Travelers unknowingly eat food they believe may contain human remains, then discover that the misunderstanding—or the meal—was more disturbing than expected.

An urban legend about an escaped pet, a roadside struggle, and two rescuers who misread the scene.

Meet the professor who promises no surprise quiz until he enters through the transom—and then appears with a stack of tests.

A sexual encounter ends with a written warning that the victim has been exposed to AIDS. These stigmatizing legends circulated widely during the early AIDS crisis.

A traveler attempts to transport a pet by air, only for a death, substitution, or bureaucratic disaster to turn the journey into a grotesque comedy.

A masked or cloaked spirit is said to appear in Japanese school bathrooms and force the victim to choose between deadly options associated with red or blue.

A man jumps from a slowing express train, only to be pulled aboard again by someone who thinks he is trying to catch it.

Baby alligators are supposedly flushed into city sewers, survive in the darkness, and grow into a hidden population beneath the streets.

A teacher appears to cancel or postpone an exam, then reveals that the students’ reaction—or failure to follow instructions—was the real test.

The urban legends about ants or termites living beneath a plaster cast, inside the sinuses, or throughout the human body.

In which an impaired driver escapes a traffic stop by accidentally taking the police cruiser home.

The homeowner knows exactly how much toilet paper is upstairs. She replaced the roll that morning. The Avon Flasher is an urban legend about a supposed door-to-door saleswoman who asks to use a customer’s bathroom.

An urban legend about parents who leave before the sitter arrives and return to find their baby was never collected.

In which a teenager secretly swaps birth-control pills for aspirin and creates two pregnancies.

A family drives away after accidentally leaving a baby carrier, child, or bundle on the roof of the car.

The predawn whistle blamed for a town’s high birthrate, and the story’s journey across countries.

A babysitter receives threatening telephone calls and learns that the caller is already inside the house.

The story includes 1980s circulation, wedding-party fears, and the racial stereotype built into its ending.

The Bad News Bearers urban legend, a wartime story in which one death notification becomes a chain of family tragedy.

A valuable sports car is sold for an impossibly low price because of death, revenge, odor, inheritance, or a hidden condition attached to the vehicle.

The clever physics-exam story often credited to Alexander Calandra and falsely to Niels Bohr.

The impossible accident report that became a speech, song, and workplace favorite.

In which a driver tries to end an injured animal’s suffering and kills the wrong cat.

The reply could not be more apologetic. Then the passenger finds the note that was never meant to leave the office. The Bedbug Letter is an urban legend about a traveler who complains of bedbugs and receives an elaborate corporate apology with an internal instruction accidentally attached: send this customer the…

A recurring urban legend about black panthers, pumas, and other mystery cats near populated areas.

The restaurant revenge story in which an angry smoker vandalizes the wrong motorcycle.

A campus legend about an impossible ornithology test and the student with one perfect answer.

In the Black and White urban legend, a famous Black man is mistaken for a porter, bellhop, or driver—and chooses how to answer the insult.

Children with unnaturally dark eyes appear at doors, cars, or public places and ask to be invited inside.

Including the pharmacist’s daughter, the emergency-room doctor, and the embarrassment behind both versions.

The doorbell joke in which a naked woman mistakes a window-blind installer for a man who cannot see.

An urban legend about a driver who refuses to yield and learns the ambulance was headed to his own home.

A figure is summoned by repeating a name into a mirror, usually in a dark bathroom and often as part of a childhood dare.

The Blue Star Acid urban legend, the warning flyers about LSD-laced tattoos, and why police and drug officials called it a hoax.

Hotel guests discover that an unbearable smell comes from a corpse hidden beneath or inside the bed.

An urban legend about a drunk driver who reaches home without realizing a young victim is caught in his grille.

An illiterate job seeker is rejected by a brothel, builds a grocery empire, and explains what literacy would have made him. Explore the old tale.

The old legend of a snake living inside the human body and its descendants in modern urban folklore.

In which a bride pauses an expensive wedding to expose the groom and maid of honor.

A young woman waits in a car while her boyfriend investigates a problem outside, then discovers that he has been murdered nearby.

The Bozo the Clown blooper urban legend, the child’s rude comeback, its many local versions, and why no broadcast recording has surfaced.

The 1995 urban legend about an exploding biscuit can, a parked car, and the woman who thought she had been shot.

An urban legend about a dentist, an apparently dead patient, and a desperate trip to the restroom.

The urban legend in which an earwig supposedly crosses a woman’s brain and leaves eggs behind.

Alternate version: Earwig in the Ear.

A hotel guest finds a metal plate beneath the carpet and removes it as a suspected listening device. Then a chandelier falls downstairs.

The 1874 medical-journal prank behind it, and how an impossible Civil War pregnancy became…

Also known as The Bump in the Rug, about a missing cigarette pack and a terrible mistake under new carpet.

Alternate version: The Bump in the Rug.

The British legend of soldiers who rescue a cat from a tree, accept tea from its grateful owner, then run it over.

A costumed or axe-wielding figure is said to haunt roads, bridges, or woods around Fairfax County, Virginia, with the legend expanding far beyond documented incidents.

