Author Archives: Courtney Berck

Great-Grandfather’s Ghost

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Nashville, TN
Performance Date: 3/23/2013
Primary Language: English

“My grandmother’s father died when she was 18 months old which left my mom’s mother’s mother widowed with nine children in the Great Depression. He died of a heart attack suddenly and was found by his son in the barn.  Grammy (her great-grandmother) didn’t know what to do or how she was going to live.  One day, she woke up and saw her grandfather standing at the edge of the bed and his ghost said ‘Lilly, don’t worry.’  It gave her the strength to do it.  I don’t know how you would raise nine kids without money.

My aunt Martha, Grammy’s sister, had kids when she was already 40.  People would tease her daughter that her parents would die before she became an adult.  One night the daughter had a dream where she thought she saw Jesus.  Jesus said that he was going to take care of her and that her parents wouldn’t die before she became an adult.

A little while ago, the family was going through a photo album.  The girl who had had the dream pointed to a picture and said, ‘That’s Jesus.  I saw him in my dream.'”

The picture was of the same great-grandfather who had visited his wife.  The little girl had heard the story of the ghost but had never seen a picture before.

The informant had heard the story from her mother and grandmother and Aunt Martha.  They tend to tell the story when a large group of their family is around.  It is a story that she has been told many time.  The informant believes in the story strongly, and she says that it influenced her belief in angels and ghosts.  Once she was asked if she believed in ghosts and because of the story, she immediately replied yes.

This family legend is believable because of her close connection and trust in the storyteller, and the legend itself fosters belief in ghosts and spirits that protect rather than haunt.  The legend gives hope to those within the story and those who are merely the audience.  It is nice to have something to believe in, which is why I think this legend has held its credibility in her family through the generations.

Belmont Ghost Legend

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Nashvile, TN
Performance Date: 3/23/2013
Primary Language: English

At Belmont University, in the 1960s out in front of Wright Hall (the girls side of building that I lived in), there’s a small field out in front where you can have a picnic.  It was kind of like a quad.  One night, a girl was coming home alone, and it was dark.  She was a resident of Wright though they don’t remember what floor or room she lived in.  These two guys came up to her.  One approached her from the front to make her back up, and the other shot her.  It was the only confirmed violence on campus.  It happened around December or November, during finals time.  The girl who had been killed was very studious.

The whole legend was that around that time you would see the girl wandering through the halls.  She would come up behind you and poke you or do something to you because she had been devoting herself to school and was taken away.

“One night, my roommate and I were in our room on the third floor.  My roommate and I were asleep probably around …I tell the time later.  I was laying down and my eyes burst open.  I had felt something in my ear like heard someone say hey. I felt something like breath in my ear.  I checked if the air was on. (waves hands around showing what she did)  Then I got up and checked.  There was no air conditioning, and my roommate was dead to the world, snoring.  She checked in the hall and saw no one.  It was about  2 in the morning.”

Her roommate had experienced something similar, but they didn’t remember the legend until they were talking.  They realized it had happened right around the time finals were starting.

“It was weird. I told it to my mom and my grandma.  I was literally sitting on the edge of the bed so confused.  I thought it was a waking dream at first then I remembered I felt breath, like someone blowing in your ear.”

The informant heard the legend on a campus tour when the tour guide was showing them the dorm that they would be living in.  She thought, “Great, we are going to be living in a murder house.”  The informant believes that the legend is told half to scare people who are easy to scare, but it is also just one of the ten stories that have really stuck with the campus through the years.

The informant’s story is a good example of a memorate.  She had heard the legend previously so when the experience happened she connected the dots.  The informant  believes the legend more than before she had had the experience because she formed a personal connection with it.  Perhaps if she had never heard the legend, the breath in her ear would still be a mystery.  The legend also seems like a cautionary tale, telling students to be aware of their surroundings so that they do not end up like the girl who was murdered.

“You should always smile at everyone because it might be the only one they get all day.”

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Encinitas, CA
Performance Date: 3/24/2013
Primary Language: English

“My great-grandpa always used to tell my grandma and then my mom, and my mom always told me.  It’s just a stupid little saying.

‘You should always smile at everyone because it might be the only one they get all day.’

I always liked it.”

The informant said the proverb stuck with her because so many people don’t give eye contact nowadays.  She said that her great-grandfather was always so happy all of the time.  He was from a small town in California, and he would smile at everyone and be happy all the time.  “How could someone be that happy all the time?”

The informant passes the proverb around to others often.  On one occasion, she was at a movie theater and she was very kind and friendly to the person taking tickets.  Her friend asked her why she was always so happy, and she told him the saying.  The informant believes that, “Every one is so cynical nowadays. Not everything needs to be ironic.”

The proverb really connects with her and makes her a more optimistic and happy person.  I like the idea that the proverb gets across of spreading joy around so that others can share in your happiness even for just a second.

Annotation: A variation was found on a quotes website.  The quote was originally taken from the film P.S. I Love You:

Today, give a stranger one of your smiles.  It might be the only sunshine he sees all day.

Brown, H. “Quotations About Smiles.” Welcome to the Quote Garden. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. <http://www.quotegarden.com/smiles.html>.

Christmas Pajamas

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Encinitas, CA
Performance Date: 3/24/2013
Primary Language: English

“My mom always lied to me and said Santa Claus wouldn’t come unless I wore my Christmas pajamas.  She made my brother do it too.  My Christmas pajamas consisted of a flannel nightgown with white lace around the collar with little bells on it, and it doesn’t get that cold in California so we would be sweating in it.  I would wake up in the morning and my cheeks were all flushed.  Mom would take pictures of us sweating, and I had a rash from the stupid lace.  It’s so dumb.  I’m definitely not doing that to my kids.”

The informant was not aware until later in life that her grandmother had done the same thing to her mother.  She thinks that her mother made her do it because they looked cute in Christmas pajamas, and “anything to dress to theme, my mom was all over.”  The informant does not want to continue the tradition because of the discomfort that she had to go through for all those years.

Some rituals and traditions seem to be for the parents more than the children.  Perhaps one day, she will make her kids dress in Christmas pajamas, but without kids of her own, the infliction of uncomfortable pajamas with the threat of no Santa seems cruel.

Ocean Wake

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Encinitas, CA
Performance Date: 3/24/2013
Primary Language: English

“When someone dies in Encinitas, I think it’s a Hawaiian thing too, as part of the wake, we all get on surfboards and paddle out to the ocean.  We get in a circle, and have leis… and we say a prayer or if the person wasn’t spiritual, say some nice words and talk about the person.  Then they have leis or flowers of some sort and you let them float away in the ocean.  It’s the same thing as scattering ashes, without the ashes.”

The informant has been a part of the ritual before, and she learned it from her father who is a part of the surfing community in Encinitas.

This wake ritual goes along with the community that it is practiced in.  The ritual draws from the geographical location near the ocean and the surfing community in the area.  It is a way for everyone to be a part of the celebration of the deceased person’s life, and  the floating leis give a more peaceful picture around the harsh reality of death.