12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.

13 For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.

14 O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them.

15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

16 O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid.

17 Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, Lord, hast holpen me, and comforted me.

Wash the egg in the holy water and let it cool to room temperature. Once the egg is ready, hold it in your dominant hand about 6 inches above the person. Begin by passing the egg in a cross pattern over the head, chest, and feet. To make the cross, start at the top position of the envisioned cross and go down, then go up, to the right, then to the left. This is blessing and preparing the person for the cleansing. While making each cross, I often pray:

Three crosses I make and I beg they do help us, two for the thieves and one for Christ Jesus.

Once the crosses are made, pass the egg slowly from head to toe three or seven times while praying the Lord's Prayer (see page 86). This is done for the front, sides, and back of the person, passing three times over each. If you're doing this on yourself, try to cover as much area as you can with passing. Always go from head to toe, never back and forth. Some folks like to pass the egg in counterclockwise circles while going from head to toe.

Once done, crack the egg into the glass of spring water and place the eggshell on a plate. Make the sign of the cross over the glass in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and let the yolk sit for about thirty minutes. The resulting formations will show if more cleansing is needed and what or who was the cause.

During the passing, the egg may get really heavy or even break once it's “full,” even if you're holding it as gently as you can. In this case, a new egg should be gotten and the procedure continued with the second egg. If that occurs, open the egg in the glass of water and place the shell on the plate. Once done with the second egg, crack it open into the glass and place its shell with the other one.

Egg cleansings are usually done three times in a row with an hour passing between the first and second sessions and thirty minutes between the second and third sessions. Although three passings aren't always needed, depending on what the first egg shows, you should still have the other two eggs handy just in case.

Once the thirty minutes has passed, take note of the formations in the glass.

If the egg smells bad or has a strong odor, this is a sign of evil being done or severe illness. This is also indicated if the egg shows blood.

Small spots of blood in the water show signs of bad luck and damage done by witchcraft or conjure, especially if the water is also cloudy or murky.

If the water becomes cloudy without scent or blood, there's been a loss of vital spiritual energy that needs to be healed. In many folk traditions this is a sign of nightmares, PTSD, depression, or addiction.

If the egg yolk makes the shape of a face, this is a sign of an enemy. A slender face represents a man; a round face represents a woman.

If the yolk looks like an eye of sorts, this shows that the evil eye is present and will most likely warrant additional sessions to be removed, paired with other cleansings.

Small bubbles in the water or egg show that negativity has been removed.

If the water is clear without any abnormal shapes or scents, then nothing unnatural has occurred and no more cleansings are needed.

Spider web formations in the white of the egg show that something is blocking or stopping you. Additional sessions are needed to remove any existing problems.

With egg cleansings, it is expected for the whole egg to sink to the bottom. This shows that all negativity was removed. If any part of the egg floats, another session is needed.

Once you've read the egg and performed any other needed sessions, dispose of the eggs and their shells in a ditch, crossroads, or dumpster. Wash your hands with cheap whiskey afterward. Limit your sessions to three a day. If the third egg shows more work is needed, wait until after the sun rises again to continue.

Aside from the egg, other objects have been used in the same manner for spiritual cleansing as well. Herbs such as goldenrod, tobacco, basil, onion grass, and cedar are swept over the body like a broom from head to toe and then burned to rid disease and witchcraft. You can also use a taper candle. Carve your name in it from wick to bottom and then sweep your body with it from head to toe three times while praying the Lord's Prayer (see page 86). Light it as the sun goes down and let it burn completely in one lighting. Dispose of the candle at a crossroads by burying it in newspaper.

CLEANSING ITEMS

Items need cleansing just as much as people do—especially items that belonged to a deceased person (whom you don't wish haunting you), items from antique stores, statues, and items whose history is unknown. Spirits can hop rides on items and statues or dolls just the same as they can ride a person from one place to another. This especially applies if the item is something tethering a spirit here: they must go wherever the item goes.

When an item needs to be cleansed, there are a few methods I grew up with. One was to take the item to the creek and wash it in the cascades, where the water rushes over stones, making a white reflection. The creek is strongest here and so is its cleansing power. No haint or bad spirit can stay tethered to an item washed in those currents. While washing the item, we sing or pray verses such as Psalm 31:1–5 (see page 89).

