YPICA LEE LIM MING COLLEGE
TERROR IN THE HALL
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itches, masked murderers, ghouls, zombies, and ancient vampires were among those that terrorized the unsuspecting students in the school hall on Halloween Day, 31 October 2019. Willing victims to the hall of haunts were prepped up at the make-up corner so that they will blend in with the creepers. After they got their scary make-up, the students were then led to the game booths area. Halloween-themed English games must first be played by those who want to go in the Halloween House. Those who preferred not to
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ESCAPE TO OCEAN PARK
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A NIGHT IN A MANSION
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face the monsters simply watched the horror short film entries to After Dark, YPICA Film Club’s Horror Short Film Competition. Screams of terror echoed from the dark beneath the stage and those who survived the horror got to pose in the Halloween photo booth. The Halloween Horrorfest is another fun way of learning English at YPICA Lee Lim Ming College. Through the English booth games and guided tours of the horror house, students get to enrich their vocabulary and practise their conversation skills.
WRITING SHORT STORIES
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AFTER AFTER DARK
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EERIE IDIOMS
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GORY GALLERY
Escape to Ocean Park
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orror stories often come from the most imaginative minds and we definitely have some of the best horror writers lurking in the dark corners of our school. In the weeks leading up to Halloween, senior form students were busy developing their scary short stories in hopes of winning a ticket to Ocean Park. The prize is befitting our creative winners because Ocean Park’s
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Halloween Fest is the perfect occasion that can feed their imagination. A total of 18 writers received an entry pass to the theme park where they spent a day riding thrilling rides, entering scary attractions, and munching on Halloween treats. All of them enjoyed their reward and went home feeling inspired to write the next chapter of their hair-raising tale.
A NIGHT IN A MANSION A Short Story by Dibya Rana (5B)
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n a boring Sunday, my friends, Kai and Lauren, decided to go to an abandoned mansion. There were rumours in the village saying that the mansion was somehow haunted. The mansion wasn’t far from where we lived so, we thought we should find out for ourselves whether the rumours were true and besides, we wanted a gripping adventure as well. In the evening, we grabbed a few torches and headed out to the village. The wind was howling, which made the experience more thrilling. We were walking for about five minutes when we came across a road. The road looked very creepy and unwelcoming. It was dark because there were no street lights at all. There was a sign on a pole near the road. It had sketchy writing on it—a warning: “No trespassing, very dangerous.” Kai looked at the sign and asked, “Hm, what could’ve happened here?” We thought the same question. What could have happened? After walking along the road, we finally reached the mansion. The mansion looked menacing. It’s as if that even in daytime, it would still look as sinister as it’d looked at night. The windows of the mansion were broken and boarded up as if something horrible tried its best to come out. The front door was locked so we had to find another door or a broken window
that was big enough for us to climb through. We walked to the back of the building and found a back door. Surprisingly, it was open. It was like a secret entry. Lauren got in first, then Kai and me. As soon as we got in, everything became dead silent even though the wind was still howling outside. It was impossible that the sound couldn’t come into the building since some of the windows were broken and the back door was open. We were confused but ignored it eventually. We shined our torches inside the house. The interior looked burnt. It had many rooms but most of the doors were broken or missing. We all wondered again what could’ve really happened there. We took a quick glance at the rooms on the ground floor. There was nothing but broken beds, wardrobes and mirrors, nothing more. “Hey! Why don’t we go upstairs, there might be more to see?” said a curious Kai. We all agreed and started walking up the stairs. As soon as we reached the top floor, there was a long hallway. It was dark so, we shined our torches to the end of the hallway. When the light reached the end of the hallway, we couldn’t believe what we saw. It was a woman in a white dress. She had bloodshot eyes and burnt skin.
