Dr. James T. Callow publications
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The James T. Callow Folklore Archive
Your search for B477 returned 559 results.
THE BLOODY STOPSIGN
ONE NIGHT A LONG TIME AGO THERE WAS A LITTLE BOY
WHO WANTED TO GO OUT TRICK-O-TREATING
BUT HIS MOTHER WOULD NOT LET HIM BECAUSE
THERE WAS A MANIAC ON THE LOOSE.
BUT THE BOY DECIDED TO GO OUT ANYWAY.
AFTER A WHILE THE MOTHER HAD NOT HEARD THE BOY AND
DECIDED TO GO AND CHECK ON HIM.
HE WAS NOT IN HIS ROOM AND NEITHER WAS HIS COSTUME.
THE MOTHER THEN CALLED THE POLICE AND TOLD THEM THAT
HER SON HAD GONE OUT TRICK-O-TREATING BY HIMSELF AND THAT
SHE WAS VERY WORRIED SINCE THERE WAS A MANIAC ON THE LOOSE.
THE POLICE WENT AND LOOKED FOR HIM AND WHEN THEY WERE TURNING
THE BEND, THEY SAW THE BOY'S HEAD ON THE STOPSIGN AND
BLOOD WAS DRIPPING DOWN.
THE MANIAC HAD GOTTEN THE BOY.
THE STOPSIGN IS STILL THERE AND THERE IS ALWAYS
RED STUFF THAT LOOKS AS IF WERE BLOOD THAT HAD DRIPPED.
NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES THE VILLAGE CHANGES THE SIGN,
THE RED ALWAYS REAPPEARS IN THE SAME SPOT.
Submitter comment:
THE INFORMANT WAS MY BEST FRIEND.
WE HAD GROWN UP TOGETHER IN RIVERSIDE.
Where learned: SISTER
Keyword(s): BOY SCOUT CABIN
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: 00-00-1975
THE STORY OF LAURA'S GHOST
ONE NIGHT AFTER DOIING REPAIRS ON THE HOUSE
BRIAN FELL ASLEEP ON THE COUCH.
AT ABOUT 2:00 IN THE MORNING HE WAS AWAKENED BY STRANGE
NOISES COMING FROM THE HEATING VENT.
HE WENT INTO THE BASEMENT TO CHECK THE FURNACE.
WHEN HE GOT THERE, THE NOISES HAD STOPPED.
WHILE HE WAS THERE, HE FOUND A PICTURE OF A WOMAN
IN A CASKET WITH THE NAME LAURA WRITTEN ON THE BACK.
TO THIS DAY ANY STRANGE OCCURRENCES AT THE HOUSE
ARE BLAMED ON THE GHOST OF LAURA.
Submitter comment: A DELT SIG
Where learned: DELTA SIGMA PHI FRATERNITY HOUSE
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: 00-00-1983 ; 10-00-1987
THE GHOSTS OF THE CIRCUS TRAIN
A LONG TIME AGO THERE WAS A CIRCUS TRAIN THAT WAS
TRAVELING TO ITS NEXT SHOWPLACE.
THE TRAIN SOMEHOW DERAILED. ALL OF THE CIRCUS WORKERS
AND ANIMALS WERE KILLED. THEY WERE BURIED IN A NEARBY
CEMETERY. IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT IF YOU GO THERE LATE
AT NIGHT, YOU CAN SEE THE CIRCUS PEOPLE AND ANIMALS
WANDERING AROUND. OR, MANY PEOPLE HAVE HEARD THE
SOUNDS OF A TRAIN AND ANIMALS SUCH AS ELEPHANTS.
Submitter comment: HE WAS A SCHOOLMATE OF MINE.
Where learned: OLDER BROTHER ; DRIVING AROUND TOWN
Keyword(s): CIRCUS
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: 00-00-1978 ; 00-00-1980
THE CADET GHOST OF ST. JOHN'S
ABOUT SEVEN YEARS THERE WAS A CADET AT ST. JOHN'S WHO
WAS VERY UNHAPPY. THE PRESSURES OF SCHOOL WERE REALLY
GETTING TO HIM AND TO TOP IT OFF, HE WAS NOT GOING
TO BE ABLE TO GO HOME FOR THANKSGIVING.
