Tag Archives: ghost

Graveyard rules

Text:
“Back when I was a child, whenever my family and I were on a trip, if we passed by a graveyard, my mom told me to hold my breath. I think she mentioned it was because the ghosts would become jealous of my breathing and would attack me. Personally, at least back then, I thought it was to be sure you didn’t inhale a ghost. Now I think it was just a way to get me to be quiet”

Context:
When I asked my informant if there were any rules that he followed that had some story or legend behind them, he talked about his graveyard rules. He is unsure of where his mom learned it, but assumes that it was just part of her family as well. He does comment that it was a good way to get him to be quiet on car rides, however.

Interpretation:
It is interesting how small rules such as holding your breath by a graveyard can have a legend behind them. This reminds me of a similar saying in Korea, where if you hold your breath through a tunnel, your wish comes true. This graveyard one is more frightening then the tunnel one however, leading me to believe the goal of both of these sayings is just to keep kids quiet.

Interactions beyond the grave

My informant talked about some paranormal activity that happened after her brother passed away.

The first incident happened a couple weeks after the death. The brother had a bmw, and through some series of events, his boyfriend received it. When he was driving the car, he got into a car crash. After the car crash, when the boyfriend checked his phone, he had missed a call from the deceased brother on snapchat, exactly when the crash happened. After informing the family, they checked the brother’s phone, as snapchat accounts can only be logged in on one device at a time, and the account was never logged off. No one else in the family logged on so there is no plausible explanation for this event.

The second event that happened was a couple days after, when the boyfriend had a vivid dream that he and the brother were touring my informant’s, and her brother’s, high school. Afterwards, he described what he saw in the dream to one of his friends, and everything he stated was accurate. The catch? The boyfriend had never been to that school in real life.

Both of these stories are true paranormal stories. These stories contain the trope of a loved one being visited by the dead sometimes in a time of need. The call during the car crash could have been one of warning, and if the boyfriend had picked up (which you shouldn’t when driving) the crash may have been avoided. Similarly, seeing your loved one in a dream is also a common story. Dreams can be seen as some sort of liminal space between life and death, allowing for the communication between the two parties. This isn’t something that directly impacted my informant, but was something that she witnessed.

No one has a reason to lie, leading me to believe in the story, but realistically, it doesn’t make sense. The first can be attributed to shock perhaps, as people often hallucinate or imagine angels or something when in accidents, but the second doesn’t seem to have a plausible reason.

Ghost of the 600 wing

My informant told me about the legend of the ghost of the 600 wing from his high school.

These were a collection of stories or rumors that were spread in his high school. According to my informant, there weren’t ‘sightings’ of the ghost. Instead there were often events that were attributed to the ghost, such as the internet going out, or creaking noises being heard. These events were tied to the ghost because of other stories that were spread among the students. My informant wasn’t able to identify a clear source, but mentioned stories about a mysterious closet that contained corpses.

These stories all have the possibility of happening. The 600 wing is supposedly one of the older wings, leading to more warped floors which can be explanation for the creaking noises. The age of the wing can also explain the interruptions of the internet.

Ghost stories tend to originate in places that are spooky or eerie. These can include abandoned or old buildings, or places with religious significance. This high school wing checks both boxes. The environment allows the creation of these ghost stories.

The ghost stories are able to continue to exist because of multiple things. My theory is that teachers welcome them as the dissuade students from exploring too much. Although students may not truly believe in ghosts, there is always that “what if?” that stops students from going too far. On the student’s side, it is fun to have a ghost story tied to the school. It helps build a bond between the students and their school and can be something that they joke about.

Donna Maria’s Enchanted Gardens (Sawfar)

My informant is a family member in Lebanon that has lived in the mountains for her entire life which plays a large role in this important narrative that has “become part of her identity forever.”

