Tag Archives: water

The “Phantom Gator” of Fort Myers Florida

Text: “According to this legend, The Phantom Gator was once a real alligator that roamed the swamps many years ago. One day, it was caught in a poacher’s trap and killed. However, the spirit of the alligator refused to leave its home in the swamp and instead stayed behind as a vengeful ghost. It is said that The Phantom Gator can be seen on quiet nights, swimming through the dark waters of the swamp, its ghostly form visible just beneath the surface. Those who have seen it describe it as an eerie sight, with glowing eyes and a shimmering, translucent body. There was also a related story about a neighbor boy being attacked by the ghost of this alligator and I was told as a child to not go near the reserve where this attack occurred. I obviously didn’t really believe in the ghost alligator necessarily but I was absolutely terrified of the reserve and the whole swamp area and did not go near it.”

Context: It sounded as though this legend was more of a friend group thing but interestingly enough JD claimed it was first told to him by one of his cousins when he was very young (8 or 9). JD, being superstitious was adamant in telling me he “never went near the swamp” that the phantom gator reportedly resided in, even though he was not too quick to believe a ghost alligator was the true danger. But, out of his friend group he seemed to believe the story the most and feared the swamp it related to the most. He said some of his friends had went over near the swamp to explore but he didn’t come along just because he didn’t want to risk anything. He thinks he was so afraid because he got told the story when he was young and only told his friends about it later in life when they were already more mature and grown up.

Analysis: When being told this legend I thought it was very possible that it may have been created as a cautionary tale to warn people about the dangers of the swamps and the alligators that inhabit them. Alligators are common in Florida and can be dangerous if approached or provoked, especially for children who may not be aware of the risks. In this context, the story of the Phantom Gator may have been a way for parents and elders to scare children into staying away from the swamps and avoiding dangerous situations. By instilling a healthy respect and fear of the alligators, parents may have hoped to protect their children from harm. It was likely that the story would have been passed down orally through generations, with each teller adding their own embellishments and twists to the tale. It may have also been shared among different communities and social groups, becoming a popular topic of discussion and a way to bond over shared folklore and mythology in a more general sense. This definitely seemed like a more small scale legend, but because the group that spreads it believes in it and it has yet to be proven untrue, it should be considered a legend. I also think it is likely that similar legends pop up all around Florida by parents hoping to deter their kids from wandering into potentially dangerous areas like swamps.

Lemon Water – The Cure for a Stomach Ache?

Text: “Ever since I was little my mom has always prescribed me a glass of water with lemon squeezed into it whenever my stomach hurt or I felt nauseous. She did this because it helped her whenever her stomach hurt during her chemotherapy treatments. It never really worked for me but I kept doing it because I did not want to hurt her feelings and it always seemed to make her happy that she had this “cure” for stomach discomfort.

Context: AG is a friend of mine from Sydney Australia and it was at first pretty tough for him to come up with examples of folk medicine or food ideas. Once I broadened the scope of my interview though he recalled this story about how his mother would always make him lemon water whenever he had any symptoms pertaining to his stomach. This was my first time hearing about it, but he seemed confident one of his mom’s friends told her to do that to help with the nausea associated with her chemo treatments when she was battling ovarian cancer. The advice worked for her but not AG, but out of consideration for his mom he just went along with it.

Analysis: While there is evidence for the citric acid in lemons to aid with indigestion, there is not evidence to say it will aid or cure a stomach ache or nausea associated with other ailments. It is in no way a cure all for stomach discomfort as it believed by AG’s mother. I think the explanation likely lies in the fact that AG’s mother was likely desperate for relief and when she was offered it by her friend there was a sort of placebo effect that allowed her to feel better from her upset stomach. From my interview it was clear that the lemon water trick never worked for AG when his stomach hurt which aligns more with what science would suggest. I think it is very interesting how AG still went along with his mothers advice and attempt to cure him with the lemon water, there is also little risk to doing this so he did it just to be considerate of his moms feelings and also likely allowed her to continue using the placebo to treat stomach issues of her own.

Dia de San Juan

M is 44. She was born in Los Angeles, her parents are from Guadalajara, Mexico. She told me this custom about St. John the Baptist day in person.

“El dia de San Juan… June 24th, you’re not supposed to go in the water, like not even take a shower. It’s a religious belief… I remember my mom always telling me I couldn’t even take a shower that day… I’m not sure why, I think because on this day water is holy?”

San Juan, or John the Baptist is associated with water because he baptized Jesus. Some observations of this day involve the opposite of what M told me, where people bathe and splash in bodies of water (see https://www.nativeseeds.org/blogs/blog-news/celebrate-dia-de-san-juan). For information about celebrations in Spain involving fire, water, and plants, see https://centromundolengua.com/the-night-of-saint-john-in-spain/.

Lady of the Lake

AJ: It was a dark, dark night. It was very late and very cold in Dallas. A guy was driving home from work along White Rock Lake when he sees a lady. She’s wearing a white dress and is soaking wet. He pulls up next to her and asks “Do you need help? Do you need a ride?” She says “Yes, I live on the other side of the lake.” He drives her around the lake and pulls up to her house. He asked the owner of the house if he could bring her inside, but when he looked back in the car, nothing was there.

All that was left in the back seat was a puddle. He described her to the man who lived there and he told him that she was a woman who had lived there years ago and had drowned in White Rock Lake on her wedding day. She appears to people in the shallows of the lake or on the road asking for a ride.

Me: How did you hear about the Lady of the Lake

AJ: I guess like family friends? When we would have family nights, my dad and all his friends who grew up in Dallas talk about it. She’s supposed to be bad luck too, so they warn us about going out late and seeing her.

Me: Do you believe in her

AJ: Kind of – I don’t believe that I’ll ever interact with her, but I’ll believe that someone died in the lake and haunts it. Especially when I’m near the dam. That’s where I’m like ‘If I were to see the lady of the lake, it’d be here’.

Personally, I want to know more about the Lady of the Lake before I believe in her. Spurned women ghosts tend to come from other places – why did she just happen to drown on her wedding day? If she had been killed by her fiance or had more of a reason for being a ghost, I think she would have a more interesting story.

Slurs and Insults in a Coastal City

Background and context: The interviewer and the informant are both residents of Qingdao, a Northeastern coastal city in China. The city is known for its beaches, ports, and seafood. A big portion of the city’s economy relies on tourism. 

The informant talks in Mandarin, but with the Qingdao dialect. The interviewer and the informant talk about unique slurs and insults that only Qingdao people use.

1. 潮巴

pinyin: cháo ba

Transliteration: moist [“ba” doesn’t have meaning]

Translation: Idiot

2. 你脑子进水了

pinyin: ni nao zi jin shui le

Transliteration: You’ve got water in your head.

Translation: You’re so stupid.

Analysis: Because Qingdao is a coastal city and the sea has a very important role in Qingdao people’s life, language used by Qingdao people is heavily influenced by imageries and characters associated with the sea. In both insults, water or “moist” is directly linked with the geographical character of the city. “Moist” or having water in one’s head both signify a loss of control, a form of imbalance between humans and the ocean. This shows that Qingdao’s connection with the ocean is more complicated than people’s dependence on the sea. There might be an implicit fear as well in not being able to control the ocean and maintain a balance between human life and natural forces.