M = Myth

 Myth - a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events.

This is the definition of 'myth' provided by Copilot when I Google-searched the definition of a myth. Typically, to my knowledge most of the best known myths are stories of gods and goddesses such as in Greek and Roman mythology (it even comes from the Greek word 'mȳthos'), and more controversially we could include the Bible in this category of story.

Circe by Madeline Miller would be one example of a book that deals with mythology, detailing the life of the daughter of Helios. Seemingly powerless and ordinary, she eventually becomes the goddess of witchcraft and banished to an island where she hones her craft and takes the company of men.

Another would be The Land of Lost Things by John Connolly, where the worried mother of a comatose daughter is whisked away to Elsewhere, a land where mythical monsters, like harpies, stalk her footsteps.

Centuries ago, mythology was designed to tell us why things were the way they were, explaining problems such as drought and war and weather. They were designed to explain the mysteries that even today we are still struggling to crack, like the origin of the universe and life itself.

But there is a similar subject, and that is the urban myth. The urban myth is wildly different than the ancient myths. While ancient myths are fictitious stories designed to explain real events, urban myths are fictional stories designed to address and sometimes enhance our fears. And while I've never read an urban myth in book format, I've certainly heard stories spoken in oral tradition, usually at my childhood sleepovers or in front of a campfire. One story is that of Hook Man, a man with a hook for a hand, who haunts dark, wooded back roads, killing passerby. Another is that of a man who's left in a bathtub full of ice after his kidneys are stolen. These stories, rather than try to explain the horrible, are often horrible themselves with no explanation at all.

Why we need to believe in myths, urban or otherwise, speaks to a desire to understand the world we live in, a desire we've always harbored over the centuries. From the mundane like a rainy day to something as exotic as black-market kidneys, we're a species that craves knowledge. And when we can't get it, we invent it.

Do you prefer ancient or urban myths? What's your favorite story?