Listen

by Maggie McAteer

Some people say you should hold your breath when you pass by a graveyard, otherwise you’ll breathe in a ghost. I think that’s silly. Ghosts don’t want to fly up your nose and into your lungs. What good would that do them? Ghosts are much more likely to have you take a seat on a gravestone and tell you about how the people buried next to them smell like the plague. You should never be scared of ghosts if you ever enter a graveyard, because they don’t want to hurt you. However, in graveyards, the bones like the ones I now am tethered to do not possess the same sympathy. They are the true danger.

Bones are filled with trickery, deception, corruption, and secrets. If you ever pass a graveyard don’t hold your breath, plug your ears. They only mean to delude you by whispering your darkest fears with each step you take as you roam around above their broken bodies. Just as a siren lures sailors from the sea, the bones of the deceased will enchant you; collectively worming their voices into your head until you are completely engulfed by them and have no choice but to follow them down. Bones are lonely, hungry creatures and you are their prey.

Many have fallen to peril because they listened in a graveyard. Amidst the sounds of leaves crunching and wind moaning, the bones will chatter softly. They have no need for sharp teeth or the usual tools of those who hunt. Bones will simply wait until you come to them. They have all the patience in the world. They do not need to waste time and energy on a chase. Bones know what they must say to ensnare you, and once their words are spoken you are gone.

I have been in this graveyard for as long as I can remember and I have watched countless people fall victim to the bones, just as I once did. I tried to warn you, to save you from this wretched fate. But I came too late. I always do.

Can you hear them whispering?