Will burying a Saint Joseph statue help sell a house? Explore the custom, its many contradictory rules, and what its uncertain history tells us.

The old sausage-and-cleaver joke that sends an unsuspecting customer collapsing to the floor.

The Buying Tampax urban legend, a supermarket misunderstanding that turns an ordinary price check into a very public embarrassment.

A damaged Cabbage Patch Kid goes back for repair. What returns is a death certificate, funeral bill, or citation for child abuse.

A fishing legend about a boy who mistakes baby rattlesnakes or copperheads for a can of worms.

The escalating accident involving a startled pet, a naked homeowner, and laughing paramedics.

The disturbing Estonian urban legend adapted from an older hunters’ exaggeration about wolves.

The celebrity car breakdown urban legend, in which a helpful driver rescues a stranded stranger and receives an extravagant reward.

A San Francisco transit legend about a live animal, a firm rule, and one shocking solution.

A dog begins choking; a veterinarian discovers human fingers in its throat, revealing that an injured intruder may still be inside the owner’s home.

A mysterious creature is blamed for livestock deaths and blood loss, especially in Puerto Rico, Latin America, and later the southern United States.

The false Church’s Chicken rumor that claimed the KKK owned the chain and added a sterilizing ingredient to food served to Black customers.

A man insures expensive cigars against fire, smokes them, files a claim, and then faces an ingenious legal reversal.

A dark urban legend about a sitter who casually explains that stove gas is her secret for quieting a baby.

The homophobic celebrity rumor that evolved into the gerbil legend—and what researchers found when they checked it.

The Come and Get It urban legend, a comic shower mix-up in which an intimate invitation reaches the wrong houseguest.

A Cold War-era list falsely presented as a secret 1919 communist plan.

A Dutch urban legend about a cheap eiderdown that moves because maggots are alive inside it.

A strange warning or prophecy is supposedly confirmed when a body is later discovered in a vehicle.

The CPR Annie urban legend, the real history of Resusci Anne, and the unidentified woman whose face inspired the training manikin.

Craig Shergold really did collect millions of cards. Then an outdated appeal kept circulating long after his family asked people to stop.

A driver mistakes cruise control for automatic driving, leaves the steering wheel, and crashes—an enduring legend about technical misunderstanding.

A comic urban legend about a nervous guest, a ruined carpet, and one disastrous seat in an overstuffed chair.

The Culture Clash urban legend, in which copied Chinese characters on a homemade sweater carry an embarrassing menu message.

Coincidences, numbers, images, warnings, and supposed predictions are assembled into narratives suggesting that the September 11 attacks were encoded or foretold.

A tanning-bed urban legend about a bride who visits several salons and supposedly cooks herself from within.

The mall crime story in which a thief removes a shopper’s finger to steal a valuable ring.

The story behind The Daughter’s Letter from College, the shocking campus letter that makes two bad grades sound almost comforting.

At closing time, the man can no longer stand. The people drinking with him assume he belongs to their day-trip party. They find an address in his wallet, carry him to the coach, and make sure he gets safely home. He wakes the next morning in his own bed. There is just one problem:…

A dead pet is placed in a suitcase, parcel, or shopping bag for transport, then stolen by someone who believes the container holds valuables.

Alternate version: Dog’s Corpse Is Stolen.

Dealing with Mr. Wiseguy, the photo-radar legend in which a driver mails a picture of a check and receives a photo of handcuffs.

A valuable automobile is sold cheaply because someone died inside it and an odor, stain, or reputation cannot be removed.

The false story that blood-banking pioneer Dr. Charles Drew died after a segregated hospital refused to treat him.

The child actor from Life cereal commercials was falsely rumored to have died after combining Pop Rocks with soda.

An urban legend about a loose steel sheet, a headless rider, and a truck driver’s fatal shock.

A gruesome road legend about a child, dog, driver, or motorcyclist struck while leaning from a moving vehicle.

In which a stunned buck wakes during a trophy photo and disappears with the hunter’s rifle.

The Dental Death urban legend, in which a dentist hides a patient who appears to die in the chair—and sometimes sees him return.

A handsome stranger dances with a young woman until someone notices a hoof, claw, tail, or other sign that he is the Devil.

The parking-lot story where a driver performs honesty for witnesses and leaves nothing useful.

A student finishes his exam late, asks whether the professor knows his name, and finds the perfect way to hide his blue book.

A large dog dies in an apartment building, forcing its owners into an increasingly absurd attempt to remove the body without attracting attention.

An urban legend about travelers who point to their pet in a restaurant and make a terrible mistake.

A diet is falsely attributed to a celebrity, giving an ordinary eating plan the authority and appeal of a famous body.

A student enters a dark dorm room, ignores something strange, and later discovers that a roommate was murdered—or that a message was left nearby.

In which a returned car and free theater tickets lure grateful owners away from their home.

In which a driver kills an injured cat—then discovers the animal he struck is still on the car.

A warning claims that governments or technology companies are about to impose a tax on email or internet use unless the message is widely shared.

