As the librarian at Stauffer Middle School, I am thrilled to announce the results of our Spooky Story Writing Contest! All Spartans were invited to submit their spine-chilling tales, and after careful consideration, 16 talented young authors have been selected to have their stories published. This contest showcased our students’ creativity and imagination and fostered a love for writing and storytelling. I am so excited to showcase these talented authors, bringing their unique voices and visions to life.

Note: We took our headshots on History Day, so some students will be wearing medieval attire!
Gabi Mendoza, Stauffer Librarian

Andrea
Andrea is a 6th grader new to the DUSD. Andrea’s favorite hobbies are listening to music and singing karaoke. She was vice president of her elementary school in the student council.

Yesenia woke up excited but also nervous because there was going to be a school dance at her high school next week. She was nervous because her parents were strict, and she knew they probably wouldn’t give her permission to go. Yesenia decided to ask her parents, Olivia and Rodrigo if she could attend the dance. Unfortunately, they both said no because they didn’t want her staying out late, especially since they lived in an old house in Mexico where the electricity wasn’t working properly.

When her two friends, Valentina and Elena, heard about this, they tried to convince Yesenia to sneak out on the day of the dance so they could all go together. Yesenia reluctantly agreed but insisted she had to return home early.

On the day of the dance, Yesenia managed to sneak out through the back door without any problems. The girls had a great time—they danced and hung out with friends—but as the night wore on, Yesenia grew anxious about returning home. By the time she headed back, it was late, and most of the town had lost power.

Yesenia knew she had to use the back door to sneak into the house. The back of their old house was rumored to be haunted by the spirit of an old woman who once lived there. As Yesenia quietly made her way through the dark, she suddenly heard a noise. She froze, closing her eyes for a moment before daring to move forward. Slowly, she opened her eyes and, to her horror, saw the shadow of a woman. The woman whispered her name, "Yesenia."

Terrified, Yesenia turned and ran toward the front of the house, but she tripped and fell. As she lay on the ground, she felt the woman's hand grabbing hers, pulling her up. It was so dark that Yesenia was too scared to look, and she began to cry.

Then the woman spoke, "Yesenia, you're in big trouble."

When Yesenia finally gathered the courage to look, she realized it wasn’t the ghostly old woman—it was her mother, Olivia. Filled with relief and guilt, Yesenia thought to herself, “I will never sneak out again.”

Joshua
My favorite subject is math. I am in Stauffer’s board game club and golf club.

The sore feeling of dawn’s early light burned into the boys' skulls. Fatigue slowly faded into confusion as three pre-teen boys found themselves lost in a pale forest, where towering grayscale trees pierced the gray sky, stretching into the unknown. This place felt nothing like home; it lacked the warm, cozy familiarity of safety. The air was thin, and the ground was rocky and tough. In the far distance lay a city, surrounded by snowy mountains. It was obvious – the boys were lost.

"Where are we?" Jack whispered. "I… don’t know…" Bob muttered.

The boys stared down at the forest from the edge of what appeared to be a mountain. They were near a steep drop, with the world below them. One of the boys pulled out his phone and raised it above his head. “No signal,” Gerald said.

The boys formed a line and started walking up the mountain, hoping to find a signal to call home. Hours passed, and Jack kept checking his watch as the minutes ticked by. The gray sky grew darker, and the sun began to disappear. It was dusk, and the three boys were cold and without shelter on the mountain. Jack started gathering twigs, trying to build a small stick hut.

"Stop doing that!" Gerald shouted. "Doing what?" Jack replied. "Gathering sticks. This forest is flat, and besides, the hut isn’t big enough for all of us."

Jack dropped the sticks, grumbling. Just then, the boys heard a creaking sound, breaking the eerie silence of the forest. They started to walk faster, but Jack continued gathering twigs and tripped. As he tried to regain his balance, something gripped his ankle and dragged him away.

The remaining boys sprinted toward the noise, their ears nearly pierced by a loud shrieking. But when they reached the source, the shrieking stopped abruptly. Nothing was there.

“What was that?" Bob yelled. "Where did Jack go?" Gerald asked.

The two boys stood back to back, forming a circle. The forest went completely silent. Owls stopped hooting, and crickets ceased chirping. The only sound was Jack’s watch. Tick.

Gerald bolted toward the sound, but his footsteps suddenly halted, followed by a sharp snap echoing through the trees. Tick.

"Gerald?" Bob shouted. "Gerald!" Bob shouted again.

This time, Bob ran in circles, panic setting in. There was rustling in the bushes. Bob picked up a stick and held it out like a sword. Tick. Bob sprinted toward a tree. Tick.

"Gerald, where are you?!" Bob yelled. Tick.

He froze as something brushed his shoulder. Slowly, Bob turned around. All he heard was one final tick before it all ended.

Tick.

