Category Archives: Narrative

Forbidden Forest

Age: 18

Q: Before we begin, who and where did you first hear about this story?

A: I saw it in this old tv show I can’t remember the name of years ago and I was watching at night. 

Story: There’s two really poor people in this village that faces a gloomy forest. They are a mother and son and this forest was believed to be cursed, holding spirits that would cause the death of anyone who goes inside. Despite this, the mother and son decided to go into the forest out of desperation for a source of food as they had been starving. When they went in, the had unexpectedly found tons of food and told all the villagers, but the villagers were skeptical but the mother and son ignored it. Instead they ate the food and went home, but that night the villagers claimed they saw a green haze wandering into their home that night. The next day, the villagers found the mother dead and the son barely surviving looking so pale it was like he had no blood left in him. The son’s last words were to never go into the forest again, reiterating what the villagers had said to them before that it was both evil and cursed. 

Q: And what do you think about this story?

A: I think it was a very common ghost story I’ve heard throughout the years. It was from a tv show so I don’t think it’s really a true one, but I’d say it could be scary. 

Interviewer’s thoughts on the story: This story, much like the teller said, is a very classic cautionary tale about ignoring warnings and desperation.  I think it does a good job showing how the mother and son were pushed into a dangerous decision because of their situation, which makes what happens to them more tragic than just a simple “they should have known better.” The mysterious green haze adds a creepy, supernatural element that reinforces the idea that the forest is truly cursed, not just a rumor and overall I would say would be classified as a ghost story. 

Catholic Ghosts, or demons?

Age: 51

BN: [When I] came across listening to Cha Hong, who was one of the very well-known priests in the Vietnamese community church. He has lots of different videos on YouTube people recorded and they put it up there. 

BN: So one time [when I] came across Cha Hong, sort of share that when he was in Vietnam, he witnessed himself, a person that is very, very young. Maybe a teenager, boy or something. That is acting like the grandparent like his own grandparent. 

Me: Wow. 

BN: So meaning…if [you], imagine if [you are] someone that knows the grandparent right? [You] ask this little boy [what year you were] born, everything they knew the answer. And this boy would even know something very, very special between the grandparent, and whoever that is in the room. So let’s say [you are] the grandfather’s son, right? 

BN: And then [when you were] very young, maybe he spanked the heck out of a [you] or something like that. Then this boy would even know that. So in short, Cha Hong also believes that there are spirits that could be…

Me: Haunting him?

BN: Yeah, will go into the person’s body and make the person act as that person. 

Me: Interesting. [Do you] believe that’s true?

BN: [I] also believe some of it, and then, in another time that [I] witnessed myself was in a marriage enrichment course. So every year there is an enrichment course…that we invite the couple, the husband and wife to go on a 3 day retreat, right? And then in [those] 3 days we do different things, we learn different things and [I] saw it twice. This couple. 

Me: The same couple twice?

BN: Yeah, the same couple twice. This couple, the wife when she is blending in with other people, she’s very normal. But during one time, in the course this is where, like, [you] suppose to look back and reflect upon you, your relationship with your spouse in relationship to God. Right, so it’s extremely extremely personal. And extremely spiritual. 

BN: And this time she would then [start] screaming gibberish words very scary things like nobody can understand what she was saying. But she was extremely loud, and [would] shake her body. 

BN: Like non-stop, and then somehow unbrokenly, she was able to say “Help me help me save [me], pray a Hail Mary, pray for me, Our Father pray for me. 50 of them,” like in broken spacing, out between the gibberish stuff, the scary stuff she was able to say that stuff 

Me: Sounds scary. 

BN: Yeah, it is then to the point where, after [I saw] like maybe 30 seconds to a minute of that, it was very exhaustive, so she kind of collapsed, she didn’t pass out. But she would collapse like on the floor. 

BN: Then, the priest in between there. Because we always have a priest in the room. So the priest was trying to do, like, you know, my Father and Son in the Holy Spirit and was doing some, maybe things that try to get the bad spirit out of her soul, whatever that is and would take a little bit, then she’ll snap back to normal. 

BN: But that only happens during the peak of the, you know, whatever we learned in class, not like normal conversation. So that’s why we believe that there’s some kind of bad spirit that goes and quáy phá, yeah. Anyway, that’s what [I] experienced. 

