This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/SalamiMommie on 2024-09-07 15:07:35+00:00.
I remember it all still like it was yesterday. The guilt still eats me alive.
I was thirteen years old and living in nowhere, North Carolina. Me and a few neighborhood kids would ride around on bikes and get into all sorts of mischief. The year was 1979.
Old lady Bell would often times sit on the front porch of her old mill house and smoke Marlboro reds. She seemed to mind herself. It seemed like she was always eating muscadines too.
“I always heard that the muscadines are kids she captured.” Johnny stared off from her afar.
“I heard she was a witch.” Sally said.
Meanwhile Old lady Bell popped another muscadine in her mouth.
Bobby pulled out a bag of chew that belonged to his dad . “So, is her house the one tonight? We need to go buy some eggs.”
I stared off at the house and seen where plant vines and overgrown weeds were slowly taking over her house. A wind gust blew that made her chimes ring.
Sally spoke up “maybe we can throw some toilet paper over her trees too. Richard! Pay attention.”
I spoke up. “I thought If witches ate a kid, it makes them young. I mean she’s old and creepy.”
Bobby spit on the ground and laughed. “I bet she crossed the Red Sea with Moses.”
We took off on our bikes and decided that her house was the one to suffer from our shenanigans tonight.
We all snuck out of our homes and met near her home at an old gas station that was closed for three night. Johnny pulled a bag out of his backpack and the smell made me gag.
“Dog shit. I scooped some up and got it. Figured it would be funnier than throwing a few eggs. I brought my lighter too.”
I spoke up. “I don’t know if we should do that. She might be too old to get up and her house catch on fire.”
“Don’t be a wimp.” Sally spoke up.
We all walked by the bushes near her house. Johnny ran up to her porch and lit the bag. He knocked on her door and ran like a bat out of hell.
He tripped in her yard as soon as she opened the door. She let out a wicked scream and began to stomp on the bag.
“You damn hooligans! I see you all and you’ll pay.” She sounded so evil when she said it.
Johnny caught up to us and we all took off on our bikes. They all began laughing and we split off on the way home.
I crawled back through my window and threw the blanket over my head. I didn’t much sleep that night.
I walked in my kitchen the next morning and poured myself some cereal when my mom asked what happened last night. I tried to come up with a lie and she stopped me.
“The police came by this morning and said Ms. Bell caught you in your friends vandalizing her property.”
“Mom, I.”
“She’s not pressing charges. But she requested that you and the others go do some yard work for her. I’m so disappointed that you would do this.”
“Mom, listen.”
“Don’t you talk when I am. I already talked with the other parents and we think it’s a good idea. So you are going to go right after breakfast.”
I didn’t have much of a choice. I rode my bike over there to see the gang were already pulling weeds. Old lady Bell was sitting on porch with a lit cigarette.
“There you are. I have a lawnmower sitting right there. I need you to mow.”
“I’m very sorry for what we did. Honestly.” She put her hand up.
“Get to mowing.”
Her yard was pretty big. I made sure to be careful mowing and not destroy her flower beds or hit any trinkets. I stopped when I heard a the blades tearing up something. I bent down and it looked like a tiny piece of bone. I didn’t think she owned a dog.
“Lemonade!” She sat a few glasses on the porch. I was soaking in sweat and was so thirsty. “You kids deserve a small break before we get to the house work.”
We all ran up the porch and grabbed a glass. I chugged it as if I hadn’t had anything to drink in days.
She popped another muscadine in her mouth and spit out the peel. Sally fell over all the sudden. Old lady Bell looked like it didn’t concern her.
Bobby bent down really quickly to check on her. He dropped on top of her.
Old Lady Bell coughed up some smoke and let out a cackle.
Johnny took off running and fell as soon as he hit her bottom step. She looked at me and started to stand as I fell.
I woke up and heard Sally crying. My eyes were still drowsy as I noticed we all were tied up in her living room.
She blew some smoke and was cackling. The others began to open their eyes. “You better all stay on your knees.”
“You think you’re the first people to try and harass me? Oh no, no, no.”
A black cat appeared and was rubbing itself against Johnny and began to purr.
Sally spoke through her tears. “I promise if you let us go, we won’t tell anyone.”
Old Lady bell let out another cackle. “I’m afraid it’s too late for that my dear.” She stood up and walked over to a cauldron in the middle of the room. She began to stir it. “Besides, it’s about time for a new start again.”
“I’m the one who lit the bag.” Johnny spoke up. “Let them go, they didn’t do it.”
“One bad apple spoils the bunch.”
Bobby had tears in his eyes. “Are you gonna turn us into muscadines and eat us?”
“Muscadines? No.” She walked up to Johnny and forced his mouth open. She pulled a small bottle out of her pocket and forced it down his throat.
She was reaching in her pocket when Bobby stood up and trying to push his weight into her. It knocked her down.
“RUN!!!” He screamed. Our hands were behind our back. We got ourselves and our feet and tried to escape. She grabbed Bobby by the ankle and knocked him down.
“You damn hooligan!” She pulled out a knife and plunged it into his back. Johnny turned his body to open the door with his hands.
She drove the knife into Bobby several more times. She got up and chased us. We were faster.
We ran to Sally’s home where her dad was outside tinkering with his car. He quickly cut the ropes off us and listened to what we said. He got us inside where her mom was knitting and told us to stay put. He called Bobby’s dad.
We heard that a bunch of the neighborhood parents went to go confront her. They said a young lady was on the porch and was laughing, she said they would never see Bobby again. They said Bobby’s dad fired a rifle at her and it hit her in the stomach. She managed to get back in her house.
The cops came and quickly busted in. They found no trace of her or Bobby besides what was left in the cauldron. Some of the parents burned down her house later that week and the rumor was bright green smoke was coming out the windows. No one could prove who did it though.
My parents did what they thought was best. They put the house up for sale and we moved. A bunch of other families began to do the same.
Johnny ended up being put in a mental institution. They say he went crazy and became a danger to himself and others. To my knowledge, he is still there to this day.
I didn’t keep up with Sally really. I know her family moved to Florida after everything. I tried looking her up on Facebook recently and didn’t find any luck. Then again, it’s better she stayed part of the past.
We moved a few hours away to a nicer area. Once I got out of college, I moved to California where I met my wife. We have a three beautiful children and two grandkids.
I’ve tried my best to push this all out of my memory and forgive myself. I had plenty of nightmares and always wondered if Old Lady Bell was ever around me.
My wife just got back from the beauty salon and her hair looked gorgeous. She reached out and handed me a coffee.
“There’s a new girl at the salon. She said she’s new to the area and from North Carolina. We got to talking and she said she knew you.”
“Hmm. Is it Sally? We were childhood friends. I haven’t heard from her since I was a youngster.”
“No, no. I don’t believe that’s what it was. Her name was Margret I think. Margret Bell. She said she’d like you to come visit her one day. She sure was chewing on some muscadines before she cut my hair.”
I dropped my cup of coffee.