Tag Archives: ghosts

Grandma’s House

Age: 18
Occupation: Student at USC

I interviewed my close friend who lives in the same dorm building here at USC. I asked him if he ever had an interaction with a ghost, to which he replied with his story:

So this happened there was like a sleepover at my grandma’s house and so basically, it was September, I want to say 2017. So me and my cousins, we all had to go to sleep early because my grandma didn’t really like us being up. And we all wanted to go outside. And so it’s like 12, and we snuck out and then came back I think, like an hour later, because again, we were no more than 12, so like you really can’t stay up that long, however, I still didn’t go to sleep. So, I was sitting there and I’m hearing things slam but like no one else is noticing it since they were all asleep. She had like an older house, and there wasn’t really a lot of stuff that was renovated or whatever, but it was like this older house and I was always scared of it, her doors would slam, and things in the kitchen were rambling and the water wouldn’t stop pouring so I got up.I turned off the water, but then the water would not move. Like it was stuck so hard. So then I got scared and went to sleep and then woke up.

I then asked If he believed it was an actual ghost to which he replied ‘yes’. It didn’t have a big impact on his life, it was just something that happened to him. I personally don’t believe in ghosts and believe that he was just young, in the dark, and the only one awake in an old house that he was already afraid of.

Haunted House

Age: 18

In an interview with my close friend and roommate, I asked if she had any ghost stories that she would be willing to share. For some short background information, she grew up in East Los Angeles in a Latino religious family. Her story is as follows:

In the back of my Aunts home, there’s a room there, which is often used as a guest room. And a lot of the time, family members would go when they visit to sleep over there, and that room was known to, like, have some kind of ghost or spirit in there. So, it’s happened a lot of times where people who go and stay there, they wake up and see a lady in a white gown, and they just see her there. A lot of people don’t know who it is. And people have experienced dreaming with family members in that room for some reason. I don’t really think there’s like a spirit in there. And even for many years, there’s a man who lived there that was renting out the room, and he would even talk about things that he would experience, like the lights would turn off randomly, or just random coincidences that would happen, that weren’t just coincidences. And I’m not sure, but they feel like it might have something to do with across the street, there was a an abandoned hospital, and for some reason that abandoned hospital, there was a lot of like, weird stuff that happened there, so they kind of feel like maybe it has something to do with that.

I then asked if she believed the story to be true or an odd coincidence. She replied:

I feel like I wouldn’t believe that it was a coincidence if it would have only happened to one person, I wouldn’t have put this much thought into it. But I think because so many people have experienced this and like, they go in and feel something there, I don’t know, I can’t say, because I haven’t experienced it myself. But I think just because it’s been more than like, one person who has experienced the same thing, I think it is true. 

I continued by asking if the story had a lasting impact on them, since they seemed to truly believe what was happening had supernatural reasoning. She replied:

Yeah, I think it did have a long lasting impact. I think it’s something that they still talk about a lot, but I think they don’t put too much attention to it. Because I feel like, when it comes to ghosts and stuff like that, at least in my opinion, I feel like when you pay attention to those things, it kind of feeds off of that. Yeah, so I think the more thought you put to it, the more you attract that energy.

Finally, I asked if she believed religion to play a role in their belief of ghosts. She replied:

Speaking for myself, I think because I’m a believer in God, I try not to put my energy into that. Yeah, I do think they exist, but I think I feel like there’s a greater power that protects me, that’s my God. So, like, I don’t fear it. And I feel like if I were to fear it, then that’s when I give it my energy. Because I don’t give my energy, I haven’t experienced that and they go to my family. I don’t know where their faith is, so I don’t know how that plays a role in their experiences, but I can only speak for myself. 

Since I am not a firm believer in ghosts, I feel as though it could have been coincidental noises combined with their preconceived notions about the hospital that was across the house that made them believe they were having an interaction with ghosts.

Ghost Pressing on the Bed

Text:

Interviewee: When I was young, my mom and dad would say it’s “Ghost pressing on the bed” that made me unable to move my body, despite being mentally awake.

