Something Walked Over Your Grave

A Temecula, California, man recalls that whenever he feels a chill, he says, “I guess someone walked on my grave.” If someone else feels a chill, he’ll say, “Did someone walk on your grave?” Then one day he shivered, and before he could get the words out, a friend asked, “Did a goose walk on your grave?” Which came first, the person or the goose? A similar expression may be used during a lull in a conversation. The earliest known reference to someone walking over one’s final resting place is in the writing of Jonathan Swift. This is part of a complete episode.