Ostension (folklore)

In study of folklore and urban legends, ostension is the process of acting out a folk narrative, i.e., real-life happenings that parallel the events told in pre-existing and well-established legends and lore.

Ostension has become an important concept for folklorists studying the ways in which folklore affects everyday people's real lives, ranging from supernatural rituals such as legend tripping to the complex ways in which awareness of AIDS has affected people's sexual habits. Folklorist John McDowell explored the relationship between iconicity—representation—and ostension—presentation—in mythic narrative, finding in episodes of ostention a virtual encounter with the experiential substrate, an experience that he termed "narrative epiphany".