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Bad Luck. Anyone who is in possession of a yellow lighter will
have bad luck and misfortune. It does not matter whether the
lighter is found, purchased or received as a gift, the owner of the
lighter will have bad luck. The only way to rid yourself of the
bad luck is to destroy the lighter by blowing it up!

Submitter comment: The informant claims not to believe this story to be true, but
laughingly stated that she will never own, or even use, a yellow
lighter just in case it has some validity.

Where learned: DETROIT AREA ; stranger in a night club

Keyword(s): Cigarette Lighters

Subject headings: BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal
BELIEF -- Color
BELIEF -- Bad luck

Date learned: 00001990s

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I USED TO TRUST PEOPLE. BUT I LEARNED THE HARD WAY.
ONCE THESE COLOREDS CAME IN AND THEY WERE GETTING
MARRIED THAT NIGHT. THE GIRL PICKED OUT HER COAT
BUT THEY WAS SHORT TEN DOLLARS. SO I GAVE THEM THAT
TEN DOLLARS OUT OF MY OWN POCKET. THE BANK WAS CLOSED
BUT THEY SAID THEY'D BE BACK ON THE WAY TO THE JUDGE.
THEY NEVER CAME BACK AND I JUST DON'T TRUST 'EM
ANYMORE.

Submitter comment: I HEARD THE SAME STORY FROM ANOTHER LADY WHO SOLD COATS
AT ALBERTS ONLY SHE WAS THE LENDER.

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT ; DETROIT AREA ; ALBERTS RETAIL STORE ; MANY LOCATIONS

Subject headings: PROSE NARRATIVE -- Human Being

Date learned: NOT GIVEN

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I USED TO TRUST PEOPLE. BUT I LEARNED THE HARD WAY.
ONCE THESE COLOREDS CAME IN AND THEY WERE GETTING
MARRIED THAT NIGHT. THE GIRL PICKED OUT HER COAT
BUT THEY WAS SHORT TEN DOLLARS. SO I GAVE THEM THAT
TEN DOLLARS OUT OF MY OWN POCKET. THE BANK WAS CLOSED
BUT THEY SAID THEY'D BE BACK ON THE WAY TO THE JUDGE.
THEY NEVER CAME BACK AND I JUST DON'T TRUST 'EM
ANYMORE.

Submitter comment: I HEARD THE SAME STORY FROM ANOTHER LADY WHO SOLD COATS
AT ALBERTS ONLY SHE WAS THE LENDER.

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT ; DETROIT AREA ; ALBERTS RETAIL STORE ; MANY LOCATIONS

Subject headings: PROSE NARRATIVE -- Human Being

Date learned: NOT GIVEN

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MOTHER'S LOTION

MRS. ANGELA MAGOLEN WHO WAS BORN IN POLAND AND LATER CAME
TO AMERICA AND NOW LIVES IN WYANDOTTE, HAD A VISION OF THE
BLESSED MOTHER OF GOD IN A DREAM. OUR LADY GAVE HER THE RECIPE
FOR A HEALING LOTION WHICH WAS TO CURE
MANY, MANY PEOPLE. SHE USED IT
FOR THE FIRST TIME TO CURE HER HUSBAND, WHO WAS STRUCK DOWN BEFORE
HER EYES BY A CORONARY. SHE WAS IN DOUBT AT FIRST ABOUT MAKING THE
LOTION, BUT FATHER SOLANUS CASEY,
A RATHER WIDELY KNOWN CAPUCHIN PRIEST
URGED HER TO MAKE IT AND TO CALL IT "MOTHER'S LOTION."

Data entry tech comment:

Updated by TRD

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT AREA ; Ryan, Clara

Keyword(s): Blessed Mother ; CURE ; HEALING ; Lotion ; Ointment ; POLAND

Subject headings: Spirit / Mind / Body
BELIEF -- Religious hero
BELIEF -- Remedy

Date learned: 00-00-1954

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On February 16, 1970 a baby girl was born,
bringing tremendous joy to her parents, Charlie
and Rosemary. They named her Stephanie. The
Millers typified the perfect family. They lived
in a small ranch house in Dearborn, close to the
Allen Park and Melvindale borders. This home was
the picture of gaiety and happiness, abundant with
plenty of flowers in the garden, and the sound of
a baby's laughter. "It was a family right out of
a storybook, all they needed was a white picket
fence...," reminisced Rosemary's sister Claire.
Every story must have an ending, though, and
this one happened to be tragic instead of happy.
On September 3, 1972, Rosemary died, and Charlie's
life was shattered. "If it had not been for
Stephanie, he would have fell off the deep end
right then," commented Claire. It was a horrible
tragedy for everyone concerned.
Charles dedicated all his energy and love on
Stephanie after Rosemary's death, really spoiled
her, and never let her out of his sight. He
even called her Rosie sometimes. In this way,
Stephanie became her father's entire world.
Nearly three years had passed after Rosemary's
death, when yet another tragedy took place as told
by Claire:
It was a real foggy and rainy day, just like
in those late night movies, and Charles and
Stephanie were playing inside. Well, as far
as I figured it, something happened that made
him (Charles) mad at Stephanie. Anyhow, he
yelled at her, which he rarely did, and she
ran outside, right into the street. There
was this big truck coming, one of those
dump trucks. Anyhow, Stephanie ran right
in front of it. It weren't his (the truck
driver's) fault. He slammed on his brakes,
but the road being wet and all... well she
was hit and killed right away.
Stephanie's death not only altered Charles' life,
but Charles himself. According to Claire, he ceased to
speak of anything coherently, and just sat around
rambling on and on about his lost daughter. "Then
one day, he got up, got dressed, and announced he
was going shopping," related Claire.
When he returned from his excursion, he had
purchased a plastic life-sized doll, which from then
on became his daughter Stephanie. Charles set the doll
in front of the picture window to show everyone that
she was still alive. "He was insane with guilt; he
just reverted to a fantasy world, because he could
not deal with the reality," explained Claire.
Charles formed a daily ritual of dressing, feeding
and playing with his substitute for Stephanie, and
has kept this up religiously for over nine years.
But, there is yet another twist to this sad story:
He (Charles) claims that every rainy day at 5 p.m.,
the time of Stephanie's death, you can actually hear
the tires of the truck screeching and squealing.
He runs to the window with the doll to make sure she
stays inside. But what gets me, is that others that
are in the area at that time have claimed that
they heard sounds also...
The flower gardens are now barren, and the house
seems dead in itself. The only visible sign of life
is a motionless child in the window, and the faint
sounds of tires screeching in the distance, believe
it or not.

Submitter comment: I was able to speak with "Charles" himself, but his
sister-in-law who has lived with him since his wife's
death, helped fill me in on the details of this
story. I was also asked to leave out the actual
names of the people involved for discretion's sake.

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT AREA

Subject headings: Favorites
PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter
PROSE NARRATIVE -- Human Being

Date learned: 02-00-1984

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