One Sunday Morning

One Sunday Morning is a story about a woman who has a scary experience inside a church. The story appears in More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.



The Story
Ida always went to the seven o'clock Sunday morning service at her church. Usually she heard the clanging of the church bells while she was eating breakfast. But this morning she heard them while she was still in bed. "That means I'm late," she thought.

Ida jumped out of bed, quickly dressed and left without eating or looking at the clock. It was still dark outside, but it usually was dark at this time of year. Ida was the only one on the street. The only sounds she heard were the clatter of her shoes on the pavement. "Everybody must already be in church," she thought. Ida took a short cut through the cemetery, then she quietly slipped into the church and found a seat. The service had already begun.

When she caught her breath, Ida looked around. The church was filled with people she had never seen before. But the woman next to her did look familiar. Ida smiled at her. "It's Josephine Kerr," she thought. "But she's dead! She died a month ago." Suddenly Ida felt uneasy. She looked around again. As her eyes began to adjust to the dim light, Ida saw some skeletons in suits and dresses. "This is a service for the dead," Ida thought. "Everybody here is dead, except me."

Ida noticed that some of them were staring at her. They looked angry, as if she had no business there. Josephine Kerr leaned toward her and whispered, "Leave right after the benediction, if you care for your life." When the service came to an end, the minister gave his blessing. "The Lord bless you and keep you," he said. "The Lord make his face to shine upon you..." Ida grabbed her coat and walked quickly toward the door. When she heard footsteps behind her, she glanced back. Several of the dead were coming toward her. Others were getting up to join them. "The Lord lift up his countenance to you..." the minister went on.

Ida was so frightened she began to run. Out the door she ran, with a pack of shrieking ghosts at her heels. "Get out!" one of them screamed. Another shouted, "You don't belong here!" and ripped her coat away. As Ida ran through the cemetery, a third grabbed the hat from her head. "Don't come back!" it screamed, and shook its arm at her. By the time Ida reached the street, the sun was rising, and the dead had disappeared. "Did this really happen?" Ida asked herself, "or have I been dreaming?"

That afternoon one of Ida's friends brought over her coat and hat, or what was left of them. They had been found in the cemetery, torn to shreds.