3 Urban Legends

Urban Legends on Film

Urban legends are usually true stories that have evolved over time. While these rich tales have been passed down, they reflect contemporary themes, such as outer space contact and unexpected medical results. They are also shared via modern day technology, such as video.

Here are three examples of videos that have fostered urban legends:

Garden City Ghost Car

This police chase in Georgia involves a white car that drove off the highway then came to a dead end. Then, supposedly, it disappeared behind a chain link fence.  The driver was never found and there was no evidence of the car anywhere beyond the fence.  

1928 Time Traveler

The Circus, a Charlie Chaplin silent film was a box office success in 1928. In 2004, a copy of the movie was released to DVD with bonus footage. The footage shows pictures of the public attending the film, including a premiere at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. In the clip, a woman in a heavy coat and hat holds what looks like a black object – like a cell phone- to her head. She is even seen chatting just as a cell phone user today would do.
Some say this woman with very big feet and hands was a time traveler. Others think that maybe she was holding a 1924 hearing aid. 

The McPherson Tape

This movie, created in 1989 is a classic example of “found footage” -Made to look like a home movie recording) that chronicles a Connecticut family abducted by aliens.  It documents a child’s birthday party and an unusual power outage that follows a flash of red lights that the family thinks is the result of a plane crash. Inspection of the site reveals aliens who capture them.

Related Information

Abduction Film 

Creepy Urban Legends