train.csv

Prompt,Story
A wealthy man wanted to go hunting in a part of northern Canada where few people had ever hunted. ,"A wealthy man wanted to go hunting in a part of northern Canada where few people had ever hunted. He traveled to a trading post and tried to find a guide to take him. But no one would do it. It was too dangerous, they said. Finally, he found an Indian who needed money badly, and he agreed to take him. The Indian's name was DeFago. They made camp in the snow near a large frozen lake. For three days they hunted, but they had nothing to show for it. The third night a windstorm came up. They lay in their tent listening to the wind howling and the trees whipping back and forth. To see the storm better, the hunter opened the tent flap. What he saw startled him. There wasn't a breath of air, stirring, and the trees were standing perfectly still. Yet he could hear the wind howling. And the more he listened, the more it sounded as if it were calling DeFago's name. ""Da-faaaaaaaaay-go!"" it called. ''Da-faaaaaaaaay-go!'' ""I must be losing my mind,"" the hunter thought. But DeFago had gotten out of his sleeping bag. He was huddled in a corner of the tent, his head buried in his arms. ""What's this all about?"" the hunter asked. ""It's nothing,"" DeFago said. But the wind continued to call to him. And DeFago became more tense and more restless. ""Da-Faaaaaaaaay-go!"" it called. ""Da-faaaaaaaaay-go!"" Suddenly, he jumped to his feet, and he began to run from the tent. But the hunter grabbed him and wrestled him to the ground. ""You can't leave me out here,"" the hunter shouted. Then the wind called again, and DeFago broke loose and ran into the darkness. The hunter could hear him screaming as he went. Again and again he cried, ""Oh, my fiery feet, my burning feet of fire . . ."" Then his voice faded away, and the wind died down. At daybreak, the hunter followed DeFago's tracks in the snow. They went through the woods, down toward the lake, then out onto the ice. But soon he noticed something strange. The steps DeFago had taken got longer and longer. They were so long no human being could have taken them. It was as if something had helped him to hurry away. The hunter followed the tracks out to the middle of the lake, but there they disappeared. At first, he thought that DeFago had fallen through the ice, but there wasn't any hole. Then he thought that something had pulled him off the ice into the sky. But that made no sense. As he stood wondering what had happened, the wind I picked up again. Soon it was howling as it had the night before. Then he heard DeFago's voice. It was coming from up above, and again he heard DeFago screaming, • . My fiery feet, my burning feet . . ."" But there was nothing to be seen. Now the hunter wanted to leave that place as fast as he could. He went back to camp and packed. Then he left some food for DeFago, and he started out. Weeks later he reached civilization. The following year he went back to hunt in that area again. He went to the same trading post to look for a guide. The people there could not explain what had happened to DeFago that night. But they had not seen him since then. “Maybe it was the Wendigo,"" one of them said, and he laughed. “It's supposed to come with the wind. It drags you along at great speed until your feet are burned away, and more of you than that. Then it carries you into the sky, and it drops you. It's just a crazy story, but that's what some of the Indians say.'' A few days later the hunter was at the trading post again. An Indian came in and sat by the fire. He had a blanket wrapped around him, and he wore his hat so that you couldn't see his face. The hunter thought there was something familiar about him. He walked over and he asked, “Are you DeFago?"" The Indian didn't answer. “Do you know anything about him?"" No answer. He began to wonder if something was wrong, if the man needed help. But he couldn't see his face. ""Are you all right?"" he asked. No answer. To get a look at him, he lifted the Indian's hat. Then he screamed. There was nothing under the hat but a pile of ashes."
This scary story is a scary game that people play at Hallowe'en. But it can be played whenever the spirit moves you. ,"This scary story is a scary game that people play at Hallowe'en. But it can be played whenever the spirit moves you. The players sit in a circle in a darkened room and listen to a storyteller describe the rotting remains of a corpse. Each part is passed around for them to feel. In one version, a player is out if he or she screams or gasps with fright. In another version, everybody stays to the end, no matter how scared they get. Here is the story: Once in this town there lived a man named Brown. It was years ago, on this night, that he was murdered out of spite. We have here his remains. First, let's feel his brains. (A wet, squishy tomato) Now here are his eyes, still frozen with surprise. (Two peeled grapes) This is his nose. (A chicken bone) Here is his ear. (A dried apricot) And here is his hand, rotting flesh and bone. (A cloth or rubber glove filled with mud or ice) But his hair still grows. (A handful of corn silk or wet fur or yarn) And his heart still beats, now and then. (A piece of raw liver) And his blood still flows. Dip your fingers in it. It's nice and warm. (A bowl of catsup thinned with warm water) That's all there is, except for these worms. They are the ones that ate the rest of him. (A handful of wet, cooked spaghetti noodles) "
"Some boys and girls were at a party one night. There was a graveyard down the street, and they were talking about how scary it was. ","Some boys and girls were at a party one night. There was a graveyard down the street, and they were talking about how scary it was. ""Don't ever stand on a grave after dark,"" one of the boys said. ""The person inside will grab you. He'll pull you under."" ""That's not true,"" one of the girls said. ""It's just a superstition."" ""I'll give you a dollar if you stand on a grave,"" said the boy. ""A grave doesn't scare me,"" said the girl. ""I'll do it right now."" The boy handed her his knife. ""Stick this knife in one of the graves,"" he said. ""Then we'll know you were there."" The graveyard was filled with shadows and was as quiet as death. ""There is nothing to be scared of,"" the girl told herself, but she was scared anyway. She picked out a grave and stood on it. Then quickly she bent over and plunged the knife into the soil, and she started to leave. But she couldn't get away. Something was holding her back! She tried a second time to leave, but she couldn't move. She was filled with terror. “Something has got me!"" she screamed, and she fell to the ground. When she didn't come back, the others went to look for her. They found her body sprawled across the grave. Without realizing it, she had plunged the knife through her skirt and had pinned it to the ground. It was only the knife that held her. She had died of fright."
