Category Archives: Legends

Narratives about belief.

Childhood Bigfoot sighting in San Bernardino Mountains

Nationality: American
Age: 25
Occupation: Student
Residence: Redlands, CA
Language: English

Text:

AB: “Okay, so when I was eleven years old, I remember I had spent a lot of time in elementary school fighting against the superstitions of the other kids, arguing with them that their beliefs weren’t real. Then one day, in the winter, I was snowshoeing with my younger brother in the San Bernardino Mountains.”

[Younger brother who was present at AB’s retelling]: “I was there?”

AB: “Yeah, you were. We were walking through the woodchip field in the forest. The snow was really deep and at some point we got separated. All of a sudden, I saw this large, dark figure walking in between two trees. I knew it was bigfoot because it was walking weird – they have this really weird way of walking, I’ve never been able to replicate it. Then because the snow was so deep, I fell down and it took me like two minutes to get back up because I was wearing snowshoes. When I looked back at the trees, there was nobody there. 

“I knew about bigfoot because I watched a lot of TV specials about him, discovery channel stuff. My friends had also told me about bigfoot. But then no one believed me when I told them about what I saw, and people kept making little snide comments about it. My family just won’t let it go even now. I would say I grew up in a very ‘scientific-minded’ community. So over the years from all this pestering from everyone, I just stopped believing in Bigfoot altogether.”

Context: Informant AB grew up in a rural community in Southern California called Forest Falls. His parents are both psychologists and members of the Seventh-day Adventist church, which is a Protestant Christian denomination that generally condemns belief in all supernatural beings except for demons, angels, God, and Satan. AB does not currently identify with Adventist beliefs and describes himself as agnostic. Among family and friends, AB is known for his sarcasm, intelligence, and argumentativeness. He is currently pursuing a doctorate of psychology at an Adventist university.

Analysis: AB’s story serves as a memorate to the legend of Bigfoot. The details he describes correspond with several popular characterizations of the cryptid (i.e. tall, dark fur, elusive, lives in forests). Interestingly, AB’s parents are both from the Pacific Northwest, where the legend of Bigfoot/Sasquatch has the most cultural weight in the contiguous United States. AB notes that he was not inclined to believe in any supernatural beings before his personal experience, and he then faced skepticism from his family and peers to such a degree that he felt forced to give up his belief once again. AB’s experience demonstrates the dynamics of folk belief in social circles that discourage ‘superstition’ and reflects dismissive attitudes towards children’s beliefs and experiences.

Kappa

AGE: 81

Date_of_performance: April 10, 2025

Language: Japanese

Nationality: Japanese

Occupation: Retired

Primary Language: Japanese

Residence: Yokohama

Context: The Kappa are river creatures that drown people and it’s a cautionary tale to be careful in water. B also naturally heard of the Kappa as she grew up in Japan. But today she doesn’t interpret it as the scary monsters they originally were, as Japanese media has made them more cute over the years.

Text: 

Interviewer is I. Subject is B

I: What’s another legend you like?

B: The one of the Kappa because I find them cute!

I: Can you say what Kappa are exactly?

B: They were originally ugly creatures but now they are cuter and even come up in that kids show that your cousin watches

I: Do you think the legend of the Kappa lost a little meaning from what it once was?

B: I think more and more people are forgetting they were meant to be dangerous creatures. But I also like the new Kappa and see no problem with them being nice creatures

Analysis:

The Kappa are interesting to me because I feel like overtime their haunting nature has been overshadowed by the cute lens that Japanese media has begun to paint them in. Kappa can be seen in kids shows and even other adult animes where they serve the roles of good characters. I’m curious if this is in a way killing the traditional folklore as their entire image is being shifted. Overall I also don’t see too much problem with it as their design and characteristics are being preserved, with the only things changing is their image from bad to good.

