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The James T. Callow Folklore Archive
Your search for B477 returned 559 results.
HAUNTED HOUSE
IN MORRILTOWN BOTTOMS, ARKANSAS, THERE WAS A HAUNTED HOUSE IN
WHICH ONE ROOM WAS HAUNTED. A FAMILY HAD MOVED IN IN THE
BEGINNING OF SUMMER. TWO OF THE CHILDREN WOULD SLEEP IN THE
FRONT ROOM OF THE HOUSE AND EVERY NIGHT THE GHOST OF THIS ROOM
WOULD PULL THE BLANKET OFF THE TWO KIDS. THE FAMILY COULD ONLY
TAKE IT FOR ONE SUMMER BEFORE THEY MOVED OUT, (AND THE HOUSE WAS)
NEVER TO BE LIVED IN AGAIN.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; Mount Clemens
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: 11-08-1968
THE MYSTERY
NEAR PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, THERE WAS AN OLD STRIP MINE THAT
HAD BEEN BURIED OVER AND LEFT BY A MINING COMPANY. TWO LITTLE
KIDS WANDERED NEAR THIS OLD STRIP MINE AND DISAPPEARED. A SEARCH
PARTY SET OUT TO FIND THE TWO KIDS AND HEADED TOWARD THIS ONE
PARTICULAR STRIP MINE WHERE THE KIDS WERE LAST SEEN. NEAR THIS
OLD STRIP MINE WAS AN OLD BARN. WHEN THE SEARCH PARTY ARRIVED AT
THE MINE, THERE WAS NO TRACE OF THE TWO KIDS OR THE OLD BARN.
THEY ALL JUST DISAPPEARED.
Where learned: PENNSYLVANIA ; PITTSBURGH
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: 11-07-1968
DRINK LEGEND
ACCORDING TO IRISH LEGEND, THE SECRET OF "HEATHER WINE," A MIXTURE
OF WHISKEY, HEATHER HONEY AND CERTAIN HERBS, WAS HELD BY ONE CLAN
IN IRELAND. ANOTHER CLAN, WISHING TO LEARN THE SECRET, ATTACKED
THE FIRST CLAN. HOWEVER, ALL THOSE WHO KNEW THE SECRET PERISHED
IN THE WAR THE THE SECRET WAS LOST.
Submitter comment: INFORMANT HEARD THIS FROM HIS DAD IN 1970.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal ART CRAFT ARCHITECTURE -- Occupation War |
ATLANTIS
ATLANTIS WAS FORMERLY A BEAUTIFUL AND PROSPEROUS ISLAND, BUT
BECAUSE THE INHABITANTS OF THE ISLAND HAD BECOME CORRUPT, THE
ISLAND WAS DESTROYED BY AN EARTHQUAKE AND FINALLY SUNK INTO THE
SEA.
Submitter comment:
I SAW THIS STORY IN A FILM THAT REALLY WAS ON TELEVISION A FEW
YEARS AGO.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: NOT GIVEN
FIRE BALL
OUTSIDE OF LAMBERTVILLE (MISSOURI), THERE IS A FARM WHERE A NEGRO
FAMILY WAS SHARECROPPING (ABOUT 30 OR SO YEARS AGO). ALMOST EVERY
NIGHT AFTER DARK, THEY'D SEE A BALL OF FIRE COME OUT OF THE FIELD,
ROLL ACROSS THE YARD AND DISAPPEAR AT THE CORNER OF THE FENCE
POLE. THIS SCARED THE FAMILY AND THEY SOON MOVED OUT, LEAVING THE
HOUSE ABANDONED. THE LOCAL YOUTHS TOOK THE FIREBALL AS A SIGN
THAT TREASURE WAS BURIED ON THE PROPERTY. ONE NIGHT THEY DETER-
MINED TO SNEAK OVER AND DIG IT UP. THEY WENT BUT WERE TOO SCARED
TO DIG AND THEY SOON LEFT. THEY HOWEVER DIDN'T SEE THE FIRE BALL.
