Killed for Revenge

This story is an old legend that is told in Maine.

Major Thomas Means fought bravely during the Revolutionary War. He was at Valley Forge with General Washington and served under “Mad” Anthony Wayne at the battle of Stony Point.

He returned home to North Yarmouth, Maine in 1779 having reached the rank of Major. Years before, in 1756, he had lost his father and other family members when the Micmac Indians attacked the settlement.

The Means farm was a half-mile from the settlement’s fort. When news of a pending Indian attack was spread most of the community took refuge at this blockade. The Means family decided to wait until the next morning --they were attacked before they could leave their farm.

Thomas’ father Thomas Sr. was killed instantly his mother was wounded. Months later she gave birth to a baby who was named after his dead father. Thomas Jr. at the age of 18 joined the army as a private. As mentioned, he fought bravely alongside the other Colonial forces.

In 1807, now a respected gentleman, his peers still called him Major, Thomas bought a home once owned by the town’s minister. Situated on Main Street he opened it as a tavern.

Yarmouth Harbor

One evening Means and his patrons watched as a tall older Indian entered his establishment. This man ordered rum. As Thomas served him this man bragged about being a member of a war party that years before had massacred a family that lived near the fort.

As Thomas served him several glasses of liquor the Indian talked more. It dawned on Thomas and his patrons that this was the man who killed his father. Once the Indian was drunk Thomas escorted him to a small guest room above the tavern known as the “monitor room.”

None of the townsfolk saw this Indian again. Shortly afterwards, Thomas began to be awakened by “flashing lights and uncanny sounds” coming from the monitor room.

He then began to see the figure of the Indian moving back and forth across this small room. This activity was relentless especially during storms.

These sightings continued for years and almost drove the Major crazy. On his deathbed in 1828, Thomas confessed to his son that he had killed the Indian with a hatchet. Seeking revenge he had scalped the man as well.

Means confession did not settle down this activity. The small monitor room continued to be haunted for 50 years after his death.

It wasn’t until the late 1970s after the new owners of the tavern renovated the upstairs that this troubled ghost finally settled down.

Terrifying Tales: Pruitt’s Chain

In June of 1938 in eastern Kentucky a man by the name of Carl Pruitt discovered his wife in bed with another man. Enraged he grabbed a chain and strangled her to death. Her lover managed to escape.

Afterward feeling remorse, he then took his own life. He was buried in a separate cemetery then his wife. 

A few months later several residents noticed a chain growing in the shape of a cross on Pruitt’s headstone.

Soon after, a series of strange deaths occurred in connection to this gravestone.

A group of teenagers entered the cemetery to check out the strange growing chain. One member of the group in an effort to impress the others threw stones at the marker—as he and the rest left the cemetery his bike went out of control and sped down a hill.

He slammed into a tree head on. When his friends caught up they found him dead, not from the impact but from a chain that was wrapped around his throat—he had been strangled.

It is said later the mother of this boy went to the cemetery with an axe and proceeded to try and chop it down in a rage. Later the same day as she hung at her wash to dry—the clothesline snapped—she was found later dead with a chain encircling her neck.

Oddly, the Pruitt tombstone was found not to have a scratch on it.

Another victim was a local farmer who shot at the tombstone with his shotgun. Afterwards he bragged it now had several holes in it. Within the week his wagon crashed and his body was found with a chain wrapped around his throat.

Again, the tombstone had no signs of damage.

A policeman sent from Louisville to investigate the farmer’s death joked with a fellow cop that he did not believe the chain stories and then he made fun of the grave.

As these two officers left the cemetery they noticed a glowing light coming from the stone. As they drove away this light followed them. The skeptical officer sped up and ended up crashing their car along the narrow road.

His partner survived the crash uninjured but the disrespectful officer was thrown from the car and strangled to death by a chain that the other officer discovered wrapped tightly around his neck.

Another local farmer named Arthur Lewis told his wife that he was going to put an end “to all the nonsense.” He took a sledgehammer to the cemetery and broke the Pruitt headstone into pieces.

People who lived nearby stated they heard his swings and then a harrowing scream. When they went to investigate they found Lewis lying near the cemetery gate—he had been strangled to death by a chain.

Once more the headstone was in place with no signs of damage.

Now frightened, the relatives of the deceased buried near Pruitt’s grave had their loved ones exhumed and moved to other graves.

The Pruitt grave then lay untouched until 1958 when a strip-mining company covered the grave--its location today is unknown.

China: Ghost of Tu-Po

Chinese ghost
depicted as a demon.

In Chinese tradition, ghosts were considered to be malevolent in nature. It was believed that they could cause significant harm to the living if they were provoked.

One ancient ghost legend from China involves the ghost of Tu-Po that returned to exact revenge against the man who had him executed.

