Text:
“So my sister had a friend who’s older sister had a friend who studied abroad in Milan her junior jear of college. When she was studying abroad, she, like other normal college students, wanted to go on a date. So she ended uo going on a date with this guy. She went back home with him, and everything was going well until he asked to give her a massage. He gave her a massage. She thought something was up and felt something was weird, so she just left. Then after a few days, a rash started to develop on her back. She was like, ‘What is this?’ So she went to the Italian doctor, and the Italian doctor was like, ‘For some reason, the fibers of your skin are starting to break down. This could leech into your muscles. Good thing you came in, but how did this happen? The only way this would have happened is with a flesh dissolver.’ She said, ‘What? What are you talking about?’ Less than a month later, the guy that she went on a date with got arrested for killing multiple women and eating them, meaning he was preparing her to be skinned and eaten after giving her that massage.”

Context:
A boy from Kansas City, Missouri telling a story he heard from his sister (who heard the story from a friend) about a date-from-hell while a girl was studying abroad in Milan.

Analysis:
Interestingly enough, this is not the first time I’ve heard this story. I’d like to think that it’s a legend or greatly exaggerated story from being retold indefinitely (hopefully). Regardless, it serves as an example for how folklore spreads through storytelling, often leading to multiplicity and variation between each iteration.