Folk Narrative: Legend – Char-Man

  1. Text: Ojai is a rural city in California, located to the northeast of Los Angeles. While the city is quaint and loveable, it is not without its share of daunting lore, the most famous of which may be the legend of the Char-Man. As the story goes, there is a unpopulated part of the city, a back road titled creek road where very little life is to be found. The area is windy, riddled with animals and generally desolate. On creek road there existed a single house which was host to a very grouchy old man. It’s not entirely known for what reason this old man was a grouch, but many suspect he grew bitter and spiteful after his son died. This grouchy old man always made a habit of yelling at passerby children who roamed through his neighborhood. One day, these same children decided that they wanted to prank the old man and get back at him for all the times he’d tried to yell at them or get them in trouble. These group of children had one of their dogs poop on a lawn. The kids scooped up the poop with a sock. They quietly snuck up to his house, and once they had arrived at the doormat they dropped the sock of poop, lighting it on fire. The children rang the doorbell aggressively and then ran as fast as their legs would allow. The children thought the old man would rush out and stomp out the flame, causing the feces to explode everywhere – but the old man was in a deep sleep. The fire caught hold of the house, burning the old man alive. He didn’t die though – the old man survived, disfigured and forever damaged. As the legend has it, the old man now resides around the creek road bridge, patiently waiting for bad children to come his way, allowing him the opportunity to exact his brutal revenge. In some iterations of the story, the char-man burnt because of wildfires that were started by children.
  2. Informants Context: Once you reached a certain age, probably sometime within middle school, you inevitably find out who the Char-Man is. It’s the most popular scary story of Ojai, or at least it was at my school. If you found yourself on a bus ride telling scary stories, the char-man came up. If you found yourself at a sleepover, trying to terrify some of your friends and say something gnarly, the char-man came up. If you wanted to scare a girl, bring up the char-man. All this aside, the biggest reason why young people came into contact with the char-man was because of a rite of passage event that basically everyone participated in at one point or another. Again, late middle school, probably early high school once you have a drivers license. The ritual is as follows – you drive to creek road after dark. You get on the bridge, get out of your car. Then, alongside your friends, you call out for the char-man. You usually just yell his name, sometimes people cry for help. I did this with my buddies after a night of drinking. In all honesty, we got out, quickly called his name and then got the hell out of there because it actually was pretty freaky. There’s not much light and it feels like you could actually get jumped at any moment. That’s usually the extent of most peoples stories. Every now and then though, you’ll have someone who comes back from the bridge and claims they saw a shadowy, deformed figure emerge from the forest, walking toward them. Tough to say what’s true. Ultimately, I think Char-Man just represents a rite of passage for young kids. It’s the kind of lore and event that everyone looks forward to participating in once in their life. Everyone bonds with their friends while it’s happening, you create lasting memories. You also quickly find out who is and isn’t a wuss. It’s something that unites a common sense of identity for the city. It’s a scary story, but it’s a scary story that we collectively own and know about with each other. There’s something very nice about that.
  3. Collectors Interpretation: The Char-Man is a clear example of folk legend storytelling at its most fun and pulp. It can clearly be defined as a legend as the story revolves around circumstances and locations that are part of our actual history and life. The entire thrill of the informants described rite of passage is dependent on them not truly knowing whether the story is real or not. Insofar as Char-Man fits into the greater values of the community of Ojai, the informant told me about one iteration where the old man burned from getting caught in a wildfire started by children. This speaks to dual values. Firstly, this wildfire variation could represent values in favor of environmental preservation. There is a traumatic communal history surrounding wildfires in Ojai, as there often with California locations. The Char-Man is a cautionary tale, a lingering shadow of the collective trauma that develops when people don’t take care of the environment. More obviously, the Char-Man is also clearly a folk legend that’s meant to inspire children into behaving. He is watching, embodying the lingering consequences of tomfoolery and hooligan behavior gone too far.

Fields

AGE: 22

Date_of_performance: May 9, 2025

Informant Name: (Confidential)

