My roommate comes from Italian heritage, and he wears a cross necklace everyday. The cross has an added horn on top of it. He got it from his Grandma, who told him that the horn wards off the “evil eye.” His grandma believes that if you wear the cross with the horn, certain people can’t look at you and curse you. This could’ve come from a belief that religion will save you from certain people. A small tradition like this probably added to the comfort of italians who were scared of different people who weren’t native to that area.
Author Archives: Jack Simpson
Japanese ghost tradition
My roommate told me of the legend of a ghost named Hanako San. There are a lot of different versions of her, but the one he remembers is of a girl who killed herself in a school bathroom because of bullying, who haunts every school bathroom in Tokyo. Many elementary school children will go into a school bathroom on the third floor, turn off the lights, and knock on the third stall door three times. This is supposed to summon Hanako San. If you hear her respond to the knock, it’s in your best interest to leave. He likened this to the tradition of Bloody Mary in the states. He learned this from other classmates. This ghost could’ve been based on a real girl, or it could have been used to try to prevent kids from bullying others. It’s also a bit of a game, similar to bloody mary. This practice adds some entertainment to a normally dull day in grade school.
Japanese Kappa
My roommate told of the Kappa, who are turtle monsters that live in japan. According to some, these monsters only live by rivers. His mom would tell him that if he played outside after dark, the Kappa would come to get him. His parents and grandparents would tell him this to keep him from wandering out of the house at night. He says that is a tradition for parents to tell kids this, and that Kappa are so widely believed in by children that there are Kappa statues next to some of the rivers. The tradition of telling this story probably came from concerned parents, and used the kappa as a way to scare their kids into not doing certain things, like playing in the river or going outside at night. The actual turtle monster aspect probably came from the numerous species of turtles that are native to Japan.