Category Archives: Tales /märchen

Stories which are not regarded as possibly true.

The University Of Vermont Hallway Ghost

Age: 19

The story takes place at the University of Vermont, in an old dorm, on an October night at exactly 3 a.m. LL got up to use the communal bathroom. When she stepped into the hallway, she immediately noticed a mysterious girl standing just past the bathroom. The girl had long blond hair hanging in front of her face, was facing away from LL, and was wrapped in a towel as if she had just stepped out of the shower. LL thought it was an odd time for anyone to be showering, and the sight gave her an immediate gut feeling that something was off. It was “creepy,” she said.

After finishing in the bathroom, LL stepped back into the hallway, and the same girl was still there, standing in the exact same spot, still facing away from her. The girl hadn’t moved at all. Feeling increasingly unsettled, LL began walking quickly back toward her room. Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her, growing faster as if the girl were following her. LL sped up, practically running, until she reached her door. She said she was relieved her roommate was inside so she didn’t have to return to an empty room.

LL emphasized that she had “never seen her before” that night and never saw her anywhere on campus afterward. When asked what the figure might have been if not a ghost, she said, “Maybe she was hooking up and then she went to take a shower… or really drunk and trying to scare me.” She also mentioned that she never saw the girl’s face…only the long blond hair and the towel.

When asked about the dorm’s history, LL explained that she lived in the worst dorm on campus and that the university itself was pretty old, so she’s “sure somebody has died in it before.” The combination of the hour, the setting, and the strange stillness of the girl left LL genuinely shaken by the experience.

I agree with LL. On a college campus…where people are experimenting with drugs and alcohol, keeping unusual hours, and living with strangers for the first time…it’s plausible that this was just a bizarre coincidence. The girl may have been standing there in a daze, unaware that her presence could be interpreted as unsettling.

There’s also the liminality of college dorms to consider. They’re your home, but not quite. They’re spaces layered with the histories of countless past students, full of stories you’ll never know. New experiences happen constantly, often before you have the framework to understand them. In an environment like that, the mind is primed to fill in the unexplained with occult or supernatural interpretations, especially when something feels off.

The timing only heightens this effect. It was October, when people are already steeped in horror imagery and Halloween atmosphere. It was 3 a.m., a disorienting hour when you’re groggy, alone, and hyper-aware of everything. In that context, encountering a silent, unfamiliar girl in a towel becomes more frightening than it might be in daylight. LL’s reaction makes sense: the setting, the hour, and the ambiguity of the moment all worked together to make an ordinary situation feel paranormal.

The Night Stalker

Age: 19

Interviewer: Okay, so you said something happened on campus?

ML: Yeah, um… okay, so this was like my second week here, right? I didn’t really know the campus that well yet.

I was coming back from studying kinda late, like, maybe 1:30 a.m., and I cut through this area near one of the older buildings… I don’t even remember which one.

And, uh, I saw someone sitting on a bench. Just like… completely still.

It was this guy, I think? Or… okay, I’m not even sure, actually. They were wearing, like, a hoodie, head down.

At first I didn’t think anything of it, ‘cause, like, yeah, college campus, people are out late.

But then… I walked past them, and I got this really weird feeling.

Like…

You know when it’s quiet, but it feels wrong quiet?

Interviewer: Yeah…

ML: Yeah, like that.

So I keep walking, and then I hear-

“Hey.”

But it was, like… really close. Like right behind me.

Interviewer: Did you turn around?

ML: Yeah, I did.

And they were still on the bench. Same position. Didn’t move.

And I was like, okay, maybe I imagined it, right?

So I start walking faster, and then I hear it again, but this time-

“Why did you come?”

So I turn around again… and now they’re standing.

But I didn’t hear them get up.

Yeah, and their face was still like… shadowed. I couldn’t see it.

And then they took a step toward me, just one step, and I just… I ran.

Like I didn’t even think, I just ran straight back to my dorm.

Interviewer: Did you ever see them again?

ML: No… and I don’t go that way anymore.

Like, I’ll literally take the longer route, I don’t care.

