Tag Archives: shadow

Graffiti Ghost Story

Context:

J is an 18 year old from Canada who has parents from the Philippines. 

This conversation took place over a zoom call after I asked her if she had any ghost stories that she knew of. The story is from her cousin and was told to her at a family party. 

Text:

J: I remember parts of it, but there’s not a lot of details.

Me: That’s okay!

J: Let me think from the start, I first heard this story like a couple of years ago, when I was younger cause my uncle was like do you wanna go visit a haunted park. And it’s not like a forestry park it like by the, because they have lakes, it’s this nice park area around a lake. And um… I was curious because I had never heard of this. And he was like Oh, here I’ll tell you the story um, it’s from one of my Kuya’s friends, and my Kuya is my cousin. They go driving places, so obviously his friend was with his other friend and their girlfriends. So they were like, it was like late night, probably in the summer time, around the time I heard it. What happened was, they were just there for the evening but obviously it got dark really quickly and the girlfriend, the main guy’s girlfriend had been picking flowers so she had like a few in her hand and she was sitting passenger seat. And they were about to go. But like, it was really weird because their cards weren’t starting. And obviously you know when you get that vibe that something feels really off… but you can’t really tell what’s up?

Me: Yeah.

J: It’s- it’s summer, it’s warm and foggy and for some reason the car headlights are on but the car isn’t starting. So they’re on a call with the people in the car beside them, trying to start, and theirs isn’t starting either. And then um, what made this even weirder is that before they had been going to their cars, there’s like this warehouse for like government supplies or something by the lake. And this is like the most important part of the- the second most important part of the story because on the outside there’s graffiti on those walls of like… you know like… a stencil?

Me: yeah!

J: It was graffiti stencils of like, there was an AR gun, like a rifle type, and at the end there’s a flower symbol beside it. And then, so there’s just a flower and the gun. That’s what they saw the time before. And while they were starting up, their lights flicker from one of their cars and then, apparently they said they saw a figure. Like someone standing there. They didn’t really describe if it was like, in heavy details, but like I think it was a woman like type. But all they said was they saw someone vaguely shaped like a person in those shadows.. Which is kinda like.. Sus. 

Me: uugh.

J: So like obviously, you’re really scared. And like apparently the girlfriend’s flowers had wilted like.. A lot when they saw the figure. And they were freaking the heck out. But they managed to start the cars and they left-they left. They’re fine. But obviously you have a scare if you see a person at night.

Me: is this in Canada?

J: yea, this is in Canada, sorry my bad.

Me: it’s okay

J: I don’t remember the specific park name because I don’t really go there. It gets worse, cause like, see I wish I could show you the picture but I can’t find it. But it was kinda black, and kinda smudged. And creepy vibes. In an abandoned warehouse. And apparently, I was talking, we were talking to the same friend recently, like the guy, like this year at my cousin’s party and um, he said that you know, there was graffiti beside it when they went back, and you know what it said?

Me: uuuuhhhhh

J: It said- it said, have you seen him. 

Me: STOPP

J: In big fucking like jagged letters, it’s like UGH.

Me: I would never go back.

J: I would go back at night.. Just to like.. See it. 

Reflection:

Like many, this informant was more likely to trust the ghost story because it came from a familial source and because it came with a recent follow-up that was accompanied by a photo. Photographic evidence as well as something being persistent or consistent across multiple occasions makes ghost stories much more believable. This may be due to the fact that it appears to be less likely to be an isolated incidence but rather one that may have a common source to a couple of incidents. Graffiti and abandoned locations tend to have a reputation of being haunted, possibly because people are expecting that other people are inside of the location. After its abandoned, your mind and your senses are hyperaware of the fact that it used to be inhabited and may use this against you to cause you to think that you see someone or a shadowy figure. The wilting flower was also an interesting piece of symbolism towards a ghost, something that is no longer alive much like a wilted flower. I also think that it was very interesting that my initial response was that I would no longer visit that park, while my informant seems intrigued and wanted to find more proof for themself of the ghost. 

Shadow in the Burial Pot

Daniel is an immigrant from Hong Kong who immigrated to the United States in search of better opportunities and a better life for both him and his family. Living in a poor family with seven other siblings, he immediately went to work as a police officer after receiving his high school diploma in Hong Kong. Once he moved to Los Angeles, he worked as a computer technician, and subsequently, changed his career to a funeral counselor.

Original Script

This is our Chinese Asian tradition. When we do the funeral service in the cemetery, we will try to keep our shadow away from the burial pot. We believe that if our shadow fell into the pot, our soul will be buried together, which will cause us bad luck and illness.

Background Information about the Performance from the Informant

The informant heard of this superstition from a Taoist priest during a funeral service. During one particular funeral service, his shadow was about to be caught in a burial pot before the priest pulled him away and explained this superstition to him.

Context of the Performance

I interviewed the informant at his house.

There is the belief that the shadow is the manifestation of the soul; it is commonly associated with life and death. Among many cultures around the world, chaos and darkness were believed to be the beginnings of the cosmos. Thus, people came to believe that the shadow, as a reflection of darkness, possesses life within itself. In addition, one’s shadow imitates one’s actions; it seems to emulate life, leading to the assumption that shadows are living beings. From this belief, the Chinese superstition—a person’s shadow caught in a burial pot will invite bad luck and sickness—was born.

My Thoughts about the Performance

There are many superstitions revolving around death and funerals. According to some cultures, one’s shadow is an essential part of one’s humanity, identity, or soul. Losing it would incur bad luck or even death on the person. I find it interesting how the superstition told by the informant leads to the loss of a person’s soul. I expected the consequence of a person’s shadow entering the burial pot to be the person being haunted by the deceased, because this is one of the most common penalties involving the dead.