Dr. James T. Callow publications
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The James T. Callow Folklore Archive
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NAMING
GERMANS WHEN THEY FIRST CAME TO THE UNITED STATES
WERE CALLED "EASTERLINGS." WITH THEM THEY BROUGHT
THEIR FINE PRECIOUS METAL WORK IN SILVER. THE
FIRST TWO LETTERS OF EASTERLING WERE DROPPED AND
THE SILVER WORK WAS CALLED "STERLING."
THEY WERE CALLED "EASTERLINGS" BECAUSE THEY CAME
FROM THE EAST.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; PEABODY COLLEGE ; NASHVILLE
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Explanation of a name Food Drink -- Service Table furnishing and decoration Implement to handle food |
Date learned: 05-13-1969
IF YOUR NOSE ITCHES, YOU'RE GOING TO KISS A FOOL.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; PEABODY COLLEGE ; NASHVILLE
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Physically handicapped Deformed BELIEF -- Body part Senses Mouth, teeth, lips, tongue BELIEF -- Sensations and involuntary actions Itching nose |
Date learned: 05-13-1969
THERE IS A BELIEF IN MISS POTT'S FAMILY THAT SAYS YOU WILL HAVE
BAD LUCK (IF YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE POTTS FAMILY) WHEN YOU WEAR
GREEN. THIS RESULTED FROM SEVERAL ACCIDENTS AND A COUPLE OF
DEATHS WHEN MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY WORE GREEN.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; PEABODY COLLEGE ; NASHVILLE
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Magic of Speech, Sign, Color BELIEF -- Bad luck Clothing (dress, hat, shoes, suit, etc.) |
Date learned: 05-00-1970
IF A WOMAN COMES TO YOUR HOUSE FIRST INSTEAD OF A MAN ON NEW
YEAR'S DAY, YOU WILL HAVE BAD LUCK.
Data entry tech comment: SPELLING CORRECTED
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; PEABODY COLLEGE ; NASHVILLE
Date learned: 07-03-1970
IT IS BAD LUCK TO WEAR OPALS IF YOUR BIRTHDAY IS NOT IN OCTOBER.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; PEABODY COLLEGE ; NASHVILLE
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- F100 BELIEF -- Bad luck Jewelry (gems, rings, etc.) |
Date learned: 07-01-1970
WHEN SETTLERS WERE PUSHING INWARD, ONE FAMILY BY THE NAME OF
MOON, SETTLED IN ALBERMARLE COUNTY, VIRGINIA, ALONG THE JAMES
RIVER. AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, THE HOUSE BECAME UNINHABITED, IN
TIME TO BECOME FAMOUS FOR THE MOON GHOST. THERE ON DARK, STORMY
NIGHTS, MANY WEIRD TALES ORIGINATED BY PASSING TRAVELERS.
ONE PERSON WHO DIDN'T BELIEVE IN GHOSTS, DECIDED TO PROVE HIS
POINT. WITH A LAMP AND BOOK, HE SETTLED DOWN FOR A BORING NIGHT.
JUST THEN, A LARGE CAT WALKED INTO THE ROOM. THE CAT ACTED REAL
SOCIABLE, AND JUMPED ON THE TABLE. HE SAID TO THE MAN, "THERE
DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ANYONE BUT YOU AND ME HERE TONIGHT." THIS
WAS TOO MUCH FOR THE MAN, SO HE SAID, "IN A MINUTE, THERE WON'T BE
ANYONE HERE BUT YOU."
HE THEN RAN FOR THE DOOR. HE WAS WILLING TO ACCEPT THE MOON
GHOST.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; PEABODY COLLEGE ; NASHVILLE ; COLLEGE ASSIGNMENT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: 03-07-1969
THIS MAN USED TO BEAT HIS HORSE AND HE WOULD MAKE IT WORK HARD
AND WOULDN'T LET IT REST. WHEN THE HORSE GOT OLD, THE MAN
SHOT IT AND JUST LET IT LAY TO DECAY. IF YOU GO BY THE MAN'S
HOUSE YOU CAN SEE THE HORSE WORKING IN THE FIELDS. THEY SAY
THAT THE HORSE CAME BACK TO LIFE AND KILLED HIS MASTER.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; PEABODY COLLEGE ; NASHVILLE ; COLLEGE ASSIGNMENT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter PROSE NARRATIVE -- Mammal BELIEF -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter BELIEF -- Mammal |
Date learned: 03-07-1969
THIS BOY IN SUFFOLK, VIRGINIA WAS DATING A GIRL WHO LIVED NEXT
TO A GRAVEYARD. THEY USED TO WALK THROUGH IT AT NIGHT AND LOOK
AT THE TOMBSTONES.
