Bob and Mary Still Live Here?

Nationality: American
Age: 45
Occupation: Educational consultant
Residence: Redwood City, California
Performance Date: 10/31/21
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Context: The event happened some time during 1997. The informant was a young volunteer missionary for her church working in rural North Carolina. Part of her work involved knocking on doors and talking to people. Although most people were not interested in her message, virtually everyone they contacted was kind and respectful. The visit described in the following story was unlike any other that she encountered during her 18-months service as a missionary.

Text: 

Me: Tell me something strange that happened to you. Where were you and what happened? 

Informant: So I was a missionary for, um, a year and a half, and you get assigned to a place, uh, where you don’t know where you’re going to end up. You could end up in Russia, Japan, Argentina, or North Carolina. And I happened to have ended up in North Carolina. So they sent me there for a year and a half. And you spend about two to four months in each town, and you get transferred to different towns. And your main, main goal, main purpose there is to teach people who are interested, teach them about our church. And during the time I was a missionary, I eventually arrived at this old house in Sailsbury, North Carolina.

Me: What was so special about this house?

Informant: Ok, so we are at this old house with the antique furniture. I’m like 21 years old. I have this young lady, a companion, with me who is very scared and nervous and doesn’t say a thing. And I’m making small talk with the people who live at the house, asking them about their house. And they start in on ghost stories. 

Me: Ghost stories! Now we’re getting somewhere!

Informant: I had no idea what I was getting into. And with the most normal looks on their faces and the most sincere tone of voice, no exaggeration, no drama. Um, very matter of fact, um, they start telling me, oh yeah, there’s ghosts in this house. And I kind of froze. And I said, oh, *laughs* that’s interesting.

Me: That is interesting. Tell me more.

Informant: And they start pointing things out and they say, yeah, the rocking chair over there on the porch. He said, the old owners, the original owners of the house were, let’s say, you know Bob and Mary, and you know Bob comes and he’ll just sit on the porch. We’ll just see him out there in the evening, every now and again, I mean, just rocking in the rocking chair. I said, oh really? They said, yeah. And then they tell me that they see Mary, she walks over — and see that tree over there? Um, and that little street? So Mary just goes walking across the yard. And then, uh, they’re up in the attic. So we hear them up there, they’re kind of moving things around and we often hear that. 

Me: How did you react to this?

I wasn’t really scared because I don’t believe in ghosts, and I believe that if you don’t believe in things, you won’t see them. But my companion was petrified. She was sitting in her chair frozen, and I looked over at her, and I could tell that she was scared out of her wits. Um, and I tried to change the subject, but they kept going on in this very matter of fact way, telling me about all of these times they had seen Bob and Mary, and they said, they’re just part of the house. And we just, um, we just, you know, we’ve gotten used to it and like, it was no big deal. And so I started to kind of laugh, to laugh off the situation because I can see how nervous my companion was, and I didn’t want her to be scared. 

And it’s dark in this house. They had turned the lights down. I mean, it was just like one of those old, um, it’s different in North Carolina. It’s just different in the South, just older houses with, you know, the dim lighting. And so I started to laugh a little bit and said, oh *laugh* that’s kinda funny. You know, houses have stories, you know, something like that to laugh it off.

Me: But they took it seriously, didn’t they?

Informant: Super seriously! The man turned to me and he said, do you think we’re lying? That we’re just making all of this up? And I said, oh no, no, no. I didn’t want to offend them. Um, I tried to handle it as best as I could without offending them. And these people were not, um — I met a lot of people out in the country who were very, uh, very poor and very uneducated. And these people were not that. These people were middle-class and educated. They were intelligent people with a lot of books around, and you could tell they were educated. 

But anyway, that guy just turned on me and basically accused me of saying that he was lying. And so I could tell that this was just going to be uncomfortable. So as soon as it, you know, seemed okay to leave, we, uh, thanked them for their hospitality and left and never went back to that house again. 