Ethan
Ethan is 11 years old, he likes to play video games, explore and hang out with his friends. His favorite subjects are science and drama. His favorite book genre is horror, and mystery. This is Ethan’s first try on writing a story and he hopes you like it.

"Let’s go, it’s finally Halloween!" I said. I had a friend in middle school named Felix.

"Hey Ethan, what are you going to do for Halloween anyway?" Felix asked.

I thought about it for a moment and then made up my mind. I decided we should go check out an abandoned school. The next day, Felix and I went to the school.

"Ugh, this dumb gate is in our way," said Felix.

"Stop whining, Felix. Let’s just jump it," I said, excitement on my face. Once we jumped the fence, we started going from classroom to classroom, seeing what they looked like.

In the last classroom, we heard an eerie voice, like that of a little girl.

"Hello, boys. Heheheh," said the voice.

Felix jumped and said, "What was that?"

"It’s probably just your imagination," I replied.

Then, when we turned around, we saw a doll. Both Felix and I jumped, startled.

"Was that doll there before?" I asked.

"I... I don’t think so," said Felix. Suddenly, the doll disappeared.

"Let’s get out of here," Felix said. I agreed. We ran toward the gate, but it looked bigger than before. We remembered passing a different gate, further in the back of the school. We started to head that way but saw the doll blocking our path, holding a sharp object we couldn’t quite see in the darkness. The doll began walking toward us, and Felix and I started to run.

I looked back and saw Felix just a few feet behind me, but so was the doll. We kept running, but then I heard a scream. I looked back again—Felix was gone. It was too late for him, I thought. But no—I couldn't just leave him there.

I ran into one of the classrooms and saw Felix tied up. The doll was holding the ropes.

"Ethan, I will spare Felix if you give me what I want," the doll said.

"I don’t have anything! Just let Felix go!" I screamed.

The doll got angry and raised a sharp object toward Felix. I knew she would come for me next, so I ran and managed to get through the gate. When I got home, I started crying. My mom had just come home from work.

"What happened, Ethan?" she asked, comforting me as I explained everything to her.

Since then, whenever I passed by the school, I sobbed just a little. And I never explored abandoned places again.

Aaron
Hi my name is Aaron, and some of my favorite movies are Titanic, Jurassic Park, and Jurassic World. My favorite foods are, pizza, hamburgers, and chicken nuggets. My favorite genre of books is scary/thriller.

Peeking through the window, my curiosity turned to horror. My friends were gone, and all that remained was one of Frankenstein's bolts rolling across the floor. Marley opened the door slowly and found a note on the ground: "If you want your friends, go to the forest to save them." At the bottom, it read, "From ?" He dropped the note, filled with disbelief, and sprinted toward the forest, the wind whipping against his face.

Upon reaching the heart of the forest, Marley found another note: "Haha! Get tricked, you fool! You fell for my trap! Now you're stuck here forever!"

“I need to get out of here!” Marley shouted, startling a flock of crows perched in the dead trees.

“Hello, is someone there?” a familiar voice called. Marley squinted through the fog, trying to discern the figure, which looked like Fang, a vampire friend from the monster party. “But how did Fang escape?” Marley wondered.

“Marley, is that you?” the voice called again, now closer. Suddenly, “Boom!” Everything went black as Marley collapsed onto the cold forest floor.

When he woke, he found himself chained to a wall. Looking around, he saw his friends also shackled. Frankenstein’s brain rolled ominously on the floor. Marley screamed in horror; they were in a lab, but the scientist was nowhere to be seen. He noticed a fake vampire coat, hair, and teeth. “It was a fake vampire all along?!” he shouted, waking his friends.

A scientist’s coat hung nearby, labeled "Martin." Suddenly, a figure snatched it up and approached. “Hello there, you ugly monsters,” the figure sneered. “I’m Martin, a scientist who runs a lot of experiments.”

“What are you going to do to us?” Bob, a zombie, asked, looking incredulous.

“What?” Bob pressed again, ignoring Marley’s warning to never talk to strangers, especially a mad scientist. The next moment, Bob was unchained by Martin and dragged away. They heard his screams, which quickly faded into silence.

“I think we’re next,” Marley said, dread pooling in his stomach. “Wait, where’s Fang?” Marley realized Fang had likely been taken to the roof and electrocuted.

Determined to avoid the same fate, Marley quietly banged his chains against the old, cracked wall. Soon, Martin returned. “Which one of you is banging on my wall? I can’t focus on my work!”

“That would be Marley,” Frankenstein declared bravely.

“Why did you rat me out?” Marley shouted, his voice echoing ominously.

“You’re not trying to break those chains, are you?” Martin asked.

“N... No,” Marley stuttered, knowing everyone, including Martin, could tell he was lying. To his surprise, Martin unchained him. “You may go to the exit, three levels down to the right,” he said calmly.

