Urban Legend of the world

It’s true. We’re all just as dumb as the next person.

Brendan Christopher Cathcart, Staff

illustrated by ted barker

I remember being 10 years old and hearing about the Bloody Mary mirror freakout. The idea was to have the lights off, put a flashlight under your chin and chant “Bloody Mary” 13 times. What was supposed to happen, what everyone including my friend’s friend said was true, was that a severed, bloody head was supposed to appear. Never once did I make it to 13 times, because I’d always get too scared and run out of the bathroom. I really believed that my friends had seen this head and that I would too if I stayed the course, so I didn’t.

Elementary school, summer camp, birthday sleepovers — these times were the heyday of all sorts of stories and stupid beliefs just like “Bloody Mary.” The hook on the car door, the vanishing hitchhiker, razorblades in the candy (alternately and much scarier, I thought, razorblades on the waterslides). These stories are urban legends, and my friends and I believed them all. Most kids had their own localized urban legends, too. Down the back lane behind my parents house there was a completely burned out car in the middle of the bushes. For me and my best friend the logic of irrationality told us that since there were no burn marks anywhere on the surrounding grass or trees, then that meant that this car had burned supernaturally and was now haunted. For years, I’d literally get an icy chill down my spine when riding my bike past this section of bushes and I couldn’t even look in the direction of the car unless I was with someone else.

In his book The Cat in the Dryer and 222 Other Urban Legends, Thomas J. Craughwell writes: “An urban legend in the purest sense of the term is a story of unknown origin, that is demonstrably untrue, that uses either humor or something fairly gruesome to teach a lesson about what happens to people who disregard the taboos of our civilization.” As a kid, it seemed that I was getting credible information from very specific sources, so of course I had no reason to believe these stories were untrue. As I got older and got on the Internet, it turned out that these stories had not originated from my credible friend sources, but had migrated all over the world, most having originated in other countries decades before I was even born. I’m not sure what kind of lessons I learned from these stories, other than to not believe people when they tell me something is true, but Craughwell also notes that such didactic ideals don’t always apply. Sometimes the stories are sheer nonsense for the sake of sheer nonsense.

Sociology researchers Heath, Bell and Sternberg explain that another function of urban legends is to foster social exchange and social interaction. In their study for the 2001 Journal of Personality and Social Pyschology entitled “Emotional Selection in Memes: The Case of Urban Legends,” they say that a rumour like the Bill Gates chain letter (claim: e-mail tracking, forward and earn $1000) “may have strong exchange value because the person who passes it along entitles his or her friends to share a positive mood during an otherwise boring work day.” This is just like sharing the disgusting story about fast-food employees masturbating into food. There’s no ethical value or moral teaching to such a repulsive story, other than maybe a socio-cultural criticism about paying someone you don’t know for food that’s probably bad for you in the first place. The reason I personally passed that story on when I first heard it was because it’s fun to hear gross things from friends and then pass on the gross things to other friends. Heath, Bell, and Sternberg also suggest that aside from exchange another important function of rumours and urban legends is social bonding. In cases of fear-inducing stories, passing them on can “enhance people's interest in social affiliation by confronting them with a fear-inducing stimulus. Social bonding may also be produced by shared hostility toward an out-group member or by a shared contempt for a violation of social norms.”

Sometimes urban legends are tools to teach about social norms and boundaries, sometimes they are tools for fostering social exchange and social bonding, and sometimes they’re just stories for the sake of stories. However, just because urban legends might seem to be harmless, baseless stories, this is not always the case. Occasionally people will believe them in large numbers, and when this happens the results can be both hilarious and terrifying. There is always a danger that these believers may bond through shared hostility or as Heath, Bell, and Sternberg put it, through “shared contempt for a violation of social norms.” To illustrate some of the ridiculous things people will believe, and also some of the absurd ways they sometimes react to these beliefs, I’ve compiled a few examples of recent urban legends from around the world.

