Category Archives: Life cycle

The Jersey Devil

Background: the informant is a college student, originally from Central/Southern New Jersey. 

Context: we were goofing around, editing a film, and I asked if anyone had any folklore. The informant put on a dramatic, deepened, storytelling voice. 

“In the Great Pine Barrens of New Jersey, there once lay a woman, from whom borne the spawn of Satan. She lay eight children from her womb. One of them ate the rest. He stayed in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, and became the Jersey Devil.”

Me: Is that why the hockey team is called [The Devils]?

Informant: Yeah. 

Reflection: this sounds a bit like an older, East Coast Puritanical legend. It reflects a culture that punishes women just for existing. I think all people like to think their home is a bit haunted in one way or another. That way, strange happenings can always be attributed to the devil, ghost or whomever it may be that is causing these strange happenings.

Further reading: https://pinelandsalliance.org/learn-about-the-pinelands/pinelands-history-and-culture/the-jersey-devil-and-folklore/

“Last one there is a rotten egg”

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 this game was something he loved doing as a kid and brought back fond memories of his childhood. He claims that this habit and belief is something that helped him out in life. The game itself is just a fun thing he did as a kid, but not allowing himself to be last or late in anything in life is something he takes seriously now as an adult, and he views it as a great life lesson.

Context:

The Folklore was collected through a scheduled zoom meeting with the informant where we discussed his childhood years and different games he would play growing up. He learned this specific tradition from his older brother and whenever he heard it, he would immediately start running to wherever they were going he would end up as the rotten egg.

Main Piece:

The game is one where a group of people are going to a certain location such as getting on a bus, going to play on the playground, etc. The informant recalls that when he would walk with a group of friends as kids, one of them would shout out ‘Last one there is a rotten egg!’ and everyone would race towards their destination. Whoever got their last would then be the “Rotten Egg” and would be teased by the other kids as the “Rotten Egg” until the next round. The informant stated that usually after someone got labeled as the “Rotten Egg”, they would look for some other destination to race to and then keep repeating the phrase “Last one there is a rotten egg” until they no longer lost the race.

Interpretation:

Children’s lore is always unique yet seems to bear a common theme throughout. Many of the folklore games that children play seem to have a sort of life lesson or teaching embedded within them. The ‘Last one there is a rotten egg’ game of racing to a location while trying not to be last makes me think of a few examples where this type of lore may have been an important lesson to learn for youth. In older societies that experienced famine, being the last to something might mean not having enough food to survive — Therefore this type of folklore practice would have helped children learn early on to never be last. Another example would be societies that were more nomadic or that had natural predators. In these types of societies, a child that fell too far behind the group would be at risk of getting lost and or attacked by a predator. In today’s world, these same lessons have real-world applications albeit not as extreme. For example, being last in something might cause you to lose out on opportunities in life such as getting into a good college, making a sports team, getting a good job, a promotion, etc. The informant discussed this aspect of the lore in detail and how he viewed this game as a major life lesson that has helped him develop a strong work ethic and desire to succeed in life.

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.