Wait 'Til Jesse Comes

Classic Southern spooky story about a traveling salesman who runs into some pretty strange cats warning about someone (or something) named "Jesse."  

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"Wait 'Til Jesse Comes" was adapted from folklore by Craig Dominey

Storyteller: LaDoris Davis

The Moonlit Road Podcast is a production of The Moonlit Road, LLC.

 

 

 

 

Episode Transcript

(00:02):
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Night has fallen, and the moon is a
glowing golden orb in the black sky.
See how it shines on the dark back
roads of America, and on one road in
particular.
Come with us, and we'll take a walk

(00:23):
down the moonlit road, for the night is
waiting.
And the moon is full.
A long time ago, an

(00:52):
old traveling salesman was riding through rural Mississippi,
as he had done for more years than
he could remember.
His trusty old horse seemed as tired as
he was, trudging down the long dirt road
toward yet another strange town.

(01:13):
The old man rubbed his red eyes with
his cracked leathery hands and sighed.
This was no longer the life for him.
As night fell, a hard rain suddenly crashed

(01:37):
down upon them.
As booming thunderclaps rattled the dark skies above,
the old man decided he'd better find some
shelter for the night.
But there were no homes as far as
the eye could see.
Then, in a white flash of lightning, he

(01:59):
spotted a dark, run-down house sitting up
on a hillside.
He found his way in the dark up
to the front door and knocked.
To his surprise, the door creaked open on
its rusty hinges, revealing a musty old living
room.

(02:20):
Empty, save for one chair and a stone
fireplace.
The salesman called out, Hello?
Nobody answered, so he figured he would wait
out the storm in the house.
He was also surprised to find the fireplace

(02:42):
was stocked with a fresh pile of wood.
He took out a box of matches and
he lit himself a roaring fire.
As he sat down in the wooden chair,
he could feel the many miles of his
journey creeping through his bones.
The sound of rain falling on the tin

(03:04):
roof above relaxed him, and before he knew
it, he fell fast asleep.
A couple of hours later, something started him
from his sleep.
He woke up and saw a black cat
standing in front of the roaring fire, staring

(03:27):
at him through bright yellow eyes.
The cat walked up to the chair, purred
loudly, and rubbed up against the salesman's leg.
Nice kitty, said the salesman, and he rubbed
the cat's back.
Very nice kitty.

(03:47):
And the cat responded by saying, Wait till
Jesse comes.
The salesman suddenly froze, then laughed it off.
Ha, ha, ha, ha.
He was thinking, I must be dreaming.

(04:09):
Surely that cat didn't just speak to me.
Nah.
He dozed off again, the warmth of the
fire filling his aching bones.
After another hour, the salesman suddenly awoke again.

(04:33):
This time, there were two black cats sitting
in front of him, but the second cat
was as big as a wolf.
They both stared at him intensely through searing
yellow eyes.
The second cat said to the first in

(04:53):
a booming voice, What shall we do with
him?
The first cat hissed back, Let's wait till
Jesse comes.
The salesman shook his head, thinking that his
long, tiring travels had finally gone to his

(05:17):
brain.
For this was the strangest dream he had
ever dreamt.
He sighed and fell back asleep.
Another hour passed, and the salesman awoke again.

(05:41):
This time, there were three black cats staring
at him, but the third cat was as
big as a horse, with large, menacing eyes
that seemed to burn with yellowish evil.
The third cat turned to the other two

(06:01):
and said in a voice so loud it
drowned out the booming thunder outside, Shall we
do it now?
The first one said, Soon, very soon.
Let's wait till Jesse comes.

(06:23):
Now, the salesman had heard enough.
He leapt out of the chair, flung open
the door, and ran as fast as he
could out into the ferocious storm.
He scrambled onto his horse and rode away,
shouting back over his shoulder, It was very
nice meeting you, but when Jesse comes, Tell
him I couldn't wait!

(07:10):
in beautiful Stone Mountain, Georgia.
Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next
time.