Category Archives: general

Bell Witch

Story
“I’m from outside of Nashville Tennessee, and a few times growing up we went to this cave near our house called the Bell Witch cave, and it’s named after the Bell Witch, which is like a mix between a ghost and a curse. It’s based on the Bell family, whose house was haunted. In their house, they always heard strange noises and voices and things would fly off shelves and stuff.  The legend says there was a spirit who was angry with the father and wouldn’t leave until he was dead. When he died, everyone said the Bell Witch poisoned him. When you go to the cave, everyone says you can hear his voice or even see his shadow” 

When asked if they thought the Bell Witch was real, the informant said “I mean I went several times when I was little and I never saw or heard anything, so I don’t, but there are some people who swear on their lives that they’ve seen him, so who knows.”

Context

As previously mentioned, my informant grew up near the cave where this legend is based. This legend is common knowledge in the area where she is from, but she claims that she does not believe that the legend is true. 

Analysis
The Bell Witch is an example of a legend that is closely associated with local history and a specific geographic location. Because it is a ghost story, people’s belief in its legitimacy is often dependent on their experience in the cave. If they have been to the cave and witnessed paranormal activity, they would likely believe it to be true. Similar to my informant, however, if you have not seen or heard the ghost, it is likely difficult to believe it is real. 

The Man with the Gold Arm

Story:

“My favorite ghost story is about this man who had an arm made of gold, and after he died, someone stole it, so his ghost came back to haunt the town, searching for his arm. He would sneak into people’s houses late at night looking for it, so supposedly you would wake up to someone saying “where is my golden arm?”

Context:

My informant said she grew up going to camp in rural Texas, and a lot of the counselors would tell their cabins this story. My informant remembers being scared to go to sleep at camp when she was young. She would stay up and night listening for the man’s voice. 

Analysis: 

This ghost story is an example of legends passed around at camps through oral storytelling. It is about getting justice from beyond the grave and is designed to evoke fear. This legend could be used to teach a lesson about stealing. 

Kapre

Text: One night in my family’s “barrio” in Ilocos Norte, there was a small boy sitting on the fence outside their family’s house. One of my relatives (which I will refer to as the “old man” for the rest of the story) found the boy after dark at around 8 pm. He said, “It’s late. You should go home and sleep now.” However, the boy “didn’t like the way the old man tapped the head.” The boy got up and suddenly he was a giant and towered over the old man. Then the old man got scared and tried to run but at the same time, the giant tried to touch him. The old man was so close to the giant that he was able to see the buttons on his shirt, but apparently the buttons on his shirt were as big as a platter. The old man was able to run away inside the house, but the giant ran after him and went on top of the house. Then the giant’s legs went under the house and tried to look for the old man with his feet. The giant had thought that he went under the house. Apparently, all the aunts and uncles knew there was someone on top of the house and thought it was like an earthquake so they prayed, and then the giant “flew away.” After asking more about his appearance, my grandma said he was very evil, extremely tall and scary. His eyes were very angry.

Context: My grandma informed me that this memorate belonged to the brother of her great grandfather around the year 1900, but it was told to her by her mother. Throughout the story, she did not know the name of the relative and referred to him as the “old man”, but she was still the story is true despite her not remembering details such as the relatives name and the fact that her mother wasn’t born yet. 

Analysis: I had asked my grandmother to tell me a story of the Kapre, mythical giants that live in the trees in the Philippines. She had told me about them when I was younger, but I could not recount any specific stories. This was my first time hearing this one, and I thought it was interesting of how she kept reminding me that her mother told this to her even though it was way before her mother was born. Not only has this story been passed down by two generations that did not witness the event, the belief that it happened is quite strong for an unexplainable reason. I had thought that details such as the kapre’s eyes and the buttons on his shirt were really specific and made me think that my grandma had listened to this story very closely because of fear. These kinds of tales that rely on someone’s fear make me wonder if something serious did happen whether it was something like war or an actual earthquake, but something supernatural such as the kapre was the only way to make sense of it. I think that the fear carried with this story is something that is very real, but the story had transformed into a myth more than an event that had happened.

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.

Aswang

Text: The aswang are evil shape-shifting creatures in Filipino folklore. Many stories told surrounding the aswang sometimes include ways to keep them away and other superstitions that they carry. They are known to prey on mostly young children and pregnant women. My grandma had told me a specific interaction she had with the aswang when she was about 2 years old. My great-grandma was a teacher and worked with another co-teacher at school. The co-teacher asked if she could stay overnight at my great-grandma’s house (the reason unknown), and my great-grandma said yes. That night, my grandma, who was 2 years old at the time, started crying non-stop and would not sleep. There was nothing that anyone could do to console her. The next day, the co-teacher left, and the neighbors went to my grandma’s house and asked her why she let the aswang over at their house. The neighbors told them that the aswang was trying to eat my grandma’s liver. After that night, the co-teacher quit and was never seen again.

Context: My grandma and aunt are very superstitious and fearful of the aswang. When the women in my family were pregnant, they would go around the house with scissors and start cutting the air in hopes of cutting off the aswang’s ties to whomever was pregnant. I believe they have become more relaxed about it now, and after asking them to recount their stories for this project, it seems to be more of a story than something that they are still afraid of. Similarly with Filipino folklore creatures such as the aswang, my grandma and aunt had to bounce details off of each other because they are starting to forget the characteristics of the creature. My grandma had said to me that they could shape-shift into any creature and her sister (my great aunt) had reacted to the information as if she heard it for the first time.

Analysis: Whenever my older relatives tell me stories about Filipino folklore creatures, they have a new story everytime they tell me. It’s never the same story told twice. With the aswang, I feel as though their stories have gotten less scarier. I remember being super scared of the aswang when my grandma was telling us to cut the air with scissors while my mother was pregnant with my little brother. It might be a result of me growing up, the older relatives softening up with the stories, or possibly both. I think my relatives mixing up and forgetting the details mid-story made me believe the stories a little less. However, the more I thought about it, the more I appreciated the mix-ups and forgetting the details. It reminded me of the importance of preserving the feelings and cultural significance that these stories hold in my family. It reminds me of all my aunts asking me to have my grandmother tell me these stories when I was little, because they were excited for me to experience what it was like to hear her tell them—just as they had when they were children. That memory alone makes me appreciate the fluidity of these stories whether I still believe in them or not.