Category Archives: Legends

Narratives about belief.

The 4th Floor of an Abandoned Mall?

Age: 18

Text:

Back in San Roque, Saipan, the one and only “mall,” La Fiesta, ever in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, closed in 2004. It was abandoned for years, until one day, the police carried out a woman, a dead woman. According to the police, she was kidnapped, raped, dismembered, strangled to death. Despite her remains being discovered and returned to where she was from, her soul never rested. Ever since then, rumors had it that the mall at night had the voices of female crying and the sounds of torture.

P.Z., my friend from my high school at that time, was lucky enough to explore that mall.

P.Z. said to me that he and a bunch of other people formed a group of 11 people to explore La Fiesta during one night during the winter break of 2023. P.Z. told me that they knew that some girl had died here, but none of them believes in ghosts, and thus the rumor of it being haunted. P.Z. said that it’s not really like a mall, but it’s more like a plaza. It was hard to see during the night, but P.Z. said that there were at least 4 buildings, where the tallest one is about 3 or 4 stories, and the smallest was one story. It was big, like about one and a half size of a soccer field. It was empty, too, although there were bushes and trees and weeds around each building. They started at the one-story building, and nothing was scary except the space, the occasional sound of wind passing through the windows, and a few red paintings with words like “run” or “stop.”

When they finished exploring the first story mall, they went directly to the largest building with 3-4 stories. The moment they stepped in, P.Z. felt a cold breeze surrounding them, and it was unusually quiet. Another person (we will call him B1) said that he felt a little unnatural and terrified. The group of friends all comforted him, and despite B1 saying he’s okay, P.Z. said he’s not. Nevertheless, they explore the 1st floor, then the 2nd floor, then the 3rd floor, and then the 4th floor? P.Z. believed that they walked up at least 4 floors, but when they walked back down, P.Z. felt like they walked down only 3 floors. B1 agrees with P.Z., but not the rest of the groups. They claimed that they walked up 3 floors and walked down 3 floors.

B1 at that moment begins to cry because he’s so terrified of the weird situation. P.Z. tried to comfort him by telling B1 that the friends were pranking him. But B1 didn’t get any better, and P.Z. said that B1, for a moment, actually had an emotional breakdown. The group of friends decided to end the adventure and return home because B1 was not in a good state. They started to walk back towards the entrance through the original pathway. But the group never did. P.Z. claims that they’ve been walking for so long that they have lost the concept of time.

P.Z. said he was scared, too, and they began to relate to the dead woman. B1 believes that they are haunted, but P.Z. still thinks it’s bullsxxt. The rest of the groups were terrified, and no matter what, they just couldn’t find the original pathway. Their flashlight and phone were working, but even with the light, they just can find the way to leave. P.Z. felt like they had been walking in circles. They tried to call for help, but the other end of the phone was a long “beeeeeeeeeeeeep”, then hung up on itself. B1, according to P.Z., was on the edge of a mental breakdown. P.Z. had to carry B1 on the back. They had no plans but to walk and walk and walk. P.Z. said it took them forever until the group reached a building. The one-story building they originally explored at first.

P.Z. said that they had lights and was certain that they were walking in the same direction, which would only take 2 minutes to the one-story building. They then walked back the original pathway and exited the mall.

Context:

P.Z. has told me this story right after this happened. However, I forgot some details, so I reached out to him again. From what I know, P.Z. literally told everyone he knows in high school and his family. Other people in the story might’ve also told other people about this. P.Z.’s experience took place at the end of December 2023. The location was in the San Roque village of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. However, the legend of the ghost of the dead woman began way earlier.

Teller’s Thought:

“Honestly I don’t even know what I felt. At the time I was so scared. I mean I didn’t believe in ghosts back then and I thought I never would. But after that night, I kinda feel like ghosts might be a thing. I thought B1 was just trying to prank us the entire time, but when we were stuck in there and couldn’t find the exit, I was really terrified. I actually was like one of those ghost movies where you get chills right before something appears. It was exactly like that.

