I 3 c )

MODERN URBAN LEGENDS.

A New Horizons Note.

Copyright: New Horizons Research Foundation. November 1991.

L ? 1 Wi<> O C ^ t r H

INTRODUCTION.

Research conducted for the previous paper on C h i l d Abuse and Satanism caused us to r e f l e c t more s er ious ly on the ro le that modern urban legends p lay i n the l i f e of our soc ie ty . We had tended to regard these legends as fun, i n t e r e s t i n g , s u r p r i s i n g sometimes, i n d i c a t i v e of general a n x i e t i e s and unease among the general populat ion, but never as very dangerous. What happened during the rumor-panics that occurred around Satanism made one r e a l i s e that these s t o r i e s , i f not wel l understood and placed i n t h e i r proper context, can be very c o s t l y to society , both i n pa in and anguish, as wel l as i n money and time.

C e r t a i n l y , as parapsychologis ts , we have been wel l aware for some time o f the ro le that the modern urban legend plays i n our l i v e s . In order to understand some of the events that are re la ted to us of parapsychologica l phenomenon, we need to be aware of the existence of the modern urban legend.

There i s a tendency today to be l ieve that a l l information i s spread by way of the f a m i l i a r methods of the media, newspapers, magazines, rad io , t e l e v i s i o n , telephone, e tc . We are a l l aware that before the days of such e a s i l y a v a i l a b l e methods o f d i s t r i b u t i o n of information, news was conveyed by word of mouth. In the more d i s t a n t past much information was relayed i n the form o f s t o r i e s , t o l d i n order to re inforce memory. These s t o r i e s were passed on from place to p lace , and down from generation to generat ion, and we r e f e r to them as f o l k l o r e . As i s to be expected many of these s tor i e s picked up v a r i a t i o n s along the way, and changed as they passed from country to country, but the e s s e n t i a l core of the s tory remained the same. The most memorable s t o r i e s , those that survive to the present day, i n many cases, contained warning o f what might happen i f c e r t a i n ru le s were broken, examples of consequences that can fo l low when people are not fo l lowing a r e g u l a r pat tern o f behaviour.

Most people, i f asked, would probably discount the idea that f o l k l o r e s t i l l ex i s t s i n our modern soc ie ty . We do not need that method o f communication, news t r a v e l s fas t these days, and there i s no place f o r word of mouth.

That , i n f a c t , i s not t rue , and there i s a huge sub-culture o f f o l k s t o r i e s i n existence i n the world today, f l o u r i s h i n g much as i t has always done, and f u l f i l l i n g the same r o l e , e s s e n t i a l l y , as i t has done over the centur ies . B a s i c a l l y i t acts as a warning network.

THE STORIES.

Our own f i r s t encounter, or at l eas t the f i r s t that we recognised as an encounter with modern f o l k l o r e , was a ghost s tory that was cont inua l ly r e l a t e d to us i n our ro l e as parapsychologis t s . The story was an e s s e n t i a l l y simple one. A young man, r i d i n g h i s motor cycle on a l o n e l y road, picked up a young woman h i t c h h i k e r . She was t r a v e l l i n g to her home i n the next town, and she gave him the ac tua l address to which she was heading. Some way along the road the young man r e a l i s e d he was alone on h i s motor cyc le , the g i r l had vanished. Had she f a l l e n o f f? He re traced h i s steps to look f o r her, with no success. Worried, he went to the address she had given, and knocked on the door. I t was opened "by an e l d e r l y l ady . He asked her i f her daughter had managed to make her way home, r e l a t i n g how the g i r l had vanished from h i s motor b i c y c l e . The lady shook her head; "My daughter died a year ago tonight". The story here takes on some v a r i a t i o n s . Sometimes the young man has p laced h i s coat over the g i r l ' s shoulders to keep her warm, and the mother takes him to the churchyard to see the g i r l ' s grave, and there on the tombstone hangs h i s coatl In other vers ions the g i r l i s a l l eged to have been k i l l e d a t the very spot where she had begged the r i d e . Sometimes, the veh ic l e i n which she r i d e s i s a motor car .

This s tory was t o l d us many times, p a r t i c u l a r l y i n the 1960's. What puzzled us at that time was that each person who t o l d us the story claimed that i t had happened to a personal f r i end (they never claimed i t had happened to them), and they were a l so very graphic i n s t a t i n g the p lace where i t had happened. S p e c i f i c towns, and even addresses, were g iven. But each account gave a d i f f e r e n t l o c a t i o n . The s tory got reported i n many newspaper, i n many d i f f e r e n t countr ies , but each s tory c a r r i e d i t s own d e t a i l o f the town and address invo lved . We co l l ec t ed accounts o f t h i s a l l eged event from newspapers i n I t a l y , South A f r i c a , Argent ina , America, and even I n d i a . Those people who persona l ly reported the s tory to us were people to whom one would normally g ive c r e d i b i l i t y , and c e r t a i n l y with no apparent reason to l i e . We p a r t i c u l a r l y remember a policeman from Manchester, f o r instance , who was c e r t a i n l y very cred ib le i n h i s wr i t ten acocount to us . I t seemed g i r l s were vanishing o f f the

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backs o f motor b i c y c l e s , and from cars , i n droves, on the anniversary of t h e i r untimely deathsl

Despite a l l our e f for t s , however, we could never manage to track t h i s s tory down to the a c t u a l i n d i v i d u a l to whom i t had happened. This person seemed to evaporate as we got nearer . Apparently authentic addresses were just a l i t t l e b i t wrong, a street might e x i s t , but not the number g iven . A name might sound r i g h t , but nobody of that name could be traced i n that l o c a t i o n , and so on. Other people, a l so researching these s t o r i e s , met with the same r e s u l t , and one p a r t i c u l a r research organisat ion l a b e l l e d them f . o . f . s tor ie s - they always happened to f r i e n d s o f f r i e n d s .

We discovered l a t e r , of course, that t h i s s tory o f "the Vanishing Hi tchhiker? as i t came to be known, i s a

t y p i c a l modern urban legend, and i n fac t Professor Brunvand, o f the U n i v e r s i t y of Utah, Sa l t Lake C i t y , and one of the leading experts on modern f o l k l o r e and urban legends has wr i t t en a book using th i s phrase as the t i t l e .

