People Who Have Actually Saved A Life Explain What Happened
I'm no hero... well maybe a little.
I need a hero. That's what Bonnie Tyler sings. And heroes are everywhere. Saving a life is a blessing bestowed upon many... the people who survive and the ones who make survival happen. The adrenaline is what you run on and the pure human tenacity; unless of course you're trained to save people, that's brains as well. No matter what, it's still a blessing.
Redditor u/TheAdventureInsider wanted everyone who has saved a life to speak out and rejoice by asking.... People who once literally saved a life, what happened?
When I was seven.....
GiphyWhen I was seven I was playing on the busiest road in town, trucks and buses constantly thundering past, inches from pedestrians. A young mother, deep in conversation with her friend, let go of the pushchair in which her baby was fast asleep. The pushchair rolled into the road, I dashed out and pulled the baby out of the path of huge truck.
The mother, oblivious to the drama that had just taken place, snatched the child from me and without acknowledgement turned away to continue her chin wagging. No one but the truck driver and myself had an inkling of what had taken place. mykylodge
"I'm scared. I messed up."
When I was 16, my younger sister attempted suicide while we were home alone. I was doing spanish homework, she was in her room by herself.
She had been going through a rough time and my whole family knew it. My parents are divorced and my mom treats our mental health very differently than my dad does. My mom knew that our mental health is just as important as physical health, my dad never took us seriously. Just our luck, we were at my dads house the night that everything happened.
I heard her crying in her room from the kitchen, but decided not to intrude for the first few minutes, knowing she liked her alone time. I heard her talking, so I assumed she was on the phone with my mom. Finally, after about 20 minutes of sobbing coming from my sister, I decided to check on her (wish I did sooner). She was laying on her bed crying, didn't even move when I walked inside. All she said was "I'm scared. I messed up." My eyes scanned the room and I saw empty bottles of her medication. They were all empty. I calmly asked her how many she took, she said all of them.
I picked her up and ran her to the bathroom, calling 911 as I got her to throw up the pills. I stayed surprisingly very calm throughout the whole ordeal, up until the ambulance and police finally got there. That was when I started having a full blown panic attack. One of the police officers had to go retrieve my inhaler.
Turns out, she was concealing the side effects of her medication from my family and from her doctors. She was developing schizophrenia and severe depression, solely from her meds. She told us that there were voices in her head telling her to do it, and she was so tired of hearing them (she had insomnia because of the voices). It's been 4 years since, and she's doing much better. She's basically a new person and loves the life she's living. I'm so proud of the progress she has made. upperslide8
Foaming....
I was at a party and a girl overdosed and no one was doing anything helpful. she was foaming at the mouth and choking so I put her in recovery position and she coughed up a lot of stuff that would have blocked her airway completely. goldfishspagetti
Trippy....
Gf (when we were 15) started choking on a chicken wing bone. Didn't know what was up at first, then she stood up and grabbed her neck and looked pale blue. I did the Heimlich maneuver and the bone popped out and she began coughing and gasping for air. After a min or two she settled down and was breathing normally. She was creeped out the rest of the night and was afraid to sleep. She told me just as I started the maneuver everything was starting to go black from the outside of her field of vision, inwards. That was a trippy night. _CattleRustler_
I'm Getting this Kid!
GiphyI was once leaving a restaurant and walking to my car when I heard a child crying and screaming. It sounded terrible and I felt something was off so I started tracking the noise through the parking lot. I eventually found a mini-van, all windows up in the middle of July. Mini-van was turned off with no adults inside. I waited for about a minute, called 911 and told them what was happening, they said they would send someone. I told the dispatcher I didn't think it could wait. I remember being worried about being accused of kidnapping so I told the dispatcher something along the lines of, "I'm breaking into the car to get this child, I'm not taking the child or going anywhere, I'll wait for the police to arrive but I'm getting the kid out of this car."
Got into the vehicle to find a 3 year old strapped into the car seat in the very back. He was screaming bloody murder, all of his clothes were dripping in sweat. Pulled him out of the car and held him until he calmed down and police/firemen arrived. He was a foster child. Dad and Uncle had been drinking inside for over an hour. Temperature on the dashboard read at over 130 degrees Fahrenheit (I don't remember the exact temp).
