“The Spooky Neighbor”

3rd Grade, 2nd Place

by Asher Hoselton,

Gatewood (Putnam County)

It was the night before Halloween. Billy and Ashley were taking their dog Cosmo for a walk down the street. There was a storm moving in and they were heading back to their house. Thunder rumbled and scared the dog so he ran fast into the neighbor’s yard. “Oh no”, said Billy. “He ran into Mrs. Adams fence!”, Ashley said with fear. Mrs. Adams was an elderly woman who never spoke to anyone and rarely came outside. All the kids in the neighborhood were scared of her. They heard thunder rumble again. They walked slowly towards the gate looking for their dog in the thick grass. They pushed the gate open, and it creaked loudly. They inched their way towards the front porch where they heard Cosmo scratching at the boards. They walked up the steps trying to be quiet, but the boards were old and noisy when they moved their feet. “SSSSQQQUUUUEEEAAAAKKKKK!” Ashley looked at Billy and shushed him.
“Be quiet”, she said. “I’m scared, bubba.”
“Let’s just get the dog and get out of here!”, said Billy.
They tried to call Cosmo quietly so that Mrs. Adams did not hear them. They got up to him on the porch and went to grab him. As soon as they grabbed his leash, lightning struck and scared both of them. They looked up, and saw Mrs. Adams standing in the window.
“AAAAHHHHHHHHH!! RUN!” both kids yelled. They ran as fast as they could to their house and rushed inside. They told their parents what happened and the parents did their best to calm them down. Once they settled down, they got ready for bed and their mom and dad tucked them in. As they laid there and tried to fall asleep, there was a tapping against the window outside. TAP. TAP. TAP. TAP.
“Billy, did you hear that?” asked Ashley.
“Yes, this is spooky”, said Billy. The kids got up and went over to the window. Lightning crashed again, and they saw Mrs. Adams walking slowly up the driveway. Suddenly, there was a knock at the front door. Both kids looked at each other with big eyes full of fright. They heard their dad open the door and the old lady began to talk. The kids walked to the top of the stairs and looked down at the open door.
“Hello children,” she said. “I was just returning your ball cap. It must have fallen off when you were getting your dog from my porch.”
“I’m sorry we were in your yard, ma’am.” Billy said softly.
“It’s okay. I don’t have many visitors, but I sure don’t mind.” Mrs. Adams said as she smiled at the children. They smiled back and waved.
“Have a good night,” said Mrs. Adams, as she turned and walked back to her home.
The children went to sleep, and from that day on they visited Mrs. Adams every time they passed her house.

THE END