Encyclopedia of Urban Legends
Abstract
We all know those stories that are too bizarre to be true—roasted babies, vanishing hitchhikers, scuba divers in trees—but have you heard about the ice man or the bullet baby? Do you know the urban legends from Holland, Scotland, France, or Australia?
... data from 2014 (Fessler, Pisor, and Navarrete 2014), a new Snopes.com dataset collection, and legends from the Encyclopedia of Urban Legends (Brunvand 2002). To collect new Snopes.com ...
... These accounts appear to use hazards as a way to promote petitions meant to pressure world leaders to end the war. Fig. 11 shows the prevalence of hazards among urban legends in the three separate urban legend datasets from SNOPES and the Urban Legends Encyclopedia (Brunvand 2002). In all cases, hazard confidence is surprisingly high compared to X posts shown in Figs. 9 & Fig. 7. ...
... All these act as ways to bring more users to the petition webpage in order to pressure international leaders. When we measure the prevalence of hazards (Fessler, Pisor, and Navarrete 2014;Brunvand 2002 Our work replicates at scale prior work in psychology by demonstrating a higher use of hazards among conservatives compared to liberals, consistent with greater negativity bias (Hibbing, Smith, and Alford 2014), and more attention towards threats (Lilienfeld and Latzman 2014), among conservatives. We also see evidence consonant with the notion that negatively-biased credulity affects the contents of culture over time, as we find a high prevalence of hazards within urban legends, which are often believed by the speaker (Donavan, Mowen, and Chakraborty 1999). ...
Socio-linguistic indicators of text, such as emotion or sentiment, are often extracted using neural networks in order to better understand features of social media. One indicator that is often overlooked, however, is the presence of hazards within text. Recent psychological research suggests that statements about hazards are more believable than statements about benefits (a property known as negatively biased credulity), and that political liberals and conservatives differ in how often they share hazards. Here, we develop a new model to detect information concerning hazards, trained on a new collection of annotated X posts, as well as urban legends annotated in previous work. We show that not only does this model perform well (outperforming, e.g., zero-shot human annotator proxies, such as GPT-4) but that the hazard information it extracts is not strongly correlated with other indicators, namely moral outrage, sentiment, emotions, and threat words. (That said, consonant with expectations, hazard information does correlate positively with such emotions as fear, and negatively with emotions like joy.) We then apply this model to three datasets: X posts about COVID-19, X posts about the 2023 Hamas-Israel war, and a new expanded collection of urban legends. From these data, we uncover words associated with hazards unique to each dataset as well as differences in this language between groups of users, such as conservatives and liberals, which informs what these groups perceive as hazards. We further show that information about hazards peaks in frequency after major hazard events, and therefore acts as an automated indicator of such events. Finally, we find that information about hazards is especially prevalent in urban legends, which is consistent with previous work that finds that reports of hazards are more likely to be both believed and transmitted.
... Tipičen S 264 : Ko sem še študirala v Ljubljani sem od kolegov slišala razne zgodbe o tem da v nekaterih kitajskih restavracijah menda pečejo podgane namesto piščanca. (OEIKA, Tanja Mavri, 2010, Ljubljana) 265 Zgodbam o kontaminaciji hrane so podobne tudi sodobne povedke o paru, ki potuje po Daljnem Vzhodu, kjer jima v kitajski restavraciji, v kateri nihče ne govori njunega jezika, pomotoma servirajo njunega psa (»The Dog's Dinner« po Brunvand 2002). Podobno povedko sem našla tudi v dokumentaciji OEIKA: ...
... That "the Other" does not even need to be (fully) human is shown by Carmen Blacker (1990), Constance Classen (1992), John Lindow (1995) and others. Some scholars have analysed the imagery of "the Others" from the past, for example, Iveta Todorova-Pirgova (1999), Vlajko Palavestra (2004), Alexandre Parafita (2006), María del Mar Llinares (1990) and Sirpo Aalto (2010), and some have focused more on otherness in contemporary society, for example, Véronique Campion-Vincent (1995), Jan Harold Brunvand (2002), and Ambrož Kvartič (2010a)). Some scholars such as Katja Hrobat (2010) and David González Álvarez (2010) have focused on the way otherness in folklore is manifested in the physical landscape. ...
... The naloxone stories described above are in many ways consistent with the widely known phenomenon of urban legends. More than just the scary stories recounted to children by over-anxious parents or by teenagers to garner the morbid fascination of their friends, urban legends have been the subject of a substantial amount of scholarship that takes seriously their broader role in society [7,8]. Pioneering work in this area by sociologists Gerald Best and Gerald Horiuchi [9] has helped us to understand urban legends --in their case the famous (and thoroughly debunked) story of the razor blade in the Halloween apple reported in newspapers since as early as the 1970s --as "unconstructed problems," that are "a product of social strain and of the social organization of the response to that strain" (p. ...
... These stories are, in other words, more than stories about specific victims and perpetrators: they are a window into the society that created them. As Best and Horiuchi [9], citing Brunvand [8] describe, urban legends "'often depict a clash between modern conditions and some aspect of a traditional life-style'...They express fears that the complexities of modern society threaten the traditional social order" (p. 492). ...
As the overdose crisis in North America continues to deepen, public health leaders find themselves responding to sensational media stories, many of which carry forms and themes that mark them as urban legends.
This article analyzes one set of media accounts – stories of misuse of naloxone, an opioid overdose antidote distributed to people who use drugs – through the lens of social science scholarship on urban legends. We suggest that these stories have met a public need to feel a sense of safety in uncertain times, but function to reinforce societal views of people who use drugs as undeserving of support and resources.
Our field has a duty to speak out in favour of evidence-based programs that support the health of people who use drugs, but the optimal communication strategies are not always clear. Drawing attention to the functions and consequences of urban legends can help frame public health communication in a way that responds to needs without reinforcing prejudices, with application beyond naloxone to the other urban legends that continue to emerge in response to this crisis.