The slithery-dee. He came out of the sea;,"The slithery-dee. He came out of the sea; He ate all the others. But he didn't eat me. The slithery-dee,He came out of the sea; He ate all the others. But he didn't eat — SL-U-R-P . . .HO""W THAT HEAD MAW DANCED !"
"A boy was digging at the edge of the garden when he saw a big toe. He tried to pick it up, but it was stuck to something. ","A boy was digging at the edge of the garden when he saw a big toe. He tried to pick it up, but it was stuck to something. So he gave it a good hard jerk, and it came off in his hand. Then he heard something groan and scamper away. The boy took the toe into the kitchen and showed it to his mother. ""It looks nice and plump,"" she said. ""I'll  put it in the soup, and we'll have it for supper."" That night his father carved the toe into three pieces. and they each had a piece. Then they did the dishes, and when it got dark they went to bed. The boy fell asleep almost at once. But in the middle of the night, a sound awakened him. It was something out in the street. It was a voice, and it was calling to him. ""Where is my to-o-o-o-o-e?"" it groaned. When the boy heard that, he got very scared. But he thought. It doesn't know where I am. It never will find me."" Then he heard the voice once more. Only now it was closer. Where is my to-o-o-o-o-e?"" it groaned. The boy pulled the blankets over his head and closed his eyes. ""I'll go to sleep,"" he thought. ""When I wake up it will be gone."" But soon he heard the back door open, and again he heard the voice. ""Where is my to-o-o-o-o-e?"" it groaned. Then the boy heard footsteps move through the kitchen into the dining room, into the living room, into the front hall. Then slowly they climbed the stairs. Closer and closer they came. Soon they were in the upstairs hall. Now they were outside his door. ""Where is my to-o-o-o-o-e?"" the voice groaned. His door opened. Shaking with fear, he listened as the footsteps slowly moved through the dark toward his bed. Then they stopped. Where is my to-o-o-o-o-e?"" the voice groaned. (At this point, pause. Then jump at the person next to you and shout:) "" YOU'VE GOT IT!"" ""The Big Toe"" also has another ending. When the boy hears the voice calling for its toe, he finds a strange-looking creature up inside the chimney. The boy is so frightened he can't move. He just stands there and stares at it. Finally he asks: ""W-w-w-what you got such big eyes for?"" And the creature answers: ""To look you thro-o-o ugh and thro-o-o-ugh!"" ""W-w-w-what you got such big claws for?"" ""To scra-a-a-tch up your gra-a-a-a-ve!"" ""W-w-w-what you got such a big mouth for?"" ""To swallow you who-o-o-le!"" ""W-w-w-what you got such sharp teeth for?"" ""TO CHOMP YOUR BONES!"""
