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 interviewees tell scary, supernatural legends from Cabbagetown, a neighborhood in Atlanta, Georgia. The audio begins with April Heath telling a variation of the golden arm story in which a widow is haunted by her dead husband after she sells his golden prosthetic arm. She then tells a story about two siblings who sneak out at night to explore a graveyard. Next at 4:41 minutes, Tracy Donaldson tells a story about a woman who gets buried in a black coffin in a well. In her next story, a girl loses her red shoes and red pocketbook and instead finds human remains. Theresa Jordan follows this up at 11:46 minutes with a variation of the fairy tale Bluebeard in which a sea captain murders his wives and hides their remains in a closet. Next at 16:56, she tells a story about a ghost killing his widow. At 22:05, Jordan tells a scary story in which an escaped prisoner with a hook for a hand stalks a couple. Next at 25:24, Diann Tatum tells a story about a girl who finds her boyfriends decapitated head attached to a car antenna. Then she tells one in which a missing childs friends claim that a big bloody thing carried her into the woods. The final interviewer, Betty Mount, starts a story at 30:18 about a monster called Bloody Bones killing a family and their neighbor. To conclude the interview, at 36:27 she tells a story in which a witchs golden apple comes alive to swallow people.
Sharron Smith Tatum (1949- ) was born to James T. Smith (1916-1960) and Mildred Bullock Smith (1913-1994); she had two siblings, Kathy Smith (1952- ), the interviewer, and James E. Smith (1960- ). She worked as a beautician. Tracy Lynn Donaldson (1960-1990) was born to William (Billy) Arthur Donaldson (1939-1997) and Dovie Loretta Kinney (1941-2021). She had one brother and six sisters and attended Grant Park School in Atlanta, Georgia. Barbara Dianne Tatum (1956- ) grew up in East Atlanta, a neighborhood in Atlanta, Georgia, and attended Roosevelt High School. She moved to Griffin, Georgia, and on November 7, 1994, she married Joseph Jenkins Cornish IV (1947-2018) in Atlanta. April Heath (1961- ) and Betty Bount (1960- ) attended Grant Park School in Atlanta, Georgia. Additional biographical information has not been determined.
1"0LKLOHE COLL1..1C'11 I rilr 11,tOJ J.!;C'.i.1 ; by Kathy :Jrni th l11olk 301 John Durri son Bp:cing 1973 uay 22 l ntrodncti on l'a l e s TADL~ OP CUi T~NTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . '.~he G-olu.en Ar m 1-'o.ge April Heat h . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . J - 6 'l'ho Bloody Ht"..nd in 'l'he (.i-r avcya1'd A.p:ci l Heat h . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . 7 .rhe Bl a ck c off i n f racy tlonuldson ..... . .. . ..... 9 - 10 Bloody Bones Tacy Donald uon . .......... 11-12 Dl oody Bones Th e r e s a J or don. , , , , . .. ..... , .. , 13-15 Unt;j_t lccl The r esa J odon ................. 16- l U The r1ook Theresa J o~don ... ...... .... , , , , 19- 20 Untitled Di ann 1:at um . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21-22 Bl oody Don es ,_;ha,rron 'l.'atum, , . . . , , , , . . , , , , 2j- 24 Dl oody lJOllC S Detty h10unt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - ~ - 2'( The Gol deu Apple .t3e t ty J\10Ul1t . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~d- 30 1Jictn.res of i n:i.ormant n . . . . ~{esea:cch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1te l eas e 1'10.rms , 36-41 'i'he stories rrhich 1 have colle cted o.:cc all 11 0cary s tories". 'J.'hey were collected f1:0J11 r.,ix c :i.[l"eL1.~11t {;irls at;es tv1Clvo to t\'!er1ty-f.'ou:r . 1111 of the8e /;i :l'l c l~i ve i n ny community now , or tlrny gren UJ) there . " 'his coJUrnuni Ly is u low i n come area . It is located in 0outh Last At lanta. I t i s roferjed. t o n::; 11 I1ul ton Villap;e 11 o:c 11 Gabbagcto\'m11 l t i s the O..L'CU around l!'ulton Cotton hlill , \"lhich is ,..:hc 1c t he name 111''ulton Village" comer..; f.Lom. It i s r eally a mill village . lt i s a pretty clo,,e knit conlLmnity , ancl mout of t he peopl e gro\i up i n the conununity, 111u.L.L'Y i u the community, and ,:or1c in the co-~ton mill. 'l'he1e o.re t \!o expl anations fo.l t ne name 11 Cabba[.,;etorm . " One if; tlwt Hhc11cve:r you d.:cove t hroagh you could smell cabba1_;t-s cool .. in ; bccauGe -Lhe 1,eovle coul<1.n ' t afi'orcl anyttliuL; else . J. 1he ::wcoud i:::-, that a ti~uck pas:::: i ng th1.'onhh , \ih ... ch \7as c.;,u:.cyi11g calJ IJa.r;cs , .,r e cked ; and all the peopl e nwhed t o pick up chc cubbeKes which spilled in the 2 treet . i. o ut o i' the kic.1.:J i n t 11is u:ren corne f.com vc1.y l o.L':~e families . 11hey don 't have many toys; and i:i.' t hey have a televi r.,ion , there .::i.r u no ma11y k i ds they ~loH ' t gc ~ to watch . ho. t they \!ant to . 'l'he kid B speuci a lot of t;hcj.r s u 1llmcr at ca1011 , which the chu:cch p:ye, 1'or. '11hey a l no h<1.vo a lot of spend the ni ht parties in \'tllich t ll<''Y u.w:p tuleo . I got the i clca of usi11::_; some o:i.' t he ,';i.L'l .. aLOtllld in my cornmuni ty i':t'Olll a speucl t he 11i ,\ht party l h n.tl ci ven . One of my f:ci.:::n<1B n.n/1 J '11.d comoinoc"l onr Julltluy ,Jclwol c l anscs, an,1 vrn gave t hem :t spe,1n t he 11i;:ht pnrty. \ , C f; tt arotincl n:L th the J.i,~htc out ano told scar,'/ :Jt o; i.eH . ~- ,e .~iJ.l.s .L'an{;ed in 2 ar;c 1':corn rJevcn to t h irteen. l noticed ho\'/ 111uch t hey enj oyod t c l lin1; the tal cs . I u :-,ecl some of t he gi:cl.s \'/ho ,m:cc t hore that 1ti [;l1t and eorno ,1110_ uusn ' t . Liy i 11J.'o.cmants \'/ere Aprj_l Hoo.th (12) , 111r a cy lJonalllson (12) , Betty uount ( 13) , lliann 'i1atum (16) , 'l'hcre sa. J'o1clan ( 20) , a11d 8harron ,..,1t1ith ( L.4-) . 'rhe numbers f ollor,i ng the no.me s are the informant s ages . 1 fom1cl t he younger i n fo1m i:.mts much more eusy and eo.gei' to he r e co:cdod . 1\'1ost of t he informants '.:ere taJJe :cc co:cder s hy . 