Category Archives: general

Walking Under a Ladder

The informant was told to not walk under a ladder because it can cause bad luck, and be dangerous if the ladder happens to fall because of it. This bad luck lasts for seven years.

Age: 24

Date: April 5th 2025

Language: English

Nationality: White/Hispanic

Occupation: Student

Primary Language: English

Residence: California

Analysis: This story falls into the category of superstition, and both originates from a safety concern to keep people from walking under ladders if they may fall, and also a belief that the triangle shape that is formed under a ladder is sacred, and walking under it can break its shape and cause bad luck. This superstition originated in ancient Egypt, and the triangle is thought to represent the trinity of the gods.

GRAPES ON NEW YEARS

The informant eats a dozen grapes every year before midnight on New Year’s Eve underneath a table for good luck in the New Year and to manifest true love. Each grape represents a month in the year, and they must be finished before midnight.

Age: 24

Date: April 1st 2025

Language: English

Nationality: White/Hispanic

Occupation: Student

Primary Language: English

Residence: California

Analysis: This story falls into the category of tradition, and has been trending on social media (particularly the platform TikTok). This Tradition originated in Spain in the late 1800s, when farmers who dealt with a grape surplus needed to sell their product and used this tradition to popularize it. Over time the tradition turned into a way for single people to try and manifest a partner, and has become popular in recent years because of videos online.

The Exorcism

The informant told me this story in person, and said that her great great grandmother in Italy was praying in the upper level of the church, when the priest of the church and a little girl’s family came in to perform an exorcism on the little girl. The priest of the church even brought in an elder, higher ranked priest to help perform the exorcism. They said that it was a battle, and that the high-rank priest was exhausted psychologically and physically after.

ANALYSIS: The informant’s story has been passed down throughout her family and seen as a legend in the family, and believed to be true. This story falls in the category of being a ghost story, as well as family lore. This lore also has religious context, as the informant’s family is Catholic.

AGE: 24
Date: February 15th
Language: English
Nationality: Italian/White
Occupation: Student, Musician
Primary Language: English
Residence: Los Angeles

The Ghost Hand Story

The informant was sitting in his room with his siblings in San Diego, and was extremely ill in bed. He was praying that someone would take his pain away, and he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, which he says was a ghost that was haunting the house. He then started to feel better, and the family swears that there was a ghost in the room.

Date: February 21, 2025

Language: English

Nationality: White/Hispanic

Occupation: Father/Lawyer

Primary Language: English

Residence: California

Analysis: The informant lived in a very old house, which had lots of ghost stories that had been passed down from previous owners, with new stories being made within the informant’s family as they experienced new strange occurrences. This folklore is shared within the family to scare the new generations and also bond people together.

The Haunted Storage Space

The informant lived in a historical San Diego home, which had many stories about the prior owners. He told me this story verbally in person, and said that the owners reported strange activities in the downstairs closet of the home. There was a secret door inside the closet, which opens up to a small dark storage space. When the informant was a child, he and his siblings would light candles to see if anything happened. One day, the candle blew out by itself and he and his siblings ran away, and never went inside of the closet again. This story is now told in the family, and scary ghosts stories were passed down about what blew out the candle.

Age: 60

Date: February 24th 2025

Language: English

Nationality: White/Hispanic

Occupation: Lawyer, Father

Primary Language: English

Residence: California

Analysis: This story falls into the category of ghost-lore, and this story was shared within the informant’s family and among the siblings. It reinforces the belief of ghosts and has been used to scare different family members. This story has been passed down to younger generations, and the new owners of the house are also aware of strange occurrences.