Urban legends are stories that are circulated as true, often involving horrifying or humorous elements happening to friends or family members. Common examples described in the document include Bloody Mary, where a spirit may appear in a mirror when her name is called three times, and stories of alligators living in the New York City sewer system. Urban legends are typically narratives presented as true stories that are just plausible enough to be believed and are spread through oral or written communication from person to person.

1. Urban Legends

2. What is an urban legend?
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend is a
genre of folklore comprising stories circulated as true, especially as
having happened to a friend or family member, often with horrifying or
humorous elements.

3. Bloody Mary
Bloody Mary is a folklore legend consisting of a ghost, phantom or
spirit conjured to reveal the future. She is said to appear in a mirror
when her name is called three times. The Bloody
Mary apparition may be benign or malevolent, depending on
historic variations of the legend. The Bloody Mary appearances are
mostly "witnessed" in group participation games.
Historically, the ritual encouraged young women to walk up a flight
of stairs backwards while holding a candle and a hand mirror, in a
darkened house. As they gazed into the mirror, they were supposed
to be able to catch a view of their future husband's face. There was,
however, a chance that they would see a skull (or the face of
the Grim Reaper) instead, indicating that they were destined to die
before they would have the chance to marry.

4. Garden City Ghost Car
 http://listverse.com/2013/06/04/10-mysterious-urban-legends-based-on-
video-footage/

5. Munchkin Suicide
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rOj4t1lzRw

6. Fact or Fiction
Alligator in the Sewers
It was once a fad among New Yorkers vacationing in Florida to bring back baby
alligators for their children to raise as pets. These infant gators eventually grew up
and outlived their cuteness, sad to say, at which point their desperate owners
flushed them down the toilet to get rid of them.
Some of these hastily disposed-of creatures managed to survive and breed in the
dank Manhattan sewer system, so the story goes, producing colonies of giant, albino
alligators beneath the streets of New York City. Their descendants thrive down there
to this day, completely hidden — apart from the rare heart-stopping encounter
between sewer gator and sewer worker, that is — from human eyes.
Fiction: Analysis: I love this story as much as the next guy, but it's folklore, not
fact. Herpetologists pooh-pooh the very idea of alligators thriving in the New York City
sewer system. It's cold down there most of the time, they point out — freezing cold
during the winter — and alligators require a warm environment year-round to survive,
much less reproduce and burgeon into colonies. If the cold weather didn't kill them off,
the polluted sewer water certainly would.

7. Fact or Fiction
Attack of the Giant Cat
FACT: This is what happens when you let cats think they're the boss
of the house.
Lee Palmer from Portland called 911 on Sunday night, claiming
their cat Lux had forced the family of three (plus the dog, so family
of four) to barricade themselves in the bedroom after the cat went
rogue.
After the giant cat (we're talking 22 pounds) attacked and scratched
their seven-month-old son, the father "kicked the cat in the rear,"
which sent him "over the edge," according to what Palmer told the
911 dispatcher. The man then took his family into the bedroom to
escape the cat.
What do you guys think? Overreaction to a cat attack? Or was the
family actually in danger? And is anyone surprised that the cat
went nuts after the owner kicked him? Or was Lee Palmer just
protecting his baby? Cat debate…go!

8. Common Characteristics of Urban Legend Tales
It is a narrative.
It is alleged to be true.
It is plausible enough to be believed.
It is passed along from individual to individual in oral or
written form (e.g., fax, photocopy or email).

9. Round Robin Writing
A round-robin story, or simply "round robin," is a type of
collaborative fiction or storytelling in which a number of
authors write pieces of a story, in rounds.
Did you ever hear the story of ________? It's a disturbing tale. More
disturbing, I believe it's a true story.