Subject:Nailed
Entries
Entry 4473
Well, it's a pine tree. If yuh dislike somebody yo' bo' a hole in dat tree. Yuh git dey - yuh know whut ah mean. (Their passage?) Yes, an' git chew a ten-penny nail an' put dat in dere, an' take dat ten-penny nail an' drive it in dere jis' as fur as yo' kin git it in dere. When yuh git through, den yuh fasten dat hole back up. An' yo' won't have no mo' trouble wit 'em 'cuz dey can't live long becuz it comes disaway [demonstrates].
(Comes out through the mouth.)
Yes sir. (Brunswick, Ga., (1211), 2047:9.]
Entry 5153
[The following two accounts of the same rite came from Memphis, but the belief is known elsewhere:] Den yuh kin take dat same lef'-foot shoe an' come tuh de middle of dis house each way, right dere to de middle plank, an' nail it up side - nail it up jis' lak dat. An' dat fellah will den stay at home dere, if it's in de middle of de house. [The shoe is sometime nailed up under the house that has a crawl-space beneath it.]
(You must get right in the middle of the house?)
Yessuh. [A quincunx rite.]
Entry 5173
Nail a person's shoe undah de person's steps where dey live an' drive nine nails in it, in de shoe; an' when dese nails rust completely, dey'll die. (Suppose I would want to do that to you, would I take my shoe or take your shoe?) Mah shoe. (And then put it under your house, put nine nails right through the sole. Drive them down inside or?) Yo' turn dem [shoes] upside down an' drive dem [nails] through dat way [demon- strates]. Dem [nails] come [through] on de inside sole.
(Up [out] through the inside of the shoe.)
Entry 5235
De woman left de man, dis one [story] is, an' de man went an' tried to git 'er back an' he couldn't git 'er back. So he went to a fellah [doctor] de fellah tole him tuh take her shoe soles - found one of 'er ole shoes an' go to a post an' nail it up ovah de post on de sunrise side an' go back home an' not worry an' in three days she'd be back to him.
(Nail it on a post?)
Nail de sole of de shoe up on de side of a sunrise post.
(Just any kind of a post?)
On de side of a telegraph post - nail it up on de side of a telegram post facin' de way she went. In three days dat she'd be back.
Entry 5254
An' den de nex' question yo' kin do wit a fellah's shoes. Yo' kin take shoes an' nail 'em on de carbox [boxcar], de train yo' know on de rail- road tracks. Yo' nail 'em on dere an' yo' supposed tuh go until yo' ketch up wit de shoes. (Which track do you take and throw over your left shoulder?) Yore left-foot track. (What about the shoe, the left foot?) Ah mean de lef'-foot dirt, from undah de dirt. But if yo' want me tuh go an' keep a-goin', take both of mah shoes an' put 'em on de railroad track, on de train.
Entry 5265
Put 'im on a travelin' route. Takin' de shoe fer instan' [for in- stance], an' aftah yuh done wore it awhile, take it an' tack up undah a boxcar - cuz dat train travels. See, dat train travels an' yore mind prakly [practically] travels jis' lak yuh were on it.
Entry 5266
Git a fellah shoe dat he been 'custom tuh weahin'. Take dat inside sole outa dat shoe an' yo' tack it up undah a boxcar, or yo' would fo'ce it down in a coconut. Shet [shut] de coconut up an' put some turpentine wit it, tro' it in de rivah an' leave it drif' down de stream. As it drif' down de stream, his min' will git - regard- less tuh whut job he got, he'll start tuh driftin' an' leave away from de place dat's he [that he's] 'custom tuh be.
Entry 6163
Yuh want me tell about de girl. Well, de love ah had fo' girl. She wuzn't doin' right an' ah fom' 'er oat. An' so ah had knowed it tuh be done an ah 'cided [decided] ah'd try it mah- self. An' so ah made 'er come. She wuz in mah house an' ah took a plait of 'er hir right out de top of 'er haid, an' - well, ah kep' it a long time'an' couldn't git 'er tuh do right. So ah takes it down tuh de stream. Ah takes it down tuhde aatah, dis runnin' stream of watah, where dere's root crosses at de bottom of de stream. Ah nailed it tuh dat root in de bottom of dat stream.
