Urban Legends

Tourists are told that ravens at the Tower of London first had their wings clipped in the reign of Charles II, who heard an ancient prophesy that Britain would fall if they left. In fact, the tower ravens are entirely a Victorian institution. This paper examines their legend as an ...

October 10, 2023 update.
After an effort of many years, I have prepared a comprehensive timeline of UFO history that will be useful to UFO researchers and historians. “UFOs and Intelligence” is an up-to-date retrospective of UFO history (from Agobard of Lyons to the newly appointed US investigation agency UAPTF), intertwined with events in US and world history concerning military and civilian intelligence agencies and the cult of secrecy. It is now 679 pages and more than 555,000 words (including a substantial “Sources and Further Reading” appendix). Readers will discover or rediscover many events, people, and UFO cases they may not be familiar with. Some will find it useful for current or planned research projects. Military cases, those involving commercial aircraft, close encounters involving physical traces and other evidence, reports involving occupants or entities, and events surrounding military and sensitive nuclear sites are emphasized, but this timeline covers the full spectrum of UFO history, from contactee experiences to misidentifications of mundane phenomena and notorious hoaxes. Links to online sources are given, and links to biographical information are provided when available. A timeline like this allows us to view events from a different perspective, letting us make connections we might not otherwise see. It forces us to view the big picture, amid the grand flow of UFO cases, military security decisions, a vast swathe of personalities, and world history.

Although folklorists have seldom concentrated on politics, folklore thrives among
decision-making elites and the politically aware citizenry. One genre is the “policy
legend,” a traditional text that describes institutions or social conditions,
often in a historical frame, to call for governmental or collective action. Even
though policy legends are typically transmitted in written form, they change
continually, adapting to their political contexts and the concerns of their communicators
and audiences. They frequently take the form of lists, which we call
folklists, and survive through autopoiesis, the propensity of a system to repair
and maintain its internal elements and boundaries. This article analyzes three
policy legends: the list of historical statistics on the prevalence of war, then-and-now
lists of the worst school discipline problems, and an alleged, wordy federal
regulation on the price of cabbages.

Since the year 2000, a large number of traffic incidents have occurred on the freeway next to the mountain Skarvberget, north of the town of Gävle in Sweden. In total, the number amounts to 59 different cases of
difficult accidents, and the number would be far greater if reports of minor accidents or accounts of uncanny feelings were taken into consideration. Skarvberget is a part of Ödmården, a region with a rich history that goes back to the middle ages. Some people in the district have an explanation for the misfortunes and they believe that it is caused by the hidden people (Swedish: vittra), supernatural beings living underneath the ground. According to these narratives, the hidden people are angered at the motorway that crosses their dwellings and lashes out in anger at the humans. This explanation could be read in many Swedish newspapers in 2014, although it was reported with some irony. In this paper, I will examine the different reports and compare them with older folklore accounts from the area, and put the given explanations into a wider context. I will also look into similar reports from Iceland, where supernatural beings (Icelandic: huldufólk) have been reported to act out and hinder constructions of roads and buildings. Records of this kind of
conflict are mentioned as early as the Icelandic Sagas. A brief summary of the hidden people (Swedish: vittra, vättar, de underjordiska) in Swedish folklore will be presented as well.

Biography: Tommy Kuusela is a PhD Fellow in History of religions at Stockholm University and works as a Research Archivist at the Institute for Language and Folklore in Uppsala. He is currently working on a dissertation on the interaction between giants and gods from the
perspective of a hall culture in Old Norse mythology, which will be defended in 2017. He has published articles on animals, Old Norse religion, as well as Swedish folk tradition, and on J.R. R. Tolkien. He is the co-editor of Folk Belief and Traditions of the Supernatural (Beewolf
Press 2016).

E-mail: [email protected]

Està més o menys assumit que les llegendes són coses del passat. Que les que han arribat al nostre temps són simples supervivències; restes de superstició i ignorància del paradigma mític en l'era de la racionalitat i la ciència. O simplement una forma de folklore que majoritàriament se circumscriu a entorns rurals, on la tradició encara té el seu pes i que cal arreplegar abans que desaparega davant de l'avanç imparable de la modernització, una modernització cada vegada més accelerada. Aquesta caracterització és, no obstant això, desencertada. Si bé és veritat que certes formes de cultura popular poden estar en tràngol de desaparició, hi ha altres molt vives i tan actuals que, per formar part de nosaltres i de la societat en què vivim, se'ns passen desapercebudes. La modernitat avançada, que dóna lloc a una societat postradicional, es revela davant de nosaltres com un procés paradoxal pel que fa a la tradició. No passa simplement per damunt d'aquella com una piconadora. Es nodreix de la tradició, adaptant-la, transformant-la i actualitzant-la, i, d'ací el paradoxal, creant i re-creant tradició.

