Dr. James T. Callow publications
Browse by
Questions or comments on this site? Please email davidsor@udmercy.edu.
The James T. Callow Folklore Archive
Your search for B667 returned 313 results.
THE BLOODY FINGER
ONCE THERE WAS A YOUNG GIRL WHO WAS BABYSITTING. THE CHILDREN
HAD BEEN PUT TO BED AND SHE WAS READY TO WATCH SOME TV WHILE
WAITING FOR THE PARENTS TO RETURN. SUDDENLY THE PHONE RANG. WHEN
SHE ANSWERED A VOICE SAID, "THE BLOODY FINGER IS COMING FOR YOU."
THE GIRL THOUGHT NOTHING OF THIS. IT WAS PROBABLY JUST A FRIEND
TRYING TO SCARE HER. SHE WENT TO MAKE SOME POPCORN. THE PHONE
RANG AGAIN. "THE BLOODY FINGER IS TEN MILES AWAY," THE VOICE
SAID. THE BABYSITTER STILL WASN'T WORRIED. THEN, THE POWER WENT
OUT! THE PHONE RANG. "THE BLOODY FINGER IS FIVE MILES AWAY."
THE GIRL FOUND A FLASHLIGHT. THE PHONE RANG AGAIN. "THE BLOODY
FINGER IS AT THE CORNER STORE." THE BABYSITTER WENT BACK TO THE
KITCHEN AND FOUND A BUTCHER KNIFE. THE DOORBELL RANG. THE
BABYSITTER WAS READY. SHE TOOK THE KNIFE AND ANSWERED THE DOOR.
A MAN STOOD ON THE FRONT PORCH. HE SMILED, HELD UP HIS BLEEDING
FINGER AND SAID..."HI! HAVE YOU GOT A BAND-AID?"
Submitter comment:
THIS STORY WAS COMMON AT GRADE SCHOOL SLUMBER PARTIES. WHEN
ALL THE LIGHTS WERE OUT AND GHOST STORIES WERE BEING TOLD, "THE
BLOODY" FINGER WAS SURE TO BE INCLUDED.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; ROSEVILLE
James Callow Keyword(s): ANTICLIMAX
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Formula tale |
Early in the morning in the middle of the night
Two dead boys got up to fight
Back to back they faced each other
Drew their swords and shot each other
A deaf policeman heard the noise
And came and killed those two dead boys
And if you doubt this lie is true
Ask the blind man, he saw it too.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; FARMINGTON
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Formula tale |
Date learned: 00-00-1985
A man was on an overpass above a Detroit freeway and was
dropping a concrete block onto the moving cars below. The concrete
block was attached with a rope that he used to haul the block back
up onto the overpass to use on another unsuspecting motorist. One
victim managed to stop his car, yanked the rope with all his
force, and pulled the arm off of the overpass villain. The
overpass villain then took the motorist to court. (At this point
the storyteller waits for the listener to ask what the motorist
was charged with.) The storyteller then responds that the charge
was "armed robbery."
Submitter comment:
This joke was circulating around the Detroit area in 1992
following several real incidents of objects being dropped from a
freeway overpass onto unsuspecting motorists below.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
James Callow Keyword(s): PUN
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Jest Anecdote PROSE NARRATIVE -- Formula tale |
Riddle
Adam and Eve and Pinch-me
Went down to the river to bathe.
Adam and Eve got drowned,
Which one of the three was saved?
(Pinch me)
Submitter comment:
When the person responds Pinch-me, the person telling the
riddle pinches the other person.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Formula tale SPEECH -- Formula RIDDLE -- Riddle Question |
Date learned: 00-00-1991
Story of the Brownies
There was a little boy and girl who lived with their father and
grandmother. By the time the father and grandmother were done with
their daily work in the field, they were too tired to keep up the
house. They asked the children, but they were too spoiled and
never did anything. Their grandmother told them the story about
the brownies that came and cleaned and helped. They asked the
grandmother who the brownies were, but she would not tell them. So
the children went to the wise old owl and asked him who the
brownies were. The wise old owl only gave them an unfinished poem
which they had to finish, and they would know the answer. "Twist
me and turn me, and show me an elf. I looked in the pond and saw
my----". Well, the children did not know what to think; they were
upset at the owl for not telling them the answer, and so they sat
there discussing the poem and trying to figure out what rhymed with
"elf." Finally, the girl looked into the pond, like the poem said.
