Title: Have You Seen the Ghost of John

General Informant about Item:

• Verbal: Song
• Category: Holiday
• Language: English
• Country where Item is from: United States
• Date and Place of Collection: 10/20/16 in Hanover, NH

Informant Data:

Zach Yates is a junior English major at Dartmouth College. He grew up with a couple much older brothers in East Brunswick, New Jersey.

Contextual Data:

This is a song often sung at school among the kids during Halloween time.

 

The song

“Have you seen the Ghost of John?
Long, white bones and the rest all gone!
Oooooooh!
Wouldn’t it be chilly with no skin on?”

Transcription of Folklore Description:

“I remember, I have a very clear memory of it. It was in first grade chorus… well music class, when we had a music requirement. And every Halloween the class would inevitably end up singing this goofy rhyme that had like three lines. I don’t know why we spent so much time on it.”

On becoming a Halloween tradition: “Sort of in an ironic way, like oh its Halloween, I guess we have to do that stupid nursery rhyme again.”

Informant’s comments:

He said this was a song learned in first grade that was sung every year around Halloween as a child. He does not seem to have particularly enjoyed this song and was the only one in his family to know it at the time.

 Collectors Comments: 

This song is really just the first stanza of a longer song. Though I never learned this song as a child, it seems to be a popular song among younger children with many variations and performances found online. Zach’s first line is also slightly different than the version that can be found here:
Read more:  Kristen Lawrence – Ghost Of John Lyrics | MetroLyrics

 Collector’s Name: Brian Keare ’18

Tags/Keywords:

Halloween, Ghost, John, Children