Kid went to the hospital to get checked out, my wife and I rode with as he had taken to us. He ended up being fine. I called the DCFS case worker afterwards to make sure the kid was removed from that family. Local news came out and interviewed my wife and I and the fire department gave us a citizen service or hero award or something. My work made a big deal about it and played the news segment at one of our meetings. I just remember thanking God the kid was ok. Everyone kept calling us hero's etc. It seemed strange the whole time since we didn't risk our lives or anything, just broke into a car and waited for the cops. In my mind, real heroes make sacrifices or take risks for the benefit/good of others. We were just right place, right time, and did what a reasonable person would do. Doc_Goldberg
Don't Panic.
When I was 10 my 3 year old sister tried running in front of the bus that was supposed to pick us up. I grabbed her by her jacket at the last minute. All I remember after that was everyone panicking. i-feed-on-dead-memes
Off Duty......
Was off duty walking around town and saw a massive issue happening at the river, man with MS had had a seizure and collapsed into the water, was lifeless and drowning.
I wasn't in any kit but have a history of water rescue in my previous job so forget it. I got in after him and yeah, he was about 6ft 5, very heavy, I'm very big myself but this dude started to regain use of his body and lashing out in panic, punching me, dragging me under with him.
Honestly one of the only times I thought I'd screwed up and main the wrong choice of going in after him.
Managed to kick out from him and get behind him so he couldn't hit me, Swam him back to land and yeah he was ok.
On the plus side his mum (his care) brought me some amazing biscuits and cookies into the station the following days and the lad was so appreciative, we are now good friends. OnlyBiceps
Staying Alive...
This guy collapsed in front of Walmart a few years ago and vomited so much blood I thought he'd die of exsanguination. I got my phone out, put 911 on speaker and di chest compressions on the man while the 911 operator sang Staying Alive by The Bee Gees. Staying Alive has the perfect rhythm for chest compressions and is on the NY Presbyterian CPR Spotify playlist. The hospital was only three miles up the road so the rescue squad got there super quick. Because I gave my information to 911 and First responders the man's wife was able to call me a few weeks later and let me know her husband was doing much better.
He'd had a cardiac episode followed by a tension pneumothorax. They airlifted him to Duke Hospital and he was released after quadruple bypass. He died this year, aged 81 of natural causes, according to his obituary. He lived an additional seven and a half years. His wife asked me to pick something so she could say thank you, I didn't want anything. I was just some 17 year old kid who happened to come out of the store at the right time. I can't imagine asking someone for payment for saving their life. Besides, I did small potatoes compared to EMS and hospital staff. carmelacorleon
3000 pounds of hydraulic pressure ......
I was running ground observation during a main landing gear retract operation when our production superintendent not only walked into the coned off area without being cleared to do so, but he walked under the aircraft and started looking at a beacon light near one of the main gear doors.
Because it was so loud, he couldn't hear me scream at him, and because I wasn't keying my microphone, but I was screaming, the guys upstairs thought my microphone died. So they proceeded to cycle the landing gear without verifying that it was clear (they thought it was clear because they though I was yelling to them that it was).
I had to run and shove my pro sup out of the way of a moving door that was under 3000 pounds of hydraulic pressure and would have easily severed an arm or leg. deuteranopia
help the kid.
GiphySaw a single mother try to get her baby carriage with a new born in it off the train while her 1-2 year old toddler was trying to get off herself. Unfortunate the gap between the train and the platform was too big for that little girl's short legs and I instinctively snatched her up and carried her onto the platform while the mom went from momentary amber alert to "oh okay this stranger helped my kid".
It's not particularly dramatic but I'm pretty sure crap could be ended REALLY bad for that little one if I or somebody else hadn't grabbed her. It was a long way down and it would've been hard to get her back up. As far as I know, with how much traffic there was in and out of that train I was the only person who kept an eye on that little girl in that moment and what would have happened if her accident wasn't noticed before the train started back up? It's a thought I never finish and I'm just happy I did what I did because forget that crap. 7hhffe
The Absolute Weirdest Questions People Have Been Asked In A Job Interview
Reddit user TinyTbird12 asked: 'What is the weirdest question you’ve been asked at a job interview, what happened?'