(This hair?)
Yessuh, an' in nine days she got where she couldn't stay home. She couldn't stay nowhere she would git tuh, an' finely [finally] at last she packed 'er suit- Oase an' leave dis town. An' she stayed off foah days an' den come on back, an' Stayed home three days an' went ag'in. An' dat's been twelve months ago an' she ain't been seen back heah since.
Entry 7485
Jes' lak if a person's goin' - jes' say yo'd walk ovah dis flo' heah. Now, yo' could take yore square yo' know an' yo' could take de measure of dat. Take de measure of dat shoe [foot track]. Take de measure of dat shoe an' yo' cut dat, cut dat jes' lak dis heah, yo' undahstan', jes' de shape of dat shoe. See [demonstrates], heah yo' go. See, yo' take dat shoe [track]. Yo' take dat shoe an' yo' measure dat. Yo' take dat up an' yo' watch it, yo' watch de shape of dat shoe. An' yo'll take, say a horseshoe an' yo'll nail dat right up ovah as yo' come - forty inches about dat gate dere - nail dat up dere. An if dey done did anythin' dishones', dey'll come back jes' lak a dead man, de per- son who made dat track, dey'll come back to dat place.
(If they killed anybody?)
If dey killed anybody dey'll come right back to dat place. (Do you put up this shoe track you make [from measurement] under the horse- shoe?) Yes, put dat undah de horseshoe. Nail dat horseshoe.
Entry 8106
Well, if a woman don't like you an' go away, yo' turn it [photograph] upside down [face down?] an' nail it up over the door. It'll bring her back.
Entry 8282
Take dat an' nail dat up in a tree an', if dey wanta kill yuh, dey kin nail dat photograph up an', if yo' in New York or even Philadelphia or Boston, an' dey call yure name, an' put a pistol dere an' shoot dat photo- graph in de heart, won't kill yuh right off; but yo'll pine away, pine away, pine away until yo' die.
Entry 8286
If yo' wanta harm a person, kill a person, say fo' instance, yo' kin draw de fo'm [form] of dat per- son as neah as yo' kin, yo' know. If it's a woman, yo' draw de fo'm of a woman; if it's a man, yo' draw de fo'm of a man. An' yo' git chew a tenpenny nail an' yo' kin go tuh a tree out some- where, an' yo' nail dat fo'm up on dat tree. An' yo' kin take dat powdah outa dat shell, an' yo' kin take a li'le of dat powdah. Yo' go dere fo' nine mawnin's an' yo' take a li'le of dat powdah an' put it aroun' dat nail in dere. Den yo' shoot dat pichure fo' nine mawnin's. An' dat'll kill a person or eithah put 'em in such a shape dat dey'll jis' wanta be daid.
(You don't do anything with that powder at all?)
No, yo' jis' - aftah yo' use a li'le aroun' dat nail, when yo' firs' put de pichure up dere. Put a li'le of dat powdah right aroun' dat nail. Den yo' kin use dat - shoot dat pichure fo' nine mawnin's. But yo' kin use de powdah fo' woman, miscarriage...
Entry 8288
Ah heard dat dey could take yore photograph tuh de woods an' nail it up on de no'th [north] side of a tree, an' shoot at it nine times an dat will kill a person. Yo'll have hemorrhage an' die.
(Well, do they shoot that nine times all at once?)
Nine times, nine days. See, yo' go dere nine times.
(You shoot it once each day?)
Yes.
Entry 8295
(Now what are you going to do with the photograph?) Yo' puts it on a black gum tree an' dat's purely tuh harm yo'. An' den yo'll tell it [tree] whut chew want. [You talk to the tree spirit.] Yo' kin nail it on dat tree an' den yo' shoot it. Dat fer as ah know of dat. It's a black gum an' [or] a short-leaf pine, jes' dem two, either one, but let it be in de swamp.
Entry 8319
Take a person's photograph an' yo' go on de no'th side of a tree. An' yo' take dat tree an' hew dat bark offa dere, an' put dat photograph in dere an' nail it up. An' yo' Walk back from dat tree nine times [steps] an' cuss, an' say whutevah yo' cuss, an' whosevah name yo' call, dat person die.