The vaṃśāvalīs (chronicles) of Nepāl is interesting not only in the sense of its historical accounts but also in the myths and legends they record. These recordings are so abundant in Nepāl, with the oldest being the famous Gopālarājavaṃśāvalī written during the 14th century. I study different vaṃśāvalīs for their mythical tale on the origin of the Kāṭhmāṇḍu Valley.

Che cosa raccontava la nutrice al piccolo Cicerone prima di metterlo a letto? Quali barzellette circolavano nelle botteghe dei barbieri di Atene? Nell'antichità, esattamente come oggi, nella vita di tutti erano presenti fiabe, facezie, fake news. Soltanto in pochissimi casi, tuttavia, questa "letteratura orale", considerata triviale e poco seria, è riuscita ad approdare alla pagina scritta, e spesso solo sotto forma di allusioni. Non tutto è perduto, però: combinando filologia e folklore si può tentare di ricostruire questo capitolo dimenticato della vita degli antichi. Ad aiutarci saranno le storie che, dal Medioevo fino a oggi, rispecchiano i racconti popolari di Greci e Romani, con differenze altrettanto significative delle somiglianze. Seguendo così le tracce narrative del dio Pan e di un gatto diabolico, del poeta Archiloco e del bluesman Robert Johnson, di imperatori, lupi cattivi e molti altri ancora, il libro getta nuovi squarci di luce sull'"enciclopedia culturale" degli antichi e, contemporaneamente, ci permette di comprendere meglio la nostra.

Celem prezentowanej pracy jest wyznaczenie obszaru kultury współczesnej, w którym można by rozpocząć poszukiwanie współczesnych mitów. Zostanie on zawężony do narracji potocznych. Zawarte w części teoretycznej refleksje na temat struktury umysłu w odniesieniu do myślenia mitologicznego prowadzą do konkluzji, iż stanowi ono naturalny i podstawowy sposób funkcjonowania umysłowości ludzkiej. Na potrzeby pracy zostanie wypracowana robocza definicja mitu, koncentrująca się na jego funkcji i odnosząca się do psychologicznej teorii domknięcia poznawczego.
Jako przykładowy gatunek tekstów kultury potocznej wybrano legendy miejskie. Szczegółowy opis tej kategorii tekstów pozwala na wyróżnienie cech dystynktywnych gatunku. Zostanie on następnie zestawiony z wypracowaną wcześniej definicją, co umożliwi porównanie sposobu realizowania konkretnych cech mitu.
W dalszej części pracy przeprowadzana jest analiza strukturalna wybranych wątków polskich legend miejskich z XX i XXI w. Jej celem jest dotarcie do struktur głębokich omawianych tekstów oraz rekonstrukcja fragmentu potocznego modelu rzeczywistości, do którego się odnoszą. Analizowany materiał pochodzi z kilku zbiorów legend miejskich, publikacji prasowych oraz źródeł internetowych.
Praca ta sugeruje, że główną funkcją zarówno mitów, jak i legend miejskich jest zaspokojenie potrzeby poznawczego domknięcia. Wniosek ten, jak również przedstawione porównanie legendy miejskiej i mitu, pozwala na stwierdzenie, iż legendy miejskie mogą być traktowane jako współczesne mity.

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The aim of this paper is to outline an area of contemporary culture in which it is possible to find contemporary myths. The area will be narrowed to naïve narratives. The thought on the structure of the mind as related to mythical thought is expressed in the theoretical part. It leads to conclusion that this way of thinking is a natural and fundamental means of human mental functioning. In order to do so a working definition of myth will be proposed, focusing on the function of myth and related to the theory of cognitive closure.
Urban legends were distinguished as a model for popular culture texts. Meticulous characteristics of these texts will allow to single out distinctive traits of the genre. Subsequently it will be compared with the definition previously given in order to analyse the performance of particular traits of myth.
The structural analysis of selected motifs of Polish urban legends from the 20th and 21st centuries will be conducted. Its aim is to reach the deep structure of the said texts and to reconstruct the part of the naïve intuitive model of reality they refer to. The analysed material was taken from collections of urban legends, press releases, and Internet sources.
It is suggested that the main function of both myths and urban legends is to meet the need for cognitive closure. The conclusion as well as the comparison of myth and urban legend allow to claim that urban legends can be perceived as contemporary myths.

