Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

Metropolitan state hospital

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“My boys and I snuck into the hospital in Waltham and once we were in, it was abandoned and disgusting with trash such as beer cans everywhere. There were eerie sounds in there and we reluctantly were scoping around the area. Legend commonly says that this hospital is haunted and noises we heard we thought to be the mythical ghosts. We searched the deserted building for a bit til we ran out of fear, finding nothing but trash but I swear we heard these weird sounds constantly.”

Context

This ghost story is commonly known by teens in Massachusetts familiar with the Waltham area. Kids often talk of the area in a spooky manner due to its past being a psychiatric institution. Rumor has it that the abandoned hospital is haunted with ghosts of past patients. This sparks curiosity in the young kids of the area who explore the building often.

Analysis

This folk story is a common example of an abandoned building with an emotional back story becoming associated with ghosts. The psychiatric hospital has cultural ties to suffering and isolation which permit horror stories and supernatural beings. This story is a legend because it is based in reality and believed to be true by some and false by others. In society, people often use folklore to rationalize factual events. This specific legend is used to make sense of why the hospital is abandoned and show how the suffering within that building created ghosts. Him and his friends’ exploration is legend tripping because they are experiencing and testing their belief first hand.

Lucky Pencil

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“Growing up, starting in late middle school and going to all the way to today in college, I have had this superstition that I never do well on tests if I do not use my lucky mechanical pencil. I felt a connection to this aqua pencil the second I used it, and I aced a middle school biology test that I thought I was absolutely cooked for. After doing so well on the test I credited my success to the pencil instead of my own brain power. From then on I always used that pencil on every test from highschool to now as a freshman in college. Along the journey though, I had a couple slip ups where I left the pencil at home and I felt my scores were not as good as they would have been on those exams if I were to have had my lucky pencil.”

Context:

“I first heard of this superstition when my friends from middle school would never let me borrow their lucky pencils whenever I asked to borrow one. I asked them why they were so protective of this pencil and they told me they needed it to do well. I laughed and did not take them seriously until my masterclass performance on the biology test. After that miracle, I told them they were right about the lucky pencil and they laughed and said ‘we told you so.’ To this day I still believe that my pencil holds magic to help me do better which is why I still use it for exams.”

Analysis:

The belief in the lucky pencil shows how young students and other creative minds create superstitions or mini rituals that help ease their anxiety and doubts. Although, the pencil itself has no concrete proof to increase scores, it boosts students’ confidence making them feel like they will well. Lucky items are figures of material culture because they hold culture and identity beyond its intended use. Through folklore passed down by friends, the pencil turns from an ordinary writing utencil to a magical object personal to the individual who believes in its power. This reiterates how folklore can often be used to boost feelings of control through ideas of luck, safety, and comfort.

Splitting a pole

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“I practice a superstition related to splitting a pole while walking with someone I care about such as my girlfriend when we are holding hands. The belief is that if you are walking with another person and you guys are separated by a pole, tree, or sign, it is a sign of bad luck due to the distance caused by the object. This is because it symbolizes a blockage in the relationship thus representing a bad omen to come within our connection. Due to this belief, I try to stay on the same side as the other person to avoid that division.”

Context

I first found out about it when walking with my friends who would suddenly grab me next to them when walking near an object telling me to not split the pole. Initially, I thought it was random and abrupt, but after hearing more of my friends who practiced this same belief, I realized it was a common practice in local US culture. Although the exact origin is unknown to me, the practice makes literal sense because the physical separation caused by the object reperesents emotional distance in a relationship. My practice of this folk belief helps me feel close and maintain strong relationships.

Analysis

From a folkloric perspective, the superstition to not split a pole reveals how in certain cultures regular objects can hold deeper meaning. In this particular belief, a pole or other object on the street takes on a symbol of an emotional blockade that leads to bad luck in a relationship. The semblance mirrors homeopathic magic, which believes like causes like. So, a separation physically leads to one emotionally. Avoidance of the split caused by a pole becomes a ritual used in everyday life that ensures love and unity. The context of this situation is important because it only applies when you are walking with someone you care about and don’t want to lose. If you are simply walking alone or with strangers the poles have no significance, which ties to folklore often being context dependent. While some folklore is learned through words this ritual is often learned through performance, or when someone physically acts to pull you from being separated.

Knock on Wood

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“Whenever predicting something positive to come or making a simple statement, I often say “knock on wood” after and knock on a surface such as a wooden desk. This practice ensures I do not put bad luck into existence and cause the exact opposite of what was said to happen, also known as jinxing something. One example is when I tell my friends something like “the Lakers are definitely going to win the playoff series” I would follow with saying knock on wood and knocking on a surface to ensure good luck. Sometimes when I am not near a table I will knock on anything such as my own thigh or head because the knock following the phrase is crucial to this folk ritual.”

Context

“I first heard this from my dad who would often say “knock on wood” to avoid jinxing a good thing he was talking about. I didn’t directly ask him what it meant but instead picked up the context clues of its usage as I heard more people around me also performing the ritual. While some of them believe it completely ensures good luck, most of the friends and family I know feel it is more for personal security to prevent any karma or bad luck. They described this action as a habitual part of their daily lives.”

Analysis:

This is a strong example of a folk ritual that acts as a form of American folk belief. Its usage is varied based on how different individuals came to learn about the practice. Some knock on physical wood, others any object, and others who simply say the phrase. This folk ritual is a form of comfort for folk to alleviate stress from uncertain outcomes and bad luck in day to day life. While some believe in it completely, others like to habitually do it to feel like they are in control of their lives. This ritual reveals that in American culture, simple traditions can hold strong cultural value through causing positive outcomes and passing down to other generations. It is a form of homeopathic magic because the action is meant to create good outcomes and prevent bad ones. By the idea that like affects like, the actions is positively performed to ensure positive results.

Flooding the World

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“I’m sure you’ve heard of the story of Noah and the Ark, the man God told to build a boat and bring two of every animal. From what I learned, God floods the world and only Noah and his family survive. As a catholic, I learned about this tale at a young age during my Sunday school. When I did deeper searching out of curiousity, I found an online story where Zeus floods the world, and an old husband and wife survive by holding onto chests with their belongings and repopulating the Earth by throwing their mother (earth) bones (rocks) behind them. I know there is also a native american story where two climbed to the top of the highest tree to survive a flood. Manu, who was a Hindi legent, survived a flood by following a fish avatar. Chickasaws made rafts to save themselves.”

Context

I would come across these different stories from books I read and things I saw in class, and it always brought me back to Noah and the Ark. I still remember these stories because they made me wonder if they all were somehow inspired by each other. As I got older, I got really interested in Greek Mythology through the book Percy Jackson in particular. My interest caused me to read more and I found stories similar to Noah and the Ark from different cultures.

Analysis

Each religion has their own story, and many are passed down through the generations. Religion is one of the most widespread topics studied from a folklorist perspective because it is informally passed down through stories, sayings, and rituals. The flood stories presented above share related myths but differ based on the values of the respecitve folk groups. In folklore, myths are used in outerwordly contexts to help folk understand their own world and existence. The beauty of folklore is that it is formed on the basis of shared belief and identity and does not focus on the legitmacy of it. Instead, as long as people believe and allow it to shape parts of their lives, it will spread and keep cultural values alive. The flood in all these represent the multiple forms and variation folklore can come in. Folklore often exists in patterns as seen with the flood, but each story is adapted to its culture’s values.