Author Archives: Katie Chorao

Ghost of Alabama Theater

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Birmingham, Alabama
Performance Date: 4/18/21

Overview

The informant describes a ghost said to haunt his local theater in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. The informant was a competitive dancer and many of his dance competitions took place at this theater. Everyone said that the theater was haunted and there were many reported sightings in bathrooms. According to local chatter, if you flickered the lights and looked in the mirror you’d see the ghost behind you. Ghost hunters came to the theater to try to summon the ghost and at competitions the informant would always exchange stories with other kids. 

Other Citation

The Alabama Theater was documented as haunted here, too: http://www.southernspiritguide.org/but-a-walking-shadow-birmingham-alabama/ 

Thoughts

A place of performance and gathering seems to be a recurring location to find ghosts. The Phantom of the Opera is a prime example of this. The other citation also provides an interesting explanation as to why theaters possess ghost-related folklore: “theaters often harbor the ghosts of actors, writers, musicians and directors because something about their creative natures ties them to the place where they experienced their greatest successes or failures.” If places of great passion, triumph, and failure are the home to many spirits, I wonder which other general locations house ghosts. 

Merd

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Birmingham, Alabama
Performance Date: 4/18/21

Overview

The informant is a dancer from Birmingham, Alabama. He has danced at home in Alabama and at school in Los Angeles and in both locations he’s encountered the word “merd”. Merd is something dancers say to wish each other good luck before a performance (similar to how actors say “break a leg”). 

Explanation

The informant gave background on the word. Apparently it comes from Louis XIV era France, when dancers would perform for the king. Horse-drawn carriages would arrive in a procession around the king’s palace, so naturally there was lots of horse poop on the streets. “Merd” is french for poop. So, the carriage drivers would warn, “merd!” when they arrived at the palace so that the dancers wouldn’t get their feet dirty. 

Thoughts

I love the parallels between dance-folklore’s “merd” and theater-folklore’s “break a leg”. Both phrases are dirty and negative, but they really suggest well wishes and positivity. Like with most group folklore, it requires initiation in the group to understand the true meaning, since it differs so much from the literal meaning.

Horse Walks Into a Bar

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Long Island, NY
Performance Date: 4/18/21

The Joke

Horse walks into a bar. Bartender says, “Why the long face?”

Description

The informant describes this joke that her mom used to tell. Her mom thought it was hilarious but no one else found it funny. So, whenever something unfunny happened, family members would say this joke to show that the present situation wasn’t funny.

Analysis

This is a great example of metafolklore. This is essentially a joke about another joke, specifically a joke about the unfunniness of another joke.

Quack Diddly Oso (Childhood Game)

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Long Island, NY
Performance Date: 4/18/21

Overview

The informant grew up in Long Island, New York and remembers playing this game throughout elementary school and middle school. It was usually played in big groups at social school gatherings (like field trips, recess, etc). 

The Game

2+ players sit in a circle with their right hand on top of the left hand of the person on their right. They chant a rhyming song and clap their hands in a wave around the circle. Whomever has their hand clapped on the last word of the song is eliminated, and players continue until there’s only one person left standing. 

The chant: “Quack diddly oso quack quack quack, from San Diego, eggo eggo waffle, Dolora, Dolora, potatoes on the floor-a, go 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10”

Collector’s Thoughts

I also played this game as a kid, but I remember a different variation. Instead of “potatoes on the floor-a” we said “I’ll kick you out the door-a”. I’m sure there’s so many other iterations of this game, and I hope to find more of them!

Annotation

For another version of this game, see: https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/folklorearchive/2019/06/03/quack-diddly-oso-clapping-hand-game/

The Guardian Angel

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Long Island, NY
Performance Date: 4/18/21

Interview/Overview/Context:

Interviewer: “I remember you mentioning a crazy story from when you were young. You were in the car with your mom.”

Informant: “Yes! I think I was about seven or eight. We were in Florida, where a lot of our relatives live.”

Interviewer: “So you were in the car, where were you driving?”

Informant: “We were coming home from a family party, actually. It was really late and we were driving back to our hotel. We were so tired at that point. I fell asleep on the ride home, and the crazy part is that my mom swears she fell asleep, too. When she woke up, I was still asleep in the car, and our car was parked at our hotel.”

Interviewer: “Woah, that’s so freaky. What does your mom think about it?”

Informant: “My mom always says that it was a guardian angel that brought us home. We were with so much family that night, I think it was my grandma looking over us. I don’t know, I find it very comforting.”

Thoughts

I’ve heard of a lot about belief in “guardian angel” presences. Throughout my childhood, people would say that their deceased relatives watched over them and protected them, and when something crazy would happen, they would cite their savior as their guardian angel. Oftentimes, these people were religious. As a non-religious person, I wonder how many other non-religious people also believe in guardian angels.