Tower Hill School Lit Page

The Lit Page October 2013

Table of Contents Page One................................................Magic by Vanna Ramirez Page Two...........................Keep My Demon in by Anna Schwartz Page Three...............................Masked Creatures by Blair Isken Page Four..............................Beyond the Grave by Taylor Reese Page Five..........................The Ghost I Know by Pumpkin Pie Kai Page Six..............................Psych and the Doll by Taylor Reese Page Seven.......................Halloween Pancakes by Ann Guzzetta Page Eight...................Where Have You Gone? by Taylor Reese Page Nine & Ten................................Scary Story by Julia Reith Page Eleven....................Prepare to Follow Me by Taylor Reese Page Twelve...................................Zombie Love by Fatima Anwar

Magic

by Vanna Ramirez

A fountain of cards shoots directions away; behind, the figure obscured in black swallows all, and smiles back—

Cover Art by Aurian Carter Co-Editors: Taylor Reese & Vanna Ramirez Faculty Advisor: Coleen Hubler

1

Masked Creatures

Keep My Demon In

by Blair Isken

by Anna Schwartz

2

3

The Ghost I Know

Beyond the Grave

by Pumpkin Pie Kai

by Taylor Reese

He looked at me with solemn eyes His gaze struck me by surprise I ran away without hesitation For fear that I would see the levitation After many days had passed I tried to block out this memory fast It was as if I didn’t know And just ended up letting go I saw the ghost one night in my house I admit I was as frightened as a mouse He screamed and shouted in my ear That’s when everything became crystal clear Why’d he visit me? I haven’t got a clue Guess he didn’t want to say adieu

4

5

Psych

Halloween Pancakes

by Taylor Reese

by Ann Guzzetta

She lived in a huge, old house with her husband and two kids. They lived in excess; her husband had made lots of money, and enjoyed buying huge and lavish things for her, usually to make up for his long stays away on business.

The house used to be a large psychiatric institution, but it was closed down in the ‘50s because the patients were treated so poorly. The worst atrocities occurred in the basement.

She awoke on a Sunday morning to hear her husband softly calling her from downstairs. Wondering what he was up to, she arose and tip-toed lightly down the stairs, dressed only in her nightgown. As she went down to the ground floor, she heard him enter the basement. She giggled and followed him. She closed the basement door behind her, locking it to be sure the kids wouldn’t discover them, and descended the stairs.

At the bottom of the steps, she froze. Her husband was still away on business.

The Doll

Halloween Pancakes: Take a bite out of bats or dig into mummies. Get creative this Halloween with these spooky, fun, and absolutely delicious Halloween themed pancakes. Easy to make and fun to start your day with, these pancakes are much more exciting than scream of wheat!

Materials: -Pancake mix or microwaveable pancakes.

-Pan or microwave -Knife -Toppings of your selection, like butter or syrup.

Instructions:

-Take the pancake mix or microwaveable pancakes and put them in the pan or microwave.

-Cook the pancakes as the box or mix states.

-Once they are finished, remove them from the pan or microwave.

-Take your knife and carve the pancakes into any shape you like. Ghosts are particularly easy, but if you want to challenge yourself, try a bat.

-Choose your toppings and enjoy these spooky flapjacks.

by Taylor Reese

Just as she was about to fall asleep, she heard a noise that sounded like her old rocking chair. Creaaaak, creak. Creaaaak, creak. She turned on the light and climbed out of bed. She looked to where she kept her old rocking chair from when she was just three or four. Her favorite doll was resting in it, still as could be. She shut the light off and flipped to face the other way.

A little while later, after she had fallen asleep, she heard the creaaaak, creak again.

Then her bedroom door slammed. She groaned, cranky that she had been woken up. She flipped back over and turned on the light.

The rocking chair was still rocking. The doll was gone.

6

7

Scary Story

Where Have You Gone?

by Julia Reith

by Taylor Reese

It was a typical night. My mom was working the night shift at the hospital, so I had the house to myself again. I sat on the couch and ate some popcorn as I watched a horror movie that I rented. Scary movies never phased me, not even a little bit. I knew they were fake. I knew there were no such things as ghosts or demons that were going to possess my house or my family. The blood and effects were all just “Hollywood magic” and none of that stuff could happen to me in the real world.

The movie continued until the lights began to flicker. The wind outside howled. Oh, it’s just another storm, I thought to myself. The weather had thunderstorms predicted all week. This happened every year in October on account of the temperature change from the summer to fall. I could hear sheets of rain pounding on the roof, and the house began to creak eerily. Flashes of lightning illuminated the room as thunder boomed and shook the house. Suddenly the power went out, and a wave of darkness cascaded over the room. I could only see when the lightning lit the room. I fumbled around for my iPhone that I had laid on the coffee table and proceeded to turn on the LED flashlight. The storm was violent, and I hoped Mom would make it home safely.

