Monthly Archives: May 2019

The Watchung Reservoir

Nationality: American
Age: 66
Occupation: Musician
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: April 20, 2019
Primary Language: English

The Watchung Reservoir

The following informant is a 66 year-old man who was born and brought up in New Jersey. Here, they are describing a local urban legend that they had heard throughout their upbringing; they will be identified as R.

R: The Watchung reservoir, off of Route 22, going west in New Jersey. At nighttime, we’d drive up there, and it was a dark two-lane, windy road, and there was one stretch, I forget what they used to call it, but rumour has it, and I actually did this once, where you drive in, and the road, you stop in this one part of the road, and it appears to be going uphill — you put the car in neutral, and the car keeps going uphill.

So, the story goes, one night, a couple of, the guy and his date, they were going up there, and he was showing it to her, put the car in neutral, and it started to go uphill, and she got so freaked out that she jumped out of the car, and he jumped out after her, and the next morning they were both found hanging from a tree. That’s what happens in Watchung…

Context

This interaction took place at a family gathering for a friend that I had been invited to; the informant is the father of the friend who invited me along. This performance took place with the informant’s girlfriend listening and occasionally laughing or expressing surprise and disbelief of the story. Having an audience most likely aided in the particular delivery of this legend, as everything led to the final cadence (almost as if to add shock).

My Thoughts

I tried looking up this particular urban legend online, but without luck (this is not to say that I disbelieve the informant). There is a plethora of additional paranormal sightings, interactions, and legends. While there does seem to be an actual Watchung reservoir, the Watchung Reservation yields many more results online — perhaps this is what the informant was referring to.

The bounding borough of Mountainside is a hotspot for these stories, including rumors of witchcraft and satanism. In this regard, this legend, whether the result of countless retellings of a rumor, or an actual optical illusion affected by the location’s “haunted nature,” makes sense.

 

Haunted Santa Fe Hotel

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: April 21, 2019
Primary Language: English

Haunted Santa Fe Hotel

The following informant is a 21 year-old student from Sherman Oaks, California, currently studying at the University of Southern California, but raised for a few years in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Here, they are describing a legend they heard of while living in Santa Fe; they will be identified as B, and I will be identified as U.

B: There’s this one hotel in Santa Fe, it’s kind of in the middle of town, too, but if you’re a bride, you’re not supposed to stay there, because once upon a time, there was a woman who was left at the altar at the hotel, like she was staying there, and her husband, just like, didn’t show up, and then, it was told she died of sorrow. And so, she haunts the hotel now. So, you’re not supposed to stay there because she’ll ruin your wedding.

U: Just for brides, or…

B: It’s just brides. Well, if you’re, like, getting married, you’re not supposed to stay at that hotel.

Context

The informant is a friend of mine who studies in the same program. I was aware that they have lived in a few different locations while growing up, and was curious if they have carried any urban legends with them that they would be willing to share.

My Thoughts

Among the few ghost stories that I have been told for this collection, this one stands out, as there is a deterrent factor included. Whereas many stories are composed of a simple chronological plot, this one possesses a “don’t do this, or this will happen” quality. It offers a specific sort of identity to the hotel in question (I could not find a specific hotel name online).

However, I am sure this story has brought in many tourists; many of the haunted Santa Fe hotels I read about online have drinks served at the bar that are named after the ghost’s supposed name and other sorts of souvenirs. This gives the location and business a unique identity that I have no doubt brings in many willing customers, even engaged couples.

 

Shaka Hand Signs

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Actor, Writer
Residence: Kailua, Honolulu County, Hawaii
Performance Date: 3/26/19
Primary Language: English

Main Piece

Shortly after the informant’s winter recess ended and her spring semester began, she made several remarks on how Hawaiian habits with regard to traffic and pedestrian behavior were different and even more relaxed than Californian relations on the road.

Informant: “In Hawaii, most people do not wave at the cars like I remember you doing after they let you cross.”

Collector: “Why is that?”

Informant: “It would seem very unusual to them. Most people do the Shaka sign to thank the drive and to send them on a good path.”

Collector: “Does that come from surf culture?”

Informant: “No, it’s from Hawaiian culture. It’s supposed to let others know Aloha Spirit, and lets people know a sense of gratitude.”

Analysis

Hand signals hold a unique identity in any region where they are popular. It is interesting to see how in some cultures that hand signals can have opposite meanings, which can sometimes be offensive. The Shaka seems to defy that commonality, though, and seems to be a peaceful and relaxed expression wherever a person is. The motion seems to have a much more important impact in Hawaii, though, and seems to express a lot in everyday use.

The Peach Boy in Hawaii

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Actor, Writer
Residence: Kailua, Honolulu County, Hawaii
Performance Date: 3/26/19
Primary Language: English

Main Piece

Informant: “A story that I heard a lot growing up was about this boy who was born from a peach. They called him Momotarō. He was considered a blessing to this older couple, who had not been able to have kids, but had always acted humble and hardworking. They got the child as if they were being rewarded, and it’s explained that the Gods sent him to be their son.”

Collector: “That reminds me of a lot of stories, especially religious ones, too.”

Informant: “Yeah, that premise isn’t the most unique, but the peach makes it memorable. He grows up and then decides to leave and go fight some Oni, which are a type of demon. He has some animals that help him on the way, and I think one of them is a duck….Yeah. There are a dog, a monkey, and a duck. They stop the demons and then get to take their treasure.”

Collector: “Who told you this story?”

Informant: “My mom would tell me it, but I think most people in Hawaii know it. It’s Japanese, but there are books and a lot of stuff for kids based on it.”

Analysis

The story of Momotarō seems very easy to compare to a lot of other stories in Western culture, be it Superman or Moses. The popularity of it seems easy to comprehend, given the good values and morals that it is supposed to set forward for young children. The fact that the informant learned this story growing up in Hawaii exhibits how strongly connected those two geographical places are, and how the culture of Japan affects the state to this very day. It fascinated me that the  work generally is told the same in Hawaii, and that not many oicotypes were known to the informant. It can be assumed that the printed version of this book that popularized in the 1970s for the Bank of Hawaii’s 75th anniversary played a large part in the spread of this story in the same variation. The authored Momotaro: Peach Boy declares itself  an “Island Heritage book” that promotes its impact on Hawaiian culture.

A Polish Wedding Joke

Nationality: American, Polish ancestry
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Reno, Nevada
Performance Date: 3/24/19
Primary Language: English

Main Piece

QJ: “Can it be a dirty joke?”

Collector: “Yes.”

QJ: “A lot of the jokes I grew up with are kind of dirty…most Polish ones are…I think one that my grandfather would say asks what is long and hard that a Polish bride gets on her wedding night?”

Collector: “What?”

QJ: “A new last name.”

Analysis

This joke seems to be fairly popular among Polish people, and I have heard it beyond my informant. In fact, I have heard it outside of the realm of Polish culture, and have seen different ethnic backgrounds attached to it. It seems that many prideful Slavic people make light of their often long and hard to pronounce last names through jokes like these. Given my informant’s background for the joke and explaining that he heard ones like these growing up, I would also assume that his culture and family have more of an openness to tell dirty jokes in front of younger audience. Generally, it would seem that older people have more of a relaxed ability to tell jokes that otherwise would not seem appropriate. This joke also implies a patriarchal society, where a woman would receive something from her husband in any interpretation of the joke, but no jokes suggest the woman giving the man anything.