MAIN Society Urban Legends

Still hunting for that $250 cookie recipe?

Or wondering where those New York sewer alligators might be popping up?

Those chestnuts represent some of the best additions to a growing number of urban legends, in modern times spread by the lightning quick power of e-mails, message boards and blogs.

Urban legend fans can usually spot a good one if a story includes just enough juicy facts to be plausible ... and suspiciously twisted plot twists to be anything but.

Check out more & more classic stories with our look at the most famous urban legends of all time, along with a look at little-known yarns and fascinating tales that are too good (or creepy) to be true ...

The AFU & Urban Legends Archive - They're all here, searchably by category, including rousing tales to do with sex, religion, movies, songs, food, and more. Also check out the Urban Legends Zeitgeist for the latest, plus good cache of all-time favorites in the urban folktales FAQ.

Urban Legend - Wikipedia - The online encyclopedia with a good overview of what becomes a legend most with information on their history & how they get started, and a list of the most enduring.

HOAXBUSTERS - A complete background on the most famous Internet hoaxes in history with a special look at chain mail and e-mail scams, and how to spot them, searchable by category.

Urban Legends and Hoaxes Resource Center - A good link list of all the major e-mail hoaxes that have made the rounds featuring classics like Flesh Eating Bacteria, Spiders Under the Toilet Seat, and other gems.

American Folklore - The giant compedium of tall tales, spooky stories, myths & legends, plus more hours of fun with Mexican, Canadian and Latin American folktales.

Weird and Spooky Places: Accounts of Hauntings, Urban Legends, and Other Strange Phemomena - Gather 'round the campfire for yarns about London's most haunted areas, plus click around for more scary tales arising in New Orleans, Chicago, Colorado and other U.S. locations.

AskMen.com - Urban Legends - A pop look at the top 10, with a link to more about top 10 superstitions and conspiracy theories.

LA's Top 25 Legends - Includes, among others, "Jamie Lee Curtis is a hermaphrodite" and ... eerily haunted Griffith Park!! If you're already not familiar with the City of Angels' tales of the improbable, this a great read and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny.

Tales from the Urban Crypt - The haunting of the Empire State Building, bridge and tunnel tales, Broadway horror stories, sewer gators, and more from this archived feature from the New York Daily News.

Snopes - http://www.snopes.com/ - A pop-up advertising minefield the last time we visited, but it may be worth exploring for the riches of urban legends it holds. Proceed at your own risk.

also see -> Conspiracy Theories | Aliens & UFOs | Loch Ness Monster

also see in Pop Culture -> Internet Scams & E-Mail Hoaxes