12 SURPRISING AMERICAN URBAN LEGENDS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The urban legends of the United States are a set of contemporary stories, based on popular beliefs, superstition and fiction, but at the same time they are presented in such a way that they pass as credible.

At this point, it is worth mentioning that urban legends have two main characteristics: they combine real events with invented or fictitious data, and their dissemination occurs through oral exchange, the media and the Internet, the latter being the most popular channel of all.

In the case of the United States, there is a diversity of urban legends, although most have a dark background that seeks to leave a somewhat sinister moral. Even, for some scholars, due to the importance and level of these stories, some have reached the status of conspiracy theories.

List of American urban legends

Walt Disney's frozen body

Perhaps one of the most popular urban legends in America has to do with the state of Walt Disney's body.

According to this urban legend, after Disney's death in 1966, the corpse was subjected to an induced freezing process, in order to preserve it until science, in the future, found the formula to bring the dead back to life.

The truth is that the body was cremated that same year and his ashes were buried in Forest Lane Memorial Park in Glendale, California. Although this fact is more than proven, there are fans who persist in the existence of the frozen body in a place hidden from the public.

Crocodiles in the sewers

It is possible that we have come across this legend reflected in movies, series and even comics, this being one of the most cited in popular culture.

It is believed that it arose thanks to the news of the escape of a group of alligators that had been incorporated into the New York Zoo, and that later took refuge in the sewers of the city.

With the passage of time, the story became more sinister, as there were “reports” of human victims that had been eaten by these enormous reptiles, also characterized by being extremely violent.

Due to the rise of this legend, it served as the inspiration for the creation of one of Batman's villains, Killer Croc, a being that lives in the depths of Gotham City.

The beautiful girl from the road

The story tells that a beautiful young woman appears on a desolate road –especially at night-, with the intention that a driver will stop and offer to take her to her final destination.

Although the driver looks for a way to start a conversation, the girl only responds with evasive or short phrases. The story reaches its peak when the young woman asks to be left on a section of the road, and it is here that two possible versions of the story are presented.

In one, it is stated that she simply disappears, while the other indicates that she leaves behind some object (a garment or even flowers). When the driver does everything possible to make the respective return, he is informed that the girl has been dead for several years.

The Roswell Saucer

Located in New Mexico, Roswell is a city characterized by an aura of mystery, especially by a series of stories that have been created based on the place. Without a doubt, one of the most renowned has to do with the landing of a flying saucer in the late 1940s.

It is said that the landing was covered up by the US Air Force in order to obtain more information about the aliens and avoid, in turn, chaos among the population.

The funny thing is that thanks to the relevance of this legend, enthusiasts of conspiracy theories claim that the United States government handles top secret and important information about beings from other planets.

The reality is that the Roswell case may be real, although it is difficult to reach a verdict. Due to the publication of fake movies, this possible real event is obscured since it happened. However, the publication of several books with real testimonies suggests that it could be a real event.

The most dangerous game ever

A slightly more recent legend talks about Polybius, an arcade-type game that would have been very popular with kids during the 80s.

Hundreds of young people who gambled are believed to have been affected by a number of strange side effects, including: headaches, nightmares, seizures, changes in behavior and even memory loss.

Even, according to another version of the legend, it states that players were bombarded with subliminal messages that incited suicide, or commit violent acts against other people. The truth is that today there is still doubt about the existence of this game.

The properties of Coca-Cola

There is no denying that Coca-Cola is one of the most popular beverages of our time, but that does not mean that it is not free from urban legends or conspiracy theories.

One has to do with the product content of the "secret formula", which is capable of decomposing meats, unclogging pipes, cleaning bathrooms and even removing stains on clothes. However, all these properties are said to be false.

But perhaps the most fascinating of all has to do with a series of subliminal messages, which were displayed in a series of minute-long visual presentations.

The supposed experiment carried out by James Vicary at the end of the decade of the 50, had to do with the study on the commercialization and consumption of the product. However, it is not clear whether the process was carried out or not.

The elevator and Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs at WWDC 2007.

After several years of his death, the figure of Steve Jobs continues to be admired and respected by many people around the world. However, a series of stories have emerged that speak of what his personality was like while he was head of Apple.

According to legend, Jobs found it unpleasant to meet workers in elevators who were not part of his regular conversations. In fact, according to testimonies from former workers, this could be punished with severe penalties or even dismissal.

The mutant eel

In 2013, a photo of a large species of eel, which had been captured by a young man in a lake in New Jersey, went viral on the Internet. The event was all the more striking by the almost sinister appearance of the animal.

The information was covered by the Daily News medium, which made thousands of Internet users fascinated by this unknown species. However, it didn't take long for it to be confirmed that it was all a photo manipulation.

It is worth mentioning that this legend is an example of the current trend that has to do with the manipulation of images and other visual content.

Suicides during the Great Depression

The Great Depression represents one of the darkest times in both the United States and the world. As a result, it was not expected that legends would be created around that continue to fascinate us today.

Wall Street was the epicenter of the country's economic collapse, so it was believed that a significant number of businessmen had to take their own lives in view of this overwhelming panorama. It is even said that many chose to jump from skyscrapers or to shoot themselves in the temple.

However, according to historical records, the figure was much lower than popularly believed.

The origin of baseball

Among all sports, baseball is considered one of the most important in the United States. According to textbooks, the invention is attributed to Abner Doubleday, a military man and veteran of the Civil War, who years later dedicated himself to the world of trains.

However, there is the belief that this discipline is not 100% American, but rather is a variation of "rounders", a sport from Ireland, which was very popular during the 19th century.

Rats and cans

There is a very popular urban legend that relates the death of a woman in Texas, United States, due to the consumption of a soda, whose can had been contaminated by rat droppings.

Although this "news" alerted hundreds of people, it was noted that all cans and other foods are wrapped in plastic to avoid direct contact with rodents, insects and other factors that could compromise the content available to the public.

Mel's hole

Urban legend indicates that in Ellensburg, Washington, is Mel's Hole (also known as Mel's Hole), a natural formation that has no bottom. It is believed that it was discovered by Mel Waters, a man who claimed at the time that the hole was infinite.

As if that weren't enough, some adepts of legend indicate that it has magical properties, such as bringing dead animals back to life. The truth is that, although Mel's Hole generates great curiosity among the public, the exact point of it is unknown, even for adventurers and explorers.

References

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