Jackie Torrence, photographed by Tom Raymond at the National Storytelling Festival in 1997.
As we always do when Halloween rolls around, Folklife Today is gearing up for scary fun! We have a couple of spooky stories in store for you, as well as a surprise in late October. Our first scary tale is Jackie Torrence’s classic version of “The Golden Arm.”
“The Golden Arm” is an old folktale of wide distribution, classified by folklorists as ATU 366. It is known in Europe, and in American tradition was told by both white and black communities. It is one of the most famous ghost stories in American tradition, having been used by Mark Twain as one of the main examples in his essay “How to Tell a Story.” You can read Twain’s version, written in somewhat outrageous African American dialect, at this link.
Born Jacqueline Carson Torrence in 1944, in Chicago, Illinois, Jackie Torrence was raised in North Carolina. She spent her early childhood on Second Creek, where she lived on a farming settlement with her grandparents. Jim Carson, Torrence’s grandfather, told the family traditional tales he had heard from his father, a former slave. Jackie trained as a reference librarian, and became a storyteller by chance in 1972, when the children’s librarian at the High Point Library called in sick and Torrence filled in. Soon, she had a budding career as a storyteller. “When I found storytelling and realized that I could make that extra money, and pay my bills, and feed and clothe my child—I went after that job with a passion,” she told Storytelling Magazine in January, 1999. Torrence became a successful storyteller and a spokesperson for the storytelling movement, appearing frequently on television, with appearances on Late Night with David Letterman and CBS Sunday Morning. She wrote two books, The Importance of Pot Liquor and Jackie Tales: The Magic of Creating Stories and the Art of Telling Them. She produced nine recordings on several labels, several of which won awards from the American Library Association. Her 1992 play, Bluestory, a history of blues music, was performed by Jackie with Piedmont blues musicians John Cephas and Phil Wiggins.
Jackie Torrence died in 2004 at her home in Granite Quarry, North Carolina.
In the player below, hear Torrence’s performance at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee, in 1986. It is part of AFC’s International Storytelling Collection (AFC 2001/008). Below the player, find my transcription of Torrence’s tale. The photos are by Tom Raymond, and are part of the same collection.
Jackie Torrence, photographed by Tom Raymond at the National Storytelling Festival in 1997.
I would like to tell a story
A very old story that I heard from my grandfather.
He said that, many years ago, there lived a man and his wife.
They were an ordinary couple
and every night the man would seat himself before the fireplace and smoke his pipe and watch the smoke rings curl beneath the chimney.
Now his wife was really not an ordinary person at all.
For after she finished her chores about the house
she too would take her place before the fireplace.
But her left arm and hand were made of solid gold.
And she would polish and shine
and polish and shine
that golden arm.
One night she said to her husband as she polished that golden arm, she said
“Do you…
Would you promise me that
if I should die before you
you will bury me with my golden arm?
Will you promise me that?”
And he said, “Huh?”
And she said, “promise me now
that you will bury me with my golden arm!”
And he said, “Oh, yes, yes, yes,
I will. Uh-huh.
Do not worry.”
Well, many years passed
and they lived together
and they were quite happy.
When one day the old woman died
and I suppose it was from carrying the weight of that golden arm.
And the night before they buried her
her husband thought to himself
“I can’t let them put that gold into the ground.
Why if I had that gold from that golden arm
I could buy myself a brand new house
I could buy myself a brand new suit of clothes
I could buy myself a wagon and ten white horses.”
[Chuckling]
So he went to the place and he cut off the golden arm.
And the next day his wife was buried without her golden arm.
But that night he stood in front of the fireplace holding the golden arm
and thinking to himself,
[Chuckling]
I’ve got the gold from the golden arm
I shall buy myself a brand new house [cackling with glee]
I shall buy myself a brand new suit of clothes [cackling with glee]
I shall buy myself a wagon and twenty white horses. [cackling with glee]
And just as he admired the golden arm
he just happened to look up through the window
and the sky that had been so bright with stars was now very dark.
And the wind started to blow about the house.
And the noise of the wind
you could barely hear a thing
but over the sound of the wind he heard:
“Who-o-o-o’s…
go-o-o-o-o-t…
m-y-y-y-y-y…
go-o-o-o-olden arm?”
“Oh,” he said,
“Who is that?
“Somebody wants my golden arm!
I must hide.”
He looked all about the house
and there was only one place.
it was a closet.
And he started toward the closet
But before he opened the closet door
he looked through the window.
And the sky was darker and darker.
And the wind blew harder and harder.
