Category Archives: Game

Ouija Board Experience

Age: 19

Interviewer: Well first off, what is an Ouija Board?

CJ: The Ouija board is like a board full of numbers and letters to help, um, What’s it called? To help speak to people who have passed away. They help you learn more about that person. [The ghosts] could be good or bad.

Interviewer: Mm-hmm. And um, okay, who, who related to you uses the board?

CJ: My mom, friends. A lot of people around me actually.


Interviewer: So, okay, so when your mom uses the board. Who would she use it with? Would she use it by herself?

CJ: She was younger when she would use it. I don’t think my mom has an Ouija board anymore, but she would use it with, um, like her, her siblings. Like, they were really into that stuff.


Interviewer: What were the stories that you heard from her or any one of them about the board?


CJ: When she was younger, and like, when she used the board, she would try to talk to her mom’s mom. My great grandma. She was trying to um, figure out her name.


Interviewer: Mm-hmm.

CJ: My grandma wouldn’t tell my mom her great grandma’s name. I don’t know why. I feel like something followed her from the Ouija board because I feel like they were really young when they were doing that shit. There’s rules to it. Me and my cousin Isabella would always talk about how there was something in the house and like, my grandma heard stuff in the house.

Interviewer: You feel like a ghost followed your mom?

CJ: There’s just always weird vibes around her house. I think. I kind of stay far away from that shit because I get scared.

Interviewer: Mm-hmm. Can you explain some of the rules? Of the board?

CJ: I think you put your hands on a mold. Put the um- it’s kind of like a, it kind of looks like an illuminati symbol. kind of. You put it on the board and you put your fingers on it and kind of ask questions.

Interviewer: Mm-hmm. To the ghost?

CJ: Yeah. And the ghosts will guide your fingers on that mold across the board to help communicate.

Interviewer: Mm-hmm. And then is there a specific way to, like, start communicating and end it?

CJ: Um, I don’t know the way to end it, but you kind of just- you- I think you kind of have to put yourself in that headspace to communicate with ghosts, and that’s how you start it, but I don’t know how you end it. I think you’re supposed to say like, goodbye to like, completely disconnect yourself from those bad spirits. I’ve never done it personally. I’ve never touched anything like that before because I don’t want to play with my life like that.

Interviewer: Yeah.

CJ: But, um, my mom did something to herself because of it. We’ve all felt bad stuff in her house. I think that’s why they don’t talk about it though, because, my Tia Miriam also used to do tarot cards. It’s similar to what my mom was doing. She said she’s had like bad experiences with seeing um, spirits. In the process of it.

Interviewer: Oh.

CJ: it’s just something she doesn’t really talk about because she got traumatized by it. Um, and like, Um, I’ve seen it at, or- I’ve heard it at my mom’s house.

Interviewer: And what would you hear and see?

CJ: I’d see like- I never saw anything, but I would hear things. Like, for example, like, I’d hear footsteps walking up and down the hallways. Then one time, I tried to use the restroom, but both doors- because our bathroom had 2 doors in it. One door was leading into the, um, like sink room where you kind of wash your hands, and then there was a separate door in that bathroom where the shower and toilet was. Both of those doors closed, like, they slammed shut and locked. I remember, I was thinking to myself like: oh, it must have been the wind. I kind of waited 5 minutes for somebody to come out, but I realized nobody was coming out, so I unlocked it with a penny. It kind of just made me think, like, these doors would never, like- yes, they could close to the wind, but they would never lock on their own. Both of those doors locked.

Interviewer: Yeah. That’s scary.

CJ: You know? And in the middle of the night, we’d hear like, footsteps running up and down the hallways when I was younger.

Context: The informant says a specific ghost has been following her family for years. Her family has a history of dabbling in activities that involve communicating with the dead, or have strong ties with spiritual guidance. Her family very strongly believe in ghosts, and have all shared some paranormal experiences while living together in her mom’s house in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. Although her family hasn’t used an Ouija board in years, her mom still practices using Tarot cards for spiritual guidance, and frequently engages in other activities that involve speaking with spirits.

Analysis: Most people encounter an Ouija Board as children. It is a combination of ritual and social experience between participants who use the board. Its used as a ritual for spirit communication, and kind of represents human curiosity about the afterlife. A lot of Memorates emerge from this ritual specifically, and I have found myself recalling many other stories I’ve heard about a friend or friend of a friend’s encounter with an Ouija Board. I also think that its really interesting how individual and cultural experiences and backgrounds can effect how this ritual is viewed. Charlie’s personal experiences makes the idea of talking with spirits dangerous and taboo, while her mom frequently uses various methods to communicate with spirits regularly.

“Handball” rules at Williams Elementary School

Age: 22

TEXT

My informant and I talked about the rules of the most popular recess game back in elementary school, handball (more popularly known as four-square). We talked about how much more distinct and difficult our school’s version of four-square was, as we had a rule in which the ball had to bounce once in your own square before it went into another square and that you could not step out of your own square. In contrast, as shown in this video, it shows people playing four-square violating all the “rules” of our version of the game and while there is outrage over rules in the comments, none of the outrage is over the fact that they are hitting the ball without bouncing the ball in their own square first.

CONTEXT

This informant is my older brother, who currently works as an engineer in Cleveland, Ohio, but grew up and attended the same elementary school as me in San Jose, California. This topic came up when I sent my informant a TikTok post showing four square clips, where we became critiques of how bad other versions of the game was. As I talked with him more about his memories of four-square over the phone, he recounted how his classmate had taught him the rules of four-square on his first day of school when we moved to San Jose, and how the game holds a special place in his heart as his favorite recess game and our memories of playing the game together as kids. While he says he hasn’t played or thought about four-square in over ten years, he affirms that the version of four-square we grew up playing is the hardest and true version of four square.

