Sailor and the Ghost, The [Laws P34A/B]

DESCRIPTION: A pregnant girl hangs herself after being abandoned by her lover. The guilty youth goes to sea to escape her ghost, but the spirit follows and finds him. She threatens the captain until he is produced, and then burns the ship with him aboard
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1805 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 10(68))
KEYWORDS: pregnancy abandonment ghost disaster suicide
FOUND IN: US(MA,NE,SE) Canada(Mar,Newf) Britain(England,Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (13 citations):
Laws P34A, "The Sailor's Tragedy (The Sailor and the Ghost A)"/P34B, "Handsome Harry (The Sailor and the Ghost B)"
Greig-FolkSongInBuchan-FolkSongOfTheNorthEast #130, pp. 2-3, "The Ghost So Grim" (1 text)
Greig/Duncan2 341, Greig/Duncan8 Addenda, "The Ghost So Grim" (7 texts, 2 tunes)
Brown/Belden/Hudson-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore2 68, "Handsome Harry" (1 text, identified by Laws as P34B)
Creighton/Senior-TraditionalSongsOfNovaScotia, pp. 151-154, "The Dreadful Ghost" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Creighton-MaritimeFolkSongs, pp. 116-117, "The Dreadful Ghost" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 398-403, "The Sea Ghost" (3 texts, 3 tunes)
Leach-FolkBalladsSongsOfLowerLabradorCoast 18, "The Sailor's Tragedy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Mackenzie-BalladsAndSeaSongsFromNovaScotia 92, "The Sailor's Tragedy" (1 text)
Thompson-BodyBootsAndBritches-NewYorkStateFolktales, pp. 209-210, "(Handsome Harry)" (1 excerpt)
Lane/Gosbee-SongsOfShipsAndSailors, pp. 108-109, "Handsome Harry" (1 text, 1 tune, composite)
Forget-Me-Not-Songster, pp. 133-136, "Handsome Harry" (1 text)
DT 512, DREDGHOS
Roud #568
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 10(68), "The Sailor and the Ghost," Laurie and Whittle (London), 1805; also 2806 c.8(242), "The Sailor and the Ghost"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Captain Glen/The New York Trader (The Guilty Sea Captain A/B)" [Laws K22] (Jonah theme) and references there
cf. "On One Thursday Evening" (tune, according to Greig/Duncan2))
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Murdered Girl
The Spirit Grim
File: LP34

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