Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

The Pig on St Oswald’s Church

Nationality: British
Age: 22
Occupation: Social Media
Residence: Winwick, Warrington
Language: English

Text:

“In Winwick, Warrington, near my house, there is a church that has been here since the 12th century. The legend says that King Oswald died in Winick, and a small church was built there right after. People would come visit from all over, and one day it was decided that there would be a bigger church. The construction workers started building a foundation at the original site of the smaller church, but one night a pig was spotted running to the site of the new church while squealing what sounded like Winwick. The pig then took the stones from the new foundation, took them by his mouth, and ran to the site of St. Oswald’s death. In the morning all the villagers gathered around and were amazed and decided to take it as an omen. They decided to build the new church where the pig had laid out the stones. To remember the pig, they carved the pig into the stone. The church was rebuilt in the 14th century, but supposedly the stone was kept safe and put into the new structure to remember the legendary pig.”

Context: 

My informant lives in Winwick, Warrington. Their parents told her about the legend growing up, but it is also a legend that everyone knows living in Winwick. 

Analysis:

This is a legend, and it centers on the founding of a church in Winwick, Warrington, and the importance of a pig determining its location. This legend connects geography, spiritual history, and sacred architecture. The pig is an example of an omen. A non-human figure that delivers a message. The villagers see it as a sign, and in medieval Europe, these legends were helpful to reinforce the spiritual significance of holy sites. The pig squealing in Winwick is also how the town got its name. This legend plays an important role in the community’s identity and is a key part of Winwick’s cultural heritage. 

El Conejo en la Luna (The Rabbit on the Moon)

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 48
Occupation: Business
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Language: Spanish/English

Text:

(transcribed from Spanish)

“My mom told me this tale when I was a kid. She told me that a long time ago, the Mexican god Quetzalcoatl explored the world. So he came down and turned himself into a mortal man. He was so amazed by how big and beautiful the Earth was that he got distracted and forgot to eat and hydrate himself. Quetzalcoatl started feeling faint and decided to rest on the road. Then a rabbit appeared to him and asked him if he was okay. Quetzalcoatl told him that he was very hungry. Right away, the rabbit offered to share his food with him, but Quetzalcoatl refused and told the rabbit that he didn’t eat plants. The rabbit thought for a moment and decided to offer himself to Quetzalcoatl and said, “I am an insignificant creature; you must recover and return to your travels. Please eat me.” Quetzalcoatl was moved by the rabbit’s noble gesture, so he returned to his godly form and held the rabbit high to the moon. He then placed him back on the ground and told him, “You will be remembered all around the world, and when everyone looks up to the moon, they will see the print of you on the moon.”

Context: 

The informant was my father. He is from Michoacan, Mexico, on a small ranch. He grew up off the grid, and his mother told him this tale. 

Analysis: 

This is a myth that is deeply rooted in Mesoamerican tradition. It centers on one of the most important deities in Aztec belief systems. The story reflects core mythological themes such as a godly figure interacting with the mortal world. The rabbit is an example of sacrificial heroism. The rabbit has become immortalized, not because of power or money but through compassion and generosity. This shows the cultural values of Indigenous Mexicans. The myth has also been shared across multiple generations, especially in East Asia, yet it might differ from the Mexican version. 

STEP ON A CRACK, BREAK YOUR MOTHER’S BACK

The informant was told in the third grade that if they stepped on a sidewalk crack, their mother’s back would break. This superstition lasted for years and is widespread, and is something that is often told amongst young elementary children. It is also believed that it can cause bad luck and misfortune.

Age: 24

Date: April 3rd 2025

Language: English

Nationality: White/Hispanic

Occupation: Student

Primary Language: English

Residence: California

Analysis: This story falls into the category of superstition and this story is often shared among young students in school. This superstition has racist origins, dating back to the 19th century. The original saying was “step on a crack and your mother will be black”, which then later evolved from being a harmful racist saying to being about bad luck.

Las Lechuzas

Age: 20

Folk Narrative: Legend

Text: Las Lechuzas (The White Owls)

“In my grandma’s pueblito in Guerrero, she was told that the lechuzas, or the white owls, would swoop up disobedient or unbaptized children who were out at night. The lechuzas would appear with the face of an old woman and were believed to be a witch who sold her soul to the Devil. They always appear outside the home looking in, on the rooftop, or in a tree. It is believed that if you harm or kill a lechuza, it can transform her back into a woman. It is also believed that if you pray for her, she will return to her human form. It is also believed that if it lands on your roof, it means somebody in your family will die”. 