I was 7 years old. One day, I woke up early in the morning —I think it’s around 4 or 5 o’clock—I was mentally awake, but I just couldn’t move my body. I thought I was stuck by something, but it was invisible, so I could not really see what happened on my body. This kind of like situation stayed with me for around 10 minutes. And then I fell asleep again, and then the next time I woke up, I could move properly.

When I told my parents about this, they said, “Oh, it’s a ghost. He or she was pressing down on your body so you could not move.”

It’s kind of like a common belief or way to explain this in China. Scientifically speaking, it’s about your mind—maybe you are being too mentally stressed or, like, too tired, and that will happen to you.

But the tricky thing is that after that happened, I kept dreaming about weird things. I would dream of being in a playground, like a theme park, and riding a rollercoaster without any security belts on. And then, I saw someone sitting next to me, but I couldn’t really see her face, though I somehow knew it was a woman. It was just so scary that I almost peed (and I was young, only seven years old.)

I never told my parents that I had this dream after the “Ghost pressing down on my bed” experience because I didn’t know how to tell them, or maybe I was too ashamed to tell them. Now, when I think back on this experience, I think it’s funny—it’s something that not everyone will experience, and it’s something that is both very tricky and very unique.

Context:

My interviewee was told of this ghost by her parents when she was 7 years old, when she experienced sleep paralysis. She was then told of this monster that pressed against her on her bed, which made her uneasy even after that experience.

Analysis:

  • Folklore filling an explanatory gap: before scientific understanding of sleep paralysis was widely understood and accessible, the supernatural was used by folks to provide culturally acceptable explanations of this symptom.
  • Psychological pressure: The ghost that presses down can be read as a projection of psychological weight: stress, anxiety, repressed fear, made into an external, physical force in the form of a supernatural ghost. This is an example of using an “external being” to explain what’s inside people’s minds—their unconscious, inexplicable feelings and anxieties.
  • Memorate: this story is also an example of a memorate: a personal encounter with a legendary figure or spirit.

Willy’s Story

Age: 22

Text:

Interviewee:
The story is kind of a monster-ghost story from my hometown, Thousand Oaks, California. It’s about Willy, the moster.

There is this forest area behind my neighbor’s house, and they always warn their kids “Don’t go in the forest after dark, because there is a monster in the woods named Willy, and he’s gonna grab you.”  Willy was like a old, mean, adult figure that’s kind of a spirit in a sense, and he came with a cane. Then, this story got circulated around my neighborhood, and all the kids know this story.

Essentially, if kids disobeyed, like went into the forest, they would get taken. It’s kind of like the classic, like, be weary of stranger danger story. So yeah, that basically is the gist of the story itself. All the kids in my neighborhood know this story. We always tease each other, “Be careful of Willy, don’t go in the forest.” It kind of has that local legend feel, which is kind of interesting.

I was never brave enough to go in the forest and check on that, like I didn’t want to be the person to see that Willy’s real, you know, so I trusted everyone’s judgement.


Interviewer: This story kind of reminds me of Little Red Riding Hood, like don’t go off the track.
Interviewee: Yeah, yeah. Otherwise you will get into trouble.


Interviewer: Is there a prototype, or, is there someone who was actually taken, that you know of?
Interviewee: Lucky for my neighborhood—no. No one got taken by the monster. It was more of
just a cautionary tale. There is no specific people who got taken, but my parents would joke around and, like, have items being taken from my backyard, when I was like, “Oh where did my ball go?” They’d be like, “Oh, Willy took it,” and they probably just donated it or something.

Context:

When the interviewee was growing up, around 8 to 9 years old, he was told this story by his parents. All the kids in his neighborhood know this story, and some of the parents even brought this up too——according to the interviewee, “I think that’s actually where it originated, a friend’s parent told them this story.”

Analysis:

“Stranger Danger” Cautionary Tale: Willy’s Story is a local cautionary tale. This tale functions to regulate children’s behavior. Willy is an archetype of the stranger danger—an outsider who is dangerous and must be avoided by the children. On an emotional level, this stranger, who is old and carries a cane, contrasts with the safe domestic environment in which children grow up. Children are told this story because parents would like them to be cautious of the outside world, the strangers, and the forest.