A recurring xenophobic rumor that accuses immigrant neighbors of stealing cats and dogs for food.

In which a punk passenger answers an insulting woman by swallowing her train ticket.

An urban legend about a secret experimental automobile that gets hundreds of miles per gallon.

A comic urban legend about a circus elephant, a crushed car, and a driver nobody believes.

Alternate version: The Nun and the Volkswagen.

A passenger misreads an innocent conversation or action in an elevator as a threat, often because of fear, prejudice, or incomplete information.

A tollbooth prank legend in which a driver handcuffs an attendant to a rope and lets fear do the rest.

Heat, static electricity, hidden materials, or an unusual accident supposedly causes a bra to ignite or explode.

A fake safety warning about welders killed by lighters with the force of dynamite.

A flammable substance, gas leak, or careless act turns an ordinary bathroom into the setting for a spectacular explosion.

The darkly comic urban legend in which several carefully planned actions cancel one another out.

A running electric fan in a sealed room is said to cause death by suffocation, hypothermia, or disrupted airflow—a legend especially associated with South Korea.

The story includes surprise-party and double-date versions, literary history, variants, and meaning.

A rattlesnake legend about a fang hidden inside an inherited boot killing several generations of wearers.

A cleaner repeatedly unplugs or switches off life-support equipment to use an electrical outlet, allegedly causing unexplained patient deaths.

A fraternity pledge is tricked into believing he has been stabbed or pushed from a cliff—and supposedly dies from fear.

The golfer supposedly poisoned by a pesticide-covered tee, and what exposure research actually shows.

The anti-seat-belt urban legend claiming crash victims burn because their restraints trap them inside a car.

An urban legend about a painter who frames the family dog—and its Kitty Takes the Rap variant.

A Filmed in the Act urban legend about a romantic hotel, a hidden camera, and the couple who recognize themselves on television.

In which a professor asks students to identify birds by their feet and receives the same test in return.

A business urban legend about a rejected hat expense, a padded report, and one final challenge to accounting.

A customer discovers a severed finger or other body part inside packaged food.

An urban legend about a scuba diver found in a burned tree after being scooped up by a firefighting helicopter.

A mason hides a pane of glass inside a chimney. When the owner refuses to pay, smoke fills the house—and only the mason knows the fix.

An animal falls from the sky, is launched by an accident, or lands on a vehicle in a bizarre chain of events reported as true.

An urban legend about a tree rescue gone wrong and a lost pet that seems to drop out of the sky.

A Finnish urban legend about a boy who refuses to wear a hat in bitter cold and suffers a frightening consequence.

A Gay Roommate is a campus legend about a student secretly drugged and assaulted. Its title and plot reflect the homophobia surrounding its spread.

A doctor, driver, or rescuer is summoned by someone who later proves to have died before making the request.

The Ghost Mom urban legend, its 1890 Russian version, and the older Ghost in Search of Help tradition behind the story.

A flight attendant sees her dead father’s face in an airplane food warmer—and receives a warning about dangerous wiring.

The Three Men and a Baby ghost legend, the tragic story viewers invented, and the cardboard figure actually visible in the film.

Enormous catfish are said to live near dams, bridges, reservoirs, or drowned structures, sometimes large enough to swallow people.

The Gnome Come Home urban legend, in which a stolen garden gnome sends vacation postcards before returning from its trip.

A Golf Bag urban legend about a furious golfer, a pond, and the car keys he forgot before throwing everything away.

The Good Neighbors urban legend, in which a connected neighbor makes one phone call and returns a family’s stolen property.

The Good Times virus hoax, the 1994 email warning that claimed reading a message could erase a hard drive, and why it spread so widely.

A stranger repays a small kindness by warning the helper to avoid a public place because an attack is supposedly imminent.

Someone accepts a dare to visit a graveyard at night and mistakes a snagged coat or dress for the grasp of the dead—with fatal consequences in some versions.

Green M&M candies are rumored to possess aphrodisiac or sexually suggestive powers, despite no basis beyond cultural association.

Alternate version: The Truth About M&M’s.

The Green Stamps urban legend, the gynecologist’s-office story about a restroom emergency, trading stamps, and an awful punch line.

She has been staring at him for several aisles. By the time she explains why, saying goodbye feels like the least he can do. The Grocery Scam is an urban legend about an elderly shopper who asks a stranger to call out “Goodbye, Mom” as she leaves a supermarket. At the register, he learns…

In which a bridegroom exposes an affair at the reception and leaves the wedding behind.

Invisible or supernatural protectors appear to frighten attackers, save travelers, or guard a vulnerable person from danger.

An urban legend about cockroach eggs in envelope glue hatching inside a paper cut on the tongue.

The hairdresser notices a steady movement beneath the cape, directly over the customer’s lap. She does not ask what he is doing. The Hairdresser’s Error is an urban legend about a stylist who mistakes a man’s hidden hand movement for masturbation and attacks or threatens him. When the cape is removed, she discovers that…

A driver becomes suspicious of a passenger whose body, bag, or behavior reveals that the supposed woman may be a disguised attacker.