And the voice was just outside the front door.
“Whe-e-e-e-ere’s…
m-y-y-y-y-y…
go-o-o-o-olden arm?”
“Oh,” he said,
“It’s coming in the house!”
So he stepped into the closet
And he slammed the door
And he turned the key
“Oh.” he said,
“I’m safe.
I’m safe.”
But inside the closet
it was dark
dark
dark.
And all about the house
the wind blew harder
and harder
and harder
And all at once the door
the locked closet door
started to open
[creaking sound].
And the candles had burned low, and out.
And the fire had gone out in the fireplace.
And the wind no longer blew outside.
It was quiet.
But there was that voice
standing in front of the closet door
“Whe-e-e-e-ere’s…
m-y-y-y-y-y…
go-o-o-o-olden arm?”
“Who-o-o..YOU’VE GOT MY GOLDEN ARM!”
And the ghost of his wife grabbed that golden arm
ran down through the hallway
leaped through the window
and nobody’s ever seen that ghost or the golden arm again.
October 19, 2018 at 12:42 pm
great story great retelling.
June 8, 2020 at 2:25 pm
I got the chills
July 23, 2020 at 12:50 pm
That story is so scary
August 1, 2020 at 10:40 pm
I love that story
September 30, 2020 at 9:14 am
i like this story alot because it tells alot of details.
September 30, 2020 at 9:17 am
I like this story because it tells a lot of details.
September 30, 2020 at 10:19 am
BEST STORY EVERY
October 7, 2020 at 9:54 am
creepy
October 7, 2020 at 9:59 am
that was so creepy
October 7, 2020 at 10:09 am
It was creepy i jumped at the end
October 7, 2020 at 10:15 am
i like it.
October 16, 2020 at 1:06 pm
when she said whooos YOU GOT MY GOLDED ARM
that scard me soooo bad.
October 16, 2020 at 1:06 pm
she said whooos YOU GOT MY GOLDED ARM
that scard me soooo bad.
October 16, 2020 at 1:07 pm
Whats with all the chills up my spine
October 21, 2020 at 11:14 am
nothing scares me
October 21, 2020 at 5:29 pm
That was a scary story
October 22, 2020 at 10:00 am
i got the chills to but it was great
October 22, 2020 at 4:27 pm
lol
October 27, 2020 at 12:56 pm
that was a good story
October 27, 2020 at 1:53 pm
spine shrieking
October 27, 2020 at 3:00 pm
thank you i jump at the end every time thank you. 🙂
October 27, 2020 at 4:14 pm
that was a great book
October 28, 2020 at 11:14 am
that was scary
October 28, 2020 at 11:29 am
This was the best story every!
I jumped at the end xD!!!!
October 28, 2020 at 11:31 am
I scare you rossy REHEHEHEHE
October 28, 2020 at 5:51 pm
that is very cool and give me the chills
October 29, 2020 at 10:57 am
when i heard whoooyouve got my golden arm i just jumped back into my seat
October 29, 2020 at 12:16 pm
I was tucking into a ball because I was scared
October 29, 2020 at 9:13 pm
I love this story I’m so scared the scariest part of the story is at the end.
October 30, 2020 at 12:05 pm
that was spokey
October 30, 2020 at 12:05 pm
that was spooooookey
October 30, 2020 at 12:07 pm
that was spooooookey and fun it was scary when she said YOU GOT MY GODEN ARM
October 30, 2020 at 12:13 pm
It is scary at the end!
November 1, 2020 at 11:29 am
Great story teller, my children were scared of it but always wanted to hear it
November 2, 2020 at 11:17 am
creepy but kinda cool
November 2, 2020 at 11:18 am
kinda cool
November 2, 2020 at 11:29 am
it was scary video
November 6, 2020 at 9:43 am
I Loved this it was funny and I jump when she said “YOU’VE GOT MY GOLDEN ARM!” Cuz that was not expected! Lol
November 6, 2020 at 9:54 am
that scared me but great story
November 6, 2020 at 12:23 pm
I like this story
November 6, 2020 at 12:24 pm
the whole class jumped and screamed when she said YOU HAVE MY GOLDEN ARM
November 6, 2020 at 12:47 pm
i loved that story it gave me the chills!!!!!
November 6, 2020 at 1:18 pm
when she shouted it scared me so bad
November 6, 2020 at 1:31 pm
all i can say is wow! What a great,and chilling story,and what a wonderful way of telling it so much emotion! Thanks so much for telling this story! I loved it!
November 6, 2020 at 2:00 pm
When it seed you’ve got my golden arm it scared me.
