Tag Archives: legend

German Local Legend

Nationality: American
Primary language: English
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Seattle, WA

Text

There’s a mountain range in southern Germany in which, during springtime, there are many waterfalls and fast rivers. There was once a farmer traveling with his cows at the top of the mountain. Suddenly, one of his cows was swept away into the river. He looked for the cow, but couldn’t find it. Later, people further down the mountain suddenly saw the cow shoot out of the waterfall. To this day, whenever you pass by that waterfall, people tell this story, saying, “A cow once shot out of this waterfall.” There’s even a sign about it next to the waterfall!

Context

BW was 10 or 11 when she heard this story. She was a military brat, and when her father was stationed in Germany, the military base she was staying at had a hotel nearby. BW’s family visited and hiked in the mountains during their stay. BW heard this story from a tour guide or a local who knew the area well. She doubts that this was a true story, and thinks it was probably a silly way to encourage people to use caution around waterfalls. She also notes that there were quite a few waterfall caverns in this mountain range, so perhaps this was a way for locals to add lore to a notable geographical landmark.

Analysis

Legends always have unknown truth value, and often tell us about people’s values and fears. This particular German legend seems “untrue,” but whether or not a cow shooting out of a waterfall is possible isn’t relevant for the area this story belongs to. The inclusion of a farmer and his cows as the main figures of the story are notable, hinting that this area did or does value agriculture and require farming jobs. After all, legends take place in the real past or present, not a fantastical world. More interesting, though, is what’s at the heart of the story: the loss of the farmer’s cow to the waterfall. I believe that this represents the way in which nature is uncontrollable and unpredictable. Weather in the mountains can be harsh, and I imagine that snow, rain, wind, and other conditions would make growing crops and living in a mountain range a difficult endeavor. The farmer’s loss of his cow demonstrates the way in which people trying to live in this mountain range might lose precious resources in unpredictable ways to the climate around them. However, this legend has an amusing end, with the cow returning to fly out of the waterfall. This is a humorous image–cows aren’t supposed to fly out of waterfalls!–and according to BW is used as a fun tidbit. I believe that this is a way for residents of this German mountain range to make light of their fears about nature and loss. The possibility of losing precious resources without warning is scary, but this legend makes it seem less so. Additionally, the potential survival and return of the cow from the waterfall is hopeful, implying that the residents of this mountain range want to stay optimistic even in the midst of hard times.

Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival Myth

Nationality: Chinese-American
Age: 19
Occupation: Barista/Student
Residence: Mercer Island, WA

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A very long time ago, there were 10 suns in the sky. Crops and people were dying because of the excess heat from too many suns. One day, a really good archer named Houyi decided he’d solve the problem by shooting down the suns. He succeeded, shooting down nine out of ten of them. The people were happy, and afterwards, Houyi married a girl name Chang’e. He was rewarded for his feat with a special medicine ball, but told only to eat it when he was about to die. Later, Houyi went hunting, leaving his wife at home. Thieves broke into their house and demanded that Chang’e give them the medicine ball. Chang’e refused, but when the thieves insisted, she ate it rather than risk it falling into their hands. As a result, she floated all the way up to the moon. Houyi was extremely sad. Chang’e is said to still be there today. There are other versions of this story where Chang’e chooses to eat the ball without the intervention of thieves or where Houyi grows evil and Chang’e eats the ball to prevent Houyi from using it.

Context

AZ was between 4 and 5 when she first heard this legend. She can’t remember where she first first it, but recalls that it’s generally told during the Mid-Autumn Festival or in school. This celebration is all about the moon at its brightest and roundest, and the legend is shared to honor Chang’e for eating the ball to protect it from being used for bad things. AZ says this story is the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The story is very nostalgic for her. AZ told me that she prefers the version she told over the alternate versions. She doesn’t know what the story might mean or represent.

Analysis

There’s a lot to this myth, which seems to have many variations and hold lots of value in Chinese culture. I designate this as a myth because it is not only a creation story, but also appears to be sacred. It’s the origin of a large, annual celebration, denoting its importance in China. I think that this myth expresses the importance of the Sun and moon in Chinese culture, as well as their intrinsic connection to human beings. This is because both bodies have major importance in the story: Houyi is reason there’s only one sun, and his shooting down of the other nine leads to his to his ownership of the ball; and Chang’e’s choice to eat the ball takes her to the moon, where she remains to this day. Chang’e’s and Houyi’s decisions to take action in order to protect the world around them highlights the importance of strength, virtue, and courage in Chinese culture. This is further emphasized by alternate versions of the tale mentioned by AZ. In the one in which Houyi turns evil, Chang’e’s choice to eat the ball is still courageous, strong, and virtuous. In the one in which Chang’e chooses to eat the ball, being stranded on the moon is her punishment, warning others to choose virtue over desire. Since this myth still shapes an important celebration in China and continues to be told, I believe that these values are still important to the culture in the modern day.

Peddocks Island Ghost Story

Main Piece

Informant CH told many ghost stories from the Boston Harbor, on islands near her hometown. She recalls that of the islands, Peddocks Island was the “scariest place she’s ever been” and that she was taken there on a camping trip in both 7th and 8th grade.

An island tour guide who frequents Peddocks told her and her classmates of ghost stories that took place there–there are abandoned wartime barracks on the island and an abandoned ship watchtower, and the grounds are said to be haunted. One such story involves “hearing someone playing a piano, but there’s nobody there.”

While on a walk with another 7th grade peer at night by the barracks, CH and her friend saw a wandering man in a “war helmet with a visor,” wearing black, green, and white. He was “limping and had a gun slung over his shoulder.” They both screamed and the figure didn’t react at all. He was “walking on a path that didn’t exist” and, upon later recollection, CH added that she didn’t remember his walking making any sound. When they returned to camp and told of the occurrence, other teachers and peers didn’t believe them and asked why they all didn’t see it if something was there.

