NAME ON TIN, POSTED ON HOUSE, BRINGS THEM BACK

An' heah's anothah way, if he's gone away - if he's outa town or if

he's in town. You can

take an' write his full name - his given name an' a middle name an' his

surname - write all that name on a piece of tin an' tack it up ovah your do'

outside of the house. Nail it up there. If he's away from there, he'll

start there in 48 hours - he jes' can't rest an' you'll usually get a lettah

sayin' he's comin'.

An' if he's in town - if he left there evah so mad, when he comes back

he'll come back in a day or two an' come back grinnin'.

[Memphis, TN; Informant #950; Cylinders B74:1-B77:15 = 1532-1535]

H.M.Hyatt

FROG CARTILAGE RING FOR LOVE

DRY A FROG THOROUGHLY.

REMOVE ROUND PEARLY GRISTLE FROM FOREHEAD.

FASHION INTO A RING.

GIVE TO THE ONE YOU LOVE TO WEAR.

     An' it's a thing in his fo'head - ah would call it his fo'head.  It's not a dime but it's a round thing, some kind gristle concern.  Aftah it gits dry, yo' take it out an' it looks similar tuh pearl, jes' de size of a dime.

      Den yo' take dat an' carry it to some dese boys or men or maybe dat chew could do it; jes' make it into one dese han'made rings.  Well, yo' give her dat ring.

     Have dat ring made out of it an' give it tuh her, an' tell her, say, "Now, every time ah see yo', ah wanta see dat ring on yo' fingah."  Well, naturally, it's purtty, it shines an' maybe she will wear it.

      Long as she wears dat ring - if she happen tuh have a husban', an' she put dat ring on dis mawnin' an' tuhnight when he come - dis is really his house an' he's payin' her house rent heah an' tendin' tuh business - but by gosh she goin' put him out.  She goin' put him outa heah or kill him.  She goin' put him outa heah.

      (As long as she wears this ring.)

     Yes, sir.  If she wears dat ring, why it ain't no way in de world dat he kin do anything wit her unless he wanta kill her.  Yessuh, dat's yore woman.

     (That other bone, you hooked into her, into her clothing - like a spur?)

     Yessuh.

[Memphis,TN; Informant #1534; D68:5-D80:3 = 2751-2763.]

H.M.Hyatt

TO BRING A LOVED ONE BACK TO YOU

Spell Ingredients:

glass full of water,

rag,

matches

40th Psalm

TO BRING A LOVED ONE BACK TO YOU

FILL A GLASS WITH WATER.

FOLD A RAG TWICE AND CUT A HOLE IN THE CENTER OF IT.

TIGHTLY TIE THE RAG OVER THE WATER GLASS,

WITH THE HOLE CENTERED OVER THE GLASS.

EVERY MORNING BETWEEN 4AM - 5AM,

RISE AND FOCUS YOUR MIND ON THE PERSON YOU WANT TO BRING BACK.

CONCENTRATE COMPLETELY.

STRIKE ONE MATCH TOWARDS YOU WHILE SAYING,

"IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, (NAME OF LOVER), I BID YOU TO COME TO ME".

DROP THE MATCH, STILL BURNING, THROUGH THE HOLE IN THE RAG

INTO THE GLASS OF WATER.

WAIT A FEW MINUTES, THEN

STRIKE THE SECOND MATCH TOWARDS YOU WHILE SAYING,

"IN THE NAME OF THE SON, (NAME OF LOVER), I BID YOU TO COME TO ME."

DROP THE MATCH, STILL BURNING, THROUGH THE HOLE IN THE RAG

INTO THE GLASS OF WATER.

WAIT A FEW MINUTES, THEN

STRIKE THE THIRD MATCH TOWARDS YOU WHILE SAYING,

"IN THE NAME OF THE HOLY GHOST, (NAME OF LOVER), I BID YOU TO COME TO ME."

DROP THE MATCH, STILL BURNING, THROUGH THE HOLE IN THE RAG

INTO THE GLASS OF WATER.

GO INTO YOUR ROOM AND READ THE 40TH PSALM.*

READ THIS PRAYERFULLY AND CAREFULLY,

WITH YOUR MIND STRONGLY ON THE PERSON YOU WANT TO CALL BACK TO YOU.

