"The Witch Baby" an Old Zuni Scary Folktale

"The Witch Baby" an Old Zuni Scary Folktale

This is a very old story I heard from my elders about a witch couple and their baby. I still get chills hearing this story, well the story goes as it was told. This happened at the middle village of Zuni, long ago before there were any form of outside lights and such. A woman there had just married her second husband. Her first husband just had passed away less than a year, and she already remarried. Which is a taboo in our beliefs. 

She had to wait four years before getting remarried, but she did not, and fell in love with a man that took her in. The new husband was not normal. He was a witch, and using his poisoned words he convinced the women to get initiated into his witch society. So she did, and became a witch herself. She and her two kids a daughter and a little son (from her first husband) lived with the witch man. Until one day she went out to get water at the well. She was gone for awhile, as her husband tended the kids at home. Looking at the kids a thought came to his head. 

He went out and looked to see if his wife, or anyone was at the well. There was no one, so he quickly fetched a pot of water and ran back home. As he got home, he put the pot of water in the fire place and begin to boiled it, than add a red feather in the pot, the water boiled hot. He than walked over to the youngest infant a baby boy about 8 mouth old, he smile at the kid and walk towards the boiling pot. He lifted up the cover and put the baby in the pot. The baby boiled up and down so he put the cover back on, and started speaking in tongues. As he was doing this the women returned from the well, and noticed a pot of water boiling and saw her husband laying face up on the floor nude, body painted black and white, and shaking. She slowly walked up to his face. 

The husband eyes were pitch black and wide open. She got scared and shook her husband to wake up. As she did that the man woke up and let out a loud scream in her face. The scream sounded like a baby and a beast dying. She got frightened and screamed. She ran to her daughter while the husband shook and screamed on the floor. She than noticed her son was missing. Just then husband snapped out and was in pain. "Where my son" she asked. The man look at the pot and said. "I am initiating him into our society, so we all can be together." Smiling at the women she cried "No you can't do this to my baby!" She couldn't stand it no more, and walked over to the pot and open the cover. 

She looked in and saw her baby staring upward with his eyes wide open not evening blanking and lifeless. She took her baby out, but it was too late the poor infant was cooked and dead. She screamed and cried where others could hear her. The people stopped by asking what's the matter? She lied to the people saying the pot tipped over and scaled her baby. But the people saw the husband and thought otherwise. Just then the husband snapped and went crazy screaming at the people to get out. As this happened the husband fell dead on the floor. 

Blood ran out of his mouth, eyes and nose. The women tried to get people out of their house, but the people already knew the couple were witches cause they saw the husband all painted up. After that happened the women went so crazy she kept her dead baby as if he was still alive. For days she walked with her toddler daughter in the fields holding her dead baby. 

Than one she just disappeared never to be seen again. This is an old story my elders spoke of. They say the baby die because the initiation was interrupted by the women. And it fell back on them.