The Shroud
by W. R. S. Ralston
The Shroud THE SHROUD.[404] In a certain village there was a girl who was lazy and slothful, hated working but would gossip and chatter away like anything. Well, she took it into her head to invite the other girls to a spinning party. For in the villages, as every one knows, it is the lazybones who gives the spinning-feast, and the sweet-toothed are those who go to it. Well, on the appointed night she got her spinners together. They span for her, and she fed them and feasted them. Among other things they chatted about was this--which of them all was the boldest? Says the lazybones (_lezhaka_): "I'm not afraid of anything!" "Well then," say the spinners, "if you're not afraid, go past the graveyard to the church, take down the holy picture from the door, and bring it here." "Good, I'll bring it; only each of you must spin me a distaff-ful." That was just her sort of notion: to do nothing herself, but to get others to do it for her. Well, she went, took down the picture, and brought it home with her. Her friends all saw that sure enough it was the picture from the church. But the picture had to be taken back again, and it was now the midnight hour. Who was to take it? At length the lazybones said: "You girls go on spinning. I'll take it back myself. I'm not afraid of anything!" So she went and put the picture back in its place. As she was passing the graveyard on her return, she saw a corpse in a white shroud, seated on a tomb. It was a moonlight night; everything was visible. She went up to the corpse, and drew away its shroud from it. The corpse held its peace, not uttering a word; no doubt the time for it to speak had not come yet. Well, she took the shroud and went home. "There!" says she, "I've taken back the picture and put it in its place; and, what's more, here's a shroud I took away from a corpse." Some of the girls were horrified; others didn't believe what she said, and laughed at her. But after they had supped and lain down to sleep, all of a sudden the corpse tapped at the window and said: "Give me my shroud! Give me my shroud!" The girls were so frightened they didn't know whether they were alive or dead. But the lazybones took the shroud, went to the window, opened it, and said: "There, take it." "No," replied the corpse, "restore it to the place you took it from." Just then the cocks suddenly began to crow. The corpse disappeared. Next night, when the spinners had all gone home to their own houses, at the very same hour as before, the corpse came, tapped at the window, and cried: "Give me my shroud!" Well, the girl's father and mother opened the window and offered him his shroud. "No," says he, "let her take it back to the place she took it from." "Really now, how could one go to a graveyard with a corpse? What a horrible idea!" she replied. Just then the cocks crew. The corpse disappeared. Next day the girl's father and mother sent for the priest, told him the whole story, and entreated him to help them in their trouble. "Couldn't a service[405] be performed?" they said. The priest reflected awhile; then he replied: "Please to tell her to come to church to-morrow." Next day the lazybones went to church. The service began, numbers of people came to it. But just as they were going to sing the cherubim song,[406] there suddenly arose, goodness knows whence, so terrible a whirlwind that all the congregation fell flat on their faces. And it caught up that girl, and then flung her down on the ground. The girl disappeared from sight; nothing was left of her but her back hair.[407] They are generally the corpses of wizards, or of other sinners who have led specially unholy lives, which leave their graves by night and wander abroad. Into such bodies, it is held, demons enter, and the combination of fiend and corpse goes forth as the terrible Vampire thirsting for blood. Of the proceedings of such a being the next story gives a detailed account, from which, among other things, may be learnt the fact that Slavonic corpses attach great importance to their coffin-lids as well as to their shrouds.
Moral of the Story
Reckless disregard for the sacred and the dead can lead to dire and inescapable consequences.
Characters
The Lazybones ★ protagonist
Not explicitly described, but implied to be physically capable despite her laziness.
Attire: Simple village attire, appropriate for a spinning party.
Lazy, slothful, gossipy, boastful, fearless (initially), stubborn, unrepentant.
The Corpse ⚔ antagonist
A deceased body, animated and capable of movement and speech.
Attire: A white shroud, which is its primary identifying feature.
Persistent, demanding, vengeful, bound by specific rules (cannot enter the house, must have shroud returned to original place).
The Father ◆ supporting
Unspecified.
Attire: Simple village attire.
Concerned, protective, seeking help for his daughter.
The Mother ◆ supporting
Unspecified.
Attire: Simple village attire.
Concerned, protective, seeking help for her daughter.
The Priest ◆ supporting
Unspecified, but likely a man of authority and wisdom.
Attire: Clerical vestments, appropriate for a village priest.
Reflective, authoritative, attempting to resolve a supernatural problem through religious means.
Locations
The Girl's House
A village home where a spinning party is held, later becoming the site of the corpse's nightly visits.
Mood: initially lively and gossipy, then increasingly terrified and haunted
The spinning party, the girl's boast, the corpse's first and second appearances at the window.
The Graveyard
A burial ground adjacent to the church, where a corpse in a white shroud is seated on a tomb.
Mood: eerie, silent, supernatural
The girl encounters the corpse and takes its shroud.
The Church
A village church with a holy picture on its door, later the site of a religious service.
Mood: initially a place of challenge, later solemn and then terrifying
The girl retrieves and returns the holy picture, and later attends a service where she is swept away.
Story DNA
Moral
Reckless disregard for the sacred and the dead can lead to dire and inescapable consequences.
Plot Summary
A lazy and reckless girl, boasting her fearlessness, takes a shroud from a corpse in a graveyard. The corpse repeatedly returns, demanding its shroud be returned to its original place, but the girl refuses. Despite her parents' attempts to intervene, the corpse's demand remains specific to the girl. Finally, during a church service, a supernatural whirlwind appears, seizes the girl, and she disappears completely, leaving only her back hair, as a consequence of her defiance.
Themes
Emotional Arc
bravado to terror to inescapable doom
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
The footnote explicitly links the corpse to Slavic beliefs about 'wizards, or of other sinners who have led specially unholy lives' becoming vampires, suggesting a deeper cultural fear of the unholy dead and their specific demands (like their shroud and coffin-lids).
Plot Beats (14)
- A lazy girl hosts a spinning party, where the girls discuss who is the boldest.
- The lazy girl boasts her fearlessness and is challenged to retrieve a holy picture from the church, passing the graveyard.
- She successfully retrieves the picture, making the other girls spin for her in return.
- She returns the picture to the church at midnight and, passing the graveyard, takes a shroud from a corpse sitting on a tomb.
- She returns home and boasts about taking the shroud, horrifying some girls and amusing others.
- After they sleep, the corpse taps at the window, demanding its shroud.
- The girl opens the window and offers the shroud, but the corpse insists she return it to where she took it from.
- The cocks crow, and the corpse disappears.
- The next night, the corpse returns, demanding its shroud again.
- The girl's parents try to return the shroud, but the corpse again insists the girl return it herself.
- The cocks crow, and the corpse disappears again.
- The girl's parents consult a priest, who tells them to send the girl to church the next day.
- During the church service, a terrible whirlwind appears, seizes the girl, and flings her down.
- The girl disappears completely, leaving only her back hair behind.
