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 B429 returned 584 results.
THEY USED TO SCARE ME AND TELL ME IF I DIDN'T BEHAVE, OL'
RAWHEAD 'N' BLOODY BONES 'D GET ME.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; NASHVILLE
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |
Date learned: 07-06-1973
THEY USED TO TALK ABOUT OL' RAWHEAD 'N' BLOODY BONES. THEY SAID
RAWHEAD AND BLOODY BONES WOULD PIN YER EARS BACK, GREASE YOUR
HEAD A LITTLE, AN' SWALLER YE WHOLE.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; NASHVILLE
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |
Date learned: 07-06-1973
MORE "HAINTS"
THERE'S A SPRING IN SMITH COUNTY, PRESUMABLY BETWEEN PLEASANT
SHADE AND DIFFICULT, WHERW SOME STRANGE MONSTERS, BEASTS OR
SOMETHING WERE SEEN TO SUDDENLY RISE UP AND JUST AS SUDDENLY
DISAPPER. THIS IS IN OPPOSITION TO THE SPOT WHERE ONLY HUMAN
APPARITIONS WERE SEEN.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; NASHVILLE
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |
Date learned: 07-06-1973
THE WHITE LADY
I HAVE HEARD THIS STORY MANY TIMES. IF YOU PARK ON
BELLE ISLE, NEAR THE WOODS, AND IF IT IS AFTER 12
MIDNIGHT, YOU MAY BE VISITED BY THE WHITE LADY.
SHE IS A BEAUTIFUL LADY WHO IS DRESSED IN A WHITE
TUNIC OR NEGLIGEE AND HAS LONG FLOWING BLOND HAIR.
BEWARE OF HER. SHE WOULD TRY TO TAKE YOUR
BOYFRIEND BY GRABBING HIS HEAD. SHE HAD A HUSBAND
WHOM SHE LOST AND SHE WAS LOOKING FOR HIM OR FOR A
REPLACEMENT FOR HIM. SO BE CAREFUL.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |
Date learned: 08-00-1964
LATE AT NIGHT, A FEW YEARS AGO, IN ENGLAND AS THE
SIGN-OFF ENDED A TEST PATTERN WITH A CHANNEL AND
CALL LETTERS APPEARED ON THE SCREEN. THE VIEWERS,
NOT RECOGNIZING THE STATION CALLED UP TO ASK WHAT
IT WAS. BBC REPORTED THAT THEY WERE SENDING THEIR
OWN TEST PATTERN OUT. THEY CHECKED UP TO FIND
THE REGISTRATION OF THE CALL LETTERS AND CHANNEL.
THEY BELONGED TO A STATION IN OHIO, U.S.A., THAT
HAD LEFT THE AIR 12 YEARS AGO.
Where learned: ENGLAND
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |
A FRIEND OF MINE FROM CHICAGO ONCE TOLD ME THAT A
PICTURE WAS TAKEN OF A DEAD RELATIVE OF HIS, WHILE
THAT PERSON WAS IN THE COFFIN IN THE HOME OF THE
DECEASED. WHEN THE PICTURE WAS DEVELOPED, IT
SHOWED THREE PERSONS STANDING BEHIND THE COFFIN
WHO HAD DIED YEARS BEFORE.
Where learned: CHICAGO
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |
Date learned: NOT GIVEN
THE MYSTERIOUS BLACK DOG
ONE DAY, OUT OF THE CLEAR BLUE SKY, A STRANGE LITTLE
BLACK SHEPHERD DOG WALKED INTO DAISY'S FAMILY'S HOME.
HE MINDED THE TABLE, PROTECTED ALL THE FAMILY MEMBERS,
AND JUMPED ON STRANGERS WHEN THEY CAME INTO THE HOUSE.
THREE WEEKS LATER HE DISAPPEARED. DAISY SAID, "HE
CAME WITH THE WIND AND LEFT WITH THE WIND."
NOW DAISY WAS NAMED AFTER HER AUNT WHO LIVED FOUR
HOUSES FROM THEM AT THE TIME. HER AUNT'S HUSBAND,
WHO WAS DAISY'S UNCLE, DIED. SHE HONESTLY SAID
THAT THIS SMALL STRANGE BLACK DOG WAS THE GHOST OF
HER UNCLE WHO HAD DIED NOT TOO MANY DAYS BEFORE
THE LITTLE DOG WALKED INTO THEIR HOUSE.
