Category Archives: Rituals, festivals, holidays

Ghost or Elf On The Shelf?

Age: 21

This story takes place in a childhood home in San Antonio, Texas, on an early Saturday morning in December. PR was elementary school–aged at the time and asleep in his bed. Suddenly, a knock on the door pulled him out of a deep sleep (not enough to fully wake him, though) so he ignored it and drifted back to sleep.

Then he heard it again: another knock, this time accompanied by a low voice telling him to get up, something like, “Hey, PR, wake up.” Assuming it was his dad, who followed a strict morning routine, PR figured that a knock so early on a Saturday must mean something important. So he put on his slippers and bathrobe and headed downstairs.

Confused, he looked for his dad but couldn’t find him anywhere. A family friend from Spain had been staying with them and was already awake due to the time difference. PR asked if he had seen or heard his dad, but the friend replied, “No, he hasn’t been here.”

Still puzzled, PR went back upstairs to check his parents’ bedroom…only to find both of them fast asleep, completely out. Despite the unexplained knock, he returned to his room. Since it was the Christmas season and his family had an Elf on the Shelf that supposedly moved around every night, he blamed it on the elf.

“As a kid, I immediately thought, ‘Oh, it was the Elf on the Shelf. He was playing a prank on me.’ That made perfect sense to me then.”

Years later, however, PR looked back on the experience and had a realization: “Wait…that wasn’t the elf.” It suddenly struck him how strange the whole event really was. It felt almost ghostly. He tried to rationalize it, but pointed out that neither his dad nor the family friend were the type to knock and then rush back to bed. They were both very routine-oriented.

It left him wondering whether it had been something paranormal or simply a half-dreaming state. PR considers himself a rational thinker and believes there must be a logical explanation. He suggests it could have been a groggy hallucination, though he isn’t entirely sure. Regardless, it felt very real, very strange, and has stayed with him ever since.

He also noted that there was no known history of haunting in the house. It was relatively new, built in the late 1980s or early 1990s, and only one other family had lived there before, who they didn’t know. His parents once mentioned that a young daughter had previously occupied his room, but aside from that, nothing else unusual or paranormal ever occurred in the house.

Although PR believes it’s unlikely that his dad or the guest could have knocked, it’s still possible. Another explanation could be that a combination of ordinary noises woke him, and his half-asleep brain filled in the sound of his father’s voice. It may have been a mix of both.

The story reflects common elements found in ghost narratives, particularly the motif of poltergeist activity. A “noisy ghost” associated with domestic spaces. It also involves a child, which is significant, as children are often portrayed as more sensitive or connected to the spirit world. Additionally, the timing is notable: the December holiday season, when routines are disrupted, traditions are heightened, and households feel different than usual. Early Saturday morning, a time typically reserved for uninterrupted rest, adds to the sense of disorientation.

All of these factors could have placed PR in an unusual mental state, where strange occurrences felt more believable, or where his mind was more likely to interpret ambiguous stimuli as something extraordinary.

Virginia Mice Graves

Context:

The informant recalls a childhood tradition in which she and her peers referred to small and neatly arranged stones as “mouse graves.” The group would sometimes pause for moments of silence believing them to be tombstones. The informant is now a student in university and recalls this from her childhood in Virginia.

Text:

“I remember when I was um growing up, back in Virginia, kind of in like a suburban area and we would have like, the car riders, walkers, and like bus riders. Which basically, we’re all grouped based off of like how we got home.



I was sometimes a car rider, sometimes a walker. But when we would walk to home from school, there was like a tunnel system. So we would go down the tunnel to get to the other side of the street without crossing the street. 
It was like a safer way for kids to get to the neighborhoods. And for some reason, when we were younger, we used to, joke like down by the tunnel entrance. I think it was like a storm drain or something like that. It was like this like big, kind of like circle looking, like sewer thing. That was shorter than us, but still, reachable, if that makes sense. 
There were these stones outside of the drain. And, when they were like tiny and they were positioned in the very light organized way. 
I think it was like keep debris from, like crawling down. And I, like me and like the group of friends, would like call them like mouse graves, because, like, they were tiny, like, tombstones.

And so like, we would sometimes have like moments of silence for, like, the mice. And, these mice, so sad that they left this way, but so happy that they get to be together, like, we took it very seriously. 

So that was our, like, I guess, our explanation for tiny things. 
Like everything was, like, it was small. in a spooky area had to be a grave of some sort of animal. It’s not.
”

Analysis:

This example is a form of children’s folklore and a type of legend belief for this folk group. The physical environment, the storm drain and arranged stones, incites the narrative creation, demonstrating how folklore often emerges from interpreting ambiguous or unexplained features in the world around us, especially when were are younger and everything is new to us.

It also reinforces group cohesion as the shared interpretation and ritualized behavior, like the moment of silence, creates a sense of belonging among the children. While the informant now acknowledges it isn’t the truth she states that in the moment is was very real to her. This level of seriousness comes from the frame set around the event and allows children to interact with death in a way that feels safe. It lives in a slightly eerie atmosphere that encourages imagination and allows the ritual of death and funerals to be a part of their life at a young age.

It also shows how anyone, even children, are active bearers of tradition as they perform the ritual for the dead mice. The practice transforms the ordinary stones or manmade features into a cultural place showing how folklore is tied to social integration and imagination. This legend belief and safe place to play gives kids meaning to their surroundings and strengthens their connection to their home and peers and their walk back from school.


Good Luck in Ballet

Age: 21

Context:

My informant is in his twenties and has done ballet since he was young both professionally and competitively.

