Bride
and Go Seek
"Hello, Kate. Nice to see you
again"
Kate was back for her second therapy
session with Mr. Jones. She had finally overcome her dress problem.
This week she had a reception problem.
"How is everything coming along this
week, Kate?"
"Well, I am scared to plan this
reception."
"Let's talk about why you are scared."
"Umm, I am scared because I heard
another story...this one is about a reception."
"We have plenty of time. Let's hear
it."
"So this story begins with a
happy
couple who had just gotten married. I think their names were Jennifer
and Shawn. Anyways, the location was at Jennifer's grandmother's house.
Her grandmother was some crazy millionaire who lived in an old
mansion. Jennifer had quite a bit of money so they had invited lots of
guests.
After dinner and cutting their
ten-foot-tall cake the bride suggested that everyone play a game. It
was a
tradition of Jennifer's family to play a game at wedding receptions.
I wanted to play games at my reception as well. But after hearing
this story I have changed my mind.
Jennifer picked her favorite game, hide and go seek. Jennifer was
positive she could win the game. She knew all the great hiding spots in
her grandmother's mansion. When her husband started counting, she ran
as
fast as she could to the attic. She found a large chest in the
room and decided it would be perfect for her to hide in. As she was
stepping into the chest she lost her balance and fell in. Her fall
caused the lid to come crashing down on top of her. Jennifer was
unconscious and locked in the chest.
This part really scares me because it
is also my family's tradition to play games at wedding receptions. I
could just see myself hiding and then something falls on my head and
knocks me unconscious. I have been knocked out before. Once I was in
the kitchen drying pans and putting them on the drying rack. One pan
fell off when I was bent down and hit me hard, on the back of my head.
I was unconscious for a couple minutes! It was not a pleasant
experience
that I would never want to relive.
Meanwhile, the game is winding down.
Everyone has been found but Jennifer. People start to get worried.
Hours passed and they still had not found her. They had searched her
grandmother's property and every room in the house. One guest checked
the attic but did not notice anything. Of course, Jennifer could not
yell because she was unconscious.
Later that night, the bride woke up in
the chest. She tried to open the lid, but to her horror, she was locked
in. She screamed until she no longer had a voice. She clawed the chest
until she no longer had finger nails. She banged the chest so until her
hands were badly bruised and she could no longer move them. She tried
everything but could not get out.
What a horrible way to die! If I were Jennifer I probably would have
had a panic attack and died on the spot.
So, just a couple years later,
Jennifer's sister got married. At her reception they played hide and go
seek. You would think her family would be creeped out by this game
since they never found Jennifer. Ironically Jennifer's sister goes to
the exact same hiding spot Jennifer had gone to. She pries opens the
chest and screamed at what she sees. She found her dead sister in her
wedding dress. The dress was covered in blood from trying to claw her
way out.
The ending terrifies
me! She died
in a trunk playing hide-and-go seek! What if I was locked somewhere and
no one found me? You can only go so many days without water! It would
be even worse if the person was claustrophobic and they were locked in
a small space.
"What
a terrible story, Kate."
"I know! It gives me nightmares! What
should I do?"
"Kate, I think you are scared that the
happiest day of your life could turn out to be a tragedy."
"Yes, I am scared something will go
wrong. In the story I just told you somebody died!"
"Kate, you need to focus on planning
the reception and not these stories. They are preventing you from
moving
forward. Now, it is my guess that there is more than just the story
that is bothering you."
"I mean I do have a lot on my mind..."
"Listen, Kate. If you plan the
reception now, it will not load up on you at the last minute. That
should help lessen your worries about the reception. Then you can quit
using this urban
legend as your reason for not planning the reception."
"Well, the story really does scare me.
But you are right, I am a procrastinator. There is just so much to
planning a reception that I want to pull my hair out! I think it would
be fun to play games but I am not sure if it is a good idea."
"Kate, you can play games at your
reception. If it makes you feel better, you should keep the guests in
one room. Set boundaries so no one gets lost. Usually receptions happen
in one room anyways.
You should also think about
whether you are having alcohol or not. If people get too drunk and
drive home they may end up in an accident. I think that is a bigger
danger then getting locked in a chest. If you do serve alcohol maybe
stick to light champagne instead of hard liquors. "
"Yes, that would make me feel better,
knowing that everyone was accounted for. I did not even think about the
alcohol! Sometimes I am tempted to quit
planning the reception. I do not know the first thing about
entertaining guests."
"Kate, the wedding is about you. You
pick what you like and I am sure the guests will love whatever activity
you pick out.
"You know, you are right. This is my
wedding and I should be able to do what I want. I am going to have
belly dancers!"
"Great idea, Kate! Now maybe you can
quite hiding behind this story and really plan this reception."
"I will try my best. You know how this
wedding is messing with my brain. Do you have time to listen to another
story I heard? This one is about the wedding ceremony..."
Author's Note: The original tale is by Thomas Haynes
Bayley. It is called The Ballad of the Mistletoe Bride or The Mistletoe
Bough. The storyline is the same. A young bride gets married and plays
hide and go seek. The groom looks and looks but cannot find his bride.
Years pass and one day he finds her skeleton in an oak chest. In 1948,
Alfred Hitchcock produced the film Rope that had the same storyline. He
changes the characters and uses two boys playing a game instead of
bride and groom.
This story is creepy because someone is basically buried alive inside a
dark space. For Kate, this story gave her an excuse to procrastinate
all the wedding plans. She did not know how to entertain people at her
reception. She also did not want the happiest day of her life to turn
into a tragedy. After hearing the urban legend she was ready to stop
planning the reception. Mr. Jones helps her work through her fears. He
helps her by telling her it is her wedding and she can plan the
reception however she wants. He helps her focus on what she will do at
her reception and take her focus off the story. Everyone has heard that
weddings are hard to plan. Kate used the urban legend as an excuse to
give up. All she needed to do was slow down and plan the reception she
wanted and not focus on the story.
Bibliography: Bride and Go Seek. Weblink: Snopes.com
Image Information:
Trunk. WebLink: The
Pirate's Lair
Dancing. WebLink: Top
Songs
Wedding Cake. WebLink: Junk Food News
Coverpage
Introduction