But when we got back to the car and we’re driving back, my poor little companion was just shaking. She had never left home before. This was one of her first experiences away from home, and she was utterly terrified. *chuckle* And while we were in the house, I could see her kind of looking around the room a little bit to see if maybe Bob and Mary were going to show up. And she had been worried that they were just gonna, you know, come into the room and take a chair.

Me: And how did you feel about it?

Informant: I was definitely shaken up, too. Not that I thought I was going to see a ghost, but, uh, it’s just really — it was a strange situation to have intelligent, educated people sit there and tell you in your face that they have ghosts in their house and see them frequently. And, uh, it’s hard to know what, what to say. So my conclusion is I don’t, I don’t know. I don’t think they were lying, but at the same time I thought about it a lot afterwards. And I thought I would never see a ghost in that house because I guess, because I’m not a believer. *laughs* So, um, maybe it’s if you’re open to it and you let yourself go there, maybe you’ll see something, but, um, I don’t think I ever would. So that’s my ghost story.

Thoughts: This story surprised the informant and myself because neither of us expected belief in ghosts to be associated with middle class, educated people. In this case, it is educated, middle class people who see ghosts on a regular basis. An important element in the story is the man’s irritation, and his accusation that the informant thought he was lying. This would indicate how deeply he held his beliefs in ghosts. Another interesting element is how nonchalant the residents were regarding ghosts in their house. They grew accustomed to it, somewhat ritualizing it. The informant didn’t know how widespread these types of beliefs are in the South. The story presents a conflict of belief: the missionary doesn’t believe in ghosts, but the residents accept ghosts as part of daily life. I personally do not believe in ghosts but found the entire discussion between the resident and the missionary fascinating. I certainly would have liked to question the residents myself and find out more details about their belief in ghosts — and more about Bob and Mary.

Do not be at school alone

Nationality: korean
Age: 46
Occupation: Accoutant
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 10/29/2021
Primary Language: Korean

Background: The informant was a young high schooler in Korea. She remembers a story about a janitor who passed away at the high school she attended.

Me: When and where were you informed about this incident that occurred?

JY: Well, I was a junior in high school when I was informed and made aware of an incident involving the school janitor. The janitor was working at night when he suddenly had a heart attack and died. Ever since that, there has been many cases of students seeing a janitor late at school. I thought this was a story to scare the students but no. I was at school finishing up work when I heard a noise outside the room. Thinking that I was just hearing things ignored it until the noise got and closer. I was so bothered by it that my friends and I went outside the room to see what was in the halls. I sawed the ghost of the janitor and ran to the front of the school.

Me: Why do you remember it?

JY: I remember this very clearly because I was very shocked that I saw a ghost because I didn’t believe in them. I especially remember this incident because it was the time when I recently found out that the previous janitor died at school.

Me: Was it more believable at night?

JY: Yes it was!

Me: What do you make of it?

JY: This was when I realized that my belief in ghosts was wrong. Ghosts are real. Don’t look at me like that. Ghosts are real! I was like you, someone who didn’t believe in ghosts; however, that is not the case anymore. I wish you were there to experience what I had.

Context of the performance: This was told to me over a Zoom call.

Thoughts: The informant considers this ghost story to be widely experienced especially in Korea. The story the informant told was nothing too out of left field, but still instilled that emotion of fear and shock into me (the audience). For some reason, the high school students, who reported similar cases to the one my informant told, tended to be more from the female population. This left me questioning if females experience more ghost stories and if so why.

Girl in the Fireplace

Nationality: Korean-American
Age: 18
Occupation: N/A, student
Residence: USC currently, hometown is San Jose
Performance Date: 10/25/21
Primary Language: Korean
Language: English

Background: The informant and her sibling both went to the same middle school and the library, where the ghost story took place, was within walking distance of the school. The informant remembered this story because it was frequently mentioned at the library, and it was a terrifying experience considering they were only at the age of 11. 

