A goose or a rabbit?

Posted by ESC on July 13, 2000

In Reply to: Someone walked over my grave posted by ESC on July 12, 2000

: : Does anyone know the origins of the phrase "someone walked over my grave" that people use when they shiver for no reason?

: It is taboo in my part of the U.S. (mountains of West Virginia) to step on a grave. You walk around it. I'll have to do a little research to get more details.

So far, I've found two versions of this saying:

"If you suddenly shudder, it means a rabbit has run across your grave." This is from The Mountain Times, Appalachian Folk Beliefs, online. Another source yielded the belief that shuddering meant a goose was running across your grave.

I am not exactly sure what this means. A person or animal walks across your grave. Does that mean the site where your grave be located? Or does it mean a trespass on your grave in the future causes a retro effect and makes the "living you," in the present, to shiver?

• A goose or a rabbit? Tara McAuliff 07/13/00
  • A goose or a rabbit? ESC 07/13/00