My grandparents, ever since retirement, have taken many trips across the world. A couple years ago, before hurricane Katrina, they took a trip to New Orleans. My grandparents are very reserved and definitely not into the extreme parties and other oddities that often go along with New Orleans, but they were immensely interested in the history and old-time mansions and plantations, and decided to stay at one of the bed and breakfasts there.
The first morning, they awoke and went down for breakfast. The housemaid and server who waited on them was an elderly black woman with a thick southern accent. She graciously served my grandfather his juice and coffee and toast, but when it came to my grandmother, she threw the juice in her lap and broke the tea kettle on the floor next to her. Appalled and furious, my grandfather stood up and demanded to know what was going on. The maid completely ignored him and glared at my poor grandmother and screamed in a shrill, almost inhuman voice, "God is going to get you!" Then she threw down her apron and ran screaming out of building.
Thoroughly angry and bemused, my grandparents complained to the management. The management, of course, tried to fire the woman, but claimed that she was never heard of or seen again. My grandparents got their entire stay there for free, for the owners were called in and apologized exceedingly for their recent employee's horrible behavior.
Yet the next few days continued to go downhill for my dear grandmother. First, she tripped on the sidewalk and dislocated her shoulder. Then their rental car stopped working for no apparent reason. The lights refused to stay lit in their bedroom and bathroom, yet the rest of the hotel lights worked fine. My grandmother lost her purse along with $300 cash, credit cards and her I.D. Finally, having enough, my grandfather cut the trip short and they returned home.
While relating their details of the trip to my mother (their daughter), my grandmother mentioned how she was haunted by horrible, demonic nightmares the entire time she was there, and swore up and down that she had awoken several times during the night to find the maid standing over her, watching her. And it even happened one night once they had returned home. In fact, the entire year after that incident, everything had gone wrong for them. My grandmother is convinced that the maid was a witch and had cast a spell on her. She is fine now (that was a good 10 years ago) and is still alive and fit for her age, but I doubt any of us will forget what happened to my dear old grandparents.
