Cat in the Dryer and 222 Other Urban Legends: Absolutely True Stories That Happened to a Friend... of a Friend... of a Friend FROM THE PUBLISHER
Funny, Frightening and Strange Tales -- That Could Be True! From scams, pranks and hoaxes to creepy coincidences and tales of just plain old bad luck, the hundreds of incredible stories inside this book will shock and amaze you. And even if you're not sure you believe what you read, these tales are so gripping, so surprising, and at times so downright frightening, you'll be dying to pass them on. Everyone's heard it: the story of the cat who took a nap in the clothes dryer, only to be carried out by his owner in a pile of clean towels a spin cycle later. Thankfully, the cat was still alive, and thanks to dryer sheets, completely static free! But whose cat was it, a friend of a friend's? Well then, you can be pretty sure that you're dealing with an urban legend.
Alternately fascinating, frightening, and amusing -- but always intriguing -- urban legends spring up in every corner of the country. They are often morality tales or warnings of how not to behave, couched in juicy, too-good-not-to-be-true anecdotes. And no matter how grotesque, horrifying or shocking, they always strike a note of reality, expressing the fears, anxieties and humanity of people in the modern age. What ties them together is their timeliness, plausibility and ultimately their ability to amuse.
In this latest collection of urban legends, you'll discover a treasure trove of unbelievable tales about the foods we eat and the pets we keep, of heroic acts and incredible coincidences. You'll encounter stories that circulated after the September 11 attacks that come to represent a new form of myth: the patriotic legend. The Cat in the Dryer collects every kind of urban legend out there, and often presents common variations on the endings. Dig in and discover the flip side of our collective unconscious, and who knows? You may find a story that happened to a friend of a friend of yours.
FROM THE CRITICS
School Library Journal
Adult/High School-An entertaining and occasionally informative collection of urban legends, celebrity rumors, scams, pranks, and hoaxes. Craughwell begins his introduction with a good working definition of the term "urban legend"-a demonstrably untrue story that uses humor or horror to teach a lesson about the consequences of disregarding societal taboos. He then notes that for most people the only real criterion is that the story is plausible, although patently false. The first chapter is devoted entirely to stories and legends that circulated following September 11. The author briefly discusses the psychology behind the origin of these tales and mentions that many of them were covered in a New York Times article, although no citation is provided. In fact, the lack of documentation throughout is the book's weakness. Since the volume contains items that sometimes show up as reference questions, such as the statue of a military hero on a horse indicating the manner of the hero's death by the number of hooves off the ground, some sort of explanation or source material is mandatory. However, as entertainment, the book succeeds. Teens will enjoy the variety of selections and may be surprised to find that they have been taken in by some of these absolutely true stories that happened to a friend of a friend of a friend.-Jody Sharp, Harford County Public Library, MD Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
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