(You just fasten that on the north side of the tree?)
Yes, cut de bark out an' put de photograph intuh it. (And walk backwards nine steps and cuss and call their name.)
Entry 8327
Nail it tuh de.tree - nail de face up tuh a tree. In othah words, nail it up backwards, an' dat supposed tuh run 'em crazy.
Entry 8328
Yo' kin take his pichure an' make him come back.
(How would they do that?)
Well, yo' kin go tuh a tree an' cut it on a certain side an' nail 'is pichure up in dere wit de face tuhwards it, an' dat'll make him come back.
(The face toward what?)
De tree. Cut de tree an' put 'is pichure right up dere, an' nail it up in dere - up in dat tree. (Well, you said, the face towards what?) De inside of de tree - inside. (And what side of the tree did you make that hole in?) Well, it depend on which way yo' think he's gone; de south side, de north side, eithah one [whatevah direction].
(I see, to make this man come back, when he's run away from that...)
An' dey said yo' could bury de person on dey face an' dat'll make him come back.
(I see.)
Entry 8332
Yo' kin take a per- son's photograph, a tin, on a tintype, an' yo' kin take it an' turn it downwards an' put it on de north side of a tree. An' nail it up an' shot it right by where yore heart is an' yo' will die.
(Where do you put that on the tree, up high or low or what?)
Yo'll put it up about six foot from de ground.
[The person of the photo will soon be 6 feet underground.]
[This rite should have gone under preceding margin title SHoOTING.]
Entry 8345
Dey say if dey git holt [hold] of de pitchure, jes' lak now ah be mad wit joo, take it an' care [carry] it tuh a tree. An' go right tuhwards de way de sun rise, an' nail it intuh de tree. An' den yo' name de day, an' say when dem days is out de person will be out.
Entry 8360
Yeah, yo' takes a pichure. Well, yo' take de person pichure even if yo' in love wit 'em an' even if yo' see where dey don' mean tuh stay wit choo, an' yo' Wanta git rid of 'em fo' good. Yo' takes de pichure an' yo' goes tuh whut dey call a'simmon tree, an' de firs' two [limbs forming a] no'th fo'ks yo' see, den yo' takes de pichure an' tacks it up in de no'th fo'k. De no'th fo'k. Yo' find two fo'ks [limbs] run out jes' lak dat [demonstrates]. Put de pichure right in de daid centah.
(In the center of that fork?)
Yeah, right in de centah of dat fo'k. De fo'k may be a long ways up yondah, but still yo' kin see dat pichure.
(Well, how would you put it in that fork?)
Yo' don't put it intuh dat. Yo' nails, it, drive a nail through de centah. Den yo' walk back tuh it three days. Yo' pass dat same tree three days. An' when yo' pass dere yuh mind will git on dat tree forcible. Den aftah de third day, yo' take de pichure down an' conceal it from yo' fo' good.
(Hide it any place?)
Yes, anywhere, anywhere dat chew won' come in contact wit it any mo'.
(What will that do then?)
Well, dat'll put off whatevah yo' goin' through ovah wit. Dat will send 'em away fo' good.
(They won't come back again?)
Dey won't come back.
Entry 8367
Dey tell me yo' could take it in de woods an' put it on de sunrise side of a tree an' tack it dere, an' dey'll die.
(This photograph?)
Yes.
Entry 8667
If yo' nail nine nails an' call a person name, dey'll always be down. (Where did you say they nail them down?) Nail nine nails down. (Where?) Nail 'em down on de floor. (Yes.) An' as yo' nail 'em down, call dat person's name. Don't care where yo' nail 'em at. An' call dere nail nine times as yo' nail dem nine nails. Dey'll always be down. Yo' see, when yo' nail 'em in, yo'nail 'em down.
Entry 8735
Take a piece of paper an' write their names nine times on dis an' ah have used some of dat Three S Love Powder an' nail it up, in a tree or somepin, yo' know, an' finally he'll come back if de tree doesn't die. Long as it lives they'll [he'll] come back, but if it dies they'll [he'll] never come back. (You write this person's name on this paper, then put this powder on it, and nail it up in a tree? That's all you have to do to make him come back?) Yes.
