”‘Member, don’t step on a grave or the ghost’ll haunt you!” taunted Louise.
Lacey and Mary Jean dodged behind her in a rapid game of follow the leader
through the old cemetery. All of the children came over here to play as, one
by one, they grew restless and received permission from their parents to
leave church early and run off their excess energy. The boys had gone to the
edges of the cemetery to climb the looming live oaks and the girls were
playing follow the leader through the graves. All of them had some family
member or ancestor buried here, and it was familiar and not at all scary by
daylight.
Mary Jean tripped on a rock and fell headlong into the rough grass. When
Louise and Lacey went to help her up, she was nursing a scraped shin and,
worse yet, a grass stain on her white Sunday dress. They helped her, crying,
back over to the church where her mother came out and took her over to the
pump to help her wash up. Louise slipped back into the church to listen to
more of the sermon (the preacher was still going strong, with no signs of
slowing down anytime soon) and Lacey sat down on the church steps to cool
off. Mary Jean’s mother called to her, and she hurried over to see what was
wanted.
“Lacey, Mary Jean lost her locket over there in the cemetery. She thinks she
had it until she fell. Could you go and see if you could find it for her?”
“Yes’m. I’ll go right now,” Lacey replied and dashed off, happy for
something to do.
“Now let’s see,” she said to herself, “I think we were over by the Johnson
family’s graves, ‘cause I remember that fancy headstone that their grandpa
has…” She poked around in the long grass near the grave to no avail, and was
about to give up when a glint of gold caught her eye. There was the locket,
just between the two furthest headstones…
She stood up, and leaned over, with one hand on the headstone to catch
herself. Quickly she grabbed the locket and was just standing back up when
footsteps sounded behind her and she was hit from behind. She lost her
balance and landed flat on her front across Mr. and Mrs. Johnson’s graves as
laughter sounded behind her.
She rolled over and saw Danny and Art doubled over, laughing hysterically.
“You looked so funny… you shoulda seen how you looked!” they whooped. “Hey
Lacey, you know if you step on a grave, the ghost’ll haunt you that night. I
bet, since you fell flat on your front on two graves, the ghosts’ll both
haunt you for the rest of your life! And one of them was Mrs. Johnson’s
grave!” The two boys ran off, laughing, to join the rest of the boys in the
trees.
Lacey felt tears coming to her eyes. Her dress was spoiled, her pride was
hurt, and she was terrified of ghosts. She struggled to her feet and ran,
sobbing, back over to the church where Mary Jean’s mother helped her clean
up and tried to comfort her. “It’s all right, honey. Those boys were just
being mean. You just wait until church is over and their daddies catch up
with them. They’ll be the ones crying then. And I’ll tell your mama that
your dress isn’t your fault. Thank you for finding Mary Jean’s locket for
her.”
“But the ghosts…the ghosts. I fell all over their graves and they’ll haunt
me forever. The boys said so. I know they’re right. I’m scared!”
“Honey, that old story started so that you children wouldn’t step on the old
graves with rotten coffins and fall into them. We were told the same thing
when we were children, for the same reason. It’s okay, honey, nobody’s going
to haunt you.”
But Lacey wasn’t so sure. Jimmy’s older brother had stepped on a grave once
and the ghost had haunted him.
After Sunday dinner, Lacey went down the road to play with Ruth. Ruth hadn’t
been at church today because she had hurt her foot and couldn’t get her
Sunday shoes on. “You fell on Mrs. Johnson’s grave?” Ruth asked, her eyes
growing round. “Mrs. Johnson’s?”
“I didn’t mean to. Danny and Art pushed me and I fell on both of the
Parsons’ graves. They made me get a stain on my Sunday dress, too. They’re
mean.”
“Never mind the dress. You fell on Mrs. Johnson’s grave. Mr. Johnson’s might
not be so bad, but Mrs. Johnson’s is. She really is going to haunt you for
that.”
“It wasn’t my fault, though. Anyway, Mary Jean’s mother says that the
grown-ups only tell us that to keep us from falling through the graves with
rotten coffins.” Lacey was feeling a little bit uneasy again.
