Tell Me a Scary Story

Gather ‘round the Xbox boys and ghouls, sit close to your friends, and wrap your hands tightly around your mug of hot chocolate. I’m going to tell you a tale that you’ll never forget.

Lost!
A storm had been brewing all day. Darkness descended like a heavy iron door, cutting off all exits from the night. A net of eerie anxiety settled on Cooper. He was a nice kid, but he had managed to get himself and his girlfriend, Amber, lost in a creepy and unfamiliar forest. Cooper’s map and brain couldn't seem to agree with one another. The more Cooper thought he had it figured out, the more lost the two became. And a wind as cold as death had begun to blow.

Lightning backlit the forest and the surrounding hills. It was going to rain and probably soon: hard and heavy, fat droplets that would soak them to the bone. If only they could find shelter!

All Cooper wanted was a place to rest and stay dry. A phone would be nice, too, but that would be too much to ask. He wasn’t feeling particularly choosy. He had given that up hours ago, about the time Amber began to lose her patience.

Ominous Sanctuary
On they wandered, and then … another bolt of lightning illuminated a shocking sight. Cooper wasn’t sure if he had seen what he thought he had seen, or if he had imagined it. It was—he thought—a great hulking mansion of the sort found only in horror movies, usually inhabited by creepy people. There might be someone in there who could help them, but an insidious chill ran up Cooper’s spine. Something about this didn’t bode well.

Amber didn’t share Cooper’s fears. She grabbed him by the hand and dragged him along toward the mansion. Cooper spotted a sign that read, “Ghoulhaven Hall.” He hoped that was just someone’s warped sense of humor. As they approached, Cooper could see the menacing house more clearly. It occurred to him that George A. Romero or Alfred Hitchcock would have loved to use this place as a location for one of their horror movies. It fit all too well.

Welcome to Ghoulhaven Hall
Cooper was worried and made another attempt to slow Amber down. There was something wrong here, something very wrong. He paused to look around and saw hunched trees cowering before the gigantic mansion, windows lit with an unnatural orange glow, and gargoyles ready to leap from their stone pedestals and tear the two to shreds. Cooper sniffed the air and smelled ozone and dead leaves. He heard thunder and, underneath the threatening booms, a whispering sound that prickled his nerves. Something was definitely very, very wrong.

Cooper insisted that they keep moving. He was sure his map would guide them somewhere safer … but Amber was no longer by his side! Creatures, strange, frightening, and ghoulish, had grabbed Amber and were dragging her into the mansion. The last thing Cooper saw, before she disappeared completely, was her face, with eyes wide and terrified.

Chapter 1: They’re real
Who could have expected when Cooper and Amber set out on their trip that Cooper would find himself lifting the heavy wooden knocker of an ancient, spooky mansion because its inhabitants had stolen his girlfriend? Who could have imagined that he’d be embarking on the adventure of a lifetime? Cooper thought nervously that this was probably going to be a chapter in the most strange, frightening, and interesting part of his autobiography—that is, if he lived long enough to write it.

There’s more to this story, but are you sure you want to hear it? You’ll hear about mummies, ghosts, imps, spiders, and all the other horrific creatures who inhabit Ghoulhaven Hall and the terrible things they do to our heroes, Cooper and Amber. The rest of the story unfolds in Grabbed by the Ghoulies. So, pull up your chair, warm yourself by the light of your Xbox, and let’s get this story started.

By Violet Leigh