urban legends

How one doctor’s letter and a string of dodgy studies spurred a public health panic.

Marine archaeologists are beginning to understand what really happened to Captain Santa's ill-fated ship, nicknamed the Christmas Tree Boat.

Martin’s confession relates outlaw adventures that appear to be original. But were they real? 

Despite the prevalence of tricks and spooky spirits in earlier years, the American commercial holiday didn’t develop until the middle of the twentieth century.

In search of the mythical blues—and their real urban origins.

Discrimination and mistranslation have long obscured the dish's true origins.

A roadside marker program in New York State embraces the gray area between official history and local lore.

In Candyman, the notorious Cabrini-Green complex is haunted by urban myths and racial paranoia.

Errol Morris and the hot cold war.

The author of 'High-Risers' revisits 'Candyman,' in which public housing is the greatest horror of all.

Read at your own risk.

Navigating the line between historical records and mystic imagery to understand the Underground Railroad.

"Urban Legends: The South Bronx in Representation and Ruin" is a vibrant cultural history that looks beyond pervasive narratives of cultural renaissance and urban neglect.

Confronting a long tradition of projecting fantasies onto the South Bronx.

Tracing the history of the Grateful Dead folktale and the evolving obligations of being alive.