DO THIS RITUAL WITH REGULARITY AND CONCENTRATION

EVERY MORNING AT THE SAME TIME,

AND THE PERSON WILL RETURN TO YOU BEFORE THE 29TH DAY.

TO BRING A LOVED ONE BACK TO YOU

     (If a person left home, how would you bring them [!] back?)  [As I have said elsewhere - the language of the interview.]

     Ah wisht ah brought mah data along with me - but anyhow ah have [know] it.  In that case, an' ah have lots of [cases like] that, yo' simply take a glass of water, cut a rag, a hole in a rag - fill the glass full of clear water, cut a hole in the rag [demonstrates] somethin' like this, fold it, an' jes' cut that.

     Tie that rag on the top of that glass tight.

.

     (You take the piece of rag and fold it twice and you then cut out the center - have the exact center over the top of the glass.)

     Uh-hmm.

     All right, an' yo' get a box of matches, new matches.

     Every morning between four and five a'clock - you must do it between four and five a'clock, you get up and center your mind on the individual you want to come to you.

     You must concentrate on that individual - nuthing else in your mind but that individual, and go take those matches and strike three of 'em one at a time, "In the Name of the Father" - strike it to you - "In the Name of the Father" and call his name - like if his name is John Brown, jes' say, "John," light them over there, "John, I bid you to come to me," and drop that match while burning in that glass of water.

     (Through the hole into the water?)

     Yes.  Wait a few minutes, "In the Name of the Son, I bid you, John, come to me," strike that match and drop it down.

     (Strike it always toward you.)

     Toward you.

     The third time, "In the Name of the Holy Ghost, I bid you, John, come to me" and drop it in there.  Do that for 29 mornings - he'll be back 'fore the 29 mornings is up, he'll be there.

     (That is all you have to do.)

     No, wait a minute.  You must do this regularly - regularity counts, and your concentration.

     Then you go back to your room and read the 40th Psalms.  It starts off by saying, "I waited patiently for the Lord.  He inclined His ear to me and heard me" - so on and so forth.  Read that prayerfully an' carefully with your mind still on the individual.

     Do this for 29 mornings and before the 29th morning comes, I guarantee - money back guarantee - the individual will either write or be in your presence.  And I have done proved what I've said.

[Savannah, GA; Informant # not noted; C550:3-C555:1 = 2131-2136]

*(Moderator note:  Here is the 40th Psalm, King James Version)

PSALM 40

1I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

 2He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

 3And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.

 4Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

 5Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.

 6Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.

 7Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,

 8I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.

 9I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest.

 10I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.

 11Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me.

 12For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.

 13Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me: O LORD, make haste to help me.

 14Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil.

 15Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha.

 16Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified.

 17But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.

H.M.Hyatt

TO MAKE THEM COME BACK AND BE HAPPY WITH YOU

Spell Ingredients:

right stocking

name paper

TO MAKE THEM COME BACK

AND BE HAPPY WITH YOU

ON A PIECE OF PAPER,

WRITE THEIR NAME TOWARDS YOU,*

AND FOLD THE PAPER TOWARDS YOU.

GET THEIR RIGHT STOCKING.

FOLD IT TOWARDS YOU THREE TIMES.

INSERT THEIR NAME PAPER INTO THE THIRD FOLD.

BURY THIS UNDER YOUR DOOR.

     There's nothing wrong but just like you here in town.

     If a man is gwine with a lady and she is not satisfied - seems to be dissatisfied with you, you get their right stocking.  Fold the stocking three times to you and fold in that stocking, the last fold, like this way - the last fold, write their name on a piece of paper and write it to you.  [Demonstrates.]

     Write it this way to you, and fold it to you, and fold that piece of paper in the stocking.  Take the stocking and bury it under your door.  She'll become reconciled, come back and love you, and get along all right.  The man the same way.

[Savannah, GA; Informant # not noted; C550:3-C555:1 = 2131-2136]




H.M.Hyatt

TO TURN THEIR MINDS TOWARD YOU

What is worn next to the body can be used to control the individual.

     It must be concentrated on and dressed by smoking over burned perfume [probably means incense] and buried to turn their minds toward you.

     (If you get hold of this handwriting or letter of theirs?)

     Yes, that's right, smoke it over any kind of burned perfume - smoke it over that perfume and bury it.  But the concentration is the main thing over it.