ONE NIGHT, AFTER QUIET HOURS HAD BEGUN, HE PLAYED
A BEATLES RECORD VERY LOUD. EVEYONE THOUGHT THAT
THIS WAS STRANGE BECAUSE HE KNEW THAT IT WAS QUIET HOURS
AND THERE WAS TO BE NO NOISE. AFTER A WHILE SOMEONE HEARD
A SCREAM. EVERYONE WENT DOWN TO HIS ROOM TO SEE WHAT
WAS THE MATTER. THE CADETS FOUND THEIR FRIEND HANGING
FROM A ROPE. HE HAD COMMITTED SUICIDE.
NO ONE EVER LIVED IN THAT ROOM AGAIN.
EVERY YEAR ON THE NIGHT OF HIS DEATH THE CADETS CAN
HEAR BEATLES MUSIC COMING FROM HIS ROOM, THOUGH NO ONE
IS LIVING THERE. THEN, A WHILE LATER A SCREAM IS
HEARD THROUGHOUT THE BUILDING.
NO ONE CAN EXPLAIN THE MUSIC OR THE SCREAM.
Submitter comment:
INFORMANT IS MY BROTHER.
HE TOLD ME THAT THE CADETS JUST SIT IN THE HALL ON THAT
NIGHT AND WAIT FOR THIS TO HAPPEN.
Where learned: WISCONSIN ; SAINT JOHNS MILITARY ACADEMY ; DELAFIELD
Keyword(s): ST. JOHN'S
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: 00-00-1982
THE VANISHING HITCHHIKER
THERE IS A STORY THAT HAS BEEN AROUND AS LONG AS I CAN
REMEMBER. IT IS SAID TO BE TRUE BUT NO ONE KNOWS FOR
SURE. IT IS A STORY ABOUT A LADY GHOST WHO HITCHHIKES
A RIDE FROM PASSING CARS. THE EVENT USUALLY TAKES PLACE
BETWEEN 3 A.M. AMD 6 A.M. AND IT USUALLY HAPPENS TO
DOCTORS ON THEIR WAY TO WORK(THERE IS A HOSPITAL NEARBY).
THEY WILL SEE A YOUNG GIRL HITCHING A RIDE. THEY WILL
PICK THE GIRL UP, SHE WILL GET INTO THE BACK SEAT OF
THE CAR. SHE IS WEARING A WHITE DRESS AND HAS LONG
LONG HAIR. SINCE IT IS EARLY MORNING, IT USUALLY COLD
OUTSIDE. THE DOCTOR USUALLY OFFERS HIS COAT TO THE
WOMAN. HE THEN DRIVES HER TO THE ADDRESS WHICH SHE GAVE
HIM (WHICH IS RIGHT NEAR THE HOSPITAL). WHEN HE GETS THERE
SHE IS GONE AND SO IS HIS COAT. THE PERSON WHO PICKED
THE GIRL UP WILL USUALLY GET OUT OF THE CAR AND GO UP
TO THE HOUSE TO SEE IF THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE KNOW THE
GIRL WHICH THEY DESCRIBE. WHOEVER ANSWERS THE DOOR SAYS
YES, AND THAT SHE HAS BEEN DEAD FOR ? YEARS. THEY TELL THE
PERSON WHERE HER GRAVE IS. THE CEMETERY IS RIGHT ACROSS
THE WAY FROM THE HOSPITAL. WHEN THE PERSON GETS TO
THE GRAVESITE, THEIR COAT IS FOUND ON THE GRAVESTONE.
Submitter comment:
I AM NOT EXACTLY SURE OF THE INFORMANT, BUT THIS STORY
HAS BEEN AROUND AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER. MANY PEOPLE
SWEAR THAT IT IS TRUE. AND EVERYTIME IT DOES HAPPEN,
THE STORY ALWAYS IS THE SAME. ONE STRANGE THING THAT
NO ONE UNDERSTANDS IS THAT IT IS USUALLY A MALE THAT
PICKS HER UP, NEVER A FEMALE.
Where learned: HOME ; ILLINOIS
Keyword(s): AUTOMOBILE
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |
Date learned: 00-00-1974 ; 00-00-1974
THE GHOST LOOKING FOR HER GRAVE
THERE IS JEWISH CEMETERY BY MY HOUSE THAT WAS MOVED YEARS
AGO SO THAT A NEW HIGHWAY COULD BE BUILT. THEY DUG EVEYTHING UP
AND MOVED IT ABOUT A MILE BACK. THE HIGHWAY WAS BUILT AS
PLANNED. AFTER THE HIGHWAY WAS BUILT, MANY PEOPLE
BEGAN TO SEE THE IMAGE OF A YOUNG WOMAN WALKING THE HIGHWAY.
