Author Archives: Aidan Bates

BANSHEE – Legend

Nationality: Irish
Age: 59
Occupation: Court Investigator
Residence: San Jose
Performance Date: May 2, 2021
Primary Language: English

Transcript – Informant Speaking
Mother: “Banshees well um, I don’t know if you know what a Banshee is, but basically a Banshee was either – it’s not quite clear if it was a witch or a fairy, but they were supposed to basically announce the death of a family member. So if you heard the Banshee, em, it was the sign that somebody in the household was supposed to… pass away unexpectedly, em-”
Father: “-and they wailed. There was a wail-”
Mother: “They’re supposed to wail. It’s like a mourning, crying sound, em, so actually your grandmother, my mother, claimed to have heard the Banshee em, before your- my Aunt Annie, daddy’s sister, passed away. And like… It’s kinda funny ’cause Mommy was a, as you know, a school teacher, in fact became principle, a very down to earth sensible lady. But she was absolutely convinced she’d heard the Banshee the night before Auntie Annie died.”

Background
This story came during a conversation with me and my parents. Both of them grew up in Northern Ireland. My mom is a little superstitious, but my father isn’t at all. For my mom, I know she heard the story of the banshee from her family, but especially in relation the story told about her mother. I think for my mom, the banshee’s interesting because she has had a familial experience with it.

Context
The context for this conversation was me facetiming my folks to ask about Irish folklore. The connection was a bit iffy, and they also both speak in very thick accents (mom more so than my dad). But it was transcribed precisely as said.

Thoughts
The banshee has always been one of the most interesting (and frightening) types of ghosts to me. There’s something really terrifying about hearing a loud noise (especially a scream) during the night, and I think the banshee plays directly into that. Moreso, their omen is terrifying, and it’s the type of thing that can easily leave you lying in your bed wondering about that strange yell you heard outside your window. Was it just a random shout in the city, or something else…?

THE BACON STATUE AND THE AMERICAN FLAG – Folk belief

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student / Flight Mechanic
Residence: Sonoma
Performance Date: April 29
Primary Language: English

3rd piece – Folk belief
Transcript – informant speaking
“The statue Bacon and Eggs, that sits between Stevenson and Darwin halls at SSU as legend tells it that it represents the American flag. The front red and white representing the flag in peace time; the back is black and white representing the flag at war. The blue base holding up the statue symbolizes a star that has fallen from the flag.”

Background
This was a strange one. The informant of this piece goes to Sonoma state and he studies history, which is probably where his concern for the statue stems from. I couldn’t find anything on the internet to confirm this interpretation on the meaning of the statue. So it definitely falls into the folk category (i.e., non institutionalized) mode of knowledge. I might even guess that this folk belief might reside solely with the history department. However, it’s also an interpretation being levied on an existing piece of centralized artwork. This is why folk belief is probably the best catagory for this information, as the folk element comes in with the idea or interpretation, not the object itself.

Context
This story was provided during a zoom call about college legends. It was told in a very straightforward way, but I think the informant might have been trying to embellish a little. They used the cliche phrase “as legend tells,” even though the story is not necessarily a legend. It was clear while talking that they were trying to hype up what they were saying about the statue.

Thoughts
I’m not a big history buff, but what I find interesting about this story is the attempt to localize this form of artwork. If you look at the original statue, it’s literally just a tall piece of bacon. It’s completely absurdist, and objectively, there doesn’t seem to be that much to be made out of it. But here, we seem to have an attempt among the history geeks at the school to make it more relevant to their field of study. Assuming it was built this way, the statue would suddenly grant far greater importance to the history department. In a way, this can be seen as semi self-centered, but also a much needed boost to a frequently overlooked field of study.