And, um… I asked my mom about it later, and she was like, “Don’t answer when something calls you at night.”

So yeah… I just… I don’t mess with that anymore.

Context:

This story was told to me at around 11am after a get-together with a friend at a restaurant near the USC campus. On the way back, I asked him if they knew of any ghost stories, and they recalled a creepy experience they had early at the start of his freshman year. The interview was roughly transcribed from a video recording of the interview.

The Informant’s Thoughts:

They were skeptical as to whether it was really a ghost. They admit that at the time they were very much convinced that the supposed ghost in question was in fact some sort of malevolent spirit. However, they also talked about how, looking back, there was in fact some suspicious individual who talked to them, but now they believe that many of the paranormal effects they observed may have been due to the nerves evoked by starting their transition into college and the naturally scary circumstances they were in.

My Thoughts:

I am inclined to believe the informant’s analysis of the situation. Being skeptical of ghosts myself, I am more willing to belief that any mystical effects were simply side effects of stress and superstition. However, I did find it fascinating how the environment can have such a massive impact on belief. I know the informant to be similar in disposition to myself, in that they are not particularly superstitious or spiritually inclined and that they display substantial suspicion of any accounts detailing mysterious encounters and phenomenon. However, the combination of several influences, such as the time of night, the lack of other people nearby, the somewhat spooky architecture, and most pressingly the presence of a suspicious unknown individual all cause the plausibility of a ghostly encounter to skyrocket.

The Woman in the Cold

Age: 52

Interviewer: Dad, did anything strange ever happen when you were growing up?

ES: Yeah, there was one thing. I don’t talk about it much.

It happened when I was maybe… thirteen? Around that age.

Interviewer: What happened?

ES: Back then, we didn’t have much. Our house was small, and at night it got very dark. No streetlights, nothing like that.

I used to help my parents with chores, and sometimes that meant walking out to the storage shed behind the house, even late at night.

Interviewer: Alone?

ES: Yeah, usually alone. It wasn’t a big deal… until that night.

I remember I went out to get something, maybe tools, I don’t remember exactly, and on my way back, I saw someone standing near the edge of our yard.

Interviewer: Did they look like someone you knew? Like, do you think it could’ve been someone from around?

ES: No. That’s the thing.

At first I thought it was a neighbor, but… it didn’t feel right. They were just standing there, completely still.

It was hard to see clearly, but I remember their clothes looked old. Not like what people wore at that time, more like traditional clothing.

And they were facing toward the house… not toward me.

Then, I hadn’t made any noise, but slowly… they turned their head. Not their body, just their head.

And when they looked at me, I realized… I couldn’t see their face clearly.

It was like the darkness was covering it, even though the moon was out.

Interviewer: Did they do anything, maybe say something?

ES: No, not at first.

I just stood there, holding what I had, not moving. Then they took one step toward me.

Just one.

And then I heard it, very faint

“춥다…” (Translated from Korean: “It’s cold…”)

It didn’t sound like they were talking to me exactly. More like… saying it to themselves.

But I felt it. The cold.

Not like normal cold weather. This was a sudden change. Like it went straight through my clothes.

Interviewer: What did you do?

ES: I remembered something my mother used to say. Don’t respond to voices at night.

So I didn’t say anything. I just slowly stepped back… and then I turned and ran inside.

I told my mother the next day. She didn’t look surprised.

She just said, “You didn’t answer, right?”

And when I said no, she nodded and told me not to go outside at night unless I had to.

Interviewer: Did you ever see it again? Or see anything similar?

ES: No.

But sometimes, late at night, I would look out toward that part of the yard… and feel like someone was still standing there.

Context

This story was told to me during one of my visits home after a family dinner. I received it from my father, who used to live in rural Korea before moving to the US for education and work. He stated that the region was naturally superstitious and strongly spiritual, and many other ghost stories populated the area. He mentioned that two large Buddhist temples were there as well. Due to some imperfect English, the transcript was slightly edited to improve flow.

