Monthly Archives: May 2025

A Ghostly Encounter (Ghost Story)

Informant’s Story:
My informant shared a ghost story their dad has told since they were in kindergarten. “My dad was hired for a freelance construction job at a hotel, with compensation offered as an unlimited bar tab instead of cash. As he worked late into the night, a man who appeared to be part of the hotel staff served him drinks. Upon finishing the job, the worker thanked him, saying, ‘Thanks for helping my hotel.’ Later, when speaking with the hotel manager, my dad mentioned the drinks he’d received, only to learn that the hotel had no alcohol available that night. Confused, my dad pointed to a painting on the hotel wall, identifying the server. The manager, astonished, explained the painting depicted the hotel’s original owner, who had been deceased for over 40 years.”

Context:
This story was first introduced to my informant in kindergarten by their father, who regularly recounted it throughout their childhood. My informant vividly recalls the fascination and mystery surrounding this tale, noting the profound impact of hearing it from a trusted source like their father. This familial narrative holds special significance because it merges supernatural elements with personal and familial experience, creating a deep connection to the story that transcends mere entertainment.

Analysis:
At its core, this ghost story conveys powerful themes of reciprocity, karma, and moral responsibility. The informant strongly resonates with the lesson their father emphasized through the narrative: “If you take care of something, someone or something will take care of you.” The ghost’s gratitude and mysterious provision of drinks symbolizes the reciprocal nature of kindness, suggesting a deeper cosmic or moral balance at play. The informant interprets this as a powerful statement on karma: good intentions and actions inevitably result in positive outcomes.

Additionally, the informant highlighted a nuanced understanding of life’s interconnectivity, noting, “For every twenty dollars you find, someone has lost twenty dollars.” This insight demonstrates the story’s deeper exploration of life’s ethical and existential complexities. They also linked this lesson metaphorically to contemporary global issues such as climate change, further illustrating the story’s enduring relevance. Ultimately, the tale serves as a reflective medium, prompting listeners to consider deeper ethical responsibilities and interconnectedness in their everyday actions.

The Legend of Elias White (Ghost Story)

Informant’s Retelling:
“It all began in the dense, foggy woods of Bass Lake, a place so quiet you could hear your own heartbeat echoing through the trees. Legend has it that many years ago, a slave named Elias White escaped into these woods, never to return. Elias was a big man, known for his piercing white eyes that seemed to glow in the dark. Some said he had a gift for seeing things others couldn’t—things that weren’t meant to be seen.

One cold October night, Elias vanished. The slave owner searched for days. When they caught him, he was hung. A group of young campers watched from the brush. Elias, hanging from a tree branch, staring at the hikers, screeched in a strangled voice: ‘The forest keeps what it takes.’

The woods became a forbidden place after that. People whispered about strange lights flickering between the trees and an eerie voice that called out to anyone who dared enter. But the most terrifying part? Those who ventured too far into Bass Lake claimed they saw two glowing white eyes watching them from the shadows.

Fast forward to a summer night not too long ago. A group of teenagers, much like you guys, decided to test the legend. They laughed off the warnings, armed with flashlights and bravado, and headed into the forest. As they ventured deeper, the air grew colder, the trees seemed to close in, and a strange silence fell over the group.

Then, they heard it—a low, raspy whisper. At first, it sounded like the wind, but the words became clear: ‘The forest keeps what it takes.’

Panic set in, but when they turned to leave, they realized the path they came from had vanished. The forest had shifted, trapping them in its maze. One by one, their flashlights began to flicker and die. And then, they saw him.

Standing between the trees was a figure cloaked in shadows, his glowing white eyes piercing through the darkness. He didn’t move, but the teens could feel his presence, heavy and suffocating, as if the forest itself was breathing down their necks.

One of the teens, desperate to escape, shouted, ‘What do you want from us?!’

The figure tilted its head, and in a voice that sounded like leaves crunching underfoot, it replied: ‘To see what you’ve seen.’

