An Illustrated History of Urban Legends

Packed with tales as old as time, unsolved mysteries and stories stranger than fiction, this introduction to urban myths contains super-succinct summaries of different urban legends and folk tales, grouped roughly by period and then theme. The range is global, which enables themes to be compared and cross-referenced across time and cultures. While many of the tales were familiar to me, many others were not. I found myself fascinated by how similar legends spring up in completely different places, responding to shared human concerns. Each story summary is followed by a very brief and measured discussion of context, plausibility and origin. This allows the authors to point out links between story traditions, identify nuggets of truth and expose wild embellishments.

Very often, the authors’ analyses pinpoint where the legends began and suggest why they were believed and passed on. This is a real strength of the book. It mitigates the horror of some of the creepier tales and provides useful warnings against disinformation – a crucial theme for today’s teens living in a world of fake news and viral story snippets.

It will appeal to KS3 students who are still building up their reading stamina, as well as lovers of the bizarre and macabre. It is broken into short sections, illustrated with contemporary, age-appropriate graphics. This structure makes it easy to dip in and out, but beware: it’s hard to put down!