Urban legend is a genre of folklore that emerged during the 1940s, stories about frightening, macabre or humorous events that are presented as being true, and accepted as such by those who either hear or read them.^[1] The narrator of an urban legend may claim it happened to a friend, or to a friend of a friend, which serves to personalise, authenticate and enhance the power of the narrative.^[2][a]Hence urban legends are sometimes rather flippantly referred to as “foaftales”, in reference to the common theme of having happened to a friend of a friend.^[1]

Although the terms “urban legend” or “urban myth” are widely used, they are perhaps misleading, as the stories are not confined to an urban setting; therefore the term “contemporary legend” is preferred by some.^[1]

What distinguishes urban legends from more traditional folkloric tales is their contemporary settings and up-to-date bogeymen, such as terrorists or inner-city gangs.^[3] With only a few exceptions, notably the phantom hitchhikerUrban legend in which motorists travelling at night pick up a hitchhiker, only to discover later that their passenger was a ghost or other non-human entity.Urban legend in which motorists travelling at night pick up a hitchhiker, only to discover later that their passenger was a ghost or other non-human entity., the content of the stories is often “bizarre, violent and gruesome” rather than supernatural: a serial killer disguised as an old woman, someone with AIDS deliberately infecting others, or a takeaway chicken portion that is really a rat. Others may concern sexual or social humiliations in “barely credible” circumstances.^[1]