A Ghost Story Joel Chandler Harris

 A Ghost Story

Joel Chandler Harris

The next time the little boy visited Uncle Remus he persuaded Tildy to go with him. Daddy Jack was in his usual place, dozing and talking to himself, while Uncle Remus oiled the carriage harness. After a while Aunt Tempy came in.

The conversation turned on Daddy Jack's story about "haunts" and spirits [the previous story in the collection, "Spirits, Seen and Unseen"]. Finally Tildy said, "When it comes to tales about haunts, I hear tell of one that will just naturally make the kinks on your head uncurl themselves."

"What tale is that, child?" asked Aunt Tempy.

"Uncle Remus, must I tell it?"

"Let it come," said Uncle Remus.

"Well then," said Tildy, rolling her eyes back and displaying her white teeth:

One time there was a woman and a man. It seems like they lived close to one another, and the man, he set his eyes on the woman, and the woman, she just went along and tended to her business. The man, he kept his eyes set on her. By and by, the woman, she tended to her business so much that she took sick and died. The man, he up and told her folks she was dead, and the folks came and fixed her. They laid her out, and they lit some candles, and they sat up with her, just like folks do now, and they put two big round shiny silver dollars on her eyes to hold her eyelids down.

In describing the silver dollars Tildy joined the ends of her thumbs and forefingers together, and made a figure as large as a saucer. "They were lots bigger that dollars are these days." She continued:

And they looked mighty pretty. It seems like they were all the money the woman had, and the folks put them on her eyelids to hold them down. Then when the folks did that, they called on the man and told him he would have to dig a grave and bury the woman, and then they all went off about their business.

Well, then the man, he took and dug the grave and made ready to bury the woman. He looked at that money on her eyelids, and it shined mighty pretty. Then he took it off and felt it. It felt might good, but just about that time, the man looked at the woman, and he saw her eyelids open. It looked like she was looking at him, and he took and put the money where he got it from.

Well, then the man, he took and got a wagon and hauled the woman out to the burying ground, and when he got there he fixed everything, and then he grabbed the money and covered up the grave right quick. Then he went home and put the money in a tin box and rattled it around. It rattled loud and it rattled nice, but the man, he didn't feel so good. It seems like he knew the woman's eyelids were stretched wide open looking for him. Yet he rattled the money around, and it rattled loud and it rattled nice.

Well, then the man, he took and put the tin box with the money on the mantel shelf. The day went by, and night came, and when night came, the wind began to rise up and blow. It rose high and it blew strong. It blew on top of the house. It blew under the house. It blew around the house. The man, he felt queer. He sat by the fire and listened. The wind said "Buzz-zoo-o-o-o-o!" The man listened. The wind hollered and cried. It blew on top of the house. It blew under the house. It blew around the house. It blew into the house. The man got close to the chimney jamb. The wind found the cracks and blew in them. "Bizzy, bizzy, buzz-zoo-o-o-o-o!"

Well, then the man, he listened and listened, but by and by he got tired of this, and he allowed to himself that he was going to bed. He took and flung a freshly lighted knot into the fire, and then he jumped into bed, and curled himself up, and put his head under the covers.

The wind hunted for the cracks, "Bizzy-buzz, bizzy-buzz, buzz-zoo-o-o-o-o!" The man kept his head under the covers. The lighted knot flared up and flickered. The man didn't dare to move. The wind blew and whistled, "Phew-fee-e-e-e!" The lighted knot flickered and flared. The man, he kept his head covered.

Well, then the man lay there, and got scareder and scareder. He scarcely dared to wink his eyes, and it seemed like he was going to have swamp fever. While he was lying there shaking, and the wind was a-blowing, and the fire flickering, he heard some other kind of noise. It was a mighty curious kind of noise, "Clinkity, clinkalinkle!"

The man said, "Hey! Who is stealing my money?"

But he kept his head covered while he lay and listened. He heard the wind blow, and then he heard that other kind of noise, "Clinkity, clink, clinkity, clinkalinkle!"

Well, then he flung off the covers and sat right up in bed. He looked, but he didn't see anything. The fire flickered and flared, and the wind blew. The man went and put a chain and a bar across the door. Then he went back to bed, and he had no more than touched his head on the pillow when he heard this other noise, "Clink, clink, clinkity, clinkalinkle!" The man got up, but he didn't see anything at all. Mighty queer!

Just about the time was going to lie down again, here came the noise, "Clinkity, clinkalinkle." It sounded like it was on the mantle shelf. Not only that, it sounded like it was in the tin box on the mantle shelf. Not only that, it sounded like it was the money in the tin box on the mantle shelf.

The man said, "Hey! A rat done got in the box!"

The man looked. No rat was there. He shut up the box and set it down on the shelf. As he did that, here came the noise, "Clinkity, clinkity, clinkalinkle!"

The man opened the box and looked at the money. Those two silver dollars were lying there just like he put them. While the man was doing this, it seemed liked he could hear something saying, away off yonder, "Where's my money? Oh, give me my money! I want my money!"

Well, then the man got scared sure enough, and he got a flatiron and put it on the tin box, and then he took and piled all the chairs against the door, and ran and jumped into bed. He just knew there was a boogie coming. By the time he got into bed and covered his head, the money rattled louder, and something cried away off yonder, "I want my money! Oh, give me my money!"

The man, he shook and he shivered. The money, it clinked and rattled. And the boogie, it hollered and cried. The boogie came closer. The money clinked louder. The man shook worse and worse.

The money said, "Clinkity, clinkalinkle!"

The boogie cried, "Oh, give me my money!"

The man hollered, "Oh, Lordy, Lordy!"

Well, then it kept on this way until the man heard the door open. He peeped from under the covers, and in walked the woman that he had buried in the burying ground. The man shivered and shivered. The wind blew and blew. The money rattled and rattled. The woman cried and cried.

"Buzz-zoo-o-o-o-o!" said the wind.

"Clinkalink!" said the box.

"Oh, give me my money!" said the woman.

"Oh, Lordy!" said the man.

The woman heard the money, but it looked like she couldn't see it, and she groped around, and groped around, and groped around with her hands in the air like this.

Here Tildy stood up, pushed her chair back with her foot, raised her arms over her head, and leaned forward in the direction of Daddy Jack.

The wind was blowing. The fire was flickering. The money was rattling. The man was shaking and shivering. The woman was groping around and saying, "Give me my money! Oh, who's got my money?"

Tildy advanced a few steps.

The money looked like it was going to tear the tin box all to flinders. The woman groped and cried, until by and by she jumped on the man and hollered, "You've got my money!"

As she reached this climax, Tildy sprang at Daddy Jack and seized him, and for a few moments there was considerable confusion in the corner. The little boy was frightened, but the collapsed appearance of Daddy Jack convulsed him with laughter. The old African was very angry. His little eyes glistened with momentary malice, and he shook his cane threateningly at Tildy. The latter coolly adjusted her earrings, as she exclaimed, "There now! I knew I'd get even with the old villain. Come a-calling me pigeon-toed!"

"Better keep your eye on him, child," said Aunt Tempy. "He'll bewitch you for sure."

"Bewitch who? If he comes bewitching around me, I'll break his back, I'm telling you that right point-blank."