NationStates Jolt Archive

Taking a break from all the political/religious/debate threads out there... let's have some stories from your home town/county/state/providence. any local myths, legends, ghost stories? Doesn't have to be true or even logical.

Here in Hawaii, I heard a tale that the reason why Kiluea is doing it's long eruption is that it's trying to destroy Waikiki. Apparently Pele (The Goddess of Fire) finds Waikiki offensive and is trying to remove the city from her sight.

Urban Legends by the bucketful (http://www.snopes.com)

Here are some they tell during the campus tour at UCLA.


A professor was sitting next to the math building on the first day of classes for the quarter and watched the students leave from a class in the chemistry building. There are four columns holding up the front of the chemistry building so the students have five possible paths to take to get out. The professor had an unusual memory and was able to notice the next day that each student took the same path between the columns on the second day as on the first day. The same happened every time that class got out during that quarter; no student from that class would take a different path past the columns. The professor looked up the class roster and the university directory, matched the names to the faces, and realized that the students who always took the path on the far left got an A, the students who took the middle left path got a B, the students who took the middle path got a C, and so on. So if you ever take a class in one of the chemistry lecture halls at UCLA, remember to take the path on the left. That's the left when you're facing out from the lecture hall. No wait, it's the left when you face the chemistry building from the math building. No wait, it was when you're facing out from...you'll have to decide.

The architect who designed the walkways and lights for the area just west of the main quad and north of Bruin Walk died while the area was being built up. He was buried under one of the stairs (this area is the side of a hill). Anyone who uses the step the guy is buried under will need to complete an extra quarter before graduating.

A student who flunked out of UCLA and went on to graduate from USC was hired many years later to design a fountain next to Knudsen Hall. He came up with a creative inverted design for the fountain. The highest part is around the edge and the water flows from there to a low point at the center. If the look at the Inverted Fountain from a distance, it looks like a toilet bowl and the building to the south of it looks like a toilet tank. It was a sneaky trick from that USC graduate.

An astronomy professor recruited two undergrads to make some minor observations from one of the telescopes on top of the math building. The two undergrads would come in during the early part of the night, not long after the professor had left. He liked to leave the telescope pointing 45 degrees above the horizon so he was quick to notice that the undergrads always left the telescope at an upangle of 1.4 degrees and an azimuthal angle of -85.4 degrees. That direction was far from the direction of the object the undergrads were supposed to be observing. One night, the professor had to come in to his office after the undergrads had left. He was curious about the direction they had been leaving the telescope so he went to the top of the building and looked through the telescope. He saw two girls in their pajamas in their dorm room in Sproul Hall

There is a law on the books in Fairbanks, no longer enforced, that says that it is illegal for a moose to be on the sidewalk. Back shortly after the town was founded (early 1900's), there was a bartender who had started feeding one of the local moose. Said moose became partly tamed, and would wander into the bar at any hour of the day. Understandably, this worried some of the patrons. While noting that they couldn't prohibit the man from having the moose on his private property, the city council noticed that there was a sidewalk around the bar. So they hit upon the idea of prohibiting moose from being on sidewalks.

While the story is amusing, I'd hate to be the officer citing said moose for the infraction.

There is a building at UAF that was said to be modeled after the J Edgar Hoover building in DC. The idea was that said building was built during the height of the student protest movement during the '60's, so it was built the way it was so that the faculty could hole up in case of a student riot until the National Guard could show up.

Said building also has an interesting story about it's construction. When it was constructed, the university was a bit tight on funds, so they calculated out exactly everything that they would need and bought it all in bulk. However, when they finished, they noticed that they had a huge pile of rebar left over. They x-rayed the building, and the story is that the 7th floor has no rebar in the concrete.

A student who flunked out of UCLA and went on to graduate from USC was hired many years later to design a fountain next to Knudsen Hall. He came up with a creative inverted design for the fountain. The highest part is around the edge and the water flows from there to a low point at the center. If the look at the Inverted Fountain from a distance, it looks like a toilet bowl and the building to the south of it looks like a toilet tank. It was a sneaky trick from that USC graduate.
Now that I would like to see. :D

My cousin owned a resturant/bar in a small mall in Manoa Valley on Oahu. Next door is a comunity playhouse with a small cemetary. The playhouse was undergoing renovation and a large portion was being rebuilt.

One night, one of his employees, a large Samoan went to the main room to retreive his instriment when he came Running back, swearing he saw a ghost. of course when they went to investigate, nothing was there. He himself saw an older woman sitting in the back booth enjoying the music. when he went to the booth to see if everything was ok, the booth was empty. questions to his employees revealed that no one was seated at the booth all night. Eventually, almost every staff member had at least one ghost sighting (only sightings) and this went on until the renovations were done. Then the Ghostly visitors to his restraunt stopped coming.

