Strange Things Happen in This World

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/21/08 at 1:35pm

1963. Dickie Lee. Like a Stephen King story set to music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inlpwxMg718

Last night at the dance I met Laurie.
So lovely and warm.
An angel of a girl.
Last night I fell in love with Laurie.
Strange things happen in this world.

As I walked her home she said it was her birthday.
I pulled her close and said,
"Will I see you anymore?"
And suddenly she asked for my sweater,
And said that she was very, very cold.

I kissed her goodnight at her door and started home,
Then thought about my sweater
And went right back instead.
I knocked at her door,
And a man appeared.
I told him why I'd come,
And he said,

"You're wrong, son.
You weren't with my daughter.
How can you be so cruel
To come to me this way?

[AND THIS IS WHERE I ALWAYS GET CHILLS]

My Laurie left this world on her birthday!
She died a year ago today."

[KEY CHANGE!]

A strange force drew me to the graveyard.
I stood in the dark.
I saw the shadows wave.
And then I looked and I saw my sweater:
Lying there upon her grave.

Strange things happen in this world.

Updated On: 8/21/08 at 01:35 PM

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 8/21/08 at 1:43pm

reminds me of this one which may have stolen some inspiration from yours.

phantom 309 recorded by red sovine
words and music by tommy faile

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtxU1tddH3Q

i was out on the west coast, tryin' to make a buck and things didn't work out, i was down on my luck got tired a-roamin' and bummin' around so i started thumbin' back east, toward my home town.

made a lot of miles, the first two days and i figured i'd be home in week, if my luck held out this way but, the third night i got stranded, way out of town at a cold, lonely crossroads, rain was pourin' down.

i was hungry and freezin', done caught a chill when the lights of a big semi topped the hill lord, i sure was glad to hear them air brakes come on and i climbed in that cab, where i knew it'd be warm.

at the wheel sit a big man, he weighed about two-ten he stuck out his hand and said with a grin "big joe's the name", i told him mine and he said: "the name of my rig is phantom 309."

i asked him why he called his rig such a name he said: "son, this old mack can put 'em all to shame there ain't a driver, or a rig, a-runnin' any line ain't seen nothin' but taillights from phantom 309."

well, we rode and talked the better part of the night when the lights of a truck stop came in sight he said: "i'm sorry son, this is as far as you go 'cause, i gotta make a turn, just on up the road."

well, he tossed me a dime as he pulled her in low and said: "have yourself a cup on old big joe." when joe and his rig roared out in the night in nothin' flat, he was clean out of sight.

well, i went inside and ordered me a cup told the waiter big joe was settin' me up aw!, you coulda heard a pin drop, it got deathly quiet and the waiter's face turned kinda white.

well, did i say something wrong? i said with a halfway grin he said: "naw, this happens every now and then ever' driver in here knows big joe but son, let me tell you what happened about ten years ago.

at the crossroads tonight, where you flagged him down there was a bus load of kids, comin' from town and they were right in the middle, when big joe topped the hill it could have been slaughter, but he turned his wheel.

well, joe lost control, went into a skid and gave his life to save that bunch-a kids and there at that crossroads, was the end of the line for big joe and phantom 309

but, every now and then, some hiker'll come by and like you, big joe'll give 'em a ride here, have another cup and forget about the dime keep it as a souvenir, from big joe and phantom 309!"

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 8/21/08 at 1:45pm

Like the tale of Large Marge:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RryZV8NK9-Q

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 8/21/08 at 1:46pm

Good Lord, Papa! That takes me back. I loved that song when I was a kid, and we'd hear it in the car on the country station my father listened to.

I haven't thought of it in more than 30 years, but as soon as I saw the first words, I could remember exactly how it sounded.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/21/08 at 1:50pm

I didn't know that one. I love songs like these, that make you go, "Oooooo. Spooky!"

[wexy]

Posted: 8/21/08 at 3:58pm

That was on a juke box somewheres when I was a kid. I remember it was a little scary to a seven year old.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/21/08 at 4:07pm

There are lots of "dead girl at the dance" stories- Chicago's is particularly intense and "resurrection Mary" is spotted every few months.

Although stories of "vanishing hitchhikers" in Chicago date back to the horse and buggy days, Mary’s tale begins in the 1930’s. It was around this time that drivers along Archer Avenue started reporting strange encounters with a young woman in a white dress. She always appeared to be real, until she would inexplicably vanish. The reports of this girl began in the middle 1930’s and started when motorists passing by Resurrection Cemetery began claiming that a young woman was attempting to jump onto the running boards of their automobiles.
Not long after, the woman became more mysterious, and much more alluring. The strange encounters began to move further away from the graveyard and closer to the O Henry Ballroom, which is now known as the Willowbrook. She was now reported on the nearby roadway and sometimes, inside of the ballroom itself. On many occasions, young men would meet a girl at the ballroom, dance with her and then offer her a ride home at the end of the evening. She would always accept and offer vague directions that would lead north on Archer Avenue. When the car would reach the gates of Resurrection Cemetery, the young woman would always vanish.

More common were the claims of motorists who would see the girl walking along the road. They would offer her a ride and then witness her vanishing from their car. These drivers could describe the girl in detail and nearly every single description precisely matched the previous accounts. The girl was said to have light blond hair, blue eyes and was wearing a white party dress. Some more attentive drivers would sometimes add that she wore a thin shawl, or dancing shoes, and that she had a small clutch purse.

The Tale of Ressurection Mary

[myshikobit]

Posted: 8/21/08 at 7:03pm

yeah, i used to be really into ghost stuff, and I read a book on "Disappearing Hitchhiker" stories, and they referenced that song.

[Q]

Posted: 8/21/08 at 8:32pm

Updated On: 8/22/08 at 08:32 PM

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 8/22/08 at 10:55am

Sigh.

Well, it was fun for a while . . .

[Q]

Posted: 8/22/08 at 10:56am

Oh, alright . . .

Carry on.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 8/22/08 at 10:57am

And a scant ten minutes later, Joe condemned us all as mollycoddlers.

What a difference ten minutes can make.

[EVIE]

Posted: 8/22/08 at 11:52am

I love spooky stories. I remember seeing this story on Unsolved Mysteries a loooooong time ago. It creeped me out then and still kinda does!