Over the course of two years of fieldwork in the labor camps of Qatar, I frequently encountered myths, urban legends, and rumors told to me by the many labor migrants I came to know. In this paper, I take those urban legends as my data, and through a brief analysis, I contend that these rumors, myths, and legends provide a new and unique vantage point on these men's experiences and beliefs about the time they spend abroad in Qatar. More specifically, I see these stories as instruments of governance, as a testament to these men's vulnerability and powerlessness, as a lexicon of collective experiences, and much more.

Urban legends are stories that have been fabricated and interwoven into the history and essence of a city (Young,
2016). An urban legend usually lies in part truth, an incident or the ambience of a place is given prime importance and
a tale builds up. They have their origins in folklore (Ashcroft et al. 2000). Urban legends have a strong historical and
cultural setting (Biswas, 2010) even though they are mostly fictional in character. Hence, some of them have been
documented in books, others remain in the oral form while many are slowly lost with time and a change in the city’s
character (Bird, 2002).

Cet article présente des  légendes  urbaines  diffusées à Bruxelles  et reflétant un imaginaire  urbain mâtiné de  caractéristiques  locales.
Présentés  comme des  faits-divers  alors  que leur véracité est douteuse, ces  récits  mentionnant la  capitale relatent des agressions ou des  dommages  arrivés  à  un anonyme ou  à l'ami d'un  ami, dans  les  espaces  publics  quotidiens, les  lieux de passage, les  itinéraires
personnels  ou  des  commerces connus. Mettant en  scène  la  confrontation  avec l'Autre, des  machines  ou  la Nature, ils  présentent
Bruxelles  comme un lieu de danger où la  sécurité devient l'affaire de tous. Si les  récits  peuvent servir d'avertissement, ils  permettent
aussi  aux  individus  de  réaffirmer  leur  identité  en
désignant  des  boucs  émissaires.  Toutefois  ces  légendes  s'ancrant  à  Bruxelles  peuvent  provenir
d'ailleurs  et se diffuser internationalement. Les  lieux
cités  sont des  leurres, destinés  à  augmenter le sentiment de  proximité, les affects  et l'identification  de
leurs  récepteurs  aux  personnages  des  récits.
Bruxelles  y apparaît  comme  une  coquille  vide  présentant  les  mêmes  caractéristiques  que  toute
grande  ville  des  pays  occidentaux  industrialisés.
Une  coquille  toutefois  nécessaire  à  l'imaginaire
contemporain!
Numéro 54, 14 novembre 2011 .
ISSN
2031-0293

The author investigates, in comparative terms, belief narratives where pins and needles are said to travel inside the human body. What we term ‘migratory needles’ are well attested in oral tradition from the Middle Ages onwards – we can speak of an enduring story-complex – and in a vast range of religious, medical and witchcraft sources. Intriguingly, through the centuries, migratory needles also crop up in accounts of deluded people who claim to have needles in their bodies; as well as in accounts of self-embedders: individuals who repeatedly swallow and/or stick needles into their flesh. Actual pins and needles recovered by external observers, including physicians, were said to have spontaneously migrated within the body. Combining history, folklore and medico-psychiatric perspectives, the aim of this paper is to show that belief has played an important role in medical attitudes to migratory needle tales, needle delusions and self-harming practices with needles

A little-known pastime of the late UFO authority Dr. J. Allen Hynek was his interest in stereoscopic photography.
Recently, images related to his UFO investigations between 1962 and 1982 have surfaced, adding a new dimension to
Hynek's persona.
Barry J. Greenwood

Орловский государственный университет им. И.С. Тургенева Центр городской антропологии (Москва) ФОЛЬКЛОРНЫЙ ТЕКСТ В СОВРЕМЕННОМ КУЛЬТУРНОМ КОНТЕКСТЕ: ТРАДИЦИЯ И ЕЕ ПЕРЕОСМЫСЛЕНИЕ Международная научная конференция Орел, 18-19 марта 2016 года ТЕЗИСЫ ДОКЛАДОВ Орел 2016 Составители: Михаил Алексеевский, Наталья Кургузова Фольклорный текст в современном культурном контексте: традиция и ее переосмысление. Международная научная конференция. Орел, 18-19 марта 2016 г.: Тезисы докладов. Орел: Орловский государственный университет им. И.С. Тургенева, 2016. -36 с. Тезисы печатаются в авторской редакции. © Авторы тезисов. © Михаил Алексеевский, Наталья Кургузова, составление.

