The Fat Ghost

Once, near the town of Lumberton in Robeson County, North Carolina there lived a man of huge appetite as well as girth. It is said that he could eat several pounds of meat and vegetables, drink over a quart of milk and have an entire pie for dessert. When his wife passed away his son and daughter in law came to take care of the man. The old man enjoyed the company and did not stop his gluttonous ways. If anything, he increased his daily intake.

Eventually, his daughter-in-law decided she had enough of his eating so she began to nag him to stop. And stop, he did. She was so venomous with her words, that he all but stopped eating. In a few weeks he had lost so much weight that he had to remain in bed due to being weak. His daughter-in-law felt bad and cared for him as well as she could, following all the doctors orders. It wasn’t enough as the old man finally died one day.

The daughter-in-law was stricken with guilt. She protested her innocence to anyone who would listen saying she’d done “everything the doctor said”. She began to grow pale and thin. She lost her appetite and became nervous, refusing to remain in the house alone claiming food was disappearing from the stove, pantry even the table as soon as she’d turn her back. Her husband of course, didn’t believe in such nonsense and after consulting a doctor arranged for her to be admitted to the State Hospital for examination.

She never made it though, The night before her trip to Raleigh, she cooked a meal for her to eat on the train, and also something for her husband to eat the next night. She then turned in for the night. Her husband, still awake from the heavy decision to lock his wife away, hear a noise coming from the kitchen. Thinking it was a mouse, he crept in to catch the creature.

Just as he got to the kitchen door, he heard a noise that made his hair stand on end. It was the smacking noise his father made after every meal. It was unmistakable. He had heard that noise hundreds of times. He spent the night cowering under the covers in his bed.

The next day, both he and his wife moved from the home and away from Lumberton. Leaving the gluttonous ghost the house, and all the food in it.