…Now You Got The Shiveries???
Last night the love of my life was expressing her opinion about some knots in her shoulders and neck. (Like that? Yeah you do. I completely sidestepped the “complaining” phrase.) And what comes next, guys? Yup. The back rub. During this amazingly relaxing back rub, my mind started to wander. Blah, blah, blah. Jack is doing something odd. Blah, blah, blah. Crack an egg on your head; let the yolk flow down! Woh. Where did that come from? That was definitely a grade school thought. Nice. So as I entertained myself during the back rub, I started trying to think of the rest of the rhyme. Unfortunately it has been so long, that my brain was struggling to piece it all together. So we had a nice little brainstorming/debate over it. That didn’t solve anything so we decided to call my sisters, Cayce and Reagan. (Sorry Tate. You didn’t make the list for top two people to call about grade school rhymes.)
After three phone calls between the two of them we decided that apparently I did the rhyme wrong. I think it just got changed after my generation because the following generations would rather rhyme than deal with reality. So instead of what I knew as “10 knives in your back” they knew as “20 pokes” or something equally dumb. Instead of the chills they said the shiveries. I don’t know how you played this game when you were little, but prior to our conversation on the 5th of August, 2009 I had never heard that before. And it wasn’t the first time I had heard the rhyme. (What boy doesn’t line up for his turn with the girls playing this game on his back?) So after even more googling and very little discovery (other than apparently there isn’t just one way to say this rhyme) I decided that I needed a blog to hear your versions. So here is mine (after lots of racking my brain). Enjoy! For those of you that have someone nearby, feel free to practice on their backs. They might return the favor!
————————————————————-
Going on a treasure hunt, X marks the spot.
Dash, dot. Dash, dot. Big question mark.
Spiders crawling up your back, now they’re crawling down.
10 knives in your back. Let the blood flow down.
Crack an egg on your head. Let the yolk flow down.
Feel a cool breeze, tight squeeze…
Now you got the chills!
————————————————————-
That’s my version. That’s what I will say to my kids one day. What about you? What lines do you remember? Is mine right? Is it wrong? How did yours go?
May vision of You be the death of me. 
NO! You will NOT teach our children wrong. Chills is just dumb and doesn’t rhyme!
Okay, it’s shiveries. Get over it. It rhymes and it’s cute. Teach your children right or I promise I will make them say “Go Texas!!” By the way, who’s Brian? Why is he trying to figure stuff out with you while you give your wife a back rub, that’s just weird. I’m sorry you didn’t pay attention as a child, but chills is dumb. It ends the cute little game on a horrible not. Shiveries keeps the fun atmosphere alive!!
Aaaa as my exact memory has it, your wife and sister are correct. Knives and shiveries it was.
Apparently I wasn’t paying attention as a child. I never learned the beginning and ending. I always thought it was: “Ten knives in your back. Feel the blood running down. Ten spiders crawling up. Ten spiders crawling down. Feel the egg on your head. Feel the ooze running down! Cool breeze. Tight squeeze.” All this time, I thought that was the whole thing! Wow, there’s so much I don’t know!
As I knew it…
X marks the spot with a dot dot dot
three lines across, and a question mark
crack an egg on your head, let the yolk drip down
let the yolk drip down, let the yolk drop down (2x)
spiders crawling up your back, spiders crawling down your back (2x)
spiders crawling up your arms, spiders crawling down your arms (2x)
squeeze two oranges on your shoulders let the juice drip down,
let the juice drip down, let the juice drip down (2x)
stab a knife in your back, let the blood drip down
let the blood drip down, let the blood drip down (2x)
cool breeze… tight squeeze!!
fun times 🙂 i just taught my boyfriend, he must have been deprived as a child not to have enjoyed this classic – haha.
Here’s how I remember it:
Around the world in 80 days, X marks the spot
Line, Line, Line, Line
Spiders Crawling up your back
They BITE you in the neck,
They BITE you in the neck.
