First place, under 12:
Once upon a time, a girl named Ariana was walking in the woods with her friend Dana. They were having a good time talking about their Halloween plans until Dana heard something.
Creaaaak!
“What was that?” she said.
“It was probably just a train shifting in here. We hear things like that all the time,” Ariana said. “Come see for yourself! There’s an old abandoned railway down here.”
Dana wasn’t sure she wanted to see, but she went with Ariana.
As they got closer to the railway, Dana not only heard more strange noises, but also saw some strange things. A refrigerator here, a desk chair there.
“Ariana? Maybe we should turn back. I’ve got a bad feeling about this place.”
“No way! It’s fine.”
“What is that? Is that normal?”
On the train tracks ahead was a train with no visible driver or passengers.
“That I’ve never seen before,” said Ariana.
The train kept moving, and as the back of it came into view, they saw a skeleton attached to it.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!” they screamed.
Both of them ran. But something was following them. Ariana and Dana heard something. They stopped dead to listen.
Whooooooosh. Awooooooo!
“Do those sounds sound like they’re coming from a speaker?” said Ariana.
“They do. Do you know anyone who would play a Halloween prank on us?’’
“Oh. Yes. Darryn!” Ariana yelled. “Hold on. Dana, go grab a sheet. We’re gonna prank Darryn back.”
Dana ran home and grabbed a sheet, some scissors, and a marker. They were going to dress as ghosts and scare him!
“Dana, you have that on upside down. That’s why you don’t have eyeholes,” said Ariana.
“Oops. Better fix that.”
Once Dana had her sheet on right, they set off to find Darryn. They hurried through the woods until they were in range of the train tracks. They couldn’t hear the noises anymore.
“Let’s go search the bushes.” said Ariana.
So they searched. After five minutes Dana said, “I found a path someone made!”
“Follow it!” said Ariana.
The path twisted and turned. Then they saw him. Sitting in a clump of bushes. Ariana looked at Dana.
“One, two, Three!” she said.
“Booooooooo!” they shouted.
“Aaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiihhhhhhhh!” Darryn screamed.
“Yes! We did it!” yelled Ariana triumphantly.
“But, if he was behind the noises, who did the train?” said Dana.
The question still isn’t answered. Even today. But people still hear the trains sometimes.
Eva Bouchard
Great Brook School
Age 10