The MAG Volume Number MAG Unknown 2014
16, 1
The Unknown
MAG Unknown 2014
The MAG Volume
16,
Number
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The Literary & Art Magazine of the Ranney Middle School Ranney School 235 Hope Road Tinton Falls, NJ 07724 (732) 542-4777 (732) 544-1629 FAX Front Cover Design by Lily Elkwwood Inside Front Cover and Back Cover Graphics by Seth Marx The editorial staff uses Microsoft Word and Microsoft Publisher software programs to complete their layout work. The cover is printed on 65 pound Cougar cover stock. The pages are on 60 pound opaque white bond. The fonts used are Berlin Sans FB for the majority of the publication with I Refuse to Sink applied to the titles.
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The MAG Myths and Glyphs Literary and Art Magazine of the Ranney Middle School 2014 Co-Editors: Lily Elkwood Jacqueline Geller Seth Marx Catharine Sabaitis Emily Sallustio Veronica Shaw Staff: Haley Bovino Rohan Sikand Advisor: Mrs. Lorraine Benditt The MAG provides a venue for the publication of class work and the personal writings of the students of Ranney Middle School. The publication hopes to inspire the student body to appreciate the talent of its members and to express its own creativity in written and illustrative form. The pieces are judged anonymously by the staff members of The MAG, pending the approval of Mrs. Benditt and the administration of Ranney School. Work is accepted by Mrs. Benditt by due dates set at the beginning of each semester. Mrs. Benditt would like to thank her staff and editors for their enthusiasm as they elicited pieces of writing, illustrations and photographs to demonstrate the theme of The Unknown. She would also like to thank Mrs. Nancy King and Dr. Carol Palermo for submissions from their English classes, as well as Mr. David Fischer, Head of Ranney Middle School, and Ranney administration for their support. MAG Unknown 2014
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Foreword This year’s MAG is all about the unknown, in terms of everything from murder mysteries to aliens. The idea for The Unknown Edition stemmed from the concept of secrets. Stories grew from murder mystery prompts, prompts about haunted hikes, and even prompts about haunted cruise ships. We were worried that students’ work would not be diverse, but to our surprise it was more so than we could ever have imagined. After days of reading and editing students’ first drafts, we experienced many evenings of nightmare-filled sleep. We think everyone needs a good scare or a good mystery to puzzle out. Things like watching a scary movie, riding a rollercoaster, or walking through a haunted house bring our kind of student a thrilling feeling. However, our student writers delivered work just as, or more, thrilling than stories that any these ideas could create. Each piece in this edition is completely unique, and each takes the reader on a new adventure. We are privileged to have seen each writer, artist or photographer channel his or her inner unknown. We hope you enjoy The Unknown Edition! Sincerely, The Co-Editors
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Table of Contents “The Unknown” by Seth Marx
1
Mysteries of the Paranormal
2-35
“Gateway” photograph by Himani Nayyar
2
“The Swallow’s Song” by Laura Lehrfeld
3
“Mannequin” by Jacqueline Geller
4-5
“The Howard House Mystery” by Chloe Walsh
6-10
“Mystery” by Ryan Rinaldo
10
“The Monster in John’s House” by Corbin Nielsen
11-15
“Escape” photograph by Himani Nayyar
15
“Monster Tracks” pencil drawing by Tara Crilly
16
“The Painting” by Mia Glass
17-20
“Hideout” photograph by Himani Nayyar
20
“Candlelight” by Jessica Moser
21
“Who’s There?” by Ana Krikorian
21
“Inside Your Head” by Abigail Granata
22
“Lock-Up” photograph by Himani Nayyar
22
“Latched” by Sarah Casucci
22
“Murder by a Dead Comrade” by Cady Gentile
23-25
“Am I Alive?” by Jasmin Dave
25
“Halloween in the Graveyard” crayon drawing by Shayna Field
26
“Johnny Be Gone” by Jacob Guss
26
“The Wicked Hike” story and photographs by Joseph Strizhak
27-29
“Goat Sucker” by Alyssa Mendez
30-33
“Deep and Dark in the Night” by Corrine Villany and Maria Natsis
33
“A Beady Eyed Doll” by Priyanka Prasad
34-35
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Crime Mysteries “Private Eye” colored pencil drawing by Jacqueline Baron “My Crime” by Anisha Gupta “The Emerald Thieves” by Gianna Peppas “The Detective” pencil drawing by Jane Mallach “The Girl in the Alley” by Rachel Chalnick “Who Done It?” by Jason Leventhal “Surrounding Darkness” by Emma Nisbet and Carmine Mastrokostas “Still Life” colored pencil drawing by Jessica Moser “Gone” by Emily Sallusito “Disappeared” by Jacob Greller “Infinity” photograph by Max D’Andrea “My Parents’ Kidnapping“ photograph and story by Alexandra Greenberg
36-46 36 37 38-39 40 41 41 42 42 42 43-44 44 45-46
Futuristic Mysteries “The Universe” by Alex Roberts “Artificial Intelligence” by Audrey Myers “Robot Player” pencil drawing by Audrey Myers “The Virus” story and map illustration by Jake Kallman
47-53 47 48-49 50 51-52
“I Wonder” Mysteries “What Will I Be?” by Nicole Goldwert “Time” by Varun Sikand “The Baseball” by Thomas Jensen “The Limestone” by Corbin Nielsen
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Classic Mysteries “The Bermuda Triangle” by Jacqueline Erler “The Loch Ness Monster” by Blake Epstien “The Escape from Alcatraz” by Kiren Shah “The True Story of The Conjuring” by Ariana Mangano “Moon Mystery” by Samantha Riebesell “What is the Unknown?” by Ethan Brandon
55-60 55 56 57 58 59 60
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The Unknown by Seth Marx This poem was written for the sake of the good. If you don’t try to run I warn you, you should. Do it now and don’t look back; Get as far away as you can from the attack. All over the news unsolved mysteries, Even you can become a case history. Hopefully you can survive the unknown, With no clues at all, nothing is shown. I wish for the best to survive the fight, Every single day and every single night.
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“ Gateway” by Himani Nayyar
Mysteries of the Paranormal MAG Unknown 2014
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The Swallow’s Song by Laura Lehrfeld It was many, many, a year ago In a hamlet by the sea. When you could hear the swallow sing A song so lovely.
The stars would shine so bright All through the mid-time night. Children would come out to play, But If they heard the swallow sing, They’d be sure to run away.
Have you heard the story of the girl who disappeared? She heard the swallow sing, And that sound began her fears. She disappeared in darkness And left no sign or trace. Her family hasn't seen her since 1958. Children hear the swallow sing; They follow the song past shore and sea. But if you hear the swallow sing Be sure to find a way to flee. MAG Unknown 2014
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Mannequin by Jacqueline Geller Caity Sorrentino was twenty-one years old. She lived in a small apartment with a lovely companion, her dog, Mary. One day, she received a catalog from a jewelry shop in the local mall that was selling all these new items. She scanned through them, and something caught her eye. On one page was a golden necklace that she knew she just had to buy. She left the apartment and made her way to the mall. It seemed to Caity like this would be a normal day, but she was fooled. Caity entered the mall holding the catalog. She was determined to find the necklace, and as soon as she saw an elderly sales clerk passing by, she said, “Hello. I am looking for this golden necklace in the catalog. Do you know where to find it?” “Oh yes,” replied the older looking lady, “You need to go to the end of this level. Do you see that store all the way down there in the corner? That’s where you need to go.” “Thanks so much!” said Caity. She was jumping with joy; she had never been so excited in her life. She entered the store, but all she saw was … nothing, no racks, no merchandise, no people. To make it worse, the lights were so dim that she couldn’t see clearly. Out of nowhere, a man popped up behind her. “Hello. I am Howard. How may I help you?” “Hi. I’m Caity. You see, I am looking for this golden necklace, but I think I am in the wrong store …”
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“Oh no, ma'am. I have it here. Come to the front desk,” Howard replied. They walked to the desk, and he pulled out the necklace. Caity was so happy that she didn’t think about the creepy store any longer. The total came to ten dollars; she thought it was a good deal. She put the necklace on, thanked Howard, and walked towards the exit where she had entered the mall. As she was about to leave, a man stopped her and asked where she had gotten the amazing necklace. “Oh, I got it at the store down the at the end of this level, in the corner,” said Caity. “Miss, I am Jeremy Turner, and I have been the manager of this mall for the past thirty years. This store you are talking about does not exist.” “I think you are mistaken,” she replied, “Here, let me show it to you.” They walked down the hallway, and when she got to the spot where the store should have been, there was nothing, just a plain, solid wall. Caity was flabbergasted. They walked back to the exit of the mall, and Caity saw the clerk who had first pointed out the jewelry shop to her. “Excuse me, please tell this man that you showed me where this necklace could be found.” She was in shock again as she noticed she wasn’t talking to a lady. She was speaking to a mannequin. She felt woozy and passed out. When she woke up, she was on the floor. Nobody was near her anymore. She thought that maybe the mall had already closed. As she got up, the elderly saleswoman and Howard were standing right next to her. They said, “It’s time to become one of us.” MAG Unknown 2014
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The Howard House Mystery By Chloe Walsh
She was a perfect child. Some even called her pure. Anne Elizabeth Mellor was just like a princess. Then one day the lights in her room started to flicker, and the shattering sound of a chandelier breaking came from Anne’s room. Her mother Rose ran in and saw Anne in the center of the room in her nightgown muttering in a different language. “Anne … Anne what are you doing?” Rose stuttered to her daughter. “They need me there, Mummy,” Anne said softly. “Who, who needs you, where?” Rose questioned. “The Howards, Mum, something has gone awfully wrong.” Now Rose did not know this, but no one in the Howard family had been alive for 93 years! Let’s start by talking about the Howards. They were a couple with no children. Mr. Howard worked for a library, and Mrs. Howard was a hermit. Mr. Howard liked to read books about the occult. Some would see him reading the books, candle in hand, speaking Latin. He liked black magic; people knew this because of certain signs. He would dream about dead people or dead ancestors. He would twitch in the night, and most of all, he felt a lack of interest in life and at work. Some called him a madman. Mrs. Howard was the nicest lady many people had ever met until she met Henry Howard. After her marriage, Agatha Howard started to turn cruel and demanding. She
