My informant is a 23 year old filmmaker who lost his father when he was nine years old.

“So the first story is the story of my dead father appearing to me. Um, so this happened about three months after my father passed away. I had just turned nine and we were having lunch in, uh, the kitchen of our house. And I’m with my friends and my brother and my mom’s making us chicken nuggets because chicken nuggets are the greatest. Uh, and I look up and directly across from me, standing in the doorway of the kitchen, in um, in a hallway, is my father. Plain as day. And i just instinctively say, “Hi Dad!” Everyone looks up and my mom just dismisses it saying, “Honey, no one’s there.” She later then approached me saying “I saw him too.” And since then I have seen my father on ten occasions.”

This would be told when recounting stories of lost loved ones or paranormal activity.

Analysis:

My informant was clearly missing his father. I and others I know often see images of those they have lost, especially if they were young when their loved one died. It is not out of the ordinary to think you’ve seen your loved one after they’ve passed, especially for children.

My informant is a 23 year old filmmaker who grew up in San Diego.

“So this is the story about how I saw a UFO. uh, this is the summer, uh between eighth grade and freshman year. At the time, I was living in a condo next to my middle school because our house wasn’t done, uh, being built. And so I was in the pool with my brother, and I’m laying on my back and I see this black orb. Like this black dot just like in the middle of this crystal blue sky. And it first moves 500 feet north, 500 feet south, goes back to the middle, 500 feet east, 500 feet west, goes back to the middle. So it’s basically like operating like a joystick. And it’s hanging there for a really long time and I’m really into airplanes. I know a lot about aviation. It’s making no sound and I can see that light is being reflected from it, so like light is clearly hitting this object. It is a real thing. It’s not just a floater in my eye. And then suddenly, it’s hanging there for maybe like a minute and I’m starting to think like “Oh my god, I’m seeing a UFO.” It suddenly shoots straight up and it basically disappears in this crystal blue sky. And so, if people ask me like “Do I believe in aliens?” like, mmm, pretty much, but I definitely believe there’s something out there.”

This story would be recounted when sharing stories about things that are out of the ordinary or strange.

Analysis:

My informant believes, like many Americans, that he saw a UFO. It is not completely impossible that he actually witnessed a UFO, but it is unlikely. He was in San Diego County, near Camp Pendleton, where the military frequently runs tests without notifying the public. It is more likely that my informant was witnessing one of these tests. Perhaps it was a military drone or other small aircraft that was being secretly tested.

My informant is a 23 year old filmmaker who grew up in San Diego County.

“So this is the story about um, it’s pretty much like the- the scariest thing that ever happened to me when I was like a young child. Uh, one night I was really thirsty and I wanted a glass of water. So I woke up my dad, he walked me downstairs, and at the time we were living in this house we called “The Big House.” It was a house on a five-acre property deep in the woods in Temecula in this area called Deluz. So we were surrounded by these massive oak trees that were easily hundred, two hundred years old. And me being a young kid, I called it the “Hundred Acre Woods” like in Winnie the Pooh. And so, uh, I walked into the kitchen with my dad and there was this pale orange light. And I look, and we have these huge plate-glass windows looking out, and there’s these massive orange eyes. And I’m not kidding you, they were probably like the size of a large dinner plate. With um, an orange, basically there were – it was an orange circle and then the inside was black as night and then another orange circle. So it was clearly an animal, but in my young mind, I was so paralyzed with fear that I thought it was an alien. And my dad saw it too, and he was like, “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.” Got me my glass of water, went back to bed. But to this day, when I think about the woods, or when I think about going out at night, I always think of these orange eyes. And they are just so vivid in my memory that I will never forget not only the color, the size, where I was, and what I said. And it was, I think it was to the – it was just the sort of “what is that” and that fear alone.”

This would be performed when sharing stories about strange childhood experiences.

Analysis:

My informant was very young when he experienced this. He was frightened by something that he did not understand and naturally assigned it supernatural qualities. After being told by his father that it was fine, he calmed down. But he is still haunted to this day by those eyes, demonstrating how fear can create the most vivid memories.

My friend Henry who is of predominantly Irish decent told me a story about the Lochness monster. He heard this story from his cousin who is half Scottish. He said, “So my cousin saw the monster. He went looking for it. He was just walking around the lake trying to be casual and calm. He would stop at different points around the loche and just sit and watch the water for the monster. The first few times he went to the loche he didn’t see anything. But he had full faith that the monster is real. So he kept going back ya know. Then on a cloudy day in March he saw it. He was sitting in one of his usual viewing spots and he saw something stir the calm water. He pulled out his binoculars and looked that the disrupted spot. He watched for what he said was hours but really he has a short attention span so it was probably like ten minutes. He said that he saw a dark figure emerge from the water. He said he saw flippers but then a boat horn went off and the monster disappeared. This was not enough to convince me that the monster actually exists. I still think it is just a legend. My cousin couldn’t give me any proof of the monster. People have been creating hoaxes for years. I won’t believe it until I see it with my own eyes.” This is not an uncommon story. People have been ‘spotting’ the monster for years. Many research articles about the monster reference these sightings. One article that I have read believes that everyone can be split into believers and nonbelievers. Believers believe that the creature exists even if they haven’t seen it themselves. The nonbelievers need to see the creature with their own eyes before they will believe it. I would be classified as a nonbeliever. I would have to see the creature myself in order to fully believe in its existence.

My friend is a computer science major. As part of the computer science community she collects and forwards a myriad of folklore specific to this unique group. Computer science folklore is unique and reflects the beliefs and the culture of the group. Per my informant, as well as personal experience, computer science majors have a unique sense of humor that develops from the difficult coursework, the long hours spent on the computer coding, and the group dynamic required to get through the major. This humor is often expressed through memes and jokes only members of this group can understand and appreciate.

For more information about the legend check out this article:

Lyons, Stephen . “The Legend of Loch Ness.” PBS SoCal. Nova, 12 Jan. 1999. Web. 27 Mar. 2017. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/legend-loch-ness.html>.