Tag Archives: east coast

New Canaan, Connecticut, “West is the best, South is the mouth, and East is the least.”

Text:

When A was in elementary school in New Canaan, Connecticut, there was a saying for her school, “West is the best, South is the mouth, and East is the least.”

Context:

In New Canaan, CT, there were three elementary schools that existed in this town. A went to West, and their saying for the other schools was “West is the best, South is the mouth, and East is the least.” She would hear/learn about these sayings in places like the bus and playgrounds of her school. Students would say it if ever interacting with the other schools, but it was very much a kid saying – as in parents were not aware of the saying. Suddenly, in middle school, when the schools merged, there were new sayings from the other schools. East would say, “East is the beast, West is the one with the hairy chest, and South is the mouth.” A did not know if there was a South version, as she did not interact with them as much.

Analysis:

This saying is a form of children’s playground folklore that reinforces group identity and rivalry. By declaring “West is the best” and diminishing the other schools through rhyme, students created a sense of pride and belonging while establishing playful social hierarchies. Because the phrase spread among students without adult involvement, it demonstrates how children create their own social boundaries through shared jokes and repetition. When the schools later merged during middle school, and new versions emerged, it demonstrates how this kind of folklore adapts to changing social dynamics; which ultimately allows students to form identity and competition in a new shared environment and at an early age.

Lifting your feet over the drawbridge

Interviewer: “Ever since I could remember, whenever we drove over a drawbridge, you always told my brother and me to lift our feet over a drawbridge. Could you please explain why?”

D: “It’s always been that way. My dad had told me my whole life as well; it was just a thing, you cross over a drawbridge, so you lift your feet. I had to pass it on to my family as well.”

Interviewer: “Do you have any idea what it means, why you do it?”

D: “It’s for luck, not necessarily luck for your day, but more so luck for your future drives. You don’t want your feet touching the car floor when you feel the bumpy road from the texture of the bridge. Even I lift my feet up. Sure, I’ll have a little bit on the gas pedal, but otherwise I’m lifting my feet until the road is flat again.”

Context: Ever since I was a little kid I remeber driving with my dad. Anytime we would pass over a draw bridge, you had to lift your feet up. No matter how long or short the bumps of the bridge lasted. He would start with a warning by saying “ok get ready to lift your feet up!” and then when we hit the bridge said “Go!” and everyone in the car would lift both their feet off of the ground. Sometimes it would be difficukt to hold them up for a while – as an impatient child, but it would be over soon enough, and no way was anyone letting their feet touch the car floor. As soon as the car left the brdige he would say “good” and everyone would put their feet back down immediatly. I am unsure where this supersition came from, but from the interview I gathered my dad had done it his own life and took it on from his dad. My grandpa would say it to all of his 9 kids whenever passing over a draw bridge. This would take place most often from the drives from upstate NY to NYC, but happened anytime there was a drawbridge.

Analysis: This tradition is a form of family folklore that uses superstition and ritual to create a shared sense of meaning during an otherwise ordinary activity. The act of lifting feet over a drawbridge, framed as bringing “luck” for future drives, reflects how belief does not need a clear origin or logic to feel important. This supersition not only prvoides luck for the rest of the drive and future drives, but acts as a shared identity within the family.

Goosey Night (AKA Mischief Night)

Text:

M: “So on Goosey Night, we’d all sneak out and we’d bring ivory soap. It was always ivory soap. And you’d go around and you’d be putting soap all over people’s car windows so they can’t drive. And we’d throw eggs at people’s houses and stuff. People called it mischief, we called it goosey night”

Context:

M grew up in New Jersey. Every Halloween Eve, the kids in his town partook in “Goosey Night.” A night full of pranks, mischief, and mayhem.

Analysis:

The phrase “Goosey Night” is a form of esoteric form of folk speech. Most people call Halloween Eve Mischief Night, but my father and the kids he knew called it Goosey Night. By have a different, unique name for the night, the kids were able to communicate with each other in ways outsiders wouldn’t understand. The pranks and mischief of Goosey Night are rituals – repeated, patterned actions. It was a tradition for kids to break the rules once a year, on Goosey Night. In a way, the kids existed in a space of liminality because they weren’t ignorant babies or knowledgeable adults. If an adult partook in Goosey Night, they would most likely be arrested, but kids could because they existed in the in-between space.

Driving Green Ghost?!