Professor Brunvand i n the above-mentioned book (The Vanish ing H i t c h h i k e r ) , s t a t e s that "legends can survive i n our cu l ture i f they contain three e s s e n t i a l elements? a strong b a s i c s tory-appeal , a foundation i n ac tua l b e l i e f , and a meaningful message or moral . Popular s tor i e s are not only engrossing ta l e s , but a l so "true", or at l e a s t so people think, and they teach valuable lessons".

He goes on to say "People s t i l l t e l l legends, therefore, and other f o l k take time to l i s t e n to them, not only because o f t h e i r inherent p l o t i n t e r e s t , but because they seem to contain true, worthwhile, and re levant information, a l b e i t p a r t l y i n a subconscious mode".

Many modern urban legends have t h e i r roots i n much older s t o r i e s , some going back f o r centur ies , but they have been brought up-to-date , put i n a modern s e t t i n g , and i n t h i s way they s t i l l have an impact on soc ie ty .

One such i s the story of The Choking Doberman, another c l a s s i c s tory . The fo l lowing i s a modern ver s ion o f that s toryj i t appeared, i n t h i s form, i n The Globe newspaper, o f Lansing, Michigan.

In a l e t t e r to the newspaper, the wr i ter says,"When my neighbour's only son went into the service , he gave her a sleek "black dog ca l l ed T i g e r , to keep her company. One day she was working on her o ld treadle machine when she heard strange sounds coming from T i g e r . I t was as i f he were gagging on something. She qu ick ly bundled him o f f to the vet , only a short distance away. A f t e r a b r i e f check, the vet t o l d my neighbour to go back home. He wanted to keep T i g e r f o r a few more tests , and would c a l l her back l a t e r .

The moment she a r r i v e d home, the phone rang. I t was the vet . "Get out of the house" he y e l l e d exc i t ed ly . "Come back here". My neighbour was completely m y s t i f i e d , yet she complied with the unusual but urgent demand.

Back at the v e t ' s , she was t o l d T i g e r was f ine , 'but* added the vet , he had two human f ingers lodged i n h i s mouth. I 've already c a l l e d the po l i ce" . When the p o l i c e l a t e r checked the house, they found a man i n a severe state o f shock, cowering i n the c loset . He had two f ingers miss ing . Apparently he had broken i n through a back window. T iger had r e a l l y proved himsel f worthy of h i s name."

This i s a c l a s s i c s tory, accompanied by some charming d e t a i l , such as 'her o ld treadle machine', and carry ing the signed testimony o f the neighbour of the v i c t i m . I t preserves the f a m i l i a r culture stereotype of protec t ive male /he lp less female that i s a lso projec ted i n other American c l a s s i c f o l k l o r e . I quote Professor Brunvand. Th i s p a r t i c u l a r story cont inua l ly surfaces i n various forms; a fa ther gives h i s dughter a dog f o r pro tec t ion when she goes to col lege i n another c i t y on her ownf a lawyer may advise a d i v o r c e e to acquire a dog; i n one vers ion the b a b y - s i t t e r discovers the choking dog.

A Michigan j o u r n a l i s t attempted to track down the story re la ted i n the above l e t t e r . He found there was no evidence that such an event had occurred, although a f t e r some e f f o r t he managed to track down the w r i t e r o f the l e t t e r , who had used a pen-name, and who claimed to have heard the story recounted while she was i n a beauty p a r l o u r .

The student o f f o l k lore legends i s not so much interested i n whether the s tor i e s are true or not, but the reasons f o r t e l l i n g them, and the meanings one can at tach to them. The vary ing vers ions o f the "Choking Doberman" story po int to current concerns about burglary and v i o l e n t crimes, e s p e c i a l l y crimes taking place against women, and happening i n p r i v a t e homes. The woman l i v i n g alone i s vulnerable and f e a r f u l , a l i k e l y v i c t i m . Brunvand also suggests that the crime might be understood as an intended sexual assau l t .

The type of dog described i s also s i g n i f i c a n t . The Michigan l a d i e s ' dog was only described as a ' s leek bjack dog' but u s u a l l y i n t h i s story the dog i s described as large and f i e r c e , and i s frequent ly said to be a Doberman (hence the t i t l e o f the s t o r y ) . Dobermans are t r a d i t i o n a l l y used as guard dogs, sometimes they are bred as a t tack dogs, and they are genera l ly regarded as a somewhat s i n i s t e r breed. (Of recent years p i t - b u l l t e r r i e r s are sharing t h e i r reputat ion for f e r o c i t y , and maybe the breed of dog w i l l change i n the s tory i n years to come). Members of the p u b l i c genera l ly have some d i s t r u s t of these large , f i e r c e dogs, and so along with the legends that re late the defense of t h e i r mistress , we f i n d other s t o r i e s that re la te how these dogs can behave i n the opposite fash ion .

One s tory that i s i n regular c i r c u l a t i o n t e l l s o f a young couple with a new-born baby* and a pet Doberman. One day when they,the parents,have been out b r i e f l y , l eav ing the baby i n the care of the dog, they return to f ind that the dog had overturned the c r i b , and k i l l e d the baby, or chewed o f f i t s legs and arms, or i n some other way has mauled the c h i l d . Another story i s about a man who l e f t h i s dog alone i n a parked car , with the window open s l i g h t l y f o r a i r , and on h i s re turn the dog i s behaving i n an agi tated fash ion , and a human f i n g e r i s l y i n g on the seat . Presumably, i n t h i s case, the dog was defending h i s master's property from a p o t e n t i a l t h i e f . Of course i t i s true that a family pet has occas iona l ly turned on a new-born c h i l d and savaged, and sometimes k i l l e d the baby, and a news-report o f such an event might we l l be the o r i g i n a l source of a spate o f s t o r i e s . Many of these s tor i e s can be traced back to a newspaper account of a s i m i l a r happening, and then the s tory i s taken over, m u l t i p l i e d , and given l o c a l i d e n t i t y .