Фольклор о московском метрополитене широко представлен среди городских легенд мегаполиса, однако до сих пор последовательно не изучался. В статье дан срез сюжетов и мотивов современных нарративов о метро, среди которых рассказы о гигантских крысах, о тайном метро («Метро-2») и др. Тематически можно выделить насколько групп. Во-первых, это легенды о скрытом или непонятом знаке в пространстве метрополитена. Во-вторых, представление о скрытом вреде метрополитена для человека, в частности нарративы о вредителях в метро, об обитателях тоннелей метро, об опасности, исходящей от самого устройства метро и от пребывания человека в нем, о закольцованности времени в метро. В-третьих, рассказы о скрытой цели строительства метро. Метод сбора информации — неструктурированные интервью и письменные опросы, проведенные автором в декабре 2017 — феврале 2018 годов.
В статье также использован архив легенд о метро Е. Коровиной и К. Розовой (сентябрь-ноябрь 2010 года), результаты опроса А. Архиповой и А. Кирзюк «Опасные советские вещи» и другие материалы. Легенды о метро анализируются с точки зрения содержания. Согласно представлениям о городских легендах как о способе сублимации и канализации социальных напряжений и страхов, легенды о московском метро также можно подразделить по типам страхов, которые они выражают. Кроме того, по прагматике и социальной среде распространения можно выделить легенды, рассказываемые простыми пассажирами, и легенды, рас-
сказываемые профессиональными экскурсоводами по метро.

Folklore about Moscow subway constitutes a significant part of the city’s urban legends, yet it has been underresearched so far. This paper dwells upon the typical plots and motifs of contemporary narratives concerning Moscow subway (giant rats, secret “Metro-2”, etc.) and analyses their contents. There are several thematic groups of narratives: firstly, legends of a hidden/mysterious sign in the subway space; secondly, ideas of secret harm of the subway, namely, narratives about
saboteurs in the subway, of subway tunnels dwellers, dangers of the subway design itself and of being underground, of looped subway time; and thirdly, stories of a hidden purpose of constructing the subway. The data was gathered during unstructured interviews conducted by the author in December 2017 — February 2018; the paper also relies upon the subway legends archive by E. Korovina and K. Rozova (September — November 2010), the results of the “Dangerous Soviet things” poll by A. Arkhipova and A. Kirzyuk, and other data. According to the perception of urban legends as a way of sublimation and canalization of social tension and fears, the legends about Moscow subway can also be classified according to the types of fears they express. Moreover, according to the pragmatics and social milieu of the texts’ distribution, one can distinguish between legends told by passengers and those told by professional tour guides.

The Green Knight was a character featured in the classic poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (fourteenth century) and its derivative The Green Knight (c. 1500). This knight came into Arthur’s hall and asked any one of his knights to trade blows.

Sir Gawain accepted this challenge and he was allowed to strike first. He cut off the Green Knight’s head. The latter calmly picked it up and told Gawain to meet him on New Year’s Morning for his turn.

On his way to this meeting, Gawain lodged with a lord and each agreed to give the other what he had obtained during each day of Gawain’s stay. On the first day, when the lord was out hunting, Gawain received a kiss from his wife which was duly passed on. On the second day, he received a brace of kisses which were also passed on. On the third day he was given three kisses and some green lace which would magically protect him, but only the three kisses were passed on.

The Green Knight is most often and closely associated with Sir Gawain and the Green Knight ("green", "associated with trees", "a ruler of trees").
Later on, the Nazi's took over this title to name Dr.Green, aka 'Dr.Jozef Mengele')

Having left the lord’s residence, Gawain arrived at the Green Chapel where he was to meet the Green Knight. He knelt for the blow. The Green Knight aimed three blows at Gawain, but the first two did not make contact and the third but lightly cut his neck.

The Green Knight turned out to be the lord with whom he had been staying and he said he would not have cut Gawain at all had the latter told him about the lace. The Green Knight was called Bertilak and he lived at Castle Hutton. The tale bears a striking resemblance to an Irish narrative in which Cu Roi takes the part of the Green Knight and Cuchullain that of Gawain. The Green Knight may have been the Green Man, a wild man featured on inn signboards whose effigy was carried in civic processions.

