fandomhigh | Canada Is Not That Strange And Other Biases | Wednesday

Once again, Fraser was at the front of the classroom. His arms were crossed and he looked thoughtful as the students filed in.

"Welcome back. I hope you all had a productive weekend even if I feel it was probably slightly stressful," he said, nodding. "We've all made it through though so we can continue on with our lessons."

With that said, Fraser launched into the discussion. "Today, we're going to be talking about monsters under the bed. Or, more specifically, urban legends. If you don't know, an urban legend is a story of obscure origin with little or no supporting evidence. It's typically spread by word of mouth and a lot of the most famous urban legends contain elements of horror. For example, the Bunny Man bridge involves stories about a man dressed in a bunny suit who attacks people with an axe. Now, it seems far fetched but words have power and if someone told you this story and spoke it seriously, you might think twice."

Fraser shuddered to think of that urban legend being true. It was really creepy. "With urban legends, words have extreme power. Most often, urban legends are told from friend to friend, making them more personal. As the story is told, it evolves from person to person, often growing in terror and scope as it does. Why do you think most of the famous urban legends depict terror and horror? Is it because this is more interesting than an urban legend about something peaceful? Are words more powerful when there's fright involved? And how are these stories so believable when there's no evidence? Is it the personal factor? If my wife told me about one of the stories, I would be more inclined to believe her than if someone at the local grocery store told me. Let's discuss."

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The way she described it was so eloquent that Fraser had to wait a moment to let it settle for a moment.

"And stories about happiness and happy endings don't quite grip us in the same way?"

"Oh, they do grip us just as much," Sara said, feeling very sure of herself, "only it's a different way, yes. It's almost like . . ."

She tapped a finger against her lips, then brightened. "Lying in a patch of sunny grass on a lovely day, or relaxing into feather pillows; one can take one's time about enjoying a story with a happy ending, whereas with a scary one the fun is in the getting wound up."

Or, if you were telling the story, in the winding up of others.

"Legends about horror are possibly easier to pass around because of the excitement involved with getting wound up?" Fraser suggested. "The terror and fear remains the same on each telling whereas as a legend with a happy ending might become staid?"

"Oh, no!" exclaimed Sara. "I don't think happy endings can ever get old! But they are like old friends one can visit again and again, while scary stories are best in moderation."

This was said with some regret, but one didn't suffer the consequences of getting blamed for one of Sara Ray's hysterical fits without coming away at least slightly chastened.

"Besides, a scary story has the best effect on people who haven't heard it before," she concluded. "So there's more appeal to spread it far and wide, isn't there?"

"The appeal of frightening those who haven't been is motivating," Fraser agreed with a nod. "If you know you're not going to get scared, it can be satisfying to scare a friend or family member with just a few words."

"Oh, quite," allowed Sara with a spark of mischief. "And if you have been scared in the past, it's satisfying to know you weren't the only one!"

Canada Is Not That Strange And Other Biases | Wednesday | Period 2

Re: Class Activity | Urban Legends [Canada 10/05]

Re: Class Activity | Urban Legends [Canada 10/05]

Re: Class Activity | Urban Legends [Canada 10/05]

Re: Class Activity | Urban Legends [Canada 10/05]

Re: Class Activity | Urban Legends [Canada 10/05]

Re: Class Activity | Urban Legends [Canada 10/05]