THIS SAME WOMAN WAS ALSO SEEN WALKING AROUND WHERE THE GRAVE
NOW IS. IT WAS SAID THAT THE YOUNG WOMAN MUST HAVE BEEN
BURIED IN THE CEMETERY AND LOST HER GRAVE WHEN THEY
MOVED THE CEMETERY. SHE NOW WANDERS AROUND LOOKING FOR
HER GRAVE.
Submitter comment:
HE SAID THAT THE STORY HAS BEEN AROUND FOR A LONG TIME
AND THAT A CLOSE FRIEND OF HIS HAS EVEN SEEN THE GHOST.
Where learned: ILLINOIS
Keyword(s): LOST
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: 00-00-1972 ; 10-00-1987
OLD SAUN JUAN
OLD SAUN JUAN IS A FORT THAT IS SURROUNDED BY HIGH WALLS
TO PROTECT THE PUERTO RICANS FROM ATTACK
WHEN THEY WERE AT WAR, THE MAN WHO STOOD LOOK-OUT IN THE
TOWER SAW THE GHOSTLY FIGURE OF A WOMAN. EVERY TIME
THEY WERE GOING TO BE ATTACKED THE WOMAN WOULD APPEAR
AND WARN THEM OF THE INVADERS. THE NAME OF THE WOMAN
WAS GARRITA.
Submitter comment: SHE SAID THAT THIS FOLKTALE WENT AROUND ALL OF THE VILLAGES.
Where learned: HOME ; PUERTO RICO
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |
Date learned: 00001960'S ; 11-00-1987
THE HOUSE OF CHIN LIN FU (THE DOG WHO WE HOUSESAT FOR)
WHEN MY HUSBAND AND I WERE FIRST MARRIED AND WERE LIVING ON AN ESTATE
IN THE GATEHOUSE, WE FOUND THE HOUSE THAT WE WERE LIVING IN WAS
HAUNTED. WE GOT THE HOUSE RENT FREE BECAUSE A VICIOUS DOG LOVED ME.
ONE NIGHT THE WIND WHISTLED THROUGH THE TREES AND I WAS PREGNANT
AT THE TIME AND THE DOG SAT GUARDING THE HOUSE ON THE FRONT PORCH,
WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THE DOG BEGAN TO HOWL AND THE FUR ON HIS COAT
STOOD STRAIGHT UP ON END, AND THE CURTAINS BEGAN TO BLOW VIGOROUSLY
AND A LOUD MOANING NOISE SCARED ME SO THAT I SCREAMED AT THE TOP OF
LUNGS AND CLIMBED THE STAIRS FOUR STEPS AT A TIME, PREGNANT OR NOT.
MY HUSBAND HEARD ME SCREAMING ALL THE WAY UP STAIRS WHERE HE WAS
TAKING A BATH AND HE ALSO HEARD THE MOANING AS IF THERE WAS A
GHOST IN THIS HOUSE. HE CLIMBED OUT OF THE BATHTUB AND RAN DOWN
THE STAIRS IN HIS BIRTHDAY SUIT AND GRABBED A KNIFE FROM THE KITCHEN
AND RAN OUT ON THE PORCH. SINCE THIS WAS AN ESTATE AND COMPLETELY
SURROUNDED BY TREES, NO ONE SAW HIM. I DID NOT LOOK FOR I WAS VERY
FRIGHTENED. HE RAN AROUND IN THE ALTOGETHER LOOKING AND WAVING
THE KNIFE AND WHATEVER WAS OUT THERE HOWLING COMPLETELY STOPPED AND
THE HOUSE BECAME COMPLETELY QUIET AGAIN. WHEN THE OWNERS OF THE
HOUSE CAME BACK FROM FLORIDA AND WERE TOLD OF THE INCIDENT THEY TOLD
THAT THIS HOUSE WAS ONCE THE GATEHOUSE AND THAT A MAN WAS FOUND
MURDERED IN THIS HOUSE AND THE DATE THAT THIS OCCURRENCE HAPPENED
WAS THE DATE THAT THE MOANING AND HOWLING OCCURRED TO US. THIS WAS
A STRANGE HAPPENING THAT WOULD NEVER BE FORGOTTEN.
