Young Adult Literature (YAL) comprehends those texts appreciated by adolescents and whose topics are usually not preferred by the adult public: like “cars, sports and romance novels” (Small, 1992). Young readers may enjoy material chosen to reflect upon the interests and problems they might have. Small also points out that in order to catch the attention of this massive group of readers, YAL has gradually developed some original characteristics whole purpose is to catch this group's attention. According to Small, YAL should not avoid controversial topics that are related to teenagers such as sexuality, substance abuse, identity and death so as to establish a better connection between the reader and the story. Herz & Gallo (1996) connect the topic of personal identity to “a wide range of social issues as for instance family life, ethical decisions, violence and urban conflicts” among others. During the last decades this literature has developed into many different styles and characteristics, taking into account the needs and interests of young adult readers (Herz & Gallo, 1996) and creating peculiar genre combinations of humour, horror, warning, embarrassment, morality or appeal to empathy (Koelling, 2004). One of the many genres included in YAL is represented by means of urban legends, since they fulfill many of the YAL characteristics and deal with these topics. The purpose of this paper is to analyze those characteristics and topics in the urban legend “Golden Hand” by S. E. Schlosser in which they are featured so as to engage young adults in reading. It can be said that when speaking of tales, the character of fear is generally connected with the transition to the adulthood (Hearne, 2000). In “Golden hand”, adolescents can find some of the folktale elements that can stimulate their minds and make them enjoy when reading.