The John Burrison Georgia Folklore Archive recordings contains unedited versions of all interviews. Some material may contain descriptions of violence, offensive language, or negative stereotypes reflecting the culture or language of a particular period or place. There are instances of racist language and description, particularly in regards to African Americans. These items are presented as part of the historical record. This project is a repository for the stories, accounts, and memories of those who chose to share their experiences for educational purposes. The viewpoints expressed in this project do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of the Atlanta History Center or any of its officers, agents, employees, or volunteers. The Atlanta History Center makes no warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of any information contained in the interviews and expressly disclaims any liability therefore. If you believe you are the copyright holder of any of the content published in this collection and do not want it publicly available, please contact the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center at 404-814-4040 or reference@atlantahistorycenter.com.
In this recording Cheryl Summerlin interviews her uncle Rev. Bill Whaley, her aunts Frances Whaley and Mary Edenfield, and her cousin Teresa. First, Rev. Whaley tells preacher stories and jokes he heard at a Baptist church. Next, Frances Whaley repeats scary stories and ghost stories she learned as a child, followed by Mary Edenfield telling a Pat and Mike story about Irish immigrants and a preacher tale. The recording ends with Teresa telling jokes, including one about Helen Keller, as well as a couple scary stories, including one about the Golden Arm. *For a more detailed description, please request the transcript.
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Cheryl: This is my uncle Reverend Bill Whaley. He is going to tell me some preacher stories he heard when he was [00:01:00] the pastor of a Baptist church a few years ago. Bill: This preacher was riding along one night and he ran off the side of the road. Well, this drunk man came along and asked him if he was alright. The preacher said "Yes, the Lord was with me." Then the drunk said, "well, you better let him ride with me. You're goanna kill him." A five year old girl was asked by the minister how many children there were in her family. She replied, "Seven." The minister observed that so many children must cost a lot. "Oh no," the child replied, "we don't buy 'em, we raise 'em!" "See the man coming down the street sucking at the end of an old pipe stem? [00:02:00] You can smell him fifty yards. As he goes by I think of the words of a young woman who said, "Lord, by this time he stinketh." A small boy observed his mother one Sunday morning as she put a penny in the morning worship service offering plate. On the way home from church, she freely criticized the poor sermon they had heard. "But mother," said the little boy, "What could you expect for a penny?" A Baptist preacher asked this other preacher to come and preach a sermon for him during the Revival. "Well," the other preacher said, "that do you want me to preach about?" The Baptist preacher said, "Oh, about twenty minutes." Cheryl: This is my aunt Frances Whaley. And shes going to tell me a few scary stories and ghost stories she heard when she was a little girl. [00:03:00] Frances: I had an uncle who used to tell us ghost stories every night to scare us, and he told about spending the night with a boy friend of his that lived near a cemetery. And he said one night before they went to bed, they pushed the bed up against the door, and during the night they would hear chains coming down the steps, and said that night, while they were asleep, the chains began to rattle and they came to the door, pushed the door open, and pushed their bed out in the middle of the floor. Scared him so bad he jumped up and went home and didn't go back anymore. Cheryl: Tell about the one with the bear--the old lady and the bear. Frances: There was an old lady that lived in the woods-- edge of the woods--and she was out sweeping one day and asked, "Who's goan sleep with me tonight?" And a bear on the other side of the woods heard her and he said "Me, miss Madam!" [00:04:00] She asked again, "Who's goan sleep with me tonight?" And the bear replied, "Me, Miss Madam!" So she goes on about her business sweeping the yard, and she gets through and gets back to the door and she say, "Who's goan sleep with me tonight?" And about that time, the bear was right behind her, and says, Me, Miss Madam!" and he grabbed her. Cheryl: You know any other scary stories? Frances: Well, I can remember one about uh, this was really not a story, but said it was the truth. Uncle Robert's wife, Aunt Lydia, had died. And he went out in the yard one night after--got dark--real late, and said that when he walked out in the yard, he could see a white mist goin back and forth across the edge of the yard. He had always felt like that it was Aunt Lydia coming back to haunt him. [00:05:00] Another story was told about some people sitting up with a person that was real sick one night, and it was a country home, big fireplace with a window on each side of the fireplace. And they had the windows open, and while they were sitting up during the night, they heard this terrible noise, sounded like a horse going by, and it snorted and made an awful noise. And after it passed, someone got up and went outside, and there was no tracks anywhere and they couldn't imagine what it was. But later this person that was sick died, and they thought that was a warning to 'em that the person was goanna die. And that was what happened. Another uncle and his girlfriend one night was goin' home real late from a date, that was back in the horse and buggy days, and they had to pass this cemetery. And they said as they got by, [00:06:00] a white ghost appeared between the wheel and the buggy and followed 'em out the road to a house that my--where my mother lived I believe--and they stopped and ran in the house, and the woman was crying and screaming and scared to death because they'd seen this ghost. Cheryl: They thought it was a ghost? Frances: They thought it was a ghost. And said it didn't disappear, I don't imagine, 'til they stopped. Cheryl: You know that one--It's not a ghost story, but the one about the little worm? Frances: Oh Yeah. Little boy found this little fuzzy