The Story Of The Not So Scary Ghost

Submitted into Contest #64 in response to: Write a ghost story where there’s more going on than it first appears.... view prompt

0 comments

American Funny Kids

It was 2 weeks before Halloween and everyone was excited to be celebrating Fall. The leaves were orange, red and yellow and some trees were already bare with their limbs showing. The spookiness of the park by the Harbor was helping everyone to get into the Halloween Spirit. The fog over the docks made the park look like a scene from a horror movie.

There were two kids named Jenny and Nick. Nick was in 3rd grade and Jenny was in 6th grade. Jenny and Nick were brother and sister.On this day the two siblings were going to finally get the chance to go to the sailing center at the park by the Harbor. Their parents drove up and dropped them off and told them to “have fun!” They had never been dropped off anywhere alone and were a little nervous walking through the park all alone. They felt like they were walking alone and at any moment were about to see a ghost. The two siblings walked up to the sailing center, feeling scared, unsure and wondering what the day was going to bring. They finally met up with Dan, he made them feel comfortable when he said, “I will be taking you two out on the boat today.” He was going to be their sailing instructor for the day. The kids knew Dan, after all he was a family friend. For a long time they had looked forward to sailing and were excited to finally get out on the water. Before they could leave the dock they noticed the weather looked a little scary. The clouds were gloomy and grey and ominous. The water was rough and the boats were clashing in the harbor. Jenny and Nick looked at each other and wondered if today was a good day for sailing?

When Dan took them down to the dock he and the siblings got on the boat. Dan said, “look at the clouds they are very gray”. Nick asked “are we going to be ok on the water?“ Dan said “why yes“.As soon as they were going to set sail they all heard someone screaming!!! Dan said ”what was THAT?”

Dan started running up the dock and went back into the sailing center building and the kids followed slowly behind him.The building was dark and gloomy.Jenny said to Nick, ”Dan went that way“. They found Dan who was with Jim, the head of the sailing center.Jim said his dog was gone and he had seen a shadow and it had petrified him.Dan told Jim to stay calm and stay in the room he was in. Dan said “well kids it looks like we are going after a ghost and we have to help find Jims dog”. Nick said “I am good I will stay here with Jim”. Jenny said she would go along with Dan to help find the dog. Jenny was fearless and she had always looked out for her little brother and now she was ready to go on an adventure to go to find this ghost!

Dan gave her a flashlight and they went looking through out the building. The hallways were dark and there were no lights to be found. They knew that the dog had to be in there somewhere because the doors were closed. All of a sudden they saw a shadow and heard a RRUUF!!! They both jumped when they heard it!! It was a dog‘s bark!! They ran into the room but saw nothing. Then out of no where something bit Dans leg! He started to scream and said ”My leg!! My leg!!” He sat on the ground rubbing his leg while Jenny was looking in the room. She felt along the walls and was able to feel the power switch, she pulled it and the lights turned on! Then she heard a noise like a scuffle and turned around and it was the dog! The dog looked scary as it just sat there with its tongue hanging out and saliva dripping from its mouth. She asked Dan if he was okay because the dog looked viscous. Suddenly the dog then bit her leg!! However, when the dog bit her, it didn’t hurt so much. Then she saw the tooth of the dog on the ground were Dan was. Dan said, ‘I get it! When the dog bit me, his tooth fell out! Jim walked in and said, “Sorry he is a biter because he’s a puppy and is teething.” Jim said, “I remember now, I came in here, turned off the lights thinking it was the emergency button to tell you not to go sailing in this weather when the lights went out I put my flashlight on and pointed it at my dog. The shadow was so big it scared me, I thought it was a ghost! The shadow Dan saw was because he pointed the flashlight at the dog. There was no ghost after all!! Dan and Jenny looked at each other and laughed.

Jim said to Jenny, “I am sorry about the confusion and getting bit by the dog, please come back tomorrow”. Nick looked at Jenny, and Dan walked them out and thanked Jenny for all help. Nick and Jenny sat on the curb waiting for their mother to pick them up. “I thought we were really going to find a ghost in there,” said Nick. “I thought I did find a ghost in there,” said Jenny. They both just sat there laughing and laughing at the ghost that wasn’t so scary after all, because a ghost wasn’t really there. This adventure ended up not involving any sailing or ghost hunt what so ever, but it ended up being a funny story that they were sure to remember for a long long time. Finally, their mother and father arrived to pick them up and said, “how was it?” They both looked at each other, laughed and said “It is a long story”.

by: Michael Mattera

October 23, 2020 00:04

You must sign up or log in to submit a comment.

0 comments

RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

Bring your short stories to life

Fuse character, story, and conflict with tools in Reedsy Studio. 100% free.