Operation: Urban Legends
by Victor Shill
Length of Program
50-90 minutes
Program Description
Although the serious study of urban legends is relatively recent, this type of story is an integral part of folk culture and has become part of electronic culture through web sites devoted to the topic. This program provides an opportunity to hear and share urban folklore.
Preparation
Invite a storyteller from the community to present a storytelling program of urban legends. Request that the storyteller include information about the origin of urban legends and their purpose and place in folk culture. Bookmark some of the web sites recommended in this program and create web and book bibliographies.
Books to Display
- The Big Book of Urban Legends by Robert Loren Fleming and Robert F. Boyd, Jr.
- The Complete Idiots Guide to Urban Legends by Brandon Toropov.
- The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends & Their Meanings by Jan Harold Brunvald.
Books to Booktalk
- Alligators in the Sewer: and 222 Other Urban Legends by Thomas J. Craughwell.
- Southern Fried Rat and Other Gruesome Tales by Daniel Cohen.
- Spiders in the Hairdo: Modern Urban Legends collected and retold by David Holt.
Group Activity
Ask teens to share their favorite urban legend and make a list of the top five favorite urban legends.
Web-based Activities
- The AFU & Urban Legends Archive
- www.urbanlegends.com
- This is a subject guide to urban legends that teens will enjoy sharing with their peers.
- Internet Scambusters
- www.scambusters.org
- A free e-zine on internet fraud, computer crimes, urban legends, and scams. Let teens pick their favorite example in these categories and share.
- U.S. News Online Mysteries of History
- www.usnews.com/usnews/doubleissue/mysteries/great.htm
- This site lists various hoaxes and mysteries that will interest teens. There is a link to a quiz teens will enjoy that tests knowledge of mysteries.
Audio Recording
Spiders in the Hairdo: Modern Urban Legends by David Holt.
Videos
- I Know What You Did Last Summer. (101 minutes)
- I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. (100 minutes)
Professional Resource
Teen Library Events: A Month-by-Month Guide by Kirsten Edwards.
