Browse:Spirit Light and Fireball (Volume 1, entries 121–127)
Spirit Light and Fireball
Volume 1, entries 121–127. Source context: SPIRITS → SPIRITS WITH SPECIAL FORMS. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
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.