Category Archives: Narrative

The Most Haunted House In Oregon

Nationality: American

Primary Language: English

Age: 25

Occupation: Self-Employed

Residence: Jupiter, FL

Performance Date: November 11, 2023

Text:

“After I left Florida, I started just driving all over the country, reconnecting with all my old friends that I hadn’t seen in so long. I was actually all the way up in Canada at one point, before heading back down into the States through to Seattle for a bit. Anyways, I ended up with one of my friends from high school in Oregon. I let her book the AirBnB that we were going to stay at that night, and for whatever reason, she only looked at the availability without checking any of the reviews before she booked it. Definitely a mistake, will not be doing that again. So she books it, we’re driving, it’s super late at night, we’re both exhausted, get to the house, and immediately vibes are just off. The whole time we were driving up there the area was just weird, something just did not feel right at all. The house itself was this really big old timey inn, straight out of the colonial era. We walk in and this place is just deserted, like nobody there at all, no one working the front desk for check in. After ringing the bell a couple of times the guy comes and checks us in or whatever, and starts leading us up towards our room down this super long hallway. Super weird thing, there were all of these tables in the hallways that were just lined with these big containers of candy, and all kinds too. Naturally we just start munching on some sour strings, and the guy turns back at us, telling us not to eat any of the candy, that it’s there to appease the spirits. Jokingly, my friend asks him if the house was haunted or something, cause she thought he was trying to mess with us or something. He gave her the biggest ‘are you stupid’ look I’ve ever seen, and said ‘Only the most haunted house in Oregon’, then kept walking down the hallway. We both kind of looked at each other, looked back at him, and immediately started looking this place up on our phones. Sure enough, it was literally the most haunted AirBnB in all of Oregon according to all these reviews we read. It’s too late to try and find somewhere else to stay for the night, so we just decide to stick it out and hope that whatever ghosts might be there just leave us alone. I think I slept maybe like two hours that whole night. The whole time there were all of these banging and groaning sounds coming from all over the place like people were fighting, but we were literally the only guests there that night. And I could feel the floorboards all around the bend like bending, there were all these footstep noises throughout the whole thing, I even felt a hand running up and down my leg at one point. Same thing happened to my friend except it was on her face. It never really felt dangerous or malicious, but definitely weird. Super creepy, we ended up checking out as early as possible that next morning, haven’t been back to Oregon since.”

Context:

CM is a 25 year old woman who has recently embarked upon a continental road trip to explore and reconnect with old friends. While believing in the supernatural and the powers that they may (or may not) hold, CM has held a decidedly wary stance against haunting ghosts, preferring to hear or read about them rather than experience them firsthand. This story was told only a handful of weeks after the initial events transpired, allowing for a fresh telling undisturbed by the passing of time.

Analysis:

Part of me is curious as to whether or not there was really a ghost there at all, if it was a trick the CM’s mind played on her. There were no ghosts or paranormal activities before she learned that the house was haunted, yet suddenly after learning about all of the spirits said to linger around the house, she began experiencing some of the classic tropes of a haunted house. There were certainly a significant amount of classic motifs of traditional ghost stories in CM’s retelling, namely the sharp noises in the middle of the night and the creaking of the floorboards around the bed, which may help alleviate some of my suspicions. What I found to be particularly interesting was the feeling of being in actual contact with a paranormal entity, that whatever it may have been broke the physical barrier. While in some cultures the spirits of the restless dead (or undead) are ethereal, in a significant amount of others the ghosts of those who have passed can most certainly maintain a sense of corporealness that is absence in most modern day ideologies of ghosts. While a significant amount of ghost stories may involve spirits interacting with the physical plain by moving objects or perhaps a piece of furniture, there are perhaps only a select few where the spirit will make physical contact with a person.

A Call from Screaming Jenny

  • Informant: HB
  • Nationality: American
  • Primary Language: English
  • Other language(s): n/a
  • Age: 51
  • Occupation: Author
  • Residence: Wilmington, Delaware, United States
  • Performance Date: November 22, 2023

Text

“In 1995, I was living in Charlestown West Virginia, going to Shepherd University and taking a photography class with an actual camera- so you would develop pictures in the blackroom.

I vaguely knew a ghost story about Jenny on the train tracks, but I ignored it because I didn’t believe in these things. 