To be honest, right now I’m pretty chill about this. It was like two years ago, and the ghost didn’t follow me home or anything, so everything’s great.”

This quote was originally in Chinese. I translated this into English

My Thoughts:

Before P.Z. told me this story, I already knew about the murder and the legend of the mall. So when P.Z. told me the first time, I actually believed him. Not only because he used to be my friend, but other people I knew also had some kinda of supernatural experiences when they explored the mall. I personally knew all the people in P.Z.’s story, and they swear on themselves that it’s a true story. However, when I reached out to P.Z. again, I felt like P.Z.’s story might be fake. I don’t think P.Z. lied, but I think his story wasn’t about a ghost, but instead about their fear. I know that when one person in a group is afraid and panics, it will trigger others to panic, too. So I actually think that B1’s fear triggers the fear of everyone else, and everyone else starts to lose the ability to think logically. It’s a good ghost story, though, not gonna lie.

Cuban demon dog teaching moral lesson memorate

Age: 21

Text: 

“it was kind of, you know, he’s this military guy who thinks he’s all that, you know, he has a few mates and he’s, he’s got a nice house. And, and you have to go into town to get groceries and all that. And at some point, it was very dangerous. Like, they had a curfew in the town, because they were like, you know, nobody can be going out. Like it’s dangerous. So whatever. He was, like, Fuck the curfew. Like, I’m a big man, you know. So he goes into town at night. And he’s wandering around and he’s just being a rascal. I forgot, I feel like there’s like more of a story to this, but basically, so he goes into town, and then he sees this dog in the distance and it looks at him and it looks mean. It’s staring right at him,  his eyes are glinting like and there’s like no light around you know, there’s no there’s no streetlights in this time. There’s no anything, it’s pitch black, but he can see his eyes. And he starts charging after him. And so he’s running away, he’s like trying to get away and he thinks that he’s lost the dog and he’s like, “stupid dog” and he’s like, well, I’m going to keep going out at night. And then one day he sees the dog again, and it pounces on him. and its eyes are red and it’s like a burning fire. But then he got away and then he never went back out. That’s kind of it like he escaped, I don’t know I think it like maybe bit him or something and he like ran away and he got in his car and he took off, and he never he never went out after curfew again.”

Context:

This memorate was told to the informant by his Cuban grandmother, about her father.

Analysis:

In this familial legend a man who is proud, stubborn, and dismissive of authority encounters a possibly demonic dog that enforces a moral boundary. The curfew serves not just as a safety measure but as a symbol of order and discipline. By defying it, the great-grandfather positions himself as a reckless figure whose pride demands correction. The dog acts as an agent of consequence, frightening the man enough to change his behavior. Though the man “escapes,” he learns his lesson, never violating curfew again. The legend transforms a moment of social defiance into a story of cosmic or supernatural comeuppance

Cuban donkey murderer memorate

Age: 21

Text:

“So they’re in the mountains. And they have their first house. And he was out at night past, you know, past curfew in the town, so my great grandmother was at home alone. And you know, it’s pitch black. And at some point, she was like, “Oh, I have to, I have to use the bathroom. And in order to use the bathroom, I have to go out to the outhouse outside.” And she was scared. She gets her lantern. She has the light on. 

