Browse:Witch Takes off Her Skin (Volume 1, entries 439–456)
Witch Takes off Her Skin
Volume 1, entries 439–456. Source context: SPIRITS → THE HAG - WITCH IN HAG FORM. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 439
I knew of an old man and he used to live at northwest Berlin [Maryland] and he was alone, and a woman stayed with him keeping house. And so she used to Watch him at night and she said he would go to an old wooden chest, and she would play that she was asleep, and he would go to de chimney, a old fireplace chimney and outten he would go up de chimney. She said she would lay there and sometimes would drop off to sleep for an hour or two. After awhile she would hear somepin scuttering. Down the chimney then he would come and go to this old box.
Entry 440
The old people tell this, that they [witches] take something, put on de hand and rub under their arms, went and smoothed it back of the chimley and say, "Mount devil and fly." And out their skin dey went.
Entry 441
He [informant's father] use to say that he heard that before they [witches] go out to do their mischief, that they would take a ole grease and grease all over. They kept the grease in a gourd - the big gourd for drinking. [Wilmington, N. Car., (158), 152:1; informant Carrie [Mrs. Gavin], in whose house I interviewed at Wilmington, was a sister of Julia in No. 1.]
Entry 442
An' they went tuh work - yes, if dey wanted tuh ketch de hag. An' they went tuh work and sit at his hour. Dey got [discovered] his hour he comes in to do his work and dey sit where he comed in, caught his trick - he'd git out of his skin [getting out of his skin was his trick]. Dey went tuh work after he come out of his skin, in order to ketch him so dey would know whether it was de man who was haggin' de people. [This is the only time I heard the verbal form of hag.] They took salt an' peppah an' put it in his skin, and when he come back an' pick up his skin - started to go back in it, it would burn him. He had a way of sayin', "Skin, skin, do yo' know me? Skin, skin, do yo' know me?" An' dey say his skin would crawl right back ovah his body an' he'd become all right. But the folks caught him with his trick by putting peppah an' salt in his skin, and dey find dat dat wus de man whut was haggin' de people.
Entry 443
I often hear people say a witch will ride yo'. Well, some people say, "Oh, dat's' [fogyism] - all right. So she goes in de room one night an' put her some salt right down by dis boy's bed. All right, an' she takes a little salt an' sprinkle it round, yo' know, at de side of de bed lak right along heah where yo' got'a git in de bed. An' say dis witch come - when dey git on yo', why dey pull off dere skin, yo' know an' git on yo'. See, de witch throwed de skin down on de flo' an' when it throwed it down why it got salt on it. When it jumped back in de skin, why it make a noise - de salt be burning yo' see an' it couldn't git back in de skin. So dey caught dat witch. Said it was a Woman right dere in town. Said dey caught dis lady an' said de white folks got her an' took her out an' burned her. Dat's a real fact. She [who?] tole me about it - dey took her out an' dey said dey burned dis lady.
Entry 444
Ah've heard dat dere wus a boy travelin' once an' he stopped at a lady's house - some widow wimmins wus stayin' out to deyselves, a whole lot of 'em, an' so he wus layin' dere an' he heard 'em whisperin' an' talkin' roun' dere an' he gits up an' peeks an' see whut dey wus doin'. Dey went up de chimley an' got somepin othah, an' dey - all three of 'em or all fo' of 'em - jes' put somepin on deyselves yo' see, an' say, "Devil, speedily fly." Yeah sir, an' said dey went right on out an' dis boy he got up an' done de same. An' he went on out an' then he found hisself in de store right whare dey wus. Well, when dey got whut dey wanted, dey said de same words an' dey went right back home whare dey come from. An' dis boy he said, "Lord, have mercy, ah don't know how ah'm goin' git out chere." An' he jes' turned right back lak he wus. An' so dey went dere den an' dey found him in dere an' he told dem how dey done an' carried 'em an' showed 'em how dey done, an' dey found deyself - dey Was in dat same store. An' dey said they burnt them [the witches] up.