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withdrew from society, living alone with Henry. During those times she would make spells, bad spells, to kill people, spells to torture. She would make brews, and the lights in the house would flicker on and off at all times of the day and night. The Howards were disliked; they were outcasts, deranged even. Every other day that week, Anne would wake up telling her mother the terrible things the Howards had done when they were alive. One day she told her mother that they had burnt down a temple, and the next day she said they had created a feud on their street about why their lights were flickering. Rose now wished she had investigated more about the previous owners before she had purchased the house three months ago. The Howards had been buried in their basement. Mr. and Mrs. Howard were buried together, and, before they died, Agatha had put a spell on both of them so that they could live again. It was April 1889, and the Howards were home together making the spell. “In regeneratione, anima est, et habitabunt in redemptionem corporis nostri. Cum dies venit, et habitavit in nobis electio puer. Let the soul have rebirth; let us live again in new bodies. Once the day comes, a child will be chosen in which our souls can live.� Over and over, they would chant these words, and the next morning they were found dead in the front yard of their home. The morgue could find no wounds or anything to indicate the cause of death. The Howards were not even old. They were both 41. However, the Howards knew their spell would soon work and that they would be reborn. Anne went to bed the next night slightly off. She refused to do anything she was told and would not eat either. She stayed in her room singing lullabies to her dolls. Anne would kick and scream and then be perfectly fine; Rose did not know what was going on. Soon enough in the middle of the night footsteps were heard throughout the house, as well as the MAG Unknown 2014
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sound of singing, “Let the soul have rebirth; let us live again in new bodies. Once the day comes, a child will be chosen in which our souls can live,” sang Anne. “Anne, what are you doing out of your bedroom at this hour of the night?” Rose asked Anne curiously. “Let the soul have rebirth; let us live again in new bodies. Once the day comes a child will be chosen in which our souls can live,” Anne said, doll in hand, and she kept walking. “Anne Elizabeth Mellor, what are you doing?” her mother shrieked. Anne finally turned around and said, “Who is Anne? I am Agatha Howard.” She lingered for a second and creepily skipped away out of the house. All night, the lights flickered, and the winds screeched around the house. Rose noticed every creak in the house. Rose had been looking for Anne, or the person she thought was Anne, all night. The next day, she could see everything clearly. The repaired chandelier was again on the ground. Anne’s bed sheets were ripped off, and her closet was full of new clothes, even menswear. It had rained that night, and Anne’s muddy footprints could be seen walking back into the house. Rose followed them. At first, the footprints were little, like the size Anne’s foot would make, but then they became bigger, the size of a woman’s shoe. Rose was brought to a place in the house where she had never been before, the north wing. In the north wing, Rose followed the footprints down into the cellar area. She began to hear footsteps that grew louder and louder. Then, the light grew faint. Rose heard whispers. “She is coming down here now,” a voice said. “Who?” another voice responded. “The mother of the child; hide the child. Hide her!” the womanly voice said. MAG Unknown 2014
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“I guess the spell wears off after twelve hours,” said the other voice. Rose ran down the steps as quietly as she could, her whole body shaking. Two people turned around, and she knew it had to be the ones Anne had been talking about all week, the Howards. “Where is my child?” Rose said, her voice trembling. The Howards turned around as if this was a normal question. “Oh, hello, dear. Your child is asleep in her room. Go fetch her, and we will leave.” Rose ran up to Anne’s room, but nobody was there. They had lied. Rose ran back down to the basement, but nobody was there. There was a candle and a note left for Rose Jacqueline Mellor. She blew out the candle, and the note opened. Rose picked it up and started to read it.
Dear Rose, We are the Howards. We were alive 93 years ago. Our last day as living beings was April 24, 1889. We lived together in this house for forty years. Anne’s room was our child’s room until she died when she was only six months old. We needed that room to be our sacred room when we came back to life. We took Anne’s body and put ourselves into her. We came back to life sooner than we had expected. Anne is in the other side of the house, underground in another cellar area. You will find her there. We have lived in the souls of everybody you have ever seen in this house. This is our house, The Howards
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Rose was still for a second, thinking about the Howards. She needed Anne. Anne was somewhere she did not even know existed. She turned around, and there were rose petals. She decided to follow the rose petals. Up the stairs she went, following the rose petals outside of the house to its back. She saw a hole dug fifteen feet deep with a bouquet of roses at the bottom. She knew Anne was in there, so she jumped. Thorns hit her body like needles. Anne sat crying in the corner. Rose ran to make Anne feel better, but Anne was confused and frightened. She did not know where she was, and she could not remember anything from a week ago to the present moment. Questions were asked; however, Anne could not seem to remember anything at all about having her body inhabited by the Howards. Years went by, but Anne never remembered anything about the experience. It just remains the Howard house mystery.
Mystery by Ryan Rinaldo
Mysterious noise Yelling children Screaming parents Time to hide Everyone fears being caught Rage You are next
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The Monster in John’s House by Corbin Nielsen Nobody had ever noticed the house until John moved in. He was a respectable man, and he knew everybody in town. He was wealthy and could afford such a house as the one he lived in. It was large with many rooms. A spiral staircase speckled with golden gems went through the middle of the house. A large crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, looming down on the guests lucky enough to be invited inside. The kitchen was a large, open area with a bit of everything in the pantry, and the dining table stretched from one end of the dining room to the other. A large ornate tablecloth hung off the side perfectly framing the cut glass goblets and plates, handmade from polished sapphires. The bedroom was tucked away in a corner of the top floor, yet so large that it could hold the massive poster bed made of mahogany and lined with silver. Two months after moving in, John disappeared. His body was never found, and nobody knew what had happened to him. It was two years after when I moved into the same town. It was a very quiet town, yet it seemed to glare at an observer from every corner, its eyes following a person like the ones in oil paintings sometimes seem to do. All of the buildings were gray and bland, decaying from the outside in. The townsfolk seemed to hide away in their houses whenever my car passed, glancing at me through the pulled down shades. Sycamore Street was a private street, out of the way of the oncoming traffic, which always slowed almost to a stop on that street. The road was canopied by an overgrowth of trees and was jagged with weeds. John’s house stood at the back of its lot, behind a stand of trees. As I approached the house, it seemed to grow brighter and larger, tantalizing me to come inside, so I entered.
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At first, it appeared to be a beautiful house with its sparkling chandelier attracting the eye, but if a person focused away from the shining lights, he or she found a decaying mess of warped wood and termites, and the stairs were not in good shape. Once away from the center hall and the illumination of the chandelier, the rooms were dark but allowed enough light for me to see right in front of me. The floors creaked below me as I walked toward the kitchen, which was still finely furnished and was the only room kept in wonderful shape. It was a miracle that robbers hadn’t taken anything. Suddenly, something crashed behind me, ripping a hole in the floor. The hole revealed a mess of red sludge, the wood crushing whatever was underneath. I grew uneasy and jumped over the hole into the living room. The living room floor was sturdy, but the ceiling was cracking as if someone had been stomping deliberately above. I looked around for any sign of life, but nothing stood out other than the gold and silver, somehow sparkling even without light. Something was pulling me toward the valuables, as if it was greed itself. I shook myself out of a trance, noticing a button on the side wall. Curiosity piqued me, so I pressed it, only to have nothing happen but the sound of a mechanism pull. I turned back and started toward the foyer. I could actually hear the wood rotting on the stairs, the termites eating away on the “ageless” mahogany. A long red carpet decorated with gold frills descended the stairs, leading to where I stood, motionless before the creaking mess. I shuddered and reluctantly shoved my foot forward onto the first step. The wood gave way beneath my foot, leaving a gaping black spot that seemed to shout “GO BACK.” Disregarding this, I ascended the stairs one foot at a time, hearing blood curdling snaps with each step. The spiral seemed to continue on, each step becoming more and more unstable as I moved upward. I finally reached the top of the staircase, but something was off. Yes, I can hear them even now: the noises from the open room across the hall.