Confused but desperate to escape, Marley followed the directions. He soon emerged from the creepy lab into the woods, making his way back to the castle where everything began. Suddenly, screams echoed from the lab. “Now I know why Martin let me go,” Marley realized. “He wanted to spare me the sight of their suffering.”

“I’m coming!” he yelled.

He charged back to the lab, bursting through the doors and racing upstairs. “Leave them alone, you mad scientist!” Marley shouted. His friends lay weak and exhausted on the floor. He quickly gathered them up and sprinted back to the castle.

“Get back here! Those are my experiments!” Martin yelled.

“They’re my friends, not your experiments! Let’s get out of here!” Marley replied.

Together, they escaped the forest, returning to their graves to wait for the next Halloween.

Micaiah
Hi, I’m Micaiah. I’m 12 years old in the 7th grade. I love drawing, making games, playing games, and much more! I hope you love my scary story as much as I do! Without further ado, Woodlands National Park!

One summer day, my family and I went to Woodlands National Park, which wasn’t too far from our house. The drive was filled with complaints from my sister, like, “I don’t like camping; there’s no cellphone service.” My dad tried to lighten the mood by telling a story, but as he went on, my sister seemed to frown even more. About twenty minutes from the park, I saw three men with hunting gear, but I didn’t think much of it and told myself, "They’re probably hunting deer or something."

When we arrived at the park, I got an eerie feeling as the woods seemed to give an unsettling welcome. We were greeted by some rangers who handed us a bag with tapes—tutorials on what there is to do around the park. The ranger warned us that there were three tapes and, if we came across a fourth, not to play it and to contact a ranger immediately. It was strange, but we brushed it off. The ranger led us to the cabin, and we all put our bags down. My sister complained, “One more second with this heavy bag, and I would’ve been crushed!” Everyone laughed, and once things calmed down, we started settling into the cabin.

My parents were hungry and left to get food, but my sister and I decided to stay at the cabin. While my sister was in the other room, I started looking through the tapes and found one titled “Windigo.” The video explained that windigos were first discovered by Native Americans, though the date was unknown. It mentioned that a windigo was a flesh-eating monster recorded in 1998, capable of running forty-five miles per hour and standing seven feet tall.

As the video continued, the TV and lights suddenly went out, sending a chill down my spine. In that instant, my parents burst through the door with a park ranger, yelling at me to follow them. We sprinted through the cabin, only to realize we’d forgotten my sister, but we kept running toward the car. I glanced back and saw the three men from earlier lying on the ground. As we sped away, I caught a glimpse of a seven-foot figure staring at us from the park, never to be seen again.

Xitlaly
Xitlaly loves the movie “It,” which inspired her to write this story!

Ever since I was little, my mom has always bought me an American Girl doll because I love dolls. I would take each American Girl doll everywhere—until I noticed something really weird.

“Mom, where did you get this doll?” I asked.

“At a thrift store,” she responded.

“Mom, it looks like there’s something inside it,” I said while staring at the doll’s eye. My mom was confused, but she said, “No, honey, I think it's just your reflection.”

A few days later, I was packing to go stay at my dad's house, and I took one of my dolls with me. While unpacking at my dad's, I caught a glimpse of the doll's eyes moving, but I thought I was just imagining things.

When I returned to my mom’s house, I came out of the restroom and saw the doll move again. This time, I didn’t ignore it. I turned left, pretending not to notice, but then I heard a thud—the doll had fallen onto the carpet. I called my mom, but she thought I was being silly and took me to a therapist. Still, nothing changed.

One Sunday morning, I was deep cleaning my room when I noticed the doll moving its head to follow me. Every time I moved left, the doll’s head turned left, too.

After I finished cleaning, I had enough. I decided to inspect the doll’s eyes again. I jumped out of my seat after seeing one of my eyes roll to the ground. Suddenly, with the one eye she had left, the doll screamed, “My eye! My eye!” The doll tried to grab my eye, but I threw her out the window before she could get to me.

When my mom and I went to go find the doll outside she was we couldn't find her anywhere!

A week goes by, and it is now Halloween night. My mom was helping me with my homework before we went trick or treating when the doll showed back up on my bed missing an eye.

I was terrified.

“Amelia.” It smiled creepily and was ready for revenge.

Madelyn
Madelyn is a DUSD Musical Theater Conservatory member and has also been in two musicals - almost four. She loves writing scary stories and hopes you enjoy reading them.

It was 1967, a cold winter's day in North Carolina. Lorili was at her best friend's funeral. In her head, she had always known that it was not her fault and remembered seeing a dark, distorted figure in the driver's seat. A month ago, she and her friend Lily were walking back from school when Lily needed to tie her shoe. Lorili said it wasn’t a good idea and suggested tying it when they got across, but Lily didn’t listen, and Lorili went on without her. As she turned, everything went into slow motion, and she watched in horror as her friend was hit by a school bus. She froze, unable to do anything.

