Author Archives: yazbekdi

Summer Camp Spooky Story: The Police Chief’s Daughter

Age: 19

I interviewed my informant, HP, on a story she heard from a peer at summer camp. In the interview below, she shared the story and her personal thoughts on the matter. Q refers to me, the interviewer, and A refers to HP, our interviewee/informant. The Q&A is a direct transcript, which is why some of the sentence structure is very casual. Below is my personal reflection on the ghost story.

Q: Where did you source your ghost story from? 

A: I heard this from summer camp, and it was from a girl, and we were camping, and she shared it was the setting in which she told a story, like, kind of spooky, or, yeah, it was dark, and we were on this island, and we were in, like, our camps, we were in our tents and everything, and the wind was like, blowing a lot, and we were just about to go to sleep, and then we decided to share some stories 

Q: That’s really interesting because, like, that’s an exact reflection of what we talk about in ghost stories, which is how you get your ghost stories, not through written stories, usually, but through your peer groups. And I think that like summer camp in the United States, like summer camps in our youth are like the best example of that right now.

A: Yeah, I think most of the stories I have are from summer camp especially.

Q: Have you heard many over the years?

A: Or Yeah, I would say some of them often get repeated, but yeah, I would say most of the ghost stories I hear are from friends.

Q: Okay, so can you tell us the ghost story that your friend told? 

A: So it’s a story about this girl, and her name is Grace, and she lives in an apartment in New York City, and she is just with her dad. You know, he’s a single dad. She lost her mom when she was very young, and her father is the chief of police for NYPD. So they are watching the news.

A: They’re just watching their like weekly night show, just some father daughter bonding time. And then on the news, it comes on and it says, “serial killer let loose from the prison. Like everybody, take cover, be alert, be aware.” So her father immediately jumps up, and he starts suiting up, getting ready and everything. And you know, Grace is kind of used to this. This is just usual as the daughter of the chief of police, and then the father, you know, he looks very seriously at Grace, you know, it’s almost as if something is out of the ordinary. And he says, “Grace, lock the doors, deadbolt everything. Don’t answer any knocking, I will be able to open the door myself. You go to bed. Don’t answer. Do not answer.” So then she’s like, “okay, dad, like, stay safe. I love you,” everything. And he goes out into the streets to, you know, catch the serial killer and protect the citizens. So, you know, she’s a little freaked out, and she just says, “Okay, I just need to go to bed. Just not think about this. It’ll all be okay, whatever.” So she’s going to sleep, and you know she’s getting in her slumber. And then she has a dream, and her mother, and she, it’s her mother, and, you know, they’re playing like they did when they were younger. And then all of a sudden it gets serious, and she says, she says, “Don’t open that door.” And then there’s a faint knocking sound, and it just, Grace is a little bit freaked out. She’s like, “Mom, what are you saying”? And then they go back to playing, and then all of a sudden she gets very serious, and she’s like, almost yells at her, and she’s like, “do not open that door.” And then the knocking gets louder and louder, and then Grace, you know, she’s still sleeping, she’s still having this dream. And then it’s, it’s like the mother screaming and pleading at her, saying, “You can’t open that door. You must not open that door. It’s so dangerous.” And then immediately, you know, Grace gets up and she’s all freaked out. She’s, you know, heart is racing and everything. And then the knocking is so loud. It’s, you know, going through the entire apartment. She’s like, this must be my dad. Like, I know he said that he would get in and whatever, but I don’t know. So then she goes checks with people, and she’s like, “Oh, my God, it’s my dad. What is he doing out there?” And then she goes to open the door, but it’s just his head there, and then there’s a note, and it’s saying “you’ll be next.”

Q:  So I have a question. So do you think that, like, obviously, sometimes people see, you know, like their loved ones, their dead ones, in their sleep. But do you think that because the mother was talking to her about something that was happening in real life, in her dream, her mom was talking to her about the serial killer and everything going on. Do you think that there’s a chance that the appearance of the mother in her dreams wasn’t just a dream, but rather like a ghost, apparition, like a communication with the ghost? 

A: Yeah, I think maybe it could be. I think people think, like, you know, all ghosts are bad, but like, maybe the mother was kind of like a guardian.