The next morning, the search party found the teens huddled together at the forest’s edge, pale and trembling. They were alive, but something had changed. Their eyes—every single one of them—had turned a ghostly white, glowing faintly in the sunlight. To this day, they refuse to speak of what they saw, but they all agree on one thing: ‘Elias White is still out there, watching, waiting… and the forest keeps what it takes.'”

Context:
My information first encountered this chilling legend at a summer camp, narrated by an older counselor around a nighttime campfire. The setting enhanced the story’s eerie effect, amplifying its emotional impact and embedding it deeply in their memory. According to them, counselors would often use the tale of Elias White as both entertainment and a subtle warning to campers not to stray into restricted or dangerous areas of the forest. My informant recounted that the legend served as a rite of passage among campers, marking their initiation into the collective camp culture and identity.

Analysis:
The legend of Elias White embodies classic motifs found in ghost stories—escape, pursuit, punishment, and enduring hauntings—and taps into broader themes of historical injustice, lingering guilt, and retribution. Elias’s ghost symbolizes unresolved historical traumas and the oppressive past of slavery, turning a personal tragedy into a supernatural warning.

This narrative structure effectively uses fear to reinforce community boundaries, functioning as both a cautionary tale and a mechanism for social control within the camp environment. The transformation of the teenagers’ eyes symbolically conveys a loss of innocence or an irreversible awareness of darker truths.

Additionally, the phrase “the forest keeps what it takes” alludes to nature’s dominion over humanity, reflecting anxieties around human vulnerability and the unknowable mysteries lurking just beyond civilization’s edge. Thus, the legend of Elias White persists not only as entertainment but as a potent reminder of historical injustices and the enduring power of folklore to express cultural anxieties and collective memories.

The Legend of Paul Bunyon

Text:
“The story that comes to mind for me is the legend of Paul Bunyan. The gist of the story is that Paul is a giant lumberjack who cut down trees in Wisconsin and Minnesota with his blue-colored ox, Babe. He goes on adventures, fights other giants, and helps to build up the Midwest. While I’ve heard many variations, these facts always stay the same, along with the ending—he goes west and drags his axe across the ground, carving the Grand Canyon.”

Context:
My informant first encountered the legend of Paul Bunyan around age 3 or 4, initially introduced by his grandfather during an overnight visit at his grandparents’ home. Shortly after, his parents continued sharing variations of the tale, reinforcing its familiarity. He specifically remembers his grandfather’s spontaneous storytelling, vividly associating it with the comfort of bedtime narratives. This story typically follows a serialized format, beginning with Paul finding and befriending his iconic companion, Babe the Blue Ox.

Beyond its role as a comforting bedtime story, my informant emphasized its significance as a source of regional pride, especially prominent within Wisconsin and Minnesota. He noted its pervasive presence in Northern Wisconsin, stating, “Paul is everywhere, and people are proud to say they come from his legacy.” The story functions as a cultural identifier, often shared with younger generations, family friends’ children, or even in casual conversations sparked by attire featuring Paul and Babe.

Analysis:
The legend of Paul Bunyan serves as more than mere entertainment; it actively reinforces a sense of community and cultural identity unique to the Midwest. Paul Bunyan’s mythos encapsulates a romanticized, larger-than-life portrayal of Midwestern pioneering spirit and resilience. By attributing major geographical landmarks—such as the Grand Canyon—to Paul’s extraordinary feats, the story implicitly elevates the cultural and historical importance of the region, framing the Midwest as foundational to America’s growth and folklore tradition.

Historically, Paul Bunyan emerged from oral storytelling traditions among loggers, symbolizing exaggerated but relatable qualities of strength, bravery, and ingenuity. These tales reinforce communal pride, distinguishing the Midwest culturally from other regions of the United States. Additionally, the informant’s experience highlights the legend’s intergenerational nature—passed down from grandparents to parents to children, symbolizing a collective effort to preserve regional heritage and foster a shared Midwestern identity.

