Exemplary stories

The article analyses phenomenon of the “exemplary stories” — apocryphal anecdotes often told at parties as realistic stories which supposedly really happened, but which are in fact variants of socially quite widespread, sometimes even international folkloric narratives. Also labelled as urban/contemporary legends, this type of narratives is discussed in wide theoretical and disciplinary context, including their itinerations in the modern mass media (especially newspapers) and popular literature. Finally, social and cultural functions and meanings of these apocryphal stories are presented.