Me: [Do you] think, it’s the same spirit in both stories?

BN: Same mechanisms, same idea, but just depending on the circumstances. And the relative, or the person that’s affected by it. It’s different people, different means like on the little kid, it could be that the grandfather had to reappear to want to do something. But then in the case of that couple, the why, what the why went through is because the quáy phá, you know..what is it in English? 

Me: It’s like, causing disturbance. 

BN: Yeah, disturbing when she’s trying to get closer to God and trying to reconnect herself through realization and things like that. That’s when the bad stuff comes right during that time. 

Me: I see. 

BN: So, it’s different things with [the] same mechanism. 

More Details:

  • Context: This story was told March 18 2026, around bedtime by my mom. She was aware of USC Folklore archives collecting this story and told it freely.
  • Their thoughts: My mom thinks it’s a “religious” ghost or a demon causing these things. She largely leaves it unexplained, and isn’t 100% sure.
  • My thoughts: I agree, maybe the devil is up to weird things with some people. I do agree with the religious point of view for the second one, although the first it’s hard to tell.

The Winchester Mystery House

Age: 19

Context: The following story was told on April 28th, 2026, in my dorm room to me by the informant, who is my friend and freshman year roommate.

Me: “All right. Go ahead, and tell the story, just like, pretend I’m not recording.”

LC: “Okay, do I have to introduce myself?”

Me: “No, just get into it.”

LC: “So this was back when I was 5 years old, so that was 14 years ago. Okay. I feel unc, but it’s whatever. Watch me, like, listen to this, like, in 20 years. I would be like, that’s not even that bad. But I was 5 years old when this happened and my grandparents were in town. They’re originally from Southern California. So they came to visit, and when they come to visit, it’s a pretty big thing. Um, so as a result, my parents were super excited for them to be here and usually when that happens, I don’t really have any choice but to do everything that they have planned. And I had a bad feeling when they told me that we were going to go to the Winchester Mystery House.”

Me: “I’m not too familiar. So it where is this located?”

LC: “This is located on Winchester Street Drive, Avenue, whatever it is.”

Me: “But, but like where in California? It’s in California right?”

Background as described by the informant:

LC: “It’s in Santa Clara. It’s right across from a mall, which is really weird because why would you build like the super big fancy mall right across the street from a haunted house? But the story about the Winchester Mystery House, from what I remember, they made a movie about it too, but the movie was like not at all accurate and low-key, really bad. But the actual story is that this woman was married to a man who produced these guns…the Winchester Gun Company. Um, and the guns were used in war in, like, self-defense, whatever, but they produced them so much and then would give it to, like, I guess, really bad people because they didn’t really care about who they were selling it to. Um, after the man died, I think he died because of the fact that he was shot by his own gun or he died out of sickness. I don’t remember exactly, but he died early on. So the woman was widowed. And at the time, they were using the money from their gun company to build this really big house. And she consulted this, like, palm reader to tell her, like, what she should do to honor her dead husband when building the house. And the palm reader was like, girl, like, you shouldn’t be worried about your husband. You should be worried about the ghosts.”

Me: “Oh [redacted].”

LC: “And she was like, what ghosts? And apparently, all the ghosts of the people that were killed by the guns that the husband produced were coming back to haunt her. Um, and take revenge for what happened as a result of like the guns being produced. And Miss Winchester was like, that’s not my problem. Like, I didn’t produce the guns. And the palm reader was like, no, it’s because the fact that you’re using the money from the guns that were made to build a house. That’s why they’re getting revenge. So they made the house super big and the whole point of the house was that it can never be finished being built. Like they had to continuously build it. And in order to trick the ghost, they had like these trap doors and like these stairs that would lead to nowhere. Like, it’s like this demented fun house that she made.”

Me: ” Hence..Mystery house.”

LC: “Hence…mystery house.”

