Category Archives: Legends

Narratives about belief.

El Salvadoran Bedtime Story

Age 20

Text:

“So there’s this story that my mom would always tell me. It was like when she was growing up in El Salvador in the 90s. And it was this story — I’ve heard it before, but the way she tells it, she actually kind of lived it. People always said that you had to be in bed by, like, 8 or 9, because around that time this cart — a cart with cow skeletons — would come in, and they would take children away if they were out of bed or misbehaving. So it became really prevalent during the war, because there were a bunch of dead people just because of the war.”

Context:

The informant’s mother grew up in El Salvador during the Civil War (1979 – 1992), a conflict that claimed over 75,000 lives and left detrimental social trauma in its wake. The “cart for cow skeletons” closely resembles La Carreta Chillona (The Screaming cart). In the well-known legend across Central America, a ghostly bone-driven cart haunts the night and brings death or punishment to those who encounter it. 

Analysis:

This legend is an example of how folk narrative can absorb historical trauma. The mythic threat is engulfed by real environmental violence: disappearances, death squads, curfews, etc. The cart became an idiom for real danger and genuinely unsafe streets. The legend thus serves as a practical protection function. For the informant, growing up in a post-war period invokes a liminal space for the story to exist in, as both a piece of his mother’s history and a threat that no longer applies to him. This intergenerational quality is a trait of traumatic folklore: that survives the conditions it was generated it and carries emotional residue long after danger has passed.

Scotty Pippia

Age: 20s

Informant: This is the story of Scotty Pippia. Scotty Pippia, I think, was legit a fake boy that my bus driver made up. We had a small bus, and in small buses, you can lift the windows all the way up, and you can like stick your head out. And to stop kids from sticking their heads out, I’m pretty sure my bus driver made up this legend of this boy named Scotty Pippia, who stuck his head out of the window and got it like chopped off, Hereditary style. And it just traumatized the s**t out of me. I was in like first grade and I went my head wasn’t even out the window. Like, I wasn’t even like someone to put my head out the window. My bus driver would just tell the story of Scotty Pippia. Like, really every chance she’d get. Her name was Paula. And Paula.. every conversation would somehow lead to,”Oh, Scotty Pippia died on my bus”. And I never Googled Scotty Pippia out of fear. This might just be a real story of a boy, but, like, would she keep driving buses? I remember as a kid being like, asking Paula questions like, oh, God, what is his family say? And she was like, his family was sad. And I was like, yeah, of course they were sad, Scotty Pippia died. So it’s like, I still, to this day, don’t know if this is- but my whole bus knew the legend of Scotty Pippia. And Scotty Pippia, I feel like we never really interacted with him, but he was a presence on the bus. You know, we sort of imagined where Scotty Pippia would sit, we imagined what classes Scotty Pippia took. So, um yeah, I guess this just. I want to dedicate this to Scottie Pippia’s family.

Collector: How old were you? 

Informant: First grade.. I was in first grade, and I was in the front of the bus. So the way my bus were got, like, I was in the front as you’d go older, you’d go to the back. So all the cool kids are in the back like being loud. And then I was up right next to the bus driver hearing like horrible tales of like little boys being decapitated. So that was, and then I don’t then of course, I told everyone at school and everyone at school knew about Scotty Pippia. But we never knew if he was real. So that’s kind of a ghost story. kind of a ghost story. I never- sure, I felt a chill on the bus every now and then. That could have been Scotty Pippia. That could have been an experience. And I never stuck my head out the window. That’s for sure. So thanks Paula, thank you for that. 

Context:

This legend comes from Middle Island, New York. The legend is that of a boy who at one point in time rode the same school bus as the informant and was decapttated after sticking his head outside of the bus window. The informant states that though he never stuck his head out the window prior to learning the legend of Scotty Pippia he most certainly was deterred after hearing the legend. 

Analysis:

Due to the inability to verify the existence of Scotty Pippia from Middle Island, NY and the fact that no one other than bus driver Paula had ever shared this information with the informant one can assume that the legend was created as a means to keep the children riding the bus from sticking their heads out the window and potentially putting themselves in danger, as well as a way to lessens distractions for Paula while driving the bus.

La Caballota or The Horse Lady

Age: 21

TEXT:

Informant- “There are a few like little stories about creatures and ghosts in Guatemala. My favorite one is called La Caballota, or the Horse Lady. My great grandma would tell me the story when I was a little girl. And pretty much just my great grandmama and my great grandpa saw her once. They were at the beach and they saw beautiful women with gorgeous, long hair. And when she was, they were just walking, right? And then she turns around and they see her face. She had a horse face, right? They got really scared and they started running away. But as they were running away, their feet got really heavy and it felt like they had bricks on their feet. So they were slowing down. Thankfully, they made it out. That was not the only time they met her, though, but I just find it really interesting because supposedly, this, like, ghost or creature or whatever, it only appears to men usually driving by themselves at night. So I thought it was really interesting that it appears to both my great grandma and great grandpa in a very different circumstance.”

