Urban legends and folklore is a serious science in academia, and is considered to be an integral aspect to the continuation of both common and international folkways for all races and sub-groups in our and all societies. That being said, we can seen the concept of the modern urban legend in many of the movies and films we see today to best exemplify this. Let’s take the blood & gore films of the 1980s for instance: The Halloween series with Michael Myers, and the Friday the 13th series with Jason Voorhees. At first, we see only the obvious -- a maniac running amok killing teenagers left and right, but the literal, if not subdued message is for kids not to have sex, drink, and smoke pot or otherwise have fun. As silly as this may sound, it’s merely a modern adaptation to an old idea. At my age, I can remember more subtle messages to express the same thing, but as one generation passes on to the next, it becomes more difficult to relay the message, thus brings us a more potent example each and every time.The characteristics that define an urban legend are that one entertains with a subtle message, and the other teaches with a tough lesson. Though there are many examples for this, we here tend to observe the urban legend as it is applied to “ghosts” and the supernatural. For many, this in itself will automatically separate the believers from the skeptics. This is good, and what we should prepare for. The skeptics, who can be seen in many sub-groups themselves, separate themselves for their own reasons, which may be noble in every respect. However, there are those who are simply stubborn in their opinion, without and educated reasoning. And, for those who investigate the unknown, whether the subjects in question are sea serpents, big foot creatures or ghosts, they all occupy the fringe regions of what is accepted, and for that, they become known as “pseudo” or that under an official study/discipline. In the case of a “ghostly” legend, we can see an elevated story to relay a common problem. Let’s take Sunland Hospital for instance: here, we learn of the creepy location, its abandoned corridors and dark passages. Then, we learn of its equally dark history with its terrible connotations of child abuse and neglect, and then we lean of the many legends that are attached to the place itself…Here, we are introduced to the history of weird happenings and spooky events to take place within and around the hospital. Some become scared, while leading some to become angry and even others to become inspired. Why? - Because there is so much more than simple ghosts being told here. In this story, we learn that children have suffered with great neglect, so much so that the hospital itself was closed down by various mental health groups such as the Department of Children and Families, formally H.R.S. and the Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC). To further this outrage, we might do more research and seen some of the old photographs within the Florida Photographic Archives to prove these allegations (just look at a baby sitting all alone in a cage in an empty hallway) will your blood not boil? These are the first steps that initiate what we call an urban legend and folktale in its proto stage of development. The second step is to isolate, and then tell a story, or stories that “involve” the victims, in this case, the children. In the end, it is the many faces of these long-dead children that are seen in the darkened windows, or the running sounds being heard in the long-deserted corridors that are the results of these legends being told and re-told over the years. And, it is their memories that continue to step in long after the history of this location subsides. With this, your legend is born, where in some small way bringing a remembrance to the victims and for future generations, which is after all, the primary goal of a successful urban legend.The role of the urban legend in every society is simply to educate. Though the lesson in question may vary from simple to extravagant, the local, state-wide or nation-wide legend is meant to pass-on from one generation to the next, in hopes to make future generations understand that, which is or “was” important to the first. It is to make sure your generation understands that your parents, and their parents before them (and exponentially in reverse) suffered greatly to get where they are now, and for the things you have now (e.g., Father walked 20 miles in 4 feet of snow each day to go to school in order to work another 5 miles away so you could have that new pair of shoes…et cetera). This example works well with the concept of an urban legend as well, only to degrees of subject and lesson.Our society has many well-known urban legends in place, such as the recent films bearing the same tile, which exposed a few of these well-loved legends for what they are. For instance, we might recall little “Mikey,” the kid who was in the old Life Cereal commercials in the early 1980s…You, know “Mikey likes it, he likes it!” We might remember hearing that he died while eating Pop Rocks candy while drinking soda pop at the same time. And, by now we might also know that he is alive and well working in New York City as an ad agency executive. How about Bubble-Yum Bubble Gum? Do you remember the stories that spider eggs were used to make the gum? I can, and I can also remember that many of the other kids chewing other brands of gum when they heard the story…All are fine examples of just how potent an urban legend can be. How about the “Bloody Mary” ritual that school girls have been repeating since at least the 1930s, whereby a girl or group of girls, usually while attending a slumber party, go into a darkened bathroom with a single candle, and repeat the name “Bloody Mary” three times. The legend is that the girl in question will see the image of either a bloodied female with empty eye sockets, or other horrific image staring back at them. To further the legend, if one does see this image, they will die soon thereafter, or a family member will die. Further still, the image in the mirror will be released to wreak havoc on the living for summoning her dark and evil spirit. As you can see, this legend has stood the effects of time well, and has spawned many movies in the process.One of my favorite urban legends that continue to entice many students at the University of Michigan is the legend of the Sweetheart of Sigma Chi, of which I am a fraternal brother. The girl in question, the “sweetheart,” was a free-spirited girl who was quite popular with the frat boys at U of M. She was so loved that a university major in music composed the title song for my fraternity tilted “The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi,” which became so popular that Sigma Chi’s across the globe know the tune. This girl sadly died in a car crash, prompting an urban legend, whereby her ghost would walk the halls the Sigma Chi rooms for years to come. Peter Straub later wrote a book called “Ghost Story” that lightly touched on the legend, and later, in 1980, a move called “Ghost Story” loosely based the legend. To this day, the real “Sweetheart of Sigma Chi,” her life and legend has been augmented substantially since her death 90 years ago. The best advice I could offer is in your question…Research! Whether your research takes you to libraries, which contain microfilms, government files, the newspaper and periodical stacks, and all in between, you will be afforded the best chance of finding pieces to the puzzle your working on. Such will aid in your quest nicely. When I was researching past events for a story in my first book, I used the library, as well as local government archives to unearth a few disturbing facts, which lead directly to the legend I was researching. The story “Woodbridge Cemetery -- Forgotten Souls and a Spirited Supermarket” which takes place in Fern Park, Florida, details a cemetery and a well-used plaza that was constructed directly on top of a Civil War era graveyard, used primarily for ex-slaves and poor pioneers. Though fully understood to be a graveyard, construction took place anyway, and the “facts” were never explained to buyer, consumer or public alike…That is until several years later when strange things began to take place throughout the stores and supermarket here. Thankfully, I knew a few people living in that area who knew a few people working in this plaza. And so, with a little investigation, personal interviews and of course, more research to back-up these newly found facts, I can stand behind my story and its history with confidence. In fact, if I were called to testify on my findings, I could do so knowing that I could supply many signed, sealed and approved documents to support my claims. I would walk out of that courtroom a winner. In short, this should be the mantra to our endeavors…Make your research so airtight, it’s court-worthy. Doing so will justify our efforts in paranormal/psychical research, and promote our cerebral passion as a serious discipline. 