Category Archives: Legends

Narratives about belief.

Haunting Shadows

Date_of_performance: 04/04/2025

Informant Name: IS

Language: English 

Nationality: American

Occupation: Student/Grammy U Ambassador 

Primary Language: English

Residence: USC

Interview:

IS: I remember once when I was either a little kid or maybe in middle school I was young that is what I know. I was going to the bathroom super late at night. The bathroom is right across the hallway from my bedroom, so it was a two-second walk.

IS: As I walked to the bathroom, mind you the house is fully dark aside from a few lights here and there so it was hard to see, but I swear I saw a tall, pitch black ghost looking figure move by in the living room. I looked back a millisecond later and didn’t see anyone, even went to the living room to check. It was so weird and I told my mom later that morning curious if she saw something like that before in the house, she told me she didn’t.

ME: Oh my god! That’s crazy! Seeing the tall figure would’ve freaked me out so much. Did you ever see it again after that?

IS: Nope! I thought there was something in the living room that looked like a quickly-moving figure at first, because I was rushing to the bathroom, but there was nothing in the living room that looked like it.

Interpretation

Out of the paranormal folktales that I have collected from my friends, this one is the story that I believe the least is a ghost. She mentioned how she was rushing to the bathroom and it was hard to see because it was dark, so it could be likely that the tall figure she saw was one of her family members grabbing a drink of water or going back to bed, and the figure didn’t say anything because they didn’t see her. The figure didn’t make any noises or approach her, like the spirituals in the other stories did, there was no action the figure did to show they were a ghost or a type of shadowy spirit. If the ghost speak to her in a hushed voice or in a voice that didn’t sound like anyone in her family, I would fully believe she saw a ghost or if they even made something fall down or make a light flicker. She said she didn’t see it again, so the figure wasn’t trying to haunt her or her house, which other ghosts might have done to show that their presence is there. There is also no other spiritual evidence that would back up the figure was a ghost, but she was young when it happened, so there is a possibility that she did forget details that made the figure be a ghost more believable, but in my personal opinion, I don’t see it as a paranormal figure but everyone’s experience with ghosts or spiritual figures is different and not every ghost is different in the way they show up or how they make themselves be seen as.

La llorona

Date_of_performance: 04/05/2025

Informant Name: MD

Language: English/Spanish

Nationality: American

Occupation: Student/RA

Primary Language: English

Residence: USC

Interview:

MD: The only thing i can think of, for legends, La llorona. Which is a hispanic folklore my mom scared me with when I was growing up. You can look it up but my mom would tell me that if I didn’t go to bed on time she would come get me in my sleep.

MD: And i was terrified of her. The pictures online are so triggering to me. *laughs*

ME: Do you remember what she told you about La llorona?

MD: Basically, she told me that she was like an evil mom that would kidnap me if i didn’t listen to her, which is terrifying to hear as a child, so I’m sure you can believe that I started to listening to her more. The whole point was like if you don’t obey your good mom, La llorona will come steal you away from your family. i think she told me that her kids died or something so that’s why she takes other people’s kids.

ME: Oh yeah. I learned a bit about her in my class. It is so interesting and terrifying even now.

MD: Yeah. I don’t think she copied the exact myth, just told me enough to make sure I did listen to her and to scare me away from wanting to misbehavior against her.

Interpretation

I find it so interesting to hear about different legends people have heard of when they were younger and ones that continue to stick with them or influence the way they behave today. It is especially interesting for me when it is a legend that turns into a lesson for children. I had a little bit of knowledge of La llorona before they told me the story of what her mom said to her to frighten her into good behavior. I’m glad I heard it from someone who is Latina or has been haunted by this legend from a young age, there will be a genuine portrayal of who she is and her character wouldn’t be full of harmful Latina stereotypes to make her seem more cruel or dramatic for entertainment effect. The legend focuses on maternal care and I think that is why people tend to force her into such a dark and evil box, because there no talk of the father or consequences for the children is they don’t listen to their dad and a lot of folktales don’t usually focus on a feminine character not being the victim who ends a masculine character to save them, while she is seen as a threatening force because she drowned her children, it is more about wanting children to behave and to stay away from waterways (which is a meaning that tends to be overlooked) and less on how she is a cruel person, which may be painted differently if there is a masculine character starring beside her in the legend. Legends surrounding motherhood are the ones I like to read about the most, because it shows what they would do for their children and how far they would go, even if it means turning against themselves and being represented as someone who is vicious.





