Browse:GHOSTLORE (Volume 1, entries 16–119)/Part 2
GHOSTLORE
Volume 1, entries 16–119. Source context: SPIRITS. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 96
Jes' lak if ah walk in heah an' shoot a person; well, all dey have tuh do is look at de person's eyes - take mah picture from his eyes, an' evah which way he be lookin' dat's de way ah'm goin'.
(The way that dead man's looking, that is the direction yo've gone?)
Yes.
Entry 97
If yo' kin git de blood, if yo' kin git a shirt - [anything] dat got blood on his garment where he got killed - if yo' kin git a piece of that, take it an' git a aig, jes' a aig, an' bury it in his han', an' open his eye up first an' look in his eye, den take that aig an' put it in his han', an' dey say dat de person whut kilt him will appeah befo' yo' in his eye, will appeah befo' 'em in his eye. An' put dis heah piece of his garment whut's got his blood on it - say, yo' tack it to de no'th side of yore house. An' dat person-will come back whut kilt dis person, dey will come right to yore house.
Entry 98
Sometimes it looks like they [a corpse] are looking. Their eyes are wide open. I have heard people say they are looking for their loved ones. [New York City, (7).]
Entry 99
Don't visit the graveyard and look upon them too often. They say it disturbs them. Shortly they will come back after you. If you keep a looking and a looking, they are coming back after you soon. You soon go. That's very true. You'll soon go.
Entry 100
Dere wus a man in slavery time - he went, started to cross de woods. In slavery - mah cousin wus one de slaves, an' he come in de house an' he says, "Boss, ah see a head bone down heah in de woods an' dis head bone said, "Turn yore teeth towards de" - nuthin' dere but de head bone, all wus gone but de head bone. De head bone talked to dis colored fellah an' tole him when he passed - it wus layin' down on de ground as he passed - it say, "Tell [him] mah teeth called me out chere." Well, dat means - tell 'im [boss, overseer or master] de teeth caused de head bone tuh be out dere, yo' see.
(Caused the head bone to be out there?)
Dat's right - tuh be out dere. An' so he said, "Well, ah'm gon'a tell de boss, dat ah see a head bone out chere an' it say, "Mah teeth called me out chere." All right, he went on an' he says, "Boss,"' say, "ah see a head bone out yondah in de woods says, "Tell 'im mah teeth called me out chere." An' want chew tuh go out dere an' see." All right, [he] said, "John, if dat head bone don' say, "Tell 'im mah teeth called me out chere, ' ah'm gon'a kill yo'." "Yassuh, Boss, dat head bone will talk." All right. Den he went out wit de Boss - dis darky went on out in de woods where de head bone wus, an' dis Boss took de head bone teeth an' kicked de head bone an' de head bone wus silent. He says, "John, didn't ah tell yo' ef dat head bone didn't talk ah wus gon'a kill yo'?" He say, "Yassuh, Boss, hit gon'a talk good an' plenty." So he kicked de head bone an' de head bone didn't 'gin say nuthin'. Well, all right. Den he said, "Well, John, ah say ah wus gon'a kill yo' if dis head bone didn't talk." So de Boss turn roun' an' killed John. An' when he kill John, de head bone say, "So mah teeth called yo' out chere, too." So both of 'em wus dead. See, tellin' him his teeth called him out heah. [This device is frequent - the attribution of a well-known story or folktale to oneself or relative or acquaintance; here a cousin.]
Entry 101
De lady next do' tuh me - it's some kin'a man dat curses her, it's a evil spirit, an' wherever she goes he's always using bad language tuh her an' saying things to her, putting all kind of things into her head. She went to someone an' they told her that it's a evil spirit that someone had worked on her, an' she asked him if he could cure it an' he tole her, yes. Well, he went in de house an' he asked her fo' some salt, an' she gave him some salt an' she gave him some sulphur an' two drops of hearts coZogne. Well, he put that in thar an' he tole her to put it in de corner an' every night say some kin'a word over that stuff. An' so she tole me last night at mah home that she was gittin' rid of it - said she jes' kin hear him now whisperin', and she said the man tole her that in a few days she wouldn't hear him at all.
(She can't see this man at all?)
She can't see him but she kin hear him.
(Well, what - just what do they think this thing is that is bothering.her?)
