GHOSTS: Watercress Lady

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Pluckley, England is home to many hauntings. One of which is of a woman called the Watercress Lady. In the early 1900's likely the 1920's there was a gypsy woman who was living in Pluckley. Now Gypsies at the time were traveling nomads from either Ireland or Eastern Europeans living in wagons and at their stops would either earn money from trading things or working on local farms. This woman made a living gathering watercress and selling it to the villagers.

The old woman was known as an eccentric but harmless person. She was known for smoking her clay pipe and known to enjoy gin from her battered old flask. After the sun would set she would go to the crossroads bridge. She would sit on the walls enjoying the night air smoking her pipe and drinking her gin.

However one unfortunate night she fell asleep while doing so. She would spill her flask on herself and the pipe would fall and light her up. It was said that no one heard her screams. The next day she would be found as a pile of ashes with her flask and pipe nearby. Letting people know it was the Watercress Lady and she had a tragic end.

Even though the Watercress Lady's screams were not heard the night she died it was afterward. Her ghost would be seen many times after her death reliving her death. She would be covered in flames and her heartbreaking screams could be heard. Slowly however she stopped being a screaming ball of fire to a faint pink glow hovering over the place she burned to death.

SOURCES:
London Walking Tours

Ghost Connections

Ghosts Wiki

URBAN LEGEND: Romãozinho

 

Image created in Bing Creator

In Boa Sorte district, Pedro Afonso, Goiás, Brazil Romãozinho was born to a farmer and his wife. As the boy grew up he was said to be disobedient, cruel, and evil. He was known to get great pleasure from treating animals cruelly and killing plants.

Sometimes Romãozinho's mother would tell the boy to bring his father lunch. His father worked in a garden. One day even though Romãozinho did not want to bring the food to his father he did. On the way, he would eat the chicken and place it back into the lunch box. 

He would hand the lunchbox to Father as he was supposed to. His father was confused when he opened the box and his food was eaten. The father asked the boy what the bones meant. In response Romãozinho did not take responsibility instead he told him that his mother sent it to him that way on purpose. That the bones were the leftovers from his mother and the man who came over when his father wasn't home.  

This enraged his father and caused him to go back home immediately. Romãozinho would follow along knowing that his mother was going to be on the other end of his father's wrath. When they arrived home his father would pull out a dagger and began stabbing his wife. All while this was happening Romãozinho laughed enjoying his mother's "punishment". 

Knowing her son was the reason for all this and his pure joy from her death she would curse him with her dying breath. "You will never die! You won't know heaven or hell, or even rest until there's just one person left living on Earth!"

Romãozinho would continue to laugh especially after she died. This came true as he never grew up. It's said that he can be seen wandering the street causing mayhem. This however doesn't always mean he was entirely bad. In one story Romãozinho assists a woman in labor by scaring a local midwife chicken. This would help the midwife find the lone woman and help her give birth. 

SOURCES: 

Wikipedia

Myths and Folklore Wiki

GHOSTS: The Gelin

 

The Gelin (meaning Bride in Turkish) is a female demon or ghost in Turkish and Anatolian Greek folklore. More than likely hear stories in Heybeliada from Prince Islands about them. She is often seen as a beautiful young woman wearing a white wedding dress. Many of them become Gelin due to tragedy. Like being betrayed by a husband or fiance or being unmarried and pregnant. They usually die brutally typically by suicide.

These women are typically a harbinger of death similar to a banshee. She can sometimes haunt a family line or sometimes she rides a white horse in a graveyard. In the graveyard, she attracts men and kills them if they make contact.

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Sabah

Encyclopedia Mythica

GHOSTS: Charley The Doll

 

Photo by Cauer an Atlas Obscura User

In 1968 a doll would be discovered in the attack of a Victorian home in Upstate New York. It was inside a forgotten trunk. It had laid among tattered newspapers from the early 1930s and a yellow piece of paper containing the Lord's Prayer. The doll however could not be dated. 

The doll would be given the name Charley and added to other antiques in the home. He would blend in well with the rest of the dolls in the collection. There was little attention given to him until he began moving from his place on the bench of dolls. 

The parents would blame their five children because if it wasn't the parents it had to be the children. The children never fessed up to moving the doll, however. The parents never witnessed anything, but the children began to act weird around the doll. 

