The Vanishing Hitchhiker
American Urban Legends and Their Meanings
26 January 1983
Description
The groundbreaking book that launched America's urban legend obsession!
Folklore scholar Jan Harold Brunvand assembles the best-known urban legends—including "The Hook," "The Spider in the Hairdo," and "The Baby-Sitter and the Man Upstairs"—and provides an enlightening and entertaining analysis of their variants and evolution. The Vanishing Hitchhiker was Professor Brunvand's first popular book on urban legends, and it remains a classic. The culmination of twenty years of collection and research, this book is a must-have for urban legend lovers.
Reviews
"A uniquely entertaining book…diverting social history." — Elaine Kendall, Los Angeles Times
Also By: Jan Harold Brunvand 
Too Good To Be True: The Colossal Book of Urban Legends
Revised And With A New Chapter, Paperback, 2014
The colossal classic becomes even more colossal with a new chapter of recent urban legends.Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid: The Book of Scary Urban Legends
E Book, 2014
An anthology of the most chilling urban legends of all time collected by the maestro himself.
Too Good to Be True: The Colossal Book of Urban Legends
E Book, 2011
"If you enjoy these too-good-to-be-true tales, Brunvand's new book will give you hours of pleasure."—Chicago Tribune
Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid: The Book of Scary Urban Legends
Paperback, 2004
An anthology of the most chilling urban legends of all time collected by the maestro himself.
The Choking Doberman: And Other Urban Legends
E Book, 2003
"A wonderfully entertaining book of American folklore and humor."—Elaine Kendall, Los Angeles Times Book Review
