Category Archives: Tales /märchen

Stories which are not regarded as possibly true.

The Blue Light

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Nationality: American
Age: 80
Occupation: Retired, Former Museum Curator
Residence: Kelseyville, California
Performance Date: April 26, 2021
Primary Language: English

Background:

My informant for this piece grew up in rural, northern Wisconsin. I know from personal experience that living in an isolated area such as this one can cause serious boredom, especially during adolescence. Because of this, people who grow up away from the city often make their own fun, creating games and exploring the landscape. Occasionally, in the dark of night, strange things tend to occur.

Context:

As a teenager, looking for “the Blue Light” was both an exciting pastime and rite of passage in my informant’s hometown; everyone knew about it. On late nights, those individuals who thought themselves daring enough would go out in an attempt to experience the lore themselves. Luckily–although I may never get to experience it myself–I was able to live this tradition vicariously while he told me about it during an over-the-phone interview for the USC folklore archives.

Main Piece:

“When we were in high school… It was called the blue light. And there was a bridge on a country road, and you would go park on the bridge at night and people would go there all the time. And if you look out off the bridge sometimes people would see a blue light moving through the woods, and I saw it once, and my friends did too. The rumor was that there was an old farmer who hung himself off the bridge and his ghost haunted those woods.”

Analysis:

A few years ago, I remember hearing about some kind of phenomenon similar to the Blue Light that was supposedly proven false. Instead, these strange colors that people were seeing in the woods at night were reasoned to be the release of natural gas from a swamp, which would have a luminescent glow for a few seconds before dissipating. While this seems a more likely explanation, it hasn’t stopped the legend hunters who, apparently, continue to go out in search of the Blue Light even to this day. Though I would like to believe in the story and to pursue the Blue Light for myself, this continued interest in the phenomenon as the embodiment of a ghost is probably due to the human tendency of belief perseverance. In other words, teens in that region may have been given the information to know that the Blue light is probably just swamp gas, but they continue to believe in the story because it’s what they’ve always known.

For a Similar Narrative, See:

Carlisle, John. “Mysterious Light Draws Thrill Seekers to a U.P. Forest.” Detroit Free Press, 9 July 2018, eu.freep.com/story/news/columnists/john-carlisle/2016/09/04/mysterious-paulding-light-upper-peninsula-michigan/89275134.

The Fjøsnisse

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Nationality: American
Age: 52
Occupation: General Contractor
Residence: Cloverdale, California
Performance Date: May 3, 2021
Primary Language: English
Language: Norwegian

Background:

My informant for this piece is an American of Scandinavian descent. He lived in Norway for a time during high school and learned the language while he was there. He also still keeps in contact with his host family from his time living there, and his son recently spent a year abroad there as well. His family participates in this tradition every year and has neighbors do it for them when they leave town for the holidays.

Context:

The legends and myths of trolls are very strong in Norway. They’re supposed to be tiny little tricksters, like gremlins. They live in barns–specifically red barns–so you’ll see a lot of red barns in Norway and Sweden because they bring good luck.

Main Piece:

“On Christmas Eve you’re supposed to leave out what’s called ‘rømme grøt’ which is a porridge made with butter, cinnamon, and sometimes brown sugar. So on Christmas Eve the Fjøsnisse is supposed to come and eat it. If he eats it that means he’s happy with the rømme grøt you brought him, and he’ll bring you good luck–protect your livestock and barn for the year. But if he isn’t satisfied, he’ll cause mischief in your life for the whole next year!”

Analysis:

While this tradition is based around a belief in trolls, it also follows the principles of homeopathic magic. In leaving a bowl of porridge out for the Fjøsnisse, one is using the foods their farm produces in order to protect the sanctity of the farm itself. By using a part to protect the whole, believers in the Fjøsnisse practice homeopathic magic.

Indian Tale – The Greedy Monkeys

Nationality: Indian
Age: 28
Occupation: Corporate Healthcare Lawyer
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: April 20, 2021
Primary Language: Gujarathi
Language: English

Main Piece

Informant: “There’s a story of two greedy monkeys who find a piece of roti, basically an Indian tortilla, in the forest and they are fighting over who is going to break it in half because they each think the other will give himself the bigger piece. A snake comes by and hears them fighting and devises a plan. He offers to break it for them. He does and offers them the two halves, but each monkey thinks one piece is bigger, because the snake made one purposely bigger, so the snake takes a bite out of the bigger one, now making the other half bigger and offers it back up to them. Same situation keeps happening until the roti is finished and the snake just slithers away and the monkeys are left with nothing. Basically it’s a story about how if you’re greedy you’ll end up with nothing.”