They had donkeys, right. They have like a little, little farm, like, you know, she’s alone in the house. And then she hears these like, clawing noises on her bed. And she’s like, trying to go to sleep. But she just keeps hearing like, it’s like, (Makes clawing noises) and then as it gets closer, and closer, to where it feels like it’s right on her. And so she’s, she’s starting to freak out. And then she hears the donkey freaking out outside. He’s like, like kicking and she’s like, “What the fuck is going on?” And then she hears it breaking through the gate. She’s like, “Oh, I have to like, get the donkey. It’s gonna break through the gate.” So she tries to peek outside. But the donkey disappears. And then she’s like, “I can’t go running after that. It’s the middle of the night.” Yeah. So she’s like, shit, whatever, the donkey is gone. And she’s just really creeped out like something’s going on. Something’s weird. So then, she goes, to use the bathroom, to the outhouse. So she’s like, okay, and when she starts going outside, the door slams behind her. Like, after she leaves her house. And then she sees it like in the dark. Like, she sees the chairs, like plants around, right? Sees like plants. And it seems like they’re like, like, screwed. Like, she gives us like screeching noise of like, like the wooden playing since. And then she feels like a plant. Like every time she looks at the plants, they’re getting closer and closer. She runs to the outhouse, she runs, and she gets in there, she locks the door. She she goes number two, you know? And then she’s like, “okay, okay,” so she opens the door, and there’s nothing out there. Okay, she’s good. She’s walking back to the house, she starts running, and she sees the plant. The plant is back in this place. Like before, it looked like it was right next to the door. Now it was back like over in the corner or whatever. Okay, okay. And then she’s walking to the, and the plant is fucking back,  to the house. And then she’s just like, fuck that. She opens the door real quick. She gets back in, locks it behind her. And she has her little lantern, okay, so she puts it down on the counter. And right next to the counter, she sees a bloody knife. She faints and then three, actually 8 in the morning, oh, because her husband was away on the military duty, So then in the morning, her husband comes back with you know, some other like military guys and they’re back and like a maid comes in. Also like for work, whatever, comes in and she sees her laying on the floor and she’s like, ‘what’s wrong? What’s wrong?’ She wakes her up. And then And then she’s like, like, “I saw this bloody knife. And there were the sounds and there was blood, it was a bloody knife.”: So they’re like, “Okay, we’re gonna go find this bloody knife,” like because it wasn’t on the counter anymore. So they go investigate, they go investigate. And then one of the military guys is like, “oh shit wait over here” like they see blood and he’s outside and it’s a donkey and it’s dead. The donkey is dead so they took the donkey from the house.”

They never found out what it was and nothing happened after.

Context:

This memorate was told to the informant by their Cuban grandmother about her mother.

Analysis:

As a countryside local legend, this story injects supernatural terror into rural domestic life, creating a chilling narrative rooted in isolation, vulnerability, and the thin line between the natural and the uncanny. The woman’s frightening experiences while alone escalate throughout the night, giving the sense of something malevolent lurking just beyond comprehension. Her journey to the outhouse and back is a liminal journey, emphasizing her exposure to the unknown. The unresolved horror, capped by the discovery of the donkey’s mutilated body and the vanished knife, leaves the listener in suspense, with no closure or clear antagonist. 

The devil as a suitor in Colombian memorate

Age: 21

Text: “They were living like, in the countryside, you know, whatever, they have this house. And they had, they had like a few maids and one of the maids and one of these maids was like, ‘I like you know, I, there’s this boy that I’ve been talking to, that we’re going on a date.’ And so, you know, my, my great, great grandmother was like, oh, yeah, right, like, ‘Go girl’ or whatever. So. So then, this guy, he comes on a carriage. They hear this carriage like approaching the house. And then and then they hear a whistle. It’s like, really sharp whistle, like, and the girl goes running out running out of the house. She’s like, in the middle of some duty that she’s like cleaning or something. She drops it and she runs out of the house. And they’re like, ‘Well wait, you can’t leave what’s going on? Let me meet him’ like that. ‘About what?’ And she runs out and they take off and then they don’t even see the carriage by the time that they leave, they get out of the house and like ‘oh shit, like, where did you go?’ So whatever. The kind of person she knows he’s kind of like, what? Like, she just left in the middle of like cleaning this thing. Like, what the hell? She comes back later that night? Or no, and then they’re like, oh, it’s taking her forever to get back to like, what the hell? She comes back later that night and she smells. She smells like, like, they don’t know what she’s been doing like grease and like, like, some like burns. Like maybe it’s like some barbecue but just like a weird smell. And she’s kind of dirty like she’s she’s a little she’s not, you know, put together and then like, what the like what has happened, but she was like, ‘I know it was amazing. I had the person whom I love. Oh, I love him. I love him. And they’re like, oh, like you just met. So whatever.’ They’re kind of like ‘okay, that’s weird.’ The next day they they hear the carriage and then and then she goes running up they’re like ‘whoa, okay, we have to meet him but the same thing happened, that she was running suddenly. They’re like ‘okay, she’ll come back tonight. I guess whatever. This is annoying. We got to talk to her about that and she doesn’t come back that night

