Author Archives: Krystyn Shae Reyes

Kaguya – Legend

Nationality: Korean
Age: 20
Occupation: Film & TV Production Major Student at the University of Southern California
Residence: Orion Housing at the University of Southern California
Language: English

Text:

The popular tale of The Bamboo Cutter features an old man who finds a bamboo stalk with a girl inside the stalk. The girl grows to become one of the most beautiful people in the entire empire, catching even the attention of the emperor. To win her over, she makes her suitors do insane tasks. She eventually reveals that she is extraordinarily beautiful because she is from the moon. After falling in love with the emperor, she realizes she must go back to the moon, and offers the emperor immortality so that he may not forget her. However, the idea of being tortured by an eternity where he lives forever knowing he can never be his lover is too much for the emperor to handle and he burns the immortality token she grants him.
Context:

The performer witnessed this lore in Japanese culture originally before looking into its origins within Korean folktales as many “Kaguya” characters in Japanese media are beautiful women who seem out of the male lead’s league. One of the mediums he watched with involved this type of trope was the movie Princess Kaguya. He felt that while the Kaguya trope has many supernatural elements, the idea of being “banished” somewhere such as the moon, the feeling related to the universal duty one sometimes feels toward their “point of origin” (family).

Analysis:

A common theme within East Asian cultures is the idea of family and societal duty. The moon is representative of “home” or family in which Kaguya must return to and sacrifice her hopes of love for in order to serve a power larger to herself.
Additionally, Korean Buddhist ideas of balance, harmony, and impermanence are represented through this tale as at first, Kaguya resists her role of being a “submissive” beautiful object in society. However she can only resist for so long before nature runs its course and that beauty is taken away and sent back to the moon. While bittersweet, this story serves as a tale to remind Koreans to keep their realities in check. Sometimes it’s okay to dream big and long for more, but at the end of the day, family and loyalty to your origin should be at the forefront of one’s values.

Hitler Tree – Legend

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Geological Spaces Major Student at the University of Southern California
Residence: Gateway Apartments at the University of Southern California
Language: English

Text:

There is a tree on the USC campus known as the “Hitler Tree” notorious as being the tree that was gifted by Hitler after the Olympics.

Context:

The performer is a Geological Spaces major at the University of Southern California who was required to take an archictecture tour of the University of Southern California for his class. Along this class, he walked by the courtyard near the bookstore. The tour guide/professor stood in front of one of the great trees and said that the gift was a present from Germany (specifically under Hitler’s Regime) because Hitler was so impressed by one of the USA Olympic Champions (who was from USC), that he gifted the school a tree. The tree is no longer called the Hitler Tree for politically correct reasons, but is still in the yard to this day, and an integral part of USC lore because he feels as though one is not a true USC student until they know the lore.

Analysis:

USC is a very proud school with a tight-knit gated campus, 30k+ students valiantly wearing gold and crimson, and low acceptance rate. People take pride in knowing hidden gems along the USC campus because it proves how legit of a student one is.

There’s a lot of speculation behind whether or not the Hitler Tree is real and/or still exists. While some people claim it is that very tree in the yard, others claim it died years ago, but honestly it doesn’t matter whether the tree is still alive or not because it is the notoriety of the story being related to the infamous Hitler and the badge of honor of whether or not someone knows this story exists that is the true testiment to how “hardcore” of a USC student you are. Similar to how German folklore unified people politically and gave rise to modern-day Germany, USC stories (even the taboo “Hitler Tree”) are proof that USC students belong to their tight-knit folk group.

Balete Drive – Ghost Story

Nationality: Filipino
Age: 51
Occupation: Software Engineer Directing Manager
Residence: Naperville, Illinois
Language: English

Text:

“Me and a couple of my friends were driving along from a late night gig and we’ve had a great fill of drinks but not that intoxicated (as far as I remember). There aren’t a lot of vehicles at this time, especially on local roads, but still decided to take a shortcut just for kicks.

The road was plain and looks maintained enough since it’s a less busier street than most, maybe due to its reputation of having paranormal activities.

Balete Drive has several stories about ghost sightings and ‘white ladies’ haunting passersby, and a big abandoned haunted mansion right in the middle of the stretch. Most of them likely fabricated of course – to keep the mystique going. We’re not full-fledged studs I as I recall but we thought it’ll be fun to test it out while we’re in this state and certainly less inhibited.