... Particularly, themes remain somewhat constant, whilst precise details vary and adapt (e.g., place names and/or topographical information). A classic example of this is the existence of campus legends (Brunvand, 2012). These are generic stories, which adjust to the characteristics of particular educational institutions (Tucker, 2005). ...
... Firstly, ULs originate outside the scientific community (their precise origin is generally unknown) (Harding, 2016). Secondly, narratives contain dubious, unsubstantiated evidence and their legitimacy is unattested (Brunvand, 2012). Thirdly, by virtue of widespread dissemination, people who typically engage in cogent thought and are capable of RT endorse ULs (Dagnall et al., 2010). ...
Recent research suggests that unconventional beliefs are locatable within a generic anomalous belief category. This notion derives from the observation that apparently dissimilar beliefs share fundamental, core characteristics (i.e., contradiction of orthodox scientific understanding of the universe and defiance of conventional understanding of reality). The present paper assessed the supposition that anomalous beliefs were conceptually similar and explicable via common psychological processes by comparing relationships between discrete beliefs [endorsement of urban legends (ULs) and belief in the paranormal] and cognitive-perceptual personality measures [proneness to reality testing (RT) and schizotypy]. A sample of 222 volunteers, recruited via convenience sampling, took part in the study. Participants completed a series of self-report measures (Urban Legends Questionnaire, Reality Testing subscale of the Inventory of Personality Organization, Revised Paranormal Belief Scale and the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire Brief). Preliminary analysis revealed positive correlations between measures. Within schizotypy, the cognitive-perceptual factor was most strongly associated with anomalistic beliefs; disorganized and interpersonal produced only weak and negligible correlations respectively. Further investigation indicated complex relationships between RT, the cognitive-perceptual factor of schizotypy and anomalistic beliefs. Specifically, proneness to RT deficits explained a greater amount of variance in ULs, whilst schizotypy accounted for more variance in belief in the paranormal. Consideration of partial correlations supported these conclusions. The relationship between RT and ULs remained significant after controlling for the cognitive-perceptual factor. Contrastingly, the association between the cognitive-perceptual factor and ULs controlling for RT was non-significant. In the case of belief in the paranormal, controlling for proneness to RT reduced correlation size, but relationships remained significant. This study demonstrated that anomalistic beliefs vary in nature and composition. Findings indicated that generalized views of anomalistic beliefs provide only limited insight into the complex nature of belief.
... Viņa 1981. gadā publicētajai grāmatai "Pazudušais stopētājs: Amerikas urbānās leģendas un to nozīme" (The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their Meanings) sekoja vēl vairāki viņa sastādīti un komentēti izdevumi, kuros apkopotas dažādas pilsētas teikas (Brunvand 2012). Pilsētas teikas aprakstījuši un publicējuši dažādu valstu folkloristi Linda Dēga (Degh, 1918(Degh, -2014, Alans Dandess (Dundes, 1934(Dundes, -2005, Karls Pagters (Pagter, 1934(Pagter, -2023, Vilhelms Rolfs Brednihs (Brednich, 1935(Brednich, -2023, Džiliana Beneta (Bennett, 1939(Bennett, -2023, Pols Smits (Smith), Bengts af Klintbergs (Af Klintberg, 1938) Sistemātisks Latvijas pilsētu teiku krājums līdz šim nav veidots. ...
... Nos propusimos como objetivo principal en esta investigación ofrecer una visión panorámica actualizada del significado de desinformación, Big Data e IA. En relación con la desinformación, cabe empezar señalando que el término engaño se usa ocasionalmente en referencia a rumores y leyendas urbanas, pero el folclorista Jan Harold Brunvand argumenta que la mayoría de ellos carecen de evidencia de creaciones deliberadas de falsedad y los creyentes los transmiten de buena fe o como bromas, por lo que el término debe ser utilizado sólo para aquellos con un probable intento consciente de engañar (Brunvand, 2001). Por lo tanto, la distinción entre engaño y fraude no es necesariamente clara (Walsh, 2006;Cárdenas-Rica et al., 2022). ...
El Big Data y la inteligencia artificial se están articulando para luchar contra la desinformación, que comprende todos los aspectos posibles de lo falso, contenido inexacto o engañoso, proyectado, presentado y promovido interesadamente para ocasionar algún daño. Para hacer frente a este fenómeno, organizaciones, entidades, gobiernos y medios de comunicación están poniendo en marcha diferentes iniciativas. Muchas de ellas hacen uso del Big Data y de la inteligencia artificial (IA) que, con el desarrollo de los algoritmos, diseñan y ponen en marcha bots y plataformas cuya pretensión es acabar con la información intencionalmente errada. El presente ensayo ofrece una visión panorámica y un recorrido por algunos de los proyectos que la Unión Europea ha puesto en marcha basados en el Big Data, la ciencia de datos y la inteligencia artificial para desarmar la desinformación y los bulos, como los proyectos FactCheckEU o FANDANGO. Para ello, se ha aplicado un estudio cualitativo documental bibliográfico que ha permitido proponer una serie de medidas que pueden limitar la difusión de información falsa y concluir que la Unión Europea tiene actualmente el gran reto de combatir la desinformación y está dedicando una parte importante de sus recursos a identificar el problema y proponer soluciones.
... These are usually based on real-life fears, anxieties, or moral lessons, they are often exaggerated or distorted for dramatic effect. They can serve various purposes such as cautionary tales, entertainment, or the expression of societal concerns (Brunvand, 2001). Urban legends are not typically based on factual events, and many have been debunked over time. ...
Campus lore is the term used to describe the narratives with composition of cultural element like myths, stories, and traditionsthat have developed on college or university campuses. Campus lore is a one sort among the eleven, recognised by J H Brunvand as Urban Legends.Urban legends are stories in a current setting that are recounted as actual individual experiences but include conventional variants that show their legendary character are the easiest subject in which the student may see the development of legends.This paper will try to elaborate about the term campus lore and urban legends and will explain the campus lores found in the Ranchi district.The data has been composed by both the primary and secondary sources.
... 205. 1128Brunvand, 2002Hicks, 1991b, blz. 178. ...
