Author Archives: Maria Tsiao

Haunted Pike Place Market

Background: My informant, ET, attended the University of Washington from 2009-2013. I asked her about campus/Seattle folklore, and this was her response:

ET: “Pike Place is supposedly haunted. My freshman RA thought it would be fun for the floor to go on a haunted Pike Place Market tour. But apparently people have like, died, at Pike Place Market. They accidentally slipped on the ground with the fish and everything, because you know how they throw the fish around, so there’s apparently lots of haunted fish mongers, and you would see them walking around after the markets closed.”

Me: “Do you feel like Pike Place is haunted?”

ET: “Me? I only go during the day so I hope not, but I also wouldn’t be surprised since it’s so old. It’s also close to the Seattle Underground tour, and people say that place is haunted too, so yeah, maybe it’s just a downtown Seattle thing.”

Analysis: I love a good ghost story. Having been to Pike Place myself, I can confirm that all the traditions–the fish toss across the market every half an hour or so–could naturally progress into ghost stories too. With all of the history and bustle in the market, it seems natural that a place with that reputation would naturally have a few ghost stories as well–it seems entirely plausible that a fish monger in the process of throwing a raw fish across the market died while slipping on the floor. People primarily go to Pike Place for the market itself, but I think the existence of ghost stories like this one once again offer room for multiplicity and variation–I’m sure each fish stall at Pike Place likely has their own variation on this story depending on their brand–but also invites tourists and other visitors to be in the in-group in a location that would otherwise seem like a one-dimensional farmer’s market.

Nashville Hot Chicken Origin Story

Background: My informant, HT, is currently a student at Vanderbilt University. Interview conducted over FaceTime.

Me: “Tell me about the story behind Nashville hot chicken.”

HT: “Okay. So the story of Nashville hot chicken is that there was like a guy, a husband, who was asking his wife to make him fried chicken. But she found out that he was cheating on her, so she was super pissed. She was like, I’m gonna make his fried chicken but spike it with spicy shit, hot peppers. He eats it and is like yo that’s like straight fire. Nashville has a lot of local hot chicken chains like Hattie B’s. But the real hot chicken is not in the chains.”

Me: “Who did you hear this story from?”

HT: “I heard it from my supervisor at the library who’s a Nashville native.”

Me: Do you think the story is real?

HT: Yeah, I mean it makes sense. Plus I trust my supervisor, especially because they’re a Nashville native. That’s like finding a unicorn here.

Analysis: I think the Nashville Hot Chicken story is the perfect example of a legend with room for multiplicity and variation. It’s an entirely logical and plausible story, but I can also see how it could easily be re-told with infinitely small twists and tweaks that would cater to whichever audience it was being told to. As far as food goes, the scenario is extremely common, similar to the creation of fries (I believe potatoes were unintentionally deep fried to the unexpected delight of the customer), which echoes many of the same themes as this story. The way it was also passed through word of mouth to my informant very much makes it a performance, and not institutionalized, particularly through the prevalence of hot chicken outside of chain restaurants as well.

“The Mountain’s Out!”

Background: My informant, EV, grew up in Puyallup, Washington, but currently goes to USC. Interview conducted in person.

Me: “Do you know any Washington folklore? Sayings, jokes, stories, etc.?”

EV: “Oh, I know one. I never say this, but I always hear like, older people say it all the time. So for context, in Washington there’s one main mountain, Mount Rainier, that pretty much everyone can see from like, their backyard if they live in Western Washington. Sometimes it’s covered by like fog or clouds or whatever, but especially on a sunny or clear day it can become visible. So people call Rainier “The Mountain,” because it’s like the main mountain, so when you can finally see it after the rain clears up or something, people will be like, ‘Look! The Mountain’s out!’ And that’s a perfectly normal thing for people to say with no context. Everyone will know exactly what you’re talking about. Like I didn’t realize how abnormal it was until I came to USC and people wouldn’t comment on like, the visibility of the mountains on a daily basis. Just a silly little Washington thing.”

Analysis: I find the colloquial/vernacular usage of this phrase to be really interesting. Once again indicating in-group/out-group behavior, where it almost becomes a right of passage to have the knowledge and experience to also be able to refer to Mount Rainier simply as “The Mountain.” I think the phrase also says a lot about the significance of the mountain to the culture and priorities in the area (nature), where it not only serves as a geographic landmark to admire and judge direction off of, but also becomes another core component to distinguishing the in-group from the out-group–to intentionally or perhaps unintentionally select Mount Rainier as the symbol for central identity. The phrase indicates a certain degree of rarity in seeing the mountain, so its presence isn’t taken for granted, and worth noting even in everyday conversation.