Based on folktale found throughout
the British Isles and North America

Copyright © by A. Æ. Hunt-Anschütz 2002

Andrew and his sister Emily were walking through the graveyard on a sunny autumn day. "Do you know what I heard?" said Emily.

"What?" said Andrew.

"I heard that if you drip some of your blood on a grave at midnight, the dead person inside will come back to life."

"Who told you that?"

"Some older girls."

Andrew made a face. "Well that's just stupid."

Emily made a face back at him. "How do you know?"

They argued back and forth until Emily dared Andrew to come with her to the graveyard at midnight and drip some of his blood on a grave. She wanted to see what would happen. Andrew agreed to the dare. He wanted to prove his sister wrong.

Later that night they quietly climbed out the window so as not to wake their parents. A cold wind was blowing and it was starting to drizzle, so they both wore their long winter coats with the hoods up. Andrew carried a knife from the kitchen. Emily carried a lantern to light their way.

When they got to the graveyard they found that the gates were locked for the night. They would have to climb over the fence to get in.

"I don't think this is a good idea," said Andrew. "There are houses across the road. Someone might see us trespassing. If we get caught we'll be in big trouble."

"Coward," said Emily.

So they both climbed the fence. Andrew gave Emily the knife to hold while he went over. Then she passed him down the knife and lantern to hold while she followed.

"Choose a grave," said Emily.

"Might as well take one right here," said Andrew.

Emily shook her hooded head. The lantern made weird shadows on her face. "We should go further in. Someone might see the light."

Andrew didn't want to go deeper into the graveyard. In fact, he was beginning to wonder why he'd ever agreed to the dare in the first place. "Look," he said, "there's a perfectly good grave right here. This guy's been dead for fifty years. No way he's coming back to life!"

"Alright," said Emily. Then suddenly it was pitch dark.

"What happened to the lantern?" asked Andrew.

"I put it out," came a voice out of nowhere. "That way no one can see what we're doing."

Andrew felt relieved that the voice sounded like Emily's. "But how will we find our way home?" he asked.

"No need to worry about that," said the voice. "I've got a whole box of matches in my pocket. I'll light the lantern again when it's time to go."

Andrew knelt in front of the gravestone facing him. He held out his left arm He pulled up his sleeves and poked with the tip of the knife. But he didn't manage to draw blood. Andrew could feel the cold wind right through his coat. He wanted to give up and go home, but he knew Emily would never let him forget about it. She'd tell all their friends what a coward he was.

Andrew used the blade of the knife this time and sliced across his skin. It stung a bit. He could feel the wetness as blood began to ooze out the wound. He stabbed the knife into the earth beneath him to free up his right hand. Then he squeezed his arm so that drops of blood would fall out onto the grave. "The sooner this is over with the better," he thought.

"I've dripped my blood on the grave!" Andrew called out. "Nothing's happening."

"Give the dead guy time to wake up," came Emily's voice.

Andrew waited there on the grave. The rain started coming down harder. "I'm not going to stay here all night," he said.

"Just a few minutes longer," said Emily.

After a short time had passed, Andrew decided he had had enough. He was cold and wet and tired. He tried to walk away from the grave, but something seemed to be holding him back. He tried again. Something had grabbed onto his coat and wouldn't let go. In the dark Andrew couldn't see what it was, but he was sure it was big and strong. That's when it dawned on him: the dead man had risen up out of his grave! Andrew fainted dead away.

When Emily hadn't heard anything for a while, she lit her lantern and shone it down on her brother. The first thing she noticed was that his coat was pinned to the ground by his own knife.