Browse:Evildoer Produced at Once (Volume 1, entries 906)
Evildoer Produced at Once
Volume 1, entries 906. Source context: THE DOCTORS AT WORK: REPORTS FROM LAYMEN → Consultation Technique. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 906
A man was telling us one day [about] a woman's daughter. She had lovely hair on her head. And this woman's daughter and her [another woman's daughter] used to go to church together. It seems that this other woman didn't like this girl because her hair was so much better than her daughter's. So she fixed this child - she used to go and comb her hair. Finally, one evening this girl went off crazy. And then her mother asked this old man [who told the story to informant] did he know anybody that could do her any good. And he told her, "Yes, I'll have to go five miles to get to this man's house." So he got a fast horse [and buggy] and he got away from there that night. And when they got to this man's house the man told him, "I know what you all came for. Sit down a minute. You all came here because the girl is crazy and you want me to do something for her." They told him, "Yes." He said, "You all go ahead and I will be there presently." So they went on and got to the girl's house. They weren't there more than two hours when he came in. So when he got in he spoke to them and said, "Get me a basin full of hot water and a towel." And they got the basin and towel for him. And he put the towel right down in the boiling water and wrung it out and put it right to her head. After he put this to her head she came to real life and knew where she was at. He must have put something in the water, but the old man didn't say. He stayed there until four o'clock next morning. Before he left the girl had come to and knew everybody in the house. And he told this man that went after him, "Son, you know what I want you to do? Come on and go around the house with me." They went around the house. It Was getting kind of light then. They carried a lantern. This girl's father was with them. They had a spade. When they got to the corner of the house he told him to dig right down. He dug. They found a little barrel. They dug it and picked it up and gave it to him. They took it into the house. He asked them did they Wwant it and they said no they didn't want it. So when they opened it, the lmage of this girl was cut out of a piece of black cloth. It had needles and pins in there and a whole lot of stuff. He did not say what all was in there. This man said, "You all don't want this?" And they said, "No." So he took it himself. And he said, "Before I go I am going to leave something here for you to do." He told this other man to come on outdoors with him. And he took a stick and drew a ring all the way around the house, and he gave this man some white powder and said, "You sprinkle this all away around on this mark and you all watch the results" - he left about nine-thirty - "at ten o'clock you'll all see who fixed this girl." And he said sure enough they all sat there and watch when he was gone, and exactly at ten o'clock they say they seen somebody come up and try to get in where this girl was, but they couldn't get over this ring. [Did the doctor - or a confederate left outside and away from the house - try to "get over this ring' and then "vanished away?"] After they couldn't get over this ring they turned and went on and vanished away. And they didn't see no more of them. An' old gentleman told me this about eight years ago [1928] and he said it happen 35 or 40 years ago over in Wight [Isle of Wight] County, [Virginia] where he lived.