One night like any other, two close friends, Ted and Sam, sit together on a fence near a turnip field, engaged in idle conversation. Suddenly, they see a creature crawl out of the field and stand up on two legs. As they watch in horror, the man-like “thing” staggers toward them. They take off running, but soon, growing curious, they return to investigate. The creature, still following them, is dressed in black and white: “black pants, a white shirt, and black suspenders” (24). Sam approaches the thing, hoping to touch it to see if it’s real; as he nears it, he sees that it has bright, sunken eyes and looks like a “skeleton.” After a single glance, Ted screams and runs, followed by Sam. From the safety of Ted’s porch, the two friends watch the thing until it has shambled away. A year later, Ted gets sick and dies. According to Sam, when Ted dies, he looks “just like the skeleton” (24).

A farmer prevents his daughter from marrying the farmhand she loves by sending her away to live with her uncle. The farmhand, whose name is Jim, soon wastes away and dies, reputedly of a broken heart.