downunder update

Urban legends are a branch of folklore consisting of stories often thought to be factual by those circulating them. The term is often used in the meaning similar to the expression “apocryphal story”.

Urban legends are sometimes repeated in news stories and, in recent years, distributed by e-mail. People frequently say such tales happened to a “friend of a friend”—so often, in fact, that FOAF has become a commonly used acronym to describe this sort of story.

Urban legends are not necessarily untrue, but they are often false, distorted, exaggerated, or sensationalised. Despite the name, urban legends do not necessarily take place in an urban setting. The name is designed to differentiate them from traditional folklore created in preindustrial times.

Urban legends are narratives which put our fears and concerns into the form of stories, or are tales in which we confirm the rightness of our world view. They can reinforce xenophobic or homophobic behaviour, or just make us feel smug. I told you so.

As cautionary tales they warn us against engaging in risky behaviors by pointing out what has supposedly happened to others who did what we might be tempted to try. Other legends confirm our belief that it’s a big, bad, scarey world out there.

There are Urban Legends which are peculiar to Australia. Many could only be understood in Australia.

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