[Savannah, GA; Informant # not noted; C550:3-C555:1 = 2131-2136]








H.M.Hyatt

TO DRAW HIS MIND TO HER AND MAKE HIM LIKE HER

TO DRAW HIS MIND TO HER

AND MAKE HIM LIKE HER

     (The man doesn't like her very much.  What would you do to make him like her?)

     Git some of his hair or git a piece of his sweatband out of his hat and put it in a bottle, urinate on it and put it away in a dark place, make a wish on it and hold it there.

     Turn his mind on her sure as the world.

[Savannah, GA; Informant # not noted; C550:3-C555:1 = 2131-2136]




H.M.Hyatt

TO BRING THEM BACK AND KEEP THEM THERE

TAKE A NEW FILE.

DRIVE ONE END HALFWAY INTO THE GROUND

AT ONE CORNER OF YOUR HOUSE.

THEN BREAK THE FILE IN HALF,

LEAVING THE HALF YOU'VE DRIVEN INTO THE GROUND WHERE YOU PLACED IT.

TAKE THE OTHER HALF TO THE OTHER CORNER OF YOUR HOUSE,

AND, WITHOUT TURNING OR TWISTING THE FILE AT ALL,

DRIVE IT INTO THE GROUND THERE.

     (Have you ever heard of people going out to the forks of the road to do something?)

     Well, yes.

     Now listen, you kin take a new file, if you wanta bring a person back to de house sometime.

     You takes dis end and drives it down halfway.  You take something and break in two, and that same part you broke, don't turn it over [upside down or twist it in any way].  You go to the other corner and you put [it into the ground in the same position it was broken off] - one in one corner of the house and the other in the other corner of the house.  Drive it down there and they'll stay there.

    (I see, that's to keep a person home or something of that sort.)

   

[Berkly, VA; Informant #494A; Name - Mrs. Griffin (now in Berkly, VA; from Bertie Co., NC);  Numbers Book 422-621; Cylinders 533:2 - 536:5.]




H.M.Hyatt

URINE LOVE SPELL

Give dem urine in vinegah.  Jis' lak yo' have de salt, peppah an' vinegah bottle upon yore table, yo' urine in dat an' yo' let 'em alone use it, an' dat will cause an individual to like yo'.

     (That creates love.)

[Little Rock, AR; Informant #914 (Dr. Cunningham); Numbers Book 885-977;

Cylinders B13:1-B22-5 = 1476-1480.]












H.M.Hyatt

FOR LOVE 2

BRAID/TWIST TOGETHER THREE OF THEIR HAIRS:

ONE HAIR FROM UNDER THEIR EACH OF THEIR ARMS,

AND ONE OF THEIR PUBIC HAIRS.

ON PARCHMENT PAPER, WRITE THE FOLLOWING:

'IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY GHOST"

USING RED INK.

WRAP THIS AROUND THE PLAIT OF HAIR,

AND SEW THE WHOLE THING INTO RED FLANNEL.

     Yo' take one strand of an individual's hair an' one from underneat' dere arms an' one from dere private, an' twist dese three partic'lar hairs into a plait, an' write "De Name of de Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost" on parchment papah with red ink an' sew dis partic'lar arrangement up in a small piece of flannel an' wear it in yore fob pocket an' dis one would eternally love yo' if yo' want dem.

[Little Rock, AR; Informant #914 (Dr. Cunningham); Numbers Book 885-977;

Cylinders B13:1-B22-5 = 1476-1480.]








H.M.Hyatt

FOR LOVE

Spell Ingredients:

Photo

Parchment paper

Bible

Red pepper

Table salt

WRITE THE 23rd PSALM UPON PARCHMENT PAPER.

WRAP THE WRITTEN PSALM AROUND THE PERSON'S PHOTOGRAPH.

SPRINKLE RED PEPPER AND TABLE SALT BETWEEN THE PAPER

AND THE PHOTOGRAPH.

FOLD. *

AT 12 O'CLOCK, TACK THIS UP OVER THE CENTER OF THE DOOR,

ON THE DOORSILL.

READ THE 70th PSALM AFTER HANGING IT UP.

     Wit an individual's photo yo' write a prayer of de 23rd Psalms an' yo' ast de Almighty God if He would please bring onto de individual one His love - de love of Alfred White which ah hold in dis photo.

     Wrap dis arrangement aroun' de photo aftah yo' wrote upon de parchment papah an' sprinkle between de papah an' dat pitchure de red peppah an' cookin' salt an' hang it ovah de center of de do' on de do'sill.