In 'Van kwaad tot erger' wordt het debat over satanisch ritueel misbruik in de Verenigde Staten en Nederland beschreven, geanalyseerd en met elkaar vergeleken. Na een introductie van de maatschappelijke terreinen waarop de discussie over satanisch ritueel misbruik is en wordt gevoerd - de psychotherapie, de media en de strafrechtspraktijk - wordt het verloop van de sociale constructie van satanisch ritueel misbruik periodegewijs besproken aan de hand van relevante ontwikkelingen binnen die gebieden en van enkele geruchtmakende (straf)zaken, die grote invloed hebben gehad op het verloop van de discussie. Daarbij wordt diepgaand ingegaan op de overeenkomsten en verschillen in de maatschappelijke, religieuze en politieke structuur van de Verenigde Staten en Nederland. Tevens wordt in 'Van kwaad tot erger' een verklaring gegeven voor het feit dat het debat over satanisch ritueel misbruik in de Verenigde Staten is ontaard in een morele paniek, terwijl zoiets in Nederland is uitgebleven.
... Με βάση την πρόταση του Dorson αναπτύχθηκαν δύο είδη προσέγγισης. Η πρώτη είναι πιο κειμενοκεντρική, που εκφράστηκε από τον Brunvand (1968Brunvand ( , 1981Brunvand ( , 1984Brunvand ( , 2001Brunvand ( και 2004 με αναλυτικές αναφορές στην προέλευση, τη μορφολογία και τα θεματολογικά χαρακτηριστικά του νέου αυτού είδους. Παράλληλα η Ουγγαρέζα λαογράφος Linda Dégh, που ωστόσο για ένα μεγάλο μέρος της ζωής της έδρασε στις ΗΠΑ, δίνει πιο πολύ έμφαση στο περικείμενο και στα κοινωνικά συμφραζόμενα των θρύλων μελετώντας τους θρύλους των αμερικανικών πανεπιστημιουπόλεων, που αποτελεί το δεύτερο είδος προσέγγισης. ...
... Με βάση την πρόταση του Dorson αναπτύχθηκαν δύο είδη προσέγγισης. Η πρώτη είναι πιο κειμενοκεντρική, που εκφράστηκε από τον Brunvand (1968Brunvand ( , 1981Brunvand ( , 1984Brunvand ( , 2001Brunvand ( και 2004 Αλλά και στην Ευρώπη, ο θρύλος προσέλκυσε το ενδιαφέρον των επιστημόνων, όσο κανένα άλλο αφηγηματικό είδος (Klintberg, 1990, σ. 113). Όπως είδαμε, ο Jacob Grimm χαρακτήρισε τον θρύλο ως είδος, αναφέροντας ότι «το παραμύθι είναι ποιητικότερο, ενώ ο θρύλος ιστορικότερο» (Tangherlini, 1996, σ. 915). ...
... Это «Пассажир с волосатой рукой» (Hairy-Armed Hitchhiker). Сюжет возник под влиянием историй о разбойниках, переодетых в женщин, которые были распространены в Англии и других странах Западной Европы с начала XIX в. 35 Мужчина-грабитель предстает перед своей потенциальной жертвой в женской одежде, симулируя беспомощность, и просит подвезти. Водитель вскоре понимает, что его пассажир -злоумышленник. ...
По мнению южноафриканского фольклориста Питера Виллема Гроббелаара, до середины XX века Аньки Сомерс (Antjie Somers) был «самым разносторонним персонажем» в фольклоре носителей языка африкаанс. В легендах, историях для взрослых, это городской призрак, дух горы или реки, а впоследствии — разбойник с большой дороги. В сказках это коварный и жестокий похититель детей. В большинстве дошедших до нас историй об Аньки Сомерс присутствует гендерная неопределенность. Из-за нее жертве сложно разгадать замысел злоумышленника, и персонаж становится загадочным и пугающим. Несмотря на женский облик Аньки Сомерс, шокирующая жестокость по отношению к детям указывала на отсутствие материнского инстинкта, а значит для слушателей этот персонаж не мог быть женщиной. В поведении Аньки Сомерс преобладают черты, свойственные в большей степени мужчинам, чем женщинам: агрессия и готовность прибегнуть к насилию. И все же гендерная неопределенность второстепенна. Истории об Аньки Сомерс иллюстрируют важное правило безопасности: если люди жестоко злоупотребляют вашим доверием, они могут жестоко обойтись и с вами самими.
... In fact, approaches aimed at identifying the psychological and cognitive mechanisms that appear to underlie the adherence 25 In a way, there is a kind of inversion: climate change denial implicitly sides with the interests of the fossil fuel industry, while denial of HIV explicitly intends to go against the interests of large pharmaceutical companies. 26 The classic reference is Brunvand (2002). More recently, see the work on "low-intensity myths" by Italian sociologist Peppino Ortoleva (2019). ...
The key idea this paper explores is that if climate change denial is relatively widespread, in spite of the continued efforts of researchers and journalists to debunk it, it is not only because of the ignorance of the average citizen and the powerful propaganda of the fossil fuel industry, but also – and perhaps mainly – because it is assumed as a form of resistance in defence of freedom and individual autonomy. A mistaken and paradoxical form of resistance, without doubt, which is precisely why it calls for careful examination.
... Zaradi tega je nekatere od teh pripovedi mogoče uvrstiti celo med mednarodne pripovedne tipe. Najznačilnejše med njimi je definiral in predstavil ameriški folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand (2001), tipni indeks, ki so ga ob koncu 20. stoletja v okviru mednarodnega društva za sodobne povedke skušali pripraviti, pa je ostal v zametkih oz. ...
... Related attributions in the context of developed environments are often classified as "urban legends." Dagnall et al. (2017) noted that these particular legends have three characteristics: (a) they aim to stimulate emotional reactions in visitors to the place, typically fear or horror predominate (Heath et al., 2001), (b) their main contents are usually stable over time and only peripheral details or those intrinsically related to a popular fad are variable (Brunvand, 2012;Tucker, 2005), and (c) these types of legends usually convey a paranoidtype message of warning, and people who accept its veracity think that the urban legend affects people's lives (Tree & Weldon, 2007). These three points raise the question of how an urban or paranormal legend causes a harmless, natural place to be perceived by believers in the legend as a dangerous environment (see e.g., Dagnall et al., 2017). ...