The youngest daughter (4) had at one point claimed that Charley spoke to her when she got up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. The parents believed it to be her wild imagination. Then the other four children refused to use the bathroom at night or go near the bench within 5 feet. One day the youngest was covered in scratches with the blame placed on Charley instead of their cat. 

The parents wanting to end the children's antics removed Charley from his place. They would lock him back up in the attic in the trunk he was originally found in. Everything would go back to normal and Charley wasn't being blamed for anything. He would lay there for years forgotten. 

Years later after the children were grown the house was sold. The trunk was found in the attic and sold in a garage sale. Charley was one of the last things to go and went to a woman wanting him for her own antique doll collection. She was warned of Charley's antics. 

Charley would switch hands several times with stories of moving from time to time. It was made sure his story of the family in 1968 was told to each owner. It's said that he is more active around children.

In Salem, Massachusetts a shop called the "Local Artisan". The shop beholds odd things suck as taxidermied animals, unusual art, and oddities. He can now be seen by the public. 

SOURCES:

Atlas Obscura

From Tiny Pennies

The Ghost in My Machine

MONSTERS: Dearg Due

Made in AI Generator

There is a  tragic tale in Celtic folklore that ends in revenge. The woman of this tale's name is long gone, but she is now known as Dearg Due. It's a tale of "Hell Hath no fury like a woman scorned". 

In life, Dearg Due was a woman who was born and raised in Ireland. She was said to be kind and sweet. She even fell in love with a local peasant who was similar as he was kind and handsome. Her father was cruel and greedy. He was lucky his daughter was so beautiful, and that a rich man wanted her. This was a time when arranged marriages were commonplace. 

She would then be sold into marriage and separated from her love and her father got richer. Her husband was a cruel older man who would place his hands on her and verbally berate her. Her husband seemed to love doing this to her. 

Knowing that she had a lover waiting for her outside he would lock her up in a tower. She was isolated as those she used to know would never see her again after the wedding. She would wait and pray for her love to come and save her, but he never was able to. She would begin to waste away as she refused to eat and drink. This would eventually die from this.She is buried in a small churchyard, near “Strongbow’s Tree,” in the County of Waterford in Southeast Ireland

Her husband and father did not grieve her death. Everyone else grieved her, especially her lover. He would visit the grave every night crying and talking to her. Her husband was said to have remarried quickly after. Her lover was filled with regret and rage at how her life had been ruined. 

Dearg Due was also filled with rage. She craved retribution so much that she was able to crawl out of her grave. The first person she visited was in the home she grew up in. She would stand next to her father and watch as he slept. The cruel man would sleep as if his daughter did not have a cruel fate. She would place her lips on his and suck the life out of him. 

She would then go to the home she would die in. She would find her husband surrounded by women. He also did not care about what he put her through. The women were fulfilling his lustful desires and she would stand there watching. Rage would fill her and she would throw herself at her husband and draw his life. Her fury was so harsh that not only did she take his last breath but all his blood. 

She would meet her love again. Even though his love and rage brought her back to life she did not feel love anymore. She would also make the man a victim of hers. 

It said that she only hunts on the night of her death. She then kills men on that night. 

SOURCES:

Irish Central

Got Ireland

Myth and Folklore Wiki

Irish Road Trip

CRYPTIDS: Boroboroton

 

Boroboroton as depicted in Toriyama Sekien's Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro

The Boroboroton belongs is a specific kind of Japanese Yokai called Tsukumogami or artifact spirit. These kinds of spirits are from manmade objects either possessed by ghosts or spirits or they form their own spirit from constant use for at least 90 to 100 years. If They form their own spirit they often look brand new or pristine despite their old age.

The Boroboroton is a tattered futon or a Japanese sleeping mat. They come alive at night and will come to life at night especially if it feels ignored or needless. In revenge, they will rise up in the air and kill any sleeping person they make contact with. It will wrap around the head and neck of the sleeper with the intent of strangling them to death. 

Sometimes they will meet with other Tsukumogami and throw noisy parties or leave the gome search for other beings. 

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Yokai Wiki

GHOSTS: Hairy Hands

 

Created in Imagine AI Generator

Between Postbridge and Two Bridges in Dartmoor, England there is a legend of a sector who loves to cause vehicle accidents. The story begins around 1910 and drivers and cyclists have reported that in this area their vehicle would jolt and steer off the road. The cause of it? The Hairy Hands appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the steering wheel or handlebars causing a crash. 

