Tag Archives: curiosity

College Ghosts

Age: 19

Date: 12/3/24

Language: English

Collector’s Name: Lia

Nationality: American

Occupation: Student

Primary Language: English

Residence: United States

Subject: I haven’t personally experienced any ghost stories myself, but there is a story in my dorm about some freshmen with spirits. Would that work?

Interviewer: Definitely. Could you tell me a little about it?

Subject: Sure. Okay, in August of the 90s, three freshman guys were roommates. Two of the guys were trying to join a fraternity, and the last roommate was a little bit different from the other two. Let’s call him Jake. Jake spent a lot of time in his room alone, was not that conversational, and secluded himself from the other roommates. One night, Jake randomly invited the other two roommates to partake in a haunted ritual to connect with spirits. The roommates were excited that Jake might finally begin to open up, so they agreed. 

Interviewer: Wait, so there wasn’t any sort of hesitation from either of the roommates about a haunted ritual they are only just hearing about? 

Subject: No, not at all, really. They are teenage boys who likely felt invincible and thought the whole thing wasn’t real. Jake started telling them about how to perform the ritual, which needed to take place in the haunted dorm room of the college. The three roommates walked over to this room that nobody stays in anymore, and messed with the lock to get in. Jake instructed them on how to begin the ritual, where each person would stand in one corner of the room with their eyes closed, leaving one corner of the room vacant. In increments, all of the boys would switch corners. They repeated this process on Jake’s command until being told to abruptly stop. Jake told them all to slowly open their eyes and shift their heads to the vacant corner. They all did as he instructed, and in the corner was a boy, one that looked just about their age. He was a little bit translucent, and his eyes had been scratched out from their sockets. There was dried blood all over his hands. The most notable thing about him, they say, is just how silent he was. His presence could take noise away from anything around him and leave this empty silence. Until he began to scream. He screamed the loudest any of the boys had ever heard, and all of the roommates covered their ears with their hands. He continued to scream with his piercing, angry voice and then started to walk towards the roommates. Immediately they all ran out of the room, closing it behind them. They returned to their dorm, trying to find somewhere that felt safer. They locked themselves inside of their room and sat down trying to catch their breath. Slowly, one another looked at each other, noticing that each of their eyes had scratches around it, and were slowly starting to swell. 

Interviewer: Did anyone else in the dorm building hear any of this?

Subject: It is a very well-known story, but that night nobody but the three roommates heard anything. Now, people who have a dorm room near the haunted one claim that every once and a while they will hear screams through their wall, but only one room can hear it at a time. Nobody really knows who that boy is, or what his story is. 

Proverb: “Curiosity killed the cat, but…”

Nationality: Filipino
Age: 24
Occupation: Unemployed
Residence: Washington State
Performance Date: 2/22/23
Primary Language: English
Language: Tagalog

Text

The informant was eager to present a proverb that immediately came to mind. Before saying the proverb what it was, they claimed that it was a saying they use very frequently.

“Curiosity killed the cat,” they began, elongating the pause for emphasis. “A lot of people know that half of it,” the informant stated, “but what a lot of people don’t know is the second half of it, which I think is the most important part.” They started again, “Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.”

Context

RELATIONSHIP –
The informant stated that they had a close relationship with this proverb. Before knowing the whole phrase, it seemed like a cautionary message, but getting to know the whole saying encouraged them to allow themself to be more curious. Now they’re less afraid of asking questions.

WHERE THEY HEARD IT –
Initially they had only heard the “Curiosity killed the cat”-half of the proverb from somewhere they don’t recall. The informant first saw the full proverb from a Tumblr post detailing the entire saying.

USE OR INTERPRETATION –
They use the second half of the saying often to correct people who only say the first half. They believe that the saying, when incomplete, makes people turn away from their curiosity. But this conflicts with the proverb as a whole. In its entirety, the proverb says that “seeking knowledge isn’t a bad thing. When you pursue it, it does more for you than fear itself.”

Analysis

“Curiosity killed the cat,” is a proverb used more frequently than “Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.” At that point, I start to wonder if they could be counted as separate proverbs. I feel that there are instances in which both arguments are valid. Saying just the first part of it can act as a proper warning, especially for children who could end up in dangerous situations or exploring inappropriate content. But for people who are afraid to make explorations, I think the second half of the saying can do a lot to help them by encouraging them to pursue any interests.

Curiosity Buried The Man

Context: S is a Peruvian man in his early 60s. S spent around the first 13 years living inside of Peru before moving to Germany where he lived until his late 20s when he moved to California. Although having lived in California for most of his life now, he still has a close connection to Peru and Germany through his family. This piece was collected during a phone call.

Intv: “Can you think of any stories that came from somewhere local?”

S: “There was this one story about a guy who was buried alive.”

Intv: “Oh my gosh, like someone who you knew?”

S: “Not me personally, and I’m not really sure, I used to think it was someone my family knew, but I can’t be sure. Anyways, There was this guy, who was terrified of being buried alive.”

Intv: “I mean, I would be scared too if it had happened to me.” 

S: “Oh yes, but for him, it just was all he thought about, he would wake up in the middle of the night because of nightmares about it. One day he decided he couldn’t take it anymore, and he went to his family with a series of rules and tests to make sure if he died, that he was dead. They were supposed to use a mirror to see if he was breathing, wait three days, and a number of different things. So of course all of his family promised him that they would do it, and make sure he was dead. But the man keeps wondering, what if, what if, so he decides to test it and fakes his death, with the plan to reveal himself before being buried. However, and this is what I can’t remember so well, but something happens, I believe the coffin lid closes on his head and knocks him out, and he ends up buried alive.”

Analysis: Being buried alive is likely something that everyone fears, making this story immediately relatable. I think that’s intentional as it’s trying to convey an important message, something that is behind a large number of folklore tales, like how the boy who cried wolf teaches one not to fib and lie. This story, however, is more like a long version of the phrase “curiosity killed the cat.” It’s a cautionary tale regarding unhealthy obsessive pursuits.