Before he was executed Tu-Po served as the minister to Chinese Emperor Hsuan who lived from 827-783 B.C.

The emperor had Tu-Po executed on false charges in 786 B.C. despite multiple warnings that Tu-Po would return to haunt him.

Chinese philosopher Mo Tzu, 300 years later, wrote about what happened next. Tu-Po’s spirit did not rest in peace because three years after his execution, he returned to do more than just haunt the emperor--this ghost killed him.

Tzu writes in 783 B.C., “Hsuan was killed with a bow and arrow fired by an apparition that resembled Tu-Po.” This was done in full view of an assembly of feudal lords.

Mo Tzu points out that this story should be believed because, “As we are to rely on what many have jointly seen and what many have jointly heard, the case of Tu Po is to be accepted.”

Another of Tzu’s quotes reflects his honest thoughts on whether ghosts do exist.

Here it is paraphrased: 

"Since the beginning of time men have seen the bodies of ghosts and spirits and have heard their voices. So how can we say they do not exist? Only if none had seen or heard them can we say they genuinely do not exist."

The Navajo Chindi, Part ll

This is the story of the Long Salt family a Navajo clan who were cursed by a chindi--an evil spirit--set upon them by one who was wronged. This case is well documented.

This evil spirit pursued and exacted its revenge on the Long Salts for over 100 years.

An Angry Spirit

The families’ ordeal started in 1825. One member became ill when he could not sleep. He was having nightmares.

The angry spirit of a man he had killed was tormenting him because he was slain before he could sing his death song.

The man’s brothers told him that he should let it go for he had killed this man in a fair fight--recognized by the tribe-- so it was not his fault.

But the man felt he would surely die if something was not done to appease this troubled spirit.

The Long Salt family sought help from an old, blind priest from the Tsegi country. This priest then held a 3-day b’jene or sing over the afflicted brother.

On the final day the ill man sighed in relief, he stated his gratitude for the troubled spirit had departed and he now could sleep peacefully.

The old priest requested the Long Salts butcher 5 sheep for him as payment. His request was fair for the powerful Long Salt Clan numbered in the 100s and had many sheep.

But the two Long Salt men who were assigned to slaughter these sheep had other ideas. The old priest’s village was a considerable distance from their flocks so taking a short cut they butchered 5 wild antelope instead. They felt the priest being blind would not know the difference.

The elder Long Salt that presented the 5 carcasses to the priest was also unaware that antelope had been substituted for the sheep. The two men had cut off the heads and the legs at the knees so he was deceived as well.

The Long Salt Curse

A few weeks after the payment an older member of the clan died suddenly even though he had not been ill. Then a young robust male died for no reason.

As the Long Salt members and young widow mourned these deaths in song they began to feel something was not right. Soon after a pattern began.

Every few weeks another member would become ill, waste away and die. It became obvious to the wiser members that a chindi had been set against them, but why?

The two men who had substituted the antelope finally came forward and confessed. The family council agreed that they must ask the old priest how they could rectify the situation.

The priest told them he had become angry when he discovered the deception. He acknowledged that he had set a chindi against them--its task was to eliminate them one by one.

They explained they had not meant to cheat him. They begged him to call off the avenging spirit.

The old priest believed they were sincere but warned them that to uphold his reputation he would have to appease the spirit world. The Long Salts told him they would pay whatever the price.

The priest sent them away stating he was tired and needed to figure out what a proper compensation would be. He told them to return in 10 days.

Unfortunately, when the Long Salts returned they were informed the old priest had died. They asked his son if he knew if his father had called off the curse before he died.

To their horror, they were not able to determine if the curse had been lifted. By the time they returned home, several members of the family lay ill and dying.

1925 Interview

In a 1967 August/September issue of the Frontier Times, John R. Winslow wrote he had met the last surviving member of the Long Salt clan in 1925--100 years later.

He talked to Alice, a slender teenager:

“Curiously, anyone marrying into the family met the same fate as a blood Long Salt. Alice’s mother died when the girl turned seven and she was attending the Tuba City boarding school at the Indian agency. Alice’s father became skin and bones, dying two years later. The remaining three Long Salts--Alice’s two uncles and an aunt--were ill, crippled, and helpless. Friends cared for them, watching them fade into nothing before their eyes.”

A Navajo man named Hosteen Behegade adopted Alice. He swore to protect her from the chindi’s mission. He kept them on the move hoping the spirit could not find them.

But in the winter of 1928, still wandering, a blizzard hit the Hogan they were staying in 3 miles from the trading post at Red Mesa.

Alice was found dead the next morning. The final revenge had been exacted. The curse was complete.

In Part l of The Navajo Chindi read more about Navajo death customs and lore that surrounds this evil spirit.