In f a c t , the 'dog* s tor i e s have been going the rounds f o r years , and they go back to very e a r l y t imes. A Welsh vers ion of the legend, dated back to the year 1800, r e l a t e s the story of Pr ince L lewe l lyn , who had gone hunting, l eav ing h i s in fant son i n the care of h i s hunting dog. When the pr ince returned home, he was s t a r t l e d to see that the l i p s and fangs o f h i s dog - a greyhourjfl. i n t h i s case - were dr ipp ing b lood . The dog appeared to be nervous i n h i s presence, and somewhat a f r a i d o f h i s master. The pr ince jumps to the conclus ion that the dog has k i l l e d h i s c h i l d , and promptly k i l l s the dog, only to f i n d , on going i n to the c h i l d ' s room, the c r i b overturned, the baby safe, and the body o f a large dead wolf l y i n g on the f l o o r . The dog had k i l l e d the wolf to protec t the c h i l d . The s tory i s made more poignant by the fac t that the hero i c dog was punished and k i l l e d on a wrong assumption. In Wales, near to Mount Snowdon, i n the v i l l a g e of G e l l e r t , there i s a grave, a l l eged to be the grave of t h i s brave dog, and i t i s v i s i t e d by many t o u r i s t s each year. This story, however, has several versions; i n some o lder ta l e s i t i s said that a serpent attacked the c h i l d , and as there are no serpents o f that nature i n Wales, the story probably or ig ina ted elsewhere.

What can we l e a r n from these s tor ie s? Students of f o l k l o r e and modern urban legends say that these s tor i e s r e f l e c t s o c i e t a l changes; as soc ie ty evolves, and as new invent ions and ideas come along, so people become uneasy and f e a r f u l of what the consequences o f such changes might be. Of course, i n some cases, they also r e f l e c t continuing unease = , as i l l u s t r a t e d i n the 'dog' s tor i e s above. People have always been uneasy with t h e i r l a r g e r and more f i e r c e pets , and they s t i l l are .

A comprehensive study o f modern f o l k l o r e also presents a p i c t u r e o f soc ieta l :change.

To give some examples. Since the end of World War II extensive t r a v e l among the general members of the populace has become access ib le and commonplace. But many people are s t i l l uneasy about t r a v e l l i n g i n faraway p laces , e s p e c i a l l y i f they are not f a m i l i a r with the language, customs, or the food i n the places where they are going. Fol lowing are two s t o r i e s that i l l u s t r a t e that unease. They both are frequent ly t o l d , and they are regarded as the absolute t r u t h by those who re la te them.

The f i r s t s tory concerns a couple who are sa id to have t r a v e l l e d to China recent ly , taking t h e i r small pet dog with them. They could not, of course, speak the language, and found themselves one day o f f the beaten track, and i n need of a meal. They found a small res taurant , and went i n to order something to eat f o r themselves, us ing sign language. They a lso wanted to obtain something f o r the dog to eat and d r i n k . The owner o f the res taurant appeared to understand t h e i r needs, and l e d the dog o f f to the k i t chen , presumably to feed i t . They waited a while, savouring a dr ink and some a p p e t i s e r s , and then the chef appeared with a large sa lver , on which was l a i d the body o f t h e i r dog, head inc luded; the dog was n i c e l y roasted and s t u f f e d . The t e l l e r o f the story may conclude with a remark, such as "They should have known that the Chinese e f t dogs". One could proper ly ask how i t was that a" couple so inexperienced i n t r a v e l i n China were able to take t h e i r dog there with them on vacat ion . This very discrepancy i n the story marks i t as a modern urban legend, ra ther than a t r u t h f u l account.

What happens when you are t r a v e l l i n g i n a s i m i l a r s i t u a t i o n , a d i s t a n t country, where you do not speak the language, and someone i n your par ty f a l l s very i l l , or worse s t i l l dies unexpectedly? A s tory about people i n t h i s predicament has been going the rounds for years , and surfaces r e g u l a r l y . We heard i t i n Toronto t h i s pas t summer. F o l k l o r i s t s have l a b e l l e d i t

""£he Vanishing Grandmother" story. I t goes l i k e t h i s . "This f r i e n d o f mine was t r a v e l l i n g i n Mexico with the fami ly , they were touring by car . Grandmother had been l i v i n g with them for some time, and although she was both e l d e r l y and f r a i l , they decided to take her along for the t r i p . They were d r i v i n g one day along a l one ly road, i n an out o f the way par t o f the country, when grandmother suddenly died of a heart a t tack . Nobody among them could speak the language, and they d i d not know what to do. They bundled grandmother up i n a blanket , and put the body on the car roof , and decided to get back to America as soon as p o s s i b l e . (One vers ion says that they knew they would have to pay a tax each time they crossed a state l i n e carry ing a dead body, and they wanted to avoid t h i s ) . This ver s ion states that they were i n a hurry because o f business commitments and could not face the delays that would occur i n t r y i n g to get the body out. They h i t the highway, and drove f u r i o u s l y towards home, but they needed to stop

f o r food and comfort reasons. They went into t h i s roadside cafe, and were s e t t l ed i n by the window, d r i n k i n g coffee, when they were h o r r i f i e d to see a t h i e f d r i v i n g t h e i r car away, complete with grandmother's body". Problem solved! The story usua l ly stops there the s t o r y t e l l e r does not know whether the family made much of an attempt to recover the car, what happened to the th i e f , how the family got back home. I t i s a very t y p i c a l story of t h i s type; i t demonstrate the concerns that people have about i l l n e s s and death while t r a v e l l i n g , and i t a lso provides a warning about th ievery that can happen abroad, and perhaps says something about the r e t r i b u t i o n that overtakes a t h i e f . This leads us on to re la t e some s tor i e s about the r e t r i b u t i o n that can overtake such cr imina l s . These are sometimes almost i n the 'joke* category, but they are re la ted very ser ious ly , and they are be l ieved to be true by those people v/ho re la t e them.

One o f our favour i tes i s the one about the lady whose cat d i e d . She l i v e d i n an apartment, and was faced with the problem of what to do with the body of a dead pet i n such a s i t u a t i o n . I t could not be put i n the sink garbage d i sposa l u n i t , or down the rubbish chute. She decided to take i t along to the Humane Society , and ask the people there to dispose o f the body for her . She placed i t i n a p l a s t i c bag, and set out. On her way she decided to do some shopping and went into the l o c a l s tore . She placed the bag down f o r a moment while she was examining some goods, and when she turned round she was h o r r i f i e d to d iscover the bag had gone. I t had been s to l en . Here the s tory varies. In some accounts i t i s said she rushes; to-the main door, and goes outs ide , to f i n d a store detect ive t r y i n g to calm a h y s t e r i c a l woman. The detect ive had stopped her , and on opening the bag, had discovered the dead cat . In another vers ion the woman goes to the washroom, and f inds the t h i e f l y i n g on the f l o o r i n a dead f a i n t , the opened bag bes ide ,her . An e laborat ion o f the s tory po ints out that the t a i l o f the cat was peeping out of the p l a s t i c bag, leading the t h i e f to be l i eve that the bag contained a f u r s t o l e . Again, t h i s s tory has two themes - the dilemma of what to do with the body of a dead pet i n a modern urban housing complex, and a l s o , i t warns o f the pena l t i e s that a s h o p l i f t e r might face, other than being caught by the p o l i c e .

