LibGuides: Urban Legends: Background Information

Background Information

Urban legends are modern tall tales circulated by word of mouth, forwarded email, and the Internet that some accept as truth, despite the conspicuous lack of specific details. Use the following sources to learn more about urban legends and the issues surrounding them.

Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained
An essential reference for anyone with a serious interest in unexplained phenomena.

CQ Researcher
Gives overviews of major topic areas. Includes articles, lists of other resources, and Pro and Con arguments for most topics.

Encyclopedia of Urban Legends
An electronic version of the popular resource by folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand. Includes synopses of hundreds of urban legends with discussion of the legends' histories.
Greenwood Encyclopedia of Folktales and Fairy Tales
Provides basic information on a number of subjects.

Credo Reference
A collection of encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, statistical sources, biographical tools, thesauri, books of quotations, image collections, etc., that may be searched collectively or individually.