I once burst out laughing during a job interview.
It was for an internal position so I knew all of the interviewers well, but even if I hadn't I doubt I could have kept a straight face.
What cracked me up?
This interview question:
"If I attended a backyard BBQ with your last boss, what do you think they'd say about you?"
After I stopped laughing,
I told the interviewer—who happened to be my then boss' boss:
"I'm sorry, but that sounds like a question from the Miss America Pageant."
The interview panel got a laugh out of that. And yes, I did answer the question.
So what odd, absurd or just plain strange interview questions have people gotten?
Reddit user TinyTbird12 asked:
"What is the weirdest question you’ve been asked at a job interview, what happened?"
Apple Jacks Is Even Better
"Went to a job interview at Applebee’s. After going over my extensive work experience in the service industry, the manager asked:"
"If you were a cereal, which one would you be?"
"Me: 'Mm, I don’t know. Cheerios?'."
"Him: 'Why Cheerios?'."
"Me: '…because I seem like a Cheerio kinda person?'."
"Him: 'Hmm. Most people say Fruit Loops, because they’re fun and colorful'."
"Me: 😐"
"I did not get the job."
~ Numerous_Age_3223
The Best Medicine
"Do you like to laugh?"
"Asked by the most stoic woman who worked in that office."
"I laughed in response and got the job. Apparently I answered correctly."
~ Danceinthepurplerain
Wut?
"Well, I already know your weaknesses. What are some of your strengths?"
"I had no idea what he was talking about since we never discussed weaknesses."
~ JoshuaByer
No, And Goodbye
"I was asked at an interview if I planned on having kids soon."
"I answered that I was 19 and still living with my parents so, no, I wasn’t but based off him asking that question I didn’t want to work for him and cut the interview short."
"He seemed entirely shocked but I could tell he was asking out of misogyny and not any other reason."
"He was an arse and I’d already decided I didn’t want the job—this was just an excuse to cut the interview short."
~ Chinateapott
"It was 2 guys interviewing me for an ICU RN job. I am female and this was several years ago."
"Their very FIRST question was 'So are you married? Have any kids?'.”
"Which yeah, is maybe small talk, but you can’t ask that in an interview and it’s not your business and why is that the VERY FIRST THING you are saying to me upon meeting me‽‽"
"I said 'Come on, you know you can’t ask that kind of stuff'."
"It was awkward after that and I didn’t get a call back."
~ Free-While-2994
"I was asked in an interview if I had any children. The guy even lamented he knows he isn't supposed to ask me that, but the hours are very strict and people use their kids as an excuse too often to not work their full hours."
"Little Miss Helpful that I was told him then that's how he should phrase the question so as not to appear discriminatory towards women. He looked surprised as I gave him a better script example."
"And then proceeded to answer the more PC version of the question I created and told him, 'I don't have any obligations that would keep me from working the hours and shifts I'd be scheduled for'."
"I was not given a job offer. No surprise there."
"Which was fine and dandy because I wouldn't have wanted to work there anyway for a variety of reasons."
~ NolaJen1120
Were They Applying At X?
"I had an interview where the CEO randomly sat in."
"When he learned about my heritage, the CEO asked what my views were about the current government of the country my parents are from."
"Even the main interviewer cringed and was speechless."
~ Craptardo
Gotcha!
"Interviewer: 'You don't have any kids?'."
"Me: 'No, not yet'."
"Interviewer: 'You're Mexican, aren't you?'."
"Me: 'You can't ask that during an interview'."
"Dude went bright red and apologized immediately before I burst out laughing. The interview was going well and I already had the job in the bag. At this point we were more or less just chatting."
~ messonamission
Is It A Job Requirement?
"If I hire you as the HR manager will you go and f*ck all the nurses? Because that is what the former HR manager did."
"Interviewer was the Hospital CEO."
~ heartofgold48
Run, Girl, Run!
"I got hired and quit the same day. I turned 19 and was looking for something full time. I got a call for an interview at some promotion business."
"I got called into a room where my potential new boss was sitting. He was very friendly and nice but it all became very very weird very quickly."
"He asked me normal interview questions: 'What made you want to apply? Do you have experience in promotion work? Where do you see yourself in this company?'."