Another story that i s a favouri te i s one that deals both with the hazards of t r a v e l l i n g i n a country that one i s not f a m i l i a r with, and also the pena l t i e s o f committing minor crime, or breaking accepted r u l e s and regulat ions . The story i s entit led"The Mexican Pet',' and i t goes l i k e t h i s . A young couple, t r a v e l l i n g i n Mexico, were s tay ing f o r a few days i n a c i t y where there seemed to be a l o t o f s tray dogs i n the s t ree t s . They took p i t y on one small creature, and gave i t some food, whereupon i t followed them around for the r e s t of the day. They became fond of i t , and decided to smuggle i t back to America with them. They h i d i t among some packages i n the car, and managed to d r i v e across the border without the dog being discovered. On a r r i v i n g home, they gave the creature a meal, and brushed i t s f u r , and i t spent the n ight at the foot o f t h e i r bed. The next morning they thought the dog seemed a l i t t l e s i c k . I t was oozing foam at the corners of i t s mouth, so they decided to take i t to the vet . They l e f t i t with the vet f or check up, and perhaps some shots, and went home. L a t e r the vet telephoned. "Where did you get t h i s dog"? he asked. Not wanting to get into t roub le , the woman said she had found the dog as a s tray i n the neighbourhood. The vet refused to be l ieve her . F i n a l l y she admitted she had obtained i t i n Mexico. "What i s wrong with the dog?" she asked. " F i r s t o f a l l " r e p l i e d the vet "It i s not a dog. I t i s a sewer r a t , and i t i s dying".

Many versions o f t h i s s tory have c i r c u l a t e d . The 'dog' has been obtained i n t v a r i o u s ways - rescued from the ocean, found i n a restaurant? sometimes the 'dog' i s mistaken f o r a Chihuaha, or a Mexican H a i r l e s s , ( i n these cases i t has sometimes been sold on the roadside by a beggar c h i l d ) . Sometimes i t i s said the couple keep the dog i n the h o t e l room f o r several days before t r a v e l l i n g home, and i n other vers ions the woman i s said to have smuggled the creature through customs under her sweater or her f u r coat. Some s t o r i e s have the dog brought up as f a r as Canada, and the European vers ions t e l l o f the dog smuggled from spain, or North A f r i c a , into France, or England.

The above s t o r i e s r e f l e c t some f a i r l y serious concerns f e l t by members o f soc ie ty genera l ly , and they are widespread. They genera l l y impart a f a i r l y ser ious warning, and p o i n t to the consequences of ignor ing such warnings.

FUN STORIES.

There i s another type of story, or modern urban legend, that i s much l i g h t e r i n tone than the p r e v i o u s l y re lated t a l e s . These s tor ies are almost jokes, and often r e f l e c t concern about much milder matters than these other s t o r i e s . They centre round s o c i a l s i tua t ions , breaches o f eqiquette, misunderstandings, and so on. One such that has been going the rounds for many years was t o l d me recent ly as having occurred i n Toronto. A woman had gone into one of the f a s t food out lets i n the Eaton Centre, and had purchased a chocolate b a r , and a cup of coffee . She sat down at a table opposite a young man, who was d r i n k i n g coffee and reading h i s newspaper. He reached out f o r the chocolate bar , broke of f a piece and ate i t . She i n d i g n a n t l y broke o f f a piece for h e r s e l f and ate i t . He reached round h i s newspaper, and d i d the same again. They went on l i k e th i s , ne i ther saying a word, u n t i l the chocolate was a l l gone. She got up to dispose of her cup, and on her re turn not iced that he had now bought a j e l l y doughnut. As she l e f t , she reached across and took a l arge b i t e from h i s doughnut. She went out into the m a l l , and opened her purse to get out her subway token, and found there i n the purse her own bar o f choc la te . We remember f i r s t hear ing t h i s story dur ing World War I I , when i t was supposed to have happened i n a NAAFI canteen, and i t was not a chocolate bar, but c i g a r e t t e s that were shared. Some o f these s tor i e s are kept going by r e p e t i t i o n s i n such magazines as Reader's D i g e s t , who o f f e r small cash p r i z e s f o r good jokes and s t o r i e s . While these are u s u a l l y supposed to be s tor i e s t o l d at f i r s t hand, i n order to q u a l i f y for a p r i z e , a d i s c e r n i n g reader w i l l of ten no t i ce old s tor ie s brought up-to-date and claimed as p e r s o n a l experiences i n these columns.

Another s tory i n th i s category i s the one about the dead r a b b i t , o r perhaps a dead cat , belonging to a neighbour. The story goes that one day a woman i s h o r r i f i e d to see her dog holding the dead cat , or rabbi t i n i t s mouth, and she recognises i t as being a pet from next door. She re tr i eves the body from the dog, c a r e f u l l y cleans i t , blow-dries i t s f u r , and replaces i t - i n the case of the rabb i t she puts i t i n the cage. The next day she sees p o l i c e cars parked outside her neighbour's house. She goes outside and enquires what has happened. "A nuisance c a l l " the policeman

says, "Their pet rabbi t (cat) died yesterday, and they buried i t , and some weirdo has dug i t up and replaced i t " . The vers ions vary , but i t i s a very popular s tory , f or instance , i n one vers ion a b a b y s i t t e r f inds the dead r a b b i t , washes i t i n wool i te , and hangs i t up by the ears to dry .

