Category Archives: Rituals, festivals, holidays

Viking at the Cabin

Nationality: American

Age: 19

Occupation: Retail

Residence: Belton, MO

Performance Date: November 29, 2024

Primary Language: English

Language: English

MAIN DESCRIPTION

Q: “So, you’ve mentioned before you grew up with spirits. What’s one you remember that stands out from the rest?”

A: “Well, um, I grew up on an old abandoned farm that was built over. And it was a log cabin. And there was lots of spirits there, but I remember once in particular I was getting ready for bed and my mom wasn’t home yet. So, I was by myself in my room. It was dark and I heard a creak in the hallway because our floors are really creaky, and I thought that, y’know, maybe she was getting home or something. And the door opened and I saw her shadow. And I was like okay, I don’t know why you’re not turning on the light, so, you’re gonna trip and fall. But, she didn’t. Um, she, what I thought was her, um, she came over to me, and like her form, the outline of her body, turned from what she looked like into like this Viking, big scary dude with like a huge axe. And he like, swang it at me, and I remember hiding under my covers, and I remember hearing all the noises like it was real.  And then, I got up out of my bed and asked my brother to wake up because I was scared, and there was nobody there. So, there’s that.”

INFORMANT’S OPINION

Q: “Do you think it was a ghost or something else?”

A: “There were a ton of spirits in that house. I encountered them, um, pretty regularly. They weren’t always so scary. I guess I could’ve been dreaming.”

PERSONAL INTERPRETATION

It was hard to analyze the informant for any cultural significance relating to Vikings. She was not of a descent remotely similar to the origins of Nordic heritage. What stands out to me is the idea that the Viking was, at first, her mother. The fact that her mother seemed gentle at first and then became violent struck a chord with me. Perhaps there is a personal projection of abuse or neglect. A spirit could symbolize this, or even be a warning of some sort. Going further than this would be irresponsible and hypothetical, but I do believe that the detail of the mother is where the heart of this story, in some form or another, lies. I believe there is substance here for this occurrence being only a dream, but it interests me in the sense that it’s quite hard to tell from her description. Why could she hear sounds so vividly? Why can she not tell whether or not this was a dream? I believe this liminal area between being asleep and awake screams of a memorate. She mentioned other spirits as well. I could see the possibility that this was just a wandering spirit as well.

Old Man Waterface

Nationality: American

Age: 47

Occupation: Education

Residence: Sedalia, MO

Performance Date: October 27, 2024

Primary Language: English

Language: English

MAIN DESCRIPTION

Q: “What’s something strange that’s happened to you?”

A: “Like, what kind of strange?”

Q: “That’s up to you.”

A: “Oh, well… I used to have this recurring dream, um, in which I, when I was young, I would have to take out the trash every week. And I’d have this recurring dream about when I would take out the trash, and I would take it out to the alley behind our house, that there was a figure there and he had no face. His face moved around like— it looked like it was water. So, I named him Old Man Waterface. So, I would have this dream about every six months. And, um, my mom would think, of course, that I was trying to get out of taking out the trash, but I 100% had this dream over and over and over again.”

INFORMANT’S OPINION

Q: “Do you believe this occurrence had more significance than being simply a dream?”

A: “It always happened the exact same way. There was never any variation in the dream. All I know is, well, being honest it scared the hell out of me.”

PERSONAL INTERPRETATION

The fact that this is a dream and the figure remains faceless leaves room for a million perspectives. I could see Old Man Waterface as a mere kid’s nightmare. I could see a faceless figure representing the spirit of a person who has lost their identity or been forgotten as well. There is a wealth of possibility. The consistency of the dream is startling, but there is not enough evidence to draw much beyond that point. The creature had no cultural significance, and the informant named him. So, it looks like it could be his monster!

Reach Out and Grab ‘ya!

Nationality: American

Age: 19

Occupation: Retail

Residence: Raymore, MO

Performance Date: November 30, 2024

Primary Language: English

Language: English

MAIN DESCRIPTION

Q: “When’s a time you felt different? Outside of the ordinary? A strange occurrence?”

A: “When I was a kid, you know this already, that area right in front of the stairs. I’d get that feeling, almost like sleep paralysis, y’know? Like, um, where you can feel you’re awake but can’t move. I used to run by the stairs and something would reach out and grab me. I was a kid, I think it was nothing. But, y’know when you look up at a popcorn ceiling and can see pictures? When I looked at the carpet, in the shadows and all, I felt like I could see things. Figures and hands. And I could feel the hallway getting longer and pulling me in.”

INFORMANT’S OPINION

Q: “So, as you said, you don’t believe this was anything more than a dream?”