The Story:

LC: “And… Like, the story itself was cool, and a lot of people don’t really buy it. But I was freaked out. I was also five. So anything would scare me. So I went into the house knowing that this was a story, this is what my grandparents told me, and I was like, why did they bring me here? Like, this was a bad idea. And I just remember going through the house and initially thinking it was pretty because the entrance has like this nice stained glass window, this, like, really nice warm lighting, but the further you get into the house, the more you will see like the stairs leading to nowhere, the doors that open to brick walls, like all this weird stuff. And I just remember passing by this one area that they had just closed because it was found to, like, drop down, like to the floor. It was like… there was like a staircase that led to a door and then there was nothing there. And they had just closed it. So I was freaked out because I guess, like, people were touring that and they realized, like, there was no where to go. It was like, it was a straight drop and it was like 3 floors up already. Um, but after we passed that, I saw a shadow of a woman, and I was like, oh, this has to be like a hologram or something. I didn’t think it was real. But I just remember, it was really warm when I was originally passing by that, like, invisible, whatever staircase thing that led to nowhere. Then when I saw the shadow, it got really cold. So I was like, that was weird… that kind of freaked me out. But I ignored it. We went on with the rest of the tour. And we were going down the stairs, and I distinctly remember the tour guide saying, oh yeah, the stairs are really, really small and really, really steep because they were custom made to fit the feet of Miss Winchester. And they said, oh, watch your step, be careful. Um, But he looked at me and said, oh, you should be fine because your feet are little. And the Winchester lady was like really, really short, really, really petite. And he was like, oh, yeah, you’re like a child. She was like a child too. like you’ll be fine. So I was under the impression there was no way for me to trip. I was also the very last one in the line because it…the actual staircase was so tiny and so compressed that you could touch the walls with your elbows….Shoulders…Shoulders and elbows. But it was really, really compressed. And as a result, we all had to go in a single file line. And I just remember going down the staircase, the really cold feeling from before came back again. And I was the last one in the line. Like, there was no one behind me. I remember turning back and I was like, oh, the door, like the door was about to close and there was like this little sliver of light and I was like, oh, so no one could push me. I’m fine. Boy, was I wrong! I turned back around, and I’m going down, grabbing the walls, kind of like shaking a little bit, but I could walk down the stairs fine. I felt the hand of a, like, a wrinkly thin hand that was ice cold. And I was wearing a super thin shirt, where, like, any little breeze or tap, like, I could feel it on my skin. And I felt it right here on this shoulder, and I felt the hand press, and then I felt it push, and I ended up tripping and falling on the stairs, and my grandma caught me. And I turn around and I see a shadow go, whoosh. like out the door and the door opened. And I was like, this [redacted] just pushed me down the stairs. And I asked the tour guide, I was like, did you see that? And the tour guide said a joke, but I didn’t think he was serious…he’s like, oh yeah, it’s rumored that Miss Winchester likes to go down these stairs and scare the tourists. And then he’s like, and sometimes if she takes a liking to you, she’ll even give you a little nudge. And then after I tripped and fell, he turned around and said, oh, looks like she already found someone. And I was like, Oh, that’s so cute. And I had to tell my grandma, I was like, I don’t want to be here anymore. I dont want to be here anymore. So we ended up leaving the tour early after that. And when I left and walked out, there was this bay style window on one of the upper floors, and there was a woman that looked exactly like Miss Winchester waving hi. I have not returned to the Winchester mystery house since. So even if that wasn’t Miss Winchester or if it was a random ghost, I got pushed in the Winchester mystery house when I was 5 years old down the stairs.”

Me: “So what do you think? Like, do you think Miss Winchester, like, do you think it felt like friendly? Like, she liked you or, you think the guide was right and she was like just being cute and like, eh, or, like, do you think there was, like, there was beef.”

LC: “like, I don’t know, because I was just horrified the whole time. So I don’t know if she was actually was being like a little rude and she wanted to push me because she’s like, I’ll show you how to be scared. But honestly, I thought at 1st that it was friendly, but the more that I think about it, I think it was a little bit more malicious. I’m not gonna lie. Um, like, you know, like those really old women that are like really rude to young people?”

Me: “Right. I don’t know about five-year-olds, but yeah.”

LC: “I don’t know. Because what did a five-year-old do? “

Me: “Right.”

