Poetry competition CLOSED 28th October 2013 00:17am
WINNER
vortexman
vortexman
RUNNERS-UP:
Grace
and EngrVV
Urban Legends
Poetry Contest Description
See details below:
[font=Times New Roman][size=3]Just in time for Halloween! In this competition, I want you to write a short story about an urban legend you have heard over the years. Whether it be local town lore that you've been told as a child about your home town, scary story that you were told as a kid, or a story that you made up yourself! Scare me! Note: I am very hard to scare so the person who manages to do this will be the winner. There will be no runner ups on this one. I have this competition set for a week, but I will decide the winner on Halloween, just to make it more realistic and for me to have something to look forward to.
Max: 1000 words.
Go all out on this one!
Here is one of my most favorite urban legend that scared the shit out of me as a kid/pre teen. Hope this inspires you!
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So-and-so's friend, a girl in her teens, is babysitting for a family in Newport Beach, Ca. The family is wealthy and has a very large house — you know the sort, with a ridiculous amount of rooms. Anyways, the parents are going out for a late dinner/movie. The father tells the babysitter that once the children are in bed she should go into this specific room (he doesn't really want her wandering around the house) and watch TV there.
The parents take off and soon she gets the kids into bed and goes to the room to watch TV. She tries watching TV, but she is disturbed by a clown statue in the corner of the room. She tries to ignore it for as long as possible, but it starts freaking her out so much that she can't handle it.
She resorts to calling the father and asks, "Hey, the kids are in bed, but is it okay if I switch rooms? This clown statue is really creeping me out."
The father says seriously, "Get the kids, go next door and call 911."
She asks, "What's going on?"
He responds, "Just go next door and once you call the police, call me back."
She gets the kids, goes next door, and calls the police. When the police are on the way, she calls the father back and asks, "So, really, what's going on?"
He responds, "We don't HAVE a clown statue." He then further explains that the children have been complaining about a clown watching them as they sleep. He and his wife had just blown it off, assuming that they were having nightmares.
The police arrive and apprehend the "clown," who turns out to be some homeless person dressed as a clown, who somehow got into the house and had been living there for several days. He would come into the kids' rooms at nights and watch them while they slept. As the house was so large, he was able to avoid detection, surviving off their food, etc. He had been in the TV room right before the babysitter right came in there. When she entered he didn't have enough time to hide, so he just froze in place and pretended to be a statue.
Max: 1000 words.
Go all out on this one!
Here is one of my most favorite urban legend that scared the shit out of me as a kid/pre teen. Hope this inspires you!
[size=3]
So-and-so's friend, a girl in her teens, is babysitting for a family in Newport Beach, Ca. The family is wealthy and has a very large house — you know the sort, with a ridiculous amount of rooms. Anyways, the parents are going out for a late dinner/movie. The father tells the babysitter that once the children are in bed she should go into this specific room (he doesn't really want her wandering around the house) and watch TV there.
The parents take off and soon she gets the kids into bed and goes to the room to watch TV. She tries watching TV, but she is disturbed by a clown statue in the corner of the room. She tries to ignore it for as long as possible, but it starts freaking her out so much that she can't handle it.
She resorts to calling the father and asks, "Hey, the kids are in bed, but is it okay if I switch rooms? This clown statue is really creeping me out."
The father says seriously, "Get the kids, go next door and call 911."
She asks, "What's going on?"
He responds, "Just go next door and once you call the police, call me back."
She gets the kids, goes next door, and calls the police. When the police are on the way, she calls the father back and asks, "So, really, what's going on?"
He responds, "We don't HAVE a clown statue." He then further explains that the children have been complaining about a clown watching them as they sleep. He and his wife had just blown it off, assuming that they were having nightmares.
The police arrive and apprehend the "clown," who turns out to be some homeless person dressed as a clown, who somehow got into the house and had been living there for several days. He would come into the kids' rooms at nights and watch them while they slept. As the house was so large, he was able to avoid detection, surviving off their food, etc. He had been in the TV room right before the babysitter right came in there. When she entered he didn't have enough time to hide, so he just froze in place and pretended to be a statue.
