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CS: Miss Brown, who was my history teacher in 8th grade, she said that, like, the ghost of “Santa Ana,” one of the conquistadors who came through and, like claimed Santa Ana… She said that he lost his leg in battle and that it was buried under Symphony Hall. And that it’ll hop itself across the stage, um, when people aren’t looking.

Context: CS is a college student in Southern California who attended an arts high school in the city of Santa Ana. Symphony Hall was a remodeled church that had been turned into a school building & theatre on campus. Some classes were occasionally held in the basement library.

CS: I never had anything, like, weird happen, per se, at Symphony Hall. I think she just said that to scare the shit out of 13 year olds, but like… I don’t know why it’s specifically a leg, too, I don’t know how that works, exactly. “They’re going to build a church here, eventually, we need to bury your leg right here!”

Analysis: This is a hilarious legend. I attended this school & never heard this story, but I’m kind of endeared by the idea of a ghost story about a leg. I think an arts school is bound to breed creative myths and urban legends among its students and faculty–especially in a building that is possibly the oldest on campus, with something of a mystical air due to it formerly being a church. The idea of the “santa ana” conquistador with a missing leg, as far as I can find, is not based in any fact, but it makes sense that this would be a unifying, silly ghost story in a school full of storytellers and performers.