Browse:SPIRITS (Volume 1, entries 16–544)/Part 2
SPIRITS
Volume 1, entries 16–544. 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."
Entry 120
Once an old man by the name of uncle Esham would go on a hunting trip every night, Sundays included. Friends tried their best to refrain him from going hunting on Sunday but the old man continued as if nothing was said. One Sunday night he heard a voice speaking from a tree, saying, "Esham, Esham, what is the matter with you? You hunt Monday night, you hunt Tuesday night, you hunt Wednesday night, you hunt Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night. Poor 'coons [racoons] can't get no rest." The old man would just listen and go on hunting just the same. One Sunday night when the old man passed be- neath the tree, not only did the voice speak to him, but when he looked around he saw red eyes, a man standing with his tongue out, pointing down the road. And he also said, "Esham, Esham, what is the matter with you? You hunt Monday night, you hunt Tuesday night, you hunt Wednesday night, you hunt Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night. Poor 'coons can't get no rest." Just as this was spoken the tree fell down and killed uncle Esham. He was found lying there the next day. The story was told by an old man who used to follow uncle Esham about a hundred yards away. And that was the end of uncle Esham. My grandmother told me the story.
Entry 121
An' ah'll tell yo' anothah one. What ah'm goin' tell yo' it's true, 'cause it happened 'bout mah brothah - whut he experienced, yo' see. Well, we were at whut dey call de Peedee River. Ah don't know whethah yo' know where dat is or not. Well, it called Peedee Rivah. Ah wus haulin' wood one time. Ah wus livin' in town but ah be keepin' roun' de stable an' haul de wood into de town. An' ah come in dere [to town] dat night. When ah come in mah brothah say - he say, "Ben, let's go see some girls." Ah say, "Well, ah don't care." An' whensomevah we got ready tuh go dat night, he says [to the man he was visiting], "Leave de fiah to yore home." He [de man] say, "Why leave de fiah?" An' he tole him, "Tuh go on dat day." An' he say, "Ah'm goin' come back tuh school tomorrow." Dat's de fellah wus seein' his own death. [He had been attending school (staying with this man), had dropped out, and had suddenly decided to return to school tomorrow - "Tuh go on dat day."] An' when he said dat den, jes' as he walk out de do'step, a light come this-a- Way an' come right down by de corner of de steps in a big ball of fiah - jes' lak down, an' it come right down by de corner of de steps an' it stayed a good while. So we went on to dis girl's house - it wus a big dance, a big dance. An' we went on tuh dance. An' he say, "Ah don't b'lieve ah'll dance tonight." He says, "Ah b'lieve ah'll sing," he says, "ah'll git mo' bettah sense outa singin' den ah will dancin'." He went tuh singin' an' he sing a lot - he sing - sing - louder. An' so he says, "Ben," he says, "let's go." Well, when we starts back on de southboun' track, train comin' south - we wus on de no'thboun' track comin' southwards. We went on de - ah mean comin' no'th- wards, de train on de southboun' track comin' no'th. An' we jes' walkin' 'long, an' here wus dis train. He begin to - he says, "Well, ah'm off till tomorrow." An' ah.wents ahead. [Two persons walking in the narrow space between the rails walk Indian file - one behind the other.j An' when ah look back he wus behin' me - jes' lak, yo' know, he not payin' any 'tenshun to anyone. He wus behin' me when ah look back. De train wus jes' dat close when ah look, de train wus jes' dat close. An' he look back, which-an'-why - when ah turn roun' an' look back, he turn roun' an' start lookin' back too. An' whensomevah he looked back dat train ketched him. See, de train ketch him, jes' clipped him - all de back of de haid off, broke all de ribs of his back, broke both laigs.
Entry 122
My mother said, about three days before she died, she saw a light in the room and this light kept going around the room. She followed it all around the room with her eyes. We asked her what she was looking at. She said she saw this light. When anybody in the family was going to die, my mother would always see a light in the room - then she knew there was no hope for them. [New York City, (1), by hand; Wilmington, N. Car.,1930. I interviewed all my Wilmington infor- mants in this house - see note preceding No.1.]
Entry 123
This woman kept a bad place on the wharf, like where sylors [sailors] came in. She Was taking little young girls. She died and nobody could run this house and restaurant any more. This ball of fire would be running all over the place. This ball of fire was this woman. Her spirit came in the ball of fire because she was such a wicked old woman. They tore the house down. [New York City, (1), by hand, at Wilmington, N. Car., about 1911.]