It was a late night in this huge party town. 3 days before Halloween. Everyone knew it had been 10 years to the date that the mysterious Hatcheteer Trixter made his way through town killing those 3 people. But not only did he kill them. He would resew their heads back on to different bodies. A weird twisted way he saw the World.
Playing God in his sad and sadistic ways.
Alot of people didn't seem very worried. It was almost like they had forgotten that he was never found. The rumor was they had caught the man a strange loner living on the outskirts of town in a van. He was one of those welfare fraud men on the run and that was about the only thing they could get him on. The fact that he was truly
the Hatchet Trixter Fix'errr. Was still up in the air and yet to be seen.
I was driving home down the road after I had finished work. When suddenly this lady darted out in front of my car covered in blood she blurred by my car. And at her foot heels. Was this ghastly looking man wearing a very creepily realistic looking mask with worms and spiders swarming upon it.
I slammed on my breaks and jumped out of the car. Not sure why I would dare play hero. But luckily for me I had a side arm. So I cocked the trigger and ran into the underbrush after this phantom chasing this poor damsel in distress.
It was dark in the woods time was around 8:30 p.m. I heard her scream then I tripped over a huge tree root and fell to the ground. As I fell I squeezed the trigger and the gun went off. And I heard another voice yell in horrific pain. Must of been that strange masked ghoul chasing her perhaps???? I then reached in my coat pocket and found a nice bright key chain pocket light. I found the trail in the dark forest and scanned for a body. All I had seen was a trail of blood that continued up and over the hill. I was wondering what the hell am I in for if I keep following this chase>>>??? But my gut told me to do so regardless.
I walked up over the hill and down into a lower culvert and began to cross a small stream. I again heard the lady scream. And then I heard what sounded like something chopping through a tree trunk. My flash light began to fade and go dim. And I was like no not now not here in the middle of these woods!!! Then it went off completely. And it was just then something was thrown at me. And I felt it hit my legs and land between my feet. Something the size of perhaps a basketball or such. I screamed..... And turned and began to run in what I thought was the direction of the path I followed earlier. As I ran that way I recalled a lesson from the past in science. They say theories on decapitation seem to be that the last thing you feel upon your neck is a cold sensation of the blade. Before he severs through into the spinal column. It was at that next brief split second I felt the most icy bone chilling sensation before all went completely black.......
http://imageshack.us/a/img209/6003/749v.jpg
Playing God in his sad and sadistic ways.
Alot of people didn't seem very worried. It was almost like they had forgotten that he was never found. The rumor was they had caught the man a strange loner living on the outskirts of town in a van. He was one of those welfare fraud men on the run and that was about the only thing they could get him on. The fact that he was truly
the Hatchet Trixter Fix'errr. Was still up in the air and yet to be seen.
I was driving home down the road after I had finished work. When suddenly this lady darted out in front of my car covered in blood she blurred by my car. And at her foot heels. Was this ghastly looking man wearing a very creepily realistic looking mask with worms and spiders swarming upon it.
I slammed on my breaks and jumped out of the car. Not sure why I would dare play hero. But luckily for me I had a side arm. So I cocked the trigger and ran into the underbrush after this phantom chasing this poor damsel in distress.
It was dark in the woods time was around 8:30 p.m. I heard her scream then I tripped over a huge tree root and fell to the ground. As I fell I squeezed the trigger and the gun went off. And I heard another voice yell in horrific pain. Must of been that strange masked ghoul chasing her perhaps???? I then reached in my coat pocket and found a nice bright key chain pocket light. I found the trail in the dark forest and scanned for a body. All I had seen was a trail of blood that continued up and over the hill. I was wondering what the hell am I in for if I keep following this chase>>>??? But my gut told me to do so regardless.