There would be no fatalities until 1921 when E.H. Helby would wreck his motorcycle. His two daughters who were sitting in the sidecar would survive, however. 

It's unknown who the spirit is and why they want to cause wrecks. Some suspect that it wasn't a spirit, but people unfamiliar with the area getting in accidents and knowing the legend and blaming it on that. 

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

ObscUrban Legends Wiki

`MONSTERS: Ta-Awi

 

Image created using Imagine Ai

Ta-Awi is an ogre-like creature in the Philippines. The creature has a body bigger than an ordinary man but despite the size, they are very agile. They are described as being very ugly and their voice is very thunderous. Their voice is so thunderous that it would terrify Maranao hunters. 

Ta-Awi is known to raid villages and devour people alive. They avoid eating the eyes as for some reason they cannot digest them.

SOURCES:

Art and Fiction + Philippine Folklore and Mythologies

Cryptid Wiki

Myth and Folklore Wiki

Myth Museum

MONSTERS: Tsurube Otoshi (Falling in Well Bucket)

 

"Nishioka no Tsurube-oroshi" (The Tsurube-Oroshi of Nishioka) from the Kokon Hyakumonogatari Hyōban written by Yamaoka Genrin, edited by Yamaoka Motoyoshi

Tsurube Otoshi (Falling in Well Bucket) is a yokai from Japan. It is a gigantic disembodied head of either a human, a tengu, or an oni and sometimes appears as fireball flames with facial features. Its size is the typical size of a human head to two meters in diameter. They live and spend most of their time in the tree tops preferring taller trees like pines, kayas, and other such conifers. The trees they live in are typically deep along paths in the forest and outside of towns where travelers are likely to be. The places they are known to be is the Wakayama Prefecture, the Kyoto Prefecture, the Shiga Prefecture, the Gifu Prefecture, and the Aichi Prefecture.

At night they wait in the treetops for unspecting creatures and travelers. When they need to eat they will quickly fall to the ground to trap their prey. This is how it got its name. They enjoy this kind of killing and let out a laugh as they hunt and eat their meal. Sometimes when they are not hungry they will come down and do the same crushing people to death for fun. Sometimes they don't use themselves, but large rocks or well buckets and enjoy the damage dealt. After they are done feeding and or having their fun they will slip back into the trees laughing and challenging others to pass underneath their tree.

Travelers are warned to not pass under the tall trees at night because the Tsurube Otoshi might get them. 

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Yokai

Yokai Wiki

GHOSTS: Specter of Newby Hall

 

In 1963 Reverend Kenneth F. Lord would be taking pictures of the Church of Christ the Consoler on the grounds of Newby Hall in North Yorkshire, England. When the pictures were processed a strange figure would show up standing next to the altar.

The being was semi-transparent and was standing on the first step to the altar. It still towered over it however as it stood 9ft high. The figure was wearing a black robe that covered where its feet supposedly were and the hood was over the head. The hands are unseen and the face is covered in a white sheet with two depressions where the eyes are. The figure seems to look right at the camera. It's believed that this figure could have been a 16th-century monk wearing a white shroud over the face to mask leprosy or disfigurement.

Reverend Lord was confused by this figure as the church had no history of the paranormal. It was said the he was not the type of man who would pull a hoax at the time. 

Reverend Lord would then release the photo. It's believed that the photo was a hoax or possible double exposure. It's said that professionals at the time looked over the photograph and came to the conclusion that it wasn't so.

So was this a hoax or is there a harmless Specter at Newby Church?

SOURCES:

Burials and Beyond

Wikipedia

Ghosts Wiki

Urban Legendpedia

GHOSTS: Mandy the Doll

 

In 1991 a woman donated a doll to the Quesnel & District Museum in Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada. She told them that she received it from her grandmother and it had been in a trunk for many years. The doll was fragile as it was around 100 years old and it gave her a weird feeling so she donated it immediately. 

The doll was named Mandy, and her first day there was surprising to the crew. Her photo was taken and was added to her collection. She was left in the lab overnight. In the morning The crew would find the lab in disarray as if a small child had a temper tantrum. She was given a lamb toy with her inside in her case and it was found outside of it later. 

It is said the Mandy gives off a feeling. She is also said to follow people with her eyes. 