Entry 124
A man once told me that a spirit made a remark that he would be home on a certain night. He told his people exactly how he would come. He would appear in a light on the wall. When the hour arrived he really came just as he said. That night he played all around the room just as he already said, then quietly went out and did not return.
Entry 125
I do know a story about a church up here. This church is near Shelby- ville, Delaware. At present this church is closed. And in this church there is a very large Bible. And they say that anyone who goes in there and tries to carry this Bible out, they will not be able to get away further than the door. There are certain cases where people actually tried to take this Bible out and the person claimed that it became so heavy that finally they would have to drop it before they got to the door. And on other occasions before, they claim that motorists who pass there in the evening see lights in the church and they can hear people talking and singing.
Entry 126
This is about a old cemetery. It was on a farm in the State of Virginia below Suffolk. This farm was owned by a white man. His name was John H. He had four sons. They were very brave boys. They used to tell me of a light that would arise from the cemetery on a damp or rainy night. This light would go about four feet in the air and then disappear. They offered to pay me money to go there but I would not go. One offered me five dollars to hang my hat on a tombstone but I would not do it.
Entry 127
My mother said that when she was a young girl [during slavery], a house girl, she used to have to sit up and wait for her mistress and master to come home. She had to serve ice water. She seen two graveyards fighting each other - they were throwing balls of fire, they were fighting.
Entry 128
If you see a light and you follow that light and keep on following the light, do you think you're going to get to that light? You can't get to it. It's quite likely it's way out in the river and you'll walk overboard. If your parents are terribly, terribly smart and they should look out at nighttime and see those lights, they said, "This is a night for jack-o'-lanterns. I'm going to put an iron in the fire, my children are out, ' for feared they will get led off by jack-o'-lanterns. They used to take a poker from the fire hearth. I put it right along these ashes in the fire and let it stay right there. It will make the jack-o'-lanterns vanish, they tell me. Keep it right there until the children get back. Of course after that they had nothing to worry about.
Entry 129
What they tell me about a jack-o'-lantern, it's like a ghost, just as ragged as they could be. They carry a light, and they would lead you in the Worsest briers and brambles they could find, and all through water to terrify you. They say they would laugh at you.
Entry 130
I've often heard that a Jack-a-ma-lantern is nothing but a weed that wanders at night, a unknown creature invisible to people on this earth. The weed is invisible.
Entry 131
[An old woman (my informant) said that jack-o'-lanterns were little people, misshapen and browned-skinned who carried small lanterns with them at night while out hunting. The following day they spent their time cooking what had been caught the preceding evening. They never appeared during the day, and at night if you meet them they were harmless.] [I discovered after the informant had left that I had failed to record this information on the Ediphone - I wrote up the account immediately.]
This is an immediate written account by the author of information he says was not recorded on the Ediphone.
Entry 132
A man followed one of those jack-o'-lanterns. He took him everywhere. It led him a mile through the brush and through the water. Yes, that's just what I was coming to. He began to guess it was a jack-o'-lantern and as soon as he thought of his knife and opened it, it turned into a lump of jelly. No, he did not know it then. It just disappear. But next morning when he went back he found the lump of jelly.
Entry 133
I've had jack-a-ma-lanterns after me right at twelve o'clock noon day. I had my horse and wagon in the woods - filled my wagon with wood. Starting out of the woods I seen a limb, a large limb. I got off the wagon, trimmed the limb up, cut it in two and three pieces, started back to the wagon. And I walked about five minutes looking for my wagon. I continued to walk. I lost my horse, wagon and all and didn't know where they were, and they wasn't as much as twenty-five yards from me. I couldn't get myself together. I walked until I got out to the old field and I looked at houses I really knowed and I couldn't even recognize what houses they were. My horse nickered in the woods and when he nickered I came back to myself just the same as I had changed clothes. I went right to him, got on the Wagon, and I couldn't find the limb. I was walking so long that I had thrown this limb down. So my mother told me that it was a jack-a-ma-lantern.
Entry 134
I've heard my mother say, any time a jack-a-ma-lantern gets after you, you lay down or set down and they'll leave you.
Entry 135
If you meet a jack-a-ma-lantern, you pull off your coat and turn it wrongside out and put it on again; then he would drop into the ground, his light wouldn't burn, and he would stop following you.
Entry 136
They say when a jack-a-ma-lantern gets after you you either have to turn one of your pockets wrongside outwards of it. You got a two-blade knife you can open that and they won't lead you nowhere.
