Author Archives: ntrost

Subterranean Lizard People of Los Angeles

Text:

“My mom is really into conspiracy theories. One of them that she’s into is the one about the lizard people that live in the tunnels under LA. I don’t know if she actually believes it or not, I think she just watches a lot of YouTube videos about them. She sends me Instagram DMs about it, just memes and TikToks.”

When asked to explain what the lizard people are, DS responded:

“Okay, basically they’re these shapeshifting aliens that have been around for thousands of years and control everything. Like, if you dig into any scandal with the government or celebrities, the idea is that they’re probably behind it.”

When asked if his mother had any stories of personally encountering the lizard people, DS responded:

“She talks a lot about this YouTuber she watched a few years ago who was filming himself walking around the tunnels and he said that he had seen the lizard people down there during a previous visit. I don’t think he actually caught them on tape in the video though.”

Context:

DS is a 20 year old student studying political science at UCLA. He grew up in Los Angeles in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood. In this entry, he is referring to the network of tunnels that span roughly 11 miles that were used as speakeasies during the Prohibition Era.

Analysis:

This entry from DS demonstrates an intersection of city history and internet conspiracy theory in the creation of folklore. The idea that the rich and powerful are secretly lizard people is not a conspiracy theory unique to Los Angeles, or even the United States. This notion, arguably, can only be sustained through global internet communication via comment sections, discussion sites, forums, etc, where such notions can be entertained without being realistically challenged. Yet, despite the global appeal of the reptilian conspiracy theory, it has taken on its own special iteration within the context of Los Angeles, particularly within the tunnels that span underground. Already mired with mystery and a reputation for secrecy as they were used to host speakeasies during the Prohibition Era, the tunnels become the ideal location for hiding lizard people. Additionally, Los Angeles is considered the home of many powerful and influential people, which helps to contribute further to the idea that they may be lurking beneath us. Folk communication, as described by DS, as memes and Tiktoks add a social layer to the conspiracy, a means to connect with another person through shared anxieties about the “elite.”

La Llorona

Text:

When asked if his abuelita had told him about any legends during his visits to Mexico, MS responded:

“She told me about La Llorona. It was a story she heard growing up from her parents to discourage her from playing in rivers. And now they made it into a movie a couple years ago.”

When asked to explain the version that his abuelita told him, MS responded:

“Yeah, so I knew about the story before the movie came out. The version she told me was that this woman fell in love with this guy from a wealthy family, but he wasn’t interested in her, so she killed the kids they had had together. Then she felt bad about it so she killed herself too and became a ghost. So now her spirit kind of roams around bodies of water, like lakes and rivers, and cries while looking for her kids. Abuelita also said she tempts kids into water and drowns them, so that’s why parents warn their kids to stay away from bodies of water when they’re playing.”

Context:

MS is a sixteen year old who has grown up in Los Angeles, CA. His abuelita immigrated from Mexico to Sacramento, CA in 1961. She then returned to her hometown in Mexico in the ’90s. Here, MS is recalling legends he had heard from his abuelita when his family visited her in her hometown during vacations.

Analysis:

The legend of La Llorona speaks to several anxieties: the notion that a mother might murder her children if she is discontent, the fear parents have of their children drowning while playing, as well as their fear of their children being lured away. Guilt brings these anxieties together and serves as the strong emotion that keeps “the weeping woman” bound to the mortal plane. Considered a cornerstone of Mexican and Chicano folklore, the way MS was indirectly exposed to the legend highlights how identity may be shaped by these legends. In a sense, he exists in between identities, close enough to have heard the “authentic” version from his abuelita before it was retold by those outside of the culture, yet removed by the virtue of where he has grown up; he can merely visit the folklore, he cannot “own” it in the same way as his abuelita.

The Ghost of Peg Enwistle

Text:

“Another one of the ghost stories I learned about Los Angeles, when I moved out here, was Peg Enwistle. From the story I heard, she killed herself by jumping off the H of the Hollywood sign. Now people say she haunts the area. I’ve read that joggers in the morning, they say they’ve see her ghost.”

When asked if she had ever seen anything while hiking up to the Hollywood sign, CR responded:

“I was with a group one morning and I swear I smelled gardenias. That’s what they say is her scent, because she wore gardenia scented perfume when she was alive. But, I was already aware of the myth, so it could have been a placebo.”