I lit a couple candles and went into my bedroom. I used the candlelight to read a book to pass time until my mom would arrive home. About an hour later, I heard a knock on the door. How unusual, I thought, Mom usually comes in through the garage. I walked down the hall to the landing overlooking our foyer so I could see who was at the door. I saw a familiar face smiling at me. It was Mom. I ran down the stairs and let her in, not wanting her to have to stand out in the storm much longer.

“Thanks, sweetie,” she smiled, entering the house.

“Where’s your car?” I asked, noticing the car wasn’t in the driveway.

“Oh, the battery must’ve died or the engine stopped working. I left it on the side of the road and walked home. Don’t worry about it.”

“All right. I’m just glad you got home safely.”

“Let’s just get to bed,” Mom suggested.

I nodded and walked back upstairs to my room. I crawled into bed and closed my eyes before drifting off to sleep. Around 3 o’clock in the morning, I awoke with a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach. Someone, I felt, was watching me. I reached for my phone and turned on the flashlight. Shining it around the room, I saw nothing until the light illuminated an area around my mirror. I saw my mom’s face looking right at me, but she was not in the room. Suddenly, blood red letters appeared on the mirror, one by one: “H-E-L-P M-E”. I began to panic. My heart raced and my body shook violently. It’s just a nightmare from that dumb movie, I told myself. I curled up tighter in bed and pulled the blankets closer to my body before squeezing my eyes shut. I couldn’t fall back asleep, so I cautiously ventured down the hall into my mom’s room. She wasn’t there.

Frantically, I searched about the house.

“Mom!” I yelled. No answer. “Mom! Mommy!”

The house was quiet except for the booming thunder and creaking of old floor boards. She was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, I heard her voice as a faint whisper.

“Melissa. Melissa. Come to me.” The voice was quiet. It almost didn’t sound like her.

“Mom, where are you?” I responded.

“Basement. Come help me,” the voice hissed. Something was not right. As I walked towards the basement door, goosebumps began to cover my body. I stood in front of the door, scared to open it. In every horror movie, something happens in the basement. This could all be a trap. I could die.

8

9

“Mom?” I whispered, my voice trembling with fear. I felt a hand on my back. Slowly, I turned my head. There was no one there.

“Sweetheart, I’m in the basement! It’s flooding. Help me put down some plastic!” my mom’s voice called from down the stairs. Maybe she was down there. I slowly opened the door. Then, out of thin air, a force pushed on my back with such strength that I tumbled down the stairs. I hit the basement floor with a thud. Suddenly, my phone screen lit up. A call from Mom. I slid my finger across the screen, whining in pain as I moved my body.

“Hello?” I groaned, “Mom?”

“Um.. no,” a masculine voice on the other line said, “Are you the daughter of Jill Clark?”

“Yes. My name is Melissa. Who are you?” I questioned, confused and suddenly more alert.

“My name is Dr. Chris Johnson and I am a doctor at the hospital. I’m sorry to tell you this, but your mother passed away in a car accident. We did everything we could to save her, but her condition was too critical.

I’m very sorry.”

“No!” I cried, “No! That’s not possible! She came home! I let her in!”

Suddenly, the connection was cut off. I tried to get up, but I was in too much pain. A dark figure approached me slowly.

“Oh, sweetie, are you okay?”

“Get away from me!” I sobbed.

“But Melissa, it’s just your mother.”

“No! You’re not my mom! I don’t know what you are! Get away from me!” I cried. The figure came closer, and everything went black.

I woke up in a white room. IVs were attached to my hand and the familiar beeping of a heart rate monitor filled my ears.

“Melissa?” A tall, handsome doctor smiled down at me. “Welcome back.”

“Where am I?” I whimpered.

“You are at the hospital. Your neighbor found your front door open when he went to check on you last night. He found you unconscious at the bottom of the basement stairs and called an ambulance.”

“What?” I questioned. “No. No, I went down there to help my mom with the flooding.”

“Melissa,” the doctor frowned, “you’re mom died last night in a car accident.”

“No!” I screamed, “Stop lying to me! I let her in! She was there!”

“Melissa, please calm down. We are going to help you.”

A team of doctors came through the door and unlocked the brakes on my hospital bed. They wheeled me through the halls into another wing of the hospital. The sign above the door read “Psychiatric Ward.”

They kept me there for about a month. They claimed that I needed “help” coping with the loss of my mother. That I was in “denial.” I know, though, that what I experienced was not all in my head. Something was in my house with me that night. Something, or someone, in my house was trying to hurt me. To this day, I do not know if I saw my mother’s ghost in my house or if another entity was taking on her identity to take advantage of me, but I do know that I experienced something paranormal. Not everybody has the sixth sense to see and hear entities out of this world, but some people do. I believe that I can communicate with those who have passed, and I can sense negative energy in a room. Once out of the hospital, I devoted my life to solving paranormal cases around the United States. No one should have to live in a world where dark spirits can harm innocent people, and it is my goal to stop them, no matter what it takes.

10

Prepare To Follow Me

by Taylor Reese

11

Zombie Love

by Fatima Anwar

12