Stress Reduction Theory (SRT) ostensibly explains why natural environments have positive effects on mental health. However, there is debate about the particular characteristics of natural environments that best foster psychological well-being. In this research, we analyze the effects of supposedly “haunted” natural environments on people’s stress levels. The abandoned village of Marmellar was chosen because it is a protected natural area, has numerous associated supernatural legends, and the popular media claims it is actively “haunted.” This site was visited by a total of 208 participants, evenly balanced by self-reported believers in the paranormal vs. non-believers. Before and after the visits, the participants completed three questionnaires that measured their (a) stress levels, (b) suggestibility, and (c) neurasthenia (i.e., general fatigue or irritability). As predicted, the paranormal-believers showed significantly higher levels of stress, suggestibility, and neurasthenia than the non-believers. Paranormal-related beliefs and attributions related to the Marmellar environment specifically predicted 39% of the increase in stress levels. Paradoxical to SRT, our findings suggest that beliefs can override the role of biology in appraisal processes responsible for “sense-of-place.” The risks and benefits of paranormal attributions in the context of personality are discussed.
... Face ao risco de perder as grandes margens de rentabilidade garantida pelas extração, refinamento e distribuição de combustíveis, há todo o interesse, como é evidente, em 21 Pode-se dizer que há uma espécie de inversão: o negacionismo climático tem do seu lado, mas de forma implícita, os interesses do complexo industrial das energias fósseis; o negacionismo do HIV, pelo contrário, pretende explicitamente ir contra o que considera ser os interesses das grandes indústrias farmacêuticas. 22 A referência clássica éBrunvand (2002). Mais recentemente, veja-se o trabalho sobre "mitos a baixa intensidade" do sociólogo italiano Peppino Ortoleva (2019). ...
A ideia-chave deste artigo é que se a negação das mudanças climáticas é relativamente difundida, apesar dos esforços contínuos para desmascará-la, não é apenas por causa da ignorância do cidadão médio e da poderosa propaganda da indústria fóssil, mas também - e talvez principalmente - porque é assumida como forma de resistência em defesa da liberdade e da autonomia individual. Uma forma equivocada e paradoxal de resistência, sem dúvida, que precisamente por isso exige um exame cuidadoso.
... The more a story is told and heard, the higher the probability to be believed. 1 Such parody appeared after the hysteria created by the man who pricked women on the 41 Tramway in Bucharest and it goes like that: "7 things you didn't know about the madman who is pricking women on the tram: 1. It appears that the man pricking women is the same tram driver who had Lucescu injured; 2. The man who pricks women on the tram reassures that the needles are not infected and that he changes them after each victim, because health is not something to toy with; 3. ...
The following paper deals with the influence of the Internet on the folkloric phenomenon called urban legend. Today, oral circulation is no longer a prerequisite for the existence of urban legends. They reach us through print and audiovisual media and mostly through the Internet. Not only does the Internet make the transmission of such texts instantaneous, and thus they become accessible to a large number of people from every corner of the world, but it also shapes legend form and style. Consequently, unlike traditional folklore,
there are fewer versions, as computer users merely pass them on in the form they receive them, hardly making any changes; hence, text stability. The Internet has turned into a large archive, a folklore keeper, which opens new paths to the study of this genre. There are websites dedicated to urban legends, real databases to which both experts and non-specialists have access. We shall conclude, therefore, that modern technology is not an enemy of folklore, but a key factor in its diffusion.
... Pri pregledu sodobne folklore o nenavadni prikazni ženske v Hudi luknji, ki se pojavlja bodisi kot fi gura ob robu cestišča bodisi kot potnik na zadnjih sedežih v avtomobilih, lahko najdemo vzporednice z v Evropi, ZDA in drugod zelo razširjenim tipom migracijske povedke, katerega variante je Jan Harold Brunvand označil kot »klasične avtomobilske povedke« (1981: 24). Izginjajoči štopar (Vanishing hitchiker -Glej Brunvand 2001), kot je ta tip povedke splošno znan med folkloristi, naj bi bil po Brunvandu motiv, ki so ga na terenu našli največkrat in tudi motiv, o katerem je bilo do sedaj v folkloristični literaturi napisanega največ. Razširjenost motiva po vsem svetu kaže, da gre za dober primer migracijske povedke, saj so podobni motivi prisotni povsod po svetu (Primer iz Indije: Lyngdoh 2010). ...
Although narratives of a ghost in Huda luknja gorge show textual parallels with an international migratory legend type called ‚vanishing hitchhiker‘, their meaning is clearer when studied as contextualized legends, embedded in the time and space of Huda luknja. Legends about a vanishing lady dressed in black or white have always been adapting to their surrounding socio-historical situation, and were crucially shaped by the establishment of high-school programs in the towns of Velenje and Slovenj Gradec and by cancellation of a railroad connection between Velenje and Dravograd. These events redefined processes of migration through the gorge – especially the migration of young people, who are the most prominent group of the legend‘s tellers.
... In the grassroots model, moral panics are the result of an accumulation of latent fears and anxiety already present in society (Brunvand, 1993(Brunvand, , 2000(Brunvand, , 2001Morin, 1971). ...
Of the growing body of research focusing on criminal justice policy, we have generally overlooked change in the policy process, which can speak to the evolving purposes and operations of crime responses. This dissertation explores policy change through variation in the content of one type of criminal justice policy — Sex Offender Registration and Notification (SORN) — both within and across states over time. A thematic content analysis of SORN laws from 50 US states documented the ways SORN legislative content have varied over time. Several typologies and themes emerged, which enhanced our understanding of the purposes and meaning underlying the evolution of SORN laws. Further, anomalies to existing explanations of criminal justice policy process were present in the timing and nature of SORN policy change observed in this dissertation. The variation in the content of SORN laws identified here should offer a foundation for future research and theory development regarding policy change for sex offender laws specifically and criminal justice policy more broadly.
