LLC World News Blog

Supernatural Elements!

2009-11-14T00:50:08Z

Riding off of Halloween this week's world news theme is supernatural elements! Any spooky event, incident, or legend pertaining to a certain city or region, or anything spookier within each world news contributor's home country will be shared :)

Sincerely your World News editors,
Beyza, Jan, Jessa, Martina

"Nang Nak" or Thai Ghost Wife

2009-11-14T00:48:12Z

This week I would like to provide something related to the spooky Halloween event. It is about the legendary supernatural elements; "Nang Nak" or "Thai Ghost Wife" which is a very well known folk/ghost tale in Thailand. The popular legend tells that the story took place around mid 18th century. The story begins as a love story. A teenage girl named "Nak" fell in love with a handsome young man named "Maak". Shortly after they got married, "Maak" was conscripted for military service, involuntarily leaving his pregnant bride behind with tears and fears.

]]> The duteous wife waited for her lover's return but unfortunately that day did never come. "Nak" died of childbirth complications during labor along with her unborn child. Although they were buried instantly according to local tradition, her strong spirit refused to perish. When her husband came back from the war, the ghost of "Nak" disguised herself and her "infant son" as humans. A heartbreaking story of love from beyond the grave took place.

Despite her arduous effort to blind her husband from reality, she couldn't prevent him from learning the truth of her death. The revelation itself provided one of the most memorable scenes in the tale when "Maak" saw his wife oddly stretching her arm through the floor of their elevated house to pick up a fallen lime on the ground.

The supernatural romance then transformed into a frightening horror. The terrified husband ran away, and the scary ghost followed. In grief and despair "Nak" terrorized many country folks, venting her anger towards them for helping her husband to leave her. Eventually, her ghost was bound by a powerful exorcist. After confining her within an earthen jar, he threw it into the canal.

Here is the trailer of the movie that might help people who want to see the movie visualize what will happen next:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrAYmFQAZvw

Le meunier des fonds de Quarreux

2009-11-14T00:40:27Z

The Southern part of Belgium and especially the Ardennes, is a wild and hilly area covered with forests full of legends and myths. One of them is related to a place called ‘Les fonds de Quarreux’, on the Ambleve river near the city of Aywaille. At this very specific place the riverbed is packed with huge quartzite rocks which gave birth to a legend called the Miller of the fonds de Quarreux.

]]> A couple of centuries ago, a miller called Hubert Chefneux lived by the Ambleve river in the area of Quarreux. Hubert was very poor and he had great difficulties in sustaining his family. His windmill was in terrible condition so that he couldn’t really make a living out of it. One day that he was walking along the river, a man came to him and said: ‘Go in this direction and you’ll see the most beautiful mill you’ve ever seen.' So Hubert went and indeed, he saw the most magnificent mill he had ever witnessed. He thought of all the profit he could have made if he had had such a tool to work with.
On his way back home, Hubert came across another mysterious man, He told the stranger about what he had seen and the man listened carefully to him. Apparently, fate proved to be a great provider because the stranger told Hubert that he was a member of a builder corporation in Liege. Hubert said: ‘Well, if someone was able to build me such a mill, I would give my soul away.’ Seeing that Hubert was ready to sell his soul for a building, the man told him that he was one of the devil’s acquaintances and that he might be able to arrange a meeting for them. The stranger used the smoothest talk to convince Hubert to meet the devil. Hubert, who was desperate for a better situation for his family, finally accepted the deal.
He was supposed to meet the devil in seven days at midnight at the same place. When he got back home, he didn’t tell anything to his wife, Catherine, but she could see that he seemed pretty nervous and disturbed. The next day, Hubert went to the pub of the village. There, under the influence of alcohol, he told his story to one of his friends. Catherine who was hidden in the kitchen of the pub, overheard the conversation and got terrified at the idea of her husband selling his soul for a better windmill.
On the seventh day, Huber left the house shortly before midnight. His wife secretly followed him to his rendezvous. There she saw him discussing with the devil: Hubert sold his soul for a new mill that would make him able to sustain his family and to become wealthy. The next morning, their old windmill had been replaced by a brand new one. For a couple of weeks, the windmill worked perfectly and Huber started to make more and more money. But his wife couldn’t let him loose his soul and she decided to do something about it. The next night, she went into the new building and started to pray Our Lady of Dieupart. The next day, the sails of the windmill refused to move at all. As a result, Hubert could not work and so could not sustain his family: the deal was broken… The devil was in a mad rage because he could not get Hubert’s soul because of Our Lady of Dieupart’s protection. In his rage, he destroyed the building with thunder and all the blocks of stone that were used to build it were thrown away into the river, where they remain visible even nowadays. Hubert and his wife never got rich after all, but they lived a happy life and every time Hubert walked along the river, the rocks reminded him of Catherine’s love for him.

