haunted graves

Written by: Abdo Ali Al-Fahd

• A door opened from the depths of the cave, and a tall, beardless young man emerged. His body was yellow, as if he were wearing a transparent, skin-tight outfit.
• These tombs are located two kilometers away from human settlements. There are three of them, carved into somewhat brittle black rock, within three caves beneath a towering, solid rocky mountain ridge. The entrance to each tomb is slightly wider than the diameter of a human body. They extend four meters deep with a circular width of three meters and are coated with a white plaster-like material, resembling cement but much harder. The tombs are tightly sealed with stone covers. The entrance to each tomb is situated in the cave floor, while the cave itself has a door similar to a house door, which remains closed.
• These tombs were used to store surplus agricultural crops until needed and were opened at specific times.
• People would gather at the entrance of the tombs when they were opened to obtain grain loans for the upcoming season. It often happened that the person who descended into the tomb would perish due to the extreme heat inside. These tombs were inspired by the burial sites of the pharaohs in Egypt. Strange noises can be heard inside them day and night—metallic humming, the ringing of bells, and the opening and closing of doors. Today, their doors remain open, allowing some visitors and tourists to enter. A footpath once passed nearby, but recently, a car road was carved along the same route, leading to the neighboring villages.
• One traveler, who was forced to enter one of the tombs and spend the night there when he was in his thirties, recounted his experience: While walking on foot—before a car road had been constructed—the night was dark, and it was already late. The lamp he was using for light went out halfway through his journey, so he continued walking, relying on the faint twilight and the whitened footprints on the path. As he approached the tombs, he felt an intense chill run through his body, filling him with fear. His terror was so great that he could sense the hair on his head standing up like nails, even lifting his turban off his head.
• So he kept pressing his hand on his turban to keep it in place. He said, "At that moment, I stopped walking and stood still, my body trembling with shivers. Immediately, I headed toward one of the tombs to spend the night there until morning. I knew they were clean, with strong and well-sealed doors. I had seen one of them open when I passed by seven days earlier in the morning. Reaching the tomb’s entrance was difficult due to the rough terrain and my legs shaking with fear. When I finally arrived, I found the door open and entered cautiously, afraid of falling into the tomb's opening in the cave floor. I quickly shut the door behind me, crouched, and crawled inside. Feeling my way around, I located the tomb’s mouth and found it covered. Then, I retreated to a corner of the cave, lay down, covered myself with the cloak that had been draped over my shoulders, and placed my belongings beside me."
• I heard the squeaking of mice and smelled a strange smell that I had never smelled in my entire life. Suddenly, the cave door opened by itself. I saw what looked like two people standing at the cave door, then they disappeared. I did not hear footsteps. I got up and closed the door, but it had no latch from the inside. I felt around and found an iron handle on the door, so I took one end of the quilt and tied it to the handle, then I connected the other end of the quilt and tied it to the handle of the burial hole cover and tightened it. Then I returned to my place. The squeaking of the mice intensified and a chase took place between them around the cave. I heard a conversation taking place between two people outside the door:
• The first voice asked, "Did you close the door?"
• The second replied: No, I opened it.
• He said: I smell my own blood.
• Reply: We have to go... Then there was silence.
• And even the rats fell silent.
• I said to myself, these are thieves who want to rob the cemetery.
• A deep silence settled, and I dozed off, remaining between wakefulness and sleep. Suddenly, a light filled the cave, a vibrant mix of blue, yellow, and red, intensely bright. I had to squint my eyes against the blinding light. In the far corner of the cave, I saw a woman sitting, almost naked, brushing her hair. I crouched down to watch her. She continued brushing her hair as if she didn’t see me, and it felt as if the glowing colors separated me from her.
• I was terrified and intended to escape from the cave. I moved towards the quilt to open the door, but I did not find any trace of the door or the quilt. The cave had turned into a compartment without a door! I looked at the bottom of the cave, but I did not find the mouth of the burial place. I sat in my place. A door opened from the depths of the cave, and a young man with long beard and yellow legs came out of it. His body was as if he was wearing transparent clothes that stuck to his body. He sat next to her. They were exchanging conversation without me hearing what they were saying. I only noticed the movement of their lips.