Strangers are said to hide razor blades, poison, drugs, or needles in Halloween treats given to children.

The unverified 1986 Salt Lake City rumor claiming a father mutilated his daughter and escaped prosecution.

A ghostly schoolgirl is said to inhabit a particular stall in Japanese school bathrooms and can be summoned by knocking or calling her name.

The deadly cottonmouth “nest,” its changing lake locations, and why the story is folklore.

An urban legend about a dog, a muddy dead rabbit, and the cleanup that makes everything much worse.

Two automobile legends about a stolen part that comes home and a talking car mistaken for something supernatural.

The traceable church accident beneath it, and the wedding details added later.

The gas-station legend in which a driver punishes a rude Mercedes owner with one well-placed locking gas cap.

The Hold the Mayo urban legend, its fast-food contamination versions, AIDS-era stigma, and the facts about HIV transmission through food.

In which a practical duck beneath a church obstruction becomes a sacred gesture nobody can explain.

An ancient trick in which a thief exposes himself by refusing to touch a sooty animal.

A couple parked in an isolated place hears that an escaped killer has a hook for a hand, then later finds a hook attached to the car.

Young resistance fighters paint a potato to resemble a grenade, toss it into a tank, and steal the vehicle after its crew runs away.

Restaurants, criminals, or hostile groups are accused of processing human bodies into food—often a xenophobic or wartime atrocity legend.

The revived deer, the frantic 911 call, and the 1974 incident behind the circulating tapes.

In which two new fathers discuss their marriages while a baby monitor broadcasts every word downstairs.

An ice-cream truck, vendor, or freezer becomes associated with abduction, hidden bodies, crime, or a disturbing secret behind a familiar neighborhood sound.

A woman meets Paul Newman at an ice-cream shop, gets flustered, and loses her cone—until he tells her it is inside her purse.

A winter urban legend about a dog that dives into one fishing hole and appears from another.

A road legend about a mysterious woman in a red Corvette who offers a date to any driver who can catch her.

A company allegedly possesses a dramatically better product but suppresses, delays, or weakens it to protect profits.

A bloodstain from a murder or tragedy repeatedly returns despite cleaning, painting, renovation, or attempts to conceal the event.

A prisoner of war plays a new golf course in his imagination every day, then returns home and shoots the best round of his life.

Examine the 1994 “Islamic Justice” urban legend, why its title is misleading, and how the story uses anti-Muslim atrocity stereotypes.

A driver attaches a military jet-assisted takeoff rocket to a car, reaches impossible speed, and crashes into a cliff or other obstacle.

A winged creature associated with New Jersey’s Pine Barrens is described through centuries of regional folklore, sightings, hoaxes, and media retellings.

The New York vanishing hitchhiker legend whose mysterious passenger predicts Christ’s return and disappears.

The jogger is proud of himself right up to the telephone call. He chased the thief. He recovered a wallet. He refused to become an easy victim. The Jogger’s Billfold is an urban legend about a man who mistakenly believes another runner stole his wallet. After forcing the stranger to surrender a billfold, he…

In which a man enters a hospital for crooked glasses and leaves after disastrous surgery.

Tourists dress or photograph a seemingly dead kangaroo, only for it to revive and escape with a jacket, wallet, or passport.

A customer bites into what appears to be fried chicken and discovers that it is supposedly a rat or another unwanted animal.

A traveler is drugged and awakens in a bathtub, hotel room, or hospital after an organ has supposedly been removed for the black market.

The rug feels plush until something inside it strikes. The customer sees only a tiny mark. The danger remains rolled up on the store floor. The Killer Carpet is an urban legend about a shopper who is bitten by a venomous snake hidden inside an imported rug. The victim collapses before employees discover the…

A driver believes another motorist is threatening her, then learns that he was trying to warn her about an attacker hidden in the back seat.

An urban legend about two boys, a stolen pie, a framed cat, and a lawyer’s lesson about evidence.

Japan’s ‘slit-mouthed woman’ approaches victims, asks whether she is beautiful, and turns any answer into a potentially deadly encounter.

The Weeping Woman wanders near water searching for lost or murdered children, with versions shaped by region, history, religion, and family warning traditions.

The story includes railroad and rock-crusher versions, and the final farewell that workers insist happened nearby.

The campus legend in which students invoke the 15-minute rule and a professor answers with one abandoned hat.

The story includes impossible hedge-trimming lawsuit, and the real legal anxieties behind the story.

Lawn Order, the international folk belief that clear plastic bottles filled with water keep dogs, rabbits, or foxes away from a yard.

A grim urban legend about a family pet forgotten beside a car, camper, or automatic garage door.

A License to Practice urban legend about an American tourist detained abroad and sent home with an unexpected prostitution permit.

A person is comforted by a dog licking a hand from beside the bed, then discovers that the dog is dead and a human intruder was responsible.

Police put a colander on a suspect’s head and connect it to a copier. Every answer prints “He’s lying!” Explore the legend behind the trick.