There was a haunted house where every night a bloody head fell down the chimney. At least that's what people said.,"There was a haunted house where every night a bloody head fell down the chimney. At least that's what people said. So nobody would stay there overnight. Then a rich man offered two hundred dollars to who- ever would do it. And this boy said he would try if he could have his dog with him. So it was all settled. The very next night the boy went to the house with his dog. To make it more cheerful, he started a fire in the fireplace. Then he sat in front of the fire and waited, and his dog waited with him. For a while nothing happened. But a little after mid- night he heard someone singing softly and sadly off in the woods. The singing sounded something like this: ""Me tie dough-ty walker!"" ""It's just somebody singing,"" the boy told himself, but he was frightened. Then his dog answered the song! Softly and sadly, it sang: ""Lynchee kinchy colly molly dingo dingo!"" The boy could not believe his ears. His dog had never uttered a word before. Then a few minutes later, he heard the singing again. Now it was closer and louder, but the words were the same: ""Me tie dough-ty walker!"" This time the boy tried to stop his dog from answering. He was afraid that whoever was singing would hear it and come after them. But his dog paid no attention, and again it sang: ""Lynchee kinchy colly molly dingo dingo!"" A half-hour later the boy heard the singing again. Now it was in the back yard, and the song was the same: ""Me tie dough-ty walker!"" Again the boy tried to keep his dog quiet. But the dog sang out louder than ever: ""Lynchee kinchy colly molly dingo dingo!"" Soon the boy heard the singing again. Now it was coming down the chimney: ""Me tie dough-ty walker!"" The dog sang right back: ""Lynchee kinchy colly molly dingo dingo!"" Suddenly a bloody head fell out of the chimney. It missed the fire and landed right next to the dog. The dog took one look and fell over — dead from fright. The head turned and stared at the boy. Slowly it opened its mouth, and — Some say this rhyme doesn't mean anything. Others are not so sure. There was a man who lived in Leeds; He filled his garden full of seeds. And when the seeds began to grow. It was like a garden filled with snow.But when the snow began to melt. It was like a ship without a belt. And when the ship began to sail. It was like a bird without a tail. And when the bird began to fly. It was like an eagle in the sky. And when the sky began to roar. It was like a lion at my door. (Now drop your voice.) And when the door began to crack. It was like a penknife in my back. And when my back began to bleed —(Turn out any lights.) I was dead, dead, dead indeed!"
There was an old woman all skin and bone Who lived near the graveyard all alone. ,"There was an old woman all skin and bone Who lived near the graveyard all alone. O-o o-o o-o! She thought she'd go to church one day To hear the parson preach and pray. O-o o-o o-o!  And when she came to the church-house stile She thought she'd stop and rest awhile. O-o o-o o-o! When she came up to the door She thought she'd stop and rest some more. O-o o-o o-o! But when she turned and looked around She saw a corpse upon the ground. O-o o-o o-o! From its nose down to its chin The worms crawled out, and the worms crawled in. O-o o-o o-o! The woman to the preacher said, “Shall I look like that when I am dead?"" O-o o-o o-o! The preacher to the woman said, “You'll look like that when you are dead!"" He Heard Footsteps Coming Up the Cellar Stairs... There are ghosts in this chapter. One comes hack as a real person. Another takes revenge on her murderer. And there are other strange happenings."
My uncle was walking down a lonely dirt road one day. He came upon a man who also was walking down that road. ,"My uncle was walking down a lonely dirt road one day. He came upon a man who also was walking down that road. The man looked at my uncle, and my uncle looked at the man. The man was scared of my uncle, and my uncle was scared of that man. But they kept on walking, and it began to get dark. The man looked at my uncle, and my uncle looked at the man. The man was very scared of my uncle, and my uncle was very scared of that man. But they kept on walking, and they came to a big woods. It was getting darker. And the man looked at my uncle, and my uncle looked at the man. The man was really scared of my uncle, and my uncle was really scared of that man. But they kept on walking, and deep down into the woods they went. It was getting darker. And the man looked at my uncle, and my uncle looked at the man. The man was terrible scared of my uncle, and my uncle was terrible scared of —"
A man named Joseph Blackwell came to Philadelphia on a business trip. He stayed with friends in the big house they owned outside the city.,"A man named Joseph Blackwell came to Philadelphia on a business trip. He stayed with friends in the big house they owned outside the city. That night they had a good time visiting. But when Blackwell went to bed, he tossed and turned and couldn't sleep. Sometime during the night he heard a car turn into the driveway. He went to the window to see who was arriving at such a late hour. In the moonlight, he saw a long, black hearse filled with people. The driver of the hearse looked up at him. When Black- well saw his queer, hideous face, he shuddered. The driver called to him, “There is room for one more."" Then he waited for a minute or two, and he drove off. In the morning Blackwell told his friends what had happened. “You were dreaming,"" they said. ""I must have been,"" he said, “but it didn't seem like a dream.""  After breakfast he went into Philadelphia. He spent the day high above the city in one of the new office buildings there. Late in the afternoon he was waiting for an elevator to take him back down to the street. But when it arrived, it was very crowded. One of the passengers looked out and called to him. “There is room for one more,"" he said. It was the driver of the hearse. “No, thanks,"" said Blackwell. ""I'll get the next one."" The doors closed, and the elevator started down. There was shrieking and screaming, then the sound of a crash. The elevator had fallen to the bottom of the shaft. Every-one aboard was killed."