1\ll \.'CJ.'e .cecoJ.'c.led si11gely e x cept for Apiil o.nd 'l'i'o.cy. J'.,o s t of' t hem <lilln ' t \'/ant anyone else to hear them tell ch ei1 i;ales . l t a,)cd i.p1~i1 uud 'l'racy ,,ith a g.coup oi' four g irl:.., . '.J.'he othc:c t\.'O g i1l::, Yrnuldn ' t t ell auy tal o n , they i1wi:::tc<.l they d i tln I t lrno;, any . I n t he fJcs:-:. i on n i th 1tp.cil and '.!.'racy, they 1.mntccl ever yone rtith t hem; but we all had to tu.cu a r ound ,1i t.11 ou:c ha cxs to thern . 'l'hey 1.w .1.'(J ai'ra.i.<.l sorneone r,oul c1 l uuch . l thou t;ht April ileuth -.ms my beat stoJ.,ytelle:c , ...,he put a r~rc a1, deal o:f.' e x])rcssion in her stoJ.ics , a.rid she a l LJo had [il'e a t facial exprc sion, lfe.c s to1~ics r.;c 1,mecl \'fell 0J.gai1i .,ecl. ,, ,, April t ol d 1'he Golden AJ.' l'I\ nltich she said she he u1d a t Uamp c-:-randvicr: . 0he t oll::, th:Lu story o:1.'ten to he1 i'J.ie:r:ius . 11Jo one else \till tell'' 'l'he <xoldc11 Arm'/ they ,;,a;/ it ' s Av:cil ' s \ \ I/ ::; to:cy . ~_;he a l :;o tol6. '11he .LJlootly .liawl in t he li-:raveyaJ.cl _,hich she :.;aid she heard f.com a fIi enu ut a ::; pc111l the nl ht pa.c-ty . April is a s ix Lh ;.,~.1ulle1 i'rorn l-:-:cun t J.'a:ck ,._,chooi , age 1 2 . Her ad(i e s s i f.; l'/G .t'o,,cll ,.,t1ce t ;j . D, 11.tlan ta , Uco.c;;j_a )0'.516 , 'l'racy 1Jonalci.so11 told. he.c stoJ. i e s in the same r eco Jdi ng 3 scssioil as .April . \ I , / \ I .>he tolcl '.L'he Dlack Cofi'in a1ll. Bloooy Bones: ' I/ ln he:r f irs t s t o.cy, ~11he Dlack C.:offin, my telephone :cang Y1hilc l \'ID.S tapi11g her . Jho made use of the rin,c; a ncl Y/o.c_rnd it ii.ito hc:c sto1'y . l indic ated it by put-'dng , phone L'ing::;, i n parenthesis . ln the .sto.cy the l;l,(ly ha<l beon see i ng lJlaclc c oi"i'ins ana hcar.ing her hc:r tl cacl h1rnbaud teJling ho:r 110-t; to bury him in a bl a cx coffin. The lady had just came in t he cJ.oor of ilc:c hou ::rn ancJ. my pi10nc 1'ang in the bo.c h:rvound . ri~acy uned i t by saying he ans\.e:ceu. tho ph0nc a nd heard her husbands voice at;ain . rracy i :J a s eventh r~.cacl<.ff at G-::cant .t'ar k ;.;chooi , age 12. Jle.c aclu:cess is 172 Be:cean avenue 0 i . , Atlanta , G-e ort;ia ::,0)1 6 . uhc aaio .,he hca.:r:cl the sto.cios from he.c si:,ter, but 1 \'las unable to {~et her sis t e1 to tell me any tnlcrJ . '.l..1he1cr:;a Jordan to l d me three talcs . '.L'he i'ir8t ~loody If Done s , the second she didn ' t t i tlc , a:ncl the third _, .. as The Jf Hook. 'fhere s a. i s twc,1ty yei.U'S olll a.nu a Junio:c at U-corr;ia .3tate Univcri:: i ty. :::Hle l ivef:J o.t l'/UG Lo.Jccmood ,\venue ..., . r: . , J\tlnntas G-eor c;ia j031 ~. 'l'he.cesa doesn ' t actuo.lly live in the c ornmun i t y . llo:.1eve r , she :Ls my cous in and so she p.cacticall y gr ew u r, c:uound. in the cornmuni t y bec a use she spent a g..rcrnt deal of' time at ou..c house . I n ut icco. that '.Phe.ceBa had a to11clency t o expl ain h er talc~.. . .:ihe <liun ' t .cemembe ..c \/here '.i:hc i1ook , a nd she thou1 ht hc..c mothe.c told hGL' t hat one to ke ep 1WL' :from pa11;:ing 1,/ j_t ll 1Joys . J.1y next i nfo.cm ant mw .1.,iann 'l'atum. ,ho i :.; 1.,;ix ~ecn y,"1u1;; olci and is a seuior a t Hooaevel t iiigll __,chool . Ho1: 4 aclcl:cens i D 629 '1'enHelle ,treet 0 , E , , At lant a , Geo:cp,ia 50312 . Di unn \'fas a v ery &ood s t o r yteller , bhe ~ut e xpress ion in her otory and Ghe was able t o build up su cpence , She had good facial expression too . ;:;he t o l d one t ale ::l1ich she cli<1n' t ti t l e , :3he tloeun ' t remembe r where she heard i t , l u se(t my ::;i:;ter :for my n ext i nf o:crnant . He:c name i B ... >ha:cron i11a turn , she j_s a t \'fc1d;y-i'our year old beautician . lle:c acJ.d.cesa i s 48U Boul de:.cc.cest Lc..-.ne, 11.tlanta , l,co:cgi a 30316 , ,~ - ' / ._")he tol d me the ntory , Dl ,Jo dy Dones . I can :ce rnembe:c he1 telli ng t11cd; same s t ory since we Yre i.'e ct1iluten, :Jhe can ' t r emember uhc~e she h~nrtl it , l:!y l a s t i11fol'Htan t uas Betty l'.iount . ,.,he i :J a thirteen ye a r old six ,,h g1.'nde.r i'rorn Li-:cai1t 1 a i.ic J chool , He I' addrc i;s i ::; 139 l3c.ceo.n Avenne, ,) , .i:: . , xclauta Geor1;ia 30316 . :..ihe ,\ I ~ ..., ' I I tol d t CTo stories , Bloody Donec and The Uolden Appl e , dhe has an exp.cessive voic e , .:he ' s v ery excita lile , Hei. sto.cies tended to be long, De t ty has a tendency to l engthen a nything she tale s . l i;hi11k iuost o:i.' my stoi.yt e11 ~1s en joyed t cllin6 thei.r tal eG , especial l y the y uun,_;e r oue s . I collect ed fou.r stories 'l'he k i lls a.round i n he.ce u se Bloody .doi1es a lot a :, a ncare character. Une of the lHoody Do11es t u.cnetl out to ue l:lluebei1rd r,hc I I :rcs<?u1.ch.ed. it , .J!11c, l ' rn on t l1e :L'i.cct s top , l ' rn on the Aecond ctep , etc, tu.rnud up i n many of the ~torie s , 111 my desc:ci ption of Urn s t o.ryt ell er I listed t hem as they a p}_Jear on the tavc , April Heath- Tale 1 5 Once -i;1icre i.ms a man a,1cl n v,oman . 'l1hey \'Jere rcal d old . Li v cu ba ck in the ,,oodG in a cotto.r;e . tlobody Knew they .,ere thc:ce . , but the old lllan rms ..cich because he hacl a golden urm . ;md he 1110.dc a prornise , one clay v,hen he ,rns dyi11f;, lie 1.:.,. 11 And his ,rife p:coui sed him that she \'IO ,ld bury hiJll .fi th his golden ar111 and \'/Ou lcl not cut it of1 . 00 , that ni h t he died . And she b:coxe lle1' 1JLort1hw .:wd. I s}ie took the golclen arm o:i..'f of' him and bll..ciecl hi m lJchi11cl llc:c hou::::e in the bac l;:yaL'd , One nif~ht sho rms in the bed and rJhe put ti1c r.:;olLlen al.m in a glar,s box and loc.,rnct j_t tightly 0.11(1 tiut i t undc:c hcl.' becl . 11.ncl then 1:,ent to sleep , ;.11 of a sud den :Jllc hcanl a noise , ~he heard something opening and squeaking. She was neared . And all of a sudden she heard j_t again . ::,o she :,at up in her bed with the cover over- her head . 11.nd she jtwt wished that nothing was cominR, ;:,o , while she ,10.s lir.;tcning, SOlfl()tldnf.,_; got clo ,er to he.c , And all of a sudden she heo..:cd n oang at t11e back cloor and t hen . . . and. she h card t he haHg ac;ain. ,uicl then she nas scareder mid scurcc.lc 1 . And all of a suduen t,lic h1:.ard ::;omct llin t c1ecping around. the s iclc of t11c house, creeping . . . creeping , . , D.il(l creeping clouur . And t hen che heclrtl ::;omc voic<..: sayi11g, 11 l 'm on the :L'i:r.st stev1 , 1 i1.nd i t c;ot , s omething got clonc..c t,nd. louder . 