Text:

Informant: “He lived in Mexico and it was like a very small bedroom, a one story house. This was probably around midnight, I could be wrong. He was either by himself or with his siblings. All of a sudden they hear someone up on the roof walking, just like dragging chains. Hugh chains. It went on for a couple of minutes.”

Context:

The informant’s uncle told them the story of when he was living in Mexico and heard chains dragging on the roof in the middle of the night.

Analysis:

A common motif in Mexican folklore is the sound of chains dragging on the roof. It can symbolize a restless spirit. Although, there’s no specific myth or legend attached to it.

The informant’s uncle’s personal story may or may not be true. It could be a story created in good fun to scare the informant when they were a child. If so, it takes a functionalist approach because there’s a purpose to the story being told.