Category Archives: Legends

Narratives about belief.

Immaculate Heart Ghost Nun

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student (Fine Arts Major)
Residence: Burbank, CA
Performance Date: April 22, 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese, Japanese, Spanish

“So apparently at my school, there’s supposed to be the ghost of some nun, just hanging around… I think it was supposed to be near the auditorium, which was, coincidentally, the center of all school life. The auditorium, is also the gym, so it has all these basketball headboards around it, but we also turn it into the chapel, but it’s also where the plays are held, so it’s like this—the heart of the school, but there’s supposed to be a ghost that inhabits… behind there.

“When I would work on the sets back then, there was this guy, he was about 25 years old, he looked like s stork. There was a guy there, and he would work on the sets of the plays and I would work on them too, and then one day, he just brought it up, saying “yeah, I don’t like to work too late at night, or I have to play loud music,” or something like that because he feels like he’s being watched… He just feels prickles on the back of his neck, or the hairs raise on the back of his neck or something. And then coincidentally, when he mentioned that, my Spanish teacher mentioned that she was really superstitious… she just mentioned that “ah, yea, there was a ghost here and the, the, I talk with the janitors sometimes, and when they were here late at night they feel like they’re being watched from down the hall and they played music don’t want—I guess they just feel like that would protect them somehow from their senses, and they would talk and be superstitious about the ghosts and my friend… umm… from middle school who’s Filipin..a, it seems like always, they, the Filipinos  always have these strange ghost stories, and she would take—she had this picture of us kinda goofing around outside of campus, and there was this sort of silvery figure… this kind of grey figure misting over the… one part of the photo and she would print them out on those regular six by something photos and she was convinced that that was a habit, and she passed them around to I guess my Spanish teacher that actually—the story of how the workers on the campus believed there was a ghost.

“Uh… so I was spooked, for a while—and actually, I remembered it recently, because a mutual acquaintance who goes on lots of dates with people who seem to know my school because he went to our brother school, St. Francis, he just recently texted me and asked me if I knew anything about the Immaculate Heart Ghost because the girl he was recently going out with brought it up too, and she saw some… some nun in the dark corner who smiled at her, and she just thought it was her teacher hanging out in a dark classroom or something like that and she was spooked. So.. I… luckily haven’t seen a ghost because I am easily spooked. And that’s the Immaculate Heart Ghost Nun who was there—but then also I remember that everyone was freaking out when something or another, like this story became popular, and they were looking on the internet, and lo and behold, there were several stories, like ‘ah yea! She inhabits the catwalks in the auditorium and she just hangs around,’ and I don’t remember the back-story about why there was a nun there, but she doesn’t seem to attack people with knives, maybe she just really liked it there, or something.”

 

The informant was informed about this ghost story by her friend, Lucy (who was in the same grade as she), during her senior year at the high school. She remembers her classmates “freaking out” when they discovered that the tale had made its way out of the school itself and into the public domain. There were several stories recounted to her both live (by her classmates and the school staff) as well as online. She was initially skeptical of the veracity of the tales, but she admitted that deep down, in her “animalistic core,” she was spooked and continues to be spooked by it when it’s recounted to her, or when she tells it to other people. She said she was not likely to go up in the catwalks at night, but also added that the ghost was not reputed to be violent, so she was not overly worried about being attacked. She mused that because her school motto was “Women of great heart and right conscience,” the ghost, too must have had a great heart and right conscience. This tale goes against the grain of many ghost stories in that it serves as an example of good behavior, demonstrating that even in death, the women of this high school are respectful and well behaved.

It’s especially fascinating that this story has moved from a very specific and small community to internet because it represents the rapid movement that is often intrinsic to storytelling. This suggests that there is something compelling about this story besides the fact that the nun came from this school that makes it important from a humanistic view. Ghost stories are perhaps so prolific because even people who question the reality of ghosts (such as the informant) find the tales frightening, and take a “better safe than sorry” attitude.

Weekend Liberties Admonition for the Coast Guard

Nationality: American
Age: 26
Occupation: Actor
Residence: Torrance, CA
Performance Date: April 23, 2013
Primary Language: English

“At the end of the sixth week of training… no at the uh… after the fourth week of training in the, in the Coast Guard, you get on-base liberty, which means you get an entire day to yourself where you can do whatever you want. You can go to the duty free shop, you can exercise, you can read a book, you can go to the computer lab… whatever. Then, um… during the sixth week of basic training, assuming you haven’t done anything to disrupt, you get off-base liberty, which means you get dressed up in your military dress uniform and you go off base—into the town, and you do whatever you want from eight to eight. Me personally, I went out and, uh, saw two movies. I, uh, I pigged out at a fast food place. Other people get hotels to, you know, sleep with other people on the base. Or uh, they go to the bars to get wasted—even though that’s not allowed, what they do is they get a hotel and they get roaring drunk before they have to get back to base—or at least, hide it enough so no one knows that they’re piss-drunk…