Cool Breeze,
Tight Squeeze,
Now you’ve got the shiveries.
I vividly remember it working in junior high; however, it failed to work now. I guess once you’re in your late 20’s your back is oversensitized to such games.
I Know One Kinda Like That, It Goes–>
Around The World In 80 Days
X Marks The Spot
Coma, Coma, Coma, Coma Question Mark
Crack An Egg On Your Head And Let The Yolk Drip Down, Let The Yolk Drip Down, Let The Yolk Drip Down (X2)
Satb A Knive Through Your Back And Feel The Blood Drip Down, Feel The Blood Drip Down, Feel The Blood Drip Down (X2)
Spiders Crawling Up Your Back Ready To ATTACK
Spiders Crawling Up Your Back Ready To ATTACK
Cool Breeze
Tight Squeeze
Now You’ve Got The Shiveries 🙂
I Am Currently In 7th Grade, So I Would Know!! ((:
<3, Dominique
My version is similar – but either I never learned the “around the world in 80 days” or I have since forgotten it. Here it is:
X marks the spot
With a dot, dot, dot
Comma, comma, comma
And a question mark
Knife in the back!
Watch the blood roll down (said slowly)
Shivers go up and the shivers go down (said 2 or 3 times)
Got the shivers?
I must have learned a much abbreviated version. – dot, dot, double dot, circle around. Knife in the back, blood flowing down, spiders crawling up, gotcha!
I teach middle school & my students were just trying something similar so I set off to find what it was I remembered…I too don’t remember ever learning all the junk @ the beginning, but I’ll have to ask my elementary friends. What I do remember was:
Ten knives in your back blood dripping down. Spiders crawling up your arms, Spiders crawling down your arms. Cool breeze. Tight squeeze. Whooo (blow on neck) Got the chills.
Going on a treasure hunt, X marks the spot.
Four big boulders, and one tiny dot.
Spiders crawling up your back, (Snakes slithering down),
(Stab a knife) in your back. Let the blood flow down.
Crack an egg on your head. Let the yolk flow down.
Feel a cool breeze, tight squeeze…
Now you got the chills!
It is for sure CHILLS.
PS watch the office episode “Lover” Dwight starts doing this to Micheal, hilarious.
NO!!
i remember:
80 days around the world
X marks the spot
comma comma comma comma question mark
stab in the back let the blood run down
stab in the back let the blood run down
dog bite cat scratch
cool breeze tight squeeze
now you’ve the shiveries!
Um…I remember something like that. My step sister taught it to me years ago, but I can’t remember the whole thing. All I can remember is: “Spiders crawling down your back spiders crawling down your back, thousand needles in your back, spiders crawling down your back. Spiders crawling down your back, spiders crawling down your back, babies crying, people dieing, spiders crawling down your back.” Then it goes on to something like, you’re standing on a cliff, you hear footsteps [clap hands twice], you look down, [push persons head down, make sure they do not get injured] and ask what color did they see? every color has a different meaning of something. Also, the person is supposed to have their eyes closed the entire time that you are doing this to them. Does anyone know what I am talking about? Maybe help me remember the whole thing? haha
I randomly thought of this rhyme today but couldn’t remember the ending. Google brought me here (as well as yahoo anwsers).
I remember it as:
x marks the spot
with a dot dot dot
biiiig question mark
spider finds you!
spiders crawling up your back
spiders crawling down your back
…………….?
That all I remember. I dont know what the ending was but I think its my grandmother who taught me. Fourtunatly, she is still around for me to ask.
I tried this on my hubby today. He said his face felt tingly. 🙂 Were in our mid 20’s.
I know it as….
X marks the spot
Circle and a dot.
Coma coma coma coma question mark
Spider crawling up your back spiders crawling down 10 needles in your back blood rushing down tight sqeeze cold breeze know you got the shiveries.