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The room didn’t look off at all. It was just a dark room, with the door partially open. The noises weren’t even that powerful; the sound was just a … ringing. I slowly headed to the door, staggering with each step, listening as the ringing became louder and louder, until it became unbearable. The door creaked open to reveal a gray boogeyman of a monster without any clear features but its softly glowing yellow eyes. I jolted back, and the monster followed. We stood, frozen, staring at each other in a silent battle. The thing then flung its mouth open, revealing a jagged circle of teeth and emitting an awful “GREEEEEEEEEEEE!” as it tackled me to the ground. I scrambled out of its grasp, and ran as fast as my feet could take me down the spiral stairs, not stopping to check for safe footing as I had before. Its awful breathing pursued me down the stairs, along with the knocking of its forelegs. I ducked through the basement door, locking it behind me. I was lucky to be where I was, even more so to be alive. I scanned the room to see if there was anything I could use to defend myself, but nothing popped out. I then turned to the door to see an open cage, fit for the thing I had just seen. That’s when I realized what the button had done. I had set the abomination on myself, and now I had to deal with it. I pressed my ear against the door to listen to whether or not the thing was still there, but I didn’t hear anything. Slowly, I twisted the doorknob, and out I went. The entire house was pitch black, as if the thing had accessed the electricity and dismantled it. I had no means of light or self-protection. I was completely vulnerable to any attack, so I had to keep my ears sharp. It was deathly quiet; I could only hear the faint shuffling of the thing, searching somewhere in the darkness around me. The living room was the darkest of the rooms, but I knew it held the weapons somewhere. I blindly felt around for a metal bat or anything to use to keep me alive throughout the night. My hands grasped a cold metal crowbar, just below a dresser. I pulled it out quickly but then stopped. I heard clicking behind
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me. Cautiously, I spun around, and was met face to face with the monster. “GREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” Frightened beyond belief, I stood staring straight into the spinning circle of the monster’s fangs. I dropped the crowbar out of reach, as I fumbled for safety. I acted as quickly as I could and kicked the monster in the stomach. It was knocked back, right into the sofa, and I had time to escape. I ran to the stairs, galloping up two steps at a time, still hearing the awful “GREEEE” of the thing behind me. I ducked into the master bedroom and locked the door, my heart pounding. Outside, the monster persisted, slamming against the door, ripping the foundation of the wood. I didn’t have much time. I dashed toward the nightstand and found an axe. The door slammed open, and the monster looked around. Nothing was in sight. It turned away and walked out the door, not suspecting anything. A voice arose behind it, “Foolish little monster, you … ” It turned back toward the bedroom to see me, axe in hand. It lunged toward me, screaming and tumbling down the stairs. We collapsed onto the foyer floor, groping for each other’s throats, screaming for dear life. I pushed the monster out of the way, slamming him against the wall and shattering the roof above us. I jumped up and lunged toward the monster, axe in hand. Suddenly, the monster arose and grabbed the hand with the axe. It forced the axe out of my hand and into his. I scrambled away, fear in my eyes. It stood and marched toward me, screaming and buzzing its horrible cry. It had backed me far into a corner with no means to defend myself. As fast as I could, I jumped up and smacked the axe from his hand and reached behind me, desperate for any kind of weapon. My hands clutched a Faberge Egg, prettily posed on top of its golden stand. I threw the egg into the monster’s eyes, and, blinded, he fell backwards onto the floor. I then grabbed the egg stand and beat the creature until I was certain it was dead. I sat there, panting in the monster’s black sludge of
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blood and began to laugh. I was victorious; I had beaten the monster! Suddenly, the building’s doors opened to reveal a mob of townspeople, accompanied by the police. They stood there, pointing and screaming at the monster, eyes full of hatred and astonishment. One cried out: “What have you done?” I simply answered: “Nothing to worry about. I have slain the horrible monster that roams this house!” Everyone gasped and started to yell at ME! What had I done? All I did was slay the terrible beast that lived in an abandoned house. Of course, everyone calls me crazy at the prison. In fact, I’m facing my penalty very soon; I’ll die in the electric chair. They don’t get it; they just don’t get it! All I did was slay the beast that lay in the house! I didn’t kill John! I didn’t! You believe me, don’t you? Don’t You? (This story was salvaged from a prisoner’s pocket after his execution.)
“ Escape” by Himani Nayyar
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“ Monster Tracks” by Tara Crilly
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The Painting by Mia Glass I slowly walked into our new house. It was definitely creepy. I mean what was I thinking? It was a 300 year old abandoned house. My parents told me that it was going to be a “fun way for us to bond as a family.” I just did not get it. I mean, what kind of teenage girl wants to live in a house like this? I started walking down the long endless hallway. There were no lights, just a couple of windows. There were cobwebs all over the place, and it smelled disgusting. I walked into what was going to be my room. It was dark, and the bed was covered with dust. There was a bathroom across from my bedroom, so I walked in. There was a strange painting of a grave hung on the wall. I looked closely at it, and I suddenly felt as though the painting was moving. There was a ghostly figure standing in the background, and I could have sworn it almost looked like the figure was trying to get out of the painting, trying to tell me something … I knew I was just imagining things. I was probably just tired. I quickly used the bathroom, and, before I left, I took one more glance at the painting. The figure was gone. I rushed back to my bedroom and made sure to close all the doors, including all my drawers and my closet. I covered myself with blankets, but I could not fall asleep. The painting was not that scary. I had no idea why I was freaking out because of it. Then I heard the noise of a door opening. I looked at my closet. The door was wide open. I slowly looked around, but there was no one there. I got out of bed and went over to my closet. I stepped in, and the door suddenly closed behind me. I got scared, so I leaned against the wall. I closed my eyes, and my body fell backwards. When I opened my eyes, I was sitting on grass. I was surrounded by graves. Then, I saw it. I saw the figure I had seen in the painting. I looked closely at it. It seemed to be a man. He looked like a normal person, except he was unusually pale. He was wearing a silver necklace with a small
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emerald-like jewel hung on it. As soon as I stood up, he looked up. He started running, so I chased him. Why I was following this creepy old man, I had no idea. I did not even know how I had gotten here in the first place. He did not move like a regular person. He moved swiftly through the bushes, and each time I got closer to him, I felt a rush of cool air all around me. Then, right when I was about to stop chasing him, he stopped running. He just stood there and did not even look at me. I started to walk closer to him, but he did not move. “Who are you?” I asked slowly and carefully, not knowing if he would be able to understand me. He nervously looked up and said in a quiet voice, “You were brought in here too, weren’t you?” The man sighed, and started walking back to the grave. “Wait!” I called to him. “Where are we? What am I doing here? Who are you?” I had so many questions to ask. All I remember was going into the bathroom, the odd painting, and the closet ... The man suddenly looked even more sad than before. “The house that you just moved into, well, I used to live there too. The first night that I moved into that house, I went into my new closet to put all my clothes into it. Then the door suddenly closed, and all I remember is feeling like I was being sucked into something. Since then, I have been living out here. I tried to tell you, but you ran away.” I looked down at myself and realized that I was now wearing the same necklace that this man was wearing, except the jewel on mine was a deep dark blue. “So are we now stuck here forever?” I asked, still confused. “I am not sure, but I have lost track of how many years I have been here. It seems to me that we are inside that weird painting in the bathroom. Do you know what I am talking about?” I nodded. “Good. Well, that is all I really know. You get used to it after a while, really.” I asked him about the necklaces.
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“Oh, I almost forgot! Well when I was brought here, this necklace appeared on my neck. I have no idea where it came from. Mine fits into this hole on one of the gravestones perfectly, but nothing happens. There are five of these holes, but, for all I know, the only necklaces are mine and yours.” He said this as if this was not important at all. This man seemed odd, but for some reason, I trusted him. “So there is no one else here? Maybe, if we get three other necklaces, we can … ” The man cut me off. “No, I have looked everywhere. This land goes on forever and ever until, at one point, you just come back to wherever you started from. The only person here is … Never mind. She is not important to what we are trying to do.” This time I cut him off. “What? Who is she? Does she have a necklace too?” He just sighed and told me this woman was part of the painting. He told me how she lived in a small hut that the painter had drawn in the corner of the painting. “She is a witch,” he said. “She claims that she knows where the necklaces are, and she told me that if I get the five necklaces, I will be able to go back home. She does not seem trustworthy though, so I have been trying to find them myself.” This was crazy, absolutely crazy. Then he started talking again. “She told me if I gave her the bone of a man named Will Burlington, she would give me the necklaces. However, that just seemed stupid, and I have no idea who this man is. Anyway, I have told you what you need to know. If you need me, I will be in these woods. Goodbye.” Then he just left me standing there. I had to get the bone. I was not living in this painting forever. I looked all over the forest, but I found nothing. I dug holes and went up trees. Still, there was nothing. I was about to give up on the bone, when I had an idea. Maybe Will Burlington had died and was buried in one of the graves. I rushed back to where I thought the graves were and looked on every single one of the graves for the name Burlington. Then, on the last grave, I found it. Although digging up a grave is not my idea of fun, I had to do it. I dug for a very long time, until, finally, I took out a bone. I saw a hut in the distance, so I ran. When I got there, I knocked on the door. An old lady appeared in the doorway. MAG Unknown 2014
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“What are you doing here, darling?” she said in a hoarse voice. “I came to get three necklaces that look just like this,” I said as I pointed to my necklace. “Well, I cannot just give them to you my darling. I would like the bone of a man named Will Burlington.” I quickly handed her the bone, and, as I did, five necklaces appeared in her hand, including mine and the green one of the man I had met before. Each necklace was a different color. “Thank you!” I shouted as I took the necklaces and rushed away from her hut. I wanted to get away from this woman as soon as possible. After all, she was a witch. I went over to a gravestone with five holes on it. I placed each jewel in the hole, and, as I did, one person appeared for every jewel, including the man whom I had met before. These were all the people who had been stuck in this place for years, and I was freeing them. I placed the last jewel in the hole, and, the next second, all the people were in my closet again. I sighed in relief, and I led them outside. As I walked back to my room, I took one last glance at the painting in the bathroom. The painting was gone.
“ Hideout” by Himani Nayyar
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“ Candlelight” by Jessica Moser
Who’s There? by Ana Krikorian Who’s there? I can’t bear To open the door, Come screaming out galore. I light the candle; I grasp the handle. I open the door as a dare To see such a scare. What a fright! What a sight! Is it a trick? It might make me sick. Is that a sound? Is something on the ground? Is that a creak? What do I seek? But now I cannot see What’s right in front of me As my candlelight, No longer shines in the night.
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Inside Your Head “ Lock- up” by Himani Nayyar
by Abigail Granata No need to fear, my little princess; There is nothing to fear in the darkness. No one is going to take you from me; It is safe here, I guarantee. The Boogey Man is not coming tonight Nor any other creature to give you a fright. But there are a few beasts that you should fear, And they are known to often reappear. “What causes my nightmares?” you may ask me; Why, there are these demons That control your thoughts and dreams.