... The expressive genre that in folk parlance is most associated with the American city is the "urban legend." Many folklorists prefer terms such as "contemporary," "modern," or "belief" legend to indicate that the settings for, and content of, legend telling are not solely an urban phenomenon (Mullen 1972;Brunvand 1981;Bennett and Smith 1989;Ellis 1990;Tangherlini 1990;Pettit 1995;Dégh 2001;Brunvand 2004;Brunvand 2012;De Vos 2012). Yet in addition to general categorizations of this kind of legend to include cautionary stories of danger (AIDS Mary and Harry stories warning of the consequences of casual sex) and reports of strange events (a hitchhiker who mysteriously disappears and is found to be a young woman who died on the night the driver picks her up), tellers of urban legends often refer to phenomena relating anxiety over modernization that is epitomized by the city (Bennett and Smith 2007;Fine 1980). ...
American Folklore consists of traditional knowledge and cultural practices engaged by inhabitants of the United States below Canada and above Mexico. American folklorists were influenced by nineteenth-century European humanistic scholarship that identified in traditional stories, songs, and speech among lower class peasants an artistic quality and claim to cultural nationalism. The United States, however, appeared to lack a peasant class and shared racial and ethnic stock associated in European perceptions with the production of folklore. The United States was a relatively young nation, compared to the ancient legacies of European kingdoms, and geographically the country’s boundaries had moved since its inception to include an assortment of landscapes and peoples. Popularly, folklore in the United States is rhetorically used to refer to the veracity, and significance, of cultural knowledge in an uncertain, rapidly changing, individualistic society. It frequently refers to the expressions of this knowledge in story, song, speech, custom, and craft as meaningful for what it conveys and enacts about tradition in a future-oriented country. The essay provides the argument that folklore studies in the United States challenge Euro-centered humanistic legacies by emphasizing patterns associated with the American experience that are (1) democratic, (2) vernacular, and (3) incipient.
... Les légendes alimentaires sont alors souvent liées à celles relevant d'empoissonnement ou de mutilations (Campion-Vincent et Renard, 2014 : 266-268) 5 , de la question migratoire (Fine et Ellis, 2010) ou d'animaux exotiques et dangereux présents dans les fruits (araignées, serpents, scorpions, etc.) ou les légumes (crapauds essentiellement). Surtout, comme sur d'innombrables sites internet, les légendes alimentaires sont soit collectées à la manière des folkloristes dans des recueils de récits présentant différentes variantes (Fine 1980 6 ;Brunvand 2001 ;Le Quellec 2012), soit présentées à titre d'illustration ou d'anecdotes concernant le beurre/la margarine, les bonbons (Kapferer, 1987(Kapferer, , réed. 1990, les sodas 7 , l'absorption vaginale/anale d'alcool via un tampon imbibé 8 , les pilules amaigrissantes au ténia (Le Quellec, 2012 : 71-73), etc. ...
Dès l'orée des années 1980 (Domowitz, 1979 ; Fine 1980 ; Turner, 1992), des chercheurs américains ont identifié des légendes urbaines basées sur des histoires exemplaires relatives à la nourriture ou l'alimentation. Cependant, hormis l'ouvrage de l'ethnologue Jean-Loïc le Quellec (1991, réed. 2012), Alcool de singe et liqueur de vipère : Légendes urbaines, peu de travaux ont placés les « légendes alimentaires » (Campion-Vincent et Renard, 1992, réed. 2002) au coeur de leurs recherches. Bien souvent, celles-ci sont diluées dans l'un des trois sous-ensembles (Fine, 1992) importants des légendes urbaines : les atteintes au corps humain. Les deux autres sont les peurs relatives aux nouvelles technologies et les questions liées aux pratiques sexuelles et/ou amoureuses. 1°) Légendes urbaines alimentaires : un rappel à l'ordre moral et à la prudence. Définitions et exemples Les légendes urbaines sont ainsi caractérisées par le récit « d'événements insolites, amusants ou horribles qui renferment des thèmes se rattachant à la vie moderne, qui sont rapportés comme quelque chose ayant eu lieu ou ayant pu se produire, dont on trouve des variantes en des lieux et à des époques différentes, et qui contiennent des implications morales » (Bordia et DiFonzo, 2006 : 36). Pour Renard, elles définissent « un récit anonyme, présentant de multiples variantes, de forme brève, au contenu surprenant, raconté comme vrai et récent dans le milieu social dont il exprime de manière symbolique les peurs et les aspirations » (2013 : 6). De ces définitions, il ressort alors que les légendes urbaines partagent le besoin de (re)créer du sens dans des situations sociales déstructurées en produisant un discours qui mobilise et réaffirme des valeurs morales et culturelles. En ceci, les légendes urbaines nous renseignent en quelque sorte sur les inquiétudes fondamentales d'une société et/ou d'une culture donnée en affirmant une triple nécessité d'appartenance identitaire, de compréhension d'un environnement sociopolitique troublé et, enfin, de contrôle sur le réel. L'aspect moral est alors au coeur des légendes urbaines en ce qu'il exprime, du point de vue fonctionnaliste, une sorte de punition résultant d'un manquement, culturellement sanctionné 1 , à une 1 Ainsi, dans l'anecdote de la viande de rat servie au KFC, les victimes sont surtout des femmes qui au lieu de se conformer aux pratiques attribuées de leur genre, en l'espèce la cuisine, ont préféré servir à leurs enfants de la nourriture industrielle. En règle générale, hormis les légendes incriminant de l'alcool, ceux sont à des femmes que les mésaventures liées à des légendes alimentaires arrivent.
