“BUMP IN THE NIGHT” by Scott Donnelly #MicroTerrors
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“Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids”™ 2023
TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome to Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids, where it’s always the spooky season – full of chills, thrills, and spine-tingling spooks! Micro Terrors are family-friendly frights for those ages 8 and up. And while our stories are for younger ears, we are still talking about things that go bump in the night, and some children may not be able to handle what others can. Parental consent is recommended. Now… for tonight’s MICRO TERROR!!!!
BUMP IN THE NIGHT
The whole thing started out as a revenge prank on Christpher Carver. But it wasn’t the kind of prank you’d normally see. Something set it apart from the others. Instead of a kid who was seen by most as puny and fragile, nerdy and shy, Christopher Carver was on the opposite side of the spectrum. He was a bully; an arrogant tormentor who picked on, and made fun of, many kids at Grace Hollow Middle School. It was refreshing to see the intimidator become the intimidated for once, although his already aggressive nature was bound to come back into play eventually. I knew that. And I’m sure the other kids knew that too.
They were able to tease and trick Christopher Carver into meeting the “it girl”, Amelia Adams, at the Grace Hollow Pumpkin Patch. Ameila left a note on Christopher’s locker telling him to meet her after hours at 10pm sharp at the center of the corn maze attraction.
Christopher, as ignorant and cocky as he was, wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to get some alone time with Amelia. The fact that she wanted to meet in the corn maze after the pumpkin patch was closed didn’t even strike him as odd. That night, Christopher snuck out of his house a little after nine, clad in black clothing to blend in with the night and not get caught, and walked the two or three miles to the Grace Hollow Pumpkin Patch. Slipping through the gates, he made his way to the corn maze, and with the help of his flashlight, began to journey through it.
After getting turned around and lost a couple of times, he finally made it to the center or the maze, but all he saw was a wooden post standing straight up from a small patch of recently disturbed dirt. Amelia wasn’t there. And as it turned out, Amelia was never even supposed to be there. It was the band of kids — two boys and two girls that Chrispther Carver picked on and teased on a daily basis. It was them who drew Carver out into the middle of the cold, dark corn maze.
Pouncing out from the dead and dry stalks of corn, the four kids wrestled Carver to the ground, wrapped his head in a black hood, tied him up and strung him to the post like he was a human scarecrow.
Carver called out into the night for help — for Amelia — but the four kids had all scurried away and left Carver hanging in the middle of the corn maze, paying for his wrong-doings.
The next morning, when Carver never showed up for school, one of the four kids responsible for the prank, Mia Martin, grew a guilty conscience. She reported what she and the others had done, and soon after, police were sent to the Grace Hollow Pumpkin Patch. But when the corn maze was searched, Christopher Carver was nowhere to be found. He’d completely disappeared. And it was the general consensus that, embarrassed by what had happened to him, he ran away from the sleepy town of Grace Hollow forever.
It’s now been ten years to the day since that cold and dark autumn night when Christopher Carver disappeared. The town of Grace Hollow — as much as they’ve tried to move on — is still haunted by the mysterious disappearance. The Pumpkin Patch has become a staple in the community during the fall months, attracting residents of Grace Hollow to come and enjoy all sorts of fall-themed family fun. Mia Martin, now almost graduated from college, works at the farm where the pumpkin patch is. She’s had a hard time forgiving herself for what she and the three others had done. So as a form of self-punishment, she chose to work at the farm, forcing herself to remember, every single day, what she’d done ten years ago.
The other three kids, all of whom are still in college, chose to come to the Grace Hollow Pumpkin Patch on this particular night to silently own up and face their responsibility for Carver’s tragic disappearance. In the ten years that passed, there hasn’t been a single sign of Carver. Some people thought spirits on the land claimed him. Some thought he may have left the country. There was one theory about how he may have gotten plastic surgery and was now hiding in plain sight around town, watching everyone. The truth was, no one really knew what happened to him.
When the Grace Hollow Pumpkin Patch closed for the night, Mia asked the others to stay behind with her before she closed the gates. Lucas Lockhart, Henry Horn and Naomi Nettles all stayed behind and joined Mia at the center of the corn maze to silently accept what they’d done in an attempt to move on with their lives.
The autumn moon grew big and bright in the chilly, night sky and the dead stalks of corn around them rustled. Then, the air fell still and an unnerving sense of dread crept in, filling all four of them with a stinging fear. A haunting whisper from the cornfield hissed, “Amelia…”
Suddenly, without further warning, the stalks parted and a figure clad in black clothing exploded out from behind them. On his head was a black hood in which two angry red eyes burned through. In his hands was an old farmer’s scythe that he swung wildly at the group.