Entry 9005
Heard of 'em say yo' take a black cat, yo' know, an' kill 'im an' put 'im up on de do'. Say yo' cain't stay dere. Nail him up on de do', say yo can't stay dere. (Well, I would see them if they did that, wouldn't I?) No, dey fix so yo' couldn't see, yo' wouldn't know it wuz dere. Ovah de do' or on de do', ah disremembah.
Entry 9677
Well, some people take a penny an' dey nail it right down in front of de do' - a one-cent piece. Dey go tuh de back do' an' dey nail down anothah one. D go tuh de sto' an' git chew a box of Red Devil Lye potash. Yo' git chew a bran'-new box of salt. An' yo' go out in yore gate, right in de mid- dle of yore gate where de people transfah in an' out. Yo' dig a hole down dere at zakly [exactly] six inches, an' yo' take dis salt, dat whole box of salt, an' empty it right close tuh de box of lye. An' aftah yo' emptyin' it close tuh dat box of lye, yo' say lak dis: Three daid men looked outa de winda': One had no lung, de othah had no tongue; De third was deaf, druonb an' blind. Behold de spirit looked on me, As ah speak to yo' three times a day. Only goodness an' mercy shall follow me from dis day on. Yo' say dat all de while yo' po'ing dat salt on topa dat. An' aftah yo' git done why yo' cover this lye up - an' dat's also fo' bringin' customers - an' de potash will drive away de law, keep de law away.
Entry 9746
You take nine nails and nail each one of 'em at nine o'clock every moming for nine mornings jis' acrost de door. On de first morning de first nail is driven into the wood at the edge of the front step; on the second morning the second nail is driven nearer the house; etc., until the nails form a straight line from the edge of the steps across the doorsteps into the house. An' the ninth morning he's comin' back. [This is my original transcription made in 1937 a short time after the recording: The voice came through badly but everything has been recovered and reproduced here.]
Entry 12198
Take a horseshoe an' nail it up ovah yore do', ovah each do', an' dey say an' dat will keep de evil spirit out chure house. [Waycross 1746:2.]
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 1769
(What do you do with that wasps nest now?)
Nail it up ovah de do' right up heah - lak if yo' wanta go away an' want, chew know, yore [wife or girl] gotta be true to yo'. Yo' wanta go 'way an' stay fo' or five yeahs, somepin lak dat. She won't have no othah man - she'll wait fo yo tuh come back.
Entry 5255
Take de lef'-foot shoe an' carry it an' nail it on a carbox, on a train yo' know, an' dat will make dat fellah leave, leave from roun' dat pahtic'lah place.
Entry 1691
Ah'm gon'a tell yo' - yo' wanta know whut would yo' do to keep 'em from harmin' yo'. Well, yo'll git in a path or road dat come from yore do'. Yo'll dig a hole wit chure tablespoon and when yo' dig that hole, yo'll go an' take a aig - any kind of a hen aig, jes' long as it a aig, and den yo'll take two sticks of a lightnin'-strike tree - yo' know what ah mean, an' yo'll nail them down on each side of that aig - wit dat aig down in de hole. [This is a mock burial - the egg a body and the two sticks the headboard and footboard of a grave.] An' then yo'll take yo' some physic salts, an' yo'll take that physic salts an' sulphur an' bluestone an' make a powders of that, an' yo' kin put it down dere where that aig is, an' yo' set it down an' kiver it up. De parties who dat yo' say, or anybody who yo' think will harm yo', why then when yo' done put dat down, yo'll curse it. An' when yo' curse it yo' jes' kick at 'em, and den go turn yore back - don't nevah look back. Now, that's the story of that as fur as ah know. Well, now if a man walk ovah that and if yo' do lak that, it causes me, if ah aim tuh do yo' some harm - all of that will come back to me.
