Category Archives: Tales /märchen

Stories which are not regarded as possibly true.

The Maria Alvarez (A Ghost Story)

Nationality: American
Age: 23
Occupation: Student
Residence: Chula Vista, San Diego.
Performance Date: 4/22/18
Primary Language: English
Language: N/A

Ethan Newmayer, a free-lance photographer working for Louis Vuitton, who hails from, Chula Vista, San Diego, three pieces of folklore for this collection.

The interview was run, in his bedroom, The interview was run, within his studio, at Orchard Avenue, on the outskirts of the University of Southern California.

Folk Performance: The Maria Alvarez (A Ghost Story).

Folk Type: Legend.

“Do you have any scary stories? Heard of any, even in passing?” – Stanley Kalu

STORY: Maria Alverez’s Ghost Story, um, she got to her apartment the other day and I think her roommate was out of town and when she walked in her record player started playing. It was Ed Sheeran record? Just automatically by itself. Which is just kind of freaky. Especially cause Ed Sheeran.

Background Information: There is a long-standing tradition of ghosts being able to manipulate the physical world without being seen. As such, the concept of objects being moved, without human contact, immediately conjures the image of otherworldly spirits.

Ethan performed this in his bedroom as a retelling of his girlfriend’s experience.

Context of Performance: Ethan remembered this piece of folklore because he is dating the person that experienced the ghost. It is important to him because it is important to the person he cares about.

Thoughts: The Ed Sheeran comment is all I really think about when I interact with this piece of folklore. Never before have I heard of a ghost simply having poor taste.

 

 

Der Funka (Der Funken)

Nationality: German
Age: 21
Performance Date: 04/23/18

Its like a way of bringing in the new year. I know Lichtenstein, Switzerland celebrate it. I’m not sure about Austria or Germany but for sure we do. Basically around New Years, after Christmas time, you put your dead Christmas trees on the curb and the boy scouts will come pick them up… Every town has there own one. And the boy scouts take the trees and build enormous towers out of them… They are sometimes as tall as a five story or four story building. It depends on how many they get. They stack em all up and as a tradition of the new year, the burn it. At the very top is a witch figure. It’s like a puppet or a doll and they stuff it with fireworks. When the fire reaches the top, the witch figure explodes because of the fireworks. It’s a big deal the whole town comes out. You can get this food called Funkaküachli, which is basically funka cakes and you can get bratwurst and sausages and rolls and hot chocolate and different teas. It’s cold out in a big open field. If the tower falls down, that means you’re gonna have a long winter but if it stays standing, spring is near by. It’s like a closing ceremony for winter where you bring in the new year starting with spring.

 

My Thoughts:

This is basically a foreign version of Groundhog Day. It’s literally celebrated for the same purpose, just with different determining factors. It’s interesting how much pomp and circumstance goes into this where as in America, there isn’t really a ton of hype around Groundhog Day unless it’s in Pennsylvania with Punxsutawney Phil.

The Girl Who Cried Wolf

Nationality: German
Age: 57
Performance Date: 04/22/18

When I was younger, my parents wanted to teach me a lesson about lying. The used to tell me the story of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” except as a girl they used to tell it to me as “The Girl Who Cried Wolf.” It was actually the same story… but with a girl instead of a boy. It really did help though, I don’t lie often haha. I suppose I’m glad they told me the story.

  1. Can you tell me the story the way you’re parents told you?

Ok sure.   There once was a little girl who lived by herself on a farm. Her neighbors were very friendly and would always help her when she needed it. If she needed a cup of flour they would give her a whole bag, if she needed some firewood they would chop down a tree and give her all the wood from it. One day, she was, outside tending to her farm animals when she heard a rustle in the leaves. “OH NO” she cried “WOLF WOLF WOLF.” They neighbors came running to help but when they got there, nothing was there. “Sorry” she said. “I thought there was a wolf.” The neighbors, being the nice people they were let it go and went back home. The next day the girl was out tending her crops, when she heard the barn door creak. “WOLF WOLF WOLF” she cried again. As could be expected the neighbors came running over to help the girl. “Sorry” she said, “I thought there was a wolf.” The neighbors were a little upset but the left and went home anyways. The following day, the little girl was outside gathering grain for bread, and she heard splashing in the stream. “WOLF WOLF WOLF” she cried yet again. The neighbors came running fearing that their neighbor and friend was in danger. When they got there… nothing. “Sorry,” she said, “I really thought there was a wolf.” The neighbors got fed up with this and vowed to come to her rescue ever again. On the fourth day, the girl was outside hanging up her laundry when she saw an actual wolf approaching her. “WOLF WOLF WOLF” she cried out. But no one came to rescue her… “WOLF WOLF WOLF” She yelled again. But still, nothing. The wolf came closer and ate the girl alive. And all along the neighbors never came to help her because they had been tricked too many times.