A driver who flashes headlights at another car is supposedly selected as the victim of a gang initiation killing.

An animal retrieves, carries, or plays with explosive material, creating a chain of destruction that is told as a true accident.

Alternate version: Flopsy’s Revenge.

A pilot leaves the cockpit, the door locks behind him, and both pilots discover that the only way back in is with a fire axe.

An Alberta urban legend about road workers, a rock dropped into a ravine, and a car missing since the 1950s.

In which a winner passes his ticket around a bar and gets back a worthless substitute.

A jilted lover leaves an overseas time call running. Explore the enormous-phone-bill revenge legend, its variants, and why the trick would fail.

The Madalyn Murray O’Hair petition falsely warned that an atheist was trying to ban religious broadcasting. Here is what RM-2493 really said.

An Australian urban legend about a magnetic cat flap, a missing pet, and a very unfortunate hubcap.

In which a roofer’s safety rope is tied to a car—and his wife drives away.

A British urban legend about a mass migration of rats led through the city by a white King Rat.

From wartime hunger rumors to the darker prisoner-of-war version about hidden mutilation.

Tourists bring home what they believe is a strange dog, only to learn that it is a diseased rat, wild animal, or other misidentified creature.

A pet owner uses a microwave to dry an animal, then sues the manufacturer because the manual did not forbid it.

The urban legend of forgotten Model A Fords, Army Jeeps, and Harley-Davidsons discovered new in crates and sold for almost nothing.

The claim that NASA computers discovered the biblical day when the sun stood still.

A Mormon missionary legend about an annoying pet, one fatal flick, and a desperate cover-up.

The courtroom story in which a juror mistakes a victim’s written testimony for a private invitation.

Using a mobile phone at a gas station is said to ignite fuel vapors and cause an explosion.

A British accident legend in which a war on garden moles destroys a new car and damages a house.

A grim urban legend about a child copying an adult threat, its international versions, and older analogues.

A frightening image was linked to claims that children were being instructed online to perform dangerous acts, producing a modern moral panic.

A second-death urban legend about a revived woman, a speeding hearse, and a fatal ambulance crash.

The child’s hair has been cut. Her clothes have been changed. She barely seems awake. Her shoes are still her own. Mother Knows Best is a shopping-mall abduction urban legend in which a child disappears after a parent is briefly distracted. Security closes the exits, and the child is found sedated and disguised as…

A large winged figure with glowing eyes is associated with sightings around Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and with later disaster narratives.

A consumer finds a mouse or other animal inside a sealed soft-drink container.

A customer is charged an outrageous amount for a secret cookie recipe and retaliates by distributing it widely.

Fast-food companies are accused of breeding featherless, beakless, oversized, or genetically altered creatures that can no longer be called chickens.

In which a honeymooner disappears in Paris and is later recognized in a sideshow abroad.

The advertisement promises a mystery destination. A couple on holiday has already seen most of the nearby sights, so the tour sounds perfect. They board the coach early in the morning and spend hours wondering where it will take them. When the bus finally stops, they recognize the streets immediately. The mystery destination is…

A hunting urban legend about an outsider who mistakes a horse, cow, or mule for a deer or elk.

In which a child’s improvised line gives the Christmas pageant a memorable and very unplanned ending.

Hidden needles or syringes are supposedly placed in theater seats, public spaces, gas pumps, or other objects to infect unsuspecting victims.

A shopper believes a recipe costs only a few dollars, is charged hundreds, and publishes it in revenge.

Alternate version: Red Velvet Cake.

A mob informant gets a new face, name, home, and career—then an alumni letter arrives under his old identity. Explore the witness-protection legend.

A caller supposedly cannot reach emergency services because there is no “eleven” on the telephone dial. Here is how the warning became a legend.

The license-plate legend with a real case behind its tales of NONE and NO PLATE confusing ticket systems.

A comic legend about two people politely tolerating a destructive animal because each thinks it belongs to the other.

In which a man reaches for the newspaper, loses the door, and meets the neighborhood in a towel.

The laundry-room story with a football helmet, a surprise meter reader, and one perfect closing line.

A traveler steps out of a recreational vehicle while undressed and is accidentally left behind on the highway.

A Nude Surprise Party urban legend about a forgotten birthday, a secretary’s invitation, and a celebration that begins at the worst moment.

Alternate version: Another Nude Surprise Party.

First there are thirteen stars around a moon. Then three curls that might look like sixes. Then a bar of soap advertised as 99.44 percent pure. If someone is determined to find 666, the arithmetic can always be encouraged. The Number of the Beast is an urban legend and comic adaptation built around the…

The driver has chosen an unfortunate place for a flat tire. On the other side of the fence is a psychiatric hospital. One of its patients watches while the driver removes the damaged wheel, fits the spare, and accidentally scatters the lug nuts into the darkness. The driver searches the road but cannot find them.

An urban legend about American visitors who mistake a London guide’s shout of “Neil!” for an order.

Students say they can leave when a professor is 15 minutes late. The rule changes by campus—and is usually not an official rule at all.