Ta lk ing o f b a b y s i t t e r s , people seem very uneasy about them, they frequent ly f igure i n these modern urban legends. There i s a whole r a f t of s tor i e s r e f l e c t i n g concern about microwave ovens i n which b a b y s i t t e r s f igure prominent ly . The ordinary member o f the p u b l i c i s not very we l l aware of the way that microwave ovens functions and i n e v i t a b l y a l o t o f warning s t o r i e s have gone the rounds. There i s the s tory of the b a b y s i t t e r who popped the baby i n the microwave, and inadvertent ly cooked it} another one put the cat i n the oven to dry i t s f u r a f t e r i t had got wet outs ide , and the cat exploded. Many o f these vers ions centre around parents' concerns that the babys i t t er might be a ' h i p p i e ' or on drugs. One vers ion has the baby s i t t e r s i t t i n g i n a cha i r freaked out, having put the baby i n the oven, th ink ing i t was a turkey she had been supposed to cook for the parents on t h e i r r e t u r n .

A favour i te i n t h i s category of ' joke' s tor i e s i s one about teeth - always a subject f o r mirthl An A u s t r a l i a n ver s ion of t h i s s tory goes as fo l lows: "There i s the s tory of the husband who was always t r y i n g to score o f f h i s wife . This went on f o r years , u n t i l both were middle-aged people. Then, on one weekend, they went to the beach with fr i ends f o r the day. The story i s u s u a l l y to ld about the Gold Coast i n Queensland, or Bondi Beach i n Sydney. At any ra te , husband was a keen surfer s t i l l , and he persuaded h i s wife to go swimming, despi te the b i g sur f running on t h i s p a r t i c u l a r day. The i n e v i t a b l e happened, and h i s wife was caught by a dumper and r o l l e d h e l p l e s s l y up the beach. In the process she opened her mouth to shout, and l o s t her f a l s e teeth, much to her dismay. Her husband went, o s t ens ib ly to help her f i n d her missing dentures, along with t h e i r f r i ends , who had accsmpanied them on the excursion, and winking hugely at them, he s l ipped h i s own fa l se teeth out, and then pretended to f i n d them. He of fered them to h i s wife , who r insed them i n the sea, and then t r i e d to f i t them i n . They would not f i t , o f course, and to the husband's h o r r o r , she f lung them f a r out into the breaking waves, saying "It 's no good, these a r e n ' t minei".

Yet another o f these joke s tor ie s i s the one about the "So l id Cement C a d i l l a c " . The story goes l i k e th i s -A man was d e l i v e r i n g a load of ready-mixed cement to an address near h i s own neighbourhood, when he decided to detour s l i g h t l y and say h a l l o to h i s wife (or perhaps i t was to p i c k up something at home). When he came i n s ight o f h i s home he saw a shining new C a d i l l a c i n the driveway, and he parked the ready-mix truck and walked around the house to inves t igate . (Some vers ions say he had a lready been suspicious of h i s wife, and wondered i f she was seeing another man while he was o u t ) . He heard voices coming from the k i tchen , and when he looked i n through the window, there was h i s wife t a l k i n g to a strange wel l -dressed man. Without checking any f u r t h e r , and c e r t a i n l y without a l e r t i n g the couple i n s i d e , the truck d r i v e r lowered a window o f the new C a d i l l a c , and emptied the e n t i r e load o f cement ins ide i t , f i l l i n g the car completely. But when he got o f f work that evening, and returned home, h i s t e a r f u l wife informed him that the new (now solid-cement) car was for him - bought with her hard-earned savings, and that the stranger was the l o c a l C a d i l l a c dea ler , who had just de l ivered the car and was arranging the papers on i t with her . The story ends with var ious accounts of how long i t took to remove the car from the driveway.

There are many ' fun ' s tor i e s i n t h i s v e i n . F o r instance, the adventures o f a urine specimen are endless - s tolen specimens i n whisky or wine bo t t l e s are the cause v for much m i r t h , as are s t o r i e s about the packaging of dog droppings due to the Scoop and Poop programmes, and t h e i r subsequent l o s s by theft or misadventure.

SCARS STORIES.

There i s another type o f s tory that i s common i n soc ie ty . The object o f these s tor i e s i s often to d i s c r e d i t some f i r m , or manufacturing process . However, they are , i n f a c t , modem urban legends, because they can never be traced to t h e i r o r i g i n s , and there i s no a c t u a l t ru th or substance i n the a l l e g a t i o n s . However, they perhaps belong more under the d e s c r i p t i o n of rumor than story. One such ver s ion i s t h i s - "Would you bel ieve i t i f I t o l d you that many of the cosmetics you use every day contain an ingred ient derived from the fetuses of aborted

babies? Th i s i s no mere guess or rumor, but a well= establ i shed Tact supported by hundreds of pages of documented research. This secret youth-preserving ingredient i s c a l l e d "collagen", and t e c h n i c a l l y i t i s jus t the gelat inous substance found i n a l l animal connective t i s sue . T r a d i t i o n a l l y , the i n d u s t r i a l source o f col lagen has been animals, u sua l ly c a t t l e - but l a t e l y many b i g i n t e r n a t i o n a l companies have found a ready source of co l lagen i n abort ion c l i n i c s and h o s p i t a l s , where m i l l i o n s of fetuses are k i l l e d and disposed of every year . From these murdered babies f i end i sh companies are d e r i v i n g the collagens now used i n more than seventy-f ive percent o f the beauty products so ld today." This story i s reminiscent o f the Satanic C h i l d Abuse legends that created such a s t i r r ecen t ly , and caused so much d i s t r e s s and anguish. The story seems to have i t s o r i g i n s , l i k e the Satanism s t o r i e s , i n the fundamentalist C h r i s t i a n b e l i e f s . The s tor i e s are a i r e d i n C h r i s t i a n t e l e v i s i o n and radio s ta t ions , and the claims are buttressed by reference to publ i shed studies and voluminous documentation. Some versions o f the s tory l i n k the use of col lagen to the manufacture of expensive perfumes. The object o f the s tor ie s seems not only to be to discourage the use of cosmetics and perfumes, but to produce revu l s ion i n soc iety against abort ion , an object ive dear to the hearts o f the fundamentalist C h r i s t i a n groups invo lved .

In ac tua l fac t , although most col lagen used i n cosmetics i s derived from treated cowhides, some cosmetic products , mainly European or fore ign ones, do use placentas as a source of human co l lagen . But that i s a long leap o f imagination from a p lacenta-der ived product to one made from aborted fetuses . A l u r i d novel c a l l e d The Methuselah Enzyme, r e l a t i n g to t h i s subject, and a French book e n t i t l e d "The T r a f f i c i n Unborn Babies, ' p r o b a b l y f u e l l e d some o f these rumors. Ann Landers on one occasion dea l t with t h i s rumor i n her column. There i s apparently no t ruth whatseoever i n these a l l e g a t i o n s , but they continue to be c i r c u l a t e d . (We are indebted to Professor Brunvand, and h i s acknowledgement to Daviid Webster IV f o r t h i s informat ion) .

