Scary Stories Treasury – The Girl Who Stood on a Grave

Read Time:5 Minute, 57 Second

The Girl Who Stood on a Grave Kitty: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Winterjoy: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Welcome to lucky 13 in our journey through Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Today our story is the classic The Girl Who Stood on a Grave. It follows the folklore motifs H.1416:1 (fear test: visiting a graveyard at night) and N.334 (accidental fatal ending of game or joke).

The Girl Who Stood on a Grave

Some boys and girls were at a party one night. There was a graveyard down the street, and they were talking about how scary it was.
“Don’t ever stand on a grave after dark,” one of the boys said. “The person inside will grab you. He’ll pull you under.”
“That’s not true,” one of the girls said. “It’s just a superstition.”
“I’ll give you a dollar if you stand on a grave,” said the boy.
“A grave doesn’t scare me, ” said the girl. “I’ll do it right now.”
The boy handed her his knife. “Stick this knife in one of the graves,” he said. “Then we’ll know you were there.”
The graveyard was filled with shadows and was as quiet as death. “There is nothing to be scared of,” the girl told herself, but she was scared anyway.
She picked out a grave and stood on it. Then quickly she bent over and plunged the knife into the soil, and she started to leave. But she couldn’t get away.
Something was holding her back! She tried a second time to leave, but she couldn’t move. She was filled with terror.
“Something has got me!” she screamed, and she fell to the ground.
When she didn’t come back, the others went to look for her. They found her body sprawled across the grave. Without realizing it, she plunged the knife through her skirt and had pinned it to the ground. It was only the knife that held her. She had died of fright.

*****

Alvin Scwartz cites three different sources for this tale, though I was only able to locate information for one of them. This one is: Boggs, JAF 47:295-96. The Boggs is Ralph Steele Boggs, and the JAF is for Journal of American Folklore.

I found his source on archive.org under The Journal of American Folklore October-December 1934: Vol 47 Iss 186. It’s in the section North Carolina White Folktales and Riddles by Ralph Steele Boggs. He includes two versions of The Girl Who Stood on a Grave…. and here they are! Note: all misspellings and regional speech have been retained.

THE BOY (OR GIRL) WHO DIED OF FEAR
Version A

Once a scared boy went to a corn shuckin’. He was afraid of every thing. All the people in the crowd agreed to give him their knives if he’d drive a nail in a stump in the graveyard, to show that he’d been there. The boy agreed. But he wore a jeans coat [long, homespun coat], an’ the end of it fell over the stump, an’ without knowing it, he drove the nail through his coat. As soon as he’d driven the nail, he set out to run, but the coat held him, an’ he fell down an’ died of fear.

Version B

After a funeral a crowd was spendin’ the evenin’ talkin’ about bein’ afraid o’ different things. One young lady said she wasn’t afraid of anything, an’ as proof, she offered to go out in the dark to the new grave, an’ leave a stick in the ground as proof she’d been there. She went out to the grave, but she stuck the stick through a corner of her apron without knowing it, so that when she turned away, she felt a jerk, She thought a hant had hold o’ her an’ she died of fear.

*****

And now for the review section.

Kitty

In what environment did you read the story? In my chilly living room under a blanket.
Do you remember having read this story as a kid? Sure did!
Analyze the actions of the characters in the story. Did they make sense? Would you have done anything differently? Well, I wouldn’t have been scared to go to a graveyard at night in the first place. I think the only reason I’d be wary was that I’d be trespassing on private property. I guess the actions of the characters make sense if they’re superstitious. I think I’d have been a lot more careful with the knife in my hand. I mean, who stabs a knife into their dress and doesn’t realize they did it? How long was this dress that there was so much material that she didn’t notice the knife was going through it? And then the knife was in the earth so hard that she couldn’t move from the spot. The story is weird.
Which was your favorite and least favorite character and why? My favorite character was the dollar that was offered for the dare. My least favorite character was the girl for trespassing on private property after hours and being so unaware of her surroundings that she didn’t know she’d plunged a knife into her dress. And then she died of fright, because she’s like the Hulk at stabbing knives into graves and clothing.
What did you think of the storytelling style? The storytelling style was straightforward. It was fine with no quirkiness. It could have used a little more oomph. What kind of oomph, I’m not quite sure.
Examine the art for the story. What are your thoughts on it? I like this one. It’s kind of pretty and surreal while still being spooky.
Your overall rating and why: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ because there are too many questions raised by the story. It’s a classic urban legend, though, so it’s definitely a worthy read.

Winterjoy

In what environment did you read the story? In my room, sipping coffee with my woodsy candle burning. It smells like a graveyard in here. It’s quiet as death besides the sounds of my cat eating.
Do you remember having read this story as a kid? I’m not really sure. It sounded a little familiar.
Analyze the actions of the characters in the story. Did they make sense? Would you have done anything differently? Well, I would probably stay away from graveyards after dark. I certainly wouldn’t stand on one for $1. Maybe $100.
Which was your favorite and least favorite character and why? I admire the girl’s bravery but she should have pulled for more than $1. I give her bargaining skills a 2.
What did you think of the storytelling style? It was a good little story. I enjoyed the description of the graveyard as being quiet as death. The twist ending was great and, admittedly, I did not even think at all about it being the knife.
Examine the art for the story. What are your thoughts on it? Love it! The girl is so haunting and otherworldly.
Your overall rating and why: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. Though a little short, I’ll still give this rating because I was genuinely surprised by the ending.