Today, Lorili’s mom and dad insisted it wasn’t her fault, but deep down, she knew it was not just an accident; something evil had caused it. Once the funeral was over, she went home. As she stepped inside, she caught a glimpse of something in the corner of her window. There it was—the thing that killed her friend. Frightened, she told her mom, but her mom replied emotionlessly, “Dear, you’re just shocked about what happened. It’s normal. Don’t worry.” Lorili knew it wasn’t just expected; it was something much darker.

As she walked up the stairs, she struggled with her fear, eventually sprinting into her room. There, she closed the door as fast as she could. In the corner, she saw a tall black figure reaching up to the ceiling with arms that were longer than they should be. It wore a smile that made the devil look childish.

“Stop smiling at me!” she screamed.

She ran out of the room, shutting the door behind her, and rushed downstairs to hug her mom. With a terrified look, she said, “Mom, I saw it! I saw this tall figure in the corner of my—” But before she could finish, her mom interrupted, “Lorili, you’re just shocked. That’s all.”

Lorili knew it wasn’t just shock. That night, she couldn’t sleep. She heard giggling in the hall and people calling her name. As she was about to get up, she saw the figure again and screamed, but no one came. She ran to her parents' bedroom, only to find them standing and singing a creepy children’s song, staring at her without blinking.

“Get away!” she screamed, but as she turned around, the dark figure blocked her, leaving her trapped. Her parents grabbed her and pinned her to the bed, while the figure walked over to the side, reaching out.

The last thing the neighbors remembered hearing were screams, then silence. The police searched the house but could only find writing on the wall that said, “Be careful letting your guard down; it’s always watching.”

Felix
Hi, I am Felix, and I am in 6th grade. I love to play soccer.

It was Halloween night, and I had no real plans. I asked my friends Ethan, Eric, and Alex if they wanted to go trick-or-treating, but they all said, “No! Aren’t we too old for that?” I was shocked. Were we too old? I asked them, “What are we going to do instead?” After a bit of thought, Ethan suggested, “What about the woods?”

We all exchanged glances, knowing our parents forbade us from going to the woods at night due to a rumor that anyone who did after 8 PM would never be seen again. Despite this, we agreed to go without telling our parents, and that’s when our journey began.

Walking felt like it took forever. My heart raced, and my palms felt sweaty. I was scared but didn’t want to admit it. Finally, we arrived, surrounded by towering trees. Eric suggested we make a bonfire and share scary stories. “That sounds good,” I said, figuring the fire would provide light and warmth.

Ethan started with a scary story, followed by Eric, and then it was my turn. I hesitated, fearing they’d hear the fear in my voice. “I’m going to get more wood for the fire first,” I said, trying to buy time.

As I walked into the dark forest, the wind howled ominously. Suddenly, a large furry shadow lunged at me. I screamed and heard my friends’ footsteps rushing toward me. The creature looked like a wolf, and before I knew it, it had picked me up and carried me to a cabin, locking the door behind me.

I panicked and tried every door, but they were all locked. Minutes later, the door opened, and I saw Alex. Relief flooded through me. “What happened to Ethan?” I asked.

The door swung open again, and Eric was thrown inside, followed by Ethan. All four of us were trapped in the pitch-black cabin, huddled together as loud banging and a wolf’s howl echoed outside. Was it a real wolf?

Ethan spotted a brick near the fireplace and threw it through the window. We broke the window and scrambled out. We ran as fast as we could, taking breaks when we no longer heard the wolf. Then Alex realized he had lost the map, and we had no idea how to get home.

Panic set in as we wandered. The trees around us seemed to sway ominously. We found a spot to rest for the night but soon noticed a black shadow lurking. Ethan threw a rock at it, but it dodged and climbed a tree, whispering in a language we didn’t understand. Then it vanished.

Turning around, I saw Alex on the ground, and I rushed to check his pulse. He was alive! As he woke up, the shadow returned and urged us to run. We bolted toward the street, where a passing car stopped. Eric asked the driver for a ride home, and he agreed.

We returned home, shaken, and vowed never to return to the haunted forest.

Aaron
My favorite ice cream flavor is vanilla. I also like to play video games.

“Hello?” I called, my voice echoing in the empty hotel lobby. Silence responded. I glanced around, feeling the weight of the stillness pressing down on me. With a sigh, I reached for the bell on the counter. Ding. Ding. Ding. It rang out, but no one appeared.

“Fine, I’ll get it myself,” I muttered, crouching to grab my room key—0001. As I unlocked the door, a familiar click resonated in the quiet.

Stepping inside, I was met with a room that mirrored the one I had just left. Confused, I approached the next door, marked 0002. I pushed it open, only to find another identical room—this one labeled 0003. “This is getting seriously weird,” I thought, suspecting this might not even be a hotel.

