Tag Archives: Supernatural

The Ghost of Avalon

Text: “In the summer of 1987, right after I graduated from high school, my family rented an old beach house on the 200s block Claressa Street in Avalon on Catalina Island. For those who know Avalon, it was founded in the late 1800s and became an upscale vacation destination in the early 1900s. My great-grandparents had a long-sold off house there and once the iconic Art Deco casino was built in the 1920s, the big bands would come and host their national radio programs from there while dressed-up couples danced the night away overlooking the bay. 

The old beach houses (and Casino) are known for being haunted with spirits from vacations past, but there wasn’t any reason for me to believe it since I’d never seen anything myself in all the years my family had vacationed there. That changed that summer of 1987. 

The original Avalon beach houses all had a similar design with the bedrooms often opening up from each other rather than a hall. In other words you had to walk through one bedroom to get to another, train car style. I was in the bedroom that you could only reach from the one my parents were in, and I had to walk through their room to get to the bathroom.

We would spend the days on the beach and in the sun, and go to bed fairly early since almost all activity takes place there around the ocean. Not much happens at night in Avalon. So after dinner we’d play board games or cards, then go to bed so we could get up early for another day of surf and sun. 

I had gone to sleep that night as always and was awakened by a man standing at the end of the bed looking at me. He was dressed in a dated-style suit with a freshly starched dress shirt with crisp collar points that came up higher on his neck than was the style during the Reagan administration. He was wearing a tie and had a brown hat, rounded bowler style, on his head. He just stood at the foot of the bed looking at me. 

At first I thought I was still asleep, dreaming, or in the confused state between wakefulness and deep sleep. But once I sat up and knew I was 1000% awake and was scared even though he was just standing there looking at me with a benign expression on his face. 

I screamed thinking someone had broken into my bedroom and my mom came running out of her bedroom. She also saw him but knew immediately he wasn’t ‘real’, or flesh and blood like we were. 

She explained to him that he didn’t belong there, that we were in the house now for a visit and that he needed to move along. Just a few seconds later he disappeared into the air. No walking through walls or talking, just dissolved into the air at the foot of my bed. 

I was rattled the whole rest of our vacation but he didn’t appear again. The house is still standing as it was 40 years ago. I’ve walked by it on subsequent trips and thought of the tall, thin man in the suit that visited me.”

Context: This story was shared by the informant, who was a young child at the time of the experience. The event marked a significant moment in the informant’s life, as it was the catalyst for their belief in the supernatural. Prior to this encounter, the informant had not paid much attention to stories of ghosts or spirits, but the vivid and unsettling experience that summer changed their perspective. The informant interprets this as the beginning of their belief in such phenomena, as it was the first time they had directly encountered something they couldn’t explain through logic or reason.

Since then, the informant has experienced several other supernatural encounters, reinforcing their belief in the paranormal. The informant’s perspective is further shaped by the fact that their mother had similar beliefs and, before she passed, shared other stories of her own supernatural experiences. This shared experience between the informant and their mother helped to strengthen their connection to the supernatural world and solidified the informant’s conviction that these types of encounters are real.

Analysis: The figure in the story—a man dressed in an old-fashioned suit—seems to reflect a historical presence tied to the location, adding to the eerie atmosphere of the old beach house. The figure’s benign, non-threatening demeanor contrasts with the fear that the informant felt, suggesting that the supernatural can be perceived as both unsettling and intriguing, rather than immediately harmful.

The way the informant handled the experience—by accepting the figure’s presence and interpreting it as part of a larger, supernatural world—illustrates how personal beliefs can be shaped by direct experiences. This encounter became a touchstone for the informant’s worldview, influencing how they view similar occurrences in the years that followed.

This story also underscores the broader cultural theme of haunted locations, especially in areas with long histories like Avalon. The idea of spirits lingering in places with significant pasts is a common motif in folklore. The informant’s ongoing belief in the supernatural and the continuation of similar experiences suggest that such encounters are seen not as anomalies but as part of a larger, unexplainable reality that transcends time and space.