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: 10-13-1987
ANOTHER PARTICULAR DAY I WAS ALONE IN THE HOUSE WITH CHIN LIN FU AND
ALL OF A SUDDEN THE TWO CLOCKS BEGAN TO SHAKE VIGOROUSLY AND BEGAN
TO CHIME. THE FIRST CLOCK WHICH NEITHER ONE HAD WORKED IN AGES BEGAN
ON FEBRUARY 15, 1961 AT 3:30 PM AND RANG 15 TIMES AND THE OTHER
CLOCK CHIMED AT 4:OO PM AND RANG TEN TIMES. I THOUGHT THIS
VERY STRANGE. WHEN THE OWNERS CAME BACK FROM FLORIDA THEY WERE
GREETED WITH SOME STANGE STORIES. THEY TOLD US THAT THE CLOCKS
HAD BELONGED TO THE LADY'S FOLKS AND HAD NOT WORKED SINCE THE DAY
THEY WERE KILLED IN AN AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT. THE TIME THAT THE LADY
ASKED ME OF WHAT DATE AND HOW MANY TIMES THE CLOCKS CHIMED WERE
EXACTLY THE TIME THAT THE PEOPLE DIED AND THE NUMBER OF TIMES THE
CLOCKS CHIMED WERE THE DATES THAT THEY DIED, AND LIVING IN THE HOUSE
OF CHIN LIN FU (THE DOG THAT WE HOUSE SAT FOR)? WAS AN EXPERIENCE
NEVER TO BE COPIED AGAIN.
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: 10-13-1987
WHEN I WAS A KID I WENT DOWN THE ROAD
OVER A FRIEND'S HOUSE, WHEN I STARTED
BACK HOME I LOOKED IN BACK OF ME
AND THERE WAS A LITTLE RED BOUNCING BALL
FOLLOWING ME. I STARTED RUNNING HOME AND
THE BALL MOVED FASTER AND I RAN INTO MY
ROOM AT HOME AND LOOKED OUT THE WINDOW AND
THE RED BALL WAS STILL THERE. IT FINALLY
WENT AWAY AND I NEVER SAW IT AGAIN.
Where learned: HOME ; MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: 00001970S
I WAS OVER MY COUSIN'S HOUSE EATING PIZZA
AND I GOT INDIGESTION VERY BAD, SO BAD
THAT THEY HAD TO TAKE ME BACK TO MY GRAND-
MOTHER'S HOUSE. WHEN I STEPPED INTO THE HOUSE
THE PAIN WENT AWAY LIKE MAGIC. I THINK IT
WAS BECAUSE MY GRANDMOTHER'S HOUSE WAS SO
FULL OF GOD AND RELIGION THAT GOD TOOK THE
PAIN AWAY.
Submitter comment: MY GRANDMOTHER IS VERY GOOD AND RELIGIOUS
Where learned: SOUTH CAROLINA
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Curer |
SHE HAD A DREAM THAT HER DEAD MOTHER CAME DOWN
AND TOLD HER TO PLAY A 3 DIGIT NUMBER SO WHEN
SHE WOKE THE NEXT DAY SHE PLAYED THE NUMBER AND
IT CAME OUT STRAIGHT!
Submitter comment:
WHEN YOU DREAM OF DEAD PEOPLE DO WHAT THEY TELL
YOU TO DO BECAUSE MOST OF THE TIME IT WILL BRING
YOU GOOD LUCK.
Where learned: WORK ; MAILROOM
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Dreams BELIEF -- Good luck |
Kim's family used to wax their cars, but every time they did,
whoever drove it after the waxing got into an auto accident.
This happened quite a few times. Kim's parents quit waxing
the cars and have not been in an accident since.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; PLYMOUTH
James Callow Keyword(s): Post hoc reasoning
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Means of Causing or Avoiding Illness BELIEF -- Bad luck |
When I was a little girl our family used to sit
together on Friday nights and tell stories. One of
these stories was told in my family to at least 3 or
4 generations. It was a true story. My great, great
grandparents lived in a house that was moved from a
cemetery to its current spot. Unexplained noises and
voices could be heard coming from the attic and
therefore no one would go up to the attic because it
was strongly believed that there were ghosts up there.
Submitter comment:
Informant still believes that this is a true story.
Data entry tech comment:
Updated by TRD
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
Keyword(s): CEMETERY ; HAUNTED ; House
| Subject headings: | Favorites PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: 00001940S
Bloody Mary
At slumber parties we always used to hear from at least
one person a story about Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary was
supposed to be seen by a person who stood in front of
a mirror, in the dark. The designated person would
stand in front of a mirror anywhere in the house and say
bad things about Bloody Mary. The person would call her
name and say things like "Show yourself Bloody Mary,
or are you too scared?" The person would also call her
names or even swear at her. If the person got Bloody
Mary angry enough, she would appear in the mirror and
cause an injury to the person who had called her.
Submitter comment:
A few people that I knew had enough nerve to do this.