I walked up over the hill and down into a lower culvert and began to cross a small stream. I again heard the lady scream. And then I heard what sounded like something chopping through a tree trunk. My flash light began to fade and go dim. And I was like no not now not here in the middle of these woods!!! Then it went off completely. And it was just then something was thrown at me. And I felt it hit my legs and land between my feet. Something the size of perhaps a basketball or such. I screamed..... And turned and began to run in what I thought was the direction of the path I followed earlier. As I ran that way I recalled a lesson from the past in science. They say theories on decapitation seem to be that the last thing you feel upon your neck is a cold sensation of the blade. Before he severs through into the spinal column. It was at that next brief split second I felt the most icy bone chilling sensation before all went completely black.......
http://imageshack.us/a/img209/6003/749v.jpg
Ten miles before reaching the city proper is a long stretch of long and winding road with marvelous cliffs overlooking the deep blue sea. Such a magnificent view for unsuspecting onlookers! But during the night, this place is haunted and avoided by many, especially the locals. This place has been a site of grim and horrifying tales of deadly car accidents at exactly the same time and date every year supposedly caused by a ghost, "The White Lady" because she is said to be dressed in white.
This is how it all started. Ten years ago, there was a beautiful young bride in her early twenties who was on the way to church for her wedding. Along that beautiful stretch of winding road, she was abducted by one of her ardent suitors and his four friends. She was gang-raped and thrown into the ravine, left for dead on that early first morning of June. This case was left unsolved for lack of evidence and witnesses. Needless to say, justice was not served.
A year after that horrible crime, a car accident happened near the place where the body of the beautiful young bride was found. The car driver who lived to tell his tale said, "I saw this lady all dressed in white floating in the air, as I turned around the bend. I was both surprised and terrifed, as I tried to avoid her unknowingly steering my car towards the cliff until it fell." Nobody believed his frightening story.
This car accident and the ghost story became the talk of the city for awhile until it slowly died down. Then another accident happened on the same date and about the same time, a year after. The driver and his only passenger, one of the ardent suitors, did not survive. People in the city began speculating and thus, rumor has it that the White Lady is out there every year trying to find her assailants to avenge her death. The reason why there was no death in the first accident was because he was not guilty of the crime, and those two dead victims of the last accident were guilty of the heinous crime committed against the White Lady. The people were speculating and already connecting the dots; thus the ghost story about the White Lady began spreading like wild fire, and became an urban legend!
Every year there are reported car accidents in the same place on the same date because everytime the White Lady appears, the driver usually panicked and lost control of the wheels. It looks like the White Lady will not stop hunting his killers until all of them are dead; so far, there are three more left. Just in case you happen to plan on sight-seeing in Holy Angels, just avoid the first day of June to avoid any mishap. If you're one of those daring souls, and non-believer in ghosts, I dare you to come, visit us and meet the White Lady face to face on that tragic date.
sending in entry soon....
They're Watching
Everyone knows the feeling. You're alone in your house when you get the unmistakable sense that you're being watched. It's like you can feel another human presence in the house with you, even though you know you locked the doors and windows. This spooky trick of the mind is probably why so many of our ghost stories are about someone being inside our house. There's the call that was coming from inside the house, the killer who hides under your bed, the guy who wakes up to find a note taped to his forehead. Even the monsters living in our closet. But those fears are irrational, right?
A 57-year-old man living by himself in Japan began to notice small things amiss in his house ,objects wouldn't be where he'd left them. Food would disappear that he swore he didn't remember eating. He'd wake up to strange sounds in the middle of the night, but every time he'd go and check them out, the door would be locked, the windows tightly shut. Nobody was there.
Was he losing his mind? Being messed with by a shy poltergeist? To find out, he set up a series of spy cameras around his house. The next morning, he ran back the footage on the camera and that's when he saw it. A strange woman crawling out of a cupboard like it was the TV in The Ring. And if you think that's terrifying, imagine what happened inside his stomach when, at the end of the video, she crawled back into the cupboard. The on that was just a couple of feet away from where he was standing, watching the video. Presumably in an effort to maintain bowel control, the man assumed the woman was a burglar who was only temporarily hiding in the cupboard, and had since left. He called the police, who pointed out that all the locks on his doors and windows were undisturbed. There was simply no evidence whatsoever that anybody had broken in , inother words (cue dramatic strings) the woman had been in the house all along.
-------------
My mom told me this a while a go. I couldn't stand it.