Old vs. Young, the parking-lot urban legend about a young driver, a wealthy older motorist, and a very expensive act of revenge.

A professor asks a deceptively simple question—sometimes only one word—and the cleverest or boldest student supplies an equally concise answer.

A professor says students may bring anything they can carry to an open-book exam. One student carries in a graduate student.

Travelers, patients, or abducted victims are said to lose kidneys, eyes, or other organs to an international black market.

Two strangers silently share a package of cookies, each believing the other is stealing, until one discovers the untouched package later.

Alternate version: The Cookie Caper.

Clues in Beatles songs, album covers, and photographs are interpreted as evidence that Paul McCartney died and was replaced by a double.

A sexual or humiliating act involving peanut butter and a pet is discovered by a parent, roommate, or unexpected witness.

An urban legend about a child who smuggles a baby penguin home in a backpack after a trip to the zoo.

In which an eagle, owl, hawk, or pelican carries away a tourist’s tiny dog.

A recurring schoolyard scare about armed clowns in colored vans attempting to abduct children.

Also called Room for One More, in which a nightmare warns someone away from a fatal journey.

The pharm parties urban legend, a media-driven warning about teenagers mixing stolen prescription drugs in a communal bowl.

A betrayed spouse sells, destroys, fills, or otherwise disposes of an unfaithful partner’s prized vehicle in a perfectly targeted act of revenge.

An urban legend about a driver who mistakes a warning for an insult and crashes into the animal ahead.

The saguaro cactus story rooted in a documented 1982 death and reshaped as poetic justice.

Poinsettias are widely described as dangerously poisonous, although the popular warning greatly exaggerates their toxicity.

A dress taken from a corpse, funeral home, or contaminated source carries poison that sickens or kills the next wearer.

The urban legend in which party guests rush to the hospital after a cat dies—then learn what really killed it.

A mysterious arcade game is said to have appeared briefly in the Pacific Northwest, causing illness, memory problems, or government monitoring.

The Positive Reinforcement urban legend, in which psychology students condition a professor to lecture from atop a wastebasket.

A store accused Betsy Nelson of hiding a basketball under her dress. She was nine months pregnant—and the unbelievable story was true.

A corporate moon-and-stars logo was falsely linked to Satanism, occult ownership, or secret donations.

The alarming medical story about intestinal gas igniting during a colon procedure—and the rare real cases behind it.

The stranded driver explains that his car must reach 30 or 35 miles per hour before the engine will turn over. The woman who stopped to help nods, returns to her car, and begins backing away. He watches her in the mirror. She is not making room for a gentle push. She is giving…

The old automatic-transmission legend in which a driver mistakes Reverse for Race and ruins a new car.

The story includes 1940s bakery rumors, older literary prototype, and connection to later food-contamination stories.

An urban legend about a maddening noise, a hidden object, and a note from a factory worker.

Razor blades, pins, needles, or glass are supposedly hidden in food, playground equipment, water slides, or public objects.

A note, money, object, or obstruction on a car’s rear window is said to lure the driver out so thieves can steal the vehicle.

A Japanese internet legend claims that a red pop-up window asks whether the viewer likes a red room and predicts or causes death.

The redemption rumors urban legend, from pull tabs traded for dialysis to real charities that recycle tabs to raise money.

In which a medical student recognizes a family member among the bodies in anatomy class.

The political joke about two surfers, the Western White House, and a reward nobody wants his father to discover.

A campus legend about a recycled essay, a professor who recognizes it, and one devastating comment.

A vanishing hitchhiker associated with Chicago’s Resurrection Cemetery appears in a white dress, accepts a ride, and disappears near the graveyard.

The home-invasion story with a burned hand, a trusted neighbor, and very old roots.

A student returns to a dark room, avoids turning on the light, and later learns that a roommate was murdered nearby.

The New York car-radio legend in which a reassuring No Radio sign earns a smashed windshield and a mocking reply.

An oil worker drops a tool down a costly well. After the crew retrieves it and the boss fires him, he throws it straight back in.

A family transports a dead grandmother on or inside a car, only for the vehicle or body to be stolen.

In which a paralyzed hospital patient is placed in an elevator and forgotten for days.

The century-old factory joke about a worker who demonstrates one accident by repeating it.

Scrotum Self-Repair sounds invented, but a 1991 medical account documented the case before it spread through jokes, email, and urban-legend collections.

After a forest fire, rescuers supposedly find a dead scuba diver high in a tree, carried there by a firefighting aircraft collecting water.

Three versions of The Second Blue Book, the campus legend about students who use an extra exam booklet to fake missing answers.

In which a woman wakes inside a hearse only to be killed when it collides with the ambulance sent to save her.

A car legend about a driver who escapes an attack and later finds part of the assailant still attached.

The Sex with the Wrong Partner urban legend, a costume-party story in which a wife’s surprise visit produces one last surprise.

The story includes delayed-recognition twist, disturbing coercion, variants, history, and meaning.

The hunting prank urban legend in which one hunter’s joke gives his companions a very expensive idea.

The urban legend of a grocery thief exposed when blood drips from stolen meat hidden beneath his hat.

