Scary Stories

When I was young, which was a very long time ago, I remember camping out with friends and telling scary stories. I remember being very scared when a neighbor called my mother and said to be sure to lock all your doors and windows because the town had just experienced a murder in our quiet, "Leave It To Beaver" neighborhood.

I also remember the legend of a old women who lived in the woods at a quarry near our house. We were not allowed to venture through the woods to this quarry, and after hearing that this strange women spent her time putting little sneakers on rattlesnakes, I had no desire to disobey my parent's rules on this one.

I recall sleeping with a light on after watching "The Wizard Of Oz," and I thought this movie with those flying monkeys and the green faced Wicked Witch of the North had to be the most terrifying movie, until I watched Alfred Hitchcock's movie, "The Birds".


We occasionally have scary story time just before bed, and I was informed early on, if the stories wake the kids with bad dreams at night, it would be me sitting up with them.

So our stories start with a flashlight held under the chin, and go something like this:
Once upon a time a long long time ago, there was a little boy, and a little girl who went for a walk in the deep dark woods. As the night sky grew darker and darker they found themselves far away from home and when they heard the Midnight Ghost Train coming they ran deeper into the woods. after a while they came across a small run down scary looking cabin, and in the cabin was a evil witch and when she tried to get them to come into her cabin for supper they started to run away, and they ran and they ran until all of a sudden they came face to face with the Ghost Train, and when they started to run from the Ghost Train, the boy stepped into, and got his foot stuck in a very large gooey pile of COW POOP, and when the train came upon them, it stopped, the door opened slowly, and suddenly, Casper the Friendly Ghost jumped out and gave them a ride home.

We each take turns at a version of this story, and I don't need to sleep with my light on.
Ok...maybe only a small nightlight!