11 I 'm 6 on the scconcl ::~tep',1 Ancl clor,er and t hen louder . 11 l I m on the po:cch'1 And then it got louder . 11 I 'm at the door . 11 And then it got louder , 11 J. ' m in the living room , 11 And louder, " J 'm in the bed.room," And all of a sudden she sa\'/ a g.r.cat big thing , An<l she scn;amed Ah hhhhh hhhhhhhhhh , And she died , And he got his c;olclen arm back , 'J:HL: 1:.,lilJ April Heath - 'l'ale 2 7 '.t'H.C: DLOODY lll\. il) 111! T!I~ li- ,A\TEYJ1.1tD 'l'his is the s tory called the bloody hand in the gr aveya. rcl . Once there v;e.s a little girl ancl a boy . '.i.'he boy vms named Dilly and t he girl \'la s Hamed ~u s an . 'l'hey were brothe.cs and sist ers . 'l'hey clecidecl one Sundo.y morninr; th,1t the y ' d go to church, I mean , that they ' d go to the grave ya rd , ,,ell they had to go to church so t hey de cided they ' d sneak out o:f the wind o\'1 J un<lay ni{<ht ancl go oee t h e graveyard and lo uk at all the er'aves , fjo t hey ,1ent to clnu' ch t hat morninc;, and they \'10re playing around . And at nif;ht they s nuck out of' the bedroom \'/in (, ovr U !ld creepcd dor/11 t he ladder and went t o the graveyard , They \'tc.c e wa l 1<:i ng and vmlk j.nr.; togethc.c holdinr; arms cau se they \'!c..cc s c a red . And so 0u san s ays to Dilly . ~usan says , 11Hey look at t nis gr ave. Look Hilly, 11 And D:Llly , no one ans we:i:ed . 1md so she looked back and she couldn ' t see n obody ..,o she vras sca red . And she w,.s in the middle 01 t he gr aveyard and coul dn ' t :iind her \iay out , ..,o s he .mlked on t i l l she SEHi litt le drops of 'blood , And f>O she had led her to one {';Tave ancl i t had. . , . little Billy. And fJhe didn't lrnov, \'th at to do . .:>O the r e 1:aG a li ttlc pa--pi ccc oi' paper lnyinr; on the grave . ~"he moved the piece of papr"!1' ; nd Rhe :'.)a.w a little pointy thinp; stictinf1: up , There was a hole in the ~Tound . Uo all of a sudden she s a v, a grca t bi r; b] oody h ancl cornc up 0.11d said , 11 I 'm goj_ng t o t et you too . 11 A1lrl r{rnbs ho.c and kill s her, Ancl she scT0ams Ahhhhhhhhhhhhlth1tl1ltllilhi1hlli h, 1.rr u.cy Donaldson - 'ralo 1 1l'11E BLACK COiJ'IH The name of this s tory L ; t he lJlack coffin . One day this man and this l ady lived near a well .Ann and the lady said, "Oh darling you a r e 1:i xi ng to clie, 11 and and he said, 11 \lhenevor you bur y rne , don ' t bur y me ci.own in the \'Tell . 11 She ::-;aid, she s a i d , 11 I promise you I \7011 1 t 11 c3 And th at nie;ht he d i ed . And t he next. morning they had his funeral. And she all she coul d r emember "Don ' t 1mry rne j_n t he vfell . Don I t bu:cy me in the vrell . 11 \1ell any ol e way ::;he :-;aid, 11 Dury h im in the well. 11 Bo that nir)1t s he she heard something, and she dicln ' t knovr nhat to do . ',1ell any ole way alJou t that time her friend s called . /I.no. h er f'rie~1<1s said would you like to come over . And she v.ras driving over t o her friends house a 11d she s aw the black coff in in t he mid dl e of t he road . Ancl it \'/as say:Lng , "Don't bury me in the \'fell. 11 And all of a sudden it disappe ared . ,~11 she drove up to the driveway and the house was a black coff in t o her. And it s aid , 11 Don't 1m.1~y me in the \'fell . 11 And she knocked on the door, and here come he.1' f :ciencls . And they said, "Do you rmn t to _pla~r s ome brj_dgc . 11 ~-;o they \':as pl aying bri tl~e and her cards looked like a black coffin , And t hey had something to drink, and it looked like a bla ck cof f in , An<l and uh t hey ::mid , " ,'/hat ' s v,rone; , 11 and she said , 11Nothinc;. 11 And uh in just a few 11tinute::; she said , "Don ' t bury rne in a black coffin . 11 And they said , 11 ,/hat . 11 And ru1y ol e \:-ay she s aid , " I think it ' G about time for me to go home . 11 An<l Ghe started. to go out , and she r,tumblecl and fell . And she fell do\'m the step::; , and up under the step::; she sm, a r.;1.:ave . And it s aid. , " Don ' t buI"y me in the r,ell , don ' t bury me in the uell . 11 ,/ell any ole \'/o,y she got r 00..dy , o.ncl she walkc cl on and she drove on home . Ancl and a s soon 0.11 she Yras dri vint; in hc1 d:ci ve.,ay it s ~;ottecl on the nell a.nu it said , 11 .uon ' t b1.uy me in ti1e uell , Don t bury me in the n ell , 11 ( Telephone rinc;s) And she picked UJ) the phone anc.J all she could hear uar_.;, 11 Do11 1 t bury me iu a black coffin , don ' t bury me in the well , 11 1\.ncl she hun1.:; it u_p and ::;he 1an t.o her roorn ancl it scared hc.t . And th.:1.t 11i, ht s h e nai; lay i ng on the bed, and she ,:as r e a.ding. And she .,as fixing to turn out her light. And all she hL.a.cd v,as , "Don ' t bury me in -.i blacK cofi'in and don ' t bury 1ae in a uell . 11 And ancJ. <;he turned off the li1_;'i1t all o:f a sudden ancl all she could h 0:.1.r irJ a roo.n creeiug Ul) the steps , And sho said a.nu Ghe goes , 11Huh , 11 11.11d nothin ans uered , And she \'/O.;, '.mlkin:,; and she ho a:cd, and she said , 11 I 'm on your f'i1 s t s t e1J " 11 1 1 111 o:i1 your seco1Hi stc_p , 11 " I 'm on your third . 11 11.11d all of a sucl(lcn he ;::aid , 11 llon ' t bury 111e in the uell or the black cofi'i11 , l'lease , please, I beg you not to . 11 :..;o it got to her bearoom ancl she \las lay j n '>; dovm. And she ,,as so s cnred tnat s he called hex mo Gher , And he 1~ mothe1~ said , 11 ,/ell come ove r ; 11 a1d ~,he s aid , "Ho it ' s too l a t e , 11 .And, but she heard him; and she r,a s talking to 10 her mother . 11 Don ' t bury me ln t he Y!ell . Don ' -t bu1y me in the black cof.Lin . 11 And he g oes , 11 l 'm at your door . I 'm coming in . 11 And he e;ot l'i~Jd; close to he1 bed , a11d he s creamed . ,,he s creame d , Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh , And Hhe fell on t he floor and all . And. \thcnove:r she died. , the y buried her i n a bl a ck coff in , They put h e r in a ~ell . 1.racy ,onalu~on - 1al u 2 1 1 BLOODY BON..;t> 'l'his i s the :::;to r y . 