Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

Kapre

Text: My grandfather was about 9 years old when this had happened to him in the Philippines. In the middle of the night at around 2 am, he had woken up to use the restroom. My dad added the fact that he and his siblings all slept on the floor in the same room. Since it is the Philippines, the bathroom was outside.

He started urinating and about 100 feet away saw what was probably a small person, maybe an old lady pacing in a circle. The lady starting walking towards papa and with each step seem to be growing until she was giant. My grandfather screamed and ran back inside the house.

Context: I had asked my dad for some stories for this project. He had told me a story that his father had told him when he was a little boy. Beforehand, my father had been listening to the other stories my grandma and aunt were telling me, so I believe he wanted to share this story because of how similar it was to the ones he heard growing up.

Analysis: Although I have written another story focusing on the kapre, I wanted to share this one specifically because of the context in which I heard it. After asking my dad for some folklore stories, he had told me this specific one of his father from the Philippines. My dad had never been to the Philippines before and has lived in America his whole life, so I thought it was interesting that his stories of the supernatural belonged to his parents. As my family continues growing, I wonder how these supernatural stories will evolve with them. I had never heard of a folklore type story coming from my parents. It’s only my grandma’s generation or older. Once I become my grandma’s age, will I continue to tell her stories? How much will my retellings change it? It seemed to me that new stories with these creatures had begun with each generation, but moving to America has stopped these stories and started the recirculation of legends and myths from my grandma’s generation. I become fearful that I will lose the culture that these stories hold so dearly to my family. As a third-generation child with parents that also feel very removed from the culture, these stories put into perspective my fear for the future and how I will continue to feel even more far away from my culture than I do right now. However, writing down these stories, I hope to somewhat perserve some of that cultural signifance and the feeling that my family has when we first hear these stories being told to us.

How the Paoay Lake Formed

Text: A long time ago, there used to be a small town in the Ilocos Norte region in the Philippines. One day, an old beggar woman went there to beg for food, but they “cast her out.” She went to many houses, but many of them were not generous and despised her because of how dirty and  poor she looked. After visiting all the houses, the old woman said, “These rich people are selfish” and suddenly transformed into an angel. She then casted a spell and drowned the entire village—making it the Paoay lake that it is known today. Apparently, this legend has circulated around Ilocos Norte for years after this incident occurred and many people started to believe that the old woman did that. However, people say that years later, large pieces of houses and jewelry still surface. 

Context: This was the first legend my grandma had told me after I asked her to tell me a folk narrative of some kind. Lake Paoay is one of the biggest lakes in the Philippines and is found in Ilocos Norte which is where my family is from and where my grandma had spent the first half of her life. She had originally learned this legend from her parents and older relatives but also mentioned that this legend was always in circulation in the Ilocos Norte region and considered true by everyone invluding herself.

Analysis: At first, I thought that my grandma had told me a local legend of some kind. The Filipino region that I’m from is not really common among the Filipino-Americans I know, so I was curious to know how local this story really was. I looked it up on the internet and was surprised to find out that other legends that were entirely different from what my grandma had told me. I had found multiple sources siting a Sodom and Gammorah rivalry type legend about this lake, but with the same ending: it is true because there are bits of houses and jewelry that float up to the surface. I thought it was interesting how this part of the story had remained the same despite the stories differing a lot. I also thought about how my grandma’s version of it was similar to the beginning of something like the Beauty and the Beast story. A stuck-up rich person shunned an old beggar woman because of her appearance. I also can’t help but think that this version had emerged in our family specifically because of religious implication. My family, my grandma and all her older relatives specifically, was/are very religious and into Catholicism. Maybe this version was the one that was told, but was changed to be more religious to get the children to like Catholicism more.