Dey think it's a evil spirit that someone got from de graveyard.
reported nightly unspecified words over a corner preparation. Nested neighbor and practitioner report, not firsthand performance or direct formula quotation. reported instruction to speak unspecified words over the mixture. Unknown words and nested report remain; no invented quotation or observed efficacy. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Entry 102
He said once when he wus young [about 1867] follerin' the water, he say there wus some man put bad luck on 'im. An' he say he fell overboard twice. An' he say he went to some place, he said, to a fortune teller. Said he [fortune teller] told him that a man had put bad luck on 'im, becuz if he fell overboard three times, he said, he would be drown. An'he told 'im when he come home for to go to the church an' to the freshest grave an' get a pocketful of new clay. He wus to wear that in his pocket until it wasted away. An' he went out there an' got a pocketful of new clay, an' when he left - he [fortune teller] told 'im that he would hear some- thing to the church for a long ways, he said, the further he walked - an' when he left the church, why, he heard a laugh until he got home. An' after he wus home, then, he said it disappeared. An' he said all at once sound like he heard some lumber fall right in the yard.
Entry 103
Once upon a time I heard the story that a man - two men were at variance with each other and one of the men died. After two or three months this living man was passing along the road near this house where the other man that was dead did live. And all of a sudden he imagined he saw something and kinda hesitated, and something slapped him, and his head became one-sided and he had to move through life that way. He was never able to turn his head around straight again.
Entry 104
(This is the old witch who wouldn't come around to see me?)
Yes sir.
(What did she do?)
She went to de graveyard an' went to a new grave, and she run her hand down in de dirt, way down about up to her elbow, and got her a handful of dirt, three handful of dirt, put it in a tin cup, an' then, she taken a penny an' put it down in de hole to pay de spirit fer de dust dat she took from de grave dirt, an' it had to be a wicked person wus buried dah. An' she went on den an' fixed de dirt an' made some bluestone dust. An' she put de bluestone dust an' de graveyard dust togethah, an' den she went to de church an' dusted it all around in de church. An' de people got so angry an' got so - an' she said to de ghost, "Go theah an' terrify 'em, terrify 'em." An' de ghost went to de church an' jis' kept ever'body confused all de time in dah an' de preacher had to leave. [A note on my original transcription reads, "Informant repeating a story he had just heard about a woman who wouldn't come to see me." This was just about the first colored witch or hoodoo who refused to meet me; also first boy friend or girl friend to investigate me for the professional worker - see Introduction.]
Entry 105
I heard a church member said dere's a ole man in de church where he were a member - he ain't got much confidence in 'em now 'cause dey did dat - ole man da'd [that would] git mad at anybody at church; you know, he'd fall out with 'em. Well, he'd go to de graveyard an' reach his han' as far in dere as he could, an' he'd git some dirt jis' off, jis' as near de coffin as he could, an' wrap it up, [and] bring it back. Well, he'd put it in somepin thin, cheesecloth or somepin or othah, an' put it in each pocket, in his coat pocket. An' he'd go to church you know, until de preacher git to preachin', you know, an' dat de people git to shoutin', why he jis' git to shoutin' an' go right aroun' near dis person [he's mad at], you know, an' jis' let dis dus' - it woula jis' fly so it'll, a 'hole lot of people would inhale it, an' dey'd git so sometime dey'd git to coughin' Well, dey say, if you git enough of it, it'd kill 'em. [Wilmington, N. Car.,
(215), 208:1; Darien, Ga.,1896.]
Entry 106
Well, you've seen dat in de graveyard - you seen where dere one stick standin' up on dis end [of the grave], de haid [the headboard], an' one on dis end [the footboard]. Well, she'll take his name - she'll know his name, an' I guess she'll get somebody to do dat, because she'll be scared to go dere aroun' two a'clock in de night, see. She'll get somebody to go dere an' jes' call his name - his name John, Will or somepin another - an' say, "Will, I take dat footstoll [footboard], ' an' turn it over an say, "Well, I turn you haid over heel, in de Name of the Lord, therefore, dat He'll find you an' bring you back to me, In the Name of de Lord" - (Say that slower.) [She was speaking this incantation so fast I could hardly understand her.] Well, dis way. "John, I turn you'" - you take dis footstoll [footboard] jis' like dis [demonstrates], an' you turn it over an' say, "As I turn you haid over heel, therefore I don't want you to refuse, an' bring you back to me an' make you love me, In the Name of de Lord, Our Saviour, Jesus Christ." Well, you stick dis one [the footboard] here [at the head of] de grave where de haidboard had been, an' you take dis one [the headboard] an' turn dis one over [and say], "I turn you haid over heel, therefore if you refuse, an' make you love me an' come back to me, In de Name of de Lord, Our Saviour, Jesus Christ." Well, he'll [the man acting for the woman will] run his hand down in de middle of dat grave an' he'll take some of dat dirt, a handful of dat dirt out de grave. Well, dat'll be about dat deep.
(A hole as deep as - up to the elbow.)
