Wait Until Emmet Comes
A West Virgina Ghost Story
retold by
S. E. Schlosser
A preacher was riding to one of the churches on his circuit when darkness fell. It was about to storm, and the only house nearby was an old mansion which was reputed to be haunted. The preacher clutched his Bible and said: "The Lawd will take care o' me".
He went into the mansion just as the storm broke. He put his horse into the barn and made his way into the house. The door was unlocked. He went into a large room which contained a fireplace that filled one wall. There was wood laid for a fire. He laid a match to it. Then the preacher sat down to read his Bible.
Gradually, the fire burnt down to a heap of coals as the storm howled around the mansion. The preacher was roused from his reading by a sound. He looked up from his Bible. A very large, black cat was stretching itself. Then it walked to the fire and sat down among the red hot coals. It picked a coal up in its paw and licked it slowly. The cat got up, shook of the ashes, and walked to the foot of the preacher's chair. It fixed blazing yellow eyes upon him, black tail lashing and said quietly: "Wait until Emmet comes".
The preacher jumped from Genesis to Matthew in shock. He had never heard of a cat talking before. Nervously he kept reading his Bible, muttering to himself, "The Lawd will take care o' me."
Two minutes later, another cat came into the room. It was black as midnight, and as large as the biggest dog. It lay down among the red-hot coals, lazily batting them with enormous paws. Then it walked over to the other cat and said: "What shall we do with him?"
The first cat replied: "We should not do anything until Emmet comes".
The two cats, black as midnight, sat watching the preacher, who read through the Gospels at top speed, aware of blazing yellow eyes watching him.
A third cat, big as a tiger, entered the room. It went to the fire full of red-hot coals and rolled among them, chewing them and spitting them out. Then it came to the other two cats facing the preacher in the chair.
"What shall we do with him?" it growled to the others.
"We should not do anything until Emmet comes," the other cats replied together.
The preacher flipped to Revelation, looking furtively around the room. He closed the Bible and stood up.
"Goo'night cats. I is glad of yo' company, but when Emmet comes, you done tell him I been heah and went."
You can read a longer version of this story plus more ghostly folktales in Spooky South by S.E. Schlosser.
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Comments
creepy!! lolz! i would like die if i saw a talking cat!! ZOMG!! haha
Posted by: Chicka | July 28, 2010 12:05 PM
Whos emmet?
Posted by: Miki | August 12, 2010 02:25 PM
lol emmetts from twilight lol
Posted by: charlotte | August 24, 2010 02:15 AM
lol
Posted by: jordan | September 16, 2010 07:46 PM
wierd
Posted by: Rose2014 | September 30, 2010 10:48 AM
haha of course its emmet!!
Posted by: abbey fisha! | October 7, 2010 10:37 PM
LOL!!!!!!! creepy!!!!! i am looking for someghosts stories to tell kids onhalloween. this one is perfect.
Posted by: anna | October 13, 2010 10:41 AM
Great story! I have heard the name Martin used in a similar story in place of Emmet. I believe the Martin version appears in Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
Posted by: Barbecue17 | October 22, 2010 08:27 AM
It would be funny if Emmet was smaller then the first three cats that came in.
Posted by: Hana | October 27, 2010 09:31 AM
well what happens??? how come emmet didnt come?! i immidiatly thought of the emmett frm twilight too!! :))
Posted by: allison wren | October 28, 2010 12:43 PM
oh wow. i guess the cats didnt know emmett was off duty that day.
Posted by: Anonymous | November 4, 2010 10:08 PM
I think this was the basis for the story called "Wait 'Till Martin Comes Home."
Or something like that.
It was in the book "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark."
Also, one of my favorites.
Posted by: Jason | November 17, 2010 10:48 PM
Who is Emmet?
I went throught all that reading and I stıll don't kno who Emmet is.
WHO IS HE??
Posted by: bridget amborse | January 8, 2011 05:12 PM
Oh wow , that's creepy
Posted by: Anonymous | January 30, 2011 12:35 AM
OMG!!!!!!!!!! THATS CREEPY
Posted by: JELYN | February 27, 2011 03:22 PM
if you've played Monster Hunter u wouldnt b surprised of a talkin cat
Posted by: Javier | March 20, 2011 08:16 PM
I'm with Jason!!!! Who in the world is Emmett!!!! And I also thought of twilight
Posted by: Danielle | June 30, 2011 09:09 PM