Asheville’s Urban Legends

Posted on by Kent Priestley, Steve Shanafelt

Every city has its legends. Its myths. Its mysteries. Who hasn’t heard of the baby gator that got flushed down a Brooklyn toilet only to emerge as a super-sized albino man-eater? Or was it in Hoboken? Or Fresno?

And while tales of hook-handed murderers, spider colonies that hatch from bouffant hairdos, and the allegedly fatal combination of Pop Rocks and soda are all staples of urban lore, here in Asheville we have tales that are a bit more homegrown.

So, in the twin spirits of weirdness and civic pride, we offer the Xpress‘s first-ever cartoon feature. Join our writers and a stable of very talented local artists as we bring alive some of the stories — true or otherwise — that give our city a whiff of mystery. See you in the funny papers …

Click HERE to download a PDF version of the comic strips

File Size: ~600KB. PDF Reader Required.

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2 thoughts on “Asheville’s Urban Legends”

  1. Jessica

    WTF THAT WASN’T EVEN ABOUT F**KING URBAN LEGENDS YOU MIS-TITLE-ING-BASTARDS SO GO F**K YOURSEVES AND COME UP WITH A NAME THAT IS NOT DECEPTIVE

  2. Steve Shanafelt

    Jessica: Really? I think you might be using a VERY narrow definition of what constitutes an urban legend.

    Here’s how Wikipedia defines an urban legend: “An urban legend or urban myth is similar to a modern folklore consisting of stories thought to be factual by those circulating them. The term is often used to mean something akin to an ‘apocryphal story.'”

    Are you saying that these stories don’t fit under that description? What else would you call: a mysterious crystal under a city; mass relocation of the homeless due to a shady governmental plan; the “Asheville Curse”; the probably-not-true origin of Asheville’s unofficial slogan; and the celebrities who may or may not be moving/living in the area?

    I think they all fit quite neatly, actually. They’re at least as fitting as the “car that gets 100 miles to the gallon,” “pop rocks and coke” or the “vanishing hitchhiker.”

    So, let’s hear why you think they don’t fit. And this time, maybe take the Caps Lock off.

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