By Vantage Staff
Here’s your reminder that The Vantage is putting on a contest that asks you to finish a spooky Halloween story. Just read the beginning of this tale by staff member Anna Corbett-Neal, type your ending in an email and submit it to vantage.nu@gmail.com by 11:59 p.m on Monday. We’ll publish the winner in our Oct. 30 issue, and that author will get two tickets to Field of Screams and a big bag of Halloween candy. Keep your ending to 300 words or fewer.
The House on Maple Street
It was the perfect lift-off. As I squeezed the handlebars of my bike, I jumped the makeshift dirt ramp for the hundredth time that evening. As I floated off, I squeezed the hand grips so tight, the color was draining from my fists. Landing the bike with a satisfying thud, I looked around for cheers and was met with silence, realizing my friends had left just after the sun started to set. That's when I realized that the street lights had been turned on.
How long had they been on? What time was it? I knew the moment I got home, I was in for a world of hurt.
I set off in such a frenzy that I almost didn't notice the strange light illuminating from the end of the street. This light wouldn't seem out of the ordinary to outsiders, but I knew better. Maple Street had always been known for the supposedly abandoned house at the end of the street. I say supposedly because now, there was a light shining through the top window. Could it just be a candle that a meddling kid lit as a prank? Or was it something more sinister?
I knew I had to be home soon, but I couldn't shake the feeling that was pulling me toward the light. It was as though its glowing radiance was calling to me, like a moth to a flame. Before I knew it, I was at the doorstep of the house. It looked much more run down up close than it had from the street. Some of the windows had been boarded up, and the dark blue paint was chipped and peeling. Even the porch had holes in the wood. One step forward would send me falling through the boards.
As I approached, I noticed the wooden front door was cracked open. Without a second thought, I pushed the door open and stepped in.
PHOTO: Vantage Staff
