Cultural
Background Storyteller's Cabin
As the eye of the storm passed over the house, a bloodcurdling shriek pierced the deadly calm.
Three days passed and the waters receded. Neighbors came by to look in on the old man. They rode onto his land, and as they passed by the cypress tree they saw that the flood had washed all the dirt away from Therese's grave and it was empty.
They knocked at the back door but no voice answered. Fearing some harm had befallen the old man, they went inside. They found him sitting like stone in his rocking chair, cold as marble, his hair gone snow white. A silent scream was frozen on his face, and his eyes bulged in glassy terror.
Across the room, the door hung limp from one hinge, as though some monstrous fist had pounded it down. Before it lay a battered, splintered coffin and, inside, the gruesome corpse of Therese. Her withered hands clutched her papa's golden coins, and a ghastly smile lay fixed upon her decaying lips.
With the money, the neighbors bought Therese a whitewashed vault and gave her a proper above ground burial. There was not enough money to buy the old man a vault, so they buried him in a pine coffin down by the cypress tree. Since that time, whenever the river threatens to flood the land, the old man's troubled spirit rises to warn all that danger is at hand. Folks know he's payed them a visit when they hear someone knock, knock, knocking at their door but nobody is ever there!
To find out where this story came from, visit the cultural background page.
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