The Boarding School Attic Ghost

Age: 18

Text: 

“So a long, long time ago there was a beautiful school. In the attic room lived a girl named Daphne. Living in hiding, she was cold and always hungry. She lived in hiding because her family had been disgraced, and as a result she was treated like she was nothing. Daphne dreamed of one day being a princess, even though she looked nothing like a princess and she was cold, fragile and skinny and scrawny and her dresses were as thin as — I don’t know — paper. She never really left her attic. 

Later, when the school finally, like, renovated, the attic was cleaned and painted and looked nothing like how it used to look before. At the time, there was no mention of Daphne being there — her existence wasn’t noticed. But, the new students after the renovation noticed one strange thing: no matter how warm the building was, no matter what the temperature the thermostat said, the top levels of the school were always freaking cold. 

As a punishment for disrupting class and talking back to her teachers, a girl was put up in the attic for detention. To try to distract herself, she drew pictures of her and her family as royalty, wishing she was a princess instead of being in detention. 

From out of nowhere, the girl heard a voice, but at first she was unsure. It spoke again, and it was old and gravely, and it said ‘I wished that I was one too.’ A pale figure sat right beside her wearing a faded crown that had cobwebs over her head, and her eyes were lonely and sunken. The figure held out her hand and told her ‘If you say it again, we can be princesses together.”

Cold, scared and alone, the girl bolted up from her spot in the attic and rushed down to the headmaster’s office. She was reprimanded for leaving detention, but after pleading several staff members went up to the attic and found a crown covered in cobwebs and a skeletal hand, just as the girl had mentioned.”

Context: 

The informant was told this story by her mother at a young age (under 10, but did not remember specifically) who had lived in a boarding school. To the informant’s knowledge, the boarding school was not well liked by her mother, and she did not have positive experiences living and learning there. The informant believed that her mother had made up the story to encourage her to appreciate school when she was younger. 

Informant’s thoughts:

“When I was younger, it didn’t really dissuade me, or like, make me dislike school, because I thought [the story] was kind of cool. I liked Harry Potter a lot when I was younger, so the idea of a super beautiful boarding school reminded me of Hogwarts. I guess the ghosts are kind of like Harry Potter too. When I got older, though, she would threaten me with boarding school when I was being bratty. And, every once and awhile, I thought about her story. I always thought it was fake.” 

Analysis:

The story reflects back a standard function of ghost stories: to teach children lessons. It is clear that the story’s originator — the informant’s mother — was influenced by the controlling nature of boarding schools that she attended while living in Nigeria. It is likely that the quality of her mother’s education was greatly improved by attending a boarding school rather than other options, but it came at a greater literal and figurative price. After her mother’s immigration to the United States, the informant was granted circumstances that the informant’s mother was not, and one of them was public access to a quality education. While likely both happy to allow her child these opportunities, the informant’s mother wanted to instill a level of gratitude for the difference in their educational experiences. 

The Tahoe Cabin Ghost

Age: 18

Text:

“This story did not happen to me. The story was from their grandma. It was actually really scary when she told it to me, because it was like right before I went to sleep. She fully believed in this ghost in their cabin. 

 That house had been in the family for like centuries. Apparently, there was, like, this ghost like a young girl who would just appear [around the cabin]. She wouldn’t do anything good, or anything bad; she was just there. The grandma thought that it was real and she was telling me the story in the middle of the night. It would just appear next to people, but it was like a calming feeling like you would think it’d be scary, but it really wasn’t. She appeared to [my friend’s grandma] and her daughter, but my friend never saw it. 

They liked to think it was something to do with, like, nature since it was in Tahoe but they never seemed to know what exactly it was.”

Context:

The informant went on a trip to Tahoe with a family friend, and the story was recounted to her by her friend’s grandmother. 

Informant’s thoughts:

“I’m not, like, into the supernatural or religious at all so I never thought it was anything. My friend also said she had never seen it and I trust her.”