This is right bc this is what everyone is saying today.
x marks the spot with a circle and a dot
spider crawling down, spider crawling up
ouch! you got a bite, means the blood rushes down, means the blood rushes down
squeeze two oranges on your shoulders, means the juice drips down, means the juice drips down
guess the magic letter and I’ll go on. (draw letter on their back.)
needles in your neck and a knife in the back
means the blood rushes down, means the blood rushes down x2
feel a cool breeze, then a tight squeeze
now you’ve got the shiveries!
My grandmother also did the abbreviated version on me as a child (dot dot double dot, circle; knife in your back, blood dripping down; spider crawling up, he got you!) and I found your blog as a result of searching to find out where she had gotten it from! I am a parent now myself and I do it to my toddlers, who start giggling and running away every time I start with the “dot dot”!
Dot dot line line creepy crawlies up your spine tight squeeze cool breeze now you’ve got the shiveries my boyfriend tries this on me and it made my clit tingle
I’m sorry that was inappropriate but it tingles for so long I had to let you know
for the little kids…
Going on a treasure hunt
X marks the spot
Dot, dash, dot, dash, dot, dash, dot
Spider crawling up your back
Bites you on the neck
Cool breeze, tight squeeze
No you’ve got the goosies (as in goosebumps)
Here is how i was taught:
Around the world in 80 days (make a circle on their back)
X marks the spot (make an x)
Comma, comma, comma, comma (make four short lines, like a comma, next to each other)
Question mark (make a question mark)
Feel the spider run up your back (make your fingers ferl like spider legs)
He bites you, he bites you (gently pinch them on the shoulder after “you” each time)
Feel the spider run back down (spider legs runnng down this time)
Feel the snake slither up your back (make your hand and forearm slither up)
He licks you, he licks you (gently hit the back of the neck with the back of your fingers like a tongue each time after “you”)
Feel the snake slither down (make your hand and forearm slither down)
Crack an egg on your head (bop them on the head with the side of your fist)
Feel the yolk running down (run your palm and fingers down their head to the base of their neck to feel like a yolk)
Light breeze (lightly blow on their neck)
Tight squeeze (pinch their shoulders once like when giving a massage)
Now you got the chills….. 🙂
Round and round the island x marks the spot..
Three big boulders one tiny dot..
Spiders crawling up your back nippy nippy nip.
Spiders crawling down your back nippy nippy nip.
Egg on your head and the yolk is dripping..
Dagger in your back and the blood is dripping.
One cold breeze.. Have you got the shivers yet?
X
X marks the spot
Circle an a dot
Big huge question mark
Going up
Going down
Itsy bitsy spiders crawling up your back
Itsy bitsy spiders crawling down your back
Light breeze
Tight squeeze
Crack an egg and let it freeze
going on a trail
x marks the spot
9 big boulders
1 tiny dot
spiders crawling up your back, they bite you, they bite you
spiders crawling down your back, they bite you, they bite you
snakes coming up your arm, they bite you, they bite you
snakes coming down your arm, they bite you, they bite you
cool breeze
tight squeeze
now you got the shiveries!
Around the world in 80 days
X marks the spot
A dot here, A dot there
A big question mark
Up crawls the spider(bite) down flows the blood
Up crawls the spider(bite) down flows the blood
Cool breeze…tight squeeze
Now you got the shiveries!
I forgot most of mine, but here’s all I remember.
(Line)
Spiders crawling up your back, BITE blood dripping down (x2)
Crack an egg let it flow,
Cool breeze, now you’ve got the shiveries
A friend of mine who grew up in Texas, taught me and my kids an interesting variation:
Ten knives stuck in your back
blood rushing down
spiders crawling up
spiders crawling down
mice peeping up
mice peeping down
snakes slithering up
snakes slither down
tight squeeze
cool breeze
now you got the chills
I can’t recite it without hearing and copying her Texas accent.
I am using it in a short story and looking for the origin. What a fun blog to stumble upon. Thank you 🙂
no!!!!!, it is x marks the spot dot dot dot a stab in the back bood rushing down spiders crawling up your back (2x) water flowing down your back(2x)(same as blood) a cool breeze a tight squeeze I GOT YA!!!!!(say really quickly for best results)
PS i am scotts son 11 years old so i know this as my version
I remember something about the egg and olk, I don’t remember the spiders. And I remember it ending something like “knife in your back blood running down; one…two…three…gotcha!” and you’d grab their neck. But I wish I could remember the whole thing as I learned it; have never found one online with the same ending 🙂
I know it like this-
Around the world in 80 days, x marks the spot, 3 big boulders, little tiny rocks, spiders crawling up your back they bite they bite, spiders crawling up your back they bite they bite, egg yolk dripping down your head, cool breeze, tight squeeze, now you got the now you got the shivers.
X marks the spot, with a dash & a dot
Dash & a dot and a big question mark
A knife in your back
blood running up, blood running down
A knife in your back
tight squeeze, cool breeze
Egg crack & then you’ll freeze!
“Going on a treasure hunt X marks the spot
Three big bolder one little dot
Feel the spiders…. bite bite bite
Feel the blood rushing down feel
Feel the spiders….bite bite bite
Feel the blood rushing down
Feel the snakes…. bite bite bite
Feel the blood rushing down
Tall trees
Short trees
No there’s a wind breeze”
I was taught this way:
Around the world in 80 days
X marks the spot
4 big boulders
Tiny little rocks
Spiders crawling up your back
They bite you
They bite you
Spiders crawling up your back
They bite you
They bite you
Cold breeze
Tight squeeze
Now you’ve got the chillies!
I never did the knives part… I was not taught that way of this!
Here is what my friends taught me in 1st or 2nd grade…
“Criss-cross applesauce
Spiders crawling up your back
Spiders here, spiders there, spiders everywhere
Tight squeeze
Cool breeze
Now you’ve got the shiveries!”
Although this was 13-14 years ago (either 2001 or 2002) when I was taught this way! 🙂
The way i remembered was:
Going on a treasure hunt X marks the spot
4 big boulders one little dot
Spiders crawling up your back they bite ya they bite ya
Spiders crawling up your back they bite ya they bite ya
Blood rushin down
Blood rushing down
Light breeze light squeeze
Now you got the chillys
I’m in fifth grade, and this is how I learned it.
“Going on a treasure hunt, X marks the spot
Three big boulders and one tiny dot.
Spiders crawling up your back they bite you, they bite you blood rushing down, blood rushing down x2
Snakes slithering up your back they bite you, they bite you, blood rushing down, blood rushing down x2
Then you jump off a cliff and you feel a cold breeze;
Tight squeeze, and you die!”
When you say that last line, you jerk them by the shoulders and ask them what color they saw. List of colors and meanings:
Black: Oil
Amber: Honey
Blue: Ocean
Pink: Pink Lemonade
Yellow: Lemonade
White: Milk
Red: Blood
Brown: Chocolate Milk
Purple: Grape Juice
Orange: OJ
Green: Mountain Dew
~Kay
The way I remember it, was as follows.
Here is the trail (trace a line running up the back)
X marks the spot (trace an x at the top of the line)
Four little boulders (gently pound back with both fists, then move down and do it a second time)
One little dot (gently poke back with single finger)
Spiders crawling up your back, spiders crawling down your back (wiggle fingers up and down back in a spider like fashion. This line was sometimes repeated)
Give a little squeeze (squeeze shoulders near neck)
Feel a little breeze (blow on the back of the neck)
Now you got the _____ (it would end in either “shivers” or “chills”, but never “shiveries”.)
