A woman who fell into a grave while visiting a cemetery is sharing her terrifying tale online.
Kathleen Sefcik was walking through Fields Store Cemetery in Waller County, Texas, with her partner, Tom Langdon, and their dog, Buddy, when a sinkhole opened up beneath her and sucked her in.
“I had no warning. Zero warning. Not a clue,” Sefcik, 66, told Newsweek. “I put my foot down and it sank like quicksand.”
The cemetery was established in 1872, and Sefcik describes it as an “interesting old” burial ground filled with Civil War monuments and unmarked graves.
Around 4 p.m. on May 17, the couple came to the cemetery to place flowers on Langdon’s mother’s grave. “I give him some privacy while he visits with his mom, so I was quite a ways from Tom,” Sefcik said. “I was walking along in a hurry to catch up to our puppy, minding my own business at the time.”
Kathleen Sefcik
She continued: “My other foot hit the ground, and in a second I sank down to my knees. I flopped down face first and started clawing at the ground and pulled myself free. I was really sucked in there.”
It’s not possible to track how many sinkholes collapse in the U.S. annually, as many are not reported, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. But they cause an estimated $300 million in damages a year.
Sinkholes are formed when a crater in the ground cannot drain externally. Instead, the water is absorbed by the surrounding earth, with soluble materials such as limestone and salt beds dissolving. The crater can stay intact for a long period while the supporting materials deteriorate, leading to a dramatic—and dangerous—collapse.
A 100-foot-wide sinkhole that appeared in Russia last December was dubbed a “gateway to hell,” while an ancient forest was found inside a sinkhole in Leye County, China, in May 2022.
This is actually the second sinkhole-related story to come out of Texas this month. A 1,000-foot-wide crater caused residents to flee the town of Daisetta in Liberty County.
Sefcik usually avoids walking on graves because it “creeps her out,” but as Fields Store Cemetery has many unmarked plots, it’s impossible to know if you’re walking on one.
“It flashed through my mind that I might have stepped into an old grave and body fluids and rot,” she said. “Tom said an old coffin probably gave way. It’s horrifying just thinking about it.”
The “surreal” experience sent Sefcik into shock. She instantly thought of Jeff Bush, a 37-year-old Florida man who was sucked into a sinkhole under his bedroom in 2013. His body was never recovered.
“Every horror movie I ever saw flashed through my mind,” Sefcik said. “I was on all fours crawling as fast as I could.”
Kathleen Sefcik
She estimates she fell about 10 inches before managing to dig her way out. She ran straight to Langdon, covered in mud, and told him, “I need a hose.”
When they got back to their car, Sefcik took a picture of her legs because she didn’t think anyone would believe her otherwise. They stopped at the church next door to the cemetery, where she was able to wash most of the mud off, then went to a bar down the road for drinks.
“We downed some beers, which I needed at that point,” she said. “I’m hoping I left any spirits at the bar.”
Sefcik shared her story on Reddit’s r/OddlyTerrifying forum, but the comments weren’t very comforting.
“New fear unlocked,” said Shawnthewolf12.
“That’s going to make for some fun dreams,” wrote Gunner1Cav.
“Hades tryina grab a new side hoe,” joked JessEGames777.
“Some feller tried to take you down with ’em,” said aBucketofRats.
“I come from south east Asia, we [believe] disturbing a grave causes the spirits to be unhappy and will follow you home,” commented Avangelice.
“Coffins collapse over time, the void is filled with dirt. Only learned this recently,” said RegNurGuy. “I thought not stepping on graves was courteous, but it protects the living.”
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