Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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This is a children's lymrick, but I think with some slight modifications, it can be a creepy thing to throw into an AoW campaign. Have children singing it as the PC's go into town or have it scawled in the margins of a villian's journal.
Did you ever think, as a hearse goes by,
That you might be the next to die?
They wrap you up in a big white sheet,
And bury you down about six feet deep
They put you in a big black box,
And cover you up with dirt and rocks,
And all goes well, for about a week,
And then the coffin begins to leak!
The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out,
The worms play pinochle on your snout.
They eat your eyes, they eat your nose,
They eat the jelly between your toes.
A great big worm with rolling eyes,
Crawls in your stomach and out your eyes,
Your stomach turns a slimy green,
And pus pours out like whipping cream.
You spread it on a slice of bread,
And that's what worms eat when you're dead.
Alternate / Additional Lines:
They wrap you up in a long white shirt
And cover you up with rocks and dirt
They put you in a long pine box
And cover you over with dirt and rocks
The worms that crawl in are lean and thin
The worms that crawl out are fat and stout
Your eyes fall in and your hair falls out
Your brains come pouring out your snout
They use your bones as telephones
and call you up but you're no longer at home
Your eyes pop out, your teeth decay
and that's the end of a peaceful day
You turn the color of sickening green
And pus comes out like butter and cream
You wipe it up with a piece of bread
And that's what you eat when you are dead
They eat your eyes, they eat your nose
They eat the jelly between your toes
Your stomach turns a mossy green
And pus comes out like fresh whipped cream
You wipe it up with a piece of bread
And that's what you eat when you are dead
I tweaked it a little to sound more medieval:
Did you ever think, as spirits fly,
That you might be the next to die?
They wrap you up in a bloody sheet,
And bury you down about six feet deep.
They put you in a big black box,
And cover you up with dirt and rocks.
And all goes well, for about a week,
And then the coffin begins to leak!
The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out,
The worms play knucklebones on your snout.
They eat up your eyes, they eat up your nose,
They eat up the jelly between your toes.
A great big worm with rolling eyes,
Crawls in your stomach and out your eyes.
Your stomach turns a slimy green,
And pus pours out like whipping cream.
You spread it on a slice of bread,
And that's what worms eat when you're dead.
Nice! I am so using this...
My party is at a lost to explain what the Whispering Cairn has to do with the wormy-zombies the Druid leader told the party's druid to look out for...
This is a children's lymrick, but I think with some slight modifications, it can be a creepy thing to throw into an AoW campaign.
Do you happen to have a source for this or any idea when it was written?
Thanks.
O
Do you happen to have a source for this or any idea when it was written?
The original text is called "The Hearse Song" and as far as I can tell it's a traditional British schoolyard rhyme. It's origins are difficult to determine, but at least one website I googled claims that in originated in the 1700's. Others think it's probably older than that.
It's familiar to me, and I seem to recall reading it in highschool. I think it was in one of those little anthology books, something like "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark," or something of that nature. A lot of those stories were creepy, but I remember the art in the books being particularly disturbing.
I think it was in one of those little anthology books, something like "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,"
You're correct that "The Hearse Song" was published in Allen Schwart's "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark," but those books were re-tellings of older folklore and rhymes, and not original material.
You're also dead on about the artwork being extremely creepy. I first read it in about 7th or 8th grade, and had nightmares for several nights. I'm still surprised that anyone ever bought the book after looking at the cover.
I absolutely love this. I wasn't thinking of playing AoW, but after after reading that I may just have to crawl right into those adventures.
Childrens ryhme, usually sang while little girls in white dresses are skipping/jumping rope.
One, two, the worms are comin for you!
Three, four crawling up through the floor!
Five, six, you stand tranfixed!
Seven, eight, on yer bones they grate!
Nine, ten, its time ta say amen!
guess what inspired this? :P
im goin have the children of redhand sing that on the street, that should keep em scared.
What a creepy poem! In the context of teh Age of Worms, I think that would be really cool.
Also, there's an Edgar Allen Poe poem called The Conqueror Worm, that I think would be pretty cool. I have his anthology packed in one of my countless boxes of books from a recent long-distance move, so I can't confirm how it sounds, but I always remember the impression if left on me.
If I can find it, maybe I'll post it here.
Never mind, it's online. . . here's an excerpt. . .
But see, amid the mimic rout
A crawling shape intrude!
A blood-red thing that writhes from out
The scenic solitude!
It writhes!- it writhes!- with mortal pangs
The mimes become its food,
And seraphs sob at vermin fangs
In human gore imbued.
Heres one i just made up. :)
Slowly but surely
Up from forever
the spawn of kyuss creep
they walk in twilight
not dead, not living
a rotten, putrid, sleep
heralds of darkness
sons of the new age
kin to shadows deep
once the worm
has truly turned
even gods shall weep.
Maybe you could have the crazy guy that stands in the street when the PCs first visit the free city mutter this while staring into the players eyes.
Heres a chant that the cultists of the ebon triad can drone over and over.
Shattered hearts and broken minds
twist the truth, join three divine
praise be to all, the great black trinity
three powers wax, thrice felt affinity
Once boon is met, all surender
new age has come, an acheronian splendor
:)
This is a prayer to Loviatar one of my players helped me with this one:
Lady Loviatar, Oh willing whip
I stand before you, mine flesh I strip
Under the lash, mine mind becomes clear
No mortal qualms must I fear
Pain forges us, brings us near
To your glory, Oh I adhere.
