One Summer day, I found myself in an old graveyard in the middle of nowhere. It was every horror fan’s dream; it was spooky, it was decrepit, and it was disappointing. 

One day I found myself in the car with my sister and my brother. We stopped off and got coffee and donuts. We were just trying to kill a slow-moving Sunday afternoon. 

“Have you ever heard the story of the graveyard full of dead kids?” my sister asked. 

“I hadn’t.”

“There’s a graveyard by grandma and grandpa’s house. And people say it’s haunted.”

I was intrigued. “Go on,”  I said, hoping this day would get more interesting.

We drove down several dirt roads. My sister told the story. The Legend has it that there was a schoolhouse full of children way back in the day. The children and their teachers were trying to combat a cold winter, so they had fires going to provide warmth. One of the fires was left unattended, and unfortunately, many people were trapped in the school. Those who did not die of smoke inhalation inside later succumbed to injuries after being rescued.

Because school is a place the children liked to be, it is believed that many of the children who lost their lives that day are in the school cemetery. The school it said was later demolished, and the people who died that day were laid to rest on the grounds.

 I dozed off for a bit. And then, we found it!

 From the outside, the place looked like a dream come true for any horror movie enthusiast.  

Looking beyond the iron fence, some of the gravestones were standing up, and some were laying flat. All of them looked aged. All of the stones had cracks running through them. Where there were once names and dates of the deceased, there were now just white splotches. Tree roots were everywhere, and my brother actually began carrying me throughout the cemetery. 

To my dismay, we do not see any phantom children playing Ring Around the Rosie or begging us to bring them home.

Photo by Keely Messino via Canva