都市伝説 (Toshi Densetsu)

2009-11-14T00:40:09Z

I都市伝説(toshi densetsu) is initially just a story which has been told among people. As the time passes, the story becomes more scary and always involves "the ghost," or something we can't explain.

I do not really know how this transition occurred, but it is not hard to guess that people tend to make stories more exciting or memorable by adding scary elements. Also, there is an advantage that when it comes to "the ghost"- others cannot really argue the credibility of the story since there is not any scientist has a complete explanation of it.

]]> There are a couple websites which have updates on all of these Toshi Densetsu, as well as books that have been published in order to explain the history and formation of Toshi Densetsu.

http://blog.zombie.jp/4444/bbs/bbs48/cf.cgi">http://blog.zombie.jp/4444/bbs/bbs48/cf.cgi">http://blog.zombie.jp/4444/bbs/bbs48/cf.cgi

This is a blog website where people update and comment on all the Toshi Denstsu they have heard and "seen."

There is no book about Toshi Densetsu that is specifically famous, and most of them try to explain the truth of Toshi Denstu, which does not work very well.
Though my college professor of Sociology is a big fan of studying the formation of Toshi Densetsu and the effectiveness of Toshi Densetsu to the society, and he is enthusiastic enough to put these questions on our final exam, so maybe he will publish a book about it someday. I will surely introduce it to you.

However, there is one TV show I'd like you take away from here.
It called 世にも奇妙な物語(Yonimo kimyou na monogatari), and it is not necessarily to say they all come from Toshi Densetsu, but both of them have a creepy character.

This is the beginning preview of Season 2006/Fall and the first one could be listed as one of the creepiest stories in the show. There are also many other interesting stories that can be found on youtube, so I highly recommend you take a look of those, though I have to apologize that I could not find any English subtitle one.

This one is a story about all the suicide people have been "recycled" by the government. It is worth to take a look at because I think it well presents the combination of Japanese ecological idea and don't-bother-others cultural elements.

Folklore and bad luck in Sweden

2009-11-14T00:36:34Z

Something that exists in Nordic mythology is the creature called "Nattmaran." This creature was believed to have come in the form of a woman and would sneak into the bedroom at night through a keyhole. It would then sit on the man or woman’s chest and this would make them feel like they were being shocked. This is how the Swedish word "Mardröm,” which means nightmare, got into being .

]]> Another story that is common in Nordic mythology is the one about Trolls. It is said that they lived in the forests and in Sweden, the trolls would be giants. They would have a lot of gold, would be social (and be very social), and would only fear steel, church bells and sunlight because the sun would turn them into stone.

They could also have different cravings and would therefore take newborn babies and switch them with their own. But not only children were taken. It was believed that they sometimes lured people into the mountains and forest and when they return their mind would be damaged. That was called “Bergtagning” and is how they sometimes explained people with mental disorders.

When I was younger my mother always told be that certain thing meant bad luck. So here’s what some people say about different things in Sweden.

You will get bad luck if:
You break a mirror
Put keys, shoes or money on the table
A black cat crosses the road
You go under a ladder
You open an umbrella indoors

Killing a spider will make rain, you can’t give away a wallet without putting money in it and last but not least, if you have the hiccups someone is talking about you.

I don’t know why all these things are said but I once read that you should not put keys on the table because that is what prostitutes did when they wanted to show a man that they wanted him to come to their room. Which of course was not a proper thing to do.

