![]() Legends of the genre are passed along in both oral and written form. Other legends confirm our belief that it's a big, bad world out there, one awash with crazed killers, drug addicts, unscrupulous companies out to make a buck at any cost, and a government that doesn't give a damn. As cautionary tales, urban legends warn us against engaging in risky behaviors by pointing out what has supposedly happened to others who did what we might be tempted try. It is through such stories that we attempt to make sense of our world, which at times can appear to be capricious and dangerous. The legends we tell reflect current societal concerns and fears as well as confirm the rightness of our views. Though some of these tales go back a century or more, their details are continually being updated to keep them current with the times the horse and buggy of bygone days becomes the BMW of today. Whereas the setting of more traditional legends places them in the realm of long ago, urban legends are set against the backdrop of contemporary times - the stories take place in shopping malls and coed dormitories and feature such up-to-date bogeymen as terrorists, AIDS, and inner-city gangs. Urban legends are best described as cautionary or moralistic tales passed along by those who believe (or claim) the incidents befell either folks they know personally or acquaintances of friends or family members. In the glossary we provide a far shorter and quite serviceable definition of the term 'urban legend.' However, we felt those whose interest into the subject went deeper would appreciate having access to the long form of it, too.
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