(THE INFORMANT WAS ONE OF THESE YOUTHS.)
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Air Weather Fire PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal |
JAMES BROTHERS' MONEY
IT IS SAID THAT THE MONEY THE JAMES BROTHERS STOLE FROM THE FAMOUS
STATE FAIR ROBBERY IS BURIED BETWEEN LONE ROCK AND ROCKVIEW ON A
FARM (THE INFORMANT CAN'T REMEMBER THE EXACT FARM, BUT KNOWS THE
MAN--"OLD DYNAMITE" HE'S CALLED--WHO DOES). THIS IS SOUTH OF
CHAFFEE, MISSOURI, BETWEEN CHAFFEE AND ORAN.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Outlaw Criminal Bandit Pirate PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Measure of quality Medium of exchange |
CUCKOO CLOCKS
IN THE BLACK FOREST OF GERMANY, IT IS A VERY LARGE TRADE TO MAKE
CUCKOO CLOCKS. THE PEOPLE FROM THE PLATT AREA EXPLAIN THIS BY
SAYING THAT WHEN GERMANY BEGAN TO BE POPULATED ALL THE PEOPLE WHO
COULD NOT READ OR WRITE AND WERE OF LOW INTELLIGENCE WERE HERDED
INTO THE BLACK FOREST TO SPEND THEIR LIVES. THEY TOOK WITH THEM
ONLY WHAT THEY NORMALLY CARRIED. FOR MOST OF THE MEN, THIS MEANT
KNIVES. BECAUSE THE WOODS WERE SO DENSE AND DARK, THE ONLY THING
THE PEOPLE COULD DO WAS CARVE AND WHITTLE WOOD TO THIN OUT THE
FOREST AND MAKE IT LIGHTER. AS THIS HAPPENED, THE PEOPLE BECAME
MORE TECHNICAL AND THEIR PASTIME OF WHITTLING TURNED INTO THE
ART OF CLOCK-MAKING.
Where learned: NOT GIVEN
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Work Commerce Business |
Date learned: NOT GIVEN
ROMAN OBSERVATION:
THE ROMANS DISLIKE THE ORNATE AND OSTENTATIOUS "ALTAR OF THE
NATION" WHICH CONTAINS A MONUMENT TO VICTOR EMMANUAL II.
THEY SAY: "THE BEST VIEW OF THE CITY IS FROM THE TOP OF THIS
BUILDING, BECAUSE ONLY FROM THE TOP DO YOU NOT HAVE TO LOOK AT
THIS MONSTROSITY."
Where learned: ITALY ; ROME ; IN A LETTER
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Secular hero PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal ART CRAFT ARCHITECTURE -- Monument |
Date learned: 09-00-1967
OCCURANCE AT A WAKE
THE INFORMANT'S GRANDMOTHER GREW UP ON A FARM IN LITHUANIA. WHEN
SHE WAS A CHILD, SHE WAS TAKEN TO A NEIGHBORING FARM FOR A
FUNERAL. THE GROWN-UPS WERE TALKING IN THE KITCHEN WHILE THE
CHILDREN WERE IN THE PARLOUR WHERE THE MAN WAS LAID OUT WITH A
SHEET COVERING THE BODY. SUDDENLY THE BODY BEGAN TO SIT UP AND
THE CHILDREN ALL SCREAMED. IT TURNED OUT THAT THE MAN HAD DIED
IN THAT ROOM.