Everyone knows the feeling. You're alone in your house when you get the unmistakable sense that you're being watched. It's like you can feel another human presence in the house with you, even though you know you locked the doors and windows. This spooky trick of the mind is probably why so many of our ghost stories are about someone being inside our house. There's the call that was coming from inside the house, the killer who hides under your bed, the guy who wakes up to find a note taped to his forehead. Even the monsters living in our closet. But those fears are irrational, right?
A 57-year-old man living by himself in Japan began to notice small things amiss in his house ,objects wouldn't be where he'd left them. Food would disappear that he swore he didn't remember eating. He'd wake up to strange sounds in the middle of the night, but every time he'd go and check them out, the door would be locked, the windows tightly shut. Nobody was there.
Was he losing his mind? Being messed with by a shy poltergeist? To find out, he set up a series of spy cameras around his house. The next morning, he ran back the footage on the camera and that's when he saw it. A strange woman crawling out of a cupboard like it was the TV in The Ring. And if you think that's terrifying, imagine what happened inside his stomach when, at the end of the video, she crawled back into the cupboard. The on that was just a couple of feet away from where he was standing, watching the video. Presumably in an effort to maintain bowel control, the man assumed the woman was a burglar who was only temporarily hiding in the cupboard, and had since left. He called the police, who pointed out that all the locks on his doors and windows were undisturbed. There was simply no evidence whatsoever that anybody had broken in , inother words (cue dramatic strings) the woman had been in the house all along.
-------------
My mom told me this a while a go. I couldn't stand it.
The Little Green House
There was a house in my village, set at the side of a hillock. It was very pretty but small, painted in various hues of green. There was a big tree growing besides it, its branches drooping as if to protect the house.
The owner never stayed in it and it had been rented out very often, but the tenants never stayed more than three months. One even left all his furniture there and never returned.
We as children heard that it was haunted but we never believed such nonsense. It was just a little house solitary against a slopey hill with an orchard behind it and the big tree as company.
One day during a festival when the adults were at the village community hall for the celebrations, a group of us, five in all, decided to see whether there was really a ghost in that house.
So giggling and whispering, we walked into the house, pushing each other as we went. We were holding our flashlights like it was Darth Vader's Sword. We pushed the door, and to our delight found it was not locked. We were pushing each other in and then we all stood still gaping at what we saw before us.
It was the most beautiful living room we have ever seen in our life. There were rugs on the floor, a coffee table with flowers, the pictures on the wall were all Chinese...with dragons and deities. There were beautiful huge fan like bamboo plants on one corner and on a side table were food...bread and cakes, fruits and cute little finger food. Soft music Chinese in origin played. Through the window we saw beautiful mountains with the sun just setting. Boggled the mind though as we went there at night, must have been 10pm or so. We walked in slowly with amazement, all of us looking at the closed doors to other rooms, we presumed.
It was then that one of my friend, went to the side table and picked up a piece of bread and was about to put it into her mouth. I shouted at her to put it down as it was not meant for us, my voice broke the atmosphere. She was startled and dropped the bread. Another of my friend was startled too and stumbled over a beautifully carved stool. Suddenly everything went dark, and we screamed in unison. Pointing our flashlight everywhere, we found out that we were standing in an empty room that was strewn with leaves, the windows were broken and the wind was blowing in the debris. There were no furniture at all except for an old broken bench and a wooden side table. The walls were bare except for cobwebs. The worst was that a dead dog, rotting away was on the floor, sending forth an awful smell.
Needless to say we ran screaming into the night.
All five of us were not able to agree on anything we saw the scene for only a minute if not less. We all agreed however that we were in a furnished room in an evening.
Later we heard that the house's first tenant was a beautiful Chinese woman from the Mainland. It seemed she was raped and murdered by people unknown. She died in that house among her beautiful furniture, and was only found in her sad situation a few days later by some passers by who were curious about the smell coming from the house.
The house always seemed to smell, we were told, as something dead would always be there...if it was not a dog, it would be a cat or a rat. It was as if the woman's spirit still want to be found for the smell would make some people peep in. Surprisingly we did not smell anything foul when we first entered the house. Maybe as children, we were only shown the nice side of the story.
