Author Archives: cniemann

Game Day Ritual: Underwear

Game Day Ritual: Underwear

 

Informant:

D.N. was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri as the fifth of eleven children living under his mother and father. He is one of nine boys and two girls, and played several sports in high school where he eventually matriculated to USC. He studied engineering and now works as a real estate developer living in Palos Verdes Estates, California.

Folklore:

“You know I’m a pretty superstitious person. I think that stemmed partially from growing up with so many siblings. Habits and superstitions just formed pretty quickly. You also know, since I’m your Dad and have been your coach multiple times, I am very superstitious during game day when I’m coaching. I have to wear the same underwear every time I coach. I can wash them in between, but… I have to wear them in any game I coach. When we couldn’t find them in the laundry, the Longhorns had their worst game in history.”

Analysis:

Superstitions like these are particularly common in the sports world. Obviously the underwear itself plays no role in a team’s success, but I believe that the placebo effect is strong. If my Dad feels good, knowing he is wearing his “lucky underwear,” he is going to perform at his best, which gives him and the team the best chance of winning. So in a way, I guess it makes sense. I do have superstitions of my own… I can probably thank my Dad for that!

Chain Texts

Chain Texts

Informant:

H.C.  is a first-year student at USC studying in Annenberg. Haley grew up in Denver Colorado and is familiar with certain Colorado legends. She also has an important and unique point of view, since she is a Millennial, which seems to be the most “out-there” and transformative generation we have seen thus far. Because of this, she is a perfect informant, as she holds a modern and up-to-date perspective. All interviews were held in a study-room on campus.

Folklore:

 

H.C. : “I actually encountered this today while I was on Facebook in the form of a comment. This is a perfect example of what I was going to talk to you about. I don’t get them so much anymore, but I used to receive texts like this, like, every day in middle school. They used to absolutely terrify me, but now that I’m older, I realize how silly they are. Here is what I’m talking about…”

 The following text was copied and pasted directly from the said Facebook comment:

I’m so sorry. Keep reading on, or die tonight a exactly

12:42. This

is based on a TRUE STORY! Once there

was

a baby

girl named Marry. Her mother couldn’t

take

all the

crying, so she decided it was time for her

to

  1. She

buried her baby alive in her back yard.

After she

buried her she could still hear Marry

crying.

So she dug her back up and stabbed her

one

time in the arm,

and buried her again. Marry cried harder,

but a few

hours later it stopped. At exactly 12:42,

Marry died.

She bleed to death. Now her sprite

haunts

the

world. When your sleeping, she stabs

you in

the

arm and watches you bleed to death.

And

that’s how she got the name “Bloody

Marry” this is the true story

of her. She wants everyone to feel her

pain

that she

felt. Apparently, if you re-post This isn’t

fake.

Apparently, if you copy and paste this to

ten

comments in the next ten minuets you

will

have the

best day of your life tomorrow. You will

either get kissed or asked out, if you

brake

this chain you will

see a little dead girl in your room tonight.

In the next

53 minuets someone will say I love you

or

I’m sorry

to 12 other comments you will have the

best day of

your life tomorrow. But if you break this

chain you die

at exactly 12:42 tonight by Bloody Marry.

Don’t believe me? You’ll see not taking

Analysis:

I used to receive these texts all the time, and I’m really glad H.C. pointed this out because I forgot how relevant it was to my younger-self. I was terrified, just like Haley. It’s really funny, actually, because you can seemingly equate one’s maturity level or even intelligence level by who chooses to forward these chain messages. The basic premise is simple: Forward this message or else something bad will happen to you or someone you love! The messages are usually full of grammar errors and ridiculous fallacies. Obviously, it is impossible to trace the origin of who created these messages, but in my opinion, the original creators did so in order to get a rise out of an audience and possibly see how far their message can spread. Spoiler alert: they spread fast and far!

Croke-Patterson Mansion

Croke-Patterson Mansion

Informant:

Haley Croke. Haley is a first-year student at USC studying in Annenberg. Haley grew up in Denver Colorado and is familiar with certain Colorado legends. She also has an important and unique point of view, since she is a Millennial, which seems to be the most “out-there” and transformative generation we have seen thus far. Because of this, Haley is a perfect informant, as she holds a modern and up-to-date perspective. All interviews were held in a study-room on campus.

