Rumour

 The rumor of the old man who had been buried alive seized the girls in a terror unlike anything they had ever felt before. All night, they talked about the supposedly undead man, trapped underground with grave dirt heavy upon his shoulders. When the conversation turned to the buried man’s struggles against his undead curse, one of the girls—brave and bold—offered to prove it by going to the graveyard while the others remained safe and sound.

The other reached an unsteady agreement, and one of the girls left for the cemetery. Tiredness eventually pushed the group to sleep, dreams of the old man’s still beating heart falling on their ears even as they drifted off.

But morning came, and the brave girl had still not returned. It seemed like something horrid had happened, so the other girls reluctantly gathered their courage and went to the graveyard. To their horror, they discovered their friend lying upon the fresh-turned grave. It was clear that she had died of fright.

And then, amongst the dead silence, they heard a faint scratching sound coming from the grave. Their eyes widened as the realization settled in –the old man was still alive.

In a macabre scene, they tipped the coffin onto its side and yanked out the buried man. He staggered as he emerged, his face twisted in fear and confusion. The poor soul had lost his mind after being buried conscious, yet miraculously he was safe.

Warning bells rang in the minds of the girl’s parents—a warning to never again take risks or dare fate in the dead of night. The girls vowed to never forget the tragedy of their friend, and not to take the safety of home for granted.

But the old man who had been buried alive would never forget that fateful night. The night he had been denied his eternal rest, his sanity, and his life.