Author Archives: birer@usc.edu

My Grandma came back to sing

Nationality: Jewish
Age: 48
Performance Date: April 17, 2018
Primary Language: English

“So, my grandma was an opera singer. She had the most stunning voice I had ever heard so when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, she was more upset about losing the ability to sing then losing her memory of anything else. My sister and I absolutely loved when Grandma sang to us. I was eight years old when she died and her funeral was the first one I ever attended and I remember it really clearly.”

“At this point in time, my sister and I shared a room with two twin beds. The night after the funeral, I laid awake in bed for a while unable to sleep because I was sad. I turned over to my side and I started to hear the voice of my Grandma singing in my home. I was so terrified and upset because I knew no one would believe me. I remember thinking that I was crazy and never told a soul.”

“Years later as an adult, I was talking to my sister Lisa, who lied in the bed next to me the night after the funeral. It was out of the blue, but Lisa told me that she heard Grandma singing in our house that night. I quickly told her ‘I HEARD IT!’ It was crazy because we both corroborated the same story as adults. Lisa and I think that after Grandma was relieved of her pain from the disease her spirit came back home to sing for us.”

 

My interpretation of the story:

 

As it is said by the story teller, she and her sister had a very tight relationship with their Grandma. It can also be determined that both of them had associated her with song specifically and noted how hard it was for her to not be able to sing anymore. With emotions, it becomes evident that the mind can stray and make up things it believes to be true, or wants to be true. To me, this seems like a case of just that. Because this time for them was highly emotional due to the loss of their beloved Grandma, it is completely possible that the mind is playing tricks on both of them, rather than the Grandma being relieved from her pain and coming back to entertain her grandchildren. On the other hand, the children and the Grandmother do have familial ties in addition to emotional ties, so that does offer support to the idea that the Grandma had returned from the afterlife. With such strong bonds and connections and the presence of a lot of the Grandmothers stuff could “give entry” to the grandma back into the world as a ghost or a spirit. Personally, though, I believe that with such high levels of emotion in the situation, it is more possible that both sisters had mental lapses.

The painting in the living room

Nationality: Jewish
Age: 52
Performance Date: April 15, 2018
Primary Language: English

“Whenever someone asks if I believe in ghosts, I instantly shout ‘YES’ because one time I had the most bizarre experience that convinced me that there are, in fact, spirits existing amongst the living. Most of my friends think I am crazy and hardly believe this story but I am going to tell it to you anyways.”

“So when I was 15, my family moved in to a new, smaller home on a creepy street in New Jersey. My dad lost his job so we had to downsize big time. The house gave off a haunted vibe but I swallowed my pride and acted content with our new place. The previous owners had cleared their things from the house but decided to leave a single painting hanging above the fireplace. Of course this painting was an outdated portrait of an old couple; both the woman and man depicted in the painting looked pretty creepy and somber. My brother and I were not fans of the portrait and demanded that our parents find a replacement for it. They laughed at us because we were so freaked out by it but they agreed.”

“Before they even had the chance to take down the painting, I experienced some really freaky paranormal activity in my new home and I am convinced that painting has everything to do with it. I had just gotten a new phone so my little brother begged me to play with it before he went to sleep. I handed him my phone and went in my room to watch some Netflix. In the middle of the night, around 4 AM, I realized that my brother still had my phone so I went in his room to grab it. I was shocked to see that neither my brother or my phone were in my room, so I walked in to the living room.”

“My brother, who almost always sleeps through the night in his own bed, was sprawled out on the floor in the living room sleeping right under the painting. I picked up my phone, woke up my brother, and put him back in to his own bed. When I got in to my own bed to go to sleep, I decided to check out my phone and see if my brother had done any damage. When I opened up my photos, there were about fifteen new photos on the camera roll. They were photos of my brother sleeping, above the painting, with the shadow of an old woman in the corner, taking the photo. I jumped up, went in to my parents room, and asked them if they had taken the photos. ‘Honey, no. I’ve been asleep since 11! You must have done it in your sleep’ my mom told me. I know for a fact that I did not do this in my sleep. I’ve never slept walked in my life and I am also a light sleeper! My parents took the painting down shortly after but the event was so weird that I looked in to it further. Turns out that the painting was 100 years old and depicted the faces of two serial killers. Try telling me that’s not a coincidence!!!”