Just before we reached the big house, one of my friends unceremoniously said he needed to pee…

We stopped right in front of the worn out hedges bordering the house front yard. It was a bit dilapidated and dark. But he had to pee. And he did. We all did.

As we drove past the house after relieving ourselves, we noticed two headlights following us seemingly out of nowhere. We casually stayed at a constant speed, but the vehicle kept inching closer. We gathered some speed, turned the corner and lost the trailer. We looked at each other and grinned- that was much ado about nothing. We hit another long stretch of road and to our surprise, we ended right back in front of the big house at Balete drive. The headlights turned up again and right back on our tail. This felt weird. We tried to step on a bit and turned the other corner, lost the stalker and relaxed a little.

Things just got weirder – we were right back at the house (what the…) and the lights were back. We were starting to panic, our collective senses restarted, and we were yelling at each other- harassing the driver and redirecting him in all directions. We cant seem to get off this road and always take us back to the same house. What are we to do? Have we been cursed? Are the stories real? The vehicle following us isn’t letting up either. Now they’re honking, the passengers now animated in the other car, signaling for us to stop. What is happening? There’s no way we’re stopping here, not now. Fear has definitely crept in and we’re way past panic. This has gone on at least 5 times now. We sped through the same street and the same house- the facade looking more menacing and creepy each time we see it, slowly dealing us a mortifying feeling of defeat.

With one more rush of adrenaline, we held one last bit of composure and drove straight ahead until we hit a dark narrowing alleyway that seems to swallow us every meter we travel. We finally saw a different exit, merged onto the main road and drove farther from the damned place. The morning sun has started to peep. We can feel a collective sigh of relief until we realized the other vehicle had been on our heels throughout. This startled us and panic reignited inside the car. We discussed our options incoherently but concluded we couldn’t be any worse since we got out of that insanity loop. So we stopped at the next gas station. And the other car followed suit.

Fear has turned to relief, then discomfort and now annoyance. We’re back in the real world now and this unwarranted stalking has got to stop. We decided to confront them. There are 3 of us, all back to our consciousness – to the point where we question if what we witnessed even actually happened. We chalked up the courage to unstrap, picked up some “weapons” and stepped out of the car. We approached the other car as the driver stepped out to greet us. His face is lined up with a mix of dread, exhaustion, and… gratitude? I saw the lady on the passenger side looking like she’s been screaming her eyes out and now just sits in shock staring nowhere. My buddies now also joined me in the huddle as the other guy quivered to say something…

“We’ve been driving around that block for we don’t know how many hours… my girlfriend had just about lost it – I can still hear her trembling voice almost surrendering to the inevitable… until we saw you drive by and stopped at the house. We were reluctant to follow you thinking you may be part of this, but then when you drove past again, we thought you might also be in the same predicament as us. (Again? We saw you trail us as soon as we left the house… what are you talking about?). We tried to let you know that we are also lost and would like to join you… but each time we gained we had to hang back…” – then the guy started to sob. “We had to each time the lady in white following you would turn her head around to look at us… she had a knife or dagger in her hand and seem intent to get to you. We mustered up enough courage to just step on it as soon as you did and followed you all the way through here… and we can’t thank you enough.” And he broke down to his knees in front of us.

My friends and I looked at each other in weary unison – “what lady?” We turned around to find our car… the dagger still lodged at the back of it.”

Context:

The performer was born and raised in the Philippines, and often told stories with his High School friends in lui of not having a one or access to the internet in the 80’s. They heard it from an older male classmate who heard it from another classmate and so on and so forth. The performer tweaked the tale to have it sound like a 1st person narration with the intention of scaring his kids with “stories from his youth.”

Analysis:

Balete Drive is a well-known street in Quezon City because it often features the white lady who is the universsal Filipino depiction of the traditional “white ghost.” Balete Drive is a brilliant tale because it connects the many small islands and spread out diverse regions of the Philippines. The Philippines has withstood colonization and are a group of people who vastly range in appearances. From looking Mestiza to Chinita to Morena to having different dialects, ghost stories such as Balete Drive are an iconic ghost symbol that unifies the Philippines.

Additionally, balete trees are often connoted with spirtual energy as being something either feared or respected. The tale of balete drive serves as a sort of memorate for this sacred perception of balete trees as the more stories such as the one the performer said are told, the greater the fear and veneration for the trees grows. The reputation toward balete trees only increases as more and more people tell and believe in these tales.