Entry 137
De whirlwind, well dat suppose tuh be a spirit in dat whirlwind. Some- times it's a good one an' othah times it's a bad one, but de main point of it is, it is a spirit. Den a person is suppose tuh walk backwards ten steps an' concentrate his mind, an' whatevah his mind fall on, dat's a good spirit or a bad spirit; whatevah it says, see, tuh him. An' if he has somepin tuh do, dat mind will tell him tuh go do dat - he do it, especially when he see de whirlwind; an' if dat mind tell him not tuh do, it's best fo' him not tuh do it.
Entry 138
(They say that whirlwind's a spirit?) [I am repeating what he had just said.] (Do they say you can do anything to it?) Well, dey say dat's a evil spirit, an' it's gittin' away from de good spirit, an' de two spirits are havin' a argument, an' dat's de evil spirit gittin' away from de good spirit.
Entry 139
Whut ah heard people say it wus; dat it wus a evil spirit - jes' lak a person dies wicked an' he wants to come back roun' his home or somepin lak dat, an' he comes in a whirlwind.
Entry 140
Some say it's - ah don't know how true it is, but ah heard some people say dat's de ole daid people yo' know. Say dey gits in a whirlwind. Yo' see, when dey comin' round whirlin' lak dat, dey call dat a whirlwind. It goes into different places - it goes into de woods, sometime yo' kin hear bushes rattlin'. Ah used to heah mah ole parents say dat's called to be some daid people. Ah don't know how true it is, yo' know.
The source says some daid people and explicitly questions the report; it does not name a ghost or establish Ghost/Whirlwind equivalence.
Entry 141
Say dat's de spirit of de person dat owns de great lord's plantation - say dat's de day dem come roun' lookin' at all de places. An' den jes' lak if ah reckon - say dat be dem comin' roun' lookin' ovah de place, jes' a whirlwind spirit. (This whirlwind is the spirit of the old owner of the plantation looking over it.)
Entry 142
Dat whirlwind is a daid spirit - jes' somebody jes' wandering around or some daid spirit somebody send to yo'. An' that spirit jes' wandering roun', he Wandering roun' where yo' at. He come to yo' from de grave to where yo' at; but dat wind, see it ain't de wind. An' hit come down dat way - yo' kin tell it de minute yo' see, don't care whut time a day it is; but it coming to yo"cording to whut time a person send it to yo', cause yo' see dey works on de moon wit it. It's always jes' a bad spirit. If hit comin' tuh harm yo', yo' goin' know it. If it comin' tuh harm yo', it goin' git direct in yore way where yo' kin see an' yo' can't he'p from seein' it tuh save yore life. But if it ain't tuh harm yo hit goin' work clean 'way round yo' an' it gwine to somebody's else path. (Suppose it is coming toward you, is there anything you can do to stop it or break that up - you know, to protect yourself against it?) No suh, ah nevah heard whut dey do to stop it. But dey tells me when yo' see one, if yo' usin' a hammer - yo' see, it ain't got [to be] a natch'ral nail, but den dey got de nail in view, an' den jes' so many time a day dat hammer nail, dat gain yo' so many days from bad luck or good - it's always mostly fo' bad. I don' nevah hear talk dat it was fo' good. [If you have a hammer in your hand or near- by when you see a whirlwind, as many times as you hit a nail or an imaginary nail that day will be the number of days you will be free from bad luck.]
Entry 143
Ah have heah 'em say whut a whirlwind wus. When yo' see a whirlwind lak dat, it somepin lak whut dey call a hazen [spirit]; said yo' have tuh look ovah yore left shoulder, ah think, if yo' wanta see whut wus in it, in de whirlwind.
Entry 144
Say it wus ha'nts, an' if yo' wanta see who wus in dere, jes' go to a sow dat's got little peegs an' suck her tits an' jump in dat whirlwind an' yo' see ever'thing that's in dere.
Entry 145
(If a fellow sees a whirlwind coming, he's gotta stop it?) [I am repeating informant's statement.] (How will he do that?) He take a sifter an' hold it up.
(Well, what does he want to stop it for?)
Make it turn dat way, it won't come to 'em.
(Well, what if it can't turn, what would happen?)
Nuthin'. It jes' goes an' stop it. Lak ah see somebody separatin' rain, too; lak rain comin', dey hol' a hatchet up - one part [of the rain] go dat way an' de othah one go dat-a-way, split it.
