Monthly Archives: May 2015

Gore Orphanage

Nationality: USA
Age: 51
Occupation: Attorney
Residence: Amherst, Ohio
Performance Date: April 2, 2015
Primary Language: English

“The Gore Orphanage is a building that was initially constructed as a Mansion around the turn of the 20th century just a few miles the from our house [in Amherst, Ohio], and it’s name just comes from the fact that it’s on Gore Road. Sometime around 1905, the owners of the mansion sold the house away, and an orphanage was opened shortly after. The Orphanage then allegedly caught fire in the year 1910, and the whole building burned down with everyone inside. Today, it’s said that if you go to the location where the orphanage used to stand, you can still hear the cries of the children at night, just very faint screams somehow captured from the moment they died.”

This story comes from my dad, who’s lived all of his life in Northern Ohio. This legend is pretty popular around the area where I grew up, and I actually learned of it from my dad, who in turn learned it from his father. I’ve actually looked into the Gore Orphanage before out of curiosity, but no historical documents show that there any casualties from the fire in 1910, and they actually show that the building did burn down in 1923 with no deaths. Additionally, the sounds heard at night a likely due to the sound of traffic on the nearby I-80 turnpike. Despite this, my family and I still like the idea of the story because it’s something interesting in an area noted for not being too interesting.

Hayk

Nationality: Armenian-American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: April 15, 2015
Primary Language: English
Language: Armenian, Russian

“Hayk is like the forefather of the Armenian people, he’s basically what Abraham is to the Hebrews, but for Armenians. The story goes that, I think some time during the third millenium BC, the Babylonian king Bel attempted to take over basically everything around him, including Armenian land. However, Hayk, an Armenian warrior, resisted him. He set up a little town at the foot of Mount Ararat and recruited a makeshift army. One day when Bel and his army were going through a mountain pass on Mount Ararat, Hayk decided to attack him to end his reign. During the battle, Hayk shot an arrow from a ridiculously long distance at Bel and ended up hitting him and killing him. Since their leader was dead, the Babylonians just kind of left, and Armenia again belonged to the Armenians.”

This is from my roommate who was born in Yerevan, Armenia, but he and his family moved to the U.S. in the late 1990s, before he was even five years old. However, he has spent most of his summers back in Armenia, visiting family and whatnot. He is fluent in Armenian and speaks it at home. He heard this myth from his extended family in Armenia and from his parents, and he adds that it’s a pretty seminal story for Armenians. For him, Hayk essentially stands as a symbol for the entire Armenian population, and it is a story that reminds him that Armenians are strong, independent, and can overcome adversity.

Family Ties to Cortés

Nationality: USA
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: April 8, 2015
Primary Language: English

“My mom always tells me this story of how her family came over on Hernán Cortés’ actual boat. There aren’t really any documents of it actually happening, but it’s been a belief in my family for generations. My ancestor was a Spanish soldier on Cortés’ initial conquest of the Aztecs, but he had mixed feelings about how they treated the natives. After he befriended an Aztec women before Cortés reached Tenochtitlan, he decided to abandon the conquest and moved away with the woman. They eventually started a family in Mexico, and over a few generations, my branch of the family ended up in what is now Española, New Mexico. My mom’s family has been in Española for hundreds of years, and a whole bunch of my family lives there still.”

 

This comes from one of my friends whose mother is fully racially Mexican, but has lived in Española, New Mexico, her whole life. Her family actually was really prominent in Española and owned a lot of land in the New Mexico territory. He essentially said that he doesn’t really believe the story fully and thinks that his mom’s family has probably exaggerated it a lot, but he still finds it really cool how strong the belief is in his family, and he actually thinks it’s awesome that there is somewhat of a possibility that his family has a connection to such a significant historical event.

 

Crawfordsville Clocktower

Nationality: USA
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: April 19, 2015
Primary Language: English

“So there was this clocktower in crawfordsville, right next to the town hall. For some reason, during World War II, the clock tower was dismantled. Apparently though, the reason for tearing the whole structure down was the bell inside. The reason they wanted the bell was to melt the metal down to make bullets to help the war effort, so now there’s no clock tower simply because the town wanted to make bullets from the bell.”


This is from my friend who comes from a small town in Indiana with a lot of folklore traditions. He’s lived there all of his life, and apparently there are a lot of these little local stories legends about his town which is awesome. This one doesn’t resonate with him too much since it was way before he was born, but he still finds it interesting because it’s kind of a unique version of a history of his hometown.

Hose Elementary Kidnappings

Nationality: USA
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: April 19, 2015
Primary Language: English

“So I went to Hose Elementary school in a small town in Indiana, and there was a wooded area right next to the playground that wasn’t fenced off or anything, but we were always told not to go in there. Apparently back in the 70s, some kids from the same school wandered in and got kidnapped, so it’s basically an unspoken rule to not go into the woods or else you’ll get kidnapped.”


This is from my friend who comes from a small town in Indiana with a lot of folklore traditions. He’s lived there all of his life, and apparently there are a lot of these little local stories legends about his town which is awesome. This one just reminds him of his friends from elementary school, because they all shared a common fear of the forest. I think this one likely originates in kids trying to find out why their parents wouldn’t let them out alone in the woods, so they just made up kidnapping as the reason