 

 

Folklore:

“So Thomas Bernard Croke IV is my Dad. Thomas Bernard Croke (the First) founded this huge, crazy, pretty famous mansion a long long time ago. I’m not exactly sure of the details but what I do know is that my, I guess ancestor, founded… a horror house. I’m literally too scared to go inside… It creeps me out knowing I can be traced to the place. But supposedly there were a ton of exorcisms in the house which is super creepy. What’s possibly even creepier is that supposedly every guard dog they would get ended up dying. I don’t know many details, because I honestly don’t want to know. I know that it’s open to the public for tours now. It’s in Downtown Denver. Gives me chills just thinking about.”

 

Analysis:

Turns out everything Haley says is true. The house caused public hysteria for a long time and was closed to the public after it was abandoned long ago, but can now be accessed via $25 tours. Supposedly, there are supernatural winds that open and shut the drawers in the house constantly. It’s a famous tourist attraction in Denver.

Vanderlip Mansion

Vanderlip Mansion

 

Informant:

T.N.  had a very unique upbringing in that her father was in the Air Force, which caused her family to relocate extremely often. When she was young, her younger sister tragically died of leukemia at the age of five, and her father soon died in an airplane accident. Her mother remarried afterwards to another Air Force veteran who then worked in real estate, which also led to several relocations. T. N.  grew up all around the United States but spent most of her time in Tampa Bay, Florida until she moved to Indian Wells, California for her Senior year of high school before matriculating to USC. She now resides in Palos Verdes Estates, California.

Folklore:

“The legend is quite fascinating, as you know. The Vanderlips are an extremely wealthy and influential family who were instrumental in starting the city of Palos Verdes. Frank Vanderlip was an extremely wealthy banker in the… late 1800s to early 1900s, I believe. He is famous for many things, but in this particular legend, Mr. Vanderlip… as he was known… lived in an enormous mansion that he constructed atop the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Legend has it that his entire family lived in the estate with him, and while several stories are different, the most popular says that… His daughter started to date a young black man. Mr. Vanderlip was not okay with this at the time, and when he found out about their relationship, he supposedly had the man hung in his front yard from the trees. Obviously I don’t know if this is true… I have also heard legends that he killed his daughter for becoming pregnant with the man’s child as well. Either way, the Vanderlip Mansion is supposedly haunted to this day. However, I’m not so sure… I have met his granddaughter several times who still lives at the house. She’s trying to sell it, but is obviously having a hard time.”

Analysis:

I have actually visited the Vanderlip Mansion with my friends late at night. It is extremely hard to access, as it is behind a gated community, so you must have the code to enter. It is then up an extremely long, windy path. When you arrive, it is easy to see how creepy the Vanderlip estate is. It is unruly, and looks like it was abandoned years ago. We did not have the guts to exit our vehicle. It exudes your typical haunted house vibe. While I am unsure if it is haunted, it is certainly creepy. What gives credibility to the report, however, is the several police reports that have been filed on the Vanderlip mansion about paranormal activity. Each report seems to go hand in hand with the other. It is certainly a mystery… But I’m not exactly willing to solve it. A team of “ghost busters” has tried unsuccessfully several times, as they don’t have permission from the city or the landowners.

Wayfarer’s Chapel

Wayfarer’s Chapel

 

Informant:

T. N.  had a very unique upbringing in that her father was in the Air Force, which caused her family to relocate extremely often. When she was young, her younger sister tragically died of leukemia at the age of five, and her father soon died in an airplane accident. Her mother remarried afterwards to another Air Force veteran who then worked in real estate, which also led to several relocations. T.N. grew up all around the United States but spent most of her time in Tampa Bay, Florida until she moved to Indian Wells, California for her Senior year of high school before matriculating to USC. She now resides in Palos Verdes Estates, California.

Folklore:

“Okay… My second haunted PV place is short and sweet. Wayfarer’s Chapel is an iconic place for people to get married. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the ‘40s… It is absolutely beautiful and has a breathtaking view over the Pacific and the peninsula. I haven’t heard any concrete stories, but supposedly the grounds are haunted. Not sure if it’s true or not, but apparently there is a massive white owl that is always active at the chapel at night. There are also supposed to be strange flying-insect species around the chapel at nighttime that can’t be identified. While I don’t know too much about why people suspect it of being haunted… I just have always heard that it is haunted…”

Analysis:

Growing up close to Wayfarer’s Chapel, I can admire its beauty from afar… At the bottom of the hilltop. I don’t feel a strong urge to visit it. Like my Mom, I haven’t really heard anything particularly horrifying about the chapel, yet I do not really want to visit to see for myself. There are weddings there pretty frequently, so in my opinion, it couldn’t be too haunted. Or at least not during the day… It was also designed by a world-renowned architect. I’m not sure if that adds or detracts from the spookiness of the chapel.