So they’re kind of concerned. She gets back two days later, in the middle of the day, like, they’re like she like kidnapped like, I don’t know. So she comes back. And she’s, dirty, like, she’s actually like got dirt on her face. She’s got dirt in her like, fingers like, she smells like shit. Like, even worse than before. She didn’t she hasn’t showered you know, she hasn’t bathed or anything. She just gets back their like, ‘what the fuck?’ So they go bathe her. And they’re trying to get answers, like ‘what’s, what happened? How did you get like this? Like, what happened?; She’s like, ;No, no, oh my God, it was amazing. Oh, you don’t even like it was amazing.’ Um, but she’s not telling them anything. ‘Because like, I’m in love with him. You know?’ And so then, at this point, they’re like, ‘okay, you need to rest, like, rest off, we’re gonna take care of you. Like, you can’t, like you have to. She has like cuts like scrapes. A few days go by, and they hear that carriage. And then they hear whatever, but she’s in but she’s still resting in her chambers. She immediately, she gets up and she starts to try to run out. So they were already kind of anticipated it, so they have one of the guards come in. And he’s like, ‘no, no, you can’t leave’ and they’re trying to stop her. And she’s this, like, little small little main woman. She breaks through his grip. She like, you know, she gets through it. She runs out. And so they finally see, they see the carriage kind of going in the distance. And they’re like, ‘oh, shoot, we have to follow her.’ But then they try and follow, and they lost it already. They lost it. They can’t follow her. She’s gone for a week. Another week. They’re like, ‘okay, she’s dead this time. Like she, I don’t think he must be, I don’t know. He must be like torturing her and she escaped every time. She’s I don’t know,’ they don’t know what’s going on. Finally, a month later, she comes back. And she is really fucked up. She’s got bruises, she’s got cuts. She’s, she’s so dirty her like she’s getting like infected wounds. And like, she smells like rotten flesh. Like she smells like, you know. And so they so at this time, they put her in the bath. hey shut her in a room and they have a guard outside waiting by her room. They have everyone taking care of her, like she’s not getting away. And then a few days go by nothing happens. Nothing happens. And then, you know, my great grandma, like a great grandmother. She was like, ‘I can’t deal with this girl anymore. Like she’s running off like, we’re sending her to our cousin’s place.’ So they get her in a carriage. They get the guardsmen, like we’re sending her off. And then they hear back, the guys come back that were in the carriage and they said, ‘;she left in the middle of the night. You know, we’re driving, we’re going through the countryside, and we hear a whistle and we hear another carriage and she took off. She jumped out of the carriage she took off. And we lost her’ and she was like, ‘well, that’s it. She’s never coming back.’ And so yeah, so they were like, Okay, that’s it. A few months go by, and she’s back and she’s back at their front door. She’s, she’s ruined. She’s like, half dead at this point. She’s, you know, and she, she really she stinks. It’s like rotten, burning flesh, like disgusting. So like, they don’t know what to do anymore. They’re like, ‘okay, this is what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna have, we’re gonna have guards, and we’re going to keep watch. And the second that we see that guy come with his carriage, we’re going to follow him.’ So they have guards like sitting in a carriage ready to go whenever he comes. A few nights passed by and she’s getting a little better. Whistle, carriage, they’re ‘like okay, we’re after her.’ So they let her run off, and they follow her immediately. And so this carriage is just, it’s going so fast. But they’re, you know, they’re keeping up, keeping up. And then it’s it they’re going like, who knows where they’re going through the mountains. They’re going all over. And finally it takes like, my grandmother, she was at home. Well this happened. So she heard the story after but, so this whole time the guards are, you know, they’re the people in the carriage. They’re following and following. And they come back without the girl. And my grandmother was just like ‘what happened?’ And the guards were like, ‘we followed for a day, we followed for like 24 hours. It was nighttime. We could barely see them but we saw, we reach this peak on a mountain, and they finally stopped, the carriage stopped and they got off. And so they we were like, ‘what what’s what’s here’ so we get off. We go try and look. But it looks like they have like, disappeared into like this, like mountain. They don’t know what it’s like they go further, they go further, and we see this huge gaping hole in the mountain. And there’s fire coming out of the hole. And, and we peek inside. And there’s a pile of burning bodies and demons’ and they said it was, it was like, you don’t know what it is. It’s like, they were red. Their skin was red. And they were all dancing around the fire. And then we saw the maid. And she was with this man. This man is huge man. Like, dark, like dark. Like you couldn’t see his skin. So it was so dark. And they were dancing. They were dancing around this fire of burning bodies. And they came back and they said ‘we saw hell. We saw hell’. And they’re like, ‘Okay, fuck that girl.’ She never came back

