Barbara and David Mikkelson have heard it all from the one about alligators living in the sewers of New York to the one about Osama bin Laden owning Snapple.

The Agoura Hills couple researches all sorts of stories and rumors and affirms or denies their validity on the Urban Legends Reference Pages, a Web site that has become especially popular since Sept. 11. Barbara Mikkelson said the site, at www.snopes2.com, has been getting up to 2.5 million hits a day, from 8 million to 10 million a month before the terrorist attacks.

The site offers information on some 1,400 legends and has several sections focusing on particular topics, such as animals, pregnancy and Walt Disney Co. The most recent addition is the “Rumors of War” section, dedicated to stories and rumors that have surfaced since Sept. 11.

Many recent visitors to the site have been looking for information about the rumor that a woman received a letter from her boyfriend warning terrorists would strike U.S. shopping malls on Oct. 31.

“That woman lives in every city in the U.S. and Canada,” Barbara Mikkelson joked. “Everybody swears it’s true because their mother works with the woman.”

After talking to FBI officials and the woman who sent out the original e-mail, the site classified the story as false.

Barbara, a homemaker, said she spends “most waking minutes” working on the site, while David, a Web site designer, dedicates much of his free time to it. Started in 1995, the site is funded by the Mikkelsons, who accept a limited amount of advertising.

So, how do these stories spread?

“We pass along the stories that resonate with us on some level,” Mikkelson explained. “The stories become a reflection of what’s in society’s heart at any given moment.”