The Mexican Pet

by Jan Harold Brunvand

This collection of urban legends brings together both new tales, including "The Cabbage Patch Tragedy" and "I Believe in Mary Worth," as well as a sampling of favorites from previous collections

Genres: Folklore, Nonfiction, Urban Legends, Anthropology, Pop Culture, Horror, History

221 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Jan Harold Brunvand (born 1933) is a professor emeritus of English at the University of Utah in the United States, best known for spreading the concept of the urban legend, or modern folklore. Before his work, folk tales were associated with ancient times or rural cultures; Brunvand's breakthrough was to take concepts developed in the academic study of traditional folktales and apply them to stories circulating in the modern world.

Brunvand is the author of several well-known books on the topic of urban legends, starting with The Vanishing Hitchhiker in 1981. This book brought urban legends to popular attention in the United States. Follow-up works include The Choking Doberman (1984), The Mexican Pet (1988), Curses! Broiled Again! (1990), The Baby Train (1993), and others. He also edited the one-volume American Folklore: An Encyclopedia (1996), as well as several textbooks.

Born in Cadillac, Michigan, Brunvand received a Ph.D. in folklore from Indiana University in 1961. He taught at several U.S. universities before joining the University of Utah in 1966. He retired in 1996, but remains a popular speaker and writer; he gave the keynote address at the 2003 meeting of the Missouri Folklore Society, of which he is a longtime member.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who ever thought if they dialled the number on the UPC code on the LP of Michael Jackson's _Thriller_, that it would ring at his house will enjoy this book very much. Thumbs up.

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a Brunvand fan, so I enjoy reading the urban legends and reading about their evolution. Every one of his books is like a really good, eye-opening college class, only without tests.

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun book about urban legends and such like - I enjoyed it and can happily recommend it to anyone.

[Hex75 · Rating 4 out of 5]

nonostante "mi cugino" di elio & le storie tese, le leggende metropolitane sono dure a morire: un paio di storielle contenute in questo libro le ho sentite giusto un paio di settimane fa sul lavoro, e si tratta di alcune di quelle la cui datazione risale all'inizio del '900...
lettura perfetta per quando si hanno pochi minuti da buttare via.

[Bumex 4Breakfast · Rating 2 out of 5]

well....I guess

[Ape · Rating 3 out of 5]

These aren't the longest reads in the world, but I find them very interesting with their modern urban legends - there are things here that are familiar with slight alterations, from tales that I've heard over the years.

This book isn't possibly as good as the Vanishing Hitchhiker. There seemed to be less about the development of these stories, where they'd come from etc in this, and just more back to back stories. And there seemed to be a lot of - I wrote about this in the Vanishing Hitchhiker; this story featured in the Choking Doberman... almost as if this book is an advert for other books.

The student stories about exams towards the end were interesting. Made me think of one tale I'd heard about a phillosophy student who'd had a question "what is courage?" and had writtten "This is." on the paper and walked out of the exam. Can't remember if the story said they'd passed or not.

[VAle · Rating 3 out of 5]

preso in biblioteca

Il fatto che sia un po' datato e rivolto quasi esclusivamente a leggende metropolitane americane mi ha fatto calare un po' l'interesse che avevo per questo libro, anche se d'altra parte si ritrovano alcuni parallelismi con leggende metropolitane ancora "attuali" anche da questa parte dell'oceano (vedi il topo-cane, la babysitter che fa dormire i bambini passandoli sul gas e i bambini rapiti al centro commerciale).
Un po' fastidiose le continue citazioni e riferimenti alla precedente opera dell'autore.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The last thing I really need is another book, but I took it as a sign from God to pick this up at a take-a-book-leave-a-book shelf up because the last two books I read had urban legends in them as part of the plot. I regularly check snopes website for all the "Scare of the day" e-mail warnings I get sent from friends before sending them on to others.

[Gabriel Davis]

My favorite urban legends are those which blur the line between modern and ancient legend. For example, we hear urban legends about muggers in drag, but there is a legend about a woman who gave a night's shelter to an ungainly woman, only to later learn that the "woman" was Jesse James in petticoats and crinoline.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

get the complete book of his urban folklore and you don't have to read this one

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah yes, the Mexican pet. Damn you, all of you Mexican pets and vanishing hitchhikers and choking Dobermans filling our heads with nonsense!!

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This makes a great companion to Strangely Enough. Urban legends and folk tales handed down, or media creations.

[Fishface · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every page is a delight. I think every shrink should read Brunvand's books to get a finger on the hard-to-find pulse of the mass unconscious.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love an urban myth