"Eventually he trailed off to make small talk which would be normal if it wasn’t weird."
"He asked, 'How old are you? Oh wow, you’re young. I think you’ll have an easy time here, you’re very beautiful. Very beautiful. You know, as soon as you walked in here I just felt something. You have such strong energy, I don’t know if it’s that smile or your charisma'."
"I was very shy, I did not have a bubbly personality at all."
"He sent me 'out in the field' alongside another girl to test the waters I suppose. We stood in front of a well known bar where our 'mentor' told us that the promotion at his stand was to sell backpacks for kids in need of school supplies."
"After he explained that, he called my boss and said I was a good fit."
"Immediately after that my boss called and was like, 'I KNEW you had it in you. Ahh, I don’t know what it is about you, [my name] but you just have something amazing going on. I already decided not to go with [other girl's name] because it’s your name I want to see with mine'.”
"I told him I was late for class and sped back to campus where I told my teacher why I was late and what had happened. He advised me to quit immediately."
~ Advanced_District789
Not A Nanny
"What would you do if someone started shouting at you in a meeting?"
"I responded that I'd just leave the meeting. I don't get paid to babysit. if someone wants to act like a child I'll leave them to it. The interviewer seemed taken aback while the other guys where chuckled."
"Turns out the guy who asked the question had a habit of raising his voice to people who disagreed with him."
"I ended up getting the job and found out the guy was just super invested in the product he was developing. Like he had patents on it, books written, etc..."
"So when he's in a meeting and gives an input, and someone disagrees with him, he will not let it go until they are on board because in almost every case he IS right. He was a great guy and I miss working with him."
"He never raised his voice with me, though."
~ shaidyn
Just Plain Wrong
"During an interview my insulin pump went off (it does this quite often). My potential boss asked me if I had to wear it all the time."
"I said yes and explained I was a type 1 diabetic. They then asked me if I could leave my insulin pump in a locker for an 8 hour shift."
"Obviously I can’t."
"It got awkward and I didn’t get the job."
~ kayguy55
Not Long Ago, In An HR Office Not Far Away...
"My GF was recently asked in an interview:"
"What weapon would you want to have in a zombie apocalypse?"
"She answered 'light saber'. They asked why."
"She said because it doesn't run out of ammo or get dull."
"They seemed to like that answer."
~ freezingprocess
Did They Need Help With Theirs?
"How do you tie your shoes?”
"Opening question."
"It honestly helped calm me down and made the interview easier to get through. I brought up the TedTalk on how to properly tie your shoe and the lesson I learned from that."
~ i_like_pretzels
"They really wanted help figuring it out, all the other applicants couldn't teach them."
~ Just-Good-2851
I was the interviewer at different points in my career and I'm struggling to understand the point of some of these questions.
Maybe their lack of purpose is the point.
So what odd, absurd or just plain strange interview questions have you been asked?
Gifts People Really Want For Christmas But Know No One Is Going To Get Them
The holiday season is lovely, but it's full of pressure to travel, plan, host, and of course, get gifts for a lot of people.
But the thing we don't really talk about is how common it is to want something specific and to not have someone in our life who tries to seek out what that thing is.
Unless we get it for ourselves, it's common that we won't get what we actually want.
Redditor GeneralSpectatorTots asked:
"What do you want for Christmas that you know you aren't going to get?"
Sobriety
"My brother to be sober and happy."
- whatwhatwhat82
"I’m also trying to get sober. I wish your brother well. Keep being a support to him."
- Keri2816
A New Home
"A house deposit."
- WolfGirl_4
"A house deposit? Just gift you a house!"
- Grenflik
A Financial Advantage
"A winning lottery ticket."
- Krem541
"Every year I ask Santa. Every f**king year."
- kuchikopi626
Grandma's Homecooked Meals
"One last meal from my grandma. She made the best food, and of course, you don't know the last time is going to be the last time until it's too late."
- fakefishy
Family Love
"Love from my parents."
- bub_501
"This mom is sending you a long hug."
- hippocampus237
A Professional Massage
"A gift certificate for a professional massage. I can't bring myself to spend the money on myself. I need to just bite the bullet and do it."
"I have asked for one every year for years. Sometimes it's the only thing I ask for from my parents and my partner (when they ask what I want)."