Even though two of the people that did were unaffected,
three of the people I know who tried this came out with
severe scratches on both of her arms, and one also
had severe scratches on her throat.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
Date learned: 00-00-1980
My father's grandmother was Delphine Charbonneau
(descendant of Toussaint Charbonneau).
Her mother (he can't remember her name) moved
into a former house of ill repute (because of the
low price). She had it exorcised by a priest, and on
her first day there, she stood at the foot of the
stairs and shouted, "I'm not afraid of devils or
anything." A cold hand slapped her in the face and
knocked her off the landing. She moved out the next
day. This happened in Detroit.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | Favorites PROSE NARRATIVE -- Devil Demon PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Railroad Ghost
A true story about a train that was running through a
very thick fog one night with several VIP's aboard
including Queen Victoria. The engineer wanted to
make his run in record time. Suddenly up ahead he
thought he saw a black cloaked figure who was waving
him to stop. The engineer did so but could find no one
but decided to further investigate. He went up further
ahead and to his surprise and horror he found that
the bridge had washed out. After the bridge was repaired
and the engineer had made it home did he solve the mystery;
he found moth stuck to the engine's headlamp as to appear to
be a figure waving to stop, saving all, including the Queen.
Submitter comment:
This was told at a swapping of ghost stories at a
Halloween party. Roy waved his arms like a moth would.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; ROCHESTER HILLS
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Insect PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: 00001980S
Stories have been surfacing for years about ghosts wandering
the White House and sighted by various people. Mary Lincoln
saw Andrew Jackson, Harry Truman saw Lincoln (Truman said
that Theodore Roosevelt talked to Lincoln all the time but
he thought being a Republican helped.) Dozens of sightings
by people have occurred
Submitter comment: I have heard this several times about the White House.
Where learned: WASHINGTON DC
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: 00001980S
When I was about 6 years old I first heard the story about the
haunted house on Outer Dr. Friends of the family lived there,
the Graybruck's. They lived there for several years before I
heard about the haunting, during which time no fewer than
three bizarre incidents happened. One night Mrs. Graybruck had
dinner set out. She went upstairs to get her son and his two
friends. When she came downstairs about two minutes later
there was nothing left of her dinner except dirty dishes.
Another time the son and a friend were in the basement. Each
time they would approach the stairs the lights would go out.
All the lights were controlled from the basement. Finally, the
son heard from an old man across the street that there was a
tunnel that connected his house to the Graybruck's that was
made by bootleggers during prohibition and that his house was
haunted too. The son took the old man's story to heart. One
weekend he invited his friends over to look for the tunnel
entrance. They didn't find the tunnel, but they did find three
rooms that weren't listed on the floor plans of the house.
They were sealed by a brick wall which the son knocked a
hole through. As they were exploring the rooms things began to
fly through the air striking and injuring some of the kids.
None of them were seriously hurt, just a few stitches here and
there. Several years later the son took a jackhammer to the
basement floor and found the tunnel.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal |
WHEN THE WAGERS FAMILY ARRIVED FROM FRANCE IN THE LATE
1700'S, THE TWO BROTHERS WHO IMMIGRATED BOUGHT LAND IN CENTRAL
KENTUCKY. THEY BUILT TWIN PLANTATION HOUSES. DURING THE CIVIL
WAR, A WARFORD DESCENDANT ALLEGEDLY FILLED A HUNTING HORN WITH
MONEY AND HID IT SOMEWHERE ON THE FAMILY'S LAND. NO ONE HAS YET
FOUND THE LEGENDARY MONEY HORN. THE LAND IS NO LONGER HELD BY THE
FAMILY.
Submitter comment:
MY MOTHER LEARNED OF THIS LEGEND THIS YEAR FROM HER ELDERLY
AUNTS AND AN UNCLE. WHEN SHE AND HER RELATIVES WENT TO VISIT THE
REMAINING HOUSE (THE OTHER BURNED DOWN), THEY WERE GREETED BY THE
CURRENT OWNER WITH "Y'ALL MUST BE WARFORDS!" WHEN MY MOTHER TOLD
ME OF THIS LEGEND SHE ADDED A COMMENT THAT "KNOWING THE LUCK OUR
FAMILY HAS, IF THERE REALLY IS A MONEY HORN, IT'S PROBABLY FILLED
WITH CONFEDERATE MONEY!"
Where learned: KENTUCKY ; IRVINE
Keyword(s): TREASURE
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Measure of quality Monetary systemMoneyWealth BELIEF -- Bad luck |