Mind you, this is for stuff that water won't ruin. If your item may be ruined by water, then you'll need to get a cedar box. Oil the inside of the box with olive oil that has been blessed by praying Psalm 23 (see page 66) over it. Layer the bottom of the box with salt, baking soda, and pine needles and wait for the sun to rise on a Sunday. As the sun rises, position the opened box so that the rays of the rising sun shine into the box. It was at this point that a hymn is prayed, usually “Blessed Assurance.” Placed the item inside the box and keep it closed until the following Sunday, when it is opened to let in the rising sun again. Then the item is cleansed, as nothing can survive that long in that mixture while also pinned up in a cedar box. Anything bad has suffocated, so to speak.

For things that can't be trekked down to the creek or stuffed in a box, you can make up a solution of 1 cup warm water, 1 capful apple cider vinegar, and 1 tablespoon baking soda or saltpeter; then take a wash rag and wipe the item down. Mama and Nana both did this while spring cleaning and dusting, singing hymns such as “Four Days Late,” “Blessed Assurance,” and “Down in the River to Pray.”

After you have spiritually cleaned your body, your home, and any questionable objects, it's time for the next step: protection. Because what's the point in cleaning if you're not going to try to prevent it from getting dirty again? The following practices act as both protection and security systems, keeping you safe and further alerting you of any “breaches” that may occur.

6

SALT UNDER THE ROCKS

Sustaining one's own health, spiritually and physically, is vitally important for the majority of Appalachia. The slightest show of disease or bad fortune can decimate a person's entire livelihood, especially if that someone is a main caretaker of the family. This protection also extended to the property and other needed residents such as cattle, pigs, chickens, ducks, and horses, an area that moves into the work of the little-known horse and cow doctors.

Life in Appalachia is a paradox. There is life and death constantly dancing in and out the door in the forms of sickness and health, prosperity and poverty, peace and feuds, angels and demons. Appalachian Americans know firsthand how fragile the fabric of our lives is. One clean swipe from an enemy can knock us completely off the game board. It is here again that faith and superstition take center stage. Both warn us against particular actions and taboos in order to avoid bad luck, illness, or strife. Here I will detail the methods to prevent such things. Of course, none of this work is guaranteed. But with the faith of a mustard seed, you can move mountains. Plus, a little precaution never hurt.

PROTECT AGAINST HAINTS

Haints are a pest to deal with, and if left to their devices, it gets harder and harder to get rid of them. This is why, back in the day, family members were all buried on the property. This way if a haint came to the house, it was far more likely it was a relative and the folks wouldn't be scared and they'd know how to handle it. Nowadays, with folks being buried all over, we have to go through an interview of sorts to test the spirits. But one thing is for certain: if a haint or spirit can get past all of the things we'll cover in this chapter, then they probably don't have bad intentions for you.

Haints include any pesky or malicious spirits, be it an ancestor who lived and died wrong, a wayward spirit that hopped along for the ride, a demon, or some other land entity. These are always spirits that haven't moved on for one reason or another. Some signs of haint activity include items disappearing, moving by themselves, or being tossed and broken on a recurring basis; foul smells, such as rotten eggs; an uneasy, almost nauseating feeling while being in the home, which most of the time disappears as soon as you're off the property; insomnia or nightmares; repeatedly waking up in the middle of the night; hearing sounds such as talking or something falling throughout the house with no known cause. The list goes on, but those are the common signs. If a family member comes to haunt the home, they can enter regardless of anything set up if they lived there in life or have previously been invited in.

A word of caution here: There is one thing in these hills that is worse than a haint, no matter how old, displeased, or forgotten they may be. This is a spirit called a plat-eye, which is the result of a person not being properly buried. Another tale is that plat-eyes are slaves left to die. A slave master would sometimes bury their gold or something real special beneath a tree. Then he'd take his strongest slave and chain him to that tree to guard it, in life and in death. They were left to die there. Not only have they not moved on, but they haven't had a proper burial. The signs of these wronged souls is the sound of chains smacking against a tree; with others, it's a sign of their death—the sound of flowing water if they drowned, air thinning if they suffocated, etc. This happens in a number of situations, whether it's murder victims, folks lost in the hills or swept away by the rivers, or those who went to war and had no family to look for them. It may not seem that common, but here? Anything is possible, and that is sad and true. We've had countless wars. The hills are perfect hiding places. And many people have died in these rivers or have simply gone missing while traveling through the mountains.

