Free Goblins and Ghosties by Maggie Pearson

on too. It was Tom’s house, so he wasn’t going anywhere. And Josh… well, Josh was always the last to leave any party.
    They sat there, polishing off the last of the drinks, telling each other ghost stories, till they’d pretty much run out of those.
    Then Tom said, ‘Did you know that if you walk over a fresh grave on Hallowe’en night, the dead man inside will reach up and drag you under?’
    Josh grinned. ‘That dead man’s got to be six feet down,’ he said. ‘His arms would have to be elastic.’
    â€˜I’m just telling you what I heard,’ said Tom. ‘You want to prove to us it’s not true, you go ahead try it.’
    â€˜Maybe not tonight,’ said Josh.
    â€˜I wouldn’t do it,’ said Cathy. ‘Not if you paid me a million dollars.’
    â€˜I’d do it for nothing,’ said Polly. ‘Just to prove to you it’s all hogwash. I’ll go down to the graveyard right now. And to prove I really have stepped on a grave, I’ll take this kitchen knife,‘ she said, ‘and stick it in the earth right up to the handle. You can go find it in the morning.’
    Off she went, down to the graveyard, and stepped, first one foot, then the other, onto the first fresh grave she came to. She bent down and stuck in the knife as hard and deep as she could.
    She tried to stand up again and found she couldn’t. There was something holding her down.
    The others heard her scream. At first, they thought she was fooling. But the screaming went on and on. ‘Help me! He’s got me! I can’t move! Help me, please!’
    â€˜I don’t think she’s fooling,’ said Cathy.
    â€˜Me neither,’ said Josh. ‘What do you think we should do?’
    â€˜Maybe,’ said Tom, ‘we should go and help her?’
    Then the screaming stopped.
    â€˜You think we should phone the police?’ said Cathy.
    â€˜What’ll we tell them?’ said Josh. ‘We think a dead man’s got Polly? Dragged her down into his grave?’
    â€˜Maybe we should take a look first,’ said Tom. ‘How about if we all go together and take a peek over the graveyard wall.’
    So that’s what they did.
    Peeping, one, two, three, over the graveyard wall they saw Polly, crouched on a newly covered grave, trembling and sobbing.
    Tom pulled out the knife.
    Josh helped her up.
    Cathy found the tear Polly had made in her party dress when she stuck the knife into that newly covered grave.
    She’d only pinned herself down when she stuck the knife in the ground − right through her dress!

River of Death
    Morocco
    Before there were angels in heaven or men and women walking the earth, in the time before time began, the djinni were born out of liquid fire. Mostly, these days, they live in the wild, lonely places and keep themselves to themselves. But just now and again they’re apt to turn troublesome, maybe out of sheer boredom. Or perhaps to remind the rest of the world that they’re still there.
    So it was that the djinni who lived on the mountain above Azemour took it into his head one day to cut off the city’s water supply by rolling a great boulder in front of the cave mouth where the river had its source. He said that if forty wise men could be found, brave enough to give their lives for the sake of the city, then the waters would flow again.
    The sultan summoned his council of wise men – who happened to number exactly forty − and they all agreed that forty lives would be a small price to pay for the life of the city.
    Then the excuses started coming.
    â€˜I would give my life gladly − but my daughter’s getting married next month.’

    â€˜My wife is sick.’
    â€˜My son’s causing problems – typical teenager!’
    â€˜There’s a debt I must repay…’
    â€˜I have an epic poem to finish. How can I deprive the world of my