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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"They carry a deeper meaning," Karla said, thinking it out. "But give a specific face to it. Like, every child is told not to talk to strangers, but telling a blood-curdling story about a Bunny Man who lurks at the end of the bridge explains why walking to strangers is bad." She tapped her pencil on her notebook. "In Kaeleer, at least, stories spring up around places where bad things happen, like a loch where a witch drowned might turn into a story where her ghost is waiting to lure people in. It's a way for people to remember what happened and hopefully warn others away from a similar fate, even if the original drowning was perfectly mundane."

"Providing vivid details and showcasing that it can happen to people just like you because it's happened in the past is a good way to get a point across."

Fraser nodded his agreement.

"And knowing that things like that could be true, having the stories have a shred of truth is enough to convince most people to take heed."

"Fear is one of our deep, primal motivators," Karla added. "There's just a part of us that can connect with that emotion deeper than almost anything else. And now, especially those who live safe, protected lives, scary stories is a great way to tap into those primal fears and really feel alive. It might have something in common with those people that fling themselves off of tall buildings and things, too."

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]