Entry 146
Folks say de devil in de whirlwind. An' ah heard 'twas witches - de ole witch where dey has sold deyself to de devil yo' know, at de fo'k of de road; dere where dey had buried de [what?] or somepin 'nothah yo' know, an' sold dey- self to de devil. An' so when dey come back tuh see 'bout it, dey come in de whirlwind.
Entry 147
When it start tuh runnin', take some salt an' throw into it while it's a-runnin', ah hear dem say, an' it won't whirl where yo' live no mo'. (Why wouldn't you want it to whirl where you live - why do you make it go away from there?) It's yore enemies. Dey say it's jes' yore enemies - dese ha'nts an' things, yore enemies. Want chure enemies go 'way from dere, throw de salt into it.
Entry 148
Some people say if you shoot in that whirlwind, there will be fire right in front of it.
Entry 149
Chunk a knot, a lighter knot in it, a lightwood knot.
(A knot from a lighter pine?)
Dat's right. Well, dey say yo' kin take an' chunk one of them in it an' it will whirl away. Yessuh, whut ah mean, it will jes' go on away. An' some say it's spells [someone is trying to put a spell on you] an' some say it's de sign of a quarrel.
The informant names the knot for a proposed act; the target of it is not named in this excerpt.
Entry 150
(What do they say about the whirlwind - what do people say it is?)
Say dat if yo' whistle at it, it will stop fightin'.
(Did you ever try it?)
No, ah nevah tried it. Ah 'fraid it might stop sho' nuff.
Entry 151
(What did they say the whirlwind was, now?)
A hurricane from de Gulf of Mexico, an' when it git up aroun' heah, see, it would be so small it wouldn't harm anything.
Entry 152
(They say that was what?)
Dat a sign of dry weather.
(This whirlwind?)
Yessuh. A small one dey took as a sign of a cyclone or hurricane, yo' know, wit de sand in it.
Entry 153
It's a sign of rain if dat goes ovah a creek - dat [is] a whirlwind. If it winds ovah de creek, [they] say it's goin' be a rain. [A spirit can not cross water, because this circling wind crossing water is an ordinary whirlwind - but, after it has crossed water, it is possible for a spirit to enter.and ride it.]
Entry 155
Ah heard 'em say when that whirlwind wus on, that they had see - says, well, de trouble wus all ovah. Whosomevah seen de whirlwind, says they troubles wus all ovah.
Entry 156
If it goes straight up, everything is clear.
(This whirlwind - everything is clear.)
If it goes up an' keep a-gittin' less an' less, dat clears up - dere's no impediment on yo' gen'ally.
(You generally will be lucky - something of that sort?)
Yes.
(What if it falls down?)
An' jes' goes towards a branch [a brook], why things goin' be boist'rous fo' yo'. [This is based upon the weather significance of whirlwind.]
Entry 157
When yo' see a whirlwind, if yo's quick enough at it an' yo' have a great 'sponsibility on yo' dat chew cain't git [manage], chew know; yo' run right quick an' git chew some table salt in yore han' an' run right in dat whirlwind whilst it whirlin' up, an' all yore troubles of whatevah yo' thinkin' about, whatevah troubles yo' have, would go 'way with the wind - with that whirlwind.
Entry 158
Yo' will have bad luck, dat if yo' be in de center of dat, yessuh. Yo' know sometime it be right near to yo' an' dey say yo' have bad luck if yo' be in dat lil' whirlwind. Yessuh, if yo' git inside of it.
Bad luck is reported as conditional on being inside the whirlwind; merely being nearby is not asserted to cause it.
Entry 159
When a whirlwind is in front of yore do', goin' whirl roun' lak dis, it's a sign of fights - someone gon'a fight.
Entry 160
Dat's de sign of a quarrel.
(When you see a whirlwind out in the street?)
Yeah.
Entry 161
Dey says de whirlwind represents up a fuss. If it start up in mah yard, it represents a fuss. If it come through mah yard an' go in jes' what- soevah direction de whirlwind goes, de row is goin' in de same direction - de fuss. It'll be goin' in de same direction de whirlwind go out at.
(How do you mean, if there is a fuss in your house or what?)
They'll fuss at my house or either dey'll start in front of my house. Well, if it keep up, it'll start right there an' keep right straight up. Well, de fuss supposed tuh be right heah. Well, if it start heah an' git tuh whirlin' right heah an' keep goin', well de fuss goin' on somewhere else, but it start there.
Entry 162
[They] said dat a evil man had died an' had some money buried, an' he come back an' be visitin' where dis treasure he had buried.
