Then Spiders Exploded From His Face!

    Have you ever heard the story about the boy who had a giant pimple?

    The trouble was, it wasn’t a pimple.

    A few weeks earlier, a spider had crawled across the boy’s face while he was sleeping. The sneaky creature stopped just long enough to lay eggs under his skin.

    Then, a few weeks later, the boy stood in front of the mirror. He popped the pimple . . .  and hundreds of baby spiders poured out!

    This famous story has been repeated countless times. But here’s the thing: It never happened. The spider story is a type of folktale called an urban legend. 

    Have you heard about the boy who had a giant pimple?

    The trouble was, it wasn’t a pimple.

    A spider had crawled across the boy’s face while he was sleeping. It laid eggs under his skin.

    A few weeks later, the boy stood in front of the mirror. He popped the pimple . . . and hundreds of baby spiders poured out!

    This story has been repeated countless times. But here’s the thing: It’s not true. It’s a type of folktale called an urban legend.  

    Have you ever heard the story about the boy who had a giant pimple?

    The trouble was, it wasn’t a pimple.

    A few weeks earlier, as the boy was sleeping, a spider had crawled across his face and laid eggs under his skin.

    Then, a few weeks later, the boy stood in front of the mirror. He popped the pimple . . . and hundreds of baby spiders poured out!

    This famous story has been repeated countless times, but here’s the thing: It never happened. The spider story is a type of folktale called an urban legend. 

    Urban legends are typically about some awful thing that supposedly happened to a real person. Where do these tales come from?

    Jan Harold Brunvand is an expert on folktales. He says that an urban legend probably starts out as a true story. It then gets passed along through conversations, emails, social media, and texts.

    As the story is repeated, details are added or changed to make the story better. 

    Soon the story takes on a life of its own. 

    “Urban legends are just too good to be true,” says Brunvand.

    Often, an urban legend is a story about a friend of a friend of a friend. Maybe you’ve told these stories yourself—like the one about the crazy thing that happened to your neighbor’s grandmother’s friend’s cousin.

    If so, you’ve done your part in helping spread an urban legend.

    Most urban legends are about some awful thing that supposedly happened to a real person. Where do these tales come from?

    Jan Harold Brunvand is an expert on folktales. He says that an urban legend probably starts out as a true story. It then gets shared. People talk about it. They spread it through emails, social media, and texts.

    As the story is repeated, details are added or changed to make it better. 

    Soon the story takes on a life of its own. 

    “Urban legends are just too good to be true,” says Brunvand.

    Often, an urban legend is a story about a friend of a friend of a friend. Have you ever told a story about a crazy thing that happened to your neighbor’s grandmother’s friend’s cousin?

    If so, you’ve helped to spread an urban legend.

    Urban legends are typically about some awful thing that supposedly happened to a real person. Where do these tales come from?

    Jan Harold Brunvand, an expert on folktales, says that an urban legend probably starts out as a true story. It then gets passed along through conversations, emails, social media, and texts.

    As the story is repeated, details are added or changed to make it more dramatic or horrifying. 

    Soon the story takes on a life of its own. 

    “Urban legends are just too good to be true,” says Brunvand.

    Often, an urban legend is a story about a friend of a friend of a friend. Maybe you’ve told these stories yourself—like the one about the crazy thing that happened to your neighbor’s grandmother’s friend’s cousin.

    If so, you’ve done your part in helping spread an urban legend.