ONE NIGHT, WHILE THEY WERE WALKING, HE SAW THAT A GRAVE HAD
BEEN DUG UP BUT SHE PAID NO ATTENTION TO IT. HE FELT SOMETHING
GRAB HIS SHOULDER AND HE STARTED RUNNING TOWARD HOME. HE
DIDN'T FIND OUT WHAT IT WAS AND HE NEVER CALLED ON THE GIRL
AGAIN.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; PEABODY COLLEGE ; NASHVILLE ; COLLEGE ASSIGNMENT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |
Date learned: 03-07-1969
THIS BOY WAS GOING TO HIS COUSIN'S TO GO FISHING WITH THEM.
WHEN HE GOT OFF THE TRAIN, NOBODY WAS THERE TO MEET HIM, SO HE
TOLD THE TRAINMASTER THAT HE WOULD WALK. THE TRAINMASTER THEN
SAID, "BEWARE OF JACOB MARLEY." THE BOY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT
HE MEANT, BUT HE STARTED WALKING TOWARD HIS COUSIN'S HOUSE. IT
WAS RAINING AND THUNDERING WHEN HE HAD SET OUT. HE HADN'T BEEN
WALKING VERY LONG WHEN HE HEARD A WAGON AND HORSES BEHIND HIM.
HE SAW AN OLD MAN DRIVING AN OLD WAGON. WHEN THE WAGON CAME
NEARER, HE YELLED OUT, "CAN I HAVE A RIDE?" NO ANSWER CAME
FROM THE MAN, SO THE BOY JUMPED ON.
WHEN HE WAS NEARING HIS COUSIN'S HOUSE HE SAID, "I GET OFF HERE,"
BUT THE WAGON KEPT GOING. HE JUMPED OFF, BUT HE HAD LEFT HIS
SUITCASE ON THE WAGON. HE WENT IN AND TOLD HIS COUSINS ALL ABOUT
WHAT HAPPENED. THEY SAID, "YOU MUST OF BEEN RIDING WITH JACOB
MARLEY."
THIS IS THE STORY THEY TOLD HIM:
ONE NIGHT, IT WAS THUNDERING AND LIGHTENING, AND IT WAS RAINING
VERY BAD. JACOB MARLEY WAS DRIVING HIS CARRIAGE ALONG THAT SAME
ROAD THAT NIGHT. THERE WAS A SHARP RIGHT TURN ABOVE THEIR
HOUSE, AND MARLEY HAD GONE OVER THE CLIFF.
THE NEXT MORNING THEY WENT DOWN TO THE CLIFF AND FOUND HIS
SUITCASE.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; PEABODY COLLEGE ; NASHVILLE ; COLLEGE ASSIGNMENT
James Callow Keyword(s): GHOST HAUNTS SCENE OF ACCIDENT.
Date learned: 03-07-1969
IF YOU SEE A RABBIT WHILE YOU ARE PREGNANT, YOU WILL HAVE A
HARE-LIPPED BABY.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; PEABODY COLLEGE ; NASHVILLE
Date learned: 07-01-1970
THESE PEOPLE WENT DRIVING NEAR ROANOKE, VIRGINIA. THEY STOPPED
THE CAR AND WERE SITTING THERE, WHEN A HAND REACHED OUT AND
CAUGHT HOLD OF THE HANDLE OF THE CAR DOOR OUTSIDE. A HAND WAS
ALL THEY COULD SEE. IT WAS ALL BLOODY AND TORN UP. THEY TOOK
OFF AS FAST AS THEY COULD, BUT THE HAND FELL OFF AND THEY
COULDN'T FIND IT.
THEY FOUND OUT THE NEXT DAY THAT A MAN HAD BEEN KILLED WHERE THEY
WERE THAT NIGHT.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; PEABODY COLLEGE ; NASHVILLE ; COLLEGE ASSIGNMENT
James Callow Keyword(s): GHOST HAUNTS SCENE OF ACCIDENT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |
Date learned: 03-07-1969
THERE WAS ONCE A GIRL WHO LOVED THIS MAN. SHE WANTED TO MARRY
HIM, BUT HER FATHER SAID NO. HER FATHER PAID THIS MAN TO GO.
THE GIRL THEN JUMPED OFF THE BRIDGE. SHE COMES BACK EVERY
NIGHT TO JUMP OFF THE BRIDGE.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; PEABODY COLLEGE ; NASHVILLE ; COLLEGE ASSIGNMENT
James Callow Keyword(s): SUICIDE
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: 03-07-1969
THERE WAS A GREAT BIG YELLOW HOUSE IN WHICH A MAN KILLED
HIS WIFE AND KIDS. EVERYBODY WAS AFRAID TO LIVE IN THE
HOUSE BUT MY GRANDMOTHER AND GRANDFATHER MOVED INTO IT.
THEY SAID YOU COULD HEAR BABIES CRYING AND WEIRD NOISES
EVERY NIGHT.
