Tag Archives: ghosts

Bloody Mary

“Okay so when I was younger, in like elementary school or something probably around third or fourth grade I would be scared to go into a certain girls bathroom because the older girls, like the girls in fifth grade, would tell all the younger girls that this girl named bloody Mary lived in the front bathroom of the school. One time I went in there, and to mess with me, they turned the lights off when I was using the bathroom and made ghost sounds so that I would think bloody Mary was coming to get me, and I avoided that bathroom for like the entire rest of the year because I was afraid that I would get sucked into the mirror because that’s what they said would happen if she caught you looking at her. They also would try to get girls to stand in the bathroom and say bloody Mary three times in front of the mirror as a dare which became a big thing throughout the school and if you would do it, it was like you were super cool and not afraid of anything.”


Context: This was an over the phone interview with another classmate of mine who told me about her personal experience in elementary school. All text was transcribed from audio.


Interpretation:
This legend (as told through personal significance) speaks to the significance of evoking fear through the supernatural, and how middle schoolers are often gullible or easily manipulated into fearing certain things. It can also be a cautionary tale/dare that is often enacted during gatherings to see who “chickens out,” acting as a litmus test for social standing.

Holding Breath / Closing Eyes When Going Through Tunnel

In the hometown where my informant is from, there are multiple tunnels on different roads which pass through mountain peaks. These roads are those found in the canyons to get from the hometown to the beach. To this day, whenever my informant passes through these tunnels they hold their breath and close their eyes as part of the superstition. Every passenger of the car must close their eyes and hold their breaths in order to receive good luck, where if you open your eyes or release your breath before the tunnel ends, then you will receive bad luck. The driver is the exception where they must only hold their breath, for obvious safety reasons. 

I was able to trace this superstition back to the trucking community. Within the trucking community, tunnels can symbolize the numerous challenges and uncertainties faced on the road. These might include the physical dangers of navigating large vehicles through confined spaces, the monotony of long-distance travel, or the psychological toll of isolation. The practice of holding one’s breath as one drives through a tunnel becomes a ritual of passage, a moment of solidarity with fellow drivers, and a way to assert control over the journey’s unpredictability. This act can also be seen as a form of protective magic or superstition. Taken as a small ritual performed to ensure safe passage through what might be perceived as a vulnerable or liminal space. It ties into broader human traditions of invoking luck or protection when faced with potential danger, especially in situations where one has little control.

White Watchers

Nationality: Cantonese/American

Primary Language: Cantonese

Other Language(s): English

Age: 58

Occupation: Engineer

Residence: Yorba Linda

Performance Date: 19th of November 2023

This story was recounted through email to me and takes place in their family’s apartment in Hong Kong between during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Unfortunately due to how young the informant was at the time, they do not remember a lot of details and also did not feel comfortable going into more detail than they provided. After recounting the story, they commented that they are glad they no longer see the apparitions. They still believe that we are not alone and that other beings can cross into our dimensions even though they are not supposed to.

P as a child saw apparitions in their family apartment. They were described as white shaped human figures that would float across the apartment. The figures would float aimlessly and not interact with anyone, they would simply move across the house. P described their movement as if they were flowing through the air. One night when P and their siblings were sleeping, they woke up and P saw the figures in the room watching them. P said that that was the first time they really interacted with anything or anyone in the house. From then on, the figures would make a habit of watching P and their siblings sleeping, just silently watching, staying completely still. In the day when P saw the figures, they would continue to float around like they normally did, but at night sleeping became horrifying. P recalled that they would often times be unable to fall asleep, but be too afraid to open their eyes because they could feel the figures’ presence. All P could do was tightly shut their eyes and hope the figures would leave or that they would fall asleep soon. Shortly after, P and his family would move to the United States where they would no longer see the apparitions.

P is my uncle and is known in the family for having this “3rd eye” or “true vision” and my dad, his brother, used to tell me all the time that P used to see things because of his special sense. Often time when I see P at family functions he stares off into the distance, he’s very well known for doing that. My dad thinks he does this because he’s seeing something. I always thought this was a little funny seeing him zone out, but after hearing his stories and how uncomfortable he was about talking about it, I can’t help but think it’s at least a little bit true. That being said, my family is already pretty open about superstitious belief, it’s not just my dad’s side of the family as my mother believes in ghosts too. I think being raised around the idea that ghosts are real definitely makes this story more believable to me too. Admittedly, this was the first story P recounted and he wasn’t feeling entirely open just yet, so the details of the story were heavily limited.

