Author Archives: Kylie Kennedy

The Exorcism

The informant told me this story in person, and said that her great great grandmother in Italy was praying in the upper level of the church, when the priest of the church and a little girl’s family came in to perform an exorcism on the little girl. The priest of the church even brought in an elder, higher ranked priest to help perform the exorcism. They said that it was a battle, and that the high-rank priest was exhausted psychologically and physically after.

ANALYSIS: The informant’s story has been passed down throughout her family and seen as a legend in the family, and believed to be true. This story falls in the category of being a ghost story, as well as family lore. This lore also has religious context, as the informant’s family is Catholic.

AGE: 24
Date: February 15th
Language: English
Nationality: Italian/White
Occupation: Student, Musician
Primary Language: English
Residence: Los Angeles

The Ghost Hand Story

The informant was sitting in his room with his siblings in San Diego, and was extremely ill in bed. He was praying that someone would take his pain away, and he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, which he says was a ghost that was haunting the house. He then started to feel better, and the family swears that there was a ghost in the room.

Date: February 21, 2025

Language: English

Nationality: White/Hispanic

Occupation: Father/Lawyer

Primary Language: English

Residence: California

Analysis: The informant lived in a very old house, which had lots of ghost stories that had been passed down from previous owners, with new stories being made within the informant’s family as they experienced new strange occurrences. This folklore is shared within the family to scare the new generations and also bond people together.

The Haunted Storage Space

The informant lived in a historical San Diego home, which had many stories about the prior owners. He told me this story verbally in person, and said that the owners reported strange activities in the downstairs closet of the home. There was a secret door inside the closet, which opens up to a small dark storage space. When the informant was a child, he and his siblings would light candles to see if anything happened. One day, the candle blew out by itself and he and his siblings ran away, and never went inside of the closet again. This story is now told in the family, and scary ghosts stories were passed down about what blew out the candle.

Age: 60

Date: February 24th 2025

Language: English

Nationality: White/Hispanic

Occupation: Lawyer, Father

Primary Language: English

Residence: California

Analysis: This story falls into the category of ghost-lore, and this story was shared within the informant’s family and among the siblings. It reinforces the belief of ghosts and has been used to scare different family members. This story has been passed down to younger generations, and the new owners of the house are also aware of strange occurrences.

The UCLA Fountain Legend

Students at UCLA have a tradition where they touch their hands into the inverted fountain on campus, which is twelve feet wide and five feet deep, during their freshman orientation. The informant told me about this tradition over a phone call, and it said that if you touch your hand into it again before you graduate, you will be cursed to spend another quarter at UCLA and graduate late. This story has been passed down from the older generations of grades to the current generation. The informant is a student at UCLA in his junior year, and he is apart of a fraternity. He heard this legend from an older student at his fraternity.

AGE: 21

DATE: February 18th

Language: English

Nationality: White

Occupation: Student

Residence: UCLA

ANALYSIS: I believe that this story was made to both bond students together during orientation to participate in a tradition that is specific to the campus and UCLA, and to also act as a superstition that can scare the freshman into not touching the fountain. It is apart of the culture at UCLA, and the story is also a way for the students to make a memory during orientation when it is their turn to touch the fountain, as well as when they graduate and get to partake in the tradition again before they leave.

The Tiger Tale

The informant’s family has a story that was passed down from his grandfather in Bangladesh, who was attacked by a tiger while being driven in a carriage. The carriage had knocked over as the tiger pounced, and the driver ran away. His grandfather and father then had to walk ten miles in the dark of the night, while being stalked by the tiger that tipped over the carriage. This story has been passed down among the family.

Analysis: This story is family lore and a legend, and the informant expressed that this story has been shared many times among the family, and is believed to be true.

Date: February 20th, 2025

Age: 21

Language: English

Nationality: Bangladeshi

Occupation: Student

Residence: Los Angeles