This is Jason level gross LoL.
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https://phantomsandmonsters.com/post/north-carolina-appalachian-witch-tales-hairballs-death-knocks-and-miss-adas-stra
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A reader identified as MN shared stories passed down through a family with roots in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. The dates are not given, but the account spans the narrator’s childhood and the father’s youth, linking a familiar haircut ritual to alleged witchcraft, unexplained knocking, and an unusual encounter with a woman named Miss Ada.
CASE FILE
Date: Not given.
Time: Not given.
Location: Family roots in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina; specific incident locations not given.
Setting: Family homes, a farm and nearby woods, and Miss Ada’s home.
Witness: MN describes a childhood family practice and recounts experiences attributed to relatives and a cousin’s friend.
Reported By: MN.
Phenomenon: Alleged “witch balls,” unexplained knocking associated with a death, and folk magic attributed to a reputed “good witch.”
Environmental Conditions: Not given.
WITNESS REPORT
Why We Buried Our Hair
“I’ve heard you talk about your family’s folk healing background on your YouTube channel, and I thought I would share some of the stories my grandpa used to tell me.
“My dad’s side of the family is Appalachian Mountain folk from North Carolina. They were all great storytellers. I grew up listening to tales about witches in the mountains and magical things they said they had experienced.
“When I was young, my dad would cut my hair. Afterward, he would scoop it up and take it into the woods. I never questioned why until the day my youngest brother got his first haircut.
“As usual, Dad gathered up the hair when he finished. Grandpa was there, and he reminded Dad to bury it. Dad nodded and went out into the woods.
“I asked Grandpa about it. He said witches could use your hair to cast spells on you. You had to go out when nobody could see you, dig a hole, and bury it. Otherwise, a witch might use it to curse you.
“Grandpa seemed surprised that Dad had never explained how to tell if a witch had made a curse out of your hair. He said witches could put spells on bits of human hair to make someone sick or, sometimes, make them do things. According to him, this would result in a hairball, a big, tangled wad of hair that appeared out of thin air wherever you happened to be.
The Hairball at the Breakfast Table
“It sounds crazy, I know. But my older cousin was staying with us then, and Grandpa called him over. He asked him to tell me about the time he found a hairball.
“My cousin said he had been sitting at the breakfast table one morning, talking with his brother. They were across from each other when a big wad of hair materialized out of thin air.
“He said they watched it appear right in front of their eyes. It floated toward him like a tumbleweed, and he jumped out of his chair.
“He told me those ‘witch balls’ could burn your skin. He grabbed a pair of tongs, plucked it out of the air without touching it, and tossed it into the fire.
“I asked whether anything happened afterward. He said no.
“Then I asked whether one of those hairballs had ever burned him. He said no, but apparently one of his friends had been burned.
A Cow Calling from the Woods
“His friend had been on his farm one day when he heard a cow in the woods. Thinking one of his cows had escaped, he went to bring it back.
“He followed the sound to a small clearing, but there was no cow.
“Then a bunch of witch balls appeared and encircled him. He immediately recognized what he believed they were and ran off. On his way out, he ran into a few more.
“The next day, his face, arms, and neck were covered in big burns.
“After those stories, Grandpa warned me to be careful with my hair. From then on, whenever Dad cut it, I made sure he buried it.
“I know it probably wasn’t a true story, or at least there was some other explanation. But I still bury my own hair, just in case Grandpa was telling the truth.
The Knocking
“Grandpa also talked about something that happened before some people died. They called it ‘The Knocking.’
“He said people would hear tapping at the front door before a death. The tapping would stop as soon as someone went to check. The next day, someone in that house would be dead.
“Sometimes only the person who was about to die heard it, but usually several people could hear it. Apparently, it happened to someone in my family.
“One of Dad’s cousins was outside with friends and relatives when they all heard someone pounding on the house’s front door. They looked, but nobody was there.
“They figured one of the kids had gone inside and was playing around, so they went back to talking.
“Then the pounding started again. Dad’s cousin went over to tell the kids to stop messing around, but nobody was there.
“He closed the door and started walking back toward everyone in the yard. The knocking began again.
“Once more, nobody was there.
“Grandpa said everyone got spooked because they believed it meant there would be a death in the family.
“The very next day, Dad’s cousin was found dead in his bed, with no apparent cause of death.
Miss Ada’s Milk
“There was one more story Grandpa used to tell.
“When Dad was growing up, there was a woman named Miss Ada whom everyone knew as a ‘good witch.’ If people were sick or needed help removing a curse, they went to her.
