Ghost Stories

“She heard a thunk from up above. Slowly, she ascended the attic stairs. Again that noise. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. She reached the attic and placed a shaking hand on the doorknob.“ Xiamore looked around at the circle of wide eyed listeners. These poor babies, I’m scaring them half to death. She thought.

“What was in the attic?” A little girl with a tootheye asked.

“Tell us.” The children and adults alike begged.

“Umm, okay. She opened the door and...” Xia paused dramatically. “And found the cute puppy her parents had bought her for her birthday. Ooooh, spooky!”

“Boooo.” “C’mon, tell us the real ending.”

“We wanna know!”

“Xia, pleaseeeeee.”

“Are you sure you can handle it?” She asked with skepticism.

“Yes!”

“Of course.”

“I’m eight years old, I’m practically an adult.”

“No, I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Xia decided. She put the flashlight down, giving her decision some finality. “Let’s go, little ones. Bed time.” She helped the other adults usher the children to their respective parents or guardians. Xiamore entered her tent and got ready for bed. She was just about to take off her boots when she heard giggling outside. Xia peeked her head outside the tent. The children and a couple of the adults were back at the fire pit. The adult Lockette held a lantern next to his face.

“The girl entered the pitch black attic.” He said dramatically. “She followed the sound to a trunk in the corner of the attic. Trembling, she bent down to open the latch. As soon as her hand touched the dusty metal, the thunking stopped.” The children giggled and squirmed. “She opened the trunk and... found it was empty. But then, she turned around and saw the attic was filled with a dozen glowing specters!” The children squealed. “The closest specter reached out and grabbed the girl by her shoulders. It shoved her and she fell backwards into the chest. They say no one ever saw the little girl again.”

“Nice story.” Xia said. The children all screamed. Xia felt herself blush. What good did it do to stop her scary story if she was going to sneak up and scare the poor things anyways? “Alright kiddos, bedtime for real now.”

“Mama Xia.” A little one said, latching onto her leg. “Can I sleep in your tent tonight?”

“Me too!”

“I’m scared.”

“I don’t like big, meanie ghosts.”

“Okay, okay. Let’s go get your pillows and blankets. I guess we’re having a sleepover tonight.” Xiamore walked around, collecting the children’s bed things. She helped them arrange their things on the tent floor. She didn’t bother trying to turn off her lantern.

~~~~~~

He felt a little bad about scaring the children, but at least Xia hadn’t seemed angry. Then it again, it had been dark, so it was hard to tell by her expression. As he headed back for his tent, he felt a chill on his back. His dog ears stood up. He spun around real quick, then he chided himself, there was nothing there. As he turned back towards his tent, he thought he saw a flash of blue light. It’s nothing, you made up that silly story. He reminded himself. But even so, he didn’t waste another second getting back to his tent.