The Witch of Yazoo City is a larger-than-life presence here in Yazoo City, at the gateway of the Mississippi Delta. When I took these photos on November 3 at the blessing of the graves that we had for All Souls Day, a jeep pulled up with three young men who had traveled several hours to visit the Witch's grave and some other sites in the cemetery. Willie Morris' writing have really popularized this legend. Here are some photos taken near the Witch's grave.
Old fountain near the Witch's grave. The Yazoo City historical society is hoping to perform a restoration project on this fountain soon.
Looking out toward the Witch's grave.
You can see the large chains surrounding the grave. Supposedly, the Witch broke through this chains in order to burn down Yazoo City in 1904. There were not many chains left up until a couple of months ago - they were all broken up and many people had taken them as souvenirs. Now the chains have been restore and they are put together, probably to discourage further vandalism and theft. Theft is actually a huge problem in our cemetery. One parishioner put a letter out by the grave of her son as a warning to the grave robbers, who had even dug up flowers that were planted there.
Sign pointing to the witch's grave - although the sign says "Witch grave".
The marker at the Witch's grave fell from its foundation and cracked. It has been left in this way.
Willie Morris' grave located very close to the Witch's grave. Willie's grave is very modern and is made from granite from New York state.
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