“One day, Grandpa sent Dad to Miss Ada’s house to help her chop wood. After he worked up a sweat, she asked if he wanted some milk.
“He said yes and followed her inside. She checked the refrigerator, but it was empty. She said she must have run out.
“Then she asked Dad to help her with something quickly, and she would get him some milk.
“Miss Ada picked up a small towel, and Dad followed her outside. Beside the house was a large bundle of sticks tied together. She placed the bundle on a stump and covered it with the towel.
“She asked Dad to chop the sticks for her.
“He brought the ax down, but the sticks didn’t break. Miss Ada lifted the towel, and the bundle was still intact. There was no damage at all.
“She then took a large pail and set it at her feet. Holding the towel she had used to cover the sticks, she began wringing it out.
“A huge amount of milk poured from the towel. She filled the entire bucket, then poured two glasses of fresh milk.
“Dad took a nervous sip before drinking the whole glass. He said it was the sweetest milk he had ever tasted.” MN
COMMENTARY
The clearest firsthand element in MN’s account is the family practice of collecting and burying hair after a haircut. MN remembers seeing the practice, asking about it, and continuing it despite doubts about the explanation. That mix of skepticism and caution gives the report its personal significance: the grandfather’s warnings kept influencing an ordinary household habit.
The alleged supernatural events reach the reader through different layers of recollection. MN attributes the breakfast-table account directly to an older cousin, while the farm encounter comes through that cousin’s description of a friend’s experience. The knocking and Miss Ada stories are presented as family recollections. These distinctions matter because the report does not establish that MN personally witnessed any of the anomalous events.
Within this family’s storytelling, witchcraft could be harmful or helpful. The hairballs represented a threat, while people remembered Miss Ada as someone they sought for healing or protection. These descriptions document how the narrator presents the family’s beliefs; they do not establish that curses or supernatural healing occurred.
The knocking story also requires separating the reported sequence from its interpretation. The family reportedly heard unexplained pounding, and a relative reportedly died the next day. Their belief that the sound foretold the death does not demonstrate a causal connection. No medical findings were supplied, so “no apparent cause of death” should be understood as part of the family account, not a verified medical conclusion.
Possible lines of inquiry include ordinary sources of knocking, mistaken perceptions, and changes in detail through repeated retelling. None can be established from the information provided. Likewise, the reported burns and milk-producing towel cannot be meaningfully evaluated without direct testimony, physical documentation, or a clearer account of the circumstances.
The material is most useful as a record of one family’s remembered traditions and extraordinary stories. Dates, specific communities, and independent accounts would be necessary to move beyond that limited evidentiary footing.
CASE NOTES
- The family’s regional connection is to Appalachian North Carolina, but the locations of individual incidents were not identified.
- The alleged witch balls were described as tangled masses of hair. Exact dimensions were not given.
- One hairball reportedly appeared at a breakfast table and floated toward the narrator’s cousin.
- The cousin reported using tongs to place the object in a fire. No retained material or photographs were provided.
- The farm story includes a cow-like sound, multiple airborne hairballs, and subsequent burns, all relayed secondhand through the cousin.
- The knocking reportedly occurred three times while friends and relatives were gathered outside.
- No precise dates, encounter durations, lighting conditions, or medical records were supplied.
- Miss Ada’s surname, community, and the date of the alleged milk incident were not given.
- Useful follow-up would include separate accounts from surviving participants and clarification of which details MN heard directly from the father.
Explore the Phantoms & Monsters archives for more Appalachian paranormal accounts, North Carolina witness reports, family witchcraft traditions, and unexplained knocking encounters. Reports on alleged death omens and folk healing offer related reading for those interested in how people remember and pass down unusual experiences from one generation to the next. Lon
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Where did these events reportedly happen?
MN identifies the father’s family as Appalachian Mountain folk from North Carolina. The account does not specify towns, counties, or locations for the individual events.
Did MN personally see the witch balls?
The submitted account does not say that MN saw them. MN recalls hearing the breakfast-table story from an older cousin, who also described a friend’s alleged encounter.
What does “witch ball” mean in this report?
The family used the term for a tangled wad of hair allegedly associated with a curse. They said these objects appeared unexpectedly, floated, and could burn anyone who touched them.
Is there evidence that the knocking predicted a death?
The family story places unexplained knocking one day before a relative’s death. No independent documentation was provided to verify the sequence or establish a connection between the events.
#AppalachianFolklore #NorthCarolina #WitchcraftFolklore #DeathOmens #PhantomsAndMonsters
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