A: “I doubt it. I mean, it’s unsettling now but like, I was also a kid.”

PERSONAL INTERPRETATION

When analyzing his story, sleep paralysis seems most likely. Especially since he named it. Seeing things when he was awake could have just been the fear following the dreams. I suppose they could also have been some sort of sign the dreams were valid and there was danger near. An angry spirit would make sense, but isn’t a home-run conclusion because he grew out of these occurrences. The spirit could be unique to a child’s eyes. Regardless, he can’t say for sure whether it was a dream. The undecided nature of his response reveals the mystery and the possibility that this could be an angry spirit. However, spirits like this don’t just disappear unless something is done to them. So it feels unlikely he’d randomly stop experiencing paranormal activity and strange dreams forever while living in the same house to this day.

My Mother

Age: 53

Occupation: Landscaper

Residence: Los Angeles, CA

Performance Date: November 28, 2024

Primary Language: Spanish

Language: English

Story

EG: “Have you ever witnessed or been told of an unexplainable occurrence?”

RG: ” Let me think… hmmm. Oh yes, I do remember one. This one is about one of my uncles when he was a little boy, and it all happened back home in Guatemala… uh maybe around 12 years old…He was heading back home one night from working on one of the fields and then he saw his mom on an open field calling his name. But uh… the weird thing was that his mother had already passed away. But with the innocence of a child, he believed that his mother was really calling him, so, uhm, he followed her through this open field in the dark because she kept telling him that there was a cow or something like that. This is what my uncle remembers. When all this is happening, he uh… actually goes missing for about a day. Now… from my parents I was told that when they found my uncle he was by a huge rock, which was basically by, uh… a cliff. His mother said that if he moved, he would have fallen. The devastating thing is that when they found my uncle he was slouched, and he remained that way for the rest of his life. No one knows, including himself, what was done to him to cause him to stay that way. “

Informants Opinion

EG: “Do you think that it was his mother’s spirit calling him that night?”

RG: “Umm, not at all actually because I don’t think his mother would have hurt him or put him in danger in that way. Instead, I believe that it could have been La Llorona because she is known to also lead people to cliffs. It was a bad spirit that night, but luckily my uncle was still alive when they found him. But uhm I still wonder what was done to him that caused him to permanently stay slouched.”

Final Thoughts

I can agree with the informant that the spirit that night was not the boys’ mother and possibly La Llorona. She is commonly known to take children away when they are alone at night, but this time it just seemed like she tried to lead the boy to his death. Also, since it was late at night and dark the possibility of him encountering some kind of ghost was high. After hearing this story, I also wonder what happened to the boy after he lost remembrance during the interaction. This story also can teach people not to let their children out on their own at night, or just in general to avoid being out dark places alone.

The Women on the Road

Age: 54

Nationality: Guatemalan

Occupation: Nanny

Residence: Los Angeles, CA

Performance Date: November 28, 2024

Primary Language: Spanish

Language: English

Story

EG: “Has there been a time where you witnessed and unexplainable occruence?”

CDL: ” Hmm. not directly, but my dad has told me a couple stories. Well, here’s one of them… One night my dad and his friend decided to go out and party. Oh, and the pueblo we are from in Guatemala was a lot of open fields… so you can imagine how dark it would look at night. As they were heading there, they uh were driving through a lonely road… and suddenly they both see a woman on the side of the road. Umm they both tell each other: “Should we give her ride?”, and the quickly agreed. So… um they uh stop and ask her if she needs a ride, but she never says a word to them and just gets in the car and sits between the two. When she was in the car with them there was a point where they both got chills but ignored it. When the lady got off the car, she did not say a thing and they just saw here walk into an open field where at some point she uh disappeared. After the this they both started talking about it and my dad told his friend that he saw the women facing him the entire time, and uh my dad’s friend he saw the women facing my dad the entire ride. So… uh… both of them never saw her face.”

Informants Opinion

EG: “Do you think it was a women’s spirit that appeared that night?”

CDL: ” Oh yeah for sure… Uh I do think it was a ghost because they both never saw her face thinking that they both did. Things like this would happen commonly in my hometown because we lived in open fields, so there was always lot so of empty dark areas. I am not sure exactly what the motive of the spirit was, but I am glad she never harmed them.”

Final Thoughts

I can agree with the informant that this was a ghost. Being in lonely dark areas at night opens the opportunity that a ghost may appear. This story seems to be a common one because I have heard of people seeing women with long dark hair in a white dress in the middle of lonely roads, or just women in general asking for a ride. It is possible that this spirit may have died by the roads, and he spirit still isn’t at rest, yet which is why she appeared upon the informant’s father and friend.