Author Archives: andresir

Rumors of a Mexican Village

In the small village from where my parents are from (in rural Zacatecas, Mexico), on the foot of the biggest hill in the area lies a secret, well hidden entrance to a tunnel leading deep inside where it is said to lead to a stolen treasure dating back to the Mexican Revolution. The inside of the hill is so dark not even a lamp helps navigate through it. A river also runs through the inside of the hill which supposedly leads to said treasure. Some people have allegedly ventured inside to try and retrieve it, tying ropes around their waist from the entrance so as to not get lost. No one has been able to find this mysterious treasure. 

This is a very popular tale told around amongst the community from where my parents come from and it tends to jumps back and forth between a simple tale of fiction and a probable rumor depending on who is telling the story.

The way I’ve heard this story be told sounds to me like things parents would tell their children similar to that of a legendary tale of lost treasure, a common theme in children’s stories that circulate around the families of this ranch including my own.

Horror Story of an Old Woman

An old woman’s daughter became pregnant out of wedlock and when the child was born, the old woman dipped her daughter’s newborn into boiling water. Sometime later, the old woman became paralyzed and could only move her eyes. The day she died, it was foggy and dark and animals would bark and make noise. As the woman was about to die, the window opened and a chicken came in. She wanted it to go away and her son began to shoot at the chicken. As the shot hit the chicken, the woman died.

These kinds of gory stories about death were popular to tell according to my mom, especially since they involved some kind of karmic element and gruesome end to the villain of the story.

The story was a bit confusing to me and it sounds as if the old woman became the chicken itself but I’m confused as to why and what that had to do with the old woman killing her infant grandson. Definitely freaked me out a little.

Moral Lesson of a Stubborn Old Man

A rich man had many employees working for him at his ranch. One day, one of his cows died and the rich man asked his workers to remove its hide to make a leather coat. The workers refused saying that it was infected with disease and the workers feared contracting whatever killed the cow. The rich man decided to remove the hide on his own out of stubbornness.  He worked on removing the hide from night till dawn and by morning light, the man fell sick and died shortly thereafter. 

This story came from an uncle of my dad’s who told him this story in his youth. My dad’s uncle said it was a true story from a nearby rancher who did die in similar circumstances.

I guess this was a story to teach those who heard it not being so stubborn. I see this story in the same light as similar stories I’ve heard from my dad regarding people’s negative qualities leading them to their downfall.

Hauntings in a Hospital

My friend’s mom worked as an assistant nurse in the Hospice wing of a hospital. In that same floor of the hospital, there was a physical therapy room also near a crematorium. One day, a man walked past the physical therapy room and he claimed to have seen one of the exercise bikes moving by itself. He told my friend’s mom that strange things would happen in that room and things would feel off. This man was allegedly a medium and he would tell my friend’s mom of similar supernatural occurrences. The man went as far as to say the entire floor of the hospital was haunted. 

This was a story told to my friend by his mom and according to him, both he and his mom believe these ghost stories. When I asked why, my friend said it was especially the case something like this took place in a hospital because it was “so charged by death”.

I’ve heard so many ghost/haunting stories about supernatural activity at a hospital and like most ghost stories I am unsure of whether to believe them or not because the logic behind hauntings at hospitals does make sense, but then again, on what grounds?

Haunted Military Island

My friend, who is originally from Singapore, recalls them and their friends sharing stories about people who’d go off to Tekong Island, a training facility where those “shipped off” would receive military training, mostly mandatory. On this island, many have claimed to have heard strange noises deep within the jungle regions of the island and sightings of “shadowy” female figures. From within the facility, strange and random noises would appear during the night such as toilets flushing or the sound of moving objects. There have also been reports of people mysteriously disappearing while at the island or falling ill or dead without explanation during night marches. 

My friend has heard many stories like these from people in their school and amongst their peers, some of whom did end up going to serve on that island after high school.

I personally enjoy hearing about mysterious occurrences such as these ones. It seems like something I’d want to listen to a podcast about.