Language: English

Nationality: American

Occupation: Student

Primary Language: English

Residence: United States of America

Folk Narrative: Tale – The Bridge of Arta

  1. Text: In the city of Arta there was once a master builder. He was brilliant – he could craft anything he desired, he only had to put his mind to it. One day, he was made responsible for building a bridge over the Arachtos River. This was a necessary construction as this bridge was to be the connecting point between two different cities. The master builder began immediately in his efforts to craft the bridge – and he soon completed it. The morning afterward though, the builder discovered the bridge had been destroyed by the river. The master builder and his crew of workers labored tirelessly to construct the bridge. Every day they did, and every morning they would discover it destroyed by the river. Spiraling into despair, the master builder was soon visited by a supernatural figure, a fairy of some kind. This creature revealed to the builder that he would not succeed in building the bridge unless a human sacrifice was made. Not just any human being – but his very wife. The builder was shocked at this proposal and found himself at a crossroads. Ultimately, the builder made the choice to lure his wife to the place of construction. From there, his workers grabbed the master builders wife and started building around her. Despite her dismay, the bridge was built with her at the foundation. Before they built her in, the wife cursed the bridge to break. Her husband, the builder, repelled her curse by claiming this would only ever happen in the event that her brother crossed the bridge, an occurrence unlikely to ever transpire. The Bridge of Arta still stands to this day
  2. Informants Context: Myself, my sisters and my parents travelled throughout the mainland of Greece when we were young. My father, an immigrant of Greece, loved to show us the country and travel by car. He wanted to impart wisdom on us, not just in life but also about the homeland and its history. This was an opportunity for him to get close to us. Ultimately, we travelled to the midpart of Greece until we finally arrived at the Bridge of Arta. The actual structure itself was immensely beautiful. The arches were incredible. It was only after myself and my sisters spent a few minutes admiring the construction that our dad revealed the folkloric story behind its creation. Naturally, my siblings and I were flabbergasted. My mother simply rolled her eyeballs. My father laughed at our reaction. Once he’d had the laugh, he impressed onto us a lesson – the tale was a microcosm for what life and ambition. Nothing strong and reliable comes with ease. Those things which are good come at the cost of deep sacrifice. To leave something great behind in this world, one must be ready to give up their pound of flesh.
  3. Collectors Interpretation: The tale of the Bridge of Arta is an extremely dark and heavy-handed tale that at the core of it has themes relating to sacrifice, the power of the human oath and persistence. The father of the informant correctly perceives the Arta bridge to be a testament to the need for sacrifice. The story metabolizes the concept that all durable qualities and achievements are strictly a result of great personal costs to the person who gained the achievement. The story reflects how human oaths are forces of nature decide the trajectory of all things. By promising that the bridge would never break unless her brother would cross it, the builder guaranteed the stability of the construction. So long as the bridge stands, his oath remains uncompromised. Moreover, the story raises questions about the morality of what it means to be “great”. Is the cost of immortal recognition too high? Is the folklore making a statement about how many of histories most accomplished people are morally compromised? I would lean towards answering yes to that question. The folklore is recognizing the immorality of ambition obsessed men but it is not condemning them. It is simply recognizing that greatness comes at a deep personal and moral cost. As all these ideas relate back to Greek culture, one should assume that the continued existence of the bridge has only reinforced the folk tales themes in the minds and culture of all Greeks who have witnessed the structure.

Fields

AGE: 50

Date_of_performance: May 9, 2025

Language: English

Nationality: Greek/Canadian

Occupation: Teacher

Primary Language: English

Residence: Canada

Minor Genres: Proverbs – Salt

  1. Text: “Δεν γνωρίζεις πραγματικά κάποιον μέχρι να φας ένα καράβι αλάτι μαζί του” or “You don’t truly know someone until you’ve eaten a boatload of salt with them”.
  2. Informants Context: In my village where I was originally born, we were not educated. We had very little compared to what people have today. I was born and raised in the village of Nestane, in the province of Arcadia, Greece. Because we had so little available to us, our lives became dependent on how we could trust one another within our small community. There was no one who could help us besides the people who were in the community. We had no technology back then, there weren’t big cities near by and travelling to the ones that were farther away was very expensive. We had very little money. So again, the only support we had around us was through the people we knew. This is why Greeks are so close to their family – when you come from humble means, your blood is the only thing you can trust and rely on. So, when you meet someone new who isn’t your family, you can’t know whether to trust them or not. It’s not possible to truly know someone until you’ve spent a large amount of time with them. That’s what the saying means. You don’t know the true character of a person until you’ve shared enough meals with them that you can fill all the salt from those meals combined into a filled boat. This was a common saying that emerged out of my village, often spoken by people around us. It was my father who first gave me this advice. He always intended to make me aware of how two-faced people could be. Be very careful about who you let into your house. Once you have shared meals with a person though, you will have “passed through salt” with them. This is all one needs to know that they have become like family.
  3. Collectors Interpretation: This is not only a succinct and revealing proverb, it is also a ritual of initiation. Anyone who participates and upholds this mantra must first go through a long and intimate relationship with another Greek before they know they can truly trust each other. It reflects how Greek culture hinges around concepts of loyalty, perception and trust. It’s typical that Greeks will have said they have, “passed through salt” together once they’ve known each other long enough. This means that the two people have known each other long enough to pass this initiation alongside each other and become true friends. This proverb also relates to personal concepts of trust and trauma that the informant may have lingering from their childhood of humble means. As this is the proverb of a village, it comes with great authority – it is the voice and agreed upon value of an entire community.