• The conversation got heated and the beardless man got angry, so he grabbed her hair and pulled it behind her, trying to drag her and bring her in. She threw the comb from her hand towards me, and it fell on my chest, leaving a burn from an iron that still has its mark to this day.
• I woke up from the severity of the burning and fainted. The morning sun’s rays woke me up and I found myself outside the cave. The door was locked and my blanket and belongings were next to me, as if I had never entered the cave.
• I looked at my chest and saw the burn marks and the teeth of the comb drawn like irons on my chest. I put my finger on the iron and it hurt me a lot and the clothes were burned.
• I took my things and my blanket and continued walking. I noticed that my steps had become very spaced out. With one step, I covered a great distance. I felt my body very light and something else was carrying me beside my feet. I reached home quickly, covering the two-hour distance in a quarter of an hour or less.
• I entered and placed my belongings, and my wife asked me, "Where did you sleep?" I replied, "At the tomb’s entrance." She began to search through the items, and then came the surprise! There were no items that I had bought from the market—no thread, no matches, no sweets, no red pepper, and no soap. Instead, there were three stones, each a different color: blue, yellow, and red.
• I took my things and my blanket and continued walking. I noticed that my steps had become very spaced out. With one step, I covered a great distance. I felt my body very light and something else was carrying me beside my feet. I reached home quickly, covering the two-hour distance in a quarter of an hour or less.
• My wife ran out of the house in fear, and I stood there, stunned! The fire went out, and the three stones rolled in front of my feet. I bent down and picked up the blue one—it was cold as ice, smooth to the touch, heavy in weight, and about the size of an orange.
• I took the bile and its heat stung my fingers, so I threw it away.
• Then I took the red one and it was moderate.
• I touched the blue and yellow and it struck fire.
• I went out of the house to my wife standing outside the house, holding the blue and red stones in my hands.
• I said: These are the sulfur stones I brought you to light the oven with instead of sulfur, and I banged the stones in front of her and lit the wood in the oven. My wife believed what I told her, so she took them and put them in the window.
• In the afternoon my wife went to collect firewood and did not return, so I went after sunset to look for her but did not find her.
• I went back home and looked for stones but couldn't find any. In the morning, we found my wife's body burned and charred in the place where she used to collect firewood. After that, I lived paralyzed, unable to move, as you see me now.
• I asked him: Do you have children?
• He said: I had not had children and I was also unable to marry after my wife’s death because I was paralyzed from movement, but I constantly dream that I have wives with whom I sleep and have sex and they are known to me. They are the same ones who do not change in all the dreams. There are three of them and each one has a son whom she attributes to me. When I am with them I feel that I am healthy and able to move.
• When I get very angry, I feel sleepy and I sleep and dream, and when I wake up, I find myself in a good mood.
• -Is the one who was combing the hair in the cave one of your wives that you dream about?
• - No, I never saw her again.
• Do you bet openly while awake?
• I bet only in my dreams.
• - Don't ask me again, I feel bad, and don't tell anyone what I told you, be careful...
• These are his last warnings to me before he passed away, may God have mercy on him.
• His funeral was very light, as if there was no body on it. When his grave was dug, it was fragile, opening up empty cavities easily and quickly. A strange tree with a pleasant smell grew on his grave. There was no tree similar to it in the area. It does not bear fruit, does not bloom, and is not eaten by animals. It has five-lobed leaves and a stem with veins like the veins of the forearm. You see it evergreen without anyone watering it with a drop of water. After he died, I decided to visit the cemetery myself and see its truth.
• I arrived before noon alone and found its doors open, so I entered the first door that the traveler said he spent the night in, and I smelled a strong odor resembling ammonia. I threw a small stone into the tomb and it caused a hum inside it, which was dark and its bottom and sides could not be seen, so I saw its shape as the traveler had described it to me. I felt a noticeable lightness in the air inside the cave, as if my weight had lightened and I did not feel the weight of my body on my joints and feet, and I almost lost hearing.
• I shouted with my voice but there was no echo, but after a few seconds I heard a deep hum coming from the bottom of the tomb. I intended to get out, but before I got out I heard a cat meowing from the corner of the cave. I turned and saw a black cat with a large head and crescent-shaped eyes. The cat quickly fell into the mouth of the tomb, so I hurried out and did not enter the rest of the tombs.
• Question:
• Is what happens inside the cemeteries related to those who died when they went down to the cemetery to take out the graves?