Text:
A rancher found metal debris on his property in Roswell, and the local newspaper ran the headline that a flying saucer had been spotted. Many locals heard from one another that aliens have also been spotted. The very next day, government agents arrived in the small town and retracted all the debris. The news retracted their statement, saying it was a weather balloon.

Context:
The informant went to the Roswell UFO festival and learnt about the history behind this urban legend in person. They believe it started as a conspiracy of a Cold War surveillance project that detected Soviet nuclear tests, but to cover it up, another conspiracy was formed. 40 years later, the government released declassified documents that revealed that the crashed “flying saucer” was a spy balloon. The informant does not believe in this conspiracy themselves, but they know that this reveal just leads to a third conspiracy that the declassified information is the real cover up of alien spottings.

(Photo taken at the Rosewell UFO Festival from the Informant.)

Analysis:
The Roswell UFO Incident is the origin point for modern UFO conspiracy culture. A powerful symbol of distrust in government and secrecy. Like classic legends, it has a real event and press release; ambiguity or contradiction, and malleability—the story evolves over time with new “witnesses,” reinterpretations, and additions. Furthermore, Roswell serves as a folk counter-narrative to official authority, symbolizing the power of everyday people to challenge dominant truths.

Text:
There is an urban legend that Evanston Township High School (ETHS) suggests the existence of a hidden bowling alley within the school’s premises. This belief has been popular among students and community members, with many speculating about its location, particularly in the school’s basement.

Context:
The Informant is from the school and heard this from upperclassmen. It is a well known belief despite being proven wrong, they know school staff have debunked this myth. A maintenance worker clarified that there was never a bowling alley in the basement. He mentioned that the rumored bowling alley was actually located where the auto shop is now.

Analysis:
Urban legends like this thrive on ambiguity. The fuzziness of fact vs. fiction is part of the appeal. The bowling alley legend serves as a symbol of past eras, hinting at a more glamorous or strange history of the school. The basement becomes a mythic space, a metaphor for the hidden layers of institutional history that current students aren’t supposed to access.

Text:
In Point Pleasant, West Virginia, a bridge collapsed and killed many people. The rumor started that a Mothman has come to destroy it. One man claimed he had seen the Moth Man days before the incident, and it prophesied to destroy the bridge.

Context:
Informant from midwest and heard this more as a joke from their father as a child. They gathered most of the information about the Moth Man they know today from the mass media and internet.

Analysis:
Point Pleasant becomes a liminal space where the boundaries between the natural and supernatural dissolve. Mothman serves as a modern banshee-like figure—a being whose presence signals impending catastrophe. But for me, I know it from the internet and pop culture as a crypid. I was a little disappointed to hear the origin story about the Moth Man that it just destroyed a bridge and that is all the information we know about it. Their function is not only to scare or thrill but to provide cultural coherence in a chaotic, fragmented society.

Text:

Paul Bunyan is usually presented in statues in gas stations and tourist traps. He is a 40ft lumberjack with a 20 ft blue ox named Babe.

Context:

The informant is from Midwest, where Paul Bunyan is seen as a symbol of the legendary lumberjack. In the informant’s retelling, Paul Bunyan is hired to cut down all the trees with the help of Babe; that is why there are no trees in the Midwest. 

The informant saw a Paul Bunyan statue in a rest stop once as a kid and asked to hear the story behind it, they also saw picture books of the story of Paul Bunyan. 

Analysis:

Paul Bunyan is a classic American tall tale hero and symbolizes the ideal worker: strong, tireless, heroic, and good-humored. He reflects pride in physical labor, endurance, and ingenuity—values critical to frontier and blue-collar identity. I theorize that these tales helped workers cope with the harsh realities of logging, by turning their experiences into mythic feats. The legend of Paul Bunyan also reinforces the American myth of human dominance over the environment, tying into the broader cultural narrative of westward expansion and industrialization.

Text:
“La Llorana” (Translation: The Weeping Woman)
La Llorana is a vengeful spirit who is usually seen around rivers, crying for her drowned children. She is driven by despair and apparently drowned her own children.

Context:
The informant is Sabatorian, they state that La Llorana is a Mexican folklore that has grown into a more general Hispanic folklore; people say she causes misfortune. The informant does not know a lot about it because their parents did not tell them as a kid because they think kids will be scared of it, but the source is from family members and parents. Their family does not believe in ghosts but instead spirits; the informant believes spiritual elements do not have a lot of effect on the real world since it is energy based.

Analysis:
Cultural significance of this tale is a cautionary tale to keep children out of trouble and unintentionally teach them about the danger of drowning. The tale serves as a commentary on deviant maternal behavior. La Llorona is often portrayed as a mother who failed in her socially prescribed role—suggesting consequences for women who transgress norms related to motherhood and fidelity. I interpret her as a symbol of postcolonial trauma—especially linked to the conquest of the Americas.