Transmission: According to the informant, a parent in the neighborhood started telling this story to their kids, and then “all the kids (in his neighborhood) know this story,” and sometimes parents know too. This represents a vernacular transmission that is local and informal, and it is also one that goes in various directions. For instance, first it was transmitted in a top-down way, but it was later transmitted peer-to-peer by the children.

Family Death and Paranormal Activity

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Text: Interviewer – “What kind of ghost stories have heard of or experienced? Anything relating to your family?”

JL – “Woo boy, I could write a book! I’ve always believed in the supernatural. I have a lot in mind, but one sticks out the most. That brings me to when my mom died, on October 13, 2012. My mom and I were always close. My kids were very close to her as she was the only grandparent they had a relationship with, and she absolutely ADORED them (she loved them to pieces!, as she would say). She’d visit us half a dozen times a year, we spent summers at her house, she’d join us on vacations. We were CLOSE. My kids were young when she passed, in third and fifth grades. One morning shortly after she died I was getting the kids ready for school. They were sitting at the kitchen table having breakfast, I was at our kitchen island making lunches. We have a light fixture above the table with 5 bulbs in it. One of them had been burned out for months and I just hadn’t gotten around to changing it. Anyway, one of us mentioned that we were feeling sad that day because we missed Granny, and the burned out light bulb switched ON. The three of us looked at each other and thought, “Huh, that’s odd.” I said, “Mom, if that’s you, turn that light back off.” And the light went off. None of us were scared, we all thought it was kindof… cool? Comforting? We spent the next 20 minutes asking questions, and that light bulb kept responding. I finally said, “Mom, thanks for visiting and letting us know you’re ok, but I have to get the kids to school.” And the light bulb never responded again. But Mom hasn’t completely gone. We have a door that leads from our garage into our house that has a deadbolt lock on it. There are times when I will open the door from the house, walk through the doorway, immediately go to shut the door behind me only to have it bounce on the doorjamb because the deadbolt has been fully extended. We’ve tried shaking the door, jiggling it to see if we could replicate it, and nope, no movement from the deadbolt. There have been times when I’ll be carrying groceries in from the car, keeping that door to the house open for several trips, and then when I finally go to close it, the deadbolt is extended. And it’s not just a little bit sticking out, it is fully extended. Every single person in my family has had this same experience. There are two things that I love about this: 1 – Mom still comes around to say hi, and 2 – my family’s reaction isn’t fright, it’s a casual, “Hi Granny, thanks for visiting.” This has been occurring for 14 years. With my daughter’s graduation approaching, I’m sure I’ll see a lot of activity with the deadbolt!”

Interviewer – “Have these paranormal activities diminished in frequency or stayed the same?”

JL – “They’ve diminished in frequency. Mom still comes around and plays with the lock on the door, but now it seems to coincide with times of extreme emotion – when we’re celebrating something like a birthday or a big event with the kids, when I’ve been exceptionally worried or stressed.”

Context: This long story came up as I was asking JL about some of the paranormal experiences they’ve had or if they believed in ghosts in the first place as I have my fair share of history with the supernatural and ghost encounters myself. This specific story has been shared throughout the past many, many years, for as long as since it happened, and is not exclusive to the family, though it is a piece of lore special to the family due to the circumstances of the events.

Analysis: This account is in it of itself a familial piece of lore. Whether it’s a tale to some or simply something that happened, the story of it all has continued to thrive as have the perpetual encounters. Due to the nature of the story and how it doesn’t necessarily have an end, whether someone who experiences it first hand believes in ghosts or not, the event of the deadbolt on a door elongating can be either calming, reassuring, or frightening based on who you are. All individuals who listen or experience this tale are bearers of it, and since the events have continued to repeat, the amount of first-hand sources simply grows as time passes. The ghost story evolves constantly, and the lore that the JL and their family once just held for themselves has continued to be shared to their friends and community.