Folklore

[_madam_mina_]

The mind is an amazing thing, lol

This Post from cat_macros reminded me of a scary story that was told to my class one Halloween in elementary school:

The Tailypo
Tailypo is a creature of North American folklore, particularly in Appalachia. Alternate spellings include: Taily Po, Taileypo, Tailey Po and Tailipoe. Most often (and especially in older

Comments

Pre-listen...

[prettyh]

Okay, I'm listening to/watching this story for the first time ever as we speak, having done no research on the subject...and I'll be back to shriek via LJ comment if it freaks me out! (The responses in that cat macro thread tell me that it's as haunting as you say!)

Off to listen, now. Hmm.

...and post-listen...

[prettyh]

Ah ha ha! I can totally see that story freaking kids out all over the world. I liked the way Jackie Torrance told it, but I've gotta say, the synopsis on the Wiki page you provided was a lot creepier.

Eugh. I'm really glad I don't own a cat now (I don't know why, but I pictured it more like a cat, even though it's described as "the size of a dog"). I'd be eyeing it constantly, wondering if it was really a cat. And if it was going to show up in my bed demanding its tail back.

Re: ...and post-listen...

[_madam_mina_]

I pictured it as a 30-40 lb shaggy, dirty, creepy, black cat with very long sharp claws when I was told the story in elementary school and I was terrified that it would crawl onto my bed and pounce on me in the middle of the night!

[shayne_kraft]

Is it wrong that, when I was reading the summary on Wiki, the whole time I was thinking that the old guy deserved what he got? I mean, not only did he cut off Tailypo's tail, he sent all three of his dogs off to get killed.

[_madam_mina_]

lol, not wrong - I guess it does show that you get what's coming to you :P

[prettyh]

That's probably the moral of the story, but you're still a sick bastard for sending me that creepy "I want my tailypo!" text last night!

I think the guy's dogs should have come back as the hounds of hell, one by one, and eaten him alive along with the monster-cat-thing.

[shayne_kraft]

It seems to me that you did something similar to a mutual friend of ours, once upon a time. At least I didn't include pictures.

[danish_cowgirl]

Oh gods...I cannot for the life of me think of any particular time that this story was told to me (so it must have been when I was quite young), but just the name makes my neck prickle *shudder*

[_madam_mina_]

Did you grow up in Appalachia? The tale doesn't seem to be told except there - it is definitely creepy.

[danish_cowgirl]

Born and raised in the heartland of NC - much closer to fields and forests than the cities, but not quite in the mountains. My parents, especially my dad, always made sure we had stories and such from all the different cultures he could think of, though, so we got stuff like Taily-po and the Golden Arm and Anansi and La Llorona and Basket Woman and tons more that I can't remember but I'm sure is buried in my psyche somewhere O_o

[insomniamilk]

oldish post response... but as an appalachian gal i certainly hold tailypo in a very special place in my heart. at my elementary school we had a lot of storytellers come through who specialized in appalachian lore and man is that story fucking scary. especially in the versions where you're not sure if it's an animal or a spirit or what.

[_madam_mina_]

YES! It holds a special place in my heart as well :) Behind my elementary school was the original old School House that had been used about a century ago - they kept it renovated and during Halloween they would decorate it and we always had this older man come in and he would tell folk tales and he always told us about the Tailypo. It was pretty scary when you're that age and you live in a rural area!