Now that I would like to see. :Dhttp://www.uclanews.ucla.edu/page.asp?menu=mediaserv&submenu=photos_broll
The sixth picture there is the only one I could find of the inverted fountain. It would need to be from farther away in order to get the whole toilet look. The fifth picture is of the steps with the dead guy under them.

There is alwase the myth of bush's intellegence...

the darwin awards....love those books

These are actually true...

The University of Nevada, Reno has a Jeffersonian Academic Quad modeled after the one designed by Thomas Jefferson at the University of Virgina, just a little bit smaller. One end of the Quad is Morrill Hall, the oldest building on campus, and the other end is anchored by the Mackay School of Mines building, a beautiful old building built in 1908 and by the John Mackay statue.

First, the Mackay statue is John Mackay dressed as a miner from the Comstock era (the richest strike of silver in history). The statue is supposed to be looking to Virgina City, where he made his money, but is actually looking to the right far too much. His right hand rests on the handle of a pickax that is far to large to have been used in the mines, it's actually a street pickax from San Francisco. There were also no pictures of John Mackay's body, so the artist (who went to carve Mt Rushmore later) used a man of the name of Sutro as the body and stuck Mackay's head on. Sutro went to become one of the greatest mayors in San Francisco's history, so when the city wanted a statue of HIM, they came to UNR, coppied the statue's body and then stuck Sutro's head back on.

The statue was supposed to be in front of the state capitol in Carson City, Nevada. However, the state legislature objected saying that it wouldn't be right to have a mining statue in front of the state captiol (at the time, Nevada hadn't legalized gambling so mining was the state's ecconomy, go fig). The Mackay family was a little miffed and offered the statue to the university instead. The university was happy to accept the statue, but didn't have a building to place it in front of. The Mackay family responding by donating the money for the Mackay School of Mines and endowing it.

The building itself was redone in the mid 90's for earthquake retrofitting (it's now on rollers). In the middle of that they moved the school's mining library into the building. In keeping with the brass and wood decore that was in the building from the 1900's the university ordered brass drinking fountains. However, someone at the company made a small mistake and all the drinking fountains in the library at 24k gold plated.

The university only payed for the brass fountains though.

And these are all true.

There is alwase the myth of bush's intellegence...
Oh, yeah, good one. :rolleyes:

My high school had a tradition whereby on the first day of the schoolyear the pricipal would go to the top of the a hill overlooking the admin building and ring a bell three times.

The legend goes that our school's first principal wanted to get it exactly right (there is quite a bit of ritual involved) and practised it until midnight the night before school started. For one reason or another he suffered a heart attack and died.

So it's rumoured that if you take the bell (somethign very hard to to because it's looked away behind three inch glass) and ring it three times on that hill, at midnight, the nigh before school begins the original principle will appear...

and I dunno, educate you...?

Well, according to my students, the fourth stall of the girl's bathroom is haunted by a ghost named Himiko-san, who's main job it seems is just to scare girls silly.

Also, I am told, there is a shrine in the city next to me that houses the spirt of a woman (the daughter of a local lord) who was so ugly that she could never get married and eventually commited suicide. According to local legend, if a beautiful woman attemtps to enter the shrine grounds, things will suddenly fall and try to hit her. Also, if you wish to break up with someone, you should take her to the shrine as the ghost will never let couples stay together.

Well, According to a friend of mine, theres a ghost haunting the corridors in our science department. Apparently its female.

Well, according to my students, the fourth stall of the girl's bathroom is haunted by a ghost named Himiko-san, who's main job it seems is just to scare girls silly.
Heard a similar story, thought it was Hanako-san tho...

Another popular legend in Hawaii (got lots) is you never take Pork accross the Koolau Mountains in Ohau. it offends the Boar God. Many stories abound about cars breaking down when carrying raw pork. the cars (and those towing them) refuse to start up until the pork is removed and thrown away.

Several of my friends and co-workers swear that happened to them.

Here is a boring historical urban legend about Buffalo, NY:

Apparently, when the French came upon the Niagara River, just before the falls that stated to the Indians that were guiding them, "Beau Fleuve" or beautiful river. Supposedly the Indians assumed they were referring to the Bison grazning nearby. When the trading post was erected nearby it was called Buffalo.

This is patently untrue, but a romantic story for an otherwise unromantic city.

:D Urban legends (ULs) are a favorite subject of mine.

Well, according to my students, the fourth stall of the girl's bathroom is haunted by a ghost named Himiko-san, who's main job it seems is just to scare girls silly.

