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I don't. That's why I've got to learn what parts are right and what parts aren't, and any additional stuff the legends leave out. I don't know what books Sam gave you, so I can't say for sure whether they're correct. I do know that most of our world doesn't know a damn thing about the supernatural outside of old myths and folktales, so unless they're written by hunters, I'd say there's at least a chance that they've got some inaccuracies mixed in.
A little from column A and a little from column B. I've been doing the best I can to learn stuff about the supernatural since I was 11. Some of the stuff I thought was true was bogus, but some stuff from the mythology textbooks and one or two things from the paranormal books actually turned out to be kinda accurate. Bottom line is, though, my reason for doing this means I don't have two years to wait to learn the crash course.