La Llorona "The weeping woman"

2009-11-14T00:30:59Z

In different cultures, people tell and retell stories as a way of transmitting knowledge. In Latin America legends and myths are used to preserve collective memory of our history and traditions. These stories are retold from one generation to another, and sometimes they could suffer variations depending on the countries. Today, I would like to share with you the Colombian version of a bloodcurdling story about a woman called “La Llorona” (the weeping woman).

]]> Once upon a time there was a beautiful woman who married a wealthy man, they were very happy. This woman was overjoyed by her husband’s gifts and attentions. One day she realized, she was pregnant. After this day her husband started to change.

He started drinking and seeing other women, often leaving her alone for months.This devastated woman began to feel resentment toward her child. As time went by this terrible feeling was stronger and stronger. One evening, she couldn’t stand that situation anymore; so she took her child, walked into the forest, drowned her child in a river and killed herself. This woman was condemned to eternally suffer. Now, her spirit roams the rivers and creeks searching for her child, always weeping.

Take care of with your children because, according to tale, this spirit will kidnap wandering children.

Sources:
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/HC-WeepingWoman1.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Llorona

Haunted Kremlin

2009-11-14T00:20:04Z

Old fortresses, even after one battle, are sometimes claimed to have ghosts and spirits of defeated souls roaming them. Kremlin was priginally a fortress, then a castle of aort, and more recently served as headquarters for a major world power that was spreading workers' revolution throughout the world.

Internal political conflicts, assassinations of political leaders and signing of orders to murder millions of people taint the history of an architectural giant in the heart of Moscow. Legends of restless spirits that wander Kremlin were heard in all corners of Russian Empire and the fear-imspiring stories left people asking themselves just how much of Kremlin's bloody history remains classified or hidden.

]]> The ghosts of Kremlin include Lenin, Ivan the terrible, and Kirov as well as many simple folk whose names were lost before being recorded Russian history.

Originally, the area where Kremlin is situated today was a pagan "sacred" ground - people would come from areas nearby seeking healing from a large stone in the ground. After Byzanthium empire influenced Russia to convert into christianity, about 30 monasteries were surrounding the area, making the location a pilgrimage spot. When Russia became de-tribalized and centralized, the place that is now the Red Square was used for public executions and was surrounded by a moat, into which remains of tortured prisoners were thrown.
It was within the Kremlin walls that the infamous due to his brutality Ivan the Terrible killed his own son in blind rage. Tsar Nicolas I mentioned in his memoirs that the ghost of Ivan the Terrible visiting him in the royal quarters.
Ivan the Terrible is said to have hidden the books with lists of people he tortured and killed directly or indirectly - the black books, as Russian historians call them. Story has it, the monk who helped the Tsar with this task was forever trapped in Kremlin. Literally - Ivan the Terrible supposedly ordered to tie the monk and the books together forever and included them in the Kremlin wall, having put them behind feet of stone bricks. The spirit of the monk is also said to walk in the hallways of Kremlin, but without a single sound.
The most reportedly haunted areas of Kemlin are depicted on the map below. Kremlin has evolved over the years architecturally, but the historical significance of the suffering inflicted within its walls in the past will never change.

Some say that as long as Lenin's body remains in Mausoleum next to Kremlin, the spirit of Lenin will not have peace and that is why Lenin's ghost is rumored to appear in hallways as well.

The Communist party's right hand leader Kirov was assasinated within Kremlin, in a hallway leading from his own office. Ivan the Terrbile cursed his library and killed the person who knew where it was hidden. Stalin missed his headquarters in Kremlin when he was away from Moscow and is said to return there every now and then even today, from the world beyond. Kremlin won't know peace for a long time.

Friday the 13th

2009-11-14T00:18:30Z

Many people in Germany and in the world believe in the good or bad luck of Friday the 13th.
Friday has been considered an unlucky day at least since the 14th century's "The Canterbury Tales," and many other professions have regarded Friday as an unlucky day to undertake journeys or begin new projects. Black Friday has been associated with stock market crashes and other disasters since the 1800s.