Carver was back! He swung his scythe at them, releasing ten years of pent up rage. He connected with Lucas Lockhart first, painting everything around them a dripping, crimson color. The three other teens screamed loudly and scattered from the center of the maze. My jaw dropped, and I covered my mouth, holding back a bone-chilling scream of my own.
Carver disappeared back into the cornfield, emerging moments later near an old barn where Naomi Nettles had taken refuge. But she couldn’t keep her panicked breaths quiet enough. Carver crashed through the barn door and swung his scythe until Naomi was gone.
I gasped at the mutilation and turned my head, but I couldn’t escape Carver’s wrath either. I was certain he was coming for me next. I closed my eyes, hoping somehow that would shield me from his impending attack. And for a moment, it worked. He spotted Henry Horn next, trying to run for the gates of the farm. If he could just get to the main road, he could attempt to wave down any passing cars. But just as he reached the gates, he was grabbed by the scruff of his neck. Carver lifted him into the air, his glowing red eyes burning into Henry’s until they dropped out of his skull.
Mia ran as fast as she could for her car. She fumbled the keys from her pocket, climbed in and failed repeatedly to connect them with the ignition. When she finally did, the car refused to start.
“No…” I exhaled, feeling defeated along with her. If she couldn’t make it, how was I supposed to feel safe? Mia screamed at the car and finally, it turned over. The engine roared and she threw it into drive. But before she could hit the gas pedal, two red eyes ignited in the backseat. Mia screamed, noticing them in her rearview mirror, and that’s all I could take. I jumped up and ran as fast as I could, praying Carver wasn’t right on my tail; praying Mia was ok.
I ran to my room, jumped in bed and threw the comforter over my head. I shook in fear, hoping Carver wouldn’t have been able to track me here. I breathed heavily, catching my breath. I couldn’t believe what I had just witnessed. If he were to track me down, there was no way I’d be able to—
Creeeeak.
The floor in my room buckled beneath someone’s creeping footsteps. I held my breath, refusing to give away my position like Naomi Nettles had. It didn’t end well for her. The footsteps got closer, more pronounced. Then, someone grabbed the comforter and ripped it off. I screamed.
“Shhh!!!!” my dad whispered with one finger to his lips. He flipped on a lamp and sat down on the edge of my bed. Shaking with fear, I struggled to sit up. “It’s late. You’re going to wake your mother,” he added quietly.
My breathing started to calm. I looked at my dad, who had a strange look on his face. In his hand, he held up a DVD case. The cover showed a haunting figure in a black hood with red eyes inside of it. The dripping text at the bottom of the case said “Bump in the Night.”
“Were you watching this downstairs just now?” my dad sternly asked. Ashamed, I nodded.
“How many times have I told you? You’re not old enough to watch these movies yet.”
I lowered my head. “I’m sorry.”
My dad sighed and tossed the DVD case onto my nightstand. Then, he smirked. “I was like you when I was little. Curious about these movies. I love them now, but they gave me nightmares when I was your age. You’ll probably have nightmares too, and maybe that will be punishment enough for going against what I said.”
My dad stood up and turned the light back off. “Sweet dreams,” he said sarcastically. He closed the door and went back to bed.
I thought again about what my dad said. Maybe I was too young for these movies. What I saw was pretty intense. I made a decision: I’d wait until I was older before I immersed myself in all these horror movies that seemed so appealing to me. I’d wait until I was a little more mature, a little more ready. However…as intense as it was, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I felt something, a blossoming intrigue for these films…
From under my pillow, I pulled another DVD case out from hiding. Carver was front and center. His farmer’s scythe was dripping with red, hovering over a new crop of victims. I didn’t see Mia there, leaving her fate a mystery. For now…
I could wait until I was older. But, “Bump in the Night 2: Carver’s Revenge” was calling my name. I wondered how long it would take for my dad to fall back to sleep…
Thank you for listening to Micro Terrors!!! Join us each Saturday for another scary story! For more fun, visit our website at MicroTerrors.com where we also have spooky games you can print out and play — like wicked word searches, mysterious mazes, and more! MicroTerrors.com is also where you can find us on your favorite social media and even send in your own scary story for us to tell! Plus, you’ll learn more about our author, Scott Donnelly, who has other horrors for both young and old! I hope you’ll join me again soon for Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids!
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