The Informant’s Thoughts:

The informant was disinclined to call the entity he encountered a ghost, and instead preferred to call it a spirit conjured by the struggles of his community. He talked about how encounters with spirits and other supernatural phenomena are more likely to occur when peoples’ futures are uncertain, and that this is especially true in places where life was harder. He discussed how life in rural Korea was very difficult due to poverty and lack of support. He recalled how his village would regularly be flooded during monsoon season, flooding houses, and that farming in the Korean climate was a physically arduous process.

My Thoughts:

I am skeptical of the supernatural by default, making me also not wholly believe the story. I though the happenings could be attributed to local folklore, an active imagination from his young age at the time, or dramatization of a memory over time. However, the idea that spirits appear before us during times of hardship resonated deeply with me. The stress we feel during times of uncertainty makes us more prone to believing in ghosts and superstitions which could bring some stability or consolation. I interpreted the ghost as not a malevolent spirit, but instead a kindred spirit, a companion who shares the suffering of the people in the informant’s community.

Speaking with the Dead

Age: 52

Context

This story was told to me over call while I was catching up with my family. I received it from my father, who used to live in rural Korea before moving to the US for education and work. He stated that the region was naturally superstitious and strongly spiritual, and many other ghost stories populated the area. Because it was conducted over call and not a formal interview, the story is written here more as a stream-of-thought.

The Story

When I was young, your grandfather passed away from a motorcycle accident. I was only just entering high school when it happened. In the time after, all of the members of my family had mysterious encounters, like voices and strange dreams with your grandfather. I think it was because he had an improper death because he died so young. Eventually, when I left to study abroad in Australia, your grandmother and my siblings in Korea visited some sort of mystic, I think he was a shaman. Buddhism was very strong in my village. He set up a pig’s head on a spike, and then shoved belongings of your grandfather up its nostrils. Then, he began shaking, and when he stopped, his entire demeanor had changed. He was talking differently, moving differently; I think he was channeling the ghost of my father. He said that he was cold, so cold. He asked for his coat to fight the cold and his notebook that he carried around with him everywhere in life. We threw them into the fire, and the spirit left the shaman. After that, we never had any of those strange dreams or encounters again.

The Informant’s Thoughts

My father believed that the shaman was being possessed by the ghost of his father. The fact that because the shaman’s demeanor shifted so much and that he requested very specific things from his life, there was definitely a link between the shaman and the world of the dead. He did mention that he was not there for the ritual himself, but heard of it through his relatives and vicariously experienced it.

My Thoughts

I found this to be a fascinating example of spirit possession and using mediums to speak to the dead. It reflects other Korean traditions where the spirits of great generals are invoked by shamans through ritual. In both, the shaman exhibits the personality of the person they are possessed by, seemingly transforming into another person entirely. The use of items connected to the person to connect with them also reminded me of voodoo magic, where related items can connect two disparate things. The idea of improper death also appeared, which made sense to me personally, as I remembered hearing about his passing at the time and feeling that it was all too abrupt and not a true ending.

How the Chipmunk Got Its Stripes

Text: A chipmunk and a bear once had an argument. The bear was bragging that he was the strongest animal in the forest, and that he was so powerful he could stop the sun from rising. The chipmunk didn’t believe him. The bear stayed up all night telling the sun not to rise, but the sun came up anyway, as it always does. The chipmunk laughed and mocked the bear. The bear got angry and chased the chipmunk. The chipmunk dove into a hole at the base of a tree, but the bear caught its back with his claws just as it disappeared, leaving five long scratches. That is why all chipmunks have stripes today. 

Context: EL is a 22-year-old USC student originally from Maryland. She could not identify the specific source she had heard the tale from, only that it was encountered somewhere in childhood, as it took some effort to recall the entire story. 

Analysis: This is a classic tale whose function is to explain a natural phenomenon, in this case the chipmunk’s striping. The bear-and-chipmunk version is the most broadly disseminated version in American children’s literature. The tale’s structure is highly stable: large boastful animal versus small clever animal, the boast humiliated, the chase, the claw-marked stripes. The folkloric interest is in how a tale rooted in Indigenous oral tradition has been absorbed into a generic American children’s literature canon, where it now circulates among non-Indigenous children largely without sense of its origin.