Bet... This Car is Haunted..

My Grandparents were very special to me, and I spent a lot of my time with them.  Whether they wanted me there or not, I was there.   My Granny was of medium build but her back had curved over as she aged.  It didn't matter about the curved back; she would rather cook you a fried apple pie and pull a joke on you than to do anything.  She came from a close family, and she talked about her siblings often and even visited as much as she could.  Granny never drove a car, and never had a license.  She didn't play music with us, but you could bet she would be on the front row patting her foot.  If anybody had said something out of the way to us, she would have been on their rear ends giving them what for.  Granny and Paw lived in an old farmhouse, that had been in the family for years.  They bought it years ago and lived in it until they passed away.  The house is one of the oldest in my hometown and was featured in a documentary and on the cover of local magazines and calendars.  It was nothing fancy, but I can still go back to that living room in the early springtime, when I smell bleached sheets.  She always had fresh sheets covering her couch, and they always had a slight smell of bleach.  I was sick one day, and when I laid down on the couch the cool sheet touched my face and the smell it had made me feel so much better.  She was famous for her "cat head" biscuits and fried apple pies.  The big meal of the day was dinner (noon not evening, that is supper).  It's funny, there was always company there that "didn't know ya'll were about to eat dinner".  Of course, they would sit down and feast, then they would head to the barbershop where Paw would cut their hair then they would pick a tune.  Granny loved to go.  Go anywhere, anytime.  When somebody said let's go (wherever), she would grab her purse and head for the vehicle. One day Mama, Granny and me had taken a drive to a nearby town for something.  On our way back, Granny said " STOP THE CAR"!  It scared Mama to death because they thought I had fell out, or she had ran over something.  In Mama's panic, she asked Granny what was wrong.  Granny said, "Turn around Bet, we've got to go back to that house".  Mama turned around and we found the house Granny was determined to go back too.  We pulled up in the yard and Granny said "Bet, that is the prettiest car I've ever seen and I'm going to buy it".  Bet was the short version of Mama's name that everybody in the family called her.  That was very nice, but the only problem was, the car was not for sale and was sitting in someone's carport as their everyday driving vehicle. This didn't seem to be a problem for Granny, because she wanted that car she couldn't drive, from a man who didn't want to sell it, that we didn't know how we were going to get it home.  No problem at all huh?  She bee bops to the porch and walked up like she owned the place.  She knocked and a man opened the door as confused as he could be, wondering why this little humped back woman was standing on his porch with her purse on her arm while a little girl (me) was turning cartwheels across his yard. The man opened the screen door and asked "Hello, can I help you ladies"?  Granny said "yes you can.  I need to buy that car in your carport".  The bewildered look on his face needed no explanation as to what he was thinking, but he was curious enough to tell her, he hadn't planned to sell it but if he did, he would want a certain amount of money.  He shouldn't have done that, because she pulled out her billfold and proceeded to count out the money, he had quoted her.  The bewildered look quickly turned to shocked bewilderment. As the man stood there with his mouth gaping open, Granny asked him if it would be fine for us to come back later in the evening to pick it up.  She said, "Now I've paid you for this car, so it better be here when I come back".  She paid for a car she couldn't drive, from a man who didn't want to sell it, and THEN proceeded to halfway threaten him to make sure he wouldn't rip her off.  Lord, that woman!  As the evening fell, my daddy got home from work, and we headed out to pick up the car. I remember thinking it was the ugliest car I had ever seen, but Granny said it was the "purdiest car she had ever seen in her life".  This car was a big green Pontiac station wagon, with fake wood panels down each side.  The inside was pretty much a replica of the outside, but only in cloth.  We got the car home, and all of the family had to come and see Granny's new car.  A few days later, the three of us went on another ride, but this time it was in Granny's new ride.  It didn't take much to entertain us, so we thought we'd ride over to the cemetery and watch a funeral.  I know, mind blowing.  The funeral was taking place on one side of the cemetery, and we decided to be discrete, and park on the opposite side where we could make a fast getaway when it was over.  Mama found the perfect place to park, right between Mr. Hucklebunker, and old lady Eggerson's grave sites.   After Mama had turned the car off, and Granny had situated herself to get the best view of the big event, it happened!  The car let out a moan that was louder than the sounds coming from a pay by the hour motel.  Mama and Granny looked at each other in shock and to be honest a little bit of fear.  Not only did we hear it, but Mr. Hucklebunker and old lady Eggerson, along with every single attendee of the funeral.  Granny said, "Bet you better git us outta here"!  Mama cranked up and did her best Dale Earnheart impression, and we headed for Turkey Hop Hill (the hill where Granny lived).  As we approached the house, Mama never hit the brakes.  We made that turn with wheels squalling and gravels flying. We came to a stop just past the porch, and we got out of that car as fast as we could.  After about 30 seconds, it let out another moan, and I honestly think it was louder and longer than the one in the cemetery.  Granny started saying "Arlin, Arlin come here"!  Paw stuck his head out of the barbershop door and said, "My gosh Inez, I thought we had been invaded by the ghosts of Sherman's Army making one last march to Atlanta"!  She told him, "That thing is haunted, and you better park it out there on the road and put a for sale sign on it".  Of course, Paw and Mama laughed at her hysterically, but she was serious and vowed to never set foot in that car again.  Remember, the car she bought and couldn't drive, from a man who didn't want to sell it, is now haunted!  She was convinced that man saw her coming and he knew the car was haunted, and that's why he wanted to sell it.  Makes perfect sense.  After a couple of days, Mama and me took the car for a drive.  Word had gotten out about the "Haunted Car of Turkey Hop Hill", and we were a big hit wherever we went.  One day a man came to the house and said he wanted to buy the car.  Granny said, "That is the best car you will ever find, and I guarantee you will never feel alone as long as you own it".  As the old Pontiac left the yard, Granny was waving and said "Bet...  you better not ever bring another thing in here again like that.  We don't need no haints messin' around with us".