     At exactly twelve a'clock she begin trackin' dat photo up dere an' let it be hanging wit de photo bottoms up, bottoms down, an' read de 70th Psalms aftah she had rendered dis, an' dat will change his mind fo' any othah individual one, dat he would divide his partic'lar earnings wit her.

[Little Rock, AR; Informant #914 (Dr. Cunningham); Numbers Book 885-977;

Cylinders B13:1-B22-5 = 1476-1480.]

* (Moderator note:  Though the informant does not say to fold this arrangement, we are told to put salt and pepper between the parchment and the photo; without folding or wrapping it somehow, the salt and pepper would fall out when the papers were hung.  Also, the informant says "let it be hanging wit de photo bottoms up, bottoms down", a confusing statement which led me to think that folding it might be what was meant.  I could be wrong, so judge for yourselves.)




H.M.Hyatt

Zora Neale Hurston

     Zora Neale Hurston (born January 7, 1891) spent her early adulthood studying at various universities and collecting folklore from the South, the Carribean, and Latin America. She published her findings in Mules and Men. She was a fixture of the Harlem Renaissance, rubbing shoulders with many of its famous writers. In 1937, she published her masterwork of fiction, Their Eyes Were Watching God.

    Writer, anthropologist, folklorist. Born January 7, 1891 in Notasulga, Alabama. She studied at Howard University (1923–4), Barnard College (1928 BA), and did graduate work at Columbia University. She spent much of her life collecting folklore of the South (1927–31, 1938–9) and of other places such as Haiti (1937–8), Bermuda (1937–8), and Honduras (1946–8), publishing her findings in works including Mules and Men(1935).

  Hurston lived in New York City and held a variety of jobs, such as teacher, librarian, and assistant to Fannie Hurst. She was associated with the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, and would later influence such writers as Ralph Ellison and Toni Morrison. She is best known for Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), a novel celebrating the lives of African-Americans.

In 1950, Hurston moved to Florida and became increasingly conservative and alienated from her fellow African Americans, taking a stand even against school integration. She died in poverty and was all but forgotten, but by the 1970s her works were being rediscovered and recognized for their insights.

Harry Middleton Hyatt

    Harry Middleton Hyatt was an Anglican minister who collected folklore as a hobby. Raised in Quincy, Illinois, Hyatt received his M.A. and D.D. at Kenyon College and Oxford University. He served as assistant rector at the Church of the Holy Spirit in New York City from 1951 to 1965. After his retirement in 1965, he returned to his home-town of Quincy, Illinois.
The bulk of the Hyatt collection is currently archived at the UCLA Center for the Comparative Study of Folklore and Mythology and in the Quincy [Illinois] University Department of Special Collections.

     As a folklorist, Hyatt began this work in his own home-town, and then proceeded onward to collect magical spells throughout the South. His two major works in this field were "Folklore From Adams County Illinois" (1935) and "Hoodoo - Conjuration - Witchcraft - Rootwork" (1970). In addition, Hyatt was also a genealogist who published two books on his own family, "The Millers of Millersburg Kentucky" (1929) and "Descendents of John Walton of Baltimore Co. Maryland and Harrison Co. Kentucky" (1950).

"FOLKLORE FROM ADAMS COUNTY ILLINOIS"