Food contaminations s t o r i e s are always r i f e . Sometimes these s tor ies have one o r i g i n a l source, and subsequently the s tory i s t o l d and r e t o l d and placed i n d i f f e r e n t l oca t ions over a number o f years . For instance, i n

J u l y of 19^3» "two s i s t e r s went into a shop and each ordered a Dottle of Coca-Cola . The room was dim, and the bo t t l e opaque. One s i s t e r remarked that her dr ink had an awful taste , but she continued to dr ink, u n t i l when she got to the bottom of the b o t t l e the straw through which she was d r i n k i n g h i t something hard, and i t turned out to be a dead mouse. She was nauseated, and threw up, and eventual ly sued the company and obtained a f i n a n c i a l settlement. The story was t o l d i n some d e t a i l i n the reports of the times. Some t h i r t y years l a t e r the story was s t i l l being t o l d as a recent event, complete with almost i d e n t i c a l d e t a i l s , inc luding d e t a i l s o f the su i t against the company. Even today, i t s t i l l comes up now and again , as a new story, but i t seems to have happened only the once.

These contamination and adul terat ion rumors are the cause o f much d i s t r e s s and expense to the companies concerned. There have been many over the years , some of the most notable of which have concerned candy. One o f us remembers as a c h i l d a rumor that green sweets, of any k ind , were dangerous, and we avoided buying green sweets. A p a r t i c u l a r bubble-gum candy, manufactured by General Foods was rumoured to cause death i n a c h i l d i f swallowed S h a l e s the i n t e r n a l f i z z i n g r e s u l t i n g from t h i s swallowing, i t was sa id , would cause the c h i l d ' s stomach to explode. Another kind o f bubble gum was rumoured to conta in spider eggs, or to cause cancer. Manufacturers have to resort to expensive a d v e r t i s i n g campaigns to squelch these rumors, and sometimes they have to r e s o r t to changing the packaging, or i n the extreme, to withdrawal o f the product a l toge ther . Sometimes, o f course, these rumors might be s tarted by d i s g r u n t l e d employees, or by t h e i r competitors, but they spread very r a p i d l y and have a powerful e f f ec t .

McDonald's Corporat ion were once v i c t ims o f two very nasty rumors. The f i r s t , i n 1977» was a s tory that McDonalds was donating a large par t of i t s p r o f i t s to a Satanic c u l t . This was, o f course, e n t i r e l y untrue, and was v igorous ly denied by the company, but the rumor was d i f f i c u l t to k i l l . L a t e r a l l ega t ions were made about the content o f the meat i n t h e i r burgers . Some rumors held that worms were being used as a p r o t e i n supplement* others that kangaroo meat was a lso being used to supplement the beef. P r o f . Brunvand observes that c l e a r l y there i s some i n t e r p l a y between these American

rumors, and legends, since both deal with mass-produced, mass-consumed foods that are e s p e c i a l l y popular with young people. The ir message i s "Watch what you eat, e s p e c i a l l y i f i t comes i n a pre t ty package, or from a b i g fa s t - food chain".

SBX SCANDALS.

I n e v i t a b l y , o f course, there are many many sex legends. Brunvand t e l l s one, which i s heard of ten , about the white woman who bore a black c h i l d , because her husband had just p r e v i o u s l y v i s i t e d a black p r o s t i t u t e . Brunvand remarks that p l a i n ignorance about sex, combined with racism, g ives r i s e to many miscellaneous legends such as t h i s . A s tory from the C i v i l War that i s s t i l l i n c i r c u l a t i o n t e l l s o f a young V i r g i n i a farm g i r l , who was standing on her porch while a ba t t l e was raging nearby. A stray b u l l e t f i r s t passed through the scrotum of a young Union Cavalryman, and then lodged i n the reproductive t r a c t o f the young g i r l ' s body. She thus became pregnant by a man she had not been near, and nine months l a t e r she gave b i r t h to a healthy baby.

An e a r l y ver s ion of th i s story r e l a t e s how, a f t e r the c h i l d was b o m - a healthy 8 lb s boy - there seemed to be something wrong with the c h i l d ' s g e n i t a l s . The c h i l d was operated on and a smashed minie b a l l was found i n i t s scrotum. This s tory goes on to say that the young man was eventual ly traced and t o l d o f the circumstances. He met the g i r l , and they eventual ly married and had three more c h i l d r e n . This s tory i s d e t a i l e d i n f u l l i n Professor Brunvand*s book, The Choking Doberman.

A f t e r t h i s s tory was published a n ine ty year o ld Dakota Indian , wrote to say that there was an Indian legend about a maiden impregnated i n a s i m i l a r fash ion by a bow and arrow, and that th i s Indian legend pre-dated the C i v i l War s tory .

There are many s tor i e s that are l i t t l e more than jokes, and the reader must have heard many o f them. One we l i k e involves the couple who went o f f to celebrate t h e i r anniversary . They chose to stay at a very fancy h o t e l , with heart-shaped bathtubs, and mirrored c e i l i n g s . They had a wonderful ho l iday , and decided to re turn there the fo l lowing year. On t h i s occasion they are t o l d

that X-rated video-movies are a v a i l a b l e f o r h i r e They rent one, turn on the set, and f i n d themselves as the 'ac tors ' i n the movie. They are, of course, suing the h o t e l .

And then there was the couple who were vacat ioning i n a far-away f o r e i g n country. The man had gone o f f somewhere on h i s own, and the wife was pacing outs ide the h o t e l await ing h i s r e t u r n . A policeman appears and apprehends her as a p r o s t i t u t e . He i s ju s t w r i t i n g out the t i c k e t when the husband returns , and expla ins the s i t u a t i o n . But the policeman cannot cancel the t i c k e t , a f ine must be p a i d , or the woman w i l l go to j a i l . The on ly other so lu t ion , says the policeman, i s f or the man to buy h i s wife a l i c e n c e : t o p r a c t i c e p r o s t i t u t i o n i n that c i t y (which may be i n Mexico, or P a r i s , France ) . The husband buys the l i c e n c e , and now you f ind i t hanging on the l i v i n g room wal l back home, an unusual conversat ion p iece . Unusual, says Brunvand, except that scores of couples are supposed to own such c e r t i f i c a t e s .

