Curse of The Littles' White House

   
                  " Spit, spew, spittle and spittle;
                     The house of Mrs. Katie Little,
                      From where the ground groans
                            and children giggles,
                     Will yield no life from this stolen
                           land of we the Little's." 
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     The field was lush with the growing kudzu as it spread out from one end of the property to other end which looked to be as long as a football field. Thousands upon thousands of Jonquils grew dotting through the winding veins of the seemly never ending green plant.
     Almost right in the middle of the property sat the little white house. It appeared to be in rather good condition as there was really no man around to help tend to the much needed repairs from time to time. It was a two story house built from white washed wood with two tall columns on either side of the front porch.
     There was a small veranda that stuck out a bit on the front of the top floor where two large doors swung open allowing a person to come, stand and gaze out at the beautiful site beyond Claire Drive.
     We lived in one of the small homes on Claire Drive in the Lakewood area of Atlanta. For us our little home was comfortable even though we were a family of eight. The beautiful house that sat in the middle of that field was a site to behold when all of those gorgeous yellow flowers bloomed in the Spring time. It was like having our very own Tara right in our backyard.
     Mrs. Katie Little had lived in that white house for almost thirty five years now. Just two years ago she had taken on the extra responsibility of caring for her grandson David who was about nine or maybe ten years old. His father had been sent to prison and as far as we knew his mother was no where to be found. I remember that he was a quiet young child who kept to himself at school and at home. Every once in awhile David stood on that veranda up on the second floor looking out at so many of the children who lived on our street. We gather in that field playing among those yellow flowers and the kudzu not realizing that our world one day would suddenly change.
     In the spring time that piece of property was the most beautiful place I'd ever seen. The bright green kudzu grew wild and plentiful as did those gorgeous yellow Jonquils. How funny it was that every teacher in our school had more than their fair share of bright yellow flowers to decorate the classrooms come springtime. Every hallway within Capital View Elementary school was covered with Jonquils.   
     Growing up, those flowers were more plentiful than the children who attended the schools. As with everything in life spring time came and went as did summer, bringing about the change of yet another season.
     Fall had slowly eased it's way into our lives as the cool mornings came quietly to our neighborhood. As the second child of six I waited anxiously every year for the  Lakewood Fair Grounds to open. This meant that Halloween was only a few weeks away which would lead to dressing up in home made costumes and lots and lots of candy. At night the smell of burning fresh cut oak in the open pits in our neighbors backyards filled the chilling air along our street. It was one of the first signs that Fall had officially arrived.     
     No matter how much I tried to remember the smell of wood burning in those open pits, and the excitement of the anticipation of the fairgrounds opening along with the idea of going trick or treating, as a grown up my mind never fully seemed to be able to recapture those events. The sorrow for me was that I had not been fully prepared for what lay ahead. Only as we look back on our childhood can we see the sorrow and ugliness that others' do.
     It was nineteen sixty five and I was ten years old. This year my mom had agreed to let me, my older brother Bill, my younger sister Deb go trick or treating together. There would be three younger sibling that weren't old enough to join in our fun. Mom would stay behind so she could take them to a few houses close by, while we three older children venture out from house to house collecting all the candy that we could.
      Yes, yes, yes, Halloween had finally arrived and our whole school was buzzing with excitement. The Lakewood Fair Grounds had opened for our fall festival and soon the three oldest Griffin children would be out at the fair grounds having a grand time. Holy, moly,  we could barely keep our excitement contained all that Friday day at school. 
     For weeks mom had done everything she could to pull all of necessary items together for us to make our costumes. I loved being the Hobo, Bill went as a burglar and Debra as the star princess. We were set for a grand evening of collecting candy, playing games, riding the rides and having as much fun as we could possibly pack into one night.
     The sun had finally set and the three of us were finally out of the house and off towards the fair grounds. We had  an exact time that we could be at the fair grounds before we had to leave to begin tricking or treating. Life back then wasn't like it is now. People were different and parents didn't worry as much about crime as with today's society.
     There were at least four dozen children maybe more in our neighborhood all out and about in various costumes. Each of us ran excitedly down one side of the street knocking on each door waiting anxiously for whatever goodies was placed in our home made Halloween bags.
     As the sun finally dropped out of the sky and the thick heavy darkness took it's place there was a sense of eeriness within the neighborhood this year. Somehow it was as if every child that was participating in this Halloween knew that it would be our last time to trick or treat on Claire Drive together.