The next day, CH and her peers were taken to a history museum, where she saw photos of soldiers with the “same color grade and hats with visors and everything.” She learned that soldiers used to be trained on this island, and there used to be homes and hospitals set up on the grounds where she was camping.

The next year, CH returned as an 8th grader and, while staying in tents by the old watchtower, she saw a “girl…sketching the exact same guy because she said that she also saw him.”

Interpretation

Informant Interpretation: CH believes this story to be one example of many haunted stories told about Boston Harbor, and traces this back to the fact that “this is the portion that still retains its history.” No one builds or tears things down on the island. “The life as it was is still how it is,” CH mentioned, which makes it a “magnet” for stories like this. CH noted that she honestly believes she and her friend saw a ghost that day, and that this occurrence made her think ghosts dwelled in a parallel world (as he didn’t acknowledge her or her friend) rather than haunting this one.

Personal Interpretation: I found this story to be emblematic of a regional perspective on haunting, as permitted by the history of Boston Harbor–as a city much older than many others in America, it feels more in touch with its history. This plays out in CH’s legend by virtue of haunting coming about in old, untouched places–ghosts become representative of the collective public memory, remaining relevant because so much physical history and buildings remain too. I think it’s also an apt example of human perception informing folk narrative–observation of physical land features, attitudes of locals, and sheer emotional intuition all lend themselves towards forming regional beliefs and legends.

Background

My informant is a current student of Theatre at the University of Southern California, originally from Hull, Massachusetts (located on a peninsula on Boston Harbor). She grew up there, and notes that her family has strong ties to the area. Both of her parents believe in ghosts, though she believes there to be a general local apprehension about their existence around the Harbor.

CH is white and of European (primarily Irish) descent, and female-presenting.

“The Lady In Black” Ghost Story

Main Piece

Informant CH recalls hearing a story from her Mom about “The Lady in Black,” a ghost who dwells on George’s Island in the Boston Harbor.

As told by CH, the Lady in Black was wrongfully convicted for a murder she didn’t commit, and hung on prison grounds. She now haunts these grounds, wailing. Prisoners have heard a woman’s cries in the prison, but there wasn’t anyone there.

The Lady in Black was “not a real person” (in terms of corporealness), and “couldn’t physically interact with anything,” and seemed “bound” to the site of the prison. Hearing her cries startled prisoners, and CH recalls that the legend of the Lady in Black is well-recorded and published in regional folklore. While discussing it, CH was unsure of more specific details and mentioned that I should look up further details, as she’s uncertain if her memory of the story aligns with the published materials.

Interpretation

Informant’s Interpretation: CH sees the story of the Lady in Black as a reminder of the wartime history of Boston Harbor. She also believes that the abundance of stories about Boston Harbor–particularly pertaining to ghosts–has to do with a permeating regional desire to “figure out what happened” and have an accurate understanding of history that’s still so well represented and physically present.

Personal Interpretation: I drew similarities between CH’s story of the Lady in Black to the Irish banshee, a wailing woman who acts as a harbinger of death. Being that the Lady in Black was particularly noted to be heard by prisoners and a victim of a wrongful hanging, I felt her association with death was particularly strong. This seems representative of a place (particularly a prison with heavily militaristic history) that has a great deal of death associated with it. Thus, I felt the haunting and its nature to be deeply tied to the literal and physical history of the island.

Background

Informant CH is a current student at USC pursuing a degree in Theatre. She grew up in Hull, Massachusetts, and noted that her Mom grew up in the same town and the “islands have been her life.” CH heard this story from her, and thinks it likely came up because she mentioned thinking she’d seen a ghost when she was young (elementary to early middle school), and her parents responded by telling her about the Lady in Black. CH notes that due to this story and other personal experiences, she believes in ghosts, as do her parents.

CH is white and of European descent (primarily Irish), and is female-presenting.

Haunted Bookstore in CA

Main Piece

Informant SF tells of their favorite recycled bookstore in downtown Campbell, CA. They associate it with being “full of old things,” and their family believes it to be haunted.

This specific familial legend comes from a time SF, her mother, and grandfather were all shopping at the story together when SF was about 16. Their grandpa, who believes in ghosts, “swore he saw a book fall off the shelf,” and when questioned by SF about the event, their Mom backed him up and affirmed she believed the store to be haunted.

As they had this discussion just outside of the store, all three began smelling cigarette smoke despite the fact that “no one was smoking.” They looked around and waited a while, but continued to smell it without finding a source. SF’s Mom and Grandpa both pointed to this as evidence for the bookstore being haunted, and they “never found out if someone was smoking.”

SF notes that she doesn’t know if she believes in ghosts, but if she did this is one she’d believe in, particularly because the store is “full of things people used to own.” They also found it odd that their Mom leaned into affirming that the place was haunted, as she “doesn’t really say that” about other places.

Interpretation

Informant’s Interpretation: SF attributes her family’s delineation of the space as haunted primarily to its status as a recycled bookstore. She notes that she believes haunting legends are much more common around/associated with items that have been owned by many people and have an unclear history.

Personal Interpretation: I agree with the interpretation above, and add that the impossibility of finding out the history of items / untraceable origins creates a stronger premise for ghost stories to arise. “Nobody really knows” is much more intrigue-invoking than a clear-cut explanation. I also found SF’s story to be indicative of how familial belief frequently strongly influences personal belief–SF noted she was more inclined to believe the space was haunted because she “believes what [her] family says.”

Background

Informant SF is a current student at USC pursuing a degree in Cinema and Media Studies. They grew up in San Jose, CA, and are very close with their parents, sisters, and grandparents. SF is white and Latine.