Duende

Text: The duende are small dwarf-like creatures that exist in Filipino folklore. Many older relatives that live in the Philippines have probably had an interaction of some kind with the duende when they were a child. My grandma and her sister had told me that their aunt in the Philippines used to be friends with the duende, but only the aunt could see them. When my grandma and her sister visited my aunt’s house, the aunt introduced the duende to them. She said, “These are my nieces so don’t hurt them,” but my grandma and aunt were confused because they couldn’t see them. However, they still believed that they existed because of other stories that their older relatives had told them about the duende. Upon asking, they don’t remember any of the stories specifically, but they did remember one story that their sister-in-law had told them a long time ago describing their appearance. She to described them with green clothes, pointy hats, and pointy shoes. Their sister-in-law told them that they were playing on her window sill when she woke up on the middle of the night. She just quietly watched them and they were playing hide and seek. 

Context: This story was jointly told by my grandma and her sister and they had constantly asked each other throughout the story for details. I had put an abridged version of the interview in the text, but if I were to ask questions about the duende’s appearance or mannerisms, they would tell half of a story about some relative that told them about personal interactions with the duende before they would just go onto another story when they started to forget the details. They actually told about 5 different stories, but I had included the main two in the text above.

Analysis: I had always heard stories about the duende from all of my older relatives while growing up. I think I have always categorized them as something that was fake in my head like fairies or elves. I think hearing these stories again and asking for more details made me realize the importance of the uniqueness in these specific memories and stories that they hold. The fluidity that oral storytelling has is something that can’t be looked up or even recorded through writing. It also makes me think about how these stories will live on in my generation. All of my grandmother’s children and grandchildren live in America. There are no new duende stories that can be added onto the family folklore. It makes me wonder about how these stories will further be told and interpreted in my generation and the next.

Spider Nightmare

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Francisco, CA
Language: English

Text:

I was sleeping, not sure if it was a bed or a crib at that age. I don’t know what was happening, but out of the dimly lit room I could’ve sworn I saw these bugs starting to appear. I saw the wall behind me slowly slide out like it was on wheels, unveiling an unrealistically massive tarantula that I was convinced was going to eat me. Later that night, I woke up on the beach with the same spider from before, who was trying to kill me. That night, I truly believed that the tarantula was there, and from that day on I was deathly afraid of spiders.

Context:

The informant, A, experienced this event as a child and believes it was the moment that inspired their lifelong fear of spiders. They originally encountered this memory during a vivid dream, which they clearly felt was real at the moment. A interprets this dream as a symbolic warning—one that shaped their perception of spiders from that moment on.

Analysis:

This is a classic example of a memorate, as this is a personal supernatural story that felt incredibly real. Even though this memorate took place while A was dreaming, the long-term effects felt are central to the story. The wall opening and the oversized spider create an ominous liminal space, evoking classic symbols of hidden dangers. A developing a lifelong fear of spiders solely due to this one dream highlights how folk memories can have long-term personal consequences. Overall, this story shows how childhood experiences can become lasting parts of a person’s own folklore.

Spirit Visit Dream

Age: 32
Occupation: Unemployed
Residence: San Francisco, CA
Language: English

Text:

“The night after my father passed away, I vividly remember seeing him in my dream. I had dreamed that I was climbing the inside of the Statue of Liberty, and halfway through the climb, I saw my father sitting on a bench. I approached him and sat next to him; all he said was two words: ‘keep going,’ and then he disappeared. That night, I believe he was visiting me before his reincarnation, reminding me to be strong after his passing and to not lose sight of my goals.”

Context:

The informant, P, shared this memorate during a heartfelt conversation surrounding grief and the intense emotions felt following the passing of a loved one. P explained that her experience occurred the night after the passing of her father, when she had a vivid dream in which her late father appeared. She believes this was not just a dream, but a real encounter with her father, who wanted to grant her strength before his reincarnation. To P, this dream provided her with emotional comfort during a difficult period of transition.

Analysis:

This is a memorate because it is telling a personal, supernatural experience that P believes to be real. Since the dream happened the night after the passing of P’s father, it occurred during a liminal period of emotional vulnerability and grief. The climbing of the Statue of Liberty reflects a journey of personal growth, and her brief conversation with her father helps provide her with both emotional closure and spiritual guidance. Her belief that her father was visiting her before his reincarnation reveals deeper cultural and spiritual beliefs about the afterlife. This memorate shows how dreams can help people cope and find guidance after the difficult transition of losing a loved one.