(That is, this whirlwind?)
Yessuh.
Entry 163
Anywhere sometime, lak dat a whirlwind wus stopped dat-a-way, a fellah would watch it. Dey claim right where it stop at dere's a hidden treasure. A hidden treasure generally be where it stop at. Dey prove it. Jes' watch it where it stop at.
Entry 164
I went to visit my aunt at Suffolk, Virginia, on Memorial Day [May 30] and they didn't know where the graveyard was. Nobody had lived on this land for about forty-five years and it was somewhat grown up. And the place they told me to go now stands a giant tree. The only way she could describe the direction of the cemetery - she told me I would find two giant walnut trees in the middle of the field and if I would go to the largest tree and take about twenty-five steps to the south, that is where the kitchen door was; and if I would turn to the north and go about two hundred yards I would see just about where the cemetery Was. So I took a girl friend and another boy friend and started to take a wreath to put on my grandmother's grave, or what I thought was the grave. So I went to the place - tried to get the right direction - and as I started towards what I thought would be the cemetery, there arose a great whirlwind. I didn't see any- thing: but there was just a whirlwind. It hurled itself across what had been a field, so I decided it must of been a spirit of relatives. I had an aunt and an uncle and a host of cousins buried there and grandmother. If that was a ghost, I think it was trying to direct me where the cemetery was. I went to about where the whirlwind stopped and placed the wreath.
Entry 165
Dey say it's death.
(This whirlwind. How do you mean it's death?)
Somebody's goin' tuh die in de community. So ah hear de ole folks say.
Entry 166
Sometime dey say it's confusion, sometime dey say death; but whensomevah yo' see dat whirlwind go round an' round lak dat, yo' watch it an' dere'll be a fuss or a fight or somebody probably git killed, jes' where it stop. Dat's whut dey say about dat.
(Do you know what they used to say about that?)
Yeah. Well, dey say some ole devil died dere, somepin lak dat - yo' know, some bad person. Some evil spirit or somepin lak dat. Dat's whut dey call dat evil spirit.
Entry 167
Ah heard that they say it's the devil in that whirlwind - when the whirlwind goes round an' round lak that, dey say it's de devil.
(Are you supposed to do anything to it?)
Ah dunno.
Entry 168
Dey say dat is de devil in his chariot an' if yo' wanta jes', yo' know, do wicked things, why yo' could git dat dust an' sprinkle roun' a person's premises. It will always keep a man an' his wife at arms at each othah. It will keep a household in confusion if yo' jes' take dat dust, yo' know, an' sprinkle it roun' dere premises; an' it will always be ways where they would be at arms at each othah, an' break up de peace of a home wit dat same dust.
Entry 169
De whirlwind - if yo' kin ketch it, but it's hard tuh ketch - yo' kin stop dat an' jis' lak dat goes, yo' done dat. Dat's yore signal, yo' got dat. De devil, yo' got him 'cause dat's de devil. De whirlwind is de devil.
(What do you do with that dust?)
Keep in de pocket an' yo' kin conker anybody.
Entry 170
Lak dey take peoples carryin' on work, heah, yo' know - jes' lak yo' go to a crossroads an' sell yo'self to de devil - an' he'll come an' git chew in a whirlwind. [Informant, like devil, got me in a whirlwind! After the interview and she had left, I comment to microphone: "(This woman who was just in here almost ran me crazy fanning herself with the newspaper; the room is so hot)" - she was flapping a battered newspaper near my concealed microphone. For weather while collecting, see Introduction.]
Entry 171
Dey tole dat wus de devil. (That whirlwind is the devil? Did you ever hear them say that they could do anything to it?) Say yo' go dere an' take yore knife an' cut through It, it will be bloody when yo' tuk it out.
Entry 172
Look at de whirlwind an' turn roun' an' look ovah yore shoulder, yo'll see de devil.
(Which shoulder?)
De left shoulder.
Entry 173
Dey says dat wus de devil whuppin' his wife, de whirlwind jes' goin' round an' round.
Entry 174
Dat de devil beatin' his wife - de whirlwind. Git a rusty nail an' drive it down in there. That'll stop it - say, if it don't stop, yo'll heah 'em fussin'.
Entry 175
Dey say yo' throw yore pocketknife in it an' yo'll see de devil.
(The whirlwind.)
[Informant is old man 87 who came barefoot according to note at end of inter- view - he also sat on the floor during the interview and I had to stand up to see him.]