As I roamed the desolate halls, a glint of gold caught my eye. Drawers lined the walls, and upon opening them, I found a treasure trove: gold coins, lighters, Band-Aids, lockpicks, and even gold bars. My heart raced at the thought of escaping with a fortune.

I ventured through the fifteenth door, and the lights began to flicker ominously above me. A chill ran up my spine as a distorted scream echoed off the walls, growing louder. Panic surged within me. With no other option, I darted into the nearest wardrobe, hoping to conceal myself from whatever horror was approaching.

The entity resembled a smiling gray skull that emitted a black light. I slipped inside just in time, my heart pounding and my breathing heavy. What was that thing?

I tried to stay in the wardrobe as long as I could, but my vision flashed red with bold words: Get out. Get out. Get out! Suddenly, another entity forced me out. I started naming them—Wardrobe Ghost - Hide. That gray skull - Rush.

After several encounters with Rush, I lost track of my doors. I stood before two doors: 0031 and 0030. The numbers began to liquefy. Trusting my gut, I opened 0031. A face lunged at me, and I fell back as the door number fell off. “It was a duplicate,” I muttered, patching my wound with a bandage I had found, dubbing that entity Dupe.

I opened the next door, and the lights flickered again. This time, an eye appeared on the wall, followed by more eyes as I opened more doors. I reached a long hallway but turned around to see a pile of black goo.

Expecting the unexpected, a figure emerged from the goo. I ran, dodging falling bookshelves and furniture. I opened a door to find an O-shaped room and noticed a blue light guiding me. Just when I thought I was safe, more rooms lay ahead, and I could hear the Ink Man closing in.

At the last door, a long hallway awaited, but chandeliers fell, igniting a fire as large ink hands crashed through the windows. I dashed through door 48, slamming it shut as the Ink Thing banged on it.

Breathless, I missed my family. With my last strength, I opened door 49, revealing a mini-library. I heard a growl behind door 50 - a double door. I opened it, only to find that today would be my last day alive.

“Oh God!” I screamed as a terrifying figure chased me. It shouldn’t have known where I was if it was blind. I crouched, covering my mouth, trying not to make a sound.

The guiding light illuminated specific books, and I grabbed one, turning to page 50. It read: Pentagon = 6. I realized this was a puzzle. I needed to match the correct numbers to unlock door 51. I gathered seven out of eight books when that thing appeared, forcing me to hide again.

Finally, I rushed upstairs to the locked door, whispering, “89172.” The lock fell, the door opened, and I ran out. Rwar!

I locked the door and sat down, realizing I had survived five monster attacks. A feeling of relief washed over me as I opened door 52, only to find it was the same room from the beginning. I turned around; door 52 was gone, and I was back at door 0001. I sat down and cried. “I’m never gonna see my brother again. I’m never going to see my family again. I’m alone.”

I felt something touch my head, but I didn't care.

I was right.

I was never seen again

Christian
My name is Christian. I am a Spartan Techie. I like to play Super Smash Bros, and I am in 8th grade. I want to make my mom proud.

It was a dark and cold night, and my sister Kelly and her boyfriend Martin were bored. Kelly and her friends decided to go to a bridge that everyone in our hometown knew well. It was a cool spot for paranormal activity. What happened there, Kelly would never forget.

They started driving, and when they arrived, it was eerily quiet. They sat in the car for a while before deciding to look around. Kelly described the atmosphere as super creepy. Eventually, she, Martin, and their friends decided to go under the bridge. As they walked down to get there, she felt chills running down her spine.

Once they were underneath, they started to hear whispers and hushed conversations. While they were down there, Kelly heard someone whispering and quickly looked behind her, but there was no one there. Martin took a picture, and when he looked at it, he saw a face that looked like an old man. He snapped another photo, but the face was gone.

A few months ago, Kelly had a terrifying experience while sleeping. She woke up feeling conscious but unable to move at all. She noticed her door and closet were both open, and she heard whispering. Suddenly, she saw a figure standing in the hallway. It started to disappear and reappear, then emerged from her closet and jumped on her, choking her. She couldn't breathe until she finally woke up screaming, and our mom rushed in.

Anyway, Kelly, Martin, and their friends wanted to return to the bridge, but Martin found a chain on the ground and picked it up, putting it in his trunk before they left. On the way back, they saw a woman in the road. Martin swerved, but he regained control of the car and kept driving.

When they got home, they went to bed, but every night, they heard a woman’s cry or whistle. Sometimes Martin’s mom would check the car and find handprints on the windows. Whenever they got in the car, they heard whispers in their ears or cries.

One day, while Kelly and Martin were driving, another car came speeding toward them and collided with theirs. They ended up in the hospital for a few days, and during that time, Kelly heard the woman’s cry for the last time. Afterward, the damaged car was sent to the junkyard, and they never heard the woman’s cry or whistle again. The handprints were gone, and the woman was never seen or heard from again.