'l'here vms a little girl a.ncl a little mother . Th i s l i ttl e gi1' l dj_d not have no fat her . And and it VHW on 1::aster . And t he litLl e giTl .ms going t o the chuech, And s he had on l ittl e r ed 8h ocs , and a lit Lle :cecJ. gloves , and n littl e red pocketbook . And he1' mothe:c snicl , 11 .LJon ' t you loose this or you 'll never get nothing el se . ~he went t o chwc~ and uhe lost her l i ttl b r a d shoes . And s he c ouldn ' t i'ind them no\"/he Y.'e . ;/ell . he 1,11.;n t; home from chmch and h c1:c mothe.c so.i d , " Li-o .::u1tl get ther'l , Hll:H'l' ,:0 .1, 11 ~he \'!Cnt ba cA to the church a.na the pl'eachc.L Y,' s f i x i ng to ;-:;lm i, the door , Ano. s he said, 11l'ru2 cher , p:c-:ach c.1:r., l e t Me go i 11 and look f' or my little .L' -::d shous . 11 ,.i110 v,cnt in and she got her li ,.tle r etl . 0he \'/cut to t i1e .. 0 cen clru\fe .L s, and ev eryone begged her not to nevc.L' go near em c ause they rms .real spoo '-Y and. ::.c.m:y. .,ell ru1y olc \'lay, she OJ)eiwd the fin;t; l110.;1e:r; a11d there \7aG a cat; eye , She opened the ::;13 c.:orni , and tlie.ce '::aD a11 a.r , 0he 01Jc..rned the tui1: d , ancl the.cu .w.i: a l eg. )Jle \'l~11t horne a.11cl ::;aid , 111 .. other 1 cannot f'i ncl thern. l will go toliO.L'.!'O\'>' whun :!c h .::.vo chu1'ch o.:~uin. 11 ,/ell the next morninr,; she \'lent to look for her lit ~l e .ccd shoe:.; and h er li ttl e rad poc!-::et boolc , ;jhe v,ent to the f ourth d.r m.r .... r ancl tlw 1.e naH a __ nee . ,._,lie r:CiLt to l;11e i'ifth cl:i.a,..re r a.ml there .. o.s thi:::; coe .... \'/i.' :i.t;{';li:ng all around. . ,jhe ;:cnt to the s i xth d.cnwcr , and she coul cl11 ' t fiud i t . And all tha. t \'las in the ::,ir l;l1 <l1.'a:.'c1 \.'~-J bo11e::: , bloody bone s , 12 1u1d she :HJ.icl , "Oh m,y ,;oodness , :,hat r1ill I do." 0he rten i:; horne; and hc.c mothc:c sa.iLl , 11 Wherc a:ce they HlGW.11 t1U,! , 'l'KL,L i\1!1.!:. 11 She said , 11 1.toi:;hc:c I hat e to tell you this , but I cou l d not find em . 11 i;:;hc said, " 11ho.t you moan you coulcln I t i 'j_:r,a cm . 11 0he ::;aio. , 11 I couldn ' t 11 .iell co he1 mother so.id , 1"./ell to111or::co1:.' , l mean it girl , you ' re gonna r;o and ,you ' re go11110. f.i11c1 em t ill you t:;ot to t11c.1,t lu1--d; cl.Lm7c:c , if it t a~es you foreve and ever. 1/cll the rext rno1~11 i11 t; slle 6ot up , anu she startetl. to nchool - Ancl she saic.l , 11 I think J. ,"iill cto p of J.' a11L1. see if I can find ' em not.7 . 11 Cause the preacher ~; t ayecl tl1ere al l the ti me . An cl there the.L'U she looked for he r little red pockctboo l.: , 0.11d her little .ced shoes , and he r little red glo.;es . /ell Ghe went to t he :-;evcnth t1:cm7er o.nd t hat \ias , uh, he1 mama ' s eye b alls , ~he \'iE:mt to t he e i ght clro.1.1e1 a11<1 all it vn:.1.s i s an h arnl , ii.nr1 it h i..d blood d.c:i.pp i n;; dor11L it , And in the n.i.nth c1 . .L'arteJ.' the1c \'las a little note. ,,nd it uaid , 11 l have got you1~ little i:cd noctetbook , you:c little r ed shoes , and you .L little r-ecl uhocs , 11 .And lle say s , 111 am fixi n ~-; t o get you. !Jhc said , 11 Jl1'l , 1 don ' t believe t 1iat. 11 ~.ihc 01)enetl up the t en th d:caHe:c and s he s a.\'1 t hi1.:l bi g ole hand , the lrnghes t ho.t1cl tha t r,he ' s e ver seen come n.ft 1:;r CT ' And and r.he screamed , Ancl the pn:n.chr:; .c come in t here --i:;o seEJ wha t ' s v1r on1~ , o.nd t he r e s he \7as lying on t he g:cound. 'fhe:cc:;a J"o:cclun - '11alc 1 l!>fl~w,ct ( BLOODY ll01! :s) ( 'l'hc1e i :3 s ome mumblin,::; and conve:csation in which t lle :::;torytel lcr i s asking which sto.cy ::;he shOLtlu start with . ) ,/ell the '.my I hca1~d it , \/ell it ' c not really bloody bo.l1es , a v .. n ia tion of i t . Oko,y there ' 8 u. ,jc;a captain; and he had a. wife - 1u11 nice vd.f c - ve1y, very att.L'ac.:ti vc , rea.lly tl1is house , beautiful hou:;e , .r:eall y big , marble, a really nice hou::;o you got there . .lmcl thu.cc ' s, in the ha11'.my e. you en te1' , there ' s thi.cLetn doo.cs ll11in;.; t11e halhmy . 1mc.l. he r:.o.yc , ,1hci1 he si;ar-tf; 011 his triv , they ar,; all !Hcu.ked and he f;ivcs ho.c the key to all t he floc,rD . AlH1. he r:,ays , 11You cnn open any of the door,:, but th.i.s one , tl1e one to the vei:y , very b uc.;: of the hall , Don ' t open that doo1~ . '' A.n<J she ::,ays , 11 \/ell ,.rhy'? Jh.y can ' t I open it." And women arc nat .1rally - uh, urn - i 11qui s it,ivc , And he r:.ays , 11 ,Jell j ust, you kno,, , don ' t open the <lo or. 11 And she JH'Omi ucd , ol:o,y , ~;he ,,ould11 ' t open t he door . So he 1 caves . And Ghc give::.; him time: to get arounc.l the houue and out of s i {~ht . And she r-;occ , "No\'/ ,.-,hy WOltl dn ' t he let me open the cloo1" . 11 i111d slle starts t h i111dl1g , L,aybc thc:cc ' s sorncth:i.ng hor .ci ble in th(:rc a.ncl h e cloc s n ' t ::unt me to find out. 1:1aybe he ' c killed Gul:le of hiu oth c:c wive"' a11cl he ' s got thorn in the r e . ::.ihu LJuys , "Naw , th lt ' s not it. ./hut ' s in the1e , ,c,;old anci. ;jewel::, and d j_amondL and :-tll thifJ really nice stuff' . l ' lll goin[, to open it . I 'm gain to {~e-t; it, l 'm e;oj_ug to lt:avc . 11 ;-,he ' s yc,unt. , nhc doesn ' t ncud fl.11 old Lea cavtain for a hu.sbo.nd , ,.:;he . arts to have fun . ~o she ' s go,r,10. 1,.c1.vc . :jo she 01>c1w th c ffoo.c ; and \'/hat's i n the cloo :c i u bones , all this blood aud bones, just dripp i ng ove1y\lhcre . :-;he get iJ bloo<l o.11 ov e.f' h<:. r hand.s and. all over he:c d.f'e: ,s and all over t he floo r . She shuts t he door and locks j_-[; . She c1J.11 ' t get it shut , it keeps c omi nG open . ;jhe keE:ps trying a11d trying a i1d tryin/~ Finall y , she get s it shut and lo cked; and t here ' s blood all oveL~ evcryth ing , all over he r ha11u::;, the floo .c , her cl:ress . .:io she t<:;o cs, she t.cies to clean off' t he floor . ~o r:..he ta .. er; a Lng, s he puts a rug ove t he floor i i1 1':r:ont of the doo:c . ,.,he goes antl chm1 cs 1ier dress , 1md she t.ci es t o wash it off her ha.n u.s and it just \'till not corns oi'f her hands , imd s he :-., c.rub i:; ancl she s c1ubs, and it just ,,,on ' t come ofi' h o:c ha.nds . you lmo\'1o JO f.,he ta1rns i t mHl you 1Ct10it and she gees ller hus band ' s beL:n gone um no-rt f oL about t ,:o or tlnce months , an d i;,,e blood sti 11 r,on ' t come off he1 lla.n cl.s . And she h ears h:i.rn comin{_, home one day, so she [';ocs and rnccts him , And he go es , 11 Jli d you o1.1cn ,111y of my doo1'fc''? 