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If you would like to post your own stories to spook everyone, please contact us and we will post them here to entertain all the other ghouls and goblins.

The Canterville Ghost

Mr. Hiram Otis was moving his family to Canterville Chase in England. It was a grand old house and everyone said it was haunted. But Mr. Otis did not agree. “There are no such things as ghosts,” he told Lord Canterville.

Mr. Otis asks the Canterville Ghost to oil his chains.

Lord Canterville described all of the ghostly sightings. But Mr. Otis refused to believe. A few weeks later, he was joined by Mrs. Otis and their four children.


Mrs. Umney, the housekeeper, was standing on the steps when they arrived. She led them into the library to have tea. Mrs. Otis noticed a dull red stain on the floor. “I’m afraid something has been spilled here,” she said to Mrs. Umney.

“Yes,” replied the old housekeeper, “that is blood.”

“Well, I do not care for blood in the library,” said Mrs. Otis. “Please remove it at once.”

The old woman smiled. “That is the blood of Lady Eleanor. The bloodstain cannot be removed. And her husband, Sir Simon, still haunts this house.”

“That is nonsense!” cried Washington, the oldest Otis son. “Pinkerton’s Champion Stain Remover will clean it up in no time.”

He scrubbed the spot and the stain was gone.

Just then, a flash of lightning lit up the room. Mrs. Umney fainted. Mr. Otis came into the room and found Mrs. Umney on the floor. He splashed cold water on her face.

“Mr. Otis,” Mrs. Umney said, “beware of the ghost that haunts this house.”

“Thankfully, we are not afraid of ghosts,” said Mr. Otis.

The next morning, Mr. Otis and Washington found the bloodstain in the library again.

“I don’t think it is the Champion Stain Remover that is to blame,” said Washington. “It must be the ghost.” Each morning, they found a fresh stain on the floor. Mr. Otis was beginning to think the ghost existed after all.

One night, Mr. Otis was awakened by a curious noise outside his room. It sounded like the clank of metal. Right in front of him was a ghostly old man.

“Dear sir,” said Mr. Otis, holding up a bottle. “Kindly oil your chains with this Rising Sun Lubricator. I must get some sleep.”

The Canterville Ghost threw down the bottle and disappeared through the wall. He went to his secret chamber. He was greatly insulted. He thought of all the people he had frightened in the last three centuries. “They never treated me like this,” he said. All night he thought about his revenge.

The next night, the ghost appeared again. The family had just gone to bed.

Suddenly, they heard a fearful crash in the hall. Mrs. Otis rushed downstairs. There she found a large suit of armor scattered on the floor. The Canterville Ghost sat on the stairs holding his head in his hands.

“Stop! Hold up your hands!” shouted the twin boys. They had brought their slingshots with them. Each of them fired a shot at the poor ghost.

Just then, Mrs. Otis leaned over and offered some medicine to the ghost. “You are far from well,” she said. “I have brought you a bottle of Dr. Dobell’s Soothing Remedy.”

Mrs. Otis tries to cure the Ghost’s ails with a spoonful of medicine.

The ghost glared at Mrs. Otis. With a groan, he vanished in the air.

The ghost retreated to his room. He was very upset. “How could they treat me this way?” wondered the ghost. “It’s humiliating!”

The ghost felt very ill after this. He hardly left his room, except to put the bloodstain on the floor in the library.

When he recovered, the ghost resolved to try again. He planned to go quietly into Washington’s room. Then he would mumble and mock him at the foot of his bed. Then he would go see the twin boys. He planned to sit on them until they screamed.

“What a marvelous plan,” he thought.

That night, the ghost set out down the hallway. He waited for the clock to strike twelve. A raven croaked from an old tree outside. The wind rattled the shutters on their hinges. “What a perfect night for a scare,” thought the ghost.

The ghost chuckled to himself and turned the corner. Suddenly, he wailed and fell back in terror. Right in front of him stood a horrible ghost. Its head was round, fat, and orange. Its eyes were empty black holes. It laughed at him with an awful grin.

The Canterville Ghost had never seen another ghost before. Naturally, he was very frightened. After a second glance at the strange phantom, the Canterville Ghost covered his eyes and ran back to his room. In his bedroom, the ghost hid his face in his blankets.

As the sun came up, the ghost gained some courage. He decided to talk to the other ghost. “Perhaps he can help me scare the twins,” thought the ghost.

The ghost tiptoed down the hallway. He reached the spot and gasped. Something had happened to the ghost. It no longer looked frightening. The Canterville ghost could see that the ghost’s head was only a pumpkin. He read a sign that said “YE OTIS GHOST.”

The Canterville Ghost had been tricked!

A few days later, Virginia Otis went riding and tore her skirt. She knew her mother would not be happy! Virginia went to the sewing room, hoping to fix her skirt before her mother saw it. When she opened the door, she was surprised to see the Canterville Ghost! He was sitting by the window, watching the leaves fly by. He looked very sad.

