The definitive word on the subject from the dean of urban legend studies. We all know those stories that are too bizarre to be true—roasted babies, vanishing hitchhikers, scuba divers in trees—but have you heard about the ice man or the bullet baby? This comprehensive and compellingly readable reference work will answer all your urban legend questions, offering alphabetical entries on every aspect of the subject, including descriptions of hundreds of individual legends and their variations, legend themes, and scholarly approaches to the genre. Other entries discuss the relationship of urban legends to literature, film, comic books, music, and many other areas of popular culture. A Booklist Editors' Choice 2001 Reference Book. "Unlike most encyclopedias, this one may be read cover to cover."— Choice "Compiled by the foremost authority on this form of contemporary folklore....Superb."— Library Journal 60 black and white illustrations

扬•哈罗德•布鲁范德（Jan Harold Brunvand）

美国著名民俗学专家，犹他大学荣休教授，曾任美国民俗学会（AFS）主席、《美国民俗学刊》主编。他的代表作《美国民俗学概论》受到学界的重视和好评。

布鲁范德涉猎的领域相当广泛，但影响最大的是他在都市传说方面所做的具有开创性的搜集和研究工作。他陆续出版了多部都市传说的研究专著，被称为“都市传说先生”“民间侦探”，被认为是“对20 世纪传媒影响最大的传奇学者”。