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Me Tie Dough-ty Walker — Kitty: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Winterjoy: ⭐⭐⭐

Hello! We are on month 4 of our Super Cool Scary Stories Book Club Thing. The first story is presented here, in which we talk about The Big Toe, a variant on the Golden Arm story. We continue on in our jump scare category.

This month, we are talking about the fourth story in Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark called Me Tie Dough-ty Walker.

Me Tie Dough-ty Walker

There was a haunted house where every night a bloody head fell down the chimney. At least that’s what people said. So nobody would stay there overnight.

Then a rich man offered two hundred dollars to whoever would do it. And this boy said he would try if he could have his dog with him. So it was all settled

The very next night the boy went to the house with his dog. To make it more cheerful, he started a fire in the fireplace. Then he sat in front of the fire and waited, and his dog waited with him.

For a while, nothing happened. But a little after midnight he heard someone singing softly and sadly out in the woods. The singing sounded something like this:

“Me tie dough-ty walker!”

“It’s just somebody singing,” the boy told himself, but he was frightened.

Then his dog answered the song! Softly and sadly it sang:

“Lynchee kinchy colly molly dingo dingo!”

The boy could not believe his ears. His dog had never uttered a word before. Then a few minutes later, he heard the singing again. Now it was closer and louder, but the words were the same:

“Me Tie Dough-ty Walker!”

This time, the boy tried to stop his dog from answering. He was afraid that whoever was singing would hear it and come after them.

But his dog paid no attention and again it sang:

“Lynchee kinchy colly molly dingo dingo!”

A half-hour later, the boy heard the singing again. Now it was in the backyard, and the song was the same.

“Me tie dough-ty walker!”

Again the boy tried to keep his dog quiet. But the dog sang louder than ever:

“Lynchee kinchy colly molly dingo dingo!”

Soon, the boy heard the singing again. Now it was coming down the chimney:

“Me tie Dough-ty Walker!”

The dog sang right back:

“Lynchee kinchy colly molly dingo dingo!”

Suddenly a bloody head fell out of the chimney. It missed the fire and landed right next to the dog. The dog took one look, and fell over — dead from fright.

The head turned and stared at the boy.

Slowly it opened its mouth, and —

(Turn to one of your friends and scream:)

“AAAAAAAAAAAH!”

§ § § § § § §

Alvin Schwartz’s source for this story was a story told to Herbert Halpert in 1940 by a Mrs. Otis Melcher of Bloomington, Indiana. Herbert Halpert was a noted folklorist and anthropologist. Here is the story as printed in the Hoosier Folklore Bulletin. It is titled here as The Rash Dog and the Bloody Head. I’ll type it out as well as posting the screen shot of the story, as it is sort of hard to read otherwise.

The Rash Dog and the Bloody Head

Dictated to H. H. by Mrs. Otis Milby Melcher, Bloomington, Indiana, November 3, 1940.

There was a haunted house where no one would stay all night — that they claimed between midnight and three o’clock in the morning — that a bloody head would fall down the chimney into the hearth. (Right then and there the children would begin to shake.) They offered anyone two hundred dollars to stay all night there, and this boy said he would if he could take his dog with him. (You see what made this story so real was — there’s your chimney, and there’s your dog.)

He went and he thought he’d make it more cheerful by starting a little fire in the fireplace. So he and his dog — they were to sit up all night you see, and see what did happen. He was sitting in front of the fireplace and the dog was sitting near him. Nothing happened until twelve, and he begin to feel that he’d just about earned part of his money anyway. Then at a distance he heard a faint noise that said:

(sung very quietly)

“Me tie dough-ty walker!”

Then his dog answered and said:

(sung quietly)

“Lynchee kinchy colly molly dingo dingo!”

He told the dog, “You be quiet!”

Just a few minutes the voice came again — and it was closer. He says that about five or six time, but each time it’s coming closer and closer. When he gets nearer it gets louder — then the dog gets louder. Each time it gets louder, and he tries to stop the dog from answering, because he thinks that — he didn’t want this ha’nt to know that he was in there — but he couldn’t quiet the dog, so each time this ha’nt would holler. First it sounded as if it was way out in the woods; and the next time it seemed closer to the house; and the third time it seemed like it was in the yard. And by the fourth time it sounded like it was round the chimney corner — it was on the roof. It was real loud; it was:

“Me tie dough-ty walker!”

