Halloween Ghost Story Contest -- 2019
Elementary School Winners
Second Place
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Our second place winner is Andia Hartnell, a nine year old being home schooled in Iraq. |
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Our second place winner is Andia Hartnell, a nine year old being home schooled in Iraq. |
It was a nice normal Friday, but this Friday was the13th! With the sky quickly darkening, around six at night, the weird noises began. I ran to my bedroom window hoping to see were the noises were coming from. There in the blackening night beneath a street lamp was a stalled white van with THE SPIRIT HOUSE painted in black on its side. Surely it was headed to THE SPIRIT HOUSE, I thought. “Oh!” I gasped. Earlier in the day I had heard whispered rumors about the old place. It seemed widely believed in school that spirits were and still are really living in that house.
Because Halloween is coming, and the weirdness has begun, I am compelled by a trembling inside me to share with you what I now know about the history of horror in that house. I got my information straight from Emily, my best friend. Her parents bought that house and she lives in it.
The big white house with a wraparound porch is at the end of a now-developed block of single-family ranch style homes. I heard real estate agents calling Emily’s house Victorian type. The big windows were all boarded up until two weeks before Emily’s family moved in. After the tragedy the house lay locked and empty for 30 years. Her parents were the first people to tour the inside of the house and to inspect the outside property. The neighbors knew the house was sold when plumbers, electricians and painters’ vans began arriving regularly to ready it for the new owners.
Emily told me that the day her family was moving into the house was “very creepy". Curious and protective neighbors from up the block came to see the new owners. Every single one of them warned that the house was cursed. Instead of a welcoming committee the good neighbors were a warning committee. Emily’s parents assured her emphatically, “Those people are out of their minds!“
What was the horror? On a Friday in October, October 13, two young kids were horribly murdered and left in the blood-smeared upstairs bathroom. The parents went missing that day, and have not been seen since.
*****************
Emily had planned to and was in fact in bed early on this October 13th. Her mum had kissed her goodnight and tucked her in. Emily didn't fall asleep quickly even though the comforting night-light on the small table next to her bed was on. She could hear the TV downstairs, a football game was on. With the comfort of these familiar things, she soon became drowsy. Her last thought was “I won’t be murdered tonight.”
At 3 AM Emily was awakened be a chilling scream!
When Emily heard the scream, she thought it was her imagination. But then there was another scream. And again. She went to her parent's room very quickly. When she reached the door, chills went running down her spine like they were having a race. She decided not to tell her parents, as they had work tomorrow and needed their sleep. She thought the scream was coming from the bathroom upstairs. The second that thought hit her mind the chills - oh, the chills - were coming as fast as lightning! She tried to shake that thought out of her mind. But the harder Emily tried to shake the thought out of her mind, the more she wanted to go there. Soon she was hitting her head to the wall. Her mum came running to her - but Emily's sight was becoming worse and worse. Soon all Emily saw was black. Two hours of laying in darkness she heard screaming "Sweetie! Sweetie! Emily, are you alright?! Oh, please tell me you can hear me!" Crying followed that voice. The weird thing was that when the voice started speaking, Emily knew it was someone she'd known all her life. Soon the blackness started becoming lighter and lighter. As fast as it came, she saw her mum standing over her, crying her eyes out. Blackness, Blackness! For a second she saw her mum, but then blackness - was she going to lose her mum?! A shadow that was lighter grey then the blackness she was in. It was all grey but the eyes were glowing red. Red as blood. Today things were happening so quickly. Then she saw her mum again, but only for a few seconds. When Emily finally woke up, she was hugged and kissed on the cheek by both her mother and father. They told her that she was banging her head on the wall, then Emily had collapsed, and it was now 5:30 AM. "Oh my!" she thought. She went to bed only saying three words: I love you.