Submitter comment: HEARD FROM HER MOTHER.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; PEABODY COLLEGE ; NASHVILLE ; COLLEGE ASSIGNMENT
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: 03-07-1969
THERE IS A HOUSE IN VERONA, VIRGINIA AND IF YOU GO THERE AT
NIGHT, YOU CAN SEE THIS MAN IN A CAGE AND HIS WIFE IS BEATING
HIM. HOWEVER, YOU CAN'T FIND THE HOUSE IN THE DAY.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; VIRGINIA ; PEABODY COLLEGE ; NASHVILLE ; VERONA ; COLLEGE ASSIGNMENT
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Street Trip Relations between relatives, friends, host and guest Social class Rank |
Date learned: 03-07-1969
ONCE THERE WAS A LADY WHO WAS BURIED ALIVE. AFTER BEING BURIED
TWO DAYS, SOMEONE DUG UP THE GRAVE. THEY OPENED THE COFFIN AND
THE CLOTH WAS TORN OUT. HER FINGERNAILS WERE ALL GONE FROM
SCRATCHING AND THEY WERE BLEEDING.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; PEABODY COLLEGE ; NASHVILLE ; COLLEGE ASSIGNMENT
Date learned: 03-07-1969
MY GRANDMOTHER SAID THAT SHE LIVED IN A HOUSE BETWEEN MIDDLEBROOK
AND GREENVILLE, VIRGINIA. THE MAN WHEN SHE MOVED IN SAID NOT TO
PAY ANY ATTENTION TO WHAT SHE HEARD IN THE HOUSE, BUT SHE DID.
ONE MORNING, THEY WERE SETTING AT THE TABLE EATING WHEN UPSTAIRS
IN THE ROOM WHERE HIS WIFE HAD A SPINNING WHEEL, SHE HEARD THE
WHEEL SPINNING. SHE WENT UP INTO THE ROOM BUT THE WHEEL WAS TIED
UP JUST LIKE IT HAD ALWAYS BEEN. HIS WIFE HAD DIED IN THIS HOUSE
AND THEY COULD HEAR HER CHINA WASH BOWL RATTLE MANY TIMES AND
NOBODY COULD HAVE GOTTEN IN THE ROOM BECAUSE THEY KEPT IT LOCKED.
THEY DID NOT LIVE IN THAT HOUSE VERY LONG.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; PEABODY COLLEGE ; NASHVILLE ; COLLEGE ASSIGNMENT
James Callow Keyword(s): MYSTERIOUS GHOSTLY NOISE
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: 03-07-1969
IN MT. CRAWFORD, VIRGINIA, THIS STORY IS OFTEN TOLD. THERE
WAS A REAL OLD LADY THAT LIVED IN A LOG CABIN. SHE WAS VERY
SUPERSTITIOUS AND EVERYONE AROUND THOUGHT THAT SHE WAS A WITCH.
SHE HAD A CAT THAT WOULD CLIMB ON TOP OF AN OLD BOARD FENCE
EVERY NIGHT AND WOULD MAKE A WHOLE LOT OF NOISE.
SO ONE NIGHT, THESE BOYS TOOK THE CAT AND CUT OFF HIS CLAWS,
SO THAT HE WOULDN'T CLIMB THE FENCE.
THEY DIDN'T HEAR ANYMORE ABOUT THE CAT. HOWEVER, WHEN SOMEONE
WENT TO VISIT THE OLD LADY, SHE WAS SITTING IN HER ROCKING
CHAIR. ALL OF HER FINGERS WERE CUT OFF AT THE ENDS AND SHE
HAD RAGS WRAPPED AROUND THEM.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; VIRGINIA ; PEABODY COLLEGE ; NASHVILLE ; MOUNT CRAWFORD ; COLLEGE ASSIGNMENT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Angel PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter PROSE NARRATIVE -- Witch Shaman BELIEF -- Angel BELIEF -- Witch Shaman |
Date learned: 03-07-1969
A HOUSE IN CLIFTON FORGE, VIRGINIA WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HAUNTED.
IT WAS SAID THAT A MAN AND HIS WIFE USED TO LIVE IN THE HOUSE.
THE MAN DIED MYSTERIOUSLY AND DISAPPEARED. HE WAS THOUGHT TO BE
BURIED ON THE HILL JUST ABOVE THE HOUSE. HIS WIFE DIED ABOUT A
YEAR AFTER HE DID AND IT IS SAID THAT SHE HAUNTS THE HOUSE
AND CARRIES A LIGHT UPON THE HILLSIDE LOOKING FOR HER HUSBAND'S
GRAVE.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; PEABODY COLLEGE ; NASHVILLE ; COLLEGE ASSIGNMENT
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: 03-07-1969
IT'S CONSIDERED BAD LUCK TO BURN AN APPLE TREE.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; PEABODY COLLEGE ; NASHVILLE ; CREATIVE WRITING CLASS
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Plant BELIEF -- Bad luck Plants |
Date learned: 04-28-1969
WHEN GIRLS ARE IN WEST HALL IN A BOY'S ROOM, (A MATCHBOOK'S
WIDTH) THE DOOR MUST BE KEPT OPEN (FOR PROPRIETY SAKE).
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; PEABODY COLLEGE ; NASHVILLE ; WEST HALL
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Street Trip Relations between relatives, friends, host and guest Social class Rank CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- School BELIEF -- School |