[Ads-l] Things That Go Bump in the Night

Thu Jul 18 17:31:45 UTC 2019

Correction: I specified the year 1911 for "The Magic Casement", but
the HathiTrust catalog specifies a date of 1909 in brackets for "The
Magic Casement". The text itself does not list a year. The December 4,
1909 issue of "The Literary Digest" discussed "The Magic Casement"
edited by Alfred Noyes and printed a version of the saying with
"Ghoosties":

https://books.google.com/books?id=0wg8AQAAMAAJ&q=Ghoosties#v=snippet&

[Begin excerpt]
Mr. Noyes evidently had no age limit in mind when he did his work, but
certainly he was an appreciator of child-nature when he decided upon
this "Quaint Old Litany" for his motto:
“From Ghoulies and Ghoosties, long-leggety Beasties, and Things that
go Bump in the Night, Good Lord, deliver us!"
[End excerpt]

I came across a low-frequency variant: "things that go boom in the
night". Here is a 1911 citation.

Date: July 7, 1911
Newspaper: The Millom Gazette
Article: What I Think by John Strange Winter,
Article Section: Darkness and Fear,
Quote Page 6, Column 3
County: Cumberland, England
Database: British Newspaper Archive

[Begin excerpt]
At night the temperature becoming considerably cooler causes furniture
and wainscotting to contract and emit strange and ghastly noises which
have been the foundation of countless ghost stories and innumerable
superstitions. So rent was the power of this phenomenon in medieval
times that a clause was inserted in the Litany which read somewhat as
follows: "From all things that go boom in the night, Good Lord deliver
us." It is scarcely necessary to add that with the increase of science
this clause was removed.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Thu, Jul 18, 2019 at 12:47 PM ADSGarson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> A version of the saying with "Ghaisties" appears as an epigraph in the
> 1911 book "Widdershins" by Oliver Onions. Please double-check the
> spelling of the text in the excerpts that I am posting.
>
> [ref] 1911, Widdershins by Oliver Onions, (Epigraph), Unnumbered Page,
> Martin Secker. London. (Google Books Full View) link [/ref]
> https://books.google.com/books?id=KqVGAQAAMAAJ&q=Beasties#v=snippet&
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> "From Ghaisties, Ghoulies and long-leggity Beasties and Things that go
> Bump in the night—
> Good Lord, deliver us!"
> [End excerpt]
>
> Garson
>
> On Thu, Jul 18, 2019 at 11:58 AM Jonathan Lighter
> <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > "Frae" is also Scots.
> >
> > If "ghosties" was originally "ghaisties," the rhythmic lines could include
> > a rhyme :
> >
> > "Frae ghoulies and ghaisties,
> > Lang-leggity beasties,
> > An' things that gae bump in the nicht,
> > Guid Lord deliver us."
> >
> > However, the Dictionary of the Scots Language has no entry for "ghoulie" or
> > "long/lang -leggity," and no exx. of "ghaistie" till 1979 !
> >
> > JL
> >
> > On Wed, Jul 17, 2019 at 10:14 AM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Scots is/was noted for its frequent use of diminutives like "ghoulies,"
> > > "ghosties," and "beasties." "Lang" is also a Scots form.
> > >
> > > JL
> > >
> > > On Wed, Jul 17, 2019 at 10:07 AM Baker, John <JBAKER at stradley.com> wrote:
> > >
> > >> Thanks, Jon and Garson, those are both nice examples.  I don’t know why
> > >> Jon’s didn’t come up in my own search.
> > >>
> > >> A question, if this is indeed of folk origin, is where it came from.
> > >> Garson’s example describes it as an “old Scotch prayer,” but its inclusion
> > >> in the Cornish and West Country Litany implies an origin at the most
> > >> distant extreme of Great Britain.  I’ve also seen an Irish origin claimed.
> > >> Scotland, Ireland, and Cornwall are all noted for their dialects.  I don’t
> > >> know which, if any, of these dialects includes “ghoulies,” “ghosties,”
> > >> “long-leggety,” and “beasties.”
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> John Baker
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
> > >> Of ADSGarson O'Toole
> > >> Sent: Wednesday 17 July 2019 1:00 AM
> > >> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > >> Subject: Re: Things That Go Bump in the Night
> > >>
> > >> External Email - Think Before You Click
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> Thanks John. Excellent citation, JL. Here are some links to the 1905 book:
> > >>
> > >> https://books.google.com/books?id=DygSAAAAYAAJ&q=leggettie#v=snippet&<
> > >> https://books.google.com/books?id=DygSAAAAYAAJ&q=leggettie#v=snippet&>
> > >> https://archive.org/details/beggars00walkuoft/page/4<
> > >> https://archive.org/details/beggars00walkuoft/page/4>
> > >> https://archive.org/details/beggars00walkuoft/page/n201<
> > >> https://archive.org/details/beggars00walkuoft/page/n201>
> > >>
> > >> The excerpt with "things that go bump in the night" appears as an
> > >> epigraph of a tale titled "Some Strange Visitations" by Hugh Warrand.
> > >>