Latched by Sarah Casucci I’m not sure what it is, but I know it exists. It has been following me since I was a young child. I am being bothered by something or someone. I am stuck in the unknown; don’t know what’s going on. I have not seen it… But I know it is out there; this has to be real. Am I going crazy? Is this all in my head? No, I feel its presence attached to me wherever I go. It keeps me awake at night; it won’t leave me alone. I don’t know what will come of this unknown thing That has latched itself onto me. I’m not sure what it is, but I am sure that it exists. MAG Unknown 2014
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Murder by a dead comrade by Cady Gentile His name was James Doohan. Doohan was a handsome young man with short black hair and big brown eyes. The year was 1944. He was a commander in the US Army. The most awaited day of WW II had arrived. It was D-Day, the day the Allies would land in France. While on Juno beach, Doohan shot two snipers. He led his men to higher ground through a field of anti-tank mines, and they set up defenses for the night. At 11:30 p.m., Doohan was shot with a bullet fired by one of his nervous comrades, who thought he was the enemy. Despite this, Doohan lived on. A couple weeks later, Doohan and his men had to clear out a small town. When they finished clearing the last house, they decided to take a picture. Doohan and his friend Segers stood in front of the front door, and a comrade took the picture. When they went to look at the photo, they could barely make out what they thought was a face on the glass door of the house. They decided it was just a smudge on the glass and went back to their base. When they got back to the base, they showed the picture to their other friends. One man pointed out the “smudge” on the glass. Doohan told him that they didn’t really know what it was. Then someone said that the “smudge” looked sort of like their comrade Mortensen. Everyone became quiet. Then, Doohan reminded them that it was impossible for the face to be Mortensen. He reminded them that they cleared the house, and no one was in there. Also, Mortensen had died a few months ago when he was clearing out a town. He was shot in the chest by an enemy. Nevertheless, the more they looked at the photo, the more it looked like him. Doohan decided he would go back to the house with Segers to see if they
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could find the ghost of their friend. When they were in the house, they realized the house was quite different from the way they had left it. They saw a table that had been knocked over, some broken glass on the floor and a mirror. They were sure they had left the house clean. Doohan approached the mirror carefully, while Segers looked at the mess. Then, they heard a voice. It wasn’t clear, but they thought they heard a man yell for help. Doohan and Segers didn’t move an inch. Then Doohan turned back to the mirror and saw his own reflection blink at him when he knew he hadn’t blinked! Doohan fell to the ground in fright and let out a slight yell. Segers came to his aid and asked what had happened. Doohan told him that he had just seen his own reflection blink at him. Segers thought he was seeing things. It was the only logical explanation since Doohan had been working late at night and was probably just tired. Segers helped Doohan up, and they decided that they would go down to the basement together so that if Doohan fell again, Segers could help him. When they got to the bottom of the stairs they saw something glowing from the bottom of the door that led to a storage room. They opened the door ever so carefully and looked around the dimly lighted room. They saw an outline of a man in the corner. Segers asked who was there, but there was no answer. Doohan searched for a light but couldn’t find one. They called to the figure again but still received no answer. Then, Doohan felt something touch his shoulder. Assuming it was just Segers he ignored it. Then he felt it again and again. He wiped his shoulder with his hand. A few seconds later, he felt something breathing on him. He tried to grab Seger's arm and get out of the house, but there was no arm to grab. Doohan tried to call his name, but he could not speak. Something had grabbed him, and something was covering his mouth. He heard the man’s voice again. This time it was clear, and he could make out whose voice it was. It was Mortensen’s voice. He sensed something was in front of him and coming
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closer. All of a sudden, the lights turned on. Segers was on the ground in a pool of blood. Doohan couldn’t run or even yell for help. A mirror, the same mirror that was upstairs hung on a wall, was now suspended in front of him. He saw a man through the mirror standing behind him with a knife. The man was Mortensen. He remembered Mortensen died under his command. He didn’t see Mortensen when he looked behind him. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his back, and then fell to the ground.
Am I Alive? By Jasmin Dave The ocean was calm yet looked suspicious. There were no birds around, And the sun was setting slowly making me unconscious. The silence was loud with not a soul to be found; A heart beat faster and fluttered around. My eyes locked on a light, on a light in the distance; It was there for a minute but gone in an instant. A bell was ringing as the darkness wrapped its mysterious grip; A rip in the darkness by the bright moon made me slip. In that moment a figure jumped out of the dark water, Only to disappear silently without much bother. Hot sweat poured down my forehead and a blinding sun woke me; Washed up on the banks of my town there was no one to see Just the ringing of the bell from that night. Did I drown with no one in sight? MAG Unknown 2014
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“ Halloween in the Graveyard� By Shayna Field
Johnny Be Gone By Jacob Guss Cold, dark night approaches the neighborhood, A storm trooper on his left and Yoda on his right. Something would seem out of place any other night. Candy is waiting for everyone, so all is right. The ooky, kooky haunted house stands beyond the gate; They are not frightened as untold treasures wait. Entering the house through the open door as realistic as ever, The owner not to be seen, only laughs and screeches a lever. As they look back Johnny falls through the floor Leaving only his screeches of terror.
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The Wicked Hike Story and Photographs by Joseph Strizhak
Once upon a time, in the year 2010, I was hiking around Lake Quilotoa in Ecuador. While enjoying the beauty of the lake, I noticed that my parents were far away. I rushed along the trail to catch up. I did not see a hole in the trail. The next thing I remember is that I was at the bottom of a cave. Five pairs of little eyes were staring at me in the dark. The eyes belonged to five gnomes.
“How is it up there?” asked the chubby one. I learned later that Chubba was his name. I rubbed the bump on my head. “It is sunny and warm above. How do I get out of here?” The gnome did not respond. MAG Unknown 2014
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“Do you go to school, kid?” inquired the skinny one. His name was Stick. I thought for a while about what to say. It seemed like the story about gnomes told to us by our guide a couple of days ago was true. He said that nobody ever got out of the cave with the gnomes. “Yes I do. I go to Ranney School in New Jersey.” “You must be a smart boy then,” said the funny one, whose name was Smiley. “Let’s see,” responded Wise, another gnome. “Do you like any games, buddy?” “I played Sudoku on the way here.” Wise stayed quiet for a while. Then I noticed a glint in his eyes. It looked like he had made up his mind. He handed me a little notebook. “Open to page twenty-one. You have to finish this puzzle by midday tomorrow. Otherwise you will stay with us for eternity.” “I’ll do it in thirty minutes,” I laughed. “We will see.” All the gnomes suddenly vanished. Now I could only rely on my brain. Wise was correct. I had no idea of even how to start this puzzle, but I had no choice. After struggling for almost twenty-four hours, I finally completed it. Immediately after I put in the last number, the angry face of Wise appeared in front of my eyes. “Think you are smart?” His little face turned purple in anger. “Let’s have Bigfoot the Snowman decide.”
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The second story our guide had told us when we were walking on the trail was coming true. I was standing in the snow barefoot on the top of Chimborazo volcano. I saw clouds below. Huge footprints were leading towards one of the clouds. I followed the path. The trail ended abruptly at an entrance to a large cave. Inside there was a big man with large and kind eyes. “Who are you?” the Snowman asked. I told the Snowman my story. “You are not the first one those little gnats have messed with. Go home. Good luck!” I opened my eyes. Bright sunlight was shining through the lodge window. I was puzzled for some time over whether what had happened was real or just a dream. I felt sad that I hadn’t talked more to the Snowman. The bad story about the Snowman being a terrible monster was not true. It wasn’t true either that you couldn’t escape the gnomes. From my Ecuadorian adventure, I learned that no one should ever give up. A person should always trust his or her eyes rather than the stories told.
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Goat- Sucker by Alyssa Mendez Some say that there is a wolf-like beast roaming around the farms of Puerto Rico, hiding during the day and hunting during the night, seeking fresh game to kill. This large animal with long fangs and sharp claws feeds on the blood of helpless chickens and goats, and farmers are left awestruck at the disaster the legendary chupacabra has left. That’s crazy, isn’t it? Many may not believe in this creature, but neither did Jocelyn Santiago, until it happened. Jocelyn Santiago lived next to a forest reserve in a small, baby blue house with a tiny porch and a farm in her backyard. The banister near the front steps was white, like her front door and the blinds that covered her windows. She had a small family: her sixth grade hyperactive brother, Richie, and her easygoing father, who usually fed their goats and livestock and took care of the crops on the farm. Jocelyn was getting ready for another day in eighth grade. She and Richie usually walked together, and they met Sarahy, Jocelyn’s best friend, by the corner of the block. She was about to leave, when she saw a large, animal-like shadow zip past her door so quickly that she thought she had imagined it. Jocelyn grabbed her bags and peered outside but saw nothing. Finally, her brother showed up, and they made their way out. The siblings met Sarahy at the usual spot and reached the school. “All right, Richie. Get to class.” His big sister ruffled his hair, and he ran off. “I can’t wait for science!” Sarahy exclaimed, “I hear we’re learning about the legendary chupacabra! It’s going to be so much fun!” For eighth grade science, taught by Mrs. Johnson who had moved here from America, students took a cryptozoology course. Jocelyn replied, “Sure, but do you honestly believe in such nonsense?” The two girls entered the classroom, sat next to each other in the front row, and got settled just as their science teacher stormed into the room, dressed in gear with a cart full of equipment.