worm, picked it up and put it in the palm of his hand and he talked to it. He says "Little worm, is your daddy dead?" "Yes." "Little worm, is your mother dead?" "Yes." Little worm, is your brother dead?" "Yes." "Little worm, is your sister dead?" "Yes." "Little worm, would like to go to heaven?" and as he said this, [00:07:00] he squished him in the palm of his hand and said, "Well, you shall." Cheryl: This is another one of my aunts, and her name is Mary Edenfield. And shes going to tell me a few jokes about, shes got a Pat and Mike story shes going to tell me and she has a preacher tale. Mary: Pat and Mike were Irish immigrants who were visiting New York City. And they stayed in a hotel there, and they'd never been in a big hotel like that. And Mike was tired, but Pat was wide awake, and he wanted to see what was goin' on. So, he was standin' there lookin' out the window and, and he heard a lot of noise, and he looked down ono the street, and there was this old fire wagon with the smoke comin' out of it, and fire, and it was drawn by horses. Women were screamin' and grabbin' their children, and the horses were snortin'. [00:08:00] And it went by, and in a few minutes, another one went by with the fire comin' out, and the smoke, and the women were grabbin' their children. And then a third one came by, and Pat got so ex- cited that he ran and grabbed Mike and said, "Get up! Get up! They're movie' Hell and they've al- ready gone by with three loads." Mary: There was a Baptist preacher, a Catholic priest, and a Jewish rabbi, and they were out on the lake fishin'. All of a sudden the Catholic priest hollered, oh, I left my lunch on the dock", so he jumped out of the boat, ran across the water, got his lunch, and ran back to the boat. The Baptist preacher thought well, if he can do that, surely I can." So he jumped out of the boat, but he fell in, so the rabbi and the priest pulled him out. Later the Jewish rabbi said Oh, I left my rod and reel on shore." So he jumped out of the boat, ran across the water, got his rod and reel, and ran back to the boat. This time the Baptist preacher swore that if they could do it, then so could he. [00:09:00] So he jumped out of the boat, and he fell in again. After they had fished him out, the priest asked the rabbi, "You think we oughts to tell him where the tree stumps are before he drowns himself? Cheryl: This is my cousin Teresa and shes going to tell me some elephant jokes. Whats the first one? Teresa: How can you tell if an elephant's in the bathtub? Cheryl: I don't know--How? Teresa: You can see his ivory. Cheryl: Got any more? Teresa: How does the elephant get down from the tree? Cheryl: I don't know. Teresa: He sits on a leaf and waits until fall. Teresa: How can you tell if an elephant's been in the refrigerator? Cheryl: I don't know. Teresa: You can see his footprints in the Jello. Teresa: Why did the elephant wear red tennis shoes? So no one could see him in the strawberry patch. Cheryl: Teresa, do you know any cruelty jokes? Teresa: "Mommy, Mommy, sister's spoiled!" "Shut up!" "Mommy, Mommy, sister's spoiled!" "Shut up!" "Mommy, mommy, sister's spoiled! "Shut up and eat!" [00:10:00] "Mommy, I don't want to take a bath! "Shut up!" "Mommy, I don't want to take a bath!" "Shut up!" "Mommy, I don't want to take a bath!" "Shut up or I'll flush it again!" Cheryl: Do you know any Helen Keller jokes--those are sposed to be pretty popular. Teresa: Did you hear about Helen Keller burning her fingers? She tried to read the waffle iron. Did you hear about Helen Keller breaking her fingers? Did you hear about the new Helen Keller doll? You wind her up and she runs into the wall. Have you ever seen Helen Keller's house? Cheryl: No. Teresa: Neither has she. Cheryl: Teresa, what was that story--ghost story--wasn't it "The Golden Arm or something like that? Teresa: There was a lady, and she had her right arm taken off, so it was replaced with a golden arm. So she when [00:11:00] made her husband promise her that when she died, he would bury her with her golden arm, so he promised. One night she got real sick and died, and so he kept his word, and buried her with the golden arm. And so, one night, he started thinking, well, it's foolish for me to have all that gold in that cemetery when I could use it for money." So he went out to the cemetery and he dug up the grave and got the golden arm. He was on his way back home, when it began to rain, and so he went on home. And he heard a noise comin' through the trees saying, "Give me my golden arm." And it kept on and it got closer and closer. So he got home and he went to bed. And he thought, well, if I get under the covers, I won't hear it anymore." But he heard it coming through the house. "Give me my Golden Arm." And he heard this noise, and it got closer and closer. And he finally just went under the covers, and it was saying, "Give me my Golden Arm." And it was getting louder and louder till finally it got him. Cheryl: Teresa, do you know any more? Teresa: There was a little girl and her mother asked her to go get some milk, at the store. [00:12:00] So the little girl went to the milk place and got some milk. As she was on her way home, the milk began to leak, but she didn't notice it. So she finally got home with the milk, and it was pretty late, so she went on to bed. And the milk had been drippin all the way home, and a ghost had followed it. And so he had followed it all the way from the store to her house. And so when he got to her house, he saw her up in her room, so he started up the steps. He said, "Janie, I'm on the first step. Janie, Im on the second step. Teresa: "Janie, I'm on the third step. Janie, I'm on the fourth step. Janie, I'm on the fifth step. Janie, I'm on the sixth step. Janie, Im on the seventh step. Janie, I'm on the eighth step. Janie, I'm at the top of the stairs. Janie, I'm walking through the hall. Janie, I'm at your door. Janie, I'm beside your bed. Janie, I gotcha!"
A full transcript exists for this recording. Please contact an archivist for access.
Professor John Burrison founded the Atlanta Folklore Archive Project in 1967 at Georgia State University. He trained undergraduates and graduate students enrolled in his folklore curriculum to conduct oral history interviews. Students interviewed men, women, and children of various demographics in Georgia and across the southeast on crafts, storytelling, music, religion, rural life, and traditions.
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