The Telltale Lilac Bush and Other West Virginia Ghost Tales

3. Ghostly Children

3 Ghostly Children IT IS HARD TO believe that so many children have been murdered or abused to the point of death without anyone to help them. Yet the greater part of the stories of ghost children I have collected depict such circumstances. Naturally, these little ghosts come back in anger-to protest-although most of my adult ghosts are happy, even after violent deaths. Perhaps comparatively few children have died, except through neglect or murder, and nobody can blame a murdered child for being unhappy. Even so, this murder of children-and judging by my collection as a whole, the victims seem to be mostly babies-is a little hard to understand. The young girl in "Help," though an exception to the element of cruelty, represents another common theme-the return of a ghost to help in an emergency. In Bluenose Ghosts (pp. 185-86), Helen Creighton tells a somewhat similar story, in which a long-dead mother summons a 25 priest to give absolution to her profligate son who dies later that same night. 15. The Little Rag Doll DUSK WAS beginning to fall over a little country community. A tired schoolteacher was grading papers and looking over some of the work for the following day. It had been a beautiful day and, although her school board and also her landlady had asked her not to stay after school hours, she could not resist this urge to stay and work a little longer. After all, they would not explain their strange request, so she thought nothing was really meant by it. Suddenly she felt something cold, like a chill, pass over her from head to foot. She felt an unknown fear, and something told her to look at the back of the dreary schoolroom . Her startled eyes saw a little ragged girl sitting in the third row-last seat back. She had her hand raised and was looking pitifully at the teacher. "Please show me my lesson in my primer, and, Teacher," she said in a broken voice, "I can't find my little rag doll." The teacher went back to the child and was astonished to see an old-fashioned primer, which had been used many years before. She was so amazed that she just stood there staring at the little girl, and the child vanished from the room. The schoolteacher told her landlady about it later that evening. The landlady told her that this ghost had haunted the school for many years, and the school board could not find a teacher who would remain any length of time after seeing the little girl. They were in desperate need of a teacher, so they had asked her not to stay after school hours, hoping that she would never see the ghost. 26 The teacher made a rag doll that night and decided about what assignment she would make if the little girl appeared again. The next evening she intentionally remained after school hours. The little girl did appear and made the same request again. The teacher assigned the lesson and gave the child the little rag doll. The little girl then vanished as before. The teacher and the landlady went for a walk that evening and finally came to a swamp. Many years ago, the landlady said, a little girl had been murdered there. She was on her way home from school and dusk was falling as she passed through the swamp. Her friends and relatives had never been able to find the little rag doll or the murderer. When they arrived at the child's grave, they were both amazed to find, lying on the grave, the little rag doll the schoolteacher had made the night before for the little ghost girl. The little girl never visited the school after that, and, evidently, her spirit is now at rest. 16. Help MANY YEARS AGO Doctor Anderson was awakened by a persistent knocking at his front door. Accustomed to getting calls at all hours, he dressed quickly and hurried downstairs. The red glow from the hearth cast flickering shadows through the room. Glancing at the large wall clock, he noticed it was just past midnight. Outside the moon shone brightly on the white snow. He opened the door and was surprised to see a young girl twelve or thirteen years old standing before him. He 28 [3.145.23.123] Project MUSE (2024-04-23...