I am interviewing my uncle, who had a son (my cousin) that died last year to an overdose of pills. The informant believes that after his son’s untimely death, strange sightings occurred that made him believe he was seeing signs of his son’s spirit from the dead. Me: How exactly did your son die? Uncle:… Continue Reading »
I am interviewing a friend (ED) from high school who is describing an old house his family used to live in that he claims had a ghost of an old owner. My friend is a member of a family with one brother, one half brother, one step brother and one step sister. Me: What is… Continue Reading »
Context While ghosts and other supernatural forces are often the centerpiece of creation stories, what if there was a creation story for ghosts themselves? Two related stories from two different cultures––Voodoo and Native American traditions––are explored here, portraying the mysterious mind as an influential character that interacts with ghosts. The Voodoo story shows how just… Continue Reading »
Context The story of The Golden Arm is a folktale dating back 200 years, originally conceived to discourage greediness. Mark Twain famously performed this ghost story, sometimes didactically as a way to teach the skill of storytelling. Importantly, the legend of The Golden Arm is an orally-told story. It is performed theatrically via word-of-mouth and… Continue Reading »
Background: The interviewer and the informant went to the same primary school together in Qingdao, China. Interview asks the informant to retell a horror story that was very popular in their primary school. Informant: So next to the gate there was this statue of a woman, she’s playing a harp. And a long time ago… Continue Reading »