Editing Legend (section)

==Urban legend==
{{Main|Urban legend}}

Urban legends are a modern genre of folklore that is rooted in local [[popular culture]], usually comprising fictional stories that are often presented as true, with [[macabre]] or [[humor]]ous elements. These legends can be used for entertainment purposes, as well as semi-serious explanations for seemingly-mysterious events, such as disappearances and strange objects.

The term "urban legend," as generally used by folklorists, has appeared in print since at least 1968.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, 2d ed. 1989, entry for "urban legend," citing R. M. Dorson in T. P. Coffin, ''Our Living Traditions'', xiv. 166 (1968). See also William B. Edgerton, ''The Ghost in Search of Help for a Dying Man'', Journal of the Folklore Institute, Vol. 5, No. 1. pp. 31, 38, 41 (1968).</ref> [[Jan Harold Brunvand]], professor of English at the [[University of Utah]], introduced the term to the general public in a series of popular books published beginning in 1981. Brunvand used his collection of legends, ''[[The Vanishing Hitchhiker|The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends & Their Meanings]]'' (1981) to make two points: first, that legends and [[folklore]] do not occur exclusively in so-called primitive or traditional societies, and second, that one could learn much about urban and modern culture by studying such tales.

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File:Union Graveyard II.jpg|The tale of the White Lady who haunts Union Cemetery is a variant of the [[Vanishing hitchhiker]] legend.
File:Bahay na Pula fvf 2014-1.jpg|[[Bahay na Pula]] in the [[Philippines]] is believed to be haunted by all those who were murdered and raped by the Japanese army within the property during [[World War II]].
</gallery>