Analysis:

Set in the wilderness at a cabin, the story perpetuates fear of isolation and darkness that’s common in less civilized and populated places. The informant’s friend’s grandmother and family attempting to reason the ghosts existence to something natural overlaps American ghost beliefs with non-domestic ideas, like the embodiment of natural facets of our world in spirit form. 

The 4th Floor of an Abandoned Mall?

Age: 18

Text:

Back in San Roque, Saipan, the one and only “mall,” La Fiesta, ever in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, closed in 2004. It was abandoned for years, until one day, the police carried out a woman, a dead woman. According to the police, she was kidnapped, raped, dismembered, strangled to death. Despite her remains being discovered and returned to where she was from, her soul never rested. Ever since then, rumors had it that the mall at night had the voices of female crying and the sounds of torture.

P.Z., my friend from my high school at that time, was lucky enough to explore that mall.

P.Z. said to me that he and a bunch of other people formed a group of 11 people to explore La Fiesta during one night during the winter break of 2023. P.Z. told me that they knew that some girl had died here, but none of them believes in ghosts, and thus the rumor of it being haunted. P.Z. said that it’s not really like a mall, but it’s more like a plaza. It was hard to see during the night, but P.Z. said that there were at least 4 buildings, where the tallest one is about 3 or 4 stories, and the smallest was one story. It was big, like about one and a half size of a soccer field. It was empty, too, although there were bushes and trees and weeds around each building. They started at the one-story building, and nothing was scary except the space, the occasional sound of wind passing through the windows, and a few red paintings with words like “run” or “stop.”

When they finished exploring the first story mall, they went directly to the largest building with 3-4 stories. The moment they stepped in, P.Z. felt a cold breeze surrounding them, and it was unusually quiet. Another person (we will call him B1) said that he felt a little unnatural and terrified. The group of friends all comforted him, and despite B1 saying he’s okay, P.Z. said he’s not. Nevertheless, they explore the 1st floor, then the 2nd floor, then the 3rd floor, and then the 4th floor? P.Z. believed that they walked up at least 4 floors, but when they walked back down, P.Z. felt like they walked down only 3 floors. B1 agrees with P.Z., but not the rest of the groups. They claimed that they walked up 3 floors and walked down 3 floors.

B1 at that moment begins to cry because he’s so terrified of the weird situation. P.Z. tried to comfort him by telling B1 that the friends were pranking him. But B1 didn’t get any better, and P.Z. said that B1, for a moment, actually had an emotional breakdown. The group of friends decided to end the adventure and return home because B1 was not in a good state. They started to walk back towards the entrance through the original pathway. But the group never did. P.Z. claims that they’ve been walking for so long that they have lost the concept of time.

P.Z. said he was scared, too, and they began to relate to the dead woman. B1 believes that they are haunted, but P.Z. still thinks it’s bullsxxt. The rest of the groups were terrified, and no matter what, they just couldn’t find the original pathway. Their flashlight and phone were working, but even with the light, they just can find the way to leave. P.Z. felt like they had been walking in circles. They tried to call for help, but the other end of the phone was a long “beeeeeeeeeeeeep”, then hung up on itself. B1, according to P.Z., was on the edge of a mental breakdown. P.Z. had to carry B1 on the back. They had no plans but to walk and walk and walk. P.Z. said it took them forever until the group reached a building. The one-story building they originally explored at first.

P.Z. said that they had lights and was certain that they were walking in the same direction, which would only take 2 minutes to the one-story building. They then walked back the original pathway and exited the mall.

Context:

P.Z. has told me this story right after this happened. However, I forgot some details, so I reached out to him again. From what I know, P.Z. literally told everyone he knows in high school and his family. Other people in the story might’ve also told other people about this. P.Z.’s experience took place at the end of December 2023. The location was in the San Roque village of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. However, the legend of the ghost of the dead woman began way earlier.

