Direction of knots on clothing

Nationality: American
Age: 36
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: Apr 19, 2019
Primary Language: English

Context: The informant is the kendo teacher in a kendo club that the collector joins. Kendo is a traditional Japanese martial art and sport. Players use bamboo swords and protective armors. The informant and the collector were at a club party. The collector asked the informant about folk beliefs in Kendo. The informant is Japanese American. He has practiced kendo for thirty years.

 

Main piece:

In kendo, clothing is in traditional Japanese style. There are no buttons. All parts are tied around the body. When players are fastening their clothing, they should keep the knots (結び, In Roman: Musubi ) horizontal. The knots must not be vertical, because that is only for clothing of deceased people on their funerals, according to Japanese culture.

 

Collector’s thought:

It is probably common in customs that something about dead people is treated opposite from how it is supposed to be for living people. This may be an attempt to make a clear division between living people and the dead. An example of similar practices: in East Asian culture, for clothing that has two parts of collars, the collar on the left side should always be on the top for living people. Right collar on the top is only for dead people.

Witch in Georgia

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: Mar 13, 2019
Primary Language: English

Context: The collector is interviewing the informant for tales. The informant (as GL) is a Chinese USC student who went to high school in Georgia. His classmates told him this story in a history class, the content of which was related with witch hunts.

 

GL: The story happened when there was witch hunting.

Collector: In the US?

GL: Yeah probably. So there were too many hares and they ate up all the crops. So hunters wanted to hunt them down. There was one particular hare that was gigantic, very huge. And so they go consult the witch. They cannot catch the hare so they go to the witch for help. The witch is like, “Okay you guys should just go to this place to find it (the giant hare) and don’t let the giant black dog lose and just let it chase after the hare.” The hunters don’t know what that means. They keep that in mind and they find the giant hare. During the process (of pursuing the hare), a giant black dog jumps out of nowhere and takes a bite on the giant hare’s hind leg. The hare ran off. The giant black dog also ran off. The hunters went back to the witch and was like, “We found the hare, but sorry that we couldn’t keep track with the black dog coming out of nowhere.” But what they figured out was, you know, on the hip of the witch, there was a bite mark like where the dog bit the hare. I don’t remember what happened to the witch later. Sorry.

Collector: Do you think this story happens in Georgia?

GL: Yeah I guess so. You know, there was a time in the 17th or 18th century where there were witch trials and people were suspicious about witches causing misfortunes, you know.

Collector: Do you think people view the story as a legend or just a fairy tale?

GL: Apparently witches are not real. They were just unfortunate women accused as witches. I guess it has some sort of authenticity with it. Well it also can be completely made up by people.

 

Collector’s thoughts:

As the informant has mentioned, the legend is probably developed in the time of witch hunt. People of that period of time blamed natural factors that had negative impact on their daily production on witches and transferred their anger to innocent women. I think the tale is interesting, and it makes people remember the dark time of witch hunt.

The Watchung Reservoir

Nationality: American
Age: 66
Occupation: Musician
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: April 20, 2019
Primary Language: English

The Watchung Reservoir

The following informant is a 66 year-old man who was born and brought up in New Jersey. Here, they are describing a local urban legend that they had heard throughout their upbringing; they will be identified as R.

R: The Watchung reservoir, off of Route 22, going west in New Jersey. At nighttime, we’d drive up there, and it was a dark two-lane, windy road, and there was one stretch, I forget what they used to call it, but rumour has it, and I actually did this once, where you drive in, and the road, you stop in this one part of the road, and it appears to be going uphill — you put the car in neutral, and the car keeps going uphill.

So, the story goes, one night, a couple of, the guy and his date, they were going up there, and he was showing it to her, put the car in neutral, and it started to go uphill, and she got so freaked out that she jumped out of the car, and he jumped out after her, and the next morning they were both found hanging from a tree. That’s what happens in Watchung…

Context

This interaction took place at a family gathering for a friend that I had been invited to; the informant is the father of the friend who invited me along. This performance took place with the informant’s girlfriend listening and occasionally laughing or expressing surprise and disbelief of the story. Having an audience most likely aided in the particular delivery of this legend, as everything led to the final cadence (almost as if to add shock).

My Thoughts

I tried looking up this particular urban legend online, but without luck (this is not to say that I disbelieve the informant). There is a plethora of additional paranormal sightings, interactions, and legends. While there does seem to be an actual Watchung reservoir, the Watchung Reservation yields many more results online — perhaps this is what the informant was referring to.

The bounding borough of Mountainside is a hotspot for these stories, including rumors of witchcraft and satanism. In this regard, this legend, whether the result of countless retellings of a rumor, or an actual optical illusion affected by the location’s “haunted nature,” makes sense.

 

Haunted Santa Fe Hotel

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: April 21, 2019
Primary Language: English

Haunted Santa Fe Hotel

The following informant is a 21 year-old student from Sherman Oaks, California, currently studying at the University of Southern California, but raised for a few years in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Here, they are describing a legend they heard of while living in Santa Fe; they will be identified as B, and I will be identified as U.

B: There’s this one hotel in Santa Fe, it’s kind of in the middle of town, too, but if you’re a bride, you’re not supposed to stay there, because once upon a time, there was a woman who was left at the altar at the hotel, like she was staying there, and her husband, just like, didn’t show up, and then, it was told she died of sorrow. And so, she haunts the hotel now. So, you’re not supposed to stay there because she’ll ruin your wedding.

U: Just for brides, or…

B: It’s just brides. Well, if you’re, like, getting married, you’re not supposed to stay at that hotel.

Context

The informant is a friend of mine who studies in the same program. I was aware that they have lived in a few different locations while growing up, and was curious if they have carried any urban legends with them that they would be willing to share.

My Thoughts

Among the few ghost stories that I have been told for this collection, this one stands out, as there is a deterrent factor included. Whereas many stories are composed of a simple chronological plot, this one possesses a “don’t do this, or this will happen” quality. It offers a specific sort of identity to the hotel in question (I could not find a specific hotel name online).

However, I am sure this story has brought in many tourists; many of the haunted Santa Fe hotels I read about online have drinks served at the bar that are named after the ghost’s supposed name and other sorts of souvenirs. This gives the location and business a unique identity that I have no doubt brings in many willing customers, even engaged couples.

 

Shaka Hand Signs

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Actor, Writer
Residence: Kailua, Honolulu County, Hawaii
Performance Date: 3/26/19
Primary Language: English

Main Piece

Shortly after the informant’s winter recess ended and her spring semester began, she made several remarks on how Hawaiian habits with regard to traffic and pedestrian behavior were different and even more relaxed than Californian relations on the road.

Informant: “In Hawaii, most people do not wave at the cars like I remember you doing after they let you cross.”

Collector: “Why is that?”

Informant: “It would seem very unusual to them. Most people do the Shaka sign to thank the drive and to send them on a good path.”

Collector: “Does that come from surf culture?”

Informant: “No, it’s from Hawaiian culture. It’s supposed to let others know Aloha Spirit, and lets people know a sense of gratitude.”

Analysis

Hand signals hold a unique identity in any region where they are popular. It is interesting to see how in some cultures that hand signals can have opposite meanings, which can sometimes be offensive. The Shaka seems to defy that commonality, though, and seems to be a peaceful and relaxed expression wherever a person is. The motion seems to have a much more important impact in Hawaii, though, and seems to express a lot in everyday use.