The house is no longer there, the land had been leveled and a housing developer had 'grown' townhouses there. But it is said that the terrace house where the little house used to be, sometimes grow very cold even during midday and soft old Chinese music could be heard during quiet nights.
There was a house in my village, set at the side of a hillock. It was very pretty but small, painted in various hues of green. There was a big tree growing besides it, its branches drooping as if to protect the house.
The owner never stayed in it and it had been rented out very often, but the tenants never stayed more than three months. One even left all his furniture there and never returned.
We as children heard that it was haunted but we never believed such nonsense. It was just a little house solitary against a slopey hill with an orchard behind it and the big tree as company.
One day during a festival when the adults were at the village community hall for the celebrations, a group of us, five in all, decided to see whether there was really a ghost in that house.
So giggling and whispering, we walked into the house, pushing each other as we went. We were holding our flashlights like it was Darth Vader's Sword. We pushed the door, and to our delight found it was not locked. We were pushing each other in and then we all stood still gaping at what we saw before us.
It was the most beautiful living room we have ever seen in our life. There were rugs on the floor, a coffee table with flowers, the pictures on the wall were all Chinese...with dragons and deities. There were beautiful huge fan like bamboo plants on one corner and on a side table were food...bread and cakes, fruits and cute little finger food. Soft music Chinese in origin played. Through the window we saw beautiful mountains with the sun just setting. Boggled the mind though as we went there at night, must have been 10pm or so. We walked in slowly with amazement, all of us looking at the closed doors to other rooms, we presumed.
It was then that one of my friend, went to the side table and picked up a piece of bread and was about to put it into her mouth. I shouted at her to put it down as it was not meant for us, my voice broke the atmosphere. She was startled and dropped the bread. Another of my friend was startled too and stumbled over a beautifully carved stool. Suddenly everything went dark, and we screamed in unison. Pointing our flashlight everywhere, we found out that we were standing in an empty room that was strewn with leaves, the windows were broken and the wind was blowing in the debris. There were no furniture at all except for an old broken bench and a wooden side table. The walls were bare except for cobwebs. The worst was that a dead dog, rotting away was on the floor, sending forth an awful smell.
Needless to say we ran screaming into the night.
All five of us were not able to agree on anything we saw the scene for only a minute if not less. We all agreed however that we were in a furnished room in an evening.
Later we heard that the house's first tenant was a beautiful Chinese woman from the Mainland. It seemed she was raped and murdered by people unknown. She died in that house among her beautiful furniture, and was only found in her sad situation a few days later by some passers by who were curious about the smell coming from the house.
The house always seemed to smell, we were told, as something dead would always be there...if it was not a dog, it would be a cat or a rat. It was as if the woman's spirit still want to be found for the smell would make some people peep in. Surprisingly we did not smell anything foul when we first entered the house. Maybe as children, we were only shown the nice side of the story.
The house is no longer there, the land had been leveled and a housing developer had 'grown' townhouses there. But it is said that the terrace house where the little house used to be, sometimes grow very cold even during midday and soft old Chinese music could be heard during quiet nights.
[b]Dogs Aren't the Only Ones....[b]
At 14, Abby was capable of staying home alone--at least for one night--and living in a single parent household, with out siblings, quite accustomed. But, since she and her father lived in a remote, rural farmhouse, she was often afraid to remain by herself, and it wasn't always possible for friends to sleep over.
So,facing another overnight business trip, Abby's father purchased a Doberman to protect, and keep her company. She, and Diablo, bonded instantly, and Abby informed her father, that being alone would no longer frighten her.
On the afternoon of her father's trip, Abby promised that she would be careful,and reassured him that she and Diablo would be absolutely alright.
"Dad, don't worry. We'll be just fine. I'm not afraid with Diablo here." Abby watched her father drive away, and then, she and Diablo went for a walk--returning just before dark. After a movie, Abby and Diablo retired to her room.Soon,both were sound asleep, with Diablo resting on the floor beside the bed.