She saw herself! "myself" rhymes with elf, so she and the little
boy figured out who the "brownies" were. They went home to their
father and grandmother and decided not to tell them that they knew
who the "brownies" were. Late that night, when everyone was
asleep, the little boy and little girl got up and cleaned the house
until everything sparkled. In the morning when the father and
grandmother woke up, they could not believe their eyes. The
"brownies" had been there!
Submitter comment:
This story is learned at the first stage of girl scouts, when
a girl is a brownie. It illustrates that we are the brownies that
can be helpful, courteous and good.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | Favorites PROSE NARRATIVE -- Formula tale |
Date learned: 00001980'S
ENDLESS TALE
ONCE UPON A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT
A BUNCH OF INDIANS SAT AROUND THE FIRE
AND THE CHIEF STOOD UP AND SPOKE
"ONCE UPON A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT
A BUNCH..."
THIS STORY GOES ON AND ON AND ON.
Where learned: UNKNOWN
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Formula tale |
Date learned: UNKNOWN
I'M GOING TO GRANDMOTHER'S HOUSE AND I AM GOING TO TAKE A
----- (EACH PERSON ADDS AN ITEM, REPEATING ALL PRECEEDING
ITEMS UNTIL SOMEONE FORGETS, THEN THE STORY BEGINS AGAIN).
Data entry tech comment:
Updated by TRD
Where learned: OHIO ; TROTWOOD
Keyword(s): GAME ; Grandmother ; House ; Language ; MEMORY
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Formula tale |
Date learned: 04-00-1972
WENT UP THE FIRST STAIR--JUST LIKE ME.
ARROW DRAWN FROM 1ST TO
WENT UP THE 10TH STAIR--JUST LIKE ME.
WALKED INTO THE ROOM--JUST LIKE ME.
LOOKED INTO THE MIRROR--JUST LIKE ME.
SAW A MONKEY--JUST LIKE ME.
Submitter comment: LEARNED IN JOHNSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.
Where learned: PENNSYLVANIA ; MICHIGAN ; DETROIT ; JOHNSTOWN
James Callow Keyword(s): CATCH
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Formula tale |
Date learned: 10-06-1964
TAUNT
PETE AND HIT ME WERE WALKING ACROSS A BRIDGE.
PETE FELL IN AND WHO WAS LEFT?
HIT ME!
Submitter comment: LEARNED FROM HER BROTHER, BARRY.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; SOUTHFIELD
James Callow Keyword(s): CATCH
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Formula tale |
Date learned: 09-25-1967
GAME
THAT'S LIFE.
WHAT'S LIFE?
A MAGAZINE.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
IT COSTS TWENTY CENTS.
I{VE} ONLY GOT A NICKEL.
THAT'S LIFE.
WHAT'S LIFE?
ETC.
Submitter comment:
I PLAYED THIS GAME WHEN I WAS A CHILD, IT ONLY CONSISTS
OF REPREATING THE SAYING AND CAN GO ON FOREVER; IT
MAY ALSO BE SUNG.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; HARPER WOODS
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Formula tale |
Date learned: NOT GIVEN
I WAS WALKING DOWN THE STREET AND NOTICED EVERYONE WAS
DEAD. SO I ACTED CALM AND ASKED AN ARTICHOKE WHAT
THE DEAL WAS. HE REPLIED, "A KING OF SPADES, TWO
JACKS AND AN ACE." (VARIOUS SUITES ON THE JACKS AND
ACE). I THEN PICKED UP THE ARTICHOKE AND GAVE IT A
SQUASH WITH MY LEFT HAND. HE THANKED ME AND SAID
HE'D BE HAPPY WITH IT AND THEN I WENT ON MY MERRY
WAY. I WENT HOME WHERE I FELL ASLEEP AND DREAMED EVERY-
ONE WAS ALIVE AND WELL, EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS HATRED,
POLLUTION, CRIME AND DISEASE. THEN I DIED IN MY SLEEP
WITH THAT DREAM IN MIND AND ALL WAS WELL.
OBJECT: PLAY YOUR CARDS RIGHT AND YOU WON'T GO WALKING
AROUND TALKING TO ARTICHOKES.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
James Callow Keyword(s): PUN
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Formula tale |
Date learned: 02-29-1972
WHEN AUSTRIA WAS HUNGARY, IT TOOK A LITTLE TURKEY
AND TOOK A LITTLE GREECE, PUT IT IN JAPAN AND
ATE IT OFF OF CHINA.