A man named Rupert lived with his dog in a house deep in the woods. Rupert was a hunter and a trapper. ,"A man named Rupert lived with his dog in a house deep in the woods. Rupert was a hunter and a trapper. The dog was a big German shepherd named Sam. Rupert had raised Sam from a pup. Almost every morning Rupert went hunting, and Sam stayed behind and guarded the house. One morning, as Rupert was checking his traps, he got the feeling that something was wrong at home. He hurried back as fast as he could, but when he got there he found that Sam was missing. He searched the house and the woods nearby, but Sam was nowhere to be seen. He called and he called, but the dog did not answer. For days Rupert looked for Sam, but he could find no trace of him. Finally he gave up and went back to his work. But one morning he heard something moving in the attic. He picked up his gun. Then he thought, ""I'd better be quiet about this."" So he took off his boots. And in his bare feet he began to climb the attic stairs. He slowly took one step — then another — then another, until at last he reached the attic door. He stood outside listening, but he didn't hear a thing. Then he opened the door, and — ""AAAAAAAAAAAH!"" (At this point, the storyteller stops, as if he has finished. Then usually somebody will ask, ""Why did Rupert scream?"" The storyteller replies, ""You'd scream too if you stepped on a nail in your bare feet."")"
"There was an old woman who lived all by herself, and she was very lonely. ","There was an old woman who lived all by herself, and she was very lonely. Sitting in the kitchen one night, she said, “Oh, I wish I had some company.' 7 No sooner had she spoken than down the chimney tumbled two feet from which the flesh had rotted. The old woman's eyes bulged with terror. Then two legs dropped to the hearth and attached themselves to the feet. Then a body tumbled down, then two arms, and a man's head. As the old woman watched, the parts came together into a great, gangling man. The man danced around and around the room. Faster and faster he went. Then he stopped, and he looked into her eyes. “What do you come for?"" she asked in a small voice that shivered and shook. “What do I come for?"" he said. “I come — for YOU!”"
"An old man was out for a walk. When a storm came up, he looked for a place to take shelter. Soon he came to an old house","An old man was out for a walk. When a storm came up, he looked for a place to take shelter. Soon he came to an old house. He ran up on the porch and knocked on the door, but nobody answered. By now rain was pouring down, thunder was booming, and lightning was flashing. So he tried the door. When he found it was unlocked, he went inside. Except for a pile of wooden boxes, the house was empty. He broke up some of the boxes and made a fire with them. Then he sat down in front of the fire and dried himself. It was so warm and cozy that he fell asleep. When he woke up a black cat was sitting near the fire. It stared at him for a while. Then it purred. ""That's a nice cat,"" he thought, and he dozed off again. When he opened his eyes, there was a second cat in the room. But this one was as big as a wolf. It looked at him very closely, and it asked, ""Shall we do it now?"" ""No,"" said the other cat. ""Let's wait till Martin comes."" ""I must be dreaming,"" thought the old man. He closed his eyes again. Then he took another look. But now there was a third cat in the room, and this one was as big as a tiger. It looked the old man over, and it asked, ""Shall we do it now?"" ""No,"" said the others. ""Let's wait till Martin comes."" The old man jumped up, jumped out the window and started running. ""When Martin comes, you tell him I couldn't wait,"" he called. A businessman arrived at a hotel late one night and asked for a room. The room clerk told him the hotel was all filled up. ""There is only one empty room,"" he said. ""But we don't rent that one because it is haunted."" ""I'll take it,"" said the businessman. ""I don't believe in ghosts."" The man went up to the room. He unpacked his things, and he went to bed. As soon as he did, a ghost came out of the closet. Its fingers were bleeding, and it was"
"Aaron Kelly was dead. They bought him a coffin and had a funeral and buried him. But that night he got out of his coffin, and he came home.","Aaron Kelly was dead. They bought him a coffin and had a funeral and buried him. But that night he got out of his coffin, and he came home. His family was sitting around the fire when he walked in. He sat down next to his widow, and he said, ""What's going on? You all act like somebody died. Who's dead?"" His widow said, ""You are.""  ""I don't feel dead,"" he said. ""I feel fine."" ""You don't look fine,"" his widow said. ""You look dead. You'd better get back to the grave where you belong.""  ""I'm not going back to the grave until I feel dead,"" he said. Since Aaron wouldn't go back, his widow couldn't collect his life insurance. Without that, she couldn't pay for the coffin. And the undertaker said he would take it back. Aaron didn't care. He just sat by the fire rocking in a chair and warming his hands and feet. But his joints were dry and his back was stiff, and every time he moved, he creaked and cracked. One night the best fiddler in town came to court the widow. Since Aaron was dead, the fiddler wanted to marry her. The two of them sat on one side of the fire, and Aaron sat on the other side, creaking and cracking. ""How long do we have to put up with this dead corpse?"" the widow asked. ""Something must be done,"" the fiddler said. ""This isn't very jolly,"" Aaron said. ""Let's dance!"" The fiddler got out his fiddle and began to play. Aaron stretched himself, shook himself, got up, took a step or two, and began to dance. With his old bones rattling, and his yellow teeth snap- ping, and his bald head wagging, and his arms flip-flopping — around and around he went. With his long legs clicking, and his kneebones knocking, he skipped and pranced around the room. How that dead man danced! But pretty soon a bone worked loose and fell to the floor. ""Look at that!"" said the fiddler. ""Play faster!"" said the widow. The fiddler played faster. Crickety-crack, down and back, the dead man went hopping, and his dry bones kept dropping — this way, that way, the pieces just kept popping. ""Play, man! Play!"" cried the widow. The fiddler fiddled, and dead Aaron danced. Then Aaron fell apart, collapsed into a pile of bones — all except his bald headbone that grinned at the fiddler, cracked its teeth — and kept dancing. ""Look at that!"" groaned the fiddler. ""Play louder!"" cried the widow. ""Ho, ho!"" said the headbone. ""Ain't we having fun!"" The fiddler couldn't stand it. ""Widow,"" he said. ""I'm going home,"" and he never came back. The family gathered up Aaron's bones and put them back in the coffin. They mixed them up so he couldn't fit them together. After that, Aaron stayed in his grave. But his widow never did get married again. Aaron had seen to that."
