Author Archives: Taylor Woods

Herobrine

Story: So Herobrine is a mythical being in the world of Minecraft. So, basically in the early development stages of Minecraft, Notch, who was the creator of Minecraft, would put in the developer logs, like removed Herobrine. And the story that was eventually developed around that very innocuous term, was that um Notch had a brother who died at some point in development who played the game, and his brothers soul became trapped in the game, and essentially began haunting players by attacking them.and the avatar of the character, herobrine, was like the default character, Steve, but without pupils in his eyes just like white in his eyes. And he was basically invincible, and could set you on fire, and just do very awful things to you. And multiple times during the beta development cycle, notch would put in removed Herobrine, and for the young kids who played the game who knew that story, we were always like: [in a quiet yell] ‘Oh my god! Hes back! He came back. Like what the fuck.’ and we would always be really freaked out, because the devoloper was confirming that herobrine was a real thing, and it wasnt just a bunch of kids, it was also like the developer of the game that was talking about it.

Context: I was told this story by the informant in person, and recorded them so that I could better transcribe later on.

Thoughts: The informant said that they loved telling this story, as it helped them to remember some great times with their friends playing Minecraft. They think the story stuck in their head so much because it is the only ghost story that they ever genuinely believed in.

Analysis: I remember the Herobrine legend – me and my friends also were also terrified of a potential encounter with him. I know this folklore was more widespread, but it was crazy meeting someone who grew up on the opposite side of the country talk about it, especially with the developer log detail which I had never heard before.

Vishnu

Story: So my grandma would always tell me this story- well he’s not really a god but he’s the incarnation of a god, um, Krishna, but he’s the incarnation of i think Vishnu if i remember correctly? And it’s just like a cute little story that she used to tell me when i went to sleep, it was to kinda put me to sleep at night, of um so he grew up in a village, he’s the incarnation of a god so he grew up around normal people. And he was a really mischievous kid and him and his friend – his mother used to live in the village and she used to churn butter at  a specific time of the year, and him and his friend would just be like super mischievous and steal that butter, like as they were churning it and  while they weren’t looking. He was known in the village as being this really naughty kid who always did that. And once they caught him and they opened his mouth- because he was like ‘oh I didn’t steal the butter’- and when they opened his mouth they saw the whole universe in his mouth. And that’s when they knew he was divine and uh… yeah.

Thoughts: The informant always really liked Krishna as a child, since their middle name is a form of that name, and was named after Krishna. It was also significant to them because their grandmother used to tell them that story while putting them to bed and they always really looked forward to that. She has since passed away, and it makes him happy to remember her.

Context: The context of this performance was over the phone, and I recorded the informant talking about their own folklore.

Analysis: This story made me want to paint- it was so beautiful and also unlike any story I have ever heard before. I thought a lot about why, and I think it is because there is no real point to the story, it is just visuals. Usually there is a plot to a story, an aim, a goal, a culprit, a villain. This story was more of an exposure of who Krishna really was on the inside, both metaphorically and physically.

Rat King

Story: There was once a rat king, who lived in the walls. After bothering animators for years we used our collective might of modeling and drawing to capture him into inanimate form. Now his avatar, the sacred rat king plush, is handed down through generations and safeguarded by the animators.

Context: I was told this story over text, as the informant has COVID and was unable to meet in person, and also did not want to call or FaceTime. This informant is an animation major, and part of a very small cohort. They have a stuffed rat that they circle between everyone in the cohort week by week.

Thoughts: When asked about how the informant feels about the story, they say that while they loved the story origination, they are a bit sad that it has died down a bit. Due to other circumstances, they feel as if they aren’t as close as they used to be to the people in the cohort, and haven’t gotten the rat in a while.

Analysis: I war torn between calling this a legend or a tale because of the animal component, and ultimately decided that it was in fact a legend. I thought this story was particularly interesting because while it might not be true, the cohort had built up lore around the stuffed rat and actually maintained the practice of passing the rat between them throughout their years at USC, through quarantine, and even now.

Haunted House

Story: Where I grew up, there is a house on the edge of my block that everyone says is haunted. No one has lived in it for as long as we were there which – we moved there when I was three. Anyways, I don’t even remember who told me it was haunted, it was just a thing everyone knew. The house is super old and looks like it is falling apart, the yard is over grown and sometimes the boys in my neighborhood would throw rocks at it. Anyways, everyone thought it was haunted but I had never seen anything to prove it, until one night when I was around 17 and I was walking home from a friends house late at night. I had to pass the house and I would always glance at it when I walked by because it freaked me out. Anyways, I was walking by and I got the most terrifying feeling ever. I saw the door was open which was so weird because it was always shut, and in the doorway was the shadow of a person just standing there! I nearly screamed and ran all the way home.

Context: The informant is a senior at USC from New York, and told me this story over the phone.

Thoughts: When asked what they think about the story looking back on it now, the informant says that it still terrifies them, and even when they go home to visit they will walk all the way around the block just to avoid walking next to the house.

Analysis: I have never experienced a ghost encounter, however this was definitely creepy. The informant also mentioned that other people had experienced encounters at or around the house as well, and I was wondering if I could find anything that happened at the house in the past, like a death or some sort of tragedy. However, no results came up when I researched it.

Dead Body

Story: There was a story told in my neighborhood about a murderer who lived in the park behind our houses. Our whole neighborhood bordered a woodland park about three or four miles square. The story we told was that a kid was walking along a path through the park at night when they disappeared. Months later, after the police search for them had been called off, a passerby found their body inside of a trash can at the bottom of a hill. As the story went, if you stayed too long in the park after dark, the same thing might happen to you.

Context: The informant told me this story over text, as they were unavailable for FaceTime. The informant is from Seattle, WA.

Thoughts: The informant was told this story by their mother, and it became a well known story within their friend group. When asked how they feel looking back on the story now and if they believe it, they say that they aren’t sure if it’s true anymore, since they think their mom just told it to them so they wouldn’t stay out too late at night.

Analysis: While this legend is intriguing, I was genuinely curious as to whether or not it is true. I searched the park online and found that there was indeed a cold case in the park that dates back to 1984. A body of a 30 year old man had been found, and it wasn’t until 2020 that they identified the body (Staff). It isn’t exactly the same story that his mother told him, but I can see where the inspiration came from.

Staff, Author: KING 5. “1984 Cold Case Death at Seattle’s Carkeek Park Solved through Fingerprints.” king5.Com, 21 Feb. 2020, https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/seattle/man-found-dead-in-1984-identified/281-ac988edc-d73a-4552-876f-b98edc6001f8.