“Still, Mrs. Johnson won’t like it. You remember what happened when those
boys ate the blackberries that grew in the ditch by her house, don’t you.
Even though she was already dead, she cursed those blackberries and they had
belly-aches for two days!”
“They had belly-aches because they were greedy and ate too many, including
the ones that weren’t ripe yet. They were there all afternoon, eating. I saw
them. If you ask me, they deserved belly-aches! Anyhow, Mrs. Johnson is dead
and doesn’t like things or not like them.”
“Well, maybe, but she didn’t like anyone trespassing on her property when
she was alive and I bet that includes her grave now that she’s dead. You
better be careful tonight. I wouldn’t go outside after dark, if I were you.
Mrs. Johnson – well, I just hope she doesn’t decide to haunt you forever.”
Ruth shivered, and they went back to playing with their paper dolls.
It was almost dark when Lacey started home. Ruth’s mother had invited her to
dinner so she had stayed for that, and then she and Ruth were having so much
fun it seemed like it got late really fast.
Lacey tried to put the thoughts of Mrs. Johnson and her ghost right out of
her head, but that was easier said than done, especially when Ruth reminded
her right before she left, “Remember, look out for the ghost!”
Lacey started to be brave and walk up the road but then she changed her mind
and ran. She pelted along through the early twilight in the deep shadows
under the overhanging trees by the road. She was used to the big old oak
trees, with their twisted limbs and hanging grey moss, but tonight they
seemed sinister. Every shadow made her jump sideways and every little
rustling sound in the weeds by the road made her run faster. Even though she
was running, it seemed to take forever to get home, and the last of the
twilight vanished into night as she pounded up the back porch steps at home.
“Oh, there you are,” said Mama, as Lacey entered the warm, bright kitchen.
“I was going to send one of your brothers to walk you home after they were
done with their chores in the barn! Since you’re here, run to the barn and
let them know you got home already, and then help with the chores out there,
please.”
Lacey looked out at the dark and gulped, but she didn’t argue. That wouldn’t
do any good at all – it would just get her in trouble. She turned and went
slowly back out onto the porch. She looked around carefully before she took
off at top speed for the barn, running along the straightest and clearest
path she knew.
The barn itself was warmly lit by lanterns and was filled with the
comforting sounds of the animals and her brothers tending them. She pitched
in and helped feed and water the livestock, and all too soon the chores were
finished. Her brothers grabbed a lantern and they all walked back to the
house together. With her brothers and the lantern there, Lacey didn’t feel
nearly so frightened, even though the moon had come up and dark clouds were
floating across it. It was a little bit chilly in the early autumn night,
and a slight breeze made the moss draping the trees sway eerily. They walked
back to the house in silence.
When they reached the porch, one of her brothers turned to her and said, “So
it was Mrs. Johnson’s grave you fell on this morning, and her husband’s too!”
He grinned mischievously. “Bet they’ll haunt you forever, not just for one
night!”
The boys laughed and ran into the house, leaving her standing there on the
dark porch.
Now she was doubly worried. Even if real ghosts didn’t come to haunt her,
her brothers would be playing tricks on her. She sighed and followed them
into the warm kitchen. The boys tried to tease her about it later in the
evening, but Mama had put her foot down and Papa said he would tan the hide
of the first boy who tried to play a trick on her and scared her.
That night, after Mama had tucked her in and taken the oil lamp away with
her, Lacey lay uneasily in the dark bedroom. She was too young to be allowed
a light in her room at night – the old farmhouse was made of pine and would
go up like a bonfire if it ever caught fire. She hadn’t even bothered to
ask. Mama would tell her she was silly to be scared, anyway.
Her room, usually comfortable and familiar, seemed strange tonight. The
pictures on the walls all seemed to depict something sinister, and the
closet had strange shadows in it. A thump, thump, thump sounded on the wall
outside of the house. Was that a tree limb in the wind? Or a ghost? Lacey
squeezed her eyes shut and pulled the pillow over her head.
She must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew, Mama was
shaking her and saying, “Get up Lacey, it’s time to help with breakfast.”
When she opened her eyes and came out from under the covers, Mama was gone.
It was still dark out, but morning always came early, so she pulled on her
clothes and padded out of her room in her bare feet towards the stairs.
