Collection Sheet
(1) Name of collector—Samantha Storer
(2) Type of folklore: The type of Folklore that my final project contains is Urban Legends. According to Brunvand, urban legends are “stories in a contemporary setting (not necessarily a big city), reported as a true individual experience, with traditional variants that indicate its legendary character (Brunvand, p. 205). My project is considered around the basis of an urban legend because many of the stories told come from individual experiences. My project is also known as superstitions. Superstitions are “thought of as naïve popular beliefs, usually concerning chance, magic, or the supernatural, that are logically or scientifically untenable” (Brunvand, p. 371). My project is made up of superstitions and story that may or may not be of fact, but otherwise an urban legend.
(3) Informant, place and date of collection: Diana Storer, is a divorced mother of three, she is retired and lives in Washington Court House, Ohio however, grew up in Sabina and Chillicothe area. I collected the information from her throughout the month of November. Robert Morman, is a single police officer whom lives in Groveport, Ohio. I received my information from him throughout November. JoAnn Storer, is a widowed mother of three, grandmother of seven and great-grandmother of six, she has lived in Wilmington, Ohio since her teens (around the year 1945). Data was also collected from multiple websites.
(4) The exact text, custom or object: The information I had obtained are all on my website I have created. These superstitions and sayings have been posted in full detail.
(5) Context: I visited both my mother at home and told them both that I was doing a project based around superstitions and sayings that people have grown up listening too. Both my mother and grandma began to list different things they have heard growing up and it’s interesting because my grandma was born in 1933 and my mom was born in 1952, yet they both seemed to have heard the same stories. We were sitting around the living room and I began to write these things down, as I wrote them I asked them where they have heard these stories from and they told me from friends and family. When I was talking to my fiancé, Robert Morman, he began to tell me different ones that he had heard from his mom, whom grew up in Georgia and Louisiana. So throughout the month I collected different sayings and superstitions from individuals from southern Ohio and even Georgia and Louisiana. However, I decided to do more research on the origins and to look at quite a few that I have heard in my lifetime.
(6) Analysis: I believe that the functions of these superstitions were to get others to believe in something you may have to say and from there the story becomes a legend. Because superstitions “involve beliefs, practices and procedures” (Brunvand, p. 371), I think that these people who started them were trying to get their culture out into the world for others to enjoy and understand.
I think that sometimes stories are told to get a shock value out of others or even to see a sense of happiness and joy. I think these things reveal different beliefs that a tribe or culture has and through them their beliefs can reach new heights.
(7) Works Cited:
Brunvand, Jan Harold. The Study of American Folklore. New York-London: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1998. Print.
Sims, Martha C. and Martine Stephens. Living Folklore. Utah: Utah State University Press, 2011. Print.
Lambert, Tim. Some Old Sayings Explained. Local Histories. <http://www.localhistories.org/sayings.html>
Expressions and Sayings.<http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/sayindex.htm>
Sanguinarius. Origins of Popular Superstitions.<http://sangi.sanguinarius.org/creative/OriginsOfPopularSuperstitions.pdf>
(2) Type of folklore: The type of Folklore that my final project contains is Urban Legends. According to Brunvand, urban legends are “stories in a contemporary setting (not necessarily a big city), reported as a true individual experience, with traditional variants that indicate its legendary character (Brunvand, p. 205). My project is considered around the basis of an urban legend because many of the stories told come from individual experiences. My project is also known as superstitions. Superstitions are “thought of as naïve popular beliefs, usually concerning chance, magic, or the supernatural, that are logically or scientifically untenable” (Brunvand, p. 371). My project is made up of superstitions and story that may or may not be of fact, but otherwise an urban legend.
(3) Informant, place and date of collection: Diana Storer, is a divorced mother of three, she is retired and lives in Washington Court House, Ohio however, grew up in Sabina and Chillicothe area. I collected the information from her throughout the month of November. Robert Morman, is a single police officer whom lives in Groveport, Ohio. I received my information from him throughout November. JoAnn Storer, is a widowed mother of three, grandmother of seven and great-grandmother of six, she has lived in Wilmington, Ohio since her teens (around the year 1945). Data was also collected from multiple websites.
(4) The exact text, custom or object: The information I had obtained are all on my website I have created. These superstitions and sayings have been posted in full detail.
(5) Context: I visited both my mother at home and told them both that I was doing a project based around superstitions and sayings that people have grown up listening too. Both my mother and grandma began to list different things they have heard growing up and it’s interesting because my grandma was born in 1933 and my mom was born in 1952, yet they both seemed to have heard the same stories. We were sitting around the living room and I began to write these things down, as I wrote them I asked them where they have heard these stories from and they told me from friends and family. When I was talking to my fiancé, Robert Morman, he began to tell me different ones that he had heard from his mom, whom grew up in Georgia and Louisiana. So throughout the month I collected different sayings and superstitions from individuals from southern Ohio and even Georgia and Louisiana. However, I decided to do more research on the origins and to look at quite a few that I have heard in my lifetime.
(6) Analysis: I believe that the functions of these superstitions were to get others to believe in something you may have to say and from there the story becomes a legend. Because superstitions “involve beliefs, practices and procedures” (Brunvand, p. 371), I think that these people who started them were trying to get their culture out into the world for others to enjoy and understand.
I think that sometimes stories are told to get a shock value out of others or even to see a sense of happiness and joy. I think these things reveal different beliefs that a tribe or culture has and through them their beliefs can reach new heights.
(7) Works Cited:
Brunvand, Jan Harold. The Study of American Folklore. New York-London: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1998. Print.
Sims, Martha C. and Martine Stephens. Living Folklore. Utah: Utah State University Press, 2011. Print.
Lambert, Tim. Some Old Sayings Explained. Local Histories. <http://www.localhistories.org/sayings.html>
Expressions and Sayings.<http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/sayindex.htm>
Sanguinarius. Origins of Popular Superstitions.<http://sangi.sanguinarius.org/creative/OriginsOfPopularSuperstitions.pdf>