Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

Friendly Ghost

Age: late 70s/early80s

Text:

In the mid 1950s my mom and dad were looking for a house. They get a tour of this house from Mr. P who is looking to sell because his wife recently died. During the showing, my mom wants to ask to look in the closet but she gets a weird feeling like she shouldn’t, a mental message that said “Don’t open the closet door”. Mr. P is also reluctant and not wanting to show them the closet. So she sends out a mental “Please let us see it, I just want to know how big it is.” and the feeling goes away and Mr. P says he guesses it’s all right. She looks in the closet to find suits and old dresses belonging to the dead wife. They buy the house and move in. One day, my mom is boiling water and she goes upstairs, forgetting about the water and some time later she hears three big bangs and runs back downstairs to find the water nearly boiled dry. Those sounds were, of course, Mrs. P warning her about her water so she wouldn’t destroy her house. Eventually the kids grow up and move into a new house. The new occupants of the house also hear strange things so they call my mom to ask if it’s haunted, she says yes it is but its only Mrs. P and she is very nice don’t worry.

Context:

My grandma told me this story that her mother sent her in a letter in the 1980s. It takes place in Washington state.

Analysis:

In the letter, my great grandma (grandma’s mom), says she recalls a couple other times where she did things like leave the water running and got the three big bangs again, because of this she believes Mrs. P didn’t think she was a very good housewife. In the letter she says that she believes the Bible is not clear about where spirits are until the second coming so it doesn’t surprise her that Mrs. P would be back in the house she loved. She also expressed surprise that the young lady who bought the house called their realtor to ask if it was haunted, she of course told them about Mrs. P being nice and helpful and guessed that the reason they felt Mrs. P might be because they were remodeling the house.

My grandma’s thoughts on this are that she completely believes her mother felt something as she herself, along with other family members, have also felt similar strange things in the past. 

It was very fun to learn that we have a “haunted house” story in our family, though it’s not a traditional haunting because Mrs. P seems like a very nice ghost. The reaction of my great grandma to having a ghost in her house is very fitting for the type of people my family are, she just accepted it, unafraid, and lived alongside the ghost. Even though she was religious, having mentioned the bible in her letter, my great grandma seemed completely open to the idea of having a “spirit” living in her house, not attempting to use the bible to explain it in any way. I found it interesting that the actions of the ghost and the explanation my great grandma gave line up almost exactly with what we learned in class (GESM 120, Ghost Stories – Throughout Time and Around the World). Mrs. P’s love for her house driving her ghost to remain to protect it makes a lot of sense and I believe this story has to have at least some aspect of truth to it because of that. Mrs. P can be seen as a representation of a true early 1900s housewife who devoted not only her life but also her afterlife to caring for her house. This story could serve as a lesson for young girls on how to properly run and care for a household, especially considering the time it happened.

Elf Under the Bed

Age: 50s

Text:

I was alone in our creepy apartment in Buffalo, New York, this apartment always gave me the creeps, it was cold and drafty and dark and spooky. My husband was out working or something, I don’t really remember. Anyways, I was laying alone reading my book, one of The Rift War Saga books and, oh! I was pregnant, forgot to mention that. I always have weird things happen to me when I’m pregnant. When it was time for bed, I got up to check that all the doors were locked and to turn the lights off. I turned around from the lightswitch and, in the dark, there was an elf crouched down by the bed that said “you forgot about me”.

Context:

This story was told to me over Thanksgiving break by my aunt, it’s her story and from her perspective. It takes place in my aunt’s old apartment in Buffalo, New York at the time she was pregnant with my cousin, so around 1999.

Analysis:

My aunt is adamant that she saw something but she is also a very rational person so she chalks it up to “pregnancy brain”. The atmosphere of the creepy apartment combined with the book she was reading and pregnancy delusions makes her think that the setting was prime for imagining weird things. 

The Rift War Saga that she was reading is a fantasy series so I theorize that that is the reason a fantasy character manifested itself in real life. This manifestation might be a ghost of the book or of the story, as the elf does not seem to be a specific character from the book. Pregnancy can be seen as a liminal time in between being childfree and being a parent, especially since my aunt was pregnant with her first kid at the time. Being in this liminal stage, alone, in a creepy apartment, and reading a book that challenges the mind to think beyond reality, creates the perfect atmosphere for otherworldly beings to make an appearance. While my aunt may think it’s “pregnancy brain” I find it interesting that all her weird, spooky stories come from the same apartment, she now lives in Oregon and has no stories from her home there. I think this spooky apartment had a specific type of energy that encouraged the supernatural and the manifestation of the creepy elf. 

This story could serve as a lesson about personal safety, my aunt was alone in an apartment that she didn’t feel safe in and pregnant, a state that many societies would deem vulnerable. The moral of the story being don’t be left alone as a woman, especially a pregnant one; or don’t be the one leaving your pregnant wife alone in your spooky apartment or something might come for her. In this interpretation, the elf would serve as a warning for what could happen, as this elf was non-violent but said “you forgot about me” which could be a warning to always check on your and your loved ones’ safety.

The 4th Floor of an Abandoned Mall?

