Text
“So back when I was probably like eight to probably 12, my dad and I used to do, I know this is like a pretty common one, like pulling the bones apart on a wishbone on like, a chicken. So we used to, like, the first day we like, pick up food from Costco, we’d get a rotisserie chicken. We’d bring it home and we’d dress it whatever. We’d have the wishbone and the belief was we’d each hold an end of the wishbone. I don’t know how familiar you are, but it’s got like two ends. And we’d pull it apart and whoever got like the chunk at the end gets their wish granted. So you’d think of a wish, you pull it apart, and then you get your wish, or you don’t get it. There are no like, bad effects for like, not getting your wish. It’s not like the opposite would happen or like something bad would happen. But you really wanted to get that chunk at the end. My dad used to like hold it a certain way that he’d get it every single time. He’d hack it. I don’t know what he’d do, bro. But, yeah, I like, got my wish, like, twice. So, yeah.”
Context
RR participated in this tradition with his dad every time his family ate a whole chicken, and it was always he and his dad that did it. They would both think of a wish and pull on each side of a wishbone and the person coming away with the bigger piece would have their wish granted. RR notes that he has no idea how, but somehow his dad would almost always have the bigger side. He doesn’t mention if any of his wishes were granted.
Analysis
This is an example of a widely known piece of folklore that was passed down within a family. It’s a small ritual that happened between RR and his dad every time they ate a whole chicken, and shows how folklore can tie people together and build relationships through certain rituals and traditions. It’s pretty powerful, and speaks to the value of folklore, that even though RR would always lose, he still continued to participate because of the family meaning behind the ritual rather than the actual result of getting a wish granted. The wishbone tradition is an example of a magic superstition, as participants believe that getting the larger piece of the wishbone will result in a granted wish.
Category Archives: Magic
Don’t Split The Pole!
Interviewer: “Please tell me more about your saying, with not splitting the pole.”
AK: “It is NOT just a saying. It’s serious. And to get it right, it’s ‘don’t split the pole.’ It determines whether you stay friends forever or not.”
Interviewer: “And how long have you known this for?”
AK: “Ever since I moved to America in 2022, my first friend told me. I’m super superstitious, so if I hear something, I’m not risking it.
Interviewer: “Ok, so please, share what this is.”
AK: “If any friend is walking with another friend…or a group of friends and you stumble on a pole..whethers thats a door with two different sides, a tall sign, or a short fire hydrant, anything that puts a fork in the path. If one person goes the opposite direction of the first person, that can sever the bond of friendship. It would mean that in the future, you could stop being friends down the line. So no matter what, I will pull someone with me if I have to; that pole will not be split.”
Interviewer: “I have seen you do that. Is there any way to reverse the split? To keep the friendship going, or could one accidental splitting of the pole forever break a friendship?”
AK: “It can be reversed for sure. Pretty easy, you just need to go back and go around the pole the proper way. A little inconvenient, I guess, but you gotta do what you gotta do to save the friendship.”
Context: My friend would always yell at me and the friend group if we ever split the pole while walking together. Always making us go back around or pulling us if we almost crossed the wrong side and almost crossed the threshold to killing the friendship with it. I have heard other people say it casually as a joke, but she takes it super seriously.
Analysis: This is a superstition about keeping friendships alive. This shows how easily superstitions can accumulate and be present in everyday life, as this superstition can occur more frequently than the off chance someone walks under a ladder or spills salt. It also shows how these kinds of beliefs can spread socially. People start to believe it themselves because their close friend believes it so strongly, and you also want to keep the friendship alive.
Don’t Whistle At Night!
“I’ve always been told not to whistle at night, like ever. My grandma was super serious about it, too. She would hear even the tiniest whistle and immediately tell me to stop. The way she explained it was that whistling at night calls things to you…like spirits or bad energy, basically things you don’t want around. She said nighttime is when everything is quieter, so if you whistle, it travels farther, and whatever’s out there can hear you. I remember asking her what would actually happen, and she didn’t give a super clear answer, just that it could bring bad luck or something following you home. It honestly freaked me out as a kid, so I just never questioned it. I will stop anyone I hear whistling at night because I’m not trying to summon any demons.”
Context: AK is very superstitious; all people from Albania are, from what they told me. Whistling in the dark can summon bad energy or attract evil because sound travels farther when you can’t see as well, according to the belief. Since moving to America, AK has brought this Albanian superstition with them and stops anyone who whistles at night.
