Author Archives: Sev Krauss-McClurg

Drachenfelse – Legend

Nationality: Israeli/American
Age: 51
Occupation: Startup CEO
Residence: Bellevue, Washington
Language: English

Text

(Sent in an email)

Between the ages of 2-5 I lived in Bohn with my parents and sister. My grandparents, moved to live in Bohn with us. They lived a few blocks down close to the Rhine river across from the Drachenfelse. The Drachenfelse ruins where visible from their apartment window and anytime we would drive in, out and across town. When we would drive across town I would get glimpses of it on the cross streets that led up to the Rhine. When we drove out of town it was clearly visible once the buildings faded away and the same when we would return from trip out of town.

Though they were, of course, just ruins, my grandfather and father used to tell me the tales of the dragon the lived on that hill and was slain or perhaps was just slumbering on it.

The “best” was on foggy mornings. With the clouds and fog moving across it, it gave the impression of the dragon breath or steam from the fire and even more so of the dragon moving.

I remember them telling me stories about the battle with the dragon and how it was killed.

(After asked to tell the story)

Sigfried worked for a king who had a lot of treasure and at some point found out that the king was stealing and hiding all the treasure from the people. When Sigfried confronted the king he first sent a giant to kill him but Sigfried beat the giant. He then sent a dragon to kill him being sure that it would do the trick, but Sigfried defeated the dragon as well. The legend was that the dragon wasn’t killed though and could come back.

(Photo attached from linked Google street view)

Context

The informant heard this story from their father and grandfather as a kid around three to four years old. At the time, they completely believed it and never even considered that it was just a story. Their parents did not do anything to change this and let them believe it was true. They found the hill to be scary but also fascinating and said that “I wanted to look and I didn’t want to look…fascination, fear combined with awe and excitement.” They particularly remember thinking “about “what was it like when it was alive? Would it wake up?” They also said that they were too scared to climb it whenever their father and grandfather would suggest it. They didn’t specify whether they believed it now or not but from their writing, it seemed likely they didn’t anymore.

Analysis

This story is one of many that explains a natural occurrence by creating a narrative around it. This hill, Drachenfels (meaning Dragon Rock), looks like a dragon lying down and can easily be explained with a story about a legendary person who beat the dragon. Natural formations are a good storytelling tool because everyone hearing it can see the exact thing that is being referenced. This can make the story even more real to the people who are listening and possibly help to convince them of the truth.

The story is about dragons which are very common in older legends, especially in Europe which has a long list of legends about the mythical creature. The use of dragons reflects the local culture which likely already emphasized belief in dragons when this was originally told. Other areas might have chosen a different legendary creature that was more important to their culture. The character Sigfried is known as The Dragon Slayer and appears in other Germanic legends, so his inclusion in this story about a slain dragon makes sense.

The fact that the story specifies that the dragon is not dead might play a role in why this legend was told to the informant as a child. Dragons are large and scary creatures and by telling a child, who is more likely to believe the story, you warn them against going near the hill. The hill is large, forested, and dangerous so a parent could use this story to prevent a child from going there alone. The fact that it is the parents telling the child the story would influence them more than just reading it because they would be hearing it from a trusted source. The believability of this story could also be influenced by other factors such as the time of day, proximity to the hill, and, as the informant mentioned, the presence of fog that creates the illusion of smoke and movement. In the informant’s case, the story was extremely successful as they were too scared to go on the hill, even with their parents.

High School Theater Ghost – Legend

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Huntington Beach, California
Language: English

Text

Informant: So George was a student at Huntington Beach High and he was in the acting program and he was dating this girl, she was also in the acting program. And they were going to audition to be in Romeo and Juliet together. She got Juliet, he didn’t get Romeo, another guy got Romeo.

Me: What did he get though?

Informant: I don’t think he got in (laughter from Informant, me, and other person in the room)

Informant: What a loser. But um, anyway, so his girlfriend and this guy, they fell in love, and she broke up with George. So George (small laugh) hung himself in the theater and he became the ghost of the theater and so if you don’t put the ghost light out, he is going to come get you. Also he lives in the basement where all the props are so if you want to go get a prop, you have to have all the lights on and you’re going to hear… or OR George is going to take you away. AND we have a noose hanging (laughter) from the top of our theater backstage (more laughter) to commemorate him.

Me: Okay, okay, so, what would he do to you?

Informant: He would snatch you! (laughter)

Me: He would snatch you?

Other Person: He’d just grab you?

Informant: People would just talk about, like, “Beware of George” and that’s really it, not like, the specifics of what he was going to do to you, you know?

Me: Did you ever, like, try to find him?

Informant: No, but my friend, (NAME), said… oh my god, my friend (NAME) was convinced she looked like his ex-girlfriend, because these were real people.