*Sir Pertolepe was also called the Green Knight, and he was defeated by Sir Gareth.

In this thrilling adventure tale by the father of science fiction, three men embark on an epic journey under the sea with the mysterious Captain Nemo aboard his submarine, the Nautilus. Over the course of their fantastical voyage, they encounter the lost city of Atlantis, the South Pole, and the corals of the Red Sea. Along the way, they must battle countless adversaries both human and monstrous. This triumphant work of the imagination shows the limitless possibilities of science and the dark depths of the human mind.

Resumen en español/English abstract
Presentación y análisis de cerca de 600 informes de "aterrizaje ovni" (explicados e inexplicados) ocurridos en España y Portugal hasta 1985. Libro publicado por Plaza & Janes (Barcelona), 1986. Autores: Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos y Juan Antonio Fernández Peris.
Presentation and analysis of nearly 600 reports of "UFO landings" (explained and unexplained) occurred in Spain and Portugal until 1985.
Book published by Plaza & Janes (Barcelona), 1987. Authors: Vicente-JUan Ballester Olmos and Juan Antonio Fernández Peris.

Some beliefs in the supernatural have not diminished appreciably in modern cultures, in spite of many predictions that they would do so. This course will examine traditional beliefs about supernatural beings, supernatural realms, and humans who interact with these, as well as the historical development of Western ideas of “the supernatural” itself. Some areas we may consider include witchcraft, revenants, superstitions, divination, healing, and legend tripping, and there will be room for students to explore other areas.

The goals of this course are to:
1) Gain an introduction to critical concepts, approaches, and methods in the study of culture and the supernatural.
2) Enhance your understanding of human diversity through the study of cross-cultural examples of supernatural folklore.
3) Develop an understanding of the ways in which various genres of folklore have been used as vehicles for the expression of human relationships to the supernatural.

Le fogne delle città antiche? Erano infestate da piovre mostruose. Gli imperatori romani? Erano costantemente impegnati a tramare contro i propri stessi sudditi, eliminando geniali inventori che avrebbero potuto rendere più semplice ed economica la vita di tutti, e persino complottando con i barbari per distruggere Roma. La guerra di Troia era stata scatenata da Zeus per risolvere un problema di sovrappopolazione mondiale. E poi c'erano seducenti ladre di organi e demoni etruschi che facevano piovere misteriose scie dal cielo. Dopo l'avvento del cristianesimo, poi, si cominciò a parlare di messaggi satanici nascosti in preghiere apparentemente innocue, e persino di un libro di memorie di Lazzaro, dai contenuti sconvolgenti, che sarebbe stato occultato dagli Apostoli. Tutto questo ci ricorda qualcosa? Tante «notizie impossibili» di oggi non sono nate con i social networks ma sono vecchie, anzi vecchissime. Neanche Greci e Romani erano immuni al fascino delle leggende metropolitane.

'Your Highness' means precisiely what it says: 'Giant'

Patrick Cotter O'Brien (Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland, 19th January 1760 – Epping Forest, London, England, 8th September 1806)

We Gilflurts have never been a tall family and so ducking to get through doors, sleeping with our toes over the edge of the mattress and being able to dust the crown moulding are all a mystery to us, but not to our guest today. Born in County Cork in 1760, Patrick Cotter (he added O'Brien to his stage name later), grew to a massive eight feet or more in height and became known to his adoring audience as the Irish Giant and the Bristol Giant.

Cotter did not fare well physically as a result of his immense height and was said to have a most singular and disproportionate appearance. When he moved his bones could be heard creaking and grinding yet he had an eye on the big money that might be made from his remarkable size and knew that his body was his greatest asset.

Inspired to take the stage name O'Brien by another giant who he met early in his career, Cotter exhibited himself across the United Kingdom to paying audiences who came to marvel at the giant before them. At the start of his career, he often despaired at the situation in which he had been placed. However, eventually he was able to settle these anxieties and was known as a true gentleman, profession, polite and modest too.

Cotter's health was never robust and in time his legs became so swollen and malformed that even walking was difficult. To this end, he travelled in a specially adapted carriage and soon became a well-loved figure throughout the country. Sadly, his health failed so quickly that by the age of 45, Cotter was retired and the following year, he died.