]]> It has also been suggested that Friday has been considered an unlucky day because, according to Christian scripture and tradition, Jesus was crucified on a Friday. But in general there are two superstitions: Either Friday is an unlucky day and the number thirteen is an unlucky number.
No one has been able to document the existence of such beliefs prior to the 19th century. If people who lived before the late 1800s perceived Friday the 13th as a day of special misfortune, no evidence has been found to prove it. As a result, some researchers are now convinced the stigma is a thoroughly modern phenomenon compound by 20th-century media hype. Going back a hundred years, Friday the 13th doesn't even merit a mention in Germany. Cobham Brewer's voluminous 1898 edition of the Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, one does find entries for "Friday, an Unlucky Day" and "Thirteen, Unlucky."
Friday the 13th is a date which is used a lot by the film industries. They use the date for shooting new Horror Movies. They also use this date for publishing new books or the movies so that people are getting even more fascinated by the whole story behind it.

Spooky Ghost City in China

2009-11-14T00:16:54Z

Located on the north bank of the Yangtze River, Fengdu is an ancient city with a long history, known as the "Ghost City" to most Chinese people. It got its reputation as the "Ghost City" during the Eastern Han Dynasty (A.D. 25 - A.D. 220). Two officials from the imperial court: Wang Fangping and Yin Changsheng, got bored with the political life in the court and came to Mt. Minshan outside Fengdu City to practice Taoist teachings. Both of them later became immortals by carrying out self-cultivation. This story widely spread and made Mt. Minshan become famous. When combined together, their surnames Yin and Wang, sound very much like "King of Hell" in Chinese, hence the people began to call Fengdu the "Ghost City."

]]>

According to superstitious legend "the dead come to Fengdu and the devils go to hell." Since the Tang Dynasty, forty-eight temples have been built in this place, such as the "Hall of the Jade Emperor", "the "Palace of Hell," "Boundary Between the Living and the Dead," " the "Ridge of Helplessness," and the "Balcony of Nostalgia." All of the temples there look quite magnificent while statues are extremely lifelike.

The last pictures shows Naihe Bridge, which according to the legend is the road that all souls after their death must take; For evil souls, they will fall into the Bloody pond and be subjected to the bites of vipers and ants, however, good ones can pass through it without any problem in just three steps. As the saying goes, 'God always blesses those who did kind deeds, however, the evil ones can not pass through the Naihe Bridge.

Warlocks and Chiloé

2009-11-14T00:12:14Z

There are a great number of scary stories and legends in Chile, from the desert in the north to the Patagonia in the south. Most of the stories are from pre-Colombian times, and there are only a few that involve more contemporary people and events. But if you’re interested in the supernatural in Chile, Chiloé is the place to look at. Chiloé is an archipelago, a very rural and traditional area located in southern Chile. Most of the legends in this area are about the birth of the Island, some goddesses and witchcraft. Warlocks are still quite a big deal down there, most people are still afraid of them and the legend I’m about to relate is their doing.

]]> El invunche is a creature that protects the entrance of the warlocks’ hide-out, but he is not just any creature, he was once human. The legend says that a non-baptized first born was kidnapped by warlocks to create an invunche. Once the baby is in their hide-out, the warlocks break the baby’s legs and arms, twisting the head around the baby’s back and sewing the baby’s body in such way that now the poor creature will have three legs. After that, a magical ointment is applied to the baby’s body and hair will grow. Finally, the baby’s tongue will be split in two to take a menacing snake- like appearance. The baby is fed with meat from a corpse and eventually, when it becomes an adult, the invunche will feed off other babies and sometimes adults as well. The invunche’s main mission is to protect the warlocks and witches hide-out, but at times it can be sent to capture and bring a person who has been damned by the warlocks. The invunche can only been seen by warlocks and witches and if you ever happen to see it, well… it means really bad news for you.

There are tons of myths like that in Chiloé, but the interesting thing about them is the fact that most people still believe in them. In my many visits to the island, when you leave to more populated areas, it is fascinating to see how locals are always trying to protect those who are unaware of the existence of warlocks and such. In one occasion, visiting Lemuy Island, in an area known as “Punta Lima” my friends and I heard this weird kind of animal on the other side of a hill. When we walked towards that direction, an old lady came walking towards us and told us that we shouldn’t go in that direction because a warlock’s lair was located on the other side of the hill. Out of respect my friends and I agreed to that and walked away from that area. Eventually when we talked to some of the locals, they told us that the lady that lived in that area was a witch and that we were fortunate that she let us go, they also said that the noise we heard was the invunche. It was very interesting to see that people still believe in those stories and maybe that’s why they have survived until today. If you want to know more about Chile and the mythology of the island there’s several websites you can visit, but I would really encourage an actual visit to the archipelago, by far my favorite place in Chile.