Analysis: This story shows how a simple belief can turn into a real habit just from growing up with it. Even now, AK reacts to it automatically, which shows how these kinds of superstitions can stay with you without needing proof. Bringing it from Albania to the U.S. also shows how cultural traditions can travel and continue in new places. This is a great example to show how superstitions spread throughout the world. AK heard it in Albania, and then spread it to their friends in the U.S. until they believed it too, and those friends could spread it on, etc.
“Cursed” Medallion
Text:
H: “So when I went to Florida with my family, I got on some sketchy website, there was like a weird like medallion with like snakes on it. And it was like probably like two bucks, um, but I just like got it ’cause I thought it was cute and I started wearing it. And all of a sudden, like I was getting a lot of bad luck … I had a really bad night, like of sleep, and I was like getting really bad nightmares, like very vivid, like as if it was like, I was like put in an alternate reality and it was actually happening to me. Like for example, since we were on vacation, I was sharing a bed with my sister, and like I would turn over, I would think that it’s real life, like we’d be talking and all of a sudden like her eyes would go red and she’d like… I don’t, she wouldn’t even do anything, but like it was just like scary.”
C: “And were you like still wearing the medallion?”
H: “Yeah, yeah. At this point I didn’t attribute it to the medallion. And then I went… And then like for example, like she turned evil at one point and then like I thought I went back to sleep, and then I thought I woke up again, but like it was still a dream and like she, ’cause she went normal and I was crying. I was like in tears and she was like helping me, like patting my head like, ‘Oh, it’s okay.’ And then like all of a sudden she would turn evil again and I’m like I can’t tell what’s real and fake, so I now attribute it to sleep paralysis. At the time I thought I was like possessed, um, and that was just like reoccurring all night. I was so scared. And then like the next day I asked I think my dad what to do and he told me to like get rid of the medallion, but I didn’t want to touch it so I made my brother put it in the sand, like just to like get it off my head, out of my hands … That night I had another awful night of sleep, not as bad as the first one, and I found out the next day that he [brother] didn’t put it in the sand. He like kept it in my room for some reason ’cause he was just being like a little brother. And I was like… I had like another like possession thing. So then we threw it in the ocean and it was gone for real. Everyone was mad at my little brother ’cause it was like I wasn’t kidding. I was like crying all night both nights. So yeah, now I attribute it to sleep paralysis, but I don’t know. It’s kind of weird. Like the second I started wearing it, it, that happened. And then it made it weirder with like the whole sand thing, like that, it was still in my room.”
Context:
H was on vacation in Florida with her family when she bought this medallion necklace with a two snakes on it. After purchasing it, H started to have terribly bad luck. After falling asleep, H started to have terrible night terrors like where her sister was evil with red eyes. She woke up screaming & crying, so she gave the medallion to her little brother and asked his to bury it in the sand at the beach. That night, H continued to have nightmares, but not as extreme as the previous night. She once again woke up crying only to find out that her brother didn’t get rid of the medallion but left it in her room. They then threw the medallion into the ocean, and she stopped having the nightmares and bad luck.
Analysis:
Since this is a story that takes place in the real world and is/could be believable, this narrative would be classified as a legend. To get more specific, this legend could also be defined as a Memorate since it is a personal narrative encounter with legendary “cursed item,” which are widely believed throughout the world.
Scottish Fairy Flag
Text:
S: “Umm, it’s a Scottish legend. Umm, there was this like Lord, I think in Scotland who fell in love with a fairy and uh, I don’t remember all of it, but he fell in love with the fairy. Then the Fairy Kingdom said, fine, you can, the fairy can live with the and be a human with the Lord for a year and then she has to come back. So they lived together for a year and then she had to go back. But before she went back, she gave him this flag and it was like from the Fairy Kingdom or something. And the flag is still there in Scotland today.”
Context:
My sister told me this legend, and after doing additional research on the legend, I found that it was believed that the flag could be used in times of crises to protect the castle or win victory in battle – that the fairies may come to the humans’ aid if the flag was raised.
Analysis:
This is a real flag that can be found in Scotland. I believe this legend of the flag being a gift from a Lord’s somewhat forbidden fairy lover came to be in order to put the minds of the people at ease: that if war or battles came, they had otherworldly help to aid and protect them. I also believe that due to many legends of fairies that circulated in Scotland, a mysterious flag would likely be attributed to these supernatural creatures.