ANALYSIS

The confusion and frustration my informant experienced from this conversation encapsulate a lot of the folklore concepts our class talked about. It shows the unique aspects of multiplicity and transmission of folklore. At its core, four square is played with the same playground rubber ball with a painted square on the concrete but each school/region seems to have their own rules, and the game was informally taught to each other by our classmates. In my opinion, I think the most interesting insight I took away from this folklore came from the reactions of all the comments online. With the internet, four-square was not only able to be transmitted all over the world as kids learn about the game online, but it also allowed people who grew up playing their variation of four square to see others’ versions. However, my informant’s and the video’s comment section’s negative reaction to this other variation shows how for all individuals, they believe their version is the most authentic and aren’t hesitant to judge anything else as wrong. As a metaphor, the rules of four square could be seen as similar to moral values that a certain religion, community, or people value. Depending on the region, these “rules” will change, and as we unfortunately see, things like discrimination and hatred often stem from individuals clinging to their “rules” as the most authentic and correct, while refusing to acknowledge the fact that that other variations may exist and label them as wrong without hesitation.

Childhood Song – Down by the Banks

Context:

This informant is a 19-year-old student from Orange County. She learned this song from her classmates in early elementary school. She doesn’t specifically remember from who, but everyone in school knew this song.

Text:

“So this is like a childhood song that my friends and I, like, we would play on the playground. So if we’re bored, we would all like, sit down on the floor, get in the circle. There’s usually at least–like you need at least like three people, but’s usually more. You sit down and then you all hold hands with each other.

So like, your right hand goes on top of the person’s to your right to left hand. And then your left hand goes under the person on your left right hand. And you’re all in a circle with your hands up like that. And then there’s this song It’s called like Down by the Banks.

I mean there’s like different lyrics, but like the one I learned was like, Down by the banks by the Hanky, Panky, where the bullfrogs jumped from bank to bank, in the east frog, soda pop, hey mister something won’t you stop? I don’t really remember the lyrics to the last part.

“But like, on the beat, there’s one person that starts, and then you take your right hand and you, like, clap the other person’s hand. So you take your right hand and you clap, like, the person on your left, their right hand that’s on top of your left hand, on the beat, and you just keep going around.

And once the song ends, whoever it lands on, they’re eliminated, and they like, get out of the circle, and then you keep doing that until there’s only two people left. And then once there’s only two people, you hold you hold each other’s right hand in like a handshake, and then you just like, pull each other’s hand on the beat again, and you keep doing that until it lands on one person and then that’s, who wins the game.”

Analysis:

From what I have heard from other people, there are many variations to the lyrics of this children’s game song. Depending on the region someone is from, it seems they know different lyrics. In this case, my informant is from Southern California so she knows the song as “Down by the Banks.” This seems like a simple clap-to-the-beat game that every child learns. The game just gets passed down from class to class, as kids are bored during recess and play.

High School theater tradition

Informant: “So in high school theater, we had a lot of traditions before a show. We would always start with some kind of focus activity, which was really nice. Then we’d go around and do a compliment circle, where everyone would give a compliment to someone else.

After that, we’d pass around a “squeeze,” and then the last thing we’d do was this kind of chant-and-movement game. One person would stand in the center and start shouting, “We are riding on a pony, we are riding on a pony, we are riding on a pony…”

Then you’d find a partner, and together you’d do the moves: front, front, front, front—pony; side, side, side, side—pony; back, back, back, back—pony; on a big fat pony.

As it went on, more and more people would join in, and you’d keep repeating it until eventually everyone was doing it together in the final round.”

Context: Informant attended high school in Connecticut and was taught and participated in this theater tradition before their shows. Tradition was passed down from past upperclassmen within the high school program. 

Analysis: This tradition happens right before the performance, which allows actors to mark the threshold between their “normal” life and their staged life. The exaggerated movements and chanting suspend normal behavior, allowing participants to enter a different mindset that is more expressive and less self-conscious.

Additionally, traditions like this are usually passed down from older members of the group to newer ones. This gives older students to pass down to younger ones to continue the ritual as kids age out of the program, but ensures something is left behind by them. 

This also marks who is “in” the folk group of this theater department or ot. Generally, theater communities are known for having their own rituals, superstitions, and games. Participating in these traditions signals membership; if you know the chant and movements, you’re “in” the group.

Circle (OK sign) Game

Age: 20

Text
“When I was in like middle and high school, there was always a game where anybody could make like an OK sign with their hand and hold it below their hip, like it had to be below your hip or it didn’t count. And if you looked at it and they saw you looking then they got to neck you (slap you on the neck). This could just happen like any time so you would always have to be careful, and I remember my friends would try to like bait me into looking down so they could neck me. But if I got them they would always say they didn’t look. Looking back, it was like so stupid. But it was just a way to get to hit your friends I think.”

Context
VH explains the circle game as a long running game throughout middle and high school among his friend group. He says that no one ever explicitly taught him the rules of the game, and he feels that it just became a part of his life. VH also points out that the results were very up to personal interpretation and often disputed. This game was always playing, so at any time you could get caught looking. VH also says that he has seen this game on social media and other friends in college knew about it too.

Analysis
The circle game is definitely an example of customary folklore as it is a repeated game that VH learned through experience and participation rather than in any explicit or formal way, which shows how folklore is disseminated unofficially. It’s also a great example of how folklore is constantly evolving and not always clearly defined, as everybody would have their own take on the rules of the game. This game was a manifestation of childhood humor, and also utilizes play frames to slap your friends in an “acceptable” way. The circle game is a great example of the young boy folk group, as it exists in multiplicity and variations outside of just one school/friend group, as VH notes that he has seen it on social media and this was a game that was often played in my school as well (in a totally different state).