Category Archives: Childhood

Knock on Wood

Background:

The informant is a 27-year-old that grew up in Madison Wisconsin and currently lives in Southern California. He has followed this superstition for as long as he can remember and believes he learned it from his older brother when he was young. He takes it very seriously and anytime he catches himself boasting about something prematurely, he will make sure to knock on wood.

Main Piece:

The Superstition involves a person knocking on wood in order to prevent something that had recently been said from not coming true. The practice is typically seen when someone says something boastful or implies that something good will happen to them with certainty. They will then knock on a piece of hardwood nearby as a way to ward off any jinxing that may have occurred by them stating this out loud.

Interpretation:

This folk belief is one of superstition. While superstition tends to have a negative connotation and be viewed as a pejorative term among many people, I think superstitions are usually a positive thing that people partake in. This ‘knock-on wood’ superstition that the informant discussed with me is particularly positive. The practice of doing something to sort of acknowledge an overzealous statement that one has made is a good thing for people to partake in. While it may or may not have any impact on the outcome of a certain event, it forces people to address hubris and maintain a humbler balance of how they speak about things. The literal ‘knock-on wood’ superstition reminds me of another common trope that I have heard many times throughout my life that goes “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch”. This tope relates to overzealous farmers that assumed that were going to have as many chickens as they had eggs.

For another version, see Evan Andrews, Aug 22. 2018, Why do people knock on wood for luck?

Don’t Mis Step

Main Piece:

Informant: “Whenever I was walking as a kid I would always say ‘Don’t step on a crack, or you’ll break your mother’s back’. I remember I would always look down at my feet whenever I would walk around because I was so paranoid that I would accidentally step on a crack and didn’t want my mom to get hurt… *laughs* It was something that I learned from my older sister and her friends, and I would always do it with my friends at school. Whenever we would walk on an old sidewalk with tons of cracks and even normal ones, we would be walking in very abnormal strides to avoid stepping on them.”

Collector: “Did you really think it would break your mom’s back if you stepped on a crack?”

Informant: “Honestly not really… I figured it out after my first time stepping on a crack on accident. I remember being in such a bad mood all day at school because I thought my mom was hurt and it was all my fault *laughing* But after the initial experience we all kind of knew that our mothers wouldn’t be hurt if we stepped on one, but it was fun to play along with… Also, it was kind of fun when someone else did step on one, cause we would all make a big deal about it and tease each other if one of us misstepped.”

Background:

The informant is a 28-year-old who was raised in the Midwest and has very distinct memories of the game. He stated that he sometimes still finds himself avoiding cracks on the ground to this day even though he is in his late twenties. He claims that this habit and belief are so ingrained in him from his childhood that he still just tries to avoid them.

Interpretation:

The games children play are interesting. I feel as though many of these games may have a deeper meaning and may stem from some sort of natural survival instinct or practice. The game of not stepping on a crack or else their mother will get hurt makes me think of watching where you step in general. In older civilizations and societies there were many more dangers to youth than there are today. For example, kids could be waking near dangerous areas where venomous snakes or animals might be lying nearby to strike them, so it was much more important to teach children to be cautious of where they were stepping. I feel like this tradition of do not step on a crack or it will break your mother’s back may have evolved terminus post quem from an older version where the lesson was the same, watch where you are walking.

Eat Your Crusts

Main Piece:

Collector: “So tell me about this food-related hair on your chest belief?”

Informant: “So my grandfather would always tell me stories about certain foods and why I should eat them. One, in particular, was the crusts on my bread. I never particularly cared for them, but he insisted that I eat all of them so that I could grow up big and strong. My grandpa would always tell ‘Eat your crusts, it will put hair on your chest!’. When I got a little older, I asked him about this and he told me that he had learned this from his grandfather when he was little, or my great-great-grandfather. He believed that eating bread crusts was a way to grow strong and manly, so he insisted that I eat all of them every time I was at my grandparents’ house.”

Background:

The informant learned this tradition from his grandfather and is something he grew up believing until he was in his twenties. His grandparents were born in France and immigrated to Montreal Canada when they were kids. They later moved to the United States in Vermont near the Canadian border. The informant explained that this was a widely held belief among all of his extended family on his mother’s side of his family and the main memory of tradition among his grandparents.

