Welcome back, readers, to 31 Scary Story Nights here at iHorror.com!  It’s October 5th and I have a terrifying little story for you this evening!  It’s called The Girl Who Stood on a Grave, and it will chill you right to the bone.

Some of you parents and even your kids might recognize the story as a version of it was included in the seminal classic Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.  Oddly enough, I heard the story long before I ever read that amazing collection.

All right kiddies, it’s time for our story.  Turn down the lights and let’s read The Girl Who Stood on a Grave…

***Writer’s Note:  We here at iHorror are big proponents of responsible parenting.  Some of the stories in this series may be too much for your little ones.  Please read ahead and decide if your kids can handle this story!  If not, find another story for tonight or simply come back to see us tomorrow.  In other words, don’t blame me for your kids nightmares!***

The Girl Who Stood on a Grave as retold by Waylon Jordan

Elizabeth James had always been a snobbish girl.  She was the daughter of the richest man in town and she loved to lord it over all the boys and girls she knew.

Every Halloween Elizabeth threw an elaborate party and invited all the boys and girls her age.  Most went grudgingly because they knew it was just another excuse for Elizabeth to be mean.  The children’s parents knew they couldn’t refuse an invitation from the daughter of Mr. Solomon James, however.  He owned half the town after all and a little good will with his daughter went a long way.

So every Halloween afternoon was spent with parents explaining, once again, why the children had to the party and “Be nice, for goodness sake!”

Young Jimmy Sanders always tried to be good, but he was one of those boys who seemed to fall just a bit short of the mark.  His mother spent a good ten minutes more than everyone else’s mother telling him to control his tongue and mind his manners before finally sending him out the door.

The setting sun was just meeting the horizon as the line of children made their way to the James home on the outskirts of town.

The James clan, of course, always made a big to do.  Their servants had spent three days carving all the pumpkins that grinned and winked with candlelight along the walkway from the street to the front doors of the extravagant home.

There were very few other homes nearby and the only other building was the old Episcopal church and the gated cemetery that stood beside it.

Jimmy was one of the last to arrive at the party, of course, and the rest of the children were already bobbing for apples, enjoying the food, and telling scary Halloween stories.

Elizabeth was holding court in the center of the large back yard making up games and changing the rules as she went to make sure she won.

After a while, Elizabeth pushed her way into the circle of children telling stories and demanded to know what they were talking about.  It just so happened that it was Jimmy’s story she interrupted.

“What’s that you’re talking about, Jimmy Sanders?” Elizabeth asked.

Jimmy looked around the circle.

“I was telling them about the Witch’s grave over at the cemetery,” Jimmy replied.

“What witch’s grave?” Elizabeth demanded.

“The old witch that used to live outside of town.  She’s buried at the back of the old cemetery.  If you stand on her grave on Halloween night, she’ll reach right out of the ground and pull you into the ground!”

“Nonsense,” Elizabeth sneered.  “Only a baby would believe a story like that.”

“It’s true!” Jimmy exclaimed, and all of the other children nodded in agreement.

“Oh, please,” Elizabeth said and rolled her eyes.

“Fine, then.  I dare you to go stand on that grave,” Jimmy challenged.

“I’ll do no such thing,” she replied.

“I double dog dare you to do it or you have to admit you’re a chicken,” he said.

The children around him collectively held their breath and all their eyes were on Elizabeth who knew she had to save face.

“Fine,” she said.

“But you have to prove you were there,” Jimmy insisted and started looking around.

Finally he spied exactly what he needed.  When he was sure no adults were looking, he grabbed the knife that had been used to cut the Halloween cake and ran back to the others.

“Take this and stab it into the grave so we’ll know you were actually there,” Jimmy said, pushing the knife into Elizabeth’s hands.

She stared around at the group of children and steeled herself.  Finally, she turned and the others followed as she made her way to the cemetery gates.

They stood there for a moment, staring up at the great iron gate, and not a single child uttered a word.

“Well,” Jimmy finally spoke up.  “Go on.”

Elizabeth looked around as all eyes turned to her once again.  Slowly, she opened the gate and stepped inside and made her way to the back of the cemetery until she found the Witch’s grave.

She stepped right onto the plot with a sneer and whispered, “I’m not afraid of a stupid story.”

And with that she plunged the knife into the ground and turned to leave when she suddenly felt a tug at the back of her dress.  She tried to step forward again and it seemed that someone pulled her back toward the ancient headstone.

Elizabeth’s eyes widened and she began to scream.

The children ran into the cemetery as one when they heard the  sounds of Elizabeth’s screaming, and they slowed as one when the screaming suddenly died.  They found Elizabeth lying atop the grave.  Her eyes were frozen in terror and her mouth hung open.  She was dead…

The children looked closer and realized that the knife she had stabbed in the ground had also stabbed through the fabric of her dress, leaving her unable to move.

Well, then, that was quite a story, eh?  Poor Elizabeth…she really should have paid more attention to where she stabbed that knife.  See why it’s one of my favorites?

Don’t forget to join us tomorrow evening for another of our scary stories, and if you missed last night’s story click here!