Some of the websites you can visit are:

http://www.chiloeweb.com/chwb/chiloeisland/english/tem_gen_mitologia.html

http://www.icarito.cl/medio/articulo/0,0,38035857_0_374427418_1,00.html

Czech Mystical Creatures

2009-11-13T21:58:01Z

Spooky and super cool -- I will introduce to you an original Czech Mystical Creature - Vodnik, in translation, the Waterman. He is also known to be present in Germany in a slightly altered form, but he doesn't live anywhere else in the world. He probably decided to reside in Czech due to the abundant ponds built in the southern part of my country in the 16-17 century.

]]> Waterman impersonates the spirit of water and thus can be found in rivers, lakes and ponds. Originally, he is a fallen angel, who fell from heaven into water. However, as you see from the picture, he looks nothing like an angel. He is a green, rather short and ugly creature with green hair, wide mouth, protuberant eyes and with water dripping from his coat. He can take on form of a water animals, as well as a horse or a dog. His other powers include the ability to control all water animals.

http://i.idnes.cz/08/113/gal/KOT273af9_hastrman.jpg
http://www.galerieroudnice.cz/O/lada.jpg
http://www.non-stop.sk/UserFiles/File/vytvarne%20diela/Lada%20vodnik.jpg

In general, Vodnik is a very evil creature who likes to drown people in order to gain their souls and cause harm in other ways. He collects the souls in little cups in his home at the bottom of a lake. He uses his powers to trick people, for example, he takes on a form of a beautiful white horse and he pastures on a shore of a lake. When an innocent person, fascinated by the beauty of the horse comes by and dares to swing into his saddle, he jumps into the water and drowns the surprised rider. The more souls he gains, more powerful he is. If someone opens the cup with a soul in it, the soul escapes, frees itself and the Vodnik is "one soul less powerful." He also tears fishermen's nets, blocks mill-wheels in mills and does other mean things.

Some Vodniks, however, have been domesticated and learned to live with people in peace. Some even, if in good mood, help millers with work or go to local pubs to socialize. They like to sit on the branches of willow trees, above the water surface, smoke a pipe, wonder or play a violin.

National Holidays

2009-10-28T03:29:24Z

It's Holiday Season. In addition to Halloween, people across the world are celebrating national holidays, harvest holidays, religious holidays, and more this fall. That’s why we wanted to give our WWN contributors the chance to teach us all a little more about their own countries holidays. Every country has its own celebrations and just as much as they can be similar to this country’s holidays they can also be very different.

- WWN Editor's Martina, Jessa, Beyza and Jan

]]>

August 15th in Belgium

2009-10-28T03:15:00Z

Hi everyone! So apparently we are dealing with national holidays for this issue of the Willamette World News Blog… And obviously this is a topic that we all like to talk about! I have to admit that I had a hard time choosing a holiday because as you might be aware of, we do have a lot of holidays in Belgium, which, once again, is not something that I dislike.