Interpretation:

This one is unique. In the present day, it does not make much sense for someone to think that eating crusts of bread would make someone grow hair on their chest. However, I feel like this may have roots in an older time of society. As a passive bearer of this lore, it makes me think about a time when masculinity was at the forefront of our society, and therefore being more masculine was something that everyone sought. So, from a behavioral perspective, it makes sense that lore from long ago would be used to influence a child to do certain things so that they could achieve the ‘positive’ outcome of being more masculine. As it relates to the bread crusts in this folklore, I feel like maybe it has roots in a time when food was scarcer and it was a way for families to not waste food by ensuring that their children ate all of their meals.

La Llorona

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Main Text

CE: “Essentialy El Paso kinda runs along this main river that borders Mexico and the United States, El Rio Grande. So there’s this really famous, um, old tale, kinda like a legend that exists, it’s called La Llorona. Um, it’s basically about…”

Interviewer: “And will you translate La Llorona please?”

CE: “Yes. La Llorona is like ‘the crier’ it’s a woman who just sobs and cries and, um. The story was an old woman who lives by the river and she, um, used to have a really nice farm and this beautiful garden and then a really tragic accident in the Rio Grande, she lost her son. He got washed up because he was playing to close to the water when it was high tide and so he ended up passing away and dying and so now every night if you go by the river, late at night, and the water is high you’ll hear her sobbing and crying for her son to return her. So, it’s all in Spanish, so she goes like *breathes* ‘Ay mi hijo’ just like really sad kind of like wallowing and depression, it’s a very sad story. Essentially just to encourage kids not to play by the water late at night or else they’ll get taken up by this, like, scary woman who’s, again, called La Llorona.”

Background

CE is a 21 year old Mexican/Colombian American from El Paso, Tx and is a third year student at USC studying urban planning. She first heard the story from her grandmother and mother growing up in El Paso, and said the tale was especially prevalent in her household because her home was so close to the Texas/Mexico border. It was used as an incentive not to travel too close to the border, which since her childhood has been a more dangerous region of her town.

Context

This story was told in CE’s household, and in other’s she says usually by a maternal figure to younger more impressionable children in order to keep them from straying too far away from the house and towards the river, and coinciding national border. The story only works as a deterrent if the children believe in and are afraid of La Llorona.

Interviewer Analysis

La Llorona follows a larger folkloric trend of children’s stories designed to protect them by preying on their fear of the unknown, or upon instilling that fear. By using a story like La Llorona or Hansel and Gretel, parents are able to use a terrifying fictional character to protect their children from perhaps less terrifying real-world threats such as wild animals or losing their way. Children are naturally curious and may not understand the dangers of the world, but will certainly be scared of a vicious monster that steals children and lives in the river. This story is told with good intentions by Latina parents and grandparents alike and is effective at achieving its goal, but this interviewer wonders if building a world view on fear of the unknown has detrimental consequences in the long run.

The Five Inch Fingernail Lady

Informant Information – GD

  • Nationality: American
  • Age: 57
  • Occupation: Teacher
  • Residence: San Pedro, California
  • Date of Performance/Collection: March 20, 2022
  • Primary Language: English

The informant first heard this story at a sleepover with several friends as a child in the late 1960s. She shared this information with me in an in-person interview.

Informant: 

The Five Inch Fingernail Lady could supposedly be heard scratching at windows. We would tell this story at sleepovers, and we had a scary ending that we told each other and a funny ending that we told to younger siblings. The story goes: 

One night, when a teenage girl was home all alone, she thought she heard a sound at her bedroom window. At first, she ignored it, but as she walked to the window she realized that someone was scratching at it. She crept up to the window very slowly because she was afraid. Suddenly, she threw back the curtain, but no one was there!

Then, she heard the same sound, but now it was coming from inside the kitchen! She ran to the kitchen to investigate. 

So the funny ending goes: She ran into the kitchen and found a lady with long, long fingernails. Five INCH fingernails! And with those fingers with long, sharp fingernails… She was eating chips that she found in the kitchen! She was just a ghost looking for a snack! 

The scary ending goes: She ran into the kitchen and found a terrifying monster with sharp teeth and long, pointed fingernails that were dripping with blood. She chased down the girl, grabbing her with her long, pointed, claw-like fingernails and ate her with her sharp, pointed teeth… I guess she was looking for a snack in this version, too.

Analysis:

It’s very interesting that this story has two alternative endings that are specifically designated for different age groups. It makes a lot of sense, given that this is a story meant to be told at sleepovers and parties– events that should be fun and enjoyable. I can understand using a sillier version of the story to make sure that telling and listening to the story remains fun, rather than actually upsetting.