"I always get wonderful gifts that I love, use, and/or needed but I REALLY WANT A F**KING MASSAGE."
- agbmom
The Best Neighbor
"A card from my twin brother saying, 'Just kidding, I’m not moving to Washington, I actually found a place in your neighborhood!'"
- insertcaffeine
Very Important Things
"Free Healthcare and a good used car for my husband."
- Sufficient_Letter883
The End to Ableism
"Independence and not being infantilized because I’m a 37-year-old disabled woman and no one in my family understands (extended family who all live within 10 mins of me)."
- Keri2816
World Travel
"Guilt-free travel! It's like asking for a never-ending vacation. How I wish I could just hop around the world without worrying about a thing!"
- KayleNewirk
Sounds Like Paradise
"A pretty, and big apartment for me and my cat."
- cats-autumn
"For my cat to let me sleep through the night."
- Cheese_BasedLifeform
Moving Solutions
"A stress-free move, with eight days between closings of two houses four states apart, and four pets to manage in temporary housing. Help me, Santa, I’ve been a good girl."
- Kind-Dust7441
Ready To Be Done!
"For my doctoral capstone paper to finally be approved so I can be done with school! Please, please, Santa, I’m on rewrite 19!"
- TomatilloNo4213
Two Front Teeth
"My two front teeth... My two front teeth."
"But seriously, teeth."
"Mine are all falling out due to an autoimmune disease, and I need implants."
- donkeybrainz13
The Perfect Partner
"A partner to go on adventures with… have singalongs with… and who adores and truly sees me."
- miaoouu
While we may have been expecting some silly responses, or even for someone to finally buy the right brand of a favorite candle or lotion or makeup, these responses were a great reminder of what's really important.
And unfortunately, many of the most important things can't be replaced or fit into a Christmas stocking.
Breaking up is hard to do no matter who initiated it.
But once time has passed and exes have moved on, the healing process can be jarred by a surprise.
A regretfilled person may try and make contact with the one they broke up with and ask for forgiveness, or the person who had their heart broken could also reappear and plead for a fresh new start.
The outcome depends on how much, or how little, the spark of love remains.
Curious to hear more of this scenario from strangers online, Redditor XenaVonKeksdose asked:
"What would you say to your ex if they suddenly showed up at your door?"
For these Redditors, it wouldn't be a happy reunion.
Either, Or
"It ranges from 'come on in and make yourself comfortable' to 'get the f'k out of here' , depending on which one shows up."
– Lone_Buck
"Odds of it being the one who got away: low."
"Odds of it being the one who took 5 years to understand what 'f'k off' meant: pretty high."
– liquid_acid-OG
It's A Nightmare
"Screaming. They've passed."
– BigGrayBeast
"Similar situation here. I did have a dream that my late wife showed up at my door. She said, 'There was a mix up at the coroner, you wouldn’t believe what I’ve been through.”'
"Still in the dream we talked for a bit about nothing. Then I said, 'Wait, what about the life insurance, do we have to pay it back?' And just after that I woke up."
– AnonEMoussie
No Thanks
"Nah"
"Slowly closes the door while maintaining eye contact."
"Also aggressively locks the door."
– SnooCats7666
"raises drawbridge."
– lunalives
Some would show traces of resentment.
Unwelcome
"The f'k do you want? And how did you get this address?"
– s73v3m4nn
"wtf ffs"
– zxr7
Too Little Too Late
"You couldn't put in effort in messaging me, but you have effort now to see me months after we break up‽"
– ShyTerraWolf
"Wait, if you’re here who’s running hell?”
– So__bored
"Who’s guarding HADES."
– Boostio_TV
Hit 'Em Where It Hurts
"I lost weight... You seem to have found it."
– elmo-1959
"now get the f'k off my lawn."
– starkresilient
"Savage."
– 20190229
Others shared less bitter responses.
Coming Clean
"Honestly, I apologize. I know dealing with my prior alcoholism must have been a nightmare. I regret causing you and anyone else pain and hope you are happy. I am a year into sobriety and can understand why it ended. I wish you well."