“There were six guys—they called them six pack—and they got so black-out-drunk that when they got back—they almost got away with it—they took a taxi up to the front gate, they managed to uh walk past the gate, and when they got to, to uh, their barracks, to their, to their private little room, they had to walk past their company commander office… and as soon as they walked past: bluuehhhh! [makes vomiting noise]. Their company commander was right there, they just, they almost made it, they just passed his office, and then [vomiting noise] everywhere. Guy came out, they all got busted for, like two weeks.”

 

The informant’s company commander told him this legend. The commander said that they tell this story to everyone when they are allowed to go out on weekend liberty. The commanding officers admonish the recruits: “don’t be like the Six Pack. This was a warning to training Coast Guard recruits that their position is tenuous as well as determined by themselves.

This is a good illustration of how the Coast Guard functions: part hierarchy, part brotherhood. The way in which the commanding officers disseminate rules and expectations to those under their command (done through folklore) is friendly enough to make it easy to accept as someone under the command of another.

Restarting Basic Training

Nationality: American
Age: 26
Occupation: Actor
Residence: Torrance, CA
Performance Date: April 23, 2013
Primary Language: English

“‘Don’t think just because you went though a ceremony and got your little certificate and your, uh, your pins—denoting your rank and everything—that, that you’re all done. That we’re equals. Your character reflects on us up until you leave sight of everyone at this base. It reflects upon you until you get, uh, your new billet. It reflects on, it reflects upon us—you and us—up until the end of your career. In other words, if you fuck up in such a way as to make people think ‘How’s this person, how could this person ever be in the military?’ they will send you back to bootcamp.’

“Their example—they don’t have any special nickname for him—but what happened was as soon as he graduated, he shook hands with all of his company commanders, and he got up on the bus, and the bus was leaving the gate. You know, it was just passing the gate, and the company commanders were watching the bus go by, and this guy, opened the window, stuck his hand out: [makes middle finger gesture] and did this to everyone on the base as he was leaving. They stopped the bus, and he had to repeat the entire eight weeks of basic training.”

 

The informant learned it from company commander on the day of his graduation (the beginning is the commander’s speech)  from the Coast Guard basic training. At the time, the informant was so elated that he made it though everything that he didn’t take it personally. He said he had seen other people in his group screw up (often badly), but he and his fellows and company commanders had gotten close so he held no malice toward his superiors.

When he was told this story, he recalled thinking to himself, “wow” saying they should kick him out permanently because “he’s the kind of guy that’s just going to grit his teeth and wait patiently until he no longer has to be put through this ordeal that is basic training, and then be like, ‘fuck you all!’”

Whether this legend is true or not, it allows the commanding officers in the Coast Guard to get their point across without unnecessary disciplining of misbehaving troops. By using a singular party (who may even be fictional) as a harsh example from which the recruits need to learn from, commanding officers can maintain the good behavior of a larger mass that identifies—at least partially—with the offending character. The commanding officers, thus, essentially make an example of one of the recruits’ own peers.

Gate to hell

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 30, 2013
Primary Language: English

“So there are seven gates to hell, and this is one of them. It’s this old cemetery in the middle of nowhere, it used to have a church and a small town, and it’s in the middle of nowhere, and people just think it’s a portal to hell. And there’s just sketchy stuff that happens there all the time.”

 

Here my informant is talking about a cemetery near her hometown in Kansas. She remembers growing up hearing supernatural stories about the area, and she told me that she refuses to go near it to this day. As the story goes, there are seven gates to hell, but only five have been found (she was unclear about where the other five are located). Some of the “sketchy stuff” involves the disappearance of animals and people; she remembers stories from when she was in high school about friends of friends going missing, never to be found again.

This is a classic urban legend; a local spot is chosen because it is “spooky” looking, and it is said to be supernatural in some way. There must be thousands of similar spots across the US.

Journey to the West

Nationality: Taiwanese
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 21, 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Mandarin Chinese

“So there’s this monkey, that–okay. There’s a rock on a mountain. It’s a spherical rock on top of a really high mountain. And I don’t know if lightning strikes it or what, but somehow it splits open, and there’s a monkey inside.

So the monkey–he doesn’t have a family. He literally came from a rock. So he tries to get along with the other monkeys down on the bottom of the mountain. I don’t think he gets along with them very well, because he’s an outsider. And then…some kind of coming of age story.

