Julie Mazur Illustrations by Derrick Wiliams i
Scary Tales Table of Contents Introduction.............................. v The Velvet Ribbon.......................... 1 The Hook............................... 11 The Tailgater............................ 21 The Licked Hand.......................... 31 The Coffin Lid............................ 41 Without a Trace...........................53 iii
Scary Tales Introduction Most of us, at one time or another, have heard a ghost story. Whether around a campfire, under the sheets with a flashlight, or at the movies, we are thrilled to hear tales of dark shadows, creaky floors, and unexplained murders. The spookiness is what makes the stories exciting. For some reason, most of us love to be scared. Ghost stories are part of this country s great oral tradition. This means that they are usually shared through telling, rather than through writing. We hear a ghost story and pass it on. As we do, we change details and add new twists. In this way the story grows and evolves. Often these changes reflect the vv
Scary Tales values and fears of the time. For example, in many ghost stories the victim is female. This reflects our society s now outdated belief that women are more vulnerable than men. The six stories in this book are based on famous scary tales. Some of them, such as The Coffin Lid and Without a Trace, are retellings of classic stories that have been around since the 1800s. Others, such as The Hook and The Tailgater, are more recent. As you read each one, think about how you would retell it. What details would you change to make it more suspenseful or scarier? Try crafting a new tale and become part of the ghost story tradition yourself. vi vi
Trail of Paper J ack s carriage rumbled through the foggy night. The only sound was the thumping of the horses hooves on the dirt 1
road. He usually went to the cemetery earlier, but this afternoon an appointment had kept him late. His driver drew the carriage up to the entrance and helped Jack out. The gate stood half hidden in the mist. Jack shivered against the chill. He walked through the fog to the grave. The murky night air made it hard to see, but his feet knew the way. He knelt on the ground and collected the wilted flowers he had left last week, tossing them aside. New, fresh flowers took their place. Jack stared at the date on the tombstone: 1888. Could it really be five years since she had died? For the first time, sitting there at his wife s grave, Jack realized 2
how lonely he was. For years Jack had heard others talk of how he should find a new wife. They said it wasn t natural for a young man like him to live alone. Jack had scoffed at such gossip. He preferred being alone with his memories. It was the only way to keep her alive. But now he felt a need for something more. Perhaps it is time, he thought. Perhaps it is time to let her go. He stood up and walked back to the gate. At the carriage, Jack was surprised to find his driver talking to a strange woman. As he neared, the woman turned. Jack caught his breath. Even in the dim light he 3
could see that she was beautiful. She was tall and slender, dressed in a long velvet cloak. Her skin was smooth and very pale, and her dark eyes were rimmed with thick lashes. Her long black hair was piled high on her head. Around her slim neck she wore a red velvet ribbon. Jack s driver explained that the woman had lost her way in the cemetery. She needed a ride back to town. Jack rushed to offer his carriage. They would take her wherever she needed to go, he said. The woman smiled and thanked him. As they rode, Jack tried not to stare at his new companion. Her beauty filled the 4
carriage. Jack stammered nervously to make conversation. When they got to town, she asked to be let out at a small, dark house on a narrow street. Jack helped her out of the carriage. May I see you again? he asked. The woman nodded. I ll be waiting for you tomorrow at six o clock, just here in this spot, she said. Before Jack could respond, she disappeared into the fog. Jack met the woman the next evening, and every evening after that for a month, 5
always in that spot. Each time she wore a different gown but with the same red ribbon around her neck. One night, while gazing at her adoringly, Jack asked, Why do you always wear that ribbon around your neck? The woman smiled and said nothing. Jack thought of the woman day and night. He was consumed with love. Soon he asked her to be his wife. The bride wore a white satin gown. Her hair was decorated with flowers. Around her neck, as always, was the red velvet ribbon. A year passed and the two lived happily together. Often Jack would look 6
across the table at his beautiful, kind wife and wonder at his good fortune. What luck to find love a second time, he would think. It was not until their second year that Jack found himself eyeing the velvet ribbon strangely. He had never seen his wife without it. It was there when she woke up, when she ate breakfast, when she went through her daily errands it was always there. She even wore it to bed. One day, Jack asked why she didn t take off the ribbon and wear a different necklace. You would be sorry if I did, she said. So I won t. 7
Little by little, the ribbon crept more and more into Jack s thoughts. He asked his wife again to take it off, but her reply was the same. You would be sorry if I did, so I won t. In the days that followed Jack asked several more times. Her answer never changed. Jack started waking up in the middle of the night, thinking about the ribbon. He d stare at it around his wife s neck as she slept. One night, his hand began moving slowly toward it. He held his breath as his fingers crept closer. Just as his hand was about to brush the velvet, his wife bolted awake. What are you doing? she cried. After that, she refused to sleep 8
in the same room with him. Jack became angry. He demanded that she take the ribbon off at once. But her answer was still the same. A month passed. Jack could no longer look at his wife without staring at the ribbon. He hated that ribbon. He felt he was going insane. One night, after tossing and turning for hours, Jack walked to his wife s room. He stood over her bed, watching her sleep. The ribbon seemed to dance in front of him, teasing him. His body started shaking. He could no longer control himself. In a flash, he lunged for the ribbon and tore it off her neck. A blood-curdling scream filled the room! 9
His wife s head rolled away from her body and dropped to the floor with a thud. Jack stared in shock, the ribbon dangling from his hand. From the floor a strange, sad voice cried, I... told...you... you... would...be...sorry! 10