Writer's Block: Legend has it ...

[author_by_night]

[Error: unknown template qotd]
I've heard so many of both, it is impossible to choose.

As for the story behind the story, well... with paranormal stories, I think it depends on one's personal beliefs. However, always bear in mind that our minds play tricks.  As do friends and family members.

Urban Legends usually consist of four origins:

1. Someone wanting to push a particular view. ("I heard about this couple in China who were forced to eat their dog" = "people in China are so strange and foreign, they'd make innocent bystanders devour a beloved pet.")

2. Someone having too much time on their hands, and not enough good taste. (Forwarding a chain email to 87 people will not save someone's life.)

3. Someone exaggerating a story, or buying into an exaggerated story or a story that was intended as a joke.

4. Misinterpretation.

Or all of the above.

Comments

[vytresna.livejournal.com]

I'd think the first one isn't so much "people in China are so strange and foreign" as "China is run by such bloody-handed tyrants", no? Or maybe both at once, but there's definitely an emphasis on the latter.

And now that song from Damn Yankees will never leave.