Dog: “Lynchee kinchy colly molly dingo dingo!”

The last it hollers comin’ right down the chimney — real loud:

“ME TIE DOUGH-TY WALKER!! —

And the dog just brazenly answered:

“LYNCHEE KINCHY COLLY MOLLY DINGO DINGO!!!”

Then the bloody head fell to the hearth — and the dog just fell over — died from fright.

We were all so tense then — and he said:

“Boo!!”

§ § § § § § §

This story is one of the weirdest ones in the Scary Stories series. It was my older brother’s favorite story from the Scary Stories books as a child.

I always wondered what the words that were sung meant, and it seems they don’t mean anything at all! It’s literally there for an added bit of fear of the unknown.

I listened to a bunch of these retellings on youtube. If you’re ready to be scared, be brave and watch this video. This is read by DanVideoNinja. Beware, though! It’s scary!

Now for the reviews segment!

Kitty

In what environment did you read the story? Sitting at my computer with the book in my lap. This is apparently how I do this now.
Do you remember having read this story as a kid? I do! It’s because of the weird nonsensical call-and-answer that the bloody head and the dog have going on.
Analyze the actions of the characters in the story. Did they make sense? Would you have done anything differently? I don’t think there was anything wrong with the boy getting some fast cash by staying in a supposedly haunted house for a night. I think the dog should have refused to go, though. I mean, he’s forced to say that lynchee kinchy thing, and then he dies of fright. He was definitely not suited for this haunted house endeavor.
Which was your favorite and least favorite characters and why? My favorite character is the bloody head, because he just keeps falling down the chimney every night. That’s dedication. I don’t really like the boy that much, because he should have known his dog well enough to realize that he wasn’t going to protect him in any frightening circumstances. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that it’s his fault that his dog is dead. The boy should have been more afraid and high tailed it out of there, if only to protect his poor dog with the weak constitution. But he’s not my least favorite character in the story. My least favorite character in the story is the rich man, because his cheap ass is only offering $200 for a potentially life threatening dare.
What did you think of the storytelling style? I like the slow, calm build up, and the way the call and answer gets louder and louder. I mean, what in the world is going on here?
Examine the art for the story. What are your thoughts on it? I think I used to know a guy who looked like that. He didn’t have the blood dripping from his eyes, though.
Your overall rating and why: ⭐⭐⭐ I like the storytelling, and in the beginning, it reminded me of the folk tale The Boy Who Left Home To Find Out About the Shivers. I also like that I’m learning about the trend of body parts falling out of chimneys.

Winterjoy

1. In what environment did you read the story? Sitting on my bed with my window open and my cat staring at me.

2. Do you remember having read this story as a kid? I don’t remember this one at all!

3. Analyze the actions of the characters in the story. Did they make sense? Would you have done anything differently? I would definitely not stay in a haunted house for $200. That barely covers my rent. What could that get me in today’s economy really? To make up for his not-smartness, he did attempt to silence his dog so as not to be alert their whereabouts. If my cat talked right now and someone was singing outside to it, I would probably quiet my stupid cat also.

4. Which was your favorite and least favorite characters and why? My favorite character was the talking dog because, wow, he just learned to speak in that short amount of time (or what could be considered a language). Although, he was trying to get everyone in the house murdered so he loses some favorite points with that one. My least favorite character is the rich man because why don’t you stay in the house yourself???

5. What did you think of the storytelling style? The style gave good suspense even though it’s very predictable. The dog speaking is nice and unexpected touch.

6. Examine the art for the story. What are your thoughts on it? The art is great. It literally looks like an old man I might have passed on the street before.

7. Your overall rating and why: ⭐ ⭐⭐– I don’t love any of the jump-scare stories so a 3 is like a 5 in jump-scare math. I liked the haunted house setting and talking dog.

Sources:

https://scary-stories.fandom.com/wiki/Me_Tie_Dough-ty_Walker!