Kansas City Public Library: 2021 Youth Ghost Story Contest Winners And Honorable Mentions

Press release from the Kansas City Public Library:

October 31, 2021

The second year of the Library's Youth Ghost Story Contest brought out Kansas City’s spookiest tales of ghosts, ghouls, and witches! In September, over 100 kids in the metro area submitted their original tales. These are the first-place winners and honorable mention selections in the 10-13 and 14-18 age categories. We thank all the caring adults who helped youth with the submission process. We enjoy seeing our young people build their creativity and writing skills and can’t wait for you to read these wickedly scary stories. Happy Halloween!

The 13th Floor by Reagan, age 11

The Cuckoo Clock by Finnegan, age 12

When spring cleaning started for David’s family, the last thing they’d expect to find was an antique cuckoo clock. David found it odd that he, nor his parents, had seen it before. When they had finished for the day, his father went down to the basement and returned to the foyer with a box of nails and a hammer. David’s father held the nail up against the wall. KA-THUNK, KA-THUNK, KA-THUNK, the hammer pounded. David flinched at each strike of the hammer.

As soon as David’s father had the cuckoo clock set up, David walked up to the clock to take a closer look. The dark brown had a red tint, and seemed to be crumbling around the edges, as though someone had held a match up against it. The numbers seemed smudged, and the hands rusted. He heard gears grinding, and a small blue bird popped out from the door at the front, a distorted melody coming from the mechanism.

The clock seemed interesting at first to David, who wondered how such an old piece of equipment produced sound. It quickly became annoying though, as he could hear it clicking from anywhere in the house. And, most annoying of all, that little melody. The only ones who didn’t seem bothered by the clock were David’s parents. They said he was exaggerating, making stuff up because he didn’t like it. David always thought of denying it, but what they said was half true. David did indeed hate the little clock.

Then, the trouble around the house started. At first it was minor things, like someone dropping a glass, or David being unable to sleep. Then things became more dire, like David dozing off in class, or that he kept feeling a prickling sensation, as if someone was watching him. The most disturbing thing, though, was that he kept hearing the clicking off the clock. TICK. TOCK. TICK. TOCK. David heard it everywhere. At school, in the shower, on walks in the park, the clicking even worked its way into his dreams. David felt like there was something terribly wrong with the clock, so one day, while both of his parents were out of the house, he decided to take the clock apart.

He unhooked the clock from the nail and took out the screws. He carefully lifted the cover up and set it down on the coffee table. David peered inside and gasped. The only pieces that were in there were the axle that held the clock hands and a small wooden box that was nailed together. David puzzled how this was possible, but put the cover back on. He considered telling his parents, but they would probably scold him for taking it apart without permission.

In the weeks that followed, David became sleep deprived and paranoid. He would flinch any time he heard the melody play. His grades dropped from A’s and B’s to C’s and D’s. The words "time," "clock," and "bird" made David clench his fist and grit his teeth. He had talked to the school counselor, but she had given him a look of suspicion that said, “What are you, crazy?” When David could sleep, it was far worse than his waking hours.

In his nightmares, David would dream of an old man who worked a wooden cuckoo clock, using his pet bird as a model. David would always awaken in a cold sweat, heart pounding. On more than one occasion, David would hear raspy breathing that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once. The last large development would happen two months later, unbeknownst to everyone who knew David.

On June twentieth, after an exhausting day of school and another bad grade on a test, David stepped into his room to start doing his homework. On the wall next to his bed, gouged into the plaster were the words: TIME’S UP. David turned around to face a creature that was not quite a bird, but resembled a feathered robin chick, and the same old man from his dreams. As David stared at the monster before him, he could see that the ticking was coming from the creature itself, whose neck vertebrae rotated as it stared David down, and raising both front clubbed legs, brought them down into David’s heart.

EPILOGUE

The ghost of the old man from David’s dream stared down at the still body of what was once a middle school boy. He shook his head sadly and faded away. The creature that had caused the death took one last look at David and it, too, faded from visibility. David’s body was dragged into the closet, never to be seen again.

The Locket Sisters by Emma, age 11

I was walking and saw a girl in shaggy clothes. She looked about my age. Her hair was long, blond, and looked as if it had not been cared for in months. I searched in my pocket for some change. I found nothing. She was shivering, and I felt so very sad for her. I took off my coat and gave it to her. She looked at me. Then she took it and ran away.

A large cloud of fog fell over me. A floating shape emerged from the fog. Within half of a minute, I could clearly see the shape was a girl. And she was wearing my coat over her torn up clothes. Her hair looked like a rat’s nest, but it was glowing pale white. She started to come towards me. I didn’t know what to do. I ran. Oh, I ran. I ran faster than I ever ran before. I looked back and she was not there. I turned around and there she was, standing in front of me!

I only saw her and our breath clouds in the cold air. She floated forward. I stepped back. She started to come closer, more and more. Without thinking, I ran to an old shed. It was falling apart, and there were no lights inside. I was desperate.

So, I went in.

The door closed behind me, but I thought it was just the wind. I walked through the small shed and was amazed at how old it was. I looked around and saw another door that was a quarter open.

This press release was produced by the Kansas City Public Library. The views expressed here are the author’s own.