Philippine E-Journals

School-based urban legends of Davao City: structure, classification, purpose and values

Janice Joy Wong Chiongson

Discipline: Education, English, Cultural and Ethnic Studies

 

Abstract:

The study describes 49 school-based urban legends gathered through snowball and opportunity sampling. Structural and context analyses are used to examine the collected urban legends’ structure,

classification, purpose and values. The 49 urban legends follow the traditional structure for narratives. The

most common beginning is the orientation hook. Most stories have no middle and end with resolution.

Most of the collected urban legends are categorized as horror legends containing elements of the supernatural like ghosts, poltergeists and creatures of lower mythology. They are also labeled as academic legends as they are supposed to have happened in schools.

Majority of the respondents said that these urban legends are used for social exchange while some said that these stories give information or entertain people. The collected urban legends have values in the existence of ghosts, spirits and

supernatural beings.