Ghost Stories; Nightmarish Narratives
Search terms; Ghost Stories, Haints, Ghosts
Gather around readers; you are in for an exciting, enjoyable evening tradition. Usually shared during bonfires, in creepy environments, or right before bedtime, scary stories are on the menu for today’s article! As a fan of horror movies, shows, and stories I thought it was only right to end with one of my favorite topics. As I explored the archive it was surprising to see that many people seemed to have some ghostly story to share. Sit back, grab some popcorn or your favorite snack and let us learn more about these experiences with entities.
Our first story is from Willie L. Wilson, who shares a story from his paternal grandfather. He shares, "Well I was walking coming home the other night and as we were walking down the road there on the side the Oakley Cemetery and it's a, a--this, this man, this ghost stepped across the fence, and he walked all the way with me 'til I came home and you boys--don't want you out there at night 'cause he's out there." And our hair would stand up like straight on our head (laughter), so those kind of things and then the other story he would say, "Y'all, y'all don't be over at that cemetery, you mess around and shoot that BB gun or that--," we had a one shotgun and said, "Oh So and So was out there and shot at the rabbit one night and hit the tombstone, and we hit the tombstone the ghost came on up out of it and it slapped him and it turned the man head the opposite side the way,"
There are similarities between the previous stories and the next, the ghosts within these stories existed to teach a lesson and they successfully did just that. Lois Fisher recalled a ghost story her cousin Gracie shared. She said, “she told us that one night she and her cousin was coming home from church and her cousin could see spirits so she kept jumping and she kept saying, "What is wrong with you, why are you jumping?" And she said, "Nothing." So they started talking and playing and all of a sudden this girl started hollering and she say, "What's wrong with you?" She said, "Spirit just slapped me." And we would get scared (makes sound) and the she say, "Now I'm gonna tell you now." She say, "You better be good 'cause if you not good spirit's gonna get you."
There are numerous names for ghosts. Some may refer to them as spirits, but Danny K. Davis introduced us a new term “haints.” He shares; They called them ghosts, some people called them ghosts, some people called them hants. And we actually thought we could see them. I mean when I was a kid, I, I--I mean there was a period when I was just absolutely certain, I mean I had reached the point where I felt like I was old enough to date. And I had a little girl that I liked, and I wanted to walk her home from church one night. And I told my father and, you know, told them they could go ahead, I was gonna walk home. And after I'd walked her home, you know, (chuckle) I got down the road, and this fellow had died, Uncle Nero, and I was just absolutely certain that I saw Uncle Nero, unequivocally without a doubt, standing by the road (laughs) out in front of his house. And so I started running, and I got about a mile and a half or maybe two miles to the next fellow's house who had died, a fellow named Mr. Ed Ritter, who had a big tree in front of his house. And he always smoked a pipe. And I looked up, and there Mr. Ed Ritter was with a (laughs) jumper suit on, smoking a pipe and had a hunting cap (laughs). And oh, my God, when I got home, and I ran on the porch and hit the door. And my mother [Mazzie Lee Glass Davis] said, "What's wrong with you, fool? What are you doing?" I says, "I just saw Mr. Ed, Mr. Ed Ritter!". "And I saw Uncle Nero before I saw him!" And, and all of this stuff was so clear and, but, you know, strangely enough, I haven't seen any of those kind of things in many, many years. But we used to actually feel as though we saw them at that time because people talked about things. Seeing ghosts is something we hear, as many recall seeing a loved one or other community members. I have never seen a ghost, but no matter the ghost seen I would jump out of my skin.
Have you ever been afraid of the unnatural? Weird behaviors in people or animals? Art Fennel shares a story that his grandfather told him saying; “of coming home from the local tavern one night and walking down a lonely dirt road. Of course it's dark, and he had his dog with him as they were walking home together. And he'd had a few drinks that night. And he could hear a bustling sound and a faint image on the road coming towards him. And as the image got closer, he could see that it was a lady who was dressed in a--in a, a dress with a bustle with rustled as she walked, he said. And as she approached, the dog began to act funny and then stopped, and then actually started walking behind my grandfather. And as my grandfather approached the lady, he tipped his hat, which was the custom. He said she did not acknowledge it; she never looked at him; and she continued past, and so did he. Well, curiously, less than a minute later, she was coming again from the same direction. The same sequence happened all over again, the same person.” Was this a hallucination from the drinks his grandfather had that night? This sounds like a creepy repetitive nightmare. Imagine being stuck in a loop, constantly stuck going through the same time sequence over and over again, pretty terrifying.
To conclude there are some very scary stories within the archive. I was so excited to pursue this topic as I am a fan of scary stories. As we wrap up our time as student ambassadors we were given the green light to select any subject we wanted. I instantly thought of what I wanted to do and was ready to gather stories on this topic. I hope you all enjoy this topic and article as much as I did.
Sources used
Willie L. Wilson (The HistoryMakers A2008.089), interviewed by Larry Crowe, July 16, 2008, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 10, Willie L. Wilson remembers his paternal grandfather's ghost stories
Art Fennell (The HistoryMakers A2014.173), interviewed by Larry Crowe, June 12, 2014, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 1, Art Fennell remembers his family's ghost stories
Lois Fisher (The HistoryMakers A2007.083), interviewed by Larry Crowe, March 10, 2007, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 3, story 1, Lois Fisher recalls the ghost stories of her childhood
The Honorable Danny K. Davis (The HistoryMakers A2003.298), interviewed by Larry Crowe, December 15, 2003, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 5, Danny K. Davis recalls stories about Confederate treasure and seeing "haints"