Silvia Bowne, a medium, stated that the doll belonged to a set of twins. The Twins would unfortunately pass from polio. This would cause the mother to severely grieve her children and it was implanted in the doll this is the energy.

SOURCES:

Quesnel & District Museum

GHOSTS: La Sayona

 

La Sayona (Sack-Cloth Woman) is a ghostly woman who appears to men working in the jungle in Venezuela. She manifests when men talk to their coworkers about sex or about the women they left behind in their hometown. She appears as a beautiful woman or a specific woman that the man is thinking of. She is typically wearing a sack dress. She will lure them into the forests show a beast-like or rotting-like appearance and may have sex with the man and mangle and devour the man. She will then leave them for others to find. This young woman used to hold the name Casilda before her curse.

Casilda was the most beautiful girl in her small town on the plains of Venezuela. She would marry a great man and the two would have a baby boy. Even though her husband was caring and loving there was some doubt in Casilda's heart.

Casilda would bathe alone in the nearby river unknowing that a man was watching her do so. One day Casilda would catch the man staring at her. She would demand the man to leave. The man caught decided to lie to get out of the situation. "Your husband and mother are having an affair." 

This would enrage her and she would run back home. Seeing her husband sleeping with the baby in his arms filled her with rage at his betrayal. She would be blinded with rage and set the fire killing her family. While villagers could hear the screams and tried to help the father and son Casilda went to her mother's home. 

Her mother was sitting on the patio. Her mother not knowing what was going to happen saw her beautiful daughter. Unfortunately, it wasn't a pleasant visit as Casilda was determined to end those who wronged her. Casilda would use a machete striking her mother in the stomach. With her mother's last dying breath she would curse her "From now on Casilda you will have to avenge all women by killing their unfaithful husbands."

This was when Casilda became La Sayona.

SOURCES:

Villians Wiki

Urban Legendpedia

Moon Mausoleum

CRYPTIDS: Drekavac

 

Created Using Art Breeder

A Drekavac, Yeller, Drek, or Drekalo is a creature in Slavic Mythology (Serbia, and Bosnia). They are a boogeyman creature used to warn children. It is said that the Drekavac comes from Unbaptised children who've died. It usually resides in a graveyard or outside a home crying for salvation. They are usually solitary creatures, but are sometimes found in packs and will live together in a cave or tunnel.

Sometimes A Drekavac will come in different appearances such as an infant with a thin body and large head and animals. If it's in the form of an infant it's said that it's an omen for death and if it's in the form of an animal it's something like cattle disease.

Its scream is horrifying. They are usually asking for a baptism all night bothering the cemetery or the persons in a home. If it's screaming outside of a home at least one person in the home is going to die. The creature may fall on a person or allow its shadow to cross a person cursing them to die soon. Their fur is usually long in animal form and if stepped on it'll yelp in pain.

Sometimes a Drekavac will enter the dreams of those who wronged them and do the same. They will strangle the person as they sleep.

To avoid a Drekavac it would be wise to get a dog. Dogs are something that they fear. They also either cannot be in sunlight or dislike it. This is why it's usually heard at night. It's believed if you baptized the child then it would stop and move on.

They are usually solitary creatures, but are sometimes found in packs and will live together in a cave or tunnel.

SOURCES:

GHOSTS: Crying Girl of 5 College St.

 

Image from Secret York

There is a haunted house at 5 College St. in York, England. According to legend in the Middle Ages, (1346 to 1353) a couple would contract the plague however their daughter did not. They and their daughter were bricked into the home. The girl would cry and beg saying she wasn't sick, and it seemed to be true, but no one wanted to risk it. Her parents would die from the plague, and unfortunately, the girl would starve to death.

It is said that the girl could be seen in the home crying. She is mostly seen in the upper part of the house. One sighting happened in the 1950s and two of the children in the home would see her crying on one of their beds.

SOURCES:
Secret York

Ghost Wiki

GHOSTS: Enenra

 

An Enenra as depicted in Toriyama Sekien's Konjaku Hyakki Shūi

The Enenra is a being in Japanese folklore or a yōkai, The Enenra shows up during large fires such as bonfires. It is made up of the wisps of smoke that would rise up to the skies from fire. These beings usually have human-like faces it doesn't do anything, but billow in the wind and appear as fragile fabric. It only appears to those that are calm and pure and are relaxing to watch.