Himeko? That's an interesting local variation of a very common one here. The ghost in the fourth stall is usually named Hanako (or Toire no Hanako-san).

(looks like JuNii beat me on that one...)

Some other common ULs from Japan include variations on several old standards like the vanishing hitchhiker and the hook.
Local variations of the vanishing hitchhiker usually involve a local women's university located on a hill top. Local taxi drivers will refuse to pick up co-eds looking for a ride up the hill after dark because of the dissapearing ghost of a student who was killed in an accident.
Another common old standard is women solo-travellers being kidnapped by white slavers in third world countries

Some uniquely Japanese ones are the "hanage pain scale", "hell pot", and "PM Mori's English mistake"

The Hanage pain scale legend claims that the ISO has standardised a pain scale based on the pain of pulling a 1 cm nose hair out with a force of 1 N.
Stubbing your toe rates two or 3 kilo hanages. And labor pains are supposedly
measured in megahanages. This one started off as a joke.

The hell pot legend is a sort of variation on the boiled frog legend (which claims if you raise the water temperature slowly, the frog won't jump out of it). Live fish (sometimes eels) are put in a pot and the water is slowly heated. The fish will try to get out when the water is too hot. You then throw in a block of cold tofu. The fish burrow into it to escape the heat. You end up with boiled fish encased in tofu. (No, it doesn't work.)

And PM Mori's English mistake is a story from several years ago. Prime Minister Mori (had a reputation for stupidity. His English skills were rather poor, and he was given some quick lessons before meeting with Clinton (circumstances and locations vary). He was coached to ask "How are you?". When Clinton answered "I'm fine.", he was to reply "Me too." He flubbed the first line and asked "Who are you?" Clinton replied "I'm Hillary's husban." to which Mori replied "Me too." :p
That one got it's start as a joke in a weekly tabloid, but I forget which one. I have heard it exists in variations in other Asian nations.

And of course there are the urban legends among the gaijin (foreign) community.

The magic train commuting pass is an old standard. Since trains are the most common transport for commuters, JR and other train services sell monthly passes. The UL claims that a lucky gaijin accidentally managed to get a train pass with "special powers". The way he got it and the exact nature vary. Sometimes it's just an accident, but sometimes he pushed just the right combo of buttons on a vending machine or ticks just the right "secret box" on the application form. The pass either is good for an unlimited area or an unlimited time, and sometimes both.

The crazy homeless English teacher is another good one. In this UL, a Gaijin English teacher goes crazy from a combination culture shock and the pressures of life in big city Japan. The poor guy can now be found living on the streets or at a homeless encampments.

There are also numerous ULs about eikaiwas (a large private suplimentarry English conversation school). Most of these are associated with NOVA, the largest eikaiwa (and the largest employyer of foreign nationals in Japan, AFAIK). Some people claim it was founded by a Yakuza family as a money laundering scheme. That's also been told about other eikaiwas.
NOVA has a very strict "non-socialization" policy (I've been told that teachers have been told they must even leave a shop if a student enters). There are various stories about why this policy was instituted, and they are usually sex scandals. Things like a student and teacher being caught in the act, teachers seducing minors, etc. However, I don't know of any confirmed cases of that.

Finally, there are the international ULs about Japan. Of these, my favorite is that martial artists (especially "black belts") must register their hands with the police as "deadly weapons". That's entierly untrue, although martial arts training may be taken into account in criminal cases such as assault.

Oh, and a couple more funny ones.

South Pole Number One is apparantly the name of an infamous sex doll a Japanese all male expedition to Antarctica took with them. It was supposed to have been made from a department store mannequin equiped with rubbeer female genitalia and had no legs. It was also supposedly too creepy to have been used. This one is unconfirmed.

Stories about schoolgirls prostituting themselves to buy designer label handbags are true, but exaggerated. The same goes for high school girls selling their used-panties (and even uniforms) to fetishists, including via vending machines. But neither one is in fashion any longer.

Most people have heard of the Bigfoot, or Sasquatch, of the Pacific Northwest. There have been many sightings over the years, though none have been shot or captured to be studied by science.

A less well-known aspect of the Bigfoot is his ability to become invisible. This has been reported by eyewitnesses in several states, including deputy sheriffs in northern California.

An Indian legend says that a small coastal tribe had been reduced by warfare and slaving to the point they could no longer survive. They left in their canoes toward the setting sun and were not seen again for many generations. When they returned, they had become ugly ape-like creatures, much larger than men. With much praying and fasting they discovered the secret of invisibility, but the price they paid was the hideous change in their appearance.