Japanese Ghost: Funa Yurei

The ghosts that have appeared in Japanese folklore since the Edo Period are much scarier entities than the ghosts portrayed in the western world. The main reason for this is Japanese ghosts often return to exact revenge or even kill the living.

One such ghost in Japan known as Funa Yurei often appears in Japanese ghost stories. This ghost is a water spirit, which is not surprising since Japan is an island nation.

Funa Yurei is said to be the souls of people shipwrecked and lost at sea in the past. They like most ghosts in Japan are depicted as female as opposed to male.

They are believed to be very bitter and wrathful toward the living--they rise up from the bottom of the sea to attack boats and ships.

Their goal is to take the souls of the unsuspecting sailors to increase their own numbers--for it is said once killed by this female ghost a man’s soul then becomes a Funa Yurei.

Japanese sailors are extra cautious during stormy weather, foggy nights and rainy days or during a new or full moon for it during these times that the Funa Yurei appears.

Their powers allow them to transform and appear as another ship--the name Funa Yurei translated means Ghost Ship.

This ghost ship overcomes other ships or boats by heading straight for them. When the panicked crew turns their vessel to avoid this collision, their boats run aground or capsize. Then all onboard are lost.

Sailors can see this ghost ship even at night for it glows.

Funa Yurei often would lure their victims further out to sea. In olden days the Japanese would set bonfires along the shore to help seaman find their way home, but it is said the Funa Yurei would trick these sailors.

They too would light a fire, but on the open sea which would mislead the sailors to where they would wreck and drown.

Another way the Funa Yurei would trick sailors is by appearing as one of them and requesting a container of water. They would board the unsuspecting ship or boat and request a container that holds water--such as a barrel or ladle known as a hisyaka.

Whatever they did they must not give this container to the spirit for the Funa Yurei would then flip it over and water would magically begin to spill out and wouldn’t stop until it sank the vessel.

Sailors were also cautioned that these spirits could prey upon their emotions.

Stories about the Funa Yurei were told in each Kuni or province of Japan. So there are many legends connected to how to drive the Funa Yurei away--or fool them.

One way to mislead these spirits was to have at least one container on board ship that had a hole in the bottom so it would not hold water. This belief was so strong that even today vendors in Japan carry ladles with holes drilled in them to trick the Funa Yurei.

A general belief was if a ship should see a Funa Yurei ship approach they should stand their ground--not swerve away. For if they did this, the ghost ship would just pass right through them.

Another belief was that they should just stop and stare at the ghost vessel for a while.

Yet another way to outmaneuver these water spirits was to stir the sea with a stick.

Offerings especially food was considered a significant deterrent--for it was said the Funa Yurei like most ghosts are hungry, so they would accept food as opposed to the men’s souls.

It was also believed that things could be thrown into the sea to stop the Funa Yurei. Depending upon the Japanese province, these items included: flowers, washed rice, incense, burnt wood, ashes, water, summer beans, and woven mats.

Here is a link to an excellent site Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai, which has translated Japanese ghost stories. This is just one of many stories told about the Funa Yurei.

Adirondacks: A Ghost’s Revenge

From ghosties and ghoulies

And long-legged beasties

And things that go bump in the night,

Good Lord Preserve us!

An ancient belief about ghosts is that if they were murdered they return to avenge their deaths. In today’s world this notion is often rejected.

Adirondacks

One ghost legend that has been told in the Adirondacks for years is about a murdered hunter who returns to do exactly this.

Two hunters kept a camp not far from St. Regis Falls in the North Woods. Every fall season they returned to hunt for several days. Everyone assumed these two men Sandburg and Barry were good friends.

One season Sandburg came down from the mountain alone stating Barry had gotten lost. A search party was sent to look but an early snow hampered their efforts. They returned without finding any trace of the missing hunter.

The State Police felt that Sandburg wasn’t telling the whole story. They questioned him several times, each time he became more agitated to the point where he wouldn’t answer anymore of their questions. They had no corpse or other concrete evidence so they couldn’t prove foul play. The case was dismissed.

Hunting Camp

The following spring hikers found Barry’s body lying at the base of a tree. His skull was cracked. Still the police could not prove anything and the coroner determined the injury was due to “an accidental death.”

A rusted rife was found near Barry’s body. His hunting knife that he always kept strapped to his leg was missing. No one found this odd at the time.

The next fall Sandburg returned to the camp with a new companion. The first night this hunter turned in early. It had been a long trip and he was tired. In the middle of the night he was jarred awake by Sandburg’s shouts. The man in the tent heard him scream, “Don’t do it…stop!”

Scrambling for his flashlight he left the tent. He found Sandburg sitting in a camp chair dead. A hunting knife was stuck through his heart.

Later only one set of prints was found on the knife handle. They belonged to Barry.

Louis C. Jones, Things That Go Bump in the Night, 1959, Aeonian Press, Inc., New York