 

My Interpretation of the story:
I have heard many ghost stories throughout my life and this one seems to be the most fascinating to me. There are many aspects to a ghost story that can help support the idea that it is true. In this story, there is photo evidence of a shadow that is thought of to be the ghost. In many myths and tales, ghosts are thought to be invisible to the naked eye, but sometimes can generate shadows. This story seems like a classic case of a shadow ghost. In addition, all other events leading up to the photos support the idea that there was actually a ghost haunting this house. The house contains many aspects of something that could be haunted. It was originally owned by someone else, therefor it has a history beyond this specific family. The fact that the painting depicts serial killers from over 100 years ago enforces the mystery of this story and gives it some sense of truth, noting that it could be possible that this painting is the link between the weird stuff that had been happening in the house.

Balloon Volleyball

Nationality: American, Greek
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Performance Date: April 20, 2018
Primary Language: English

“On Christmas Eve, my whole family would play balloon volleyball. We took blankets and quilts from all of the rooms in the house and make a line down the middle of the living room. The walls were like the ‘boundaries’. There was no net, so it was pretty lax, just like a line in the middle.”

 

“It was nice because the balloon took so long to fall, so it was easy for all of us to play, like the old people and the kids. It was a very inclusive game.”

 

“We were supposed to play until someone got to 21 points, but we never finished. We always ended up in a dog pile or something, some cute family stuff. My dog would run in and ruin the game sometimes and pop the balloon.”

 

“My mom’s from San Jose, in the Bay area. My dad was born in Dayton, Ohio, but then moved to Athens when he was little, so he spent most of his life there.”

 

“I think we just made up the game on the fly. There isn’t any traditional game like that, that my parents played with their families when they were little. Or not that I know of. I think we played because it wasn’t too aggressive and it was something that we could all enjoy and participate in as a family.”

 

“If you won you only got bragging rights, there was no prize or anything. Bragging rights went a long way in my family though, like I would run around yelling ‘I’m the balloon ball king’ if I ever won.”

 

My Interpretations of this story:

 

Through my research, I have noticed that a lot of childhood games stem from other games such as sporting matches, but in less intense forms. This makes a lot of sense, because those games and matches are no place for a child. It is important to teach your children health competition in a way that allows them to succeed but additionally shows them that winning is not the most important thing. It is also important to get children active and involved, so it makes sense that games like balloon volleyball are being create and played throughout the world. Personally, I have played many different versions of balloon volleyball and find that in addition to being really fun, these modified games are much more inclusive. Scheduled and planned sporting games and events with all these rules are not structured for children, at least in the beginning. It is important to establish an identity of a child before sending them into a rough competitive world, because that will affect their development and future traits that come. Also, I believe that it depends on what type of culture you stem from. More individualist societies, like over here in the United States, stress the importance of individual success and flourishment, which can change the childhood gaming experience. Some parents might not want their kids to participate in such easy going and fun games because it causes them to lose their competitive edge, drive, and grit, which are highly valued characteristics in their culture.

