Asian Stories of Urban Legends takes readers on a spine-chilling journey through the mysterious and haunted folklore that has been passed down for generations across Asia. From shadowy figures lurking in abandoned villages to ancient curses that still echo through forgotten temples, these tales explore the eerie and supernatural side of everyday life. Each story delves into the unknown, capturing the fear of the unseen and the power of spirits that refuse to rest. Discover the whispered legends of the Naga, vengeful ghosts of forsaken towns, cursed fortresses, and much more. In this collection, the line between reality and the supernatural blurs, reminding us that the past is never truly gone—it lingers, waiting to resurface in terrifying ways. Be warned: These stories are not just meant to be read—they’re meant to be felt. Journey into the heart of Asia’s most haunted places, but remember, some things are better left undiscovered.

Asian Stories of Urban Legends takes readers on a spine-chilling journey through the mysterious and haunted folklore that has been passed down for generations across Asia. From shadowy figures lurking in abandoned villages to ancient curses that still echo through forgotten temples, these tales explore the eerie and supernatural side of everyday life. Each story delves into the unknown, capturing the fear of the unseen and the power of spirits that refuse to rest. Discover the whispered legends of the Naga, vengeful ghosts of forsaken towns, cursed fortresses, and much more. In this collection, the line between reality and the supernatural blurs, reminding us that the past is never truly gone—it lingers, waiting to resurface in terrifying ways. Be warned: These stories are not just meant to be read—they’re meant to be felt. Journey into the heart of Asia’s most haunted places, but remember, some things are better left undiscovered.

A cultural history of the South Bronx that reaches beyond familiar narratives of urban ruin and renaissance, beyond the “inner city” symbol, to reveal the place and people obscured by its myths. For decades, the South Bronx was America’s “inner city.” Synonymous with civic neglect, crime, and metropolitan decay, the Bronx became the preeminent symbol used to proclaim the failings of urban places and the communities of color who lived in them. Images of its ruins—none more infamous than the one broadcast live during the 1977 World Series: a building burning near Yankee Stadium—proclaimed the failures of urbanism. Yet this same South Bronx produced hip hop, arguably the most powerful artistic and cultural innovation of the past fifty years. Two narratives—urban crisis and cultural renaissance—have dominated understandings of the Bronx and other urban environments. Today, as gentrification transforms American cities economically and demographically, the twin narratives structure our thinking about urban life. A Bronx native, Peter L’Official draws on literature and the visual arts to recapture the history, people, and place beyond its myths and legends. Both fact and symbol, the Bronx was not a decades-long funeral pyre, nor was hip hop its lone cultural contribution. L’Official juxtaposes the artist Gordon Matta-Clark’s carvings of abandoned buildings with the city’s trompe l’oeil decals program; examines the centrality of the Bronx’s infamous Charlotte Street to two Hollywood films; offers original readings of novels by Don DeLillo and Tom Wolfe; and charts the emergence of a “global Bronx” as graffiti was brought into galleries and exhibited internationally, promoting a symbolic Bronx abroad. Urban Legends presents a new cultural history of what it meant to live, work, and create in the Bronx.

How did the crow get its black feathers? How do the gods protect the people from drought and other natural disasters? Explore the rich mythologies and legends of the many cultures of the peoples of South and Southeast Asia. Famous Myths and Legends is a beautifully photographed and illustrated 12-volume series designed to narrate the ancient mythologies and inherited stories from the many diverse cultures throughout the world.

“This is a true story! It happened to a friend of a friend of mine …” Do you know the story of the silver hook? The mysterious hitchhiker? The babysitter who gets some troubling phone calls? How about the story of Hanako-san, a Japanese schoolgirl who some say appears in school bathrooms? These are all examples of urban legends: creepy stories that people have told – and retold – to their friends. Urban Legends features 16 scary stories. Some seem like they really happened. Others have a supernatural element to them. All are easy to read and enjoy, with simple grammar and vocabulary. CEFR level A2. The Wayzgoose Graded Reader series helps you learn and practice English while you enjoy reading. Includes vocabulary support, reading notes, and discussion questions.

"A wonderfully entertaining book of American folklore and humor."—Elaine Kendall, Los Angeles Times Book Review Professor Jan Harold Brunvand expands his examination of the phenomenon of urban legends, those improbable, believable stories that always happen to a "friend of a friend."

This book discusses Asia’s rapid pace of urbanization, with a particular focus on new spaces created by and for everyday religiosity. The essays in this volume – covering topics from the global metropolises of Singapore, Bangalore, Seoul, Beijing, and Hong Kong to the regional centers of Gwalior, Pune, Jahazpur, and sites like Wudang Mountain – examine in detail the spaces created by new or changing religious organizations that range in scope from neighborhood-based to consciously global. The definition of “spatial aspects” includes direct place-making projects such as the construction of new religious buildings – temples, halls and other meeting sites, as well as less tangible religious endeavors such as the production of new “mental spaces” urged by spiritual leaders, or the shift from terra firma to the strangely concrete effervesce of cyberspace. With this in mind, it explores how distinct and blurred, and open and bounded communities generate and participate in diverse practices as they deliberately engage or disengage with physical landscapes/cityscapes. It highlights how through these religious organizations, changing class and gender configurations, ongoing political and economic transformations, continue as significant factors shaping and affecting Asian urban lives. In addition, the books goes further by exploring new and often bittersweet “improvements” like metro rail lines, new national highways, widespread internet access, that bulldoze – both literally and figuratively – religious places and force relocations and adjustments that are often innovative and unexpected. Furthermore, this volume explores personal experiences within the particularities of selected religious organizations and the ways that subjects interpret or actively construct urban spaces. The essays show, through ethnographically and historically grounded case studies, the variety of ways newly emerging religious communities or religious institutions understand, value, interact with, or strive to ignore extreme urbanization and rapidly changing built environments.