Teller’s Thought:

“Honestly I don’t even know what I felt. At the time I was so scared. I mean I didn’t believe in ghosts back then and I thought I never would. But after that night, I kinda feel like ghosts might be a thing. I thought B1 was just trying to prank us the entire time, but when we were stuck in there and couldn’t find the exit, I was really terrified. I actually was like one of those ghost movies where you get chills right before something appears. It was exactly like that.

To be honest, right now I’m pretty chill about this. It was like two years ago, and the ghost didn’t follow me home or anything, so everything’s great.”

This quote was originally in Chinese. I translated this into English

My Thoughts:

Before P.Z. told me this story, I already knew about the murder and the legend of the mall. So when P.Z. told me the first time, I actually believed him. Not only because he used to be my friend, but other people I knew also had some kinda of supernatural experiences when they explored the mall. I personally knew all the people in P.Z.’s story, and they swear on themselves that it’s a true story. However, when I reached out to P.Z. again, I felt like P.Z.’s story might be fake. I don’t think P.Z. lied, but I think his story wasn’t about a ghost, but instead about their fear. I know that when one person in a group is afraid and panics, it will trigger others to panic, too. So I actually think that B1’s fear triggers the fear of everyone else, and everyone else starts to lose the ability to think logically. It’s a good ghost story, though, not gonna lie.

Protection made out of green stones

Age: 20

Story: The main character is C.Z., and she’s originally from Zhejiang province, China. She was born with a congenital heart disease, and she has almost always been in and out of hospitals. She’s weak, pale, and skinny, the skinny that looks unhealthy, not the type of skinny that makes others jealous. She has had at least 5 surgeries on her heart, although most are minor surgeries; a couple of them were pretty intense and serious. She said that if something had gone wrong on those, she could’ve died in her early childhood.

C.Z.’s grandmother was one of those superstitious people. She believed in all kinds of spiritual things, like amulets, psychics, and fortune tellers. Basically, anything that would “protect” and “enrich” the family and herself, she would spend thousands of dollars on it, although money isn’t an issue because C.Z.’s family is loaded. C.Z., however, thought all that was nonsense. She said that if this stuff really worked, then places like hospitals wouldn’t exist, and people wouldn’t have to work. All they need is some sort of supernatural beliefs.

On her 13th birthday, her grandmother gave her a green jade necklace as her birthday gift. The grandmother claimed that it was passed down by a generation of some spiritual masters, which makes it consecrated, and that it would protect her and make her healthy. C.Z. obviously thinks it’s all bullcrap, but she still thinks her grandmother for the effort of getting it. Also, she admitted that aside from the story behind it, the jade did look beautiful. So she kept it and wore it as an accessory.

A couple of weeks later, C.Z. was just coming home late from her art lesson. She stepped into the elevator alone, and just when the doors closed, the jade necklace that her grandmother gave her shattered. C.Z. was surprised and stunned by the sudden event. She claims that nothing else touched it. It was just hanging from her neck, and it felt like something had punched it from the inside.

C.Z. said that she was trying to figure out what happened, and she noticed that the elevator doors didn’t shut properly. She tried to open and close the door by hitting the buttons, but it still didn’t work. After a couple of tries, it finally managed to close, but then she suddenly felt a strange chill that crawled up her spine. She felt something was wrong, and she didn’t know why, but she stepped out of the elevator immediately. She stood there for a few minutes, thinking whether or not she’s overthinking it and scaring herself, but eventually she decided to take the stairs instead.

That night, all the residents were notified that the elevator had issues and had crashed while operating. A couple got injured, and the boyfriend was sent to the ER immediately after the accident. Luckily, the couple didn’t die, but C.Z. was stunned by the unexpected news. She sat and started to connect the relationship between the event and the broken jade. The more she thinks of it, the more she’s terrified about it. C.Z. told her grandmother what happened, and her grandmother was so relieved that C.Z. was wearing the necklace that day. A couple of days later, the grandmother gave C.Z. another jade necklace out of nowhere, claiming that it was “consecrated by that same spiritual master.”