La Patasola

AGE: 21

Date_of_performance: April 10, 2025

Language: English

Nationality: Colombian

Occupation: Student

Primary Language: English

Residence: New York

Context: The story of La Patasola is a Colombian legend about this very beautiful woman who cries out for help at first, but if a man approaches she transforms into a creature with one leg and long claws, attacking them and eating them. Some say she used to be a beautiful woman that cheated on her husband and had her leg chopped off. Now, she targets men who are not loyal to their wives. L first heard this story from his cousin, who talked about the importance of faithfulness. L interprets it as a cautionary tale to not cheat on your partner.

Text: 

Interviewer is I. Subject is L.

I: What other legends have you heard?

L: My cousin told me the story of La Patasola, which is just a woman who turns into a monster and attacks men

I: Why does she do that?

L: I think it’s because she was killed for being unfaithful. But now she targets men who are trying to cheat apparently

I: What do you think the significance of the story is?

L: To be honest I don’t think it’s too deep aside from just telling people to stay loyal

Analysis:

The story of La Patasola does not seem as ambiguous of that of Urashimataro. It seems pretty straight-forward, she targets men who’ve cheat on their wives or any man that harms a woman. In a society where there is a lot of cheating and hook-up culture, I believe maybe some people should be reminded of La Patasola, and the dangers of cheating!

La Llorona

AGE: 21

Date_of_performance: April 10, 2025

Language: English

Nationality: Colombian

Occupation: Student

Primary Language: English

Residence: New York

Context: The story of La Llorona is one of a woman who drowned her children out of anger because of her husband’s infidelity, and took her own life after realizing what happened. Now her soul wanders forever, searching for her kids. L heard this story from his father who is an immigrant from Colombia, and in Colombia it is told she comes out around the Magdalena River. He interprets it as a cautionary tale for kids to not stay out too late at night.

Text: 

Interviewer is I. Subject is L.

I: Do you have any legends from your culture?

L: Yeah I know a lot of other cultures have this one but La Llorona is pretty well known

I: I’ve heard of that. What’s it about again?

L: It’s about this woman who lost her children and now wanders around looking for them. It’s a way to tell kids to stay away from water and to not stay out late

I: Did you believe it growing up and did your dad scare you with it?

L: Not really to be honest. But he definitely told me about it, he just didn’t bring it up after that like other Colombian parents may.

Analysis:

I think the story of La Llorona is tragic and very sad. I feel like it almost invokes a sense of empathy, for a mom who misses her children and continues to search for them. But yet I think it is very effective to keep children home and out of trouble. Although I was never told of the La Llorona growing up, I feel like if I was in a Colombian household I would believe it and obey curfews out of fear.

The Krasue

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: United States
Language: English

Text:

“It’s basically a woman’s floating head with her internal organs attached that goes flying around at night to eat unborn fetuses with her long tongue. She was a princess that was supposed to marry another king but had another lover. The king found out and wanted to execute her by burning her so she found a witch that gave her a potion to drink before she was burned so she could live. But she drank the potion too late because it took a while for its affect to work so she…most of her body burned minus her internal organs and head. Oh and I also know how to avoid it taking your unborn fetus. You basically just need to either have pointed fences or barbed wire by your window because it doesn’t want its hanging organs to get stuck in it so it’ll avoid your home.”

Context:

The informant first heard about it on a youtube channel called Snarled. They interpreted it as a scary story that is generally told to young children around 12 years old.

Analysis:

The theme of this story seems to suggest pregnancy in the form of a horror story. This is represented in Asia as a story of spirits or evil manifested from hatred and revenge. It acts as a warning to be careful during pregnancy by using evil figures. The princess itself represents an entity formed from injustice like a vengeful spirit while also having adding elements of magic, such as the witch and protective potion. This spirit might also reflect the cultural belief that our spirit might come back to life or being unrestful due to injustice. Also, the idea of using pointed fences acts as apotropaic defense system or magic by using physical objects to ward off evil spirits. In addition to a warning for pregnant women, the backstory of the princess also suggests an importance in social contexts, such as placing value or in or respecting a marriage and upholding this contract instead of breaking it or else you might end up like this woman.