In essence, Paul Bunyan’s enduring popularity underscores folklore’s capacity to bind communities together, foster regional pride, and sustain cultural continuity across generations.

Kapre

Text: One night in my family’s “barrio” in Ilocos Norte, there was a small boy sitting on the fence outside their family’s house. One of my relatives (which I will refer to as the “old man” for the rest of the story) found the boy after dark at around 8 pm. He said, “It’s late. You should go home and sleep now.” However, the boy “didn’t like the way the old man tapped the head.” The boy got up and suddenly he was a giant and towered over the old man. Then the old man got scared and tried to run but at the same time, the giant tried to touch him. The old man was so close to the giant that he was able to see the buttons on his shirt, but apparently the buttons on his shirt were as big as a platter. The old man was able to run away inside the house, but the giant ran after him and went on top of the house. Then the giant’s legs went under the house and tried to look for the old man with his feet. The giant had thought that he went under the house. Apparently, all the aunts and uncles knew there was someone on top of the house and thought it was like an earthquake so they prayed, and then the giant “flew away.” After asking more about his appearance, my grandma said he was very evil, extremely tall and scary. His eyes were very angry.

Context: My grandma informed me that this memorate belonged to the brother of her great grandfather around the year 1900, but it was told to her by her mother. Throughout the story, she did not know the name of the relative and referred to him as the “old man”, but she was still the story is true despite her not remembering details such as the relatives name and the fact that her mother wasn’t born yet. 

Analysis: I had asked my grandmother to tell me a story of the Kapre, mythical giants that live in the trees in the Philippines. She had told me about them when I was younger, but I could not recount any specific stories. This was my first time hearing this one, and I thought it was interesting of how she kept reminding me that her mother told this to her even though it was way before her mother was born. Not only has this story been passed down by two generations that did not witness the event, the belief that it happened is quite strong for an unexplainable reason. I had thought that details such as the kapre’s eyes and the buttons on his shirt were really specific and made me think that my grandma had listened to this story very closely because of fear. These kinds of tales that rely on someone’s fear make me wonder if something serious did happen whether it was something like war or an actual earthquake, but something supernatural such as the kapre was the only way to make sense of it. I think that the fear carried with this story is something that is very real, but the story had transformed into a myth more than an event that had happened.

Kapre

Text: My grandfather was about 9 years old when this had happened to him in the Philippines. In the middle of the night at around 2 am, he had woken up to use the restroom. My dad added the fact that he and his siblings all slept on the floor in the same room. Since it is the Philippines, the bathroom was outside.

He started urinating and about 100 feet away saw what was probably a small person, maybe an old lady pacing in a circle. The lady starting walking towards papa and with each step seem to be growing until she was giant. My grandfather screamed and ran back inside the house.

Context: I had asked my dad for some stories for this project. He had told me a story that his father had told him when he was a little boy. Beforehand, my father had been listening to the other stories my grandma and aunt were telling me, so I believe he wanted to share this story because of how similar it was to the ones he heard growing up.

Analysis: Although I have written another story focusing on the kapre, I wanted to share this one specifically because of the context in which I heard it. After asking my dad for some folklore stories, he had told me this specific one of his father from the Philippines. My dad had never been to the Philippines before and has lived in America his whole life, so I thought it was interesting that his stories of the supernatural belonged to his parents. As my family continues growing, I wonder how these supernatural stories will evolve with them. I had never heard of a folklore type story coming from my parents. It’s only my grandma’s generation or older. Once I become my grandma’s age, will I continue to tell her stories? How much will my retellings change it? It seemed to me that new stories with these creatures had begun with each generation, but moving to America has stopped these stories and started the recirculation of legends and myths from my grandma’s generation. I become fearful that I will lose the culture that these stories hold so dearly to my family. As a third-generation child with parents that also feel very removed from the culture, these stories put into perspective my fear for the future and how I will continue to feel even more far away from my culture than I do right now. However, writing down these stories, I hope to somewhat perserve some of that cultural signifance and the feeling that my family has when we first hear these stories being told to us.