"Sam Lewis spent the evening playing chess at his friend's house. It was about midnight when they finished their game, and he started home. ","Sam Lewis spent the evening playing chess at his friend's house. It was about midnight when they finished their game, and he started home. Outside it was icy cold and as quiet as the grave. As he came around a turn in the road, he was surprised to see a woman walking ahead of him. She was carrying a basket covered with a white cloth. When he caught up to her, he looked to see who it was. But she was so bundled up against the cold, it was hard to see her face. ""Good evening,"" Sam said. ""What brings you out so late?"" But she didn't answer. Then he said, ""May I carry your basket?"" She handed it to him. From under the cloth, a small voice said, ""That's very nice of you,"" and that was followed by wild laughter. Sam was so startled that he dropped the basket — and out rolled a woman's head. He looked at the head, and he stared at the woman. ""It's her head!"" he cried. And he started to run, and the woman and her head began to chase him. Soon the head caught up to him. It bounded into the air and sunk its teeth into his left leg. Sam screamed with pain and ran faster. But the woman and her head stayed right behind. Soon the head leaped into the air again and bit into his other leg. Then they were gone. Donald and Sarah went to the movies. Then they went for a ride in Donald's car. They parked up on a hill at the edge of town. From there they could see the lights up and down the valley. Donald turned on the radio and found some music. But an announcer broke in with a news bulletin. A murderer had escaped from the state prison. He was armed with a knife and was headed south on foot. His left hand was missing. In its place, he wore a hook. “Let's roll up the windows and lock the doors/' said Sarah. “That's a good idea/' said Donald. “That prison isn't too far away,"" said Sarah. “Maybe we really should go home. 7 ' “But it's only ten o'clock/' said Donald. “I don't care what time it is,"" she said. “I want to go home."" “Look, Sarah,"" said Donald, “he's not going to climb all the way up here. Why would he do that? Even if he did, all the doors are locked. How could he get in?""  “Donald, he could take that hook and break through a window and open a door,"" she said. “I'm scared. I want to go home."" Donald was annoyed. “Girls always are afraid of some- thing,"" he said. As he started the car, Sarah thought she heard some- one, or something, scratching at her door. “Did you hear that?"" she asked as they roared away. “It sounded like somebody was trying to get in."" ""Oh, sure,"" said Donald. Soon they got to her house. ""Would you like to come in and have some cocoa?"" she asked. ""No,"" he said, ""I've got to go home."" He went around to the other side of the car to let her out. Hanging on the door handle was a hook."