LC: “But maybe it was because my grandparents were telling me like, oh, none of it’s real. It’s fine. And I kept repeating to myself, oh, none of it’s real. it’s fine. So maybe she was like, oh, no, it is real. It is real. But, I don’t know, that was my story. I tell it because I…I still to this day, like, don’t think it’s fully real. I think I was just 5 years old and freaked that, like, freaked out out of my mind. But, you know what? Maybe Miss Winchester did push me down the stairs…Maybe.”

Personal Thoughts and Analysis: I didn’t know too much about the Winchester Mystery House going in, so it was very interesting to hear about it from the informant. This story included a lot of traditional ghost story motifs, such as a haunted house, cold spots, a vengeful spirit, a legend quest, etc. I think it’s a very interesting concept that the house was originally built to fight off and confuse vengeful spirits, and in this story at least, Miss Winchester ends up becoming a vengeful spirit herself, trapped in her own labyrinth.

The Nun

Age: 19

Context: The following story was told on April 28th, 2026, in my dorm room to me by the informant, who is my friend and freshman year roommate. The informant and I were discussing a completely different story when she brought up that her high school was haunted by a very sad nun…I immediately pressed record.

LC: “There’s a book called California’s Most Haunted Places.”

Me: “Oh, and your high schools in it?”

LC: “And my high school’s in it.”

Me: “Oh, great.”

LC: “So, yeah. Like, sometimes you’ll hear, like, creaking from where, like, she, hung herself.”

Me: “This is so crazy…Ok what high school did you go to?”

LC: “Notre Dame.”

Me: “Notre Dame. In San Jose.”

LC: “Like, dead serious. Someone look it up. There’s a story. This nun like hung herself.”

Me: “So, did you have any, like..this is something that happened to your friend or, like, did you have any personal experiences?”

LC: “Okay, so for me, in that building, there’s a basement that I had to go into, and I hated that basement. It’s a…it’s straight up a vintage old basement. It’s an old cobblestone basement that has one little light that hangs from the top. Like, have you seen, um, A Quiet Place?”

Me: “Yeah.”

LC: “It looks like that. And the stairs are like wooden and creaky. So, I went in there and I had to pull the light, and there was, like, someone that looked like they were wearing a full nun outfit. just in the corner.”

Me: ” And at this point, there’s no more nuns at your school?”

LC: “Most of the women, like the women that worked at my school were nuns, but they didn’t wear the whole thing… they’re like the modern nuns. like they’re hip or whatever.”

Me: *laughs* “Okay.”

LC: “Um, but yeah, it was like a nun wearing like the full outfit and everything. And, um, I don’t remember what her name is. Like, it was like sister…her name began with an M. And I remember like the faculty and staff saying, oh, like, oh, sister, whatever her name is, is visiting again.

Me: “Oh. Was she, like, a nice, or sad spirit, or like?”

LC: “I think she’s just sad. Yeah. Um, because, yeah, like, apparently, like, a priest seduced her and, like, she got pregnant and, yeah, she hung herself because, like, she was sent there. Um, I can’t even remember what for. Like, I think because her family, like, couldn’t afford to send her to, like to school, so she went to the convent. Um, and she knew that she couldn’t go back to her family because it would be dishonorable. So, she thought that the only way to go was to, like, commit suicide. So, yeah, there’s that one, and then, my elementary and high school are connected, because it was, like, this one big giant convent. And like a lot of the stories that happened at the high school happened at the elementary because it was like just one big thing. And what happened to my friend in 5th grade is that she went to the bathroom, and it was a sunny day in February or March, and when she went to the bathroom, she, like, came out, went to go wash her hands. The door slammed shut because the bathroom door was, like, propped open with, like, this little, like, wooden block. The door slammed shut. It wouldn’t open. And because it was, like, someone was pressed against it. So she pushed it open, and when she looked outside, it was pouring rain, and the woman that looked like the nun was like outside, like crying, and her eyes were like jet black and like, and then she freaked out, closed the door, was sobbing, opened the door again, and it was like normal, sunny, like 78 degrees outside. Like, she came to class crying because she’s like, I saw her, I saw her, this creepy lady, and we’re like…”

Me: “So a lot of these stories…so the time that you maybe saw the nun, how old were you?”

LC: “14.”