Sometime,in the early portion of the the night, Amy was awakened to a steady drip...drip... drip. Annoyed, she got up, and went to investigate. First she checked the kitchen faucet, and then the bathroom tub, and sink. Finding no leaks, she returned to bed, lay down, and placed her hand over the bedside. Diablo
l i c k e d her fingers, and she fell asleep.
A second time, during the night,Abby awoke to the same strange dripping sound. Thinking she was dreaming-- only a bit concerned-- she again reached down for Diablo. He l i c k e d
her fingers, and she promptly fell asleep.
Just before sunrise,Abby was awakened for a third time, by the drip..drip..dripping sound. But this time, it was much louder, and seemed to be coming from within her closest. She got up, and listening to the steady drip..drip...drip...Abby walked slowly towards the closet door.
DRIP...DRIP...DRIP....With a shaking hand, she cautiously opened the door and . . . . . .
Screamed...and screamed...and screamed!!! Inside,hanging by his collar, was Diablo--dead--throat sliced open....his blood dripping onto the floor.
Returning early, and hearing his daughter's screams, Abby's father raced to her room.He found her standing, just inside the closet--her hand extended, finger pointing upwards. He looked up, and froze in horror......
In the dim light,on the wall above Diablo's mutilated corpse-- written with the blood--were these words:
"HUMANS CAN LICK TOO!"
(A mile down the road, police officers found the criminally insane man who had escaped from the mental institution in the neighboring city. Apparently, Abby's screams, and her father's arrrival, had sent him running out the back door. The reason for his committment: The assault, and knife murders of three 14 y.o. girls.....30 yrs. before!!!!)
At 14, Abby was capable of staying home alone--at least for one night--and living in a single parent household, with out siblings, quite accustomed. But, since she and her father lived in a remote, rural farmhouse, she was often afraid to remain by herself, and it wasn't always possible for friends to sleep over.
So,facing another overnight business trip, Abby's father purchased a Doberman to protect, and keep her company. She, and Diablo, bonded instantly, and Abby informed her father, that being alone would no longer frighten her.
On the afternoon of her father's trip, Abby promised that she would be careful,and reassured him that she and Diablo would be absolutely alright.
"Dad, don't worry. We'll be just fine. I'm not afraid with Diablo here." Abby watched her father drive away, and then, she and Diablo went for a walk--returning just before dark. After a movie, Abby and Diablo retired to her room.Soon,both were sound asleep, with Diablo resting on the floor beside the bed.
Sometime,in the early portion of the the night, Amy was awakened to a steady drip...drip... drip. Annoyed, she got up, and went to investigate. First she checked the kitchen faucet, and then the bathroom tub, and sink. Finding no leaks, she returned to bed, lay down, and placed her hand over the bedside. Diablo
l i c k e d her fingers, and she fell asleep.
A second time, during the night,Abby awoke to the same strange dripping sound. Thinking she was dreaming-- only a bit concerned-- she again reached down for Diablo. He l i c k e d
her fingers, and she promptly fell asleep.
Just before sunrise,Abby was awakened for a third time, by the drip..drip..dripping sound. But this time, it was much louder, and seemed to be coming from within her closest. She got up, and listening to the steady drip..drip...drip...Abby walked slowly towards the closet door.
DRIP...DRIP...DRIP....With a shaking hand, she cautiously opened the door and . . . . . .
Screamed...and screamed...and screamed!!! Inside,hanging by his collar, was Diablo--dead--throat sliced open....his blood dripping onto the floor.
Returning early, and hearing his daughter's screams, Abby's father raced to her room.He found her standing, just inside the closet--her hand extended, finger pointing upwards. He looked up, and froze in horror......
In the dim light,on the wall above Diablo's mutilated corpse-- written with the blood--were these words:
"HUMANS CAN LICK TOO!"
(A mile down the road, police officers found the criminally insane man who had escaped from the mental institution in the neighboring city. Apparently, Abby's screams, and her father's arrrival, had sent him running out the back door. The reason for his committment: The assault, and knife murders of three 14 y.o. girls.....30 yrs. before!!!!)
