Category Archives: Legends

Narratives about belief.

Vampire Hunting Club – Legendary Creature/Legend Sharing

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Sudbury, Massachusetts
Language: English

Text

Informant: So when I was in elementary school, probably around fourth or fifth grade um, there was myself and maybe two other students in the same grade and we were reading a lot of vampire novels. Um, like, you know, elementary to middle school aged ones, not like Twilight or whatever. And so we got it in our heads that maybe vampires are real. And it’s kind of like when you are looking for something to be true so you start, like, seeing signs of it everywhere. Like “Oh, there’s mysterious blood on my sheets” cause I had a like, fucking paper cut and it got on my bedsheets.

Me: Ooo mysterious

Informant: But no, it was a vampire, came through the window and tried to attack me, you know.

Me: And you fought back in your sleep and won?

Informant: Yeah essentially, That wasn’t my experience that was somebody else in the club.

Me: What was your experience?

Informant: Um, I think it was, it was probably, now that I think about it, just some creep in the woods behind the school.

Me: Oh, that’s not good.

Informant: No…not good at all. But then I saw it behind the woods, and it’s like when you see the grainy photo of Sasquatch and you’re like “oh my god,” that was me.

Me: That was you?

Informant: Well I wasn’t Sasquatch.

Me: Oh, how old were you at the time?

Informant: How old would I be in fourth grade? 8? 7?

(Pause as we figure out how old a fourth grader is)

Informant: I was not the most observant of 8-year-olds, so clearly this creepy guy in the woods, I was like “oh yeah that’s a vampire.”

Context

The informant grew up in Sudbury, Massachusetts and had this club in the early 2010s. They told me that this club of three was isolated from the rest of their grade (“because everyone else thought we were freaks…and stupid”) and that everyone else believed that another student was a real fairy so they were part of the “fairy club” (the informant adds “but they believed in fairies so who’s the stupid one really”). The informant says that their club did try to hunt vampires in the woods during recess, but that their teachers would catch them and bring them back so they were unsuccessful in their legend hunting attempts. The club did not search for vampires outside of recess because they were not close friends outside of school. The informant no longer believes that they actually saw a vampire but, at the time, they did believe that there were vampires in both their friend’s story and their own experience.

Analysis

Vampire stories were on the rise at the time the informant was hearing and experiencing these stories. Twilight (one of the most popular vampire books ever written) came out in 2008 and a wave followed. These stories would have been easily accessible by children and intriguing as an idea. Vampires are scary in that they attack you and try to drink your blood, but many times, they don’t murder you. Vampires instead turn you into one of them. Along with the fact that vampires are distinctly humanoid, they are a less scary legendary creature or horror subject. This can make them an easier entrance into the horror genre for children. By playing with the concept of them being real, children are able to approach a topic (being attacked by someone or something you don’t know or understand) in a safer way. As the informant attempted to search with a group of friends, they were using the support of others to feel confident enough to explore the topic further by actually looking for a vampire.

By telling these stories to each other, this club was sharing memorates. As they retold their experiences to each other, they built up the legend of the vampire past what the books had told them and brought the creature into their world. They also reenforced the legend by proving to each other that vampires really did exist. The act of hunting and sharing stories also created a social group. The informant said that the reason they didn’t hunt more is because they were not close enough friends, however, this club did bring them together for a significant amount of time each day during recess so that they could share and engage in these stories. This group would not have otherwise interacted if they did not have this shared legend to bring them together.

Communication after Car Crash

Age: 59

Folklore: “One day, I was in a car crash and that was before cell phones. I had to let my person at home know that I had been in a car crash and that I wouldn’t be home but I was perfectly fine. I reached inside a very specific part of my brain and I was sending messages that I was in a car crash but I was perfectly fine. I was in a car crash but I’m perfectly fine. I arrived home probably about five or six hours later and the person said to me, ‘I know you were in a car crash, but I knew you were perfectly fine, so I didn’t worry.’”

Context: This story came from my mother who was 22 when this happened. She was coming back from a skiing trip in Washington State with a friend in an old Volkswagen bus and a drunk driver crashed into them. She tried to mentally send a message home because cell phones didn’t exist then. 

Interpretation: Telepathy appears across the world in many forms and still circulates today. Culturally, this reinforces a belief that emotionally close people can sense each other, especially in moments of crisis. It is similar to how we often view gut feelings and intuition as trustworthy knowledge. Here it was an intentional act that speaks to the folk belief in the power of the mind. 

The Ax Man

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Syracuse, NY
Language: English

Text

“The Ax Man”

Context


At summer camp when he was younger the informant was told a legend about an Ax man. It was about this guy who had an ax and apparently hid in the woods behind the cabin in the back corner, cabin 13. One night he axed through the roof of the cabin and killed the campers. You could allegedly hear the campers scream on the rock by the cabin even still. He got told it when he was a first year camper and it scared him a lot. He was always scared every year he would get placed in that cabin and he never walked back towards it.

Analysis

This narrative highlights the importance behind the number 13. As a society we have created this idea that 13 is bad luck or haunted. Thirteen is known for being universally bad luck, this superstition has been around for many years. This also relates to the idea of Friday the 13th, anytime the 13th lands on a Friday people tend to get worried. Since the Ax Man was associated with the number 13 I think that was able to make the story more believable and frightening for the campers. This story has become a legend because many other campers knew of this story. The campers are able to connect over this story and pass it on to new campers. 


Crazy Charlie

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Florida
Language: English

Text

“Crazy Charlie”

Context

When she was younger she attended summer camp in New Hampshire. The campers got told this story every year. It was about a bus driver named Charlie who was driving a bus full of campers. At one point the campers became loud, annoying, and weren’t listening so Charlie decided to run off the trail. Charlie crashed the bus off a cliff and into the woods, and he died. There is now a stick near this area and people say Crazy Charlie is buried there. Since the cabins at the camp are in front of the woods, when stuff was through behind them people would say to be careful because Crazy Charlie is going to get them. Along with this when people would hear scratching noises on the cabins it was believed to be Crazy Charlie. There is an actual crash of an old bus that was placed at the camp which the story originated around.

Analysis

Since, the story may not be true, that is what makes it a legend. This legend relates to the camp culture because it has been told for many years to campers and restated for next generations. I attended summer camp for eight years of my life and hearing these stories always made camp more exciting and fun to bond with other campers over these stories. I feel as though many summer camps are known for having an interesting legend to tell the campers. Camp is a community culture so these legends help bring the community of the camp together.

The Golden Gate Bridge Ghost

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Bay Area
Language: English

Text

“The Ghost of the GGB”

Context

She grew up in the Bay Area right near the Golden Gate Bridge. When she was growing up her parents would tell her the story of The Ghost of the Golden Gate Bridge when they would go over the bridge. The legend of a woman that stands on the bridge in a white dress. When told this story she heard that people say she disappears when they get close and she seems as though she is about to jump off the bridge. The woman is told to bring mist across the bridge, which we know as the fog that lays over the bridge. Being taught this story always made the informant scared and uneasy when crossing the bridge. Since she truly believed this legend she would sometimes catch a glimpse of the lady in the white dress. This made her think that the bridge was haunted. 

Analysis

When it comes to legends I think the more you believe the easier it is to see and sense the legend you were told. This narrative is historical as it has been around for many years. The Golden Gate Bridge has history of suicides which relates to this story as people state that it seems the ghost is about to jump. Due to this history of the bridge the legend becomes more realistic. People have formed this belief through a folk narrative, a legend. Listening to this legend can alter peoples view upon the bridge due to the fact some think it’s haunted.