"moaning, “Bloody fingers! Bloody fingers!"" When the man saw the ghost, he grabbed his things and ran. ","moaning, “Bloody fingers! Bloody fingers!"" When the man saw the ghost, he grabbed his things and ran. The next night a woman arrived very late. Again, all the rooms were taken except the haunted room. ""I'll sleep there,"" she said. ""I'm not afraid of ghosts."" As soon as she got into bed, the ghost came out of the closet. Its fingers still were bleeding. It still was moaning, ""Bloody fingers! Bloody fingers!"" And the woman took one look and ran. A week later another guest arrived very late. He also took the haunted room. After he unpacked, he got out his guitar and he began to play. Soon the ghost appeared. As before, its fingers were bleeding, and it was moaning, ""Bloody fingers! Bloody fingers!"" The man paid no attention. He just kept strumming his guitar. But the ghost kept moaning, and its fingers kept bleeding. Finally, the guitar player looked up. ""Cool it, man!"" he said. ""Get yourself a Band-Aid."" “If you got your pause right, she'll fetch a dear little yelp and spring right out of her shoes. . . There are three approaches to telling these jump stories. Two are found in Chapter 1. In the third approach, the ghost returns to search for what has been stolen. Feigning innocence, the grave robber asks what has become of various parts of the ghost's body. To each question, the ghost replies, “All withered and wasted away."" When the robber mentions the part of the body that was stolen, the ghost shrieks, "" You 've got it!"" See Botkin, American, pp. 502-503; Burrison; Roberts, Old Greasybeard, pp. 33-36; Stimson, JAF 58:126. Ghosts (pp. 21-34): In almost every civilization, there has been a belief that the dead return. They are said to come back for various reasons. Their lives were ended before their allotted time."" They did not receive a proper burial. They had important business to finish or a responsibility to meet. They wished to punish somebody or to take revenge. Or they wanted to comfort or advise someone or obtain forgiveness. It is said that some return as human beings. In fact, they may look just as they did when they were alive, and people they meet may not realize they are ghosts. One of the best known of these “living ghosts"" is the ghostly or vanishing hitchhiker. It usually is late at night that a motorist encounters her. She is standing on a street corner or at the side of a road, and she asks to be taken home. She sits in the back seat of the car. But when the driver finds the address he has been given, he discovers that she has vanished. When he informs her family of this, he learns that she died on that night several years before at the spot where he picked her up.There are two stories about living ghosts in Chapter 2: “The Guests"" and ""Cold as Clay."" Some persons who die are said to return as animals, particularly as dogs. Other ghosts may have a spectral quality. Or they may appear as a ball of fire or as a moving light. Or they may make their presence known through sounds they make or actions they take, such as slamming a door, rattling a key in a lock, or moving furniture. The ghosts of animals also have been reported, as have the ghosts of objects such as guns, boots, and rifles, and trains and cars associated with death. Ghosts of human beings do many things a human does. They eat, drink, ride on trains and buses, play the piano, and go fishing. They also laugh, cry, shout, whisper, and make all sorts of noises. When it has completed what it set out to do, a ghost is likely to return to its grave. But at times this may require the help of a person, such as a minister, who may be experienced in “laying” ghosts, or putting them to rest. If you wish to see or hear a ghost, these are some recommended approaches: Look back over your left shoulder. Look through either one of a mule's ears. Look in a mirror with another person. Arrange six pure white dinner plates around a table, then go to a cemetery at noon and call the name of someone you once knew who is buried there. If you encounter a ghost, it is advised that you speak to it. If you do so, you may be able to help it finish whatever it is doing and return to its grave. Some say it is most effective if you address a ghost this way: “In the name of God [or in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost], what do you want?"" They also say that holding a Bible will protect you against a revengeful ghost and demonstrate your sincerity. However, most ghosts are not regarded as dangerous. As the folklorist Maria Leach pointed out, “Usually a ghost is some poor harmless soul . . . looking for someone with enough understanding and kindness to speak to it and do it  some little favor.” See Beardsley and Hankie, CFQ 1:303-36; CFQ 2:3-25; Creighton, pp. i-xi; Hole, pp. 1-12; Gardner, p. 85; Leach, Dictionary, ""Revenant,” pp. 933-34; Leach Thins pp. 9-11. *' "" The ?"" (PP- 23-24): This tale describes a forerunner, or a forewarning of death. The warning is a skeletonlike figure that appears, then chases the principal characters. The skeleton actually is a ""wraith,” an apparition that depicts a living person as he or she will look at death. But the most commonly re- ported forerunners are heard, not seen. They are sounds like a knock on the door or the striking of a clock. See Creighton pp. 1-7, 69-70. The Haunted Ho ™"" (PP- 29-32): The tale of a person who is brave enough to spend a night in a haunted house, and who often is rewarded for his bravery, is told again and again around the world. There are many versions of this story, but the theme never changes. In this book there are four disparate variants of this tale: ""Me Tie Dough-ty Walker!"" ""The Haunted House,” ""Wait till Martin Comes,” and ""The Ghost with the Bloody Fingers."" The tale is classified as Type 326 (the youth who wanted to know what fear was). SeeIves, A/ff 4:61-67; Roberts, Old Greasybeard, pp. 72-74, 187; Roberts, South, pp. 35-38, 217-18. ""The Hearse Song"" (p. 39): Although many adults are familiarwith this song, it is best known in the elementary schools But during World War I, it was a war song that was sung by servicemen from America and England. One version went this way: ""Did you ever think as the hearse rolls by That some of these days you must surely die? They'll take you away in a big black hack; They'll take you away but they won't bring you back. . . And your eyes drop out and your teeth fall in And the worms crawl over your mouth and chin; And the worms crawl out and the worms crawl in And your limbs drop off limb by limb."" The words have changed quite a bit since then. Worms now play pinochle on your snout. There is jelly between your toes. And pus, like whipping cream, pours out of your stomach. With children as the audience, it is a more gruesome song, but it is not as grim. One scholar associates the change of words with a change of function. During World War I, the song helped servicemen deal with the fear they felt. These days it helps children confirm the reality of death, yet through satire and humor deny its reality for them. The song is part of an old poetic tradition. During the Middle Ages many of the poems written in European countries dealt with death and decay. Here is a verse of this type from a twelfth-century poem, which has been translated from the Middle English: ""A vicious worm lives in my backbone; My eyes are dazed and very dim; My guts rot, my hair is green. My teeth grin very grimly."""
