QI traces the joke to Robert Bloch in 1942 and documents King crediting Bloch in 1983. The longer displayed introduction is not established as Bloch’s exact wording.
“People think that I must be a very strange person. This is not correct. I have the heart of a small boy. It is in a glass jar on my desk” — A circulating variant of Robert Bloch’s heart-in-a-jar joke; the longer introductory wording is unverified. Stephen King also retold the joke and credited Bloch. · Verbatim: “I have the heart of a small boy; I keep it in a jar on my desk.”
⚠ The slide-ready mistake: crediting this to Stephen King. Use the credit shown above instead.
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In context
Evoking the world of Robert Bloch — American horror writer. Theme: "People think that I must be a very strange person. This is not correct. I have the heart of a small boy. It is in a glass jar on my desk". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
Minimalist
Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "People think that I must be a very strange person. This is not correct. I have the heart of a small boy. It is in a glass jar on my desk". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
Provenance
The source
Source
Robert Bloch joke, documented in Weird Tales (1942)
Status
QI’s updated chronology assigns the joke to Bloch based on 1942, 1945, 1947 evidence and quotes King crediting him. The added introduction in the batch is not claimed to be a verbatim historical transcript.
I have the heart of a small boy; I keep it in a jar on my desk.
The documented joke appears in sources from 1942 onward. Treat the identified Bloch text as in copyright; the excerpt is a short identification of the joke, not reproduction of its containing work.
Rights status is our research, not legal advice — and copyright varies by country and edition. For commercial or published use, confirm with the rightsholder. See terms.
Fact-check
Often misattributed
The joke circulated with varying introductions.
✕
Originality claim; use is documentedStephen King
QI documents him acknowledging Bloch; a later telling is not the origin. Attribution evidence ↗
✓The joke belongs in Bloch’s provenance trail, with wording differences preserved. Quote Investigator ↗
Explore
Filed under
More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.
Robert Bloch wrote Psycho and many short stories. His macabre joke about possessing a child’s heart was repeated by Stephen King, who also credited him.
For writers & researchers
Cite this
The primary source (Chicago)
Robert Bloch joke, documented in Weird Tales (1942). See the linked research; a primary edition of the displayed wording has not been independently confirmed.
This verification page
Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘People think that I must be a very strange person. This is not correct. I have the heart of a small boy. It is in a glass jar on my desk’?” Last verified 9 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/people-think-that-i-must-be-a-very-strange-person-this-is/