A university library is said to be sinking because architects forgot to account for the weight of the books.

The hose is in the right kind of opening. The label even says “unleaded fuel only.” The thief has no reason to think he has made a mistake until he starts the siphon. Siphon Surprise is an urban legend about a would-be gasoline thief who accidentally siphons from an RV’s sewage-holding tank. Folklorist Jan…

A Ski Accident urban legend about a novice skier, a private moment, and two connected mishaps on the mountain.

A person approaching or entering a parked car is attacked by someone hiding beneath it.

A tall, faceless figure created in an online fiction contest escaped its original context and became a major internet-born legend.

How a real social-network experiment became the claim that any two people are connected by six degrees—or even fewer.

An urban legend about two fused tractor-trailers and the tiny car—and bodies—hidden between them.

A snake, spider, or dangerous animal is discovered inside imported fruit, vegetables, or grocery displays.

The story includes imported coats and blankets, reported versions, and the fears that helped the rumor travel.

A Snakebite urban legend about a loose snake, a naked searcher, a curious dog, and rescuers who misunderstand every injury.

The amusement-park snake legend, from the child on the log ride to Tunnel of Love and playland versions of the same fear.

A betrayed worker or spouse fills a luxury car with concrete as revenge against an employer or unfaithful partner.

The Special Delivery urban legend, in which a swimmer’s stomach pain is blamed on an octopus egg she supposedly swallowed at the beach.

A mysterious swelling or bite bursts open to reveal spiders, eggs, larvae, or another hidden organism beneath the skin.

The false 1977 rumor that Bubble Yum contained spider eggs, why children repeated it, and how Life Savers tried to stop it.

A decorative cactus or imported plant begins moving, pulsing, or bursting because it is supposedly filled with spiders.

Alternate version: The Moving Cactus.

A person’s elaborate or unwashed hairstyle becomes infested with spiders, insects, or other creatures, sometimes with fatal results.

Alternate version: The Spider in the Hairdo.

The Spunkball urban legend, a forwarded warning claiming gangs throw burning bundles into motorists’ open windows.

The famous story says Harvard dismissed a plainly dressed couple, so they founded Stanford. The real history is more interesting.

The Start the Music urban legend, in which a pianist and orchestra prepare different Rachmaninoff works and wait in silence.

The State Police Don’t Have Balls urban legend, the traffic-stop joke built around a police ball, an accidental insult, and a lucky escape.

A drive-in urban legend about Spanish fly, a floor-mounted gearshift, and a dangerous fantasy about desire.

A parking-lot legend about an armed grandmother who scares men from the wrong car.

Did NASA computers discover a missing day and prove the biblical story of the sun standing still? The claim is much older than the space program.

A professor discovers an exam is missing, trims every remaining copy, and waits for the thief to turn in the only full-length test.

In which a thief mistakes a urine sample carried in a liquor bottle for something worth drinking.

In which a driver mistakes roadside police equipment for a discarded microwave oven.

The urban legend in which a stranded driver discovers a stranger calmly dismantling the other end of his car.

The story includes sports-car rescue, medieval predecessors, medical debate, and famously awkward final question.

In which a diver reaches into a rocky crevice and becomes trapped by an unseen crab or lobster.

The Stuck on the Toilet urban legend, from the freshly varnished seat and embarrassed babysitter to its darker vacuum-toilet version.

A Christmas urban legend about a father trapped in the chimney while trying to surprise his family.

The story includes changing border and airport versions, and the newspaper report that collapsed under scrutiny.

The Subway Samaritan urban legend, in which a helpful passenger returns a pair of gloves to the wrong man as the train departs.

College students are said to receive automatic passing grades if a roommate dies by suicide or another tragedy occurs.

The Superglue Revenge urban legend, its South Texas versions, its roots in marital-revenge folklore, and whether it really happened.

The Superhero Hijinks urban legend, in which a costumed husband knocks himself unconscious and leaves his wife tied to the bed.

The switched campus buildings urban legend, from UVA’s misplaced chapel to dormitories supposedly designed for the wrong climate.

The Take Him, Wagger urban legend, in which a son tests a guard dog’s training and is mistaken for the intruder he pretends to be.

The tickets are sitting on the dashboard. The window is open. The owner has made this as easy as he possibly can. When he returns, no one has stolen them. Someone has added two more. Take My Tickets, Please! is an urban legend and joke about a fan who leaves tickets to a losing…

A grim urban legend about two boys, a forbidden pie, and a lie that is confessed too late.

Diet pills are said to contain tapeworm eggs so users will lose weight, only to become dangerously infected.

The corpse-in-the-cask urban legend linking a family’s brandy barrel to the death and return of Admiral Nelson.

An urban legend about a visitor who learns to dunk a teabag—then dunks the unopened sugar packet too.

The urban legend of a tiny wire returned with an impossible hole drilled through its entire length.

A Japanese ghost missing the lower half of her body moves rapidly on her hands or elbows and attacks people near roads or train stations.

A campus legend about a student whose postdated letters expose the vacation he tried to hide.

