Tag Archives: legend

La Llorona

AGE: 21

Date_of_performance: April 10, 2025

Language: English

Nationality: Colombian

Occupation: Student

Primary Language: English

Residence: New York

Context: The story of La Llorona is one of a woman who drowned her children out of anger because of her husband’s infidelity, and took her own life after realizing what happened. Now her soul wanders forever, searching for her kids. L heard this story from his father who is an immigrant from Colombia, and in Colombia it is told she comes out around the Magdalena River. He interprets it as a cautionary tale for kids to not stay out too late at night.

Text: 

Interviewer is I. Subject is L.

I: Do you have any legends from your culture?

L: Yeah I know a lot of other cultures have this one but La Llorona is pretty well known

I: I’ve heard of that. What’s it about again?

L: It’s about this woman who lost her children and now wanders around looking for them. It’s a way to tell kids to stay away from water and to not stay out late

I: Did you believe it growing up and did your dad scare you with it?

L: Not really to be honest. But he definitely told me about it, he just didn’t bring it up after that like other Colombian parents may.

Analysis:

I think the story of La Llorona is tragic and very sad. I feel like it almost invokes a sense of empathy, for a mom who misses her children and continues to search for them. But yet I think it is very effective to keep children home and out of trouble. Although I was never told of the La Llorona growing up, I feel like if I was in a Colombian household I would believe it and obey curfews out of fear.

The Krasue

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: United States
Language: English

Text:

“It’s basically a woman’s floating head with her internal organs attached that goes flying around at night to eat unborn fetuses with her long tongue. She was a princess that was supposed to marry another king but had another lover. The king found out and wanted to execute her by burning her so she found a witch that gave her a potion to drink before she was burned so she could live. But she drank the potion too late because it took a while for its affect to work so she…most of her body burned minus her internal organs and head. Oh and I also know how to avoid it taking your unborn fetus. You basically just need to either have pointed fences or barbed wire by your window because it doesn’t want its hanging organs to get stuck in it so it’ll avoid your home.”

Context:

The informant first heard about it on a youtube channel called Snarled. They interpreted it as a scary story that is generally told to young children around 12 years old.

Analysis:

The theme of this story seems to suggest pregnancy in the form of a horror story. This is represented in Asia as a story of spirits or evil manifested from hatred and revenge. It acts as a warning to be careful during pregnancy by using evil figures. The princess itself represents an entity formed from injustice like a vengeful spirit while also having adding elements of magic, such as the witch and protective potion. This spirit might also reflect the cultural belief that our spirit might come back to life or being unrestful due to injustice. Also, the idea of using pointed fences acts as apotropaic defense system or magic by using physical objects to ward off evil spirits. In addition to a warning for pregnant women, the backstory of the princess also suggests an importance in social contexts, such as placing value or in or respecting a marriage and upholding this contract instead of breaking it or else you might end up like this woman.

King Arthur

Nationality: American
Age: 67
Occupation: Retired
Residence: United States
Language: English

Text:

“There’s this one historic legend that I just remember hearing about all the time with King Arthur. It’s about this boy who ends up pulling out a sword and ends up being the chosen one and king of Camelot. However, there’s a version I know where there’s a common misconception that Excalibur is the sword in the stone, but Excalibur was a sword given to him by the lady in the lake after his first sword broke. He created like the knights of the round table. Then, in one great battle he is severely wounded and he disappears to Avalon. It is said that he will return when Camelot needs him most.”

Context:

The informant isn’t too sure where they first heard this story, but thinks at some point young after watching videos or movies about it. Their interpretation of it is that it’s a historical legend based about war and having a great king to lead everyone.

Analysis:

King Arthur is a legend that follows the definition of occurring in the real world that could be true. The theme reflects those of war and social status as well as loyalty for a king. It follows along an ordinary hero, who starts as a nobody and then becomes a somebody. King Arthur represents the hero archetype or hero’s journey. There’s also an inclusion of mystical objects, such as Excalibur and the sword of the stone, giving meaning to things that normally wouldn’t have meaning. This can also represent a fetish with the swords having meaning. The sword symbolizes destiny and prophesy with Avalon being the place of resurrection and rest or the land of peace while Camelot represents reality. The legend of King Arthur establishes the purposes of what a ruler should look like as someone loyal, brave, the idea of justice, and also can understand the people.