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“All right, class!” she beamed. “Today you’re in for a little treat!” It turned out that Sarahy was right, the class did learn about the chupacabra, or “goatsucker.” It was a lot of fun for the girls. They learned how to analyze DNA samples using a tiny piece of fur, how to make a cast of an animal footprint, watched a video, and discovered additional facts about this “animal,” which Jocelyn obviously didn’t believe in. The day went by quickly. Jocelyn and Richie joined up with Sarahy as she left the English language classroom. All students were required to take English. They walked home together and talked about homework and things that went on outside classes until they said their goodbyes, and their friend rushed inside her house. Mr. Santiago was waiting outside for them by the time the children got to their own home, and he beckoned them in for dinner. The Santiago family ate arroz con abichuelas y guíneo maduro, which was Spanish for rice with beans and sweet banana. Afterwards, Richie and Jocelyn finished their homework, and everyone went to bed, except Jocelyn who couldn’t sleep. Everything was quiet except for the peaceful sounds of the coquís in the nearby forest area and the loud, obnoxious snoring of her brother in the next room. Then, there was the rumble of the garbage cans out back. Jocelyn poked her head out of the window but couldn’t see much, so she went to check outside. On her way there, she heard the sounds of the chickens going wild and saw a burst of white feathers coming from the barn, whose doors were burst wide open. She rushed inside and saw the shadow of a large dog pounce on a rooster. Jocelyn tried to run up and chase it off but hesitated as its red eyes focused on her, and its lips curled back into an ugly snarl that showed huge teeth, no, fangs. Up close, she realized that the animal was too big to be a dog, a wolf maybe, but it didn’t matter to her. The way this creature was positioning itself, Jocelyn could tell that it was about to attack. It lunged straight for her, but all she could remember was being pushed into darkness. Jocelyn woke up to find herself covered with leaves and feathers, and she saw and felt a claw mark on her upper arm, crusted with dried blood. She was on the barn floor with the doors wide
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open and the faint light of the rising sun filling the room. Realizing that it was early in the morning and that she was surrounded by dead chickens, she rushed inside the house and got cleaned up. By the time she was ready for school, her dad had woken up. Before he had the chance to say hello and ask why Jocelyn was up so early, she dragged him over to the barn. “Ay dios mío!” he responded. After a few more moments of utter shock, he agreed to call the police after we left for school. Her father closed the barn doors and headed inside to wake up Richie, but before Jocelyn could follow, she spotted a piece of grayish-brown fur and picked it up off of the ground. Immediately, she was able to recognize it as the snarling coyote beast’s fur. “Whatever you are, don’t think your identity will be a secret for long”, she muttered, and she shoved it into her pocket. That morning on the way to school, Jocelyn told Sarahy and Richie about last night. They were speechless. Well, Sarahy was speechless. Richie would not stop asking questions, which got annoying pretty quickly. When they arrived at school, Richie made it to his morning class, and the two girls made their way towards the science classroom. They continued learning about the chupacabra, and, this time, Jocelyn paid extra attention. Class ended, and everyone left the classroom quickly, everyone but Jocelyn, that is. She approached the teacher’s desk. “Hello Jocelyn. What can I do for you?” Mrs. Johnson asked. “Can you run an analysis on this?” Jocelyn pulled out the animal’s grayish-brown strand of hair. The science teacher agreed and took the fur. Jocelyn could tell that she was a bit confused as to why her student was so curious and why she looked so worried. Jocelyn then went off to her next class. When the Santiago children came home, their father was there, waiting anxiously at the door. They could see that the barn doors were now fixed. They settled down inside, ate dinner, did homework, and went to bed. This time, Jocelyn knew better than to go outside. She looked out the
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window one last time to see a shadow dash to the barn door. Jocelyn had to lean outside to see what was going on. Suddenly, her foot slipped, and, before she knew it, she was falling out of her three-yard-high window. She hit the ground with a thump and rolled over in agony. She sat up and saw the eyes of that hideous creature staring straight at her. “Oh great,” she thought. “I got its attention again.” It crouched in its attack position and sprinted towards her. All of a sudden, the animal looked to the left and ran in the other direction. Jocelyn got up and brushed off her pajamas. She looked at the driveway and saw police cars. Mrs. Johnson was there, as well, running in her direction. “What are you doing here?” Jocelyn asked. “I ran the analysis,” the teacher began. “Whatever that animal is, it isn’t like anything we’ve ever seen before. You may have actually found evidence of a mythical legend!”
Deep and Dark in the Night by Corrine Villany and Maria Natsis Deep and dark in the night, Creeps a man full of fright. He is hiding from the light; He is needing something to bite. When you think you see him, He’ll be out of sight. They try to seek him out, But all they hear is a shout. MAG Unknown 2014
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A Beady Eyed Doll by Priyanka Prasad There was a family of four, a mom and dad and two daughters. One daughter was eleven, and her name was Jane. The other daughter was sixteen, and her name was Mary. Jane was still little and loved toys. Mary, being the older daughter, was very sassy and mostly spent time with her friends. Thanksgiving was coming up, and the parents usually gave both daughters a small gift to celebrate the holiday, Finally, it was Thanksgiving, and all the relatives of the family met and ate a copious amount of food at dinner. After dinner, it was time to open gifts. Jane opened hers first. Inside the box was a small raggedy doll. Jane jumped up and hugged her parents; she was thrilled that she had gotten a new doll. Next, it was Mary’s turn to open her gift. When she opened it, inside was a small raggedy doll, as well. Mary was enraged by getting a silly little doll at her age and ran upstairs throwing the doll on the floor in her room. Her parents tried talking to her, but she stayed in her room. The next morning, Mary woke up with the doll right next to her in bed. In fright, she screamed, and her parents rushed upstairs. She remembered throwing the doll on the floor, so how could it have ended up in her bed? Her parents thought she was delusional, so they told her to wash her face and come downstairs for breakfast and left. Apart from what her parents thought, Mary was convinced that she wasn’t going crazy and that the doll had actually moved. Mary took the doll, packed it back in the box and then went for breakfast. She quickly ate, grabbed her bag and left for her friend’s house. When Mary got to her friend Jennifer’s house, both of them sat on a couch and talked. Mary reached into her bag to take her phone out to show Jen something, but instead of feeling her phone she felt the rough strands of hair from the raggedy doll. She looked down at her purse, and she saw the black beady eyes of the doll staring right at her. Instead of screaming,
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Mary remained calm so she didn’t startle her friend. She told her friend she had to go and rushed out the door and headed back home. This time Mary decided to speak to her parents more seriously. She sat down with them and tried to show them that the doll was in her purse. However, when she opened her purse the doll wasn’t there. Just as she was freaking out, her little sister Jane came downstairs. Jane walked up to her older sister and said “Maybe you should be nice to it; it has feelings too,” in a soft chilling tone. After this, Jane walked upstairs holding her doll in her left hand. Mary decided to take the doll, lock it in a box and put it in the basement. She knew there was no way that the doll would be able to move from there. Well, she was wrong. The next night, while Mary was doing homework, she heard many giggles from her sister’s room. She knew Jane’s friends weren’t over, so she went to see what was happening. When she walked in Jane’s room, she saw both dolls sitting on the floor. “JANE!” Mary yelled. Jane walked from behind Mary and answered her. Jane told Mary that she was downstairs the whole time, and she didn’t know how the second doll had gotten in her room. If Jane wasn’t in the room, whom did Mary hear when she heard giggles from Jane’s bedroom? The next morning, Mary was found dead lying on her bed with her raggedy doll right beside her. Her parents were grieving and weeping. They regretted not listening to Mary when she was telling them about the doll. How could the doll have possibly killed Mary? Jane walked up to Mary’s body and gave it a deadly stare with black beady eyes. She quietly whispered, “I told you; you should have been nice to it.” She walked away with the doll in her arms and a grin on her face.
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Crime Mysteries
“ Private Eye” by Jacqueline Baron MAG Unknown 2014
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My Crime by Anisha Gupta
Even if I explain what happened, you will never understand. I don’t know why I am this way. I don’t know why I spend every waking second thinking about her. I don’t know why. I just can’t fight it off; it’s impossible. I follow her to work and watch her there. I wait until she is done and follow her home, wanting to be as close to her as possible. Then when it’s finally dark, I have to go home, to my apartment, alone. This is the part of the day I dread the most. Being alone in my apartment makes me go crazy. All of a sudden, I start shaking violently and screaming for no reason. Then, it stops when I think of her. Sometimes when I can’t sleep, I visit her in the night and watch her. I don’t want to do this. This somehow feels wrong, but I can’t control it. This is why I need help, but no one understands. No one understands how I feel. The weird part is that I am perfectly normal at work. Everybody loves me and admires the work I do, but when I am alone all I think of is her. That’s it. All the mentally insane people are the ones who seem perfectly normal, and nobody can see them as people who are crazy. If you ask anybody, I know he/she will never believe I did such a thing. They wouldn't believe I killed her, but I did. I don’t know why I did it, but I killed her. I had no reason to kill her; she never did anything to me. She never even noticed me. That’s the thing; maybe I was fed up with her not noticing me. That’s the reason I lost it and did it. The scary part is that I don’t even feel guilty or sorry. I will even admit to it if anybody asks. The sad part is that I didn’t even know her name. I didn’t even know her. There, I have told you the whole story and confessed, so please just take me away. Let me go to prison, so I can't hurt anybody else.
