Tag Archives: haunted

The Queen Mary’s Haunted Pool – Ghost Story

Nationality: American
Age: 28
Occupation: Author
Residence: Long Beach
Language: English

Text/Context: “When I was in elementary school, probably about 10, I went on a family trip to the Queen Mary with my mother, her best friend, and her daughter, who was my best friend. We were taking a guided tour, not even the ghost specific tour, just the regular one. We go through the hallways, all over the deck, and then we eventually made it down to the pool room. The guide tells us the pool room is the most haunted room in the whole ship, with a lot of alleged deaths happening in there, specifically a little girl drowned in the pool. We enter the room, and it’s very large. There are no windows, which is weird for a pool, because you’d think it would be in a nice bright area, but it’s not. It’s two stories, and at the bottom is the pool. It’s not filled of course, they don’t use it anymore, they just keep it there for posterity. We walk around the bottom, and then we go up to the top floor so we can look out over the pool, and it’s beautiful. There’s gorgeous tilework, stonework on the walls, it’s very 1920s art deco, very Queen Mary. Everyone’s excited looking around, and then the tour starts to move on. But me, being a freak, decide that I want to spook myself by waiting behind a bit to, I don’t know, feel the spooky energy. And so by the time everyone has trickled out, I start to make my way back to the exit, when I look out over the pool one last time. I see this very vivid flare of light coming from the corner of the pool, and it was green. Again, there were no windows, no light sources other than small lamps on the walls, but the lamps weren’t green. There was nothing I could see that could possibly be causing such a strange light. After seeing the light, I got an overwhelming feeling of dread and for a moment, thought I could hear the sound of someone splashing around and drowning, and booked it out the door. To this day I am completely convinced it was supernatural activity.”

Analysis: While this story isn’t necessarily from a folk group, I think it illustrates the importance of memorates within the broader scope of folklore and more specifically, folk narrative. This is the type of experience that through telling and retelling, eventually becomes something that can be considered authentic folklore. My informant spoke with a certainty in her voice that led me to understand how important this experience was for her, and how she fully believes it to be of supernatural origin. I myself have witnessed things I could only describe as supernatural so I understand the belief, especially after re-reading her story several times. While she may have been a kid when it happened, I don’t think it discredits how real the experience was to her, nor does it make it any less spooky to hear now.

Haunted store

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: College student
Language: English

Text:

“ It was shortly after Halloween, so we had put up our Halloween decorations back upstairs and there’s this big witch, sort of an animatronic thing. We usually set it up by the door so– it has a sensor– so when you pass by it it’ll say things like “Oh, my pretty”. It’s really funny, but it was upstairs and we were just chilling down in the main sales floor, and we heard faintly upstairs the witch talking. We heard it saying those lines just faintly upstairs. And my boss goes upstairs to check it out and I just hear him yelp. And it’s because the witch was positioned– neither of us had positioned it this way and we don’t know if any of our coworkers did– but it was positioned just so it was hiding around the corner of the stairs. So it scared the crap out of him. But then we saw up there that there were several helmet boxes strewn across the floor, which is really weird because it’s usually very well organized up there. And no one had been up there all day yet, so there was no reason they’d be on the floor and no reason why the witch would be making noises up there without anyone to activate the sensor. So that was pretty freaky.”

Context:

“ I work at a motorcycle gear store. We sell helmets, gear, tires, parts, just stuff like that. But it’s kind of a known thing that our location is haunted. It’s right near OldTown so that area has a lot of history and we have an upstairs area that we just use for storage, all the empty helmet boxes we have up on the giant wall and stuff. Our holiday decorations are up there and there will be times when coworkers hear footsteps up there and there’s no one. “

Analysis:

The informant specifies that this location is rumored to be haunted, and that odd things happen all the time. However, he seems to recall more minor auditory hauntings such as footsteps and was shocked by this occurrence. Especially with the addition of the physical change in the witch’s location, the informant clearly viewed this as an escalation, not a maintenance of the store’s folklore. 

The actions of ghosts is often linked to changes in ownership or the physical wellbeing of a home, but ownership and occupancy of a store is a more difficult matter. Though the store is located in the Oldtown part of the informant’s city, and he believes that it’s history influenced the presence of ghosts in the area, metropolitan ghosts do not fit the stereotypical view of ghosts. In a lot of memorates, they are tied to ancestral homes or worn down locations, not capitalist chains that are highly organized. Therefore, the appearance of any ghost here is notable. 