Age: 18

Text:

Back in San Roque, Saipan, the one and only “mall,” La Fiesta, ever in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, closed in 2004. It was abandoned for years, until one day, the police carried out a woman, a dead woman. According to the police, she was kidnapped, raped, dismembered, strangled to death. Despite her remains being discovered and returned to where she was from, her soul never rested. Ever since then, rumors had it that the mall at night had the voices of female crying and the sounds of torture.

P.Z., my friend from my high school at that time, was lucky enough to explore that mall.

P.Z. said to me that he and a bunch of other people formed a group of 11 people to explore La Fiesta during one night during the winter break of 2023. P.Z. told me that they knew that some girl had died here, but none of them believes in ghosts, and thus the rumor of it being haunted. P.Z. said that it’s not really like a mall, but it’s more like a plaza. It was hard to see during the night, but P.Z. said that there were at least 4 buildings, where the tallest one is about 3 or 4 stories, and the smallest was one story. It was big, like about one and a half size of a soccer field. It was empty, too, although there were bushes and trees and weeds around each building. They started at the one-story building, and nothing was scary except the space, the occasional sound of wind passing through the windows, and a few red paintings with words like “run” or “stop.”

When they finished exploring the first story mall, they went directly to the largest building with 3-4 stories. The moment they stepped in, P.Z. felt a cold breeze surrounding them, and it was unusually quiet. Another person (we will call him B1) said that he felt a little unnatural and terrified. The group of friends all comforted him, and despite B1 saying he’s okay, P.Z. said he’s not. Nevertheless, they explore the 1st floor, then the 2nd floor, then the 3rd floor, and then the 4th floor? P.Z. believed that they walked up at least 4 floors, but when they walked back down, P.Z. felt like they walked down only 3 floors. B1 agrees with P.Z., but not the rest of the groups. They claimed that they walked up 3 floors and walked down 3 floors.

B1 at that moment begins to cry because he’s so terrified of the weird situation. P.Z. tried to comfort him by telling B1 that the friends were pranking him. But B1 didn’t get any better, and P.Z. said that B1, for a moment, actually had an emotional breakdown. The group of friends decided to end the adventure and return home because B1 was not in a good state. They started to walk back towards the entrance through the original pathway. But the group never did. P.Z. claims that they’ve been walking for so long that they have lost the concept of time.

P.Z. said he was scared, too, and they began to relate to the dead woman. B1 believes that they are haunted, but P.Z. still thinks it’s bullsxxt. The rest of the groups were terrified, and no matter what, they just couldn’t find the original pathway. Their flashlight and phone were working, but even with the light, they just can find the way to leave. P.Z. felt like they had been walking in circles. They tried to call for help, but the other end of the phone was a long “beeeeeeeeeeeeep”, then hung up on itself. B1, according to P.Z., was on the edge of a mental breakdown. P.Z. had to carry B1 on the back. They had no plans but to walk and walk and walk. P.Z. said it took them forever until the group reached a building. The one-story building they originally explored at first.

P.Z. said that they had lights and was certain that they were walking in the same direction, which would only take 2 minutes to the one-story building. They then walked back the original pathway and exited the mall.

Context:

P.Z. has told me this story right after this happened. However, I forgot some details, so I reached out to him again. From what I know, P.Z. literally told everyone he knows in high school and his family. Other people in the story might’ve also told other people about this. P.Z.’s experience took place at the end of December 2023. The location was in the San Roque village of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. However, the legend of the ghost of the dead woman began way earlier.

Teller’s Thought:

“Honestly I don’t even know what I felt. At the time I was so scared. I mean I didn’t believe in ghosts back then and I thought I never would. But after that night, I kinda feel like ghosts might be a thing. I thought B1 was just trying to prank us the entire time, but when we were stuck in there and couldn’t find the exit, I was really terrified. I actually was like one of those ghost movies where you get chills right before something appears. It was exactly like that.

To be honest, right now I’m pretty chill about this. It was like two years ago, and the ghost didn’t follow me home or anything, so everything’s great.”

This quote was originally in Chinese. I translated this into English

My Thoughts:

Before P.Z. told me this story, I already knew about the murder and the legend of the mall. So when P.Z. told me the first time, I actually believed him. Not only because he used to be my friend, but other people I knew also had some kinda of supernatural experiences when they explored the mall. I personally knew all the people in P.Z.’s story, and they swear on themselves that it’s a true story. However, when I reached out to P.Z. again, I felt like P.Z.’s story might be fake. I don’t think P.Z. lied, but I think his story wasn’t about a ghost, but instead about their fear. I know that when one person in a group is afraid and panics, it will trigger others to panic, too. So I actually think that B1’s fear triggers the fear of everyone else, and everyone else starts to lose the ability to think logically. It’s a good ghost story, though, not gonna lie.

Protection made out of green stones

Age: 20

Story: The main character is C.Z., and she’s originally from Zhejiang province, China. She was born with a congenital heart disease, and she has almost always been in and out of hospitals. She’s weak, pale, and skinny, the skinny that looks unhealthy, not the type of skinny that makes others jealous. She has had at least 5 surgeries on her heart, although most are minor surgeries; a couple of them were pretty intense and serious. She said that if something had gone wrong on those, she could’ve died in her early childhood.