Text:

“So before going on stage, you say “Merde” to the other people, which means shit in French, and it’s kind of like… break a leg is like negative so you imply a positive. It’s the same thing. It’s meant to be good luck so that everyone has a great performance. 

And even though I don’t speak French, the word merde has a special place in my heart.”

Analysis:

This is an example of performative superstition within a specific folk group, in this case ballet stage performers. It functions like the phrase “break a leg” in theatre among actors, where a negative phrase is used to produce a positive outcome. This reflects a broader belief in the power of language to influence events. While participants may not literally believe that it guarantees success, as my informant seems aware of the fact it is a “superstition,” it also creates a shared understanding of the correct thing to do before a performance and creates a ritual.

This is a sort of verbal folklore where a customary phrase takes on new meaning depending on the specific context. Saying merde to someone on the street will illicit a much different reaction and hold different weight. This phrase is socially reinforced through repetition and performance. This demonstrates how folklore also relies on shared context and specific people rather than “textbook definition.”

It reinforces group identity and belonging as well, I know as a theatre student how I do feel better when someone tells me “break a leg” before a performance. It becomes more of a common courtesy and when someone outside of theatre says it I know that they are somewhat in the group as well. Saying the phrase correctly like “merde” signals membership within the ballet community and years of experience. Additionally it helps create the performance space, it may be the last thing and only thing heard before going onstage and helps signal the start of something more serious that just a rehearsal.

Old House Ghost Story

Age: 20

Text:

“My house was built in 1894, and it was built by the widowed wife of General George Custer, who was a American historical figure, wartime hero slash, didn’t do great things for Native Americans. But, um, anywho, his widowed wife built my house. 

Since it’s an old house, it’ll often creak, where there will be weird noises or that type of thing. Whenever that happens, my parents just go, “Oh, Elizabeth,” like, “Stop.” You know, it’s just so (). But she’s a friendly ghost, you know? She’s just puttering around the house as a widowed wife. 

Context:

The informant grew up in a historic home in Bronxville, New York. She explains that the house often makes creaking noises, which are common in older homes. Instead of treating these sounds as purely structural or random, the family attributes them to a ghost named “Elizabeth.” 

Analysis:

This is an example of a legend, because it is set in a real place and is told as something that has been accepted as truth and told as such by my informant and could be plausible but also debatable. The idea of “Elizabeth” as a ghost story provides a way for the family to interpret unexplained sounds in an old house. Rather than treating the noises as random or unsettling, they give them a narrative explanation, turning the ordinary creeks into something familiar and even humorous and her mom would say “Oh, Elizabeth.” This reflects how legends often emerge from real-world uncertainties and provide a way to make sense of it.

The repeated response of “Oh, Elizabeth,” or “Elizabeth stop” shows how a legend is performed everyday. It becomes a ritualized phrase that reinforces the story each time and the belief that the sounds are “no big deal.” Especially since the informant has been told this story since she was young, it gives children a way to quiet their anxieties about unexplained events. The folklore here is performed and repeated.

This example reflects a common pattern with ghost legend, particularly the idea that a spirit is tied to a specific place. By framing the ghost as a friendly presence, the legend reduces fear and instead gives the noises a sense of comfort. This shows how legend can reshape emotional responses to the unknown. Also because it is tied in the history of the house and the town it helps ground the occupants of the house into the greater history of the town and the house as a whole. This strengthens the folk group of not just the family but all the people who have lived in the house and anyone who comes through.

Keys that Connect

Age: 20

Context:

The informant is not a college student who describes a family tradition that began in childhood. Each family member selected an old key and wore it as a necklace. Later, when the informant left for college, the key symbol was reintroduced in a more meaningful way, with the parents framing it as a representation of “home” and ongoing connection.

Text:

“When I was little, me, my dad, my brother, and my mom went to, like, an old home wall store. They had like a bucket full of like old keys. And we each got a key and tied it to like a string as a necklace. 

We were little. We were like young, so it was cute, silly then, but we would say, “Our keys unlock each other’s hearts.” And we all wore our keys. 

Then when I got when I left for college, I got a necklace with a key on it, and my parents told me this is the key to your forever home now. because you can always come home. So I like symbol of keys for me.”

Analysis:

This is an example of material culture, centered around the symbolic use of a physical object, in this case, keys. While the keys themselves are ordinary objects, their meaning is created through shared family interpretation making them a part of her family folklore.

In a broader context the keys work as a type of sympathetic magic where a physical object represents or influences an emotional connection. This connects to a broader cultural tradition, such as love locks places on bridges, where keys and locks are used as symbols of lasting bonds and a connection across distance and difficult waters. In both cases, the object becomes a way of materializing a relationship.

The practice also plays a role in creating group identity. By wearing the keys that share the same symbolic meaning the family establishes a sense of belonging that is somewhat exclusive. We see this often in gang culture with tattoos or friend groups with bracelets they get together. They key marks membership within a group and reinforces their ties materially.

Additionally, the meaning of the keys evolves over time. What began as a cute, playful childhood activity becomes something more serious as the informant grows older and leaves home. This is similar to promise rings, where a couple may be too young to make a formal commitment, so the ring stands in place of an engagement ring. In both cases, the object gains significance over time. It also reinforces the idea that objects in childhood may feel temporary or playful, but as a person gets older, those same symbols can take on deeper emotional weight and meaning.

Overall, this example shows how folklore can transform ordinary objects into meaningful symbols that help people navigate changes in relationships and distance. The key takes on a symbolic, almost magical quality as it maintains connection during moments of separation.