... "Tyto pověsti se nesnaží popsat fakta, jež se udála v minulosti, snaží se spíše přiblížit dobovou mentalitu lidí pocházejících z rozličných sociálních vrstev " ( Dobrovolná 2012, 11 Katalogizace vybraných chodských pověstí měla za úkol posloužit především pro demonstraci začleňování pověstí do katalogu Jana Luffera. Lufferův katalog se jeví pro tuto činnost adekvátním, rozhodně vhodnějším, než tomu bylo během katalogizace současných pověstí o etnických menšinách u mnou prováděného odlišného výzkumu za využití katalogu Jana Harolda Brunvanda (Brunvand 2001;Dobrovolná 2014, 70), kdy se Brunvandův katalog ukázal být v této oblasti nedostačujícím. Lufferův katalog je obsáhlejší a tím pádem může zachytit větší škálu jednotlivých pověstí, podobně jako např. ...
This paper presents the results of fieldwork conducted in 2011 in the Chod-sko region, located in West Bohemia, Czech Republic. The fieldwork was aimed at documenting the traditional legends of the Chodsko region and cataloguing them based on the folkloristic index created by Jan Luffer (2014). Fieldwork done on the knowledge of local storytellers of traditional demonological legends was also conducted. The characteristics and classification of chosen legends of the Chodsko region according to Luffer's index of demonological legends is also presented and divided into seven categories. The list of legends is obviously not complete, and for the purpose of cataloguing only a few well-known legends were selected. As regards methodology, semi-structured interviews were carried out with local inhabitants while other legends were taken from literature.
Fear of crime refers to the fear of being a victim of crime, and it is nurtured by folklore and the media. Folklore fosters fear of crime by using oral tradition transferred throughout generations by updating old contexts into modern times. On the other hand, the media visualizes the possibility of being a victim by introducing the real-life experiences of victims. Contrary to folklore, victims presented in the media seem more accessible, and the victimization of individuals can be proven. Folklore and the media have cooperated to keep the fear of crime alive to warn society that individual lives are on the verge of becoming victims of criminals. In this paper, I aim to describe the fear of crime through two particular crimes: Child abductions and organ thefts. Data for this research comes from two sets of materials: Newspaper news stories and semi-structured interviews conducted in face-to-face settings with mothers from two different generations. My research reveals that mothers of the eighties were scared of their children being victims of beggar gangs and organ trade criminals, while generation Y mothers suffer from the possibility of their children being victims of online grooming and sextortion. Keywords: Folklore, media, fear of crime, urban legends, organ theft narratives.
Based on 12 months of ethnographic fieldwork I conducted at an anal cancer prevention clinic in Chicago, USA, this article considers queer camp humour as a care practice to better understand how providers and patients navigate clinical interactions centred around a stigmatised disease in a taboo body part. Humorous moments infused daily life at the clinic, and I came to see them as a critical feature of the clinic’s uniquely queer environment and a central aspect of the staff’s queer care practices. I argue the campy queer style of humour in the clinic was a vital tool for providing culturally appropriate care, and describe how humour mediated patient-provider interactions, had palliative effects, and managed dirt and bodily excess. The article concludes with a brief discussion of the importance of anthropological attention to humour and joking as forms of care.
The article argues that where secrecy and secrets are key aspects of conspiracy theory narratives and practice, the genealogies of the/a secret have not been well understood. We argue that two forms of the secret, one a premodern notion of the secret as truth and revelation, the other a post-Derridean non-secret, inform two distinct forms and functions of contemporary conspiracy practice.
Fear of crime refers to the fear of being a victim of crime, and it is nurtured by folklore and the media. Folklore fosters fear of crime using oral tradition transferred throughout generations by updating old contexts into modern times. On the other hand, the media visualizes the possibility of being a victim by introducing the real-life experiences of victims. Contrary to folklore, victims presented in the media seem more accessible, and the victimization of individuals may be proven. Folklore and the media have cooperated to keep the fear of crime alive to warn society that individual lives are on the verge of becoming victims of criminals. In this paper, I aim to describe the fear of crime through two particular crimes: Child abductions and organ thefts. Data for this research comes from two sets of materials: Newspaper news stories and semi-structured interviews conducted in face-to-face settings with mothers from two different generations. My research reveals that mothers of the eighties were scared of their children being victims of beggar gangs and organ trade criminals, while millennial mothers suffer from the possibility of their children being victims of online grooming and sextortion.
Aquest treball analitza la caracterització dels personatges femenins en deu textos de l’Arxiu de Folklore de la Universitat de les Illes Balears que es poden adscriure a diversos gèneres narratius que se situen en l’òrbita de la llegenda: la llegenda contemporània, l’antillegenda, la falsa alarma, l’acudit i la carta tradicional. La caracterització dels personatges femenins en aquests textos es resol de dues maneres: d’una banda, hi apareixen com a víctimes d’un agressor masculí i, d’altra banda, hi tenen un paper d’agressores, de promíscues o de dones alliberades que governen el seu propi destí. En tots dos casos, però, la resolució del conflicte que planteja el relat revela la subordinació de les protagonistes femenines al marc patriarcal i a l’imaginari pornogràfic hegemònic masculí.
Ghostlore or ghost-lore is, in short, a subgenre of folklore that focuses on ghostly tales which can be found in both pre-industrial and contemporary contexts. The majority of these stories are connected to houses and other buildings that are either dilapidated or inhabited but can be described mainly as private places. Due to the nature of public places -whether they are connected to people?s experiences or could be described as non-places- it is odd to ?find? ghosts there, as it is odd to ?find? them in parks or streets. However, they remain social places open to multiple interpretations and symbolisms. Through pertinent online entries, mostly uploaded by groups describing their practices as ?investigating? the paranormal or the occult, this paper aims to discuss the connection between ghost-lore and public places, mainly from the city of Athens. Furthermore, a very important aspect demonstrating the effectiveness of these online entries are the comments made by the netizens following these ?investigations?, which result in the formation of new groups. These groups are created online, but are driven by a common interest in ghosts in the offline world. Thus, in order to study how the physical public space is being reinterpreted in light of the supernatural, the paper intends to approach the digital public space of social media.
