Alligators in the Sewer and 222 Other Urban Legends: Absolutely True Stories That Happened to a Friend... of a Friend... of a Friend

Book Description
Urban Legend (ur/ben lej/end) n. a fictional story, circulated by word-of-mouth, that is perpetuated by the continual assertion of truth.

All the rumors that have passed through office e-mail networks, the fantastic stories that have "happened to a friend" and the horrifying tales told around campfires are gathered here for the first time in one fascinating, unbelievable collection.

Organized by subject, chapters include: Naked at His Own Surprise Party and Other Sexual Escapades, The Stolen Kidney and Other Medical Disasters, The Gulf War Computer Virus and Other High Tech Scares, Roswells's Area 51 and Other Extraterrestrial Encounters, Elvis's Motorcycle and Other Celebrity Rumors, and many more. Each story runs one-to-two-pages long.

Many of the stories have been told with a different twist--variations are included at the end of each tale.


From the Back Cover
SET ASIDE YOUR FEARS
SUSPEND YOUR DISBELIEF
EMBRACE THE BIZARRE
Guaranteed to enlighten, amuse and shock, this endlessly entertaining collection of urban legends compiles all the well-known stories and the shady rumors, arranged by genre and with every obscure variation. They are funny, frightening, and weird tales--that just might be true. Including:
The Stolen Kidney and Other Medical Mishaps
Aliens in Roswell, New Mexico and Other Close Encounters
The Murderer in the Backseat and Other Legends of the Road
Naked at His Own Surprise Party and Other Sexual Escapades
Late for Finals and Other Tales from College
The Scuba Diver in the Forest Fire and Other Strange Deaths
Elvis's Motorcycle and Other Celebrity Rumors
Alligators in the Sewers and Other Classic Urban Legends


About the Author
Thomas Craughwell is the author of Great Books for Every Book Lover, Every Eye Beholds You: A World Anthology of Prayer and every edition of the Book Lover's Page-a-Day Calendar since it first appeared in 1995. He reviews books for several different publications and lives in Sleepy Hollow, New York.


Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
SHORT TAKES -Charlie Chaplin once anonymously entered a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest and lost. -At the end of his career George Reeves, who played Superman in the television series, believed he could fly. He died when he leapt from a tall building in a single bound. -The Gerber Baby is a portrait of the infant Humphrey Bogart, drawn by his mother. -Marilyn Monroe was the model for Tinker Bell in the Disney cartoon version of Peter Pan -When he died, Walt Disney was frozen in liquid nitrogen in the hope that at some future date, medical technology would be able to bring him back to life. -"Mama" Cass Elliot of the Mamas and the Papas choked to death on a ham sandwich. -Fred Rogers of Mister Roger's Neighborhood was a sniper in Vietnam. -James Dean did not die in a car crash, but was horribly disfigured. He has lived as a recluse ever since. -John F. Kennedy did not die of his bullet wounds, but survives in a coma in a secret room of a Dallas nursing home. -After the show's final episode, the cast of Green Acres threw a farewell dinner in which the pig, Arnold Ziffel, was the main course. -John Wayne turned down the role of Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke. -Charles Manson auditioned for the Monkees.


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We all have heard these storiesthe poodle microwaved to death, the sewers of New York crawling with alligators, the spider's nest in the bouffant hairdo, and UFOs in Roswell, New Mexico. Urban legends are an intricate part of the folklore of American life. Craughwell has compiled a comprehensive collection of these stories in one volume. Arranged into broad categories such as sexual escapades, supernatural encounters, strange deaths, and classic urban legends, the stories range from risqu� to frightening, from bizarre to completely disgusting. Some socalled modern legends can be traced centuries back; a story that once appeared on Rod Serling's Night Gallery about a bug that crawls into a woman's ear and devours her brain, can be attributed to England in about the year 1000. Other legends have appeared as factual newspaper stories before appearing on the Internet. Anyone who thinks folklore is not constantly created anew should read this book. There will always be stories like these. They play on our fears, warn us away from danger, and make for great storytelling. Alligators in the Sewer would be even better if the author had added more research on the origins of these stories. Reading this compendium makes readers want to know how the stories started. This title will find a ready audience in any library. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P M J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 1999, Black Dog & Leventhall, Ages 12 to 18, 240p, $8.98. Reviewer: Carrie Eldridge


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