Context: When asked, my informant told me she first heard this narrative from her grandmother, who grew up in a small town in Guerrero, Mexico. She told me this is a prevalent narrative in her grandmother’s village, and all the community knows how to look out for the white owls. My informant’s grandmother still believes in this legend and gets visibly scared when she sees a lechuza outside at night or close to landing on her roof. She believes that there is a rule of three where if the lechuza lands on her roof, three of her family members will die. Because of this belief, she does whatever she can to stop them from landing. My informant mentioned that when she visited her grandmother, she was not allowed outside at night, just as her grandmother had not been allowed outside when she was younger. It is something that the whole town is aware of, and there have been stories of rebellious children who went out at night and never came back. The entire community is superstitious, and because it’s what they’re used to and weren’t told otherwise, they keep believing it. When asked how she interprets this, my informant mentioned that it is a way to keep children inside during nighttime so they stay out of trouble. The place that she grew up in was known for gang violence, kidnapping, and organ harvesting, so if they scare children into staying inside, they protect them from the potential dangers outside. 

Analysis: Looking at this narrative, we can see a typical legend structure. It is set in the real world (Mexico), and its truth value depends on those telling the story and those who choose to be wary or stay inside when they see a white owl. Additionally, legends tend to reflect the concerns of the people, which in this case was the criminality that the town was facing at that time. To protect their children’s health and innocence, they rely on these legends to keep them inside the house. This legend also ties into religious beliefs in the Devil, and it gets translated into a supernatural being– an introduction to Catholic cosmology with ideas of good versus evil, punishment, and redemption by being able to turn humans again. The story’s strength lies in its collective belief and behavioral impact: the grandmother, the informant, and the wider community recognize the lechuza as a dangerous entity. This community-wide buy-in transforms the tale into a functioning legend—it is not merely a scary story. Still, one that guides behavior, reinforces norms, and protects the vulnerable. Here, the supernatural story masks very real and present dangers: gang violence, kidnapping, and organ trafficking. By embedding these concerns within a mystical framework, the legend transforms fear into a tangible creature—something children can understand and avoid. In this way, the legend functions as a form of social control and protection, allowing older generations to encode safety messages into the oral tradition. Also, the multiple interpretations of the legend, such as the rule of three or praying to turn her human, make it continuously evolving and adapting to the person telling it. 

Moisesito

Age: 20

Folk Narrative: Memorate 

Text: Moisesito 

“Growing up, I would visit my grandma’s friend’s house. One day, she handed me a toy teaset, and when I was trying to grab it (she had already let go of it), I felt a force pulling the teaset away from me. I specifically remember pulling it; something invisible was pulling it on the other side. I couldn’t pull it toward me until my grandmother’s friend yelled “aplácate ya” or “calm down now,” I could finally pull it. Then, the lights started flashing, and she again asked it to stop. I looked at her, confused, and she told me not to worry because that was Moisesito. Apparently, when he was two or three years old, he died in a car crash, and now he just stays at her house because she was his caregiver. He doesn’t harm anybody but does like playing tricks”. 

Context: My informant had this experience when she was in elementary school, visiting her grandmother’s friend’s house. She mentioned that the woman had asked her if she remembered Moisesito (implying that she had met him before), but she did not. When I asked her if she knew it was him, she said she had no idea and thought she wasn’t strong enough to pull it. She didn’t realize it was Moisesito until her grandmother’s friend told her not to be scared because it was just him playing tricks. She also mentioned that after this happened, her grandmother told her not to fear if she hears noises or other strange things happening because it’s just him. When asked if the existence of Moisesito was born from the grief of his loss, she told me she wasn’t sure but that her grandmother’s friend dreams of him often and sees him walking around. She believes that people who died in a tragic accident stay here until somebody helps them complete their pending last wishes. Because of this, they believe Moisesito is still active in this world. 

Analysis: Looking at this memorate, we can see how what may have been a simple matter of lack of strength was quickly addressed and named Moisesito. In this case, the story of Moisesito—a ghost child who died tragically and now resides in a caregiver’s home—emerges not from a community-wide legend, but from a deeply personal and intimate encounter that was later explained through familial belief. At the heart of this memorate is a moment of confusion and physical resistance: the informant attempts to take a toy tea set, only to feel an invisible force pulling it away. She initially interprets the situation as a mundane struggle—perhaps a lack of strength or clumsiness—but the caregiver immediately intervenes with a supernatural explanation, identifying the force as Moisesito. This recontextualization of the event is critical to understanding the memorate as a genre: an ordinary experience is interpreted through supernatural terms based on existing belief systems. The story is tied to a specific house, the caregiver, and a specific spiritual entity—Moisesito. The informant does not initially ascribe any supernatural quality to her experience; the narrative only takes on a spiritual dimension after being filtered through the caregiver’s worldview. This moment illustrates how memorates are shaped: the individual experiences something unusual, and cultural or familial frameworks help interpret it. The explanation that Moisesito died tragically and lingers in the house until his final wishes are fulfilled aligns with common folk beliefs across cultures that spirits of the dead, particularly those who died young or suddenly, remain in the liminal space between worlds. The familial responses further reinforce this framework. After the event, the informant’s grandmother validates the experience by telling her not to fear future encounters, solidifying Moisesito’s presence as a known and accepted figure within the household.