Me: Right.

Informant: So she apparently thinks she looks like the girl and that George was like, George is always with her so whenever she goes to the basement alone, she always says that he’s right behind her like she can feel him… it’s like “okay girl.”

Me: Okay so you don’t believe her stories.

Informant: No, I don’t…but, like, it is kinda spooky in there without the ghost light because it’s a huge theater.

Context

The informant went to Huntington Beach High School in the early 2020s and heard this story from other students while going there. They were in the theater program and sharing this legend was mostly among theater students rather than the whole high school. The informant says that they never believed in the ghost or their friend’s story but they do believe that it is based on real people who existed. The informant added that there was also a ritual associated where everyone in the show would sign a playbill (booklet given at theater performances to give the audience some information about the show and cast as well as act as a place to put advertisements). This playbill was then thrown up into the ceiling and the idea was to appease George so that he would not ruin the show. The informant engaged in this tradition butt did it for the community bonding and fun part instead of actually believing in its power.

Analysis

Theater are a common place to find ghosts due to the way they are used. Theaters are spaces where a person doesn’t act like themselves and where death is commonly simulated. They are a liminal space where the boundary between reality and imaginary is pushed and the proscenium (frame around the stage that separates it from the audience) acts as the portal into a new world. This portal could just as well be a portal into a plane where ghosts exist. Furthermore, theaters are also the location of a lot of actual deaths due to many fires that destroyed theaters and killed thousands throughout history. All of these aspects of theater taken together make it a prime location for ghostly hauntings.

This story uses the idea that the theater is a place with lots of death and even follows the story of the play that was being put on. Romeo and Juliet is about two lovers that kill themselves when they can’t be together, directly reflected in the story as George (Romeo in this version) kills himself but his ex-girlfriend (the Juliet) does not follow suit. This results in George being left with unfinished business and the need to haunt the theater program that lead to his demise.

Theater ghost stories usually have a connection to that stage’s ghost light. This light is placed on stage at any time when the theater is dark and there isn’t a performance happening. There are two reasons that are commonly given for this. One is about ghosts and the idea that the ghost light is meant to appease or block any ghosts in the space. The second is likely more true and that is for safety. The stage can be very dangerous when dark and the ghost light provides a small amount of light that helps a person stay safer while navigating it. This story is an explanation for why the stage needs the ghost light. Although it is only a small portion of the story, the informant says that “if you don’t put the ghost light out, he’s going to get you.” This story plays into the ghost explanation but also works as a way to remind high schoolers to put out the safety device at the end of the show. High schoolers might not remember to turn on the ghost light given that, for many of them, this is their first time doing theater with more responsibility. The story can help them to remember to put it out at the end of a performance because it threatens consequences if they forget.

The ritualistic signing and throwing of the playbill first acts as community bonding between the whole cast and crew of a production before opening night (the first time the show has an audience). Secondly, it is a place where this story can be told to new students in the program as they engage in the act and story all together. This quickly brings any new student into the culture of the theater program by directly showing them the stories and rules of the group. Knowing this story becomes a sign of induction into the program as a whole.

Although the informant says they don’t believe in the story, they do believe in the existence of the people within it. These people may or may not have existed but because of the informant’s connection to the school and story, they might be more inclined to believe in part of it. Even if someone doesn’t believe in ghosts, they might find other parts of the legend that they think are more believable, like that these people were real at one point and the story was created around them. They might also engage in the rituals associated with the stories without the belief in their power such as signing and throwing the playbill even though they don’t believe George exists. The ritualized behavior still allows them to feel the connection to others without needing to change their beliefs to include ghosts.

The ritual resulting in a good show without any disasters is significant. Thespians can imagine nothing worse than their show going wrong or things breaking. Even if a person doesn’t believe that a ghost is the one doing the show harm, they would still take any luck they can get in preventing mistakes. If a person didn’t engage in the behavior and something did go wrong, they would be blamed because they didn’t do the ritual. This makes people who might not believe in any part of the story (ghost or luck) still engage in the ritual to excuse themselves from any fault.

University of Toronto Prank Club – Legendary Group/Legendary Event

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Ajax, Ontario, Canada
Language: English

Text

Informant: You may have heard this from (OTHER PERSON), but in some colleges and universities, there are groups that will do, like, prank things. At MIT its called, like, “Hacking,” but they are sort of just random prank things. U of T engineering has something, like, this… allegedly, it is called the “Brute Force Committee,” BFC. One of the main things, or I guess evidence you see of them on campus is there logo on a sticker in some very absurd places so, you know, in one of the engineering buildings there is like a big open area in the middle of the building and, you know, on the far side from the walkway, up multiple stories, you’ll see one of their stickers. And so clearly, somebody did something dangerous or did something funky to get a sticker. So there are some of those things. But, um, the bigger things are, of course, the actual pranks that they do. And a lot of them are, you know, pretty low-key little pop-up things. At one point one of the buildings in one of the hangout areas they had one of those mini basketball arcade game things, just like fun stuff. I’ll say one more thing and then I’ll tell the story for them. But during Frosh week again, one of the evenings we are out and about, and this is how we are introduced to them. I wish I remembered more of the details but there’s like this whole ceremony where we get walked around and get told some stories about their background and like U of T history and they gave us all candles and we all had to blow them all out. And the thing I remember most distinctly about this was we all had our masks on and we couldn’t blow the candles out.