REDEMPTION RUMORS.

Perhaps th i s type o f rumor deserves a paragraph or two on i t s own. Over the years countless s t o r i e s have gone the rounds that i f one saves enough o f c e r t a i n useless things , they w i l l be redeemed by the manufacturer, or some benefactor, and the proceeds given to some good cause, or to pay f o r a major medical benef i t f o r a needy p a t i e n t . These c o l l e c t i o n s have been going on f o r years . People save thousands of empty c igare t t e packages, (or the red cellophane opener s t r i p s ) , or' p u l l tabs from aluminum cans, or the tags attached to tea-bags, i n the b e l i e f that they are contr ibut ing to the cost o f a seeing-eye dog, or a wheelchair, an i r o n lung , time on a kidney d i a l y s i s machine, e tc , Tobacco companies are most commonly sa id to be the p a r t i c i p a n t s i n these redemption schemes, and the companies have to c o n t i n u a l l y deny the existence o f the schemes. Even the f a c t u a l explanations have acquired f o l k l o r i s t touches, Brunvand says. For example, the term "crue l hoax" appears frequent ly i n press res leases , but there i s no evidence that anyone has ever d e l i b e r a t e l y p lanted such rumors, e i t h e r to increase sa les , or to embarass companies.

In a paper d e l i v e r e d at the American F d l k l o r e Soc ie ty

annual meeting i n 1984, Professor Fine adapted the term "redemtion rumors" to another meaning; he be l ieves that i n a sense, people who so earnest ly save these useless objects are also t r y i n g to redeem themselves f o r t h e i r bad hab i t s of using products containing tobacco, a l c o h o l , or ca f fe ine . Even when the items saved are soda-can p u l l tabs there may be the g u i l t f a c t o r because o f dr ink ing sugared beverages o f l i t t l e va lue . Saving the package parts f o r a good cause compensates, a t l e a s t p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y , Fine suggests, f o r the poor n u t r i t i o n .

CONCLUSION.

What conclusions do we draw from study of a l l o f these s tor i e s?

Of course they are f a s c i n a t i n g reading i n themselves, and make great conversation p ieces .

I t i s c l e a r l y obvious that soc iety i n general s t i l l r e l i e s on word o f mouth information f o r the dissemination of much information, p a r t i c u l a r l y i n r e l a t i o n to matters which cause general unease and concern. Members o f the p u b l i c do not e n t i r e l y t r u s t the mass media, ' they p r e f e r i n d i v i d u a l one-on-one communication. Genera l ly speaking, i f one suggests that a s tory that i s being t o l d has been refuted i n a newspaper, or on rad io , o r t e l e v i s i o n , the s t o r y - t e l l e r w i l l say something l i k e "You can't be l i eve everything you read or hear, but I know th i s i s true , i t was t o l d me personal ly" . Personal communication i s s t i l l the p r e f e r r e d method o f pass ing on information, and the one most t rus ted .

Then, as we have already stated, these s tor i e s r e f l e c t p u b l i c concern that s u f f i c i e n t information i s not g e n e r a l l y imparted to the p u b l i c . People are uneasy about many th ings , even fr ightened about poss ib le s i t u a t i o n s , and they f e e l they do not know enough to cope with some d i f f i c u l t happenings. Looking back at our s t o r i e s , f o r instance, people are not sure how to cope with a death i n the family while t r a v e l l i n g abroad, or how to deal with the body o f a dead pet when that pet has d ied i n an apartment, or how to order a meal proper ly i n a fore ign restaurant when you do not speak the language. They are wary o f us ing new-fangled modern equipment and devices , and they are ignorant of the ingredients of many modern products .

But a l s o , there i s no doubt that these s tor i e s cater to a love o f the dramatic, and a good s tory . The reason they f l o u r i s h i s not only because they deal with the above mentioned fears and unease, but because the i s tory that i s t o ld i s dramatic, i n t e r e s t i n g , and b e l i e v a b l e . In t h i s they resemble a l l the best loved fables and m o r a l i s t i c s t o r i e s of ancient l i t e r a t u r e . I t i s our f e e l i n g that the l e s s dramatic s t o r i e s do not t r a v e l f a r , the good ones surv ive . As we have sa id , also the s tor i e s have to r i n g t r u e . As we l l as being dramatic

they have to convey the impression that the events "being r e l a t e d could r e a l l y happen, they are b e l i e v a b l e . The l i s t e n e r has to be able to imagine i t happening to h i s or her own f r i ends , i n th i s way, the next time the story i s t o l d i t i s clothed with the i d e n t i t y o f those f r i e n d s .

As we sa id i n the in troduct ion , genera l ly speaking, these s t o r i e s are fun, harmless, and do not have much impact on soc ie ty as a whole; but recent events with regard to the rumor-scare over Satanism and C h i l d Abuse l ed us to r e a l i s e the p o t e n t i a l f o r damage that some o f these s t o r i e s might have. C e r t a i n l y , i n that p a r t i c u l a r instance the cost to soc ie ty was immeasurable, both i n money, time, and damage to c h i l d r e n and f a m i l i e s . The c r e d i b i l i t y of s o c i a l workers, p o l i c e o f f i c e r s , c h i l d care workers, and the l i k e was badly damaged. S i m i l a r l y , the scares and rumors regarding c e r t a i n products can damage f irms, and cause f i n a n c i a l l o s s .

For these reasons alone, we need to recognise the existence of modern urban legends i n our midst . We need to understand how they c i r c u l a t e , the reasons why they are c a l l e d into being, and we need to know how to deal with them. Many o f us, on hearing a good story, such as the ones we have t o l d , are very tempted to go a long with the person r e l a t i n g the story, and leave them with the impression that we be l i eve the story to be true; we may even be tempted to repeat the story to others i f i t i s a p a r t i c u l a r l y good one. This i s harmless enough i n some instances, but we should beware of pass ing on, or accepting a s tory that could cause harm.