In addition, the escalation described happened at a very auspicious time, on the day after Halloween (All Saint’s Day and Dia de los Muertos). This is a time where it is commonly believed that the veil between the living and dead, or the earthly and the spiritual, is lifted. It is possible that the events or the informant’s perception of these events, were enhanced by the recent holiday and transition between months. 

Flickering Lights

Date_of_performance: 04/03/2025

Informant Name: VL

Language: English/Spanish 

Nationality: American

Occupation: Student 

Primary Language: English

Residence: Los Angeles

Interview:

VL: Hmm my next door neighbor had a chandelier that started flickering and then it lifted/turned upside down/swinging and the painting that it was in front of fell off the wall.man it was so long ago I don’t remember a lot of the details.I think it maybe was over a course of a few days and it was progressively getting worse until the painting fell.

VL: Oh yeah the painting was of the Virgin Mary, forgot to mention that first.

ME: Do you know if they ended up moving or getting rid of it?

VL: nope they stayed for a while after that and I’m pretty sure they kept the painting. They kept the chandelier too.

ME: Hm okay! Do you know if they talked about anything weird going on in the house or did you mainly see the light flickering?

VL: Apparently the whole house was haunted, at least that is what my friends would say to me. But the chandelier lights flickering and the painting falling was just a big moment I remember the most.

ME: Wow! That’s helpful to know about the house.

VL: But there was always noises or things falling by itself in the house when they were there.

ME: How long have they lived there for? And were the lights always flickering or something that happened suddenly.

VL: Damn they lived there forever probably more than 2 decades, *pauses* if im remembering correctly. And I think the flickering happened suddenly.

ME: Wow! That’s perfect! I think that is all I need. Thank you for your help.

Interpretation

What stood out to me the most was that the painting was of Virgin Mary, which is known for being a symbol of purity, divine grace and motherhood. So that painting falling down instead of any other work of art they may have, could be read as a sign that there is a force in their house haunting it and trying get rid of anything that could be seen as a protection or pure. When lights flicker in horror or thriller movies, it is a scene that there is an evil sprit in the room that is either trying to gain control and take over or kill someone. Or simply sending them a spiritual message to back off and move out. I want to think it is more than just a faulty electrical wire or connection, if the painting of Virgin Mary didn’t start falling down with it, I would believe they just need to fix what wire is connected to the chandelier. They also have lived in the house for so long, there is a possibility that while they have lived there, a ghost or paranormal spiritual could’ve came in and started to slowly haunting them until it become obvious. VL said the family still leaves there, so the spirit hasn’t done anything harmful so maybe it left after scaring them for a bit or showing that they were there and could come back.






Ouija board

Date_of_performance: 04/06/2025

Informant Name: MPF

Language: English/Spanish  

Nationality: Mexican

Occupation: Student/Student worker

Primary Language: English

Residence: USC

Interview:

MPF: The paranormal experience the most, that I would call paranormal experience, is when my dad pulled out a Ouija Board when I was younger.

ME: How old would you say you were when it happened?

MPF: Hm. I was pretty young, maybe around 7 years old. Young enough for it to freak me out a lot at the time.

MPF: One night during the summer, my dad thought it would be fun to bring out the ouji board for us to mess with. He would play around with it when he was young and always said he swore it brought ghosts into his house and I was curious so I agreed to do it with him.

MPF: I don’t remember the exact question he asked it, I think the first question was if someone was in the room with us, the usual question people start out with when talking with spirits *laughs*

ME: What did it respond with? Or did it respond back?

MPF: So at first, it did move to Yes and I started getting scared but then my dad confessed that he moved it there to mess with me. So we tried again and my dad swore he felt a shiver down his back when we asked if someone was there again and it moved to yes. I thought my dad moved it again, but he swore to this day that he didn’t.

ME: What happened after that? Did you continue asking it questions?

MPF: My dad wanted me to ask the next question so I can get the full experience. So i asked if the ghost was friendly.. and it slowly moved to no.

ME: Oh my god.

MPF: Yeah! So I started getting freaked out and crying, my dad decided that we no longer should play with it anymore and took me to bed.