Submitter comment: ORIGIN: CHILDHOOD
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; SOUTHFIELD
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |
Date learned: 07-23-1964
MY MOTHER USED TO TELL THE STORY ABOUT MY DAD AND SOME
OF HIS OLD CRONIES. THEY USED TO GO INTO TOWN EVERY
NIGHT AND HAVE A FEW DRINKS. YA SEE THEY LIVED ON A
FARM. WELL, THEY KNOWED THIS OLD MAN WHO HAD A DOG.
HE USED TO COME HOME EVERY NIGHT AND HIS DOG WOULD
RUN OUT TO MEET HIM. THEN THEY'S SIT ON THE STEPS
AND THE MAN WOULD PAT HIM AND TALK SOME WITH MY DAD
AND THE OTHER MEN. WELL THIS MAN DIED. AFTER THAT,
EVERY NIGHT AT THE TIME THE FELLOWS WOULD BE WALKING
HOME, THAT DOG USED TO RUN OUT TO THAT SAME SPOT IN THE
ROAD WHERE HE USED TO MEET HIS MASTER. THEN HE'D RUN
BACK TO THE STEPS STOPPIN' EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE AND
MAKE JUST AS IF THE OLD MAN WERE PATTIN' HIM. THE
DOG WOULD RUN TO THE STEPS AND LAY DOWN JUST LIKE
HE ALWAYS DID. HE'D WAG HIS TAIL, AND BARK JUST AS
IF THE MAN WAS TALKIN' TO HIM. MY DAD AND HIS FRIENDS
REALLY BELIEVE THAT THAT DOG WAS SURE ENOUGH SEEIN'
THE OLD MAN'S GHOST.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |
Date learned: NOT GIVEN
STRASBURG STREET
SEVERAL YEARS AGO IN DETROIT, THERE WAS A GIRL KILLED
ON STRASBURG STREET. SHE WAS PRESENT IN SPIRIT AND
WAS TRYING TO ATTRACT ATTENTION BY POUNDING ON
CARS AND CRYING FOR HELP.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |
Date learned: NOT GIVEN
THERE IS AN ISLAND AT THE FOOT OF ALTER ROAD IN DETROIT
{MICHIGAN} THAT IS BELIEVED TO BE THE SITE OF INDIAN
BURIALS AND IT IS BELIEVED THAT IF YOU LISTEN REAL
CLOSELY THAT YOU CAN HEAR THE SCREAMS OF THE INDIANS
IN THE NIGHT.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; EAST DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |
Date learned: 10-18-1969
DEAD WOMAN STRIKES BACK
BACK IN THE DAYS BEFORE FUNERAL HOMES, WHEN THE BODY
WAS LAID OUT AT HOME, IT WAS THE CUSTOM TO HAVE
SOMEONE SIT UP IN THE ROOM WITH THE BODY DURING THE
NIGHT. ONE NIGHT, MY FATHER WAS SITTING UP WITH A
BODY; HIS CHAIR ABOUT TWO FEET FROM THE CASKET,
AND HIS BACK TO THE CASKET. HE LEANED THE CHAIR
BACKWARDS (WHILE SITTING IN IT) AND BUMPED THE
CASKET. WHEN HE DID THIS, THE DEAD WOMAN'S ARM
FLUNG OUT AND HIT HIM ON THE BACK OF THE NECK.
HE JUMPED OUT OF HIS CHAIR AND RAN OUT OF THE HOUSE
AND WOULDN'T GO NEAR THE PLACE UNTIL AFTER THE
FUNERAL.
Submitter comment: TOLD TO HER BY HER MOTHER.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |
Date learned: 00001964 SUMMER
AT THE AGE OF 3, JAMES, DOYLE'S FATHER DIED.
AS A CONSEQUENCE, HIS MOTHER HAD TO WORK. LEAVING
HER SON AT HOME IN A CRIB, SHE WOULD HAVE A
NEIGHBOR FREQUENTLY CHECK IN ON HIM. ONE DAY AS
HE WAS IN HIS CRIB, THE SMILING FACE OF HIS FATHER
APPEARED TO HIM IN THE CORNER OF HIS ROOM. SEEING
HIS FATHER, HE WHISPERED, "DADDY." THE FACE SHOOK
ITS HEAD YES AND THEN DISAPPEARED.
Where learned: NOT GIVEN
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |
Date learned: 03-06-1968
A WOMAN'S HUSBAND PASSED AWAY, BUT AT THE TIME OF HIS
DEATH (4 P.M.) HE TOLD HIS WIFE THAT HE WOULD ALWAYS
BE WITH HER. THE DAY AFTER HE DIED AT APPROXIMATELY
4 P.M. A LITTLE YELLOW BIRD APPEARED ON THE WINDOW
LEDGE IN HER ROOM AND TAPPED HIS BEAK AGAINST IT,
THEN WOULD FLY AWAY. THIS WENT ON FOR 36 DAYS UNTIL
THE WIFE HAD BEEN STRUCK AND KILLED BY A CAR.