The Lady in the Green Dress

Nationality: Italian
Primary Language: English
Other language(s): n/a
Age: 52
Occupation: Civil Defense Attorney
Residence: North Salt Lake, UT
Performance Date: 11/25/2023

Tags: Green Dress, Ghosts, Gothic Hotel, Dreams

Text: “Ever since I could remember, my mom had this recurring nightmare of the same figure. In her dream, there was this lady with long hair who was wearing a long, green dress. Everything about her seemed stretched. The dreams were so prominent that the Lady in the Green Dress was a household name. She never extended her reach outside of dreams, however, until her and her second husband’s anniversary. To celebrate, the couple booked a night at some old, decrepit hotel. She can’t remember the name of it, but said it reminded her of the Bate’s Motel from Psycho. On the first night at midnight, my mom said she woke up and felt the air around her go heavy, and when she opened her eyes, the Lady in the Green Dress was hovering no more than six inches above her. The fog immediately cleared from her head as she froze, staring at this floating apparition from her dreams. After a few moments, she registered what she was seeing, bolted out of bed, and screamed.”

Context: KV’s mom was not a spiritual person. She always took a practical, scientific approach to things. Therefore, it’s surprising that she’d share, and more importantly believe, a story like this. As for the informant, KV firmly believes in ghosts, therefore this story was not difficult for her to share, in fact, however, she made it known her mom constantly talked about the lady in the green dress throughout her childhood. She mentioned how this was the one exception her mom made to her belief in the supernatural. 

Analysis: This is a classic ghost story involving many examples of liminal spaces. For example, the initial appearance of the apparition occurred, and recurred, in a dream. Dreams occur in the REM stage of the sleep cycle, a paradoxical stage in which the mind acts as if it were awake, but the body is paralyzed. Additionally, the couple stayed at an old hotel, giving the impression of a classic, gothic haunted house typical of many ghost stories. The apparition appeared to KV’s mom at midnight, the liminal period between two days. While all of these elements are reminiscent of a classic ghost story, I myself am not completely convinced of an actual haunting. I believe the Lady in the Green Dress was in fact a character in a recurring nightmare, however, as the supposed physical appearance occurred during the night, I believe it may have just been a very convincing dream. However, who is to say the Lady in the Green Dress did not appear to KV’s mom that night, for dreams may exist in a space between the living realm and the realm of the dead.

We’d Better Go In

Nationality: American
Primary Language: English
Other language(s): n/a
Age: 78
Occupation: Retired Nurse
Residence: Bountiful, UT
Performance Date: 11/25/2023

Tags: Ghosts, Ancestors, Family, Hospital

“I remember when my dad was in the hospital, dying of bone cancer. He was simultaneously stricken with horrible Alzheimer’s, which meant he could never tell you his pain level to give any indication of the necessary dosage for his medication. Therefore, he was under perpetual surveillance. My sister, her husband, and I paid him a visit at some point in time. My husband was out of town, otherwise, he would have been there too. I remember us three sitting outside on the porch, it was an old-folks hospital so they had porches like that, positioned right in front of the entrance to my dad’s room. We were talking about the ball game we had watched the night prior and some family gossip when all of a sudden, my brother-in-law said in the calmest tone, “B. just walked in, we’d better go inside.” B. is my older brother, well, was my brother as he died a few years back. Naturally, I was shocked when my brother-in-law reported his ghost entering my dad’s hospital room. We did as he suggested and went inside to see my father in an otherwise empty room. The nursing staff arrived shortly after, just as my dad’s eyes went big – he looked startled at something on the ceiling – and just a short three minutes after we walked in, Daddy died.”

Context: This story is from CV talking about her brother-in-law, GP. CV reports GP has always been a spiritual person, frequently recounting his encounters with the dead and ghosts. Before this occurrence, CV believed that when we die, familiar people come and “pick us up.” This story, then, was a confirmation of that, as her brother, B., supposedly came and picked up her father. She claims his eyes bulged and he looked shocked just before his passing, as he could see B. standing there to collect him, but nobody else could.

Analysis: This is a sort of ancestral ghost story, reminiscent of many religious perspectives, particularly Christian, of the afterlife. Dealing with the liminal moments just before a person dies, this tale gives an optimistic take on what happens after we die. That is, we rejoin with our deceased relatives and watch over our living ones. Many elements, such as the naming of the deceased B., walking inside the hospital minutes before CV’s father’s passing, being isolated from the hospital room, and the nursing staff arriving nearly simultaneously make this story difficult to explain via coincidence. However, I am okay with that, as I’d rather accept a positive afterlife over one filled with horror and eeriness.