Browse:Born with Caul (Volume 1, entries 53–56)
Born with Caul
Volume 1, entries 53–56. Source context: SPIRITS → GHOSTLORE. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 53
I was home in the yard one evening just about dusk and I happened to see an old lady coming up to the house. I run in the house and told mama I seen aunt Jozrah. Mama said, "If you don't stop coming in here and telling me about you seeing spirits, I'm going to whip you." My father said, "Don't whip her. You know she was born with these spirits." They tell me when I was born there was a cord [caul] around my face, it went under my nose and caught over my head and against my eyes. So this Saturday night papa went to town. Mama never did believe that I seen them. So that night [the second time she saw aunt Jozrah] my two brothers and myself was out in the yar d playing. The moon was just rising and so when I looked down the lane I saw aunt Jozrah coming up the lane. I said, "Lord, Harry and Jim, here comes aunt Jozrah." So we ran in the house all of us. Mama said, "What you see?" And I said, "Aunt Jozrah." And she said, "You don't see her." And I said, "Yessum, I do. You come to the door mama and you will see her." So mama came to the door and when she got to the door she seen her too. So mama fastened the door and put the bar across it so she couldn't get in there. Whether she came in we don't know.
Entry 54
I know that when my grandmother died they say that she came back. The reason for her coming back was that she wanted to see her youngest son. At the time of her death he was in France [World War I]. Of course he wasn't able to get home before she died. I had an aunt, Elizabeth, she was born with a veil over her eyes. It happened that she was the only one who could see my grand- mother. When she would go in a certain room she would see her mother standing up there as if she Was looking for someone. So my mother got some holy water from the church - we are Roman Catholics. She sprinkled this water around, especially in the room where my aunt had seen my grandmother. And they say they didn't see her any more.
Entry 55
I know people that have what they call a caul over their eyes. They can set right down with you and they can see things you can't see. People tell you that the air is full of spirits and with that caul on your eye you can see things.
Entry 56
If yo' evah had a child be bo'ned veiled - yo' know, yo' heard of 'em being veiled. Well, yo' take dat veil an' don' nevah throw it off; always take it off farwards, don't take it off backwards. Sometimes - now ah have two tuh be bo'ned wit dat - two twins. It takes de luck away from 'em to take 'em off this way, jes' [demonstrates].
(Over their heads - forward.)
Jes' lak yo' take yore dress off dis-a-way. An' den yo' take those veils - yo' have tuh keep 'em. Sew 'em up in somepin where dey'll keep 'em, yo' know. Co'se, yo' may have tuh resew 'em or else dey supposed tuh be split heah, an' put in dere an' sew it up. Yo' see [why] some people be so lucky an' so successful.