Where learned: NOT GIVEN
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |
Date learned: 03-12-1968
DEATH HITCHED A RIDE
A TRUCKER WAS DRIVING THROUGH THE SMOKEY MOUNTAINS
PULLING A LARGE SEMI-TRUCK-TRAILER ONE NIGHT. SUDDENLY
THE TRUCKER HAD A STRANGE FEELING THAT HE WAS NOT
ALONE. LOOKING OVER ON THE PASSENGER SIDE, HE SAW
A CHARACTER IN A DARK COAT, COLLAR PULLED UP, AND
A DARK HAT PULLED DOWN OVER HIS BROW. WHEN THE
TRUCKER BRAKED AND CALLED OUT "WHAT IN THE HELL ARE
YOU DOING HERE," THE FIGURE OPENED THE DOOR AND
LEAPED OUT, APPARENTLY TUMBLING DOWN THE MOUNTAINSIDE.
THE TRUCKER CALLED THE STATE POLICE, BUT THEY SEARCHED
FOR THE BODY IN VAIN.
ON THE RETURN TRIP THE TRUCKER'S RIG JACKKNIFED AT THE
VERY SPOT AT WHICH THE FIGURE HAD EARLIER LEAPED DOWN
TO HIS FATE.
THE FIGURE, ACCORDING TO THE LEGEND, HAD BEEN DEATH
HIMSELF.
Submitter comment: DON'T KNOW WHERE INFORMANT HEARD THIS ONE.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |
Date learned: 10-23-1965
THE HEADLESS SWITCHER
DURING THE CIVIL WAR A SWITCHER IN MANTEO, NORTH
CAROLINA WAS WAVING DOWN A TRAIN WITH A LANTERN, BUT
THE TRAIN FAILED TO STOP AND THE SWITCHER WAS CUT DOWN
AND DECAPITATED. HIS HEAD WAS NEVER FOUND.
TWENTY YEARS LATER, RESIDENTS OF THE AREA AND
PASSENGERS ON THE RAILROAD LINE BEGAN REPORTING
THEIR SEEING A LANTERN WAVING ALONG THE LINE AROUND
ABOUT MANTEO. CLOSER SURVEILLANCE, THEY SAID, SHOWED
THAT THE LANTERN WAS BEING WAVED BACK AND FORTH BY
THE HEADLESS SWITCHER.
THE LEGEND THAT GREW FROM THESE REPORTS HAD IT THAT
THE SWITCHER WAS SEARCHING FOR HIS HEAD.
A PRIEST WAS CALLED IN FROM WILMINGTON TO EXORCISE
THE SWITCHER'S GRAVE, BUT THE EFFORT WAS FRUITLESS,
BECAUSE THE SWITCHER WAS NOT AN EVIL SPIRIT.
Submitter comment:
INFORMANT HEARD TALE WHILE A STUDENT AT BELMONT
ABBEY COLLEGE, NORTH CAROLINA.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT ; NORTH CAROLINA
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |
Date learned: 10-23-1965
SUPERSTITION
ON A SPECIFIC STREET IN DETROIT {MICHIGAN} IT IS
BELIEVED THAT A LITTLE GIRL WAS ONCE HIT BY A CAR
COMING HOME FROM SCHOOL, AND NOW HER SPIRIT REMAINS
THERE AND KNOCKS ON CARS AFTER DARKNESS, WHEN THEY
PASS OVER THIS STREET.
Submitter comment: HEARD MANY TIMES FROM FRIENDS FOR ENTERTAINMENT.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DEARBORN
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |
Date learned: 00-00-1960
WHEN NANCY WAS FOUR YEARS OLD, SHE AWOKE IN THE MIDDLE
OF THE NIGHT TO SEE A TALL, STRANGE MAN STANDING BY
HER BED. FRIGHTENED AT FIRST, SHE LOST HER FEAR WHEN
HE GENTLY ASKED, "NANCY, HAVE YOU BEEN A GOOD GIRL?"
WHEN SHE SAID SHE HAD, HE WENT AWAY. ONE WEEK LATER,
THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO HER SISTER AGNES, WHO
WAS SEVERAL YEARS OLDER. THE MORNING AFTER THESE
INCIDENTS, THE DOORS WERE FOUND UNLOCKED, BUT
NOTHING ELSE IN THE HOUSE DISTURBED.