Entry 8336
Dey take yore photograph tuh a tree an' on de east side hew out a place in dat tree an' cut dat pichure small enough tuh go intuh dat place. (Sort of a crack?) No, no, must be in dere flat-lak. Yo' take a horseshoe nail an' stick as neah as yo' - yo' kin guess about where de heart is an' hit it. Yo' gotta go dere nine mawnin's an' hit dat nail wit a hammah, an' turn an' walk way from it~ Yo' gotta do dat jes' as de sun peepin'. Turn an' walk away from it an' don't look back at it. As yo' hits it call dere name. An' de ninth mawnin' when dey hit dat, dey must drive it all de way up wit dat one lick. An' in nine hours yo'll be daid if yo' don't drop daid immediately.
Entry 8339
Yo' take a tintype an' go tuh a tree, make yuh wishes whatsomevah [where] yo' want dis person tuh go, what time yo' wan' 'em tuh go. Git chew a brand-new tenpenny nail an' scrape it on de left side of a tree, clean it off, clean de bark off. An' nail dat pichure dere as neah de heart as yo' kin an' judge it as neah as yo' kin tuh drive dat nail. Den yo' only hit it once a mawnin', fer 9 mawnin's. Yo' hit it an' make yuh wish. Dat evil wish dis person an' evah mawnin' yo' go dere an' hit dat nail. De ninth mawnin' try tuh judge it so dat yo' kin drive it tuh de haid de ninth mawnin'. An' dat person will be lak a bug on de watah, jes' dead from de world [like a dead bug floating on the water].
Entry 8369
Dey say dat dey could take yore pichure an' put it in a tree on de sunrise side, an' nail it fo' nine mawnin's, an' dey say yo'll drizzle away.
(That will kill you?)
Yes.
Entry 8371
Den anothah thing ah wanta tell yo' 'bout de pichure. Ah got sompin else tuh tell yo' 'bout a pichure - dat pichure ag'in. Yo' take a man's pichure or a woman's pichure or whutsomevah pichure or whosomevah pichure i'tis [it is]. If yo're [you arel mad wit dat person, an' yo' intend doin' sompin tuh 'em on de sly, an' don' let dem know it. Yo' jis' go an' take dat pichure an' as de sun is risin' in de mawnin', an' yo' put it on de side de sundown on. An' yo' take a tenpenny nail, a new nail, an' stick it right about de heart, an' yo' hit dat nail nine times at dat time. An' go back dere evah mawnin' fo' nine mawnin's an' hit it nine time each mawnin'. An' de las' lick yo' give it de ninth mawnin', dat person will fall dead.
(Where do you nail this picture?)
Nail it on a tree on de sundown side. Yo' goes when de sun rise. An' yo' see, evah mawnin' when yo' goes dere, yo' goes when de sun's jis' risin'. Hit it nine times.
Entry 8380
Den yo' kin take dat photograph an' yo' take it tuh a green saplin', anywhere where yo' knows yo' won't come in contact wit anybody. Tack it right up in de tree an' yo' cali de person by name an' turn yuh face tuhwards de sundown, tuh- Wards de direction yo' want 'em tuh come down. An' put dat pichure [let it face] in dat direction. An' in de time it take tuh put de pi- chure dere, don't keer where yo' are, yo' kin be in New York, Canada, any place, so long as dat chure photograph an' yuh name is called. When dat happen it's all ovah. Ah know dat tuh be true. (Well, now why did you put that nail in half way in that first tree? Why did you put the nail in lightly?) Well, if yo' drives de nail in, yo' know, dat tend tuh complete a job. Dat will break de job, cuz yo've got tuh hit de nail if yo' want tuh complete de job. Yo've got tuh hit de nail so many licks, nine times, de las' lick is a hard one an' it's all ovah. (Then the job's completed. I see.)
Entry 8452
Dey kin take yore photograph an' nail it to a board an' put it in an' care it to a rivah an' nail it through yo' two eyes....de nail in 'tween it, an throw it in de rivah or eithah in any runnin' watah, an' it'll run yo' crazy an' run yo' away from dere. Jis' lak if it wuz me an' yo' didn't wanta see me or nuthin...any time yo' git one of mah photographs an' nail it to a bo'd an' nail it through mah two eyes on de bo'd an' throw it in de lak [in there like] bottomside upwards an' 'long as it's in dat runnin' watah den it runs me away an' ah keeps goin' jis' lak a person goin' crazy....
(The face down?)
Yessuh, wit de face down.