She disappeared in an instant! How did she even get there? We didn’t hear any footsteps at all! Horror-stricken, we all ran down as fast as possible. We could hear the loud footsteps of the woman coming from behind us. “What do we do now?!” I yelled as chills went down my back. “Break the windows! They shouldn’t be hard to break!” yelled Lauren. Lauren kicked the remaining pieces of glass off the windows. She got out and pulled us out together with her. As soon as we got out, we ran away as fast as possible. I saw the woman gesturing to us to never return. When we all reached our homes, I searched online about the mansion. I needed to know what happened there. My eyes widened as I read through the details of the story. Several decades ago, a wealthy man had gone bankrupt and had a lot of debts. When he couldn’t pay his debts, his mansion was set on fire. He escaped, but his wife couldn’t. People say that her spirit still roams in the mansion and wouldn’t like it if anyone disturbed her. I told my friends about what I’ve researched online and we all decided never to go there again. I feel sorry for the wife. She didn’t deserve to die like that.
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riting short stories sounds like a tedious class-related task to many, but some people find joy and satisfaction in turning their ideas and imagination into readable fiction. To be fair, an average short story with somewhere between 1,500 and 8,000 words could take days or even weeks to write. It’s a daunting task that only the passionate writer can achieve. However, no one knows that they can write well unless they try and no one becomes a good writer unless they keep writing. Below are some tips to get you started on your journey as a storyteller. If you have already written short stories before, we hope that these tips can help you improve your skills as a writer.
g n i it r W o t e d i Gu ort Stories h S The Quick Brown Fox
1 Begin with a Cold Open
Most young writers begin with phrases like “One day,” or “Once upon a time.” It’s time to leave this style on your kindergarten bookshelf and begin your stories with a cold open instead. A cold open is an important incident or action that actually happens in the middle part of your story. By starting with an important incident, your reader will be interested to find out more.
2 Aim for Fewer Characters
different situations. Leave out descriptions on how your character looks like unless it is relevant to the plot. If you feel the need to describe your character, have it in a conversation between other characters.
4 Nobody’s Perfect in a Crazy World
Give your hero a flaw—maybe she has a fear of bees or he is always late. Put your characters in trouble. Make them suffer. Make it seem like the world is against them. Readers relate better to imperfect characters.
The fewer characters you have, the better characters you write. What is the use of eight friends in a story when most of them do not contribute to the plot? Keep 5 Manage Your Back Story your cast to a minimum and give them You do not have to write about the birth of your character and how he or she was more to do instead. brought up to explain the present situation. Back story has a place in 3 Do Not Describe Too Much Let your reader discover your character’s longer novels but not in a short story. Do not write one page of back story to personality by putting your hero in explain anything. Keep your back story to a minimum—one or two sentences will do--longer than that is just extra.
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6 Pick up the Pace
Make sure that your characters and your plot are always on the move. This can be achieved by adding several bits of challenges aside from your main conflict. If your character needs to go from Point A to Point B, what obstacles will he encounter along the way and how will he overcome these troubles?
7 Find a Reader
Find a trusted reader, perhaps your teacher or best friend, to read your work. It takes courage to let someone read your work but it pays off in the end because they can give you valuable feedback. Your trusted reader may tell you how you can improve.
8 Keep Writing
The only way to get better is to keep writing. Finish one story and start another one right away. The key words here are “start” and “finish”. If you start a story, you’ll need to finish it before starting another one.
AFTER
AFTER
HOSTS KISHAN AND ALYSSA CALL ON MR SAMUEL TO PRESENT THE RISING STAR TROPHY TO THE AWARDEES: AMRO, LEISL, AND RICHARD.
(LEFT TO RIGHT) PRINCIPAL KWOK PRESENTS THE BEST SCRIPT TROPHY TO HARIS, HANS RECEIVES BEST VILLAIN AWARD FROM MR SAMUEL, AND MR KWOK TAKES A PHOTO WITH THE CAST OF "WHAT IF?"
LEISL RECEIVES THE BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS AWARD FROM MR SAMUEL WHILE HER TEAM TAKES THE TROPHY FOR BEST GROUP.
THE CAST AND CREW OF "NIHILIUM" AKA "DO NOT DELETE" WERE THE BIG WINNERS OF AFTER DARK, TAKING HOME THE TROPHIES FOR BEST FILM, BEST DIRECTOR, BEST SFX, AND BEST ACTOR.