And then, turns out he has superpowers. So he has a lot of superpowers. So he can–he’s really mischievous. So he’s really like–how you would imagine a monkey to be. He throws poop. He’s the kinda guy who would throw his own poop. That’s the kind of hero this guy is.

So obviously, little boys would look up to this guy. Not as much little girls.

So one of his superpowers that I know pretty well, he can pluck one of his hairs and blow it, and it will turn into him. Like multiple copies of him. And that obviously makes his pranks a lot better. Because he can be anywhere at any time.

Oh and he can transform into things. So he can shapeshift into any person. Well, that obviously makes pranks a lot of fun.

He’s super strong, he has a tail–because he’s a monkey. And all that good stuff.

So he’s a prankster. And then, he’s like–really bold, and ambitious and egotistical. So he gets…his pranks get bigger and more grandiose. And he goes all the way to, like, mess with the gods. Of–of the…the multi–polytheist gods of China.

And then…there’s this forbidden tree kind of deal, with peaches. And the fruit can grant immortality, I think. And it’s like, up in the mountains where the gods live. And somehow he finds his way over there, and he’s just hanging out, and he grabs a peach. And eats it. And he’s immortal after that.

And then… Prank, prank, prank, prank, prank. And then one of the gods is like, ‘I’ve had enough of this.’ So he condemns him to–oh, he goes to complain to Buddha. Who, you know, he’s not a god, but in fairy tales he’s a god.

So he’s like, ‘Yeah, Buddha, there’s this monkey. And he’s really–you should do something about it.’ And Buddha’s like, ‘Oh…okay, fine. I have to deal with this.’ So the Buddha goes and he’s like, ‘Yo, Monkey King, stop doing what you’re doing. It’s really annoying.’ And he’s like, ‘No.’ And then…Monkey King challenges Buddha’s power. And Buddha’s like, ‘I bet I could race you from here to the edge of the universe. And I will win.’ So the Monkey King is like, ‘Sure, I could do that. I could beat you. You’re old.’

So he jumps on this cloud, that he can fly on–he has a cloud that flies–and he flies to the edge of the universe. And he’s in outer space or something. And there’s nothing there. So he thinks he’s won. So he’s like, ‘You know, I–I need to pee.’ So he goes and pees on one of the pillars at the edge of the universe. And then he–I think he writes his name out with his pee. And then he flies back.

And the Buddha’s there. And Monkey King’s like, ‘Yo, you didn’t even try, what’re you doing?’ and Buddha’s like, ‘No. I got there before you did.’ And he shows him his hand. And in one of the crevasses is his pee. Because apparently the pillar he peed on is Buddha’s hand.

So the Buddha wins. And I think they had a bet before hand. So the Buddha’s like, ‘For your crimes of mischievousness prankery, I condemn you to a life under this mountain.’ So Buddha throws a mountain on the Monkey King and he has to hang out there for a really long time.

But. So this is the origin story. There’s more.

So out of nowhere, like after five hundred years, because the Monkey King is immortal, uh, a priest–a Buddhist monk–that’s traveling from China to India to get the original Sanskrit texts for Buddhism, he’s on his way, and he passes the mountain. And the Monkey King is there, and he’s like, ‘Psst! Hey! Get me out of this!’ And the monk somehow makes a deal with Buddha, like ‘Okay, I will guide and mentor this monkey if you let him come with me on my journey to India to protect me.’ So Buddha says yes.

And then he turns the mountain that was on the Monkey King into this headband, and so that’s what the headband is on the Monkey King. The headband is kind of like his chains, his shackles. And I think it constricts sometimes to give him pain when he’s bad.

So the Buddhist monk and the Monkey King go to India to get the Buddhist scriptures. And along the way they have a lot of adventures and stuff.”

Here, my informant tells me a traditional Chinese tale about the Monkey King, focusing on the way he came to be. The Monkey King is very popular, and, as my informant told me, it is often used as a bedtime story for children. His implication was that there are many different adventures that can be told about the Monkey King, and so it is an ideal tale.
The story is about a prankster hero, so it’s clear why it would be popular among children – especially, as my informant points out, among little boys versus little girls. The story itself is fairly basic, and calls to mind Greek and Roman mythology. It seems that each culture has its own version of a prankster challenging the gods, just to be put in his place. It’s not difficult to understand why – this teaches humility and the idea that humans are inferior to the gods that they worship. In addition, although my informant focused on the origin story of the Monkey King, the larger story is clearly based around a journey, which is another popular trope in early folktales.
The story itself was interesting, but what I found most fascinating was the way in which my informant told me the story. Although he was telling a traditional Chinese story, the words, phrases, and intonation that he used made it clear that I was getting a solidly American retelling.
(May also be read in the novel Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en)