Context:

CR is a sixty year old acting teacher. Originally from Virginia, she moved to LA when she was eighteen and has lived in various areas of the San Fernando Valley.

Analysis:

The legend of Peg Enwistle lands itself in two primary taboos of American culture: the infeasibility of the American Dream and suicide. Both are considered uncomfortable topics for many Americans, which helps to spur ghost legends such as this one. The circumstances of Enwistle’s death, namely her lack of success as an actress despite her hard work, instils doubt into the traditional notion that one’s efforts will be rewarded with success. The idea that the Hollywood sign served as a symbol of failure that loomed over Enwistle’s head rather than a beacon of inspiration that we might fantasize it to be is a notion that disturbs us. There is a certain guilt felt collectively by society for imposing impossible standards and dreams onto its youth. For the consequence of these standards to then be the suicide of a young woman only compounds this guilt. As CR discusses, her physical presence remains, particularly as the scent of gardenias. We get the idea from legends such as this one that true rest cannot be achieved when one ends their own life.

Chupacabra

Text:

When asked about the legends that his abuelita would tell him during his family visits to Mexico, MS responded:

“She also told us about the chupacabra. It’s one I actually asked about because my brothers and I played this game called Poptropica when we were younger. It had all these islands you could visit and one of them was the ‘Cryptids Island’ where you had to track down these urban legend creatures, like Nessie and Bigfoot, and one of them was the chupacabra, so I wanted to ask her about it. She said that yeah, her parents had told her about it growing up. So, if people found their goats or livestock with these puncture holes in their necks, they blamed it on the chupacabra.”

When asked what he could recall about the chupacabra’s appearance, MS responded:

“So in the game, it looked like this f*cked up looking, blue dog thing with spikes and sh*t. But, I think abuelita said it was more reptile looking.”

Context:

MS is a sixteen year old who has grown up in Los Angeles, CA. His abuelita immigrated from Mexico to Sacramento, CA in 1961. She then returned to her hometown in Mexico in the ’90s. Here, MS is recalling legends he had heard from his abuelita when his family visited her in her hometown during vacations.

Analysis:

This entry from MS highlights the role of non-native media in shaping perceptions of folk legends. As MS mentions, his initial interest in the chupacabra stemmed from its portrayal in the popular online children’s game, Poptropica. This brings forth the question of what role non-native media plays in shedding light on this folklore and what responsibilities it has while doing so. In this case, exposure to the legend in the context of a video game spurred his curiosity to explore the origins of the chupacabra further. However, from his description, it is clear that Poptropica’s depiction of the chupacabra adheres more to the North American imagination of what kills livestock: wolves. This visual description is distinct from the versions of the legend that tend to be seen in Puerto Rico and Mexico, where the creature is described as more reptilian. The choice to portray the chupacabra as more dog/wolf-like brings up another question of responsibility: How should Poptropica, an online game that claims to be an educational resource for children, balance its commercial interests with its goal to educate?

HAGS

Text:

LP reports that “HAGS”, meaning “Have a great summer,” was a popular thing to write in yearbooks while in school.

Context:

LP is an adult, male college graduate who was raised in Beverly Hills, CA, attending the public schools in the area.

When asked which things were popular to write inside a yearbook while growing up, LP said that “HAGS” was the typical go-to for most students. He states that his relationship with this practice is that he would only use this for those he wasn’t particularly close with or didn’t have any shared anecdotes. To “fill out the space of the yearbook,” he said that he and others would write “HAGS” in big letters. LP says that he first learned of the usage of “HAGS” around the first time he was of age to receive a yearbook, roughly around first grade.

Analysis:

LP’s mention that “HAGS” is typically used for those classmates that one is not particularly close with hints at its usage as a relaltionship signifier. The choice of language in yearbook messages can be a subtle way to convey the level of closeness and familarity between two individuals. By employing “HAGS,” a student has the ability to maintain warm, but distant relations with a fellow classmate. The yearbook itself is a sort of folk object, one that may be distrubuted by an official authority, the school and yearbook staff, but malleable in the hands of students. LP’s view on the usage of “HAGS,” particularly that one might write it in bigger letters to fill out the blank space of a yearbook, demonstrates the function of yearbooks as a means of affirming the social standing of others with more “filled out” space representing a greater social position among peers.