Entry 461
In 1877 I lived wit a man by de name of Mr. Charlie B. My father hired me there for carrying Water for de women folks and bringing in kindling and stuff for the women. I was eleven years old and a little ways into twelve. A man from Snow Hill by the name of Mr. John S. - and in that time a horse and carriage was de fastest way to get along - he had a bay horse, come to Mr. Charlie B. And this horse, one day his mane was all tangled and mingled. And he wanted to lick me over it. Mr. Charlie B. told him, "No, that boy ain't bothered that horse, because my horse is so often like that when I go to take them out. And I know he didn't bother him." And he saved that man from cracking me. If you want to keep the witches from tangling them, you nailed a horseshoe right over the barn door with the points down to keep the witches from riding the horses.
Entry 1469
If yo' wanta keep 'em from doin' anything else to yo', yo' git some table salt an' red peppah, jes' cayenne peppah, an' sulphur an' mix it together an' sprinkle it all roun' yore house. An' while yo' comin' in de path dere, dere where yo' turn off de street into de path, after yo' sprinkle it down, drive yo a ten-penny nail, a new ten-penny nail dere. An' if de path comes into yore house, yo' drive dem nail in dere an' dey can't git to yo' to do nuthin to yo'.
Entry 1776
You runnin' a house or whiskey or anything, to keep the law away I hear'd people say you could nail on top the door a chicken bone up with some tacks under the doorsill. They say that keep law from you an' you won't have to go to court or nuthin.
(What sort of chicken bone?)
It's a little bone right on the backbone-like - join on together, whut people call a luck bone. Some people say if two people be right together an' break it, the one who had the longest bone has good luck.
Entry 2424
She kin take straws an' nail 'em cross her do', an' if anyone comes in dere to - if dey has whiskey in dere, take three straws an' nail 'em crossways an' if dey walks in, dere mo' goin' walk in with him. (You say you take three straws - from a broom?) Broomstraws - not straw broom, but stick broom straws. [Not straw or grass bent into a homemade swiss (swish) broom, a handleless broom, see Index.]
(What kind of a broom is that?)
A stick broom wit de handle to it.
(And you put three straws - each in a row - three in a row.)
Three in a row. (And if one person comes in, the rest are going to follow.)
Entry 2514
The horseshoe is luck to bring in customers. Just get you a horseshoe and nail it up over your door outside. A horseshoe and a four-leaf clover, that brings you customers. That'll draw anybody. Haven't you went along by a man's store and seen a horseshoe?
Entry 2998
Git St. Expedees up over your door - nail him up over there. Behind that same door you use that pink candle, burn it there.
(Up over the door and behind the same door you burn a pink candle?)
Yes sir, and make your wishes. That's to keep the police away. It will keep 'em away.
(What door do you use for that?)
Let that be the front door.
Entry 3900
If a man got a woman an' he wanta keep her down, ah heard dat he'd take a piece of 'er ministration rag, an' de hair from underneat' 'er ahm [arm], an' a dirty sock, an' a piece outa huh haid, an' sew it up in a bag an' nail it 'cross de do', an' she could nevah go 'way.
(Could never leave.)
Entry 3953
She [my mother] wuz fixed dataway. A woman got some spots outa her shimmy an' drawahs an' taken 'em an' den nailed 'em in a tree wit a great-big railroad spike. She says she nailed it east an' west. An' she jes' pined away. An' she had dose spots. An' [she] got hol' some of hair, some kin' or nothah vuz in dere wit it, wit dat balled up togethah. An' she said it wuz nailed in de tree wit a great big ole railroad spike. An' de tree wuz right at de haid of de windah. An' mah mothah wuz sick an' she jes' pined away, an' she pined away, an' it plumb stopped 'er from ministration.
Entry 4980
De heel an' de toe of a man's sock an' nail it down tuh de do'. It always MAKE HIM BE A PLUMB DOPE AROUN' DE HOME. He nevah wants tuh go anywhere. An' a woman's sock is about de same thing. (If you want to do a woman the same thing, you do her that way.)
Entry 5052
Take his sock an' if it's dirty, why yuh kin nail dat tuh a tree an' it will cause him tuh walk away: [Ordinarily a sock nailed to a tree keeps a man stationary, and the sundown side later means lingering or slow death, but intention here demands that he walk away. The big nail suggests urgency and determination - also painful walking.]