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The Emerald Thieves by Gianna Peppas When Alec Lowe and his partner, Blaine Daily, opened the telephone box they were shocked to see that the man that they had been following for weeks was slumped against the wall, dead as a doornail. Alec Lowe and Blaine Daily were detectives. They had been following a man, the one in the telephone box, Carl Kasey, for weeks. Carl had stolen a very valuable emerald, priced at 2,815,420 euros (3.8 million dollars), from a high-security bank vault. “Blaine!” Alec shouted, “This man has died! Do you know what this means?” “No, no, I don’t, but the real question is how, how did he die?” Blaine wondered, “We followed him all the way here, and we were only just around the corner,” Blaine said a little perplexed. “I think that he died of natural causes. I mean, even alive, his skin had a greyish tint. He was stick-skinny, and his eyes were always dull,” Alec pointed out. “Or maybe,” Blaine started, “it was… MURDER!” Blaine exclaimed. “No, Blaine, that’s silly. There are no marks on him. He couldn’t have been murdered, could he?” Alec asked, now a little uncertain of the situation. “Well, we haven’t checked for fingerprints. He could have been strangled,” Blaine said intelligently. “By George, you’re right, Blaine! Let’s take him back home,” Alec said excitedly. Alec and Blaine then took Carl’s body back to their apartment on the fringe of London, England to check for fingerprints. While they were walking, they passed their neighbor, Danny Maly, who was, it seemed, going back to the building where Alec, Blaine, and he lived. “Okay, see you tomorrow then,” Blaine said, not convinced by Mr. Maly’s excuse. “He’s really weird; he always sounds really suspicious,” Blaine remarked once Mr. Maly was out of sight. “Yes, he is quite an odd fellow.” Alec agreed. After their encounter with Mr. Maly, Alec and Blaine took Carl’s body to their loft. While checking Carl’s body, Alec and Blaine found fingerprints on Carl’s throat. “What the Dickens?” Alec exclaimed, “There are fingerprints on his throat. You were right Blaine. Carl’s been murdered, but who murdered him?” Alec asked a little puzzled. Just then, the fingerprint dust fell on Alec’s hand. MAG Unknown 2014
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“Here, I’ll get that for you,” Blaine said as he picked up the fingerprint duster. As he dusted Alec’s hand, finger prints appeared. “Uh, Alec, I think we’ve found our murderer. Look at your hand. Those fingerprints match the ones on Carl’s throat, and the only person that touched your hand the whole day was Mr. Maly. Remember? You were wearing gloves the whole day until we found Carl,” Blaine said looking pleased. “Blaine, we can still catch up to Mr. Maly if we run! Let’s go!” Alec exclaimed excitedly. At this time, Mr. Maly was at his partner’s in crime, Eduardo DeLarosa’s, house to hand over the emerald that he took from Carl when he killed him. “Ah, mi amigo, the emerald, she is fabulous!” Eduardo said in his Spanish accent, “Now hand it over!” he demanded. “Ah, ah, ah, not without my share of the money, Mr. DeLarosa,” Mr. Maly said. “Si, si, here is a check for 1,407,710 euros,” Eduardo said “Ah, what is the word? Ah, yes, gracias, and it was a pleasure doing busi-” Just then, Mr. Maly was cut off by a loud bang at the door. “Excuse me, por favor; I have to get the door,” Eduardo said. Who might it be but our two heroes, Alec and Blaine. “Stop right there thief,” Alec exclaimed, “and give us the emerald! The police are outside the door!” “It’s true, mi amigo,” Eduardo said, looking out the door, “the police are outside.” “Hmh,” Mr. Maly sighed, “Fine, here’s the emerald,” he said as he tossed it to Alec, who caught it nimbly with one hand. “Thank you, Mr. Danny Maly,” a policeman by the name of Fredrick Wills said, “You will now be put in jail and you too Mr. DeLarosa.” “All right, I guess I deserve it,” Eduardo said, “Hasta la vista!” “Now for Mr. Maly,” Officer Wills said, “Explain what you did.” “Well, Carl Kasey was a master thief, so I recruited him to get the emerald. Then earlier today, I caught him at the telephone booth trying to make a call to the police about the emerald, so I strangled him. After I did that, I heard Alec and Blaine coming around the corner, so I pocketed the emerald and left.” Mr. Maly was then taken to jail, and everyone, except Mr. Maly and Eduardo, who were in jail, lived happily ever after.
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“ The Detective” by Jane Mallach
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The Girl in the Alley by Rachel Chalnick She stands in the alley She’s drenched from the rain She’s beaten and bruised
Who Done It?
But she feels no pain Her eyes are like coal
By Jason Leventhal
Black as the night There’s no sign of fear
Uncle Lu passed away;
No terror no fright
Who could have done it that horrible day?
But they’re screaming out help me There was a great mystery, They’ve got no tears to cry But the case was soon to be history. Because the tears they had once Every detective searched for the killer, Have all become dry But no one was found until next Winter. She appears so helpless They brought the man to the court; Yet there’s strength no one can see On his nose was a wart. But that strength will soon fade He was sentenced to life in prison, Because she needs love so desperately And he was always under supervision. So someone reaches out his hand Though she is blinded by the past Where she once put her trust The trust that failed to last She can’t take it anymore She wants to be free The girl in the alley Is secretly me
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Surrounding Darkness by Emma Nisbet and Carmine Mastrokostas The door creaked The sudden rush of evil made me weak The lights faded down to a cold shade of black Was someone lurking to attack?
I stared into a dark void For my soul that could not hold
“ Still Life� By Jessica Moser
I wanted to escape this world This dark, dark world
Gone The room was closing in For the shadows of the past
by Emily Sallustio
Revealed my next of kin
A party filled with people and laughs
And there he was
All was fine until the lights went out
For he was my final judge
A scream echoed out of the darkness The lights came on and all were frightened She was missing Nowhere to be found Maybe she was dead Maybe she was kidnapped All I know is that she was Gone
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Disappeared by Jacob Greller “Attention! This is Captain Pierce speaking from the Captain’s Deck of the Aloha Sails Cruise Ship. We have a Code Navy; a 32-year old man by the name of Paul Hickerson has gone missing! He was last seen yesterday evening at the Disco Lounge. If you have any information that would help further this investigation, please report to security immediately.” Well, this is just my luck! I spent my life savings on this Hawaiian cruise to get away from the stress of my job. I am Officer Pete Ricker of the Neptune, New Jersey Police Department. Even though I am on my dream vacation, I can’t help but get involved in this missing person case. While I order my usual coffee, omelet, and donut breakfast, I am thinking of the case in front of me. No one has asked me to help, but I feel compelled to do my own investigation. I met Paul Hickerson when we boarded the ship. At that time, he dropped his wallet, and, if it wasn’t for me, he would have lost it. He is a very nice man; he offered me some of his red M&M’s in thanks. What an odd little snack, but they were very tasty. As I finish drinking my coffee, I hear Captain Pierce’s voice booming over the loudspeaker again. “This is your Captain speaking; we have another Code Navy. Rob Nelker, a 54-year old man, has gone missing. He was last seen on the Sports Deck playing ping pong. Please report to security with any information regarding this disappearance.” Another man has gone missing? Are you kidding me? I’d like to find the person against whom Rob was playing ping pong so that I can interview that person. He or she is likely the last person to see Rob before his disappearance. I make my way up to the Sports Deck and go over to the ping pong table to see if Rob’s rival is involved in another game. Unfortunately, no one is there. I pick up one of the ping pong paddles and remember how good it feels to hold one of these. At one time, I was the reigning champion of the Neptune Middle School Ping Pong Team, but who doesn’t know that? I wave my paddle to the right, then to the left, when I realize there is red ink all over the paddle. With my brain discombobulated, I walk down to my room to take a nap and think about the two missing people. Suddenly, I hear noises coming from underneath the floorboards of my room. It sounds like a banging or pounding noise that takes me by surprise. I investigate by going downstairs one floor below mine, to the spot from which the noise is coming. I listen and follow the noise to the boiler room up ahead. I try the door knob, but it is locked. Using the ship’s phone in the hallway, I
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call for a security guard to open the door for me. After a few minutes, a short stocky man wearing a blue uniform appears and asks me for ID, and I oblige by showing him my police badge. He opens the door immediately and to our surprise, we see Rob Nelker tied to a pole, banging on the ceiling with a broomstick! We run over to Rob and untie him. We hear footsteps coming from behind. We turn around to see, standing behind us, a man wearing a hat, a trench coat, and what looks like a fake moustache. He says, “Hey, what’s going on?” There’s something very familiar about this man. Then, he reaches into his pocket very slowly, and the security guard yells “GUN!” Even though I am a police officer, I am terrified, and I run for cover. I am not carrying my gun, but the security guard has a taser. He attacks the man from behind and tases him. As the mysterious man falls to the ground, red M&Ms fall out of his pocket. The mysterious man is Paul Hickerson, the first individual to have gone missing the other night. Rob, the second person to go missing, announces that Paul kidnapped him this morning after Rob beat Paul in a mean game of ping pong. As a clever police officer, I already had my suspicions that Paul was responsible for Rob’s disappearance. The red stain on the ping pong paddle was not ink; it turned out to be the red sugar coating on M&M’s. The security guard and I accompany Paul, who is placed in handcuffs, and Rob up to the Captain’s Deck, where Paul is turned over to authorities at the next port. As I walk to the Disco Lounge to celebrate solving the mystery with a cocktail, I begin to ponder the day’s events. I have an odd feeling, and something doesn’t sit right with me. The question is why would Paul Hickerson make himself look like he had disappeared and then walk around incognito? However, that is a mystery for another day.
