Week 2 Story: The Ghost Who Wrestled with a Man
The Ghost Who Wrestled with a Man
A long time ago, there was a ghost that walked the streets of a small town. He came to the edge of the town and laid down to rest. He started a fire and covered himself with a blanket. Hearing some twigs breaking, he ripped a hole in the blanket and peeped out to see what was coming. A man walked up to the laying ghost and felt the ghost’s leg to see if he was real. After touching his leg, the man took a knife and tried to cut the ghost’s leg off. Before he could the ghost jumped up and screamed “What are you doing?” Frightening him, the man took off running back into the town.
The next day, after a long walk along the town, the ghost again found a spot to make a fire and lay down to rest. He covered himself with the blanket and heard a man singing. With the voice getting louder, the man peeped out of the hole and saw a man walking
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up. The man asked the ghost “Wake up and give me some food.” The ghost gave the man some berries to eat. The man then told the ghost, “To get out of the town, you must wrestle me and I will let you go. Then I will show you where to get horses to steal.”
The ghost agreed and begin to wrestle the man. After rolling in the dirt, the ghost kicked another piece of wood on the fire. The fire rose high in the sky and frightened the man. The man then said, “No more! You have won the fight.” The man showed the man the way out of the town and where he could steal horses.
Because the ghost and man fought on the edge of the town, you can always believe a man when he tells you that he will show you the way out of the town and where to steal horses.
Authors Notes: This story was taken from Teton Lakota’s story The Indian Who Wrestled with a Ghost. The story tells us why Indians can always trust what Ghost says.
Bibliography: The Indian Who Wrestled with a Ghost by Teton Lakota
https://sites.google.com/view/mythfolkloreanthology/the-supernatural
The ghost agreed and begin to wrestle the man. After rolling in the dirt, the ghost kicked another piece of wood on the fire. The fire rose high in the sky and frightened the man. The man then said, “No more! You have won the fight.” The man showed the man the way out of the town and where he could steal horses.
Because the ghost and man fought on the edge of the town, you can always believe a man when he tells you that he will show you the way out of the town and where to steal horses.
Authors Notes: This story was taken from Teton Lakota’s story The Indian Who Wrestled with a Ghost. The story tells us why Indians can always trust what Ghost says.
Bibliography: The Indian Who Wrestled with a Ghost by Teton Lakota
https://sites.google.com/view/mythfolkloreanthology/the-supernatural
Hey Hunter!
ReplyDeleteI really like the direction that you took with this specific retelling of this legend. I was confused as to what all was happening in the beginning of the story when the ghost was scared and looking from under the blankets as I thought to myself "what could scare a ghost?", but I quickly figured what was happening when the man came into the picture! Great work!
Hey Hunter!
ReplyDeleteGreat story! I liked the introductory scene of the ghost and the man who tried to cut his leg off. I am unfamiliar with the original story, but if that was a new addition, it was really funny! I kept wondering more about the ghosts in the story though. For example, there were a lot instances when the ghost interacted with the world, so is the ghost completely able to be touched? If the ghost is able to touch, even wrestle, another person, then it isn't what I would normally picture as a ghost. Maybe it would be good to kind of describe what your ghost and can't do, just to clarify. that in the beginning of your story. Anyway, I don't get many chances to review stories from the Myths and Folklore class (I am from the Indian Epics class), so I am glad I got to read your story!
-Daniel
Hey Hunter!
ReplyDeleteFirst, I enjoyed this story. When I began reading, I was enthralled by how much your writing sounded like the stories we’ve been reading all along; they sounded like a myth or tale written in order to teach a lesson while simultaneously providing entertainment. Nice job! Your dialogue was short and to the point and flowed seamlessly in a realistic manner. So walking away, I feel I’ve learned a bit more about how to approach this in my own writing! I did wonder a bit more about the interaction where the man is given food by the ghost as it seems like there’s potentially an opportunity to elaborate a bit on what’s going on. Personally, I was a bit lost when piecing together understanding about what the purpose of the tale was, and then eventually how the tale tied into that purpose. I wonder what would happen if you added in another short piece of dialogue at the very end to help elaborate on the purpose of the tale. Just a thought, but again, very nice job on writing this out!
Hello Hunter,
ReplyDeleteI would like to start off by saying that this is a really great story. I really liked the beginning of the story where the man was trying to cut the leg off the ghost. I have not been able to read the original story but if they author but that piece in then the story would be more humorous rather than boring ghost story. It is crazy how a ghost was able to wrestle, touch, and talk to normal people like it was not even a ghost. I believe that your tone had a nice flow during the whole story. I was having a little trouble see what the point of the whole tale was to be honest. I got lost after the second part. I believe that if you added a little bit more dialogue explaining things then the story would make a little bit more sense.
Hi Hunter,
ReplyDeleteI think this is a good story. I did like how humorous the story was and it kept me entertained. It was a little confusing about how the ghost and the guy's story came to be, and I feel like you could have used more details to get a full feel of the story. I do feel like there was a lack of details. But it is a really good story.