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
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Category: Urban legend
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?
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
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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
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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