Since then, C.Z. has worn the necklace 24/7, no matter what. She said that after wearing the necklace, she hasn’t needed any surgeries since then. C.Z. said she doesn’t know if it’s her condition is improving or if she is getting “something” from that piece of jade.

Context: This story occurred in Zhejiang province, China, in early times of April 2018. C.Z. was in an international school, and at that time she was in 7th grade. When the event happened, she told this story first to her grandmother, then to her family, and to her friends in middle school. When she studied for a few years in Saipan (my hometown), she told this story to me a couple of times, and some of her friends, and our English teacher.

Teller’s thought: So she doesn’t have a super crazy thought on the story because no “spirit” actually appeared. However, there was some sort of power that protected her from the event, and she said that she was really relieved that she chose to step out of the elevator, or else her body condition, that elevator would’ve killed her right on the spot. She’s also really grateful to her grandmother for believing in those superstitions, and she couldn’t believe that those superstitions saved her life some days. She also claims that ever since wearing the necklace, she feels like she’s getting very lucky, and she noticed that her life has become more wonderful. Nevertheless, she credited these feelings to her own optimism, but she does believe that her optimism is solely from the necklace and her grandmother.

My Thoughts: Although I have known her for 2 years, I’m like one of her best friends, and she’s one of my best friends. So her story I find to be true, because it’s really trustworthy. I’ve also received jade necklaces from my grandmother (it’s really like a tradition in Chinese cultures, where the elderly give you something valuable that’s been passed down from generation to generation), which was claimed to protect me from the evil spirits around me. I honestly can feel that some kind of power is surrounding me and, in a way, supporting me throughout my life. Also, I’ve seen some of the accessories her grandmother gave to her, and they were pretty and shiny. I tried them a couple of times, and to be honest, I feel nothing. But this doesn’t change the fact that it’s a good story.

Cuban demon dog teaching moral lesson memorate

Age: 21

Text: 

“it was kind of, you know, he’s this military guy who thinks he’s all that, you know, he has a few mates and he’s, he’s got a nice house. And, and you have to go into town to get groceries and all that. And at some point, it was very dangerous. Like, they had a curfew in the town, because they were like, you know, nobody can be going out. Like it’s dangerous. So whatever. He was, like, Fuck the curfew. Like, I’m a big man, you know. So he goes into town at night. And he’s wandering around and he’s just being a rascal. I forgot, I feel like there’s like more of a story to this, but basically, so he goes into town, and then he sees this dog in the distance and it looks at him and it looks mean. It’s staring right at him,  his eyes are glinting like and there’s like no light around you know, there’s no there’s no streetlights in this time. There’s no anything, it’s pitch black, but he can see his eyes. And he starts charging after him. And so he’s running away, he’s like trying to get away and he thinks that he’s lost the dog and he’s like, “stupid dog” and he’s like, well, I’m going to keep going out at night. And then one day he sees the dog again, and it pounces on him. and its eyes are red and it’s like a burning fire. But then he got away and then he never went back out. That’s kind of it like he escaped, I don’t know I think it like maybe bit him or something and he like ran away and he got in his car and he took off, and he never he never went out after curfew again.”

Context:

This memorate was told to the informant by his Cuban grandmother, about her father.

Analysis:

In this familial legend a man who is proud, stubborn, and dismissive of authority encounters a possibly demonic dog that enforces a moral boundary. The curfew serves not just as a safety measure but as a symbol of order and discipline. By defying it, the great-grandfather positions himself as a reckless figure whose pride demands correction. The dog acts as an agent of consequence, frightening the man enough to change his behavior. Though the man “escapes,” he learns his lesson, never violating curfew again. The legend transforms a moment of social defiance into a story of cosmic or supernatural comeuppance