Author Archives: Emma Perea

Scary Camp Story

Age: 22

Text:
“There once was an old man who lived in an old house, and he lived around no one else except for one other old neighbor. It was just an old man who lived there by himself, and this man became infatuated with the life of this old man who lived next to him. Infatuated. He was so intrigued by his life as a single old man that he couldn’t resist. So every night for a week, he went into the old man’s bedroom, snuck into his house, broke in. The old man had no idea, he couldn’t see, he couldn’t hear. He had bad senses, he’s an old man. He broke into his house and would just watch him sleep and try and figure out what he was thinking about. On the 8th night, he goes back to the old man’s house like usual, but he swears he sees the old man’s eyes open. So, instinctually, he grabs the pocket knife out of his pocket and stabs the old man in the heart. He’s panicking. He just killed a man and doesn’t know what he did. He was scared. So, he buries the old man under the floorboards in the old house. Eventually, the police came and asked him to go to the crime scene, as he’s the only one that lives around this old man. He works through the investigation, and nothing happens. He goes to sleep that night, but he’s awoken by a slow thumping. Boom-boom, boom-boom, boom-boom. The sound of the old man’s heart beating from under the floorboards. Boom-boom, boom-boom, boom-boom. Finally, he goes back. He looks under the floorboards. The old man’s still dead, but he can hear the boom-boom, boom-boom, boom-boom of his heart. This sound follows him for the rest of his life, and eventually, he tells the police that he killed the old man, and the police said, ‘We don’t know anything about this old man.’ He dreamed it all.”

Context:
A boy who grew up in Kansas City, Missouri and learned this ghost story when he was camping as an Eagle Scout.

Analysis:
This ghost story is interesting for a few reasons. I have often found that ghost stories that end with “It was a dream all along” are ones that are made up completely and didn’t know how to end it or, similarly, someone forgot the ending and changed it. I would be interested to see other versions of this tale and if they have a different ending or not. It’s also interesting that he learned it as a Boy Scout, potentially serving as a cautionary tale for invading privacy and lying.

Camp Birthday Song

Age: 21

Text:
“Happy, happy birthday. What? Birthday. What? Happy, happy birthday. What? Birthday. What? Everybody knows that it’s your day, so we’re gonna celebrate in the best way. All your friends, no families here. This only happens once a year. Happy, happy birthday? What? Birthday. What?”

Context:
A girl from NYC who learned this song at sleep-away camp, where she spent her summers growing up.

Analysis:
This song is passed down each year from camper to camper during birthday celebrations. It is sung in unison and also features a matching clap “dance” to create the rhythm. This rendition of the Happy Birthday song was made to cater to campers who may or may not be homesick and need to be reminded that they area surrounded by all their friends and having the best time. The song is interactive and dynamic, making the birthday celebration all the more exciting.

Camp Song

Age: 22

Text:
(Call and response) “You can’t ride in my little red wagon.” “You can’t ride in my little red wagon.” “The front seat’s broken, and the axle’s dragging.” “The front seat’s broken, and the axle’s dragging.” “Chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga.” “Chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga

Context:
A girl who grew up in LA and learned this song at summer camp. She also heard it at other camps beyond that one.

Analysis:
This is a classic camp song that hardly get’s varied with the words, at least from any of the times I’ve heard it. I also learned this in summer camp, but at mine, we had a slight variation by repeating the song multiple times at different volumes. The first time was normal, the second was loud, the third was whispering, and the fourth was loud again. Through this call and response activity, everyone can engage and sing together.

First Communion

Age: 22

Text:
“At my First Communion, they took us up to the practice ceremony with all of our parents upstairs in the church. We had to practice eating the communion, representing the body of christ, and drinking the wine, representing the blood of christ, and we drank the wine. I remember saying, this is so gross really loudly, and my parents got so mad at me. The actual day was really fun. We got to wear our dresses and take pictures outside the church. It meant that I was growing up, and it was a really important milestone for my religion.

Context:
A Catholic girl from Phoenix discussing her First Communion, a coming of age ritual in Catholicism, and what it meant to her.

Analysis:
Her First Communion Served as a signifying moment in her religion, marking the moment that she’s growing up. It took preparation and practice because of how significant it is. She remembers the act vividly, specifically noting that wearing a pretty dress was an exciting part of the event. It’s also interesting how children remember moments of stress, even over moments of pure excitement.

Bloody Mary

Age: 22

Text:
As a younger sibling, my sister would always do things to try and scare me. But the one thing that I knew that she didn’t, as a mere four-year-old, was Bloody Mary. What you do is you go into one bathroom, and you spin someone around in the dark eight times, saying, “Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary.” Then you turn the lights on for a quick second so you can see the reflection of Bloody Mary in the mirror. I did it to my sister, and she screamed. She ran out of the bathroom while the lights were flickering on and off, and then you keep flicking them on and off. Then they believe that the Bloody Mary is actually trying to scare them.”

Context:
A boy from Kansas City, Missouri discussing how to scare people with the Bloody Mary legend that he learned at school.

Analysis:
He used a folkloric myth/legend/ghost story that he learned through his classmates to scare and prank his sister into thinking there was a demon ghost woman with a bloody face in their bathroom. You start by doing a ritual (turning the lights off, closing eyes, and spinning three times), making the person disoriented and confused when the light starts flickering. Children often see a woman because they are so scared and imagine it even though she’s not actually there.