As a genre, the urban legend was recognised and named only in the mid-1970s. This book brings together a rich variety of these tales which continued to flourish and circulate, classified under different headings for ease of reference, and linked together by the author's narrative. Uncle Joe's ashes baked in a cake (Delicious!); Granny's corpse stolen along with the family car; sewers alive with alligators...all these alleged occurrences - and many, many others - are the stuff of urban legend: the extraordinary things that you're told happen to that elusive 'friend of a friend' (foaf); someone whom you can never pin down, however hard you try.

How long has a corpse been staring out at passengers on the tube? Was London Bridge really shipped abroad by an American thinking he'd bought Tower Bridge? Did the Queen really mix with the crowds as a princess on VE Day? And did Hitler actually want to live in Balham? Where are there razor blades hidden and where did all these parakeets come from? Did they really belong to Jimi Hendrix? Urban legends are the funny, frightening and fierce folklore people share. Just like the early folk tales that came before them, which were attempts to explain the spiritual world, these tales are formed from reactions to spectacular events in the modern world, and reflect our current values. From royal rumours to subterranean legends, Scott Wood has researched and written about them with a sense of wonder, humour and a keen eye. He finds the truth, the myth and the lies amongst these tales.

Presents the basic stories behind urban myths and legends from around the world, along with examples of each, and groups them by theme, which includes city life, horror, accidents, disease, animals, sex, merchandise, murder, and the supernatural.

Few Victorian writers are as well remembered as Charles Dickens (1812-70). And many of his characters have been widely known since they first saw the light of day in books such as The Pickwick Papers, A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Oliver Twist and Great Expectations.

The colossal classic becomes even more colossal with a full new chapter of recent urban legends. Alligators in the sewers? A pet in the microwave? No, it didn’t really happen to your friend’s sister’s neighbor: it’s an urban legend. And no matter how savvy you think you are, you are sure to find at least one story you always believed to be true in this colossal collection. Professor Jan Harold Brunvand is the leading authority on urban legends, and Too Good to Be True—now updated and expanded—is his most complete anthology. Whether you want to become an expert debunker or just have plenty of laughs, this book will surprise and entertain you.

The groundbreaking book that launched America's urban legend obsession! Folklore scholar Jan Harold Brunvand assembles the best-known urban legends—including "The Hook," "The Spider in the Hairdo," and "The Baby-Sitter and the Man Upstairs"—and provides an enlightening and entertaining analysis of their variants and evolution. The Vanishing Hitchhiker was Professor Brunvand's first popular book on urban legends, and it remains a classic. The culmination of twenty years of collection and research, this book is a must-have for urban legend lovers.

Semiotics is the theory of signs, and reading signs is a part of everyday life: from road signs that point to a destination, to smoke that warns of fire, to the symbols buried within art and literature. Semiotic theory can, however, appear mysterious and impenetrable. This introductory book decodes that mystery using visual examples instead of abstract theory. This new edition features an expanded introduction that carefully and clearly presents the world of semiotics before leading into the book's 76 sections of key semiotic concepts. Each short section begins with a single image or sign, accompanied by a question inviting us to interpret what we are seeing. Turning the page, we can compare our response with the theory behind the sign, and in this way, actively engage in creative thinking. A fascinating read, this book provides practical examples of how meaning is made in contemporary culture.