"Dis kin happen: anybody see another person wid pretty hair and rub dey hair down, dat child gwine have mustee hair too. A old black 'oman had a baby. She seen somebody wid dat mustee hair (das what we calls black folks wid smooth straight hair) and when her child born, everybody say: 'Look what dis baby got! Long black hair!"
Asked about persons born with cauls, Nancy grunted:
"Hunh! My mother said it cover my head, shoulders and all! I kin see ghosts. Was a man lived right dere in dat house yonder. His name was Will Beasley but we call 'im Bee. De fus' time he got sick he had a stroke, den he git up. De doctor told him to be careful but he would go out. One night about 8 o'clock I see him go. I stay sittin' here on dis porch, and about 10 o'clock here come Bee out of his house, in his night clothes out de open door and cross de yard. He go behind dat house. I call out: 'Bee, I thought you was gone off? He didn' notice me no more dan I never spoke. I got worried about him bein' sick and when he come out from behind de house I say: 'Bee, you bes' be gwine indorrs, dress lika-dat. You git sick again.' He walk straight back in de house. Pretty soon here come Bee down de street, all dressed up in his brown pants and white shirt! I grab de bannister just' a-tremblin' and de hair rizzed up on my head. I knowed den he ain' got long for here. He come on by and say: 'Nancy, how you feelin'?' I say: 'Bee, how long you bin out?' He say: 'Why, I bin gone since 8 o'clock.' I didn't say nuttin' but I knowed I seed his spirit and it was his death. He tooken sick two or three weeks later jus' before Labor Day, and died all paralyzed up. A woman come to my house and say: 'Nancy, give dis to Bee.' I didn' want to see him if he dyin' but I went on over. I call: 'Bee! Bee!' He say: 'Who dat, you, Miz' Nancy?' I say: 'Here's a bottle of medicine Miss Minnie sont you.' He say: 'I can't move my right side.' He was: laying wid his leg and arm in the air: stiff as a board. He say: 'Miz Nancy?' I say: 'Hunh?' He say: 'Go down de canal bank and tell my Minnie please come and rub me 'cause she know how. I want my Minnie.' Das de 'oman he bin livin' wid since his wife lef' him. I wait till de King Mill boys come along and call 'em. 'Tell Miz' Minnie dat Will Bee want her to come and rub him.' But she never did come till 12 o'clock and he was dead before she come.
"I did had a niece what died. She was about 20 years old and a good boy. Twas a year in August. I went on so over him, his mother say: 'Don't you know his last words was, 'I'm on my way to heaven and I ain' gwine turn back?' Don't worry, Nancy.' But I did worry. Dat night he come to me in spirit. He stand dere and look at me and smile, and he say: 'Aunt, I am all right. Aunt, I am all right,' over and over. Den it went off. I was jus' as satisfy den, and I never worry no more."
Nancy said she saw ghosts all through her childhood. She did not characterize them as "hants" but spoke of them throughout as ghosts.
"I seed 'em when I was chillun," she said, "me and my sister one night was comin' from spring. Twas in de winter time and jus' as cold, twas dark and I had de light. Sister say: 'Babe, don't let dat light go out.' Jus' den I seed it—a horse's head all spread out in fore! A big ball of fire! I yelled: 'Oh, sister, look at de horse wid a head of fire!' She knock me out for dead! She grab dat light and run home and lef' me in de wood. When I come to I run to my mother crying and she say: 'Now Nancy, you know you kin see 'em but you ought not to tell de other chillun and skeer 'em. You mus' keep it to yourself.' Ever since den, I won't tell nobody what I kin see. Yas'm, I wake up in de nighttime and see 'em standin' all 'bout dis house. I ain' skeered—when you born wid de veil it jus' be natchel to see 'em. Why, I sees 'em on de canal bank when de fog sprangles through de trees and de shape forms on de ground'.
"I hears de death alarm too. One kind of call comes from out de sky, a big howlin' noise, loud like singin'—a regular tune. De other kind goes 'hummmmmmm' like somebody moanin'. I was settin' down and de bull bat come in de house. Me and de chillun done all we could to git him out de house. A woman nex' door was name Rachel. I say: 'Rachel! Dere's a bull bat in here and we can't get him out.' You know what she done? She turn her pocket inside out and dat bat went out de door jus' like it come in! Dat a simple thing to do, ain' it? But it done de work. Dat was on Thursday night. Saturday morning I got de news that my babiest sister was dead. One of my boys was wid her. I was settin' down wid my head bowed, prayin', and a white man dressed in a white robe come in de house and stood before me and say: 'Oh, yeah! I gwine take your sister! Den what your child gwine do?' I sot down and studied and I said: 'Lord, I'll do de bes' I kin.' And Miss you know I had to take dat child back!
"Before I los' my husband ev'y time he go out to work I couldn' hear nuttin' but knockin'—ever he step out de house somebody come to de door and knock four slow knocks. If he go off in de night it wouldn' stop till he git back. I wouldn' tell him 'cause I knowed twould worry him. I say: 'Sam, les' us move.' He say: 'Honey, we ain' long bin move here.' But us 'cided to move anyway. Twas a big show in town. I let all de chillun go to de show. Time I got my things fix up to move and went to cook my dinner come de knockin' four times. I knowed he'd be took sick pretty soon. He didn' 'low me to work. Dat was a good husband! I had six chillun. He say: 'Honey, no! I workin' makin' enough to support you. All I want you to do is keep dis house clean and me and my chillun, and I will pay you de five dollars every week de white lady would pay you.' And he done dat, gimme five dollars every week for myself.
"A white lady was crazy about my work, jus' her and her husband. I got up soon one morning, time he left, and runned up dere and washed her clothes and ironed dem. Den I started back home 'bout noon. I heared somethin' walkin' behind me. 'Bip! Bip!' I look round and didn' see nuttin'. I kep' a lookin' back and den I heard a voice moanin' and kind of singing: 'Oh, yeah! I bin here and done took your mother. I bin here and done took your sister! Now I'm a-comin' to take your husband!' Talking to me like-dat in de broad open daytime! I say: 'No, you won't! No, you won't!' I commence a runnin', cryin' inside. When I got home I thow myself on de bed shiverin' and shakin'. Twas no dinner done dat day. When he come home dat night he tooken sick and never got up again. He knock on de head of de bed jus' like de knocks come at de door, when he want me to go to him! He never lived but two weeks and went on to de judgment!
"One night dey was givin' my husband toddy. He drink some and wanted me to finish it. I told him no, I ain' drinkin' after no sick folks 'cause it mean death. His first cousin tooked it and drank it. He was a fine looking man in two months he was gone too!