Bigfoot to this day has a strong affinity for native Americans, and frequently camps near Indian settlements. Occasionally they treat the ill with herbs, but never speak. They are terrified of dogs, and vice versa. A Bigfoot in the area will have dogs howling in fear and with unusual pitch. Dogs are often found beaten to pulp, usually grasped by the chain and swung with great force against the side of a house or the ground.

Humans also are sometimes affected psychically by the presence of Bigfoot - an unnatural fear, paralyzing in it's intensity, also causes the hair to stand straight on end.

I worked as a timber faller in Washington State and collected Bigfoot stories from the guys that work and hunt in those woods. I had one experience myself, and there's no question in my mind of their existence.

Most people have heard of the Bigfoot, or Sasquatch, of the Pacific Northwest. There have been many sightings over the years, though none have been shot or captured to be studied by science.

A less well-known aspect of the Bigfoot is his ability to become invisible. This has been reported by eyewitnesses in several states, including deputy sheriffs in northern California.

An Indian legend says that a small coastal tribe had been reduced by warfare and slaving to the point they could no longer survive. They left in their canoes toward the setting sun and were not seen again for many generations. When they returned, they had become ugly ape-like creatures, much larger than men. With much praying and fasting they discovered the secret of invisibility, but the price they paid was the hideous change in their appearance.

Bigfoot to this day has a strong affinity for native Americans, and frequently camps near Indian settlements. Occasionally they treat the ill with herbs, but never speak. They are terrified of dogs, and vice versa. A Bigfoot in the area will have dogs howling in fear and with unusual pitch. Dogs are often found beaten to pulp, usually grasped by the chain and swung with great force against the side of a house or the ground.

Humans also are sometimes affected psychically by the presence of Bigfoot - an unnatural fear, paralyzing in it's intensity, also causes the hair to stand straight on end.

I worked as a timber faller in Washington State and collected Bigfoot stories from the guys that work and hunt in those woods. I had one experience myself, and there's no question in my mind of their existence.

Uhhh...

This...guy is crazy, and...no one should listen to him.

Yes, thats right...Bigfoot doesnt exist.

An old folklore from Norway says that when there's flash and thunder, it's the Norse god Thor that is out killing trolls with his hammer Mjølner while he is driving his cart that is pulled by two goats...

Some folklore here from my home in Germany:

There's a village close to the town where I've been born called Tiefenellern. The villagers will tell the story of a ghost that can be seen on some nights in the village. It's a carriage in which 3 or 4 young women can be seen, driven by a headless coachman through the village and up the mountain to a cave that's called Jungfernhoehle (http://www.landschaftsmuseum.de/Bilder/Jungfernhoehle-1.jpg) - Virgins' Cave.
In 1958, this legend poked the curiosity of an old treasure hunter; after all, if there's a ghost, there's got to be treasure, right?
He went to explore the cave and struck something both amazing an slightly troubling. Human bones were found, mostly of young women, all of the skulls had holes above the right temple and all their teeth were pulled out. Further investigation found that some of the bones were charred.
What was found there was an stone age ritual site that obviously had seen at least 40 human sacrifices.

What I find most amazing is that the people living in the area remembered those events in a ghost story over thousands of years...

Uhhh...

This...guy is crazy, and...no one should listen to him.

Yes, thats right...Bigfoot doesnt exist.

hey... don't let this guy pet your dog!

I always like the urban legend of the people who will drug you and steal your kidneys. Organ theft is just so spooky!

Oh, and a couple more funny ones.

South Pole Number One is apparantly the name of an infamous sex doll a Japanese all male expedition to Antarctica took with them. It was supposed to have been made from a department store mannequin equiped with rubbeer female genitalia and had no legs. It was also supposedly too creepy to have been used. This one is unconfirmed.

Stories about schoolgirls prostituting themselves to buy designer label handbags are true, but exaggerated. The same goes for high school girls selling their used-panties (and even uniforms) to fetishists, including via vending machines. But neither one is in fashion any longer.sorry, but that kinda indicated to me that it was once in fashion...


and as fashions go... it might be once more... [shudder]

sorry, but that kinda indicated to me that it was once in fashion...


and as fashions go... it might be once more... [shudder]


Yep, saying something is no longer in fashion means exactly that it once was. But sex businesses in Japan have managed to be pretty creative, so it might come back into fashion but I'm not betting the ranch on it...

Yep, saying something is no longer in fashion means exactly that it once was. But sex businesses in Japan have managed to be pretty creative, so it might come back into fashion but I'm not betting the ranch on it...
*wonders what could be more "creative" than vending machines dispensing used Underwear.*

:eek:

Nevermind.