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Boston, Massachusetts
Language: English

1. TEXT/TRANSCRIPTION

“So this is something my mom has always told me about, and she swears it really happened. She was really little, like, before she could even talk, and she was outside of her house in Massachusetts. And she says she saw a car drive by, and in the window, there was this ghost, just waving at her.

But the weirdest part? The ghost was green. Not just see-through or white or whatever, like the usual kind. It was glowing green, and she still remembers it so clearly. She always says it wasn’t a dream or anything, like, she genuinely believes it happened, and she’s told the story the same way my whole life. Every time she tells it, it’s like, dead serious.”

2. CONTEXT

“I honestly don’t know where she first told it, I think it just came up when I was a kid and we were talking about scary stuff or something. She’s told it more than once, but it’s always been the same. Like, no changes or anything.

It’s just one of those things she experienced and never forgot. And yeah, she couldn’t even talk yet, but she still remembers seeing that ghost in the car. I guess it just stuck with her. It’s kind of become one of those family stories, like weird, but kind of cool too.”

3. INTERPRETATION (my own analysis)

What I found most fascinating about this story was how vividly her mom remembered something from before she could even speak. It made me think about how certain moments, especially ones that feel emotionally or spiritually intense, can stick in our memory in a way that defies logic or age.

Even though this could just be written off as a childhood imagination or dream, her mom’s consistency and conviction over time gives it more weight. There’s also something symbolic about the ghost being green, unusual for ghost stories, which usually describe white or shadowy figures. The green glow adds a feeling of mystery or even peace, like the ghost wasn’t trying to scare her, just to be seen. The fact that it waved reinforces that feeling. It wasn’t aggressive or malevolent, it was a gesture of recognition or even friendliness.

I also think this story is a good example of how family folklore forms. It’s not something you’d read in a book, it’s personal and lived, passed down from a mother to a daughter. Stories like this build emotional bonds in families and become part of how people understand their own histories. Whether or not it’s “true” doesn’t really matter. What matters is that it meant something to her mom, and now, through the act of storytelling, it means something to AM (the initials of storyteller), and even to me as the listener.

Ghost of Starbucks

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Boston, Massachusetts
Language: English

1. TEXT/TRANSCRIPTION

“So this happened to me, like, I was actually there. I was at Starbucks with my friend, and we were just sitting there talking. Nothing weird was going on, we were just having coffee. And then suddenly, one of the glasses on the table literally lifted up by itself. Like, it just floated a little bit into the air and then completely shattered.

It didn’t just fall or tip over, it lifted and then shattered on the floor. And the craziest part was, it wasn’t just us who saw it. The people sitting nearby saw it too, and everyone just kind of froze. I remember we all looked at each other like, ‘Did that really just happen?’ My friend and I were both shocked. There was no explanation for it. No one had touched it. It was one of the weirdest moments of my life, honestly.”

2. CONTEXT

“I’ve told this story to a few people, and I think most of them kind of half-believe me. But I swear it really happened. Like, I know how it sounds, but I know what I saw. And the fact that there were other people around who saw it too makes me feel like I’m not crazy.

It happened in a regular Starbucks, just a normal day. I wasn’t expecting anything weird at all. But ever since then, I’ve been more open to stuff like that, like energy, spirits, or whatever it might be. It just made me feel like there’s more going on than we can explain. My friend still talks about it too, so I know it wasn’t just in my head.”

3. INTERPRETATION

What struck me most about AM’s story wasn’t just the ghostly or paranormal detail, it was how ordinary the setting was. Starbucks is such a familiar, everyday place, which makes the incident feel even more jarring. It’s one thing to hear about haunted houses or old attics, but the fact that something so unexplainable happened in a public, modern setting gives the story a lot of weight. It disrupts the idea that the supernatural only belongs in old or creepy environments.

What makes her story even more compelling is the communal experience. She wasn’t alone, there were witnesses, which adds credibility and changes the dynamic. It becomes less about one person’s strange memory and more about a shared reality that no one could quite explain. That element turns the story into something bigger than a personal anecdote, it becomes a moment that challenges how multiple people perceive and make sense of the world.

From a folkloric perspective, this story feels like a modern ghost tale that reflects a broader cultural interest in unexplained phenomena. It blends the ordinary with the extraordinary, suggesting that the supernatural can appear anywhere, even in the most routine, commercial places. I also think it reveals something personal about AM. She’s not trying to convince people, it’s more about how the experience shifted her worldview. Her openness to the unknown, her trust in her memory, and her willingness to share the story despite disbelief shows a kind of confidence in her own perception, which I find really meaningful.