Category Archives: Rituals, festivals, holidays

The Fort Point Ghost Walk

Text: “I think like 3 years or so ago I went on a tour of Fort Point underneath the golden gate bridge and there was like this scary tour pertaining to the ghosts of soldiers who served in the fort in the past. Part of the tour contained people in ghost costumes but it also included explanations of supernatural events and examples of the tour guides communicating with ghosts in the rooms or sites where they are believed to be.

Context: CH is a resident of Mill Valley in Orange County where he claims to be an hour or so away from the fort where he went on this tour. The scariest part according to him was the setting of the tour, the dark and twisting corridors of the old fort, which added to the overall sense of unease and tension. He also remembered a point where his tour guide tried to talk to the ghost of a soldier who passed away in the room he was in which was very scary. CH said this was a Halloween tradition that people could experience annually around that time of year but that the tour would likely lose its charm after going again.

Analysis: While there have been reports of supernatural activity at the fort over the years, including sightings of ghostly apparitions and unexplained sounds and movements, these claims have not been scientifically verified. It is important to note that many of the stories and legends surrounding Fort Point are based on historical events, such as the fort’s use as a military prison during the Civil War, and the deaths and tragedies that occurred there over the years. These stories have been passed down through the years and have become part of the folklore and mythology surrounding the fort. The people dressing up as these ghosts and telling scary stories of ghosts believed to be inhabiting the fort are ways of perpetuating this belief and are not only a way to attract tourists and visitors, but also a way to keep the rich history of the fort alive and well. The way CH described it the tour he went on seemed to involve some examples of ritual where the guides tried to communicate or interact with apparitions.

Gasparilla

Context: The informant JE is a recent graduate of a college in the city of Tampa, Florida. Not being from there, the informant made it very clear that they tried extra hard to make sure they followed and learned all the traditions of the area. JE stated that they felt in doing this they would have both a better experience living there and also meet lots of new people.

Tradition: Every year in Tampa there is a festival, Gasparilla, which the informant stated was basically just a big pirate festival across the city, celebrating the history of Tampa. The informant said it was a huge deal in the area, and they partook in the event every single year that they lived in the city.

Analysis: The informant constantly emphasized how important the event was to the city, and subsequently all of their college friends. While in the end it seems a bit like a giant excuse to party, the fact the city keeps the tradition as an extremely big deal is tremendous to see. The city because of festival and its “pirate” history has really leaned into this cultural aspect, even naming one of their professional sports teams after pirates. City identities such as this create an extremely fun and connected culture for the residents, and more cities should lean more into their history to have a unique culture.

Lucky Pennies

Text: 

L: “So for luck, your godmother [T], from the Massachusetts area, came from somewhat of an Irish background and she had a tradition of throwing pennies. She would throw pennies in everywhere, whether it was your house, whether it was your room, whether it was in a card she closed, whether it was in a car…”

Me: “For a moment I thought you were going to say a fountain.”

L: “She would throw it into a fountain, but she was not limited to fountains. Believe me. You know, drawers, rooms, books. And her tradition, which I believe is an Irish tradition, is that you throw pennies into the area you want so that you are blessed with good luck and good fortune and no lack of money. So basically, it’s a good luck charm. And to this day, you can even verify it with dad that we’ve found pennies in every corner of her townhouse.”

Context: 

L is my mom. Her close friend, T, who is also my godmother, was of Irish lineage. L learned this tradition from T in her 30s and while T practices this tradition a lot, L did not. When asked why she responded, “Because I had the annoyance of picking them all up.” When asked about interpretations L said T believed placing a penny causes good luck in that area compared to the belief of picking up a penny for good luck on the day it was picked up. T would never pick up a penny she found and considered it bad luck if someone did.

Interpretation:

Hearing about this tradition was interesting as I am personally used to the “If you pick a penny up, all the day you’ll have good luck.” This is the opposite with a giving penny tradition. Online there are various traditions about lucky pennies, and many specifically Irish ones too (Some listed here: https://silverbranchheritage.ie/heads-or-harps-penny-traditions/). I can’t find anything exactly like what T did but there are the older traditions of wishing wells and fountain pennies, some where if animals were sold as a market the buyer would give the seller back a penny that would become a lucky penny, and more. Abiding by such a tradition as T’s shows one’s giving nature and some belief in superstitions.