Campus Gothic refers to slasher movies that are set in the locale of a college or high school campus (see slasher movies ). One of the reasons for the location of these slasher movies is the circulation of legends about serial killers on college campuses since the mid‐1960s (Tucker 2005: 177). As the most prolific category of all slasher movies, campus Gothic thrived during the 1980s in Reagan's America. In the 1990s there was a slasher revival with Wes Craven's Scream (1996), and other non‐campus‐based slashers such as I Know What you Did Last Summer (1997). Characterized by its low‐budget productions, campus Gothic invited teenage viewers to enjoy nudity, blood, and gore. Manipulating the “body‐count” film that structures its progression around the growing number of horrific murders and the teen exploitation picture, campus Gothic addressed teenagers with cautionary tales. The transgressions of the teen protagonists that the viewer was invited to enjoy voyeuristically were also the prerequisite for their punishment by adult authority, symbolized in the identity of the killer. While these movies superficially called for the enjoyment of transgressive behavior, of violence and sexuality, they were actually constructed as conservative fairy tales warning Red Riding Hoods about the dangers of the lurking wolf. They expressed Republican ideas about sin and punishment and the nation's social and political anxieties about Reagan's policies during the 1980s. President Reagan's illusory promises to the people were fundamentally disparate from what he actually managed to deliver in reality (Muir 2007: 11). This double mentality, of a deceptive happiness and order and an uncertain, fearful reality reflects the attitude of the campus slasher movies: underneath the seemingly secure, lustrous, and peaceful surface of the campuses lay a different reality that was about to violently erupt on screen.
Sociologists have long debated how labels are deployed to construct and exaggerate social threats but have yet to consider their use to cope with danger. I draw on qualitative fieldwork conducted in the midst of a gruesome turf war in Monterrey, Mexico, to conceptualize coping codes. These defensive labels emerge in everyday conversation and allow its users to allude to threatening actors without being explicit—in this case, violent organized crime labeled malitos, or little evil guys. They emerge from below and in relation to top-bottom labeling processes they can both challenge and reproduce. Coping codes provide symbolic security by minimizing danger, although at a cost when also used to draw symbolic boundaries between the living and the dead “accused of being into something.” The case calls for further research on coping codes in dangerous contexts, particularly at the onset of unsettled times when people tend to minimize rupture.
Stories about wild and domesticated animals are among the most popular categories of urban legends. In modern folklore, they appear mysteriously, often following strange or scary happenings, like a quite recent tale, created in 2018, when the molted skin of a large snake (later identified as an Indian python) was found near the banks of the Vistula River in the suburbs of Warsaw. Owing to the extensive media coverage, the news spread quickly throughout Poland. For obvious reasons, people wondered where the snake was hiding. Several eyewitnesses, who could see the predator (or something that resembled it), wanted to give an account. Such animals then "disappear" forever but leave their mark on pop culture. The snake myth thus gave rise to numerous stand-up comedy acts, amateur music videos, and a comic book. This study analyses a number of such examples, obtained from the Internet. It also focuses on the mechanisms of the formation of urban legends, and their relation to fake news. One of the main questions of the article is therefore: why do these kinds of stories gain such wide popularity? Furthermore, the aim of the study is to analyse the reactions of Internet users to the news about the python. The topic was commented on by people with different world and political views, so it is worth considering whether the message about the python could play an important role in the integration of Polish society, or as a just another platform for the exchange of thoughts.
This article surveys examples of ‘botanical bosom serpents’; that is, stories where a plant, or some vegetable element, is said to enter and/or grow in the human body. These can be found in sources—for the most part European—from ancient times onwards. This is a preliminary study, as the topic is one that has been neglected by folklorists and historians of medicine.
The present study points out the dilemma of two opposing attitudes to fake news. Fake news is an influential instrument in increasing traffic and maximizing advertisement revenue in short term. On the other hand, in long haul, the newspapers focusing on credibility of the news, should be able to increase customer loyalty and sustain the profits. Furthermore, the study focused on fake news within sport and entertainment. Increased understanding of consumers' attitudes to fake news in sports can motivate managers to design suitable marketing strategies that increase the demand for passive and active sport. Eventually, the readers are given advice on how to identify fake news, in form of short instructions to follow when determining the credibility of news.
Resumen: En este artículo hacemos una necesaria revisión acerca del valor intrínseco del patrimonio inmaterial generado por los jóvenes en Europa, a través de géneros como la leyenda urbana, los juegos o el grafiti. Se trata de desentrañar los elementos que componen las representaciones de lo cotidiano cargadas de significantes, plasmadas a través de la oralidad y la escritura y generadas en una multiplicidad de escenarios. Las dinámicas de esta oralidad nos llevarán, entre otras cosas a la comprensión de los mecanismos de la construcción social del miedo como mecanismo para ejercer el poder sobre los otros. Palabras clave: Juventud, oralidad y escritura, folklore contemporáneo, miedo. Abstract: In this article we make a necessary revision about the intrinsic value of intangible heritage generated by young people in Europe, through genres such as urban legend, games or graffiti. We try to unravel the elements that make up the representations of the everyday charged with signifiers, expressed through orality and writing and generated in a multiplicity of scenarios. The dynamics of this orality will lead us, among other things, to the understanding of the mechanisms of the social construction of fear as a mechanism to exercise power over others.
Contemporary legends – also called urban legends – are common throughout our society. Distinct from mere rumors passed around social media, anecdotes of pseudoscientific discoveries, or medical misinformation, contemporary legends are important because, rather than merely transmitting false ideas or information about medicine, they model distinct and primarily antagonistic patterns of interaction between patients and providers via their narrative components. And, while legends that patients tell about their distrust for doctors are fairly well-studied, less attention has been paid to the kinds of legends that providers tell about patients. Many of these legends portray the likely patient as foolish, incompetent, and the ultimate source of his or her own medical condition. A partial solution to the challenges created by clashing, mutually belittling narratives can be found in the principles of narrative medicine, which strives to replace a received, stereotyped narrative with an individualized narrative constructed together by provider and patient. This paper will provide a definition of contemporary medical legends, analyze the unique narrative structure, develop a brief taxonomy of common themes, and describe how the structure and theme elucidate interesting and previously unexamined tensions within the provider-patient relationship.
