From Bloody Mary to the more recent Slender Man, urban legends have inspired countless

creepy books and films. Urban legends are modern day fairy tales, just as

little red-riding hood and goady locks were spread by world tradition. Urban

legends are spread by word of mouth, creating contemporary folklore, often with a

moral lesson. Who doesn't enjoy a good urban legend shared around a roaring

campfire on a crisp fall night? Much like traditional folklore, modern myths

are embellished or altered as they are retowed. While most of these urban legends

are to scare teens into getting home on time or not to engage in sexual activity

such as the hook man or a more chilling story of a babysitter getting a

stalker-style phone call that's coming from inside the house. Some of these

stories though involve pets and in this episode we will discuss one of the more

popular ones.

As is the case with most of these urban legends, the tales were passed on to you

from a family member or a friend who heard this story from someone who also

didn't witness it firsthand but was told the story from someone else. Most

urban legends involving animals tend not to be taken as seriously as those

involving people. Sometimes the reaction is a smile rather than outrage as it

would be with a human victim. This is because that most people consider the

animal urban legends less plausible. A popular urban legend involving a pet is

the infamous bump in the rug. I originally heard this story when I was in high

school from a friend of mine who worked installing carpet for his father on the

weekends. He said that the story was told to him by his dad. His father had

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