My Thoughts:

My parents told me the same story all the time (The Boy Who Cried Wolf). I think it’s an interesting way to teach the lesson about lying although to be honest, she might have been an overly cautions easily scared girl… or boy, I suppose. It’s interesting how violence can scare young children into doing the right thing.

The Beggar vs. The Rich Man

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 21
Performance Date: 04/18/18
  1. Did your parents ever tell you any stories that taught you important lessons?

They weren’t really big storytellers but there was one from the bible. It’s the story about the poor man in the streets who gave a coin as a donation and a rich man who gave the same. The poor man had much less to give than the rich man and when he gave that coin, he gave so much more of what he had. When the rich man gave a coin, he gave only a small amount of his wealth.

  1. What lesson did this teach you?

Quantity is not necessarily what’s important, but gauging what you have to give is.   If you’re having a bad day, and you give someone a smile it means so much more than on any other day. This story originates from the bible and to be honest I don’t really know how or where. All I know is when I was younger my parents would always say remember the beggar with the coin. I don’t know what entirely they meant by that especially when I was little. But know I remember always the beggar with a coin… I think it might’ve been a lady.

My Thoughts:

I’m always interested in hearing a good moral story. I’ve also heard that in the bible, there are many comparisons to rich men and poor men. There’s something in the bible where they teach about how much money one should give to the church. It’s interesting how it’s very similar to a tax as opposed to a donation

Proctor Valley (A Ghost Story).

Nationality: American.
Age: 23
Occupation: Photographer.
Residence: Chula Vista, San Diego.
Performance Date: 4/22/18
Primary Language: English
Language: N/A

Ethan Newmayer, a free-lance photographer working for Louis Vuitton, who hails from, Chula Vista, San Diego, three pieces of folklore for this collection.

The interview was run, in his bedroom, The interview was run, within his studio, at Orchard Avenue, on the outskirts of the University of Southern California

Folk Performance: Proctor Valley (A Ghost Story).

Folk Type: Legend.

“So Ethan, tell me about this Ghost” – Stanley Kalu

STORY: It’s not a Ghost. It’s a haunted road called Proctor Valley. Proctor Valley road in Chula Vista. You’re not supposed to drive down that road at night because cars disappear and people disappear. It’s this like dirt road, it’s a great shortcut from one side of town to another but no one goes that way because there is no infrastructure. Like no light, so if your headlights go out you’re essentially driving in the dark. I guess, not really that haunted more like sketchy but there are legends around it.

Background information: Proctor Valley was originally a farm-scape with a livestock mutilation problem. The mutilation incidents led the inhabitants of the area to believe that a monster roamed the area. An 18-inch cast of its footprints, currently preserved at the Bonita Museum in Chula Vista, confirmed its existence.

The haunted area took on new life, however, in the 1960’s in line with the normalization of automobiles. Teens would go to Proctor Valley to have premarital coitus and, eventually, became known as a place where teenagers would disappear.

Ethan learned about this story from living in Chula Vista and having both his parents and friends warn him about the haunted area. It is an important to him because it is apart of his local identity.

Context of Performance: This is a local legend, but the context of performance comes in the form of a warning, particularly when someone wants to take said shortcut from one side of town to another.

Thoughts: My interest in this piece of folklore lies in its historical multiplicity and the real life impact of folklore. It appears, at least to me, that the area maintains it’s haunted status despite a multitude of changes within the community simply because it’s haunted status has been established. This, I posit, has led to the under development of the area which explains Ethan’s “sketchy” comment.