The Irish Giant was placed in a coffin of more than nine feet and a team of fourteen men were employed to see it safe into his grave on Trenchard Street in Bristol. Here an enormous crowd gathered to pay their last respects to Patrick Cotter. Afraid that his remains would be taken by physicians, he had asked that he be buried in twelve feet of rock and this last wish was granted though he would not remain undisturbed forever and, in 1972, was exhumed for research purposes.

Cotter left £2000 to his mother in his will and his immense arm is still preserved at the Medical Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons in London, a sad fate for a gentleman such as he.

Este artigo resume parte de uma pesquisa sobre a história do terreno do MASP, o Museu de Arte de São Paulo, concebido por Lina Bo Bardi. Estudando o projeto, nunca construído, de Affonso Eduardo Reidy para o MAM-SP (Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo), que se pretendia construir no mesmo lote da Avenida Paulista, descobrimos que já em 1952 Ciccillo Matarazzo (o então presidente do MAM-SP) havia desistido de implantar o museu no local; muitos anos antes, portanto, de Lina Bo Bardi reivindicar, em 1959 (e não em 1957, como se tem dito habitualmente), a construção do MASP naquele endereço. Ou seja, nunca houve a disputa que se acreditava ter existido entre as duas instituições. Atendo-se, então, às afirmações-amplamente divulgadas na historiografia do MASP-de Pietro Maria Bardi (diretor do museu na época) e da arquiteta de que o insucesso do projeto do MAM deveu-se ao descumprimento de uma cláusula constante no contrato de doação do terreno à municipalidade - a famosa exigência para se deixar livre a vista do belvedere em direção ao centro da cidade -, saímos à busca de tal documento a fim de comprovar o fato. Caso contrário, afinal, inexistindo tal impedimento, qual seria a razão do partido do MASP? Procuramos em arquivos públicos e privados e em cartórios, e o que encontramos foram vestígios de uma história curiosa e desconhecida.

A newly identified contemporary legend. A professional (doctor, executioner, mason, midwife, priest...) is brought, typically blindfolded, to a place where a crime is committed in their presence. He or she help the criminals according to their professions. They are then brought back to their homes and subsequently try and identify the place of the crime. Oh and there are fairies...

Las leyendas urbanas y los rumores que circulan en Internet se encuentran anclados en la tradición oral y en el folclore de las sociedades. Su difusión se ha "modernizado" al circular de forma electrónica a través de las herramientas de comunicación que ofrece Internet.

It would be fair to say that Molly Malone, the heroine of the song ‘Cockles and Mussels’ and the subject of the famous statue, is one of Dublin City’s most famous icons. Having been located originally at the end of Grafton Street, Molly’s statue now stands beside St Andrew’s former Church of Ireland Church in Suffolk Street, where she is visited by a constant stream of tourists. Why is Molly portrayed in seventeenth-century dress and so low cut? Why is she alleged to have been a prostitute as well as a fishmonger? Why is she pushing a handcart rather than a wheelbarrow as described in the song? What is the ‘fever’ of which she died? How did she transform from a mythical figure to an allegedly real person? Read on if you are interested in learning more.

Guy Breton, French radio journalist, writer and television producer, told a curious story of time travel that would have taken place in June 1925 in Paris. It seems that he invented it on the basis of an urban legend that was circulating in France and Italy.

On the basis of new late medieval manuscripts of the 'Tractatus ymaginis Salvatoris' - the legend of the Salvator Icon in the Papal Lateran - the paper revises the genesis of this oldest Roman image legend and its adaption by Nicolaus Maniacutius around 1140. It focuses on the little-noticed practice of reciting such narratives in the nocturnal offices of the great Roman churches, framed by plainsong and other readings. Based of a careful investigation of Roman Legendaries and Passionaries it examines the genesis of this ritual and its importance for the transformation of narratives on cult images from oral to written tradition.

Resumen: “En el túnel del tiempo” (partes 1,2 y 3) se documenta el comienzo de mi actividad de divulgador y de ufólogo (1965-1968). He creído que esta información, artículos, fotografías y recortes de prensa pueden ser de algún interés a historiadores de la ufología, biógrafos o estudiosos del tema OVNIS en general.
Abstract: "En el túnel del tiempo” (In the tunnel of time), parts 1, 2 and 3, the beginning of my activity as a writer and as a ufologist  (1965-1968) is documented. I have thought that this information, articles, photographs and press clippings may be of some interest to historians of ufology, biographers, or UFO students in general.