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Page 17
Persons hearing a tingling sound in their ears, called the _deid bells_,
expected news of the death of a friend or neighbour. A knock heard at
the door of the patient's room, and on opening no person being found,
was a sure warning of approaching death. If the same thing occurred
where there was no patient, it was a sign that some relation at a
distance had died. I was sitting once in the house of a newly married
couple, when a loud knock was heard upon the floor under a chair, as if
some one had struck the floor with a flat piece of wood. The young wife
removed the chair, and seeing nothing, remarked with some alarm, "It is
hasty news of a death." Next day she received word of the death of two
of her brothers, soldiers in India, the deaths having occurred nearly a
year before. There was no doubt in the mind of the young wife that the
knock was a supernatural warning. The natural explanation probably was
that the sound came from the chair, which being new, was liable to
shrink at the joints for some time, and thus cause the sound heard. This
cracking sound is quite common with new furniture.
If, again, some one were to catch a glimpse of a person whom they knew
passing the door or window, and on looking outside were to find no such
person there, this was a sign of the approaching death of the person
seen. There were many instances quoted of the accuracy of this omen,
instances generally of persons who, in good health at the time of their
illusionary presence, died shortly after. Another form of this
superstition was connected with those who were known to be seriously
ill. Should the observer see what he felt convinced was the unwell
person, say, walking along the street, and on looking round as the
presence passed, see no person, this was a token of the death of the
person whose spectre was seen. I knew of a person who, on going home
from his work one evening, came suddenly upon an old man whom he knew to
be bed-ridden, dressed as was formerly his wont, with knee breeches,
blue coat, and red nightcap. Although he knew that the old man had for
some time been confined to bed, so distinct was the illusion that he bid
him "good night" in passing, but receiving no reply, looked behind and
saw no one. Seized with fright, he ran home and told what he had seen.
On the following morning it was known through the village that the old
man was dead. And his death had taken place at the time when the young
man had seen him on the previous evening. This was considered a
remarkably clear instance of a person's wraith or spirit being seen at
the time of death. However, the seeing of a person's wraith was not
always an omen of death. There were certain rules observed in relation
to wraiths, by which their meaning could be ascertained, but these rules
differed in different localities. In my native village a wraith seen
during morning, or before twelve noon, betokened that the person whose
wraith was seen would be fortunate in life, or if unwell at the time,
would recover; but when the wraith was seen in the afternoon or evening,
this betokened evil or approaching death, and the time within which
death would occur was considered to be within a year. This belief in
wraiths goes back to a very early period of man's history. The ancient
Persians and Jews believed that every person had a spirit or guardian
angel attending him, and although generally invisible, it had the power
of becoming visible, and separating itself for a time from the person it
attended, and of appearing to other persons in the guise of the
individual from whom it emanated. An excellent example of this
superstitious belief is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. When
Peter, who was believed to be in prison, knocked at the "door of the
gate" of the house where the disciples were met, the young woman who
went to open the door, on recognising Peter's voice, was overjoyed, and,
instead of opening, ran into the house, and told the disciples Peter was
at the door. Then they said "It is his angel" (wraith). Thus the whole
company expressed their belief in attending angels. The belief in
wraiths was prevalent throughout all Scotland. It is beautifully
introduced in the song of "Auld Robin Gray." When the young wife
narrates her meeting with her old sweetheart, she says, "I thought it
was his wraith, I could not think it he," and the belief survives in
some parts of the country to the present day.
If a dying person struggled hard and long, it was believed that the
spirit was kept from departing by some magic spell. It was therefore
customary, under these circumstances, for the attendants to open every
lock in the house, that the spell might be broken, and the spirit let
loose. J. Train refers to this superstition in his _Mountain Muse_,
published 1814:--
"The chest unlocks to ward the power,
Of spells in Mungo's evil hour."
After death there came a new class of superstitious fears and practices.
The clock was stopped, the looking-glass was covered with a cloth, and
all domestic animals were removed from the house until after the
funeral. These things were done, however, by many from old custom, and
without their knowing the reason why such things were done. Originally
the reason for the exclusion of dogs and cats arose from the belief
that, if either of these animals should chance to leap over the corpse,
and be afterwards permitted to live, the devil would gain power over the
dead person.
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