To give an i l l u s t r a t i o n . A story that has been c i r c u l a t i n g among young mothers i n Toronto t h i s year descr ibes an inc ident that i s a l l eged to have occurred at Wonderland, when a seven-year o ld g i r l i s supposed to have been kidnapped by people engaged i n making pornographic f i l m s . D e t a i l s are given of how the c h i l d was missed, and how the p o l i c e s tat ioned the mother at the ex i t to look at the shoes of c h i l d r e n pass ing through - supposedly, the kidnappers while changing the c h i l d ' s c l o t h i n g and appearance, always forget about the shoesi The c h i l d was recovered, according to the story, having had her h a i r cut, and her c lothes changed. There has been a rash o f a l leged attempted kidnappings^of c h i l d r e n l a t e l y i n Toronto, and mothers are beginning

to get panicky. This i s a very widespread story indeed and i t has "been a l l eged to have happened i n one v a r i a t i o n or another i n almost every pleasure ground and snooping mal l i n North America i n the l a s t two years . O f f i c i a l s at Wonderland constantly deny that the event ever took p lace , but they are not be l i eved . The story i s very o l d , i t crops up r e g u l a r l y . We f i r s t heard i t i n the 1930's when i t was a l l eged that young g i r l s were being kidnapped i n London, England, and so ld as 'white s laves' into the harems of Arabian sheikhs. Ever since then we have r e g u l a r l y seen kidnapping scares become popular f o r a while; they then fade away, only to be revived at a l a t e r date. As i n the Satanic cu l t cases, there i s p r a c t i c a l l y no evidence to j u s t i f y the a l l e g a t i o n s , and while i t i s true that many ch i ldren do disappear each year, the existence o f organised r ings o f kidnappers snatching c h i l d r e n for pornographic purposes i s very u n l i k e l y indeed.

How do we recognise a modern urban legend? From reading what we have wr i t ten i t i s probably f a i r l y c l e a r to our readers what d i s t ingu i shes such a s tory . But to r e c a p i t u l a t e ; the story i s i n e v i t a b l y a t t r i b u t e d to a f r i e n d , or a f r i end of a f r i e n d . I f the l i s t e n e r p e r s i s t s i n t r y i n g to i d e n t i f y the soiree, he or she w i l l f a i l . Secondly, the s tor ie s do not qui te make sense. Questions can always be asked as to why the people i n the s t o r i e s behaved as they d i d , and there are no s a t i s f a c t o r y answers. The person who t e l l s the s tory does not know the answer. For instance , i n the story jus t re la ted i t does not make sense that the mother, s tat ioned at an ex i t i n Wonderland, would not more r e a d i l y recognise her daughter going through the e x i t , even i f her c lothes were changed, and her h a i r cut , than she would recognise her shoes. And what about the c h i l d , i f able to walk, surely she would recognise her mother?

Nevertheless the s tor ie s are always accompanied by a good deal o f i r r e l e v a n t d e t a i l - padding so to speak - which give the s tory c r e d i b i l i t y . To look at an example, i n the very f i r s t story here, that of the''Vanishing H i t ch h ik er , the g i r l who begs a r i d e i s always quoted as g i v i n g the exact address of her des t ina t ion , not only the s treet , but the exact house she i s bound f o r ; i n r e a l l i f e , a h i t c h h i k e r genera l ly g ives the nearest s treet corner, a t the most, to the person g i v i n g them a r i d e . But the exact address i s e s s e n t i a l to the story, the motor

c y c l i s t has to be able to go to the house. A discerning l i s t e n e r , l i k e a tra ined parapsychologis t , develops an ear f o r a flaw that can betray the f a c t that what they are hearing i s legend rather than t r u t h .

An i n v e s t i g a t o r i s always on the lookout f o r s t o r i e s i n the making. P r o f . Brunvard quotes a recent news story i n the U . S . and suggests that the government might be involved i n the legend-making process .

The heading i n the news cut t ing reads "U.S. May Concoct Tales o f Horror to Deter Trespass at Nuclear S i t e" .

The story i n the newspaper reads as fol lows "The f edera l government i s cons ider ing get t ing into the business of making up h o r r o r s t o r i e s . Here's the problems There 's a good chance that a square mile of desert adjacent to th i s park (Canyonlands Nat ional Park) w i l l become a dump for h i g h - l e v e l nuc lear waste that w i l l remain dangerous f o r 10,000 years ."

The a r t i c l e goes on to state that the Off ice o f Nuclear Waste I s o l a t i o n i s look ing for ways to deter future trespassers . A consultant to the agency came up with the idea of invent ing a "curse of the Pharoah" type myth to scare people away. The myths would be kept a l i v e by a s p e c i a l group of people, s c i e n t i s t s , and scho lars . The consultant suggested that the myths should be spread by the conventional " f o l k l o r i s t i c devices" such as word o f mouth.

One i s l e f t to wonder how often such methods are used d e l i b e r a t e l y by governments and agencies, who might wish to spread a c e r t a i n message.

A f a s c i n a t i n g exercise f o r researchers in teres ted i n t h i s subject would be to attempt to s t a r t a modern urban legend onese l f , and see how f a r i t might t r a v e l . The idea has fa sc ina ted us, but we have to admit that i t i s not easy to to invent a story that r e f l e c t s a cer ta in general unease, i s dramatic, b e l i e v a b l e , and carr i e s a c e r t a i n amount o f cred ib le d e t a i l .

Professor Brunvand, i n the conclusion to h i s book, The Mexican Pet, says,"The t r u t h never stands i n the way of a good story", and that i s c e r t a i n l y true . He states "I f u l l y expect that people w i l l continue to l i s t e n to modern urban legends, repeat them, vary them, and somehow myster ious ly invent them i n the future , jus t as they have f o r so many years i n the past". We agree with t h i s conc lus ion , and have to say that , i n our opinion, the study o f these s tor i e s provides a great deal o f fun, and one has had a great deal o f p leasure i n t h i s p a r t i c u l a r p iece o f research.

SOURCES.

Our main sources of information f o r t h i s paper have been personal communications from many many people, both by l e t t e r and i n conversat ion.

We have also r e l i e d heav i ly both on personal communication with Professor Brunvand, and have used h i s three books extens ive ly i n wr i t ing t h i s -note.

The books are : The Vanishing H i t c h i k e r (1981) The Choking Doberman (1984) The Mexican Pet (1986)

a l l publ ished by W.W. Norton & Co. New York & London.

We a l so quoted from an a r t i c l e i n The Toronto Star, dated October 1991.