Kathleen was walking home after a party at her friend’s house. It was a cold September night, and she was eager to get home. Not a single person was in sight, as it was past midnight. She decided to take a shortcut through the woods and across the moors toward her town, which was only a few miles away. While walking, Kathleen made out a cemetery in the distant fog, just beyond the pasture. She figured it wouldn’t cause her any harm—cutting through the graveyard wouldn’t hurt.

As she entered the cemetery, she began inspecting the gravestones. She tried her best to read them, but it was difficult to do so in the dark. While looking, Kathleen suddenly heard a painful moaning in the distance. She stood up and followed the noise. As she got closer, Kathleen could make out the shape of someone standing in the field, staring at her. The silhouette moved closer—shakily and unevenly—and its features became clear. It was a woman with long black hair, barely attached to her scalp, blowing in the wind. The woman was naked, her pale skin peeling off her bones and revealing rotten muscle and tissue. But the most horrifying part was her face—completely decayed, with white eyes and chunks of flesh missing, especially around her mouth, where a huge section was gone, exposing her skeletal jawline and teeth.

The woman suddenly began running across the field, her bony arms outstretched, reaching for Kathleen’s neck. Kathleen screamed for help and ran, but no one could hear her. As she fled, she glanced over her shoulder and saw the woman following close behind. The woman shrieked, “Come back, my sweet baby!” She chased Kathleen through the dark woods, getting close enough to rip Kathleen’s coat off her shoulders. Kathleen eventually reached town and made it to the back door of her house, but the woman was still behind her.

In the backyard, Kathleen saw the reanimated corpse standing beside her garage, its face twisted into a horrible smile. After a while, the woman disappeared, but Kathleen was terrified she was still lurking nearby. She immediately called the police, and within what felt like an eternity, they and her parents arrived at the house.

The next day, after giving a description, Kathleen, her parents, and the police went to the spot where she had first seen the woman. Kathleen pointed out the cemetery near Greenland Road. When they arrived, they saw the cemetery in the middle of the field, but nothing else. At the far end of the pasture, however, was a dead tree, and hanging from one of its branches was Kathleen’s coat.

The Lady from the Cemetery