Urban legend

[3] Jan Harold Brunvand, professor of English at the University of Utah, introduced the term to the general public in a series of popular books published beginning in 1981.

[17] Such legends seem to be believable and even provocative, as some readers are led in turn to pass them on, including on social media platforms that instantly reach millions worldwide.

[19] Persistent urban legends do often maintain a degree of plausibility, as in the story a serial killer deliberately hiding in the back seat of a car.

While at least one classic legend, the "Death Car", has been shown to have some basis in fact,[23] folklorists have an interest in debunking those narratives only to the degree that establishing non-factuality warrants the assumption that there must be some other reason why the tales are told, re-told and believed.

[24] As in the case of myth, the narratives are believed because they construct and reinforce the worldview of the group within which they are told, or "because they provide us with coherent and convincing explanations of complex events".

[25] Social scientists have started to draw on urban legends in order to help explain complex socio-psychological beliefs, such as attitudes to crime, childcare, fast food, SUVs and other "family" choices.

[26] The authors make an explicit connection between urban legends and popular folklore, such as Grimm's Fairy Tales, where similar themes and motifs arise.

For that reason, it is characteristic of groups within which a given narrative circulates to vehemently reject claims or demonstrations of non-factuality; an example would be the expressions of outrage by police officers who are told that adulteration of Halloween treats by strangers (the subject of periodic moral panics) occurs extremely rarely, if at all.

[34] The 1999 film The Blair Witch Project purposefully positioned itself as an urban legend to gain viral hype and succeeded in fooling many that it was based on a real disappearance.

These include the story that Orson Welles began work on a Batman movie in the 1940s, which was to feature James Cagney as the Riddler and Marlene Dietrich as Catwoman;[38] the persistent rumour that the rock singer Courtney Love is the granddaughter of Marlon Brando;[39] and the idea that a famous 1970s poster of Farrah Fawcett contains a subliminal sexual message concealed in the actress's hair.

Some take the form of chain letters and spread by e-mail, directing the reader to share them or to meet a terrible fate,[47] and following a recognizable outline of hook, threat, and finally request.

[48] Paranormal urban-legend stories usually involve someone encountering something supernatural, such as a cryptid[49]—for instance, Bigfoot or Mothman,[50] legendary creatures for which evidence is lacking but which have legions of believers.

[52] Companies have been accused of hiding "secret messages" behind their logos or packaging,[53] as in the case of the old Procter & Gamble symbol, supposedly an occult figure that gave panache to the brand.