November 12, 2020 at 1:39 pm
To me it sounds best when you turn your volume down low.
November 17, 2020 at 3:13 pm
cool story
November 18, 2020 at 10:00 am
a good cliff hanger
November 18, 2020 at 3:41 pm
i got scared just now when she said you’ve got my golden arm
December 2, 2020 at 10:33 am
that was sacary
December 2, 2020 at 2:08 pm
The story is scary but also has action!
December 3, 2020 at 1:51 pm
it was a good story i really liked it she reads it so good
December 4, 2020 at 11:48 am
That was fun and scary
December 10, 2020 at 5:37 pm
The ending was so scary!And funny.
December 10, 2020 at 5:47 pm
I was so freaked out that I don’t want to see the ending EVER AGAIN.
December 18, 2020 at 12:19 pm
When she yelled “YOUVE GOT MY GOLDEN ARM!” I felt like my heart skiped a beat… Did NOT see that coming. Good story, well told.
January 26, 2021 at 2:58 pm
THIS IS THE BEST SCARY STORY EVER!!!!!!!
January 26, 2021 at 3:01 pm
my heart skipped a few beats at the ending
January 29, 2021 at 1:51 pm
yeet
July 11, 2021 at 12:14 pm
Yes, I agree that the story is really scary.
October 25, 2021 at 5:03 pm
That was soooooooo freaky
October 28, 2021 at 9:41 pm
This Was A really good story. I can think of A different scary story like this. It was called, “The Big Toe” I have watched this over and over again and in class, I was watching this, and I freaked out with the ending, knocked my water bottle over, and Scared the whole class half to death.
October 29, 2021 at 9:46 am
Bro that was cereepy about the voice of the ghost.
October 29, 2021 at 9:46 am
Bro that was creepy about the voice of the ghost.
October 29, 2021 at 12:25 pm
AWESOME
STORY
SO
FUNNY!
October 29, 2021 at 2:35 pm
This was really good i enjoyed this and how it was beautiful
October 29, 2021 at 3:46 pm
im going to have mightmares
October 29, 2021 at 6:01 pm
I love the way you tell the story.
November 1, 2021 at 10:51 am
That was a good way of explaining the story
February 3, 2022 at 12:32 pm
Not very scary in my opinion
October 27, 2022 at 8:13 am
lololololol jumpscare warning
October 27, 2022 at 11:00 am
that last part where she just yelled was the scariest thing ever, i litterly jumped out of my seat in class.
October 27, 2022 at 11:03 am
THATS SCARYYYYYYYYYYY
October 27, 2022 at 11:08 am
all i can say is wow! What a great,and chilling story,and what a wonderful way of telling it so much emotion! Thanks so much for telling this story! I loved it!
October 27, 2022 at 11:13 am
graet story
October 31, 2022 at 9:27 am
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October 31, 2022 at 3:01 pm
That’s the best Halloween trick played on me this year!
October 31, 2022 at 9:49 am
nice story really good tone of voice
October 31, 2022 at 10:48 am
Not scary at all.
October 31, 2022 at 11:00 am
nah i jumped so high omg
October 31, 2022 at 11:00 am
bad story, tbh i didn´t enjoy it
October 31, 2022 at 11:32 am
Scary
October 31, 2022 at 11:33 am
I got goosebumps!!
October 31, 2022 at 11:50 am
This was a super good story, with amazing exaggerations but I don’t think it was that scary it wasn’t surprising that the lady would come back, they should have added more details.
October 31, 2022 at 11:59 am
NOT SCARY AT ALLBut it was a good story I loved it❤️but I did jump a little bit at the end
October 31, 2022 at 1:38 pm
the part where she said “you’ve got my golden arm” near the end scared me a bit. The story teller is awesome, I love the way she speaks and her tone of voice made the story even more exciting. this story is really good
October 31, 2022 at 2:20 pm
wow the yell made me flinch
October 31, 2022 at 3:38 pm
it is cool
October 31, 2022 at 4:47 pm
Seriously? It was a good story but not scary at all.
November 1, 2022 at 10:35 am
this was a so scary story jumped and i was tarifid at “YOU HAVE MY GOLDEN ARM”
November 1, 2022 at 10:38 am
i loved it not as scary as my fish was hahah i loved the big jump in frght from the story i almost screemed sorry thats no a nice ending id like to here more but it was a good story alltogether
November 1, 2022 at 10:43 am
it was a good story you had me jump out of my chiar i was scard but not the scaryest thig but the story in gener ul was nice