C.Z.’s grandmother was one of those superstitious people. She believed in all kinds of spiritual things, like amulets, psychics, and fortune tellers. Basically, anything that would “protect” and “enrich” the family and herself, she would spend thousands of dollars on it, although money isn’t an issue because C.Z.’s family is loaded. C.Z., however, thought all that was nonsense. She said that if this stuff really worked, then places like hospitals wouldn’t exist, and people wouldn’t have to work. All they need is some sort of supernatural beliefs.

On her 13th birthday, her grandmother gave her a green jade necklace as her birthday gift. The grandmother claimed that it was passed down by a generation of some spiritual masters, which makes it consecrated, and that it would protect her and make her healthy. C.Z. obviously thinks it’s all bullcrap, but she still thinks her grandmother for the effort of getting it. Also, she admitted that aside from the story behind it, the jade did look beautiful. So she kept it and wore it as an accessory.

A couple of weeks later, C.Z. was just coming home late from her art lesson. She stepped into the elevator alone, and just when the doors closed, the jade necklace that her grandmother gave her shattered. C.Z. was surprised and stunned by the sudden event. She claims that nothing else touched it. It was just hanging from her neck, and it felt like something had punched it from the inside.

C.Z. said that she was trying to figure out what happened, and she noticed that the elevator doors didn’t shut properly. She tried to open and close the door by hitting the buttons, but it still didn’t work. After a couple of tries, it finally managed to close, but then she suddenly felt a strange chill that crawled up her spine. She felt something was wrong, and she didn’t know why, but she stepped out of the elevator immediately. She stood there for a few minutes, thinking whether or not she’s overthinking it and scaring herself, but eventually she decided to take the stairs instead.

That night, all the residents were notified that the elevator had issues and had crashed while operating. A couple got injured, and the boyfriend was sent to the ER immediately after the accident. Luckily, the couple didn’t die, but C.Z. was stunned by the unexpected news. She sat and started to connect the relationship between the event and the broken jade. The more she thinks of it, the more she’s terrified about it. C.Z. told her grandmother what happened, and her grandmother was so relieved that C.Z. was wearing the necklace that day. A couple of days later, the grandmother gave C.Z. another jade necklace out of nowhere, claiming that it was “consecrated by that same spiritual master.”

Since then, C.Z. has worn the necklace 24/7, no matter what. She said that after wearing the necklace, she hasn’t needed any surgeries since then. C.Z. said she doesn’t know if it’s her condition is improving or if she is getting “something” from that piece of jade.

Context: This story occurred in Zhejiang province, China, in early times of April 2018. C.Z. was in an international school, and at that time she was in 7th grade. When the event happened, she told this story first to her grandmother, then to her family, and to her friends in middle school. When she studied for a few years in Saipan (my hometown), she told this story to me a couple of times, and some of her friends, and our English teacher.

Teller’s thought: So she doesn’t have a super crazy thought on the story because no “spirit” actually appeared. However, there was some sort of power that protected her from the event, and she said that she was really relieved that she chose to step out of the elevator, or else her body condition, that elevator would’ve killed her right on the spot. She’s also really grateful to her grandmother for believing in those superstitions, and she couldn’t believe that those superstitions saved her life some days. She also claims that ever since wearing the necklace, she feels like she’s getting very lucky, and she noticed that her life has become more wonderful. Nevertheless, she credited these feelings to her own optimism, but she does believe that her optimism is solely from the necklace and her grandmother.

My Thoughts: Although I have known her for 2 years, I’m like one of her best friends, and she’s one of my best friends. So her story I find to be true, because it’s really trustworthy. I’ve also received jade necklaces from my grandmother (it’s really like a tradition in Chinese cultures, where the elderly give you something valuable that’s been passed down from generation to generation), which was claimed to protect me from the evil spirits around me. I honestly can feel that some kind of power is surrounding me and, in a way, supporting me throughout my life. Also, I’ve seen some of the accessories her grandmother gave to her, and they were pretty and shiny. I tried them a couple of times, and to be honest, I feel nothing. But this doesn’t change the fact that it’s a good story.

Turkish Blood apotropaic – protection for car

Age: 21

Text:

“So what we do is, when we buy a car, usually, or when you buy a new thing, something new, it’s kind of brutal, but what they do usually it’s either chicken or like, sheep or something. They cut it and they put the blood in the front of the car, in the hood. They think it’s protected, like, the car, you know. It’s not religious. It’s just like a turkey. It’s just a Turkish thing.”

Context:

This custom seems to stem from animal sacrifice, though the informant insisted the practice today is just a “Turkish thing” and isn’t religious. According to him, this superstition/practice isn’t very popular with young people. 

Analysis:

The blood in this custom functions as an apotropaic, meant to protect a new object. Cars in this example carry special weight because they are very expensive in Turkey, around 2-3 times that in America, so it is a big life shift to purchase one. Though people are distancing themselves from the practice or original belief (first from Islamic tradition, then young people from older superstition) they still perform it.