Kissing Bench

Age: 17

Date of Performance: 4/01/2025

Language: English

Nationality: American

Occupation: Student

Primary Language: English

Residence: United States

  1. Text

The informant is a high school student. She referenced a myth at her local university regarding the “Kissing Bench.” It’s said to give couples good luck if they embrace while sitting on the bench in the center of the university campus.

2. Context

“I heard this one from a friend when we were walking around the campus, actually not too long ago, probably a few months ago. They basically just said that both of their parents went here and they told them about this tradition on this bench but apparently, it can also be applied to friendships and if you hug on it you’re supposed to have good luck in your friendship too. I don’t know, it’s kind of wholesome, I like it.”

3. Analysis

This is a myth, in that, it is not subject to literal truth, but rather rooted in a playful, social commentary. It is a fun, light-hearted tradition to engage informants with the university campus and create tradition in the environment. We talked in lecture about the role of folklore in formulating tradition and how it shares culture through storytelling across generations. The Kissing Bench feels like a myth that transcends generations in that it can be applied to various points of time, and it involves a long-standing object, making it more applicable to multiple people.

Scary Aerie

Age: 17

Date of Performance: 4/01/2025

Language: English

Nationality: American

Occupation: Student

Primary Language: English

Residence: United States

  1. Text

The informant is a high school student. She referenced a legend from her summer camp as a kid, known as “Scary Aerie.” It was the name of an outdoor ropes course at the camp, with a legend about a girl who fell from the course into the lake below it. Her name was said to be Aerie, and legend has it– she haunted the course so that campers would hear her screams when they zip-lined over the lake.

2. Context

“Yeah Scary Aerie always freaked me out a bit because I was already afraid of the heights on the rope course and the tale they used to tell us honestly made it ten times worse.”

“I got told it my first year as a camper so I was probably seven years old or so. I don’t know, sometimes I felt like I could actually hear her screams but I might’ve just been in my head about it. Some of my friends said they would hear it and some said they didn’t so, yeah, I don’t know.”

3. Analysis

Scary Aerie is a legend, with questionable truth value located in the real world of the summer camp where it originated. It’s again, a social tool and example of folklore that bonds a community. They all share the knowledge of the legend and are impacted by it differently.

It seems a bit of a tactic to incite fear into the new members of the camp, a strategy for younger campers to have to learn their place in the community. It’s a common practice by many organizations– to inflict some hardship on new members before they can feel fully established in their new area. This seems to be the function of Scary Aerie.

13 Curves

Age: 50

Date of Performance: 3/31/2025

Language: English

Nationality: American

Occupation: Financial Advisor

Primary Language: English

Residence: United States

  1. Text

The informant is a financial advisor and father. He referenced a myth called “13 Curves.” The informant told a story of a road just north of his hometown where a tragic car accident occurred over 60 years ago. The road is claimed to be haunted by the souls of those who died in the accident, with the informant saying he was warned of paranormal noises on the road as a kid.

2. Context

“I heard about this when I was a little kid. This terrified me. Sometimes I traveled on that road with my family to go see family friends of ours. I liked riding in the car through the curves during the day but at night I was terrified.”

“Always looking for ghosts in the forest on either side of the road. There was also a story that on Halloween these ghosts would travel over to my neighborhood which was scary to me.”

3. Analysis

“13 Curves” sounds like a myth dealing with natural phenomena, as most myths do. It seems like a coping strategy for a tragic event– a story the town has adopted to better understand a sad, horrific car accident that occurred in their area. Perhaps, there are noises or shadows on that road, and a logical explanation for the community to better understand the dark, eerie ambience of the area.

Given that myths are made to create meaning, and the informant was informed of this myth at a young age, perhaps also, the myth could be aimed to teach the informant a lesson. It could be intended to raise awareness for cautious driving, to learn from the accident. We learned in culture about how “our myths naturalize our culture and impact how we think.” in this scenario, the “13 Curves” myth impacts how the community approaches the road and helps them better understand a sad accident and environment of the road.