A mountain spirit that leads those who are walking through the mountains astray. A guardian spirit of wilderness, because the spirit tends to lead people astray. Similar to the English Puck, The Welsh Bwca, and The Irish Phooka. Folklore of the Jackro is known throughout several of the Southern states. There are numerous other guardian spirits in local and state lore.

*"Wagon Wheels or wheels":**	A wagon wheel put out front of the house brings good luck to the home. These wheels are seen around rural areas of Tennessee the most.
*Hair	Hair is always cut at the waxing of the moon. It is considered detrimental to its growth to cut it in the dark of the moon. Dandruff can be removed by soaking the hair in Listerine, yes the mouth wash, this is a remedy from my Grandmother.
Snake Doctor	The Dragon Fly is considered the doctor and protector of snakes. If danger is near the Dragon Fly will warn the snake, so that it may escape harm. I think that this folklore has a Cherokee origin, but there is a similar belief in Devon in England.
Farming and Gardening
Astrology	The old time farmers used to plant crops according to the signs and cull according to the signs. A way to be sure of the signs was to look in the almanac or on the "plantin' calendar". A planting calendar (still printed today) had the phase of the moon, barren and fertile signs, which signs were water (fertile) and fire (barren), which body parts the sign symbolized, etc. All being a very complicated business to work out and plan by. One never planted in a barren sign or on Sunday (sun= fire= barren) . Plant when the sign is in the loins ( i.e.scorpio), feet and neck, etc. For a complete explanation see the Farmer's Almanac , A Planting Calendar or The Foxfire Book or Of the Resurrection of the Meadow. Hillsweb also has an excellent explanation of the system culled from the Foxfire Books.
*Plants as Gifts	When someone gives you a plant as gift, a "Thank You" should never be said, as the plants will not flourish and will die.
*The Moon Phase as a Gardening Guide	Underground vegetables should be planted in the wane of the moon. This is mostly root crops like potatoes, radishes, onions etc. The waxing moon is good for above ground crops, like corn, tobacco, squash, gourds, beans etc. In Tennessee the moon is described as light (waxing) or dark (waning). You will often hear "In the light of the moon or dark of the moon" , being used in everyday speech in Tennessee.
Tennessee Folk Holidays
Old Christmas:	January 5th and 6th. All the decorations are taken down as it's bad luck to leave them up after Old Christmas. Sometimes people take them down before the 1st or on the 1st of January. In Britain this day is called Twelfth Night- Jan. 5th eve. People used to believe that animals gained the power of speech or Kneeled at Midnight on Jan. 5th. Ghosts were also as active on "Old Christmas" as on Hallowe'en.
Ground Hog Day:	There is Old Groundhog Day on February 14th, considered the "real" date and the new Groundhog Day on Feb. 2nd
May Day	This used to be the day to elect a May King and Queen and Maypole dances were popular. Unfortunately this died out about 20 to 30 years ago. Rugby, Tennessee, however still has May pole dances.
The Day of the Trees:	The day has no name, so I made up a description for it. Not a celebration, just a special day. In August . You will find this day mentioned in Tennessee folklore occasionally.
Harvest Suppers:	These were usually held in September and Early October, obviously around the time that the harvest had been gathered in. Now August is the month for fairs to be held.
Hallowe'en or "Spook Night":	The same as elsewhere in America. I have never heard it called anything else by anybody in this region other than Hallowe'en, so thats why I call it this and not Samhain. My Grandmother also called it "Spook Night" and some of the older people still call it this, along with plain Hallowe'en.
Ghosts and Spirits
Raising Spirits:	Any vigorous activity by the living over a grave will "raise the dead". This is why houses built mistakenly or on purpose over graves tend to be haunted. The spirits will not go away until the remains are reinterred in a quiet, undisturbed location.
Cemetary Hills:	Graveyards on hills tend to be haunted more, than graveyards on flat ground. In local lore there is more "activity" in these areas.
*Ghosts that Ride on and in Cars:	A somewhat humorous ghost is the type described in local and statewide lore. This ghost jumps on the hood, the bumper or in the backseat. It is interesting that most of these are to be seen around hilly places or dangerous roads (in Tennessee dangerous roads are on or near hills and sheer cliffs, which probably describes most roads and highways here). I suppose it wouldn't be humorous if one decided to hitch a ride in your car or mine!
*Haints and Boogers:	These were what our grandparents and great grandparents called spirits. People do use these terms today, jokingly though, as our natural patterns of speech have been termed "ignorant" by outsiders, who too have accents and special words for things, but choose not to see it! Boogers refer to oddly formed or spirits that do not have a human appearance, this is how our grandparents used the term. Haints refer to people's ghosts, sometimes seen and sometimes not visible.
*Owl's Hooting Near the House:	The older people considered this a certain sign of death. The owl associated with this omen were Screech Owls. This call is unnerving as it sounds like a small child's scream, very unpleasant.
Roadside Memorials:	Usually when a death occurs by automobile accident, the family sets up a memorial where the accident occured. This is often a wreath or banner. Vandals never bother these either, no one touches them except the family. The banners are decorated with all sorts of pleasant images and scenes as a memorial.
Jackro:	A mountain spirit that leads those who are walking through the mountains astray. A guardian spirit of wilderness, because the spirit tends to lead people astray. Similar to the English Puck, The Welsh Bwca, and The Irish Phooka. Folklore of the Jackro is known throughout several of the Southern states. There are numerous other guardian spirits in local and state lore.
Restless Spirits:	Restless spirits are "haints". The older people asked a spirit what it wanted and the spirit went away, that is if you did what it wanted and weren't afraid of it. This usually meant it (the person, had some money which he/she wanted distributed to their family or some other, usually reasonable, task ). When the task was finished the spirit could rest. The older people asked the spirit "In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, what it wanted!!!
Veneration of Elders/ Ancestors:	I believe that veneration of Elders tends to explain why Tennesseeans have so many ghost stories ,death omens, and death customs. It would seem that all of this stems from the love and awe one tends to have of "those who have gone before" , our ancestors. This also tends to be the case in most of the south.
Tradition:	If you are wondering why this site leaves out the methods of Faith Healers, Folk charms and "spells" , and "Witchcraft" and only touches the surface of certain topics, it is because these things are the province of the tradition, the family (this term means relatives and "adopted" relatives). This is why the site deals mostly with local lore. However, in folklore you will find glimpses of "ritual" ways almost forgotten. You will see this on many Traditionalist sites, as this is how it always has been done and older family members usually require it, also it prevents plagiarism of core ideas by others outside the tradition of the local area . This explains the attitudes of the British Traditions to those in America, making the British Traditions inward to say the least. While, this does not impact practice in America, except for those British derived or borrowed "traditions", it is a shame that some of the lines of communication have been cut. However one should NEVER expect a member of a Tradition, to openly talk to an outsider of it's its inner workings. This only happens with "adoption" and from my point of view, this is rare, because few are willing to take years out of their life to learn a tradition. I would advise caution in joining groups who claim to have an ancient origin, older than the Medieval Period, and of course with claims like this one should also be cautious, although some British traditions can verify this from oral and written sources (from ancestors, not from popular literature of the medieval period). The tradition of this site can only be verified "safely" to 1870's America from ancestors.
-BACK-