Narrative:

Wedding at Donna Maria Sursock Gardens

My informant states that they “lived in a village named Sawfar, far into the mountains of Lebanon. Although, it wasn’t different to many other villages, on top of our mountain stood a castle that belonged to our beloved Donna Maria.” The woman who was known to be “the most generous and beautiful of all” lived in a small castle built by her husband, Albert to live out her fairytale dreams. However, after the passing or disappearance of the family for some unknown reason, the castle was “torn apart by the militia in 1975 and left in ruins.” My informant describes her childhood on the open castle grounds as magical and “some of the best moments of [her] life” even in it’s fractured state. After many years, weddings had begun to take place in the castle gardens and some describe “seeing Donna peering from the balcony, sending her wishes to the newlyweds and then it became a tradition, blessing each couple that keeps her memory alive.” The music of the weddings “erupted through the valleys, filling the mountains with the magic of Donna’s castle” However, the informant describes playing in the grounds once as a child and revealing part of the house that had been covered, “it was a dungeon filled with unknown bones. Nobody had known until [she] found it and it became a horror, even Donna may have had a darkness to her and skeletons in her basement”. 

Context:

She states that this became known to the entire village but the weddings never stopped, because it would tamper the ‘magic’ that Donna had given them. Her story and castle history was passed on for generations as children were even brought to learn about Donna and her past as “she is a vital part of Sawfar history” It has become an integral part of her family history and her children’s lives as she says “even though I never met Donna, her descendants and their ground are a big part of my upbringing in making me the person I am today” The castle is not only grounds for the descendants of Donna Maria but the rest of the village to enjoy and pass the joy that the bricks and gardens brought to others.

Analysis:

The narrative that my informant presents seems to be a pivotal part of her upbringing in the village as she had lived through most of the experiences at the Donna Maria castle. The element of the fairytale castle on top of the mountain allowed Donna and her family to thrive and incorporated that into the village. When the story was described, the informant said she passed it on to her children and brought them to the castle grounds to experience it. This allows the children to gain a sense of what their heritage is and a glamorized version of a story such as a castle encourages the learning of their culture and gain a patriotic view of their country and specifically the village. Adults are able to have a stable grounding in their village, even in unfortunate circumstances such as wars and attacks on their homes, they are able to look to the withered castle, with so much mixed history, and see it still standing. The castle represents the hope of what their village was, what it still is and what it will continue to be as the beauty of the story and the gardens is presented to residents of the village, their descendants and tourists who hope to see the history of what brought this village together. The ‘ghost’ of Donna Maria symbolises the blessing of eternal life, especially for married couples and children that still have growth to come as they not only learn about her beauty but also the dungeons that lie beneath her gardens. At times when married women struggled with events in their lives, they regret not getting married at the blessed grounds and being led by Donna who seems to have been viewed not only as a privileged woman but a queen atop the village that was a guiding light in the darkness of wars in Lebanon. Even after all the trials and tribulations that the entire country experienced, Donna’s damaged castle stood as a landmark in the people’s hearts and identities.

Urban Legend- Herobrine in Minecraft

Story:

Minecraft players have talked about this figure Herobrine, who basically looks like the character Steve but without eyeballs, for a few years. You summon Herobrine by making an altar our of gold, nether, and torches. It’s less common to see Herobrine himself – although some players have claimed to – but you can tell he’s been in an area in a number of ways. For example, the trees might have no leaves, you might see a random 2×2 tunnel, something you built could be on fire, he might put up signs with threatening messages … those are a few things that players have linked to him. Some people claim to have seen him even without spawning him using the altar; there are some blurry screenshots circulating online as proof, but it’s been debated whether those are edited or not. It’s most likely that if he’s real, he’s a glitch, based on the way he acts. But some people have started a rumor that Herobrine is the dead brother of Notch [the founder of Minecraft].

Context:

The informant, BN, is my classmate at USC. He is an avid Minecraft player, and came across this legend through posts on Reddit and YouTube related to the game.

Analysis:

Personally, I think Herobrine is real. Although I’ve never seen the ominous character himself, I have tried to spawn him in using the gold/nether altar – and soon thereafter I saw leafless trees, as well as a sign in front of my house in the game, saying “You will burn.”

The development and spread of the Herobrine legend shows the nature of the Minecraft community. The square-based universe of Minecraft is one adjacent to our real world, so it has its own folklore and urban legends. Players’ thoughts on whether Herobrine is real or not stem from their personal experiences with the game, as well as the YouTube and Twitch content they consume of it. This is similar to how many people’s belief in ghosts comes from their own perceived encounters with one, or convincing video content that someone else has interacted with/seen one. Plus, most Minecraft players belong to Gen Z and grew up with the game. This demographic was in their early teens when the Herobrine legend first originated and gained traction. This young age group is significantly more likely to believe a story about the paranormal, allowing the legend to take off and maintain relevance.