Oral Histories

I link to the Library of Congress site a lot, because it is a rich source of material--doing a search through the collections you can find just about anything.

In keeping with this morning’s call for entries, I thought I would do a little research on spooky stuff and came across the interview of Ophelia Jemison of Charleston, SC. It was conducted in 1937 as part of the WPA Writers Project program by Cassels R. Tiedeman (about whom I have only been able to find that she died in 1952, and Miss Ophelia seemed to be just about her sole assignment with the WPA.)

Ms. Tiedeman describes Ms. Jemison thusly:

Ophelia Jemison, born three years after freedom, is a typical Negress of the emotional type, possessing many of the characteristics of her African ancestors. In expressing her religious feelings she becomes most dramatic and when, as she is fond of doing, she tells a Bible story, she enacts the part of the main character of the story, really losing her identity. [...]

You kind of get the idea that Ms. Tiedeman was a bit put off by her subject? Anyway, she conducted about 14 interviews with Ms. Jemison, each one painstakingly transcribed into what I’m sure Ms. Tiedeman would describe as ‘accurate Negro dialect’, and about 3/4 of which have some sort of ghostly subject matter.

Dialect is dreadfully difficult to do in a way that doesn’t detract from the story matter or demean the speaker. Ms. Jemison has some real corkers—the following is one entitled simply ‘Ghosts’. You can read the original version here, and the following is my version with some of the cumbersome dialect edited a bit to make it more readable:

Ophelia was asked if she believed that spirits ever came back to see their loved ones.

“I know spirits come back. I seen ‘em. If a person die, mean and wicked and want you, he come back and get at you, sure thing. You just go up to the graveyard at sundown, and hold your head close down to the ground, you can hear ‘em comin’ up louder and louder, and if you don’t get away, you’ll be snatched down in one of them graves!

I seen my husband one time. He stand by my side, but he was very little in size, with a big head—about like that waiter over there on the table—and his hair parted on the side just as natural. He was all dressed in white, with long, flowing sleeves.

You see, he was killed sudden-like, without he have time to tell me nothing, so he come back to have his say. He say it all right, but I ain’t catch what he say, then I wanna talk to him, but he vanish.

Maybe I too wicked to talk to a spirit.”

But Ophelia, how can spirits come back to this world?

“Lord, miss, spirits ain’t fastened down—they freer than we! They come back whenever they like, but some don’t ever come back any. Tom and Alice, two of my family, been talking to me this morning, ‘cause I been hear a buzzing in my ear and I knowed they want to know how come I here with you.”

Did they find out?

“Oh! They come again and again till they satisfy themself. They know by the way I talk when that buzzin’ aggravate me.

Spirits all over, they attract your attention whenever they like.”

posted by Terry at 11:24:00 AM