Chihuahuas: Spirit Guides

myths

Through local legends, the ancestor of the Chihuahua breed was greatly believed to have been found in 1850 in the old ruins near Casa Grandes. These ruins are found in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, where the breed gets it name. There are many different theories about the origin of the Chihuahua. One theory is that Chihuahuas are descended from the Techichi, a companion dog preferred by the Toltecs. Thought to have hunted in packs, the Techichi can be traced as far back as the ninth century and thought to be the Chihuahua’s native Mexican ancestor. Remains of dogs closely similar, but slightly larger than the average Chihuahua, have been found in such places as the Great Pyramid of Cholula, with these remains dating as far back as the 2nd century BC, and predating the Ancient Mayans. After the Toltecs were conquered by the Aztecs, it was thought that the early ancestor of the Chihuahua was offered as a sacrifice during religious ceremonies. The Aztecs would cremate and bury the dog with its deceased owners believing that they would act as a spirit guide for the souls of the dead. Legends were told that the blue/black coated Chihuahuas were revered as a sacred and strong religious symbol. The Chihuahuas with red coats were given the responsibility and burden of accompanying the sins of the dead by having them thrown upon a funeral pyre as part of that burden.

A second theory is that the Chihuahua dog originated from Europe and was brought to American around 1520’s. Another theory is that the dogs descended from China and were transported to America on Chinese trader ships. This theory follows the assumption that the Chinese favored small dogs to which the Chihuahua fits the description. Whatever the origin may be, there is one fact, the Chihuahua was associated with Mexico and were discovered by American travelers. In 1880 the Chihuahua dogs were brought to the United States and thought of as exotic pets.

The word “Chihuahua” means arid, sandy place. Today’s Chihuahuas are much smaller than its ancestors, and in 1904 the breed was recognized by the American Kennel Club as a purebred breed. The Chihuahua dogs remains a popular breed to this day.

My Chihuahua's name is Booger (shown in the picture above). He is a larger of the breed, weighing 15 pounds and has the typical temperament of a Chihuahua. He is a joy to have around and glad we decided to keep him when he was given to us 7 years ago.

Urban Legends: My Own Suicidal Homicide?!

myths

So as you may know, we started a new series of blogs about Urban Legends. Some of them will be famous ones we all know about, and some, like the one I will talk about today, are not very known at all. Also, usually we discuss things of at least some paranormal significance, this urban legend really isn't that. However, this is one of my favorite urban legends so I thought it might be neat to tell you all about it. In a way, it is slightly creepy. At least to me it was.

I first learned of this legend from the 1999 Academy Award nominated film "Magnolia". Magnolia is hands down one of my top three favorite films of all time. Tom Cruise and Jullianne Moore deliver two of my all time favorite movie performances in a cast that is simply breathtaking. The ending (slightly spoiled in the movie poster pictured above) is one of the quirkiest but most surprising turns I've ever seen a film make, and it was a masterful ending once you get the meaning behind it. The film also has my all time favorite opening sequence. Let me explain:

The opening scene is about four minutes long. It tells three short stories that are narrated by actor and illusionist Ricky Jay. All three stories are relatively unknown urban legends. The point of the stories is to deliver the message that not everything happens by coincidence and chance, and that sometimes very odd things simply just happen. And these things happen all the time. It's very meaningful for the overall essence of the BRILLIANT film. I want to mention of the stories from the opening scene today.

This legend was originally told at forensic science convention in the 60's. It is said this legend was used as a teaching tool for how to charge certain odd crimes. This is one of those VERY odd crimes. The story goes that a young man attempts to commit suicide by jumping of the 9th story rooftop of his apartment building. The suicide attempt was confirmed by a note in his pocket. The young man was fed up with this constantly arguing parents and wanted to end it all and be with God. The young man jumps, and midway down he is shot through the stomach by a shot gun bullet and is killed instantly before even hitting the ground.

Back up a little bit. In a 6th story apartment a couple is arguing ferociously and all the neighbors can hear this, as they usually do. It is a husband and wife, and apparently they always fight with a shotgun pointing at one of them. The wife is a bit crazy. The gun is not typically loaded. The argument heats up to the highest level and the wife pulls the trigger. She misses her husband and the bullet goes out the window, shattering the glass and hits a person who is falling from the roof.

Now it turns out that the arguing couple...are the parents of the boy who just jumped off the roof. They are the parents of the boy who just jumped off the roof AND was shot and killed by their shotgun. A young boy in the building who is a friend of the young man who killed himself comes forward. He tells the police that the young man intentionally loaded the shotgun knowing full well his parents would use it in an argument. He wanted his parents to kill each other, because that's what he thought they wanted to do anyway with all the yelling and abuse. His plan was for his whole family to perish that day, including himself. He was not expecting to be shot by the bullet he loaded into the gun.

