Legends can be true stories, or fables or myths, usually handed down by tradition or from one person to the next. These stories are typically a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale believability. They can be about a person, place or thing. Or they can be about sports, animals, small towns or people from those towns. They are everyone and everywhere …

For thousands of years storytellers have captured the imagination of their audience by telling tales of Kings and Queens and dragons and bears. Stories like King Arthur and Robin Hood are really no different than the stories of Magic Johnson or Brett Favre. They are just of a different time.

A professional definition of legends was suggested by Timothy R. Tangherlini in 1990:

“Legends, typically, are short (mono-) episodic, traditional, highly ecotypified^, historicized narratives performed in a conversational mode, reflecting on a psychological level a symbolic representation of folk belief and collective experiences and serving as reaffirmations of commonly held values of the group to whose tradition it belongs.”

Generic characteristics

• They are a narrative.
• They are believed to be true.
• Their power is unproven.
• They vary in their story telling.
• They often take the shape of a cautionary tale (urban legends)
• They are attributed to trusted sources (e.g., “a friend of a relative,” “my brother’s lawyer,” etc.).
• They are transmitted from person to person, either orally or in writing.

We have assembled a number of stories about famous people, groups, places, events and cultures. Some are very recent and some are very old. Some are true, some are thought to be true and some are just fables. We will add many new stories every week and we hope that you enjoy the stories that we have chosen.