"Folklore From Adams County Illinois" (FACI) contains hundreds of simple spells, folk-magical beliefs, herb-based medical remedies, riddling rhymes, and folkloric tales. It consists of 10,949 entries on 723 pages, including an index. It was self-published by Hyatt in two editions, the first in 1935, and the second in 1965. Both editions were released under the imprint "Memoirs of the Alma C. Hyatt Foundation." Alma C. Hyatt was his wife. The second edition contains a lengthy illustrated appreciation of the then-late Alma Hyatt, in which Mr. Hyatt explains to the world what an inspiration she was to him.
The section of "Folklore From Adams County Illinois" that deals with witchcraft is the most useful part of the book. It is comprised of brief quotes from unnamed local folks to whom Hyatt assigned cultural ascriptions (e.g. "Irish," "German," "Negro," etc.) so that one can place the speakers in the traditions from which they come. Unfortunately, as Hyatt explains in his preface, the material was edited and "omission of Negro dialect means that colored folk speak the same language as their white neighbors" with the exception of "a small vocabulary peculiar to themselves [of which] examples occur frequently in the text." Even more inexplicably, all "lore definitely Jewish was excluded [and] the same is true of three or four Indian [Native American] sayings." Furthermore, Greeks and Italians living in the area, according to Hyatt, "are newcomers, and have not been approached for folk-lore." Such egregious editorial deletions blemish what would otherwise be a balanced representation of folk-magical practices in Illinois at that time, but if one keeps these exclusions in mind, "Folklore From Adams County Illinois" is still a valuable document. The lengthy section on African-American hoodoo spells, and the unique quality of these spells, is what led Hyatt to undertake his later, more massive, work of hoodoo folk-magic collection in the South.
I am often asked what the differences are between the 1935 and 1965 editions of "Folklore from Adams County Illinois" (FACI). Basically -- they are different, period. The 1935 edition is easier to read (it is a typeset octavo volume), but the 1965 edition is MASSIVE -- presented in typewriter type, like the later "Hoodoo - Conjuration - Witchcraft - Rootwork" books, and matching them in size and binding. Additionally, the 1965 FACI is the only place where you can learn more about Hyatt himself -- for it contains a section printed on glossy paper in which he describes his life and his relationship with his wife Alma, who was his muse and financial supporter throughout his long years of dedicated folklore collecting.
The other question often asked is "Why do i need to read FACI when it is not about hoodoo?"
False premise!
A great deal of FACI is in fact about hoodoo.
FACI represents the largest attempt ever to catalogue ALL the beliefs of ALL the people living in one region (Adams County Illinois, like the title says). There are oversights -- Hyatt refused to collect material from Jews or Native Americans, for reasons that defy rationality at this point -- but there were plenty of black people in Adams County, and Hyatt collected all of their hoodoo beliefs, spells, and practices in FACI, and labelled them "Negro" for ease of extraction by researchers.
It was Hyatt's realization that Negro magical beliefs differed greatly from his own English American culture's beliefs that led him to go South and work on "Hoodoo - Conjuration - Witchcraft - Rootwork", the largest collection of folklore from one cultural group in America.
But FACI is not only important because it served as Hyatt's introduction to hoodoo -- it is also the most thorough and factual record of Irish, English, German, and other white European magical beliefs in America ever assembled, and, as such, it deserves a place on the shelf of any American Neo-Pagan, Wiccan, Fam-Trad or Pow Wow Magic practitioner.

"HOODOO - CONJURATION - WITCHCRAFT - ROOTWORK"

"Hoodoo - Conjuration - Witchcraft - Rootwork" (HCWR) is a 5-volume, 4766-page collection of folkloric material gathered by Hyatt in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia between 1936 and 1940. Supplementary interviews were conducted in Florida in 1970.
The "Hoodoo" collection consists of 13,458 separate magic spells and folkloric beliefs, plus lengthy interviews with professional root doctors,conjures and hoodoos. All but one of Hyatt's 1600 informants were African-Americans, but several narrations by European-Americans (collected for his earlier book, "Folklore From Adams County, Illinois") were also included. Hyatt recorded the material on Edison cylinders and a device called a Telediphone, often without the full knowledge of the participants. He then transcribed and annotated it for publication. Occasionally his equipment failed or was not available and he took hand-written notes instead. The 1930s field recordings have since been destroyed, with the exception of a few cylinders that Hyatt had pressed onto 78 rpm records. The Florida interviews of 1970, recorded on cassette tapes, have survived.
As if to overcome the ham-fisted linguistic editing of Negro dialect that marred "Folklore From Adams County Illinois," this time Hyatt transcribed the speech of his informants semi-phonetically. What may look to modern eyes like "racial stereotyping" or making fun of Southerners was actually his sincere attempt to catalogue variant regional pronunciations. If you read several spells, you will see that he did NOT impose upon his informants one single stereotyped "black dialect" or "Southern dialect" but in fact conveyed, as accurately as he could, the true sound of each person's speech. Reading the spells aloud and noting the location where each informant lived will help you comprehend this. I do not intend to apologize for Hyatt's technique, and i hope that future scholars will not do so either.
The publication of this material was accomplished between 1970 and 1978, again under the imprint "Memoirs of the Alma C. Hyatt Foundation." The first two volumes were issued as a set in 1970, and said to be complete, but then, after a few years, three more volumes were released. Hyatt died before the sixth volume, an index, was prepared.