I went to take photographs around West Virginia and at one point I went to one of the train stations along the train tracks in between Charlestown and Shepherdstown, and I parked my car at what used to be the train station, but this train station had been closed for years. I walked across the street and there was this really cool old fashioned telephone booth- the kind that had like an ear handle and then you spoke into the actual box- but I was nowhere near the phone, at least twenty feet away, and I hadn’t gone near it. I was taking pictures of it just because it was a great photography project picture: this phone booth in the middle of nowhere.

And then the phone started ringing, which I thought was very strange because I was in the middle of nowhere, with no one around me, and it was late at night too.

I actually thought I was on.. what was that show called? Oh! candid camera, where they prank people and put it on TV. I thought this had to be a joke. 

So, I walked up to the phone booth to pick it up and when I picked it up, I realized that the handle was no longer attached to anything and, actually, the phone itself was attached to nothing – there were no wires going in or out of this phone booth, it was just ringing, and it actually terrified me and I ran to my car and drove away as fast as I could.

So, the story I researched later- because that had freaked me out so badly – was that, this girl Jenny – and this is true actually – she caught on fire and died on the train tracks, and then people who ride the train say they hear her screaming at night – which I did not hear her screaming, but I had the weird phone booth thing right on the train tracks by the train station”

Context

The original legend referenced in this collection, The Tale of Screaming Jenny, is a common folklore story throughout West Virginia that took place in the town of Harpers Ferry. In order to contextualize the encounter of the informant, I familiarized myself with a few versions of the legend that have been shared online. According to the legend, there was a woman named Jenny who lived in one of the storage sheds that were abandoned after the construction of the B&O railroad. Jenny had no friends or family to look after her, forcing her to inhabit one of the small sheds. Although no specific date is provided, all recountings of the story indicate that it was on a cold autumn night when Jenny went outside to warm herself by a fire that a spark landed on her skirt and quickly engulfed her in flames. Jenny began screaming for help, running towards the train station, and blindly stumbled onto the train tracks. A train approached the woman, now appearing more as a “ball of flames”, but Jenny was unable to detect the train in the midst of her panic, and there was not enough time for the engineer to stop before running her over. Although recountings vary, many indicate that Jenny’s screams are heard by train passengers when passing through the area of Harpers Ferry and that train engineers have repeatedly encountered the same “ball of flames” at the very spot where Jenny died.

Everyone at Shepherd University had heard the story of Screaming Jenny, and HB had heard about it from a classmate. The informant shared that, before this encounter, she had never given the legend of Screaming Jenny much thought because she did not believe in ghosts or anything of that nature. However, following the strange occurrence she experienced by the train tracks, her opinion shifted. As the informant mentioned, the encounter terrified her and provoked her to further research what happened to Jenny and encounters which people had associated with her spirit. The encounter was able to shift HB’s thoughts on the story, as her initial disbelief gave way to some semblance of plausibility. 

Analysis

This encounter paired with HB’s explanation for the occurrence can be viewed as a memorate, or an oral narrative told from memory recounting a personal experience that is interpreted in the context of an existing legend or folklore belief. In my opinion, what caused the experience to be so memorable to HB was not the paranormal aspect of the experience, but more so the availability of known legend to which she could attribute this occurrence. If the informant had not been familiar with the tale of Screaming Jenny, she likely would have ignored the ringing phone on the train tracks, or at least would have forgotten about it after some time. However, because the tale of Screaming Jenny instantly came to mind when she encountered the phone ringing without any wires, she remembers it as a supernatural encounter with a legendary ghost. 

The Empty Pot

Text
This story, The Empty Pot, takes place in a town in China where the emperor was seeking a successor.  The emperor organized a competition where every kid in the village received flower seeds, and whoever grew the most beautiful flower would be named the next emperor. Everyone was watering their plants and making them grow and everyone’s flowers were blooming except one. On the day of the end of the competition, this boy’s flower hadn’t grown at all and everyone else had these beautiful blooming flowers. Even though his seed hadn’t bloomed, he brought it to the emperor anyway. It turned out that the seeds the emperor had given all the children had been burnt, so they weren’t supposed to grow. Everyone else had grown these beautiful flowers because they did not use the seeds that they were given and cheated by using their own seeds. This boy then became the next emperor because he had been honest.

Context
This was a story my informant (JL) and her brother were told by their parents when they were growing up. She said her parents loved story time in general and it was a large part of her upbringing. This story in particular stuck with her the most, largely because the characters were Asian but also because the lesson stood out to her.  

Interpretation
There’s a clear lesson in this story about honesty, in a creative format that can clearly stick with people throughout their lives. My interpretation of this story is quite similar to that of my informant. I enjoy seeing diverse representations of culture in the media that I consume, especially when it relates to my identity. I think, like my informant’s experience, that this story is a very easily digestible and successful way to teach children a valuable lesson through an engaging story.

