Web Site Debunks Urban Myths

"O foolishness of men! That lend their ears to those budge doctors of the stoic fur, and fetch their precepts from the cynic tub..."

-- Milton

It is no wonder pessimism runs rampant and unchecked through modern society.

Babies are being devoured by wild dogs, hamsters serve as carnal delights and hook-armed men stalk helpless car-bound teenagers out for nothing but hanky-panky! Black widows nest where beehive hairdos rise and even the makers of toothpaste swear allegiance to the Lord of Darkness!

The post office has gone so far as taxing our very minute and private e-mails!

Or so things stand in the world of the urban folklore believer.

Started in 1991, the UrbanLegends.com site has archived the largest and most comprehensive posts from the alt.folklore.urban newsgroup and continued to seek out the dirty truth regarding these paranoid, sick and hilarious phenomena.

Legends and folklore serve as a kind of unspoken and unstructured religion for every society that has ever existed. We are taught to beware, behave and believe. Never mind that the great majority of the tales are false. Their power lies in the belief ascribed the details -- which seem to change at every retelling, like a game of telephone.

Friends of friends and third and fourth parties who go unnamed are always the victims of these wicked and wacky misadventures.

Particular to Western folklore is the parallel in which the medium of communication grew along with the culture. The whole globe is now, of course, wired at the speed of light and that alone has created hoaxing the scale of which astounds the muses themselves.

The site has a very basic design and has not changed much -- links are underlined -- and aside from a few new features, navigation is by a scroll bar up top.

Nevertheless, it is easy to get around without hitting the back button. Graphics are simple but clean, but the site is more about informational volume than eye candy.