Me Tie Doughty Walker

Me-Tie-Dough-Ty-Walker is a scary story for kids. It is based on an old traditional tale from American folklore. A different version of this story appeared in the Alvin Schwartz book, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

There was a small village in the middle of a dark forest. In the village, there was a haunted house that everyone was terrified to enter. Nobody would dare to stay there overnight. Legend had it that, every night at midnight, a bloody severed head fell down the chimney.

One day, a rich man was passing through the village. After hearing about the haunted house, he offered a thousand dollars to whoever was brave enough to spend an entire night inside. None of the villagers would take him up on his bet until a young boy stepped forward and raised his hand. The boy announced that he would spend the night in the haunted house as long as he could bring his dog with him. The man agreed and it was settled.

The next evening, the boy set off for the haunted house with his trusty dog following close behind. As he entered the dreary abode, he whistled a happy tune to calm his nerves. After doing a little exploring, he decided to make himself comfortable in the living room. He started a fire in the fireplace, then lay down on the couch with his dog and waited for morning to arrive.

For a while, nothing happened. Then, a little after midnight, he thought he heard a strange noise over the cracking of the fire and the creaking of the house. It sounded like it was coming from somewhere out in the woods. Someone or something was singing a haunting tunes.

“Me tie dough-ty walker,” sang the eerie voice.

The boy stared out the window and his hair stood on end.

“Maybe it’s just somebody taking a shortcut through the woods,” he told himself.

Then, his dog suddenly perked up and sang, “Lynchy-Kinchy-Colly-Molly-Dingo-Dingo.”

The boy could hardly believe his ears. His dog had never uttered a word before. Now it was answering the haunting voice in the woods. He pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

A few minutes later, the boy heard the voice singing again, only this time it was closer and louder

“Me-Tie-Dough-Ty-Walker”, sang the mysterious voice.

The dog answered again, “Lynchy-Kinchy-Colly-Molly-Dingo-Dingo.”

This really had the boy scared. He was afraid that whoever was lurking in the woods would hear the dog singing and come to get them.

A few minutes later, the boy heard the voice singing again. Now it was in the back yard

“ME TIE DOUGH-TY WALKER!” it cried.

The dog sang back louder, “LYNCHEE KINCHY, COLLY MOLLY, DINGO DINGO!”

A few inutes later, the boy heard the voice singing again. Now it was coming down the chimney.

“ME TIE DOUGH-TY WALKER!” it yelled.

Again, the dog sang back: “LYNCHEE KINCHY, COLLY MOLLY, DINGO DINGO!”

Suddenly a bloody severed head fell down the chimney. It missed the fire and landed right in front of the dog. The dog took one look at it and fell over dead from fright. Then, the head turned and stared at the boy. It slowly opened its mouth and screamed.

The next morning, the rich man went to check on the boy. He found him lying on the floor of the haunted house. His hair had turned white and he couldn’t stop screaming.