     By this time next year our whole entire neighborhood would be gone, including the Little's white house in the field behind our home. We felt a twinge of sadness that the friends we had today we no longer be around to play with us in our near future.
     Running from one house to another in our neighborhood was exhausting. Our whole entire community of neighbors consisted of one street with at least fifty house on it. There was always that one house, the little white house, way out in the middle of that dark, dark field that appeared to be so alone.
      That was quiet a long street to cover in just one night, but we were determined not to skip one single home. As our night began to wind down and the three of us headed towards our house again there was only one house remaining that we had not collected candy from and it was the Little's.
     Bill was the first to speak about going there, " Well, do we climb over the fence and head off for David's grandmother's house?" he asked walking a little ahead of me and Debra with his heavy laden bag slung over his right shoulder.
     " I don't know, maybe. Is it safe?" I asked struggling to keep my bag full of candy in my hand.
     " Are we gonna get in trouble with mama if we climb over the fence this late at night?" Debra asked.
     Bill stopped in his tracks stood for a minute then replied, "I can't say if mama will get mad, but we're trick or treating so that should include the Littles', doesn't it it?" Bill answered looking out at the field where the little white house sat. It was so dark out in that field, but we had crossed over it before and this night was no different, except it was Halloween.
     I looked at Debra, shrugged my shoulders only saying, "Okay, let's go. If one of us gets in trouble at least we'll all be in trouble together."  
     "Okay." Debra said agreeing with us.
     As the darkness fell on our community we headed out across our backyard to the fence that divided our yard from the beginning of Mrs. Little's property. 
     It wasn't very late at night, but the dark night sky and everything around us was all blackness and eerie. We had crossed over this property to get to David's house many times after he had come to live wit his grandmother. During the day the field seemed much different, but at night with little light to guide our way we tripped over the kudzu vines every other step.
     After several minutes of trying to get through the kudzu with our already heavy bags we stopped. Perhaps this idea wasn't the best one to have at the moment. Finally after several long seconds of reconsideration all three of us decided to turn back.
     For obvious reasons we were never going to be able to make it through all of that kudzu. The vines were just too thick and we didn't even have a flashlight to help us find our way and the moon just wasn't giving off enough light this night.This last Halloween with much sorrow in our hearts,  we had to abandon our hopes of one last trip to the Littles' for candy.
      As the night grew darker and later all three of us made it back to the fence, climbing over it and heading back to the back porch where mama had left a light on for us. Even though we were unable to have that last house of goodies in our bags, we were excitedly happy with the load of candy we had brought home. 
     Mama had fixed us hot chocolate to warm up our chilled bones. She watch with excitement as we showed her the various candy that we had collected. Her smiling face revealed her happiness for each of us.
     With our bedtime nearing and another Halloween in the "bag", Bill, Debra and myself sat on our living room floor looking at our bounty. Bill was wondering how we felt about not being able to go to David's house with a little remorse in his voice, "Sorry we couldn't make it to David's house tonight," he said.
     " It's alright, we tried anyway. It was just too dark". I replied, looking at both him and Debra as I wonder if anyone went there at all.
     " We tried. We can always tell him that next time we see him." Debra added.
     Bill and I shook our heads in agreement, "Yeah, that's right, we can." Bill answered.
     "You know David's in my class. If I see him Monday I'll tell him we tried to come by." I replied hoping that this would make everything better for David since he was such a loner.
     With that we put this event out of our minds and got ready for bed. Hopefully all would be well with us and David. None of us knew that tonight would be the last time that we would to have see David or his grandmother. Tomorrow would be the beginning to a whole new adventure.
     Time moved faster than we had thought it would. Our family like all of the others' on our street began the process of preparing to move as another Spring approached. March has roared in bringing with it the beauty of the yellow Jonquils and the lush green of the ever present kudzu.
      Once again the teachers at Capital View Elementary were overwhelmed with the yellow flowers. Mom and dad had already started preparing our large family for the inevitable move. 
     Every weekend for months our parents had loaded up the station wagon with a large cooler and all six of us Griffin children to head out to the new location of our home. We were moving to some place called College Park, Georgia. 
     From our present home to our newest housing location the drive took more thirty minutes along Interstate Eight Five. We watched every weekend as we traveled through the fast pace interstate to arrive at our new neighborhood, Surrey Trail.
     There was not much time to think about our last Halloween on Claire Drive. Since the selling our home to the developers of the new and up coming technical school much had changed indeed.