Take a handful of dat dirt out an' after you get a handful of dat dirt out, den he'll drop three pennies in dat grave jes' for the spirit, an' [say, ] "I's [I has] pay you to work for me, In de Name of de good Lord, Our Saviour, Jesus Christ." An' he'll walk right aroun' dat grave three times an' he wouldn't look back. An' he would take dat dirt an' he'd throw dat dirt up in de air an' say, "Go, spirit, an' worry 'em up, an' bring 'em back, In de Name of de Lord. Go to de west, east, north an' south, de four corners of de world an' wheresomever you may be." He'll come. An' if he right in dat town, you don't have to do dat but twice; if he's out dat town, you gotta do it nine times, nine nights. You go dere after twelve a'clock, between twelve an' one. Den, I don't care where he's at, he'll always contended [contented] with 'er on his mind. He'll come where she's at. I don't care where he's at, unless he's in jail.
Entry 107
Jes' lak if a person botherin' yo', yo' go to a graveyard where a sinful person is an' git dirt off their grave an' put it undah a person's step an' that hag will worry dem. Dat's whut chew call a jack mulatta. (You mean jack-o'-lantern?) No, jes' lak if ah wanta tantilize somebody an' ah know somebody died dat's a evil person, well ah go to their grave an' git dirt from there an' throw it undah de house. Well, dat's whut yo' call a jack mulatta an' it'll come in jes' lak a hag would - would ride yo' tuh death an' tantilize yo' an' de person fo' who ah put it dere couldn't even rest.
(But this doesn't ride you?)
It doesn't ride yo' but it jes' somepin dat tantilize yo' tuh death - nobody couldn't see it but chew.
Entry 108
Jes' lak dere was someone in de crowd dat yo' was trying to find out who did it, killed him, yo' could turn him on his face an' let ev'ry man tetch him, an' de man dat killed him, when he tetch him de wound will start to bleedin' agin.
Entry 109
Now, if a man was to get kilt in my house an' it was a crowd there. Now, if I want anybody found out who kilt that man, I wouldn't let nobody come out of my house. I git me a straw [demonstrates] an' break it an' make a cross - jis' lak this, right across his forehead, an' let ev'ryone of den step over this man whut's dead. Well, now, when de right one stepped over this man whut's dead, well then de nose begins bleeding - that's him.
Entry 110
A white man killed another white man in slavery time - had killed him for years. An' one day they was riding 'long an' he says, "Thare zem bones - I killed dat fellah ten or fifteen or twenty years ago." An' de other fellah says tuh him, "Aw hush, git down an' let's see yo' tetch 'em." An' dey say, when he touched de bones, de blood come out - out that bone, an' he had him 'rested. An' that was de evidence - dat blood.
Entry 111
Yo' take him lak yo' fixin' tuh bury him an' yo' turn him on his face. Well, yo' see if that man is on his face an' yo' bury dat man, de man or woman dat killed him, she's worried until she goin' soon come up an' it ain't goin' be ovah nine days 'fore she goin' come up an' give herself up.
(How did you say they carry him out of the house?)
Jes' lak if dere's a windah on dis side - well, jes' lak a windah dis heah, yo' take him out dis windah on dis side. No, don't chew take him out de do'. Carry him out either one dese windah but don't take him dis way. Let him be goin' dis Way, where de sun set at. Don't nevah take him where de sun rise - it's not goin' work as fast. But if yo' put him on his face an' carry him out de way de sun go down, it won't be nine days 'fore she goin' come back.
(You carry him out the door, though?)
No suh, don' take him out de do'. Yo' wanta put him out de windah - take his body out de windah. Let him be on his face an' take his body out de windah.
Entry 112
Well, you can find that out very easily. If I killed you and it seemed to be hard fer anybody to understand how it was done and who done it. See, you won't be naked, you bound to have some clothes on. They'll strip your clothes right off and put 'em to de side and get ready fer to lying you out as a corpse - you know, take 'em and stretch 'em right out right in de casket and lay you right on top of 'em. And I don't care where you are or where I am - if I've kill yuh, why I'm bound to be coming dere, and the moment I comes near, why the blood will gush out chure mouth and nose. It's not necessary to have the law do anything to me at all after dis, because I can't stay here. You bound to take me along with you.
Entry 113
Git chew a fresh yard aig an' tie it in his right han' an' bury him on his face. Now, dat happen right chere about fo' yeahs ago, right at dis basin [dock for ships along Mississippi River] befo' dey closed it in. A colored fellah kilt a girl dere an' got away, an' her mothah didn't know whut tuh do. So she sent ovah tuh mah house an' got me. So ah says, "Yo' got any chickens roun' heah?" She say, "De lady nex' do'." Ah says, "Tomorrah git me a fresh yard aig." Ah says, "Does yo' min' buryin' dis gurl on her face?" She says, "No, ah'll bury her any way if ah kin find de fellah." She put de yard aig in her han' dis-a-way an' shet her han' up on it an' tied a han'ke'chef ovah it an' buried her on her face. In twenty-four hours he come right dere where he chunked her ovahbo'd an' dis white fellah, de night watchman out dere, caught him. He carried him ovah dere an' called up de law at dis Union Station, an' the law took him ovah to the gurl's mothah's house. Den the girl's mothah went an' had de gurl redug up an' buried on her back. Dey broke his neck outen dis jail out heah.
