Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark: All References And What They Looked Like In The Books
6. The Hearse Song
Now this particular reference may have slipped past unnoticed to most movie watchers, unless one is familiar with the folk song and its frankly memorable lyrics. The very same lyrics are also repeated in variation in the stories You Will Be Next.
Though the song itself is long, some of the most memorable lines in it go "Don't you ever laugh as the hearse goes by, For you may be the next one to die.", "The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out," and "they eat your eyes, they eat your nose".
This song is actually muttered in part by the aged daughter of the old caretaker in the film, who the children visit in hopes of finding some way to stop Sarah Bellows's spirit from killing them, as well as to find some answers behind her mysterious circumstances and death.
Some of the hearse song's lyrics are sung to the tune of the music box that appears in the film, which is a haunting melody that sets the tone for the rest of the movie. Just a small nod to one of the many other stories from the vast collection.