Yeah, it IS a cool story, though, isn't it?
These myths are, IMO, a modern replacement for religion, since that got out of style, but people still need to believe. So they go to magic, gaia-sciences.. anything from zombies to super powers. Science is not all it was promised to be (where is my house management robot I was promised as a child ?!?)
Started reading The Flinch; good read! I now see my flinches everywhere, dammit!