"Edit: Since this is getting so much traction, I just want to say thanks for all the support. This could honestly be directed at a few of my exes. I am happily married now to someone that also got a taste of my drinking. We stuck it out while I got sober and I have to credit her with being an amazing support system. I also need to shout out r/stopdrinking for providing reinforcement on a daily basis. It is a great community. Naltrexone was also a major part of it. I can't change the past but I think I have a much better hold on the future."
– vivazeta
Someone That I Used To Know
"I've been married for almost 25 years, I don't know if I would even recognize any exes."
– 4a4a
"Yep. That person went from 'ex' to 'someone I once dated' years ago."
– ktwhite42
Expressing Regrets
"I'm sorry for the way I treated you."
– warlordwinters
"Good on you for growing."
– Zealousideal_Ad_7465
Catching Up
"I’d say hello! What are you doing here? It has been a long time."
– ExaminationLucky6082
Wish You Well
"A lot of snarky or comical answers in here, but I'll try to be as sincere as I can."
"My first major ex, first time I got my heart broken: I would sincerely hope that she's doing well. She broke my heart, but it was for the best and it made me into the man I am today. I don't want to think of how much worse I would be if she hadn't given me a reality check wake-up-call. So really just 'Hey, how have you been? I hope the years have been kind to you.'"
"My most recent ex, the first and only time I've had to break someone's heart: I honestly just hope that she can forgive me for having to make taking care of myself and my needs the priority in my life. She's an amazing woman, kindergarten school teacher, unanimously adored by everyone that meets her. But we met via travels, and lived in two different states. Circumstances shifted and seeing each other became much less frequent. Neither of us wanted to quit our jobs and chuck a grenade into our lives and careers. Eventually, for my own mental and emotional health, I had to call it. I truly hope she finds someone amazing, she deserves it. So I would just sincerely hope that she understands, and has moved on."
– obaterista93
I once showed up at an exes door after I broke up with him about a month prior.
I genuinely loved and missed him after making the very difficult decision to end things due to conflicting circumstances that kept us from maintaining a healthy relationship.
But I quickly learned that if you did the breaking up, you should respect the other person's space for a respectable amount of time.
I went to visit him at the apartment where we lived together and a new lover answered the door for him after there was a long period of giggles and lots of feet shuffling from behind the door.
Clearly, he was doing just fine.
Of course, I wasn't welcomed in and was asked what I wanted, to which I had no answer but, "do you have any mail for me?"
Indigenous Americans Share Their Tribe's Best Ghost Stories And Legends
People the world over develop their own specific folklore, heavily influenced by the natural world around them and their own culture.
The North American continent was no different.
Reddit user A_KULT_KILLAH wanted to know about the myths and legends of the Indigenous peoples of North America.
They asked:
"Native Americans of Reddit, what are your or your tribes ghost stories, legends, or supernatural occurrences?"
Here are some of the interesting legends and superstitions of North America's First Nations and Indigenous tribes.
Uktena
Brice Cooper on Unsplash
"Uktena. It's a legend about a horned snake in Tsalagi [Cherokee] legend. Uktena is said to be very large and round like a tree trunk, with horns on his head."
"The only way to wound him is to shoot at a singular spot on his forehead that emits bright light. It's similar to a diamond. If you defeat Uktena, you become a miracle worker."
"A great warrior. Yet, once you see the light of his forehead, you run toward it instead of trying to escape."
"Even to see Uktena sleeping is death. Not to the hunter, but to his family."
~ Faith-Hope-TacoBell
Dog Tails or Why They Sniff Each Other
gotdaflow on Unsplash
"Lenni Lenape story about why dogs sniff each other's butts."
"When the humans slept, dogs would get together and party, but not before taking their tails off. They'd dance the entire night, put their tails back on and return home."
"But one time a wolf found them and all the dogs had to scramble away to their homes for safety, but a lot of them grabbed the wrong tail."
"They never danced again at night because they were afraid of the wolf, so they were stuck with weird mismatched tails for the rest of their lives."
"This is the reason that dogs sniff each other's butts; to see if the other dog has their tail."
~ ChurroChick
Haida Raven Brings Light to the Earth
Cristina Glebova on Unsplash
"In the beginning there was no light in the world, because an old magician kept it hidden in a box inside his house. Raven, who was always hungry, didn't like the darkness because it was difficult to find food."
