Told by Elsie Duff, Chisasibi
Translated and transcribed by Brian Webb
In the past, I considered ghost stories unbelievable.
I had no concern for them since I had no belief in them whatsoever.
Recently, I began considering those stories about spirits were really true.
My late mother talked about a certain place where they camped and they would always sense a presence.
I wondered why this was happening to them; even though I had never experience this myself.
One time, we paddled our canoe. The water was totally still. No breeze at all.
My mother said, “This is the place where a spirit is heard.”
I asked her who it was.
She answered, “The Blind One.”
Apparently, an old woman had been buried there. My mother spoke the old woman’s name.
This old woman had been buried there and a bear had dug up her grave.
I don’t know how many years ago this had happened.
Her bones were scattered all around.
And when people paddled by, they could hear something.
It sounded like someone crawling down to the shore.
This was what my mother said.
This area was so beautiful. I probably have seen this area myself.
I think it was my older brother David who put her bones back into her grave.
This was probably why people felt this place to be eerie.
Because her bones were strewn about.
This is a story I’ve heard from my mother.