DARK
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fter Dark, the first Horror Short Film Competition organised by YPICA’s Filmmaking Club, showcased the potential of our young filmmakers. Four film submissions vied for the title of Best Film. “Nihilium” aka “Do Not Delete” got the most coveted trophy along with a few others including Best Director for Matthew James Borrill (5C), and Best Special or Sound FX for Enrique Encoy Jr (5C). The filmmakers and their cast and crew faced different challenges during the production of their films. Scheduling was the main concern especially with shortened school days. “It was hard to agree on location and time because many of my group mates have sports activities,” Rising Star Awardee Amro Bakhotmah (1C) of team "Would You Dare?" shared. The deadline was extended a couple of times but the filmmakers were able to submit their films in time for a Halloween premiere in the school hall. The four films, plus two other features from the Filmmaking Club—“Delete” and “Werewolf”—became part of the attractions of this year’s Halloween Horrorfest. Although it wasn’t included in the competition, many viewers were inspired by Sohaib Rasheed’s (6C) “Delete”, pointing out the quality of the camera-work and editing. As for the other films in competition, Form 3’s actors in their film “What If?” impressed the audience with their fine performances, thanks to their award-winning script written by Haris Usman (3B). Liesl Besta (1C) and her team received the award for Best Group as they were the only group that kept up with the schedule. The cast and crew of “Nihilium” also won movie tickets aside from their trophy. In keeping with the Halloween theme, they chose to watch Doctor Sleep, a movie based on horror writer Stephen King’s novel. Next year, the club expects more film submissions as the event proved to be a fun yet educational activity for those involved. Not only did they enjoy the actual shooting, the cast and crew learned scriptwriting, planning, directing, acting, camerawork, and editing. The films may be viewed online on the club’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ypicafilmclub.
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RIDING SHOTGUN
EERIE IDIOMS We know that idioms are sayings that should not be taken literally. However, the origins of some idioms reveal a very direct and eerie interpretation. Read on and discover the shocking details of these idioms.
Meaning: To “ride shotgun” means to ride in the front seat of a car beside the driver. Example: “Dad, I’m riding shotgun today while you drive. I want to see the view better.”
Origin: The phrase goes back to the time of cowboys in the Wild West. In order to protect drivers of coaches, one person is assigned a seat in front and is given a shotgun to stand guard in case robbers try to steal from them.
PULL SOMEONE'S LEG
SAVED BY THE BELL Meaning: To be saved from a difficult situation by a last-minute intervention. Example: “It was my turn to give the speech but I was saved by the bell when the lights went out.” Origin: During the 18th century, it was common to be buried alive because doctors could not confirm deaths very well so, safety coffins were invented. A string would be tied around the dead person’s wrist and connected to a bell above-ground. In case the person inside the coffin was alive after all, the slightest movement would ring the bell and a nearby grave keeper could dig up the buried person.
Meaning: To lie to someone as a joke. Example: “I didn’t really get married. I was just pulling your leg.” Origin: Thieves and robbers tried clever ways to rob people in the old days and literally pulling someone’s leg was one of their tricks. One robber would trip a victim by pulling their leg and another would steal the victim’s precious items while they’re on the ground.
MEET THE DEADLINE MAD AS A HATTER Meaning: Crazy or angry. Example: “You’re mad as a hatter for playing a prank on Mr Joe!”
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Origin: The Mad Hatter is a popular character in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland but the idiom “mad as a hatter” may have originated from something more unfortunate. Back in the 17th century, hat makers in France used mercury in making hats. The fumes from the mercury affected their mental state and behaviour, resulting to them acting like mad men.
Meaning: To submit or finish an assigned task before a specific date. Example: “I need to turn in my homework before the Friday because I want to meet the deadline.”
Origin: During the time of the American Civil War in the 1860s, people thrown in prison camps were told to stay on their side of the camp. A line was drawn on the ground and any prisoner who dared cross it would be shot dead.