The Enenra seems to be loosely based on a passage in Tsurezure gusa which describes the smoke rising from fires burned in the summer to keep mosquitoes away. Some have pointed out that the name is similar to Enma, the lord of hell and judge of the dead. It's suggested that the beings are actually spirits of the dead.

SOURCES:

Yokai

Wikipedia

URBAN LEGENDS: The Stare

 

Image created in Imagine AI Art Generator

This tale is of an almost empty subway and a woman unsettled by a deep stare. This Urban Legend goes back to 1947, but it's said that it went around for a long time before that. Similar stories have been said for years.

A young woman would get onto a subway. There were 5 rows of empty seats but the last row had 3 people sitting there. Uncomfortable with sitting completely by herself she sat across from the group. Two men sat on either side of a woman really close. She would begin to read her book. However, the woman between the two men would stare at her with unblinking eyes.

This would make her extremely uncomfortable. She had no clue why the woman was staring at her so much. At the next stop, a man would come onto the subway and sit next to the woman. Trying to ignore the stare the woman tried to read her book. The man would then nudge her and whisper in her ear, "If you know what's good for you, you'll get off at the next station with me".  Terrified she agreed because she knew people would be at the next stop. If he had any plans with her, she could get help.

When they got off the man breathed an air of relief. This confused the woman who thought she was going to be in trouble. "Thank God, I didn't mean to scare you, but I had to get you off." She stared at him confused. "The woman in the middle was dead and the two next to her were propping her up."

They would inform authorities of the three. At the next station, the two men were arrested.

SOURCES:

Gridlove

Snopes

GHOSTS: Murkatta

 In Nepal, there is a ghost or ghost called the Murkatta. The ghost would wander around carrying its head under its arm. The ghost would look to take children's heads. In Kathmandu, Nepal, a festival is celebrated on the day of Ghode Jatra to scare away the Murkatta and protect children from its evil eyes.

The Murkatta is a ghost similar to La Lorna to scare kids into listening to their parents. In Saundarya's article, A Tale of Murkatta, the Headless Monster wrote about her experience with her family members using Murkatta.

SOURCES:

Association for Children's Literature in South Asia

Jane Wilson-Howarth

Wikipedia

GHOSTS: Baby Blue

 

Image made in Imagine AI Art Generator

Poor Baby Blue had no chance as his mother was crazy. She would kill the baby with a piece of mirror glass.  This was how Baby Blue became a legend. They similar to Bloody Mart can be called through a mirror. 

There are two different ways of calling baby blue.

In this one to start the ritual or game you should enter a bathroom and fog up the mirror with a friend. You can do this by breathing on it or using hot water. Once the mirror is fogged write "Baby Blue" on the mirror. Next, you turn the light off and wait around a minute. Then you should hold your arms like you would be carrying a baby. Your arms should feel the sensation of a baby in your arms. Hold them as if they are alive and there.

If you are doing this with a friend please hand the baby over carefully. If Baby Blue is dropped they will leave a scratch and if you intentionally drop them several times it won't end well. The mirror glass will explode killing you.

A second version of this legend has a slightly different ritual:

Enter the bathroom with the light already off. You will stand in front of the mirror and repeat "Baby Blue" or "Bloody Mary I killed your baby" 13 times. While doing this you should rock your arms back and forth like you are rocking a baby. After the 13th chant baby blue should appear in your arms and give you a scratch. 

Then you are supposed to do the opposite of the first way. You are to drop or flush it down the toilet the baby and turn on the lights and leave. If you keep the baby the mother would come back screaming "Give me my baby!" and attempt to kill you with a piece of glass. 

SOURCES:

Scary for Kids

Urban Ledgendpedia Wiki

Amy's Crypt

Urban Legends and Horror

MONSTERS: Kit Swamp Monster

 

On Thursday, August 18, 1875, Asa Grundy thought it was going to be a normal day in Kits Swamp, North Carolina. His five-year-old daughter was playing with a neighbor child in a corn crib while he was stripping fodder in the field. Then he heard the children screaming, the dogs barking, and his wife screaming. Asa stopped what he was doing and ran towards the edge of the cornfield where all the screaming was coming from. 

In front of him stood a monster that was carrying the children with one in each paw. The monster was heading towards the woods. When Asa appeared it surprised the monster making him pause for a second.

The father did what he thought fit as with all his strength he swung towards the monster. With a solid hit on the forehead, the monster fell to the ground and dropped both children. Before Asa could capture the thing it suddenly got up and ran into the woods with no trace of it being found.