Damien
Hi! My name is Damien! I am an 8th grader, and my favorite book genres are graphic novels, action, and manga. I like to play video games with friends, draw, or run in my free time.

It was a foggy night. The streets were empty, and the only lights were from the streetlights and the moon. Emily was sitting at the bus stop, waiting for her bus to arrive so she could get back home. After about ten minutes, the bus finally arrived. Emily boarded the bus but noticed that the driver looked familiar, even though she had never seen him before. He had a pale face and black hair, but his facial features were obscured in the darkness. Emily brushed the thought aside and took a seat.

The bus had a gloomy atmosphere, with barely any people on board. She counted about six passengers besides herself. A chill ran down her spine as she settled into her seat. Emily put her headphones on and waited for her stop to come. As the bus kept moving, she noticed that many of the passengers were giving her strange looks, as if they were watching her every move.

About ten minutes away from her stop, she heard one of the passengers toward the back. It was an old man whispering, “Not far now...” in a raspy voice. Not long after, the others began echoing the same phrase, their voices blending together. Emily turned up the volume on her music and started looking out the window to distract herself. Through the reflection, she noticed all six passengers staring at her with creepy smiles, but when she looked back, they were all doing their own thing.

About five minutes later, she realized the bus had taken a different route—one she’d never seen before. The roads were dark and desolate. When she confronted the driver, he ignored her, laser-focused on the road, his hands gripping the wheel tightly. As she returned to her seat, she noticed the passengers looked relatively different, as if they had aged rapidly while she turned around. They had also moved seats.

Suddenly, the bus came to an abrupt stop at an old, crumbling graveyard. The passengers stood up and walked out without making a sound. Emily suddenly felt a force propelling her to follow them, and she stepped off the bus. Snapping back to reality, she ran in the opposite direction, but when she turned around, she realized the bus had disappeared, even though they had just gotten off.

Her heart raced as she looked around for the passengers, but then she stumbled and fell. Looking up, she found a relatively new tombstone with her name on it. She stared at the dates and realized that the date etched on the tombstone—10-16-24—was today. Just then, she heard a familiar voice behind her. It was the bus driver whispering, “Time to go.”

Gia
Hello! My name is Gia, and I am an eighth-grader at Stauffer Middle School. I have always been interested in reading and writing literature and plan to become a successful writer someday!

Sadie… Sadie Smith was her name. A joyful and affable woman who never gave up, even when times were tough. But, like many things, nothing lasts forever. She broke down when her husband died. She despised the idea of living without him and completely denied his passing. Poor Sadie became a despondent and reclusive woman afterward.

So here she was, sitting in silence, allowing herself to rot in her empty yet interminable mind. Her eyes drifted to her pill bottle. It was empty. She could go to the pharmacist to get more, but it felt like too much work. The house was an utter disaster, with heaps of rubble everywhere. She gazed at the ceiling from her armchair; she didn’t feel like getting up, so she slept where she sat, in an uncomfortable, upright position.

She woke up in the morning and felt the same, but today, she found the strength to get up and go to the bathroom. She switched on the flickering bathroom light and peered into the mirror. A sudden flash of shadows crossed the mirror, but she didn’t react. Hello again, hallucinations, she thought. Sadie turned away, threw on a coat, and left the house, wanting to escape the lingering presence of her husband.

Sadie strode around the neighborhood and stopped at the cemetery. She approached her husband’s grave and stood there. “You’re not dead,” she spat. “You’re alive; you faked your death.” The gravestone seemed distorted. It was a gravestone, but it was… off-putting. Sadie turned to go home, but she was halted by a disfigured man whose spine seemed to stretch endlessly. It was her husband, whose name she couldn’t remember. It was him, but not him. His body was disproportionate, almost disturbing. A twisted smile creased his face, black eyes stared at her, and blinding sclerae accompanied them. This isn’t him.

Sadie passed through the figment of her imagination and walked home in silence, tears welling in her eyes.

Upon arriving at her residence, she opened the door and was greeted by a malformed… woman? Oh, I’m hallucinating, she thought. She walked past the woman… creature?… and into the house. I’ll get my meds later. She had taken two steps before feeling a sharp pain in her shoulder. She turned her head and saw crimson streaming down her arm. Her eyes widened as she looked at the creature behind her.

Sadie fled through the hallway and into the bedroom to grab a weapon. She swung the door open but stumbled and fell. So this is it; This is how I die. She turned to face the figure, but the mirror in the hallway stole her attention. She stared at it in horror; she had found her killer.

Giani
My name is Giani. I was born in March 2012! My favorite drink is A&W root beer because it is the best soda known to mankind, and I’ll disagree with everyone else if they don’t think so. My favorite song is “Just a Friend” by Biz Markie. My favorite TV show is definitely Modern Family because what could go wrong with Modern Family? That question is not supposed to be answered. Action and comedy are my favorite movie genres.

