Back Cover
Middle Grade Horror/Mystery
Lindsay, Nick, Chris, Amy, and Paul are just a few of the kids in the neighborhood that enjoy each other’s company, hanging out together. From the usual antics that preteens enjoy, like playing in the graveyard, trick or treating, and celebrating birthdays, the kids find themselves in some unique situations that lead to unexpected ending twists.
Spooky Twisties I offers 13 tales of terror that will grab you from the start, and leave you with chilling surprise endings.
Adventures are speckled with humorous dialogue to frightening calls for help in working through their series of unusual encounters. Even though the chapters have individual story lines, many are intertwined with characters that are not so likable. For instance, Creepy Guy and Dan the Security Guard seem to have a ‘fixation’ for Lindsay and Amy who are best friends. Then there is old Mrs. Miller who appears to have lived on the street forever. ‘Easter eggs’ or ‘hidden references’ mesh, and just when you think you’re headed towards a ‘fairy-tale’ ending, a strange unforeseen chilling conclusion occurs leaving the reader saying, I didn’t see that happening!
No happily ever after endings here.
Spooky Twisties I © 2017 by Terri Bertha
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, or events, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
MuseItUp Publishing
https://museituppublishing.com
Cover Art © 2017 by Charlotte Volnek
Layout and Book Production by Lea Schizas
Print ISBN: 978-1-77127-925-3
eBook ISBN: 978-1-77127-924-6
First eBook Edition *May 2017
This book is dedicated to my husband and rock, Lou,
who always said I could write the next Great American Novel
.
Even though this may not be the next Great American Novel
,
it’s a start.
Acknowledgements
Thanks go out to my family, friends and MuseItUp Publishing, especially my editors Lea Schizas and Christine Speakman, and Charlotte Voltek my cover artist. Also, a special thank you to my nephew Jack Reed who was my first demographic reader, and to my Spooky Twistie fans.
Spooky Twisties I
13 Tales of Terror
Terri Bertha
MuseItYoung, division of
MuseItUp Publishing
www.museituppublishing.com
What happens when your average suburban town becomes a nexus of the paranormal and occult; and no one told you about it?
Amy, Lindsay, Chris, Nick and their friends are growing up in an idyllic community that offers everything a middle grade kid would want. With a downtown shopping area, housing plans, parks, a public pool, and plenty of friends, there is always something to do. On the outskirts of their town lies farmland, woods, lakes, and of course, cemeteries.
Follow the horror and fun as these friends navigate the supernatural during the course of their normal
day. Are you ready to experience the Spooky, with a Twist?
Chapter One
Changing Places
Barry and the rest of his twelve-year-old friends sat in his living room fighting over the Play Box controllers, waiting to play the next game.
Come on,
said Nick. I was supposed to play the last game. You guys are cheating!
Barry and his friends laughed because Nick’s right eye always wandered off to the side when Nick got mad.
Oh, cool your jets,
said Barry. You’re up next.
Hey, Barry,
said Jack. Are we going to play our yearly Halloween Eve’s Ghosts in the Graveyard again this year?
I don’t know,
said Barry. Don’t you think we’re getting a little old for that?
All the boys laughed again and Jack spoke up.
Halloween Eve is tomorrow night. A Friday this year. We can stay out late having a scary time and then go trick or treating on Saturday to collect our pillowcases of candy.
Yeah!
all the boys yelled.
Barry didn’t want his friends to make fun of him so he said, Okay, we can play Ghosts in the Graveyard, but I’ll tell you something. Last year I got spooked a little. Felt something touch my arm. It felt cold.
All the boys laughed, and Matt said, Ooohhh, Barry got touched by a ghost...Ooohhh.
Barry shrugged, and his cheeks flamed. Let’s wrap this up now. We have school tomorrow and our big night in the cemetery.
The next night all the kids met at Nick’s house to travel to the graveyard. Nick said, I don’t know why we had to meet at my house. My mom doesn’t like a zillion kids here all the time,
and his right eye wandered off to the right again.
That’s because your mom always asks us if we want cookies or candy. That’s why we go to your house,
said Matt, laughing and giving Nick a little punch in the arm.
Barry didn’t seem to mind going as much now, as he saw that Amy and Lindsay also joined in to play ghosts.
Okay. Let’s go,
Barry said, puffing out his chest like a brave warrior.
The crew ran off to the cemetery where the full moon’s light intertwined with the street lights until there was just the moonlight left.
We’re going to split up into two teams. Nick, Matt, and Amy, you’ll be Team B. The rest of us are Team A. Team A will find Team B first. So Team B go hide!
yelled Lindsay, the bossiest of them all. The last person found has to take a swig of this chocolate milk I found in the back of our fridge.
Why do girls have to have the last word?
Matt muttered to himself. I don’t want to drink milk that ‘who knows how long it’s been sitting on the shelf in the fridge’? Lindsay’s a pain in the butt.
Lindsay pulled her hoodie tight against her body, teeth chattering, as an eerie chill filled the air. Was it her imagination or did the temperature drop since they first entered the graveyard? Headstones glistened in the full moon’s light, and the breeze rattled the tree branches, as the kids darted back and forth hunting their friends.
All of Team B was found except for Matt as he hid behind a huge angel tombstone where no one could find him.
Take a drink,
yelled Lindsay to Matt. And make sure you save some for the rest of us!
Matt took a small sip of the milk and spit it out immediately. He started coughing and everyone laughed.
Here, give me that,
said Lindsay, grabbing the carton from Matt’s hand. This is how you do it,
and she gulped a few sips. Wimp.
Lindsay turned to face the group. Okay... Now Team B finds Team A,
yelled Lindsay as she took another gulp.
Barry and the rest of Team A looked around quickly, each of them hoping to find the most secretive spot to hide. Barry ran to the corner of the graveyard and found a huge tombstone that looked like it had an angelic naked baby angel on it with wings, and a loin cloth covering its bottom.
Barry crouched below the tombstone and thought no one would find him. In the distance,
