Lights along the railroad in Oak Cliff/Bleeding House (started in the 1920's)

 

[Babylon Sister]

There are 2 urban legends/ghost stories here in the DFW area that I know of that I don't usually find somewhere else (a la vanishing hitchhiker)

La Llorna (a woman mourning her lost child... it's of Mexican origin)

Also found in northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado (esp. in San Luis Valley)

 

[JLam]

Did you know that no animals died in the tsunami last year?

Well, that's the legend, anyway. My first posts on this board were related to this, and it was kind of neat as we were documenting the creation of an urban legend in front of our eyes.


http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32870

 

[Tricky]

I'm glad we have the wonderful world of www.snopes.com

But for every urban legend debunked, we have fresh and (mostly) true stories. News Of The Wierd somethimes make mistakes (which they correct, like Snopes), but the bizarre stuff they uncover makes many urban legends look tame. Only difference is, it doesn't affect you, which makes it less interesting to the egocentrics among us.