She said that to her parents and then ran to bed, but she didn't sleep very well - again she was woken up by the sound of the alarm clock. Emily knew she had school but she didn't want to get up. After five minutes of laying in her bed, up she got. Emily changed into her uniform. It was blue and white - just the colors she loved! She gobbled down breakfast and ran to the bus stop. Emily wasn't late, thank goodness! She hoped on the bus and was thinking what her new high school would be like. Down she got from the bus when they arrived at school. After first period, it was looking like the school was fine. Emily didn't know the school very well yet, so the teacher found her a tour guide. The girl showed Emily around the school but something was off about this girl. Things were starting to blowup in Emily's mind. Finally, Emily thought starting a conversation would turn out the best. They were talking about the school. Breathe in, breathe out.
"Hey, what's your name?" It sounded like the best way to speak first.
"Oh, me? My name is-" She took a deep breath. The girl had got so close to Emily's ear, it looked like she wanted to eat it.
"Emi." Emi was her tour guide's name.
"That's a pretty na-" Emily had started to speak but Emi was nowhere to be seen. Oh, I guess she left me. But that didn't sound right. Emily tried not to give it too much thought. Finally school had ended. "SQUUUUUUUUUUUIII!!!!!!!!" Emily shouted when the bell rang. Home sweet home was her thought when she was unlocking the door. She had one hour before her parents came back from work. Emily ran up the stairs to her room. She looked though her closet for a pair of shorts and a light blue T-Shirt that would be her outfit today. After changing, Emily started hearing books being thrown on the floor in her parent's room.
"Who are you?! Why are you in my house?!" shouted Emily, trying to sound brave but on the inside, she was really scared.
"You already know me," said a voice. "No!! Get away from me!"
"Oh, but you talked to me at school." The only person she talked to at school was Emi, so who was this?
"I only talked to Emi. You are surely not her!" "Oh, aren't I?"
Now this was starting to get really creepy. The door unlocked... Emily ran downstairs and her mum was coming to her.
"Hey, pumpkin. How was school?"
"It was great." Emily left out the part about Emi. Soon after, her dad came back from work. Emily had dinner with her parents then went up to her room. She was planning to put her books in her bag (a BTS backpack) so she didn't have to do it the next day. Emily pulled out her school books and started doing her homework. When Emily was done she put her books together for the lessons they had the next day. After that Emily got her reading book for tonight. She loves to read a book every night. At 9 PM, Emily changed into her PJs. Emily knew her parents had gone to change so she tiptoed downstairs to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Ice cream! Chocolate ice cream, even better. She put some of the ice cream in a bowl and went upstairs. After eating, she went to bed, but at 3 AM she woke to another chilling scream.
It had been a week since Emily had moved in to her new house. Every night, she was woken up by the chilling scream. On the 8th night, Emily thought, "Mmm, I don't feel like just going downstairs. I think I'm going to go upstairs." So Emily went to the upstairs bathroom. She didn't know why, but Emily felt a strong feeling there. When her foot stepped into the bathroom, everything went dark... then red lights started flashing. It was hard to see, but Emily could make out two kids being shot. Then the same voice was talking...
"Find who killed us." That was really creepy. Emily ran as fast as she could to her room and pretended to be asleep. But she knew that she had to find out who killed them and soon.
At school, Emily ran to Emi. "Emi! Emi! Wait up!”
"Yes, Emily?”
"You know the house I live in?" "Yeah, what about it?"
"Were two kids shot to death in the upstairs bathroom?" "I guess you don't know about that..."
"About what?"
"On October the 13th, thirty years ago, two kids were shot to death and their parents also went missing that day."
Emily gasped.
"Is that why everyone is afraid of me?"
"Yes, Emily. They are afraid of you because you live in that house."
"Oh."
"Yeah. Is that all you need me for, Emily?"
"Yeah, thanks Emi." That was weird because Emily never told Emi her name.
"Bye, Emi!"
"Bye, Emily. See you in second class."
"Yeah... see you."
Emily walked away with thoughts racing though her mind. Then she hit the floor.
"I'm so sorry!"
"It's fine. Here let me help you." The girl took Emily's hand. The stranger's black hair fell to her shoulders.
"Thanks. Hey, what's your name?" "I'm Sarah. What's yours?" "Emily."