     The developers had come to our neighborhood asking all of the home owners to sell. The only thing that stood between what the developers wanted was the land on which sat the Little's white house. 
     After the developers had come, explained what they wanted and why, offer the money for each home, it was time every homeowner to think it over. All that remained was for Mrs. Little to agree to make the sell too.
     There was history with that piece of land that the developers wanted from Mrs. Little, but she wasn't of a mind set to sell. This house and all of the property had been hers' for such a long time. She had always planned to pass it on to her children and if not them then to David, her only grandchild, but things were about to change and perhaps not for the best, at least not for David and his grandmother.
    A fight was brewing and it was not going to be pretty. Lawyers were hired for both parties and so began the battle for the property that lay beyond our backyard fence.
     David Little had stopped coming to school in the late spring. At the time none of us on our street knew why, only that he had disappeared from our world. What we didn't know is that the fight for the land that belong to Mrs. Little had turn wicked indeed.
     It was late at night as we had just arrived back from our weekly trip to College Park. As the family settled down and readied ourselves for bed there was a knock on our front door. 
     One of our neighbors had come by to share the news with my parents regarding the completed sell of our entire community, including the property of the Little's.
     On a Friday afternoon in a heated courtroom fight the lawyers for the new technical school had proven that Mrs. Little was not capable of taking care of David on her own. Since selling her entire property would not only become beneficial for the community, it would also financially be beneficial for the care of David, her grandson. For this reason the lawyers of the school asked the court to rule in their favor of eminent domain thus forcing Mrs. Little to sell whether she wanted to or not.
     With the ruling in favor of the new technical school everyone in the neighborhood could move forward in moving to a new location of their choice. My parents had already decided to make the move and our new home was only a month or so away from completion. It seemed as though all of our neighbors were happy with the ruling, all except Mrs. Little.
    There is something very awful about being forced out of your home and for all of the children in the neighborhood there was a true sense of sadness for David. We never saw him again and as far as we knew there was no trace of what had become of him. This whole situation seemed unfair to those of us who couldn't see a bigger picture here.
    Mrs. Little vowed a curse on those that had force her hand at this move. For months after Mrs. Little had left her home and the property that she had known for thirty five years, every night at mid-night a light would appear in one of the upper rooms of the little white house. 
   More than once as the plows and equipment began to roll in to cut down the winding vines of the kudzu and Jonquils, there would be unexplained equipment failure. Several of the workers had fallen while working and had injuries, while many workers swore that they heard voices coming from the  little white house as they tried in vain to bring the house down. 
     For over two years the developers worked to get things in order so the new technical school could be built, but day by day something unexplainable happened further delaying the process. Each and everyday Mrs. Little sat in her car at the end of the long dusty road that led to where her house sat, watching with pleasure at what unfolded. 
     She had cursed the land that had been stolen from her and she had vowed that nothing would or could take her home from her.
     As the weeks grew and the days built up in numbers little to no work progress with the land or the house had been done. After four years of the light in the little white house showing up each mid-night without explanation and the work at a stand still, the lawyers of the developers suggested that the land and house be sold.
    Eight years after the heated courtroom fight for ownership of the the Little's land and home, the courthouse held a public auction for the property on Stewart Avenue known only as The Little's white house.
      It has been said that the land and house were purchased by a young man who said he was using his inheritance money from his grandmother. 
     Two years after the purchase of the Little's white house the strange light in the room up stairs was never seen again. Eventually the house was moved to the top of the hill at the further end of the property. From the upstairs bedroom window you could see Interstate Eighty Five in its entirety.  Every spring all of the surrounding land filled with bright green kudzu and Jonquils.   
       Strangely, whatout explaination it is said that  once again at the stroke of mid-night in one of the upstairs room's a light appears from nowhere. To date there has never been anyone in the house at midnight or in the morning to turn the light on or off, again and again.
      Many people in the area of Lakewood still say to this day that it is the ghost of Mrs. Little carrying out her spoken curse to protect the land from all except her grandson, David.
     Perhaps we will never know what the truth is, but then again, only the ghost of Mrs. Little and her curse know for sure.
 

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                       " Spit, spew, spittle and spittle;
                         The house of Mrs. Katie Little, 
                        From where the ground groans
                             and children's giggles;
                       Will yield no life from this stolen
                            land of we the Little's." 

 
The End ?

CJ