Despite the eerie origins of these idioms, there is no harm in using them today. Can you think of any modern-day phrases based on unfortunate incidents that might become idioms in the future?
Gory Gallery
CAN YOU GUESS THE RIDDLES?
1. What is a mummy's favourite kind of music?
2. WhY ARE GRAVEYARDS SO NOISY?
3. WhAT'S A GHOST'S FAVOURITE STREET?
4. WHAT IS A WITCH'S FAVOURITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL?
ANSWERS: 1. WRAP MUSIC 2. BECAUSE OF ALL THE COFFIN 3. A DEAD END 4. SPELLING
BRAIN TEASERS
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The Lost Spirit A Short Story by Firy (5A)
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nce upon a time, there was a village tucked deep in the forest. The villagers were quite unfortunate because they encountered several tragedies like hurricanes and earthquakes. Many people have died. There was a little wooden house in the village where a sad family lived. A father, a mother, and their ten-year-old daughter called Alice. In the last earthquake, they lost the youngest son, Tom. Indeed, sadness filled their home and everywhere else in the village. One day, Alice’s mother asked her to go out to buy some cloth. So, Alice carried a basket and went to the town. When she arrived at a cloth shop, the sky suddenly turned dark. “What a bad weather! It’s raining now,” Alice said. “You can stay here until the rain stops,” an old woman said. Alice was unhappy and told the old woman, “Thank you very much but I must be back home before sunset. Otherwise, my family will worry about me.” The old woman gave Alice a cup of tea and said, “Take it easy, girl. It will be fine soon,” Alice drank some tea and felt sleepy. She tried to stay awake but her eyes wanted to sleep. She saw the old woman coming towards her. Alice closed her eyes. She opened her eyes again slowly and saw the old woman’s hand reaching for her face. Alice fell asleep. When Alice woke up, she found herself in her bedroom. “What happened? Why am I here?” Alice walked out of the bedroom, and she saw her basket on the desk. There was a teddy bear and some cloth in her basket. “Is anyone here?” Alice
asked. However, the house was still in silence. She picked up her teddy bear and started to play. Suddenly, the bear said, “Hi! Alice. From now on, I’m yours. I can take you wherever you want to go!” Alice felt shocked and said, “Really? It’s so amazing! I’d like to go to the--” Alice stopped talking. The voice sounded familiar. Could it be her brother, Tom’s voice? She suddenly remembered what father used to say that when some people die in tragedy, their spirit would be lost in the world. So, she decided to take the teddy bear back to the cloth shop. It was still raining outside and when Alice arrived at the cloth shop, she was all wet. The shop had closed. She went to the back and tried the back door. It was open. She went inside. It was dark and the only light was from the streetlights beaming in from the front windows. She saw a figure. It’s the shadow of the old woman. “Hello,” said Alice “I just want to return this teddy bear. It’s not mine. I think you put it in my basket by mistake.” The shadow seemed to turn to face Alice. “It has always been yours. But if you don’t want it, you can leave Tom here. They can rest here, too,” the old woman said. She raised her hand and pointed to the shelves by the wall. Small dots glowed in the dark. Alice looked at the teddy bear she was holding and saw its eyes light up, too! She quickly placed it on top of the counter and ran out of the shop. Alice finally arrived home and found her mother waiting by the door. cry. “Tom is fine, mother. We can be “Where have you been, young girl?!” happy again,” Alice said as her mother mother demanded. Alice wanted to hugged her back. tell her everything but she hugged her mother instead and started to Volume 1, Issue 1 November 2019
Editorial Board
YPICA Lee Lim Ming College 2461-8818, 2467-0652 2467-0775 Shan King Estate, Tuen Mun, N.T., HK school@mail.ypicallmc.edu.hk http://www.ypicallmc.edu.hk CASTLE PEAK CHRONICLES is the official Creepy Newsletter of YPICA Lee Lim Ming College. It is published by YPICALLMC. For more information, visit our website.
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