Unlike haints, plat-eyes are tethered to this plane, and are connected to more things than just their body. They can change their shape to animals such as black dogs with their guts dragging on the ground or headless roosters, to inanimate objects such as rags hanging from trees, a cloud of fog that hovers with a mind of its own, or some black shapeless thing with piercing yellow or red eyes. One story recounts a plat-eye showing itself as a black cat with glowing eyes, two front legs, and four back legs!

They always have those glowing eyes. Red with anger and rage. They can cause nightmares, insomnia, and more from the boundaries of the property. So if you don't feel like you're being watched inside, but you do feel this way outside, there may be a plat-eye out there. The same protections apply to plat-eyes as haints, but plat-eyes do have a tendency to break salt lines, cast dust on oiled doors (which absorbs the oil and eventually falls off), and more, so be careful. You can carry a bag of gunpowder and sulfur with you or hang one up: they hate this mixture and won't go anywhere near it.

To keep haints and plat-eyes out of the home, hang an old iron, used horseshoe over the door, drive nine used horseshoe nails into the base of the doorframe, mark three crosses over every door with white chalk, or hang garlic, peppers, or onions in the home. Always keep a line of salt at the doors and windows, moistened with whiskey or water to harden it. We also keep a Bible by the door opened to Psalm 23 and a glass of equal parts water and blue dish soap or laundry bluing set out. Mamaw Hopson would hang dried corncobs or windchimes outside the home, on the front porch, in the windows, and in the barn, where the pigs and chickens were kept.

To protect yourself from haints when away from the home, carry the left hind foot of a rabbit with you, sew a piece of red ribbon to the inner heel of each shoe, wear red and black pepper in your shoes, wear a head covering, or wear your socks inside out. Regular cleansing paired with these will also keep haints away from you. I've also known folks to keep a small copy of the Bible on their keys, or a small copy of the Psalms in the glove box of their car. You may also create a charm from Psalm 31:15–17 (see page 204).

Take out all of the vowels, place a period between the words, and replace the Lord's name with three crosses. Begin and end with a cross on each line. Write your name above it with your signature, and carry it with you everywhere:

+My.tms.r.n.th.hnd.dlvr.m.frm.th.hnd.f.mn.nms.nd. frm.thm.tht.prsct.m.+

+Mk.thy.fc.t.shn.pn.thy.srvnt.sv.m.fr.th.mrcs.sk.+

+Lt.m.nt.b.shmd.   +++   fr.hv.cll.pn.th.lt.th. wckd.b.shmd.nd.lt.thm.b.slnt.n.th.grv. +

WARD OFF DISEASE

Medical care in Appalachia hasn't been all that great, especially for poor folks who couldn't afford it from the start. Because of this, even with the advent of pills and other pharmaceutical medicines, the majority of folks refused to give up their herbs and roots. Many still drink spring tonics such as sassafras root tea to clean the blood. Likewise, methods were devised and old wives' tales followed to avoid getting ill during the season or coming year by warding off diseases, thought by some to be caused by spirits.

It's said if you catch the first leaf you see falling in autumn, you won't be sick all winter. Turn your pockets inside out at the hooting of an owl to prevent sickness. Another method of warding off illness reaches back to the Cherokee and probably further. They would hang the carcass of a vulture over the door based on the belief that the vulture was immune to every disease and could therefore protect them too. Today, we keep a small bundle of vulture feathers posted over the door. In a pinch, raven or crow feathers will work, but vulture feathers are best. A buzzard's dried head hung about the neck also warded off head colds and headaches.

If one is already sick, you may prevent it from worsening by doing the following: refrain from sweeping that room, especially under the bed, until they are well; don't change the bed sheets unless absolutely necessary, and don't cut their nails until they are well again. Otherwise, it's said it will take their strength away. You can also take a new bottle filled a third of the way with saltwater and hang it up by the head of the bed, to the left, and keep it closed tight to keep haints and witchcraft away. You may also powder the sheets with baby powder and place a Bible beneath the bed opened to John 11:1–45, which details the resurrection of Lazarus. Just as Lazarus was freed from the bonds of death, so will the person be freed from sickness.