11 .. r1 c1 che r;oes , 11Iro I didn ' t open , l llicJ.n ' t o :Jen uny o f your cloo:cs , 11 lk goes, "Did you Ol_Jen that door'?" 0hc goe s , "lfo_,.,, 1 di(1n ' t open t hat d.00:c , 1 ' lie says , 11You sure ," Jhe 1:mys , 11Yea 1 ' 1t1 r eally , :cc.al ly sue e . 11 And so he say::i , " lcll \'/hy ' s the rug in 1'.f'ord; of tho door? " And she so.;ys , "tlell you 10101, l thou r;ht it looked. nice the r e , so l put it the.cc . 11 1i.ntl then you Jmo;l :,he keep::; t :cyinc; and try ing . Arnl he snyE; , 11Let me, let me see your hands , " ohe i o es , 11 i.'fa\'1 you don ' t want to see my hamis ~1 "Yea 1 do , l et me see your hancls , 11 :.,he goes 11 No.r.r you don ' t want to see my hnnd f~ . 11 "Yoa l clo , let me sec your h ancl s . 11 15 Ghe ';ocr , 11Hm1 , lilUll , you don ' t iJ~m"i.; t o sec; lily hand.JO He sayn , 11 '.{r>a yo11 c1o , Let me; see ~,rour hancln . 11 She goes , 111Jo. 11 Jo he t aken thcrn and sho\tr her ho r hand fl . Ho c;rn,bs le.c hands a.ncl looks ;it them . 'l'he rc ' s blood on them . He r:.a ys , 11You did look i n my doo:c . 11 fjhc goes 11 Na\'/ , na\'! I r eally di dn 't. 'rho blood j u:-.;t k i nda seepccl out of the door and got all over rny han,1s . I r eal l y didn ' t o ,>c11 :Lt . 11 He :.;ays , "Yes you dicl. 11 She goes runninc; ax.,ay , and s he locks b. cr cclf in the be droom . '--'he ' s !..it tint-; the~c-c and she hc:a.rs h irn . 11 1 1 m on the f L:st s t ep . i ' rn on the second nt c1) . I Im {_..;e t ti116 cloL-c:r. l'm gct tinG closer . I Im on the fif th step ,110 \.' . ,,oon I Im going to be at .1rou.r door . I Im co1:1i n,>(. l 'm co r1i11g clo:rnr . r m /~e t tin1; clo:.,er , I 'm on t h e c i gth :,t ep no., . l ' rn soon Gonna be at the door .jo she cau I t fi[~u.ce :1hat t o do . ~:,he I f.l in the :co01a , it ' 8 on the ton floor , a nd t he cc ' s no '.my out . 1Ie keeps goit1g w1d c;o i il,; and fiuaJ.ly gct t, the door o ocn , He says , 11 I ' ri u.t the u.001. , 11 Now h e 1 :, at the t1oo:r , You ' r in a .coom . l ou can ' t gv L out so you . looking fo:r. a11 escape , \/hat do you do't bo he breui~n i 11to the door a11.cl killr1 he.c anc1 puts h e1. in the clo.rn t , And he goes alon ,; hin nic.c1y rmy ancl ma.tTicG a.notho r \'tife , 1i'he .Jame thi11g happens ov1.Jr and ove1 a{c.;o.in. rte keeps killl ,11, hi:. wi vc:-., und putti11r; thern in the cioo1.' :/ilich i s a sli{;ht di.tfc:cenee f r om Bloody Bones , Theresa Jordan - t alc 2 16 '.f.'he next story i s son!O thin{~ like tho i'ii.'st one, But instead , i t ' s about a wan and a woman , his wife , They been mari.ied i'or a \'/ltilc and he f i gur8s , you k.1101.1 , it ' s gettin[; n ear his ti1!1e of death ; and he kno,rn it. And he ' s b .... en ter:cii'ied all his life of being buried alive . He ;just hates the thou{)1t of being put under the gro tmd Gtill hrcatHing 01' alive . 00 he maJces his \'life )Jl'omise that when he clie::; :,he ;till not bui.;y him i'oi.' t \'10 days . ,>he i)romis es , You ' ll prorni 13e anythi11; to a dyiil,, man . ::,he p.co111 i se::, , a11d a Jen <.iayu late Y.' the l!la11 die::; . And ::;he ' :.:, loo1eine; a.cound and nhe , ;ocs , 11 ,iell y ou. can ' t cxv.ctly have a dead 1)ody around the house fol' t 1.,o clay,; . ma.rn good foi.' co111pm1y . 11 I t lloe: . m ' t ,3o she lmries him . And .,he givor~ hirn a. reall;y 11ice funcral , f l ov;en; , peopl e , all you kiJO'.t , nice ci.'ying , and songs 8..iHl ever,ytu ing . Jhe :ccnlly pH ts him auny nice . ,.,o she goe::i home , ~J1c 1 ::; p.coud o:f.' hc.cueli' , ;:;,he ' r; /~iven her lnwbanu a dc ceut bu:cial ..,he ' s uone h c1 bit for r.;ociety . 1fo\'1 she ' :.:; gonna :ju ttl e doi.m .foi." a nicG couli'ortable life of wido r1hoocl . And she I s jun t sct-Ll ccJ. dorn1 fo.c the nihht o.nd che ' s r ::..a.cling. Ancl the 1rnone r:i.n :-; , a.Y . J.d she picks it up . And she hears notlt:inr.:.; but heavy bi.'eo.t , ini:; . ...,he han, .s it up very , very l1uic1.1y . . \.nd r.;he goc:j , she couldn ' t fi1:u..1e out i'!hat it c o,1l cl be , .1~.11d she ,11;0L to tliinkin,1; , ,,ell it ' ::; pro1Jably just GOlllCOl1C playi}~1 u )):Can 1 on lJIO CUUGC ~hey lmo\7 I 1 111 alone b:y my::rnl 1' . And they ' 11 quit a:i.'te1 rn1hilc And r.::o the phone ri11u:; again, and she unswm's it. A.ncl nhe h -.::arrJ a voice ;;oi11g , ve1y lo\/, "You p.cornj_",ed not to b ury me , but you. bu1:ie cl rne . 11 L\nd she ' B r~o:Lng , 11Uh my husb, rncl. He ' s deacl . 11 !:ihe 10.10,.'s it can ' t be her llunband and 17 s he h angs u p . 0till someone ' a pla.Y i11h o. pro.nk on me becaus e everyone k11e'.'l aboui:; h:Ls p.1~omisc and cvcrytninr~. 1md she 6ocG sornconc 1 s plo.,viilg , she 'll forgc:t it . And she ' s laying in bed and. she hears this voice g oing , "You buried me , you burled 1ne . 11 ::,he loolc., around and ~he re ' s no 011e thc: 1'0 Ancl she he ,ns it sJ.m.1ly , 11 l 'm co1,1iut; after you . You burie cl me . I ' 111 corni n,.; a f te.c you. 11 Jhc h,, ars 11 i1n , 11 l 'm gettj.. ng out of rny co.L fin . I 1m tsetti11g out of th1;; ground ncm , I ' 1i1 c 0 1'1m {'; a.i'te:c you. 11 And she JCe ep s h earing it . >lie ' rJ is coet:iJ1g i'.com, ~)he tries to call a1cl -~h e phone ;ion ' t ,.ol'lc , Anc.1. she ' s too uf:ca.Lcl t o go out 01' th(! llonse . Jhe h ears a voic c , it p;o en , 11 I 1 rn on the road nm, . 1 '11 be t hc: re ::;oon . I 'm co r,1iHg , You hU.t'tc c1 111c . You p:co . i ced not to bury me , but you buried llte . l ' Jfl co, t:Lr1 g . 11 He rn,, us saying it OV UJ..' a .11tl over a.rid OVCl' ,.gain. ,.>he hc o.r t, the voice agaiH, 11 1-!o.7 l ' lll at ou:c ,:ate . l ' rn opcnin-!~ the r;ate . I 'm co,ii n,, . You f:hou.l<ln ' t lw vc bm:iccl mo . 1 'm co111inr~ - 1 ' rn in the ya.r:d . l 1 rn ou the fjr ::.,t stop . l ,' .,1 on the :.eeond s tep oi the .,01c Ji . 11 iii H '.'Ji fc i :~ o.b.Jolutol y l;cr .1'ii'i cd . Jho cloo ::m ' t know ,1r1ut to \!O 0hc ' s ~.bsolutuly t (;.,_.1.-ifietl . J llc llco.:cs a voice ,.,nJi11.:._;, 111 'm a t tuc front cloO.t'.,! - l ' lll in the living :coom . - You ohouldn ' t of comu . 