ME: Did you guys say goodbye to it? I remember seeing in films that people say goodbye to close the portal or such.

MPF: I think my dad was too preoccupied getting me to bed and calming me down to say goodbye. But later that night, I swear I felt someone tickle my feet and tugging on my blanket when I was trying to sleep. I don’t know if it was just paranoid in my mind tricking me or if something was there. Let’s just say I will never touch that game again.

ME: Wow! That’s so crazy. Do you know if any other family members mentioned feeling something at night because of the ouji board?

MPF: i think my uncle said saw an old lady walking around at night in his room a couple days later, but that might not be related. My dad did mention to me that he felt that the whole house felt covered in dark energy afterwards, so the house could’ve been haunted but we moved out a couple years later so I have no idea if the ghost is still there haunting the next family. I just know that it spooked me for many years later and I have never and will never pick up a ouija board again.

ME: Did you guys get rid of it?

MPF: Yeah. My mom threw it out when we were moving because she was upset with him for making me cry because of it. So luckily I see no ghost sightings or feelings of dark energy in their new house when I come home and visit.

Interpretation:

Her story reminded me why I haven’t picked up a Ouija board and now I never will. The shiver that her dad felt is such a small detail but so important to the story, it is the point in the story where the ghost could be entering their house and that is why she felt someone tugging on her blanket when she was sleeping. I feel more drawn into this folktale because she didn’t say whether or not she believes it was a ghost, she leaves the ending open and therefore creating suspense and making it more believable because she is sharing an authentic story of a scary moment that happened to her when she was a child. This story is a good example of a classic modern day supernatural folklore memorate, the myth that the Ouji board could invite ghosts into the person’s house and her facing the consequences of trying it out and because her dad did it before when he was younger and had the belief that it worked. It is also interesting that they didn’t close out the ouji board and say goodbye to the ghost, and later her dad felt dark energy and there could’ve been someone in her room that night. That is strong evidence that could led me to think that the Ouji board did work and is a pathway to ghosts or the dead. Saying goodbye to a ghost is a known ritual closure to get rid of the bridge to both sides and according to widely accepted Ouija mythology (and the media) failing to say “goodbye” at the conclusion of a session is dangerous move because it could leave the portal open, which we did end up seeing in this interview and now the ghost feels welcomed to stay. I love how personal this story was, how she felt during the process, a little bit of humor when her dad messed with her and the lead up to the paranormal event. It makes it believable and made me freak out while listening to her talk about it to me.

Haunted House on Euclid and Hazard

Age: 19

Text: In her hometown within Orange County, this subject claims that there is a haunted house on a specific street corner (Euclid and Hazard) that has been vacant for years. According to the stories she’s been told about it, one fateful night a pregnant woman was fatally injured in some sort of car accident or physical assault (depends on who tells the story – the subject has heard both of these included in tellings of this tale) and went to the house seeking help. She banged on the door crying out for help, but no one answered and she and her unborn child ended up dying on the doorstep of the house. Ever since then, her spirit has haunted the house – scaring anyone who lives in the building (which consequently has led to the house becoming vacant for years, if not decades). Some people even believe that her spirit occasionally goes across the street to the liquor store, haunting that establishment as well. People believe that her spirit seeks vengeance for her death and that of her child’s. 

Context: This subject heard this urban legend throughout middle and high school in Orange County, from classmates and upperclassmen alike. Growing up in a city adjacent to the one in which the alleged events of this story took place, she claimed to have only come across the alleged haunted house in passing, never really feeling a great desire to go near it. She believes that this ghost story is just a means of scaring kids in the area, almost a means of ‘initiating’ kids within the city. She believes this because she very distinctly remembers her friends in high school teasing their younger siblings or kids from neighboring middle schools by scaring them with the gory details of the haunting, even if they themselves claimed to not believe it. 

Interpretation: I believe that this story could possibly be rooted in some form of truth – maybe the car accident or death of the pregnant woman did truly happen way back when. It could be possible that the community was so shocked by her death and the circumstances that they began to feel guilt which would then have made them susceptible to attributing any bad energy or ‘haunting’ occurrences to the woman’s search for vengeance. Regardless, it seems as though the story serves as a means of scaring or teasing kids, as according to my subject, people quickly grow out of believing in it as they grow up.