Kent Urban Legends

What unsettling vision startled a truck driver on Detling Hill one snowy night? What is a wallaby doing on the motorway? And is there really a leaf man that resides in Spinney Woods? Urban legends are the funny and frightening and folklore people share today. Just like the early folk tales that came before them, these tales are formed from reactions to events in the modern world, and reflect our current values. For the first time, Neil Arnold explores the power of the local Kent urban legend - murky stories whispered in classrooms and dark woods, and ripping yarns passed on around campfires and across the bar. Urban legends may be just exaggerated rumours, but they embed themselves into local folklore. The real question is, what truth lies behind them?

Résumé
Do motorists pick up a phantom hitchhiker on Blue Bell Hill during stormy nights? Does Satan appear if you dance round the Devil's Bush in the village of Pluckley? Do big cats roam the local woods? And what happens if you manage to count the 'Countless Stones' near Aylesford? For centuries strange urban legends have materialised in the Garden of England. Now, for the first time, folklorist and monster-hunter Neil Arnold looks at these intriguing tales, strips back the layers, and reveals if there is more to these Chinese whispers than meets the eye. Folklore embeds itself into a local community, often to the extent that some people believe all manner of mysteries and take them as fact. Whether they're stories passed around the school playground, through the internet, or round a flickering campfire, urban legends are everywhere. Kent Urban Legends is a quirky and downright spooky ride into the heart of Kent folklore.