On Oct. 23, 2007, the Newindpress reported: Carnivorous trees grabbing humans and cattle and gobbling them up is not just village folklore. Residents of Padrame near Kokkoda in Uppinangady forest range sighted one such carnivorous tree trying to dine on a cow last Thursday. According to reports, the cow owned by Anand Gowda had been left to graze in the forests. The cow was suddenly grabbed by the branches and pulled from the ground. The terrified cowherd ran to the village, and got Gowda and a band of villagers to the carnivorous tree. Before the tree could have its meal, Anand Gowda and the villagers struck mortal blows to the branches that turned limp and the cow was rescued. Uppinangady range forest officer (RFO) Subramanya Rao said the tree was described as “pili mara” (tiger tree) in native lingo. He had received many complaints about cattle returning home in the evenings without tails. On Friday, the field staff confirmed coming across a similar tree in Padrane, partially felled down. However no detailed inquiry was made as the authorities were not asked for any report, Rao said.

On Jan. 18, 1997, CNN World News reported the very real, very true, reactions of people to a hysteria-inducing urban legend:

ACCRA, Ghana (CNN) — Seven sorcerers who were accused of grabbing penises were beaten to death by angry mobs in the Ghana capital of Accra, police said. The capital is so chaotic the army may have to be called in to restore order. According to police, two men were lynched Thursday and by Friday the death toll had risen to seven. Victims allege that the sorcerers touched them to make their genitals shrink or, in some cases, disappear to extort cash for the promise of a cure. The inspector general of police, Peter Nanfuri, told state television he was prepared to call in the army. So-called penis-snatching reports are not uncommon in West Africa, where purported victims often blame penis shrinkage on handshakes with sorcerers. Residents recall a similar scare in Accra in the early 1980s. Police and government officials dismiss the stories as the work of thieves, who police say spread rumours to create a crowd and then pick people's pockets. Medical experts have appeared on state television explaining in detail why penises increase and decrease in size. One doctor linked the phenomenon to fear.

This story was reported by Genn Perdin from Sweden on About.com:

The “friend” of my colleague had just bought a brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee, complete with sunroof and all the trimmings, and decided to go on vacation to Denmark with a group of friends. The gang, being of the partying sort, buy liquor and beer to supply them for the trip. While on their trip, they decided to visit a safari park where you drive through in your own car. At the entrance to the park, and indeed all through the park, there were signs reminding patrons that the animals in the park are wild and that all windows must remain rolled up at all times. But it was hot that day, and the guy's friends had been drinking a good deal of beer, so everyone decided that they could have the sunroof open and leave the windows closed. The group drives on through the park, drinking and blasting the stereo, when a giraffe takes notice and starts to move toward them. Cool, they thought, and they stop the vehicle and watch to see what the beast will do. Curious, the giraffe approaches them and one guy decides to entice the animal with one of the beers that they have by holding it out the sunroof. This really gets the beast's attention and he comes running up to the car and starts drinking the beer that is being poured onto the roof for the giraffe to lap up. It is at this point that the animal decides to peek in to see if there is any more of that delicious liquid, and before they can get the beer in and close the sunroof, the giraffe has his head all the way in the car and is looking for more beer. Terrified, the driver pushes the button for the sunroof to close, effectively putting the animal's neck in a vice grip, whereupon the animal panics and vomits repeatedly. When park officials arrive, they are able to get the giraffe unstuck and invite our travellers to leave the park and never return.

This story was taken from a mass e-mail forward circulating around Japan, sent in to About.com’s “Urban Legends and Folklore page”:

TOKYO (AP) — The recent craze for hydrogen beer is at the heart of a three-way lawsuit between unemployed stockbroker Toshira Otoma, the Tike-Take karaoke bar, and the Asaka Beer Corporation.Otoma is suing the bar and the brewery for selling toxic substances and is claiming damages for grievous bodily harm leading to the loss of his job. The bar is countersuing for defamation and loss of customers. The Asaka Beer corporation brews "Suiso" brand beer, where the carbon dioxide normally used to add fizz has been replaced by the more environmentally friendly hydrogen gas. A side effect of this has made the beer extremely popular at karaoke sing-along bars and discotheques.

