Read the fifth of seven winners in Mead Public Library's scary story contest for Sheboygan students
Editor’s note: Mead Public Library and the Sheboygan Press teamed up this fall on a scary story contest for students in grades 3-12. More than 100 entries were received and seven winners were chosen, with one overall first-place winner selected. Each winner will receive prizes from the library and also have their entries published here in the Press. The first-place winner will be published online Oct. 28 and in print Oct. 30 with the others being published in the days leading up to that one. The following is the fifth of the six runners up.
Visiting the Grave
By Natalie Casper, fifth grader at Jackson Elementary School
It was the one thing I most dreaded seeing, right in front of me. My mother’s grave. Dad and I are visiting her. Today is Dec. 3, the day she died. I place a bouquet of red and white roses on her headstone, snowflakes settling on the petals. “Time to go, honey,” I hear dad say.
“OK,” I say. I’m a little lost for words. We trudge home through the deep snow.
Later that night, dad comes into my room. He pulls my blankets up and says, “Goodnight, Hannah.”
“Goodnight, dad,” I respond.
Dad leaves, and turns off the light. I immediately grab my clock. It’s 8:30 p.m., 30 minutes before she died, six years ago. I toss and turn. I can’t sleep. I grab my clock. It's 8:45. I get out of bed and go to the window. Light from the streetlamps and moon make an eerie glow on the snow-covered street. I open the window. Then, I don’t think, I just jump. I race down the street and pull the cemetery gate open with a creak. As soon as I get to mom’s grave, the ground starts shaking. I rush behind a tree. An earthquake? Those don’t happen in Iowa, do they? Then, suddenly, a hole opens in the ground and ghosts float out! Among them is my mom. Memories rush back of mom’s pale blue face, dad ushering me out of the room, thinking I was too young to understand. (I don’t blame him, I was only 3!)
Suddenly, a black-hooded ghost comes over and grabs my arm. It pulls me as though I’m a feather and jumps into the hole, with me screaming behind it. THUD! I hit rock, hard. I open my eyes, and what I see is horrifying. There’s a river of lava with hands sticking out of it. Screams echo on the walls of what must be a cave. The figure vanishes in thin air, and I don’t know what to do. I look over my shoulder and I see the ghost of a girl crying. I walk over to her and whisper, “Why are you crying?”
The girl says, “I saw you come down. I must help you! You can’t be cursed, too.”
“What curse?” I ask.
“If you are not on your mother’s grave when the sun rises, you will remain here forever!”
“What do I need to do?”
“You must swim in the river of lava and get past the snakes and climb the rope.”
I start running, and call over my shoulder, “Thank you!” I jump into the lava lake, and immediately regret it. The lava is so hot it feels like ice, but I keep swimming. Then, I see the snakes. A python tries to bite me, and it succeeds. I feel sick and weak. I can’t move. Suddenly, mom comes and holds out a foul-smelling liquid. “Drink,” she commands. I obey. I feel better and stand up. “Quickly, we must get you to the rope.” Mom leads me to the hole, and I see the rope. She points to the sunrise and urges, “hurry.”
“What about you?” I cry.
“I am fine. I’m glad I got to see you, but you must return to your dad in the land of the living.”
I hug her and say, “I’ll miss you.”
“There is no need. I am always with you,” she replies.
I climb up.
I made it just in time.
I run home and get into bed. Dad comes and wakes me up, like it’s a normal day. I don’t tell him what happened, but I know I will remember last night’s events forever.
THE END.
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This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Sheboygan scary story contest: Mead Public Library shares story five
