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From: het3@panix.com (Harry MF Teasley)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: For the Benefit of Mr. Einst....
Date: 12 Oct 1996 19:44:49 -0400

...as well as anyone else who might care, let's make clear exactly what an urban legend is, and what it is not.

ULs are like Art in the sense that it is very tough to create an arbitrary definition that encompasses everything within the category without excluding some things which should fit, while also not including some things which obviously are not part of the set. Everyone knows what Art is, but it cannot be easily defined; likewise, everyone should know what an urban legend is, but creating a definition for them is difficult to do gracefully.

Urban legends have many facets, but not all legends have all of them, or the same subset of them. This leads to whining little arguments like, "But UFO stories are retold, with mutating details, so they are too ULs, you jerks," but these arguments, however assuaged your pride may be for making them, are hardly erudite or incisive.

Urban Legends have various charateristics, like specificity, a foaf chain, observable mutation over time, a moral or lesson, key details or phrasings that do not mutate while other details do, a "truth is stranger than fiction" aspect, a dramatic conclusion, a demonstration of prejudice, just to name a few. They might also have an originating incident that inspired a loose or accurate legend retelling, so falsehood, while common, is not necessary. A main aspect is that ULs are believed and passed on *faith*, not proof; even if a story is true, down the line a teller is passing it along because they believe it to be true, not because they know it to be true.

Not all ULs have all of these, and not all stories that do have some of these attributes are properly called ULs. To me, the most important facet of a story is that it needs a hook, a certain combination of the UL elements that make it both interesting and desirable to pass along. I guess a UL is a successful meme, while more pedestrian stories are less successful memes.

So, einst, and anyone else having trouble figuring out what ULs are, spend some time thinking about how stories are different from ULs. When you can figure out the difference between, "UFOs exist, and here's some folks who believe they do," and, "My brother knows a guy who's best friend went to Vegas and had his kidney stolen," then you'll know the difference between a story and an urban legend.

Harry "if you can't see a difference, lurk" Teasley