“Oh, I also forgot to say that in the in the first story when she comes back, she was like well I live in another, like the maid, but then they’re like what happened and she said she said ‘I’ve not been harmed this is just from the hurt of life,’ like her scars.”

it’s just the hurt energy every time she come back. I wasn’t harmed. It’s just the hurt of life. It’s just the hurt of life. Yeah. Yeah. Oh no. Oh, we and I also forgot to say so the men come back and they’re like, oh, like we saw hell. So then they’re like, so then they got all the military men. They’re like, like, Let’s go investigate. And they go back to this mountain. It was gone. The hole in the ground was the pit of hell. It wasn’t there anymore.”

Context:

This memorate was told to the informant by his Colombian grandfather. Colombian folklore frequently uses the devil. 

Analysis:

This tale illustrates a “slippery slope” image of a supernatural evil which seduces and possesses. The repeated refrain “Just the hurt of life” suggests some sort of psychological entrapment used to justify her increasingly damaged condition upon return home. The rural setting that frames isolation as a catalyst for the supernatural with Catholic undertones. The repeated motif of the uncatchable carriage, the guard’s futile attempts to restrain her, and the final vanishing of the hell-mouth mountain evoke themes of loss, the limits of rational control, and the inescapability of spiritual forces once they take root. Like most oral folk horror tales, the story functions both as entertainment and as a cultural warning. 

Jose the Ripper

Age: 21

Text: “So they’re telling me that down the road, there’s a mental asylum, where a man named Jose the Ripper sneaks out every night, and as punishment for his crimes, which I don’t remember, he had his arms and legs chopped off. So he sort of scuttles around on the ground, using just his torso and then carries a knife between his teeth. And so when little children are outside at night, and they’re very quiet, they can see his glowing eyes through the bushes and the blade of the dagger being illuminated by them. And when they hear whispering and rattling wind on the windows at night, and they draw the blinds they can see the glowing eyes of Jose the Ripper as he’s about to smash through the window and murder them. 

Context:

“Okay, so I was seven years old and we were staying with some family friends in Spain. I was about seven years old and I was sitting on Julio, our family friend’s lap after having dinner. My siblings were trying to scare me about being outside in the dark at night.”

“And so then, believe it or not, that scared the shit out of me when I was seven. And so I was like crying in Leo’s lap for the rest of the night.”

Analysis:

This contemporary legend imparts a moral lesson, as the informant said, to get children to not be outside during night for their own safety. It does so by tying horror tropes to localized details, the mental asylum where this mutilated killer escaped being “down the road.” The name “Jose the Ripper” is likely a reference to the 19th century British serial killer Jack the Ripper, recast across cultures.