Urban Legend: The Assailant in the Backseat

Legends of atrocities typically circulate during wartime and periods of rule by repressive regimes or arise in the context of foreign travel, especially in countries torn by racial, ethnic, political, or religious strife. Of course, actual atrocities do commonly occur in such situations, but certain bizarre stories with an ironic twist that circulate anonymously and without specific verification may be regarded as legendary (or perhaps, in some instances, as propaganda) until proven authentic.

One common theme in legends of atrocities is that the victim, despite having suffered horrible disfigurement or mutilation, manages to communicate his or her situation to family members via a hidden or coded message in a telephone call, photograph, or letter. In other stories the