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Given that testimony is a fundamental and fundamentally reliable source of information, having a status akin to perception and memory in our fabric of understanding, then questions arise about how to comprehend those categories of testimony that seem inherently misleading. Some of these are the ‘pathologies of testimony’ discussed in this chapter: gossip, rumour, and urban myth. It is argued that philosophers have paid insufficient attention to the phenomenology of these three and that what has been said suffers from certain defects. The chapter explores both the conceptual structure of gossip, rumour, and urban myth, and the social and moral significance that they have. It concludes with comment on the epistemic value (and dis-value) of such pathologies.

This chapter looks at ways in which Candyman (1992) offers a discourse on urban myth, and how it utilises actual urban legends such as ‘Bloody Mary’. Social scientists and folklorists have theorised that such urban legends construct and reinforce the worldview of the group within which they are told, sometimes through an acting out of the legends themselves: a form of ‘ostension’. In Candyman, that worldview speaks of minority oppression and the outward projection of the dispossessed as Other. Despite Clive Barker's then-unawareness of the term ‘urban legend’, a number of classic urban myths already appear in ‘The Forbidden’, including the tale of the hook, razorblades in sweets, and the public toilet castration. Bernard Rose would develop the self-reflexive aspects of the story in his adaptation, the sense that the story is very much about itself, about the experience of horror and the nature of campfire storytelling.

This chapter studies the sequels to Candyman (1992), Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995) and Candyman: Day of the Dead (1999), in terms of what they add to the Candyman mythos. Each attempts to deliver more of the same but arguably without the level of intelligence and skill that Bernard Rose brought to the original. Bill Condon's Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh clarifies the origins of the Candyman, but also the miscegenation subtext of the first film is made more explicit. Released straight to DVD by Artisan Entertainment, Turi Meyer's Candyman: Day of the Dead is essentially a remake of the original film, with certain plot elements of Farewell to the Flesh thrown in to the mix. The chapter then considers the knock offs, looking at the various movies based on the legend of ‘Bloody Mary’, and the Urban Legend franchise, which includes the direct-to-DVD entry Urban Legends: Bloody Mary (2005). The continuing popularity of these films suggests that the urban myth and what it represents is still very much alive.

This introductory chapter provides an overview of Candyman (1992). In an era dominated by tired pastiche, Candyman remains one of the most original and finest horror movies. Based on Clive Barker's short story, ‘The Forbidden’, Candyman has been widely acclaimed for its social commentary, as well as for its skilful use of horror tropes and cinematic techniques. Its writer-director Bernard Rose has gone on to a distinguished career in Hollywood which has included further notable work in the horror genre, while Candyman has spawned two sequels and inspired numerous movies evoking urban myths and legends, including the financially successful Urban Legend franchise. As a Nineties horror movie, Candyman has prevailed. As well as receiving positive reviews at the time of its release, it continues to win new fans and admirers.

This chapter discusses the intersection between Clive Barker's work and that of Bernard Rose; surprisingly, the two are closely connected, even symbiotic. Rose's UK debut film Paperhouse (1988) concerned the fantasy world of a young girl, and his subsequent work has shown a tendency towards transgression and transcendence, and repeated returns to social horror. Indeed, Rose was attracted to Barker's ‘The Forbidden’ because he wanted to ‘deal with the social stuff’. Relocating the action from a Liverpool housing estate to Chicago's notorious Cabrini-Green housing project, Rose extended the story, adding the innocent-person-on-the-run plot twist, and took Barker's conclusion further. But the class subtext, the urban legend and the idea of the myth biting back after attempts are made to debunk it, are all there in Barker's source material. The heroine, Helen Lyle, discovers that her normal life is more banal and morally dead than the eternal life-in-myth that the Candyman offers her.