Category Archives: Signs

Prognostications, fortune-telling, etc.

The Origin of Ganesh

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

Text:

“As a child, my mother taught me that Ganesh has the head of an elephant because of a story involving his parents, Shiva and Parvathi. One day, when Ganesh was guarding the bath area to protect his mother, Parvathi, he saw Lord Shiva approaching and tried to stop him. Not recognizing Ganesh, Shiva became angry and chopped off his head. When Parvathi saw what had happened, she begged Shiva to save their son. To bring Ganesh back to life, Shiva said the only way was to replace his head with that of the first living creature he came across, which in this case was an elephant. And that is why Ganesh has the head of an elephant.”

Context:

This myth was shared by the informant, P, during a conversation about Hindu stories she heard during childhood. P first heard this myth from her mother, who used it to explain the origin of Ganesh and his unique image. To P, this myth is more than just a story; it is an explanation of Ganesh’s divine role as a protector.

Analysis:

This is a myth because it explains the origins of a sacred figure, Ganesh, using symbolic storytelling to express deep religious beliefs. The story involves gods, supernatural events, and moral values like sacrifice and protection. The elephant head serves both a literal and symbolic purpose, representing wisdom and strength. This myth helps explain not only Ganesh’s physical form but also his cultural role as the remover of obstacles and protector of beginnings.

Flying doll

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: college student
Language: English

Text:

“I was sitting in front of the couch on the floor and behind me I had my Jessie doll sitting with like some lion stuffed animal, I think, just like above– behind my head. And I was watching television, I didn’t move, I was just sitting there, I was content, and my doll flew across the room. To the other side of the couch. Like, as if it was thrown or something”

Context:

 “It would have been like first grade, or second? More like second grade, so around 8. And I was a latchkey kid, so it was one of those times I was left home alone. I had gotten used to being left home alone, but I couldn’t – I couldn’t stand the silence, I couldn’t stand the sounds because it was creepy and we would, like, I would always hear footsteps in the halls and stuff and it was just creepy. My parents said it was the cats underneath the trailer but you never know. Children are imaginative. 

Analysis:

This memorate of what the interviewee defines as a ghost encounter is interesting first because it happened while she was alone. Many encounters derive validity from multiple accounts of the same or similar events, but this person had strong belief in their encounter even without someone else there to witness it and without recollection of the same happening to other family members. They also did not tie this event to a greater expectation of their home being haunted in this way, although she did mention hearing footsteps. This implies that the movement of the doll was an isolated event, although the general haunting may have been consistent. As she describes being left home alone after school and being scared of the various noises, it seems that this space became a center of belief for the individual. Because of the increased eerieness of the trailer, especially as a child, her belief may have been augmented so she was more willing to correlate her memorate immediately with the existence of a ghost. This also speaks to the fear, not just as a child but as an adult, that one may not truly be alone when one expects to be. Mysterious actions only add to the fear that another person or being might be in the room and able to hide their presence, causing further mysteries to be interpreted more frequently as monstrous or magical. 

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. 

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. 

Dream about Grandfather before Passing

Age: 59

Folklore: “Two nights before my grandfather died, I had a dream about him sitting on my bed and he was saying goodbye to me. It was a very real dream and he and I talked for a long time, although I don’t remember what about. He said that it was time for him to go. Two days later, my grandfather passed away. I got the message on my answering machine that he had died, but I already knew he was going to die because he and I had talked about it.”

Context: This story came from my mother, who experienced this when she was 21 years old in college. It felt real to her and her first dream where she was actually communicating with someone so it felt unfamiliar. She was in her dorm room and her grandfather was in Germany. 

Interpretation: This memorate reflects a common motif of the dead appearing to loved ones in dreams before or after their death. It feels more than just a coincidence because of the timing of the dream. It was both a supernatural experience where she connected with someone far away and personal closure as she was away from her grandfather. This is her own personal experience that validates a greater folk belief.