> > >> Here is citation from the next year that employs dialectical spelling,
> > >> e.g., "lang-legged" for "long-legged", "nicht for "night", and "gude"
> > >> for "good".
> > >>
> > >> Date: July 7, 1906
> > >> Periodical: The Academy: The Weekly Review of Literature, Science & Art
> > >> Article: Review of the book "The Undertaker's Field" by Herbert Compton
> > >> Quote Page 16, Column 2
> > >> Published at The Offices of Country Life and George Newnes, London
> > >> (Google Books Full View)
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> https://books.google.com/books?id=5UY9AQAAMAAJ&q=%22gude+Lord%22#v=snippet&
> > >> <
> > >> https://books.google.com/books?id=5UY9AQAAMAAJ&q=%22gude+Lord%22#v=snippet&
> > >> >
> > >>
> > >> [Begin excerpt]
> > >> But "in romance all things are permissible," we are told. We lay down
> > >> the book with the old Scotch prayer upon our lips: "From ghouls and
> > >> ghosts and lang-legged beasties and things that go bump in the nicht,
> > >> gude Lord deliver us."
> > >> [End excerpt]
> > >>
> > >> Garson O'Toole
> > >>
> > >> Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >> >
> > >> > 1905 Archibald Stodart Walker _A Beggar's Wallet : Containing
> > >> > contributions in prose, verse and pictorial illustration, gathered from
> > >> > certain workers in art and letters ... To be disposed of in aid of the
> > >> > Royal Victoria Hospital for Consumpton, Edinburgh, at the Great
> > >> > International Fair to be held in the Waverly Market, in the month of
> > >> > November, 1905_ [Edinburgh: Dobson, Molle, 1905] 163:
> > >> >
> > >> > "Frae ghosties and ghoulies, long-leggettie beasties,
> > >> >
> > >> > And things that go bump in the night,
> > >> >
> > >> > Good Lord deliver us."
> > >> >
> > >> > — From a quaint old Litany.
> > >> >
> > >> > JL
> > >> >
> > >> > On Tue, Jul 16, 2019 at 5:04 PM Baker, John <JBAKER at stradley.com>
> > >> wrote:
> > >> >
> > >> > > "Things that go bump in the night" refers to frightening unspecified
> > >> but
> > >> > > generally supernatural creatures. The phrase (and variants on it) has
> > >> been
> > >> > > used in a number of titles, some of which are listed on a
> > >> disambiguation
> > >> > > page on Wikipedia,
> > >> > > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Things_That_Go_Bump_in_the_Night<
> > >> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Things_That_Go_Bump_in_the_Night>.
> > >> > > According to The Phrase Finder, the earliest known use of the phrase
> > >> is
> > >> > > from 1918, and it was incorporated in a prayer which was recorded in
> > >> The
> > >> > > Cornish and West Country Litany in 1926,
> > >> > > https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/378900.html<
> > >> https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/378900.html>. The OED also gives the
> > >> > > 1918 date and suggests it probably has its origins in the 1926
> > >> "rhyme." It
> > >> > > does not appear to be in the Yale Book of Quotations.
> > >> > >
> > >> > > Here is an example of the prayer with the phrase from a review of the
> > >> play
> > >> > > Peter Pan in 1909. This is from the Los Angeles Herald (Mar. 1, 1909)
> > >> > > (Newspapers.com):
> > >> > >
> > >> > > <<"From ghoulies and ghosties, long-leggety beasties and things that
> > >> go
> > >> > > bump in the night - good Lord deliver us!" runs a quaint old litany,
> > >> > > echoing the beliefs of another day, when sprites and nymphs and elves
> > >> were
> > >> > > about us and
> > >> > > Magic casements opened on the foam
> > >> > > Of Perilous seas in faery lands forelorn.
> > >> > > The "ghoulies and ghosties" have gone, God give them speed, but "Peter
> > >> > > Pan" is back with Tinker Bell and the beasties, and yesterday Los
> > >> Angeles
> > >> > > slipped out through the casement with Peter to the "Never, Never,
> > >> Never
> > >> > > land," in Barrie's whimsical and delightful play.>>
> > >> > >
> > >> > > It seems likely that both the prayer and the phrase are older than
> > >> this
> > >> > > and do not come from Los Angeles originally.
> > >> > >
> > >> > >
> > >> > > John Baker
> > >> > >
> > >> > >
> > >> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > >> > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org<
> > >> http://www.americandialect.org>
> > >> > >
> > >> >
> > >> >
> > >> > --
> > >> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> > >> truth."
> > >> >
> > >> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > >> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org<
> > >> http://www.americandialect.org>
> > >>
> > >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> > >> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org<
> > >> http://www.americandialect.org>
> > >>
> > >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> > >> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > >>
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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