The boys weren’t stirring yet, and usually they were up first to get the
wood for the stove and water from the pump before they went out to the
barn. That was odd, but maybe Papa had been up early and done it instead. A
cool breeze brushed her face as she started down the stairs – Mama must have
left the windows open last night. She could hear noises downstairs, so she
knew Mama was already in the kitchen.
As she started down the stairs, she heard a thump behind her – the door to
her room had just swung shut. Lacey frowned, but decided that the breeze
must have done it. Feeling a little bit unsettled, she continued down the
stairs dodging the school books stacked along the sides where she and her
brothers had left them ready for the morning. Two steps from the bottom, she
tripped – one of the piles seemed to have moved right in front of her. She
grabbed the railing and caught herself, and when she looked back, the piles
were all where they were supposed to be, by the wall.
“Lacey!” came from the kitchen, and Lacey knew she better hurry. When she
passed the front door, the doorknob rattled. Her heart pounding, Lacey
dashed past it and into the front room. A warm glow came from an oil lamp on
the dining room table, but as soon as she stepped into the dining room, it
flickered and went out. She heard a tapping at the window and stopped, and
when she turned to look she saw a faintly glowing face hovering at the
window. It smiled at her, an evil, chilling smile showing pointed teeth, and
it was moving closer to the window pane. Lacey screamed and ran into the
kitchen. Mama’s back was to her and Lacey ran up to her and buried her face
in Mama’s skirt, crying.
Mama started to turn around, and then Lacey noticed that Mama’s skirt
smelled funny – not just funny, but bad, like dirt and rot. She jerked back
just as the figure turned and a chilling face looked down at her. Rotting
teeth showed behind shrunken lips and flesh pulled away from the dull eyes
showing the bony sockets around them. The lamp in the kitchen suddenly went
out.
“I don’t like trespassers. Good little girls stay off other people’s
property, now don’t they?”
The figure moved closer to Lacey and she backed up some more.
“I didn’t mean to…Danny and Art pushed me…I’m sorry…” Lacey stammered, tears
clogging her throat and her heart pounding. The clock in the front room
began striking the hour. Bong, bong, bong, bong…
“You thought I’d haunt you for the rest of your life, didn’t you? You were
right, you know, my dear. Where ever you go, I’ll be there, all the rest of
your life. Time doesn’t mean anything to me anymore.”… Bong, bong, bong,
bong…
Terrified, Lacey kept moving away from the looming figure.
“On the other hand, if you want to visit me so much that you’re crawling on
my grave, maybe you should come with me.” A horrible smile split the thing’s
face. The figure moved closer to Lacey again as she backed into the pantry.
Lacey could smell the decay coming from the figure… Bong, bong, bong, bong…
Midnight.
Sobbing, Lacey bumped into the flour barrel just as the clock stopped
chiming and the figure reached out for her. A bony hand gripped her shoulder
and she screamed.
“Lacey! Lacey!” The hand on her shoulder shook her hard. “Miss Lacey!”
Lacey opened her eyes and stared back at the worried face of the young
nurse’s aide.
“Miss Lacey, are you all right? That must have been a bad one!” the young
woman was clearly concerned.
“You’re new, aren’t you?” Lacey answered, sighing and shaking her head.
“It’s just the same nightmare I’ve had every night for the last seventy-five
years of my life, ever since I was ten years old. You’d think I’d be used to
it by now, but every night it hits me like it did the first time.”
“Seventy-five years?” The nurse was incredulous. “Surely something could be
done…”
“No, dear, Mrs. Johnson said she’d haunt me for the rest of my life and she
meant it. Mrs. Johnson never said anything she didn’t mean,” Lacey said to
the puzzled aide. The little clock Lacey kept by the bed beeped the hour and
she glanced at it. It was midnight.
Lacey looked back to the aide. Her eyes widened, and she blanched. Over
the young woman’s shoulder Lacey could see a bony figure with the rotting
teeth and shriveled flesh. It was smiling at her from behind the aide and it
reached out to her with a bony hand.
“Are you ready to come visit me now? I think it’s time.”
-She Wolf (c) 2007
