Tag Archives: legend

“The Water Fountain Ghost”

Genre: Folk Narrative – Ghost Story

Text:

“At the summer camp I went to as a child, we were told a ghost story about a woman who roamed the grounds at night. The director of the camp sat down all the campers on the evening of the first day and told us that long ago, back in the earliest days of the camp, there was a camper who decided to leave their cabin in the middle of the night to explore. They decided to go to the water fountain by the pool, but because it was so dark outside, the camper couldn’t see where they were going and they tripped and fell into the water and drowned. The ghost of this camper, now a grown woman, is seen haunting the camp grounds at night, particularly in the area near the old water fountain. If she sees any campers wandering around outside where they are not allowed after dark, she will drag them into the pool so they can join her as a ghost.”

Context:

“I first heard this story when I was six or seven years old, and I was terrified! I totally believed it, and every night, I would look out my cabin window and look for the ghost lady. It took a few years for me to stop believing it, and it was really only when I had to go to the nurse’s office during the night and I was too scared to go because of the ghost, and the counselor told me that it wasn’t a true story and just something they told to scare the campers into staying inside the cabins. Later on, when the directors of the camp changed, they stopped telling the story which made me kind of sad, because I felt like it was part of the camp lore and kind of another rite of passage in growing up there as a camper.”

Analysis:

I agree with the informant’s realization that the story was something made up in order to scare the campers into staying inside their cabins during the night. In such a rural location, it would be likely that campers leaving their cabins during the night would get them hurt, either by their own actions or by a wild animal. It also discourages campers from engaging in misbehavior that wouldn’t be appropriate in a children’s camp setting, like meeting up with other campers during the night. I think, as the informant experienced, that this is probably a fairly successful method for the younger campers who believe the story, as scaring them into obedience probably has a higher success rate than telling them a seemingly arbitrary rule.

This ghost story reminded me of the story of La Llorona, who is a character from Mexican folklore who also takes the form of a wandering woman. La Llorona is found near bodies of water (just as this ghost is found near the water fountain/pool area) and is said to drown unfaithful men (while this ghost drowns disobedient children).

Siren Legend

Genre: Folk Narrative – Legend

Text:

“When I was younger, I heard this legend about a warrior who lived in Scotland during the height of the medieval wars. Despite his skill in battle, the warrior was lonely and wanted a woman to love.

“One day, in the midst of a battle, this beautiful woman appeared at the crest of a hill and began walking across the field, somehow making it through unscathed. The warrior was immediately entranced by her and felt like he was hallucinating. Even though it was foggy and cold, the woman wore no clothing, and the warrior longed to discover what was hidden beneath her long, dark hair.

“When the woman finally made it to him, the warrior no longer cared about the battle happening around him: he only had eyes for this beautiful, mysterious woman. Her eyes were as blue as the sea, and when she opened her lips to speak, inviting him to follow her down to the beach, he found himself powerless and unable to resist. She led the way out of the battlefield and down to the ocean, where each step into the water seemed to make her even more beautiful.

“But by the time the warrior realized that there was something dangerous to her beauty, it was too late: the water transformed the irresistible woman into a creature of the sea. She dragged the warrior into the ocean, and despite his strength, he was unable to fight back. The woman, who in her true form was a siren, drowned the warrior and feasted on his remains before disappearing back into the sea to wait for the next man she would make her meal.”

Context:

“My great-uncle was a big storyteller, and he was really into mythology about all sorts of creatures and stuff from different cultures. He spent a year living in Scotland after college, and while he was there, he heard this story from a local tour guide. I’m sure the story I ended up hearing was different from the one he originally heard because he likes to embellish things and give stories his own flair. But I think this was kind of his way of warning me not to be stupid and leave everything behind for a girl just because I think she’s beautiful.”

Analysis:

I agree with the informant’s interpretation of the legend – that it is a warning to not become entranced by a woman just because of her attractiveness. There is also an undertone of a warning to not leave behind your life when something suddenly appears to be better – similar to the idea that “the grass is greener on the other side.”

I also think that it is interesting to consider the dilution of this legend from an original Scottish form to what seems to likely be Americanized. In Scottish mythology, the “equivalent” of what here is called a siren is really a selkie. The main difference between the two is sirens are sometimes considered synonymous with mermaids and are known to entrance men through magical song, while selkies are shapeshifters with a human and seal form. Both are typically depicted as seductive in their human forms, though selkies are considered to have more of a dual nature, while sirens primarily lean toward violence.

Mikey Life Cereal Urban Legend

Text 

“So, in the 70s and 80s, one of the more popular television commercials I remember was for Life Cereal. And there was a little kid in it, and basically it was like he hated everything, and then they gave him this bowl of Life Cereal and he started to eat it and it was like ‘Mikey won’t like it, he like- he hates everything!’ And then it’s like ‘Oh Mikey! He likes it!’

