Elvira Blood

Elvira Blood was the wife of Sam Blood, a sea captain who ran his ship out of Black Rock Harbor Connecticut. His ship made short trips
to Atlantic seaports. When he was home from his voyages his visited the local tavern every night because he was a member of the
Mariner's Club that dined there. The Mariner's Club was a place for them to share their stories, planning new ventures, drinking, and
feasting in the back room upstairs.

Sam married Elvira young, and fathered many children. His wife was a tall, gaunt woman of a sticky disposition and a tendency to whine
over Sam's shortcomings, which they had a lot of leaving not much for her and her children to eat and live off of. See became tired of her
husband boozing and feasting while her and her children barely had enough to eat, so she decided to make a visit one night to the tavern
when they were planning a particularly big feast. She raided her husband closest and dressed up in Sam's togs. She crept up to the tavern,
and slid through the door and ran up the stairs while her husband and the men were drinking in the taproom. Upstairs was a feast spread
out on the table. Elvira drew in a breath of rage at this sight of roasts, pies, puddings, breads, sweets and decanters of wine. All she could
afford for her children was a soup made of leeks and carrots. Elvira pulled the white tablecloth off the table with all the food crashing to the
floor. She then flipped over the table spilling the remainder of the food, then she quickly ran down the back stairs and out the kitchen door.
All the men went rushing up the stairs, staring at the mess, one man ran to the window and saw a thin figure running away in the night. The
men gave pursuit. She was quickly overtaken, and one of the men thinking it was a man instead of Elvira swung her around and started
punching her. Sam's cap fell off her head, and the members of the Mariner's Club became silent as they recognized her. Sam became angry
and said, "I'll settle for this dinner." "You'll settle for more than that, Sam Blood," she said angrily. "Feastin' with these sinners while your
children starve." Furious and embarrassed Sam brought his wife home. By midday all the men and women in the town had heard the story,
and their sympathy was for Mrs. Blood rather than the husband.

In order to pay for the ruined dinner Elvira was forced to go on Sam's next voyage with him. The local wives pulled together to take care
of the children while she was off with him. Elvira was not pleased with this arrangement. Elvira's health started to fail, and he decided to
bring her to South American hoping the tropical air would improve her health. When Sam Blood returned home he was a widower, she
had died off the coast of Jamaica. After mourning his dead wife for a couple months, he was quickly back to his old ways spending most of
his time and money at the tavern while his older mother took care of the children.

A year to the day of the spoiled feast, they were once again waiting to dine when they heard a horrible crashing from upstairs. They ran
upstairs once again and everything was once again laying spoiled all over the floor. This time no culprit was ever found. The next week a
second feast was laid out on the table, and as the landlord carried the roast upstairs he heard crashing yet again. Everyone looked at Sam
thinking that he had something to do with it. After the third and fourth time he was banned from the tavern. Even after this when meals were
laid out on the table they were never able to be eaten. As soon as no one was in the room, the table was overturned. The landlord nailed
the legs to the floor, but this was to no avail. He tried to have watchers in the room, but every time someone was distracted, the table
would be overturned nails and all.