Main Piece:

Participant – “K well I live kind of by a lake, and there was this like myth or like belief that there was a giant shark that was like super big and was like swimming underneath the lake… and there was even like, someone made like a fake news website about it.”

Context:

Told to me while walking with the participant to class discussing various myths and legends.

Background: 

The participant is a freshman accounting major at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She grew up in Seattle, Washington where her family still currently lives. This legend was common amongst the kids in her town and common knowledge to most people. As the participant mentioned, it even gained enough popularity as to be turned into a news story.    

Analysis:

There are a surprisingly high number of different legends relating to lakes and the different monsters that lurk within them. Almost all substantial lakes have at least one legend about them, most famously the loch ness monster. Typically, you would believe legends like this to be mostly propelled by kids and their beliefs but in this situation even adults got involved with forming a news story about it.