"Nice name! I love the name Emily." "Thanks. I like the name Sarah too." "Well, I've got to go to class.”
"Ok. Bye, Sarah."
"Bye!"
Sarah walked off into the hallway. Right when Emily met Sarah, she knew that Sarah would be her real friend. Emily walked to class. When school ended, Emily skipped the bus and walked home. She really needed to think. "How should I find out who killed them?" A thought popped up in her mind really fast. She needed help. Emily gasped and ran the other way. After ten minutes of running, Emily got where she needed to be - the pet store. Emily walked in feeling excited. She went to someone who looked like they worked there.
"Hi, do you work here?”
"Yes, I do. Are you planning to get a pet or just pet stuff?" "A pet, please. Do you have any pets I could get?”
"How many pets do you want?”
"Two, please!”
"I'm sorry, but I only have a dog here now.”
"Oh, it's fine. Can I see it?”
"Yeah, sure."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome." Emily smiled and followed this man to the back.
"Here we are. She is a beagle. The name's Bates."
"Hmmm, what does Bates mean?"
"It means Psycho. This little cutie was given back to us four times already and she's only six months old."
"I'll take her!"
"Are you sure? Her name is basically crazy."
"It's fine. How much?"
"Oh, she's free."
"Ok. Anything I need to do? Like fill in some paper work?"
"That's a yes. Follow me and then you can come back for Bates."
"Bye puppy!"
Emily followed him to the front of the shop again.
"Here is the paperwork." The man handed Emily two sheets of paper.
"You just need to put your age, name, last name, and the pet's name."
"Ok! Thank you!" Emily sat down on a chair and took a pen from her school bag. Name: Emily Age: 13 Last name: Hartnell Mum's name: Blair Dad's name: Ash
"There. Done!"
"Your name is Emily?" “Yes."
"Age 13?”
"Hmm."
"Last name is Hartnell?"
"Yeah."
"Your mum's name is Blair?" The man's voice was starting to get darker.
"Hmm."
"Your dad's name is Ash?"
"Yes, Ash Hartnell."
"Ok, the dog's all yours. Get some toys for the dog or whatever you want for pets."
"Ok. Thanks again!"
"Your welcome."
Emily went to the back again.
"Hello cutie!" Emily picked up Bates.
"Let's get you some toys little fella!" They went around the shop getting toys, beds, two leashes, and food. Emily and Bates soon left. They were carrying four bags of pet stuff.
"Mum and Dad will love you, Bates!" They walked to Emily's house, but a sad meowing was coming from behind a bush.
"What's that?" Emily said when she heard the meowing.
"It sounds like the animal is hurt, but where is it?" They looked and after ten minutes Emily found the kitten.
"Whoa! It's so cute! Let's take it home. I was looking for a cat too and now there is a kitten hurt. I'm sooo taking it home!" With Bates on a leash, Emily carried the kitten. When she got home, she forgot about her parents but she didn't forget very long. When Emily opened the door, she checked the time on her phone. It was 3:55! "Shoot!" Her parents were coming home any minute now. Emily ran upstairs still holding the kitten and Bates. She changed into a hoodie that said Believe in Unicorns and ripped jeans.
"You guys have got to look nice!" She changed Bates into a little red dress with matching headband.
"You look so cute! I'm going to die!!" said Emily, really happy.
"Your turn, kitty. Hmm... OOO, I know just the kitty outfit." Emily had also bought cat stuff because she always wanted a cat. Two bags of cats stuff and two bags of dog stuff.
Emily first put a bandage on the kitty's leg. That's where it was hurt. Then Emily put the kitty in a blue outfit saying: I love you Mum and Dad! The pets where ready. The door unlocked.
"I've got to put you guys in a box with holes superfast!" Emily ran around her room two times really fast before finding a box with holes in it.
"There you guys go!" She put Bates and the kitty in the box and picked it up. What should I name the kitty? Snowy! Since the kitten was white, Emily thought the name should be Snowy.
"Emily, are you here?!"
"Yes, mum! I'm here!" Emily shouted while going downstairs.