Me: They did not plan ahead (laughter)

Informant: No. It didn’t work. But it was, like, you know, a very community building, interesting thing. But anyway, they do a bunch of random pranks, but the legendary one that I believe has happened twice in the last like 10 years is with our rivalry with Queen’s University which is with engineering… university in Canada, specifically the engineering people. One of their Frosh traditions is that they have this mud pit and then like a metal pole and they cover it in grease and the freshmen try to climb it…It has like a base obviously so it’s self standing, it’s very messy. But, the story is that we have stolen it a couple of times and basically ransomed it for, what I think the story is, is like some different like tasks, more than, you know, it’s all for fun in the end. But stealing this… pole thing… that is meant to be, like, a freshman event from this rival university. And I believe there are things they’ve stolen from us in the past, just, like, the engineering society people… like we have these little cannons, beer cannons too? It’s, like, a thing, I don’t entirely remember why. And I believe those have been stolen from us before so there’s a little bit of back and forth that I think has gone on with these things.

Context

The informant is from Seattle, Washington and studies engineering at the University of Toronto (called “U of T” by people in Canada). They heard this in 2021 in the week before classes (called “Frosh week”) where freshman are meant to get to know each other and also learn about the school and it’s traditions. This group is limited to just the engineers of U of T, other students at the university don’t have connections to it. The informant said they believe that BFC stole the pole twice but they are less sure about the cannon stealing by Queen’s College. They added that might have these beliefs because they think U of T is better than Queen’s College and therefore more likely to have actually achieved these pranks. The informant does say that the ritual associated with telling the story acted as community building for them.

Analysis

This legendary group and story work to bond new engineering students to both each other and their school. By hearing this story during Frosh week in a very ritualized way, they connect to the rest of the new students as well as students before them in the engineering program. They also feel a deeper connection to their school, first by hearing stories about the history and second by engaging in a rivalry with another school.

The story helps to define the role of the person hearing it. As an engineering student at U of T, the informant is meant to see this prank as a success and a win against another group, their rival university engineering program. By creating this rivalry, it helps to solidify where a new student exists. They are part of the U of T group, not the Queen’s College group. Belief in the story also helps to define the role. As the informant showed, they believe in a the part of the story that showed the superiority of U of T over their rival college. This was at least partially because of their connection to their own university where they feel like they can believe the legends from their group but not the ones from another.

Engaging in humorous but still technically illegal prank like stealing a pole that belongs to another university is a way for young adults to stay playful and childlike while in a rigorous and academic environment. Adding fun to their college experience allows them to relax after studying. Toeing the line of legality allows them to push the boundaries of the law and institutional rules while still being safe given the humorous aspect of the prank.

Other pranks described, such as putting a sticker somewhere that would be impossible to reach normally, act as a way of proving oneself by doing something impressive to others. That sticker is now impossible to reach by anyone and therefore impossible to take down. This makes it a lasting legacy of this person (possibly making them a legend within the committee itself).

BFC and the pranks described are a very modern legend in that there is some evidence for their existence both on Google (articles or descriptions of them) and physical proof of stickers or other active pranks. Despite the evidence for their existence however, it is very likely that these stories are exaggerated through retellings. This is even more likely given that they are about rivalries between colleges meaning that each student has incentive to exaggerate how good their school is.

University of Toronto Freshman Luck – Legendary Object

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Ajax, Ontario, Canada

Text

Informant: So during freshman orientation, or Frosh week, we are at Queen’s Park, that’s the park in the middle of the U of T campus, and there’s this horse statue. And they tell you that the legend is that you have to slap the horse’s ass, this metal horse statue, to pass all your first year classes. So you’re standing there, and you see all these other groups doing it before you hear the details, and then you hear the details, and you do it. And obviously… works better for some people than others (laughter)

Me: Right, so did it work?

Informant: It worked for me! I mean, I didn’t fail anything in first year. I haven’t failed any class actually.

