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SutiitiUt ff'imC'.* Journal FULASKI-RADFORD, Va'. September 19, 1976By CINDY CONTE' • ■ • '“I don't know if I would call myself a witch or not, hut I do have special powers, and I’ve had these powers since I was a little girl,’’said Arlene Chapman of Radford.Her bright green eyes flashed as she said emphatically, “I’m. a good witch, I won't harm anyone unless they have severely wronged me.”Arlene, who has a 17 year old son and lives with her 70 year old mother in an wooded area of Plum Creek, said she can recall as a little girl she would wish for things and they would come true if she believed in her wishes strong enough.We were poor and we didn’t have any toys. My mother would teach us how to make things like dolls out Of potatoes. I remember one time 1 wished for a pair of shoes and the next day. a .lady had given my mother a box of clothes for us children and wouldn’t you know there was a special pair of shoes just for me.”Arlene who is of Apache and German ancestry defines witchcraft as believing in oneself and believing there are no limits to what one can do.Growing up near a reservation of gypsies confirmed her belief in witchcraft. I was always fascinated with the special herbs and spices they would use for cures and spells. ” Arlene uses many of the same herbs. ,“I’ve never had a cold in my life” said Arlene as she repeated a spell to prevent colds. Summer leaf let me feel not winter’s storm, through chill and wind keep me safe and warm. This spell should be chanted after a person goes to an oak tree on a chilly autumn day and catches a leaf as it falls off the tree. The leaf should be stored in a bureau drawer.Among trinkets which include an arrow head, shark’s teeth, shells, star stones and dice which she carries with her at all times, her three most prized possessions are a dogwood necklace and ring symbolizing never ending love and a small book of witchcraft. The book contains spells ranging from love potions to getting revenge on a wrong doer.When asked if she practiced any revengeful spells she noted that there were only a few occasions when she felt a wrong doer needed to learn a lesson. 1One such incident is about a person who tried to con her out of $400. This person said it was for his four year old daughter’s doctor bill, when in reality it was for a down payment on a new car. Having a generous nature,.Arlene promptly wrote out a check for $500 and gave it to them. After finding out the real reason for the money, she started her revenge. •With a photograph of this person and the aid of a leather needle, this person was doomed for bad luck, ’The following day this person called her. Something told Arlene to keep them on the phone fpr an hour. She timed the conversation by her kitchen clock.That same evening! this person called again relating the misfortune they had encountered. While talking on the phone with Arlene, someone had taken orange spray paint and painted the headlights, roof and doors. The car was also slashed with a razor blade.“You really have to think before you cast a spell, On’one occasion Arlene had wished “something very bad” to happen to a person and regrets it, “Two weeks after my spell, this person grew very ill and died.”Arlene’s good deeds by far outweigh any mischievous works. She aided a Mend in finding a well paying job, helped a favorite employer with a man cheating his business and helped cure her mother from a case of cancer, which the doctors diagnosed as terminal.. “I guess a witch is a lonely peraon,” Arlene said. “They don’t want to be around a lot of people just their loved ones.” Witches also have psychic abilities Arlene said.1 ‘I can usually tell when someone is trying to call me or wheqpositive of a murderer’s identity due to her sense of being able to tell if a person is evil or not.“A business man from Raonokeoffered me a fantastic job in radio. He asked me to meet him at his apartment but 1 told him we could discuss business at a restaurant instead. I felt he was a very evil man.”Arlene noted that at the same tune a woman in Roanoke was murdered by a man who strangled her with a pair of panty hose. She explaineirfibw she bought a few pairs on sale before she met this man at dinner. She happened to show her purchase to the man discussing the shade and sale when he looked at her and asked “Are you trying to tell me something?”heard of again. The murderer was never found and I felt strongly that he was the suspect,” she said. “He also had lived in the same apartment complex where the murder took place. Something told me to inform the Roanoke police aboutthis, but they would have never believed my-story so i neyer called.’’“I’m a basic, down to earth person,. I'm happy and fove life,” she said. “I want to help people and make them happy.”Often Arlene will stand near her large living room window gazing up at a large oak tree she calls her wishing tree. “When, my mother sees me at the window she will say, 'My Arlene is wishing again’. Although I sometimes call myself a witch my mothers calls me an angel.”Recipes Recollectionsnext to my friend and I. He then proceeded to relate why he was so depressed. - He had gotten his hair cut andsomberly stated that none of the girls would talk to him because his hair was too short He then added that he lost his contacts and had to search for several hours to find his glasses. :My friend looked at me in disbelief as he related his story. I guess she never totally believed her spells would work, it was more of a game to her. The' incident which happened was to coincidential for comfort and she grew as frightened of witchcraft as I was,■ • When I visited my friend a couple of days later, she hadgiven, away all of her books on witchcraft and* threw away allwitch related trinkets never to practice it again.The interview 1 held went smoothly and although I did notlearn a great deal about the art of witchcraft, I gained aninsight about the nature and character of people through thisperson I talked with,The witch was kind enough to share one of her favoritewitchy recipes to win a mans heart:Bridal Brunch Brew d4 fresh eggs , .Vz tsp. gingerpinch of salt and pepper -Combine the ingredients in a bowl, Fill h alf an eggshell with water twice, pouring the water in the bowl each time. Beat the mixture until it’s fluffy. Cook it in a lightly-buttered frying pan over low heat until bottom of the omelette is done. With your fingernail (or red candle is your finicy) trace your initials on the top of the omelette. Pop it under the broiler for a moment to cook the top. Fold so that the initials are hidden.Along with the omelette, serve a salad of bananas, peaches and pitted cherries, all of which have power to arouse love. Hot rolls and apple butter also go along nicely (it’s the apple butter with toe power). Wash your brunch down with champagne, never coffee.By CINDY CONTE Witchcraft and sorcery have always frightened me but atthe same, time has held the spell of intrigue and fascination over me.AAlthough I can appreciate the ancient religion for its uniqueness and mystique, 1 admit I doubt its validity When it comes to casting spells.I recently wrote an article on witchcraft. Before my interview with a woman who said she possessed special powers, I desperately tryed to clear my mind of any myths or ..preconceived notions I had about witchcraft. I felt I should enter into this interview with an open mind.Its strange how certain situations can bring back memories that were long forgotten. About an hour before the interview I recalled an incident that happened 10 years ago involving witchcraft.A friend of mine got quite involved in the occult. It onlylasted a couple of months because she soon became so frightened of it, she gave witchcraft up. But before she did, she had collected quite a library on sorcery and casted her share of spells.I 'never participated in her rituals, but recall one time whenI witenssed her cast a mischievous spell and the end result,* * * * .«Although some may say that what happened was all conincidential, remembering this incident definitly gave me the open mind I needed to venture into the article on witchcraft I was about to write.I do not recall the spell’s chant my friend casted on her boyhood sweetheart (who had recently jilted her) but it was casted to the effect that he woule be unpopular, his ego deflated and that he would lose his glasses.She took a paper doll bearing this boys name in red ink and burned it as she repeated her mysterious magic words.That evening about 20 of my friends got together for a party. During the evening the recipient or victim of the spell sat down
Newspaper Details
Radford Times Journal
Radford, Virginia, US
Sun, Sep 19, 1976
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 09 Feb 2023
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