Library:The Vanishing Hitchhiker
| The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their Meanings | |
|---|---|
| Author | Jan Harold Brunvand |
| First published | 1981 |
| ISBN | — |
| Role | Analysis |
| Domains | Language, Folklore & Urban Legends |
| Tactics | Fabrication |
The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their Meanings is a 1981 book by Jan Harold Brunvand.
Summary
Folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand of the University of Utah collected and analyzed modern legends told as true, such as the ghostly hitchhiker who vanishes from a car, the hook-handed killer and the alligators in the sewers. The book popularized the term "urban legend."
Key points
- Friend of a friend. Urban legends are usually told as having happened to someone the teller almost knows.
- Variations. The same story appears in many places with local details, a sign of folklore rather than fact.
- Meanings. Brunvand argues that legends express real anxieties about crime, technology and social change.
Relevance to Bullshitopedia
Brunvand's work underpins Bullshitopedia's Language, Folklore and Urban Legends domain and explains why such stories spread.