JL: We heard from students all the time, like “there’s something weird in the fireplace of the library”. The way the library was set up was that there was the children’s section to the left, adult section to the right, then very far to the right was a little nook that was blocked halfway by a bookcase, and that nook had a fireplace plus magazines. It was mainly where all the old people hung out during weekdays; nobody under the age of like…60 ever went into that area. And the deal with the fireplace was that it was never lit ever, just a completely bare old-style fireplace. It was middle school, so there were lots of rumors always flying around. But someone said at some point that one of the more socially active guys named Ben and his girlfriend at the time went into that nook during a weekend and were fooling around when they suddenly smelled smoke and heard someone crying. We’re in California so smelling smoke isn’t entirely uncommon but it was like apparently super strong and weirdly sickly sweet. And when they (the couple) turned around to face the fireplace, they saw this little girl dressed in a white old-fashioned nightgown that had been burned and the skin was sloughing off her in places. Like a barbecue grill, they said. They basically screamed then ran out, and they swear that it was some girl who burned to death where that library was built or something. Honestly, I doubt it’s real but it sure freaked us all out when we were like 11. And it was so awful that everyone was like “Google burn victims to see what she looked like”. It wasn’t a super common rumor, but if you were someone who went to the library frequently, you were pretty guaranteed to hear it. 

Me: So did the school also know about it? Or how was everything eventually settled? 

JL: Honestly it was one of those things that we never really talked about unless you frequently went to the library because these two places weren’t connected. It was a public library completely separate from the school and the two places just happened to be near each other, I think? So it wasn’t ever addressed by the school administration. I think they’re remodeling the library now actually, so the fireplace might be taken out because of the fire safety code. My sibling’s graduated middle school now so I don’t know how the rumors are spreading with that, but at the time it was basically one of those things you’d hear if you stayed a little too late in the library. I stayed overtime a lot working on robotics projects so that’s how I came to hear of it.

Me: Apart from Ben and his girlfriend, were there any other people in your school who used to experience or witness similar scenes in that fireplace as well?

JL: Yeah! But nothing quite as serious as they did I think. People would say randomly that it smelled like smoke. Again I was kinda skeptical on this because living in California means you smell smoke every other day. A lot of people claimed they saw the curtains over the windows in that nook randomly flutter, and there were random hot spots in the room for no reason. 

Context: This piece was collected via a text interview over Discord. 

Thought: The story is interesting, and the library seems to always be one of the popular places for spooky stories. I agree with the informant that some details may have been exaggerated, especially considering the nature of children at that age who tend to “make a fuss” about things. The story itself reminds me of the idea that children being murdered or simply people who have been framed cannot go to the afterlife; they may need someone to help them release their souls from purgatory. However, I wonder if souls, for example in the case of this story, would always “rest on” the objects or places where they were murdered. If the fireplace is removed, would the little girl appear again then?

Grandma’s Visitation

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Jiangsu, China
Performance Date: 10/24/21
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English

Background: The informant is raised in a family that believes in Buddhism. Since the following paranormal event happened when the informant was only six, her mother helped to provide some of its detailed information, yet the informant claimed that she did hold bits of memory of the whole experience. She claimed that she remembered it so well because, for her, it was an emotional experience. 

CY: My grandma passed away when I was six, around May, the summer holiday before I went to primary school. She died in a car accident. That night, my parents invited some monks to our home to hold a ceremony, known as “Zuo Fa Shi” in Chinese. The first night passed peacefully, but the following evening, which was exactly one night before my grandma’s cremation, I started to run a fever, umm, at around 7 p.m. My mom got super worried, but the monks comforted her, saying that it was my grandma. She came to visit me. My temperature kept rising at midnight and my mom said that I was murmuring the whole time, though she could barely understand one word. The monks then told my mom to read a piece of sutras beside my bed, but she has forgotten about the content… I think it should be something that was meant to be said to my grandma. My mom was so terrified that she pulled up an all-nighter, and according to her, at around 2 a.m., I suddenly straightened my arms, pointing to the ceiling, and made a strange noise that sounded like an old woman screaming. After that, everything got settled down. I was no longer murmuring nor feverish. And that ends my whole story. 

