Dr. James T. Callow publications
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The James T. Callow Folklore Archive
Your search for P477 returned 904 results.
Don't ever laugh when a hearse goes by.
Or you may be the next to die.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; SOUTHFIELD
Keyword(s): DEATH
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Death Funeral Burial |
Date learned: 00001970S
It is Greek belief that if one misplaces something from as small
as a ring to as large as a missing child, it can be relocated by
baking an offering known as a "Fanouropita" to St. Fanourio.
(Fanouropita means Bread of St. Fanourio.) Then taking the offering
and donating it to a church. The missing object is then said to
mysteriously turn up.
Where learned: GREECE
James Callow Keyword(s): compare St. Anthony
| Subject headings: | Favorites Food Drink -- Plant food BELIEF -- Religious hero BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Church BELIEF -- Magic of Speech, Sign, Color |
Holding your breath by a cemetery
Whenever you pass a cemetery, you must hold your breath the
whole time. If you do not hold your breath for the whole time you
are beside the cemetery, you will inhale the evil spirits present
in the air.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; Sandusky
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Devil Demon BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Street Trip Relations between relatives, friends, host and guest Social class Rank |
Date learned: 00-00-1979
Problem Solver
When one has a problem which seems too difficult to solve, simply
write it down on a small piece of paper, put it under a pillow, and
sleep on it. In the morning, an answer will be found.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; SAGINAW
| Subject headings: | Favorites BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Measure of time Sleeping |
Date learned: 00001975CA
Religious Superstitions
When driving or walking by a graveyard or church you should
never point your finger or stick out your tongue. If you do you
should bite it ten times (finger or tongue). If you don't you will
have seven years of bad luck.
Submitter comment:
I learned this as a child and it never failed; every time we
drove by either of these two sites I had to be either pointing or
licking my lips.
Where learned: DETROIT
Date learned: 00001970S
Bad luck to point at funeral procession.
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Death Funeral Burial BELIEF -- Bad luck |
Date learned: 00001970S
When yawning cover your mouth or your spirit will come out.
If you don't cover your mouth you have to blow because evil
spirits have come in to chase your good spirit away.
Where learned: DETROIT
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Devil Demon BELIEF -- Body part Senses BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal SPEECH -- Gesture |
Date learned: 00001960S
Make out a check to a charity before boarding an airplane;
when you get to your destination you mail it. This guarantees a
safe flight.
Where learned: DETROIT
When you are finished brushing or combing your hair you should
immediately remove it from the brush or comb and either burn or
flush it down the toilet. This prevents any one who wants to do
harm to you by taking your hair to a Voodoo person and having that
person cast a spell on you or have you fixed with a spell so that
you will come down with some untraceable illness.
Where learned: MISSISSIPPI ; Aberdeen
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Curse |
There was a belief that if a woman was angry with another
person or started to have arguments that persisted with someone
then their baby would be delivered looking like the person that
they had the disagreement with.
Where learned: MISSISSIPPI ; Aberdeen
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Birth |
If someone sweeps your feet with a broom you must do seven
complete turns and spit on the broom three times or you will soon go
to jail.
James Callow comment:
For earlier African-American predictions that sweeping one's feet
can send that person to jail see Puckett, "Folk Beliefs of the
Southern Negro," p. 397; the informants were from Alabama and
Georgia. Puckett, Ohio, nos. 20562-20572 also equate brooms and
sweeping with arrest and jail. Note that almost all the informants
are listed as Negro. No. 20573 contains three examples of converting
the consequences by spitting on the broom, but none of these
informants, two of whom are Negro, prescribes a certain number of
times for this action.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
Date learned: 00-00-1978
Cure for the Hiccups? Count them.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Number Counting beliefs BELIEF -- Method of Curing |
Date learned: 00-00-1976
When passing over a bridge, hold your breath until you're across
just in case the bridge collapses.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Street Trip Relations between relatives, friends, host and guest Social class Rank BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Water |
Date learned: 00-00-1976
People who suck on ice are sexually frustrated.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
James Callow Keyword(s): PERSONALITY
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: 00-00-1989
When passing a funeral home, you were told not to point at it,
because if you did you would die. You would have to bite your
finger and then put it under your foot to keep death away. It
would reverse the curse of death.
James Callow Keyword(s): CONVERSION
Date learned: 00-00-1955
Pull your ear if you're talking about a dead person so by doing
this it will keep the evil spirit away.
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Devil Demon BELIEF -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter BELIEF -- Body part Senses Ears, noise in ear BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal SPEECH -- Gesture |
Date learned: 00-00-1955
Two people were not allowed to comb on your head at the same
time; if they did the younger of the two would die.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; RIVER ROUGE
| Subject headings: | 686 Seconds / Twice / Two BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Death Funeral Burial |
Date learned: 00-00-1955
Please do not put your hat on the table. This is bad luck !
Submitter comment:
My mother quickly put my hat in the chair as she yelled out
do not put that there, it is bad luck.
Where learned: ALABAMA ; MOBILE
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Bad luck |
Date learned: 00-00-1990
If you want money to spend on pleasurable wants and needs
never put your new purse on the floor because you will never have
any money to spend.
Submitter comment:
I went to see my great grandmother in the south one summer
when I was nine year old. A few days before I was going to leave
for home she took me shopping. While at the shopping center my
grandmother purchased me a new purse. When we returned home I
placed the shopping bags on the floor. She quickly picked up the
shopping bags and sat them on the sofa and said, "Sweetheart,
never place a new purse on the floor; you will never have any
money."
Where learned: ALABAMA ; Linden
| Subject headings: | 686 Properties attributed to specific numbers or numerals individually. BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Measure of quality Monetary systemMoneyWealth |
Date learned: 00-00-1979
Keep a silver butter knife under your bed so that you can
keep away evil spirits causing nightmares in your dreams.
Submitter comment:
As I screamed out my mother came running into the bedroom.
She woke me up and I told her I had a nightmare. She said, "I am
going to get a butter knife to put under your bed so that you
will not have nightmares." The idea of the silver knife is
supposed to keep evil spirits away.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Devil Demon BELIEF -- Mineral BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Dreams |
Date learned: 00-00-1978