Q: Like an ancestral ghost. Okay. And where with the whole like father thing, like, just his head? Do you think that, you know, likely the whole head appearing like, that’s all just a dream, like, the entire story, at least the part after she goes to sleep to, like, when she sees the note? Do you think that could just all be the girl Grace dreaming?

A: Yeah, I think so. I mean, it could be fake. You know, it’s kind of hard to imagine that, like, a serial killer could, like, put up the Chief of Police’s head on the door. Like, I don’t know if that could be hard to believe. And like people in the apartment could see it, so maybe it is a dream, right?

Q: Do you think of apparitions, like that, as ghosts? Say, the head was just not real, but like a visual or something? Do you think that could be like a ghost in a way?

A: I guess it could be, there’s just, it’s very hard to tell. I think, maybe the entire story could have been a dream, and it’s like how the mother appeared. It’s like the father appeared in the form of, like, just a head, right?

Q: And do you personally believe this is a ghost story?

A: I don’t know. It could be real. I mean, it’s, it’s not totally out of the question. I think it could be a real ghost story.

Q: Do you, like, believe in ghosts?

A: I mean sometimes there are certain circumstances that, maybe make me, double guess what I believe in but I think for the most part, I don’t really believe in ghosts. 

Q: Okay, and with this story specifically, do you know if it’s derived from any specific folklore, or how close in proximity was this story to your friend at summer camp, if you know? Is it like, derived from, like any old told story, from folklore,

A: I don’t know. I feel like it’s kind of like a modern-ish story, because, you know, there’s elements of the TV and the big city and all that, but maybe it could have been derived just like, you know, different variation, and it’s kind of evolved. But, yeah, I can’t really say what the exact culture is.

Q: That makes sense. And, I find it interesting because like you mentioned it is more recent, [and] the whole word of mouth thing would lead you to believe that it’s not a story that has touched that many people. Do you remember, what were the reactions from other campers when she told this story? Did people think it was real? Or do people get frightened by this kind of ghost story? Or believe it in any way?

A: I think that a lot of, like, I personally, was also freaked out by it, I think everyone else that was intently hearing this. They were like, “Oh my gosh, I have chills.” And, you know, this is really creepy, and, I mean, I remember, the storyteller did a better job of me, you know, like, would mimic, the knocking sounds and stuff. So I’m also much more theatrical than what I just gave but I think, you know, people are definitely freaked out and a little bit more nosy, maybe there’s a serial killer on the island. 

Q: This is my last question. But also in keeping the tradition of orally told ghost stories, and passing them, like, how at camp you share them with a lot of people? Is this the kind of thing that in the future you would tell others, and pass down the ghost story? 

A: I think somewhat recently, it was kind of a similar thing, like I was doing a camping tripSC Outfitters, and we were just sharing ghost stories. And I shared this one just because it’s so creepy. But, yeah, I think it is very important to share it and make sure other people are sharing it and just keep that tradition alive.

Personal Reflection: Personally, I don’t really believe in the part where the father’s head was just hanging there and left by the serial killer with a note, not because of any ghost-belief reasons, but just because it sounds like the sort of thing that would happen only really in fiction. As for the part about the mother visiting her, I find it very hard to decipher between what’s just in the psyche and what’s a ghost apparition in this story. Because the girl was sleeping, I feel like it would be easiest to say it was just an incredibly realistic dream. However, because of the dialogue with the mother, and the fact that she could really hear her, I start to lean towards thinking that maybe this was a friendly ancestral ghost visitation, intended to protect Grace. As a whole, I don’t really believe in this entire story, but I think it’s really cool that it’s been spread between peer groups.

The Ghost in the Mirror

Age: 19

I interviewed my informant, KD, on a story she heard from friend at a sleepover. In the interview below, she shared the story and her personal thoughts on the matter. Q refers to me, the interviewer, and A refers to KD, our interviewee/informant. The Q&A is a direct transcript, which is why some of the sentence structure is very casual. Below is my personal reflection on the ghost story.

Q: Could you first start by clarifying the source of your ghost story? Like where you got it from?

A: I got this story from my friend in middle school.

Q: Was it told just one on one, or a group setting, or, do you remember the context?

