FROM THE PUBLISHER

Well? Is it true? Are there rats in the fried chicken? Dogs in the microwave? Kidney-nappers waiting by the roadside? Should we worry about the bell-boy's revenge? Car manufacturers? Cruise control? E-mail? Are you nuts? Of course we should worry! It's all true! Disaster lurks in every corner and only unyielding vigilance will keep it at bay!

Urban legends. They're the definitive tales of the twenty-first century, in all their grotesque and goofy glory. The ancient Greeks had the Iliad and The Odyssey. The northern tribes had their sagas and epics. The dainty Victorians had their fairy tales. Let them have it. We've got The Microwaved Dog and The Girl Who Burnt to a Crisp in the Tanning Salon. They're a little bit paranoid, a little bit creepy, even a little bit ridiculous but they're ours, and it's time they got some respect.