Informant Info

Race/Ethnicity: White

Age: 55

Occupation: Mother

Residence: Westlake Village, CA

Date of Performance: April 3, 2025

Primary Language: English

Other Language(s): N/A

Relationship: Parent

Evil Feeling While Sleeping

Age: 61

Folklore: J. describes being asleep in bed and suddenly feeling something on top of him pressing down on his chest, trying to kill him. He said the energy of whatever it was that was pushing down on him was negative and not a friendly force. It was something that he felt had malevolent tendencies and was trying to kill him. He wiggled around and tried to get out of it until he changed his mindset and it dissipated. 

Context: J. experienced this himself while trying to sleep one night. He hasn’t forgotten it since and immediately came to mind when asked about if he had experienced any supernatural encounters.

Interpretation: This is a memorate, a personal supernatural experience, that J. went through. It felt like an external force that was trying to actively hurt him. It’s similar to the widely accepted concept of sleep paralysis, which is sometimes interpreted as a spiritual attack. There are many folkloric beliefs surrounding forces that prey on people in their sleep and reflect cultural anxieties around loss of control.

Robert the Doll

Nationality: American
Age: 57
Occupation: Sales Representative
Residence: United States
Language: English

Text:

“The doll has supernatural abilities that allow it to move, change facial expressions, and make giggling sounds. Supposedly it is aware of what’s going on around it. It also is said to be able to move things around and is the cause of mishaps around people who disrespect him. Some people have had misfortunes after visiting him. The story goes something like a boy gets the doll as a gift and then strange things start happening because of it. It’s also been said that if you take pictures of the doll without asking permission it will curse you.”

Context:

The informant describes hearing about from various shows and interprets it as just a supernatural or demonic being. They also believe its more of entertainment value but wouldn’t necessarily mess around with it if it’s true.

Analysis:

This legend represents the use of a cursed object, possessed by an evil demon or, in other words, a fetish. The power is invested in a physical object, where much of the meaning stems from. This is more of an urban legend due to its contemporary approach as something modern and spread through media, centered around the present. Americans seem to find value in the supernatural or paranormal due to a need for exploration or meaning in the unknown, such as death. Within the object itself, there is a theme of respecting others, where much of the bad luck or misfortune is due to disrespecting the doll/the entity within it. The purpose of the doll adds to finding meaning in the unknown as a way to explain bad events that happen, but also possibly based on some truth. This also connects with American fears of the unexplained or strange behavior. This also has some elements of magical ritual, such as appeasing the evil spirit by asking for permission to take a photo. Frazer brought the idea of sympathetic magic, which the doll relates to as the object itself influences or causes events to happen in the real world.

The Quran-Reading Jinn

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student

Informant Information:

Age: 18
Date of Performance: 4/01/2025
Language: English
Nationality: American
Occupation: University Student
Primary Language: English
Residence: Los Angeles, California

Legend Text:
“Aight so lemme tell you this story I heard from a Sheikh, right? He was talkin’ about this boy who went to some Islamic boarding school. Real quiet dude—didn’t really vibe with nobody. Like, he’d just be sittin’ by himself all the time, barely said a word to anybody. Never played, never joked, nothin’. Just… there.

But here’s where it gets weird. At night, the other boys start hearin’ this scratchin’—like real scratchin’, on the walls, the floor, soundin’ like somethin’ tryna claw its way through or somethin’. And it wasn’t no small sound either—loud enough to wake ‘em up. So they all freak out, runnin’ to the teachers all panicked like, “Yo! There’s somethin’ in the room!” But every time the teachers came, it was just silence. Nothin’ there. No marks, no animals, nothin’.

Now guess who never woke up? That boy. Slept through all of it like a baby. No tossing, no turning—just peaceful as ever, like he ain’t hear nothin’. And that’s when folks started whisperin’—sayin’ maybe he was possessed or some jinn was up in him. But like, they couldn’t prove nothin’, so it was just rumors.

Then one night, one of the teachers starts recitin’ Quran out loud, tryna bless the room or calm folks down or whatever. And boom—the quiet kid just sits up outta nowhere and starts recitin’ too. But the crazy part? He was killin’ it. Like, word-for-word, smooth, no stumbles. Dude was recitin’ like he’d been doin’ it his whole life, maybe even better than the teacher. Everybody just froze. Like, how you doin’ that with no practice, barely even talkin’ during the day?

So now everybody really trippin’. Cuz now they don’t know—is he just mad gifted? Like, maybe God really blessed him with that kind of talent? Or is it somethin’ else? Cuz the way he spoke, man… it ain’t sound regular. It ain’t sound human. Gave folks goosebumps. After that, nobody really knew what to think. Was it a miracle? Or was it the jinn speakin’ through him?”

Context:
The informant is Muslim and heard this story during Ramadan, a spiritually heightened time when discussions of the supernatural are common in Muslim households. She believed it was told to create awe, fear, and moral reflection.

Analysis:
This legend explores the mysterious boundaries between divine giftedness and supernatural interference. The Jinn here is not malevolent in the traditional sense but instead creates confusion around spiritual authenticity. It highlights the complex role Jinns play in Muslim culture—not just as spirits of fear but as beings capable of deep religious knowledge. The setting in a Quranic school emphasizes the sacred nature of the space and the high stakes of interpreting spiritual phenomena.

Warning From a Ghost Father

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Norristown, Pennsylvania
Performance Date: November 29, 2024
Primary Language: English

CONTEXT:

The informant holds this story as a memory from her childhood as she has now begun college. Her father passed away from cancer months after she was born and has been raised by a single mother. She has a close relationship with her mother and often learns about her father and his character. The story is a close connection to her family that her and her mother reminisce on. She is my lifelong best friend, and this story was told to me by her and recorded with the details she provided.

STORY:

“When I was really little my mom had a ghost encounter. I had a nanny for a while who would babysit me and take care of me when my mom was still working at her current job or if she was out late. Well, one night she was out pretty late and came home after I was asleep. She heard a bunch of footsteps or noises coming from upstairs where my bedroom is.”

“…I obviously don’t really remember this because I was still a baby, but my mom remembers it well and told me when I was older. But after hearing the noises, she walked upstairs to go to my room, and she thought she saw my dad, who died a year or so prior, in the area outside of my room upstairs. She said it was like an outline of him whose arm and finger were pointing into my bedroom, almost urging my mom to go in. She was caught off guard and entered my room.”

“…From there, she found a hat on top of the lap in the corner of the room. The light was on and the hat was scorching hot, like it probably would’ve started burning or catching fire within minutes. It most likely would have turned into a fire if she didn’t think she heard someone or something happening upstairs when she came in. The hat situation happened because my nanny made a dumb mistake and put the hat on the lamp while it was on and it got hotter and hotter. My mom fixed the situation at almost the perfect time after seeing the sight of my dad at the entry of my doorway.”

INFORMANT’S TAKEAWAY

“The sighting of my dad has to be connected to the problem with the babysitter. Considering it wasn’t very long since my dad passed away, I think he was definitely giving my mom a warning sign and kind of reconnecting with us in a sense during that moment. My mom hearing the noises right after entering the house also shows how she was meant to go up just in time. It’s genuinely such a crazy story and experience. My dead dad helped stop our house from catching on fire!”

PERSONAL THOUGHTS:

Ghosts tend to connect to superstitions or real-world events in unique ways like this. I think the sighting of the father’s ghost figure really brings together the concept of family and security. The ghost showing up to the mom not long after passing reveals the authenticity of the story, especially considering how he showed up during a time of danger with the burning hat. It also makes sense that he was there for his daughter since he died shortly after her birth. Overall, the mom’s experience underscores how ghosts appear to their families at certain important times.