La Llorona

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: United States
Language: English

Text:

“So one story that I’ve heard growing up a lot in my life is the legend of La Llorona. I first heard it as a very young child probably 5 or 6 years old. My parents, grandma and tias would tell me about her. It’s a story where a young woman had two children a little boy and little girl. She lived in a small town in Mexico- her name Maria. She was very gorgeous a town treasure and had a loving personality. She was a stay at home mom who worked really hard. She had a husband who was a soldier and he would come visit her when he wasn’t out working but one day she caught him cheating on her with another woman. This made her grow furious and jealous and out of pure disgust towards her husband she ended up taking her young children to the river and drowned them. After killing them she realized what she did and immediately got so heartbroken trying to resurrect them. After failed attempts she drowned herself hoping to be with her kids in heaven. However when she died God didn’t let her in. Because of what she did she was forced to wander the earth in search of her children’s souls and only then will she be let in. Little did she know her children’s souls were already in heaven. So she’s now doomed to walk the Earth grounds. She wanders around rivers and lakes late in the night. She screamed/cries out “Ohhh mis hijos!!” (Oh, my children) And when you hear her cry late at night you’re already doommed cause she’s nearby even if she seems further away. It’s said if she is to find you she will become enraged realizing you’re not her kids and drown you in the closest body of water. She’s genuinely search a cursed spirit filled with much despair, grief and anger. She’s known to appear with long dark hair and a dirty white long dress.”

Context:

The informant says that even though they personally don’t believe in it, they’ve heard stories of family members encountering it, making it somewhat believable. They find it fascinating and tragic and finds it to be a story that they would pass down to others, especially having grown up with it themselves.

Analysis:

This narrative represents a legend as it occurs in the real world with some possible truth to it. It represents a story of injustice, jealousy, and grief, causing this pain to be continuously passed down to other people. It suggests the theme of being careful when you go out at night or else something bad might happen to you, which is also probably why it is told to young children as to warn against them from going out to unsafe places. La Llorona represents a revenant, a spirit brought back from the dead for revenge, or as spirit with unfinished business. The story also represents a religious concentration as the reason why she cannot move on is because of God not letting her into heaven due to the consequence of suicide. This focuses on the idea of motherhood due to the guilt she feels for murdering her kids in rage and dealing with infidelity from her husband, showing an importance for family and social connections in society.

Haunted Freshman Dorm

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Cupertino, California

1. TEXT/TRANSCRIPTION

“So this happened to my sister when she was a freshman in college. She told me that she always felt really uneasy in her dorm room. Like, every night she would get this weird feeling, like someone was watching her. Not just sometimes, but every night. She didn’t see anything at first, but she said it was hard to sleep, and she couldn’t shake that heavy, creepy feeling.

Then one night, she was lying in bed and felt the same thing, so she looked out the window. And she swears she saw someone staring back at her. But the wild part is, she lived on the seventh floor. There was no balcony, no ledge, nothing. Just this figure, staring right at her from outside the window.

She obviously freaked out. And later on, she found out that someone had died on her floor years before she moved in. After that, everything made a little more sense to her, but it was still super disturbing. She doesn’t really like to talk about it much.”

2. CONTEXT

“She told me this after she moved out of that dorm. I think she didn’t want to scare anyone while she was still living there, but after she left, she opened up about it. It’s not something she jokes about either, like, she really believes what she saw.

It’s one of those stories that our family always talks about now, but not in a ‘haha, spooky’ way. More like, ‘Wow, that actually happened to her.’ She’s still kind of uncomfortable when she remembers it. It definitely stuck with her.”

3. INTERPRETATION

This story gave me chills when I first heard it, not just because of the creepy image of someone staring into a 7th-floor window, but because of how real it felt to the person telling it. The emotional weight and fear in her sister’s experience really stood out to me. It reminded me that ghost stories aren’t always about what’s visible, sometimes it’s about the atmosphere, the tension, the feeling that something isn’t right.

There’s something deeply personal and psychological about the idea of being watched while you sleep. That sense of vulnerability, especially in a space that’s supposed to feel safe, like your dorm room, heightens the impact of the story. When she finally sees something, it becomes a visual confirmation of what she’s felt all along. That moment turns her unease into fear, but also into belief.

What makes the story even more meaningful is the historical layer, that someone had died on that floor years earlier. It connects her personal experience to a larger, possibly hidden history of the building. It also speaks to how haunted places aren’t just abandoned mansions or creepy woods, they can be everyday, lived-in spaces like college dorms. Places where young people are supposed to feel free and excited are suddenly connected to past trauma, making them feel unfamiliar and unsafe.

To me, this story reflects how personal folklore can develop in intimate spaces. It also shows how fear, especially when validated by later discoveries, can reshape how someone understands their own memories. Whether or not there was really someone at the window, the belief in that moment, the fear, the isolation, the later context of death, gives the story emotional and cultural power.