That’s cool. I’ve never heard the full story before but going over it again does ring some bells. I always heard “10 knives in your back, blood is dripping down. Spiders crawling up your spine spiders crawling down. Snake bites your neck-y? Now you got the shiveries…” pissed me off lol. I also now remember the “tight squeeze, cool breeze part” but could never piece it together. I’m not perfect in the least, however, I do pride myself in my grammer… sometimes. That said, I can’t stand to say, or even think, the words “necky and shiveries”. The problem with ending it on the “chills” for me, is that I am a poet/lyricist, so I also can’t stand to not rhyme. I’ve almost considered saying, “tight squeeze, cool breeze, now you’ve got the shiveries…” and yet again, my pride takes over and almost stabs my tongue biting down on the damn word. Anyway, there is my in put. I don’t know, maybe I’ll just rewrite the story for the sake of my daughter not sounding incompetent.
I’ve only ever heard…
Big Circle
Little Circle
Question Mark Dot
Tight Squeeze
Ocean Breeze
Now You Got The Shiveries.
One I did went like this
10 men on an island , X marks the spot
Spipers crawling up your back
Blood rushes down
10 knives in your back
Blood rushes down
Feel the cool breeze
My siblings and I distinctly remember our, more horrifying version…
People die and children cry
Now you’re in a haunted house!
Ten knives in your back,
Blood dripping down
Ten spiders crawling up,
Ten spiders crawling down
Two snakes slithering up,
Bite you on the neck!!
Cool breeze
(lightly pinch the neck) tight squeeze!
Now you’re in a haunted house!
I have just had all the same sudden flash backs from running my finger down my boyfriends back. So I’ve googled to try and piece it together and found this blog. So, currently I am at,
Egg cracked on your head
Yolk running down
Spider crawling up your back
Snake running down
(Missing a chunk)
Dash dot Dot dash
More missing
Does this make your
Blood
Run
Cold
….all with matching actions and a squeeze and blow on the neck at the end on “cold”. But it’s killing me I’m missing some that just won’t come back to me. You gave me the Dot Dash part. When I read it it got me like a tonne of bricks. But none of these other versions mean anything to me.
My version went something like this –
X marks the spot
A circle and a dot
Four big boulders and one little rock
Spiders crawling up your back
Blood rushing down
Snakes crawling up your back
Blood rushing down
Crack an egg on your head
Feel the goo in your hair
Tight squeeze
Little breeze
Now you’ve got the shiver-ies
🙂
I remember it as going something like this
X marks the spot
A circle and a dot
Four big boulders and one little rock
Spiders crawling up your back
Blood rushing down
Snakes crawling up your back
Blood rushing down
Crack an egg on your head
Feel the goo in your hair
Tight squeeze
Little breeze
Now you’ve got the shiver-ies
Ours was pretty similar, though we only had the 8 knives I think and we would say “Dot dot slash slash big question mark.”
I was born in 2002 so, this is the new version.
Around the world in 80 days x marks the spot
four big boulders one tiny dot
Spiders crawling up your back “bite, bite, bite”
Spiders crawling down your back “bite, bite, bite”
One cold breeze
One tight squeeze
Now you got the, now you got the chilllsssssss
When I was a kid it went like this:
X marks the spot with a circle and a dot
Blood rushes in blood rushes out
Blood rushes in blood rushes out
Cool breeze
Tight squeeze
Now you’ve got goose pimples
Spiders crawling up your back, they bite you! They bite you! Let the blood run down, let the chills run up, let the blood run down. (Repeat once)
Crack an egg on your back, let the yolk drip down, let the chills run up, let the yolk drip down.
Juice an orange on your neck, let the juice drip down, let the chills run up, let the juice drip down.
Treasure island, X marks the spot. Three big boulders, one tiny dot.
Cool breeze, tight squeeze. Now you’ve got the chills.
People are dying, babies are crying.
Concentrate. Concentrate.
10 knives in your back, blood running down.
Spiders crawling up your back, snakes slithering down. Snakes slithering down.
Cool breeze. Tight squeeze.
Now you have the chillies.
When I was a kid it was:
Around the world in 80 days
X marks the spot
3 knives in your back, blood gushing down
Spiders crawling up your back, pinch pinch
Spiders crawling down your back, pinch pinch
Cold breeze
Tight squeeze
Now you got the shiveries
(This was back in the early 2000s, I’m 23 now)