“ Infinity” by Max D’ Andrea
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My Parents’ Kidnapping Photo and StorY by Alexandra Greenberg Sitting in the car alone at night can be scary, but I am not scared of anything. It was a cold January night, and my parents ran into the grocery store and left me in the car. It wasn’t my first time being left alone in a car, but I had never before been left in a car alone at night. I decided to close my eyes and tried to forget that I was alone. I started to realize that my parents had been gone for a while and decided to call them. I picked up my phone and called my mom. All of a sudden, I heard my mom’s phone ringing. She had left her phone in the car! I started freaking out. I then realized that my dad probably had his phone, so I called him. Somebody answered the phone, but it didn’t sound like my dad. I heard heavy breathing coming through my phone, then suddenly a loud scream. “Dad,” I yelled! But nobody ever answered my cry for help. I hung up the phone and realized what I had to do. I got out of my mom’s SUV with tears running down my face and ran into the grocery store. All of the people in the grocery store were staring at me, a thirteen year old girl screaming and crying for her mom and dad. Normally, I would have told them to stop staring, but I had too much on my mind. I ran up and down every aisle. When I was in the meat department, I sat down to catch my breath. When I sat down, I saw the grocery list that my mom had made at home on the floor by my feet. I picked it up and looked it over and saw that the list had an address on it. The address was 34 Malberry Avenue, which was my best friend Stephanie’s address. I started to think that she might be involved in this. MAG Unknown 2014
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I knew I was only thirteen years old, but I needed to get to Stephanie’s house, which was in downtown Chicago. At present, I was in uptown Chicago. I had no choice but to drive! I took the keys and put them in the ignition. I couldn’t even reach the gas pedal yet. I started to back up and then … BAM! I hit another car! The car looked familiar to me, but I didn’t know in what way. I pressed on the gas pedal and drove away before someone noticed. It was hard for me to control the wheel, so I kept on veering into the other lanes. It was also hard to see because it was dark out, and I didn’t know how to put the headlights on. At that moment, I didn’t care how I was driving. I just wanted to find my mom and dad. When I finally reached Stephanie’s house, I pulled into the driveway and started to think about what I would say to Stephanie. She was my best friend until I had figured out she must be involved in taking my parents. I also thought about what would happen if she tried to hurt me. I knew I was going to have to face my fears in order to get my parents back. I got out of my mom’s car and slowly walked to Stephanie’s front door. I saw a “DO NOT DISTURB” sign on the door that I had never noticed before. That was weird because I had been to Stephanie’s house so many times. I knocked on the door, and, all of a sudden, the door opened on its own. I slowly stepped inside. I tip-toed throughout the house just in case the parent-napper, Stephanie, was there. I stopped when I heard a noise coming from Stephanie’s family room. As I walked into the family room, I saw the television on and my parents, with duct tape over their mouths, tied to chairs. I immediately ran to them, took the duct tape off of their mouths, and untied them from the chairs. They told me that Stephanie had taken them from the grocery store and driven them to her house. They also said that Stephanie was upstairs in her bedroom. While my parents had no idea how to handle this, I had the perfect plan. I walked upstairs alone, and I knew exactly what to do. I walked into Stephanie’s room and saw Stephanie watching a new episode of her favorite television show, General Hospital, while eating some of her mom’s homemade cookies. I was so confused. Stephanie got up immediately and ran towards me like she was trying to knock me down. I stopped her before I was almost seriously hurt. I told her I wanted to help her kidnap people. She thought it was a really good plan, but I was the one with the really good plan. I was sitting in Stephanie’s room talking about “our” next plan. Randomly I yelled out, “Sounds like a great plan.” Just like it was supposed to happen, the police burst into the room and put Stephanie in handcuffs. Before I went upstairs, I had told my parents to call the police and that when I yelled “sounds like a great plan,” it was time for my parents to send the cops upstairs. I kind of felt badly for Stephanie, but she got what she deserved. In the Future: Stephanie went to prison for twenty years for kidnapping people. I never visited Stephanie in prison. While she was in prison, she admitted that she had kidnapped my parents because she was jealous that my parents were so involved in my life, unlike her parents. I made a new friend named Victoria. Victoria isn’t crazy! My family and I moved to Florida, and we all lived happily ever after (except for Stephanie)! MAG Unknown 2014
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Futuristic Mysteries The Universe By Alexander Roberts Our Universe, such a vast thing Billions of stars twinkling Darker than the deep blue sea It lasts as far as the eye can see Are we the only life out there or Is someone out there staring at me Is he wondering who I am or Is he trying to single me out I do not care
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Artificial Intelligence by Audrey Myers For the past few weeks, people have been getting an illness that has no medicinal cure. The symptoms are severe, and it is extremely contagious. I am lucky that my family and I haven’t caught it, even though I am a doctor and investigator and have been around many of the afflicted. It has reached the point where most of the sick have even been moved to small antiquated cabins in a small clearing in the woods. There are so many of them that they must share cabins with several others. It is unfortunate, but we must isolate the disease. Because of the severity of this illness, it is essential that unaffected civilians should avoid exposure to those infected at all costs. To take care of the sick, some of the doctors, like me, and scientists at the university have been working on robots that will act as doctors instead of us. These artificial intelligences have cameras and will send updates to us at least once every couple of days. We have tried to give them as lifelike shapes as we could, but they are metallic looking on the outside. We sent them to the cabins almost two weeks ago. The procedure had been running very smoothly, with the scientists and me constantly checking the updates from our offices. Until yesterday, we were receiving updates and video regularly. If, by the end of the day, we don’t receive any updates or video, a few doctors and I will probably go and check the cabins. In the meantime, I am helping design a newer robot model. It is the end of the day, and we still haven’t gotten a response. I call my kids’ babysitter. “Hi. This is Dr. Davis. I’ll be home late today, so please feed the kids dinner. Thanks. Bye.” I put my phone away and gather a little group. Dr. Johnson from biomechanical engineering and Dr. Carter from clinical research are coming with me. We get into my car and drive down to the woods off of the highway. I park my car on the side of the road, and we start walking into the trees. Finally we reach the first cabin. MAG Unknown 2014
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I enter first with Dr. Johnson and Dr. Carter following. It is dark, and the only light comes from a kerosene lantern on a table. When I look around, I see three robots sitting around the table playing cards. There is a gun lying on the table. On the floor I see seven corpses, each with a bullet through the back. As I look at my colleagues, their eyes are wide in fear. I notice Dr. Johnson’s hands are trembling. I, on the other hand, have dealt with many crime scenes as an investigator, at least of human crimes. I ask the robot nearest to me what has happened, but it doesn’t respond. None of them even move. I lean in closer to its head, and its arm shoots out at my neck and grabs me by the throat. It stands up, and I notice that both doctors jump in shock. My vision gets blurred, but I can still make out the two other robots moving towards the others. The only thing I can think about is my wife and my two young children. Then, everything goes dark. (The narrator changes since Dr. Davis is unconscious) “This is Dr. James Johnson. I’m in Cabin One. These robots are going to kill us, and Dr. Davis is being strangled by one. He’s out cold. Send help! The robots have a gun, but no bullets left after they slaughtered the cabin’s residents.” I hang up the phone and hope the police get here soon. Dr. Carter is struggling to keep the robots away, so I hurry to him. We try to hold them off. One robot picks up the gun, and I realize it is loaded after all. Just when I think it is the end, Sgt. Morris breaks through the door, followed by more police, armed and ready to shoot. It is a stare down between Sgt. Morris and the armed robot. Morris finally shoots. The bullet hits the robot on its control panel, and the robot shuts down. The other robots are also quickly shot down. Now, we rush to Dr. Davis, who is lying on the floor. He is still unconscious and is breathing rapidly. Police come in and carry him out on a backboard and use a portable oxygen mask on him. Dr. Carter follows them. More police go to the other cabins to shut down the remaining robots and MAG Unknown 2014
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pick up dead bodies. Sgt. Morris and I are the only ones left in the cabin. He asks me why I think the robots turned homicidal. I think for a moment and answer, “It wasn’t in their programming. I honestly don’t know how it was possible. Maybe we made them so intelligent that they developed their own ideas and didn’t want to serve us anymore.” Morris nods and leaves. I follow him. We go to the university, where all of the witnesses of the robot attack have been gathered. The mayor is here, and he stands up. “I have been notified of today’s events, and I believe that they would be better kept secret from the public. All of the robots have been permanently shut down, so there is no worry. All of the diseased have unfortunately been killed by the robots, so the plague has been eradicated. We should all act as if this didn’t happen but make sure it doesn’t happen again. Thank you.” He leaves the room. It is near midnight, so I return home. When I get home, my black lab greets me at the door, clueless as usual. I don’t even bother getting changed out of today’s clothes. We sit on the couch, and I reflect. I have devoted my life to building robots, but after the events of today I don’t know if I can continue. Seeing such evil in things that aren’t even alive makes me realize how much worse could happen if they were even more intelligent.
“ Robot Player” by Audrey Myers
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The Virus by Jake Kallman No one knows how it started, but it started. All over the television newscasters were breaking the story that the chaos of a virus gone wild had arisen in California. Scientists were calling it HZ57; the people who were infected with the virus were being called “Hazers.” This was no common virus; this virus made those infected want to kill and bite to spread the virus. Hazers would do anything to get to a victim, even jump through a glass wall or put themselves in front of a car. These creatures hide in the dark and attack when they hear noise. They can also sense fear. They also like the scent of human flesh. Most airports shut down since it was impossible to distinguish humans from Hazers. The U.S. Navy ordered all of its boats to carry as many people as possible out into the ocean. There was only one person that could save the world, the number one scientist in viruses. The Navy Seals ordered their best men to go to the number one lab in all of America where this scientist could be found. This lab had not yet been taken over by the Hazers, but many other labs had been. The Navy Seals and the scientist took one of the Navy’s Chinooks, helicopters that can carry Navy Seal members, to fly to the lab. The lab was located in Chicago. The Navy Seals walked out, and, as soon as they stepped on the ground, the creatures arose and ran toward the Chinook. The Chinook flew away, and no one was hurt. The scientist found one way to confuse the Hazers so that they would not be able to sense humans through human movement. The scientist found that the only movement that the Hazers wouldn’t sense was the movement of a bicycle. The Navy Seals and the scientist rode bicycles into the lab. The lights of the lab were off, so the Navy Seals went to the power source and turned the lights on. The scientist ordered the Navy to try and get one Hazer and bring the Hazer to him. The officer came back with one but lost a man during the process. The scientist said that the only way to find a cure was to have someone get bitten by a Hazer and video what happened to the body. One of the Navy Seals stepped up and let himself become infected. While investigating the Seal’s body, the scientist learned that almost all the states had been taken over by the Hazers. The last state to be conquered was Maine. Thirty days later, HZ57 spread to other countries, like Brazil and Argentina. The scientist saw that there were special elements inside the virus that made the Hazers go crazy. The scientist believed that there was no specific cure, but there was a way to keep uninfected people alive. The scientist believed that he could make a perfume, a mixture that would cause the Hazers not to sense humans. The perfume would make humans smell like Hazers, so the Hazers would MAG Unknown 2014
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not attack them. The lab that they were presently using was just for testing, so they had to go to a lab that produced perfumes. They brought the Navy Seal that was infected, so that they could match his scent. The scientist and the Navy Seals had to travel to Maine, where the perfume-like mixture would be made. They traveled to Maine, and, when they stepped out of the Chinook, they saw nothing but heard very strange noises near them. They entered the building using the bicycles. They found two other people in the building, and they helped the scientist and the Seals locate the scents for the mixture. The scientist made the mixture, but there was only one way to test it. One Navy Seal stepped up and walked in a room with the infected person. The infected person walked towards him and was about to bite him. Then the Hazer smelt him and walked away. That moment was a new beginning for all of earth.
e All
states marked with a circle have been infected by the virus.
