Tag Archives: abroad

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.

Blue Ghosts in Okinawa, Japan

Nationality: American
Age: college age freshman
Occupation: student
Residence: Los Angeles
Primary Language: English

AM: So, it was- like the first month or two when i moved to Japan and I was hanging outside at like…2am like at night in a park. Um, the military base we was staying on was built like near like Japanese Shrines and whatnot and they said that you know the shrines are haunted and there’s a lotta “superstitions” with those. So while we’re out hanging, there was like oh look- you can see a bluf- blue figure on a hill like on top of the shrine and when I looked over you- I saw like a bluish like glow from the hills where the shrine was and they said that this island is one of the most haunted places and that there’s a lot of spirits around.

VG: Woah. What island was it?

AM: Okinawa.

VG: Woah-

AM: And that is- it is very common to see those there… so we was like “yeah, let’s get the hell out of here.”

 

Background:

Location of Story – Okinawa, Japan

Location of Performance – Dormitory room, Los Angeles, CA, night

 

Context: This performance took place in a group setting – about 2-3 people – in a college dormitory room. This performance was prompted by the call for stories about beliefs, ghosts, or superstitions as examples of folklore. This story came after a few others. The one prior was specifically about a high school grade being cursed.

 

Analysis: One point of interest in this performance is the effectiveness of the subtlety of the description of the “spirits.” The only physical description the audience receives about these supernatural beings is that they humanoid in figure and blue. The color is particularly notable because, at least in my experience, I have always viewed the ghosts in ghost stories as being neutral toned or white. Therefore, this description was able to create a whole new image for me and draw me deeper into this performance. It also reinforces the foreignness AM might feel since he had just moved to Japan: not only is the location different but also all of the local lore. One might even go so far as to say that this story was presented with a negative conation despite having no description of graphic hauntings or threats.