Thank you to NetGalley and Watkins Publishing for giving me access to an eARC of this book.

I love reading about urban legends and other things that you might’ve read about or heard of yourself. This book did not disappoint. There’s a broad spectrum of different types and I can guarantee that something will be interesting for you as well.

It was also so fun to read about the Swedish haunted tunnel? I did not even know it existed until now.

The one thing that drags it down for me is the amount of information that is crammed into the chapters. I think I would’ve liked more chapters instead of having all these short “stories” all at ones. I had to take a reading break after each chapter to let my brain rest.
I also wish that some of the “stories” were longer. Nowadays I’m almost used to one story getting a chapter for itself, even though I know it’s impossible for this book due to the amount it has.

This book is fantastically written and is a great way to share some contemporary folklore! Gail is clearly passionate about her work and I have enjoyed her previous work as well.

Super impressive and extensive collection of urban legends. Like another reviewer, I thought this was going to be just an encyclopedia situation. Not this collection! It also included different derivatives of the story that you may have heard. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book!

Honestly I thought this was just going to be an encyclopedia style book about urban legends. Boy was i pleasantly surprised!

I love how the author shares their own twists on the stories and legends within. It really hits home with nostalgia for me and helps me remember tales long forgotten so I can tell my children.

The Futher and Futher I got into this book, it reminded me of a collection of jokes. Not that the stories were funny, far from it. But here you have a massive collection of urban legends, stories from throughout the years which someone could use and adapt like the author describes their mother doing and then doing themselves. I don't know if ghost stories are something done by children now, with the rise of social media and tiktok, has the ghost story become more like a dramatic performance, cut up into segments and edits on these platforms? The author does have a piece based on modern urban legends. In any case, I remember quite a few of these and it was interesting to get the authors experience and remember all the times they were told to me in pop culture or by my peers. I found the bloody Mary curse humourous, as now, has the author cursed the reader? And do we have to send their book on to 25 people in order not to be get a visit by bloody Mary? A large collection of stories - whether it was my kindle or the ebook, I would have preferred better formatting however, with the stories sub divided with headings - however it may have just been the ebook I was reading.

The Watkins Book of Urban Legends is a collection of contemporary myths compiled by author and storyteller Gail De Vos. It focuses on modern tales with some emphasis on internet and social media culture.

I loved this book. I only have good things to say about it!

I love how the author encourages others to adapt these legends according to their own experiences. It really shows that she cares about legend itself as a high concept, as oral storytelling—a very popular way for legends to spread—leads into the creation of variation. I also like how it reads casually, with occasional little interruptions like the reader is listening to the author tell these stories in person as the author stated she has lots of experience with. I especially love the historical/cultural/psychological research that accompanies each legend to provide context. It’s fascinating to read how and why these legends are created and evolve (The fears of the microwave, for instance, changing from pets to phones).

It was interesting to see just how many of these legends I’d heard before. It was more than I’d expected, as I realized many times I’d just heard a different variation of them. There is one included about a KFC order being rat instead of chicken, and while I don’t think I’ve heard that tale specifically, I’ve seen memes of the same variety. A lot of these legends have been morphed by meme culture (and a surprising amount were only floating around my brain because of SpongeBob episodes specifically). Stories I thought originated as Creepypastas turned out to be significantly older. Storytelling and legends really show how humans have always been humans.

I enjoyed the legends from other parts of the world than North America. There were especially many from Eastern Asia, namely Japan.

As a lifelong reader of books like this one, I have to extend my recommendation. This collection is highly researched, accessible, and has to be my favorite I’ve read so far. I’ve looked so long for a centralized place with a list like this, and finally I’ve found it. The author, unlike many others in this genre, doesn’t treat her reader as if they’ve never heard of bigfoot (for example). You’ll never feel talked down to or babied. You WILL learn something in virtually every entry. If you’re into urban legends, cryptids, ghost stories, conspiracy theories, or even the history of legends and storytelling itself, this is a great piece to pick up from an author who clearly knows what she’s writing about.