5 girls and a Ouija Board

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Performance Date: April 16th, 2018
Primary Language: English

“It was over the summer after my senior year of high school, so June 2016. We were all sitting in my friends ’s backyard, like 5 or 6 of us, just hanging out and listening to music and stuff. I guess a couple days before that she had borrowed someone’s Ouija board and you know, we were at a sleepover and that’s the kind of stuff girls do at a sleep over. So we open the board and it’s just your classic Ouija board, probably from target or something, with all the letters lined up and a couple words like yes, no, hello, goodbye, etcetera.  We all put our hands on the moving piece thing and start asking questions. We kept asking if anyone was there and nothing happened. Then we started to ask personal questions, like about boys, friends, and life and stuff, and still nothing happened. We all promised beforehand that nobody was going to move it to make sure that it was just one of our friends messing with us. After a couple more times asking if anybody was there we gave up and all took our hands off. My friend went to grab the moving thing and as she picked it up my other friend screamed and then everybody started screaming, I think just because her scream scared them though. When my friend picked up the thing, my other friend noticed there was a glow in the dark arrow pointed to the word goodbye. I was a little freaked out but figured that was just some weird trick thing with the board. It wasn’t until like 20 minutes later when the front door randomly swung open that I started to get sketched out. Nobody was around it, we were all in the kitchen and it just swung open. We were all just like ‘did we awaken a ghost?’.

 

“I know that my friend had recently redone her house, so I feel like that means there can’t be a haunted spirit or anything from the people that lived there before. Maybe it doesn’t work like that though and it’s more based on the people rather than the place”

 

“I honestly have no explanation or thoughts as to why the door swung open. I don’t really get how that could happen. Like, it’s a shut door.”

 

“I’ve never seen her door swing open like that and I don’t remember her saying anything about it happening before.”

 

“I don’t necessarily think that it was a ghost, if it was that easy to call upon a spirit or something it would happen a lot more. The door thing was super weird, but I guess something could’ve just happened to the lock or something.”

 

My interpretation of the story:

 

Personally, Ouija boards to me that are sold at Target or Toys R Us are just a child’s game. I’ve seen in movies more intricate Ouija boards that involve a lot of aspects that seem as though they could work. Based on this story, I think the two events were unrelated. The door opening could simply be because it wasn’t shut all of the way and the wind opened it up. The interesting part is that over the summer in Florida, where the story takes place, it’s not very windy. With that in mind, I still do not believe that it was a ghost that was called upon by the Ouija board by the storyteller and her friends. With no known haunted background of the house or the general area and the fact that the house was redone makes me believe that it was simply just a Ouija board trick and so faulty door hinges.

Is it a sign?

Nationality: European, Asian
Age: 24
Occupation: Sales Associate
Performance Date: April 13, 2018
Primary Language: English

“I was sitting at a sales convention in Orlando and nobody was stopping at my booth. It was a tough year for business and I found myself thinking about the existence of God, you know, just something to think about in my boredom. I remember thinking exactly ‘I just need a sign or something to know’ you know? Not even a minute after that I get a call from my wife telling me that she and my two daughters have gotten into a car accident with a Faith Farms Ministries truck. It was a minor accident and nobody ended up being hurt, but it was clearly no coincidence.”

 

“It was 2010 around the time of Rosh Hashanah, I think probably mid-September. I wasn’t planning on going to the convention because of the holiday, but business was not doing well that year and we needed all the help we could get. We decided it would be fine since I was going to Yom Kippur services.  Just the whole thing, the religious holiday and everything, it was all too much to be coincidental.”

 

My Interpretation of the story:

 

When I first heard this story I felt that it was too much to be just a coincidence. The storyteller asked a question to God and it seemed as though God answered. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this story, to me, seems like an instance of wanting something to be true. I recently have watched a video online that described how the human brain can put so much energy into wanting something that to them it happens. This doesn’t necessarily mean they are making it up in their head, rather using what happens around them to support their desires. I believe that this is the case in the story with the storyteller. As it seems in the beginning, the storyteller is questioning the existence of God, but I believe they are just looking for more assurance. People have the need to reassure themselves, it’s a natural human instinct. Personally, I do not believe this was a sign from God, but at the same time, I do not believe it wasn’t. I think it is possible especially because nobody knows for sure how or why we are here and if there are higher powers. I would need a more than this “sign” to confirm my beliefs.