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When it comes to urban legends, college is the prime place for instigating such haunted happenings. "Institutions of higher learning have long been fertile ground for the launching and retelling of literally dozens of modern myths," explains author (and At the Movies co-host) Richard Roeper in Urban Legends (Career Press, 1999).

Interested in hearing our brand of "Urban Legends 101?" Then keep reading; we've consulted the experts who've examined such debauchery, and have reviewed the stories passed along and believed time and time again.

Legend Recycling
Think about it, proposes Roeper, since there's a turnover in student population every four or five years, "a tale can be passed from one class to another in dorm rooms, and fraternity and sorority houses, with the original source long removed." It's no wonder that legends about campus-wide massacres, midnight murder screams, and exam scams are almost as rampant as athlete's foot in the gym shower. And, why urban legends make great movies!

Take the campus scream session, for example. Ask any alumni of Brown University, UCLA, Florida State, and others -- they'll have a scream story to tell that has nothing to do with the movies. Here are some of the oft-told scary scenarios:

"Will the Real Screamer Please Scream Louder?!"
It's finals week and the pressure is on. Students are scurrying from library nook to study session, crunching in some last-minute cramming for those all-so-important exams. It's a virtual tension fest -- a perfect time for a let-loose of some steam, wouldn't you agree?

The student government or administration at Said U. (it depends which one you're talking about) did, so a scream session was planned for Last-Day-of-Finals Eve. Flyer upon flyer publicized the event, e-mails were forwarded, and announcements were made at Greek meetings. Hence, at 10 p.m. the night before the last test day, a wacky cacophony of stressed out student screams filled the air. Unbeknownst to those on campus -- both students and university cops alike -- one blood curdling scream was not heard, in proper context anyway. It was a for-real "a psycho's after me" scream.

College urban legend has it that during this campus-wide cry-out, such a scream belonged to a young co-ed being bludgeoned to death by a crazed madman. Over the years, thorough investigation by Roeper and other urban legend chasers has failed to uncover concrete proof that the event actually occurred. To this day, there are no police reports, newspaper articles, or any grief-stricken families telling their stories on the talk show circuit to validate the scream scenario.

Murder Mania, Talk Show Style
Speaking of talk shows, a fictitious episode of one sparked mass campus hysteria across the nation in 1998.

Schools all across the country were a-buzz, and students were seen scurrying off campus. No, there wasn't a hurricane warning, or a busted-sewer incident... it was Oprah. Or, so goes the story from alumni of Bowling Green State University, University of San Diego (USD), and a variety of others.

Remember the game "Telephone," where rumors spread from person to person, becoming all the more exaggerated as time progressed? Well, all it took in this instance of terror was the rumor about the "I-swear-my-sister's-brother-in-law's-girlfriend-saw it" episode of Oprah, in which a well-known psychic supposedly predicted a Halloween massacre on a college campus with an H-shaped residence hall.

Wouldn't you know it -- Bowling Green, USD, and a number of other colleges fit the description to the "T" (or should we say, "H"). Students scrambled for sanction. Versions of the story vary, some involving an even more detailed prediction, one even revealing the exact costume that the alleged campus killer would be wearing. The result? Lil' Bo Peep outfits are actually forbidden on many school grounds.

But no, Oprah has never resorted to hosting any sort of higher ed hysteria-invoking psychic.

Creative Test-Taking 101
When it comes to cheating, the trials of those love triangle players on the Jerry Springer Show can't hold a candle to this crafty tale about an exam scammer. Picture this: Joe Campus, whose semester grade depends upon his earning at least a B+ on his final exam, has tried every possible way to up his intellect. Tutoring hasn't worked, office hours with the pro' have resulted in even more confusion... what to do?

Thankfully, the professor announces that because so many students like Joe have had difficulty in class, she'll administer an open book exam. "You may use anything you can carry into the classroom to assist you," the professor says. Joe's brain finally kicks in. On exam day, in he walks hauling a graduate student on his back. "You said we could bring in anything we could carry," he exclaims.

Fact, fiction, or darn good idea? Maybe a bit of all three, say urban legend researchers at the The San Fernando Valley Folklore Society. Quite cleverly, they have dubbed this popular exam scam tale "The Carry Grant."

"A sub-class of exam legends deals with students who don't technically cheat, but who seek to gain the upper hand by interpreting a professor's instructions literally, despite knowing they are violating his intentions."

We'd give Joe an A for effort anyway!

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