(All you have to do is to take a dirty sock and nail it up?)
Jis' take a dirty sock - cut de bottom out de dirty sock, fold dat dirty sock up an' carry it tuh a green pine tree, an' nail a big nail in de centah tuh de sundown. He'll leave an' won't come back.
Entry 5053
Take a man's sock befo' he wash it - yuh know, he git de scent of it. An' yuh kin take dat sock an' yuh kin take an' sew it up inside a little bag or somepin lak dat. Take an' carry it an' nail it on a pine tree on de sundown side, but be sure yuh got it tied in de bag. Yuh kin bring 'im tuh yuh tuh any- where yuh want. (You just take these socks and put them in a bag?) An' take dat bag an' nail it in a pine tree at de sundown side, an' make a wish, an' dat man supposed tuh be de one man tuh yuh.
Entry 6181
Take de hair an' put de hair in de socks - yo' know, tuh whom it may concern. Take de sock cloth an' tack it, yo' know, whare de toe an' de heel an de top part, an' nail it down undah de haid of de baid. Dat's supposed tuh make yore husband stay at home.
(Do you use either sock?)
Use his sock, eithah sock. If dis is de haid of de baid, well yo' put de top of de sock undah de haid of de baid, an' den yo' tack yore heel an' tack yore toe [demonstrates]. (The toe is pointing down tovard the foot of the bed.) Dat's it. An' yo' supposed tuh let de toe be turned, not to de do' but from de do' of de room dat chew back tack 'en. Yo' use his hair an' yo' use yore hair an' yo' put dem both in dat [sock].
Entry 7139
Wal, dey take de lef' of yo' shoes an' turn it bottom upwards on any kinda piece of bo'd, an' nail it bottom upwards. An' dat's de way yo'll be, jis' lak dat shoe. (How is that?) Becuz de shoe is bottom upwards. Why when yo' turn dat shoe bottom upwards, feet up an' de - in dat way yo'll be down. De only way yo' kin be right is pull dat nail out an' turn dat shoe back up.
Entry 7946
Take a new needle out of a pad dat's nevah been sewed an' go tuh a un- dahtakah's shop an' run it in de garment of de dead person. An' if yo' wanta control dat person an' dere's a track aroun' de house an' in de yard, take dat needle an' yo' nail it down, wit de haid down firs' where dey step. An' dey will not leave yo'.
Entry 7975
Well, ah heard dat dey could go tuh work an' take yer photograph an' dig a hole, jis' lak yo' diggin' a grave, yo' see, an' dey lay dat photograph down dere jis' lak yo' buryin' anyone; but still yo' know, dey bury yo' on yer face wit chure photo- graph. Yo' see de idea. An' dey could take a tenpenny nail, a bran' new ten- penny nail, an' dey could nail it through de back of yo', yo' see, down intuh de groun'. Dat's de photograph nail down intuh de groun'. Den dey covah yo' up. Ah heard dat in nine days time yo'll be a corpse, yo'll be daid. Yo' see de idea. Dat's whut ah heard dat dey could do wit dat.
Entry 8331
Den yo' kin take - if he's 'way from yo' an' yo' worried, mad becuz he's gone - yo' kin take his pichure or her's an' go tuh a tree, an' put it on de side dat de sun rises on. Well, yo' gits up early in de mawnin' 'bout six 'clock or six-thirty an' don' say a word tuh anyone. Well, yo' goes out dere den an' yo' hit dis heah pichure, drive a nail through dat in de heart, an' yo' hit it right on dere. Well, now yo' hit it fo' nine mawnin's an' in nine mawnin's yo'll die.
Entry 8335
Well, yo' kin take her pichure an' carry it tuh a tree an' nail it three times, nail a hole in it three times. An' take it an' put it in runnin' watah, an' dat will make a person leave yo'. (You take this picture to a tree an' you take one nail?) Yeah, yo' nail it three times. (Against the tree?) Against de tree, an' den yo' take de pichure down an' put it in runnin' watah an' dat person will keep goin'.