Background

My informant is a practicing lawyer in Los Angeles, California. She is of Indian descent, and her knowledge of Indian folklore comes from her father. 

Context

Informant: “I can’t remember how old I was when I heard this but I was a kid. Usually stories like this are told to kids to teach them a lesson and teach them not to be greedy.”

My Thoughts

I had not heard of this story before, but I did know that greed is a widely recognized sin in Indian cultures. According to Hindupedia (cited below), greed causes fights amongst family members, a loss of wealth, and a loss of close friends. In Indian cultures, greed is also the driving force behind most crimes, whether it is theft or cheating. In an Indian story titled “How a Greedy Miser became a great Saint,” a young man refuses to spend money on finding cures for his father’s sickness, which results in his father’s death. By the end of the story, the young man acknowledges his greed and becomes charitable.

It is interesting to note that the two characters that suffered in the hands of the snake are monkeys. Monkeys are a very important part of Indian culture. Monkeys are said to be the living avatars of the god of power, Hanuman, who was half-man and half-monkey. The snake is vilified as he is deceiving a respected deity. 

Source:

Hindupedia. “Ideals and Values/Lobha (Greed) The Third Inner Enemy.” Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia, www.hindupedia.com/en/Ideals_and_Values/Lobha_(Greed)_The_Third_Inner_Enemy#We_do_wrong_things. Accessed 24 Apr. 2021.

The Woodland Spirit

Nationality: American
Age: 82
Occupation: Retired Writer
Residence: Philippines
Performance Date: 3/4/21
Primary Language: English

Story

Short Version: The informant encountered a malevolent woodland spirit. 

Long version: A few years ago, the informant was out wandering in woodlands a little outside of his property. He was wandering around trying to find a place to relieve himself. He found a clearing that seemed private enough and he did his business. As he was leaving the area, he suddenly felt an energy pick him up and drop him on his shoulder. He’s felt shoulder pain ever since. 

Informant’s View

“I’m certain that it was a woodland spirit. You know, I trespassed onto its property, I disrespected it by going pee, and it punished me. Or maybe not punished– it asserted its power over the land. I make sure I don’t go there anymore.”

Thoughts

This story reminds me of traditional warning tales: someone did something wrong, they were punished, and now they never do that thing again. It is even more interesting than a traditional warning tale, however, in that it weaves in elements of magic, too. There was no human force that hurt the informant, but rather a shapeless magical presence, similar to a ghost. Thus, the informant speaks not only of a warning tale, but also of magic folklore.

Tír Nan Óg – Tale

Nationality: Irish
Age: 59
Occupation: Court Investigator
Residence: San Jose
Performance Date: May 2, 2021
Primary Language: English

Transcript – Informant speaking
Mother: “In Ireland, there are a lot of folklore stories and there are always stories about Tír Nan Óg, the land, which basically in Irish means the land of the young, em, and the idea was that this guy, who was the son of Finn MaCool, em, fell in love with this lady from Tír Na nÓg, and was brought away to this land of eternal youth. And lived there happily for hundreds of years, em, and then kind of wanted to go back to Ireland, eh, and was sent back on a horse back to Ireland, but was told if he ever dismounted that he wouldn’t be able to come back to Tír Nan Óg again. Em, and he went back and everybody he knew had died, and he had an accident and fell off the horse and basically that was him back in Ireland. So… that was kind of one of the stories from Irish folklore.”

Background
This story came up in a call between me and my parents about irish folklore. Both of them are originally from Northern Ireland, hence their relation to the stories. I’m not entirely sure where specifically my mom learned about this one from.

Context
Again, as stated in previous pieces, it should be noted that the person speaking has a very thick Northern Irish Accent. Also, the pronunciation for Tír Nan Óg phonetically reads something like ‘Tier nan Oak.’

Thoughts
I thought this was interesting as it was very tragic. There’s a big element of loss within the story. The protagonist has everything in the beginning, but not only does he get separated from his lover, but he gets placed back in a world he doesn’t understand with all his friends gone. Irish history (especially modern history) is very violent in spite of the islands beauty, so I think the tragic relationships in their folklore is interesting.