(Where did you hear that storv?)
Ah heard de story when about fifteen yeah old.
Entry 445
Now, yo' take whut dey used to call de witches - yo' take a grease an dey'll grease deyselves all ovah, jes' like dey goin' out tuh do somepin an' git clean out dere skin. Well, when dey git clean out dere skin dey'd be in de house; dey has a word dey say, "Round an' about - out de keyhole go." Right out de keyhole dey'll go. Well, dey go on out an' do whut dey's gon'a do an' come back. And when dey come back, dey'd say de same thing, "Round an' about de key- hole - out de do' we go." Well, dey'd come back in. When dey'd come back in dey'd git back into dey skin, git in - walk up to de skin, say, "skinny, don't chew know me?" An' dey'd jump an' if - now, if a person be lucky 'nuff, dey'd git dere befo' dey git in dere skin an' take dat skin, den dey couldn't git back in it.
(What did the witches do - what did the witches used to do?)
Well, dey say now, witches, dey used to ride hosses. Dey go to a cowpen an' milk cows an' go in a smokehouse an' take meat an' things. Well, dey all jes' carry dat back to dey homes - dey nevah did do nuthin' but jes' practice dat.
(Were these men or women?)
Mens an' wimmin.
(Did the witches do any conjuration at all - or not?)
Well, dey done a whole lot'a dis cunjuration. Dey claim dat dat's where de cunjuration come from - de witch crowd.
(Were you born here in Georgia?)
Yes suh, born in Georgia.
Entry 446
There was a witch that used to go out every night. She would ride different people. Anyhow, she kept on riding different people. After awhile someone Was smart enough to go to work and ketch up with her. They caught her as she come out of her skin and they sprinkled salt into her skin. And when she came in and goes to work to put her skin on, the salt had drawn her skin up And her words was, "Do witch! Do come! Come on skin!" She couldn't get in her skin and died.
Entry 447
This is a story I used to hear my grandmother tell. There was once an old witch who used to go out every night. So one night she went out and jumped out of her skin and left it hanging on the door. So some of the folks in her house salted it and the next morning she came in late and jumped into her skin and it stung her so she jumped out and say, "Lookee here, old skin, don't you know me?" And she jumped in again and out again and say, "Lookee here, old skin, don't you know me?" So at last it worried her so she died.
Entry 448
"If you don't come in, a old witch will catch you." [This was a warning to children when they stayed outside too late at night.]
The editor characterizes the quoted statement as a warning to children who stayed outside late.
Entry 449
It was suppose to happen there home in the country. She was suppose to be a witch. That was years ago. My father used to tell us about it to scare us. I used to be a-scared to look out of the door at night, thought I would see her standing there out of her skin. At a certain time in the evening she would go about what they called witch-riding. Dem days witch-riding is what we call these days stagnation of the blood. Why I said that - when I came out of a operation in the hospital I saw about one thousand cats. The cats just clawed me. I woke up trying to get away from them cats. This witch would get out of her skin and go to somebody's place at night when they were asleep and ride dem. They would see things, just lak dem cats I told you about. She did that every night. Some- body said to find out where she lived and go where she lived and put salt in their skin. They leave their skin behind when dey go out, get right out of it. I don't know how they found out where she lived. When she came back to go into this skin she couldn't get in it. They must never let the light [dawn] catch dem without being in their skin - they will die sure. She couldn't get into the skin and dey say she went down [to the river] and jumped overboard.
Entry 450
There was a old witch. She said, "I'm gon'a get out of my skin and when I come back I will get in my skin." She lifted it right off like this [informant demonstrates, putting her hands to her shoulders and taking hold of the skin, lifted it off as she would her nightgown]. If you haven't anybody wise enough, she can go and stir up trouble. One time when she was out of her skin they put salt in it and when she got back she said, "Oop! My skin doesn't know me." She couldn't get in it. She died.