Map Showing Infected Areas Prepared by Jake Kallman MAG Unknown 2014
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What Will I Be?
Time
Nicole Goldwert
by Varun Sikand
As I think to myself, what will I be? An astronaut or an actress on the TV screen,
As my rusty hand
So many jobs, available for me.
cannot tick off another minute
As I think to myself, what will I be?
I cannot move another second
There is no guarantee of what’s before me.
I am a clock that can do more
I just need to be free to what’s around me.
than a clock could ever do
As I think to myself, what will I be?
I do not have the same old face
Life is a mystery for the world to see.
I am witnessing my last ticks
I just need to find the key
By the day
To all of the uncertainty.
By the hour By the minute By the second When will the end come I don’t have a second to move Will this be the end of time
The Baseball By Thomas Jensen
Will this be the end of humankind Or will it be a new beginning
The baseball flew right by, Right into the sky. It never came down Even with all the sounds. Will the ball always remain Up in the sky with the rain?
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The Limestone by Corbin Nielsen The limestone, chiseled to a perfect sphere, holds life anew. The dark green copper holds strands of dust, Standing tall and almighty, Sitting on the tufts of white in the sky. Soon green turns to brown
“ I Wonder” Mysteries
And rots the dust to skinny Bare and empty frames Of once was and what is to come. Small mites and beetles walk astray, Leaving what was once plentiful. The new creature arises on the stone, The new ruler. The creature builds a new world, All the same, yet different, And the creature recalls what has gone And remembers: “Perfection doesn’t last.”
No matter how many times the creatures forget this statement, Someone remembers. Someone cares.
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Classic Mysteries The Bermuda Triangle By Jacqueline Erler One triangle Three Sides Three points Many tried, but died
Boats and planes Travel day and night They try to reach a destination One triangle puts up quite the fight
Boats playing cat and mouse with the roaring sea Waves crashing back and forth Planes swinging like pendulums in the dusty sky Winds blowing south and north
One island, undiscovered Many attempt the adventure Never to be uncovered Forever interrupted by one triangle
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The Loch Ness Monster by Blake Epstein
The Loch Ness monster is a classic myth about a swamp monster haunting mankind since the beginning of time. The Loch Ness monster originally came from Loch Ness, Scotland. However, the species has spread, and there are “sightings” of similar monsters all over the world. The Loch Ness Monster is a so called “aquatic dinosaur.” It is said to have injured and killed people and livestock. The Loch Ness monster is a myth … or is it? What is the Loch Ness monster? The Loch Ness monster had its first sightings in early Celtic times. The story is traditionally from Loch Ness, Scotland, hence its name. It is also referred to as “Nessie” by some people. Its traits resemble a Plesiosaurus, an early water dinosaur, which will destroy anything in its path. Nevertheless, no one really knows if it is an alien, a monster, a hybrid, or a mutant. The possibilities are endless. The earliest reported sighting was in year 565 AD. Hugh Gray was the first person to take a photo of the Loch Ness monster. He took it on a lake in Scotland on November 12, 1933. It is debated to this day whether that photo is real and if the creature in the photo is actually the Loch Ness monster. The latest sighting was in 2012. Where does the Loch Ness monster live? The question isn’t where the Loch Ness monster lives. It's where the Loch Ness monsters live. There have been sightings of such beasts all over the world, and a lot of them have very similar traits. There have been sightings on almost every continent. The most common sightings have been in Europe and the southern United States. Nevertheless, there are countless things these sighting actually may be: alligators, anacondas, crocodiles, sharks, giant catfish, and there are many more possibilities. All of the creatures that I have listed have similar traits, and at least one of these inhabits each of the sighting places. Is the Loch Ness monster real? The answer to that question is … The world may never know. There are a lot of possibilities that real animals are being mistaken for monsters, and maybe people are just making the sightings up! No one knows. The Loch Ness monster myth is a mystery that is locked for now … Will you unlock it? Cited sources: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/loch-ness-monster-sighted http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loch_Ness_Monster
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The Escape from Alcatraz by Kiren Shah There were many attempts to escape Alcatraz, fourteen exactly, including 36 inmates, but only three prisoners supposedly succeeded in an attempt to escape. A fellow inmate named Thomas Kent lived to tell the story or what he knew about it. It was June 11, 1962 when three prisoners, Frank Morris, Clarence Anglin and his brother John Anglin, went missing from within Alcatraz’s walls. Nobody knows where they went or if they survived, but the most believable rumor is that the three used a drill fashioned from a stolen vacuum cleaner motor to break through the back wall of their cells. Kent said “They drilled through the concrete during the prison’s daily evening music hour.” From the roof, the three slid down a pipe to the ground, climbed a barbed-wire fence and jumped down to the island shore. They were then going to ride a makeshift raft to go to shore. A fourth convict who was going to accompany the three, Allan West, was left behind and told guards of the escape plan. But Kent said West, who died in prison in Florida in 1978, lied to protect his fellow inmates and friends. West told the FBI that the three prisoners planned to rob someone and steal a car when they got to shore. Kent said that Clarence’s girlfriend was waiting for them ashore to drive them to Mexico. In prison, the three had been studying Spanish to prepare for this getaway. Kent said that more than forty prisoners helped in the escape. Out of the 36 prisoners that made an attempt to escape, five were known to have drowned, but Morris and the Anglin brothers were the only ones that were never caught. A former guard, Frank Henry, has wondered about the escape for decades. He said that Kent’s story sounded more credible than what was believed to have happened. Kent never heard from the three but believes that they are living in Mexico or South America, that is, if they didn’t die. In all these years, he never cared to return to Alcatraz for a visit, he said. When he finally visited for the first time in a long time he said "Then unbelievable memories came back, about all the things that happened, all the people I knew, one thousand and one memories. Believe me; you'd never want to live there." So what do you think? What happened to the three prisoners? The world may never know. Cited Source http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1993-11-15/news/9311150178_1_alcatraz-escaped-angel-island
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The True Story of The Conjuring by Ariana Mangano I am going to tell you about the real life story that inspired the movie called The Conjuring , with scary experiences and the evil spirit that still lurks in the house. The Perron family moved into a 19th century farmhouse, and, as soon as they walked in, they knew something was wrong. They felt evil spirits and a certain coldness that would move around the house. They quickly called paranormal researchers, ghost hunters Ed and Lorraine Warren. Ed and Lorraine Warren are famous paranormal researchers. One of their most famous cases is the “Annabelle doll.” In real life, the “Annabelle doll” was purchased as a gift by a mother for her daughter, Danna. Danna and her roommate started to get scared when the doll started moving around and leaving notes, for instance, “Miss me?” Ed Warren, who died in 2006, claims that the doll killed a man, “who challenged the doll to do its worst. And it did.” Move over Chucky. It was claimed that a demonic spirit latched itself onto this doll. Carolyn Perron, the mother of the Perron girls, said the cellar was the place in the house where you never went. The family felt the spirits, and it gave them the biggest “sense of dread.” Christine Perron, one of the Perron sisters, agreed, saying "You don't go there!” The cellar was the place that the Warrens felt spirits the most. However, the worst spirit of all was Bathsheba Sherman. Bathsheba killed her baby with a needle, and Andrea Perron said that Bathsheba's spirit felt threatened when Carolyn moved in. She later stabbed the back of Carolyn leg with a needle. The Perron’s youngest daughter, April, said she had a friend, a little boy that also lived in the house. There wasn’t just a ghost boy, but also a girl whom they saw very often. Sometimes she would look well and healthy, wearing a green velvet dress. At other times, she would appear to be very weak and crying for her mother. Andrea said that her little sisters would climb in her bed because they heard voices and sensed movement. Cynthia Perron once told Andrea the voices were chanting in unison, "There are seven dead soldiers buried in your walls.” These spirits still lurk in the 19th century farmhouse. There are currently people living in the house today, and they are at peace with the spirits. For more, watch the The Conjuring, and prepare to be scared! Cited Source: http://www.nextmovie.com/blog/the-conjuring-true-story/ MAG Unknown 2014
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“ Moon Mystery” By Samantha Riebesell
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What is The Unknown? By Ethan Brandon What is the unknown? Things that aren’t shown Is there something more Behind that secret door? Unravel a mystery, An unspoken history, Exploring distant shores and scenes that are yours. I only hope we’ve grown Enough to face the unknown
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