'l.ou rJhouldn ' t hnve lm:cied 18 rne , 1 1 111 coming to f;ut you , l 'm ou the f:i.rct step , No\'t I 'm on t he be cond s tep , I 'm comina, No~ I 'm a t the top of t he s t airs , I ' Ill coming , 11 .Jhe hea:cs therJc i'oot :..;cq1s jus t drar;r~in&; , 0huf11 i nv foot s t CJ.)fJ co11in0 do .:n tho hall . And .,he i--;till hoaIs a voice , 11 I 'm at your cl.oo.c , l 'm corni ng ." ,uddenly , it ' s thu ne 1,t rnor 1in(';, and everybody ' r, get t ing HO.cIied ;,bout her b e cmwe t hey rw.ven ' t seen her all day long . Bo they p;o to check on hei~ and they caw10t find her an y- 11hc:ce , absol utely cam1ot find her , And th en someone ' :; riding by the gaveya.rd , a,1d t hey noticed tha t there ' rJ bcc:m a. f.c..:sh g.1.'ave du.; :ci,,ht bcr.;idc wh<:He -Lc1i,:; HW.n rwu buen burj.eu t he.cc be:f'o1e. ,JO they ~o c1nL1 di.~; it up , ;1ncl tlle1~e s the lady , And they f c. w1c1. the; latl.y ' d been bu.1.,ied . Anll evi d.ent l y ::;he ' cl been bu.c ie1"i. alive l.Jecmwe aG she ' :.:; buried, she ' n cl.:n,in;; like she clawini_; :.t the cli.c t . ;md t he 1e ' n dirt under he i'in,..,eina.i.ls . And 110 one till Lhis day ' s :r j.{,Lli'cd out llo:r ohe got in the g u v e . 1rheresa J ord.an - '1'alo 3 19 1.rl-11!; HOOK .I ell the next ::;to.Ly i s not .ceally o.. , \'rell it i ::: kind of a ~1os t sto.cy . Dut it' s not really either . I t' s s ort of a n ice bloo u.y h on.'oI' s t ory or something. imd it ' s about the Hook , tl1e Hook r.ian . And it start s out there ' s this girl and her b oyfr:Lend . 'ids girl and tl.ti:J dud.e ' s out :parking, and they ' r e GHjoying t lu.,in:,el v us . And they h ear on the ro.dio tlla t a man ' s esca1Jed from the Ji'ederal .l:'eni t ent ury . And tlle man ' s knO\'m i o1. his umrdors of people . I;spe ciall y , he hacl been convic l,cd of killing t;_1i i.; coupl e parked i il a c a r before . ,"1.n<l t he one way they coul d dcticri be him busicJ. e ~" tho t:,ray suit aiul cvcqrthin['; was that his left ha.ml \/aG ~11 :i.:..;sin_, , ho hall a hook fo:c hi s left ha11d . Arnl so the gi .cl hea1.:=; it. .:'l.ild ::;he get s r eally s c o.red be c au e t hey are pa.eked in kid.,\, of a out of the '.:ay placo , ' and she loo ks , you knoY: (mumbles) and she r~oes , 11 ,1ell l et ' ::: go , It ' s .L'Gally lcincLa b;J.d o ,lt here , Lct ' r. go. 11 And hu say~;, 11 Ar: man it' G o_.. ay , Hot h :Ln ' s gonna ha1Jpe11, Look l ' m 1.1ith you. I mean it's :c call y okay , 11 And the gj_rl gu c s , 111fo\7 look , I 1 111 really ld.nLta sea:cGd I r eally i:toulcl like to leave. 11 11No man look it ' s r eally okay , 1fo\'1 \'rho would _i 1tcl u ., out in th is place . 11 '.rhe r,;j_ rl keeps on and 0 11 , Jhe says 11Look rnan r,e ' v e got to to 1,:e ' ve , you ' ve jus t Gorn1a hc1ve to take me horno . ;:,o he gives i n and ta~c) i. her home . lfo . he {~e t s out of the car a11d he v10J.k:.; a:c0Lu1cl ( 1\\'I l ire ::;sed i:t up ) , Before , ri r;ht 20 after they hcHi' it a11cJ. she ' s trying to [';et 1.1irn to ta..-::e lier home , they ld.11ua hear a :.., cuf:Cling 11oise outside , like somet hing scrapine '.J.'ha.t .cc~ally scares her ;.:;o she finally get:::; him to take her home. And he e;ets he.c home . And he getn out of the car to come and let he:c, to open t he cloo.c i' o:c her . ,JO he ,.-allm a.counrl ancl the .ce han,;in() on the Girl ' s side of the doo:c h anole ' s a hook .Jo evident ly \'lho:t hod hc:q>pened was the man had found thern and itas just :i.'i~ing to opc11 the door nnd the guy pul led off . And the h oo e;ot pulled off lli. arm. 1Ji ann 111a tum - '.rt.Je l 21 Once u pon a time t h er e was a coupl e t ha t ' d been park i ng out in the woods. I t waD gottin~ r e ally late and the girl had to be home . So , she t r i es to crank the car . I t di dn ' t cranlc , 00 her boyf.cicncl. gets out and looks unuer t ile hood . Dutn ' t ( doe s11 1 t ) know what ' s wrong with it , "it mus t be out of gas , 11 So he tells his girlf riend to l ay down in t he f r o1rt seat and cover h c1 head up, lie ' 11 go get ' em some gas a1td ,then he comes back he ' 11 tap on t he uii1do,1 and open the door t o l ut he:c kno,, t hat it ' s him . Jo he goes off to t he s t a tion . J.ieannhi le, '.'lhil e he ' s gone she h e ars a c o1rnt a1it drip . . d:cip . . . drip . , . dri p . And it pu t s he.c to slee p . ...,he sleeps i'or qui to tmhile , then she aakcn back up , 8he still h e ars the drip .. , drip ... dr ip .. drip , ~o she f alls back to s l eep aga in , Afte:c a,1hile she hear s s omebody knock ing on the wiudov, . She v,ould lm ow c mu.:e he wou ld tell , he t old h er t hat i f i t ,ms him he v,oulcl open the c a:r door be c ause he had a key , ..>O she c1utn ' t move . Jhe don 't kno\'l ,,ho it i s , Dut she hears r. omeone s ayi n g , 11 I t ' s t he polic Open the door , 11 8he cou lcl ::;till h ear t he clli p , . drip , , drip drip . ~h e ' s scared h al f to death. She o pen ~he door . '.!.'he poli ceman {-~ets h u.c out of the cm a nd says , 11 ,1 0.llc :;traight ah e ad and don ' t look ba ck , 11 22 She 1_;bll hears the dr:i.p , , , drip , , . drip , . , drip . !Jhe ' s really the curi ous t ype , s o :::i.ie tu:i.:n f.,; around . And her boyfriend ' s head ic on top of the o.n ternia and the blood ' c goinfi driv ... drip .. , drip, . d~ip , ill1ar~on ~atum - tale 1 131,0U.LJY llU; . ..,:J 2 7. - J 'l'hc1.'c \/U~ these cllilc1.crn thn.t \"/O ltld gather around this t.ccc in the:: bach ya:cd every ni{';l1t allCl tell ghost s torie. :. So they ,.-,e:re Ki o1uing .~d. th each othc :r that [;he .cu rmb bloody boneG o.c d.i fl':cent tlli11gs r;om1a coJtlC a1Hl Ge t uach other . ,o cv,_. i:y ni J1t they i1ould go out and play . ,jo then t llcy ,:,ou.lcl play a1ound. thi:-J tree . ,>o each ni ht one o.i.' cm :,ouJ.d hide an(i say , you k.,10w , like , 11Bl oocly bones got me . 11 'l'hey \/oulcl ' .. nit a little r111ilcl then they i;1ould come ho.ck . "Di d you rni us me? Bloody bones got rne . 11 .,ell ~heir mother told em , 11You shott lcl11 1 t do tlrn.t . You shou.ldn I t p.Letencl. like that cause one of ther.rn days soncthing like that mi t ,ht really hapven . 