A: I remember we were at her house sleeping over, and she wanted to freak us out, so she told us the story. It was like me, her and a group of maybe four other girls.

Q: Okay, cool. That’s interesting because HP had a similar, sleepover situation, since hers was at summer camp. All right, you could just start by telling the story then, please.

A: Okay, so she’s telling us that she goes to this cabin in the mountains every year, and she went with one of her friends, and she went up. Her parents brought her up, but her parents weren’t there when this was happening. They were out at dinner and drinks or something, and they left her and her friend at the house. So they [the girl and her friend] were taking pictures with a flash camera, and when they were looking back through the pictures, there was a mirror behind them, and in this mirror there was a face of a man, [but] there was no man in the house, or allegedly, no man in the house. It was just these two girls, their parents were gone, so they were looking at these pictures, and there was a face in the mirror. So then they started taking pictures somewhere else. And every time they took a picture somewhere with a mirror there was, like, a face. And they checked the mirrors. They checked everything after and they couldn’t see anything. And then later, when I asked her, because I was curious, I was like, “Wait, do you still have these pictures?” She goes, “No. A week later, the SD card was wiped,” and she doesn’t know how

Q: Okay, so obviously, this is something you said happened to your friend, right? So this isn’t like, tied to any folklore or anything like that, but it was told through a peer group. Did you believe it when your friend told you the story? Like, did you get chills? Did you/do you believe in what she was saying, or did she believe in it being a ghost?

A: She acted like she really did believe in it, but I don’t really believe in it, just because I’m not that kind of person. I think she is just making the story to freak us out. But knowing her, she wasn’t really someone who, like, just made stuff up like that, right? And she’s not like a pathological liar. 

Q: Like, do you think there was anything in that story that I guess is a motif that would guide you to believe it’s a ghost, or that kind of thing?

A: Probably just like the face. Like, that’s like, kind of something you see in movies a lot, you see something in the mirror you can’t really in real life.

Q: And do you believe in ghosts ever, in general, is your disbelief applied to every situation? Or is it just like this situation with your friend? 

A: I feel like everything that happens there has to be a logical explanation for it. I don’t really believe in ghosts, but there are some things that I’ve heard of, like stories like, you know, “The Conjuring” or whatever. Like those stories, those real stories that have been made into movies. I find it hard to find the logical reasoning behind it. But personally, in my daily life, or like in this story too, I just find it hard to believe.

Q: If it had happened to you, do you think you would believe?

A: If it had happened to me, and the whole wiping of the SD card thing just would also be confusing. So maybe if something like that did happen to me, I’d believe it right. 

Q: Do you think there’s any chance she just imagined the face there, or, dreamed it all, or something. Do you think there’s, do you think there’s any chance she imagined the face there, or something?

A: There’s a chance, like, we were 12 years old, so, like, maybe just some sort of reflection on the mirror, or some weird camera setting.

Q: In ghost stories we talk a lot about children and ghosts and ghosts appearing to children, because it’s the whole idea of, your life being cut short before, you’ve reached your prime, or before important things happen to you. Do you think there’s any tie between the child seeing it and the parents not being there, versus how she would have reacted if she were older. 

A: Yeah, I feel like, well, like that whole trope of like, ghosts appearing to children was, kind of logical, because children are not mature yet, so they kind of, they won’t really look for like, the logical reasoning behind it. They might just believe it, or like, also, children might be taken advantage of, because if they talk about it, people will be like, oh, like, they’re used to managing it, because children tend to make up their stories. So I feel like that’s why, like, in a lot of literary texts with ghosts and stuff, they never really target the adults, because the adults just wouldn’t believe it. They find a logical explanation. So I feel like it could be possible to get ghost stories by targeting children, mainly because no one will take them seriously.

Personal Reflection: Much like our interviewee, KD, I just find it hard to believe in ghost stories in general, and thinking back to the days when I was little, this sort of feels like one of those small things that I would find and hyperbolize into a huge spooky story for fun. However, I do find this story more easy to believe than the police chief camp story because it aligns a lot more with classic ghost stories. The whole apparition in the mirror and the fact that it was a ghost appearing only to a child really aligns with a lot of traditional ghost stories, so this one is a bit less surprising to me.