10 Examples of Urban Legends - encyclopedia

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Examples of urban legends

A legend is a narrative of imaginary or wonderful events that conveys a teaching about the real world, in a metaphorical or figurative sense.

There are urban legends that make up contemporary folklore protected by superstitions, popular beliefs and morals, which are informally transmitted through the generations.

They are always presented as real and secret events that happen under the urban daily life, although they tend to be elaborated in different and even contradictory versions.

Many urban legends spread to become conspiracy theories, such as the famous ÁArea 51, legend that assures that the North Americans keep secret extraterrestrial evidence.

See also: Legends

Examples of urban legends

The Walt Disney Freeze. This urban legend ensures that the famous cartoonist and film producer, initiator of the emporium of cartoons that we know today, would be subjected to cryogenic processes that preserve his body in suspended animation, waiting for the day when science can bring him back to life. The actual evidence, on the other hand, records the cremation of Disney's corpse, whose biographers attribute a marked interest in cryogenics –as well as in various other technological advances– during its last years of existence.
The origin of cesarean section. The popular technique of extracting babies from the womb through an incision in the womb is attributed, according to urban legend, to the fact that Julius Caesar, the Roman emperor, would have been born that way. The truth is that the technique was first implemented in the 15th century, long after the fall of the Roman Empire. Other explanations attribute it to Lex Caesarea enacted in 715 BC. by the second Roman king Numa Pompilius, a mandate that required saving children from the womb through a sword cut, which often cost the mother her existence.
Organ trafficking. Urban legend assures the existence of groups dedicated to deceiving or kidnapping walkers, excessive partiers or neglected children and extracting their organs and then trading them. A highly unlikely operation, given the extreme technical and neat conditions necessary to keep an organ alive long enough for transplantation.
The Chupacabras. Of Puerto Rican origin in the mid-90s, the myth of the chupacabra accuses the appearance of an animal that is sometimes hominid, sometimes quadruped, at times reptilian or more similar to a ferret, which would subsist parasitizing cattle herds in various American regions , sucking the vital fluids and leaving the completely bled animal as a trail. There have been countless cases of alleged sighting, but no conclusive proof of the monster's existence.
The spread of AIDS. An urban legend with highly moralizing content refers to the intentional contagion of AIDS, either through the seduction in bars or discos of highly attractive men and women, whose occupation would be to spread the virus indiscriminately around the world, leaving the victim (written with lipstick in the mirror) the message of “welcome to the world of AIDS.” A variant of this legend warns of maniacs with AIDS-infected needles who commit robberies, infect at parties or hide their syringes in movie theater seats.
Leptospirosis. This rare bacterial infection (transmitted by contamination of waters by animal urine or other types of zoonoses), became very fashionable due to the supposed contagion of people from drinking from a soda can without washing it first. Since then, this practice has become common, although given the transmission conditions of the bacillus and the plastic packaging of the cans, such contamination is highly unlikely.
Polybius. It is assumed that this video game, created in 1981 and disappeared a few years later, had the property of maddening and psychologically upsetting those who played it, which would have forced the company to withdraw it from the market and destroy their copies. There is no proof of the real existence of the game, much less of similar cases. It also used to be said, during the 90s, that playing video games excessively led to epilepsy.
Area 51. Located in Nevada, Area 51 is a US government military base, where many claim that there is evidence of extraterrestrial life. Even alleged videos of an autopsy on a little green man were released as proof of the legend. It is also said that extraterrestrial ships are sheltered there, contact and exchange is made with them or other types of supernatural experiences.
Ooparts. The ooparts are supposed appearances of contemporary technological objects in vintage photographs, which show the carelessness of some traveler in time. There are several similar cases, such as that of an alleged smartphone that appeared in a photo of a Mike Tyson fight in 1995.
The Russian sleep experiment. A known creepypasta (internet urban legend) claims that during World War II, Soviet scientists committed ruthless experiments on their soldiers, preventing them from sleeping for days or weeks and thus reducing them to utter insanity, or even to gain superhuman powers. The stories vary, but often lead to sequences of horror and grotesque self-dismemberment of the experimental subjects.