LOVIATAAAR!
He screams the last part, his cleric is rather 'devout'. :D
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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Never mind, it's online. . . here's an excerpt. . .
But see, amid the mimic rout
A crawling shape intrude!
A blood-red thing that writhes from out
The scenic solitude!
It writhes!- it writhes!- with mortal pangs
The mimes become its food,
And seraphs sob at vermin fangs
In human gore imbued.
Nice find. I like to put snippits like this in my campaign emails. Here is the most recent one I sent out (a lot of it is campaign specific):
"The hills around town are filled with burial cairns, that's why they call them the Cairn Hills. Eh? I'm not sure who's buried in them, but it's none of our folk, that's for sure."
-Overheard in the Spinning Giant
"One of those adventurers from the Free City came by my office the other day. Looked to be an arcanist, if you ask me. He was tall and thin, mostly bald. Just a little bit of a beard. Anyway, he asked if I had any maps showing the Stirgenest Cairn. I explained to him what I explain to every would be treasure hunter - we keep property records in this office, not records of rumors and poppycock."
-Dietrick Cicaeda, Chief Cartographer of Diamond Lake
"I can't believe dat dog Mort stepped foot outta his Keep without da coin he owes Mr. Smenk. You see dat half-man again, tell him dat he's got till da end of the month to pay double what he owes. Otherwise, me and da boys are comin after him."
-Kullen, Albino Half-Orc, Regular at the Feral Dog, and Lacky for Balabar Smenk
"I don't mean to be prying, but I hear you're thinking of exploring the Cairn Hills. I would be warning you not to. There's nought out there but empty caves and the occassional unsprung trap. Trust me, I know. When I was a lass and we lived on the far side of the lake, there was an older boy, Allister, who I followed with a devoted puppy love. He went to explore one of those caves, a place he called the Whispering Cairn. He said you could hear voices coming from the darkness, but talking in some strange language. He never came back. There's nought but trouble I tell you."
-Dannath, Daughter of Lazare, Waitress at Lazare's House
"Children! I say CHILDREN! Turn away from the darkness. The end is nigh! REPENT! St. Cuthbert will welcome you to his kingdom above, and provide salvation. If you do not embrace him now, you and all your heathen brothers and sisters will be DAMNED! You will be left as carrion, a feast for worms and nothing else."
Jierian Wierus, Prophet of St. Cuthbert
"A grave is no less sacred because you do not know who lies within. Respect the rest of the dead or risk joining them."
-Melanay of Wee-Jas, Member of the Cult of the Green Lady
"The worms crawl in
The worms crawl out
The worms play pinochle
In your snout.
They eat your eyes,
They eat your toes
They eat the jelly
Behind your nose"
-Children's lymricks
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For anyone whose interested, you can hear the Pogues (an Irish folk/punk band) sing "Worms" on their album 'If I Should Fall From Grace WIth God.' Great band, great album, funny place to find that song. By the way, they sing it like this:
The worms crawl in
and the worms crawl out.
The ones that go in
are lean and thin,
The ones that crawl out
are fat and stout.
Your eyes fall in
and your teeth fall out,
Your brains come tumbling
down your snout.
Be merry, my friends,
be merry.
For anyone whose interested, you can hear the Pogues (an Irish folk/punk band) sing "Worms" on their album 'If I Should Fall From Grace WIth God.'
That song has been going around in my head ever since I started DMing AoW! Really good to start the sessions with!
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This is a children's lymrick, but I think with some slight modifications, it can be a creepy thing to throw into an AoW campaign. Have children singing it as the PC's go into town or have it scawled in the margins of a villian's journal.
Did you ever think, as a hearse goes by,
That you might be the next to die?
They wrap you up in a big white sheet,
And bury you down about six feet deep
They put you in a big black box,
And cover you up with dirt and rocks,
And all goes well, for about a week,
And then the coffin begins to leak!
The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out,
The worms play pinochle on your snout.
They eat your eyes, they eat your nose,
They eat the jelly between your toes.
A great big worm with rolling eyes,
Crawls in your stomach and out your eyes,
Your stomach turns a slimy green,
And pus pours out like whipping cream.
You spread it on a slice of bread,
And that's what worms eat when you're dead.Alternate / Additional Lines:
They wrap you up in a long white shirt
And cover you up with rocks and dirt
They put you in a long pine box
And cover you over with dirt and rocks
The worms that crawl in are lean and thin
The worms that crawl out are fat and stout
Your eyes fall in and your hair falls out
Your brains come pouring out your snout
They use your bones as telephones
and call you up but you're no longer at home
Your eyes pop out, your teeth decay
and that's the end of a peaceful day
You turn the color of sickening green
And pus comes out like butter and cream
You wipe it up with a piece of bread
And that's what you eat when you are dead
They eat your eyes, they eat your nose
They eat the jelly between your toes
Your stomach turns a mossy green
And pus comes out like fresh whipped cream
You wipe it up with a piece of bread
And that's what you eat when you are dead
Oh yeah, I so plan to use this. I thought of it a few months ago. I'm even planning on getting a large jar, getting some green gummy worms, and using it as a prop...
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I had Filge singing this as he was working on his blue-skin creation. The PCs had arrived in his room below undetected and could hear his singing. After repeating the "chorus" of "the worms crawl in, the worms crawl out" a number of times and accentuating it was sounds of sawing, cutting, snapping, the players were a little creeped out. An hour after Filge was annihilated, one player was still singing the chorus...
very creepy, good work guys