My name is Mark Barber, I am 32 years old, and have lived in Surrey, England my whole life. Urban Legends Uncovered started life a print-on-demand book titled 'Project 2067: Urban Legends'. It took four years to complete Project 2067 with many long nights burning the midnight oil, juggling the time with my job as a Fire/Security specialist and devoting time to the ladies of my life; my beautiful little daughter (Holly), and my lovely 'trouble and strife' of six years (Joanna). After a few teething problems, the book was finally published just before my son Harry was born in the summer of 2005.

After attending the London Book Fair at the Excel at the Docklands early 2006, I was offered a few publishing contracts. I was impresssed by the honesty, vibe and professionalism by the people at Summersdale Publishing, and in the summer of 2006, I put pen to paper and signed on the dotted line.

My passion in life is football, and I am a devoted Chelsea supporter. Chelsea being crowned the Premier League Champions for the 2004/05 season was amazing, the club had waited 50 years for that moment, and it was well worth the wait!

My introduction to the world of Urban Legends came from the Alex Garland novel 'The Beach', where the existence of a secret beach is coined as a 'Kentucky Fried Rat story'. I was shocked to read this phrase as I knew the story well, it had happened to my friend's uncle. The story is as follows:

My friend's uncle bought a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken pieces before entering a cinema. When he had settled into his seat and the lights had dimmed, he decided to tuck into the bucket. He took a bite out of an odd shaped piece of chicken, and immediately felt some kind of strange ooze run out of his mouth and down his chin.

My friend's uncle spat out the mouthful of chicken and ran to the toilets to investigate, and was horrified when he saw blood running down his chin. He looked at the piece of chicken and saw what looked like a tale protruding from the crispy coating. On further investigation, he came to the sickening realisation that he had actually bitten into a batter-covered rat.

Shocked that the story was included in Alex Garland's novel, I investigated the story on the internet and found out that it was actually an Urban Legend. I had always believed that this story was true (my friend does to this day!), and reading the many versions of the same story from all over the world, made me realise the power and impact of Urban Legends. This initially sparked the interest, and I then started investigating how Urban Legends have been used for propaganda and marketing purposes. I was fascinated on how versions of the same legend can be told across the world, with each storyteller totally believing the story as being true. I was also fascinated into how easy Urban Legends can be spread, and how they can be manipulated to suit a purpose. Anyway, after a short period of time, I had gathered so much information on various Urban Legends, I decided to write a book on the subject.

I hope you enjoy Urban Legends Uncovered . To buy a copy of the book, please click here.