]]> So after thinking about it I just thought I would write about August 15th, which is a national holiday in both Belgium and France. If anyone had to explain what would occur on that particular day, they would probably say that this specific holiday has a religious background and actually marks the Assumption of the Virgin… End of the story? Well yes, if you are not from the city I am from. But in Liege, the 15th of August has developed into a huge and traditional celebration that can be seen as one of the major events of the year for most people in the city.
The festivities take place in the district called Outremeuse, which is considered as the heart of the city’s traditions and folklore, and they last for a whole week, attracting over 100,000 people on the two busiest days (14th and 15th). The religious element is still at the very center of the celebration: on the 15th a whole procession comprised of various folkloric associations carries the Statue of the Black Virgin of Outremeuse through the district to one of the district churches where a Mass in Walloon (the city’s dialect) is organized. The tradition says that if one of the Virgin’s carrier gets tired and has to stop, then it brings bad luck to the house in front of which the procession came to a halt.
In the afternoon of the same day, another bigger and secular procession takes place: it is composed of over 20 folkloric groups from Belgium and abroad: it is a must-see if you ever get the opportunity to come to Liege in August!
A very typical feature of the whole week is that people drink a lot of peket (a really special Liege-based juniper alcohol that can have as many different flavors as you can think of) and party until the early morning for two or three days!
Other activities also take place; the ‘The bouquet procession’ (during which an enormous bunch of flowers-7 meters high and over 50 kilos- is carried in the district) or the so-called ‘tir de campes’ during which gun powder is used to produce a series of explosions. But a very interesting one is Mathy l’Ohe’s funeral: On the 16th, Outremeuse’s inhabitants will display the announcement of Mathy l’Ohe (Walloon for ‘Matthew the Bone) on their windows and around 5 PM, a bone will indeed be buried on Gabriel Square. This funeral symbolizes the end of the festivities and the sadness that goes with it!

Allhelgonaafton

2009-10-28T02:30:52Z

It was only recently that Halloween ( in Sweden we call it Allhelgnonaafton) came to be celebrated in Sweden. It started 1995 and even now so many years later we still don’t celebrate it exactly the same way the US does. Sure there are carved pumpkins, costumes and scary decorations in orange and black coverings in most of the stores in my country during this time of year. But it is all mostly for a marketing purpose.

]]> Although most people between the ages 10- 30 will celebrate it in someway. There might be parties where it is required to dress up but usually there are parties where some people dress up a little bit. Younger people have started to go Trick r Treating but far from everyone do it. This is something Swedes are used to doing during the Easter holiday instead, when children go house to house dressed as cute witches’ asking for candy and wishing everyone a Happy Easter.

We do celebrate “Alla Helgona dag” (translation All Hallows’ day) though. This is seen as an old Christian holiday that has always been celebrated on a Saturday between October 31 and November 6. People in Sweden used to believe that during this day, at summers end and the beginning of winter, the dead would return home. People believed that by lighting candles, decorating and visiting your loved ones graves this would help the dead find their way.

The Day of Race

2009-10-28T01:35:24Z

Once upon a time there was an Italian sailor named Christopher Columbus. One day, he heard a theory that the world was round and not flat, and motivated by that idea he talked to Queen Isabella of Spain because he was convinced it was easier to reach China or the East Indies by sailing from the west of Spain across the Atlantic Ocean.

]]> After eight years, he convinced the Queen to support his dream and Columbus undertook his adventure in three small ships called The Pinta, The niña and The Santa María. On October 12th, 1492, he and his fleet landed on an island in Bahamas (Central America) inhabited by the Taino or Arawak tribe, thinking it was India. That’s probably the reason Christopher Columbus named the Native American people as Indios. After 500 years, in many countries of Latin America October 12th is a national holiday known as the Día de la Raza (The day of the race).

The celebration of this date could be controversial. On the one hand, in our minds we have terrible stories about the Spaniard colonization. Our Native American people were battered, enslaved and forced to change their ancestral traditions. But on the other hand, different inventions, institutions, such as universities, and our language, Spanish, arrived with the Spaniards arrival too. That was also the origin of a new society, a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic society we feel proud of.

Taken from: www.la-raza.info

Besides all the controversies surrounding this date, in Latin America this is a dia that serves to celebrate the diversity of our cultures. This diversity is reflected in many aspects of our lives: our people, our music, our traditions, our expressions, etc. For example our language: imagine you go to a restaurant in Latin America and you want to drink a cup of coffee; if you are in Colombia you could ask for “Un tinto”, but in Chile or in Spain if you ask for “Un tinto” you would probably receive a glass of red wine. In Mexico, if you go to the movies with your “Viejo” or “Vieja” you are accompanied by your husband or wife; but in Argentina “Viejo” and “Vieja” refer to your father and mother. This is just an example of the great diversity you will find in our countries. Although this diversity makes us different from each other, it is also the center of the richness of our cultures.

The controversy is far from over, but this is a special day to celebrate the value of being different.