Behind the Folklore - Tall Tales

by Rachel

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TRICKSTER

In mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, human, or anthropomorphic animal who plays pranks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and norms of behaviour.
The trickster deity breaks the rules of the gods or nature, sometimes maliciously (for example, Loki) but usually, albeit unintentionally, with ultimately positive effects. Often, the rule-breaking takes the form of tricks (eg. Eris) or thievery. Tricksters can be cunning or foolish or both; they are often funny even when considered sacred or performing important cultural tasks. An example of this is the sacred Heyoka, whose role is to play tricks and games and by doing so raises awareness and acts as an equalizer.

Loki

Eris

Heyoka


WEEKLY WORLD NEWS

The Weekly World News (WWN) is a mock tabloid newspaper published by American Media Inc; editor in chief is Jeff Rovin. It combines wire reports of strange news with in-house writings and columns, all fictional. There was also a short lived TV version on the USA Network in the style of network news shows and the company have just released a compilation anthology called Batboy Lives! by David Perel and the Editors.

Launched in 1979, the WWN has traditionally claimed it always prints the truth (typical slogan "Nothing but the truth: The Weekly World News!"). Based on the headlines, however, it seems many stories are intended as jokes. Seeming to confirm this, Batboy Lives!' semi-serious introduction admits that while Reader A reads the tabloid for real news, Reader B will read it for laughs. While the tabloid's main rival The Sun carried a fine print disclaimer, the WWN never publicly questioned the accuracy of its own stories until 2004, when the paper began stating that "the reader should suspend disbelief for the sake of enjoyment". In recent years, The Sun has moved more toward articles on health, miracle cures, and strange-but-true stories, leaving the WWN alone in its unique niche of basing an entire weekly publication on made-up "news".


HAUNTED COLLEGE

Athens was declared one of the top ten most haunted cities in America on the Fox Family special "World's Scariest Places" which aired on October 23, 2000. Other more credible sources also make similar declarations. Ohio University has been called one of the most haunted college campuses in America; most notably, local legend includes many stories of hauntings in the former asylum. The area of the asylum is known as The Ridges. There is a museum contained in the old asylum. Additionally, Ohio University's West Green is said to be placed atop an ancient Indian burial ground, and it is rumored that the oldest cemeteries of the town form a pentagram.

Why are colleges haunted?

Haunted colleges in Oxford, UK


ALIEN ABDUCTION

The abduction phenomenon is an umbrella term used to describe a number of hypotheses, claims, or assertions stating that non-human creatures (usually aliens) kidnap individuals—sometimes called "abductees"—usually for medical testing or for sexual reproduction procedures. Many such encounters are described as terrifying or humiliating, but others describe them as transformative or even pleasant. Reports of the abduction phenomenon have been made from around the world, but have perhaps seen most mainstream attention in the United States.

Skeptics tend to doubt that the phenomenon occurs literally as reported, and a wide variety of alternate explanations have been proposed (see below). Rather, such skeptics often argue that the phenomenon might be characterised as a type of modern-day folk myth (like the historic belief in vampires).

The alien abduction phenomenon has been the subject of conspiracy theory and as such has become a staple of popular science fiction works such as The X-Files.


ALLIGATOR IN THE SEWERS

Sewer alligator stories are part of an urban legend that date back to the late 1920s and early 1930s. They are based upon reports of alligator sightings in rather unorthodox locations, in particular New York City.

The original story was that wealthy families would return from vacation from Florida to New York City, bringing alligators with them, as pet presents to their children. The time frame of this tradition is rather gray, but it has been suggested it originated in the late 1930s. When the alligators grew too large for comfort, the family would proceed to flush the reptiles down the toilet.
What happens next varies. The most common story is that the alligators survive and reside within the sewer and reproduce, surviving by feeding on rats and rubbish, growing to huge sizes and striking fear into sewer workers. In Robert Daley's book, 'The World Beneath the City'(1959), he comments that one night a sewer worker in New York City was shocked to find a large alligator swimming toward him. Weeks of hunting followed.

Some versions go further to suggest that, after the alligator was disposed of at such a young age, it would live the majority of its life in an environment not exposed to sunlight, and thus it would apparently in time lose its eyesight and the pigment in its hide and that the reptile would grow to be completely albino, pure white in color with red eyes. Another reason why an albino alligator would retreat to an underground sewer is because of its vulnerability to the sun in the wild, as there is no dark pigment in the creature's skin, it has no protection from the sun, which makes it very hard for it to survive in the wild.
The albino alligator, which does in fact exist, has rarely ever been sighted in the wild. The albino alligator got caught up in the urban legend, predominantly because of its scarceness within the wild, because of its colour, the bright white and pinkish skin makes it vulnerable to predators as an infant as well as an obvious sight for any source of food it may attempt to collect. The urban legend developed into believing that since these alligators could not survive in the wild because of their colour they retreated to the sewers where their unusual skin would not disadvantage them.
The albino story is what gives the urban legend its character, as many see the story as one of 'mutant alligators beneath New York City.' There have never been any official sightings of this kind of alligator in New York City.

However, most experts believe that a sewer is not a fit environment for any alligator, and they would be unlikely to be able to reproduce down there. The animals need warm temperatures all year round. High vulnerability to disease would stop any alligator from lasting long in a city sewer. Of course, the major assumption behind these assertions is that the alligators in question would never venture back to the surface again, choosing instead to occupy the sewer/storm drain environment exclusively.
The majority of the New York sightings indicate that the alligators were only small in size. It is possible that they were caimans, also a member of the crocodile family with a higher tolerance for low temperatures.


CHAINSAW KILLER

Leatherface is a fictional character in the The Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies. One of the first slasher film villains, he has appeared in all six of the series' films since the release of the original in 1974. The character wears masks made of human skin, a practice which led to his name, and is a cannibal.
Leatherface is portrayed as "severely mentally retarded and mentally disturbed", and often uses a chainsaw and sledgehammer to slaughter his victims.


PURPLE NURPLES

I had a few questions on how to make these, I have made them and they are yummy.....please remember thought to enjoy responsibly!

1 oz Malibu® coconut rum
1 oz triple sec
1/2 oz Blue Curacao liqueur
2 oz cranberry juice