Submitter comment:
I REMEMBER THE MOTHER OF THESE GIRLS TELLING MY
FAMILY ABOUT THE INCIDENT. SHE FELT THE MAN WAS A
WOULD-BE ROBBER WHO CHANGED HEART WHEN HE SAW THE
LITTLE GIRL'S FRIGHTENED FACES, BUT SHE DIDN'T
KNOW HOW HE KNEW THEIR NAMES.
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |
DEATH NOTICE
FR. BORUCKI TOLD ME OF HIS MOTHER TELLING HIM THAT A
FEW WEEKS AGO, SHE WAS AWAKENED ON SUNDAY MORNING,
AROUND 6:00 A.M. BY SOMEONE KNOCKING ON THE FRONT
DOOR. SHE WENT TO OPEN IT, BUT FOUND NO ONE THERE.
SHE RETURNED TO HER ROOM AND HEARD SOME ONE RAP
THREE TIMES ON HER WINDOW. SHE LOOKED OUT, BUT SAW
NOTHING. SHE AWOKE THE LADY SHE LIVES WITH AND TOLD
HER ABOUT THE KNOCKING. BOTH WOMEN DECIDED SOMEONE
HAD DIED AND HAD COME TO TELL THEM ABOUT IT. ON THEIR
WAY TO CHURCH LATER THAT MORNING, THEY MET A NEIGHBOR
WHO TOLD THEM A MAN, DOWN THE STREET, HAD DIED AROUND
3:00 A.M. THAT MORNING. BOTH WOMEN WERE THEN SURE
IT WAS HE WHO HAD COME TO TELL THEM OF HIS DEATH.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |
Date learned: 01-30-1968
VANISHING ACCIDENT VICTIM
AS A CERTAIN YOUNG MAN WAS DRIVING DOWN A COUNTRY ROAD
AT NIGHT, HE SAW A YOUNG WOMAN LYING ON THE ROAD, AS
IF SHE HAD BEEN HIT BY A CAR. HE STOPPED THE CAR,
JUMPED OUT AND FOUND THE GIRL BADLY HURT. HE CARRIED
HER INTO THE CAR AND GAVE HER HIS HANDKERCHIEF TO
WIPE THE BLOOD OFF HER FACE. HE WAS ABOUT TO DRIVE OFF
WITH HER, FOR HELP, WHEN HE SAW A SMALL HOUSE DOWN THE
ROAD. HE GOT OUT OF THE CAR AND RAN TO THE HOUSE.
FRANTICALLY, HE TOLD THE MAN AND WOMAN INSIDE ABOUT
THE BADLY INJURED GIRL IN HIS CAR. THE COUPLE ONLY
LOOKED AT EACH OTHER AND SAID NOTHING AND MAKE NO
OFFER OF HELP. ANGERED, THE YOUNG MAN RAN OUT TO
BRING THE GIRL IN, THINKING THE COUPLE DON'T BELIEVE
HIM. HE RETURNED TO THE CAR AND FOUND IT EMPTY. HIS
HANDKERCHIEF IS ON THE SEAT, UNFOLDED BUT CLEAN.
STUNNED, HE RETURNED TO THE HOUSE WHERE THE COUPLE
EXPLAIN THEIR APPARENT LACK OF INTEREST. YEARS AGO,
THEIR DAUGHTER WAS HIT BY A TRUCK ON THE ROAD AS
SHE WALKED. SHE DRAGGED HERSELF ALONG THE ROAD, HOPING
TO REACH HOME. NOW EVERY SO OFTEN, SHE APPEARS TO
PEOPLE SO SHE COULD GET HELP AND REACH HER HOME,
WHICH SHE DIDN'T REACH BEFORE SHE DIED. EACH TIME SHE
GETS CLOSER TO HER HOME. SHE HAD ALMOST MADE IT
THIS TIME, WHEN THE YOUNG MAN FOUND HER. HER PARENTS
HOPE ONE DAY SHE WILL REACH HOME.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |
Date learned: 02-04-1968
LADY IN WHITE
WHEN PENNY WAS A YOUNG CHILD, SHE WALED DOWN A
ROAD PAST A HOUSE WHERE A MEAN OLD WOMAN WAS PREVIOUSLY
RUN OUT OF TOWN. AS SHE PASSED THE HOUSE, SHE SAW A
WOMAN WITH AN EXPRESSIONLESS FACE, DRESSED ENTIRELY
IN WHITE, WHO WAS SIGNALING FOR PENNY TO COME TO HER.
SHE DIDN'T GO TO THE WOMAN, BUT RAN DIRECTLY HOME.
HER MOTHER TOLD HER THE WOMAN OFTEN APPEARED TO
PEOPLE BECAUSE SHE WAS STILL ANGRY.
Where learned: HOME
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |