Informant

ET is a Memphis, Tennessee resident who recalls this particular supernatural urban legend he heard from his social groups as a teenager. This is a classic case of teenagers passing rumors along orally.

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The Free Masons are a religious secret society. The informant’s mom’s friend is supposedly a member of the Free Masons. They are a cult characterized by chapters across the world and secret handshakes and unique vernacular. They have certain symbols and calls & response that can be recognized by outsiders, but their secret nature encourages conspiracy. Apparently, the requirements to join isn’t high, but faith in a specific God is necessary. A rural neighborhood in memphis referring to themselves as the Church of St. Peter, but everyone else regards them as Voodoo Village due to the vast amount of Masonic imagery desplayed around the neighborhood. It’s located near the backwoods with few ever visiting or residing there, but plenty of rumors come out of it from visits driving through or by. These include:

• Dead cats and dogs hanging from trees
• Cars breaking down in the middle of town
• Hearing whispers following you around
• Getting chased by crazy people with baseball bats
• A van is parked by a dead end street that will supposedly pull over and block you in if you enter the street
• Weird bonfires and spells during the Satanic Panic

It is not advised to exit your car while passing through, but teenagers often dare each other to visit or visit together as a legendary quest, especially on Halloween.

Analysis

This urban legend feels very classic, modern Americana to me from the Satanic Panic to the car breaking down being a very American horror, set in a largely white state with “that one part of town” nobody dares goes to, likely reflecting a marginalized, poor, neglected, and harrassed, lower-class minority neighborhood. It feels akin to the classic Act 1 setup for a 2000s teen movie that would be used as Propp’s 2nd Function, the interdiction warning the hero against something while letting the audience know that’s where the story is headed. Additionally, Tennessee is a highly religious state prone to superstitions as reflected by the Satanic Panic the informant mentioned, and as it’s not exactly a state known for a lot of attractions, the Midwest Blues of “nothing to do” compels the teenagers to seek out thrills such as legendary questing the local devil-town rumors. It represents the “other world” heroes must exit the safety of their home to enter shown by many models of narratives, even Campbell’s hero’s journey, and its attunement on Halloween further reflects how it serves as a space of inversal where the usual norms and rules are no longer in place. This becomes even more true when it is Halloween. The social implications of this location likely being a marginalized and neglected neighborhood somewhat reflects the American south’s xenophobia toward anything that doesn’t match their ideal of a neighborhood.