Category Archives: Narrative

The Quran-Reading Jinn

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student

Informant Information:

Age: 18
Date of Performance: 4/01/2025
Language: English
Nationality: American
Occupation: University Student
Primary Language: English
Residence: Los Angeles, California

Legend Text:
“Aight so lemme tell you this story I heard from a Sheikh, right? He was talkin’ about this boy who went to some Islamic boarding school. Real quiet dude—didn’t really vibe with nobody. Like, he’d just be sittin’ by himself all the time, barely said a word to anybody. Never played, never joked, nothin’. Just… there.

But here’s where it gets weird. At night, the other boys start hearin’ this scratchin’—like real scratchin’, on the walls, the floor, soundin’ like somethin’ tryna claw its way through or somethin’. And it wasn’t no small sound either—loud enough to wake ‘em up. So they all freak out, runnin’ to the teachers all panicked like, “Yo! There’s somethin’ in the room!” But every time the teachers came, it was just silence. Nothin’ there. No marks, no animals, nothin’.

Now guess who never woke up? That boy. Slept through all of it like a baby. No tossing, no turning—just peaceful as ever, like he ain’t hear nothin’. And that’s when folks started whisperin’—sayin’ maybe he was possessed or some jinn was up in him. But like, they couldn’t prove nothin’, so it was just rumors.

Then one night, one of the teachers starts recitin’ Quran out loud, tryna bless the room or calm folks down or whatever. And boom—the quiet kid just sits up outta nowhere and starts recitin’ too. But the crazy part? He was killin’ it. Like, word-for-word, smooth, no stumbles. Dude was recitin’ like he’d been doin’ it his whole life, maybe even better than the teacher. Everybody just froze. Like, how you doin’ that with no practice, barely even talkin’ during the day?

So now everybody really trippin’. Cuz now they don’t know—is he just mad gifted? Like, maybe God really blessed him with that kind of talent? Or is it somethin’ else? Cuz the way he spoke, man… it ain’t sound regular. It ain’t sound human. Gave folks goosebumps. After that, nobody really knew what to think. Was it a miracle? Or was it the jinn speakin’ through him?”

Context:
The informant is Muslim and heard this story during Ramadan, a spiritually heightened time when discussions of the supernatural are common in Muslim households. She believed it was told to create awe, fear, and moral reflection.

Analysis:
This legend explores the mysterious boundaries between divine giftedness and supernatural interference. The Jinn here is not malevolent in the traditional sense but instead creates confusion around spiritual authenticity. It highlights the complex role Jinns play in Muslim culture—not just as spirits of fear but as beings capable of deep religious knowledge. The setting in a Quranic school emphasizes the sacred nature of the space and the high stakes of interpreting spiritual phenomena.

Blue the Glue Ghost

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: University Student

Informant Information:

Age: 18
Date of Performance: 3/25/2025
Language: English
Nationality: American
Occupation: University Student
Primary Language: English
Residence: Hayward, California

Text:

“Once upon a time, there was a ghost named Blue who would steal people’s shoes. Every time he did, he left a trail of glue behind. The police followed these sticky clues from house to house and apartment to apartment until, after three weeks of shoe thefts, they finally found Blue. When they caught him, he was released back into the spirit world. And that was the end of Blue.”

Context:

The informant recalled that her mother used to tell her this tale before bed. It served as a form of childhood entertainment and likely helped ease the transition into sleep with its mysterious yet harmless narrative. She believes her mother created the story herself, indicating a form of generational oral creativity.

Analysis:

“Blue the Glue Ghost” functions as a bedtime folktale with mild suspense and whimsical absurdity. It demonstrates the creativity of parental storytelling and the way minor mischief (stealing shoes) is framed through a playful ghost figure. The use of rhyme and alliteration (Blue/glue/clue) adds charm and memorability, making it ideal for oral transmission. Though it lacks the typical “moral” of traditional tales, it emphasizes curiosity and resolution, which keeps children engaged.

Yeoubi

Age: 20


Date of performance: 2/12/25


Nationality: Korean


Occupation: Student


Primary Language: Korean & English


Residence: United States

Metaphor:

Yeoubi

This word is a Korean folklore metaphor for “Sun Shower” or “Foxes Rain.” Sun shower refers to when it rains and the sun is out while Foxes Rain refers to the folktale surrounding the phrase.

Context:

The interviewee states that this originates from a folktale about a fox’s unrequited love. This story is about a cloud that fell in love with a fox during the fox’s marriage. As a whole the word “Yeoubi” refers to a story about bittersweet love. She originally heard this story from her mom as a child.

Analysis:

My interpretation of the story and its origin follows through with its bittersweet nature. I found it endearing to piece together how the rain is meant to reflect the cloud’s tears as it comes to terms with being unable to stand alongside the fox whom he fell in love with, watching them make a big lifetime commitment to one another. The meaning of Sun Shower helps to exemplify this matter, as it is such a wonderful day for the fox as it gets married, but behind the scenes, it’s a sad day for the cloud, where it watches the love of its life marry someone else.

Japanese ghost tradition

Age: 20
Language: english

My roommate told me of the legend of a ghost named Hanako San. There are a lot of different versions of her, but the one he remembers is of a girl who killed herself in a school bathroom because of bullying, who haunts every school bathroom in Tokyo. Many elementary school children will go into a school bathroom on the third floor, turn off the lights, and knock on the third stall door three times. This is supposed to summon Hanako San. If you hear her respond to the knock, it’s in your best interest to leave. He likened this to the tradition of Bloody Mary in the states. He learned this from other classmates. This ghost could’ve been based on a real girl, or it could have been used to try to prevent kids from bullying others. It’s also a bit of a game, similar to bloody mary. This practice adds some entertainment to a normally dull day in grade school.

Japanese Kappa

Age: 20
Language: English

My roommate told of the Kappa, who are turtle monsters that live in japan. According to some, these monsters only live by rivers. His mom would tell him that if he played outside after dark, the Kappa would come to get him. His parents and grandparents would tell him this to keep him from wandering out of the house at night. He says that is a tradition for parents to tell kids this, and that Kappa are so widely believed in by children that there are Kappa statues next to some of the rivers. The tradition of telling this story probably came from concerned parents, and used the kappa as a way to scare their kids into not doing certain things, like playing in the river or going outside at night. The actual turtle monster aspect probably came from the numerous species of turtles that are native to Japan.