Citation

Tucker E. Journal of American Folklore 2005; 118(468): 186-203+250.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005)

DOI

10.1353/jaf.2005.0028

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article analyzes college students' legends of apparitions in mirrors in relation to the "Bloody Mary" ritual that is most common in preadolescence. Through a modified Jungian analysis of their legends, it is possible to identify patterns of self-discovery in later adolescence that are underdiscussed in the literature. By telling legends about gender transformations, ghostly lovers, suicide, and violent death, college students undergo a quasi-initiatory experience that facilitates their development of a more complex sense of self. Copyright © 2005 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

Language: en