Context

The informant is from Seattle, Washington and studies engineering at the University of Toronto (called “U of T” by people in Canada). They heard this in 2021 in the week before classes (called “Frosh week”) where freshman are meant to get to know each other. The informant isn’t sure how widespread this throughout the University of Toronto. They are pretty sure that it was told to all incoming engineering students because all their friends in engineering know it, but they aren’t sure if other people at the university do. The informant does not believe that this actually allowed them to pass their first year classes and mentioned that it clearly didn’t work for some people. They did find it fun as a short story and bonding activity before their first year classes started.

Analysis

This story about luck being told to first year engineering students at the University of Toronto might seem generic at first but the University of Toronto is well known for having a very good (and very hard) engineering program. On top of that, new university students are moving up from high school and might be concerned about the increase in difficulty that comes with higher education. The idea of having extra luck to pass all your first year classes at a program like this is likely very enticing to new students and possibly part of the origin of this legend.

The specificity of the direction to “slap the horse’s ass” in order to pass your classes is more than just a joke. Hitting a horse in such a manner is done to get them to start moving or to speed up. In the same way, these new students have to start moving and start learning the material as their first year classes are about to begin. The only way to pass your classes is to pay attention and learn the material, the students can not just stand stationary. In this way, the students are telling themselves to get to the pace of university level classes and start moving.

This story and corresponding action also allows incoming first year students to feel more connected to their school and the people around them. By hearing the story and then engaging in the practice alongside everyone else, they form an immediate bond with their group but also everyone else who came before them at the school. This community building is important, especially as these people are entering a new location (university) for the first time and likely not knowing anyone.

Vampire Hunting Club – Legendary Creature/Legend Sharing

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Sudbury, Massachusetts
Language: English

Text

Informant: So when I was in elementary school, probably around fourth or fifth grade um, there was myself and maybe two other students in the same grade and we were reading a lot of vampire novels. Um, like, you know, elementary to middle school aged ones, not like Twilight or whatever. And so we got it in our heads that maybe vampires are real. And it’s kind of like when you are looking for something to be true so you start, like, seeing signs of it everywhere. Like “Oh, there’s mysterious blood on my sheets” cause I had a like, fucking paper cut and it got on my bedsheets.

Me: Ooo mysterious

Informant: But no, it was a vampire, came through the window and tried to attack me, you know.

Me: And you fought back in your sleep and won?

Informant: Yeah essentially, That wasn’t my experience that was somebody else in the club.

Me: What was your experience?

Informant: Um, I think it was, it was probably, now that I think about it, just some creep in the woods behind the school.

Me: Oh, that’s not good.

Informant: No…not good at all. But then I saw it behind the woods, and it’s like when you see the grainy photo of Sasquatch and you’re like “oh my god,” that was me.

Me: That was you?

Informant: Well I wasn’t Sasquatch.

Me: Oh, how old were you at the time?

Informant: How old would I be in fourth grade? 8? 7?

(Pause as we figure out how old a fourth grader is)

Informant: I was not the most observant of 8-year-olds, so clearly this creepy guy in the woods, I was like “oh yeah that’s a vampire.”

Context

The informant grew up in Sudbury, Massachusetts and had this club in the early 2010s. They told me that this club of three was isolated from the rest of their grade (“because everyone else thought we were freaks…and stupid”) and that everyone else believed that another student was a real fairy so they were part of the “fairy club” (the informant adds “but they believed in fairies so who’s the stupid one really”). The informant says that their club did try to hunt vampires in the woods during recess, but that their teachers would catch them and bring them back so they were unsuccessful in their legend hunting attempts. The club did not search for vampires outside of recess because they were not close friends outside of school. The informant no longer believes that they actually saw a vampire but, at the time, they did believe that there were vampires in both their friend’s story and their own experience.

Analysis

Vampire stories were on the rise at the time the informant was hearing and experiencing these stories. Twilight (one of the most popular vampire books ever written) came out in 2008 and a wave followed. These stories would have been easily accessible by children and intriguing as an idea. Vampires are scary in that they attack you and try to drink your blood, but many times, they don’t murder you. Vampires instead turn you into one of them. Along with the fact that vampires are distinctly humanoid, they are a less scary legendary creature or horror subject. This can make them an easier entrance into the horror genre for children. By playing with the concept of them being real, children are able to approach a topic (being attacked by someone or something you don’t know or understand) in a safer way. As the informant attempted to search with a group of friends, they were using the support of others to feel confident enough to explore the topic further by actually looking for a vampire.

By telling these stories to each other, this club was sharing memorates. As they retold their experiences to each other, they built up the legend of the vampire past what the books had told them and brought the creature into their world. They also reenforced the legend by proving to each other that vampires really did exist. The act of hunting and sharing stories also created a social group. The informant said that the reason they didn’t hunt more is because they were not close enough friends, however, this club did bring them together for a significant amount of time each day during recess so that they could share and engage in these stories. This group would not have otherwise interacted if they did not have this shared legend to bring them together.