Defining Urban Legends

Abstract

Urban legends are friend-of-a-friend stories (FOAFS) that are told to describe strange, but supposedly real events, when in fact they are fictional through word of mouth invention or distortion. There is usually a true element to the legend, but it becomes fictional as it is passed from one person to the next. Core elements in most urban legends remain similar, but the details of the story can differ from one milieu to the next. In the following paper focus is brought upon the naming, and subsequent debates that emerged in this, par excellence folklore genre.