Fields

AGE: 87

Date_of_performance: May 9, 2025

Language: Greek

Nationality: Greek/Canadian

Occupation: Retired

Primary Language: Greek

Residence: Canada

Minor Genres: Proverbs – The Ox

  1. Text: “Αφού έφαγες το βόδι, φάε και την ουρά.” or “Since you’ve eaten the ox, you might as well eat the tail.”
  2. Informants Context: In Nestane, my village of birth, we were responsible for providing for ourselves on all fronts. We had constant responsibilities each and everyday so to not only maintain the properties of our families, but to also get the resources we needed on a daily basis. Chores that I often participated in included the baking of bread, attending to the maintenance of the land around our home and general household chores. Within the home, I was often responsible for preparing large meals for my family of eight people. I would continue to help do this during panagiri’s, our village festivals where everyone joined and gathered. These were difficult tasks, a lot of work. I was often exhausted by the end of each day. My job wasn’t even the most challenging. The farmers who were responsible for harvesting had enormous tasks ahead of them everyday. Near the end of the days hard work, this is when the proverb would often be used. “Since you’ve eaten the ox, you might as well eat the tail.” A person must finish what they begin. You’ve come this far – you might as well completely finish the job. Ox were an important part of the farming communities in Arcadia, hence where the term would originate. My mother used this when she was embarrassing me for being a slouch. It was a term used throughout the village. Whenever Ox were eaten, it was for festival or event, never for a normal day. They were popular animals. It could be thought of as this – the final bite, the one that you struggle to take, that is the bite that has your strength in it. So take it.
  3. Collectors Context: The value of this proverb and its meaning is outlined by the informant, but the ways in which these values and concepts surrounding the proverb relate to Greece still remains to be seen. This proverb is clearly a reflection of lower-class work ethic in Greece. The people described by the informant live by their daily discipline and deeds. This concept of finishing what one starts in a day of hard work reflects a culture that is disciplined. It reflects a culture that is intent on resolve, completing and following-through on their deeds and actions.

Fields

AGE: 87

Date_of_performance: May 9, 2025

Language: Greek

Nationality: Greek/Canadian

Occupation: Retired

Primary Language: Greek

Residence: Canada

Minor Genre: Proverb – The Wolf

  1. Text: “Έβαλαν το λύκο να φυλάει τα πρόβατα.” or “They put the wolf to guard the sheep.”
  2. Informants Context: We often had sheep around us when I was young in Greece. The shepherd was one of the most common working jobs in Arcadia, my home region. We existed in a very natural, pastoral part of Greece where wildlife was very prominent and allowed to grow. This meant that wolves often surrounded the area. The shepherds knew all about the wolves – where they existed in the region, what they acted like. The shepherd was the great guardian of his herd. The wolf is a very smart creature though, often trying to find a way to get to the flock of sheep. The wolves are the enemies of the sheep. The battle of these two animals was a common occurrence in my village, we would often watch shepherds outplay the wolves or lose a sheep. The shepherd would often lose sheep at night if anything, if the flock ever went undefended. Someone had to watch the sheep constantly, even during the night. So because of this, we developed the expression “They put the wolf to guard the sheep”. We use this expression to describe when someone is being deceitful, clearly acting in a position that they cannot be trusted in. Someone has joined or infiltrated a group to clearly destroy it.
  3. Collectors Interpretation: The themes and ideas surrounding the proverb, “They put the wolf to guard the sheep” is clearly indicative of a culture that values truthfulness and loyalty. Juxtaposing those values is a skepticism toward anyone who might practice deceitfulness or make an effort to be dishonest. One could also assume that the culture deeply prioritizes the strength and sanctity of an inner-circle, refusing to let just any stranger become closely associated with families and friends. Greeks are a culture of very keen, skeptical individuals. These concepts of truth and lies, enemy and ally are clearly at least partly informed by their observations of the natural world. The hierarchy of animals proves to be a useful metaphoric tool for the class of Greeks that grew up in a pastoral setting without having the opportunity for education. It can be assumed from this proverb that the natural world has always been a tool of education for these pastoral Greeks, informing their worldview and perceptions. Not to mention that this proverb feels closely associated with or similar to the Christian proverb, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” These similarities may also represent a folkloric culture in Greece that has been distinctly shaped by Christian theology and its ideas, reshaping Christian proverbs to suit their specific viewpoint. This is consistent with the theory of multiplicity and variation, how common proverbs are repeatedly restructured to fit the context of a certain culture.

Fields

AGE: 87

Date_of_performance: May 9, 2025

Language: Greek

Nationality: Greek/Canadian

Occupation: Retired

Primary Language: Greek

Residence: Canada