Tinikling (Filipino Folk Dance)

Text
Tinikling is a Filipino folk dance. Originating during the Spanish occupation of the Philippines, farmers would use bamboo traps to keep animals away from their crops.  However, the Philippine tikling bird was able to bypass the traps and reach the crops, which is what Tinikling is said to be named after. This dance itself mimics the movements of the tikling bird and was also created to deter birds from the land. There is also another legend associated with tinikling. When the Spaniards had colonized the Philippines, the native Filipinos were forced to work on plantations. As the story goes, those who didn’t comply with the orders from the Spanish leaders had to stand between two bamboo poles while they were clapped together and thus injured their feet. So, the Filipino people would jump to avoid this pain, and this form of punishment turned into a traditional folk dance in the Philippines. 

Context
My informant for this story is my dad (VG), who said he remembers hearing the story and seeing Tinikling performed for the first time when he was a kid.  The Filipino dance of Tinikling involves two long bamboo rods, at least six feet in length.  Two people play the role of clappers while the dancers stand between the bamboo poles.  The apparel of the dancers is often traditional Filipino clothing, for example, a Barong Tagalog for men.  The dancers will step and jump while the clappers continuously clap the bamboo poles together according to the rhythm.  My dad’s mom told him something about birds dancing or flying from branch to branch, and someone else had told him that birds were hopping to avoid bird traps.

Interpretation
I’m curious about the possible origins.  While both could be just as likely, it makes me wonder if they were both true but different sides of the same story, one more appropriate for younger audiences.  Or perhaps one or neither is perfectly accurate, and stories and embellishments were developed to accompany the dance.  Either way, Tinikling is an extremely impressive folk dance that requires lots of skill while also bringing Filipino communities together.

The Story of the Maiden’s Tower

Text: “This is apparently a popular Turkish legend that I was told on a family trip to Istanbul. It is the story of The Maiden’s Tower, a popular tourist destination. It tells the tale of a princess who was locked in a tower to protect her from a prophecy that she would die from a snake bite. As the legend goes, the king of Constantinople was told by a fortune-teller that his daughter would die from a snake bite on her 18th birthday. In an effort to protect his daughter, the king had a tower built in the middle of the Bosphorus Strait, where he locked the princess away. On the princess’s 18th birthday, the king brought her a basket of fruit as a gift. Unbeknownst to the king, a snake was hiding in the basket, and when the princess reached in to grab a piece of fruit, the snake bit her and she died.”

Context: CW is a close friend of mine and he claimed this popular Turkish legend was told to him and his family by way of a tour guide while they were visiting Istanbul. He claimed, “I thought this story was cool but the most interesting part was how the tower was real and it was so isolated from the whole area that the story kind of became believable in a way”. I found this interesting and asked him to explain more and he just stated that actually seeing the setting of a legend for himself made the legend come to life and seem more believable, whether or not the story is true, it was unique getting to know it was actually possible. He remembered this story because he enjoyed the trip so thoroughly and he actually had a few pictures of the tower which allowed me to understand why the story seems so possible.

Analysis: After rereading the account of this legend I was able to find two main lessons. Firstly, the story highlights the dangers of overprotectiveness. The king’s decision to lock his daughter away in a tower shows how a desire to protect someone can become excessive and ultimately lead to unintended consequences. Instead of shielding his daughter from harm, the king inadvertently brought about her demise. Secondly, the story underscores the notion of fate and how it cannot be avoided. Despite the king’s best efforts to protect his daughter, the prophecy that she would die from a snake bite still came true. With these two lessons in mind, the legend had a purpose and therefor was easier for me to understand. It seemed to me that this legend was likely popular among all residents of Turkey considering it manifests in a popular location within one of Turkeys most populated and popular locations. The story being told to CW and his family indicated to me that it was also popular for the story to be told to visiting groups of tourists. After some research I found that the exact origins of the story of the Maiden’s Tower were unclear, as it has been passed down through oral tradition over many centuries. But it is believed to have originated in ancient Greek mythology, where it was known as the “Legend of Leandros and Hero.” The story was later adopted by the Byzantine Empire, which built a tower in the Bosphorus Strait to protect the city of Constantinople from invasion. Over time, the legend evolved into the tale of the princess who was locked in the tower to protect her from a prophecy. This timeline meant this story has a rich history and consisted of elements from several different cultures which made it all the more interesting.

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