11 ,/ell they k ce p on ancl Jrncp on pln.f in('; like t h o.t . And so one day one o.t' the chil cl.cun ditl ~;,::t rnis s inr~ 'lhey looted and looked i'o.c the child , conlcln I t fj.11cJ. it . :.io then the moth er had iL put i 11 the pap er,_, a:ml every-Jc' 11i t1r.; that this chi le.. \18.S miD sinf;. 1illti. all tlrn lei cl.::; Jcc e _p tL';/iH/, to t ell h ,, .L' . " ,Jell bl oody bo11es got lier . Bloody bones got her . .le saxt her, :IC 13 ;),\'t i~he bloo1ty bo110 r:.; \/hen it got h e 1. . 11 0he said, 11You :.;ho11ldn 1 t pn,~e ilcl llJce th,1 t . I ' ve tolu. you , t;hc:cc ' s no HU.Ch t ~1L13 aa a bloody bones . 11 .,ell it 11a::; i n t he p::i.pcrr:: , on the nc.:s , and evcJ:yth ing . And they :.;t.i.11 couldn ' t l'inll the lil;tle Gil"l Arnl the kid::: keep r:;ayi11g , 111rhi;; bic; bl oody t11i ng got her, YiC sai;, it. lt come out oi' th a t t:cce \'t<.: u ... ed to sit unCa.e:c a ,1d play , and. got he:c und ca1 .L' i.o d h c1 oli' . 11 l'he mo l;hE. 1.' l~o 0p ,ayi rtG, 11 'l'he:ce 1 :.. no such th:i.11,'~ a :~ a bloody bo,1e G , the:c e-' s no such tlli itg a:; a 24 bloody bone n . ,o the y coulun ' t fi nd the littl e [~irl . '.rho kici.s keep telli111~ l;he mothu.~ the bloody bo11cs got he x . i\.nQ 110bouy (.;OUl cl i'ind. he.c . ,10 :;;he ueve:c waG fo o.nd . Detty uount - ~ealc 1 25 .BLUU)JY l!O s!LS I 'm goin :_~ to teJ.l a s t o.cy abou t l)loody bone s , Detty 1,1ount. Unce u pon u ti rne, a 1011[-; t L '.c ar:;o, th e J.'e lived this l ac1y o...ncl he r c1augh-L er . Ancl the lo.cly a s ke(l h~. r d a u~) 1t 01' to go to t he s t or e for h er. ;"v1cl s o the little girl \'/eut to the s to.cc . ;Jlte oaid 111 am1 .' llc .c mo t he r told he:c \11.t to {,;ct. " So she s tarted on h e r way t o t he sto1e . And s he he ard some n oi se::; 1'ollo\7 ing her beh i nd he:c like footp1'ints . So she looku d a :co und r eal qu ick . 1rncl s he u. i cln ' t see n o bocly . So s he sLarted. 1.ml ld ng ae;a.i.n. ,\nd she h ca1~ l1 a c r ack like a , like a , like somebody nt e p_pc {t on a t i;-1 i g 01' sowc t hinr;, ::>he lookerl aro:mc.l .ceal qui ck . 1fob0c1y .1a:::; thei e. Sh e nas o.lrnout at the store arnl s he hc urcl the nols e he1 L' -.;al quic k . ;:ihe scre ainecl , Au11hh hh11hhhhhhhhhh h hh. Then the l ady next door he ard h er . ;:;.ho L'an out. 0he dicln ' t s ee nobody tliou;~h . The li t t lc [~irl \iO.S but and so she c c1.llcd tho li.tle gi r l ' s 111ot h0L' . And she toltl h~. .1 1:ha t h ad ho..1,pcil<J cl , t 1w t s h e h c 11:,Lu th0. l :i. t tl e t_;irl SCL'ea rnin{.:; but nh cn. s h e como ou t no one wns the .ce . ::.io t he l!lothe r was so sca r ed. J o th<.; next n i i:,ht she was c alle cl hc.L' hus bo.nd , he1' hus ba11cl at ,,7or k . ~he t ol d h i lll t he nto:cy t ha t hact happened . JI.ml tha t ::.: he ha.cl cent h c,r l i ttl e gi r l to the sto.1'e and t h o.t she 11cver di .... comG b u c lc An tha t the n ext dooi' nc i h boi: c aJ .l c u her at1u t ol Lt hc L thD. t r.;omuthing m1ful had happeil!'"d to h e1' lit i;l c gi r l , ;)o he r hus b::rnd come horns tho. t n i i ;ht . AnLl they sea1ched an d ;:; c ai'ch:: tl f or h e r , They got out a ucc:u.'ch pa:cty, and all I)/'_" L.0 the peopl e the.cc searched and r-;earched . 'l'hey neve.c could find the l ittle r).rl . ._;o her husband so.id something awful happened to ' h er. J\n d s o hu:c mo Lhcr cried. all th at night , uncl lier face was :re<l from all the tears . One Hi;':ht , \then her lnu:_:baiHl had. -~o go fa:c , f'c.r a\iay , tlle rnothe:c v,as at ho111e all by h t. rr3elf, no one to tuJ.k to or 11othing , She '.'.'G..G sen.red cause sornething bad had ha1Jpcned to h er little girl . All of a sudden r;he heu.r sometliing . , , click , . click , , cli ck , And she hea.td i t again . .. cl ic1c .. click . , click , :.:>he di dH ' t kno.; \ihut it .,as , . .;,he be cane s care cl. , :ceal real scared, Arn1 then something said , 11 I got your g-:i. rl . 1 got yom: l i ttle gj_rl . 11 And she becrune r , al fri f~htcmell . 1\nd irn she Yic:rd; to bocl anu she pul led thu covers \.uy up over he 1 so no i,Ili.ng co1_1.l cl happen, iu1cl then she he 3.L'd i t again , 11 I 'm goiHL; to get you . 11 And. she ,.-as real sca:retl this t ime , 11.nd she started sc.coa.rn :i.ng Ahhhhhhhlihhlthhhh11h11 , 13ec o:w;e somet ing cione that to he.t' liLtle i,i.rl , ,Jo the next ti the time ,,ncn her husband cnrne he HD.lked i n tho doo:r , He knocked but no o!tc u.Hu 1.ru' ecl. , lie lrnoc ,.cd again and no o 1c o,_1;;'i/G.t'ed , uo he took the :-~cy f':corn h.Ls pocl~et , unloc rncl the door , an1t Halkeu. in, '.l1here ho om, his \!j_fo layint; on the bed , ~,he had lJlood all OVCl' her \'there bloo(ty 1Jone s had choked he 1, and she st .ca,1; ;lecl to de ath.! And then nho , thc~1e ,nw a note u.ttachcd to her , 11 .t killed your <1au1,lite:c , J. killed your wife , and no .. I 'm r.;oinl-:: to kill you too ." An6. the mru1 ca.Lloc1. the police . '.l'he police came , They fo m1cl the note , they founu tho l>o tly of hir, \ti:Ce , He nus so - .'.d :hc cneu he illoved ne;.t door to the man , hi:3 next doo:c neJ. ,11bo:c , JJO ~iwc 1d ht he hea r ci a afff.'ul s o md, 'l'he same f,ound hL"; \rife a.ucl. cJ.au~lrte1' llacl hea1Ll He became a little bit sca red . ,Jo he \'tent in the ne -"-t foolil and got in the beu with the ne,,;.t doo 11cJ[~hbo1: , 'l'hey lJoth huard it th a t time , ,.,o they both b e c o.111e r oal scu:ced, and they wo.s sca:ccd that bloody so the next mo.c11 ing ns the r,1an uent t o .10.ck , as the ma.i.1 nent to , .. 01 k , his next door nei; h bor , he came horne and founci. his nex t door ne i ; .h bo1~ kj_lled t o death . He had been s t.canL~l ed by bloocLy 1JOne s the ::rn.rne as his 1.ti:t'e , .And a note rms ai;tache tl t o his bed sa ,rin1, , 111 killed you.c nei.'hbor and 1 y;ill 1-,et -; I l \. ' J t. you too , 11 And that sc a:ccd him even \'101 ser . .-...11d so he moved in \'1j_th sorneone elrJe , lJut t his ::;o1.1cone elne r,an a l acly . 1md he f ourn.l he:c too the next time he .:1mt to work . Arnl th c.ce i.,as a note a tta ch cu to he:c . 11 I got "Gttis 011c antl J ;,j_ll get you . And. you cannot ge t mu,,y i'Iom 1110 . 11 ;3o that n .L1_ h t he ,rent to bcu , ancl he v,as havin[; a bad dre am , Jomet 11ing c:cept u p next t o hL, bed . He p Li.lled the cove.cs ove.c his head . 