Abstract: Creepypastas are horror-related legends spread on the Internet from anonymous or identified sources. Haunted or bewitched technologies are one of the key themes of creepypastas and can be encountered, for example, in stories such…Continue reading“Lavender Town Syndrome” Creepypasta: A Rational Narration of the Supernatural
Categories
Snake Sizing Up Its Owner
An urban legend claims that a woman would have found her python spreading out its body from her head to her toes when she was in her bed. Far from being affectionate, her pet snake…Continue readingSnake Sizing Up Its Owner
Categories
Urine-Indicator Dye
In public swimming-pools, an ‘urine-indicator dye’ would be added to the water to catch those who pee in the pool. This special compound would react to urine and produce a red-colored cloud. Particularly widespread in…Continue readingUrine-Indicator Dye
According to a famous urban legend, a man had been admitted to hospital after his gay partner put a gerbil in his rectum. Far from being anecdotal, that odd sexual activity would even have a…Continue readingIs ‘The Gerbil & the Gay Couple’ a Homophobic Urban Legend?
Known since the 19th century, the legend about the Devil and the wind blowing around the cathedral is still famous in Strasbourg. “In the small streets around tall buildings such as churches and cathedrals, often…Continue readingThe Devil and the Wind Blowing Around Strasbourg Cathedral
Urban Legends of Belgium (Avant-Propos, 2017), Aurore Van de Winkel’s last book, is both a funny and scholarly approach of urban legend in the form of an illustrated book which reads like an imaginary trip…Continue readingUrban Legends in Belgium – An Interview with Aurore Van de Winkel
Published April 24 and updated May 8, this article co-written with Veronique Campion-Vincent (author of several books on urban legends since 1992) analyzes a set of “Coronavirus good advice” erroneously assigned to the famous Johns…Continue readingThe Johns-Hopkins ‘Excellent Summary’ of Coronavirus Advice
Russian folklorists Anna Kirziuk and Alexandra Arkhipova are the authors of the first book about urban legends in the Soviet Union. Corpses in kvass barrels, dangerous signs hidden by the enemies of the people, black…Continue readingUrban Legends in USSR – An Interview with Russian Folklorists Anna Kirziuk & Alexandra Arkhipova
Categories
White Van Kidnappers
Known since the nineties, the white van rumors reappeared in France and Belgium in 2019. How can we explain this spectacular return, which resulted in numerous incidents ? And why urban legends kidnappers are always…Continue readingWhite Van Kidnappers
Categories
Rat Kings
April 1895. M. Mayer discovered a strange collection of rats, their tails intertwined and bound together. Dissimulated in a barn, their corpses were trapped in the ice. Surprised, M. Mayer decided to send the specimen…Continue readingRat Kings
Categories
Pheme and the fight against fake news
Facebook, Google and most recently the Décodex of the newspaper Le Monde are some of the projects being developed to try and fight rumors and false information. Launched on January 2013, project Pheme gathers researchers, journalists…Continue readingPheme and the fight against fake news