Miss Jane

When I think of October and fall, I think of Jonesborough, Tennessee and the National Storytelling Festival! What memories I have made at the annual festival - talk about fairy dust. It completely covers those mountains! Two years ago, my son and I made a return trip to Jonesborough for the festival, which is held the first full weekend in October. Along the way, we got side-tracked by a little town called Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Unless you are one of the deprived souls who has not read the Mitford series by Jan Karon, then you would know that the fictional village of Mitford is loosely based around this charming mountain town. That weekend spent with my son did not disappoint. I think those two days were two of the best days I have ever lived.

The reason I love the Mitford series is because of the range of characters created by the author. Every single character is one-of-a-kind. The same goes for the real-life characters at the storytelling festival. I just love authentic human beings! Real genuine characters. I have always said that my family should have the USA network logo hanging above our door: Characters welcome!

Sadly, we just don't welcome characters anymore. One of my favorite storytellers is Kathryn Tucker Windham (google her for more info - such a character!), and this is one of my favorite quotes by her: "We don't see as many characters as we used to see in small communities. We have become so homogenized. We are all just alike. We have become very dull. I hate for future generations to be deprived of characters. There is nothing so sad as a homogenized society."

Thankfully, I grew up with some 'real' characters! One stands out above all the others; not just to me, but to my kids and generations of kids. Miss Jane. It's almost Halloween, and the small town of Raleigh, Mississippi, is dressing up for the holiday in all the usual ways - pumpkins, scarecrows, witches and ghosts. But there is one resident of this small town who is 'Queen of Halloween'. Miss Jane is a retired science teacher who has been scaring the bajebees out of every kid in Raleigh for as long as I can remember! She and her family live at the end of a long driveway called Burrows Lane, which they decorate each year. Believe me, this driveway is not for the faint of heart! I can proudly say that I walked down the driveway and lived to tell the story!

TODAY'S BIG STORY: Today is a rite of passage for my children! I am passing a tradition down to them on this Halloween night - one they will always remember. Tonight they face their fears! Tonight they join the rank and file of the terrified! Tonight they walk down Burrows Lane and meet Miss Jane! What a larger than life character! What a big story! The Tomorrow Trunk would be totally deficient without it!

Miss Jane

Come close, my children, I have a story to tell

about an old lady who knows it so well.

Every year as spooks dress up for Halloween,

there can only be one who wears the title of “Queen”.

She has always lived at the end of Burrows Lane,

and those who have met her call her Miss Jane.

Miss Jane doesn’t need tails of lizards or wings of bats;

she doesn’t need witches' broomsticks or tall pointed hats.

Miss Jane casts her spells by the stories she tells.

Like a moth to the flame, Miss Jane draws you in

when she opens her mouth and her story begins…

Two boys went out on Halloween night –

their names where Jimmy and Joe.

They rode their bikes just outside of town

to a house that few kids would go.

Jimmy and Joe had always been told

about a place called Burrows Lane.

“All who are brave enough to go in the house

never come out again.”

But Jimmy and Joe were not afraid,

as they rode down the creepy dark lane.

They stopped at the house, stepped onto the porch

and looked through a window pane.

“There is nothing here,” said Jimmy to Joe,

“except a clock on the wall, a sheet on the floor,

a bunch of spider webs and a chain on the door.”

So they unwrapped the chain and threw it on the ground,

then they walked inside to have a look around.

“This is nothing but a spooky old house,” said Jimmy to Joe.

"I don't know about you, but I'm ready to go."

The house was so quiet, and everything seemed fine,

but right at midnight, the clock began to chime.

ONE – TWO – Jimmy and Joe watched as the sheet began to move.

THREE – FOUR – The chain started to rattle as it slid inside the door.

FIVE – SIX – SEVEN – EIGHT – They heard a noise like the locking of a gate.

NINE –TEN – The boys could not believe what they saw then.

ELEVEN – TWELVE – The spiders spun a head of white hair from all those spider webs!

Right in front of them stood an old lady with silky white hair,

wearing a long flowing sheet, and carrying a chain!

They both knew right then, she had to be Miss Jane!

As they stared at her with their mouths opened wide,

she picked up her chain and crept slowly outside.

Jimmy and Joe watched her leave, but where was she going?

Would she come back? There was no way of knowing.

So they huddled together and they trembled with fear,

and just about that time, Miss Jane screamed, “I’M HERE!”

...all the children started screaming,

their hearts filled with fright!

They never forgot that story,

and they never forgot that night.

For everyone’s Halloween tale was always the same,

“You haven’t been scared, ‘til you’ve been scared by Miss Jane!”

Dianne B. McLaurin. Copyright, 1998.

I think one reason I love blogs is because of the range of characters I meet. I love looking at quirky pictures and admiring amazingly creative talents. But I think what I love most is how individuals tell 'their' stories. I told this story to a group of elementary children at a library program. Right on cue, Miss Jane came walking out, dragging her chain. I am laughing out loud, just thinking about their faces. We need characters to remind us not to take ourselves so seriously. We need characters so we don't become just like everybody else. And, every town in America needs at least one 'Miss Jane'.

Dianne ; )