urban legend

non-true or partially true story or fact that is based on word of mouth which circulates widely and becomes a part of popular mythology (numerous urban legends are generated on the Internet and few are told again and again)

An urban legend or urban myth is similar to a modern folklore consisting of stories often thought to be factual by those circulating them. The term is often used to mean something akin to "apocryphal story". Urban legends are not necessarily untrue, but they are often distorted, exaggerated, or sensationalized. Despite the name, a typical urban legend does not necessarily originate in an urban setting. The term is designed to differentiate them from traditional folklore in preindustrial times.
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<publication> A story, which may have started with a grain of truth, that has been embroidered and retold until it has passed into the realm of myth. It is an interesting phenomenon that these stories get spread so far, so fast and so often. Urban legends never die, they just end up on the Internet! Some legends that periodically make their rounds include "The Infamous Modem Tax", "Craig Shergold/Brain Tumor/Get Well Cards", and "The $250 Cookie Recipe".
(1996-05-08)