Entry 114
Ef he killed dis man, you'd git chew a pint of likkah an' lay it right in his breast - crossways in de grave an' dat man cain't stay 'way from dat grave - right across his breast in dat grave an' de man dat killed him, ef he's gone away - don't keer where he done go - he kin go to de No'th Pole - dat's 'bout fer as yo' kin go, to de Eskimo. Well, ef he get ovah to de Eskimo den an! his life is spared an' he git back, he comin' right smack to dat same graveyard, an' he jes' walk around dat grave. Yo' ain't got to hunt fer de man 'tall - jes'
[take a] turn around dat grave.
Entry 115
To make him follow him, they'll go to the woods and they'll get a green switch, which they call a weeping willow switch. See. They place it into the dead man's hand and they talk to this dead man and tell him whoever killed him, in nine days time he must whip this person to death. Or, they'll bust a quart of whiskey on the coffin of the person and then they will also talk to this person and tell them whoever did this trick to whip them. See. And then after they bury the person, they'll plant maybe peas on their grave. See. And when them peas come up, wherever you are, if the law doesn't get you, why you are compelled to die.
Entry 116
I was going through a piece of pines one night - as usually in the summertime, I was tired and throwed myself down by the path by a tree. So this night I started out and I heard a stamping on the ground just as though it were a horse right by the tree I was going to. And I advanced a little more. It didn't only stamp and go like a horse, but it seems as though there was a quick flash around the tree. It seems though it jarred de ground. So I stopped. By and by I started again - the same noise. I started again - the same noise. Then I got out of there pretty quick. My hair was all standing up like that [demonstrates]. It was real. I didn't see anything. The moon Was shining so bright - like this electric light [in my study - late after- noon, March,1936]. I went to the nearest house I could get to. I told the old man about it and stayed there all night. He said, "How Pres, don't you know that place is ha'nted?" I said, "No, I didn't know." So I stayed all night. I don't know why that tree was ha'nted.
Moonlight describes the reported setting; the informant says they did not see anything.
Entry 117
The man was murdered on a certain spot of ground and a tree came up and grew there, and for years afterwards, anytime anyone would strike it or bruise it in any way, there Was a peculiar voice that they could hear. The tree would moan as if it were being mistreated. The people watched it and watched it, and after a long time an older person came along and told them, 'Right along here such-and- such a-one was murdered. There was no tree there then." That was why this tree Was so peculiar. [New York City, (lO), Ed.; Orangeburg Co., S. Car., see FACI, 1st ed., No.10,508; 2ed., Nos.15426-15429.]
Entry 118
This happened near Battleboro, North Carolina. My uncle - was my grandmother's brother - had to watch the team while they was eating in a meadow that was almost grown up. There was a giant oak tree that stood in the meadow. He used to climb in this tree and sit on the branches. One day while he was sitting in this tree and watching his master's team while they grazed, the tree started to moan. He jumped out of the tree and ran into the house just as fast as he could. His master built a fence around this tree and charged people to come in and grew to be a very rich man. People from all over the country would come to this tree.
Entry 119
I saw a ghost one night. I was going up the Riprap Road. A big mul- berry tree was on the ditch bank. When I got right opposite tree a man came out from under this tree. I didn't see no man when I was going up to the tree but when I got there he walked right out on this side, my left side. He said to me 'Where are you going?' I said, "I'm going?" home." He said, "It's a fine evening isn't it?" I said, "Yes." So then - he had on a brand-new pair of shoes, a brand-new broadcloth suit, a hard-bosom white shirt, a black high-top hat. I and him walked on. When I got up to Spring, I said to him, 'I'm going to turn into Spring Street." So then he said, "I'm going this way." And then he tipped his hat to me and said, "Good evening." So the house where I was going at, not being far from the corner, I went to the fence and called the woman to give her her lodge card. She came to the door and said, "Who were you talking to?" I said, "I was talking to a man." She said, "Where is he at now?" I said, "He's gone up the road." In the meantime he turns around and comes back and when he gets in sight for her to see him, I said to her, "There's the man now." She said, "I don't see nobody." I said, "You don't see nobody?" She said, "No." She said, "Where's he going?" I said, "He's going right back to the tree." And so when he got to the tree that's where he disappeared. Then I said, "oh, I've been talking with a ghost." And I commenced to running and I run until I got home and fell in the door. Mama said, "What in de world is de matter with you?" I said, "Mama, I've been talking to a ghost." And she said, "You're always out seeing ghoses."