Me: You said that your grandma went to visit you the night before cremation. Is there any significance about that evening? Why that night particularly? 

CY: Well, yeah, there is some sort of sayings about that in the ancient Chinese culture. So if spirits really exist, they are supposed to pass the Nai He Bridge and drink the Meng Po soup after the cremation. So, uh, that night was, was really her last chance to visit her family. And my mom said that my grandma came to visit me because she worried about me the most. 

Me: I see. Then do you know if your grandma went to visit others as well? Like your other relatives-? 

CY: Oh yes! May was pretty harsh on our family during that year, because my grandaunt also passed away in May. Because of oral cancer. I remember her calling all of us to the hospital one day and telling us that she thought that she was going to an end. She said that she had dreamed of my grandma that night, seeing my grandma smiling and waving to her. And about one or two days later, my grandaunt passed away. They said that my grandma was waiting for her in the dream, and they both went to heaven. 

Context: This piece was collected during a phone call. 

Thoughts: The informant’s experience is a detailed example of ghost visitation, which is quite interesting and moving at the same time since people in many cultures tend to believe that family members would come back and visit their beloved before going to the other side of the world. However, it is worth noticing that a lot of the details were narrated by the informant’s mother, so they might be exaggerated or imprecise. Her mother might be experiencing slight hallucinations due to the trauma of losing her own mom, and it is possible that her memory has faded after more than ten years. Yet a lot of the behaviors shown by the informant during her grandma’s visitation indeed can be considered “spooky”, such as the unexpected fever, and it makes me wonder if all these so-called ghost visitations would manifest themselves in terms of certain illnesses on the person being visited. Moreover, how would this visitation be different from the “visitation dream” experienced by the informant’s grandaunt? 

You shouldn’t walk across a grave

Nationality: American
Age: 59
Occupation: Creative writing teacher and head librarian at a high school
Residence: Durham, NC
Performance Date: 4/29/21
Primary Language: English

Background: The informant was a boy scout and eventually became an Eagle scout. He remembers a game he used to play with his fellow scouts that involved a superstition about graves and respect for the dead.

TR: The superstition that you shouldn’t walk across a grave. It is bad luck to walk across a grave. The scout troup would meet at a Methodist church and the meetings would be at night. We would play capture the flag a lot and across the property and graveyard in the dark and it would be spooky. I was hesitant to play, because you’re just not supposed to, disturb the dead, particularly at night. It’s all tied to respect for the dead. Back then when you are just trying to scare one another, it added another element, and it’s a long standing superstition that you don’t walk across graveyards, or play capture the flag and run. That seems even worse.

Me: If this is widely held, did you know of the superstition when you were doing it?

TR: Well yeah, it was well known that you aren’t supposed to do it and you’re walking across a body, a dead body.

TR: We thought about it, and had various levels of investment in the superstition, but I was not particularly invested. Some might have been more worried about incurring the wrath of a ghost or receive bad luck, but I didn’t think much of it. The idea of displeased ghosts became more believable playing at night than it would be playing during the day.

Me: Was it more believable at night?

TR: Definitely.

Me: If it was more believable, why did you do it?

TR: The fun of the game weighed in heavily, but the hesitation came from it being disrespectful. It is widely known that it is disrespectful.

Context of the performance: This was told to me over a Zoom call.

Thoughts: The informant considers this superstition just widely known–it’s not officially codified. It takes a sentiment, being respectful of the dead, and turns it into a superstition using an object–the gravestone representing the person it’s placed for. It also reveals children’s thought processes surrounding death, where the fun of the game outweighed any feeling of disrespect. The superstition and “spooky” nature added an element of fun to the game as the informant and his friends tried to scare each other, perhaps signifying young children’s non-confrontation of the taboo; they use the superstition to make the fun scary, but don’t think about the taboo of death that is incongruous with childhood.