Submitter comment: INFORMANT REMEMBERED THIS FROM CHILDHOOD.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
James Callow Keyword(s): PUN
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Formula tale |
Date learned: 10-07-1967
IT WAS THE NIGHT OF THE ST. THOMAS HIGH SCHOOL REUNION
DANCE, HELD AT THE ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE PARISH IN
DETROIT {MICHIGAN}. A FEW OF MY OLD CLASSMATES GOT BORED
WITH THE DANCE AND DECIDED TO GO FOR A RIDE. THEY LATER
CAME BACK WITH A RATHER STRANGE ACCOUNT OF THAT RIDE.
JOE, LOU, AND DAVE WERE RIDING AROUND IN GROSSE POINT
WHEN THEY FOUND THEMSELVES IN A PRIVATE DRIVE THAT LED TO A
PRIVATE GOLF COURSE. SO THEY FIGURED THAT WHILE THEY WERE
THERE, THEY WOULD GO AND SEE WHAT THE COURSE LOOKED LIKE.
THEY PULLED UP A FEW HUNDRED FEET, STOPPED, AND SHUT OFF
THE HEADLIGHTS. IN THE DARKNESS, THEY COULD MAKE OUT
SHAPES MOVING AROUND, SHAPES WHICH LOOKED LIKE LITTLE
MEN RUNNING AROUND--LIKE PIGMIES. THE THREE OF THEM WERE
GOING TO GET OUT OF THE CAR TO GET A CLOSER LOOK, BUT THE
FLASHLIGHT DIDN'T WORK, SO THEY DECIDED TO STAY INSIDE.
LATER, THEY LEFT TO COME BACK TO THE DANCE WITH THE
INTENTION OF GOING BACK WITH A WORKING FLASHLIGHT.
ON HEARING THEIR STORY WHEN THEY RETURNED, WE WANTED TO GO
AND SEE FOR OURSELVES, BUT JOE, LOU, AND DAVE DIDN'T
FEEL UP TO DIRECTING US. SO WE ENDED UP TALKING ABOUT
IT ALL NIGHT AND FOR SOMETIME AFTER.
ABOUT A YEAR LATER, I FOUND THAT THERE REALLY WERE NO
PIGMIES AT ALL. IT WAS ALL A BIG JOKE THAT THE THREE
FELLOWS HAD COME UP WITH TO PLAY ON US ALL.
NOW THOUGH, THE STORY OF THE PIGMY GOLF COURSE LIVES
ON. IF YOU ASK ANY OF MY FRIENDS ABOUT IT, THEY WILL TELL
YOU ABOUT THE SAME STORY.
Submitter comment:
STORY OF LITTLE MEN (PYGMIES) RUNNING AROUND A GOLF COURSE AT NIGHT
TOLD AS HOAX, STORY SURVIVES, THOUGH MADE UP FOR THE OCCASION.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Fairy Elf Goblin Gnome PROSE NARRATIVE -- Formula tale |
Date learned: NOT GIVEN
I WANT MY LIVER BACK
THIS STORY WAS POPULAR AT PAJAMA PARTIES IN THE LATE
1950S. THE LIGHTS WERE USUALLY DIMMED WHEN IT WAS TOLD.
ONCE THERE WAS A LITTLE BOY AND HIS MOTHER SENT HIM TO
THE STORE TO BUY SOME LIVER FOR DINNER. WELL, ON THE
WAY HOME FROM THE STORE, HE DROPPED THE LIVER AND A DOG
CAME ALONG AND ATE IT UP. THE LITTLE BOY KNEW HE'D GET
IN TROUBLE IF HE DIDN'T BRING HOME SOME LIVER, SO HE WENT
TO A CEMETERY, DUG UP A DEAD MAN AND TOOK OUT HIS
LIVER. THE LITTLE BOY'S MOTHER COOKED THE MAN'S LIVER
AND THEY ATE IT FOR DINNER.
WELL, THAT NIGHT WHEN THE LITTLE BOY WAS IN BED AND
EVERYTHING WAS DARK, HE HEARD SPOOKY VOICE SAYING,
"JOHNNY, I WANT MY LIVER BACK." THEN IT SAID, "JOHNNY,
I'M ON THE FIRST STAIR. JOHNNY, I'M ON THE SECOND
STAIR. JOHNNY, I'M ON THE THIRD STAIR. JOHNNY,
I'M ON THE FOURTH STAIR {THE TELLER USUALLY GOT TIRED
AT THIS POINT} JOHNNY, I'M ON THE TENTH STAIR.