Virginia felt sorry for the ghost. “My brothers are leaving tomorrow for school,” she said. “If you behave yourself, no one will bother you.”

The ghost turned around. “It is my job to misbehave,” he said.

“Nonsense!” said Virginia. She turned to leave.

“Please don’t go, Miss Virginia,” cried the ghost. “I am so lonely, and I don’t know what to do. I want to go to sleep, but I cannot.”

“That’s absurd,” said Virginia.

“I have not slept for three hundred years,” he said sadly. “And I am so tired. I wish to fall asleep and never wake,” said the ghost. He continued to explain why he haunted the old house. The ghost needed Virginia’s pure heart. If she would be his true friend, the ghost could sleep forever.

Virginia considered the ghost’s request. She stood up and said, “I will help you.” She took the ghost’s hand and followed him through the wall.

About ten minutes later, the bell rang for tea. Mrs. Otis was greatly alarmed when Virginia did not appear. Mr. Otis rode his horse across the countryside to search for her. He could not find her.

Then at midnight, a panel at the top of the stairs flew open. Virginia came out looking very pale and tired. She was holding a small white box.

“My child!” cried Mr. Otis. “Where have you been?”

“Papa,” said Virginia quietly, “I have been with the ghost. He is dead now.”

Virginia led them down a secret corridor. Finally they came to a great oak door. Virginia opened it. They found themselves in a small room. A huge iron ring was attached to the wall. A chain led from the ring to a skeleton.

The Otis family finds the body of Sir Simon.

Virginia explained that Sir Simon was locked in this room long ago. “Now he can rest,” she said.

Four days later, the Otis family had a proper funeral for Sir Simon. After the funeral, Virginia remembered the white box the ghost had given her. She brought it to her father. Slowly, Mr. Otis opened the box.

Virginia gasped. “Look at those beautiful jewels,” she cried.

Virginia’s father handed them to her. “You must take them,” he said. “We certainly want Sir Simon to rest in peace.”

White Dog

Joey and his dog Ghost would walk through the countryside together.

Once there was a boy who had a friendly white dog named Ghost. Joey and Ghost were best friends. They loved to roam the countryside looking for adventure. They climbed rocks and waded through cool streams.

Joey’s neighbors all liked Ghost, too. One day, Farmer Green saw the two friends walk by his farm. “There goes that boy and his white dog again,” he said. “They’re lucky to have each other.”

That day, Joey and Ghost were hunting squirrels. They never caught any. But the chase was the fun part. Ghost would sniff them out. Then the two friends would run after the squirrel until it hid in a tree.

Suddenly, Ghost spotted a squirrel. Then Joey saw the squirrel. Ghost ran around a rock. When Joey got to the other side of the rock, he stopped. Ghost barked at Joey. “What’s wrong, boy?” he asked.

Ghost kept barking until Joey backed up behind the rock. Then Ghost moved. Now Joey could see why his friend was barking. A large black snake was coiled up next to the rock! Ghost had protected Joey.

“What a good boy!” Joey said. “Let’s go home.”

That night, Joey said good night to Ghost. Then he left a treat for him on the doorstep. “See you in the morning,” he said.

The next morning, Joey jumped out of bed and ran downstairs. Outside, he whistled for Ghost. “Gho-o-o-st! Come here, boy,” he called. But Ghost did not come. Joey wondered where his best friend could be. He ran to the barn to find his father.

“Have you seen Ghost?” he asked. Joey’s dad climbed down from the tractor.

“Son, I found Ghost this morning,” his father started. “He wasn’t moving, so I took him to Dr. Parker’s house. I’m afraid there was nothing he could do. Ghost was very old.”

Joey was heartbroken. He would miss his friend so much. He wondered who would explore the woods with him.

After Ghost was gone, Joey spent most of his time alone in the woods. He walked along the creeks where he had once played with Ghost.

One day, Joey ventured farther than he had ever gone before. He was walking along the edge of a ravine. Suddenly, he lost his footing. The rock gave way and Joey landed on a ledge below. Joey’s leg was twisted and scraped. He could not climb out of the ravine.

Joey yelled for help. But no one was close enough to hear him.

A few miles down the road, Farmer Green was working in his field. It was a very hot day. He wiped the sweat from his brow. Just then, he noticed a white dog running towards him. It looked like Joey’s dog.

The dog barked and barked at Farmer Green. “Hey Ghost, how’re you doing?” he said. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”

The dog continued to bark at him. Farmer Green tried to drive his tractor through the rows of beans. But the dog ran right in front of the tractor’s wheels.

Farmer Green blew the tractor’s horn. But the dog would not budge. Finally, Farmer Green turned off the engine and climbed down from his tractor.

“Where’s your friend?” he asked. “Now go find him.”

The dog was very persistent. He continued to bark at Farmer Green. Then he ran up to Farmer Green. He grabbed the man’s trousers in his mouth and tried to pull him along.

“Whoa! Okay!” said Farmer Green. “I’m coming. Let’s go.”
 