The focus of this research is the understanding of lecturers and students about poda na lima of keep your soul clean and media literacy in filtering the news circulating in online media with the concept of poda na lima which focused on the concept of local wisdom with regional philosophical principles, namely paias rohamu (cleansing your soul) in students and lecturers of the Da'wah and Communication Faculty of IAIN Padangsidimpuan. The purpose of this study was to find out about the understanding and efforts of lecturers and students about the poda na lima of keep your soul clean as a form of the concept of media literacy in filtering hoax news. The type of research used by researchers is qualitative with the subject of this research carried out by random sampling with the instruments used in data collection, as a whole data collected through interviews as the main technique of the research, then strengthened by and documentation and observation. The results of the study show that the understanding of lecturers and students about the poda na lima of keep your soul clean as a form of media literacy concept is not materially raised but rather the content value of the five pillars of your spirit. The efforts of lecturers and students to instill the five pillars of keep your soul clean as a form of media literacy filtering hoax news is where the lecturer strives to provide an understanding of self-concept according to the subject area of the student through classroom learning. Producing messages as part of message creativity is the ability of someone to arrange messages or ideas with words, sounds, or images effectively in accordance with the principles of communication science
At the crossroads between truth and fable: that is where the storyteller, that protean figure present within the earliest human communities, may best be found. Beyond archetypes of shamanic sages, folktale-savvy grandparents and marketplace performers, storytellers have been the traditional keepers of social identity, literary values, and ethical norms celebrated through narration. As chroniclers and fabulists, nomadic lore-peddlers and urban poets, they have been transmitting and questioning knowledge, news and popular wisdom. They represent history’s first media agents.
Intending to sketch a full picture of the figure of the storyteller in the West, as it has helped shape a mutating media environment, this work follows a chronological progress: from pre-Gutenberg Europe, to the modern mass media era, through to the digital days. It discusses relations between the professional practitioners of storytelling and recurring debates on truth, fact, and fiction. It explores the dynamics between performer and public, even as their meanings change with time. And as it aims to derive the key functions of storytellers, it puts together and tries out an innovative framework for conceiving of their presence within any media product or document.
A renewed exploration of Western media, carried out through its most fundamental discursive actor, this study redefines the storyteller as a shape-shifting persona, able to pass on practical and poetic wisdoms via virtually any canal. While projecting the teller’s agency at the heart of narrative praxis, this work also questions purely technical modes of analysis. Ultimately, it means to draw attention to the storyteller’s historical role and continued existence – particularly in the multimedia ‘age of storytelling’.
The article deals with instances of the supernatural in Romanian urban legends, namely what we call the strigoi, or poltergeist. Usually, folklorists tend to exclude the supernatural from the category of urban legends, however we have decided to take these accounts into consideration based on the fact that the transmitter, the narrators do not distinguish between these elements and the rest of contemporary legends and today's popular culture abounds in such accounts.
The article deals with instances of the supernatural in Romanian urban legends, namely what we call the strigoi, or poltergeist. Usually, folklorists tend to exclude the supernatural from the category of urban legends, however we have decided to take these accounts into consideration based on the fact that the transmitter, the narrators do not distinguish between these elements and the rest of contemporary legends and today's popular culture abounds in such accounts.
Besides being one of Ireland’s best-known and eminent writers, Éilís Ní Dhuibhne is also a professional and recognised folklorist and researcher, whose work covers a diversity of topics and subjects, mostly in the area of the tradition of oral storytelling and urban folklore. Her background in folklore has a relevant impact on her fiction, which is marked by reinvention of folklore patterns and juxtaposition of ancient stories and their contemporary counterpart. The purpose of his essay is to shed light on the impact of folklore and folklore projects on the fiction of Éilís Ní Dhuibhne in terms of in allusions, contents, discourse organization and narrative strategies. The tight link between folklore and storytelling in her writing is analysed taking into account her short stories vis-à-vis her academic work in folklore, focussing on Ní Dhuibhne’s awareness of the continuity of traditional narrative in time.
Este artigo discute o modo como as chamadas lendas urbanas se inscrevem em um arquivo de narrativas presentes no imaginário social e, pelo mesmo processo, transformam esse arquivo, numa relação de suplementaridade. Em particular, um conjunto de narrativas em torno do tema da contaminação por agulhas, tal como circulam em um fórum de discussão virtual, são examinadas como fazendo parte de uma prática discursiva por meio da qual se constroem e reatualizam determinados saberes sobre os riscos de contágio nas sociedades contemporâneas.
Neste artigo, o autor pontua que é preciso analisar o grau de um boato na sociedade e estudar os mecanismos de distorção de fatos ou informações factuais. Para ele, no entanto, é muito importante entender como e por que são espalhadas notícias falsas que passam a merecer crédito. Renard acredita que boatos e narrativas populares contemporâneas são os equivalentes modernos de lendas antigas ao expressarem um pensamento social ou simbólico.
During the summer of 1968, a family on holiday in Florida make the foolish decision to buy a young alligator hatchling. On returning to their urban home in Chicago, the family’s patriarch flushes his daughter’s pet reptile — now named ‘Ramon’ — away into the sewer system, only for it to grow into a monster and break out on to the city’s streets twelve years later. Its encounters with humans — principally those who are jointly responsible for its monstrous size and strength — inevitably yield fatal results. This is an accurate narrative description of Alligator (1980), a particularly interesting example of the animal horror film written by John Sayles and directed by Lewis Teague, and enthusiastically described by Lee Gambin as ‘a brilliant example of the post-Jaws eco-horror subgenre’ (2012, p. 62). It is also, of course, a succinct re-telling of an exceptionally prolific and enduring urban legend which is associated with the large urban centres of the United States, particularly New York City: the ‘Alligators in the Sewers’ tale, which suggests there are reptiles living in the sewage networks underneath America’s metropolises.
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