A motorcycle urban legend about a reckless nighttime dare, approaching headlights, and a hidden truck.

The Toll Booth Pranks urban legend, in which medical students offer a toll collector a coin held by a stolen cadaver hand.

The thieves take the valuables and leave the toothbrushes. For a few days, that feels like the only good news the couple has had. The Toothbrush Story is an urban legend about travelers who return to a ransacked hotel room but continue using the toothbrushes and camera left behind. After the film is developed,…

Penguins are said to fall backward while watching aircraft pass overhead and then require help to stand again.

Students secretly reward a professor’s movements until they train him to lecture from a wastebasket. Did the classroom experiment happen?

A version of the ancient faithful-hound story about a dog wrongly killed after saving a child.

A roadside revenge legend about a quiet truck driver, a motorcycle gang, and flattened bikes.

The story of a clerk carrying a fluorescent light on the subway—and the commuters who mistake it for a handrail.

A modern bosom-serpent legend about a hiker who drinks from a stream and carries something home inside him.

A medical, cosmetic, or dieting story turns loose skin or an altered body into the punchline of an embarrassing revelation.

Two mysterious travelers appear together, vanish, predict danger, or lead a driver toward a supernatural discovery.

Also called The Kilkenny Widow, in which a borrowed name brings one traveler a fortune.

The story of bedtime thirst, a water glass, and a missing pair of contact lenses.

A driver follows the emergency-stop instructions perfectly—just as the examiner signals the wrong car or crashes into the test vehicle.

A student mistakes famous unsolved problems for homework, solves them, and only later learns that experts believed they were impossible.

A supposedly theft-proof or unusually protected vehicle is stolen through an embarrassingly simple method.

A domestic mix-up involving a man under a car, a playful wife, and one painful surprise.

A post-earthquake legend about a stolen BMW discovered beneath California’s collapsed Nimitz Freeway.

A false and xenophobic rumor claims that workers urinate in imported beer before it is shipped to consumers.

A driver picks up a passenger who disappears from the moving car and is later identified as someone who died years earlier.

A traveler’s companion disappears from a hotel or foreign city, while officials deny that the missing person ever existed.

The veterans insurance dividend rumor promises unclaimed GI insurance money. The VA says the special dividend notice is false—and may be a scam.

A crime, prank, or betrayal is accidentally recorded, then discovered when someone watches a home video or surveillance tape.

Viper-release legends about wildlife agencies or environmentalists dropping venomous snakes from helicopters and airplanes.

An early embarrassment legend about a naked housewife, the wrong caller, and one disastrous explanation.

The Walking the Dog urban legend, in which a family pet exposes an affair by leading a wife along her husband’s secret nightly route.

A World War II story about a careless wish, an overheard conversation, and a grieving mother’s rebuke.

A workplace warning claiming an arc flash can fuse contact lenses to the cornea.

Scientists drilling deep into the Earth supposedly lower a microphone into a cavern and record the screams of souls in Hell.

The cumulative comic yarn in which one small piece of bad news reveals a household of disasters.

A woman pretends to know the deceased so she can use a funeral-home restroom, then learns his fortune must be divided among the mourners.

Students claim a flat tire caused them to miss an exam; the professor separates them and asks each to identify which tire failed.

A husband or family drives away from a rest stop and travels a long distance before realizing that the wife was forgotten.

The business legend in which a company surveys traveling spouses and receives one devastating question.

A betrayed spouse takes revenge through the sale, destruction, contamination, or disappearance of a recreational vehicle.

Travelers capture, transport, or misidentify a wild animal, only for it to revive or escape from luggage.

Also called The Economical Car, about a secret test vehicle that gets impossible mileage and is quickly recalled.

The false claim that a cabbage regulation ran to exactly 26,911 words.

The Worms in Burgers urban legend, the 1970s fast-food rumor claiming restaurant chains secretly mixed earthworms into hamburger meat.

A student finishes an exam after drugs or an all-night cram session, then discovers every word was written on one line—or was only his name.

Someone enters, steals, repairs, loads, or vandalizes a vehicle before discovering that it belongs to someone else.

A Southwestern legend about a man cutting rattles from a live snake after dark by mistake.

An Australian urban legend about a runaway truck, a mountain escape lane, and a family picnicking in its path.

In which a seasick traveler loses dentures and throws away the replacement found by a prankster.

In which a reversed image sends a surgeon to the wrong side and a patient loses a healthy lung.

Photocopied notices about crimes, poisons, gangs, contaminated products, missing children, and secret dangers circulated as pre-internet viral warnings.

The old clerk watches a motorcycle gang fill the store and prepares for the worst. They pay for everything. You Can’t Judge a Book is an urban legend about a store clerk who mistakes appearance for intent. The rough-looking bikers are honest customers; the ordinary-looking person who follows them is the robber. A closely…

A celebrity or sports figure supposedly encounters an unusually young, devoted, or dying fan in a story designed to reveal hidden compassion.

A library, store, institution, or bureaucracy contains an absurdly misplaced category or rule, usually exposing official incompetence.