Farmer Green followed the dog through the woods. They wandered for miles through thick brush and tall trees. Every few feet the dog would look back at Farmer Green. He wanted to be sure the man was following him.

The dog leads Farmer Green to the ravine.

They came closer to the ravine. The dog disappeared in the brush.

“Now where did you go?” called the farmer. Then he heard the boy’s cries.

Joey was trying to yell for help. He had almost given up. Then he heard a man yelling back to him.

“Hello-o-o!” yelled Farmer Green. “Are you hurt?”

Joey looked up from the ledge. He could see Farmer Green standing at the edge of the ravine. The man was peering down at Joey. He could barely see the boy through the trees.

“I’m okay, but my leg is hurt,” Joey yelled back. “I can’t make it up there all by myself.”

“Hang on,” said the farmer. “I’ll help you up.”

Farmer Green found a strong vine. He held one end of the vine. Then he threw the other end to Joey.

“Use this to pull yourself up,” he said.

Joey grabbed onto the vine. It was strong and thick like a rope. Using his good leg, Joey pulled himself up the side of the ravine. Near the top, Farmer Green reached over and pulled Joey onto the rocks.

“Thank you,” said Joey. He tried to catch his breath.

Farmer Green helped Joey sit up on the rocks. “Let’s have a look at that leg,” he said. Joey’s leg was still bleeding.

“It hurts,” Joey said, “but I think I can walk.”

“Let’s find a branch you can use as a crutch,” Farmer Green said.

Farmer Green pulled the bark off one end of the branch. Then he helped Joey to his feet.

“You can use this branch as a crutch,” he said. “Now let’s get you home.”

Joey stood up shakily. “Thank you, Farmer Green,” he said.

Joey steadied himself with the crutch. Farmer Green held onto his other arm. Then they hiked through the brush.

Joey and Farmer Green walk back through the forest.

When they came to a clearing, Farmer Green spoke. “That’s some dog you got there!” he said.

“What do you mean?” asked Joey.

“I mean, you’d still be sitting in that ravine if that white dog didn’t show me where you were,” said Farmer Green. “He came to my field and barked and barked. Then he led me out into the woods to find you.”

Joey could not believe what Farmer Green was saying. “That couldn’t have been my dog, sir,” whispered the boy. “My dog died almost a month ago.”

 

The Scarecrow

I live on a small farm, far out in the country. Every year, my dad puts out scarecrows in our fields because he thinks they're effective in not only keeping the crows out, but evil spirits as well. I guess he's a little superstitious. The scarecrows he sets out are the same ones, year after year. After so much wear and tear, they were showing their age.

This October started out just like any other October. The weather was turning cool and the leaves were beginning to change into brilliant orange and yellow colors. One Saturday, us kids got together and decided to make a new scarecrow. Being creative, we gathered our supplies and got to work. This scarecrow was to be different. This was my special design. I wanted a creepy scarecrow, much scarier than the others. Hours later, we finished up. Indeed, he was the ugliest, most frightening scarecrow I've ever seen. I was so proud.

Mom called us for supper so we planted the scarecrow out in the cornfield, where I could see it from my bedroom window. Not giving it any more thought, we went in and ate. Soon, the wind picked up and it began lightening. No storm was forecasted but it looked like we were in for a rough night.

Light rain began falling as I went up to bed. I was worried about my new scarecrow so I peeked out my window. What I saw shocked me. He was there alright, but not where we had placed him. It appeared to me that he was several feet to the right. Puzzled, I stood at the window and watched intently. The lightening was bright and every time it flashed, I could see my scarecrow. The problem was, it looked as if he was moving when the sky was dark, only to turn up in another spot when the sky lit up.

Thinking that I must be imagining things, I put my pajamas on and went to bed. Later on, a loud CRACK of thunder woke me up. By now, the rain was pounding down, making it difficult to see out my window. I slipped on my shoes and snuck outside to check on my scarecrow. Not sure where he was, I walked around in the thunderstorm, half blinded by the cold, stinging rain. Clumsily, I stumbled over a fallen branch and fell face down in a patch of mud. When I looked up, there was my scarecrow glaring down at me. His eyes were huge and glowing red. I couldn't pick myself up fast enough. I ran screaming to the house and never looked back.

After tossing and turning the rest of the night, I woke up to bright sunshine and the smell of bacon. Not wanting to tell my parents what had happened, I sat quietly and ate breakfast. Anxious and apprehensive, I then went outside to look around. My dad was already looking for damage to the buildings but I was looking for my scarecrow. I could see the other scarecrows, all in their usual places but my scarecrow was nowhere to be found.

Full of confusion, I began crying. Not because of losing the scarecrow, but because of pure, unadulterated fear. My father told me that he probably blew away and would be discovered in a field during harvest. I knew better. Some how, some way, that scarecrow came alive. How, I don't know.

Ten years later:

Years have passed and to this day, I have never seen my scarecrow again. What happened that stormy night? Do scarecrows really keep out evil spirits or can they be possessed by one? I don't live on that farm anymore, but I've never ventured outside during a thunderstorm again.