Author Archives: Benjamin Goff

Ghost Stories in New Orleans

Age: 23
Occupation: Student

Text

When did you see a ghost?

Most unbelievable story that happened was in 2020, there were a couple other related encounters in the same time frame, 2016, 2018, in that range.

Briefly describe the experience?

Our house was built in 1865 in New Orleans, so it was very old and some interesting people had lived there. There was an author who wrote the book The Moviegoer, a troubled photographer as well. It had also been an old farm cottage, so we found cow teeth in the backyard.

This time in particular, the one in 2020, my mom and I were sitting in the front room on the couch, no one is sitting at the piano, and the piano plays two keys, boop boop. We looked at each other and made eye contact. I thought, “Maybe a lizard fell into the piano or something? Maybe something is in the box?” Then it happened again, and we could both see the keys be depressed. I looked at my mom after it and audibly gasped.

How did it make you feel?

Made me feel pretty euphoric, and we kept laughing and going what the hell. It was pretty cool. It’s cool to see something you can’t explain. Didn’t feel fearful. Felt like a nice presence. 

Why did it feel nice?

The piano keys that were played were in the higher register. If the piano keys were lower it may feel me worse, but the auditory element of it wasn’t ominous. Also the history of the house with those that lived there we’re proud of, so my mom would say, “Oh its Walker Percy saying hi.”

Do you believe in ghosts after this happened?

Agnostic toward ghosts. Don’t believe at all in the sense of spooky movie ghosts and looking like a white sheet, but maybe something is out there.

Do you think growing up in NOLA made it more likely for you have a supernatural encounter?

You hear a lot about supernatural experiences, like ghost stories are popular. I had friends who worked in old house restorations and they had a ton of stories about weird movement in light or seeing odd things there.

Tell me about the other related incidents you had discussed:

Children’s piano, little stool, put it in the attic and there were times where we’d hear the baby piano playing in the attic. Consecutive notes that sounded melodic together. It was an actual piano, so more odd than a machine of some kind.

Context

This girl is a friend of mine who grew up in New Orleans, and this is her story. I’d been told it once by her mom, but given this happened to both of them, it belongs to them both. She interprets the story well, which my question led her to analyze a little bit. The story took place in 2020, but she said there were multiple occurrences of strange piano stuff happening in her house.

My analysis

MG is not a very spiritual person, nor is she someone who I believe to be susceptible to psychosis, especially with this being something both her mother and her witnessed simultaneously. I think the odds are strong this both happened, and is unexplainable with the evidence we have from the story. There is value here in that it happened in a historical house, to two individuals at a time, and in a place we think of as being more likely to be haunted, that being New Orleans. I think the most interesting part of the interview is her positive experience with the ghost. I think most people experience the paranormal negatively because it’s something out of the realm of their understanding. She didn’t, and the explanation of the notes being more high pitched causing the experience to be less foreboding makes sense.

“No pressure, no diamonds” proverb

Nationality: American 

Age: 24

Occupation: Student

Residence: Los Angeles, but from Cleveland, OH

Collected Feb 27, 2025

Primary Language: English

Context:

“When Robert Griffin III was playing QB at Baylor University in 2011, the odds were stacked against them. Baylor’s football program at the time did not have a winning history and competed in the BIG 12 which is a power conference in college football. His mantra was “no pressure, no diamonds” to get his mind right when playing in the spotlight. That year, he led Baylor to a major upset win over Oklahoma and got to a new years’ six bowl. The phrase emphasizes that you need to deal with pressures and adversity to accomplish great things. Diamonds are created through immense pressure, so when I am confronted with pressure, I remind myself of this and power through. I learned this phrase watching him as I grew up and the phrase stuck with me.”

Personal Analysis:

With this one, the origin is relatively clear, although when exactly he learned it is less so. In talking to him, it seemed that he started saying this at around 9 years old, and in my own personal experience being his friend I’ve heard him say this many times. In this case I’d assess the significance that in the information age our proverbs and life lessons do not just come from our parents, family, and teachers, but instead from the outside world. Little kids listening to a postgame interview have their lives altered by the words of their favorite athlete. This is a mixed bag, but in this case, really cool.

“What goes around, comes around” Proverb

“What goes around comes back around”

Nationality: American 

Age: 22

Occupation: Student

Residence: LA, CA but from San Francisco

Collected Feb 27, 2025

Primary Language: English

Context:

“This is a very common proverb and my I know my parents didn’t use it a whole lot growing up so I’m not entirely sure where I first heard it but I mainly think of the Justin Timberlake song when I use it or hear it. I interpret the saying as what you put out into the world will be reciprocated back to you. The main context I hear it used in is when someone is doing something clearly wrong or immoral someone else might use it to warn them that they’ll get “bad karma” for what they did.”

Personal Analysis:

A very common proverb, but one that remains common largely because of how true it seems to be for most people. I think the historical and societal values this saying is based on are one that preach, at least in theory, fairness. The idea that positive conduct is not done in a vacuum but instead rewarded, and that for those who are evil or dishonest that the same will be done unto them. I think this is a relatively Christian belief, or at least within Christian morality, or possibly within the Buddhist idea of karma.

”Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right” proverb

Age: 22

Profession: Student

Hometown: San Francisco

“Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right”

“My mom used to say this proverb to me growing up. To me what it means is that when you or someone else does something wrong, following it up with a wrongdoing of your own to try to undo it won’t make the problem any better. I don’t really use this very much but I do consider it when I’m in applicable situations.”

This is another fairly common folk saying. I was also taught this saying when I was little by one of my teachers, and have used it myself as well. I think the basis of the idea behind this one is that it is not good to act reciprocally bad to someone who has wronged you, or to treat someone with malice if they have chosen that course themselves.

“Stop being a cake!” Folk Speech

“Don’t be a cake!”

Nationality: American 

Age: 53

Occupation: Attorney

Residence: Boulder, CO

Collected Feb 27, 2025

Primary Language: English

Context:

“I don’t know the exact origin of this one in my life, but I think it was something I started as a dad. One of my main principles in raising you guys was making sure you could handle adversity, and so from a young age if I thought you could toughen your way through something, I’d often tell you to stop caking, or to stop being a cake. To be a “cake” was to be a weakling, and was a source of shame. Funny enough, you guys adopted it yourselves, calling each other “cakes” if you were perceived as being meek in the eyes of the other twin.”

Personal Analysis:

Growing up with this one, it was really funny to hear my dad mention it as folk speech in our family of four. I’ve admittedly never heard this used outside our little circle, but we would use this all the time growing up and still jokingly use it. My analysis is that it makes sense to use a plyable and relatively structurally weak item as a stand-in for when a person isn’t acting tough and use it as a nickname. This is in the same vein as now antiquated speech calling people “lilly-livered,” using a flower to demonstrate their weakness.