There’s a secondary school out there that could be called a “special school” for an incident so horrifying and spine-chilling that it could freeze the blood in your veins. This school is Downey’s own Stauffer Middle School.

On October 27, 2023, three 7th-grade boys—Aiden, Joshua, and Justin—finished school for the day. Though enrolled in the Downey Afterschool Program, they never showed up. The boys didn’t get good grades and were often disrespectful. At that time, a new two-story building was under construction, and Aiden and his friends found a way to sneak in after school to hang out and cause trouble.

“Aiden!” Joshua called. “Yo, Aiden!!”

“What?” Aiden replied.

“We found a good place to hang out until 6:00,” Joshua said.

“You and who?” Aiden asked.

“Me and Justin. He’s already there!”

“Okay, let’s go,” Aiden said.

Justin was popular yet destructive. Diagnosed with ADHD, he never sought help and bullied others. He was known for being “funny” and “handsome.” In contrast, Joshua was a better friend. He initially thought Justin was cool, hoping to gain popularity by being friends with Aiden, who had good grades. However, he secretly disliked Justin and feared retaliation if he spoke up.

When they entered the construction site, they were shocked by how expansive it was.

“Pretty cool, right?” Joshua said.

“Yup. No duh,” Aiden agreed. The silence broke with the sound of distant motoring.

“What’s that noise? Are there people here?” Aiden asked.

“Construction workers, but they’re busy finishing the staircase,” Justin replied, unconcerned.

Suddenly, Aiden realized he couldn’t pull his foot out of the sand. “Are you serious?” Justin exclaimed. Aiden struggled to free himself as panic set in.

“You’re cooked, buddy,” Joshua laughed.

Hysterical, Aiden continued to try to lift his foot, but he was stuck. Justin convinced Joshua to ditch Aiden, and they escaped, leaving him behind. Alone, Aiden spotted a CAT bulldozer approaching but couldn’t get the operator’s attention.

The bulldozer's plow scooped up sand—and Aiden along with it. As he drowned in the sand, he suffocated, unable to scream.

After leaving Aiden, Justin, and Joshua headed to a 7/11. Joshua bought a soda for Aiden, thinking he might need it, but upon returning to the construction site, Aiden was nowhere to be found. Believing Aiden had escaped, Joshua had no idea he would never see his friend again.

Thirteen years later, on October 29, 2036, Joshua, now 25, arrived at Stauffer Middle School to teach. Mrs. Leaf, the 8th-grade counselor, jokingly warned him, “Be careful; this place might be haunted.”

Suddenly, the building began to shake. “Earthquake?” he asked.

“No, it’s not an earthquake,” Mrs. Leaf replied.

Alone in the staff restroom, Joshua investigated strange sounds. The lights flickered, and his phone flashlight illuminated the walls. As he approached the mirror, he paused, seeing a dark shadow behind him.

He reached for his pocket but found his marker missing. In the mirror, he saw the marker floating. His eyes widened as it began to spell Y-O-U-’R-E.

“You’re what?” Joshua whispered, terror, creeping in as the marker continued to write C-O-O-K-E-D.

Keely
My name is Keely Newman, and I'm in the 6th grade. I feel connected to the art of writing, and I want to continue pursuing this skill. My favorite genre of writing is anything that allows me to feel connected to the storyline, whether this means romance, comedy, suspense, horror, etc. Keep smiling :)

Betty sat miserably on her grandmother's patterned couch, groaning as her grandma mentioned how she had been taking care of the house. It wasn’t the task that scared her; it was the strange noises echoing through the halls. They sounded like metal scraping, but she assumed it was just a cabinet or a door.

After her grandma left, hours passed, and the noises returned, spooking her but not enough to warrant concern. Eventually, she grew tired and headed to her room for some shut-eye.

When she heard the noise again, she followed it to the closet, where a loud creaking sound emanated. She realized she had never seen her grandma open that door, and it was always hidden behind an old 1948 chair draped in a quilted blanket. Upon opening the door, she found a music box with a ballerina dancing to a distorted tune. Closing the box, she noticed an old doll with a cracked glass face and a smile that felt eerily familiar, though she couldn't recall why.

After shutting the door, she thought she caught a glimpse of the doll out of the corner of her eye, but when she looked again, it had vanished. Dismissing it, she went to the kitchen for a midnight snack, only to find the basement door standing ajar. This unnerved her—not because basements are inherently scary, but because her basement was always locked. When she examined the door, she noticed it lacked a keyhole.

Taking a deep breath, she approached the door to close it. Suddenly, she heard an exhale behind her. Turning around, she was met with the glass doll on a wooden stool; its eyes now cracked open. Panic surged through her, and in a desperate move, she grabbed the doll by its matted black hair and threw it into the basement. She heard glass shatter on the hardwood floor before collapsing onto the kitchen floor, overwhelmed.

