Cannibalism Legend in Europe

Age: 22

Text:
“So my sister had a friend who’s older sister had a friend who studied abroad in Milan her junior jear of college. When she was studying abroad, she, like other normal college students, wanted to go on a date. So she ended uo going on a date with this guy. She went back home with him, and everything was going well until he asked to give her a massage. He gave her a massage. She thought something was up and felt something was weird, so she just left. Then after a few days, a rash started to develop on her back. She was like, ‘What is this?’ So she went to the Italian doctor, and the Italian doctor was like, ‘For some reason, the fibers of your skin are starting to break down. This could leech into your muscles. Good thing you came in, but how did this happen? The only way this would have happened is with a flesh dissolver.’ She said, ‘What? What are you talking about?’ Less than a month later, the guy that she went on a date with got arrested for killing multiple women and eating them, meaning he was preparing her to be skinned and eaten after giving her that massage.”

Context:
A boy from Kansas City, Missouri telling a story he heard from his sister (who heard the story from a friend) about a date-from-hell while a girl was studying abroad in Milan.

Analysis:
Interestingly enough, this is not the first time I’ve heard this story. I’d like to think that it’s a legend or greatly exaggerated story from being retold indefinitely (hopefully). Regardless, it serves as an example for how folklore spreads through storytelling, often leading to multiplicity and variation between each iteration.

Scary Story

Age: 22

Text:
“I went to sleepaway camp in Maine for seven summers, and I started when I was nine in 2013, and I went until 2019 when I was fifteen. The first three or four summers, obviously, I was pretty young. We would tell these scary stories after our Friday night campfires. Basically the whole camp would go and we’d do camp songs and cheers or whatnot. Then after we’d go and make s’mores by the bunk and sit outside by the lake and tell scary stories. One of the stories that stuck with me literally to this day was ‘Click, Click, Drag.’ It was one of the first horror stories that I was told by one of my counselors, who was an ex-camper. Basically, theres a girl and a guy walking outside, maybe it’s two girls or two campers, and they start hearing this sound: click, click, drag, click, click, drag. It follows them all the way home and picks up the longer they walk, eventually grabbing the girl by the foot and dragging her away. The boy sprints home, and shortly after, he hears knocking on the door. The voice of the monster talks as if it’s the girl, screaming, ‘Help! Help! Open the door! Open the door!’ The boy opens the door and is dragged out. He was never seen again.”

Context:
A girl from Palm Beach, FL who went to sleep-away summer camp in Maine every summer while growing up. She recalls a scary story that she learned from her counselor, who also went to the same camp when she was a kid.

Analysis:
This is a demonstration of folklore being passed through generations through storytelling. She learned this story from a former camper, suggesting that her counselor also learned the story in a similar setting. She also noted that she doesn’t remember the story completely and that some details were likely lost in her memory, which is what often leads to multiplicity and variation between the same stories. It is also interesting that scary stories are quintessential parts of summer camp and sitting around bondfires.

A Georgian Beginning to a Fairy Tale

Interviewer: How did you start the fairy tales you used to tell me as a kid? 

TK: I’m disappointed that you can’t remember. The same as everyone, I heard it as a kid from my mom, and the way she heard it from hers. Every story i remember my mom or my grandma telling me started exactly like this.

Translation:

“A tale of things that were and things that were not.” 

Original:

“იყო და არა იყო რა”

Context:

The informant is my mother, who grew up in Georgia. She recites a common Georgian introduction to a fairytale.

Analysis:

Every language has its own version of this opening formula. This is the Georgian variation of the common “once upon a time” trope. It creates an environment where the story is told. Once the phrase is said, the story is about to begin. Additionally, it creates a sense of liminality to communicate that the story lies somewhere between reality and make-believe. We see characteristic attributes of oral folklore such as intergenerational transmission of vernacular tradition.

A Georgian home remedy for the flu

Interviewer: Do you have any special healing practices in your family? 

NJ: Yes. My grandma used to wrap garlic cloves in bread, put a little honey on them, and feed them to me to protect me from the flu.

Interviewer: I can’t decide if that sounds delicious or disgusting to me.

NJ: Oh, believe me, the honey didn’t help. It was still mostly garlic.

Interviewer: When was the last time she fed you this medicine? 

NJ: Not in a long time because I’ve learned how to say no to her, but she continues to try.

Context:

The informant is 22 years old and lives in Tbilisi, Georgia. The conversation was recorded over a video call. He lives in a large home with his parents, two brothers, and his grandma. 

Analysis:

This is an example of folk medicine. This preventative home remedy is meant to protect from the illness. In this case, the grandmother acts as a tradition-bearer and a domestic healer within this large household. The remedy uses ordinary home ingredients such as honey, bread, and garlic, which are common in folk medicine. The remedy has a performance of sorts associated with it. It is always fed by hand from the healer to the receiver. In this way we can think of this simple practice as a caregiving ritual performed by the elder woman of the household.

Don’t Whistle Inside The House

Interviewer: Is there anything you used to tell me as a kid that you inherited from your family? 

TK: Sure, I used to tell you that you shouldn’t whistle inside the house. Do you remember?

Interviewer: Oh yes, I do. I never understood the logic behind that one.

TK: Neither did I. I guess I was told this so many times as a kid myself that it developed into a habit. 

Interviewer: Wow, I could have been a whistling prodigy if it wasn’t for you. 

TK: Sure you could have, sweetie. It’s never too late. 

Interviewer: To tell you the truth, I used to secretly whistle all over the house when you weren’t at home. 

TK: Funny, I used to do the same thing when I was a kid. 

Interviewer: What do you think is the logic behind this belief? 

TK: I think it has to do with upsetting house ghosts, but I can’t be sure. My grandma told me once, but I forgot.

Context: 

This conversion happened with my mother over a phone call. She grew up in Tbilisi, Georgia. This rule was passed down to her from her mother and grandmother. She doesn’t believe in the rule, but anytime I whistle inside the house to this day, she gives me the stern “stop that” glance. 

Analysis: 

This is an example of a household superstition. This taboo against indoor whistling is common in Georgia to this day. Whistling taboo is a good example of intergenerational transmission where the taboo is passed down throughout generations. One interesting detail is that the rule is enforced even if the original motivation behind it gets lost. The habit that forms through customary repetition regulates behavior and connects generations.