He often took a short-cut through the graveyard,
His breathing grew quicker, his muscles tensed hard
The boys at the local said, "You must be daft, mate"
But by taking the short route, he seldom got home late

He could hear them chortling over their pints of beer
Just then an owl hooted, his body shook with fear
What am I scared of, he thought, they're just lumps of stone
Yet still the fear persisted, he felt very much alone

Pull yourself together man, you chose to come this way
You're acting like a woman, frightened of lumps of clay
His eyes took in the gravestones, looming out of the ground
Not far now, he thouqht and then he heard a sound

His heart beat like a hammer, pounding in his ears
What he saw before him left him shaking with fear
The most evil-smelling creature, with skull gleaming white
Its empty sockets staring made a terrible sight

Warm earth kept falling, from its emaciated frame
A skeletal finger pointed to the emptiness of his grave
Then the bony hand moved higher to the name upon the stone
"In memory of Ernie Cate, whose murderer is still unknown"

The man could not believe it was his name printed there
He tried so hard to sneak, but could only stand and stare
It happened so fast, he just heard a funny sound
Something sharp hit him, he went sprawling to the ground

Suddenly he was falling, pain and darkness everywhere
Terrible laughter filled the night, like an animal in despair
He saw the evil creature, holding what looked like a spade
And as the earth was falling, Ernie's life began to fade