Hours passed before she mustered the courage to check the basement. The flimsy stairs creaked underfoot as she descended, only to find the glass doll upright and seemingly unharmed, now with a pull string attached to its velvet white glove. Hesitating, she realized it was now or never and pulled the string.

The same distorted music played, accompanied by a voice that said, “I’m going to make sure you’re never found again.” Betty shuddered as the doll's smile widened unnaturally. When the music stopped, the doll's grin reached its beady black eyes, and its mouth opened to reveal hundreds of stained, blood-red teeth.

In a panic, she turned to run, but the doll’s eyes locked onto hers, holding her in place. As she stared into its soulless gaze, its mouth lunged wide, swallowing her whole.

Hours later, her grandmother returned home. She was looking down the basement stairs. Betty was pronounced dead on December 23, 1968, with no body found. Though everyone thought she was gone, if you listen closely to the distorted music in the closet, you can hear her screaming in pain to escape.

Alitzel
I’m in 7th grade, and my electives are art and Avid. I also play soccer, I swim, and track.

One chilly October evening, my friends and I decided to explore an old, creepy house on the edge of town. Everyone had heard stories about the house being haunted, but we didn’t buy into the tales. Katherine, who was always up for a dare, led the way. Roseanne was nervous but tried to act brave as we passed through the rusty front gate. The house was dark and falling apart, with broken windows and peeling paint. We pushed open the front door and stepped inside.

“This house is giving me a weird feeling. Are we sure we should be doing this?” I whispered.

The air was cold and musty, and the floor creaked under our feet as we looked around. Katherine whispered, “Why does it smell like that? Like a deceased animal.” Roseanne found a door at the end of a hallway and wanted to check it out.

The room inside was small, with dusty old furniture and a big cracked mirror hanging on the wall. Katherine whined, “Can I leave now? I’m starting to not like this,” but Roseanne just laughed and called her a chicken. She walked up to the mirror, examining her reflection, when suddenly we heard a loud “thud” from somewhere else in the house.

We all froze. “Did you guys hear that?” I whispered in a shaky voice. Katherine started to back away, then screamed and pointed at the mirror. My heart raced as I saw something terrifying—a tall shadowy figure with hollow eyes and a smile stretching from ear to ear, displaying sharp teeth and a very long tongue. It was staring back at us through the mirror. Then it began walking toward us…

“Run!” shouted Roseanne, and we all bolted out of there. The house felt like it was closing in on us, and when we reached a random door, it slammed shut by itself.

Panic set in as we ran to the back of the room, where Roseanne smashed a window. We all jumped out, sprinting straight to the car without looking back.

After that night, we never talked much about what happened. I still drive by that old haunted house sometimes, and when I do, I feel like someone or something is constantly watching me. My friends and I vowed never to put ourselves in danger like that again.

Joseph
My name is Joseph, and I am in 7th grade. My favorite food is ramen. The sport I am in is called MMA. My favorite video game is Monster Jam Steel Titans 2. This story happened when my mom was a kid like me. But I put myself in it.

The sun was starting to set over the flowing river in El Salvador. My mom, Nana, tías, tíos, cousins, and I were all heading to the river. We ran as fast as possible to see who would get there first. We laughed, teased, and had a grand old time. I was the first to reach the river and jump into the water. My cousin came next, and everyone else followed. One of my cousins said, “Let’s play tag, and if you get tagged, you can’t talk!” The adults just hung out in the shallow end and gossiped.

We were having so much fun that night fell upon us. The moon shined bright and shimmered on the water. “La luna se ve rara,” said Nana. It had a red glow, almost like blood. “Why does it look like that?” I asked Mom. “I don’t know, but I just got this weird, creepy feeling,” she replied.

A few seconds later, an evil laugh screeched through the night. “Hahahahahaha!” There, at the bottom of the waterfall, stood a pale, grayish woman. She was trying to drown a little girl. “I will finish you! I will have your soul!” snarled the old woman. “Out of the water! Out of the water now!” everyone yelled as we splashed around, trying to escape.

The current grew stronger, and I couldn’t get out. I saw the girl trying to scream, but I couldn’t hear her. It felt like something was pulling me, too. “¡Sal del agua, Nathaniel!” Nana yelled, but I couldn’t manage to swim out. Suddenly, my tío dove in and pulled me to safety. I turned around to get a glimpse of the woman and felt her eyes pierce through my soul. I was trembling as my mom hugged me and urged me to run. My legs felt heavy, and my heart raced. I heard the woman’s sinister laugh, and my skin crawled. “Mom, I’m scared. I feel like we’re not going to make it.” “You are out of the water. We are safe now,” she said.

My family and I have not been back to the lake since.