ad 'oman. If a black cat crossed
your path you sho would turn round and go anudder way. It was bad luck
to sit on a bed and when I wuz small I wuz never allowed to sit on the
bed."

Following are stories, related by Mrs. Styles, which had their origin
during slavery and immediately following slavery.

"During slavery time there was a family that had a daughter and she
married and ebby body said she wuz a witch cause at night dey sed she
would turn her skin inside out and go round riding folks horses. Der
next morning der horses manes would be tied up. Now her husband didn't
know she was a witch so somebody tole him he could tell by cutting off
one of her limbs so one night the wife changed to a cat and the husband
cut off her forefinger what had a ring on it. After that der wife would
keep her hand hid cause her finger wuz cut off; and she knowed her
husband would find out that she wuz the witch.

My mother sed her young mistress wuz a witch and she too married but her
husband didn't know that she wuz a witch; and she would go round at
night riding horses and turning the cows milk into blood. Der folks
didn't know what ter do instead of milk they had blood. So one day a old
lady came there and told em that a witch had been riding the cow, and to
cast off the spell, they had to take a horse shoe and put it in the
bottom of the churn and then the blood would turn back ter milk and
butter. Sho nuff they did it and got milk.

Anudder man had a wife that wuz accused of being a witch so he cut her
leg off and it wuz a cats' leg and when his wife came back her leg was
missing.

They say there wuz a lot of conjuring too and I have heard 'bout a lot
of it. My husband told me he went to see a 'oman once dat had scorpions
in her body. The conjurer did it by putting the blood of a scorpion in
her body and this would breed more scorpions in her. They had to get
anudder conjurer to undo the spell.

There wuz anudder family that lived near and that had a daughter and
when she died they say she had a snake in her body.

My husband sed he wuz conjured when he wuz a boy and had ter walk with
his arms outstretched he couldn't put em down at all and couldn't even
move 'em. One day he met a old man and he sed "Son whats der matter wid
you?" "I don't know," he sed. "Den why don't you put your arms down?" "I
can't." So the old man took a bottle out of his pocket and rubbed his
arms straight down 'till they got alright.

He told me t