Other forms: urban legends
An urban legend is a weird, scary, or hilarious story that's widely shared and allegedly true.
An urban legend, or urban myth, is a more modern version of a classic folktale, a story that's been repeated for generations. Urban legends are newer, but they also tend to be embellished and exaggerated as they're told again and again. They might even sound more believable than ancient myths because of their contemporary settings. But if your friend swears that her cousin's boyfriend saw an alligator climbing out of a New York City sewer, it's most likely an urban legend.