Monthly Archives: May 2011

Tennis Superstition

Nationality: American, German
Age: 24
Occupation: Mother
Residence: Cardiff by the Sea, California
Performance Date: 4/24/11
Primary Language: English

“In tennis, if I kept winning a point.  I would only use that ball until I lost. Even if I had two balls I would insist they give me the ball I won with.”

The informant uses this superstition when she is playing tennis.  She played competitively in high school but she also utilizes this superstition when she plays for fun.    She said uses the same ball because it must be special if she keeps winning.

I personally do not believe this superstition to be true.  I do not see how the same ball could keep you winning. However, the use of one ball may keep the informant focused on winning and thus she will continue to win the point.

Childhood Game – Bloody Mary

Nationality: American
Age: 13
Occupation: Student
Residence: Three Rivers, CA, USA
Performance Date: April 22, 2011
Primary Language: English

My little sister, who is almost 14 years old and in the eighth grade, told me her version of the Bloody Mary game and legend. Her story is as follows: “I first heard about Bloody Mary when I was in like sixth grade, or maybe last year…anyway…some older girls were volunteering in the class and told us that if you go in the bathroom, turn the lights off, spin around clockwise three times while saying ‘Bloody Mary,’ and then look in the mirror, she will appear and kill you. It’s kind of like a dare for someone…but only girls, I don’t think guys have ever done it…and there is a story to go with it. Bloody Mary was a girl who was killed in a bathroom, and now she tries to get revenge and waits for someone to call her name…but I wouldn’t do it, well I kinda did, but didn’t spin around all three time…it’s CREEPY!”

While there are numerous variations, the fundamental idea is that a young girl looks into a mirror and says whomever’s name (usually a Mary) for x amount of times, and they will appear in the mirror. The Bloody Mary game derives from a legend with the motif E 332.3.3.1, about a woman named Mary Worth/Whales who disappears and leaves a spot of blood (Dundes 1998). While my sister is probably right in that it is creepy and just a fun game similar to cemetery excursions or haunted house break-ins at midnight, there is another aspect entirely. It is that of coping with the life cycle, the transition from childhood to reproductive ability. The clockwise spinning symbolizes moving ahead in time, going forward into the future, and the “bloody” woman seen in the mirror is a reflection of the girl’s self in this future and her menstrual cycle. This explains why only girls, typically, play the game, as well as the ages during which it is played/performed. It becomes an unconscious way of speaking to and addressing that which may not be comfortably discussed in a public context, yet is a critical time in a young girl’s development. Alan Dundes produced a great book on the topic, calling the ritual one of “pre-pubescent anxiety.” The following is the source:

Dundes, Alan. “Bloody Mary in the Mirror: A Ritual Reflection of Pre-Pubescent Anxiety.” Western Folklore 57, no. 2 (1998): 119-135.

Dog Licking Hand at Night

Nationality: American, German
Age: 24
Occupation: Mother
Residence: Cardiff by the Sea, California
Performance Date: 4/24/11
Primary Language: English

“One night this woman was sleeping in her bed, and she felt her dog lickin her hand but didn’t do anything about it.  And the next morning after her shower, she sees written on the mirror, “Humans can lick too.”

The informant heard this during middle school at a slumber party.  It was shared when other scary stories were being told.  She says that she never leaves her limbs off the bed.

This is a very scary story because you are in the comfort of your own home and you assume it to be your dog but in actuality is a weird person in your home.  I think this legend is possible. Although this is a very creepy thing to happen, it is still plausible.  The idea of things being written in a bathroom mirror appears throughout folklore, literature, and movies.

Look Under Your Car

Nationality: American, German
Age: 24
Occupation: Mother
Residence: Cardiff by the Sea, California
Performance Date: 4/24/11
Primary Language: English

“At gas station late one night, a woman was pumping her gas.  She ran inside to grab a pack of gum and when she returned to get in her car … a man underneath her can slit her Achilles tendon so she could not run away.  And then he killed her.  So that’s why you should always make sure no one’s under you car or anything like that.”

The informant heard this story from her physics teacher. Her physics teacher would pinch people ankles in the bathroom stall next to her and then tell them the story.  The informant thinks about it all the time, and she says that if she knew the person in the bathroom stall next to her she would too pinch their ankles and tell them the story.  And she always check under her bed and car to make sure someone is not hiding under there.

This legend is so scary because everyone goes to the gas station.  This is a place one cannot get out of going to.  When the informant told me this, I found myself, for the next few days, looking under my car before I got in.  This story could easily happen and may have already happened.  Another frightening part of this story is that the victim cannot run away.

Blason Populaire Joke

Nationality: Slovenian/Mexican
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: University of Southern California
Performance Date: April 4, 2011
Primary Language: English

The informant heard the following joke from one of her classmates in high school.

“Okay, so this one is horrible. I ask someone, ‘Do you know what Ethiopian food tastes like?’ Say, ‘No.’ And then I say, ‘Well, neither do Ethiopians.’ The joke is, because, Ethiopians don’t know what Ethiopian food tastes like because they are starved.”

The informant claims that she herself is not usually an active bearer of the joke: “You never tell it. Except right now [laughter].”

She finds the joke amusing precisely because it is so terrible: “Yeah, I think it’s a pretty bad joke . . . It’s one of those jokes where you think it’s really funny but you also know that it’s just an awful joke.”

Part of the humor value of this blason populaire joke is that it is taboo. You know that it’s awful that people are starving to death in Ethiopia, but at the same time it’s easier to laugh about it than to do anything about it. And it feels better to be amused than to be guilty for not helping.