Submitter comment: THE INFORMANT LEARNED THIS FROM HER MOTHER.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Death Funeral Burial |
CHILDHOOD BELIEF
CHILDREN WHO LIVED IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD AROUND PASADENA BETWEEN
SECOND AND THIRD STREETS IN DETROIT BELIEVED THAT A MAN WHO LIVED
IN ONE OF THE HOUSES HAD KILLED HIS WIFE, CAUSING THE HOUSE TO BE
HAUNTED.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Death Funeral Burial |
Date learned: 02-10-1967
LEGEND
LEGEND SAYS THAT THE KELLEY MANSION ON KELLY'S ISLAND IN OHIO
WAS THE LAST STATION IN THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD DURING THE
CIVIL WAR.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal ART CRAFT ARCHITECTURE -- Permanent and Temporary Dwelling |
Date learned: 11-03-1967
KNOCK KNOCK STREET
LOCATED ON ROBERT JOHN STREET IN GROSSE POINTE. WHEN A CAR IS
DRIVEN OVER IT, A KNOCKING SOUND IS MADE. THE STORY BEHIND IT
IS THAT A BOY WAS TAKING HIS GIRLFRIEND ON ROBERT JOHN AND WHEN
HE DROPPED HER OFF, HER COAT GOT CAUGHT IN THE DOOR AND HE DROVE
OFF WITH HER HANGING FROM THE DOOR. SHE KNOCKED ON HIS DOOR TO
TELL HIM SHE WAS THERE, BUT WHEN HE FINALLY STOPPED, SHE WAS
DEAD.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; GROSSE POINTE WOODS
Date learned: NOT GIVEN
ORDINARY TALE
ONE EVENING TWO BOYS AND A GIRL WENT OUT TO A CEMETERY IN
ROCHESTER, MICHIGAN. THEY WENT TO INSPECT THE TOMBS. BUILT IN
THE SIDE OF A HILL WAS THE TOMB OF MARY DUNN; THE BOYS CONSPIRED
TO LOCK UP THE GIRL IN THIS TOMB OVERNIGHT. WHEN THEY CAME BACK
IN THE MORNING, THEY FOUND HER DEAD WITH A FRIGHTENED EXPRESSION
ON HER FACE. SINCE THEN IRON BARS HAVE BEEN PLACED ACROSS THE
ENTRANCE AND THE TOMB OF MARY DUNN HAS BECOME A HISTORICAL MARKER
OF LOVER'S LANE IN ROCHESTER.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal ART CRAFT ARCHITECTURE -- Cemetery BELIEF -- Death Funeral Burial |
Date learned: 00-00-1967
BURIED ALIVE
THIS HAPPENED IN A CONCENTRATION CAMP NOT TOO LONG AGO. ALL THE
PRISONERS WHO WERE KILLED OR DIED WERE BURIED IN TWOS. A MAN
WAS GOING TO BE KILLED SO HE PRETENDED THAT HE WAS DEAD. HE HAD
MADE A DEAL WITH THE DOCTOR TO DIG HIM UP AFTER 15 MINUTES WHEN
EVERYONE HAD LEFT. THE DOCTOR GAVE HIM SOME MATCHES TO LIGHT SO
THAT HE WOULDN'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK. AFTER THE MAN WAS BURIED,
HE WAITED 5, THEN 10, THEN 15 MINUTES AND THE DOCTOR STILL HADN'T
COME TO DIG HIM UP. HE LIT HIS LAST MATCH AND TURNED TO THE BODY
NEXT TO HIM ONLY TO FIND THAT THE BODY NEXT TO HIM WAS THE DOCTOR.
Submitter comment: THE INFORMANT HEARD THIS AT A PAJAMA PARTY FROM ONE OF HER FRIENDS
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; BERKELEY
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Death Funeral Burial BELIEF -- Measure of time WeekDayHour |
Date learned: 08-00-1964
BALL OF FIRE
A MAN WAS FOUND DEAD IN HIS BEDROOM WITH HIS THROAT CUT AND HIS
WRISTS CUT. NO ONE WOULD EVER SLEEP IN THE ROOM WHERE THE MAN
DIED BECAUSE A BALL OF FIRE APPEARED UNDER THE BED. IT WOULD
COME OUT FROM UNDER THE BED AND HIT THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE ROOM
AND THEN RETURN TO ITS RESTING PLACE.
THEY THOUGHT THAT THE MAN HAD BEEN MURDERED, BUT THEY WERE NEVER
ABLE TO FIND THE MURDERER.
