Folklore vs. Urban Legend

I will set down a tale…  it may be history, it may be only a legend, a tradition.  It may have happened, it may not have happened.  But it could have happened….

- Mark Twain

What is the difference between Folklore and an Urban Legend?  Not much really!  Time is really the key factor and the fact that it COULD HAVE happened in our era.  The Urban Legend abbreviation FOAF attest to that fact with its meaning “friend of a friend” as in “this happened to a friend of a friend of mine” or insert a relative, etc.

Urban Legends may be a new spin on an old folktale, such as The Vansihing Hitchiker tale, (TVH as it is abbreviated in Urban Legend circles) which can be found in folk lore books taking place with a horse and buggy and now takes place in an automobile.

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