Racine Public Library: Urban Legend Writing Challenge

Racine Public Library: Urban Legend Contest

As the leaves begin to change and the weather starts to become cold, thoughts turn to scary stories and ghostly haunts. Urban Legends are part of our culture, and folklore has been used for generations to encourage proper conduct in society. Everyone knows about the pale female hitchhiker that you offer a ride to, but when she has reached her destination she disappears. Or, the story about waking up in a bathtub full of ice, mysteriously missing a kidney and the terrifying message on the mirror "Call 911 if you want to live." OR, what about the babysitter that was goofing off and getting strange phone calls about the children, only to discover that the calls were COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE! Urban legends and folktales are a part of growing up and connecting to your community. That's why we're asking you to create your own. We want you to create your own urban legend or folktale about Racine County, maybe the lighthouse has a strange glowing on certain nights, maybe you've seen a mysterious figure in the library windows, maybe there's a ghostly car that drives down the street at night only to disappear when you look out your window. Use your imagination and add to the growing collection of stories and town history. This contest will be open to all Racine County Residents from September 3, 2018 to October 31, 2018. You will have to fill out our Urban Legend Challenge Application Form here: https://goo.gl/forms/FcM4nF7hHIaHWZWW2 in order to be considered for voting in our competition. Also please add #rplurbanlegend in your tags so we can find your story easily. Voting will occur from November 1 to November 17, 2018. Winners will be announced November 19, 2018. Contest winners will have their story linked through our website, read aloud and posted on our YouTube page, and receive a small prize. 

Some tips for how to write the perfect urban legend. 

1. The event happened to a friend of a friend, or a family member, or a family member's friend. "My uncle told me about a time when his friends were at a county fair..."

2. Don't be too specific with the details, it's "that old county road" or "a tall skinny man in a cap" not "out on county road 20" or "he looked 5'4" with blond hair and green eyes." A little bit of vagueness helps the reader add their own interpretation on it.

3. Everything is true, at least the way you heard it, everything happened exactly as ol' Grandma Rosie said.

4. It's a little bit scary. We'd prefer stories with no graphic descriptions of headless horsemen or an abundance of violence, but a little bit of scare works best. 

5. There's a moral to the story, but don't come right out and say what's the moral. If the person hadn't gone out partying in a strange town they wouldn't have lost a kidney, if the babysitter had just been checking on the children instead of talking on her phone they'd still be alive, if you don't cheat on your partner maybe they won't go and drown themselves in a lake and need a ride home from you. Be subtle in your morals, but still have one. 

6. Blurry photographs or illustrations can included in your story to help create an authentic feel.