Urban Legend of Vanishing Hitchhiker in Pakistan Essay -- Urban Legend

The Vanishing Hitchhiker in Pakistan During my search for stories, I met a sophomore, nineteen year old male student who is majoring in Chemistry and Math. His parents are from Muzaffarabad, Pakistan. Currently, he lives in Maryland. His father is a cardiologist and his mother is a housewife. His parents immigrated to the United States in the 1970's. The source says this story is known by almost three quarters of the people living in Pakistan. His uncle initially told him the story when he went back to Pakistan for the first time. The story takes place in the mountainous regions of Pakistan that are fairly remote from civilization. However, other versions take place in a middle of small towns. One day, a man is driving along a road that is often surrounded by repetitive landscape, such as continuous mountains and plains. Upon driving for quite some time, he spots a silhouette of a woman a kilometer down the road. As he gets closer, he realizes that it is a young woman wearing a slender white dress, and from her expression, he deduces that she has lost her way and needs to get home. From a quick glimpse at her face, he realizes that she is very beautiful. Confused, but being the caring gentleman that he is, he offers her a ride back to her home. She meekly nods as she slowly enters the car and sits in the passenger seat. He begins talking to her, and the subject matter often varies in different variations, but the consensus is that it is small talk. From the moment she speaks, he is astonished by her beautiful voice. Before long, the man actually becomes attracted to her. They continue talking as he continues driving. At one point in their conversation, he reaches to the right to get his drink by his sid... ...s of society will not recognize one in an encounter either. This reflects the fear that one cannot distinguish the real world from the supernatural world. Works Cited Bennett, Gillian. The Vanishing Hitchhiker at Forty-Five. Long Beach: Western States Folklore Society, 1998. Brunvand, Jan Harold. The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends & Their Meanings. New York: W. W. Norton, 1981. Littlejohn, Carol. "Urban Legends and Other Scary Stories." Unknown journal.15.2 (1996): 27-31. Okonowicz, Ed. Baltimore Ghosts: History, Mystery, Legends, and Lore. Elkton: Myst and Lace Publishing, 2004. Turetsky, Rita. Ghosts and Evil Spirits. Publication information unknown. Wilson, Michael. "The Point of Horror: The Relationship Between Teenage Popular Horror Fiction and the Oral Repertoire." Children's Literature in Education 31.1 (2000): 31-40.