"Then he turned on his high beams, flooding her car with light. He left them on for almost a minute.","Then he turned on his high beams, flooding her car with light. He left them on for almost a minute. ""He probably wants to pass me,"" she thought. But she was becoming uneasy. Usually she drove home over a back road. Not too many people went that way. But when she turned onto that road, so did the truck. ""I've got to get away from him,"" she thought, and she began to drive faster. Then he turned his high beams on again. After a minute, he turned them off. Then he turned them on again and off again. She drove even faster, but the truck driver stayed right behind her. Then he turned his high beams on again. Once more her car was ablaze with light. ""What is he doing?"" she wondered. ""What does he want?"" Then he turned them off again. But a minute later he had them on again, and he left them on. At last she pulled into her driveway, and the truck pulled in right behind her. She jumped from the car and ran to the house. ""Call the police!"" she screamed at her father. Out in the driveway she could see the driver of the truck. He had a gun in his hand. When the police arrived, they started to arrest him, but he pointed to the girl's car. ""You don't want me,"" he said. ""You want him."" Crouched behind the driver's seat, there was a man with a knife. As the driver of the truck explained it, the man slipped into the girl's car just before she left the school. He saw it happen, but there was no way he could stop it. He thought about getting the police, but he was afraid to leave her. So he followed her car. Each time the man in the back seat reached up to over- power her, the driver of the truck turned on his high beams. Then the man dropped down, afraid that someone might see him. It was nine o'clock in the evening. Everybody was sitting on the couch in front of the TV. There were Richard, Brian, Jenny, and Doreen, the babysitter. The telephone rang."
A farmer had a daughter for whom he cared more than anything on earth. ,"A farmer had a daughter for whom he cared more than anything on earth. She fell in love with a farmhand named Jim, but the farmer did not think Jim was good enough for his daughter. To keep them apart, he sent her to live with her uncle on the other side of the county. Soon after she left, Jim got sick, and he wasted away and died. Everyone said he died of a broken heart. The farmer felt so guilty about Jim's death, he could not tell his daughter what had happened. She continued to think about Jim and the life they might have had together. One night many weeks later there was a knock on her uncle s door. When the girl opened the door, Jim was standing there. ""Your father asked me to get you,"" he said. ""I came on his best horse."" ""Is there anything wrong?"" she asked. ""I don't know,"" he said. She packed a few things, and they left. She rode behind him, clinging to his waist. Soon he complained of a head- ache. ""It aches something terrible,"" he told her. She put her hand on his forehead. ""Why, you are as cold as clay,"" she said. ""I hope you are not ill,"" and she wrapped her handkerchief around his head. They traveled so swiftly that in a few hours they reached the farm. The girl quickly dismounted and knocked on the door. Her father was startled to see her. ""Didn't you send for me?"" she asked. ""No, I didn't,"" he said. She turned to Jim, but he was gone and so was the horse. They went to the stable to look for them. The horse was there. It was covered with sweat and trembling with fear. But there was no sign of Jim. Terrified, her father told her the truth about Jim's death. Then quickly he went to see Jim's parents. They decided to open his grave. The corpse was in its coffin. But around its head they found the girl's handkerchief."
A young man and his wife were on a trip to visit his mother. Usually they arrived in time for supper.,"A young man and his wife were on a trip to visit his mother. Usually they arrived in time for supper. But they had gotten a late start, and now it was getting dark. So they decided to look for a place to stay overnight and go on in the morning. Just off the road, they saw a small house in the woods. ""Maybe they rent rooms,"" the wife said. So they stopped to ask. An elderly man and woman came to the door. They didn't rent rooms, they said. But they would be glad to have them stay overnight as their guests. They had plenty of room, and they would enjoy the company. The old woman made coffee and brought out some cake, and the four of them talked for a while. Then the young couple were taken to their room. They again ex- plained that they wanted to pay for this, but the old man said he would not accept any money. The young couple got up early the next morning before their hosts had awakened. On a table near the front door, they left an envelope with some money in it for the room. Then they went on to the next town. They stopped in a restaurant and had breakfast. When they told the owner where they had stayed, he was shocked. ""That can't be,"" he said. ""That house burned to the ground, and the man and the woman who lived there died in the fire."" The young couple could not believe it. So they went back to the house. Only now there was no house. All they found was a burned-out shell. They stood staring at the ruins trying to understand what had happened. Then the woman screamed. In the rubble was a badly burned table, like the one they had seen by the front door. On the table was the envelope they had left that morning. They Eat Eyes, They Eat  Nose There are scary stories about all kinds of things. The ones told here are about a grave, a witch, a man who liked to swim, a hunting trip, and a market basket. There also is one about worms eating a corpse — your corpse."