Hydrogen, like helium, is a gas lighter than air. Because hydrogen molecules are lighter than air, sound waves are transmitted more rapidly; individuals whose lungs are filled with the nontoxic gas can speak with an uncharacteristically high voice. Exploiting this quirk of physics, chic urbanites can now sing soprano parts on karaoke sing-along machines after consuming a big gulp of Suiso beer. The flammable nature of hydrogen has also become another selling point, even though Asaka has not acknowledged that this was a deliberate marketing ploy. It has inspired a new fashion of blowing flames from one's mouth using a cigarette as an ignition source. Many new karaoke videos feature singers shooting blue flames in slow motion, while flame contests take place in pubs everywhere. "Otoma has no one to blame but himself. If he had not become drunk and disorderly, none of this would have happened. Our security guards undergo the most careful screening and training before they are allowed to deal with customers," said Takashi Nomura, manager of the Tike-Take bar.

"Mr Otoma drank 15 bottles of hydrogen beer in order to maximize the size of the flames he could belch during the contest. He catapulted balls of fire across the room that Gojira would be proud of, but this was not enough to win him first prize since the judgment is made on the quality of the flames and that of the singing, and after 15 bottles of lager he was badly out of tune. He took exception to the result and hurled blue fireballs at the judge, singeing the front of Mrs Mifune's hair, entirely removing her eyebrows and lashes, and ruining the clothes of two nearby customers. None of these people have returned to my bar. When our security staff approached he turned his attentions to them, making it almost impossible to approach him. Our head bouncer had no choice but to hurl himself at Mr Otoma's knees, knocking his legs from under him.

"The laws of physics are not to be disobeyed, and the force that propelled Mr Otoma's legs backwards also pivoted around his centre of gravity and moved his upper body forward with equal velocity. It was his own fault he had his mouth open for the next belch, his own fault he held a lighted cigarette in front of it and it is own fault he swallowed that cigarette. The Tike-Take bar takes no responsibility for the subsequent internal combustion, rupture of his stomach lining, nor the third-degree burns to his oesophagus, larynx and sinuses as the exploding gases forced their way out of his body. His consequential muteness and loss of employment are his own fault," Said Nomura.

This one I found on a blogger’s site from Japan, www.fs.thewafflehouse.net:

In the mid-’80s, there was a Miss Wang who went to work at Chifeng, Inner Mongolia. Unfortunately, she died of a car accident. When her parents heard of the news, they went there to take care of her memorial service. Right when her mother was about to put the body in for cremation, she felt the body. “Wait — something’s wrong! It feels empty!” she thought. Once she lifted off the cover, she was shocked! Her daughter was missing a leg! So she went to the police, and the biggest suspect had to be the manager of the crematorium center, Mr. Lee. In the end, they found out that Lee owned a bun shop, but because it was planned economy at the time (uh . . . communism), the pork tickets were limited. To make up for the lack of ingredients, the brother often asked Mr. Lee to bring home body parts to make buns. It had been going on for seven years! The buns in their shop were very famous, and the shop was even a famous name locally! Of course, those who found out about this after were all completely grossed out by it.

Even though these stories from around the world are just urban legends, sometimes there have been real-world consequences, like in the public executions of suspected penis snatchers in Ghana. That really happened. Apart from inducing mass hysteria, there can be other potential consequences for spreading wonky stories. Recently, as was reported August 21 of this year in China’s national newspaper, People’s Daily, Chinese police have arrested close to 60 people for spreading fear-inducing rumours or threats through e-mail. A text message had been circulating that claimed AIDS victims were spreading the disease by using toothpicks at restaurants and then putting them back in the container for the next person to contract the disease. This urban legend-rumour created quite a lot of fear and confusion in Jiangsu. Xia Cunxi, spokesman of the Jiangsu Provincial Public Security Department, responded in a recent news briefing. “Rumours spread by modern means of communication can be a greater menace to society than those spread by word of mouth.” So next time, before you go sharing the next funny, scary, or disgusting story you hear with the rest of the world, beware.