(You only use one nail though? Just make three holes in it against the tree?)
Yes, against de tree, an' den yo' jes' take de pichure out an' put it in run- nin' watah. (This is the woman that went out when the root doctor came in.)
Entry 10832
And then you take a card, playing cards, you see; you know, like you [picture of man: jack or king].
(Playing cards?)
Yes. Well, you take him out and you'll turn him up behind your bed, you understand.
(Behind your bed, yes.)
Behind de head of your bed on de same side that you [man] sleeps. Now, this is a woman fer a man, and then on de other side, he kin do de woman de same way, you see [he uses female card]. And you'll put it there and then you'll take a broom what you have never swept with. I mean a new broom. You git nine straws out of that. And then you'll talk to him every morning. Everything you eat, you feed him and says good things about him. Don't say anything harsh. And he'll be compelled to come home to you.
(What card do you take out of that deck?)
Take de card that run for you.
(Oh, you have to run the cards?)
Yeah, now like you might run a spade. You might run a diamond. You might run a heart. You might run in a jack and you might run in a king, you see.
(I see.)
Well, you take de card that run for you.
(And you put that up behind your bed - upside down, you say?)
Oh, no! Don't turn dat upside down. You nail it behind your bed. Like I lays on de right side of de bed, well, you nail it on de right side of de bed.
(Behind the bed?)
Yeah, behind de bed, out of search from everyone. No one knows it but you. You do that to yourself. No one sees it.
(Is the face against the bed or the face out?)
The face is out. No, the face is out. The back of de card is against de bed. And you feed that with everything that you eat. Even now, like you would get water - just like you was really feeding him sure enuff. And you talks sweet things - like you 'pologizing, you know.
(I see, to this card?)
Yeah, to that card, for ninr mornings and he will be forced to come back. As to the woman [if a man is working this rite] she'll be forced to come back.
Entry 11141
When the landlord gives you a notice, you take that notice and you fold it in the shape of a bouquet - like a come. You get up over the front door and make a cross up there. You take that notice and if there is any way to hide it, like up here [points], up over here, that nobody can see it. Make that cross up there and take that notice and cross and nail it up there. Put nine tacks in it so that nobody won't detect it up there, and he you] will never come in. That's to cross the landlord.
Entry 11859
Take yore hair an' a piece of yore clothes an' nail it into a tree. Ah've heard of dat.
(What will that do?)
Well, dat'll dry yo' up, kill yo' by degrees; yo' know, jis' dry yo' dat way.
Entry 11912
If you nail a person's hair to a tree - usually by first making a nail hole and then inserting the hair - that person will go crazy after the bark grows over the hole. [Ocean City, Md., by Ediphone.]
Entry 12573
Well, de only thing ah knows 'bout de pennies proposition, dey takes - jes' all dey takes is one cent - an' nail it down by de do' fo' if yo' want plenty custoner tuh come into a sto', anything. Don' nevah sweep a person's tracks out, outa de sto'. Always gathah them inside of de sto'. Dat bring plenty trade, dem pennies [this was during the Great Depression].
Entry 12595
Yo' kin take a penny an' nail it down tuh each one of yore do's an' won't no sheriff or nuthin come on yuh. [Waycross 1870:13.]
Entry 12733
If yo' take dis heah railroad spike an' nail it down at de do'step, an' when she dig it out she commence crampin'in her laig so she git so she cain't walk [she'll get] see, sompin lak de rheuma- tism. (You would do that at the door, that is, if that [she] were your enemy, and that would give her those pains?) Yes.
Entry 13206
Nail right sock on new shingle and bury at your front door: "he can't leave there to save his life." [Mobile 878:12.]
Entry 13230
Take a stave an' nail it down dere, jes' nail it down an' make a wish. Wish nobody could nevah live dere again, an' nobody can't live dere again, an' nobody can't live dere in peace. If dey move in dat house dey'll move out, dey jes' can't live in dere.
(Where do you put that stave?)
Jes' kinda in de middle of de lot-like. [Here is the center of a square or parallelogram, a quincunx rite.] If de lot got a garden or anything yo' know, jes' stomp it down, an' say, "Ah wish dat nobody would nevah live an' have suc- cess heah any mo'."