"A young woman in town married a man from another part of the country. He was a nice fellow, and they got along pretty well together. ","A young woman in town married a man from another part of the country. He was a nice fellow, and they got along pretty well together. There was only one problem. Every night he'd go swimming in the river. Sometimes he would be gone all night long, and she would complain about how lonely she was. This couple had two young sons. As soon as the boys could walk, their father began to teach them how to swim. And when they got to be old enough, he took them swimming in the river at night. Often they would stay there all night long, and the young woman would stay home all by herself. After a while, she began to act in a strange way — at least, that is what the neighbors said. She told them that her husband was turning into an alligator, and that he was trying to turn the boys into alligators. Everybody told her there was nothing wrong with a man taking his sons swimming. That was a natural thing to do. And when it came to alligators, there just weren't any nearby. Everybody knew that. Early one morning the young woman came running into town from the direction of the river. She was soaking wet. She said a big alligator and two little alligators had pulled her in and had tried to get her to eat a raw fish. They were her husband and her sons, she said, and they wanted her to live with them. But she had gotten away. Her doctor decided she had lost her mind, and he had her put in the hospital for a while. After that nobody saw her husband and boys again. They just disappeared. But now and then a fisherman would tell about seeing alligators in the river at night. Usually it was one big alligator and two small ones. But people said they were just making it up. Everybody knows there aren't any alligators around here."
"A young man invited a young woman to a formal dance. But she was very poor, and she could not afford to buy the evening gown she needed for such an occasion. ","A young man invited a young woman to a formal dance. But she was very poor, and she could not afford to buy the evening gown she needed for such an occasion. ""Maybe you can rent a dress,"" her mother said. So she went to a pawnshop not far from where she lived. There she found a white satin evening gown in her size. She looked lovely in it, and she was able to rent it for very little. When she arrived at the dance with her friend, she was so attractive, everyone wanted to meet her. She danced again and again and was having a wonderful time. But then she began to feel dizzy and faint, and she asked her friend to take her home. ""I think I have danced too much,"" she told him. When she got home, she lay down on her bed. The next morning her mother found that her daughter had died. The doctor did not understand what had caused her death. So he had the coroner perform an autopsy. The coroner found that she had been poisoned by em- balming fluid. It had stopped her blood from flowing. There were traces of the fluid on her dress. He decided it had entered her skin when she perspired while she was dancing. The pawnbroker said he bought the dress from an un- dertaker's helper. It had been used in a funeral for another young woman, and the helper had stolen it just before she was buried. The girl driving the old blue sedan was a senior at the high school. She lived on a farm about eight miles away and used the car to drive back and forth. She had driven into town that night to see a basketball game. Now she was on her way home. As she pulled \away from the school, she noticed a red pick-up truck follow her out of the parking lot. A few minutes later the truck was still behind her. ""I guess we're going in the same direction,” she thought. She began to watch the truck in her mirror. When she changed her speed, the driver of the truck changed his speed. When she passed a car, so did he."
Ted Martin and Sam Miller were good friends. They spent a lot of time together. On this particular night they were sitting on a fence near the post office talking about one thing and another.,"Ted Martin and Sam Miller were good friends. They spent a lot of time together. On this particular night they were sitting on a fence near the post office talking about one thing and another. There was a field of turnips across the road. Suddenly they saw something crawl out of the field and stand up. It looked like a man, but in the dark it was hard to tell for sure. Then it was gone. But soon it appeared again. It walked halfway across the road, then it turned around and went back into the field. Then it came out a third time and started toward them. By now Ted and Sam were scared, and they started run- ning. But when they finally stopped, they decided they were being foolish. They weren't sure what had scared them. So they decided to go back and get a better look. Pretty soon they saw it, for it was coming to meet them. It was wearing black pants, a white shirt, and black suspenders. Sam said, ""I'm going to try to touch it. Then we'll know if it's real."" He walked up to it and peered into its face. It had bright penetrating eyes sunk deep in its head. It looked like a skeleton. Ted took one look and screamed, and again he and Sam ran, but this time the skeleton followed them. When they got to Ted's house, they stood in the doorway and watched it. It stayed out in the road for a while. Then it disappeared. A year later Ted got sick and died. Toward the end, Sam sat up with him every night. The night Ted died, Sam said he looked just like the skeleton."