Submitter comment:
THE INFORMANT HEARD THIS STORY FROM HER MOTHER WHEN SHE WAS A
CHILD.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; SOUTHFIELD
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Outlaw Criminal Bandit Pirate PROSE NARRATIVE -- Air Weather Fire PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Death Funeral Burial |
Date learned: 08-11-1964
THE HAUNTED HOUSE
ON LAKESHORE DRIVE NEAR THE DODGE RESIDENCE, THERE IS AN OLD
RAMBLING HOUSE WHICH PEOPLE BELIEVE IS A HAUNTED HOUSE. IT IS
A LARGE BUILDING WITH MANY ROOMS, A BALCONY, KITCHENS AND ITS OWN
MONEY VAULT. SOME FRIENDS OF MINE VISITED THIS PLACE DURING THE
NIGHT AND AS THEY WERE LEAVING, THE BOY WHO WAS THE LAST TO LEAVE
BELIEVED HE HAD FELT TWO HANDS AT HIS NECK WHILE HE WAS EXITING.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: 08-00-1964
THE HAUNTED STREET
IN DETROIT--STRASBURG. SHE HEARD THE STORY OF A LITTLE GIRL BEING
HIT BY A CAR AND KILLED WHEN SHE WAS YOUNGER.
Where learned: DETROIT ; MICHIGAN, ASSUMED
THE CRYING JESUS
IN BAVARIA (BRAVARIA?) THERE IS A CHURCH NAMED ST. DENISE WHERE
IN THE 1400'S A GROUP OF VILLAGERS MADE A CROSS WITH CHRIST ON IT,
BUT THE CHRIST WAS SO UGLY AND WHEN USED THE PEOPLE WERE ALWAYS
HORRIFIED. SO IT WAS DECIDED TO GET A NEW ONE MADE--THE OLD CHRIST
WAS STORED IN A BARN AND FORGOTTEN. YEARS LATER A PEASANT WOMAN
FOUND IT AND BROUGHT IT HOME, WHERE TEARS STREAMED FROM THE EYES.
SHE TOOK IT TO THE PARISH PRIEST WHO CLAIMED A MIRACLE AND HE
BUILT A CHURCH IN THE CRYING JESUS'S IMAGE AND MEMORY. THE CROSS
IS STILL IN THE CENTER OF THE CHURCH.
PEOPLE TRULY BLIEVE IN THE MIRACLE.
Where learned: GERMANY
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Religious hero PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Church |
Date learned: 10-02-1970
HAUNTED HOUSE
THE HOUSE AT 16511 MUIRLAND IN DETROIT IS SAID TO BE HAUNTED.
STRANGE NOISES HAVE BEEN HEARD AND IT HAS BEEN REPORTED THAT
POSTERS ON THE WALLS HAVE BEEN RIPPED IN HALF, SUPPOSEDLY BY
AN UNSEEN FORCE.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: 10-00-1964
NOT GIVEN
IN BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK, THERE WAS A PONTIAC, BUICK AND CADILLAC
DEALERSHIP, GUY F. JOHNSON. THIS AUTO COMPANY IN THE 1930'S GOT
HOLD OF A CAR SUPPOSEDLY OWNED BY A GANGSTER WHO WAS MURDERED
IN THIS CAR. THE CAR CHANGED HANDS MANY TIMES UNTIL A YOUNG
COUPLE, NEEDING A CAR, BOUGHT IT. THE PREVIOUS OWNERS NEVER
EXPLAINED WHY THEY HAD RETURNED THE AUTO. APPARENTLY, WHEN A
SINGLE PERSON WOULD DRIVE THE CAR, THERE WAS A DISTINCT ODOR OF
CIGAR SMOKE. A PAIR OF EYES WOULD APPEAR IN THE MIRROR. THE
COUPLE RETURNED THE CAR AND EXPLAINED WHAT HAPPENED. NO ONE
KNOWS WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CAR.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter PROSE NARRATIVE -- Outlaw Criminal Bandit Pirate PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Death Funeral Burial |
Date learned: 03-17-1972