Tag Archives: Subways

The Mole Socities of New York City

Age: 20

Text: According to this subject, in New York, there’s an urban legend about a secret underground society of homeless people who live within tunnels that spread all over the city. Apparently, as this subject has noted that she’s heard versions of this story from multiple sources, this legend is widespread throughout the city, with some people even claiming that they’ve seen people slip out of “abandoned” subway stations at night, or even from out under sewer grates. Allegedly, these “mole people” as they’ve become known live in pretty complex societies and communities – with some people going so far as to suggest that they have access to every major building in New York. 

Context: Ever since moving to New York for college, this subject has occasionally found herself regaled by tales from classmates and coworkers alike who are native to New York about the urban legends of the secret network of tunnels that run under NYC. She believes that these stories probably came about just as a result of subway stations closing or not getting finished, and she isn’t completely sold on the idea of people living in societies completely underground in the city. 

Interpretation: I believe that this urban legend of a “mole people” society that supposedly has connections within the entire city of New York is based on the fact that there probably are some homeless people who do take refuge in abandoned subway buildings for shelter. The idea about these “mole people” having widespread societies and access into buildings seems a little bit more paranoid, perhaps a byproduct of the story passing throughout the state by word of mouth – people could have added their own additions to this story as they pass them on to make it sound more interesting and wild.

Fireball Ghosts

Nationality: American
Age: 61
Occupation: Homemaker
Residence: Southern California
Performance Date: March 24, 2018
Primary Language: English

After college, my mom lived in Japan 7 years. She taught English to get by and apprenticed as a potter to gain experience. Growing up, she told me tons and tons of stories from her time there. I was always particularly interested in their spiritual beliefs. Specifically, those regarding ghosts.

Driving home from lunch one sunny afternoon, I ask her and my dad if they have any stories about the inexplicable that I could use for my folklore project. My mom starts:

“In Japan in graveyards – because it’s… because everybody’s cremated it’s very common during typhoon season to see fireballs and whatnot. And that’s really because of the seepage of the rainwater into burial urns combining with the phosphorous of the bones and creating fireballs. But some people believe that they’re spirits and that the graveyards are haunted. So, yeah I guess. Some people believe it’s the spirits and other people believe it’s the phosphorous in the bones with the rainwater. It’s also very easy to imagine … you sort of feel different presences in Japan. Especially in subways in Tokyo. Because they’re very old, you can feel lots of spirits.”

This anecdote is particularly interesting, as it includes scientific explanation for a supernatural occurrence. Imagine walking home late one rainy night when you see fireball after fireball erupt out of a graveyard. That would be absolutely terrifying. Thankfully, my mother never told me this story as a kid, as it would have almost undoubtedly caused innumerable nightmares and late nights for her. Though she explains the fireballs, she still admits to feeling a very strong spiritual presence across the country as a whole. A presence no one can account for outright. Though some ghosts are easily explained, others are not.