"One day he was looking for food near the old magician's house. He heard a voice saying, 'I have a box, and inside this box is another box, and inside this there is another box, and inside the smallest box is all the light in the world'."
"Raven decided to steal the light."
"Raven waited until the old man's daughter went down to the river to collect water. Just as she was dipping her basket into the river, he changed himself into a hemlock needle."
"The needle floated into her basket. When the girl drank some water, she swallowed Raven too."
"Inside the girl's belly Raven took the form of a human baby. He grew and grew, and in time she gave birth to a funny looking child with black eyes and a big nose."
"The old man loved his grandson so much that he gave in to the child's every wish. Raven became spoilt and greedy. He was bored with all his toys, and wanted to play with the box that held the light."
"Finally the grandfather opened the box and tossed the glowing ball of light to Raven."
"As soon as Raven caught the light, he immediately changed into his bird form. Holding the light in his beak, he flew up the chimney hole into the dark world."
"The magician was angry. He wanted to get the light back into his box."
"He flew after Raven."
"The light was heavy in Raven's beak, and he was getting tired. The magician was coming closer."
"Raven broke off some pieces of the light and threw them into the sky. They became the stars."
"The magician was still coming closer, so Raven broke off another piece of the light and threw it into the sky. It became the moon."
"Finally Raven became so tired that he tossed the last and biggest piece of the light into the sky. It became the sun; and that is how daylight came to the world."
~ deviety
Nakani
Oliver Roos on Unsplash
"Dené from northern British Columbia here, my mom used to always tell me stories of the Nehgunni [Nakani], or bushmen/wild-men when I was young."
"They were people who lived in the forest and took away people who wandered too far out, specifically children."
"I always figured these stories were created by my people to serve two purposes, first to teach young children to not wander far off, and second to give explanations to kidnappings or missing people."
~ spanishLION
See-at-coh
green trees near lake under blue sky during daytimePhoto by Jasper Gronewold on Unsplash"See-at-coh (don't know the translation in English) is a Cowlitz legend. Lived at this lake and it was his spot."
"We DO NOT go there or he will kill you. Used to have nightmares about him based on what I was taught as a kid."
"Like how you could stand at the edge of the water and be looking in and he would come out of it and just grab you. No whistling at night and keep windows covered."
"But then the mountain blew up [Mt. Saint Helen] and filled in the lake so don't know if he's still around or not."
~ kalimah1
Nahual of Mexico
Joshua Wilking on Unsplash
"I live in rural Mexico. There are many, many different Indigenous peoples in what's now Mexico."
"The ones who settled here speak Nahuatl—the language of the Aztecs. This legend took place in the early 1900's."
"One of my favourite Nahuatl myths is the Nahual."
"Some people were thought to be able to turn into an animal. Most of them could only turn into one, but the most powerful Nahual could turn into different animals."
"There was a man who owned a hacienda where my town is, and he had a sort of overseer that everyone was afraid of."
"Said overseer could take a message all the way to the next state (think hundreds of miles) and bring back a sealed response in a single day."
"He also seemed to know everything everyone did, all the time. He was rumoured to be a Nahual that could turn into a coyote and an eagle."
"His quarters were heavily warded in his absence, which only added fuel to the rumor. You can only kill a Nahual if you find the human skin he sheds to transform and burn said skin."
~ CTalina78
Yamǫ́rıa & Yamǫǫ̀zha
Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
"Yamǫ́rıa & Yamǫǫ̀zha—the giant twins [of the Dené]."
"There are landmarks all around the territory I live in that is exhibited as 'proof' they were alive."
"In the middle of the Mackenzie river( biggest river in the NorthWest Territories) there is a large stone sticking out of the river which looks like the petrified guts of a beaver, there is a giant branchless, leafless tree sticking out of the top of this stone."
"It is said that Yamǫǫ̀zha had hunted a giant beaver and gutted him there in the river. He used his spear to anchor down the cuts so fish may feed on them. They are still there to this day."
"Yamǫ́rıa's body can be seen laying down, it is essentially a mountain range that looks like a giant human laying on his back, completely with face and feet. This can be seen from the peak of the hill as you enter a town called Ft. Liard, the southwestern most town in the NWT."