1..:nd somechii1.'~ sa.i.u , 0 1fou I ' ll ge t yo . 11 .,\.nu bloody bou. E gJ.a.bhed him ::.11tl chukocl hi1!1 to death , . .ncl he hollere u , H.r.:1,P . Dcfo1'e he co ld holler a11Yt l1).11g clr, c bloody boue :5 h a.u k illed him t c,o , So he got hi:, \iii.'e rn1 Ci all hi,; f.ci ends . '111!-., Ll1!.LJ Detty 1.,ount - l'ale 2 20 TII~ UOLD~cl APPLE One day, on a surnrne:c clay , t his lit tle gi:cl \'taS golug to school; and she found o.. gold.en a ppl e , But it belon c;ccl to a \'licked old \'Titch , and she vms real mean , She t urned ei1ildren into skeletons and all k i nds of ,,ei.cd t h i 11gs , 'l'he lit ~le gi.cl di dn ' t 1mm, noth i ng about ..I.. l li So the litcle gi.cl picked it up o.ncl v,as e oin~ to can::y i t to he 1 t e:,ache1' . And v,hen s he did , it came aliv e . '.!.'he apple grew bigge:r. and bigeer and biggei.' and S\7all o\'red her \'/hole Next a little boy came a lone, an0 he \'las on his way t o school , lle f ound t he apple . 11 Ga this appl e i s s o big , 11 He start ed on to school. All of a su dden it ~raw bi~aer and bigGe.c and l)ip;ger and, t he little boy didn ' t knov ,:hat rtas happening . So he .. as on , ho 1.,as on the \'lay so the apple :n1allo,1ed him \'/hole Ahh i1hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhllh , iuicl so tho aJ)ple jus t got bi[mer . '.ehe apple \ias tllo b it-;t,c:-.,t appl e anyone had seen , And all of a s u dc.te11 a l ady found i t , It \'ras no b i g they had t o tau it away ifl true 'c~; , And t hey towed Jt to her house and put i t in her back yard, Anc.t she had planted a t :cec there , And a l l of a sut.l c.len it got bigger and bi .. ,,er L>b and b_Lr;f;er and it came alive and eve:r.7tili11g , And every pl ant , animal , and cv c.cything that \'lc11t past it ':m:; ato up by t he big apple , One day D. lit ;;lr boy came , he hod a knif'e , He cut the apple , ancl all blr,:.:1l :' ,uJ. all good1y stuff r an out , And i nside it they fo, L i _iv boclioi of every pe:cson tha.t nas a t e by that apple . , ... .nd so taey called. the police '.!.'be 29 police came, but it wusn't dead and all yet. So the policeman. Ile was killed by the apple . And no one could stop thir.., d1eaclful thin6 It was :.10 awful that eve~yone was scared to go near it. ~veryonc lockett their sel ve ::, in their huuses and v,o ulcln ' t go out. 'l'hey didn ' t let the i r chilc.l.ro11 out or n otlti11g . Bo the apple 1:ent to t hem inst{Jad of them going to the apple ~he appl e it a cted like i t had hands , and it knocked on evex'y door . And ans .. crcd 1 -~ a11cl -~he apple just grablJed them rc-n1,l quick, ancl the apple jo.st grabbed them rea l quick . Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, and they screamed for help. Blood vms everynhereD . It wns a11:i.'u l . Bones , eye balls : everythil1.{~ you could i magine , even more , \tas there , you noulcl be a:tE! by the apple too. bloocl, lf you ,\nd th c apple ju.nt \tent lrnoc tdn:: around on do o1's , and g:cab1Jing people, and killi ng the1:1 , and talci 11g the ii' blootl :foi' li:f:'e . And the a,;pl e lived on blood and 2,uts aJH.t stuff like that , 0 0 the apple got bj_ggcr ancl. bigger . 1 t came to rule the wo.cld . lJobolly could s t o1J it. ...;ven f,Uns couldn ' t kill it, lt looked like it had eyes in it' s head and had u brain. iUld i t ;-,ias golden v.11 over. 1 t nus the bigge.;t a ,iple you frnrr in your life , lt ,m:J sca1y . it killed pe ople, It destroyed homes , It k illed children, men, and \"JO men . One dc:,.y a man caioe . He said he conld do anyt11iug , kill anybody , kill anythi11g . So the policG a:-;ked hilll 1.:oulLl hu kill the golllen apple. 'l'he man Sc.id, "You . 11 t.io one clay the w.an 1:1Cnt out J.'eal late at nL.J1t, and he s av, the gol Li.en appl e lmocki nr~ on another door. J-ie 1c1aid , 30 11 Uolclen apple. 11 Anti the golden a pple -curne d a.cound r eu.l quick . And he said , 111 have come to kill you for all t he thiu0 s you h ave done . 11 An<l tho golden apple acted like h e hoard him . The golden apple all of a sudden grou ears . The golden apple sai d , 11 '.L'ry , try , lot ' s of people try , Ho one could kill me , a.n d you can't either. I am the s trongest thing in the uorld , 11 So he grabbed the man . 'l'he man s truggles to get a~ay , but he couldn ' t . So fj_nally he pLtl led out the longest s,,ortl in the world and cut it a nd cut it and cut it anLi cut it, and blood gooshed out e veryHheres . And blood. was all over t he s t:ce e t s , all over the roads . Uar s couldn ' t get by . It \'las blood ;_;o thick that cars coul dn ' t even go th r oul~ that ~ay . They had to block it down a l mo s t eve:cy 1oacl the bloocl ,,as 8 0 t hiclc , Al1d they fo LJ.nci. bodiet;; insi(te of it , lrn/~h bot"iios Y.:he.tc tho blood had got on t h em anu gro ried ' em like g i ant s . ;Jo the apple died after t he rnan had cut it all to pieces . And the people wt: .te buried . And the e;ol cl.en apple n ev c:c dicl , no one e ver S cH/ the golden a1)1Jle a :-;ain . .8v e:cyone i.tas s o ha1>PY tha t :Lt ha.d g one . Jmc1 eve.cyone was s o sad tha t the people had died, but the g0l cle1i apple ,.an fj_nally gone .
A PDF 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.
As archivists, we acknowledge our role as stewards of information, which places us inaposition to choose how individuals and organizations are represented and described in our archives. We are not neutral, andbias isreflected in our descriptions, whichmay not convey the racist or offensive aspects of collection materialsaccurately.Archivists make mistakes and might use poor judgment.We often re-use language used by the former owners and creators, which provides context but also includes bias and prejudices of the time it was created.Additionally,our work to use reparative languagewhereLibrary of Congress subject termsareinaccurate and obsolete isongoing. Kenan Research Center welcomes feedback and questions regarding our archival descriptions. If you encounter harmful, offensive, or insensitive terminology or description please let us know by emailingreference@atlantahistorycenter.com. Your comments are essential to our work to create inclusive and thoughtful description.