Aswang – Legend

Nationality: Filipino
Age: 51
Occupation: Software Engineer Directing Manager
Residence: Naperville, Illinois
Language: English

Text:

The Legend of the Aswang is a legend about a female-presenting vampire-like creature which feeds on young children and unborn children. In the daytime, it looks like a normal person (often ones neighbor), but in the night, it turns into a deceptive creature which is characterized by the approach and intensifying “tik tik tik” sound.

Context:

The performer heard about this tale as a young boy. Growing up in a poorer region of the Philippines he often heard the creaking and groaning of his floorboards. To scare him, his dad would tell him the story of the Aswang. Because of this, he learned to be scared of any “tik tik tik” sound as a young boy until he realized it was just a urban legend.

After moving to America, he passed this tradition of scaring young children with the simple “tik tik tik” sound by telling the story to his children and enjoying the terrifying/amusing experience of watching them scared of even the faucet dripping at night. Sometimes they would even cut up garlic to play into the tale as the children believed it would keep the vampiric creature away until they were old enough to know it wasn’t real.

Analysis:

The Aswang was a way to collectively scare younger generations as retelling of the story/generational fear was a tradition passed down. It brings Filipinos together through the collective fear of the scary stories adults would tell them growing up. If you belong to the Filipino “folk group”, you’d easily react to the “tik tik tik” sound because of how you were “trained” to be scared as a child. However, in the same way these tales scarred Filipino children, the fear is also proof that one is “truly” Filipino.
It’s also important to note that Aswang were known as looking like unassuming women which is reflective of Filipino values of being extremely vigilant as Aswang tales immediately painted the unassuming and seemingly innocent as potentially evil. The Philippines is a third world country where one could easily be taken advantage of, so the Aswang would serve as an early lesson for children to be careful and not trust strangers on the street in addition to being a fun story to scare the kids with.

Dokkaebi (도깨비) – Legend

Nationality: Korean
Age: 20
Occupation: Film & TV Production Major Student and University of Southern California
Residence: Orion Housing at the University of Southern California
Language: English

Text: 

Dokkaebi (도깨비) translates to Goblin from Korean to English.

Context: 

“There are these creatures popular in Korean media known as ‘goblins,’ which are mischievous creatures that are essentially fairies. There’s a very famous K-drama by the same title. They usually carry these big, magical clubs which can grant wishes, and they wear outfits that look as if you were to skin a tiger and wear its skin.”

The performer heard about this legend when he was 18 and read Omniscient Viewpoint, a manhwa popular among teenagers in 2023.  He later learned it was popular to use the “Goblin” trope in various types of Korean media, ranging from horror to kids’ shows. 

Analysis: 

Dokkaebi are supernatural beings recorded in Korean Literature since medieval Korea (about 918–1392). However, the oral folktelling of the trope has evolved and remains popular into modern times, often tied to people, places, events, or dreams. For example, older renditions of the Dokkaebi are traditionally adorned in animalistic tiger skin, but in modern retellings (such as with K-pop merchandise or the K-drama Goblin (Guardian: The Lonely and Great God)), the Dokkaebi are portrayed to be at the forefront of fashion trends. This is because in the past, a tiger skin would’ve symbolized wealth and power, but now, that symbol is replaced by expensive suits. Despite physical changes to accommodate the advancing Korean folk, Dokkaebi adhere to Korean values of ethics and morals.

Oftentimes, Dokkaebi figures take on the role of playing with a karmic law: punishing the bad and rewarding the good. They’re considered neither demon nor ghost, taking on a neutral presence within Korean folklore as a figure that teaches humans lessons. Because of this, they are often considered tricksters. They emphasize that good and mischief can coexist as there is a balance and order to the way life plays out. This balance is commonly seen within Korean culture as many subscribe to concepts from Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and shamanism – all of which emphasize duality and harmony.

Dokkaebi plays well into Korean folk beliefs of shamanism and animism as Dokkaebi are often derived from nature and the spiritual imbuing of objects. In some tales of Dokkaebi, the Goblins arise from normal objects turned sacred (such as old brooms or keepsakes) which gain a spirit over time (animism). If the sacred objects were cast aside carelessly, this could result in the rise of a Dokkaebi.