“In my freshman dorm there was this kind of ghost story that would float around. It was one of those things where you didn’t really believe in it, but it was still kind of freaky to hear and share it. 

“Did you share it with people?”

“Oh yeah, everyone in the building knew it, and I think most people shared it. The story was that a while back there was a kid who died in the building during finals week, I forget exactly how the story said it happened. But anyways it was said that afterwards, every semester during finals week you would hear these weird noises coming from places that didn’t make sense, like right outside your window on the fourth floor, or students would get intense chills in their rooms. Some would even say they would catch glimpses of the dead kid turning a corner at the end of the hall or stairway.”

“Do you believe it?”

“It depends, it’s possible a kid died, but no I never really believed in the supernatural parts of it. I think the sleep deprivation of finals week and maybe excitement around spreading the story makes people think they see things but I’m not really sure.

Context: This is a legend my friend heard in his dorm while he was a freshman in college. He says that this story was spread around the freshman housing, and the excitement of being in an unfamiliar place added to the vitality of the story his opinion.

Analysis: I agree with my friend that the context around where/when this story was spread added to the impact of the story. As my friend said, the fact that it was a freshman dorm and everyone there is new to the school and in a liminal period of their life transitioning into college added to the believability. Additionally, the timing of finals week adds to the overall stress of students, making them more prone to attribute the supernatural to the natural. Further, this time of stress for the students could be a motivator to take their minds of the stress of school and exams in any way they could, like distracting themselves with the fun of sharing spooky stories with their new friends.