Folktales have always been a part of all cultures. Where ever  there's been
    human life, there's always been a tale to tell.
    As a child growing up in the back woods of Virginia I recall hearing my
    relatives speak of spell casting, root doctors, palm reading, black cats and such...
    But I was too busy playing doctor under the front porch to take it all in.
    Speaking of cats! Have you heard the old tale that if a black cat crosses your
    path it would bring you bad luck? Meaning,walking across the direction in
    which you are heading. Or if you walk in another persons footprints, that
    person would develop a head ache? How about the most well known one; If
    you break a mirror you will have seven years bad luck? Some may view this
    form of thinking as none sense. But is it? What some people considers none
    sense,is very real to others.
    The belief in things such as witchcraft,black magic,vampires,voodoo and the
    like,have been in existence for centuries-and will be-as long as mankind walks  
    the earth. Some older people believes that if a pregnant woman is frighten by
    an animal before her child is born,the child will be born resembling the animal
    that frightened her;they call it "marking". My father,being of African and
    Indian heritage, has told me some very strange tales of people he met while
    growing up on the old plantations of Virginia. My favorite was of an old man
    named Buck Jackson. A tall slim narrow faced black man. As my father tells it,
    Buck was a great harmonica player and had other talents as well. The story
    goes something like this. Every Sunday people would  gather at the old country
    church,and looked forward to hearing Buck play the harmonica. Buck would
    start playing the harmonica,remove it from his mouth,lay it on the front hood
    of the nearest car, and the harmonica would continue to play, as Buck stood
    there stumping his feet and clapping his hands and shouting PLAY IT BOY!
    It was also said,whenever Buck was locked up by the local police he had to be
    closely watched,for Buck appeared to be a black Houdini,(an escape artist).
    Buck also had a strange appetite for things like burning cigarettes,coins,and
    glass lamp chimneys. The glass chimneys must have been a delicacy for Buck.  
    It was said he would bite the chimney off piece by piece until it was all
    consumed. After which,Buck would give his chest a hard pound and the glass
    would come flying from his mouth.

    When it comes to old tales such as this-did they happen?Maybe they did;
    maybe they didn't. But one thing is for Certain! There are many different
    kinds of people in this world, that are capable of many different things.I would
    think God planned it that way. And lets not forget the great deeds that were
    performed by people of the bible;the so called miracles? But were they miracles,
    or just perceived to be so? There was a time in history when people were
    hanged or burned at the stake for performing certain deeds; as in the Salem
    witch trials. And what about the deeds of Christ? Many thought him to be a
    demon or sorcerer,for which, contributed to his crucifixion.
    The fear of such people still exists in our so called modern day world. Many
    people are still strong believers in spell casting and have ways to prevent it.
    One way is to rube a string in sulfur,tie a certain number of knots in the string,
    wear it around the waist for a certain number of days,and no one can cast a
    spell upon you. A spell can be broken by the same means. I heard this from an
    old African American man and promised not to print all the details concerning
    this. Folk tales such as this have been told through many generations and
    cultures. How much truth there is in them will never be none. My belief is,
    there is some truth in all old tales.
Old Folk Tales
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