Author Archives: Quinn Blades

Rule of Threes

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Corona, CA
Performance Date: 4/25/17
Primary Language: English

The interview will be depicted by initials. The Interviewer is QB and the interview is JT.

QB: Alright so what is this superstition you were telling me about?

 

JT: Well in my family, especially my mom, we all believe that bad things or bad news come in threes. So if someone has something bad happen to them theres sort of an expectation that its going to happen to at least two other people or two other things are going to happen, and that everyone kind of relaxes once that third bad thing comes. And we’ll…like…go pretty far in figuring out what those three are. So if someone gets bad news, like their car is damaged, then it could be that someone else forgot something and then someone else has to chime in with a third bad thing that happened so we have sort of the three and no one has to worry anymore.

Analysis: Like others the rule of three with the students family takes place with bad things. However, this differs as the rule can be applied to ANY negative thing that strikes. It is also interesting how far in depth they will go to make the three negative attributes complete the cycle.

The Rule of 3

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Gilbert, AZ
Performance Date: 4/25/17
Primary Language: English

The interview will be depicted by initials. The Interviewer is QB and the interview is AS.

QB: Is there anything in particular that your family followed as a rule?

 

AS: I would say that the major one was that death comes in threes. Whenever someone in the family dies, we always make sure to prepare ourselves in whatever way we can. Sometimes it has been the dog or rabbit, and we will count that, but we mainly focus on humans.

Analysis: I have seen that a lot of people look to follow this rule, however, the student and their family follow it only with death. They will even go so far as to take the death of an animal to finish the rule faster. The student said that it helps them prepare for hard times and is actual a welcome to get through hard times faster.

Bloody Mary

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Gilbert, AZ
Performance Date: 4/25/17
Primary Language: English

The interview will be depicted by initials. The Interviewer is QB and the interview is AS.

QB: And what stories did you have as a child?
AS: When I was a kid I played Bloody Mary. The way it worked was you went into the bathroom with the lights off. You would say her name and spin around three times, and she was supposed to appear. The other way that you would check to make sure she was there was to turn on the sink and see if blood ran out of the spout.

Analysis: This follows the steps that many Bloody Mary rituals take place. However, it seems to be darker as the student and their friends looked to see if “blood” would run out of the spout. The student of course laughed about the ritual, but said that they attempted it many times just to see if they would ever be “lucky” enough to see Bloody Mary.

Drop Bears

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Gilbert, AZ
Performance Date: 4/25/17
Primary Language: English

The interview will be depicted by initials. The Interviewer is QB and the interview is AS.

QB: So you spent some time in Australia?

AS: Yeah, I studied there for 6 months.

QB: Were there any stories that you learned while there?

AS: Actually yes! The first thing that the locals will tell any tourists or newcomers is that they need to watch out for drop bears. Drop bears are essentially vicious, aggressive, koala hybrids that drop down from trees if you’re not paying attention. They’ve been known to bite and attack people who were unaware to watch out for them.

Analysis: The tricks on tourists seem to be alive and well as the student said that this was one of the first things that they and their friends learned. While it was quickly dismissed, it seems to be a good trick for tourists to pay more attention to the landscape around them and appreciate more of nature. They were very pleased with the joke and said if they ever returned they would quickly make sure to continue the tradition of these “vicious animals”.

One Bright Day

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Gilbert, AZ
Performance Date: 4/25/17
Primary Language: English

The interview will be depicted by initials. The Interviewer is QB and the interview is AS.

QB: So what are these things your dad used to tell you?

AS: Well there was one story that he told me, that he had learned from his father so its been passed down along the family.

QB: Alright go ahead.

AS: One bright day in the middle of the night two dead boys got up to fight. Back to back they faced each other. Drew their swords and shot each other! A deaf policeman heard the noise, got up and shot the two dead boys. If you don’t believe my story is true ask the blind man he saw it too.

Analysis: Its nice to see that this story has been passed around generation to generation. Also the stories ironies are more intended for that of a younger age as the student, and their father, both learned these stories while they were very young. The saying follows many songs that children would sing, but this story is more about death and is spoken.