Here's another odd fact: just a few days prior, an awning was installed on the bottom level. This awning would have caught the young man and saved his life...but he had a giant hole in his stomach and was dead before he got to the awning.

It took some time for the police to figure this crime out. Eventually the young man's parents were arrested. The mother was charged for the murder of her own son. The young man...was charged and noted as an accomplice in own murder.

To me this is one of the most bizarre and interesting urban legends I have ever heard. There aren't really a lot of stories online about it, but it is featured in this film. And I just wanted to let you all in on it! Hope you enjoyed it!

Also, I know you just read all that, but I have included the clip from the film "Magnolia" below. The clip is a segment from the opening scene of the film that pretty much explains and shows you what I just wrote about. You should watch it, it's a really well done scene.

--Mike--

Urban Legend: When a Stranger Calls

myths

Many stories are handed down from generation to generation in the form a modern folklore or urban legends. Urban legends are stories that are spread in various forms that are usually false though believed to be real by those telling them. Some believe that they are based on real events making the tales even more twisted. The substance of these stories usually consists of humor or horror. Sometimes the stories are told around campfires or at slumber parties with the person telling the story holding a flashlight under their chin for visual effects. Many horror movies are based on urban legends of one sort of another. One of the stories circulating around is the one about the babysitter. The horror/thriller movie, "When a Stranger Calls", was based on this very story and scared many of us from babysitting other people's children. I saw the 1979 version of the movie in the theatre with my friends. I am the biggest chicken when it comes to watching horror flicks even though I still loved to watch them. In 1979 there were fewer theatres so waiting in long lines was typical so you wasn't sure which show time you would make. Most of the time I just hated it when a tall person sat in front of me except during a horror flick. But as luck or lack of luck would have it, we ended up in the second row and had a perfectly clear view of the screen. Now I had to depend on squinting my eyes or looking through the fence fingers during the intense scenes. The fence fingers are just my hand in front of my face with my fingers slightly apart enough for me to see the movie. The first part of the movie, which starred Carol Kane as the babysitter, was based on the babysitter urban legend. The story begins with Jill (Kane) at the home of a doctor and his wife watching their children. The children are upstairs sleeping when Jill's terror begins. She receives a phone call from a mysterious man asking her questions about what she is doing and asking “have you checked the children”? At first, she just dismisses the calls as a practical joke but the calls kept coming along with more frightening threats. She becomes so scared that she calls the police. They told her that she needed to keep him on the phone long enough so they can trace the call. Now watch the video and see what happens next.



Although this story has been told many times with different variations of what happen, the basic story is still the same. Some stories say that the babysitter hears heavy breathing with the killing telling her that he is coming to get her. The part where she calls the police, they trace the call and tell her to “get out” because the man is inside the house, is basically the same. The killer getting away and the children being dead are also told the same in this Urban Legend.

The movie, “When a Stranger Calls” goes beyond the Urban Legend letting us know what may have happened afterwards. (If you haven’t seen it then maybe you would not want to read on.) The middle of the movie is slow where we follow the killer, Curt, after he escapes from the asylum and the retired detective, Clifford, tracking him down. We now find Jill as an adult, married with children of her own. Curt just happens to find out where she was living from a newspaper article. Jill and Stephen, her husband, go out to dinner and get a babysitter to watch their two kids. Jill receives a call at the restaurant, answers it only to have the creepy voice of Curt on the other end asking, “Have you checked the children?” Jill freaks out; they call the police and head home to find everything just fine with the babysitter and the children. Later, we see Jill having trouble sleeping, as you can imagine, and in the kitchen getting milk when all of a sudden, the lights go out. She heads back to bed and hears what appears to be Curt’s chilling voice whispering to her from the closet where the door is ajar. She shakes her husband, trying to wake him up, but it was Curt that was in bed with her. He rips her nightgown, chases her around the room, trying to kill her. Officer Clifford shows up in time to shoot Curt and kill him. Jill’s husband was knocked out in the closet and still alive.

During the climax of this movie, I hid my eyes, my friend Mary grabbed my leg and dug her nails in, and my friend Deb’s popcorn, (whatever she had left) was all over the place. Oh my, we sure enjoyed that adrenalin rush. You can’t beat a good horror/thriller movie that has an intense ending. I have seen the more current version of this movie but did not care for it.

There are many urban legends out there; this is just one of them. Look for Mike and myself to blog about other urban legends that have movies made from them or the ones we just like to talk about.