"I need to show you something."
"Ok, my eyes are closed, but come down here. I don’t want to come up to your room."
"I'm in front of you." Said Emily taking the lid off the box.
"Should I open my eyes?"
"Three, two, one!" Emily's mother opened her eyes.
"They are so cute!"
"I know, right?"
"Emily, how did you get a dog and a cat?"
"Well, I was feeling lonely and I wanted to get a pet but if I asked you or dad, I knew you guys would say no. So, I went to the pet store and got Bates."
"You didn't ask me, Emily. I have to get you in trouble." "Mum, I'm not done though."
"Ok, keep going." Emily's mother started rolling her eyes. "So, I got Bates and some stuff."
"How did you pay for Bates' stuff?”
"With my own money.”
"Ok, but it better not be charged to my credit card.”
"It's not! (not)”
"Ok, Emily but keep going. I still don't know how you got the kitty."
"I went out of the pet store and heard a sad meowing. So I followed it and I found Snowy. I took her home too. She was really hurt. That’s why she has a bandage around her foot."
"It's fine. Just tell me next time first. Oh, and you need to get your bag ready for school tomorrow."
"Ok, Mum! I love you."
"Love you too." Emily went upstairs to get her bag ready. After Emily got her bag ready she went downstairs to play with the other kids her age.
“Mum!"
"Yes, Emily?”
"I'm going outside. Be back before dinner.”
"Ok!'' Emily went outside looking at her phone.
Emily went to the park.
"Hey Sarah!”
"Hi, Emily.”
"Want to play Truth or Dare?" "Yes!!!!"
"Truth or Dare, Emily?”
“Dare!"
"I dare you to tell me your darkest secret." "I died?”
'No, a real dark one..." “DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"No, Emily!”
"I,I,I, Love me!!!!!!”
"NO!" Sarah was laughing
"And I oop-"
"And I poop."
AND I PUT THE BASKET BALL IN THE HOOP!!''
"Let's stop."
"Ok, fine."
After playing Truth or Dare, they went home.
The next day at school, Emily needed to talk to Emi. She saw Emi walking to her next class.
"Emi! Emi!" Emi turned around.
"Yes, Emily?"
"You know what you told me yesterday?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Who killed the kids?"
"No one knows but I think it was the brother. After he killed her, he killed himself."
"Oh, thanks Emi. Bye!"
"Bye!"
After school, Emily went home to say hi to her pets.
"Bates?" No one answered. So Emily went to the upstairs bathroom. Bates was sitting quietly and Snowy was sleeping.
"Yes?" That scared Emily. The ghost was talking.
"W-was it your pa--parents who killed you?"
"Yes, and no. Read Harry Potter Book Six and you will find out what happened to us."
Emily re-read Book Six twice. At school, she was still thinking.
She needed to talk to the ghost one more time.
She thought more and more. The next day after school, Emily told Emi to come to her house. When Bates and Snowy saw Emi, Bates barked and Snowy hissed.
"Ghost! Ghost!"
"What?"
"Can you give me a clue?"
"Fine, but only one clue. How they got the idea to kill us was something you played."
"Something I played?"
"Yes."
After Emi went home, Emily knew what the ghosts meant. Emily went to the kitchen and yelled.
"I know!”
"What is it?”
"Your parents were dared to kill you and your sibling." "Correct but who dared them?”
"Emi's mum!"
"How did you know?"
"When I first met Emi she seemed weird. When I read Harry Potter Book Six, there was a page that mentioned an unbreakable oath. Emi's mum felt compelled to finish the dare. When I asked Emi, she tried to throw me off track by saying that the brother killed the sister and then killed himself."
"You got one thing wrong-“
"I know! Your parents were tricked! They were told that the gun had no bullets."
"Yes! You really are smart. For your gift, I will give you an anti-ghost phone so all the ghosts will leave you alone but I will still be able to talk to you."
"Thank you!" The anti-ghost phone helped Emily many times.
*******
Now, I told you Emily's story, I have one more secret. I am Sarah.
The End
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