Walking on Knees

Text:

S: “There’s a big one actually. They like do it in my dad’s hometown a lot and in a lot of Mexican hometowns where like there’s like a main cathedral or like church and that one has to do with like praying to God for like good fortune. So like whenever there is something you pray to God for like really, really, badly for. Like in terms of super superstitious, I know a lot of sick people have done this. Like ‘Oh God, like let this surgery go well’ or like chemo, for example, ‘Let this chemo go good and I’ll be cancer free in the next year’ and blah blah blah, like ‘Oh please God, I’d do anything!’ And once this happens, in terms of superstition. Once like God, I don’t want to say grants their wish, but like, you know, God wills whatever they prayed for to happen, they now have to walk on their knees to the church. So usually at the church there is this big like entrance way to the church and sometimes it starts ever further. Like you have to go crawl on your knees from the road like a mile or so away from the church, and the road is rocky so your knees are like busted, torn to shreds, and walk all the way to the alter where the Virgin Mary is and offer like a flower or light a candle of something, you know? Or that’s like a really big thing they’ve done in like my hometown. My dad actually did it himself but like here, when I was like younger he had a health scare I think, like ‘Please let this be good’ and once it came like it was ok, like he carried me, I was like four I think, he carried me in his arms and he crawled to the alter holding me. So that’s like a very big one.” (omitted a fair amount of “like”s)

Context:

S is a Mexican American born in Long Beach, California. His parents are from Mexico. S knows of this tradition through his parents, with some personal experience by his father as spoken above. The “hometown” spoken of towards the end of the text is El Sabino Guanajuato. S’s take on this tradition is that it’s religious, serious, and also represents faith in a sense. He also uses the term “superstitious thinking” from his psych class to describe it.

Interpretation:

This action is like praying but almost also like making a deal with God. It could be a luck ritual with the physical performance part of this ritual being the crawling/walking on knees to the alter in a church. According to my mom, my grandmother also did this when my uncle got drafted. He came home safely so my grandmother got on her knees and crawled to the alter. This ritual goes to show how religion and belief could also work with superstition to give luck (good luck/blessings in this case).

El Día de los Muertos

Text:

S: “[T]here’s Día de los Muertos which is Day of the Dead. So for that we like have an alter in our house, which is basically just like pictures of all our dead relatives and we light candles and then we… pray to God that there like in a better place. A lot of the times we go to like the cemetery and we bring like food, their favorite food and we place it at like their grave and like tombstones and that’s you offering up the dead person’s favorite food. I forget what the reasoning is, you might want to research into that, but it’s like so they have something to remind them of their old life, comfort food? I’m not sure but you take their favorite food to their grave site.”

He later told me he celebrates it on November 2nd, but November 1st is celebrated too however that’s only for saints/angels.

Context: 

S is a Mexican American born in Long Beach, California. His parents are from Mexico. S celebrated this holiday since he was little as his parents taught it to him with one of his earliest memories of Día de los Muertos was celebrating it with and for his grandmother. S’s take on Día de los Muertos is it’s about preserving history and keeping traditions alive. 

S: “I like to think about it in terms of like when someone passes there’s a chance they’re not going to be remembered by like history you know? Like so few people get remembered by like the things they contributed to the world. Even historical figures, no one really likes… they just learn about them because you have to, no one really remembers as much. And when it comes to your family, you’re the only person who’s going to remember them. In terms of history, you know, they’re just going to be washed away like they didn’t really exist, so I guess it’s up to you to keep their memory alive and just make sure like the things they did while they were alive matters to you and it means something as a way to keep them like they’re still here, you know? Cause when you die, you’re gone, but your memory lives on and I guess that’s a way to make sure their memory doesn’t also die and they still live on through that which I guess is a big part of Day of the Dead and stuff like that.”

Interpretation:

Día de los Muertos is very much about honoring and remembering loved ones. They can be for family members, friends, idols, etc. however important ones are mostly for family members. As S explained, people celebrate this holiday to keep their loved ones alive in spirit as despite being physically gone. The concept of offering foods at graves and alters with pictures of the passed away is similar to the idea Valk explained with ghosts haunting family members and being territorial. Though the spirits of those who passed away here are tied to their graves and alter photos and are not hostile but almost guardian-like.