Walking Sam of the Pine Ridge Reservation
Boston Public Library on Unsplash
"'Walking Sam' skulks in the shadows of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota and convinces people to take their own lives, especially young people."
"He's 7 feet tall, very thin and has no mouth. When he stretches out his long arms, nooses hang down with Lakota children hanging from them."
"Walking Sam finds you when you're alone and puts thoughts in your head until you feel worthless and kill yourself.
"Sometimes Walking Sam is depicted looking like Abraham Lincoln, complete with the stovepipe hat. 'Walking Sam', 'Uncle Sam', I don't know if that's where the name came from."
"But Walking Sam is an evil infected upon the people when the Oceti Sakowin were forced onto the reservations; he isn't a legend of the people before Pine Ridge Reservation existed."
"Lincoln was President when the Lakota were being forced onto reservations. Lincoln also ordered the execution of 38 Lakota men the day after Christmas in 1862. It's the largest mass execution in U.S. history."
"I always thought Walking Sam was Lincoln. They carved his face onto Ŝa´kpe Tuŋkaŋŝi (Mount Rushmore was called Six Grandfathers) in the Paha Sa´pa (Black Hills)
"My Father attended Holy Rosary boarding school at Pine Ridge in the 1940s & 1950s, but our people didn't live on the reservation. My Grandmother said evil stalked the people there."
"My Father never wanted us to ever even visit any of our cousins or his Uncles there."
~ LakotaGrl
Este Lopocke or Este Lubutke
Morgane Perraud on Unsplash
"Miccosukee [Seminole] tribal member here (South Florida) and for us it's the little people."
"Essentially really small people (like barbie doll sized and smaller) that live in the trees. They play jokes and stuff mainly, unless you piss them off."
"Had family members get tricks played on them that couldn't be explained."
"And then we have our fair share of stories that circulate our reservation like a tribal member being taken by the little people."
"All on the reservation in the Everglades (like 40 mins west of Miami)."
~ SSBMBabyCakes
Haudenosaunee Rules
Chris Chow on Unsplash
"I know the Haudenosaunee [Iroquois Confederacy] rules."
"1. If you hear someone you know calling your name, but you also know they are not supposed to be there, DON'T respond. Especially if they are out of sight and insisting you come to them."
"2. Always play group games in counter-clockwise order, otherwise your playing with the dead."
"3. Also don't eat in the dark, this is considered inviting the dead to eat with you. If you can extend your hand all the way out and still see it clearly then your fine."
"4. Don't play card games past midnight. If you do, and someone knocks at the door, don't answer it."
"5. Try not to drop your cards, if you do then don't bend down to pick them up, or you will see hooves under the table. That's bad."
"6. Say thank you after meals, even if you're the one that made it. Even better if you say it in native tongue."
"7. If someone finishes their meal and says thank you, you say 'you're welcome', even if you didn't give it to them. Even better in native tongue."
"8. After someone dies, you should gather family as quickly as possible to have feasts for 10 days. The first dinner is large, then every meal after that is a smaller feast meant for portions of the family to come at different times to help.
"The last feast on the 10th day is the closing dinner, which is the largest, with the entire family expected to show up and help. For every meal of these 10 days, put out a plate of the deceased's favorite foods first."
"Contrary to rule 6, you do not say thank you at any time during these 10 days. This is because it is believed that it takes the dead 10 days to relive their lives before they pass on, so this is your last chance to eat with them."
"Saying 'Thank you' during this time will make them stop before they're done because you're saying you're done. This will have bad consequences."
"9. Don't try to contact spirits, especially with board games. This is not a tribe custom, it's more of an unspoken common sense among the Rez people."
"10. If a bird flies into your house, someone's going to die."
"11. Pregnant woman should not hold any child that isn't theirs."
"12. It's accepted that if you actually try to curse someone, literally going through all of the steps with the intention of harm, not accidentally wishing them bad luck, then your family will also be cursed horribly."
"13. If you play with fire you'll wet the bed."
~ kinda-always-hungry
To learn more general information about Indigenous mythology of the United States, visit the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian website.
For Canada, visit the First Nations in Canada website.
For information about specific tribes, visit their tribal government website for recommended resources.