…I don’t know how this started, but there was some urban legend that started to go around that Mikey had died. And he died because he ate Pop Rocks and then drank a can of Coca Cola. And apparently either exploded his insides or something like that and he had died.”

Context

J, my mother, currently lives in Seattle, Washington in the United States, but grew up in various towns in Ontario, Canada. She recalls that she first heard this legend from her friends on the playground when she was relatively young. J gave the additional context that this Life Cereal commercial would air often during Saturday morning cartoons, which meant that “all the kids knew who Mikey was.” As a result of the legend, she and the other kids on the playground would dare each other to eat Pop Rocks and drink Coca Cola, to objections of “‘No, Mikey died from that!’” She concluded telling me the legend with the following:

“I do believe it was eventually dispelled, I don’t think Mikey was dead? Um, [laughs] but actually to this day I don’t even really know! All I know is that drinking Coke and eating Pop Rocks is apparently really bad for you, can kill you.” 

Analysis

J’s recollections indicate that this urban legend was primarily a piece of children’s folklore. Drawing from Folk Groups and Folklore Genres: an Introduction chapter author Jay Mechling, this legend seems to be an example of children experimenting with disorder and parody. By taking a benign commercial featuring a child eating cereal and twisting it into a gruesome urban legend, my mother and her peers were able to discuss the concept of death and dangerous/unhealthy foods in a way that exaggerates, mocks, and inverts adult ways of perceiving these topics. That this legend also sparked a form of play (daring each other to eat Pop Rocks and drink Coca Cola) further allowed them to explore a sense of danger in the safe proximity of adults. This legend could also be another example of how Mechling discussed commercial foods being a particular target for ‘antithetical’ children’s folklore as a representation of underlying fears about bodily safety and changes.

Text: In the quaint British village near Durham, the ‘Wald Inns’ hotel harbors a chilling tale from the 1980s. A girl’s tragic end in room 212 spawned a series of inexplicable fatalities, sealing the room’s fate and the hotel’s closure within a mere month. Whispers abound that her spirit lingers, eternally confined to that very room.

Context: While sharing eerie stories one evening, my friend from a serene British village recounted the haunting history of ‘Wald Inns.’ The hotel, once bustling, became the stage for a harrowing narrative in the ’80s when a young girl’s life ended in despair in room 212. This event marked the beginning of a terrifying pattern: subsequent guests of the room never emerged alive. The sequence of mysterious deaths led to the hotel’s swift shutdown. Today, the abandoned ‘Wald Inns’ stands as a spectral reminder, with locals firmly believing the girl’s spirit remains, eternally wandering within the walls of room 212.

Analysis: The haunting history of the ‘Wald Inns’ hotel in room 212, where a young girl’s tragic demise led to a series of unexplained fatalities, transcends mere ghostly folklore. This narrative, deeply ingrained in the local community’s consciousness, reflects a collective engagement with themes of loss, the afterlife, and the quest for understanding beyond the tangible. As Domino Renee Perez highlights, folklore figures like the girl’s spirit in room 212 wield power through their actions, often leaving a lasting impact on cultural memory and communal identity (Perez 155). The tale of the ‘Wald Inns’ serves not just as a chilling story but as a cultural expression that probes the boundaries between life and death, invoking questions about justice, remembrance, and the unseen forces that linger in our midst. It embodies a communal narrative that navigates the complexities of human existence and the mysteries that defy explanation, serving as a poignant reminder of the past’s enduring presence in the collective psyche.

Greek Legend about Alexander the Great’s Horse


Text: The informant recalls being told the story of bucephalus, a great stallion that no one could tame or ride that belonged to the king of Macedonia, Phillip. Alexander the great, his son,  made a bet with his father that if he could ride the animal it would be his. The King agreed. Alexander approached Bucephalus differently from the great generals who had tried to tame him with force. Instead of beating, yelling, or chasing, he spoke softly to the horse, praising its beauty. Realizing the horse was afraid of its own shadow, he cleverly redirected Bucephalus’s head towards the sun. This removed the shadow from view, calming the horse. Alexander was able to mount and ride Bucephalus successfully. 

Context: The informant explains he was told two things about the story. First, when someone is acting ferociously, it may not have anything to do with you, it is often because they are afraid of something. Second, that by being patient and observing you can figure out what is wrong, and by being nice you can diffuse the situation. He was told this story when he was a young boy growing up in the 70’s in New york in a Greek immigrant family. 

Analysis: I think this story serves two purposes. Firstly, it is meant to instill good values and socialize a young boy about how to handle heated situations. The second reason is to retain cultural identity. The informant is from a family of immigrants, very proud of their culture. By telling stories of Greeces most influential figures they retain their identity while instilling important values.