CONTEXT:

A Guatemalan ghost story about a beautiful woman with long hair and the face of a horse, who traditionally only appears to men driving home at night. This story was told by a person of Guatemalan descent and nationality who currently resides in Chicago.

ANALYSIS:

The informant shares her connection with a ghost story that’s close to home as she has been told it from family members and her great grandparents have stated themselves that it happened to them and shared their account of the tale with her. This has created a stronger belief in the ghost story itself and cemented it, not as just a tale, but rather a legend.

The Skinwalkers of Colorado Deserts

Text:

“Just tell me everything you know about skin walkers.”

Interviewee: “I have friends who would go camping a lot in the desert in, like, places around Telluride, and were genuinely scared of them. Some people, like some, are not friends, but people I knew would cuss you out if you said the word “skinwalk” and be like, why are you saying that?”

“Just saying it summons them?”

Interviewee: “Yeah. And they’re supposedly, like, some sort of mythical creature that’s in the wilderness and, like, this area.”

“The deserts of Telluride?”

Interviewee: “No, if you drive like 2 hours outside Telluride (a town in Colorado) you’d be in a desert.”

“And that’s Colorado?”

Interviewee: “Yeah.”

“And they are only in deserts?”

Interviewee: “Just like campgrounds, I feel like.”

“What do they look like?”

Interviewee: “They’re, like, very tall. They live on ranches. They’re like shape-shifting, witches, and they can transform into wolves and coyotes. Like people say they see them in the form of like a coyote, like they’ll be driving a car and they’ll be something, and then they’ll be driving a car in pitch black and they’ll see something running next to their car and it’ll slowly morph into something else. It’ll morph in and out to all fours, like a wolf or something. The skinwalker will then follow the car.”

“Do you have any specific stories that your friends have said?”

Interviewee: “No.”

“Have you ever been scared of them while camping?”

Interviewee: “No.”

“Have your parents?”

Interviewee: “Not to my knowledge.”

“So, if you say their name, does it summon them?”

Interviewee: “I’m not sure.”

“Why can’t you speak it?”

Interviewee: “I think maybe, like, people don’t like to just hear about them because they believe in them, and if you speak their name, it reminds them of the concept.”

“So did kids at your high school believe in them?”

Interviewee: “Yes. But it’s more like adults believe in it.”

“Really?”

Interviewee: “Yeah, like, *insert friend’s name*, you might have met. He’s scared of them.”

“Really? Does he go camping a lot?”

Interviewee: “Yeah. He thinks that they’re gonna try to kill him and eat him.”

Context:

The informant grew up and lives in Colorado. He is familiar with camping in the area, as he would camp with his father and brother a lot growing up.

The interviewee recounts what he and his friends have heard about skinwalkers in desert and campground areas in Colorado. The story reflects a mix of local beliefs, especially among adults and camping communities.

Analysis:

This is an example of a legend in belief-based folklore. Skinwalkers are described as shape-shifting witches that can take the form of wolves, coyotes, or humans, and are associated with fear and danger. The taboo against speaking their name reflects a magic superstition, where naming a supernatural being is believed to summon or draw attention from it.

The legend regulates behavior in wilderness areas, keeping people alert, cautious, and respectful of the land. While high school students might treat it as a scary story, adults and frequent campers treat the skinwalker as a serious potential threat. The legend blends supernatural fear with practical warnings about the wilderness, creating a shared cultural narrative within the community.

Haunted House in New Orleans

Text:

Interviewee: “My mom has a friend who lives in, supposedly, a haunted house in New Orleans, and her grandmother had just died when she was taking a shower, and you know, in the shower, like, when the mist gets fogged up, and you can write stuff? She wrote something like, “I am here.”

“This is your mom’s friend who has a house in New Orleans?”

Interviewee: “Yes. Her mom had just passed. “

“Was she scared?”

Interviewee: “Yeah, she said she jumped out of the shower and ran out of the house.”

“Why would her mom do that?”

Interviewee: “I don’t know.”

Context:

This story comes from a friend’s account of a family friend who lives in a haunted home in New Orleans, a city known for its strong cultural associations with ghosts and the supernatural. The experience is tied to a moment of recent loss, with the woman’s mother having just passed away, which may influence how the event is interpreted. The setting of a “haunted house” adds to the way the experience is understood.

Analysis:

This is an example of a legend within belief-based folklore, especially tied to ghost stories and supernatural experiences. The message “I am here” suggests a spirit communicating through physical means, reflecting a magical superstition in which the spirit world can interact with the physical world.