BETTY BOOKER

Not long ago in the town of Kittery, Maine the demolition of an old house was well under way. This is where an old witch’s bridle was found between the walls of the old house and a woman who happened to be on site quickly whisked it into a fire. Here begins the story of Betty Booker.

Betty was a poor old lady living in Kittery when she happened to need some fish. She approached two skippers, well known in town as being quite ‘salty’ – if you catch my drift. When she asked the skippers to bring her back some fish, they snidely demanded to see her money to pay for the fish, knowing Betty had none.  

Betty wasn’t going to take this from the skippers, especially Perkins who seemed to be the more antagonistic of the two. She tossed her head back with her wild hair and twisted face and cackled a curse towards the skipper. They laughed at the crazy old woman and went on their way. Bad move.

That night, the skippers set sail for York and were met with the worst storm they had encountered. While the crew fell ill and the seas throttled the ship, Betty was weaving together a bridle. She worked the birch bark and horse hair together until her device was complete. Now, too wait for the next storm to blow through to put it to good use.  The crew returned to harbor even more poor than when they had left.

 Rumors fell on Perkins’ ears of Betty making a witch’s bridle to ride him all the way to York. He became so afraid he would always lock himself away by dusk and nail his doors shut at night. He would lay awake in fear of when and how Betty would exact her revenge.

The next stormy night that blew through Kittery, Perkins barricaded his home and pushed all of his furniture against the doors and windows for good measure. Rain pelted down so hard and fast that chimney’s were dumping buckets of water on all the fire’s in town. The wind mimicked wails of the witch’s cackles and curse. Soon enough, Perkins could hear scratching on the walls of his house. He bolted for his bed, likely resorting to his childhood years of “if I can’t see you than you can’t see me,” and hid under the covers.

Betty not only showed up with her brand spanking new bridle, but she also brought her friends. She ripped back the blankets that Perkins had been cowering under, stripped him bare and dressed him in the bridle. Not only did Betty jump on his back but so did her friends. They all rode Perkins to York, jabbing him with their knarled claws when he slowed.

Betty got her fish and rode the skipper back to Kittery where he stayed in bed for nearly a month, healing from his wounds and damaged psyche. She shouted at him at the end of the journey not to ever deny a poor old lady again.  One hopes he took this lesson to heart.