Ladywhite seems to fit one of Grandma Howell's stories. Grandma believed in the spiritual world giving signs to upcoming events of their loved ones life. She often spoke of H'ants which as a young child confused me until I ask one day what a H'ant was. Grandma said, "You know...H'ants...Ghost!"

Well that wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear. Later in my life I learned Grandma meant haunts when she was saying H'ants. When I said, "I don't want to hear Ghost stories", grandma replied, "H'ants can't hurt you their already dead!" Then she continued to tell me they only came back to warn us when something bad was going to happen.

Grandma was born February 24th, 1910. She had two older sisters and an older brother. Their mother died two weeks after Grandma was born.

After living with an Aunt in order to be breast fed after her mother's death, she returned home to live with her father, step-mother and siblings.

When Elise was about five or six she was playing in the night air with her sister Grace on the front porch. Emma was in the living room cutting Pete's hair.

As the two younger girls giggled in the porch swing, Elise noticed Grace became quiet suddenly. Elise followed Grace's gaze which led to the gate entering the yard.

At the gate stood a tall, slender, beautiful woman in a long white dress with white gloves. As Elise turned to look the lady raise her arm and motioned with her finger for them to come to her.

Grace jumped and ran to the screen door dragging Elise with her. Elise began screaming, "Who is that lady?"

Emma came running to the door just in time to see the lady in white drift away as if she was floating.

"It was our Mother looking over her children," Emma calmly explained before continuing Pete's haircut.

Story by: Elise Cannon Howell

Written by: BJ Rodgers

June 6th, 2007

bjrodgerz@charter.net