Transcript – informant speaking
“There’s a myth that my old dorm building was an insane asylum. Also there’s a building on campus that was supposedly funded by the Shah of Iran.”

Background
This ones short, and almost like a two-in-one. It was given to me by a person who attends college in Washington D.C.. They likely heard both of these rumors from their classmates or dorm-mates. He likely would have heard them both separately. But what’s interesting is how he pairs them both together here, giving them about the same weight.

Context
This information was given out during a zoom conversation on college legends. It was given during the tail end of a conversation, almost off-handedly. He didn’t seem to take too much stock in either of them. He was just laying them out as he heard them. It should be noted that the informant is a very rationally minded person, one who would often look down on things such as ghost stories and rumors.

Thoughts
The fact that a rumor about an asylum is being put in the same vein as the notion of an Iranian funding a college campus building is interesting. Its almost as if the fear of a foreign power having a monetary stake in the U.S. is being given the same weight as the fear of the insane Might speak to some of the isolationist and nationalistic sentiments that have been spreading across the U.S.. I would like to note though that I don’t think giving these two legends the same weight was the informants doing. He was likely just telling both back as he heard them.

Transcript of recorded audio
“My um, psychiatrist told me this one, cuz he went to UCSC. Um, he told me that Stevenson and Cowle, the college that I go to, that they’re said to be incredibly, deeply haunted. And he told me that story about the jogger getting killed by the cougar. (reference to an earlier conversation) And he heavily implied that like her spirit is haunting the woods. And then he told me to count the windows of the, um, like some of the dorms. And count the doors on the inside. And he implied that some of them don’t match up, so that there are sealed off rooms within Cowle Stevenson that like nobody is suppose to go into, and honestly with the amount of asbestos at my school, I kind of believe it.”

Background
This story is part of a set of voice recordings that a friend sent to me, pertaining mostly to tales at UCSC (University of Santa Cruz). As stated in the tape, they gained this story specifically from their psychiatrist, who also went to the school. They also likely felt attached to this piece as they are an avid fan of ghost stories, and UCSC has a lot of them.

Context
As stated above, this story was given to me as part of a voice recording. The enthusiasm for the story was palpable, even just from the audio. I tried to capture everything that was said through the transcript, although the speaker does fumble with speech a bit sometimes.

Thoughts
What’s interesting is that there is an element of performance for this legend, but this performance is simply acting as proof. By counting all the windows and doors, nothing good or bad is going to happen. It’s just given out as a form of proof or justification for the legend. Also, the dark joke at the end with asbestos is something I found interesting. Outside of being deliciously dark, it also brings in a real world element of death and sickness to this ghost tale.

Transcript of recorded audio
“Um, this is actually a Leland legend, that I know you’ve heard of before, but I wanted to make sure you got this one too. Um, the Leland Can Man, you know? Who um, he clicks his fingers together, and his fingers have cans on them, and he clicks them if you’re at the school past midnight, and he clicks them like louder and louder and louder. And then when he finds you and if you like, don’t leave the school he’ll like kill you and stuff. Um, I actually kind of believe in that, I’m not gonna lie, I saw some freaky shit when I was at the school once, late at night. I’m pretty sure I saw the Leland Can Man. Um, but yeah, don’t forget the Leland Can Man.”

Background
This story is about the high school me and my friend both attended. It’s likely that it was passed along by fellow students. Although what’s interesting is that although my friend is treating it as common knowledge (which maybe it was, and I was living under a rock or something) this is genuinely the first time I’m hearing this story. I’m imagining they heard it from fellow students, but I never did. It might be because this person is far more superstitious, and into ghost stories than me. I’m usually a lot more clinical and rational, which is why it might have passed by me.

Context
This story is part of a set of voice memos, sent by a student at UCSC santa cruz. Most of them are related to UCSC folk stories; this is the only one which is not. As stated, the requirement for this supposide creature to come out is by being at the school past midnight.

Thoughts
There was only one incident during high school I can remember where I found myself there past midnight. It was after getting dropped off at 2A.M. back at the school after a competition. The teacher parked us at the back and I had to walk towards the front to meet my dad. And strangely enough… I do actually remember hearing some noises. While walking the corridors, I remember hearing metallic clicking that caused me to stop and turn around. I highly doubt it was related to the strange creature, but its interesting that even without knowing it, I actually did find myself having an experience centered to this legend.

Transcript – Informant speaking
Father: “Well, of course there’s the leprechauns, and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Let’s go for an obvious one. Let’s go for low hanging fruit.”
Mother: “They were supposed to be tricky little Devils, so they were. But it was, if you could manage to capture one, I think you were ent- you were supposed to be able to get 3 wishes. But you had to be very careful about how you phrased it, because it could come back to bite you, you know?”
Father: “Just like Aladdin, right?”

Background
As you can likely tell, this story was told almost as a joke. It was during a conversation between me and my parents on Irish folklore. Both of them grew up in Northern Ireland, hence their connection. For the most part, they weren’t too attached to the tale. They mostly just found it funny, and were both giving off what they’d heard about these creatures. Neither of them believe in their existence.

Context
It should be noted that both my parents have thick irish accents. It should also be noted that I’ve been to Ireland with both of them before, many times. Not once have I heard anyone actually mention leaprocons there. They seem to be this strange idea that the majority of the rest of the world places far more value in than the culture itself. In this sense, they’re more of a joke to most Irish people, including my parents.

Thoughts
It was really funny to actually hear my dad talk about leprechauns though. But what I find interesting on the description of these creatures is their tragically comic element (giving people their literal wish) gives off the same humor and vibe as a lot of the legends on Finn MacCool and Tír Nan Óg. It feels playful, but with a real tragic element to it.