Asa said that the beast had the face of a wanderoo, the body of a baboon and the arms and legs of a human. He claims that for the last few weeks a strange being had been preying upon poultry, garden vegetables and green corn in an alarming amount. 

The inhabitants of  Kits Swamp was now on edge as they kept an eye on the beast who was possibly after their children. Two particular residents were keeping a real close eye for the monster. The story goes that Eli Sparrow and Frank Hanson kept their eyes out for it determined to get it when they spot it.

The monster was lurking on the outside of a small clearing owned by Maria Harkley.  At this time Maria and her two young children were picking blackberries. The three men were sitting on a pine tree log watching as the Monster started approaching the young Maria's young boy who was 50 yards away from his mother. 

When the intruder was spotted the three men hid behind the log and kept an eye on the monster. They wanted to see what it was up to. The boy was now within range for the men to shoot if the monster came towards him. The men did not automatically shoot as they wanted to see the monsters intention, because they wanted to get it alive. But it became apparent that the monster wanted to kidnap the boy.  

When the monster came 10 feet of the boy and seemed to want to lunge at him they shot him towards his lower half. The monster fell, but the before the men could get to him it ran into the woods. It outran its hunters, but the blood trail helped them find it.

They pursued the monster for two hours before happening upon chaparral that was too thick to go through. They then saw an opening and Story volunteered to go through. It was small and dark for Story. He had eventually run into a plank that he had to remove and it let the light come in. This was when he made eye contact with the monster. 

The others followed after him. The monster seemed to have felt scared and trapped. It tried to defend itself sprung at Story and during the struggle, his gun went off. Which caused the creature to lose its life.

The three men brought it to town and many people had awwed at the monster. The skin of the monster was sent to Baltimore to be stuffed and put into an exhibit. It is unknown if it was really stuffed.

I only happened upon these articles and could not find out more about it. The story had to of been somewhat big at the time as a newspaper from London had an article about it. It is not known how much truth there is to the story.

If this story has any truth of this. Then it would mean that  Kits Swamp North Carolina had a Bigfoot-like creature terrorizing the town, and they had caught it. 

SOURCES:

Newbern Weekly Journal of Commerce August 21, 1875

Newbern Weekly Journal of Commerce September 11, 1875

The Times October 1, 1875

WITCHES: Salt Witch

 

Made on Artbreeder

In the Nebraska plains, there was a tribe that was quartered and resided near where the Saline flows into the Platte. There was one chief that had met a witch. The chief was a fierce man and was a man of blood and muscle who his people gloried. However, his dear wife was his only companion and the only one to keep him in check. He loved her deeply and was heartbroken when she died. The once active chief was now becoming a recluse never leaving his home. His mourning was lasting too long for his people and they began to talk of replacing him. They needed someone who would do their duties. 

One morning the Chief left his home wearing his wardress. Without speaking a word to anyone he strode across the plain to the west. No one hears from him for a month. He was brandishing a belt of either fresh pelts or scalps. He also came with a lump of salt and a story of how it was found. 

He told them that after traveling far over the prairie he had gone to sleep on the ground. He was awoken by wailing nearby. (some retellings he's in a canoe) In the New Moon's light, he would go and look for the cause of the sound. He would find a hideous old woman with a tomahawk about to strike a kneeling, crying, younger woman. This was a surprising sight as he was 40 miles from the village. The old woman would hold the younger one by the throat and the younger would fail to break free. He would soon run over to the women.

 The old woman was then holding the younger's hair and was raising the tomahawk to strike her by the time the chief came. The chief would then see the face of the younger woman and would be filled with rage. The younger woman looked just like his dead wife. He would then protect the younger woman by burying his own tomahawk into the old woman's head. The earth would open and both women would disappear. In their place, a pillar of salt stood where the witch was. 

For years afterward, tribes would maintain that the column was under the custody of the Salt Witch. When they went and gathered salt they would pound the ground with clubs. They believed if they did this it would keep the Salt Witch from doing Evil. 

I could not find a specific tribe this was based on. There were two different tribes referenced The Otoe and the Omaha tribes. I also could not find what year or let alone century that this had happened also. 

SOURCES:

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Myths And Legends Of Our Own Land, Complete by Charles M. Skinner
Legends of America

American Folklore

Ancient Pages