Just Delicious

Just Delicious is a scary story about a woman who steals the liver of a corpse and cooks it for her husband’s dinner. A version of this story appeared in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones. This story is based on the original source which is an old folk tale from New York. It is sometimes known as “Where’s My Liver?”

There was a man who loved to eat. Every day, he went home at noon to eat lunch with his wife. The man was not a good husband. He was a mean, bad-tempered, overbearing bully, and his wife was afraid of him. She was a shy timid woman who did everything he asked. If she didn’t, he would often beat her.

One day, on his way home for lunch, the man stopped at the butcher shop and bought a pound of liver. He gave it to his wife and told her to cook it for dinner that night. His wife had prepared pasta for lunch, so he sat down to eat.

While the man ate his lunch, his wife told him that a rich old woman in town had died and her body had been brought to the church next door. The man was not interested in what she had to say. He was enjoying his plate of ravioli which he washed down with a nice glass of wine. He didn’t want to stop eating long enough to tell her to shut up.

Finally, he said, “Enough. I’ve got to go back to work.”

That evening, the wife began preparing the dinner. She seasoned the liver and cooked it slowly in a pot with vegetables and broth. After a while, she lifted the lid and the liver looked like it was done, so she cut off a small piece and popped it in her mouth. It was just delicious. The flavors were rich and vibrant. She thought it was the best meal she had ever made. She tasted another pieace, and another, and another. It was so good, she couldn’t stop herself and before she knew it, the pot was empty.

Then she thought ofher husband and she began to panic. He would be coming home soon. What would he do when he found that she had eaten all of the liver? He was not the type of man who would understand. He would be very angry and she remembered the beatings he had given her before. She did not want to face that again. But where could she get another piece of liver that late in the day.

It was then that she remembered the rich old woman who was lying alone in the church next door… lying in an open coffin, waiting to be buried….

After finishing his meal, her husband got up from the table, patted his belly and said, “That was just delicious.”

He had never had a better dinner. The salad with a drizzle of olive oil and just the right amount of garlic and vinegar, the fresh garlic bread, and the tastiest, most tender liver that almost melted in his mouth.

He looked at his wife. “Aren’t you going to have some?” he asked.

“I’m not hungry,” she replied. “You finish it.”

That night, they went to bed. The man had fallen asleep, but his wife was lying in the darkness unable to close her eyes. All she could think about was what she had done. Just then, she thought she heard a voice in the distance.

“My liver!” it said. “Who has my liver?”

It sounded like the voice of an old woman. Gradually, it came closer.

“I want my liver!” it said. “Who has my liver?”

The wife listened. Was it just her imagination? Was she dreaming? The cry came again and again, piercing and terrible.

“Give me back my liver!” it said. “Give me back my liver!”

“No, no, no,” the whispered. “I don’t have it. I don’t have your liver.”

Now the voice was right next to her. “Who has my liver?” it asked. “Who has my liver?”

The wife was trembling with fear. She pointed to her husband and said, “He does!”

Suddenly, the wife awoke in a cold sweat. She was so frightened, she could barely breathe. She couldn’t stand the strain any longer. She shook her husband and when he woke up, she confessed everything.

She told him how she had eaten the liver he bought. She told him how she had crept into the church next door. She told him how she had slit open the belly of the corpse, deftly cut out the liver and brought it home to cook it.

Her description was so vivid, her husband could almost see it happening before his eyes. As he listened, he grew more and more angry. Then she told him about the ghostly voice she had heard and he grew more and more fearful. The man was terrified of ghosts.

“I’m the one who ate the liver,” he said. “That means she will be coming for me to wreak her vengeance.”

He got out of bed and, without a word, he went downstairs. His wife sat in bed, wondering what he was going to do. A few minutes later, she heard his footsteps coming up the stairs again and when he appeared in the doorway, she saw he was holding a knife in his hand. She screamed and screamed.

Later that night, the husband crept into the church next door. He approached the open coffin and placed a fresh new liver in the belly of the corpse. Then, he went home and climbed into bed. His sleep was never disturbed again… and nobody ever saw his wife again.