JOHNNY, I'M RIGHT OUTSIDE YOUR ROOM. JOHNNY, I'M IN
YOUR ROOM. JOHNNY," BOO! {AT THIS ALL THE GIRLS
SHRIEKED}.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Formula tale |
Date learned: 00001950S
THIEFS
THREE GUYS STOLE A HORSE, A COW, AND A WAGON. THEY WERE
CAUGHT AND WENT BEFORE THE JUDGE ONE AT A TIME. THE
FIRST ONE STOLE THE HORSE. THE JUDGE ASKED HIM HOW LONG
HE HAD THE HORSE AND THE THIEF SAID SINCE IT WAS A COLT.
THE JUDGE SAID NOT GUILTY. THE SECOND PERSON BEFORE THE
JUDGE HAD STOLEN THE COW. THE JUDGE ASKED HIM HOW LONG
HE HAD OWNED THE COW AND HE SAID SINCE IT WAS A CALF.
THE JUDGE DISMISSED THE CASE. THE NEXT ONE STOLE THE
WAGON. THE JUDGE ASKED HIM HOW LONG HE HAD THE WAGON
AND THE MAN SAID EVER SINCE IT WAS A WHEELBARROW. THE
JUDGE SAID GUILTY.
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Formula tale |
Date learned: 00-00-1968
MASTER OF ALL MASTERS
A MAN SAID TO HIS SON WHAT IS THIS? THE BOY SAID TROUSERS.
THE MAN SAID THEY IRONED CREASES. WHAT IS THIS? THE BOY
SAID A ROAD. THE MAN SAID DUCTY BEOZERS. WHAT IS THIS?
THE BOY SAID FIRE. THE MAN SAID VAPARATION. WHAT IS
THIS? THE BOY SAID A BARN. THE MAN SAID THIS WAS A
HIGH TOP MOUNTAIN. THE MAN SAID WHAT IS THIS? THE BOY
SAID A CAT. THE MAN SAID IT WAS A BALD HEADED
PERSIMMON. THE MAN WENT TO SLEEP AND THE BOY SAID,
BOSS, BOSS, WAKE UP. PUT ON YOUR IRONED CREASES. THAT
BALD HEADED PERSIMMON HAS SET THAT HIGH TOP MOUNTAIN TO
REVAPARATION.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Formula tale |
Date learned: 01-17-1972
PROSE--RAINY DAY
AS I WAS SITTING IN MY WIGGLEWARY LOOKING THROUGH MY
WINKLEWARY, I SAW OL' UNGLE-BUNGLE-BAG COME CARRY OFF
MY WEE-TIG-TAG. I SAID IF I HAD MY FIDDEN-FADDEN,
I WOULD MAKE OL' UNGLE-BUNGLE-BAG DROP MY WEE-TIG-TAG.
WIGGLEWARY: ROCKING CHAIR. WINKLEWARY: WINDOW.
UNGLE-BUNGLE-BAG: HAWK. WEE-TIG-TAG: CHICKEN.
FIDDEN-FADDEN: GUN.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; TRAVERSE CITY ; ST
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Formula tale |
Date learned: 03-29-1970
SOLOMON GRUNDY
SOLOMON GRUNDY
BORN ON MONDAY
GREW UP ON TUESDAY
GOT MARRIED ON WEDNESDAY
GOT SICK ON THURSDAY
GOT WORSE ON FRIDAY
DIED ON SATURDAY
WAS BURIED ON SUNDAY
AND THAT WAS THE END OF SOLOMON GRUNDY
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Formula tale Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Prose Narrative Prose Narrative |
Date learned: 04-04-1970
VERSE
MONDAY THE CATS DIED
TUESDAY MY IN-LAWS DIED
WEDNESDAY THE WAIF DIED
THURSDAY THE DEVIL DIED
FRIDAY WE LIGHT THE CANDLE
SATURDAY THE COLORED MAN DIED
SUNDAY THE MAN SWELLED
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Formula tale Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Prose Narrative Prose Narrative |
Date learned: 11-23-1970
(CHAIN INVOLVING CONTRADICTIONS OR EXTREMES)
ONCE THERE WERE 2 MEN RIDING IN AN AIRPLANE.
UNFORTUNATELY, ONE FELL OUT.
FORTUNATELY, THERE WAS A HAYSTACK BELOW HIM.
UNFORTUNATELY, THERE WAS A PITCHFORK IN THE HAYSTACK.
FORTUNATELY, HE MISSED THE PITCHFORK.
UNFORTUNATELY, HE MISSED THE HAYSTACK.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Formula tale |
Date learned: 00-00-1956