Me: “Okay, so a little bit older, but mostly your stories, you know, involve a child. So what do you think about that? Do you think children are like more vulnerable to spirits or you think like they can see things that, you know, maybe…”

LC: “Yeah, I think the children, like, that’s like in every single horror story, though. Like, children are the most vulnerable. Because, like, you know how people say, like, when you’re a child, you have your 6th sense and that it’s, like, the most receptive. And, like, you haven’t been corrupted by the world to have it, like, removed or, like, worn down. Um, Like, I guess to an extent, that makes sense, but if we’re following that logic that children are just more receptive to everything around them, and children are known for being, like, brutally honest, then I would say, yes, it’s like, that aspect, that’s consistent with children being, like, the main receivers in all these stories, would support that idea, but also, I feel like, I don’t know, it’s a little strange because people who experience those, like, paranormal activities usually have some sort of belief in the paranormal. Right. But I don’t know if that’s because of the fact that, since they believe it, it’s confirmation bias. Or if it’s just because they’re more open to the idea that that’s a possibility and that they would prefer that outlandish, I guess, experience to be true in comparison to that of a more scientifically backed explanation.”

Me: “Right, makes sense. And both can be true.”

LC: “Both can be true.”

Me: “Good stuff.”

Personal thoughts and analysis: This story was super interesting, and I think it goes into religious guilt and trauma, which intrigued me, so I decided to look more into it. I was able to corroborate that there is a legend of a pregnant nun who hung herself at Notre Dame High School in San Jose, but I couldn’t find any confirmed reports of the occurrence. I think because it’s been local lore for so long that it’s likely a lot of the accounts are just scared kids whose eyes were playing tricks on them, but it is very interesting nonetheless. I also thought the weather aspect of the spirit, somehow being able to change the weather, was very unique and not a typical element in ghost stories, which almost made me believe the informant a bit more.

The Homeowner Ghost

Age: 47

Context:

My mother always believed in God and held religious values. Whenever I would ask her about spooky things or if she believed in ghosts she would always answer with “Don’t seek out such things.” It wasn’t until recently she revealed an odd occurrence with a spirit that involved me many years ago. 

Interview:

Me: So when did this occurrence happen?

Informant: It was 2009. You were two years old and we had just bought the house. We knew from the realtor the owner of the house (an old woman) had passed away and her heir had sold it to some house flippers before we bought it. 

Me: Do you think there was a possibility she passed away in the house?

Informant: I rather not think about that.

Me: Alright so how soon after did you see the ghost?

Informant: You mean spirit. Well before it happened there was one bit of information I found important. One time our neighbor needed me to move my car so he could park on the street. I told him I’d move it if his daughter watched you. She did just that and when I came back from moving the car she told me “Wow the inside of the house looks so different. I used to take care of the woman who lived here before. The walls all used to be pink inside and outside.” Which did make sense since paint started chipping outside and it was all pink under. Anyway, when you saw the spirit-

Me: Wait, I saw it?

Informant: Yes. Your father worked all day so it was just me and you. It was summer and the house had no AC so I would have us hang out in the back room of the house that always stayed cool in the latter half of the day. We were playing with your toys when you left the room to chase the dog down the hallway. I called out for you to come back and when you did you had a big smile on your face. You told me “Mami, there’s an old lady waving and smiling at me.” I thought you were joking with me. I peeped my head out and saw nothing. I kept asking “Are you sure there’s someone there?” You were serious and kept saying “Can’t you see her?” I could tell you weren’t joking and I got spooked so I shut the door and waited till your father came back home. The dog didn’t bark or growl so I assumed it was a friendly spirit. 

Me: Do you have any idea who the spirit could’ve been?

Informant: I think it was the old woman who owned the house before. I assume she wanted to check up on who was living in her house and was happy when she saw a small child. The dog wasn’t growling or barking so it must have been a good spirit. I mean who else could it have been?

Analysis:
I believe the ghost of the previous owner was the spirit I saw. She might have been upset house flippers painted over her pink walls for a new family to move in. I think she wanted to see who changed and now occupied her old space. I also believe that her smiling and waving at me was her accepting our presence in her space and moving on. When I asked my mother again if she believed in ghosts she answered this time saying “I’ve always believed in spirits but never had any experience until that day. I don’t seek out things like that.” I have no recollection of this event or have seen the woman since.