Books like The completely and totally true book of urban legends by Ann Fiery

Urban Legends compiles a wide array of modern myths and folklore – from sewer alligators to roadside babies – offering a quirky, chilling, and memorable collection of contemporary urban tales.

"Urban Legends is a collection of the modern myths that make the rounds in offices, college dorms, and every other place where people tell the stories that spring from our deepest fears and fascinations.". "Every culture has its folktales, including ours. Except, instead of involving gods and goddesses or princes and princesses, ours involve "some guy my sister's best friend knows" & "someone who woke up in a motel room." They happened, supposedly, to real people, usually recently, in a particular place. And they touch the most sensitive nerves of our psyches with ironic twists, gross-out shocks, and moral lessons learned the hard way.". "From the classic tale "The Mexican Pet" in which the "dog" turns out to be no Chihuahua to the more unappetizing story of condoms as fast-food burger garnish, from surgically skilled kidney thieves to sexual experiments that end in the emergency room, Urban Legends relates more than 300 tales. They are arranged in such chapters "Crazy Little Thang Called Sex," "Oh, Scare Me," "Campus Capers," "Corporate Convolutions," and "So Much For Comfort Food.""--BOOK JACKET.

A collection of urban legends and legends compiled by author Jan Harold Brunvand, focusing on modern folklore and its variations over time.

The Encyclopedia of Urban Legends is the definitive work from the world's foremost authority on the study of urban legends, Jan Harold Brunvand. This encyclopedia offers descriptions of hundreds of individual legends. The thorough coverage of urban legends includes all countries in which published urban legend collections are presently available. Urban legends are a specimen of modern folk narrative, and this encyclopedia contains entries on how to collect, classify, and analyze texts and performances.Other entries discuss the relationship of urban legends to literature, film, comic books, music, and many other areas of popular culture. Coverage includes academic legends, earthquake stories, Internet resources, tabloids in urban legends, and more. All entries are cross referenced and feature brief bibliographies. A general bibliography suggests further readings on the subject. The volume is richly illustrated and is based on the latest scholarship, including materials available on the Internet.

Updated and expanded edition of the classic reference standard for urban legends and myths