Welcome to my 13 Nights of Halloween, during which I will heebie your jeebies with freaky folktales. Tonight’s terrifying tale is “The Finger,” is a Jewish folktale which was recorded nearly 400 years ago.
This story is as funny as it is creepy, and it was what inspired Tim Burton to make his film Corpse Bride. Reuven is ready to marry his beloved, but a drunken joke at his bachelor party leaves him with a dead bride laying claim to him. Can a thoughtful rabbi settle the dispute?
If you’d like the commentary-free version, you can find that over on my storytelling channel: