Main Piece:

Informant: “Okay so it’s the house two doors down from me”

Interviewer: “Where do you live”

Informant: “Chicago, Illinois”

Interviewer: “Ok continue”

Informant: “So the neighbors who used to live in the house, before they bought it, an old lady died in it. And I guess she always had change on her, or coins, and so when they moved into the house they began hearing weird noises and weird voices that sounded like an old woman’s voice. But the weirdest thing of all is they would find coins random scattered on the ground and they could not figure out where they were coming from”

Interviewer: “Would they wake up and find these coins around places that they previously cleaned?”

Informant: “they would just be walking around the house and find, in random corners, a bunch of coins and whenever the wife asked the husband if they were his he would say no and they were not hers either. So then one day, they couple had a toddler who tried to pick up the coins from the ground and upon doing so, put them in her mouth and began to choke. So then like the mom got the coin out but got so frustrated that she yelled out to the ghost “Leave my family alone”. So, then the ghost left them alone after that. Eventually, they moved out of the state, but eventually moved back nearby and began to talk to the new people living in the house. So, they were talking to the people that lived in their old house and unprompted, the new owners brought up how a bunch of weird stuff was happening in the house and they kept finding coins in random areas of the house. They also heard weird voices and stuff. It’s also important to note that the house has been a revolving door, with people continuously moving in and out. Nobody lasts long. Now whenever a potential buyer views the property, the relator has to warn them that the house is reportedly haunted.”

Interviewer: “Did people specifically move out because they were so uncomfortable by the energy of the house/ its spiritual presence?”

Informant: “No but like a lot of weird shit would happen. For example, after the original family moved out the new family moved in and their furniture burned down and they went broke and had to move. Then the next family that moved in had martial issues and the father was arrested for domestic abuse. It seems that every family that moves in there has some tragic event occur shortly upon moving in,”

Interviewer: “Do you know who currently lives there?”

Informant: “I don’t really know them or anything about them, no. A few weeks ago actually though, my mom told me there was a coyote reported to be in their yard.”

Background:

My informant is a 19-year-old female who attends the University of Southern California and is currently living in Los Angeles. However, she is from Chicago, IL and lived there for the first 18 years of her life. This house was two doors down from her childhood home. She heard about these hauntings when she went to house for dinner in the Summer of 2020. Upon googling the house, nothing came up about its haunted origins although the house has gone down in value since 2018. She believes that the house is haunted.

Context:

The informant is one of my college roommates, who I asked to relate any folk beliefs or legends she had for the purpose of a project.

My thoughts:

This story appears to be a typical ghost story where someone dies, and their spirit continues to haunt the property. I do not think that the informant knew enough information about the house, however, to come to any deeper conclusions about the story. For example, I think if we were aware of how the old woman with the coins died, it might’ve been helpful in deconstructing the story. Nonetheless, I think the fact that coins are a prominent part of the story indicates some relation to the neighborhoods thoughts on money, maybe that they more conservative with their money, saving every last penny, and find importance in private property that is not trespassed upon by others, even after death. The house also itself might be part of what is considered a contagious magic item as relation to it is rumored to bring about bad luck, as seen through all the family’s who live there undergoing some form of tragedy.