Category Archives: Narrative

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.

The Jersey Devil

Age: 20

Text: According to the subject, the “Jersey Devil” is a monstrous creature that supposedly haunts Jersey’s wilderness. The subject described the creature as having bat wings, hooves, a devil’s tail, and a goat head. According to the legend, the Jersey Devil was born as an unwanted 13th child to a mother who ended up cursing him – causing his disfiguration. His curse caused him to transform into the horrifying monster that has become so popular in New Jersey folklore. Allegedly, this creature only appears at night – scaring and even harming those who come across his path.  

Context: The subject first came across this urban legend when he was in middle school. Growing up and living in New Jersey, he would grow up to occasionally hear the creature mentioned here and there, but he just brushed it off as a kid’s story – he never really believed in it. His older brother was the first person to describe the creature to him, as such he just viewed the myth as a way of his brother trying to scare him and tease him. Some of his friends in middle school did believe in the creature, he admitted, and they would be spooked whenever they stayed outside too late. 

Interpretation: I believe that this legend can be seen as a story parents might’ve utilized to try to keep their kids from staying out too late or wandering out into the wildlife at night. I think by playing on this element of fear, children would be less likely to disobey their parents out of fear of this monstrous creature, as opposed to parents telling their children that they can’t stay out late “because I said so”. I think this creates a sense of consequences greater than the parents’ anger and would help motivate the child to obey out of self preservation.

Lulu Khor Khoreh

Age: 20

Text: According to the subject, a creature that is prominent within Persian folklore is a creature named Lulu Khor Khore. Described as a hairy, hideous, monster-like creature, Lulu Khor Khore hides in the dark corners of childrens’ rooms – whether that be under the bed, in their closet, or just simply in the shadows. She explained that as an evil entity, Lulu Khor Khore knew when children had been bad; if they disobeyed their parents, talked back, or just misbehaved, he would snatch them away in the middle of the night and the children would never be seen again.

Context: The subject heard this story often from her father when she was growing up. Her father, from Iran, would remind her that Lulu Khor Khoreh knew when she was misbehaving and not listening to her parents – he warned would warn her that if she kept acting out he would steal her away in the middle of the night, and there would be nothing he or she could do to stop it (unless she started listening and behaving). She remembers hearing about Lulu Khor Khoreh often whenever she didn’t want to practice the violin and would try to hide in her room to avoid her lessons. As she grew up, she heard less and less about Lulu Khor Khoreh (much to her relief, as she told me she truly was scared of the thought of him, let alone being carried away in the middle of the night by him); she explained to me that this story was just a means of getting children to behave – kind of like Santa Claus, or Baba Yaga. 

Interpretation: I believe that the subject is very much correct in her observations – despite the fact that Lulu Khor Khoreh himself is unique to Persian culture, the overarching idea or purpose that he serves is one that can be found across time and the globe. His story is a means of getting children to behave and listen to their elders.

The Mole Socities of New York City

Age: 20

Text: According to this subject, in New York, there’s an urban legend about a secret underground society of homeless people who live within tunnels that spread all over the city. Apparently, as this subject has noted that she’s heard versions of this story from multiple sources, this legend is widespread throughout the city, with some people even claiming that they’ve seen people slip out of “abandoned” subway stations at night, or even from out under sewer grates. Allegedly, these “mole people” as they’ve become known live in pretty complex societies and communities – with some people going so far as to suggest that they have access to every major building in New York. 

Context: Ever since moving to New York for college, this subject has occasionally found herself regaled by tales from classmates and coworkers alike who are native to New York about the urban legends of the secret network of tunnels that run under NYC. She believes that these stories probably came about just as a result of subway stations closing or not getting finished, and she isn’t completely sold on the idea of people living in societies completely underground in the city. 

Interpretation: I believe that this urban legend of a “mole people” society that supposedly has connections within the entire city of New York is based on the fact that there probably are some homeless people who do take refuge in abandoned subway buildings for shelter. The idea about these “mole people” having widespread societies and access into buildings seems a little bit more paranoid, perhaps a byproduct of the story passing throughout the state by word of mouth – people could have added their own additions to this story as they pass them on to make it sound more interesting and wild.

No Pork on the Pali Highway

Age: 19

Text: This subject discussed her experience with the Hawaiian legend/superstition that one can’t take pork across the Pali Highway in Oahu. According to her, if you were to drive across the highway with any sort of pork product, your car would mysteriously break down or some other form of bad luck would befall you and your passengers. The subject stated that this was a belief that people took very seriously, even opting to go around the long way via an alternate route – the Likelike Highway – if they absolutely want to bring pork products home or just transport them. She also explained that this superstition was based on the mythological story of the goddess Pele (the goddess of volcanoes) and Kamapua’a (a half-pig demigod) and their failed relationship. She said that the way her father explained it to her is that the two divine beings made a pact to keep away from each other after their breakup and stay on their respective sides of the island. So, if one were to bring pork across the Pali Highway, they would symbolically be bringing Kamapua’a to Pele’s part of the island, which would make her mad. As such, Pele would bring some sort of misfortune onto the traveller as a punishment.

Context: A native to Hawaii, this subject first came across this myth when she drove across the Pali Highway with her dad. He told her the story not because they were bringing pork products with them, but just because he thought it might interest her; she remembers being worried that the goddesses’ wrath would apply if someone had also recently eaten pork (as she had that day), but her dad told her that it didn’t count. She believes that this myth exists because the mythology of Hawaii and its many dieties is very important to the natives. As such, she believes the superstition is a byproduct of respect for the religion/spirituality than it would be just a mere silly explanation for why some cars happened to break down on the highway by chance.

Interpretation: I think that this myth is a way of creating a sort of graspable or tangible connection between the land and the mythos behind it – or at least to the divine beings that inhabit it. I believe it also provides an explanation that locals might connect to more as to why their vehicles would mysteriously break down along the highway. It also helps keep the mythology alive, as it blends traditional narratives of the gods with modern day technologies and modes of transportation. It’s a useful means of passing down the histories and practices associated with this spirituality/religion/culture of native Hawaiians and ensuring its continued existence and belief.