Entry 451
I've hear'n about one getting out of his skin and couldn't get back in. That had been going on for a long time. They had been missing some of the food, so they decided they would really watch to see. So this old man came in. They said he commenced to shake and shake like that [twisting his shoulders]. They said they were a-watching of him and they said he got out of his skin. They said he looked to be putting something [grease] on himself. I don't know what he put on. And they said when they came to look at him, sure enough, he pull it off and laid it aside, then he commenced going all over the place and getting ever what he wanted. In the meantime some of them said to put pepper and salt in that skin. They said he couldn't get back in. The last they saw of him he Was saying, "SkinI Skin! Don't you know me?" That's the last they saw of him. Then they left. They were scared to hang around for fear he might do them some harm. That's the end of it as far as I know. I was a small child when I hear'n that. That was seventy years ago [1866].
Entry 452
My grandmother, she knew of a party in this community that were accused of being a witch in her day [during slavery]. And this party always denied it. And they figured up ever' way to trick her. So finally they goes to the stable - this'll sound so unusual, but of course we had to believe it - and they find dat de horse was gone. The horse Was gone and there was her [the witch's] hide. They taken the hide and they put salt and pepper in the hide and that's how they found who the witch was.
Entry 453
I've heard the old story about the old lady who went out one night to a country fair and coming back home she thought she heard a noise. When she got in the house a witch was there. She saw herself [she herself saw] a witch. She looked and she shook and she crooked - and she moaned and she groaned - and she couldn't get out of her skin. She looked like she Was as tight as a fish in its skin. Just at once somebody shook her and she came to her senses and the witch was gone.
Entry 454
Once upon a time dey said there was an old woman and there was a certain family that was always pestered with what they called nightmares or hags. They called it hags in those days. Some people would get 'em. It seems it would bear on 'em so hard until they would just holler in their sleep. It was called a hag. And so, once upon a time, an old woman came and she said to the other woman, "You know what you do? You sprinkle salt all around your bed and later on you'll find out what that is that's bothering you." So that night the woman sprinkled salt all around her bed. She got in her bed. At the usual hour this thing came and she got all overpowered with it. She jumped up in her sleep and when she jumped up there was a man standing there. And he said, "Skin! skin! You don't know me! Skinl Skin! You don't know me!" So the woman caught him. And it was some man that she knew that was a witch. And he pulled his skin off and laid it down, then torment her. When he got ready to put it back on that night, it had salt on it and he could not put it back on. They said they caught him and tortured him and really destroyed him, because this other witch instructed them how to catch him.
Entry 455
(Did you ever hear that story about the old witch that got out of her skin - some old witch got out of her skin or something?) Well, yes, I heerd of dat. They tell me once that a witch used to go through the keyhole, get out and go to riding people. They'd get out of dere skin and they'd turn round in de room and say, "Round about, round about, and out you go. Well, they'd go through de keyhole. And they tell me once that a ole man was laying dere - it was chilly, you know, and he happen to watch dis witch. When she'd get out of her skin, he slips dere and takes salt and pepper and peppered dis skin; you know, filled it full of pepper as he could get it. And after he filled it full of pepper, why dis witch come back and went to get in dis skin, dis skin would burn her. Well, she was running round dere and she was hollering, "Skinny, don't choo know me! Skinny, don't choo know me!" Finally she couldn't stand it to get back in her hide, and finally she died.
Entry 456
Dey have some oil what dey grease wit, called witch oil, and dey grease wit dat oil and dey stretch demself and dey out dere skin. Den they go through a keyhole with a fellow, you know, and have a big time with de skin off 'em lak dat; you see, witches. Dey say, one time a old lady done dat and a boy saw her done it, and dey tell me dey put red pepper all in her skin, and so when she come back dat morning for to get in it, to get in her skin, dere was bubbles [?] on her and she couldn't get in it, and said she was laying down in de bed raw - all de skin off of her. So old master come dere and call her to go to work and she couldn't - wouldn't get up, you know. And dey pulled de covers off her and all de skin was off her.