The Graveyard Dare
| Category: | Ghost Stories |
|---|---|
| Props: | a pocketknife (optional prop, not required) |
| Notes: | Works best told slowly, with long pauses once the dared Scout is alone in the graveyard. Let the silence stretch out before the "tug" - that's the moment everyone leans in. |
Around one campfire, the older Scouts got to daring each other, the way Scouts always do. Somebody dared somebody else, who dared somebody else, until finally the dare landed on the newest Scout in the troop - the one everybody figured would chicken out first.
The dare was simple. Walk alone, at midnight, out to the old graveyard past the tree line. Find the oldest, most crumbling headstone you can. Kneel down next to it, and stick a knife into the ground right at the head of the grave, to prove you were really there.
The Scout didn't want to look scared in front of the whole troop, so out they went, alone, with nothing but a small flashlight bouncing across the dark path. The graveyard was exactly as creepy as everyone said - crooked stones, tangled weeds, and a wind that seemed to whisper through the branches overhead.
Kneeling at the oldest stone they could find, the Scout pulled out a pocketknife and drove it into the ground, right at the head of the grave, just like the dare required.
Satisfied, the Scout stood up to hurry back to camp - and felt something grab them from behind.
A cold grip, right at the ankle, pulling them back down toward the grave.
The Scout screamed and screamed, thrashing and struggling, certain that whatever was buried there had finally caught hold of them.
Back at camp, the whole troop came running at the sound, flashlights bobbing through the dark - and found the newest Scout on the ground, shaking, sweating, and very much alive.
The "cold grip" turned out to be the hem of the Scout's own jacket. In the dark, the knife had gone straight through the fabric and pinned it to the ground. When the Scout stood up to leave, the jacket held fast - and nothing more.
The troop never let that Scout live it down. But from then on, nobody ever took that dare lightly again.